First off, I'm sorry to everyone for this being a day late. I've been very busy, and I apologize to everyone again.

IM’s, txts, and spam: the evolution of communicaion

Over the span of human history, mankind has always inevitably adapted and used new technology in order to preserve and mantain their tradition and history. As the book readings showed, the ancient method of oral tradition in Greek history was surpassed by the written tradition. Later on, the written tradition was overtaken by the printed tradition as introduced by Gutenberg.

Now however, people are beginning to question whether the new method, virtual storage or text stored on computers, is a worthy addition to the pantheon of history preserving technology. However, it is not so much the actual method of preservation that is at the core of debate, but rather the by products of the computer revolution in reference to communication. That being spam, IM's, and text message speak.

Because of the near instant availability to quickly and efficiently transmit data to nearly anyone, the need has arisen for human to be able to adapt to such technology, necessitating the need for ourselves to essentially "speak faster." The whole basis of IM's and Text messages is to be able to communicate with speech that is shortened or abbreviated in order to "speak" faster through typing. Unfortunately, some people are seeing that this type of communication is slowly creeping out of the realm of computers and is becoming part of the commonplace vocabulary.

This views are addressed in three possible outcomes of the future as presented in the text.

1) Language Erosion- Due to our constant simplifying of language, classical literature is being threatened with extinction due to our ineptitude of understanding it. Cliffnotes and explanatory notes all clutter up textbooks, simplifying our lives and removing the need for ourselves to seek out the definition of words.

2) The Flattening of Historical Perspective- Because of the simplification of language and storage history, our views of the past are being threatened with being generalized. Our history might become a parody or homage, rather than presenting the in depth and complexity of the true nature of the past. For instance, while some Hollywood films present themselves as "historically accurate", they rarely are able to nail every detail correctly, and often take liberties with story, setting, even costumes.

3) The Waning of the Private Self- Because of the easy availability of information and technology, the ability to isolate oneself has become more and more difficult. There are no more un-explored frontiers. We are constantly connected to the vast social system that exists through wires and the Internet. It is beginning to run the risk of imprisoning us. The over simplification of our needs is requiring less and less of ourselves to leave the home and explore. We shop via Television and Computer, send mail through our phones and such.

As I posted earlier, a book has recently been puclished entirely in text message format. Does this make an argument for the advancement of society or the decline in intellectual culture?

And Heres a video of some University of Texas kids speaking about the benefit of video job recruitment over text recruitment.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ewoxFeOGG4

Rhode Island is considering laws that would outlaw "cyberbullying" after an eight-grader killed himself after he was incessantly bullied by fellow classmates online, who would repeatedly send him derogatory instant messages calling him "gay."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/02/21/cyberbullying.ap/index.html

This is a case of the dangers of the anonymity of the internet. Unlike traditional bullying involoving spoken words and fists, online bullying can be done apart from each other, repeatedly, and cannot be immediately stopped. While it may seem nice to think that laws would stop tradgedys like this might stop, the fact is that any laws might not have any effect at all.

It's incredibly difficult to regulate anything online. Technically you need to be 18 and over to view pornography, but lets be honest, most of us have seen porn before 18.
How effective would any laws against online bullying be? What would they entail as punishment, let alone enforcement?

A man who was fired from an IBM facility for visiting an adult chatroom is suing the company, saying that he cannot help himself and is therefore an Internet addict.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/02/18/chat.room.lawsuit.ap/index.html

The man here is saying that because of his stress and trauma suffered in Vietnam, he eventually developed into a sex addict, and thanks to the Internet, he says he became an addict for adult online chatrooms. He is currently attempting to seek cover under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that someone may not be fired because of their disability.

The company said that it's policy concerning subjects of this matter is clear, and that infact the employee in question had been warned before. The employee however says that another couple was merely transferred to another dept. after they were caught having sex on a desk.

Personally, I feel that Internet "Addiction" is a cheap way of hiding behind the fact that you are obsessed over the Internet. There is no chemical dependency involved, and there are no physical reactions as a result from withdrawl. I believe that it is all mental. By saying that you are addicted to something, you become a victim and people empathize with you. It's not an addiction, it's an obsession.

The question is...is Internet addicition on par with alcohol and drug addiction that it warrants immunity from being fired?

Kind of dumb, but I was watching The Matrix the other day for my Crossfire paper, and I couldn't help but wonder. If the machines had suceeded in harvesting ALL humans for energy...

What would they do?

I mean literally, what would they spend their time doing? They would've already snagged all the humans. Would they explore space, Stop replicating, go enslave other species on other planets if they even existed in that fictional universe, or would they just sit around?

This led me to realize that the machines NEED mankind, if not just for the power but for a purpose of existing. With no humans to hunt down, they lack any real purpose in "life." If they didn't spend the whole time chasing around rogue people and trying to preserve the Matrix, they would have nothing to do with themselves.
Then I finally realized why Agent Smith was so intent on escaping from the Matrix, he wanted change...something different. He's was getting bored.

I guess even machines get bored...

Wow, they finally have done it. The end of proper English is nigh. According to http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/01/25/sms.novel.ap/index.html, the first novel written ENTIRELY in text message fom has been published in Finland.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE.

The article even proclaims that the book is rife with grammatical errors, just like real text messages. Fantastic, a book of errors, cause nothings more relaxing than trying to figure out what a miss-spelled paragraph is, let alone trying to simultaneously translate it from Finnish to English.

Text messaging is a practical way to send a short, quick MESSAGE to people when you don't have time to talk. Imagine flipping open your cellphone one day and BAM, there's chapters 1-8 of the next Harry Potter book that your friend translated into Text Speak. The whole concept of this book is infantile at the least and aneurism-inducing at the worst.

"I believe that, at the end of the day, a text message may reveal much more about a person than you would initially think," said Luntiala, who also is head of a company that keeps databases on people living in Finland.

Yes, and you know what a text message reveals? That that person wants to communicate with you but not actually hear your voice. Writing books in text speak isn't revolutionary, it's lazy. It's like breaking up with someone over the phone, or better yet for this day and age, Facebook.

I can't even stand reading any text message that I have to scroll down to read the whole message? I feel as if I'm not the only one here on that one. Seriously, a book, 322 pages, comprised of over 1000 text messages. Now it's only a matter of time before other books are translated into Text Speak.


An Excerpt from: The Bble

Gnsis- 1:
N the Begning Gd cre8d the hevins n the erf


OMG...OMG....

First off, this story was not only very confusing, but it was only made worse by the fact that it didn't have to be confusing. It basically seems like a ripoff "Ghost in a Shell" type cyber punk. The concept of people being essentially "Bio-Drives" was mildly interesting at first, but eventually it became more amazing and horrifying to me.

First off, if microchips were installed into people's minds, only God knows what kind of valuable information could be kept within thier minds. What if that person were to be captured, then technically the captors could have all the data they'd want. Another issue is trust, could we legitimately trust someone with information in their minds that they couldn't have access to? What's keeping them from selling it (This is if the technology were implemented today, that being they wouldn't have the initial security devices and programs that would come with advancement)?

An interesting concept is that if people where to have microchips that kept data and information, this might be a way to combat Alzheimer's Disease. People could have their memories stored in data form on their Brain-Chips, and then using brain signals, access the files, or even download them to an external unit. On the other side, let's say someone hacks into your Brain-Chip and erases all of your files, or changes them. People could literally become schizophrenic because they're mind says they are one person, and their Brain-Chip says they're someone else. People could lose decades of memories from "Mental Viruses."

The whole idea of being part machine makes my stomach sick, even if it can technically aid someone. I'd rather be happy with the fact that all of me is natural, and not some machine. I remember at the airport recently there was a sign on the metal detectors at TSA security that said that anyone with a pacemaker should not go through the metal detectors because they might mess with the pacemaker and result in death. Because of a MACHINE that replaces your HEART, a security device (which has no harmful effects on average people) could KILL YOU. While I'm no opponent of medical advancements, it is sort of mind blowing to think that something which is saving your life could possibly kill you if you were to go through something as simple as a metal detector.

So really, I feel as if the main question I'm asking here is, 'Will "upgrading" ourselves with technology aid us or make us weaker?'

This was quite an interesting story, I actually found it to be much more enjoyable than the almost cyber-punk ripoff of "Ghost in a Shell".

Basically people now live underground due to the planets demise. They've become so weak from the over dependency of technology that they cannot even walk anymore, and communication is completely digital now.

I specifically found a resonating voice in the idea of no more physical communication. We live in an era of cell-phones, Bluetooth, AIM, E-Mail, Mobile Text Messaging, and a multitude of other ways to communicate. It seems not that far off that one day we may just completely rid ourselves of the need to every see anyone to speak to them. Strange how as we continue to use technology, we become more like the machines we use. Computers require no physical prescence to communicate with others, merely sending signals and data wirelessly if need be. They also require no physical activity, since they are not technically alive, hence the people in the story have become machine-like in their lack of mobility.

I feel that while initially technology has been deemed our savior, I cannot help but feel as if technology becomes a crutch after a certain point. When and where the point is I'm not sure. This seemed clear when I was filling out job applications which required me to actually pick up a pen and manually write. It was a strange feeling not to feel the small hard surfaces of the keyboard and hear the sound of their clicking. Then I imagined how odd it must have been when cellphones came out, or even word processors for that matter when they replaced the typewriter. Nowadays our computer can be a type-writer, pen, radio, TV, phone, dictionary, and many other devices; heck even cellphones are beginning to do everything. It's gotten to the point where when the new iPhone comes out, it wont even be a cellphone anymore, but just a pocket R2-D2. Still we drive on to keep synching everything together, everything MUST be controlled remotely by one controller. No longer does man have to get up and take thos massive three or four steps to switch the DVD player to the PS2.

What's next? The toaster gets Wireless, is Bluetooth capable, AND can control the TV. It just can't toast anything cause the heat would fry the circuits and they needed to remove the heating unit to make room for the USB ports and ethernet cables ports.

Well I can't believe it, I'm actually making a blog. I always said that i hated blogs, that they were simply an outlet for the masses to vent their personal opinion on a range of issues that may or may not apply to them, and that it merely adds junk to the internet, but unfortunately I have to because this is for a grade...

Ugh...