identity
homepage
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Chap. 4 Response
What would the future look like if it only consisted of the Internet, as Douglas Rushkoff suggests? Probably not much different than today. People would still use it to connect to one another, they would still use it to go shopping or pay bills, or catch up on the latest news. The way in which people do these things might evolve, but the primary activities that people do on the Internet would remain the same.
I’m having trouble figuring out what is meant by Web “culture.” I have yet to see how Lee Siegel defines it. Is this culture defined by the web sites that are visited? Is it a present day society where people spend more time online than any other activity? Is it a new generation that doesn’t know what its like to live in a world without the World Wide Web? I find it hard to be able to explain how Web culture has been shaped when it isn’t really clear what that culture is. When Siegel says things like “Web culture, as it exists today, has been shaped by some of slickest, most utilitarian forces in the larger culture,” it doesn’t make much sense as he doesn’t expound on what he means. How does web culture exist today? How is it being shaped, and who are these slick, utilitarian forces in the larger culture? It just comes across like a general statement where the author fails to convince the reader. When reading a book like this, I want to be convinced of what the author is trying to say, not just reading conjecture.
I fail to see how the Internet “plays to the lowest common denominator of youth.” Is he referring to sites like YouTube where people do stupid stunts and post videos of it? I’ve seen plenty of videos like that with adults in them, so does the net play to the lowest common denominator of adults too? While I do agree with Siegel that success is typically determined by popularity, I find it a bit offensive when he says that a person who seeks popularity is the most basic kind of human. If popularity equals success, then wanting to become successful sounds like an ambitious person in my opinion.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Chap. 3 Response
"The user is the content." This concept is rampant in today's world, not just through the Internet, but also in design, especially through technology. Everyday you see ads on TV that focus on the consumer as content. One that comes to mind is Microsoft's Windows 7 ads where they show different people saying "Windows 7 was my idea," or "I'm so-and-so and I'm a PC." Commercials urge the consumer to go to a website and upload a video of themselves or post their thoughts, essentially making them the content. The Internet, as Siegel has pointed out, has most definitely turned consumers into producers. YouTube is the online mecca for producing content, useful or otherwise. If you want to know how to do something, say how to make a rubber mold sculpture, there are tons of instructional videos that will teach you. Instead of just buying things, people can now produce them and perhaps sell them on ebay. This certainly reinforces the idea that economics is the driving force behind the Internet; it seems like everything you see online can make money in some shape or form.
Siegel brings up an interesting point. When people are online, they are focused on the task at hand. On ebay, shoppers are engaged in a shopping experience that forces them to pay attention and not let the mind wander. It is much different than shopping at a retail store where there are many things that can be distracting. The "vivid colors and colorful choices" of ebay that Siegel describes is interesting because the design gives the appearance that someone is playing a game or that the ebay experience is leisurely. But in reality, it is anything but. People aren't really shopping, they are performing functions on a website that are controlled by its designers. We look up an item, browse through the available listings, then bid on them in hopes of winning. There is no human interaction, nor is there any interaction with the items we want to buy. We cannot pick it up, feel it, try it out. Instead, we rely on a description typed up by a complete stranger and on static images. When you think about it, it doesn't sound like a fun shopping experience, but somehow it tends to be wildly addicting.
Siegel brings up an interesting point. When people are online, they are focused on the task at hand. On ebay, shoppers are engaged in a shopping experience that forces them to pay attention and not let the mind wander. It is much different than shopping at a retail store where there are many things that can be distracting. The "vivid colors and colorful choices" of ebay that Siegel describes is interesting because the design gives the appearance that someone is playing a game or that the ebay experience is leisurely. But in reality, it is anything but. People aren't really shopping, they are performing functions on a website that are controlled by its designers. We look up an item, browse through the available listings, then bid on them in hopes of winning. There is no human interaction, nor is there any interaction with the items we want to buy. We cannot pick it up, feel it, try it out. Instead, we rely on a description typed up by a complete stranger and on static images. When you think about it, it doesn't sound like a fun shopping experience, but somehow it tends to be wildly addicting.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
project proposal
My website will be called behindthetype.com, which will be an informational website that explores the history and origins of the alphabet and letterforms. The purpose is go beyond typography and its history and look at where our letters came from. An understanding of why letters look the way they do could give designers a deeper understanding and appreciation for the art of typography. The site will have images that show the different forms of letters, from their beginnings of glyphs, through the Roman and Greek alphabets, to their current form today. I want to experiment with typographic design, presenting the content in a visually stimulating manner so that the content is not so static.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Against the Machine Chap. 2 Response
This chapter is all over the place and it is hard to grasp the point Lee Siegel is trying to get across. He begins talking about Bill Gates' view of the Internet in economic terms, then goes on to discuss pornography and then about certain people's beliefs about the future of commerce. One of the main points I was able to deduce was the idea that because of the Internet, what once was personal and intimate is now public and exposed. In this day and age, there is no privacy; anything you do can end up on Facebook or YouTube for the world to see without you even knowing about it. It is a pretty scary thought. In terms of economics, the Internet has certainly changed the way people do business. It has made commerce much more convenient, accessible and wide spread. For better or worse, the Web has allowed people to create more businesses than ever before. Just about any idea can be transformed into a form of business online, whether it be a porn site, online community for swingers, or the next greatest social network.
The most interesting idea from this chapter is the one about "packaging interiority." This entails producing private thoughts and generating income through them. This is an example of how the Internet has broken the barrier between the private and public. Although the Internet has allowed this to increase exponentially, this idea of packaging interiority would still continue; an example of this would be something like phone sex operators. I don't think the Web has reshaped how people make money off their private thoughts, but it has certainly made it more accessible.
The most interesting idea from this chapter is the one about "packaging interiority." This entails producing private thoughts and generating income through them. This is an example of how the Internet has broken the barrier between the private and public. Although the Internet has allowed this to increase exponentially, this idea of packaging interiority would still continue; an example of this would be something like phone sex operators. I don't think the Web has reshaped how people make money off their private thoughts, but it has certainly made it more accessible.