writing assignment #3

For my final individual project, I will be researching the uses of text-messaging and its impact it has had upon the idea of a community as well as upon society. Then I will be looking towards new technologies which have come about in Asia with relation to text-messaging and how that may indicate what is to come in the future for the United States.

My research project of text messaging definitely contributes on impacting society and how we interact with one another. With text messaging there is a new form of conversation. In terms of culture, text messaging impacts society in becoming this whole new phenomenon. From text messaging there is the introduction and creation of new lingo as well as a new language. Text messaging requires a user to be concise due to the amount of character restrictions a user can send in a single text, and there forms new ways to spell things to accommodate this.

In terms of politics and the environment, text-messaging has been able to become an outlet where campaigners as well as protesters can quickly organize to come together for a cause they all support. Politicians can campaign to the voters through text messaging making it seem more personal when it comes through someone’s personal cellular phone, and protesters can come together in a hurry by sending out text messages to the masses through their networks by means of text-messaging communities as sms.ac and upoc.com.

Impacting society in terms of the economy, text-messaging can also be seen as a means of earning revenue. Through advertisements and other services that can come about from text messaging, this all leaves opportunity for profits. From advertisements acting as a form of spam is one way to lead to profits, but by also offering other services as being able to send color pictures, sound bites, interact as form of interactive media, also leads to another type of profits. Typically to be able to use these other services and other forms of text-messaging, a user needs a cellular phone capable of functioning in this manner. As a result users also need to upgrade their phone which yet again leads to profits.

A place where text messaging seems to have a negative effect is the area of education. It has now become commonplace where a student may be found cheating because of text messaging. Because the use of text messaging is quiet, students can easily be text messaging during an exam because text messaging allows for a user to stay connected all the time. But this constant connectivity can prove beneficial for families as when there are family emergencies, a user can be contacted at all times privately through the usage of text messaging.

Ronkainen, S. & Marila, J. (2004, May). Time-out in user interface: the case of mobile text input. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 8(2). Retrieved May 30, 2005, from Proquest Database.

This article discusses the nature of text-messaging and the possibility of time lags. Though voice conversation is instantaneous in feedback, text-messaging creates a time lag and the responder can choose to respond at anytime versus right away. This relates to my topic in some of the challenges text-messaging needs to address in the future. I know this is a credible site because it comes from the proquest database which also has the backing through subscription from the University of Washington.

Durkin, A. (2005, March 8). Realeyes3D brings handwritten messaging to Samsung phones. Asia Pulse. Retrieved May 30, 2005, from LexisNexis database.

This article discusses the new technology Samsung is bringing forth. This relates to my topic by discussing what my come to the United States in the future, and what text-messaging may evolve to as well as what it has perpetuated in idea. Credibility is given to the LexisNexis database which is a well known source for news articles as well as being sponsored through subscription by many universities including the University of Washington.

Davis, Z. (2004, December 22). Asian phone explosion. PC Magazine.com. Retrieved May 30, 2005, from LexisNexis database.

This article also talks to new technologies and discusses other such features which are already put in use throughout Japan and Hong Kong. This also relates to what my come to the future of the United States as the above article. This was found through LexisNexis and is credible for the same reasons stated above.

If I were to pick another technology to explore, I would choose the ipod. Apple has seemed to have created a phenomenon with the apple ipod, next with the ipod mini, the ipod shuffle, and the photo ipod. Though there may be similar options out there that may even have more storage than the ipod, people still seem to gravitate toward purchasing an apple made product in contrast to a competitor. I think it would be interesting to see why that is so, and after hearing individual project presentations in class, and with a few students doing research on the ipod, I would have liked to see what apple plans to market in the future for the ipod, and what else they have in the making. Technology is an amazing sector, and it is always interesting to see what’s new. We always tend to think that an idea is so incredibly new, but forget that the idea most likely came years before the actual release of the product. It would also be interesting to see they types of progressions inventors went through with the ipod and what led it to become what it has today.

The most important thing that I learned this quarter through the new media class was the idea of communities as well as learning new technological lingo. Now when someone or some article mentions dreamweaver or VoIP, I will actually know what they are talking about, and has led to me be a bit more technologically educated. Things are changing within technology all the time and I think that this class was great in updating my outdated technological knowledge. It was also really important to learn about communities, and see how these networks work, and can be used for future reference.

post for 5/23/05

I expect VoIP to impact telephone and cable networks in creating another set of competition to deal with. As VoIP is more widely used over time, and with the added features it provides within the costs of just using VoIP versus having added charges for certain features on a regular telephone plan, VoIP is likely to become cheaper, adding competition to the market. This could also lead to creating a closer community with a cheaper option for making long distance phone calls. Since it also has a greater level of efficiency, this could lead to a preference for VoIP and there is easier use of the whole picture with conversation idea. Hopefully as VoIP becomes more popular, there aren’t too many restrictions as to discourage use so telephone companies can keep their monopoly over the market and keep costs high.

blog post for 5/18/2005

In the first article, it refers web accessibility to be “the design of a webpage that embraces the requirements of Universal Design in order to ensure that all users can access the information on the page (Waddell, C),” which directly relates to cyberspace as public space. In relation to web accessibility, the last portion of that quote, where it says that all users can access the information, to me sounds like what cyberspace as public space refers to. The article also dives into how web accessibility allows for a wide arrange and different types of users to be able to use the site. Websites should be user friendly enough to appeal to the widest array of people; otherwise, this is just another barricade in cyberspace, where if someone doesn’t know how to use it, it only allows for a smaller portion of the population access. Web accessibility has a lot of different meanings, but one group that slipped my mind as the article referred to, are people with disabilities. I think a lot of times these people are forgotten about, and web accessibility applies to them too. If it doesn’t appeal to as many people as possible, that means there are barriers to others. But I do come to ask, how can anything have full web and user accessibility? Everyone has different backgrounds and different levels which need to be addressed.

post for 5/16/05

I believe that internet technology does impacts political activity through many forms. For one, politicians can now campaign and make themselves known through networks. When people are contacted through networks, this makes it seem a bit more personal and can make it seem as though a politician really made contact with each individual person they are trying to campaign to. The internet also makes it convenient for political parties to campaign for donations and funding. The ease and convenience the internet provides, may appeal to people, as well as the political party also being able to advertise to more people. And in emergency situations where you need supporters, you can send out a mass alert more quickly with the internet than with other forms communication. Conversely, there can be just as many negative impacts where rumors can spread more quickly, and more in-depth background information of a political candidate can be found than what is just simply stated in news reports. There could be information politicians are trying to withhold from themselves while campaigning, but can be easily revealed through the internet. This can address the whole idea of security which was touched on by the Jones article. What if people hack into the voting system through the internet? That definitely has an impact. And as we are continually moving into a digital age, and voting more through the internet, I believe this creates a new type of voter.

Assignment #2

As of now, I have decided to focus my final project once again on cellular phones, but how the overwhelming dependence of text-messaging in Asia is far different from the United States. I can also look into how there is more potential for profit in text messaging than has yet to be explored in the US.

There are communities and networks which relate to this topic. One such community is the text-messaging community, which is generally used by the younger generation. Within this text-messaging community is another community which was just stated, the community of the younger generations, they are more likely to use this technology, and create a community all in itself. A third community concerns people who own cellular phone, where text-messaging occurs.

5 search queries
§ Communication Abstracts database using “text messaging,” retrieved 4 results
§ Encyclopedia Britannica Online through the journal and magazine search using “text messaging and Asia” retrieved 100 results
§ ABI/INFORM Global using “short messaging service and Asia,” retrieved 28 results
§ Engineering Village 2 using “text messaging and Asia,” retrieved 8 results
§ Social Sciences- Proquest Social Science Journals using “text messaging and Asia,” retrieved 4 results

Taylor, A.S. & Harper, R.(2003). The gift of the gab? A design oriented sociology of young people’s use of mobiles. Abstract Retrieved May 15, 2005, from communications abstract database (CAX0280030000067).

§ This was collected from the communication abstracts database using the search “text messaging.” This article discusses how young people are finding a new form in using text messaging, and focuses specifically on the youth. This can be useful in my final project in focusing on how youth in particular integrated text messaging into their everyday lives.

Coronel, S.S. (2001). The media, the market and democracy: the case of the Philippines.Abstract Retrieved May 15, 2005, from communication abstract database (CAX0250010000121).

§ This was also collected using the communication abstracts database but comes from a different academic journal which is peer-reviewed using the search “text messaging.” The article elaborates on how through the use of text messaging in the Philippines, the youth in that country was able to create a quick political mass demonstration. This can be used in my research how this technology is already being taken advantage over in Asia.

Johnsson, J. (2004). Moto to let fingers do the talking. Crain’s Chicago Business, 27(42). Retrieved May 15, 2005, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

§ Using the Encyclopedia Britannica Online’s search , this article explains how even text messaging is being revolutionized, and one such company, Motorola is already going about this, by being able to trace Chinese characters with their fingers on a keypad as another form of text messaging. I can use this for how this technology is still being improved upon currently.

Madden, N. & Qassim, A. (2002). Text messaging ads on fast track in Asia. Advertising Age, 73 (48). Retrieved May 15, 2005, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

§ This article, found through the Encyclopedia Britannica Online talks about how companies are starting to target the youth generation by advertising through text messaging, or to what they refer to as SMS, short messaging service. I can use this as viewing Asia as a mark for how things may come to be in the United States as well.

Yan, X. (2003). Mobile Data Communications and China. Communications of the ACM, 46 (12). Retrieved May 15, 2005, from ABI/INFORM Global Database.

§ Using the ABI/INFORM Global Database and searching for only scholarly sources under “short messaging service,” retrieved this document which seemed like a good source of information for my final project, falling right into the topic category. It argues how a simple service like SMS in China can be more lucrative way of making profits than even paying fees to mobile subscribers. This can ground my research to more of an economic aspect.

Shen, J., Sun P., Zhang, J., & Song, S. (2004). iMMS: Interactive multimedia messaging service. IBM Journal of Research and Development, 48 (5/6). Retrieved May 15, 2005, from Proquest Database.

§ This document argues how enhancement of short messaging services will enhance and enrich the users experience by being more of an interactive form of media, adding potential for more profit in this sector. This definitely shows how SMS can be made for profit, and can be capitalized on, which is another portion of my research topic.

In relating to theories and readings from the class, I can relate my final project to this idea of communities, and looking into text messaging. Is it not interactive enough like an actual phone conversation would be? Is this taking away or adding to the community? As when looking at networking sites as friendster and building that kind of community, I can relate my final project to how text messaging my create another sort of community, where there are people who prefer text messaging over phone conversation and vice versa, can this actually segregate the community.

My topic can also be related through the whole concept of human-computer interaction. Will we come to depend on this sort of technology too much? Is this just another way of making things more complex, or are we making things simpler with SMS? People are starting to replace email with SMS, but SMS limits the amount of characters one will use, can this be a way of making things simple, or is the whole idea of SMS just making things more complex? These are all questions I need to pose and address.

In the remaining weeks of the quarter, I plan on doing more research using other words within the search engines I have used. This is because text messaging goes by more than one name, as I stated before, short messaging service as well. I need to look into other possible forms of names text messaging services might come in. Next I will continue on formatting a way in which to break down my research, and begin to organize.

blog response for 05/09/05

To me, the concept of public space in cyberspace means that everyone is free to look at what is there in the public space. I think that it is crazy to hear that there are such country-wide firewalls restricting a person from looking up anything that might question the government who has control over these firewalls. I feel as though this is just power being used to continue to stay in power, and not looking over the actual welfare of their people who might benefit in having access to more information. But on the other hand, I can see how having access to certain free public space can be abused as well. When just anyone can look up how to make there own home bomb, it seems as though information like this should be restricted in some form, so as this information doesn’t fall in to the wrong hands, or just irresponsible hands. So I think that there is a fine line as to how far public space in cyberspace, should be in full force public. But as with everything you will run into problems with people who defy all aspects of this, in this case, hackers.

Individual project update

After completing assignment one, is was easy to see how my topic could be too broad of a research topic. So now I have narrowed my search to technology of cellular phones of one company, Samsung, and how they market in their home country, Korea, versus the United States with the different options they provide in a cellular phone. To ground this topic to more of a scholarly research project, I am going to take an economic approach to this topic. I will research in how much cellular phone technology has become a larger portion of Korea's exports, and possibly look at how much cellular phone technology as a whole the US is importing from other places.

blog post for 5/4/05

The relationships that I see exist between the readings and the open source software movement is the general idea of trying to get everyone in this world eventually interconnected through some form all having to do with the internet. They are both trying to build more communities, breaking down physical barriers that were in the way before. It seems as though communities were being created based upon people who have common factors and the goals of these social networks was to bring them all together. With the relationships discussed in the readings, now, people are able to see all those connections and relationships. They are essentially showing people the “six-degrees of separation” visually. People are capable of physically seeing their networks, and the open source software is a part of creating those networks.