Ripples

About 7 years ago, when the Playstation 2 came out, there was a lot of advertisement about the future of gaming. The Playstation 2 was going to be the most "high-tech" game system. The graphics, story lines, and game play would be much more interactive. It was only the beginning.
In class, we talked about how Hayles said that we are separate from technology and that we will always be. She thinks that we work together as one and that a computer can do the things that a human can. The human can experience the emotional cues that are sometime needed to make a task successful. I learned in my psychology class that too much emotion leads to rationalization but too little, can lead to poor decision making. But what if one day, maybe not soon but in the future, we become part of the computer? Take a look at this clip that came out roughly seven years ago.




Though it may seem too far away to ever happen and even unreal, it really is not. As fast as technology changes, one day we could see something like this PS9. My point is that I believe that Hayles is right about how we should be more cautious. I believe that we are cyborgs and that one day the machine may entirely take over. Just think about how we process words in our head. Each letter is pulled from our long term memory to make a word and then say it out loud. This is cued by a stimuli that we are programed to respond to. We think like computers already, even to make simple text. We created the computer based on how we process information.

When I take a look at this video, I think about the loss of our humanity. This technology makes stepping outside a little harder when you can step into a virtual world and do anything you can imagine. I believe it is already happening. It kind of reminds me of the matrix and how they were"prisoners" in their made up world. Where will it stop and will we ever lose the distinction between real and virtual like they did? It's like ripples in the water: they start out small and rapidly expand.

To Ryan Hard

Last Monday, a great friend of my brother and mine passed away. I received a phone call from my brother while I was working. His voice was trembling while he was said, "Ryan Hard died last night." I was speechless and could not believe it.  The only thing I said was, "How?".  My brother did not know.   All he said was that his other high school buddy had put up on his twitter that Ryan Hard passed away. Messages on Myspace and Facebook were all over the network of Aledo Alumni, saying Ryan Hard died or Ryan Hard passed last night. 

I later found out that he actually died in the hospital that very morning and that the funeral was today, April 23.  Unfortunately, neither my brother nor I were able to go.  This guy meant a great deal to us and was a wonderful person to be around.  He was so full of life and alway put a smile on everyone's face.  Even though we could not be there, we want to remember him and say our goodbyes in our own way.

This was a little different from other forms of remembering a friend, but we hope that those who loved him and knew him like we did will alway remember him just like this. The video has been up for a couple of days on Youtube, and a few people have put some comments. I have known other deaths of friends and seen their myspaces and facebooks filled with comments and peoples goodbyes. It has gotten so much easier to relay information like this thanks to these websites. People can get on these sites and express their passion in saying their goodbyes and remembering their friends. Rather than a formal funeral, Ryan's family have decided to have a celebration honoring his life. There, everyone will get a chance to say what they want and talk about the good times they had with Ryan. Whether it is a blog, video, or a twitter message, we all want our chance to say something, and here's my chance. 

To Ryan Hard,

I will see you again

This is my Club

This is my guild or internet community as we discussed in class. 

There are 66 members from all over the United States that come together for a common interest and set a similar goal.  Online communities are just like any other social networks that one may join from the outside. They deal with everything from throwing parties to generating income. My community comes from the popular game, World of Warcarft. However, the only difference in my online community is the fact that all communication is text based.  We utilize all available forms of text to not only communicate but to also make our guild stronger. The community or guild is run mostly by the creator which may be elected. He selects from the members that are most trust worthy and loyal to be on the counsel or an officer. They help run the guild. 

I joined other guilds in the game, and I have come to find that the only ones who succeed in their goals are the stong ones that stay active. There are many tools in the game that we utilize such as the guild calendar, where the guild master and counsel members can schedule any type of meeting or event. Anouncements are able to be made as well; they are the first form of text you see on the left hand side of the green colored screen.  Also, on the left hand side of the screen, one can use guild chat, which is a form of instant messenger.   With it, one can speak with other members online at the time. These are just some of the many forms of text that we use, but like I said earlier, the better comminiciation the stronger the guild. 

Take a look at our website. 

http://eos.guildwebsite.info/ 

Many of the big and strongest guild in the game have their own websites. As you can see, the tabs on the top of the screen list the most important tools that we use. The forums are probably the most widely used. We discuss many in-game topics and issues here, but we also talk about our interests.  The bank tab is where we can see any of the latest activity of funds or important items that were used. This is also where visiting players of  the game can come and get interviewed to join the guild. There is a list of classes that shows of who we are currently recruiting.  This is on the right hand side of the screen. Each is labeled from highest recruitment to lowest with different color schemes. What I thought was pretty nifty was the log in section. Just like in any real life club, there's a special password to get into the good stuff. It's like our little Myspace in a way. The leader of the guild happens to be in school studying computer technology and made the site. This is just what the internet was made for: to bring people from all types of communities and make any goal successful. 

Hello, I am Crywarrior. Oh, and Deathloom.

In this crazy world that we live in, I am just a simple little man, insignificant and dull. There's not much excitement; I work and study, and that's about it. But In Azeroth, I am a mighty Tauren named Crywarrior. I am also a woman. Shocking, huh? To my enemies, my real name is hidden to protect the ones that I love. I am the "Sexy Blood Elf Rogue," Deathloom.


 

It seems that ever since Instant Messenger became popular, people it is amusing to change their identities. Maybe they do it for fun, or maybe they are unsatisfied with who they are. Perhaps, they just want to step into the shoes of a different life, to feel special. I remember when I first started instant messaging on AOL in middle school. I would talk to my friends for hours or even have them over and go in the "singles chat."  There, we would play games on the middle aged men and women. Cruel as it may have been, we had our giggles. 

When I think about how we communicate online, I realize how easy it is to be ourselves or someone else.  It's as easy to be open and honest as it is to be cruel and dishonest. It's the fact that we are not seen, that even though we may hurt or play with others, we don't feel as bad. Our identity is hidden from the world. We can be anything we want to be and say what we want to say. I believe this is one of the reasons blogging has become so popular in the last 5 years. Blogging has given people the opportunity to say things that they might not say in public. Being able to say anything and hide your identity is a great way to express how you feel and still "save your" face to the outside world. That's just one of the many great powers technology gives us. 

With the better innovations on online games, like with RPG elements, we are given the opportunity to step into the shoes of a fantasy-like character and interact within their world. It's neat for a fifty-six year old man to pretend to be a general of the Horde and lead his army into battle to fight the ravaging undead or a boy that is paralyzed from the waist down, charging into battle. 

Whatever the case may be, the ability to change our "self" has expanded many different forms in communication from Blogging to playing World of Warcraft.  It has allowed us to be whatever our imagination desires.