Bonus Mission #2: Second Life means Business

Based on this week’s readings, argue: Why is Second Life not a game? Support your argument by giving an example of how virtual worlds, such as Second Life, could be used beyond mere entertainment (plenty of real-world examples if you look hard enough).

Bonus Mission #2: Second Life means Business

.: A world where reality ceases to exist and imagination is key :.

The commonly conceived notion of games is usually one that is based on a mission for strategy games or may have a time frame in the case of arcade-style racing games. However, that notion has been altered with the introduction of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) such as Second Life (SL). SL does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games (“Second Life”, 2007). What SL has is its ability to allow thousands of users, or “residents”, to simultaneously communicate and participate in activities, change their environment by constructing new places or items and even engage in business transactions both on- and offline. Such sandbox-style play differs from other games as it allows residents to create anything and everything from scratch in a manner where their imagination knows no boundaries.

However, the residents of Second Life may see it as just more than a game, as seen by the increasing popularity of Second Life. Based on the homepage of Secondlife.com, the number of registered users in Second Life currently stands at 5.3 residents as of 7^th April 2007, which means that it has engaged millions of players over a four year span since it opened its public beta version in April 2003 (“Second Life Through The Ages”, 2006). Though it misses the 7 million-mark (by close to 2 million) set by the widely popular MMORPG - World of Warcraft, the game’s audience is growing at about 38% month over month, according to its creator, Linden Lab (Kharif, 2006).

With SL becoming such a popular haven for many residents, it is no wonder that it acts as a marketing platform for most businesses. Calvin Klein’s ck IN2U, a fragrance for technosexuals, is already being marketed in SL. Even food has a part to play in SL. Domino’s Pizza will soon be accepting real-life pizza orders from within Second Life (Reuters, 2007). Hence, it can be seen that SL is more than a game, as not many games target their players by creating interactive areas in the game where users can explore and learn more about the products, or in this case, bring real pizza to your first life.

Honey, I just love the way you smell of the keyboard! :)

Besides marketing products on SL, companies have also decided to position themselves in SL for users to explore. The cover story for BusinessWeek Online in May 1, 2006 noted that “British branding firm Rivers Run Red is working with real-world fashion firms and media companies inside Second Life, where they're creating designs that can be viewed in all their 3D glory by colleagues anywhere in the world” (Hof, 2006). Even media companies are catching on by setting their virtual companies in SL. CNET networks, SL Herald, New World Notes and Reuters are just some examples of companies that want to send a multimedia message and be exposed to the young segment of consumers who spend long hours in virtual worlds (Kharif, 2006). Hence, what makes SL so popular to many corporations is the ability to program scripts to make the corporations look as realistic as the ones in our real life. Otherwise, most of the companies would have used other more well-established and popular games such as World of Warcraft to market and position themselves.

Telling the Residents what to think and not just what to think about!

Apart from the number of companies that eagerly rush to appear in SL, SL by itself has a rather robust virtual economy. With about 1.4 million transactions a month that is tax-free (for now), good and services are transacted based on Linden Dollars ($L), which are convertible to real dollars (Reiss, 2006). Based on the recent Linden/U.S. exchange rate of 252 Linden dollars to one U.S. dollar, the GNP of Second Life in September 2005 was L$906 million or U.S.$3.6 million. It is thus no wonder that residents like Anshe Chung made her fortune in land development business, which she has built from nothing two years ago to an operation of 17 people around the world today (Hof, 2006). Chung's firm now has virtual land and currency holdings worth about $250,000 in real U.S. dollars. The creator behind Chung’s avatar acknowledged that the virtual role-playing economy was so strong that it had to import skills and services from the real-world economy (Hof, 2006).

Besides the economic aspect that makes SL more than just a game, the social aspect also facilitates on the way virtual communities work in SL. With its immersive nature and compelling social dynamics, SL becomes a rich, persistent alternative world (Levy, 2007). Such MMORPGs foster a greater community spirit with guilds and in the case of World of Warcraft (WoW), when guild member Azeroth died in real life, “his grieving friends decided to hold a funeral for him inside the game” (Levy, 2007). While this may seem touching, friendships are easily forged in virtual games, considering the fact that many players spend hours glued to their computer screens. For instance, while stuck on Help Island in SL, it was easy for a noob like myself to befriend other players simply by chatting with another resident to inquire for directions or ask for recommendations on places to visit. Hence, it is no surprise that some relationships flower into marriage in WoW, with Tauren brides and Undead grooms tying the knot in some virtual tavern in Thunder Bluff (Levy, 2007). Furthermore, if physical exhaustion could kill a workaholic in real life, it was reported in Xinhua News Agency that one girl died of exhaustion after playing WoW for several days without a break (Levy, 2007). While games are often seen as fun and relaxing, they can kill when played to extremes. Thus, this serves as a warning to addicted SL residents who perceive the game as their “priority” life.

In conclusion, Second Life is clearly more than a game with its prospective economic growth and its rising marketing aspects for many corporations. Furthermore, the lure for individuals to be quick, virtual entrepreneurs makes SL different from other sandbox-style games such as The Sims or Grand Theft Auto. Together with the social aspect that online interactions facilitate communication with other residents in Second Life to form stronger ties, it is no doubt that the lines between the game and the physical realm are becoming blurred.

References

Hof, R.D. (2006, May 1). My Virtual Life. (Article posted on web site BusinessWeek Online). Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm

Kharif, O. (2006, October 17). Big Media Gets a Second Life. (Article posted on web site
BusinessWeek.com). News Analysis. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2006/tc20061017_127435.htm

Levy, S. (2007). World of Warcraft: Is It a Game? (Article posted on web site MSNBC.com). Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Reiss, S. (2006). Virtual Economics. (Article posted on web site Technology Review). Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16023&ch=biztech

Reuters, A. (2007, March 9). Domino’s in Second Life: in 30 nanoseconds or it’s free. (Article posted on web site Second Life News Center). Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/03/09/dominos-in-second-life-in-30-nanoseconds-or-its-free/

Second Life. (2007, April 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&oldid=120696573

Second Life Through The Ages. (2006, July 16). In SL History Wiki. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://www.slhistory.org/index.php/Second_Life_Through_The_Ages

QotW10: My holiday headache in Second Life

QotW10: My holiday headache in Second Life

This was perhaps one of the most interesting and memorable blog assignments that we had in a while besides joining Twitter and setting up a blog. (I personally thought setting up a blog was more interesting than Twitter!)

This week, we had to join Second Life (SL) and try it out. It was quite fun exploring SL, as I was luckily to have only minor lagging. But, I got giddy since I'm not used to playing RPG! Anyway, here's my avatar in Second Life:

Introducing: Velvet Villota!

I created my avatar on 4th April 2007. The reason why I chose her name was simply because she represents the "face" for this assignment and perhaps, the avatar to this blog. Villota, her surname, was chosen among the list of many last names since it complemented "Velvet". As for her likeness to myself, I leave it up to you to decide! Haha! :P

When I logged into Second Life for a second time, I was wondering how come it was so dim. I thought that it was due to the settings of my monitor. Then I figured SL probably had night and day time too! Hahaha!

Yes! YOU can fight the moonlight! :P

While playing around the options, I found this option called "Force Sun" and it was nice n sunny at 8.20pm! Not recognizing where I was, I looked around and found that I was on Help Island, facing the Freebie store...

Help me on Help Island!

After getting some stuff in the Freebie Store, I realized that the terrible thing was that when i changed outfits, my avatar had no Hair!! So i decided to stick with the current look.

Flying around Help Island was interesting but it was more comical to see Velvet land, especially if the vertical distance between the landing place and altitude you were at was large!

I found a "clone" who looked like me and she gave me some tips on where to go and we chatted for quite some time before finding out that she had been around for a few months.

Elke Shepherd and Velvet Villota

She recommended that I check out Roma (Rome) and Koma, which is a Hawaiian Village. I went to both places but didn't see anything interesting. So i headed to Paris 1900 instead!

Oppz! I blinked!@

I'm actually standing in front of Moulin Rouge but the sign is blocked since there were Easter eggs holograms and flowers bubbling out from the building next to it.

Inside Moulin Rouge

I teleported to Japan after this but I could not find the same place that Carol went to and ended up in Japan Resort, which was my final destination.

Ah! Getting to rest my weary feet!

Ending my holiday with a beautiful sunset...

Overall, I spent around 2 hours using SL from customizing my avatar; giving Velvet wings to changing her outfits, to exploring other parts of SL. It was really an interesting and a large place to visit! I do hope to explore more next time and perhaps by then, UB-SIM would be up and running for all of us to have virtual lessons in one of the classrooms!

QotW9: STOMP – the news by us

Explore The Straits Times’ STOMP.com.sg and based on the readings below, is STOMP an ideal form of citizen journalism for Singapore? How would you improve it?

QotW9: STOMP – the news by us

What is Citizen Journalism?

With the rise of the Internet and the ease with which technology allows us to keep one another updated through the use of SMS, forums, blogs or even moblogs for up-to-date news and happenings, it is now possible for anyone to be a citizen journalist. Citizen journalism or “participatory journalism” as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information". The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires (Citizen Journalism, 2007).

What makes citizen journalism different from traditional news media is the difference between how much censorship there is and how bias the view would be. Unlike journalists working with the media, the news by a citizen journalist would not be highly censored and would provide a more unbiased viewpoint. As noted by Dan Gillmor (2004), “governments are very uneasy about the free flow of information, and allow it only to a point”. As print and broadcast news media is highly censored by the government, the news media may only show 1 side of the story or perhaps even none. Thus, we may lack information of the real world, unless we read about it through the perspective of others on their blogs or other sources. In that sense, the news becomes less unbiased as compared to the way the media frames it for the viewers to see.

STOMPing the way to Singaporean news

STOMP is the acronym for Straits Times Online Mobile Print. It is a Singapore-based online portal created by Singapore Press Holdings that enables Singaporeans to interact and engage in current affairs of Singapore through the three platforms of online, mobile and print (STOMP, 2007). STOMP delivers content that is interactive and will help develop new communities of Singaporeans bonded together by shared interests. Furthermore, access to the website is completely free and as for SMS and MMS, only normal Telco charges apply to users. Under the “About Us” section, The Straits Times Editor Han Fook Kwang explained, "In the new media environment, newspapers have to be more than just passive providers of news. They have to engage their readers in areas, which appeal to them. We have to provide readers with new avenues to express themselves, to enable them to interact with us, and among themselves." Thus, STOMP encourages anyone with something to say or share to do so through its portal. This ensures that everyone is given a “voice” and is not left out.

In previous years when STOMP was non-existent, readers could only share their opinions in the Forum page and it had to be pertinent to the articles written by the journalists. Thus, only the best letters to the editor were chosen due to the physical constraints of the newspaper. It was virtually unheard of to share gossip or sightings with the press back then. Yet, STOMP recognized that news can happen in an instant and members of the public could be on location to capture the news (with their mobile phones) before the reporters. Hence, having the portal meant that news could be disseminated easily and quickly through the eyes of the public.

Furthermore, STOMP caters to many interests of the audience by allowing content to be added by the readers. The topics range from pet peeves (“What Bugs Me”), good-looking people (“Hey Good Looking), sports (“EPL Stomping Ground”), good food (“ST Foodies Club”) to asking questions (“Ask ST”) and having an interactive forum (“Talk Back”) available to its users. What I liked about the portal was that they had a section called “English as it is broken”. It highlights signs or even daily conversations that uses poor English. While the main aim of The Straits Times was to broadcasts the news, the latent function was to help to improve the readers’ command of the English language and this section adds value to the portal.

STOMP = an ideal form of citizen journalism?

While STOMP looks set to be a form of citizen journalism for Singaporeans to discuss news and occurrences, it may not necessarily be ideal. The fact that it is based online means that only those who have access to computers and the Internet will benefit from this portal. As mentioned by Gillmor (2004),

“…citizen journalism is mostly the province of what my friend and former newspaper editor Tom Stites calls “a rather narrow and very privileged slice of the polity—those who are educated enough to take part in the wired conversation, who have the technical skills, and who are affluent enough to have the time and equip­ment.” These are the very same people we’re leaving behind in our Brave New Economy. They are everyday people, buffeted by change, and outside the conversation.”

Hence, the poor and/or the elderly may not be able to take part in STOMP as they may lack the knowledge on how to or may not have the means to do so. Though they are considered a minority, their views can still help shape the news.

Feedback… Feedforward

As STOMP appears to be an online community where like-minded people add their views and share information, one way to improve would be to have more people join STOMP to further contribute to the categories. This would provide a diversity of views and it would be interesting to note what other categories could be added. Another way to improve STOMP would be to allow political opinions and constructive criticisms to be shared at the forums. STOMP could also elect members of the public to contribute as moderators and this acts a bridge between the media and the public in allowing better feedback on improving the portal. This would give the public a greater sense of attachment to STOMP rather than just contributing articles to it.

References

About Us. (2006). In STOMP. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.stomp.com.sg/about/about.html

Citizen journalism. (2007, March 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizen_journalism&oldid=118429022

Gillmor, D. (July 2004). We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html

STOMP (online portal). (2007, February 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=STOMP_%28online_portal%29&oldid=108005436

QotW8: Speak, Strike, Redress

Adopt either a Singapore politician who blogs or a local blogger who discusses politics. After that, turn to “Does the Internet create Democracy?” (2002) by Alinta Thornton, and ask yourself: Do blogs allow for greater democracy in Singapore?

QotW8: Speak, Strike, Redress

(Social and political issues related to Singapore and the South East Asia region. A blog which attempts to do so in a non-trivial manner treating opposing views with the respect they deserve. Contributions are welcomed from all regardless of your political persuasion.)

Blog title: Singabloodypore

URL link: http://singabloodypore.blogspot.com/

Blogger’s Name: Irishman Steven McDermott, 33, aka Soci, a former sociology lecturer and one-time resident here who now runs the blog out of Scotland.

Bloggers’ occupation: Citizen Blogger

Blog’s Date of birth / First blog entry: July 3^rd 2003

Technorati rank: Non-existent as it is not registered with Technorati. However, there are 2515 links to this blog.

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When I first read this blog, I was impressed with its content and its simple white-background-black-text layout. The main aim why this blog was created was for its author, Soci (short for Society), to vent his frustrations on the way individuals in Singapore were suppressed by society’s lack of freedom for self expression.

One example was that organizations tend to favor the management and those below in hierarchy become “yes-men”, where they never question why this policy was implemented or will it work. To question something or to disagree with the superiors will certainly be disrespectful to what is “best” for the organization. This issue does make me recall Jack Neo’s movie, “Just Follow Law”, where it highlights the satirical look at the inflexibility of outdated governmental rules and regulations and the rigid mindsets of civil servants who follow rules to a fault (“Just Follow Law”, 2007). How can an organization improve when there is no input by the employees?

This abstract was taken from its first post dated on 3^rd July 2003 and it highlights the rigidity of the hierarchy of the organization that Soci works in:

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“usually uttered by a male claiming superior status to others involved in the so-called discussion. I use the term 'discussion' loosely. The 'gatherings' are more akin to that of a lecture, whereby one of the bodies talks and the others feign interest, such as nodding head and tilting head to the left or right. Significance of tilting left or right may require further research...Only the self-proclaimed individual or speaker may speak. I have myself upon arrival committed a serious breach in the rules of interaction by uttering , during a gathering the phrases, 'no' and 'why?'. these words responded in a breach of the rules of speech. Or simply put, i spoke. Quickly realising my mistake and making excuses this body retreated from the gathering... in order to return another day.”

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Besides organizational issues, Soci also highlights issues such as the community, culture, East and Southeast Asia politics, media and freedom of expression in the form of reports or articles released either on print or online. However, when he first started in 2003, he posted more of his thoughts on the dysfunctional side of Singapore, including what he felt about the political party in Singapore.

“The first thing that struck me as odd was that the Rally of a particular political party is heralded as the nation’s speech. Surely it should be classified as the Peoples Action Party Rally. This then led to further ideas. In particular, that the PAP has assigned itself as 'Singapore', and as 'the' Singaporean Government, past present and future” (August 20, 2003).

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One feature that stood out from other political bloggers in Singapore was his online petitions, which ranged from economical issues such as the GST hike to social issues such as the anti-death penalty in Singapore. This allowed interactivity for readers and made up for the lack of comments for many entries. In addition, the blog was also mentioned in The Straits Times, ZDNet, AsiaMedia, IPS News and Today Online.

Blogs… do they have the power to “speak, strike and redress”?

As I read Soci’s blog, I realized that his views on Singapore were true to a large extent – Singapore allows freedom of expression but it is to a very limited extent in the public domain. The government largely regulates the mass media in Singapore and anything not in favor of the main political party is largely weeded out. While they are able to censor the media companies in Singapore, they are unable to regulate the growing number of blogs and forums in the virtual world. As noted by Thornton (2002), “the role of traditional media (television, magazines and newspapers) in modern democracy is increasingly problematic, and serious questions have arisen about its capacity as a site for political criticism or rational debate”. Since traditional media can only hold a superficial amount of information and readers thoughts, the rest of the information is transferred to the online avenue where most of the people air their views.

With the rise of bloggers and their ability to share their views through their blogs, it also brings them one step closer to an opportunity for more voices to be heard in the public sphere (Thornton, 2002). As such, this encourages bloggers to continue to air their thoughts, as writing brings them closer to like-minded individuals with similar interests where they can leave comments or link similar blogs to their own.

As highlighted by Gerald Giam (2006) in The Online Citizen, there was a disapproval over self-regulation by bloggers, as “most Netizens were against the idea of any sort of regulation or code of ethics on a platform which some saw as the “last bastion of truly free expression” in Singapore”. Hence, while blogs are currently unable to change the government’s stance over their policies, they still have the power to allow the authors to speak their minds as well as to influence their readers. Democracy will come in future when there are too many voices to be ignored by the government and the people persistently seek to rectify their situation.

References

Giam, G. (2006). “The politics of Singapore’s new media in 2006.” Retrieved on March 24, 2007 from
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2006/12/31/review-the-politics-of-singapores-new-media-in-2006/

Just Follow Law. (2007, March 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 24, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Just_Follow_Law&oldid=115729475

Thornton, A. (2002). Does Internet Create Democracy? Retrieved on March 24, 2007 from
http://www.zip.com.au/~athornto/

QotW7: Twit thy Wit

What is community? Can community emerge from online interaction? What are the implications of the Internet for traditional communities? This week, we’ll be discussing the concept of computer-mediated community. After using Twitter through the web, instant messaging or your phone (SMS), would you consider Twitter an online community? If not, what is it? To argue your case, use key concepts from the required readings “Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?” by Fernback and Thompson (1995) and/or “Net Surfers don’t ride alone” by Wellman and Gulia (1996).

QotW7: Twit thy Wit

(http://punctum.typepad.com)

What is an online community?

An online community or virtual community is a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life. The dawn of the "information age" found groups communicating electronically rather than face to face. (“Virtual Community”, 2007). It can be used loosely for a variety of social groups interacting via the Internet. Yet, there need not be a strong bond among the members, as virtual communities form when people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships (Rheingold, 2000). However, as noted by Wellman & Gulia (1996), communities do not have to be solidary groups of densely-knit neighbors but could also exist as social networks of kin, friends, and workmates who do not necessarily live in the same neighborhoods. Hence, communities can be formed even without physical space. Some examples of online communities include Friendster, WhoLivesNearYou, My Space, Facebook and Twitter being the latest edition.

Communication is Key…

What makes Twitter work like an online community is that it allows you to connect and communicate with many others at once. Unlike instant messaging, where you will never get to know everyone all at once, Twitter allows you to know what others are doing at a glance and to respond to comments in a broadcast manner. As noted by Fernback & Thompson (1995), the structural process that is associated with community is communication, as it is needed to organize social relations. Thus, in order to communicate with the rest of the community of Twitter, the user must start adding friends in order to have a social aggregation. This works for almost all social networks, as you need to seek people to communicate with. However, how close one will become to another user online depends on how much information is transmitted and shared using the white box that says, “What are you doing?” In addition, the strength of the bonding process in Twitter is determined by how well one can interpret human emotions through the text as relationships are formed with other users through words, which will act as a form of a dialogue for 2 or more users. Thus, unlike a forum with many threads, this has only 1 main talking point for users to express what they are thinking, what they did (or at doing) at that point in time.

Input(Communication + People) = Output(Community)

After joining Twitter and figuring out how it works, Twitter has proven to be an interesting idea where you tell people or your friends what you are doing at that point in time. In my opinion, Twitter works like a shout out box, where you can say anything you want and others can read and respond to what you say. Twitter is also similar to a forum as messages are updated live every 2 minutes and it works in a broadcast manner - You get to read what everyone in your list says and you get to respond to whoever you want. This also means that your friends are able to see what you say to others. Hence, Twitter is to a large extent an online community as one can share or broadcast ideas and keep in touch with others quickly.

Twee Wend!

The nature of Twitter is a virtue community that allows surface relationships to form provided that people carry on public discussions long enough with sufficient human feeling, albeit not facing the person directly. It can be considered a community even though it poses only 1 question as people can branch out telling others about their different daily activities and making it a market place of ideas.

References

Fernback, J., & Thompson, B. (May 1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 14, 2007, from
http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

Rheingold, H. (2000). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. London: MIT Press.

Virtual community. (2007, March 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_community&oldid=115277136

Wellman, B., & Gulia, M. (1996). Virtual Communities as Communities. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman

Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To an End)

Sing the song of the week...

Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To an End)

This song is really a nice one.... Enjoy!



Honestly what will become of me
don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is daily
We are what we don't see
Missed everything daydreaming

[Chorus]
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Traveling I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets in and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Die die die die die

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were barking at a new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and
the rain forgot how to bring salvation
the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die.

QotW6: Bonus Mission #1: Are you watching me watching you?

Bonus Mission #1: Are you watching me watching you?

Earn an additional week’s grades by creating blog post on the following:

1. Staying clear of danger, capture your own video or photos of Singaporeans doing anything interesting.
2. Alternatively, if you don’t have a camera, search for a relevant video / photo online to participate.
3. Document the context of the video / photo (Who, What, When, Where, Why).
4. Explain what you think about the it using key concepts from any of the readings from QotW6.

This photo were taken during COM 242 on January 18 and it shows the meaning of Sousveillance.

Defined by Wikipedia as the recording of an activity from the perspective of a participant in the activity (i.e. personal experience capture), the term also refers to the recording or monitoring of real or apparent authority figures by others, particularly those who are generally the subject of surveillance. Steve Mann, who coined the term, describes it as "watchful vigilance from underneath" ("Sousveillance" , 2007).

Such an incident is a form of personal Sousveillance, as I used a mobile phone camera to snap a picture of this. So while Mr Lim is recording us to see how attentive we are, I'm taking a photo of him recording us. It is also known as Inverse surveillance, where people with power (those at the top of the hierarchy) are now being watched by the lower ranks.

Reference

Sousveillance. (2007, February 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sousveillance&oldid=106389703

QotW6: Do not imagine how I look like online

After reading The Naked Crowd (2004) by Jeffrey Rosen, use key concepts in the reading to explain how you negotiate your privacy online or offline, by giving a case study of your affiliation with a particular service (e.g. social network, blogs, Youtube, school, business, etc).

QotW6: Do not imagine how I look like online

Kate: So what are you doing now?

Chloe: I’m getting my blog done.

Kate: What’s a blog?

Chloe: It’s an online diary, where you write about your personal life and it’s then published on the Internet.

Kate (surprised): Then how can it be personal? Aren’t diaries supposed to be personal?!

If this looks like a familiar conversation on what blogs are, it probably may have occurred to you when blogs started to become popular in Singapore around 4 years ago.

I personally thought blogs were a contradictory idea - on one hand, they are supposed to hold one’s innermost thoughts and are private, yet on the other hand, the nature of web logs leaves one’s thoughts open to the rest of the world. As mentioned by Rosen (2004) in The Naked Crowd, even the most intimate moments of life, such as a wedding, are now being posted on the web for public consumption. Yet, to what extent is our privacy being compromised?

Do not diversify…

I never thought that I would have to start a blog but once I did, the first thing I had to decide was how much information I wanted to reveal. As noted by Rosen (2004), the growing pressure to expose ourselves in front of strangers has obvious and important consequences for a democracy's ability to strike a reasonable balance between liberty and security. The key in blogging is to strike a balance between one’s privacy while having the freedom to write unreservedly. No one wants to be stalked after writing their entries but it is easy to piece together a person’s identity and lifestyle if he writes freely on almost any aspect of his life. As succinctly summarized by Sullivan (2006), the digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. Compared to blogs that are very specialized and feature only 1 aspect (such as food, pets, selling handmade jewelry), blogs that feature many aspects of a person’s life make it easier for anyone to find out who they really are, simply by piecing information together.

Do not try and guess how I look like…

Hence, to negotiate my privacy for my blog, the first thing I do is to not put any personal information about where I stay, what my phone number is or even how I look like on the blog. As noted by Mr Kevin Lim during one of his lectures on “Online Identities”, he said that sunglasses (in blogs) are a must! Well, this is perhaps true to a certain extent as it is difficult to ascertain how a person looks like without able to see his/her eyes. Another way to prevent people from knowing how you look like is to show one part of your face without showing the whole profile. While my eyes can be seen in my self-introduction to this blog, the rest of my face is covered. This is just one way to prevent people from visually knowing how the blogger looks like and while there are preventive methods (such as to distort or crop photos), the best way is to not place a picture of oneself.

Do not think I am merely 1 facet…

While there are many facets of my blog that people can read about, the main thing that stands out the most are my photographs to capture the reader's attention. Pictures capture a thousand words and photographs are no exceptions. They are snapshots of my life and perhaps, do tell a story of my life. However, I am mindful of what people know about me through my photos, so I tend to post photos of interesting places or beautiful sunsets that I capture from time to time. If one wants to protect his privacy by not placing a photo of himself on his blog, it is also advisable not to place photos of his neighbourhood, his friends, his office location or anything that can be traced back to him (besides knowing how he looks like). To put it simply, Do Not Give Away Any Identifying Details. Even the Electronic Frontier Foundation (2005) gives this practical advice: don't use real names or post pictures of yourself.

While the main function of this blog is to be an academic blog, it is also meant to be a photoblog. However, it is up to my discretion on what kind of photos I want to upload and I chose not to upload pictures that my reveal my identity or the identity of my friends or family.

Do not imagine this to be the end…

In conclusion, there are many ways to negotiate one’s privacy online. In blogging, I feel that the most practical way to prevent people from identifying a blogger is not to post any pictures that may easily identify who the blogger is or where he/she works, lives or who the family and friends are. It is so easy to piece together one’s identity through the style and content one writes, so why make it easier for stalkers to know how you look like by placing photos of yourself?

References:

How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else). (2005, May 31). In Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity/blog-anonymously.php

Sullivan, B. (2006, October 17). Privacy Lost: Does anybody care? [Article posted on Web site MSNBC.com]. Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Rosen, J. (2004, July 19). The Naked Crowd. [Article posted on Web site Spiked-online.com]. Retrieved March 10, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm

.: This entry was awarded for Creative Style for Week 6! :.

QotW5: Is that the real "YOU" shopping?

After reading “Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community” by Judith Donath (1996), identify an online identity you own or are familiar with, show where it is virtually situated (e.g. email, blogs, forums, IM, IRC, MMORPG), and how this chosen identity establishes reputation (i.e. via what kind of interactions). Finally, show how someone else could possibly assume this chosen online identity. (i.e. identity theft)

QotW5: Is that the real “you” shopping?

What is an online identity?

An online identity is a way for other users in an established network to identify or recognize a user. The main purpose is to differentiate one user from another and also allows users to note how the member contributes to that network. Just like our identity cards that are used for recognition purposes in real life, our online identities help other users identify us and allow a community of users to recognize which members belong to their clan. The only difference is we do not really know who that member is in real life as an online identity can be faked.

While we cannot change our identity in real life, as our physical selves are tangible, we can choose to be anything in our online identity. As succinctly summarized by Wikipedia:

“Although some people prefer to use their real names online, most Internet users prefer to identify themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information. In some online contexts, including Internet forums, MUDs, instant messaging, and massively multiplayer online games, users can represent themselves visually by choosing an avatar, an icon-sized graphic image. As other users interact with an established online identity, it acquires a reputation, which enables them to decide whether the identity is worthy of trust.” (“Online identity”, 2007).

Is that “You” shopping?

One area where online identities are commonly used is that of online auctions. While some people use their real names for their User Identification (UserID), this is not very advisable as packages that are sent out tend to have the seller’s address (a return address is required in case of a failed delivery) and this could mean that the seller would be easy to track down. Thus, most savvy users tend to use pseudonyms to buy or sell online.

The use of
an avatar, a pseudonym and the user's reputation
on Yahoo! Auctions

On Yahoo! Auctions, users can now place avatars near their user names to visually identify themselves. Most of the avatars on Yahoo! Auctions are a thumbnail sized icon of either a male or a female to allow buyers to see whom they are buying from or sellers to see who is buying from them. Yet, this does not necessarily mean that an avatar of a female equals to a real female user as the Internet allows users to hide behind a cloak of anonymity and the freedom to choose an identity that they want.

Reputation, Reputation, Reputation!!!

In online auctions, a user’s reputation is established via the ratings system. The rating system works by having both parties leave positive, negative or neutral comments to the ones engaged in a transaction. A smooth transaction will mean that both parties will leave positive comments on each other's page and will be rated as a "Good" buyer/seller. A terrible transaction will mean that both parties will leave negative comments about the transaction and why each party deserved a "Bad" rating. A "Neutral" comment does not leave any impact on the rating of the user. A higher rating with little or even no negative comments means that the seller/buyer is a trustworthy one. As shown in the picture below, though the seller, bratzplace, had 3 “Bad” ratings, she had 1451 “Good” comments from other users. Furthermore, she has earned a trustworthy reputation as a seller, seeing that she has many customers who have continually bought from her.

User's ratings = Reputation on Yahoo! Auctions

What makes online auctions unique is that you do not really need to know the online identity of the buyer/seller in order to engage in a transaction with the user. Donath (1996) noted that knowing the identity of those with whom you communicate is essential for understanding and evaluating an interaction. However, this is not necessarily the case in online auctions since only the online identity of the user can be seen. The reputation of the user that one is dealing with is in fact, more crucial, as money and goods are exchanged without knowing the real identity of the user on the other end of the transaction. Furthermore, effective communication takes precedence over knowing one’s online identity.

Seeing Double … elbuoD gnieeS

While it is possible to copy an identity of someone similar, it is almost impossible to assume the same identity as a popular or well-reputed seller. Yahoo! Auctions ensures that the UserID of the person does not match someone else’s and this occurs when an account is being created. This is a similar situation when we sign up for an email account. A message would usually say something along the lines of “this UserID is taken, please choose another” and the email service would provide other similar IDs with numbers at the end. For example, if I wanted the ID “hot_hunk” and if that was taken, I would have to choose others provided such as “hot_hunk15” or “hot_hunk69”.

Hence, it is quite difficult to assume another’s identity on online auctions, as the service requires one to sign up for an account with different user identifications (IDs) to differentiate users.

Phishing... is the catch of the day!

However, the other way to assume someone’s chosen identity is to have access into that user’s account. One method is by “phishing”, where it is a type of deception designed to steal your valuable personal data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information (Microsoft, 2006). A user logs in into an identical page set up by hackers and with the available information, the hackers could easily log into the user’s account and change the password and secret question so that its original owner would be declined access to his/her account. The hacker could then wreck havoc by using that account to bid on items and not pay, leading to negative ratings left on the user’s account. Thus, users should be careful when logging on to their accounts and check that the page has anti-phising ware. In Yahoo!’s case, a sign- in seal consisting of a picture or a text seal could be uploaded to the user’s account before logging in. This sign-in seal is only accessible through that particular computer so as to deter “phishing” activities.

Yahoo!'s Sign-In Seal

Online banking is also a popular service that most auctioneers use to pay for their purchases. Banks have to think a step ahead of phishers as services involving money are highly susceptible to phishing and fraudulent activities. Banks such as DBS iBanking have introduced a second layer of security. This second factor authentication (2FA) uses a security device that generates a unique dynamic security PIN to act as the 2FA for validation and authentication purposes.

Use this to access your DBS iBank!

While there are no foolproof methods to ensure that no one will assume one’s online identity, one should be vigilant in handing out personal information online and also check to see that the page is encrypted and is up to date. Never enter personal information into suspicious looking websites that offers “too good to be true” contests and be wary of emails or anyone asking for your credit card number or passwords online.

References

Donath, J.S. (1996) “Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community” Retrieved February 16, 2007 from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Online identity. (2007, February 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Online_identity&oldid=108207999

Microsoft (2006, September 14). Recognize phishing scams and fraudulent e-mails (Article posted on web site Microsoft Corporation). Retrieved February 18, 2007, from http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishing.mspx

.: This entry was awarded the Special Mention for Week 5! :.

QotW4: To give and to (indirectly) receive

After reading “The Economies of Online Cooperation” by Kollock (1999), identify an “economy” that you participate in (or with which you are at least familiar), and show that it is a gift economy.

QotW4: To give and to (indirectly) receive

In today’s day and age, where one tends to receive rather than give, it is hard to imagine that altruism exists. Yet it does in exist in the online community in the form of a gift economy. Such an economy benefits users of the online community and reciprocity is not a must, though it is highly encouraged.

What is a gift economy?

According to Rheingold (1993), he noted that a gift economy is one where help and information is offered without the expectation of any direct, immediate quid-pro-quo. This can occur where free help and information could be given out to complete strangers that one may never see.

There is a difference between transactions in gift transactions and commodity transactions. In a gift economy, gift exchanges do not involve explicit bargaining or demands that the gift be reciprocated, but a relationship in which there is only giving and no receiving is unlikely to last. In contrast, a commodity transaction is on where no obligation exists after the exchange is consummated (Kollock, 1999). Furthermore, the individuals who exchange gifts in a gift economy are part of an ongoing interdependent relationship. In a commodities transaction, the individuals are self-interested, independent actors (Carrier, 1991). Furthermore, it is also interesting to note that gift economies are driven by social relations while commodity economies are driven by price (Kollack, 1999). Thus, initiating and maintaining social relations is a key concept as to why gift economies exist. As noted by Bell (1991), gift economies increase the range and diversity of one's social network.

Gift Economies are Public Goods

Gift economies exist as users share similar interests and have nuggets of information to share with others. People who need help also head to avenues such as forums to seek information. In this sense, a forum could be considered a public good. Kollock (1999) noted that one person's consumption of the good does not reduce the amount available to another. Secondly, it is to some degree non-excludable in that it is difficult or impossible to exclude individuals from benefiting from the good. Therein lies the question as to who would produce such goods. Yet, there are certain motivations as to why people contribute to gift economies.

Why people contribute to gift economies

There are several reasons why people contribute to gift economies. The 3 main reasons as noted by Kollock (1999) are reciprocity, reputation and a sense of efficacy.

1. Anticipated reciprocity

One possibility is that a person is motivated to contribute valuable information to the group in the expectation that one will receive useful help and information in return (Kollock, 1999). Indeed, some observers (Wellman & Gulia 1997; Rheingold 1993) have reported that individuals who regularly offer advice and information seem to receive more help more quickly when they ask for something.

2. Reputation

The next possibility is concerning the effect of one’s reputation, which likely improves when one frequently and willingly contributes to the community. Kollock (1999) reported that if this is the concern of an individual, contributions would likely be increased to the degree that the contribution is visible to the community as a whole and to the extent there is some recognition of the person's contributions. Such recognition of the person’s contributions would lead to feel that he has a stake in that community that he shares with others, thus, it motivates him to share whenever possible.

3. Sense of efficacy

The third possibility is that the person’s valuable information has an impact on his virtual surroundings. If a sense of efficacy is what is motivating someone, then contributions are likely to be increased to the extent that people can observe changes in the community attributable to their actions. It may also be the case that as the size of the group increases; one will be more motivated to contribute because the increasing size provides a larger audience and a potentially greater impact for one's actions (Kollock 1999).

Forums as gift economies

Forums can be considered as an online gift economy. People with similar passions cluster around a community and share valuable information. In one forum that I have to come to know of (http://www.flowerpod.com.sg/), it is an example of a gift economy where many females head to and share information on new products that they have tried-and-tested, places to check out, salons to avoid, et cetra. Such information is a treasure trove for women who rely on the information of others to know the best places and bargains. Speaking of bargains, this forum also has weekly/monthly sprees that allow members to consolidate their overseas purchases and this saves them shipping costs as they buy in bulk.

Flowerpod is considered a gift economy as it not only provides higher rankings for regular members who share information (a form of recognition), but also increases the range and diversity of one's online social network.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a gift economy is an economic system where an exchange of good and services does not explicitly require reciprocity. This system may end have having free riders but different motivations to contribute implicitly result in more people wanting to contribute for the good of the public. Forums are an example of gift economies and other online communities are other forms of gift economies too, as the broad reach of the Internet allows information to be widely shared and can be easily maintained by the users.

References:

Bell, D. (1991). Modes of Exchange: Gift and Commodity. The Journal of Socio-Economics 20(2): 155-167.

Carrier, J. (1991). Gifts, Commodities, and Social Relations: A Maussian View of Exchange. Sociological Forum 6(1): 119-136.

Kollock, P. (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 6, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Rheingold, H. (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. New York: Addison-Wesley.

Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1997). Virtual Communities as Communities. Communities in Cyberspace: Perspectives on New Forms of Social Organization, edited by Peter Kollock and Marc Smith. Los Angeles: University of California Press.