Bonus 2: Second Life, Game or Pocket Lint?

Second Life isn’t a game because it doesn’t have any objectives/goals for the player (socially-destitute and major investor in the myopia industry) to achieve – ‘Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge and interactivity (Wikipedia, Games 2007). Although Second Life might have the element of interactivity, it’s still just an environment for people to come together and do as they please; it’s more like a forum or an online community in terms of principle than a game.

Virtual worlds such as Second Life mimic reality as much as technologically possible. The game even has its own currency, which you work to earn or trade for that crosses over the reality boundary and makes it translatable into actual cold hard cash! This seems a lot like life doesn’t it? Especially with the concept of earning real moolah! If so, would you consider life a game? The players also have great fun participating in the ‘game’ where they get to sightsee and discover an entirely new concept: friends.

However, since it’s a virtual world, the players are able to do things beyond their wildest imaginations/physical limitations. Yes, they’d be able to see their own toes! Not only that, when they chat up a stranger, the chances of them replying instead of hurling abuse is greatly reduced! Magnificent, no? But seriously, what attracts people to the game is the fact that they can have a go at a ‘second life’ and try their hand at professions they always wished they could be involved in (a thin person with no geeky glasses) or a drastic lifestyle change like having friends. Players can even build their own furniture and put them up for sale for real money (how this transaction works I haven’t any idea, probably credit cards and such involved)! Why stop at furniture? They can even erect buildings (unless they chance upon a someone exciting, which ‘buildings’ will then just be a euphemism for something else)!

In another similar but more game-ish game, World of Warcraft, a WOW player quoted ‘Warcraft is the new golf… I actually clinched a deal with a company I met through WOW.’ Although being associated to a proper game and sport like golf, all this ‘game’ is doing is being an alternative to life. True, interactivity is crucial in such games but that’s all they have to offer in essence. As stated earlier, a game has to have goals, rules, challenge and interactivity. Second Life only has interactivity as its corner stone and nothing more. Would you conclude that just because Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has opposable thumbs similar to a primate’s then he must be a chimpanzee (even though he has the uncanny resemblance to one)?

Second Life may be coined a ‘game’ but is in fact nothing more than a glorified online community/forum with better graphics and a higher level of interactivity.



References:

Wikipedia. ‘Game’. (2007). Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game

Levy, Steven. (2006). ‘World of Warcraft: Is it a Game?’ Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/


Clarren, Rebecca. (2006). ‘Virtually dead in Iraq’. Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/16/americasarmy/

QotW10: Second Life is a major Number Two!

like a polaroid picture...
GOT MILK?


Wow, never in my life have I been so thrilled to exit a game. Second Life really was a chore to both set up and play. I don’t understand why people get so hooked on the game; well maybe it’s because I’m a more outdoorsy person and believe in sports and REALITY. Nonetheless, I did complete the orientation island bit with its atrocious lag.

My avatar, Suiluj (Julius backwards) Allen, was the only character that had itself clad in black and seeing how black’s my favorite color, I chose it to represent me. Throughout the game, I, through the avatar, scolded people for joining the community mainly because I was irritated and wanted to annoy people. See, I don’t believe in the whole two-faced approach that individuals have when they live their lives online and in reality. It’s another form of fraud, which in essence makes them no better than the executives at Enron, only they got rich lying to people.

I picked this really retro disco area, which I’m sure no one else picked as my most favorite place in the game (really because I was developing a headache by the time I found the disco floor). Although it might not seem suitable – a cyber goth dancing – I felt the sight of my avatar ‘shaking it’ on a pretty rad-out retro disco floor was refreshing and awkward (much like myself, only I’m not down with the dancing). The fact that the disco area was really out of place made me like it even more and choosing it as my favorite destination portrays my queerness (being odd, not the type who’d hang around Market Street in Frisco a lot) and how I stick out like a sore thumb.

Eventually, I still feel that nothing beats doing something for real. Why feed your character in World of Warcraft when you could order a pizza? Why play football with fellow avatars when you could go to the park? I like donuts.

cheers all!

Qotw9: STOMP it like you just don't care (cause i sure don't)

As every one gets more and more versed in the ways of the Internet, it can be seen that whatever practices are carried out in the ‘real world’ can also be translated into the virtual world, including but not limited to news/information broadcasts and discussions on interesting current affairs. One upside about having such activities going on online as opposed to in reality is the drastic amount of freedom given – say or suggest anything you want with the least bit of judgment being passed on you or the subject matter. A result of this impeccable freedom is what we know today as ‘citizen journalism’.

Known also as ‘participatory journalism’, citizen journalism is the act of citizens ‘playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information’ (Citizen journalism, 2007). It’s sort of an opportunity for kids with weird fetishes about the journalism world to play ‘pretend journalist’ and not be gawked at for. According to Gillmor (2004), this is only possible ‘because of new publishing tools available on the Internet’. With technology at our fingertips these days, all we need for citizen journalism to take place is some form of a discussion avenue where the sharing of information/news can occur. In essence, every one can participate in citizen journalism with the emergence of the Internet and more social networking sites such as web logs, message boards, chat rooms, mobile computing, and Wikis. It is so easy that’ Every Citizen is a Reporter’ (Oh, 2000).

STOMP is an example of such an online community in Singapore, which clearly shows that “[t]he Internet has enabled citizens to contribute to journalism, without professional training” (Citizen journalism, 2007). It’s basically a 3-in-1 centre (chatroom, forum and announcement board), catering to locals with various interests and helping them find the right ‘clique’ to join or be a part of. With what we have learnt in online communities, people can then report on anything at all and and have others responding or adding on to their reports or comments.

A key feature seen in such articles published by citizen journalists is that the reported news appears to be written in a more informal and personal manner – such as that of a blog – and often biased. Although not as accurate as proper news reports and articles, it does often give the reader a fresh and different perspective of the issue – the citizen journalist’s point of view.

Even though STOMP might seem to not be a total waste of time and even a decent avenue for citizen journalism to take place, I do believe it’s got room for growth (a lot, actually) and development. The ‘reporters’ can sometimes write on totally irrelevant issues such as shopping or how they feel suicidal and that smoking is bad or some poppycock like that. It’s becoming a dumpsite of random news that no one would ever care about, not even their own parents which is probably what drove them to write about their sad lives anyway (just like people who blog which I apparently am but only because it’s required and it justifies me having a computer). I feel that moderators should monitor the news posts to determine whether they’re worthy of people’s time.


References:
“Citizen Journalism” (March 29, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved March 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

STOMP (2006) From Singapore Press Holdings
Retrieved March 29, 2007 from
http://www.stomp.com.sg/

Bowman, S., Willis, C. (2005). Nieman Reports: The Future Is Here, But Do News Media Companies See It?. Retrieved March 29, 2007, from Hypergene Media Blog Web site: http://www.hypergene.net/blog/comments.php?id=327_0_1_0_C

Bowman, S. & Willis, C. (2003). We Media. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/download/we_media.pdf

QotW8: I'm Not Wearing Any Pants

Finally, an exciting topic such as this! Politics makes me dance and jump for joy on the inside, just like how Mikey gets when he passes a childcare/maternity ward. Yeah politics sure does a number on me! I lie.

So I googled ‘political blogs’ and the search came up with some interesting (not really, more dry and mundane) blog links and being the adventurous boy that I am, I clicked on the very first one entitled ‘Alfian’s Secret Wank Shed’ (http://alfian.diaryland.com/.html) that apparently is pretty… shall we say racially provocative? Loves it.

One particular entry (also the latest one, not because I was/am lazy) invoked much interest in me, well as much as an absolutely un-ambitious 17-year-old who reads web logs as much as he says nice things about people (never) – the post ‘the scolding repertoire of malay mothers’. In this entry, he meticulously analyzes the manner in which Malay mothers reprimand their children (which does in fact explain a lot) e.g. 5) She resorts to the obscene to make her point: "Why must you turn on the toilet light when it’s afternoon, are you counting your pubic hair?" Well it’s no Jerry Seinfeld but it certainly makes for good reading (seeing how it’s probably the only thing I’ve read all day)! The rest of his 6-year-old blog just about runs along the same path – racism.

Although treading on pretty thin ice with his controversial views on such politically sensitive issues such as racism, I feel that Alfian should continue writing provocatively and expressing himself in a similar manner. Well actually it’s because I want to see him get arrested and beaten with the same ferocity expressed by Mel to the Jews. I’m a sadist like that.

Finally, with its definition being: ‘the rule of people’ (Wikipedia, Democracy 2007), I do think that blogs allow for greater democracy in Singapore, only that the already- ‘democratic’ government, which obviously allows the jury system (just to name ONE) to be established in the local justice scene, will quash it. Even though ‘the government has seen this trend of blogs and even started blogging’ (Giam, Gerald, 31st December 2006). Although having blogs will make the general public feel that they can say whatever they truly feel instead of what they’re supposed to. I also believe that many people in Singapore would feel safer voicing their opinions online as opposed to off, for fear of being prosecuted, which is an irony when you consider the definition of democracy.

Colbert gets his own ice cream because he is witty and has his own show.



References:

Giam, Gerald (31st December 2006), Review- The politics of Singapore’s new media in 2006.
Retrieved on 22nd March 2007 from http://theonlinecitizen.com/2006/12/31/review-the-politics-of-singapores-new-media-in-2006/

Wikipedia 2007. Democracy. Retrieved on 22nd March 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

Thornton, A. (2002, October). Does Internet Create Democracy. Retrieved March 23, 2007 from http://www.zip.com.au/%7Eathornto/thesis_2002_alinta_thornton.doc

Alfian’s Secret Wank Shed (26th September 2006), The Scolding Repertoire of Malay Mothers

Retrieved on 22nd March 2007 from http://alfian.diaryland.com/motherscold.html

QotW7: Online Communities and i think the more you take a dump, the more weight you lose

Yes I guess I’d consider Twitter to be an online community. When the term ‘online community’ comes to mind, we usually associate it with a place where individuals come together to communicate and exchange views and opinions. However, according to Wikipedia, an online community might also be defined as ‘a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet.’ (Virtual Community, 2007)

There’re many approaches to communicating in an online community, with such advances in technology. One way is the use of pseudonyms, where your real name needn’t be used in order to send instant messages or share ideas. Who knows; the really cool chick you’re constantly e-mailing and IM-ing might just turn out to be your own mom! Gross! Every one has the ability to control the information they wish to offer and receive – forums in websites such as LastFM.com specify and cater to the music-inclined. Of course, as with any domain whether virtual or real, rules do exist and have to be abided by to maintain the level of order and harmony that goes on within the community. In an online community, the world can be brought together just by contributing in an online community: ‘The advance of technology brings nations together and narrows the differences between the experiences of their people.’ All you need to join up is an open mind and more importantly, a decent Internet connection!

Okay so why’s Twitter an online community? Besides the fact that it’s easier to suggest that it is rather than isn’t, Twitter allows for strangers (strange people) to communicate with one another, as perverse and creepy as it might seem, and share ideas (or lack thereof in the case of most who just want to have a realm that they can pretend to feel that they ‘belong’). Personally I think it’s quite sad that people need online communities to join so that they feel less of a tool and an outcast that they actually were already born as, but hey, that’s just me. Twitter lets you leave comments and messages, which are obvious tools for interaction and is mainly why I consider it an online community. It also allows you to add friends and strangers from around the world ‘without regard to race, creed, gender or geography.’ (Wellman & Gula, 1996) Awwh… ain’t that sweet!

Having used Twitter for two days now (no, not really I just joined up because I thought it’d make me appear more sociable since apparently every one needs friends), I’ve come to find it very much like iChat and MSN Messenger, where you send instant messages to friends and sometimes strange people or strangers, only you don’t get as instant a response. Every other aspect seems somewhat similar – the sharing of thoughts and offering of advice and all that jazz.

Online communities and forums are like support groups – they have a specific agenda, a loyal following from the defective individuals and they discuss their thoughts/problems with the group; however the ‘Hi my name is Julius and I’m a junkie’ bit is replaced with claims of hypothetical scenarios and pseudonyms.

Have a good life!


References:

Rheingold, H. (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=4AAFDF98-AA07-4D29-9B42-A356DC54A8D7&ttype=2&tid=3823

Fernback, J. & Thompson, B. (1995). "Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?" Retrieved March 15, 2007 from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

Wikipedia (2007). Virtual Community. Retrieved March 15, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communities

Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1996). "Net Surfers Don't Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities." Retrieved March 15, 2007 from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman.html

QotW5: Online Identities (pictures are overrated so i don't have any and it's not cos i was just being a pain and lazy. okay yeah it was but still...

Ever look in the mirror one morning and after cursing and swearing at the horrid beast that stared back at you, decide to go back to bed and never leave the house till either your appearance changed for the better or every one else suddenly turned blind? Yes, even I too have those days and the fact that I used ‘even’ doesn’t mean that I believe God chose to flaunt his talents by creating me, it just suggests it. So anyway, don’t you just wish there was some way to annihilate the feeling of insecurity which greets you every morning at the mirror? Well, there isn’t any way other than cosmetic surgery, which costs a bomb and a bag of chips to pay for and sorry folks, cause the norm is: one body, one identity (‘Identity and Deception in the Virtual World’ by Judith Donath, 1996); however you can confide in the fact that it’s possible to be the ‘perfect’ person or the person you’ve always wished you could be, in another realm – the virtual world. Enter the online identity.

In the physical world there is an inherent unity to the self, for the body provides a compelling and convenient definition of identity (‘Identity and Deception in the Virtual World’ by Judith Donath, 1996). In the virtual world, however, you can have as many different identities as you want to create! Fancy being a chick or a dude (or in some sick programs both)? Then be one! Games such as World of Warcraft which I play (no not really cause I’m not a geek like that and yes I’m stereotyping and yes I’m offending but that’s what your blogs are for – to get back at people like me who choose not to understand the ways of the geek) allows you to be anyone you want, from a warrior to a priest or even a I don’t know what they’re called but they have pets that follow them around! You can even choose your character’s appearance! Think The SIMS Online, only with a storyline and people who play it usually own several pairs of spectacles and comic book collections and most definitely are intimate with their right hand (the few minutes of the day that they’re not entirely engrossed in the game). It’s a way of ‘re-inventing’ oneself, living out one’s dream or fantasy but in a different world.

Online identities can however, be stolen – just like an actual real world identity, only much easier. All it takes for your online identity to be stolen is a hacker. Once hacked into your account, the hacker has full access. Scary but true, and all it takes is for the criminal to collect enough personal data on someone to impersonate the victim (Mitigating Identity Theft). It’s like how you’d forge your parents’ signatures on report cards to avoid them seeing the grades you so tragically got, or how you’d speak in a low voice to your principal or teacher over the phone, should they call and enquire on your whereabouts seeing how you skipped school and all, and pretend to be your dad.

Online identities can be a fun thing (if you’re a total geek and have nothing else to do with your time like all you people out there who play MMORPGs or whatever they’re called) if your account’s not been hacked into or if you’ve got hot friends involved in the community and you’re doing it just to have something to talk about at the lunch table. On the other hand, they can be pretty addictive, especially if you’re fat and a total nerd, and take away your social life. Oh wait, if you’re fat and nerdy you wouldn’t have one. The reason Bill Gates is cool is because he’s got a lot of money and although geeky, he’s not fat.

Merry Chinese new year!


References:

Donath, J (1996,11,12). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Retrieved February 20,2007, from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Online Identity. (2007). Online Identity. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved February 22,2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_identity

Schneier, B. (2005). “Mitigating Identity Theft”. Retrieved February 21, 2007 from http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/04/mitigating_iden.html

World of Warcraft Review, retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www.firingsquad.com/games/world_of_warcraft_review/

QotW4: Gift Economies: Wha?!

Upon reading this week’s topic, I wanted to just go to bed. It’s so… meh-ish. I had no idea what it truly meant or what I had to do with it. So, inevitably, more reading had to be done. Oh yay.

From the term, you can roughly get a hint of what it’s about - an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement upon a quid pro quo (the Latin term for the concept of "a favor for a favor"). Typically, this occurs in a cultural context where there is an expectation either of reciprocation--in the form of goods or services of comparable value, or of political support, general loyalty, honor to the giver, etc.--or of the gift being passed on in some other manner" ("Gift Economy," 2007). In layman’s terms, although that was already pretty simple to understand, one favor begets another/you give to receive. A traditional gift economy is based on the obligation to gift, the obligation to accept, and the obligation to reciprocate (Lewis Hyde, 1983)

You might think that a gift is something tangible; however, for gift economies, the ‘gift’ in ‘gift economies’ shouldn’t be taken literally and is often in fact, attained through means other than monetary. I guess this’ why we might already be in one without knowing it (Kevin Lim, 2007)! It’s a good way for cheap people to still be useful – they can exchange advice, information, and etc. all without spending a penny!

In this modern age, more people are turning to the cyber world and spending their time there. Eventually, when enough people get online together, they start to realize and discover that many others out there have the same interests as them. When that happens, they then form virtual communities, which they use to talk about and share their interests. The interaction we see going on in these forums and communities is a trait of gift economy. Online communities such as forums are a huge part of today’s gift economy. I personally enjoy dabbling in discussions in some of them (okay not really, but I figured this piece would be a lot more authentic/believable if I said I did). Heavy Metal Realm is a forum I visit quite a bit.

At Heavy Metal Realm, angst-filled teenagers and those who lie to themselves that they’re still indeed young at heart because they have no jobs and still live in their parents’ garage come to talk about bands which play nothing but good music (noise to those over 25 and prefer classical, melodic music). We discuss upcoming tours, concerts and merchandise, often exchanging valuable information in the process like how the bass wasn’t tuned properly in the Iron Maiden concert of 2003 in Perth, Western Australia, or how the name ‘Black Sabbath’ came about when Geezer Butler, bassist for the band, saw it on a movie theatre marquee and thought it suited the band. Yeah… valuable information indeed. Members of this forum who’re more experienced with the scene and have ACTUAL valuable information such as tour dates and ticketing information post it up for the rest to know about. These people are often the ones contributing the most and by offering their experience and advice to the community, they seem to receive more help more quickly when they ask for something” (Wellman & Gulia, 1997; Rheingold, 1993).

Clearly, we can see that a gift economy is really a vicious cycle, only not vicious. The people contributing the most are at some point of time on the receiving end as well. When push comes to shove, it all boils down to people wanting and willing to give and take, and by having a balance of both give and take, online gift economies can certainly stay active and continue to be a way for people to interact and have a space to share their interests and passions.

Personally, I’d rather give than take, so I can hold it over the other person and have the upper hand whenever. But that’s just me and I reckon I have issues. Okay time for them references aye!




References:

Kollock, Peter (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Wikipedia (2007). Gift economy. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy

Matzan, J. (2004). The gift economy and free software. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from http://software.newsforge.com/software/04/06/04/142238.shtml?tid=150&tid=82