Almost the End!!!

Ok, so we are one day away from handing in our final group project on online identiy and relationships. Firstly I would like to say how well I think our group has worked together and how much great information we have all been able to share with each other.

Doing this project on online relationships and looking at Second Life has really opened my eyes to how much impact these sites have on peoples lives. I do have a facebook account which I use regulary to stay in touch with friends that I find it hard to see face to face much but it has never occcured to me to find friends in cyberspace. Facebook has saved me money and time, I do not have to ring or text friends and family that I rarely see anymore but through facebook I can send them a message and look at what they have been recently doing through their pictures and comments without so much hassle. I would not say I have a life in cyberspace it just helps me stay in touch with people in reality when there is not enough time.

When reading the Norton Online Report on online relationships I was shocked to find how many people do look for frienships amongst other things online. When looking into Second Life, watching a documentary about it and visiting the site myself I was surprised at how serious people take it. It really is a second life for some people where they have jobs, go shopping along with doing intimate things all through the use of an avatar. This at first seemed weird for me as it is something I would never think of doing but researching it and looking at the types of users it attracts made me realise that the majority of these people are looking for an ecapism from their mundane lives, and live through their avatars are the lives the wish they had in reality. If this is the main reason that people join Second Life and it contributes to making people happy then I feel it is a positive thing about online communication.

Looking at online identity and how peoples identities differ in reality I would say that anyone can lie, cheat and generally pretend to be someone they are not whether it is online or in reality. People assume that people online are more likely to do these things which is probably not true. People are wary of the net just on the basis that they can not physically see the other person, but how much reading of deception is by the body, the mind is a greater tool for telling things about a person. Yes, it is true people alter things about themselves online and play down their negative sides but this is just because they probably feel more comfortable online than in reality and what harm can someone really bring to you through a computer screen. I would most definately say it is not wise to arrange to meet someone you have met through the internet because you don't know who they are but communicating through websites is harmless and is enjoyed by the vast number of people using them.

From doing this project my views have changed on online relationships. Before I was sceptical about people finding friends on the net as I didn't think these friendships had much value, as people could just log off their computer and also from the friendship. Now, I realise that a lot of people are just looking for friends possibly with the same interests, or just someone to talk to when they have nothing to do. The majority of people I found do not actually meet people they have contact with through the net which I see as a positive thing and if this is so, online relationships are worthwhile having.

In terms of blogging I can say it has been fun and a totally new experience. Even with my prior use of Facebook I have never blogged but would like to continue doing so, it's a good way of communicating your ideas with people and geting them out there.

I think our project was a success, due to its interesting subject it was fun researching, reading and watching documentaries and I think due to this it has had a better outcome. I think it was a good joint effort with everyone having their seperate tasks and us all getting on with them. Thanks to everyone, it was a very enjoyable assignment.

Alost the End!!!

What do the US, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have in common?

I think what the countries above all have in common is cencorships and gerneral restriction on the people living there. An Iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaires. This example is a very stong one, in these countries the way they appear to see loyality to the countries seems to be not having relations with others.

All countries on the surface say that they promote feedom of speech but all are oppresive to the people living in them. I think that this example of the Iranian weblogger shows to us that we do have freedom to do what we want in this country. You can create an online blog and write whatever you want, there is no restrictions to what you say. I feel that every country should be like this, why should certain people be able to do what they want and others can't, we are all equal. I think that all countries should unite and giving poeple freedom of speech would surely result in a better world.

Looking at who I am!!!

When reading my handwritten notes I remembered when I was looking for myself on the net. When I typed in Jessica Hart in google there was 278,000 results. It appeares I was an author, a model and most suprising a prostitute form Australia who offers her fetish services online. This was a shock and a bit disapointing. I could not find myself anywhere on google, I looked at many of the pages. It made me question why I couldn't find myself but I found a prostitute as the third result. I woundered if it was the most popular websites first, and how I would not like someone to look for me by using google. Even in social networking sites there are many Jessica Hart's and again I wouldn't want someone to just search my name as many of the people on there have many different interests to me and people could get the wrong idea of someone when searching for them online so I do not think it is a reliable and worthwhile source in this case.

Social Networking!!!

The task to write about social networking sites was good for me as I had researched this craze and there has been much in the news about it while we have been on this course. Social networking sites are good as it helps people stay in touch with people and share pictures for example of a birthday or a night out, that they couldn't attend. These sites though can have negative effects for example if you meet someone and they add you on myspace or facebook, they can learn thigns about you, for example your interests which would have taken them longer to find out if they hadn't read it online. This makes friendships form or diminish faster as people can judge each other by only a snippet of their life. Also I have heard about employers searching people on these social networking sites, they could not employe them as they might have seen pictures of them drunk and the employer could react personally to what they see. These networking sites only show a small part of a persons life and people can judge them too much by what they put out about themselves online.

While we have been on this course there has been much in the news, the suicides of 14 young people all connected by the social networking site Bebo in Bridgend, South Wales. This just shows how big an influence these sites have on young peoples lives. This shows that young people should be monitored using the internet and with the facts I found for the project a large number of them aren't and parents don't know what their child is doing online.

Good and Bad!!!

I have chosen a good and a bad website, my good website is www.topshop.com. Here the types of clothes are all labeled at the side of the page, and then types of that style of clothing appear below it when you click on it. There is also ideas of what you could wear with a certain item of clothing offering ideas of what it would look like when worn. The website is really simple in it's design, the back space is a plain colour and three boxes at the bottom of the page include links to other parts of the store. There is no confussion when using this website as everything is layed out neatly.

An example I think is a bad website is www.marksandspencer.com. Here the website looks generally busy with lots of pictures and boxes with links cluttering up the page. The areas of the shop are not at first visable you have to click on shop to get a list of areas. Then when you click on a subject for example womenswear, only then does a list of items of clothing appear at the side along with boxes with pictures and there collections. It is quite confussing finding something on this website as to get to the autograph selection you have to find the box you can't just click on the item of clothing desired. This website is too much work and I can understand people giving up and going onto another website to find something.

Going through my work!!!

I have been goung through my handwritten work from previous lessons, so I'm going to type up my work regarding the tasks Nigel set us. Firstly I read the article from the Guardian called, Social Networking Sites don't Deepen Friendships. Linking in with my own research gathered for our group project I do think that face to face contact is the most important and will maintain a friendship. I think that meeting people online and in an environment when trust is zero and people can be whoever they want to is not a place where real friendships can stem from. Of corse online communication is relevant in the world in which we live in,thefast pace and easy access makes it much easier to stay in touch with friends and family who without the use of say email we would not talk to as much but relationships formed in cyberspace I feel can ever be as real as those formed out of it.