Digital Politics

Digital Politics & Power: The Dream of Democracy -Representative Democracy -Voting & party manifestos -Constitutions -Deliberative Democracy The Myths Of Internet We are on the verge of a new political era of computer-mediated democracy. Computer Activism -Activists set up computer system as community resource in Berkley California. The personal computer was developed by hobbyists. The first micro computer, the 'Altair sold in kit form. -Extreme utopiarism -Collective intelligence -Similar to Hobermass public sphere A Declaration Of Independence 'In our world, whatever human mind may create can be re produced and distributed infinitely at no cost' So why were the digital media greeted (initially) with such enthusiasm? Why are the media considered to be so important to democratic politics? The printing press as an agent of a change? Einstein notes in her synopsis to her book that aims to: -Describe 'The relationship between communications shift and other developments conventionally associated with the transition from medieval to early modern times. Print: A knowledge Bomb The connative effect of the changes in society focilated by print was that 'a knowledge bomb' explosion was set-off in Western Europe. Einstein argues that print was an agent of change that had an effect on: -Changes in religion through the reformation, challenges to the authority of the church. Characteristics of Social Institutions -Power (often expressed through concepts of control, ownership and access) -values (concepts of:legality, morality, customs, social norms and knowledge) Inclusion (concepts of: identity, exclusion, membership and representation.

Digital Divide

Not everyone is accessible to digital technologies. -Access/education -Entertainment -Economics -Communication -Privacy -Surveillance -Property/open Digital divide is a social judgement- it isnt fair. The justice of information allows too spread. A term used to describe the discrepency between people who have access and the resources to use new information and communication tools such as the, internet. Its economic inequality between groups. There are major arguments why digital divide is important: -Economic equality -Social mobility -Democracy -Economic growth "Technology is only as powerful as it is accessible. Broader access brings education. Information and a sense of community that can help combat aids, ignorance and neglect. The power of a connected and enlightened world community is just the beginning'. " -Community informatics provides somewhat different approach to addressing the digital divide by focusing an issue, 'use' rather than simply access. -The digital divide should be made smaller, it is like many other economic or social problems which is a global issue. -The gap between countries onb the same continent is also getting wider. -'Globalization' is commonly used as a shorthand way of decribing the spread and connectedness of production, communication, and technologies across the world'.

Digital Literature & Arts

Many artists have thought about developing new forms of expressions and aesthetics. Stellarc reverses the computer device body.-Who controls the body?. Digital arts gradually got wider with a large amount of artists. It has become so mainstream, digital culture has become mainstream so fast. Aesthetics Interests: -programming -Interactivity (an interesting form of intertextuality) You can oriduce texts which are much more flexible. Many writers have thought about developing new forms of new media writing. Meta data is data that describes other data. Typical meta data includes such things as; page title, keywords and a description. Tags are a way of organising blog posts. Delicious.com is used for tagging. Is all tagging creating a Folksonomy?Folksonomy is how we arrange the information on facebook, google, youtube, etc. PROSUMERS A model of production in which the user of the product or service gets more involved in the process. Producers had all the power. Prosuming could be making more phone apps. Prosuming is orginally from the video industries referring to technologies armed between the consumer domestic market and the professional production market. Threadless.com - is T Shirt modelling. (they get their designs for free the company) E.G. The national lottery gets more money then the actual prize winner! Internet requires massive amounts of labour to sustain it. (Terranova, 2002:90). Crowd sourcing should allow users too gain something from the experience- even if its not monetary gain. AOL sold themselves to co-operation-remote staff community leaders. Networks contain vast amount of imformation. HYPERTEXT Texts composed of block of text and the elctronic links. It permits users/readers to choose their own paths through a set of possibilities. "nobody is going to sit down and read a novel on a twitchy little screen"-1994. EXAMPLES OF LITERACY HYPERTEXT: -Stuart Moulthrorp:Victory Garden -Shirly Jackson -Geoff Ryman: 253 The internet allows us to look at text in different ways. Authors of websites can experiment with different ways of conveying information. CYBERTEXT- is a cybernetic system that generates a different sequence of signs everytime the work is experiment. - It is a calculating device. Inanimate Alice is an interactive digital novel relating the experiences of Alice and her imaginary digital friend 'Brad'. The viewers experiences a combination of text, sound,imagery and interacts with a story at key points. Inaminate lacks of quality or ability of motion.

Digital Rights/Open Access

What is Open Access and how it beenfits us? Open Access is the immediate online, free availability of researh outputs without the severe restrictions on use commonly imposed by publisher. Open Access is so much in the interest of research funders and employers that an increasing the number of them around the world are introducing open access policies that require their funded researchers to provide open access to their work. It increases the impact of the research inwhich they invest public money on the economic impact. Open Access benefits researchers, institutions, nations and society as a WHOLE. Copyright is intellectual property (Its a huma creation). Intellectual Property when an idea takes some tangible form. IP can mean a brand, invention, design, or other kind of creation. Copyright is a system to advance public interests- they are there to encourage people too share.Its a night that exists only by government decree. Copyright is a now a eries impediment to technological and social progress. To make money you have too serve the customers, not sue or control them. What other alternatives to use other than Copyright? -Recorder/DVD DVDs were deliberatly crippled at birth-they were banned because they were a bad form of technology (No red button for example). COPYRIGHT IS BREACHED AS PIRACY!. Claims of privacy are rhetorical nonsense.

Digital Voices & Media Comunication

Cyberspace can be known as the new bomb, when old technology was new (Electric light, the telegraoh, the radio, the phonograph). Some saw the new communications media as a threat. No invention of modern tunes has extene its influence so rapidly. Media technology can travel through time and space, even writing is said to be technology- technology transmission. ORAL AND LITERATE Technology will change our culture loads because there are various different technologies which have been created and all are increasing and used worldwide every so often. The Commercialization of the internet - Co operate websites - Pop up adverts - Spam - Media content paywalls - E- commerce & E- talking - Web 2.0 buy outs

The Impact of cyberstalking

The course of conduct by which one person repeatedly inflicts on another unwanted intrusion to such an extent that the reapent fears of her safety. Cyberstalking is any type of electronic equipment that anyone can use to stalk, such as the; internet, mobile phone, etc. Cyberstalking is most common with teenagers as they are seen the most vulnerable- teenage girls with photos and they contruct websites to target the victim. If people dont want to be cyberstalked then avoid communications with strangers online or dont use social sites such as facebook! The age group most represented in the current 'cyberstalked group' are old people particular men. There are many diffrent ways of getting stalked. THE GREATEST MYTH OF ALL Cyberstalking doesnt really do any damage? PTSD is a specific condition in which trauma survivors are unable to get the trauma out of their minds. TYPES OF TRAUMAS: -Sexual Assault -RTA Survivors -Bomb survivors -Air Crash Survivors 22-40% -Stalking victims -Aid Workers MORE COMMON MYTHS: -We Cant catch cybestalkers -If you control a cyberstalker they will stop -If people ignore the staljers they will get bored and stop

Myths Of The Internet

It is said that technology such as the internet is making us more social everywhere and globally. The technology of the internet brings about prosperity and well being based solely on konowledge based. The technology of the internet makes it able to be free from governments and other non cyber space institutions. This is because the internet has increased rapidly over time used by many users. The development of the internet is unique and exceptional in human history and is not subject to social forces that charachterized the adoption of other important technologies. The History of Xerox Parc -PARC is well financed -They were shocked by IBM -5,000 copies were sold but IBM turned them down that is the reason why they were shocked by them. -Then that was the end of Xerox The whole point of xerox was to make copies of copies. Arther the little-marketing firm, did not see the effect of making copies, resulting in there company to fill in. Afterwards Xerox prospered.