The Reflection of the CMNS 253 Assignmnet 4

My group including shirley, Belinda, Jessica, and me have been working on the CMNS 253 assignmnet 4 for about 2 weeks. Every Tuesday, friday, and saturday, we got together to discuss this project which regards to the public view of using cell phone and short message services (sms) to communicate with others. In the begining, we were not familiar with each other; we just knew that we all are at the same tutorial class. However, after meeting and discussing together several times, we became more familiar. I really like the group work because when we all work together on a project but doing different things, each of us can disscuss if facing a difficulty. When we worked on our script, every one came out with different ideas which gave me a lot of joy.

For the video making, our group focuses on how the sms affects peopole's romatic relationships positively and negatively, or perhaps no effect at all. We planed to produce a news which contains a short soap drama regarding to how a new romatic relationship forms, maintains, and then finally ends. We also interviewed three students who have different perspectives about sending and receiving text messages in daily time. After the back groung research, everyone shared different but very good ideas about how the sms affects our relationships and we spent a lot of time writing the script. Finally, by March 18, we finished most parts of the script. On March 21, we had shot most parts of the video. It is so interesting that when we acted a role in public, we were so embarrassed and had a lot of NGs. After finishing video shooting and watched ourselves on the digital camera, all of us laughed and satisfied our jobs. These days, our group got together again to edit the video. We tried to add some music and sound in order to make our video more interesting. I had never tired to video editing before because I am not good at computer, therefore, I thought that I could not do it. However, trying to edit our video, I found that it is so fun to using the program of the Movie Maker on the Window XP. I am glad that have learned how to use a new technology.

It is very interesting to have this project as it is different from other communication assignments which require students to write 6-12 pages of research papers and they do not require a group project. After joined the project, I have learned a lot from and our group have tried our best to do the assignmnet. Hopefully, we can get a good grade !

The reflection of the blog

I have posted 10 regular diaries which talked about an online chatting system--the MSN. Honestly, I am not good at computer so in the begining of the semester, I didn't really think about the advantage of the personal blog. I thought it was so annoying that I had to post a journal regarding to my everyday experience about the social software every week as I did not used to write diaries. However, concening about the grade, I started to do some researches about the MSN. I paied attention on the lectures and on the tutorial class. Whenever I heard and learned the theory and critique from other scholars or from Smith about the social software, I would think how they could be related to my topic, and then post a journal on my bolg. Carefully observing how others feel and use the MSN, I also received some ideas about the MSN.

After posting journals, I found that I seemed to already get used to post a journal on the bolg every week. I feel that the blog is not annoying, it actually motivates me to have a desire understanding a social software. I also found that my knowledge about the MSN is vey limited. The MSN is not only convenient for people to communicate with each other, but also existing deep relationships regarding to the society. If I did not need to response to post regular diaries on the blog, I would not be able to find that a social softwear could be so interesting. Now, I really enjoy writing the blog. I think that even though the semester is about to finiah, I will keep posting journals on my blog. Maybe in the future, I can look back what I have learned in this semester. This is like the self-surveillance as according to the lecture on the week 8, Smith (February, 1, 2005) states that people are watching themselves when they use a technology such as webcam, blog, personal websites, etc. He also said that "self-surveillance is the fad of the day." when I am interested in the blog, I am really enjoy posting diaires weekly. It is just like the photos; people usually recall their past experiences and life by seeing pictures. Same as the bolg, when I keep posting dairies, in the future, I can watch myself and know what I have done at this moment.

Reference,

Smith, R (February, 1, 2005). Week 8: Privacy. Presented at a Lecture of CMNS 253 at Simon Fraser University

Real Life Communities Vs.Online Communities

After the lecture from the week 10, which talked about the virtual community, I started to think about the differences between the real life and virtual communities. I found that there are some interesting phenomena. Few dacades ago, there were issues of the racism and class, which affected peopole to form different communities. For example, how many time have we seen from movies that many years ago, blacks were discriminated by whites, and balcks were viewed as slaves destined to work for whites? Nowadays, people who are in higher social status usually get together such as doctors and lawyers, and create a social community. It rarely sees that higher class people stay in the same community with the lower class people. The personal identity in different communities seemed not having an equal status. Moreover, in real life, people usually involve face-to-face communications. Some people may judge an individual's apparent for the first sight, and then decide whether inviting him/her to their communities. Therefore, the real life community exists gaps.

With the improvment of the computer technology and Internet service, many of us are able to creat a virtual community. When I use the MSN to chat with others, I creat an online community. Without the face-to-face communication, the online community is more equal and free. As people communicate on the MSN, they can have multi-identies.Therefore, racism no longer exists, and different class people are able to stay in the same community as well as creat new relationships. Using the MSN, it also can reduce the judgement of a person's apparent and avoide some embarrassing moments in face-to-face communication. Smith (March, 15, 2005) also states that the online community is more direct, provides more freedom for human identies, and gives options for participants when they face different situations. The high speed of the Internet reduces the problem of distance communication and allows people to create a global community.

Reference,

Smith, R. (March, 15, 2005). Week 10: Community. Presented at a CMNS 253 Lecture at simon Fraser University

Online Activities Vs. Personality Disorder

I read an article this afternoon, which regards to the psychological disorder like depression when people spend too much time using computers and the Internet communications such as the MSN. With the rapid improvment of the computer and Internet service, more and more people devote their whole time to involving and develpoing online relationships. Accourding to the lecture on the week 9, Smith (March, 8, 2005) states that online relationship is good at the capacity for people to have easy intimacy as well as projection and enable them to escape the face-to-face communication. However, the online relationship is also bad at its losing touch with the reality and if people spend too much time working on it, they will become additive and cause multiple personality disorder. Although the MSN is convenient in converying instant messages and overcoming the problem of distance communication, it's negative effect is isolate peopole from the real world interaction.

The article I read also points out that base on the idea of the individualism in the western society, more and more people seeking the individual world and privacy of the electronic communication since people tend to live alone after 19. When people stay at home alone, they tend to spend most of their time using the compouters and Internet communications. Due to lack of the face-to-face communication and interpersonal touthes in a real world community, more and more pepole suffer from the depression (Lasn and Bruce, 2000). Moreover, Lasn and Bruce (2000) quote a note from the "New York Time" that "when you spend your time on the Internet, you don't hear a human voice and you never get a hug." Moreover, they point out that "an online 'community' can't possibly substitute for a real community, because the essential things that makes a community a community are absent." Indulging themselves in the electronic world, people will become anxious and escape or isolate themselves from the real world communication, further will cause the depression.

Reference,

Simth, R (March, 8, 2005). Week 9: Relationship. Presented at a CMNS 253 lecture at Simon Fraser University

Lasn, K. and Bruce. (2000). Malignant sadness: American psyche. 31-38.

The MSN messenger worm --Bropia. G

I heart a news from my friend in Taiwan recently, that there is a wide spread MSN messenger worm called Bropia. G ( the picture is shown below); and many of her firends had been struggling with it. The annoying worm tries to infect from one computer to other when people use the MSN to chat with othes. As the MSN is a popular copmmunication medium, the speed of the infection is very broad and quick. For example, Trend Micro statistic shows that about 87.9% of infection is from Asia including 60.8% from Taiwan; however, more and more people also receive the worm in the U.S. Bropia can change the status of the MSN users such as "online to away." Be cause of this, many people lose connection with others. When the person A chats with the person B, B may receive a file called "new_webcam pif (185 KB)" from A. If the person B carelessly opens the file, Bropia will display the sexy picture below to bother the users and change their ststus (Johnstone, 2005).




While Bropia does not seriously affect computer users and destroy the computer program, the online security should also be considered. According to the lecture from the week 9, computer users can use some programs such as McAffee's VirusInfo Centre, which provides virus scanning, personal firewall plus, and server side sacnning to fight against virus. However, to have a higher security to chat online, people should be cautious not opening a strange file and giving others the personal information.


Reference

Johnstone, B. (2005). Bropia. G - MSN Users Should Remain Vigilant. Retrieved March, 10, 2005. from http://msmvps.com/trafton/archive/2005/02/04/34971.aspx

Smith, R. (March, 8, 2005). Week 9: Privacy. Presented at a CMNS 253 lecture at Simon Fraser University

The MSN--Online Relationships

The MSN indeed enhances the interpersonal relationships. I have been using the program for few years. From the MSN 6.0 to the 7.0 beta test, the MSN has continuously improved its program and provided better service to serve the users. For me, the MSN enables me, on some degree, to keep in touch with my friends and family. From the very begining, there were only 8 people in my address book, but now, I already have 50 people. I don not talk to these 50 people at the same time, but as long as I want to talk to some of them and if they are online, I can immediately communicate and maintain our relationship.

However, even though the MSN is convenient for people to interact with each other through the Internet, for those who do not use the MSN like my parents, I only can keep in touch with them through the telephone. I feel that the online relationship tends to be shallow; for example, people tend to transmit simple and short messages to discuss with others on MSN. Although they can talk for a long time, they can not invlove the real face-to-face communication and they have limitation to express their true emotions online as the computer can not tell the person's really feeling. Moreover, Rowland (1999) points out that the computer can not feel a person's pain and love, it is not conscious; however, consciousness only exists in hunman. Only human can tell others their emotions. Comparing the online chatting and real face-to-face communication, I still prefer the real face-to-face communication.

Reference,

Rowland, W. (1999). Can the Net Think? Spirit Of The Web. (pp.333-342). Tornoto: Key Porter Books

Online Safety

An annony thing happehed to my friend Anne last Saterday. When she was using the MSN chatting with her friend, another person, supposed to be a guy, added her name and wanted to talk to Anne. Anne thought that was one of her unfamiliar firends so she accepted and talked to him. However, the guy started to show some porns and talked about some dirty words to Anne. She eventaully knew that the guy was not her friend but did not know and foncused how the guy got her msn address.
After hearing Anne's story, I started to think aboout the issue of the online safety. More and more people use the MSN chatting with friends and getting some information. However, how many peopele know that the person they are talking to are exactually the peson they know in person since the MSN does not require people to use their real name. Hence, according to the MSN's website, http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/, it teaches us how to stay safely when chatting with firends or families online:

1. Do not share your personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, credit card
numbers, or photos with the person you do not know; Keep your information in private.
2. When you feel comfortable for the cahtting content or the Internet screen, log out or turn off
the computer.
3. Do not meet the person who you do not know in operson.
4. Download the program of anti-virus software on your computer.
5. when you are chatting with a friend, let the third person join your chatting activities.
6. Keep in mine that not everyone on the MSN is who they said they are.

According to the lecture, when people use the tchnologies, they are also spied by others(Smith, January, 25, 2005). Many of us do not know how to avoid strangers when they talk to us as they know how to get our MSN addresses. We are spied since the MSN undermines our freedom. Hence, poeple should be careful and consider issue of online safety when using the MSN (Smith, January, 25, 2005).

Reference

Smith, R. (January, 25, 2005). Week 3: Information society. Presented at a CMNS 253 Lecture at Simon Fraser university

MSN. (2004). Staying safe online. Retrieved February 28, 2005, from: http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/