I think what I really enjoyed about this course was learning the history behind virtual and online networks…
I wasn’t so keen on the Hypertext theories and double loop learning..
I guess to sum everything up I’m more of left brain learner, I’d rather learn substantial facts than transparent theories on a subject.
my apologies for being soooo sceptical.. but that’s what I do
…
And, now i get to draw a graph about it…
completing my Niki essay whilst watching, it’s taking so long I’ve watched three movies already… Including: The Big Lebowski, Pretty Woman and Superbad.. The Big Lebowski is definitely my favourite..
also, embedding videos in a Niki page is a bitch, having so much trouble…
I really enjoyed reading Anderson’s ‘The Long Tail Blog’
I think his passion for consumerism and trying to prove the fat cats wrong is inspiring. All power to him!
…
But. I think Anderson and his values can keep dreaming. It all sounds great and harmonious in theory. But corporations are not going to change, especially those affiliated with the entertainment industry. It would be fantastic if they were willing to move with the times and embrace the new means of online entertainment distribution. If they were to do this maybe they would also consider restructuring their pricing and taxes to entice customers because product distribution isn’t a physical service anymore. Entertainment products distributed online aren’t even physical anymore. All we are paying money for is coded 1’s and 0’s…
To think this is the future. Everything one day will be made out of binary code.
and this is the moment when you realise the matrix is real…
Not really. But it could happen.
Anderson is pining for this change to the entertainment industry which would make a level playing field for consumers and corporations. But I don’t think this will happen because when is life ever fair, especially for the average joe. For the next umpteenth years, all that will happen is corporations will continue to file ridiculous piracy lawsuits to try and make back the money that they claim is lost profit margins.
This vicious cycle has only just begun.
#change
Currently finding it difficult to write an essay about something that I don’t really enjoy…
I really am trying to keep an open mind on fictional hypertext. Reconfiguring Narrative definitely gave me more of an insight into the medium, but I still haven’t been completely won over.
What I found interesting about this reading is that it claims hypertext to be this amazing medium which will self-empower a reader! This makes you feel great about the concept as everyone enjoys attaining some sort of power, no matter what shape or form it comes in.
The reading then started going on about how empowered reading is a reader being able to contribute to a story… That is when I stopped and thought, ‘Doesn’t that mean that the reader is now a contributing author to the text.‘ This thought then opened up this cataclysmic black hole of my opinion on reading fictional texts.
For Me, reading is about enlightenment. It is delving into the mind of an author and coming to understand their values, ideals and ideas. Getting a glimpse of how they perceive their ‘current’ society or a futuristic take on the world. There are many fictional texts that I have read with plot and character developments I have not entirely liked or agreed with and I always find myself pondering how I would have liked the narrative to progress. I always find myself coming back to the conclusion that in doing this, I change the author’s original idea which he or she wished to communicate to an audience. Which is their essence for writing the text in the first place. If I was to start adding my own ideas and narrative to the text then, in great irony, I’m not gaining any insight as I am only reflecting what I already know and I’m only contributing my own ideas to another person’s work. I don’t see how this could expand my mind at all.
If I could change the apocalyptic end of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, so Jonah and Mona could live happily ever after.. I would. But Vonnegut didn’t intend the plot that way, so neither should I. I should accept his ideas and make an effort to understand the implicit meanings of his text.
I think empowered reading is understanding what other’s have to say or are trying to communicate and trying to reflect that upon yourself. I don’t think reflecting yourself into other people’s work is insightful at all, I think it’s pure narcissism.
I think what interested me most about Literary Machinery, was not Ted Nelson’s utmost appreciation for himself and his work.
With his attitude you think project Xanadu was being created to end world poverty.
But the fact that his ideas for a world network where all information could be stored and shared was the same Tim Berners-Lee had for his World Wide Web.
It’s not hard to know which one was the successful venture…
I wonder if Nelson cries alone at night cursing Berners-Lee, as they both coincidentally had the same idea at the same time, just one was developed and introduced into society faster than the other.
I’m infatuated with this coincidence, and how many similar technologies are developed around the same time. As many different groups or individuals obviously see a need for the development of a certain technology. But how it all comes down to fate. For a developer to be in the right place at the right time for a new technology to enter society and alter the way we live our lives forever.
In all honestly, I prefer Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web sharing network over Nelson’s Project Xanadu. Simply because anything that reminds me of Olivia Newton-John rollerskating around in spandex, really just doesn’t tickle my fancy.
Hardluck Nelson…
If you read the heading to this blog in a non-linear manner you will have read it as “my opinion on hypertext”. Thus in the process understanding the point of consuming and understanding information in a non-linear format.
Your Hypertext 101.
well done, 10 points for gryffindor…
Anyway, I think it’s great to be able to put a label on the way we choose to research, process and understand factual information. Hypertext is such a natural practice in everyday life, that it goes unnoticed by many. We only want to process and form opinions on the information we’re interested in, this is why the ability to access information through links, content pages and indices is so vital to us. The ability to be able to disregard unwanted information so quickly and be able pinpoint what we want to understand most, is crucial in our races ever on going quest for efficiency and laziness.
Although I think Hypertext is great for the world of non-fiction perusal, I believe that fiction narratives need a linear structure to be an effective format for readers. If you started reading a book from the back and knew the resolution and then headed back to the starting chapters. You would lose all interest and not become emotionally involved with the narrative, as you already know what’s going to happen. Making majority of the text and the need for a beginning, redundant.
I think hypertext is one of those practices, that we have always done and will continue to do.. But I don’t think its applicable all situations…
Vannevar Bush’s piece ‘As We May Think’ has great insight to the technologically evolving human race. It greatly interested me, how his description of a futuristic camera (from 1945), still aligns with how we are obsessed with making technology faster and smaller today. His point about the Industrial Evolution being the driving force behind modern technologies, due to cheaper manufacturing of parts in bulk, is still a very valid point. Also, his point about technological innovations coming well before they could be manufactured was quite interesting, directly linking back to the concept of design fiction.
I guess, after 70 years its refreshing to know that we haven’t changed much. That our aspirations for a more efficient lifestyle will be with us until the end.
Check out my sidebar… yeah, thats right…. I have Instagram, and only I have the code
(Thanks to Elliot).
If you too would also like to incorporate some Instagram into your blog…
once you hit this website, go to the ‘get started’ tab and fill out the parameters of how you want your Instagram widget to look and function. Then click ‘get widget’. Copy the available code shown. Then navigate back to your blog dashboard. Go to the widget page, which can be found in the appearance menu. Drag the ‘text widget’ into your sidebar. Then click edit. and paste the code into the text box. hey presto, Instagram is now located in your side bar.
take note: a slow internet connection, may cause the widget to load slowly.
So my favourite part of this weeks readings was the line ‘hip with the kids’…does any one even say that anymore, well apparently Matthew Ward does and apparently I should be ‘hip’ with design fiction. Design Fiction strikes me as something, that isn’t new… I think it’s been around since man kind began to walk the earth. Our civilisation is built on reaching for the stars, using our imaginations and making what seems impossible, possible. Inventing anything to make our lives easier, more functional and maybe one day a utopia will come to light. maybe.
Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
Bruce Sterling’s article relates design fiction to technology seen in Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, it describes how the movie envisages a gadget. This gadget is now commonly known as an ‘ipad’ or tablet, I’m sure over forty years ago many people found the concept preposterous and could never see it coming to light. And yet it did. I understand how bad design fiction seems impossible now, but maybe it could be possible in the future. So maybe I will flap my arms and fly to the moon, in forty years time. Now it seems impossible. But who knows. Anything can come into existence, if we imagine, create and develop it.
#throwingmyboneintotheair
#maybeitwillturnintoasattelite