Author Archives: li-wenho

About li-wenho

Professional Comms Student from RMIT, learning through blogging slowly and surely.

Symposium 4.2

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wt

 

Did my second symposium last wednesday, and because we had a break on Monday we had a combined Symposium on both Small world networks and six degrees of separation. Symposium was good and rather enlightening. I was on the panel and didn’t spoke much because I was still not very familiar with the topic.

 

However I asked Elliot about how weak ties work in networks and then went on to look up on the purposes and focus on weak ties tied together with networks.

 

In a series of interview done by Mark Granovetter, he found out that most people actually got more and better job recommendations by aquaintances rather than close friends. He then brings up the term “Triadic Closure” and how that actually turned out to be one of the crucial ideas needed to unravel the question of weak and strong ties.

 

Without the presence of weak ties it would be hard to hold up the network just like nodes. This shows that in terms of human network and connections, somehow one way or another we are all aquainted with each other through the links of friends we are barely close to.

Just to bring in a good personal example of this situation  – Was attending a music festival back in Malaysia two years ago when a casual friend back then brought along her friend from another state. She was a total stranger, didn’t know or heard of her. During the festival we clicked and became close friends ever since.

The friend which introduced us still remained as a mere aquaintance. From my good friend at the festival, I have since managed to expand my contact even more, both weak and strong ties and build up my network.

The best thing about networking is that it is ever growing and it hardly comes to a stop, you may lose some along the way but it is a constant network building slowly but surely. All in all from my understanding, Weak ties are like the nodes in a different way, it brings about growth to the network and that’s what keeps the human network expanding.

 

The secret network

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Networking is an amazing process, It doesn’t take too long of readings and watching a video on it to realise that networking is happening everywhere. It was while watching the video that struck something in my mind. Since networking can be found in cells, protein, animals, and on the internet can it therefore be also found in the form of our brainwaves?

 

It gets a little tricky over here. I’m not sure if this makes any sense but I refered back to a book called “The Secret” where the author explores a theory called the law of attraction. Just like the law of gravity, the law of attraction has a certain way of functioning.

In accordance with the Law of Attraction, you attract into your life those things, circumstances and conditions that correspond with the nature of your dominant, habitual thoughts and beliefs, both conscious and subconscious. Every area of your life, including your health, your finances and all of your relationships, are influenced by this great Universal Law that “like attracts like”.

Everything, including yourself, your thoughts and anything else you may or may not want to experience, is pure energy vibrating at different frequencies. The basic premise of the Law of Attraction is that like energy attracts like energy.

 

You attract to yourself that which you are in vibrational harmony with, not that which you long for or even deserve. Your dominant frequency is determined by your dominant mental attitude, which itself is determined by your habitual thoughts and beliefs. Simply put, a positive mental attitude attracts positive experiences and circumstances while a negative mental attitude attracts those conditions that we deem negative or unwanted.

 

So what I got from “The secret” is that frequencies made up from vibrations and dominant mental attitudes attracts one to things with similar frequency which can be anyone or anywhere, and every mili second we are all sending out vibrations.

 

When we think we set into motion vibrations of a very high degree, but just as real as the vibrations of light, heat, sound, electricity. And when we understand the laws governing the production and transmission of these vibrations we will be able to use them in our daily life.

 

And somehow behind the lines of all these vibrations, forms a massive network of thoughts and vibrations and frequencies to make everything structured and right. That one person’s actions flows well and does not make a huge mess of another person’s lives. It is this entire network of vibrations transmitted every time we think and run thoughts in our minds that connects us to something we want, and eventually something we will get because of the vibrational harmony.

 

So maybe or what if it isn’t any type of six degrees of separation or technology but rather our thoughts sending out vibrations to network and connect us in one way or another? I’m not sure if all this made sense to you. But for me it is definitely something that I would like to ponder over. Not everyone believes in the law of attraction and it is still a subject undergoing a lot of study and research.

 

 

#First world problems

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Since arriving in Australia two years ago, I think I’ve been shut off from the world, without direct information on news in my home country it gets me annoyed sometimes. As much as I love Australia, I find myself seeking online platforms for worldwide news and looking out for what goes on around the world.

 

I’m in a bubble, so big I can’t seem to be able to pop it.

 

Alas, comes the help of the internet. But it didn’t help that I just moved into my new apartment and didn’t have any internet connection set up till a month in. We were gasping in desperation to be connected once again to society. We drove to Maccas for free wireless and got excited each and every time we saw a sign that reads “free-wifi” outside the store.

 

What has become of us? Are we really that desperate for the internet? Do we really feel that desperation to be connected to the world via an online network? We’ve become to dependent on the internet and I don’t know if that’s really a good thing.

 

Maybe because we’re so far from home or facing the computer screen has developed into a habit. A bad habit at that. It’s scary that there are even counselling services for those with computer games or internet addiction. No one had problems going about their everyday life before the internet came about. But we must not forget that the internet brought about a smaller world. Before the existence, the world seemed huge, everyone was literally trapped in their own bubble, in their own towns and  everyone knew everyone.

 

But now, as far away as Australia is from the other continents I still have my internet to keep up with times and what goes on in other cities. I want to know that my friends who are overseas are safe and that the economy isn’t affecting my family’s business back home. As much as I hate to admit my “addiction” it is the only way I am connected and networked to the world.

 

It’s a small world after all

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children-of-the-world

After going through the video recommended by Elliot and also the readings for week 4, to just simply put it – the term six degrees of separation is not something new to me. But i never knew that based on this theory that we were all only separated by 6 people came out further studies on networking and how the brain is synchronised.

 

 

But is the world really getting smaller? Is six degrees of separation possible without the aid and advancement of technology?  In fact, many people are being connected straight away because of the internet, the advancements of phones or walkie talkies, any mode of communication which does not require us to travel.

 

So basically the six degrees of separation has been cut short. In the video, there was an experiment done where people from all over the world are given a parcel to be sent to a professor in harvard, someone they do not even know. So they send the parcel from one to another until it reaches the professor at the end.

 

 

Look, If I was given the parcel at this point of time, I’d probably just search for his name and contact details online and send the parcel directly to him. I guess the point of the experiement was to show that we are all literally six people away from each other. But that was not what I saw in the video.

 

 

When you claim that we are six people away from each other, shouldn’t the fifth in line know the professor personally? Or is he just the sixth guy who so happens to live in the same city as him? It’s no long about the six degrees of separation but rather the networks that go behind it.

 

 

They always say, that networking and socialising is very important, it aids businesses, boosts economies indirectly and even improve bilateral ties between countries.  And i believe the very fact that we are able to connect and be able to network is because technology is bringing the world together. It is the reason why the world is getting smaller.

 

I love how the whole theory of networking eventually led up to a certain understanding of network with proteins in our cells and maybe one day an evolution. These two are completely different case studies working together. It is amazing to see the concept of networking behind the lines. Whether it is through technology, protein cells or even human social networking. It brings all of us together somehow one way or another.

 

What can I say? It’s a small world after all.

 

What blogging has taught me

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lo

 

Doing creative work every single day, over and over and over again, is tough work. Sometimes it feels great, like when dozens of ideas start knocking at your mind’s closed door, waiting to be sent out on a secret mission. Whilst on other days, you just want to quit, bang your big head against a wall or do both while you cry, watch tonnes of chick flicks, and eat tubs and tubs of any type of ice cream.

 

Blogging has taught me many lessons. First of all, I don’t really like to eat that much ice cream or watch continuous episodes of chick flicks all that much. Second thing to note, is that habits are most definitely the key to success in life. Most of us complain about not having sufficient amount time. The truth is, we do have enough time to do whatever we want, but we’re just not willing to make the sacrifices to do get it done.

 

Like I said, the discipline of blogging constantly has taught me many lessons. Here are five habits that blogging has taught me about being creative:

1. Do not underestimate the importance of a routine

 

Creative people can struggle to get work done up. In order to put in the time necessary for my own blog, I’ve had to wake up earlier than I am used to. This has done so much more for me than just simply improving on my blogging. The early hours in the morning seem to be of the most productive for most people.

 

I also love how Tim Sanders describes the constant need to feed your own mind a good “breakfast.” in the morning.  During these early hours I try to write, read, and try to set up the course for my day.

 

2. There’s so much more inside of you that’s capable than you think

 

Sometimes people will ask, how the hell do I keep coming up with solid based material to write or work on. To be plain honest, the more you strive to write, the more creative you will definitely become. Constantly writing on something which you are passionate about or concerns you, and somehow you’ll be taking your writing to a new level as you do it.

 

You’ll start to see things and opinions from a new perspective as you do it. So, believe me when I say, that there is more inside of you that’s capable than you think. There are many years of creativity in you that will only get deeper through the passage of time.

 

3. See and seize every moment as it is an opportunity to learn something new

 

I used to just only live — or rather sort of let life go along while I had a good time. But when you blog constantly, it forces you to look for inspiration all the time and everywhere. Every minor conversation, every movie you watch, even every song, every book, and every damn meal you eat.

 

The list goes on and on. Learn everywhere and do not forget to keep track of all your different inspirations and ideas. Pen them down on papers or draw them out.

 

4. Always be open to positive re-enforcements or aka Criticisms

 

I used to dislike publishing my blog because I was afraid of the negative criticism people think about my blog.  I also feared that people would judge me, think I may too young to voice out an opinion, shallow,naive, or even too simple.

 

You must never ever allow criticism to defeat you. Otherwise, your ideas will only live in your own mind for yourself.

 

5. Try not to waste time

 

If you blog constantly, you realise you will have to be able to sacrifice good things for greater things. I don’t watch TV much because there’s usually a blog post that is pending or needs to be drafted. An idea that needs to be developed.

 

Blogging trades mindless boring entertainment for creativity and also vision. I’m also able to make a small difference in people’s lives through my writing and that’s what keeps me going.

 

What lessons has blogging taught you?

 

The world of Pinterest

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In the last class before the long weekend break, we were broken up into different groups once again and were given topics to work on. What we got for our Niki page this time, was something far more interesting and creative than the one I had prior to this. We were going to be doing up a Niki page on

NPinterest

 

What could be more interesting right? I’ve not been an active user of Pinterest but it’s no doubt one of the sites that I would go on to, together with Tumblr for creative inspirations and a platform I go to, to seek thoughts and whimsical aspirations as well. So what is Pinterest actually? According to wikipedia,

” Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, “re-pin” images to their own pinboards, or “like” photos. ”

pinterest-2

 

They are inspirational boards which allows us to pin up pictures and images into different themed boards found on the site. We are able to share it with other people or set up private inspirational pinboard as a pictorial diary or for any purpose we want it to. We’re also able to create our own themes and add in inspiration for others to see.

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Therefore, instead of doing up a inspirational board on hand like the image above, everything is done online, without us having to move our butts. Also, there are millions of inspiration to be found online Pinterest shared by the rest of the world. Of course, if you love having to craft up your own inspiration board like the above is just as inspiring because most of us can’t be stuffed to do that.

 

Pinterest is not just a platform for inspiration but also a platform for businesses. Many stores has turned Pinterest into their biggest traffic drivers. Because Pinterest didn’t have a link back to where one could buy a store’s product. Most of the stores started linking all of their look books back to their website and integrated “Pin it” buttons on all their product pages.

 

Most stores also created their own relevant boards to use as inspiration for their brand and for photo shoot ideas. They use data analysis to help in purchasing decisions based on viewer’s styles, colors, cuts etc and are constantly seeing people pin and re-pin images back to their boards. The stores tend to see their images pop up on people’s inspiration boards, wish lists, style and clothing boards which drives prospective customers back onto their webpage to look for more.

 

I feel that, anything on the internet can be used to our advantage in so many ways, it gives inspiration and drives knowledge and creativity. It also helps businesses and creates a space for one to just dwell and seek comfort in. Pinterest is one of the many sites like that and a site which I hope will continue to stay for a long time to come.

 

 

 

My love hate relationship

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books

So here you are standing at the crossroad junction – Which path do you take? What are the endings and outcome you are seeking for? You settle down to think, maybe a good ending would be nice.. but then a different ending would seem more interesting. Hmm should the star crossed lovers die together? Or maybe kill one of them and have the other alone and always finding hope in the stars. You then get frustrated and throws the book away to a corner.

 

What kind of book is that? You thought to yourself. Who would buy a stupid book with no proper structure to the story and no definite ending? It does gets frustrating when you have to think of how the story goes on your own. Isn’t that why we buy books for? Because we await and anticipate the unknown. We look and explore through the mind and imaginations of the author.

 

Stories are structured and made linear for a reason, probably because we are taught that or maybe it is just a human’s need for structure in our lives. You need to flow through a book from the start and it needs to make sense and tie the entire story back together in the end. Maybe i’m just conventional. But it doesn’t mean I’m not open to a different way or writing or bringing stories together.

 

If you’ve watch Christopher Nolan’s production titled, Inception. Let me just tell you that I was literally mindfu*ked and blown away. Pardon the language. But leaving the ending to our imagination and thoughts was pure genius. At the end of the movie we all found ourselves questioning the movie. Was everything just a dream, or did the main lead manage to finish his task and get back to reality to be with his children? I literally had to watch the movie 4 times to somehow convince myself that my own conclusion was the right one.

 

Changing the structure in texts is a love hate thing. We love something different, something raw and new, yet on the other hand we hate the change. Too much of it makes us uncomfortable and frustrated. There are so many theories to text and writing, and it does prose questions to possiblity of getting things done in different ways. Better ways to encourage creativity and thinking. But is the world ready for that much change? I doubt so. Theories will just be theories, it is something that is required in a educational instituition but not something that currently society will accept just yet.

 

So, thank you for the suggestions. But i’m going to have turn you down. It’s now time for me to sit down, have a cup of tea while I continue reading my favourite selection of conventionally structured books written and explored by my favourite authors.  😉

Thoughts//

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Writing about Thought Catalog is extremely hard for me because every time I go to check something on the site I end up reading content for the next hour, or until someone jostles me with a text message. But I will do it, because it’s elegant marketing strategy is intriguing and deserves medal.

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If you must know, Thoughtcatalog.com is “a place for relevant and relatable non-fiction and thoughts” according to their own ‘about’ section. The premise is that the contributing writers to Thought Catalog are diverse and self-selecting. It’s writers range from students to established writers, and the written pieces are unlike anything you’ll find in mainstream media.

 

Thought Catalog is very popular among a mostly young adult age group. The content is relevant to twenty somethings because it is commentary on the underside of indie or hipster culture, and often focuses on twists and qualms relevant to young adults in transition. This is substantiated by the search referrals and hypertexts to the site, which mostly consist of topics like “how do I know I’m crushing on the right person” and “things that drunk people say”. It is most definitely fun, edgy, and as the Huffington Post puts it “illuminating.”

 

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It is a venue for anyone to explore their creativity and writing and also to gain insight into the life of other people. It is through thought catalog that many are inspired and will soon write their own stories to inspire other. It is technically  a form of blogging, except that the blog isn’t yours. Many people pour out stories, dreams, aspirations and advises. That is what makes Though Catalog so beautiful, the fact that so many people are able to talk about anything and everything without boundaries.

 

 

Thought catalog helps us to see our lives through the lives of other, and also to help us realise that we are not going through life alone. These are nothing that you can ever get from a magazine or a book. It is a form of expression, the voices of millions of young people around the world. What is Social Media? What are facebook statuses and tweets when there are soulful and inspiring posts up on thought catalog.

 

Blogging may be something that has already started years ago, but with the decline of social media in recent years, we are able to see where the next trend is heading towards. Give it a shot, Just hop onto the thought catalog site and trust me, you’ll find yourself going posts after posts reading up on and feeling inspired about whimsical tales and the realities of life. All in one simple yet beautiful site and maybe one day you’ll soon write in and inspire others as well.

 

Data Smog

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data_smog

I recently read an article from a Singaporean blog on how data smog is now slowly consuming the internet. What is data smog you may ask. Data smog is a term coined by Journalist David Shenk.  It deals with the author’s idea of how the technology revolution would shape the world at large and how the incredible amount of data available on the internet would make it more difficult for the average individual to sift through and separate fact from fiction.

 

According to David,” with the advance of technologu, we have been able to progress in terms of society, economy, and even health. Communication is instantaneous, knowledge is abundant, and as humans we try to keep up with this expansion of data that continues to accumulate from around the world.

 

However, it is this overwhelming amount of information that is defined as data smog; “this unexpected, unwelcome part of our atmosphere, an expression for the noxious muck and druck of the information age.

 

The wealth of information that is so beneficial for us is harming some because of the sheer amount of it at such a fast rate, “The sheer volume of information which many of us are exposed to every day may actually impair our performance and add stress to our lives.

We may be unaware of this but each time we get onto the internet we are overwhelmed by too much information and date, accessing too many different opinions and having too many choice. This brings me back to hypertext for a little bit. Hyperlink has helped us run though internet pages more proficiently but because it connects us so quickly to so many pages and information is that beneficial to our health? Not many people are made aware of data smog. Because we are so unaware of the health issues that it may cause many people fall in, maybe not physically but fall into a state of bad mental health. I’ve done a quick research on data smog and found out that there are a few ways to avoid being overwhelmed by all the information we get online.

Ways in which to ‘beat the smog’:

  • Spend some time each week without your pager or cell phone.
  • Resist advertising – never buy a product based on unsolicited email (spam).
  • Go on periodic “data fasts.” A weekend in the country away from the telephone can rejuvenate a smogged-in brain.
  • Write clearly and succinctly. Verbose writing is wasteful and difficult to read.
  • Skim newsletters and magazines and rip out a copy of an article or two that you really want to read and digest.
  • Filter your email. Many email programs allow you to set “filters” which send unwanted email directly to the trash. It is worth taking the time to do this.
  • Do not forward chain letters, urgent messages about email viruses, or claims that Someone will send everyone thousands of dollars. These things clog up everybody’s inbox with worthless stuff.
  • Organize your Web bookmarks or favourites. Keeping these in meaningful folders will go a long way toward helping you really find that site you are looking for.

Why hypertext?

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It is believed that in general, humans learn better associatively. That is, we are better able to figure out material if we are allowed to move at our own pace, investigating that which interests us, and stimulating more senses through multimedia.

 

“All our steps in creating or absorbing material of the record proceed through one or the senses-the tactile when we touch keys, the oral when we speak or listen, the visual when we read. Is it not possible that some day the path may be established more directly?”

 

Also, I read that hypertext operates very similar to the way our brains do–in a series of networks, or associations-as opposed to a linear path. “Hypertext software provides for the human element in the management of information. Since hypertext analogizes the way our minds normally work- that is, not in a straight line but in several dimensions at once, hypertext can be considered a thought machine. Some have claimed that the hypertext idea is one of those crucial ideas in intellectual history, akin to the development of the printing press of the computer itself”

 

The ability for us humans to learn more, or at least learn more pleasurably through hypertext, has been demonstrated again and again through testing. In two separate studies, learning disabled, remedial and regular education students were separated into three groups: lecture, lecture/computer study guide, and computer study guide. Results indicated that while the two latter methods were as effective as lecture, posttest and retention test scores were higher for computer study guide group.

 

And finally, because the author is no longer in control over what path a reader will take, hypertext creates an environment for independent critical thinking. In a sense, the readers are also the “writers” of the material, by making connections themselves. And making those connections on their own, pulling together different bits of information and creating a whole new meaning, entails critical thinking.