Sherry Turkle discusses virtual gender-swapping in “Tinysex and Gender Trouble.” Virtual worlds allow people to be fluid. People can virtually switch their genders and mentally become someone else. There are no strings attached with gender-swapping. You don’t need to shave your legs and beard or have a sex change operation to become a woman. Instead, you can just become one on virtual life. Gender-swapping gives people the ability to have the sense of a gender and identity without actually being that gender. Since you are living the other gender’s mindset, you can fully experience other genders without just observing. Gender-swapping gives you a scope on another gender. It allows you to communicate differently with people when you do this. By virtually becoming another gender, you talk and view things differently as well as using virtual gestures and actions differently.
By gender-swapping, you learn a lot. You learn about another gender and how people treat this gender. In addition, you can test your limits and discover a lot about yourself. Some things you may learn from gender-swapping can influence you to change your behavior. Gender-swapping allows people to express unexplored facets that can’t be expressed in real life. For example, transsexuals are not the mainstream of society. Some people who may be curious and want to experience being a transsexual without anyone knowing, can do this through gender-swapping on virtual life. Gender-swapping is extremely useful for people seriously considering gender change to see if it works for them without investing the money and energy.
When you first interact with someone on virtual life, the first question they generally ask you is your gender. Since many people gender-swap, people use communication clues and the way the other person acts to assume their gender. For example, if you’re a guy, you’ll act much differently than if you are a girl. Guys generally act more aggressive and vulgar than girls. People adjust how they’re acting or behaving to you based on your gender. Guys may cuss more around other guys, but generally not around girls. In addition, when you’re a girl, everyone on virtual life is trying to help you out. Also, girls always get harassed on virtual life.
Gender-swapping didn’t emerge just in the virtual worlds. It has been going on for decades. Many of Shakespeare’s plays are based on gender-swapping. In addition, many forms of media show stories about gender-swapping. One example I read about in this paper written by Amy Bruckman, discussed a Saturday Night Live episode in which the character Pat does not have a gender. People aren’t sure if Pat is Patrick or Patricia. Pat avoids giving out clues or information as to which gender they are. When Pat got a haircut, there was a sign at the shop that had different prices listed for men and women. However, Pat just left a large bill and told the shop owner to keep the change, so they didn‘t reveal their gender. People want to discover if Pat is a man or woman. Without Pat’s gender stated, people do not know how to communicate and act towards Pat. On some MUDs, people can also be gender neutral characters. Bruckman stated that she felt uneasy when she first interacted with a gender neutral character on virtual life. She wondered how she could relate to this person if she didn’t know their gender. After this, she wondered why the other person’s gender even mattered. The reason for this is because “gender structures human interactions,” (Bruckman). People react differently to people of certain genders. They change their expectations and how they are acting or behaving towards someone based on the person’s gender.
This was discussed in detail in Sherry Turkle‘s “Tinysex and Gender Trouble.” For example, when a supposed male finds out that a user is a female, they automatically assume that the female needs help. In addition, supposed males will make sexual advances to supposed females. However, if the “male” finds out that the “female” is a “male,” they will change their behavior and leave their discussion. Turkle explains how when she gender swapped to a male, she felt more free, less threatened, and more assertive. People’s expectations change based on gender. For example, if you are a girl in a virtual world, everyone will try to help you out, thinking you are incapable. The problem with this is that people are becoming so used to the notion that women need help, that they are starting to believe they need it, becoming incapable and not acquiring the skills they should.
Friday, April 25, 2008
"Multi-User Dungeons and Alternate Identities"--Howard Rheingold
In “Multi-User Dungeons and Alternate Identities,” Howard Rheingold discusses MUDs. MUDs are Multi-User Dungeons, which are make believe worlds in computer databases. Through these worlds, people “use and program languages to improvise melodramas, build worlds and all of the objects in them, solve puzzles, invent amusements and tools, compete for prestige and power, gain wisdom, seek revenge, indulge greed and lust and violent impulses,” (149). Through MUDs, people develop an alternate life. This is good for people who are not of high social status in the real world and may not have a “glamorous life,“ but want to. In addition, this is good for people who want to explore features of their personality that can’t be expressed or explored in real life. Through this, they can learn things about themselves that they did not previously know before, causing them to grow. Also, the creation of these alternate identities and the use of MUDs can be used for therapy. For example, a girl who is having relationship problems with her boyfriend because of jealousy issues can go on MUDs and create an alternate identity and interact with a virtual boyfriend. Through this interaction, she can use her alternate identity to experiment with different ways approach her jealousy issues. She can then use this to modify her behavior in real life with her boyfriend. This can be used as a form of therapy for her in that she can have the chance to break out of her bad habits through the use of alternate identities.
Although these may make MUDs seem only beneficial, MUDs also pose some serious threats. MUDding can become seriously addictive. Some people spent 70 to 80 hours a week. MUDding, which can harmfully affect their social life as well as school work. In addition, MUDding increases telecommunications traffic as well as using a lot of computer memory. Lastly, some MUD users lie about their gender and also pretend to be other people in real life. These harmful threats that MUDding has caused, has led to the ban of MUDding in college campuses.
Curious on how MUDding becomes addictive, I read an article about it. In this article, a woman explains how people who are slowly becoming addicted to MUDding spend all of their available time MUDding and even start to cut out activities to spend more time MUDding. The woman discusses how people who become addicted to MUDding can lose their marriage, education, and job. This woman then describes how her husband became addicted to MUDding. She saw the signs of his addiction at the beginning when she knew she had competition with MUDding for his time and attention. The woman was jealous of the time and attention he would spend MUDding. However, she never knew the extent to which it would affect their marriage and lives. The woman then explains how she doesn’t know how she will eventually handle her husband’s addiction to MUDding. His addiction has lasted three years and she doesn’t know if their marriage will be able to last through it.
Although cases similar to this article are extremely prevalent today, MUDding should in no way be banned from anyone. MUDding is used for many positive reasons. In addition to being used for therapy and for personal growth, MUDs are also being used for education. Classes currently are using classes in Second Life for education in real life. MUDs also are being used to acquire skills. I personally have no idea how to use a tool set. So, in real life, I have not been able to develop any building or construction skills. However, on MUDs, I can use tools to build things. Through this, I can acquire these skills, and use them in real life so I can actually use tools and build things.
There are a couple of uses of MUDs that really touch my heart. One of them is to help heal shell shock of soldiers after they come back from fighting in a war. They are able to use these virtual worlds to help work through their shell shock problems they experience when they come home from war. Soldiers who fight wars for our country are extremely brave and noble. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. The fact that many of them experience negative effects of shell shock, is really sad. This is why it is extremely beneficial that MUDs are able to help heal them of shell shock. Another extremely beneficial use of MUDs is for cancer patients. Certain MUDs allow cancer patients to fight cancer cells online. The more the patients beat them online, the more they feel good about their treatment. This is used as a form of encouragement for them. It will help ease the psychological pain of their cancer and help them feel better about their situation, making them feel happier. One other wonderful use of MUDs is for physically disabled people. Since physically disabled people can’t go out to meet people, they can use MUDs to feel part of the “group” and to meet people. This allows them to experience a more “normal” lifestyle.
Considering all of these positive uses of MUDs, I still do not understand why MUDding was ever banned on college campuses. The numerous advantages of MUDs more than outweigh the few disadvantages
Although these may make MUDs seem only beneficial, MUDs also pose some serious threats. MUDding can become seriously addictive. Some people spent 70 to 80 hours a week. MUDding, which can harmfully affect their social life as well as school work. In addition, MUDding increases telecommunications traffic as well as using a lot of computer memory. Lastly, some MUD users lie about their gender and also pretend to be other people in real life. These harmful threats that MUDding has caused, has led to the ban of MUDding in college campuses.
Curious on how MUDding becomes addictive, I read an article about it. In this article, a woman explains how people who are slowly becoming addicted to MUDding spend all of their available time MUDding and even start to cut out activities to spend more time MUDding. The woman discusses how people who become addicted to MUDding can lose their marriage, education, and job. This woman then describes how her husband became addicted to MUDding. She saw the signs of his addiction at the beginning when she knew she had competition with MUDding for his time and attention. The woman was jealous of the time and attention he would spend MUDding. However, she never knew the extent to which it would affect their marriage and lives. The woman then explains how she doesn’t know how she will eventually handle her husband’s addiction to MUDding. His addiction has lasted three years and she doesn’t know if their marriage will be able to last through it.
Although cases similar to this article are extremely prevalent today, MUDding should in no way be banned from anyone. MUDding is used for many positive reasons. In addition to being used for therapy and for personal growth, MUDs are also being used for education. Classes currently are using classes in Second Life for education in real life. MUDs also are being used to acquire skills. I personally have no idea how to use a tool set. So, in real life, I have not been able to develop any building or construction skills. However, on MUDs, I can use tools to build things. Through this, I can acquire these skills, and use them in real life so I can actually use tools and build things.
There are a couple of uses of MUDs that really touch my heart. One of them is to help heal shell shock of soldiers after they come back from fighting in a war. They are able to use these virtual worlds to help work through their shell shock problems they experience when they come home from war. Soldiers who fight wars for our country are extremely brave and noble. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. The fact that many of them experience negative effects of shell shock, is really sad. This is why it is extremely beneficial that MUDs are able to help heal them of shell shock. Another extremely beneficial use of MUDs is for cancer patients. Certain MUDs allow cancer patients to fight cancer cells online. The more the patients beat them online, the more they feel good about their treatment. This is used as a form of encouragement for them. It will help ease the psychological pain of their cancer and help them feel better about their situation, making them feel happier. One other wonderful use of MUDs is for physically disabled people. Since physically disabled people can’t go out to meet people, they can use MUDs to feel part of the “group” and to meet people. This allows them to experience a more “normal” lifestyle.
Considering all of these positive uses of MUDs, I still do not understand why MUDding was ever banned on college campuses. The numerous advantages of MUDs more than outweigh the few disadvantages
Dot-com bubble, bust, and future
In “Electronic community: From birth to backlash,” Douglas Rushkoff discusses how the internet once was “a gift economy,” (25). This meant that people used the internet to communicate and share information and programs without the anticipation of receiving money. Internet users worked together for “a shared goal rather than financial self-interest,“ (Rushkoff 26). People got satisfaction out of knowing that what they posted on the internet would be available for millions of other internet users to see. Shortly after, the shared community that people worked together for, developed into one of self-interest for monetary returns. While programs and information on the internet was being shared for free, it eventually became a commodity. This information and content was being sold online. However, this was not successful, so businesses then decided to sell merchandise online. This expanded and developed extremely fast. Numerous businesses adopted this new use of the internet, which made the internet become the “World Wide Web,” (Rushkoff 29). Many business people created their own companies on the internet for this purpose, which became known as “dot-coms” because their websites ended in .com.
Even though creating these online companies became popular, hardly any of them made a substantial profit. Thus, the World Wide Web then transitioned into an “investment platform,” (Rushkoff 30). This “investment platform” allowed people to invest in the stock market through stocks on the internet. According to Wikipedia, this became known as the “dot-com bubble,” in which stock markets experienced a rise in their value from these internet companies. After stock prices rose, they became overvalued and were not an accurate estimate of the company’s fair value. Since customers saw the high value of the stocks of the company, so many of them bought shares in the company’s stocks, thinking they would reap profits.
Internet companies were so concerned with increasing their customers and growing that they did this by all means necessary, spending large sums of money, even before they earned substantial profits, generating losses. For example, some dot-com companies spent over 2 million dollars to have a commercial shown on the Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
A company’s stocks can’t increase indefinitely, as they must go down at some point. People who invested in the companies’ kept waiting to receive large amounts of money since the companies stock prices were so high and were of high value. After they didn’t receive these large sums of money, they sold their shares, causing the stock prices to fall significantly. Once the companies’ stock prices fell significantly, a good majority of them were forced to go out of business. A major factor that caused these companies to go out of business was that they were so focused on the traffic of their websites. Instead of caring about increasing their profits and experiencing good financial returns, they were so absorbed with using advertising to increase their customers.
Since this unsuccessful internet transition, the internet is now experiencing a transition into social networking. Rushkoff discusses how the World Wide Web is now being used more so for USENET discussions, blogging, bulletin boards, and other social networks. This is known as the Web 2.0. In order to compete with other websites, more and more businesses are creating a social networking business. According to Pcmag, every business now has some form of a social networking aspect, which will contribute to another dot-com bust. In addition, currently companies are buying out social networking companies of estimated high fair value, expecting that they will increase their customers and traffic . In addition, entrepreneurs are also purchasing social networking companies that have an estimated high fair value, expecting they will earn huge profits.
This is the same type of error that was made in 2000, which was that companies were more concerned with increasing their customers rather than earning profits. A quote in an online article describes how this current situation parallels the dot-com bust in 2000. This quote was said by O'Kelley, the Right Media co-founder, which said that “other entrepreneurs had begun to think that the financing game was best played by avoiding actual revenue, since that only limits the imagination of investors. ‘It's a screwed-up incentive structure, just like you had in the first bubble,’ he said.”
After the bubbles bust, or crash, the many people who are employed by the companies that go out of business, become unemployed. If businesses don’t change their ways and keep making similar mistakes they are going to keep creating these dot-com bubbles, increasing the unemployment rate in the United States. I guess businesses haven’t learned their lesson in 2000, since there is probably going to be another bubble currently, caused by Web 2.0.
Even though creating these online companies became popular, hardly any of them made a substantial profit. Thus, the World Wide Web then transitioned into an “investment platform,” (Rushkoff 30). This “investment platform” allowed people to invest in the stock market through stocks on the internet. According to Wikipedia, this became known as the “dot-com bubble,” in which stock markets experienced a rise in their value from these internet companies. After stock prices rose, they became overvalued and were not an accurate estimate of the company’s fair value. Since customers saw the high value of the stocks of the company, so many of them bought shares in the company’s stocks, thinking they would reap profits.
Internet companies were so concerned with increasing their customers and growing that they did this by all means necessary, spending large sums of money, even before they earned substantial profits, generating losses. For example, some dot-com companies spent over 2 million dollars to have a commercial shown on the Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
A company’s stocks can’t increase indefinitely, as they must go down at some point. People who invested in the companies’ kept waiting to receive large amounts of money since the companies stock prices were so high and were of high value. After they didn’t receive these large sums of money, they sold their shares, causing the stock prices to fall significantly. Once the companies’ stock prices fell significantly, a good majority of them were forced to go out of business. A major factor that caused these companies to go out of business was that they were so focused on the traffic of their websites. Instead of caring about increasing their profits and experiencing good financial returns, they were so absorbed with using advertising to increase their customers.
Since this unsuccessful internet transition, the internet is now experiencing a transition into social networking. Rushkoff discusses how the World Wide Web is now being used more so for USENET discussions, blogging, bulletin boards, and other social networks. This is known as the Web 2.0. In order to compete with other websites, more and more businesses are creating a social networking business. According to Pcmag, every business now has some form of a social networking aspect, which will contribute to another dot-com bust. In addition, currently companies are buying out social networking companies of estimated high fair value, expecting that they will increase their customers and traffic . In addition, entrepreneurs are also purchasing social networking companies that have an estimated high fair value, expecting they will earn huge profits.
This is the same type of error that was made in 2000, which was that companies were more concerned with increasing their customers rather than earning profits. A quote in an online article describes how this current situation parallels the dot-com bust in 2000. This quote was said by O'Kelley, the Right Media co-founder, which said that “other entrepreneurs had begun to think that the financing game was best played by avoiding actual revenue, since that only limits the imagination of investors. ‘It's a screwed-up incentive structure, just like you had in the first bubble,’ he said.”
After the bubbles bust, or crash, the many people who are employed by the companies that go out of business, become unemployed. If businesses don’t change their ways and keep making similar mistakes they are going to keep creating these dot-com bubbles, increasing the unemployment rate in the United States. I guess businesses haven’t learned their lesson in 2000, since there is probably going to be another bubble currently, caused by Web 2.0.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Craig's reaction to Listpic
The article “Should Web Giants Let Startups Use the Information They Have About You” was interesting to me because it involved my Uncle’s website Craigslist. The event that was described in this article was a man named Ryan Sit, created a website called Listpic. Through this website, images from my Uncle’s website, Craigslist were taken and put on the Listpic website in a simpler format. However, this violated copyright terms and Craigslist terms of use. Curious about what my Uncle felt about Ryan Sit and Listpic, I asked my Uncle what his reaction was to Ryan Sit and his Listpic site. He said that Listpic was a good idea for a website. However, “it really sucked up server resources.” I was surprised that my Uncle didn’t say anything negatively about Sit or Listpic. If I was my Uncle, my reaction would have been that I didn’t like Sit and was pissed off when he created Listpic.
Business Twittering
The other day I was talking to my Uncle Craig on the phone and he mentioned to me that he just recently opened a Twitter account. I asked him what made him create a Twitter account and he said that he atttended an "unconference" for geeks and nerds called Kinnernet 2008, on the Sea of Galilee, and then went on a tour with them to see local high tech companies. My Uncle’s roommate for the first part of the trip was Robert Scoble, a pretty notable blogger and journalist. He talked my uncle into trying Twitter about a week ago. My uncle said that Twitter has been a good way to get he word out about stuff that he believes in and also has been a good way to keep people updated about what’s going on with Craigslist. Since the first week when he created his Twitter account, he has around 1318 followers. I asked him about how often he Twitters and he said the he Twitters often, but not enough to “understand his own pattern.” My uncle gave me the link to his RSS feed for his twitter. This has numerous posts each day with prices, pictures, and links to new things currently listed on sale on Craigslist. I think that using Twitter for businesses like my Uncle is doing is a good way for a business to profit. It can be extremely useful for its customers.
Using people's Facebooks for other purposes
While reading the “About Facebook” article by Ari Melber in class, I came across the part in the article where it discusses how police use social networking sites such as Facebook to investigate crimes. I instantly thought about a situation that happened last year in high school. A boy in my grade, Joey, had his profile picture set as a picture of himself holding a gun with his hand on the trigger. One day the local police showed up at Joey’s house and searched his house for the gun. It turns out that Joey didn’t have a license for the gun and got into trouble with the police for it. Most people don‘t think twice about who will see their Facebooks when they are posting photos and other things on their Facebook.
This article also mentions how it has been recommended to people applying for jobs to change their Facebook profiles and pictures while applying for jobs. This reminded me of the Recruitment process for sororities. Our Rho Gammas advised us to make our Facebook accounts private so that the different sororities cannot look at our profiles and pictures while the recruitment process was in progress. This is because some things on people’s Facebooks may stop them from being invited back to the next rounds in the recruitment process.
This article also mentions how it has been recommended to people applying for jobs to change their Facebook profiles and pictures while applying for jobs. This reminded me of the Recruitment process for sororities. Our Rho Gammas advised us to make our Facebook accounts private so that the different sororities cannot look at our profiles and pictures while the recruitment process was in progress. This is because some things on people’s Facebooks may stop them from being invited back to the next rounds in the recruitment process.
Top Friends
The other day I was looking at one of my best friend’s Facebook accounts and saw that she changed her Top Friends. She is my second friend on my Facebook account and I used to be her first friend on her Top Friends on her Facebook account. However, the other day when I looked at her Top Friends, I noticed that she moved me to be her 5th friend on her Facebook. I got kind of offended when I realized this. After I saw this, I moved her down to my 5th friend as well.
I started to laugh at myself when I thought about how dramatic I was being about something so stupid as being someone’s number 1 friend on Facebook. This made me think about the “Friends, friendsters, and top 8: writing community into being on social network sites” article that we read in class. This article describes the Top Friends application as “psychological warfare.” The order of people’s top friends starts drama. The Top Friends application shows the relationship of the top friend to the Facebook owner. Generally, the first friend is closer to the Facebook owner than the 12th friend. The reason why I got pissed off that I was her fifth friend was because we have been best friends since we were two years old.
I don’t get why I got annoyed over something so stupid. It makes me laugh about how serious people (like me) sometimes take Facebook without realizing it. I feel foolish for getting annoyed about not being her number 1 friend on Facebook still. I am 19 years old and got a little bit dramatic about the Top Friends application. I can only imagine the drama that Top Friends creates with people who are in middle school and in high school.
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