The All Seeing Eye (of the Network)

One would think that in the infinite expanse of the internet there would be shadowy corners or trap doors that hid in them people's secrets and desires. In these spaces people would be able to protect the things they want to hide from the all seeing eye that is made up of all users of the network, but there really is no such places. On the internet if there is a way to hide something, there are many different ways to bypass the protection and reveal the secrets that lay hidden. This power of "revealing all" that the internet (along with the people that use the internet) seems to have imbedded in it's fabric can have grave effects on the people that use (and misuse) the internet. In my high school a kid in my grade had a passionate hatred for another student at the school and would write about it on his personal blog. Not long after he had written a couple of posts about this particular kid, school administrators discovered it and disciplinary action was taken (and even a restraining order was made). The point is that one would not expect their personal blog (or online diary, really) to be discovered by people that you know, causing problems in the physical world. The blog was discovered, even though it was a private blog, because nothing stays hidden on the internet where the all seeing eye of collective users finds anything and everything that is posted. This is the power the internet has over its users, the power of sight and knowledge made up collectively of companies, citizens, governments and many more entities. Combined, they create a tower with an all seeing eye that discovers and uncovers anything noteworthy or powerful that is posted to the internet. Those hidden places or clandestine activities that people think they can keep to themselves never stay hidden because the internet, at its foundation, is about the power of seeing and knowledge.

What is an Author in Today's World?

In Foucault's "What is an Author?" he describes the way that authors have a sphere of discourse surrounding them that connects their works together as well as points to common themes, motifs, ideas and feelings that are associated with their works. Foucault imagined the worlds that were associated with authors at the time he was writing this, but did he imagine what would happen to these spheres of influence that surrounded authors in the years to come? He probably would not be able to imagine the impact of celebrity culture, the internet and the growth of people's personal branding. With the invention of the internet individual people became their own brand with followers, products and projects that span different mediums. What would Foucault think of the effect of the internet on the sphere of an author like Stephanie Meyer? She is an author with a sphere of influence so large because of the popularity of her books, the movies based on her books and the fan fiction written by her admirers.

 It is interesting to look at a sphere like Freud’s sphere where many other authors have reviewed, analyzed and expanded on Freud’s ideas in an academic way. Then comparing Freud’s sphere to the way Stephanie Meyers’ fans have taken her ideas and characters and have expanded upon them to create thousands of pages of fan fiction, even one that was turned into Fifty Shades of Grey. Even though Foucault was describing this phenomenon long before the rise of the personal computer, blogs, and the general democratic nature of the internet made authors’ and even other people like artists, chefs and people of interest’s spheres of influence into a giant phenomenon. I am interested to see what Foucault would think of the effect the internet has had on the function of the author as he relates to the texts and ideas that are associated with him.

This is 100% Me, Take it or Leave it!

Over the popular five or so social media outlets that people use there is always somewhere a space where people state or show who they really are. This may be in their “about me” on their Tumblr, in their about section on Facebook, or the types of things they re-pin on Pinterest. In some way most people will make it know what they are about and who they are. The thing that intrigues me is what these people, including myself, post about themselves and what they choose to post. What people post on their social media outlets is never really a whole or completely true picture of their personality because they are choosing which parts of themselves to show. I think this is true even if someone is honestly trying to describe themselves in a bio or post. This is especially true on a site like Tumblr where someone’s “about me” may not just be words that describe them like: “Hi I’m Abby. 16. Tay Swift. 1D. Tacos. My BF. The Beach. Ya I’m going to get a tattoo when I turn 18, whatta ya gonna do about it?” While looking at a bio like this I only get a shallow view of who Abby really is, a view completely controlled by Abby. In real life I can make my own judgments when I meet someone, but on the internet the person presenting themselves dictates what people know and sometimes even think of them. This shallow view of someone is harder to present because you usually know someone when you are friends on Facebook on top of the fact that photos and posts usually factor in to your judgment of someone. In a world where millions of people are on social media sites are we ever actually seeing people’s real personality? Can social media ever recreate the experience of meeting someone in person and making the judgments that you would when meeting someone in person?

The Knowledge I Gain is From a Screen, Not a Book

It is all about being published in print. Today, in a world dominated by the words we read from a screen, to be published by a large publisher in print is a sign of status. It seems that the elitists in the world written text only covet what is written on the paper in front of them. To me this is crazy because being a digital native I grew up reading from paper books and from reading off a screen. On top of this I currently read 95 percent of my assignments and pleasure readings from a screen, not a physical text.
Being someone who loves fashion, I am constantly reading reviews of shows (and I am currently doing that because it is of course New York Fashion Week right now) from my favorite designers, getting the scoop of who is doing what and keeping my knowledge of the industry growing. I do all of this reading from a computer. I even read books about fashion from a screen! I deem these writings no less creditable or scholarly than the texts I read in a newspaper or a physical book about fashion. And without the texts I source from online I would not have access to the kinds of information that I want to read about. Just last night I read the review of the Prabal Gurung show only hours after it happened. This quick and accessible text that I read kept me updated about a field I am passionate about. I didn’t care that it wasn’t from a printed source because I feel texts on paper or on a screen have the same creditability. 

Prabal Gurung Fall/Winter 2014

The age of physical texts is gradually coming to and end and it is something that society is going to have to start accepting more and more. The inevitability of physical texts being phased out, in my opinion, is imminent and the clout surrounding published texts will no longer have influence and pull on society.

Singularity: All Because of the iPod

I don’t think I’m ready to have my mind fused with a computer, but I think singularity is the way the world is heading. As the worlds base of technology grows each year it seems to due so at an exponential rate. Science of today was what science fiction writes described in their books in the 1900’s. Who would have thought that most people (in first world countries) would be carrying around little boxes that can call, text, take photos and do a million other tasks. The iphone seems mundane to modern day society, but it would be science fiction in the early 1900’s. I remember even when I was little I always dreamed and waited for the new technological advances to come out. Then, when I was younger, this consisted of just new apple products and not many technological advances that had medical or humanitarian benefits like now. 
Nonetheless, I remember holding my iPod, the little device that could only play music on a black/gray/white screen. Some weeks later my friend got an iPod that could hold color photos and I went crazy. What else can Apple do? What else will they come out with? At the time I was obsessed with the music video for Lose Control by Missy Elliot and Ciara and could not stop watching it on my computer. I remember running into my mom’s room and saying that I was so excited for when Apple comes out with an iPod that can play music videos because I want to wanted to watch the music video for Lose Control all the time including while in the car to school and other places where I didn’t have access to a computer. She said that would be exciting or something like that, I can’t really remember, but she obviously didn’t think that was soon or was just unexcited. When I think back to that moment now, where I couldn’t wait for the next advancement in technology it is just amazing to see where a company like apple has taken their products in today’s world. What will my mom be skeptical or unexcited about next? What will I be skeptical of? Robot servants? Synthetic brain enhancements? 
In our world anything is possible it just takes time, but the exciting thing is that technology is growing at such a fast rate that I could see anything within the next 10 years even. And I am not just talking about a cool new way to listen to music, but advances that could save millions of lives through new medical technology or help to reverse human damage to the planet. Technology that is coming up on the horizon has the potential to do so much and help so many people; it is just amazing to think of the things that will come next. I would consider myself a proponent of technological advances and it seems plausible to me that singularity may be approaching in my lifetime. I really am excited more than anything, but I understand why people could be frightened of it. Singularity means allowing technology to play an even bigger role in your life and for most people today, technology already is in almost everything they do. Singularity would even mean that part of who people are would be technology that technology would have personhood and emotions. It is a lot to handle and it seems like something that is so different from today’s world. But, gradually, I think, singularity will slowly start to come into people’s lives and it will be a change that they are okay with over time. Like I said before, I am not ready to have a synthetic brain, or even part of my brain to be synthetic but I am open to what is to come. Even though I am someone very comfortable with technology the thought of having synthetic parts attached to me is disconcerting. But what I do know is that over time I bet that will change and I will become open with what is to come. This is not me saying that singularity is something that is inevitable, but with the way technology advances I think it is definitely a possibility. Say I live for around another eighty years, I am sure that I will see some amazing things in the field of technology. And as those advancements happen society will be edging closer and closer to singularity and eventually accept it as an exciting new way of life.

Living an American Life: Is That Sushi?

Living in the 21^st century in America means being exposed to hundreds of different cultures and customs via many sources, including, but not limited to the internet. When I think of my childhood I don’t reminisce about a typical American life where I had a white picket fence and grew up on good ol’ American cooking, I think of all of the cultures that influenced me. In this day and age what is being American or having an American culture? It seems that as the world has shrunk, due to globalization and the spread of the internet, it is harder and harder to define something as American for me.

Starting with my entertainment as a child, which was based solely on Japanese games and shows, I can truly say that what I was entertained by was not what would be considered American. All of the TV shows I watched were Japanese anime shows like Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Naruto and YuYu Hakasho. These were Japanese cartoons that they had dubbed in English and I was obsessed! Not a single TV show I watched was produced or made in America. This means that I was being exposed to Japanese styles of animation, writing and ideas. I also was obsessed with Pokémon the Japanese game that took America by storm. I along with thousands of other American kids were crazy for Pokémon. As far as I can remember, I really was not entertained by anything that was not Japanese as a child.

When someone thinks of the typical American meal what comes to mind, a giant tray of meatloaf, a traditional turkey dinner? When I think of the meals I ate as a child so many different cultures and cuisines come to mind. Even when I was young, my parents were feeding me meals that most people would not think of if you asked them what a typical American family would eat for dinner. I remember getting Chinese food, sushi (A LOT!) and many other types of ethnic cuisine. As I was growing up, I was unintentionally learning about cuisines of the world and all the foods that were traditional to the Asian, South American and other countries that the food I was eating originated from.

As I was growing up I was introduced to many types of music, one of them being Zap Mama, a French-African group that my aunt introduced to me. This group was funky and very cool and I loved it. On top of Zap Mama I was introduced to other French artists and even some Chinese ones that I really enjoyed growing up. This type of music differs from what people would think of as typical American music, country music. Country music was and is a huge part of the music industry and I was not listening to it at all. So, growing up, the music that was influencing me was not Americana, but a mix of African/European/Asian.

Growing up in America, did I grow up American? I believe so because even though what it was watching, eating and listening to was not originating from America or in an American style, I was experiencing all these different cultures in America. I grew up not actually liking many typical American aspects of society/culture, but what really is typical for America? It is a mish-mosh of so many different people and cultures that eating sushi or watching anime isn’t seen as foreign, but as a typical thing that Americans experience. So, “traditional” American foods, shows and music don’t have to originate from America or really be in English to be considered part of America. This is truly because I grew up in a global culture and I currently am in a global culture. With the internet and as the world modernizes, cultures spread so quickly and root themselves into other countries, becoming typical parts of these countries’ societies. Looking back on my childhood, I grew up as an American living in a global culture because through the lens/society of America I was experiencing aspects of other countries/cultures that had rooted themselves in American culture and had over time assimilated into everyday American life. From the track it has naturally taken, it seems that globalization and the advent of a global culture are here to stay and have really permeated most every country in the world. This means that not only did I grow up an American, but I grew up a citizen of a global culture.

The 7th Graders with iPads

I went to a progressive high school, but that does not directly mean that we were supposed to use technology to learn. In many schools students are not allowed to use laptops or other electronic devices because teachers don’t want students to be distracted, but this was not the case at my high school. I wouldn’t say that we were the most high tech school in the country; it was just that the use of technology/ the use of new technology was something that I experienced on a regular basis. I typically took notes on my computer for at lest ¾ of my classes. This helped my stay organized and allowed me to go back and edit my writing or make study guides from my notes. This was my normal interaction with technology while in a learning environment. But, my school tried to really integrate new ways of learning with technology as well. I remember that for a French project we corresponded with a Moroccan class where we wrote plays for each other and acted them out via a large video chat. I would say this is just some light integration of technology, and this is what I experienced, but my school went even deeper with their use of tech. Last year they started out the whole 7^th grade with ipads and fully integrated them into all of their classes. Literally every class of everyday was ipad based for these 7^th graders. But, the program was met with great confusion by many older students at my school. I was actually surprised that many of my peers were saying how this would ruin these kids’ education and that these ipads were not that good for classroom purposes. I tried to keep an open mind because I liked new styles of teaching like this. So, when the 7^th graders made a presentation, I got to experience first hand what it was like for them to go through all of their classes using the ipad. It really seemed that with the help of some great apps for the ipad, classes were going well and students were responding well to the use of new tech. What was cool was that the whole presentation was done on ipads. After seeing this presentation, I was quite impressed and could really see this being the future of many other classes. What was so interesting to me was how many of my peers still saw these ipads as mere gaming devices and not so much as a tool that could be utilized as a learning device in the classroom where as many of the adults in the community responded positively to the use of ipads. I would expect the opposite where students would be praising the use of new tech while the older people would be denouncing this radical way of teaching. I think that the reason many of my peers saw the ipads as distraction was because they thought that the way they grew up learning was good enough without ipads and that bringing in this tech was unnecessary. From this experience plus some others, it seems like tech is being rejected in the classroom by most people, but progress never stops. And because progress never stops, there is always going to be new ways to teach using tech that schools, teachers etc. are going to have to/want to use because that is the way of the future. Why not utilize the best tools available for learning? Often it makes the class more interesting for the student and gets them more engaged in their own learning experience. This is what I saw firsthand coming from these 7^th graders, a group of kids that were really excited about what they had been learning about and were able to make a whole digital presentation about what they were learning and how they were leaning it. This is just a small slice of what living in a digital culture means.  The use of ipads is just one example of how teachers are actively using the digital culture we live in to educate their students. There are thousands of other ways that are available to utilize as educational tools and they are becoming more and more advanced everyday/ new devices and programs are coming out faster and faster these days, so it seems like there are a lot of possibilities for educational devices for the future. To me, pushing forward with the use of new tech seems like the way to go.