Week One
The "new" media to me is not considered "new" at all, as most of us have grown up surrounded around computers, espcially in a learning enviroment.
Email is something which as "interactive mail" has pretty much over taken over traditional mail or "snail mail". I don't check my email as regularly as some people, only about once a day. Before Facebook or MySpace, I used to use it far more. I use it purely to keep in touch with my parents, and is especially useful as my father is usually working abroad. Email is used daily in the university enviroment, I usually use it to query tutors and for them to pass on information. I recieve some emails from mailing lists, mainly from clubs and bars that I frequent. These are generic emails sending information to everyone on their list, usually on upcoming events.
Social networking is certianly taking over from traditional forms of emailing and keeping in touch. I used to use MySpace obsessively, until Facebook took over in the last year or so. I don't even know why I use these sites, usually I dont do anything but look at other people's profiles or update mine. It is useful to get in touch with people from years gone by, that I just lost touch with. Email has some negatives. Spam emails are what usually clog my inbox, and they couldnt be anymore useless.
Chatrooms are something I barely use. I dont go online and talk to people I dont know. Instant messenger servives, such as MSN are nearly always on when I'm at home, even if Im not always talking on them. There are about 5 or 6 people I talk to online everyday using this method, it is also very useful (and cheap) if one is in a long distance relationship, as calling every night starts to cost alot. I see why people use chatrooms, if they are lonely or like something that targets a niche audience, something that they cant talk to their friends about, I think chatrooms are useful for that sort of thing.
I use the internet to download music, and to find out about new songs and artists. I also use the internet to find out when and where my favourite events and DJs are playing. I do not shop online as much as I used to, I used to use eBay alot, but that is becoming less regular.
The Multi-User Dungeon games that are online simply do not interest me, although I know some people that enjoy online role-play games. I do not really use the internet for anything other than MSN, Facebook, university work , downloading music and finding out information, which some may say is not using it to its full potential.
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I think that using the Internet to its full potential is something which very few people can claim to do, mainly because it's just too big and there's too much on it!
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are somethings to do on the Internet which are possibly considered more worthwhile than others, I think that using it to its full potentail would mean using to fulfil your own needs, and these would vary from person to person.
Hi Ellie,
ReplyDeleteYour post is a bit long -making several points that make it hard to respond without writing an enormous amount too.
There's been some really interesting research (Barry Wellman's a key name) into how we keep in touch with different sorts of 'acquaintances'. Your experience of using e-mail for distant loved ones is typical -as is the moving from one medium to another. I don't think any research has yet been published that puts SNS into the mix, but I wouldn't mind betting that SNS (for those who use it) fills mainly a regular/local contact purpose, whilst e-mail still gets used in conjunction for many further/irregular contacts. The whole issue of social connection and cyberspace is fascinating and part of this unit -enjoy.