Santimano+cct300H5


 * Computer Game Studies, Year One- Lab 1** Rahul Santimano

In creating a new discipline to counter attack the gaming genre, can be easily distracted and not paid close attention to. As gaming has been an integral part to our self development at one point or another, it can also be easily undermined as it has reached new heights in this century. It is hard to really extract the validity of gaming at this point, but rest assure it will be a major impact in the future as gaming not only allows us to create a virtual world, but it also can be seen as a tool to benefit our daily life Ex: Nintendo Wii. I do agree with Aarseth when he states that gaming will undoubtedly be studied and examined in a lot of major disciplines. Many scholars use gaming as an important aspect in trying to promote the major subject that they are conveying. However when Aarseth states that it should be an independent study, I do disagree because if we carefully look at major disciplines like sociology and psychology, it is all branched from a beginning. The most pleasurable part of their learning is understanding the beginning of these important disciplines. We can compare our times now to when these disciplines were started. It was the past that made these disciplines popular among students. However gaming is so young that it is hard to really branch it off onto a major discipline. Even thought our technological advances are moving quickly, gaming has just started to be popular amongst everyone. I say give it some time for the gaming industry to gain momentum thus making it more intriguing as a discipline in the future.

Genres- Lab2

 A genre is a loose set of criteria for a category of compositions. The definition of genre is controversial and not so applicable to the formation of digital genres, because genres commonly apply to literary or artistic work. In terms of the digital aspect, there is so much that has to be applied.There is so many characteristics in the digital world and if we open our eyes for even two minute, we can see how much it is applied in our daily life. Genres are set up to help us break up a immense amount of information into something that we can easily categorize. Digital genres are hard to apply to the definition of genres because each digital genre has it own specific meaning and does not need to be broken down, so in a way it disagrees.

For example there is an application for the iphone that is set up to gain support for Barack Obama in his election race. This application is strictly set up to benefit the one setting it up. Therefore it does educate the applicants using the software, and that’s were the disagreement comes from. Genres are basically set up to breakdown an enormous feature into smaller effects, which will help the viewer really understand the core of the genre. Also the digital genre is always interchanging, and improving through time to meet customer needs, so it is hard to give the digital aspect a genre.

In all genres are set up to help us understand, but with the digital aspect, it is set up to benefit.


 * McLuhan on photographic media-Lab 3**

It can be easily agreeable when McLuhan defines comics as an extension of photographic media. The phrase “a photo is a thousand words”, can be used in this synopsis as photos convey an aspect of imaginative and understanding. A viewer who looks at a photo is simply compelled because they can relate more to the situation or the dynamics of the event in which that photo was taken. To say comics is an extension of photographic media can be easily debated. When one reads a comic they reach a stage of imagination, sometimes putting themselves in the situation, which is a benefit to fully understanding the storyline. A photo fine tunes what a sentence can do in an improved illustrative concept. A comic has words as well as photos, in which the viewer is forced to gather his own interpretations of the words and illustration into his own compelling story. This is what McLuhan termed “cool media”- basically filling in the blanks. Viewers are encouraged to convey their own vague film of the comic essentially. “Comic book, provide very little data about any particular moment in time, or aspect in space, of an object. The viewer, or reader, is compelled to participate in completing and interpreting the few hints provided by the bounding lines. (McLuhan, //Understanding Media,// p. 160). Many directors have taken famous comics and made it into Hollywood hits, which have proved to be highly successful. This is what McLuhan emphasizes as readers are more inclined to read comics as it is less reading then a traditional novel, and at the same time allows you to broaden your imagination. In all photos allow a viewer to understand that precise moment, while comics allows a viewer understand the image and along with that, filling in the missing pieces to what the story consists of, so it is safe to say that comics are an extensions of photographic media.

Lab 4 **Internet Memes**

This article is about the bases for truthfulness that is related through tweets essentially on the twitter account. There is a site that is set up by Filippo Menczer, where he states that, "One of the concerns about social media is that people are being manipulated without realizing it because a meme” (Page, Lewis). From this he set up a site that investigates the validity of tweet before it reaches a wide frame audience. He talks about how Martha Coakley lost the Massachusetts senatorial seat to Republican Scott Brown due to a Twitter bomb campaign that was created by a conservative group.  I do believe this process is accurate to a certain point. I also believe that through time technology is advancing at such a rate in all aspects. In all aspects I mean, people working for the good and also the bad. Even though Menczer approach seems to be effective now, through time there is going to be new ways set up to fight this process. Internet Memes can be very dangerous in terms of hindering cultural evolution, but in a way we are so in tuned what people have to say that we get sucked into this technological bliss. There have been so many situations in which a simple joke or rumor has been posted online, which through time has become an activity of hatred. In this retrospective, I do give Menczer some credit. He is contributing to the somewhat vague term “cyber police”. It is crucial that we not ignore the fact of internet evolution. The internet is a dream that has been set up to the normal human being. It is a system that we can use to help, decide, situate and establish our very well being. It helps each human being reach that peak of excellence. So for Menczer to put a dent on a institution for the greater good might benefit for a certain time until that sense of dream overcomes his work. For in this world we are after all human beings with big dreams. It is in our DNA to always strive for the best that can offer.

Page, Lewis. "Tweety Profs Offer Political Smear-meme 'truthiness' Ratings • The Register." //The// //Register: Sci/Tech News for the World //. 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. [].

 =** Lab 5 Virtual World vs. Real World **= = First of all, I think it’s safe if we define the term “virtual world”. A virtual world is essentially an online atmosphere that is dictated over the computer. Users can interact to other users through a systematic social environment. = = In terms of advertising, I believe it is more beneficial to advertise online in ways that it targets an enormous target audience. Also many advertisement online can be monitored. Advertisements that are in the magazine are harder to monitor, therefore not knowing how many people view the ad. Internet advertising also can be very cheap at the same time; it can influence a greater audience. You can guarantee that an ad on the internet can be viewed all over the world, while if you put an ad in the Mississauga news, it will only be viewed from that area. In a sense virtual advertising is much precise and broader than traditional means of advertising but can also be proven to not be beneficial as it seems. = = When advertisements are shown on the television, viewers sometimes cannot channel surf to avoid the ad because all ads are being played systematically. On that basis they have to view the ad therefore interpreting it. On the internet a viewer sometimes has the power to avoid it by changing the screen, onto a next screen. = = Although internet advertising seems to be more of a cheaper and more efficient alternative, it can have its drawbacks as viewers can choose to view an ad or not. Traditional advertising also can be beneficial because people expect that kind of advertising therefore adhering to it while in the virtual world people don’t want to be bombarded with advertisements. =

Lab 6 The new currency Web 3.0

In this article Dickens talks about the new currency of the Web being 3.0. He states how in this day and time we market ourselves better on the Web through numerous social networking sites. I believe this article though it can be very knowledgeable; it is irrelevant in ways that we are still catching up with the Web 2.0 software. We are so preoccupied with the Web that the simpler things in life tend to be obsolete. To state the numerous ways that our Web will be excelled in the future, can be irrelevant because we are stuck in a technological bliss. Technology is advancing everyday and more and more people are updating their online profile to the point that they are overwhelmed with the attention. It is an act of making a simpler person very marketable can be very addictive, intriguing to a large mass. Dickens also talks about influence measurement, where he states that in Web 3.0, there are numerous programs that can measure the influence of a post ex: tweet. This can be very beneficial to companies that want to market their brand. They can basically see where the influence is and who to brand their products to. If a group of people are not happy with the marketing tactics they can track that information and work around it. He also talks about the uber-profile where it can change the way we use the web. The more we are prepared the more better the shift will be. This is agreeable because after the transfer from web 1.0 to web 2.0, people were having trouble dictating the new web tonics. In all the shift will be beneficial, but will it be for the right reason. Its the point in a persons life where through experiences they learn the simpler things in life are the more rewarding.

Lab 7 Social Media

This article is about Naheed Neshi who used social media in his race to become mayor of Calgary. He used popular social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to promote him name and also his campaign. He made blogs where his campaign team who show endorsements and answer questions and ask for people to promote his name to their friends. This act proved efficient since supporters would grow at an exponential growth. This also allowed people to ask personal questions to him and get an enormous amount of information in a very easy way-the Internet.

This article shows that the influence social media has on people. Neshi wanted to influence the younger generation and that’s what he did. Social media also allows people to reach a high number of output, therefore getting the word out easier and in a timely manner. When people decide upon a candidate, they only know what they stand for. The good thing about Neshi is that he allowed his supporters to get interactive asking them what tie he should wear and so on. This allowed supporters to gain trust in him undoubtedly allowing him to become mayor of Calgary. Essentially he is down and interactive in his campaign and that’s what people admired about him. The fact that he was Harvard graduate made him the right man for the job. In all social media is ever so expanding and moving into a new data age. People are going to be less interactive person to person but then it also allows one to reach an audience in a fast efficient way.