Graphic Design and New Media

http://www.as8.it/edu/writing/GD494_thesis_karaca.pdf

 

 

This essay has highlighted a lot to me, from graphic design and new media really going hand in together. As graphic design is a form of communication and new media is a way of hosting this in an more interactive and exciting way than traditional methods. With new media we are able to communicate from one on one or many to many due to the community and instant communication available to us. New media isnt flat but an interactive narrative, should through basic elements like the hyperlink which allows on screen designs take you any where from videos to documents to... Whatever you require.

So does this change what a graphic designer is? Does it evolute graphic designers into interface designers? "Technology develops itself, new techniques emerge, creativity raises and different designs are generated."

Losing offline skills?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2020378/Facebook-Twitter-creating-vain-generation-self-obsessed-people.html

"People used to have a portrait painted but now we can more or less design our own picture online."
Users are allowed to create who they want to be and how they wanted to represented on these sites, the most control we have ever had over our identity and most broadly spread. As in the last only the rich have been able to control elements of their identity like the referenced portrait painting.

The comment about people developing short attention spans is really interesting, people excepting everything instantly. How is this affecting design?

Why can't we live without it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/21/facebook-cant-live-without-it

This piece from the guardian is describing the instant nature of facebook. In a way of engaging with others straight away, for example with the explain of how it has made us changed the social situations we meet people but also how we keep in touch with people. Has his caused degrad in our friendship?

http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/facebook-effect-live/

From this piece I feel that it is trying to say that facebook and the internet has made society more democratic through the way we are all able to generate content, a more level playing field for all. But also communicate about with one and another instantly. Plus I was interested by the highlight of how the it said "To not have a facebook fan page for your business, excludes you from this excitement" its like your missing out on something if you are not on it. Even as a personal user I find that I could be missing out on some important event when I am away from the desk or that someone might be trying to contact me. Would be something interesting to explore with people? See they have similar experience of facebook but also anxieties?

Images more important than words?

http://www.fastcompany.com/3000794/rise-visual-social-media?goback=%2Egde_69178_member_159138374

This piece really highlighted the dominance of photo telling a story within social networking and something I need to looking into more. People being able to get the represent of what someone is trying to say about themselves and what they are doing/feeling. Are these sites more about representing something to someone rather than the actual act of doing it?

Social Networks changing our languages?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19499771#TWEET220474

This article brings up some interesting ideas and issues.

"In the philosophy of the internet, we are among peers, equal, without social distinction, whatever your age, gender, income of status in real life" Anthony Besson

Is the internet a way of breaking down traditional barriers in language but also in life, on the internet you can talk and interactive with anyone on there, there is nothing stopping you no physical barriers. An example of this would be the use of the informal word to address someone new. It was interesting that this had happen before in France but only in times of get struggle or revolution like the French Revolution.

This highlights some questions to me, Do we act differently when we are the on the internet? Do we feel more free to explore and push boundaries (of the norm)?

Online Identity

Quotes from interviews by Sherry Turkle in her book "alone together"

"Myspace and facebook, you put up the things you like about yourself and you're not going to advertise the bad aspect of yourself"

"anyone you interview who tells you that his facebook page is 'the real me'. It's like being in a play, you make a character" - Eric

"A chance to write yourself into the person you want to be and to imagine others as you wish to them to be, contracting them your purpose"

I thought these were three really interesting quotes about how we supposedly construct a representation of ourselves onto the internet through a range of signs. Which leads me to arrive at the question is there ever true representation on the the screen? Is everything constructed?

The debate within this artctile is really interesting, whether we should have the choice to be who we want to be on the internet, even if that is a complete new identity or whether we should be fixed to our earthly beings. Why cannot people have these two different identities or is this a way to stop spam and anonymous negative behaviours towards others. If you feel no one knows who you are, you would be more willing to break normal social codes? (maybe something to look into).

UK Riots - Facebook Arrests

Does social networks create a detachment from real life and normal ways of conduct within society? Would we normally act without some of social morals when we are on the internet? Do we feel safer behind a screen and interacting with a representation of reality?

Where did Social Networks come from and when?

http://socialtimes.com/the-history-of-social-media-from-1978-2012-infographic_b89811

Interesting to see how the sites that get bought out and combined into new ones dont seem to survive and other sites continue to grow and succeed like Facebook, Twitter and new entries like Pinterest and Tumblr. From this info-graphic it seems that social networks start growing into big institutions from 2002 onwards. This could be due to people getting used to instant messaging serves like AOL messenger and start demanding more and wanting to interact in more ways. Plus looking at the internet adoption graph there is 63% of the American adult using the internet in 2002 then this figures only increases after. Would be interesting to get more information on deceives and compare them to this information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10719042

This graph from the BBC News website shows the growth and decline between different sites. I would be interested to find out how different social networks compare and how they impact on society? Does twitter allow a voice for more breaking news? or does facebook act like a place for people to organise behind closed doors? Is there a roll for one website, does any of these communities affect the world we live in?

Adoptions of App Culture

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/The-Rise-of-Apps-Culture.aspx (5th September 2012)

Interesting to see how fast app culture has come about into society and the rate of adoption along adults as well as younger members of society. With the main market being for men and young adults adapting cleanly to the internet technology. I wonder how similar this is to over new media inventions like texting, internet?

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Internet Adoption Rate
Sourced - http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Digital-differences/Main-Report/Internet-adoption-over-time.aspx

From this graph I understand that there was a big rush for some people to get it for the first couple of years, (Could be people interested in technology? Businesses) then later on people everyone else followed. With nearly 80% of over 18 years old having access to the internet and being born with it in their early years. It makes me wonder if it only natural for the amount of adoption to app culture. Be interesting to find out the statistics for the social network sign ups and rough demographic.

From this I understand that people with education and money seem to has slightly higher access to internet compared to lower socio economic groups. But the most important thing to be taken from this data that 94% of 18-29 are internet users! Which can be linked back to the data for apps with younger people and males using this. I need to look for English data rather using American, as the social discourse might result in different results. This might be suggesting that people bought up within this culture of computers and internet are naturally using it all the time.

What is New Media?

Source : "The Revolution in Digitised ICTS and Emergence of Social Networking Sites Transformed Media to New Mass Media: A Rise of New Age Media. (INdian Streams Research Jounral, ISSN:- 2230-7850)

New technologies allow us to get information easily and faster but also allows use to interactive with it. The text referes to "birth of a democratic movement" as anyone is enable to report but also post an opinion on the piece of information which could allow society to be truly democratic. Technologies like mobile phones allow people to access information but also produce information, which bypasses traditional information institutions like newspapers/television/radio/books but also governments and large corporations. But does this result in a true image of what occurred?

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New Media is defiantly linked with the rise of the internet as an mass tool. This infographic shows the amount of data created within 60seconds. Really shocking the amount of data people create but what is this impact on all of us?

Something Sherry Turkle explores in her book "Alone Together" is how instant the new media is. We are able to communicate with someone on the other side of the world instantly for free. But does it make us demand more for each other? How is that effecting people?

"Texting is too seductive. It makes a promise that generates its own demand. The promise: the person you text will receive the message within seconds, and whether or not he or she is "free", the recipient will be able to see your text. The demand: when you receive a text, you will attend to it )during class, this might mean a glance down at a silenced phone) and respond as soon as possible. 

(Alone Together, Sherry Turkle. page 265)