Networked Telecommunications

This week I read a chapter called “The Web” from the book Writing about Cool by Jeff Rice. He talked about how the internet has transformed the media. Rice said that corporations use digital media to: “establish a common customer base” and “advertise two or more products simultaneously” (page 140). It is obvious how much advertising is being used on the internet. You can’t go to a site, unless made for personal use, without finding multiple advertising pictures or slogans. The subliminal messaging is phenomenal. Rice also talked about how the internet is highly interactive, while talking about McLuhan and his “hot” and “cold” media. I felt like this chapter was an updated, albeit shortened, version of Understanding Media by McLuhan. Rice talked about how the internet is a definite “cool” media.

Another chapter that I had to read is called “March of the Meganets” from the book E-Topia by William J. Mitchell. I found this to be more confusing to read than the Rice text. Mitchell talked about the “digital revolution”. He feels that the “digital revolution” is similar to any other revolution that this country/world has gone through. For example, the introduction of the train to connect distant places. Then roads and interstates are made and then personal cars are sold so people can travel. One question that I had was on page 19, Mitchell talked about backbones, POPs, and gigaPOPs. I tried reading them all in context, but I couldn’t really figure out what these terms meant. Mitchell also talked about how the internet has been able to connect urban and rural lifestyles. He talked about how life conditions outside of a city were sub-par and how “rural electrification and telephone systems” have drastically improved those conditions. It also gave farmers a better selling market because it put farmers in direct contact with their buyers, even if they were far away.

Last week, we had to look at a site called Stelarc. I don’t even know what to say. The whole site is dedicated to this guy, who has successfully attached metal parts to his body. On the site, it says that his work “explores and extends the concept of the body and its relationship with technology…..”. He has attached a prosthetic limb to his left arm as an addition. So know he has use of three different arms. The site is creepy but I found his concepts pretty interesting.

This week I had to view another site called Benjamin Edwards. I don’t really understand what he is trying to accomplish. I believe he is an author/artist and the site showcased his works. On the main page, I believe there is dialogue from an MOD game, but I could be mistaken. I found this site to be very sporadic and kind of plain. Maybe it is just because I don’t understand what is going on.