MUDS - Rheingold

Howard Rheingold introduced us to Multi-User Dungeons also called MUDS which he explained to be, “Imaginary worlds in computer databases where people use worlds and programming languages to improvise melodramas, build worlds and all the objects in them, solve puzzles, invent amusements and tools, compete for prestige power, gain wisdom, seek revenge, indulge greed and lust and violent impulses.” The main component of a MUD is that it forms a community. It lets people interact with each other using alternate, multiple, false, and exploratory identities. The most vital identity is the identity to be “perfect.” People often form identities making them someone that they always wanted to be or just try to live in someone else's shoes. MUDS let people live an alternate life and sometimes spend more time in their online community then actual reality which can effect their social interactions and school performance.

There are times when I am sick of reality and resort to other activities to get my mind of certain things however, not going to the extreme by making a new identity and becoming someone else. I personally feel like people who use alternate identities aren’t comfortable with themselves in reality. I for one am comfortable with myself and don’t see the need to be apart of a community acting as someone else and meeting random people. I understand how one can be addicted to MUDS and spend hours on it a week. I use networks like Facebook and with that I can understand how people can waste hours and become addicted to something so quickly however, I would never make a false/altered identity. I have only one identity and would never be someone else nor reveal false or too much true information. I see MUDS as being very interesting of how thousands of people interact at once and connect with each other yet, I don't think I would ever resort to one. I don’t see the point of interacting with strangers whom you know your never going to meet (lets say they are from a different county) and whom you don’t even really know. Online I have addictions certain websites and AIM however, these never distort my perception from reality, MUDS I believe do. i think it is unhealthy for people to spend so much time using MUDS because it can affect them socially. I think people get to involved in imaginary worlds on computers and they lose touch with reality and the real things that matter in life.

Virtual Community- Rheingold

The reading The Virtual Community by Howard Rheingold had very valid points about communication through the Internet. Rheingold had said ”Although I am enthusiastic about the liberating potentials of computer-mediated communications, I try to keep my eyes open for the pitfalls of mixing technology and human relationships.” He believed that many people spend hours online at a time with a false persona just to relieve their problems or escape from reality. People used communicating on the Internet as a form of psychotherapy. One would rely on certain relationships that they have formed through the Internet to talk and confide in.

I believe that match.com is a great example. Many people go on match.com to find others to talk to and even start a relationship with. I know many of people who are members of match.com. For example, my cousin was a member of match.com. He used it for about a year and then found someone that he had been constantly talking to and connecting with. For a while he only spoke to her through the use of the Internet, after they got closer they exchanged e-mails and spoke a lot. They seemed compatible and got along very well. They had a lot of the same interests and hobbies; they would spend hours at a time talking online. Finally, it came time for them to meet in person. They met in person and their relationship just wasn’t the same. They weren’t compatible for each other and he said, “We didn’t have much in common as I thought we did.” They ended up remaining good friends however, never met again in person. They still speak online all the time; just they weren’t compatible for each other as spouses. This website lets people interact with others of the same age and interests. It lets people find out about each other while interacting through the Internet. On this site people talk and get to know each other. People communicate and look through others pictures. Being a member of Match.com is a form of psychotherapy, where people form relationships and then depend on these people to speak to through online.

The Noble Amateur

I found the reading by Andrew Keen to be very interesting. The Nobel Amateur article had a different outlook on technology, describing how the internet was ruining our society. Keens article talks about his resentment towards misinformation to the public due to “citizen journalists.” Keen said, “citizen journalists have no formal training or expertise, yet they routinely offer up opinion as fact, rumor as reportage, and innuendo as information.” This leads people to retrieve false information while; the people that are sending out the information aren’t getting recognized for the falsity. In contrast to citizen journalists, Keen said, “Professional journalists acquire their craft through education and through firsthand experience of reporting and editing news under the careful eye of other professionals.” A professional journalist takes credit for the news that they deliver to the public and is accountable for everything noted. Citizen journalists write blogs everyday that have false information however, its a much bigger deal when professional journalists tell the public false news.

In 2004 professional journalist Dan Rather made a huge mistake on live television story on George Bush’s National Guard service and a 60-minute report with fake documents that affected his reputation. He violated many rules as a professional journalist. One major mistake that CBS made was that they didn’t know the documents were authentic however; they were still used to report to the public. This video shows the major difference between professional and citizen journalism. Dan rather, a professional journalist came clean and admitted that he had made a mistake yet, like keen had said, professional journalists are accountable for everything they note. Therefore, Dan Rather decided to step down as anchor for CBS broadcast and CBS deeply apologized to the public for leading them to believe inaccurate information.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=/elements/2004/11/24/eveningnews/videoarchive657614_1_videosection_page.shtml

This incident was dragged out for a long time and it’s seen here on the Colbert Show with professional journalist Bob Schieffer (2 min 50 secs) talking about how CBS made a huge mistake.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=120610&title=bob-schieffer