New Communication Technologies: Essay 1: Are Bloggers Journalists?
News gathering and reporting has often been the work of journalists. It was often seen, that the only way of the public gathering information, news or entertainment, was through what journalists had written and displayed in their work. However, in modern days with the emergence of the blog on the internet, there is a new era in the ways of gathering information and reporting news. No longer do news consumers, only search papers, magazines or television for news, they are able to go online and view blogs of niche news markets and have click of the button, up-to-date news. However, the question remains, are those bloggers, who create these blogs, journalists? This debate has separated journalists and bloggers alike, yet the winner, ultimately remains the news consumer.
A journalist is defined as an “intermediary between the people who want to know information and the sources of information…at the same time, the journalist is a filter of information” (Cave in Tapsall 2001, p.6). Through this it is quite clear that the role of deciphering what information the public has, and how much information they receive belongs to the journalist. The ways in which news and information was brought to the public was always through a journalist. In the modern day and age, quite clearly news and information can be received, consumed, and written in the form of blogs. The bloggers who write these blogs, can often be seen as becoming new mediums of information, and thus play “an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, sorting, analysing and disseminating news and information- a task once reserved almost entirely to the news media” (Lasica 2003, p.71). Considering the roles these bloggers play, it is clear that bloggers can be seen as journalists.
A major deciphering point as to whether bloggers are journalists or not, considers that when consuming news through journalistic media forms such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, the consumer has become aware of the what can be seen as hard hitting news, and what can be seen as human interest comment news. However, in the age of the blogger, and blogging it is very hard to “know which of them [blogs] is a news site, which is a personal forum or one that does serious investigation or one that’s presenting junk evidence”(Pain 2005, p.4). According to Pain, what is written, by bloggers on blogs, can be seen as a more wide spread adaptation of consuming news, which leads to poorer quality, greater risk of being incorrect, and a tougher ability in deciphering fact from fiction. Through this, there is an indication that bloggers are not journalists.
However, according to Axel Bruns’ ‘Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production’, there is the idea that, “the mainstream ‘industrial’ journalism is outdated, a dinosaur that needs to reinvent itself in order to remain relevant to a new, more engaged, citizenry” (Bruns 2005). As the ‘industrial’ journalist is now seen as outdated, there is the notion that bloggers are the ‘reinvention’ of journalists, and have become ‘produsers’, those people who not only use news but also produce it. Overall, through examining that the citizenry has changed from a “mass, passive audience, consisting of people who are readers and receivers of packaged news-mere consumers of information- into smaller communities of actively involved users and producers of news content…” (Milberry 2006), it is quite clear that the audience has become more involved in news and information through blogs, which can lead to bloggers being considered as journalists.
Journalism and journalists have developed quite significantly since the days of the ‘penny press’, and have since risen to objective reporting, which reports only on facts and can inextricably omit bias. This rise to objective reporting has required journalists to “distinguish ‘facts’ from ‘values’ in order to be considered a free arbiter of truth” (Allen 1999, p.25). In comparison a majority of “bloggers value informal conversation, egalitarianism, subjective points of view, and colourful writing, over profits, objectivity and filtered prose” (Lasica 2003, p.71). Blogs are mainly written subjectively and often have a great amount of bias and feeling throughout. Considering that the writing styles and prose of the journalist differ dramatically from the blogger, it is evident that a blogger cannot be seen as a journalist.
In light of many recent terrorist attacks (9/11), natural disasters (the boxing day Tsunami), and conflicts (the War in Iraq), there has been a greater public awareness and craving of information, news and opinion. With this, the public and citizenry have changed, and now seek new forms of information. No longer were news consumers seeking normal journalistic practices. Emotion, attachment and feeling to the news were now needed. This is where blogging became part of a new form of journalism, as “bloggers were unhindered by the normal journalistic standards of objectivity, balance and accuracy. This amateur output was raw, subjective and honest as people sought emotions, not detachment - finding solace and expression in the words of the thousands of blogs that sprang up” (Raynsford 2003). Considering that news consumers were now concerned with the raw emotion in the news blogs presented, it is clear that bloggers can be seen as journalists.
Finally, most journalists have “a realist view of the world and an empirical methodology, which has been developed over many years of study and practice” (Windschuttle 1995). In comparison however, bloggers generally “focus on narrow subject matter of interest to a select but circumscribed niche (Andrews 2003, p.63). Considering, that journalists have many years of training, and that their news is constantly subjected to checking and re-checking, as opposed to bloggers, whose news is usually written very colloquial, subjective, and personal with limited knowledge and experience in news gathering and reporting, it is quite clear that bloggers cannot be journalists.
When a journalist is asked whether a blogger can be described as a journalist the result usually ends with a clear gasp and howls of mockery, and when you ask a blogger do they consider themselves’ journalists, the answer is usually no. However, when considering whether journalism and blogging are intertwined, it is quite clear that there is a greater amount of news, so ultimately the news consumer is the winner. However, when looking for an answer to whether bloggers are journalists, consider Herbert Gans’ “the news may be to important to leave to the journalists alone” (Gans 1980, p.322).
References:
Allan, Stuart (1999), News Culture. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter 1 pp. 7-26
Andrews, Paul (2003), ‘Is Blogging Journalism?’ http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/03-3NRfall/63-64V57N3.pdf
Bruns, Axel (2005), ‘Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production’. New York: Peter Lang.
Cave, Peter in Tapsall, Suellen & Carolyn Varley (2001), ‘What is a journalist?’ in Suellen Tapsall & Carolyn Varley (eds), Journalism theory in Practice. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Pp. 3-20
Gans, Herbert (1980), ‘Deciding What’s News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek and Time’. New York: Vintage.
Lasica, J.D. (2003), ‘Blogs and Journalism Need Each Other’. http://nieman.harvard.edu/reports/03-3NRfall/70-74V57N3.pdf
Milberry, Kate (2006), ‘Canadian Journal of Communication’ Vol 31, No 3 (2006) http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1740/1851
Pain, Julian (2005), ‘Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber Dissidents’. France: Reporters Without Bodies.
Raynsford, Jody (2003), ‘Blogging: the new journalism?’ http://www.journalism.co.uk/5/articles/5604.php
Windschuttle, Keith (1995), ‘The Poverty of Media Theory’. http://www.sydneyline.com/Poverty%20of%20Media%20Theory.htm
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Essay Draft:
New Communication Technology: Draft for Essay:
The emergence of the Internet Journalist, and the roles bloggers played.
Through this topic I aim to look at how the emergence of technology in the 20th century has brought about new means of communication, and in particular the ways in which communication and media studies have forced the role of journalism onto the internet.
The means of communicating to an audience have developed through the times from journalist’s communicating via newspapers, to radio transmissions, then television, and now journalists communicate with people via the internet. For example all major newspapers, television stations and magazines have websites and online services. Through internet journalism the information being communicated is more easily accessible and can be up-to-date, more so then that of a newspaper or magazine.
However the emergence of the internet journalist has come about strongly due to the whole Web 2.0 concept. The concept now allows for web users to take a more creative approach to internet use and create their own news, and express their own opinions. This new, exciting and creative concept has forced journalists and other news gatherer’s to attempt to compete and interact with internet users and communicate their news in a more technologically savvy way.
Another reason in which journalism was thrust into the internet is due to emergence of the blogger. The blogger not only forced journalism onto the net but has helped many journalists get their works published. The introduction of journalism to the internet led to the creation of niche newsgathering topics. For example a person only interested in sport can view online news, and blogs specifically aimed at sport.
Here however is where the real debate lies, Are Bloggers' indeed Journalists?
The resources I have used to research the topic thus far have included:
Journalism and New media: John V. Pavlik
Online journalism: principles and practices of news for the Web / James C. Foust.
Barons to bloggers: confronting media power / series editor Jonathan Mills.
The online journ@list: using the Internet and other electronic resources / Randy Reddick, Elliot King.
http://blogs.theage.com.au/mediablog/archives/2005/05/when_are_blogge_1.html
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/03-3NRfall/63-64V57N3.pdf
The emergence of the Internet Journalist, and the roles bloggers played.
Through this topic I aim to look at how the emergence of technology in the 20th century has brought about new means of communication, and in particular the ways in which communication and media studies have forced the role of journalism onto the internet.
The means of communicating to an audience have developed through the times from journalist’s communicating via newspapers, to radio transmissions, then television, and now journalists communicate with people via the internet. For example all major newspapers, television stations and magazines have websites and online services. Through internet journalism the information being communicated is more easily accessible and can be up-to-date, more so then that of a newspaper or magazine.
However the emergence of the internet journalist has come about strongly due to the whole Web 2.0 concept. The concept now allows for web users to take a more creative approach to internet use and create their own news, and express their own opinions. This new, exciting and creative concept has forced journalists and other news gatherer’s to attempt to compete and interact with internet users and communicate their news in a more technologically savvy way.
Another reason in which journalism was thrust into the internet is due to emergence of the blogger. The blogger not only forced journalism onto the net but has helped many journalists get their works published. The introduction of journalism to the internet led to the creation of niche newsgathering topics. For example a person only interested in sport can view online news, and blogs specifically aimed at sport.
Here however is where the real debate lies, Are Bloggers' indeed Journalists?
The resources I have used to research the topic thus far have included:
Journalism and New media: John V. Pavlik
Online journalism: principles and practices of news for the Web / James C. Foust.
Barons to bloggers: confronting media power / series editor Jonathan Mills.
The online journ@list: using the Internet and other electronic resources / Randy Reddick, Elliot King.
http://blogs.theage.com.au/mediablog/archives/2005/05/when_are_blogge_1.html
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/03-3NRfall/63-64V57N3.pdf
Monday, April 28, 2008
Week 8 tasks Part 1 and 2:
During the Microsoft Office Exercises i had minimal trouble completing the Word tasks as i am familiar with this program, however it helped me realise that there were still a few things, such as adding contacts, that i had to learn. overall the word exercises didn't have to many serious problems, but for those little niggling problems i had i was able to sort them out myself. This software is useful to me as it enables me to write letters, that are meant for multiple people and only have to write them out once, it is also useful in writing and creating documents.
However the Microsoft Excel Exercises troubled me. Having not being familiar with this program or having much experience with it, i struggled completing the tasks. I found the entering and presenting data tasks easy, yet had problems with the formulas exercise. The problem was in how to set the formulas to the different cells. The solution to this however was through copying and pasting the formula. Next up was the inserting graph task, i found this task as relatively easy, however had a tough time picking which graph would suitable represent the information. Finally was the Macros task which yet again proved to be my kryptonite. I struggled to come to terms with the gains and losses idea, yet once fully explained to me i had the general idea, and the task was achievable. i feel that this software would be important in working with facts, figures, and numbers.
Virtual Worlds and Instant Messaging:
Being a local on the MSN scene, looking at the site Active World was very different form of instant chatting and messaging. Active World gives u a much more 3d look at the chatting world, and enables multiple conversations to go ahead at once. Also once inside the Active World it was quite clear that there is a social status. As being a new user i was being bullied, and attempted to be intimated by the frequent users. This i think is a form of the whole cyber bullying scene. With older, more frequent users controlling the conversations taking place in Active World, the messaging becomes less personal and harder to distinguish between who are people you know, and who are cyber strangers. With my however i am comfortable with the MSN version of chatting, as i am empowered in deciding who i talk to, and what the conversation is about.
However the Microsoft Excel Exercises troubled me. Having not being familiar with this program or having much experience with it, i struggled completing the tasks. I found the entering and presenting data tasks easy, yet had problems with the formulas exercise. The problem was in how to set the formulas to the different cells. The solution to this however was through copying and pasting the formula. Next up was the inserting graph task, i found this task as relatively easy, however had a tough time picking which graph would suitable represent the information. Finally was the Macros task which yet again proved to be my kryptonite. I struggled to come to terms with the gains and losses idea, yet once fully explained to me i had the general idea, and the task was achievable. i feel that this software would be important in working with facts, figures, and numbers.
Virtual Worlds and Instant Messaging:
Being a local on the MSN scene, looking at the site Active World was very different form of instant chatting and messaging. Active World gives u a much more 3d look at the chatting world, and enables multiple conversations to go ahead at once. Also once inside the Active World it was quite clear that there is a social status. As being a new user i was being bullied, and attempted to be intimated by the frequent users. This i think is a form of the whole cyber bullying scene. With older, more frequent users controlling the conversations taking place in Active World, the messaging becomes less personal and harder to distinguish between who are people you know, and who are cyber strangers. With my however i am comfortable with the MSN version of chatting, as i am empowered in deciding who i talk to, and what the conversation is about.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Evaluating Wikipedia
The first article i chose is on the topic of the Newcastle Knights Rugby League Club. The article itself was easily accessible. The article appears to be accurate as it explains the clubs history, provides competition details,and current information on players and coaches, whilst also using links and footnotes from the Official page of the Newcastle Knights and the official page of the National Rugby League.
In order to understand the Newcastle Knights Rugby League club, an knowledge of the history, squad, coaches, premierships won, and most importantly the impact of Andrew Johns are required. The wikipedia article on the Knights includes all of these things, however it only focuses on the basic information. This thus empowers the people reading the article with the main focuses of the Newcastle Knights and the overall general understanding allows for basic knowledge of the club.
The article appears to follow the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles, as it most importantly rejects objectivity, and does not include any personal opinions. It also has successfully enforced the use of the guidelines regarding to content, article inclusion, classification, editing, discussion, behaviour, and style. Overall the article displays an etiquette behaviour which allows for the article to meet the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles.
The article is fair and balanced as it breaks the club down to the four era's; 1988-1996, 1997-2003, 2004-2006, and finally 2007 post Andrew Johns. By doing this it allows for the article to be viewed throughout the important era's of the club and portray an accurate look at the history of the club. However as anyone who is involved with the Newcastle club would know the major player in the club is Andrew Johns. He has impacted upon the Newcastle side like no other player has down to any other team. This I think then allows for a major part of the article to be bias to the importance of Andrew Johns and has successfully done that. The article overall displays a fair and accurate portrayal of the Newcastle Knights.
The changes I would make to tthe article on the Newcastle Knights would be to include a few paragraphs to the importance of the fans to the club, as the club has a strong fan base in the Hunter/Newcastle region and the value that the club prides on having the most loyal supporters in the League. Also i would include another paragraph on the homeground; Energy Australia Stadium, and the history of it, as once again it is a vital part of the Newcastle Rugby League Club.
The second article i have chosen is on the T.V show Scrubs. With the term scrubs having many definitions, this article took a little more time to find, however it in relation to the T.V show the article itself is accurate. It appears accurate as it focuses on the history of the program, the characters, producers, and episodes of the show, whilst also refering to a range of production techniques.
The basic facts needed to understand the program Scrubs include the characters in the program and the idea that the program revolves around the central character's eye's. The article includes the synopsis of the program, along with the many reasons as to why the program is produced the way it is. Through this insight a much broader understanding of the show is given, thus the article covers all basic facts needed to understand Scrubs plus including a more in depth look at the program.
The article follows the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles, as it has followed the correct measures in reference to content, article inclusion, classification, editing, discussion, behaviour, and styles. By eliminating objectivity the article has successfuly followed Wikipedia's guideline's and has provided a truthful look at the T.V show scrubs in this article.
The article focuses on the synopsis, cast, episodes, awards, music, production details, and includes links and footnotes, thus allowing for it to be fair and balanced. However by including quotes by the creator, Bill Lawrence it is clear that the discourse presented throughout the article is that of Lawrence's which allows for the article, and ideas of the show to be witnessed as Lawrence's ideas. By including links to episodes and plot overview's the article allows for full insight into the show and allows for judgement to be made, thus reinforcing a fair and balanced article.
In order to improve this article to the Wikipedia community the inclusion of more quotes and opinions of the cast and crew, the article would have a more involved feeling thus giving a more appealing, informing, entertaining feel making it a better article.
This weeks reading was a chapter out of Terry Flew's Whats new about media. It looks a little at the history of media, and then goes onto look at the new technologies in particular the Internet and how new media is adapted. "The idea of ‘new media’ captures both the development of unique forms of digital media, and the remaking of more traditional media forms to adopt and
adapt to the new media technologies." (Flew 2005, pp.3-4)
In order to understand the Newcastle Knights Rugby League club, an knowledge of the history, squad, coaches, premierships won, and most importantly the impact of Andrew Johns are required. The wikipedia article on the Knights includes all of these things, however it only focuses on the basic information. This thus empowers the people reading the article with the main focuses of the Newcastle Knights and the overall general understanding allows for basic knowledge of the club.
The article appears to follow the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles, as it most importantly rejects objectivity, and does not include any personal opinions. It also has successfully enforced the use of the guidelines regarding to content, article inclusion, classification, editing, discussion, behaviour, and style. Overall the article displays an etiquette behaviour which allows for the article to meet the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles.
The article is fair and balanced as it breaks the club down to the four era's; 1988-1996, 1997-2003, 2004-2006, and finally 2007 post Andrew Johns. By doing this it allows for the article to be viewed throughout the important era's of the club and portray an accurate look at the history of the club. However as anyone who is involved with the Newcastle club would know the major player in the club is Andrew Johns. He has impacted upon the Newcastle side like no other player has down to any other team. This I think then allows for a major part of the article to be bias to the importance of Andrew Johns and has successfully done that. The article overall displays a fair and accurate portrayal of the Newcastle Knights.
The changes I would make to tthe article on the Newcastle Knights would be to include a few paragraphs to the importance of the fans to the club, as the club has a strong fan base in the Hunter/Newcastle region and the value that the club prides on having the most loyal supporters in the League. Also i would include another paragraph on the homeground; Energy Australia Stadium, and the history of it, as once again it is a vital part of the Newcastle Rugby League Club.
The second article i have chosen is on the T.V show Scrubs. With the term scrubs having many definitions, this article took a little more time to find, however it in relation to the T.V show the article itself is accurate. It appears accurate as it focuses on the history of the program, the characters, producers, and episodes of the show, whilst also refering to a range of production techniques.
The basic facts needed to understand the program Scrubs include the characters in the program and the idea that the program revolves around the central character's eye's. The article includes the synopsis of the program, along with the many reasons as to why the program is produced the way it is. Through this insight a much broader understanding of the show is given, thus the article covers all basic facts needed to understand Scrubs plus including a more in depth look at the program.
The article follows the Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles, as it has followed the correct measures in reference to content, article inclusion, classification, editing, discussion, behaviour, and styles. By eliminating objectivity the article has successfuly followed Wikipedia's guideline's and has provided a truthful look at the T.V show scrubs in this article.
The article focuses on the synopsis, cast, episodes, awards, music, production details, and includes links and footnotes, thus allowing for it to be fair and balanced. However by including quotes by the creator, Bill Lawrence it is clear that the discourse presented throughout the article is that of Lawrence's which allows for the article, and ideas of the show to be witnessed as Lawrence's ideas. By including links to episodes and plot overview's the article allows for full insight into the show and allows for judgement to be made, thus reinforcing a fair and balanced article.
In order to improve this article to the Wikipedia community the inclusion of more quotes and opinions of the cast and crew, the article would have a more involved feeling thus giving a more appealing, informing, entertaining feel making it a better article.
This weeks reading was a chapter out of Terry Flew's Whats new about media. It looks a little at the history of media, and then goes onto look at the new technologies in particular the Internet and how new media is adapted. "The idea of ‘new media’ captures both the development of unique forms of digital media, and the remaking of more traditional media forms to adopt and
adapt to the new media technologies." (Flew 2005, pp.3-4)
Monday, April 7, 2008
Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
How do the ideas from Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply to contemporary digital media?
Throughout "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" the notion of the 'Aura' of art and the idea that the meaning of art is reproducible, are heavily conveyed and presented by Benjamin to ancient forms of art. However these ideas can apply to contemporary digital media, as although the styles of art may have changed, art still has the ability to be conveyed through different meanings, and perceived differently through use of different discourses and contexts. Ultimately however these contemporary digital media's such as music and photo shop, still conveys a strong sense of 'Aura' that Benjamin was so strongly referring to. Thus the ideas Benjamin was conveying throughout "Art in the the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply fittingly to the new art that is formed through contemporary digital media.
There was a time when "Art" was made by artists who were skilled professionals. Now that anyone with a computer can create things digitally (music, images, videos, etc), what does that mean for "art"?
Previously being an 'Artist' was perceived as a profession, which traditionally linked art to the association of all things religious, feudal, power structures, nature, and other native rituals. With art now being 'created' by anyone who has a computer, it has ultimately been freed from the conservative natures of telling a historical tale or painting religious paintings. Now that any person can create their own perception of a topic, art has become liberated to convey meanings of several cultures rather than one dominant culture. For example with music as a form of 'Art' we are thus enlightened with different forms and genres of music which all convey a different aspect of a culture.
Is a photo shopped image "authentic"?
A photo shopped image cannot be seen as "authentic" as according to Benjamin 'The whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical – and, of course, not only technical – reproducibility.' This thus means that the photo shopped image which is a reproduced update of an original, is lacking its presence in time and space. Benjamin commented that 'The presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.' As the photo shopped image is not the original and does not convey the original presence it therefore does not meet the prerequisite demands of the concept of authenticity, thus making it not "authentic".
Do digital "things" have an "aura" (in Benjamin's terms)?
Digital media's such as music, movies, images, and videos convey a form of art which allow for mass production, mass meaning, and mass cultural understandings. The "aura" Benjamin refers to a sense of awe at the viewing of artwork and he external attributes to the art. As these new digital media's have provoke feelings appealing to the senses, they can thus be seen as having an "aura". Digital media also allows for external attributes such as; meaning conveyed, senses appealed to, and cultural insights, thus allowing it to have that sense of "aura". Overall these digital "things" have the ability to be provoke feeling and allow for insight, so they ultimately have an "aura".
This weeks reading was Borges- tion, Uqbar, Orbis, tertius. This was another difficult reading that helped emphasis that fact and fiction can sometimes be inter weaved and it is hard to identify what is real and what is not.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunt:
1: Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
The creator was Philippine student Onel de Guzman.
Website used:
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html
2: Who invented the paper clip?
A Norwegian inventor Johan Vaaler invented the paper clip in 1899.
Website used: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm
3: How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus got its name from a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease was first recognized.
Website used: http://ebola.emedtv.com/ebola-virus/from-what-place-did-the-ebola-virus-get-its-name.html
4: What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
The largest recorded earthquake in the world since the 1900’s was in Chile in 1960, measuring 9.5.
Website used: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/10_largest_world.php
5: In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1 Terabyte = 1024 G = 10242 M = 10243 K = 10244 bytes
Website used: http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/tanya/hwtute/How_to_measure_data/measure.htm
6: Who is the creator of email?
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson implemented the first email system in 1971.
Website used: http://www.babylon.com/definition/Ray%20Tomlinson/
7: What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The so-called Storm worm is actually not a worm, but rather a family of Trojans that typically have the following components; A backdoor component that allows surreptitious access to infected systems; A spam relay component that turns infected machines into spam-bots; A peer networking component that allows the Storm Trojans to communicate with other infected computers on the Storm botnet; An email harvester to steal email addresses found on infected computers; A downloader/dropper component to update itself or download additional malware; and,
A rootkit is often included to hide the presence of the Storm Trojans.
Some experts have put the number of Storm-infected PCs at close to 10 million, but most estimates are more conservative, pegging the infected pool at between a few hundred thousand and a million or so machines.
Websites used: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/10/the_storm_worm_maelstrom_or_te.html?nav=rss_blog and http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/a/stormworm.html
8: If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Parliament House
Suite MG 8Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
Tel:
(02) 6277 7700
Fax:
(02) 6273 4100
Griffith Electorate Office
630 Wynnum Road Morningside, QLD, 4170
Tel:
(07) 3899 4031
Fax:
(07) 3899 5755
Postal Address:
PO Box 476A Morningside, QLD, 4170
Web:
http://www.pm.gov.au/
Website used: http://www.alp.org.au/people/qld/rudd_kevin.php
9: Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
The Black Assassins.
Website used: http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
10: What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a means of using improved technology to allow for a more creative approach to the internet and a means in which users have the ability to view their own opinions, create their own news, and decipher what it is that is important to them. This term implies a whole new individual side of computer and internet usage. Allows for sharing and connectivity is main purpose.
Website used: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
Part 2:
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines use mirror pages or an entrance page which means that the web page is specifically created containing more relevant keywords in a single page in order to rank higher on the "spider" search engines. However common web pages usually are very broad targeted and are not themed around particular keywords or phrases because average web pages are unfocused and not optimized properly.
what are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
My favourite search engines are google and yahoo as i feel that they are the two with the most amounts of information whether it be highly related or only slightly, they both allow for me to gather all the information i require and then make my own informed decision.
This weeks reading by Walter Benjamin was a difficult reading to understand. However upon re-reading it was a look at the changing natures of art and the way that art can be separated into high and low arts, and the ways in which art can act as a way of communication. Ultimately however, the reading was strongly linked to the 'aura' of art that Benjamin was talking about and how the authenticity of art is changed over time.
1: Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
The creator was Philippine student Onel de Guzman.
Website used:
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html
2: Who invented the paper clip?
A Norwegian inventor Johan Vaaler invented the paper clip in 1899.
Website used: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm
3: How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus got its name from a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease was first recognized.
Website used: http://ebola.emedtv.com/ebola-virus/from-what-place-did-the-ebola-virus-get-its-name.html
4: What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
The largest recorded earthquake in the world since the 1900’s was in Chile in 1960, measuring 9.5.
Website used: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/10_largest_world.php
5: In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1 Terabyte = 1024 G = 10242 M = 10243 K = 10244 bytes
Website used: http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/tanya/hwtute/How_to_measure_data/measure.htm
6: Who is the creator of email?
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson implemented the first email system in 1971.
Website used: http://www.babylon.com/definition/Ray%20Tomlinson/
7: What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The so-called Storm worm is actually not a worm, but rather a family of Trojans that typically have the following components; A backdoor component that allows surreptitious access to infected systems; A spam relay component that turns infected machines into spam-bots; A peer networking component that allows the Storm Trojans to communicate with other infected computers on the Storm botnet; An email harvester to steal email addresses found on infected computers; A downloader/dropper component to update itself or download additional malware; and,
A rootkit is often included to hide the presence of the Storm Trojans.
Some experts have put the number of Storm-infected PCs at close to 10 million, but most estimates are more conservative, pegging the infected pool at between a few hundred thousand and a million or so machines.
Websites used: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/10/the_storm_worm_maelstrom_or_te.html?nav=rss_blog and http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/a/stormworm.html
8: If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Parliament House
Suite MG 8Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
Tel:
(02) 6277 7700
Fax:
(02) 6273 4100
Griffith Electorate Office
630 Wynnum Road Morningside, QLD, 4170
Tel:
(07) 3899 4031
Fax:
(07) 3899 5755
Postal Address:
PO Box 476A Morningside, QLD, 4170
Web:
http://www.pm.gov.au/
Website used: http://www.alp.org.au/people/qld/rudd_kevin.php
9: Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
The Black Assassins.
Website used: http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
10: What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a means of using improved technology to allow for a more creative approach to the internet and a means in which users have the ability to view their own opinions, create their own news, and decipher what it is that is important to them. This term implies a whole new individual side of computer and internet usage. Allows for sharing and connectivity is main purpose.
Website used: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
Part 2:
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines use mirror pages or an entrance page which means that the web page is specifically created containing more relevant keywords in a single page in order to rank higher on the "spider" search engines. However common web pages usually are very broad targeted and are not themed around particular keywords or phrases because average web pages are unfocused and not optimized properly.
what are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
My favourite search engines are google and yahoo as i feel that they are the two with the most amounts of information whether it be highly related or only slightly, they both allow for me to gather all the information i require and then make my own informed decision.
This weeks reading by Walter Benjamin was a difficult reading to understand. However upon re-reading it was a look at the changing natures of art and the way that art can be separated into high and low arts, and the ways in which art can act as a way of communication. Ultimately however, the reading was strongly linked to the 'aura' of art that Benjamin was talking about and how the authenticity of art is changed over time.
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