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Discussion 2

I have learned a lot throughout this class, one thing that stands out to me the most is how similar technologies were used or created many years ago, but are just now becoming popular. In Personal Dynamic Media, the Dynabook is very similar to the kindle and iPad, and I had never known before reading the article that such things existed before the popular items that are out now. I wanted to go further into this topic to understand why the Dynabook didn’t work out how the Kindle and iPad have worked. Another article I found really interesting was the Second Life article. I had seen the True Life episode about Second Life and to learn more about the topic was really cool to me. So to summarize, my favorite thing about this class was learning more about topics I had only previously brushed the surface on. I also thought the idea of having all of our readings available online, instead of buying a book was incredibly helpful.

Discussion 1

I just re-read the discussion and realized the posts were nothing about the articles! That’s what I get for skimming over the instructions. I think some of the most interesting readings we have had in this class are the ones that open our eyes to new perspectives. Some of the readings that did this for me were Quality of Online Social Relationships, Man Computer Symbiosis, Just Like Me Only Better, and A Virtual Death and A Real Dilemma. To be honest I could list pretty much every single one of the articles because they all offered new insight into new media issues and topics. The ones that I listed I found most interesting because they were on topics I had already questioned and wondered about myself, and the articles helped me understand why things are they way they are. The most interesting one out of the four I listed was the last one, A Virtual Death and A Real Dilemma. I just could not believe someone would lie about a loved one going through such a struggle and dying, all while gathering a huge number of followers. I am still irked by this article, it’s almost like giving people hope about something than yanking all those emotions away, it’s just not right. All in all, I found this class to be one of the most insightful and interesting classes I have taken throughout my years at SJSU, and would recommend it to anyone interested in our new way of life with new media. 

Collective Behavior in YouTube

Before reading this article, I immediately looked up “Bus Uncle” on YouTube and watched it.

Calling All Facebook Addicts

I read this humorous article on the All Facebook website, questioning the readers if they suffer from a Facebook addiction disorder.

The World Wide Web

I was confused at first when I began to read this article, and I wasn’t quite sure what the author was trying to explain.

A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma

After reading the first paragraph of the article A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma, I was shocked that someone would do that online.