Since it’s February, everyone is completely immersed in love. Whether they have it, don’t have it, want it or don’t want it. You can see it everywhere, even when you go to grab a gallon of milk and you walk in to a wall of red and pink frilly hearts. I am admittedly single and haven’t found the holiday too exciting for quite some time. However this month I was looking at Gala Darling’s blog (www.galadarling.com), and she introduced a new concept to me: Radical Self Love.
It’s possible that everyone loves themselves at all times, but I think everyone, including me, needs a little self-love lift sometimes. If you can’t tell from my blog, or at the very least my categories (punch in face), I haven’t really felt that warm fuzzy feeling in a bit. I’ve been quite frustrated with my surroundings, and other outlets haven’t helped much either. So this concept of ’self love’ is kind of an exciting one.
It seems I’ve been in a slump for about 3 years now, and although I know I’ve made some significant strides I feel like it’s still not enough, I’m still behind, and I’m nowhere near my dream. This is where I think this self-love strategy will come into play. I really need to kick myself into thinking just because I’m not where I want to be doesn’t mean I’ll never get there. Also, just because my life isn’t what I expected doesn’t mean it’s not worth me living it to the fullest.
Expectations are a blessing and a curse. Although you want to hold yourself to a high standard, you shouldn’t want to crawl into a ball and cry whenever you don’t reach your goals. We all make mistakes, we all have setbacks, and there’s no reason to just want to leave everything behind just because we didn’t get what we want.
Reflecting back on this makes me feel like such a child. Why do I feel like my whole world is going to collapse because I didn’t do X, Y or Z? I need to realize that I can’t always do what I want to do and can’t always be who I want to be. I can aspire to these things, but I shouldn’t completely lose myself because what I want isn’t what I have.
So I guess my self love is starting right here, being accepting of who I am and what I’ve done even if it’s not who I expected to be or what I expected to do.
Things in this world that make me want to punch people in the face (generally at the workplace):
- People laughing and talking loud about stupid things in office hallways with COMPLETE disregard to the people around them who could care less about their crappy music tastes and what happened last weekend…I don’t care.
- Construction during normal work hours. Call me crazy, but gross men burping, shouting, and trying to mangle together a cube at 10:30 a.m. does not make me the most productive worker bee. (Which is why instead of working, I’m writing this post) They’re whistling! Why are they whistling!?
- Co-workers that throw you under the bus, and don’t have the common decency to do it to your face, but instead tell your bosses boss you’re a bad worker and then cower behind their office door. If you’re going to backstab me, at least give some decent warning or any feedback so that my “wrong doings” don’t happen again.
- People who are ‘too cool’ at the bar. Don’t look down on me because I wear lighter jeans and like to order Coronas. I look down on you because you’re wearing tights and a blazer in 19 degree weather. I hope you slip on ice with your 4 inch heel boots.
- Chivalry is dead, and real men no longer exist. Please read: http://www.esquire.com/features/what-is-a-man-0509
One of the results of having an overactive imagination and no outlet for your thoughts is freaky dreams. I have many, and over the course of my life they’ve gotten stranger and stranger.
Many of my dreams have to do with being underwater or not being able to walk due to carrying a heavy load (don’t try to analyze me, I’ve already looked these things up). Last night, however, I had a strange dream that didn’t have to do with the ocean or heavy loads.
My dream involved a strange old man trying to guide me along this path, but by following him on this path I came across some dangerous situations. The situations basically involved the creepy man trying to buy me through these odd carnival auctions several times throughout the dream, while I continued to look to him for guidance. I’m not really sure what this one means, I haven’t looked it up but I’m sure there’s something going wrong with my life to give me these bizarre thoughts during my slumber.
Post dream: Went to work today and seriously considered just telling my superiors all my thoughts. Basically that I wanted to just leave and become an artist or small shop owner of sorts. I tried to make it sound like I could accomplish these things in my current position, but in reality it may be close to impossible. Updates to follow…wish me luck in my life as a drone.
Things I’ve learned today (that have nothing to do with this dream): Speak up more in the work place. For some reason people respect and listen to you more when you have an opinion, regardless of how stupid that opinion may be. Also to note: may not be the best idea to let your colleagues know of all your plans, especially if you’re just planning on leaving within the next few months.
Technology has been continually helpful in making processes easier for us. With each new invention comes the increased time or decreased frustration that we would not have had without the invention. Computers were created to execute tasks and produce goods in order to make our lives better. What our new technologies have provided us with, however, is the opportunities to have computers execute tasks that at a time humans thought we’d be the only machines able to do, and create things that were once only produced by nature. What people have started to realize is that nature is more a series of multiple computers than anything. People have started to realize that we now have the capability to make computers do many of the things that nature can do, including many of the things that were thought to be exclusively human. Not only are computers becoming more human, but humans are starting to integrate computers more and more into our everyday lives. Computers are now a part of everything we do, not only for our occupations but for our general daily tasks. We can now order groceries online and watch our favorite television shows, and we even carry around portable computing devices like our cell phones which almost have the equivalent power to our computers of the past. At the end of the day, it will be hard to tell where the human ends and the computers begin.
The only problem I see with this is in fact the lost sense of humanity and the increased glorification of machines. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to live without a microwave, but that doesn’t mean I want all ‘appliances’ taking over things that I could do. I think that although having all these new technologies and having machines capable of doing many things for us, we still need to have some things to do for ourselves. While listening to The Persistence Memory, I was impressed but equally horrified at the fact that the capability of continually recording life existed. Something like a virtual memory is not something I’m really willing to accept at this time, mainly because it seems to decrease the need to enhance our own natural memory. The way some changes make life better for us is the same way that other advancements make the average human being weaker and less sharp. As survivors in the Stone Age, humans had to be physically and mentally on top of their game, and if they weren’t the consequences were the difference between life and death. And although I don’t suggest we step so drastically backwards, I do think that it is necessary to retain some of our survival instincts just for the sake of pure survival.
Another potential issue with machines doing the bulk of human work is that they might replace people for jobs. This is a fear that has been in place for a long time, but it is no less real than it was in the past. When computers start taking over jobs that were initially done by people, the people who held this types of positions may find it difficult to get other jobs. This is especially true with manual jobs that have found it easy to replace people with assembly lines and factories full of mechanical devices. It also makes the niche smaller and smaller for other, less laborious, jobs that may have required more expertise than man power. With new tools and software, jobs that have initially been very exclusive have become easier to obtain because the costs are lower and the tools are simpler. Now anyone can be a filmmaker or music artist if they purchase the right computer and download the right software. Also positions like marketing and communications have altered because technically anyone can market your brand or bash your brand, and with the right tools the success lies with those with the strongest voice; which don’t necessarily have to be the ‘professionals.’ Things keep changing, and people continue to change with each new step technology takes. This change, however, doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Even if/when we decide that computers should take over for us in some areas of our lives, this might benefit us in the fact that it will allow us to focus on other parts of our lives or develop new skills for the new world.
Now the positive to having these advancements, as mentioned, is the extra time and increased capabilities that allow us to do things that we couldn’t even imagine possible until they existed. I remember having a CD player and thinking it was the most amazing piece of equipment, and I thought how incredible that there was a mechanism that could burn/read a disk. Then MP3’s came along and basically blew my mind, and now I spend less money, have less clutter, and save an infinite amount of time searching for and changing my music. The more machines can do for us, the more we will be able to do for ourselves. I’m not sure how much time I would’ve wasted on searching for CD’s over a lifetime, but I assure you I’m glad that that time is not going towards that effort. And although machines have really developed over time, I really doubt they will ever be able to have all the capabilities of the natural world so that world is safe for now. Finally, on people living in a digitally recorded world, there are already many people who opt to live their lives virtually and I don’t think that will change much when these capabilities become more available. I believe that those who would want this will continue to want this and live their lives in this manner, and those who don’t want this will not. The future of this world will be whatever one wants it to be. Just a matter of preference.
There is a lot of talk going on about how content must be regulated, and how people and businesses have to be protected from intellectual property theft. The paranoia continues to rise as technology for stealing content far surpasses the technology for protecting that content. People should be paranoid, there are many more people invested in taking that content than protecting it and it seems like they’re winning this war. Not only is it possible for anyone to get anything they’d like on the internet, from software to DVDs, but with the amount of people involved in these exchanges, it is increasingly impossible to track and reprimand these citizens. With frustrations climbing, this could prove to be quite a problem.
In the past pirating was a much more difficult process than it is now. It was nearly impossible to break through certain codes and server capabilities weren’t nearly what they are today so it took an eternity to download. Pirating was a task that only the truly devoted were able to take part in, and the rest of us merely went to the store to get the content we wanted. As time went by and internet providers became faster, the internet also proved to have more possibilities than in the past. With these new capabilities people were not only able to download information, but they could also copy and distribute it with ease. However, those with technology skills are not the only ones who have partaken in stealing content.
The film industry is huge, and profits do not only come from theater ticket sales but from DVD sales as well. Before downloading movies became so easy, citizens could go to a theater and film a movie for their own distribution and gain. The picture and sound quality was horrible, but it was still an unreleased film. Now, with the ease of transferring information, someone working on that film could easily get the real DVD copy and send it worldwide. These copies are the exact quality of the original film, and can be copied and sent as they please. Outside the US, it is especially easy for people to buy and sell these bootleg films because these laws are less regulated or not as clear.
Regardless of the country, however, it is impossible to seek out all those who are taking content. The main reason for that is because of the sheer number of people taking content, and the availability and ease of the programs that people use to do this. At some point or another, everyone in the cyber world can admit to stealing a song, movie, book, software, etc. And although this is a major issue, the law cannot conceivably arrest everyone in the world who uses the internet and has at one point or another taken content. Because of this lack in enforcement, people continue to take this content. And as long as it is so easy to do, and there are so few consequences, the trend will continue.
Frankly, although I’m generally against stealing, I don’t find anything wrong with this. If the prices for some of these items weren’t so extreme, the people wouldn’t really find the need to take time to take them. Also, many of these companies supplying these things have many different sources of income so this is just another way of balancing out the rich/poor ratio. And honestly there’s no point to trying to protect these things, because after the millions of dollars you spend on a foolproof security feature, there’s just going to be another devoted, teenage genius ready to disarm your entire fortress.
When making a website there are a lot of things to consider, even more things to consider if that site has other people than yourself uploading and downloading content. With Inti Media Marketplace there are several places where copyright and privacy, among other, issues will have to be examined in order to keep the site and its participants safe. To build the site we would have to hire a web designer or agency to create the site, and we would have to work out a contract in which we will be able to secure the ownership of our site and everything that is on it. We would probably hire lawyers to draft up an agreement and negotiate with the company until we found something that worked for us. This would also include deciding on whether we’d want to create a server or put the site on an already existing server.
Since we will have to have the capability of people uploading and downloading materials, we will definitely need to use the DMCA Safe Harbor act to protect ourselves from any problems that our customers may get into. This act would allow us to conduct our business, but would make sure the business stays safe no matter what the users may do.
We would definitely want to collect private information from our sources, because this information would allow us to track customers and would give the customers less flexibility to do harm on the site. The information we’d collect would probably just be the standard name, address, contact information, site address, etc. Also, we would expect to have the capability to keep a credit card online so returning customers can just select their previously used information. To keep this information protected, we’d need to have customers set up profiles, keep those profiles private, and allow access via usernames and passwords. We’d probably also work with a reputable money service, like PayPal, to ensure all payments are safe and that the customer feels good about buying on our site.
If an issue should occur on our site with customers or spam, we would have the capability to close anyone’s account in order to keep problems from spreading. We would use captchas so we could protect our site from spam, and would make sure to information about how we intend to deal with those problems in our terms of use. Also in our terms of use, we’d have to set strict rules about what is allowed and what isn’t. One of the things that won’t be tolerated is plagiarism. Additionally, people who make offensive comments will be restricted from commenting on the site.
There are a lot of elements to this site, so clearly there will be a lot of different challenges to address. Some of these challenges will come from the customer side, like payments and content, and others will be handled through the creation of the site. The one thing that is certain is that a lot of people will need to be involved to handle these proceedings, and many things will have to be drafted and negotiated before the site is done.
After discussing copyright and legal issues in class, it’s safe to say that trying to keep track of all these laws and their effect on common practices is a difficult task. One might say that there should be someone, other than government officials and lawyers, keeping an eye on all these proceedings. Well, there’s definitely someone keeping watch: Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In order to keep copyright law in check, the EFF has decided to take it upon itself to collect and review the laws of the world. It seems that it is just as big of a deal to support the creative freedom of the masses as it is to keep creative works already in existence safe from replication.
Although it seems that this is indeed necessary, the whole thing is going to get increasingly obsessive. As we’ve learned copyright laws are very twisted and can be argued based on a variety of different grounds. Through each circumstance, a different outcome may be obtained, but these disputes don’t even have to be that different. The fickle nature of these laws, especially as they relate to Internet properties, will continue to confuse our population and create a more and more tangled web of confusion.
The answer? There really isn’t one. We’ll always need to have laws that inspire growth and competition amongst the population, and we’ll always need laws regulating that that growth can steadily increase. The goal is to have foundations like this one that argues to get more properties to the public as much as the lawyers argue to keep those properties under lock and key.
There will be a continual struggle for power of the establishment vs. the needs of the people, but we, as the responsible public, have to make sure we take the time to also moderate these things for ourselves and allow our voices to become another point of view in this conversation.
Design has been making things better for years. Without design, partnered with technology, many things would remain the same. In the past design was driven by function, many people did not consider the user but made their products solely to function as they needed. Computers were very difficult to manage and workers had to be trained professionally as people who could handle those tasks. As discussed in Designing for Interaction, user-centered design’s roots are in “industrial design and ergonomics and in the belief that designers should try to fit products to people instead of the other way around.”
Interactive design is all about creating a product or procedure to best suit the user and make it easier for that user to accomplish their tasks. Interactive design is especially important in the digital world because of all the competition in this space. All websites are based on audience, number of viewers or subscribers, because of this designers have to work extra hard to make sure that their sites are appealing, functional, and engaging. If their site does not have these qualities, the site runs the risk of being lost in the shuffle of other/better sites or completely being rejected by their audience. So in order to become a successful website you need to make sure that your site will not only meet the needs of your user but also do it in a way that makes them want to use your services exclusively. So once again, the power is in the hands of the user.
This is a very interesting concept since generally you would think that the power belongs to the large corporations. But what are large corporations if there are no consumers to buy your products? Corporations have to try harder than ever to make sure that their sites are accessible and engaging. Corporations also now strive to make their sites entertaining, even if it doesn’t necessarily have a lot to do with their product. Absolut.com hosts a lot of shows from comedians that don’t always necessarily have to do with their product, but this gives consumers another reason to go to the site. This is similar to general gimmicks that companies use to publicize their product. For example, McDonald’s has the Monopoly game that encourages people to eat at McDonald’s because it provides them an opportunity to win money. These kinds of stunts, that don’t necessarily have much to do with the product being sold, entertain consumers so they have more reasons to buy their products and visit their websites.
Another more subtle way that companies can attract consumers is simply by making the site exceptionally functional. In Designing for Interaction the authors also discussed how it was the small, irritating things that made sites difficult to manage, and not necessarily the design or the content of the site. Small functional errors, bad placement, or unpleasant colors could kill a site just as easily as anything else. This makes the usability testing and development of these sites especially important. Several drafts must be created to make sure that every issue has been addressed, and many eyes have to look at the site to make sure that a diverse audience of users will be able to use the site and enjoy their experience.
A lot has to go into creating a site as well as publicizing it and making sure that consumers find it, use it and tell their friends. But the return, if done right, can be great. Not only can a good, interactive site boost sales but it can improve consumer’s attitudes about that brand. Keeping the user and user interests in mind makes products, sites and companies better.
While thinking about my users for Inti Media Marketplace, I considered two people: Leslie and Adam. Generally my site is for people who are trying to sell their products/skills, get a job, or recruit/buy a service. Leslie is a creative director for a media company. She uses Inti to post positions for the Media Company as well as search for artwork and freelance workers with technical skills. She used to use Monster.com to post positions, but for a career in creative services there was nowhere for artists to post their artwork so it was more effort to find their work. Also, she finds it easier to just buy certain graphics/designs templates that are already up for purchase than spend the time creating them herself. This allows her to build upon these templates and create things easier and faster. Her background is in design, so she appreciates the clean, simple and functional design of Inti and that it offers so many capabilities. She likes websites that offer several things in one place, she usually searches for her needs at work and it’s easier for her to find everything if it’s in one place. She also uses it for her own freelance work, she posts her own artwork and does some writing on the side. She sells her work and makes some money from her creations. Leslie is very computer savvy and can usually be found on her computer for work or entertainment. My site is important for her work and everyday life because it provides her an easier way to do her work and a place to provide alternate options for her own income. Without Inti, she does not have a place to make her extra income or to find artists to fill her needs at work.
The second user is Adam. Adam is an aspiring music artist and also a huge music buff. He uses Inti to upload his own music onto the site and sell it to those who are interested in buying his type of music. He also has a profile on the site as a musician for hire, and he uses the site to get gigs every now and then. Since there are several other aspiring artists on the site, he also uses the site to build relationships and collaborate on projects. Additionally he enjoys using the site for entertainment and finding new music from unknown artists. He finds it a great addition to the sites and ways he already uses to find new music since he is already on it frequently for ‘work.’ He really likes how there’s an option to rate the songs as well as create ‘Pandora’-like mixes that bring up recommended songs. He doesn’t have much computer experience, except for finding music and belonging to a couple community groups, so he likes the ease of the site and that there are tutorials on how to accomplish most tasks. He found the site through a friend from another community group and he uses it in addition to other community sites. He has a few part-time jobs, so he mostly uses his home computer to accomplish these tasks. He usually has a good amount of time to search for jobs, find music, and upload his own music. It is important for Inti to serve Adam because without Inti it would be a lot more difficult and would take more time for Adam to do what he enjoys doing. He can use this as a place to do work and find entertainment all in one which gives him the ability to do other things as well. His ultimate goal is to either be discovered by a recording label or find a position that would allow him to use his music producing skills. He uses this site because it allows him to explore both these options.
By using Inti Media Marketplace, these users will be able to find the services, tools, and community that they need in order to do better at their job or even find new careers. Also they will be able to use it for their entertainment and to further their own careers. This will be a place where creative individuals and employers for creative services will be able to meet and collaborate. This is also a place where newcomers will be able to search for these types of products and services, and buy the things available for purchase. Ultimately it will be a place to see and be seen.
Everything is instantaneous! With our fast-moving culture, it becomes increasingly difficult to be patient. We have high-speed Internet and wifi everywhere, even on planes. However awesome these advancements are, they may be taking a small toll on an important virtue. Are our expectations out of whack? Moreover, are people forgetting how amazing our present is?
Although somewhat insulting, Louis brings up a good point about our generation. We grew up with all these things being the norm, not many of us remember how hard it was to dial that phone. When we’re using our iPhone and sending our bills via direct electronic payments, we might not appreciate how much extra time and energy these things would take if we didn’t have the technologies we do today.
Usually in these blog posts I discuss how technology may be potentially be damaging to our society, but what technology does do is give us the time to concentrate on other things that will advance us even further. What we have to remember is that these things are a privilege and that we are so lucky to have these gifts and all this extra time to do other tasks.