Blog #5

“The meaning of a particular thing is enabled by the web of implicit meanings we call the world” (170). I believe that this is in relationship to how we as people see things in the real world and the connections we make to the unfamiliar to the familiar. If we see something in the digital world that doesn’t make sense we will connect it back to what we know to make sense or to figure the problem at hand out. Trying to make the web have meaning and this can also be said for other art forms. People connect what they know to make sense of what they don’t. In songs, visual art, poetry, the web even—people find underlining meaning. This is a great example of metaphor. Metaphor is used to disguise another meaning, for the super cliché, reading between the lines.

I thought it was interesting how Weinberger explained the start button in Allston gas stations. However the button was not raised and people got confused. (pg.153). I believe this is because people took what they knew and related back to what was in front of them. Trying to make sense of what was presented to them. We put “implicit” meaning to items to make full sense of that item. Like the gas station buttons, people tried to put implicit meaning to the upraised button to understand but failed. This lead to confusing for the consumer and there for was not proven to be a failed concept.

I chose the song “People Say” by Portugal the Man. I find patriotic meaning in this song and I find a different view of what that means. I have made a Photoshop image that I think a computer would have composed to make sense of this song. The image showcases protestors which is a right for Americans and there is also patriotic colors displayed within the image. This is not only how I believe a computer would see this song but me also.

Save me,

I can't be saved,

I won't.

I'm a president's son,

I don't need no soul.

All the soldiers say

"It'll be alright,

we may make it through the war

if we make it through the night."

All the people, they say:

"What a lovely day, yeah, we won the war.

May have lost a million men, but we've got a million more."

All the people, they say.

Share with me

all of your pain,

I won't share your love,

I need all your love.

All the soldiers say

"It'll be alright,

we may make it through the war

if we make it through the night."

All the people, they say:

"What a lovely day, yeah, we won the war.

May have lost a million men, but we've got a million more."

All the people, they say.

Save me,

I can't be saved,

I won't.

I don't need no love.

I'm a president's son.

All the soldiers say

"It'll be alright,

we may make it through the war

if we make it through the night."

All the people, they say:

"What a lovely day, yeah, we won the war.

May have lost a million men, but we've got a million more."

All the people, they say.

It'll be alright,

It'll be alright,

It'll be right now.

Blog #4 "Weinberger and web 2.0"

In “Everything is Miscellaneous” the chapter that resonated with me the most was chapter four. Within that chapter it spoke about how items are organized. Lumpers and Splitters, which I related with because this concept, to me, can be very visually stimulated. The way items are organized, either physically or digitally; one can see the line of connections to get from one point to another. Like the books title states—“Everything is Miscellaneous” within the Internet nothing has a specific spot at a specific time. Things/information can be anywhere and anytime. A junk drawer. However the cool thing about the Internet even though the information is in fact a miscellaneous drawer it is organized and allows someone to get the information they want fast. This is where I believe web 2.0 comes in very nicely. The Internet is now designed to work best with it’s users. With web 2.0 it allows the user of the Internet to be involved and create an endless space that best meets their needs. With Youtube for example, it allows the users to leave comments, showcase how many views there has been and overall gives the viewer power to let others know their opinions. This system of letting the user determine the quality of something has in turn helped with weeding out what is “good” and “not good”. This is like clearing out what things in the junk drawer is used most often and what is not. Like Weinberger’s example of silverware. The shrimp fork is still there but who really uses that thing on the daily. It can be found but it’s not the most popular. This selecting and voting system goes further then entertainment purposes but helps get information to the user quicker when they use search engines as well. Take Google, with the voting of it’s users and tracking what is being searched most often one the most popular and reliable sources will be presented first. This is due to the help of spiders, which in turn allows a user to gain information and contribute to the process. Over all I find Weinberger’s analogies and metaphors for the Internet very helpful in understand the digital world and how I am apart of it. Web 2.0 can semi be confusing but when thinking of it in terms of physical objects such as a fork can put concepts in perspective.

Blog #3 "Lumper and Splitters"

As I read this chapter I thought it was really cool what they called “lumpers” and “splitters” and the difference between them. “A lumper takes things that seem disparate and combine them because they have something similar. A splitter tends to take tow things that are lumped together and separate them into smaller categories.” (pg.71). For myself I am a splitter. I organize things, items by larger groups and make subcategories from there. This will be reflected in my planner as I explained in my last blog is one thing I like to keep organized in my life. For example I believe a splitter’s brain works very much like brainstorming bubbles you have an idea and then from that smaller ideas are created. So in regards to my planner I go be day and then three main times in the day and what needs to be accomplished within each of those times. As for a lumper they are finding similarities between items. I find lumper to be more like a Venn Diagram. They are finding what can go into both circles. The most interesting part of the reading for me was the lists part. I make so many lists within my day and each and every one you can find similarities on how I organize them. Yes of course the tasks are different but how I choose to order them from important to not important and build subcategories from there is always the same!

Blog #2

I found the first few chapters very interesting in relations to his view on photos. It just resonated with me because I am by no means OCD and I do in fact “misplace” or “forget” but mostly “never see again” some of my photos that I saved quickly. The DSC and the following long number really just doesn’t help me at all. However, this brings up another point he spoke about. How unlike in the physical world items do not have one place. The whole “You can’t be in two places at once” phrase does not apply here—here being the Internet or digital world. That all the information on the Internet can be stored in multiple areas, everything is miscellaneous. How we organize things within our heads verses how we organize them in the digital world. What categories we put certain pieces of information and how it is similar to how we think.

Personally I don’t keep much of anything organized. I like to have the allusion of organization and with that I have a planner for my day’s activities. However, I will write “remember to” notes anywhere in there. I find my planner to be a lot like the digital world—It can be stored anywhere within the planner. But, aside from my notes to myself due dates for projects, and test are organized and recorded with the up most care. I document deadlines because they have to be done verses just randomly writing things I would like to get to sometime. They don’t have an end date, I could in theory do them whenever, unlike homework or appointments.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 has made it possible for individuals who have access to the Internet to become apart of the online world in a big way. Each and every click of the mouse is affecting the Internet. While reading this article I found it interesting in the methods on calculating the votes to access what people are searching the most. How search engines eliminate and calculate top searches. The one thing I will be taking away from this article in regards to future aspirations is the convenience that this system of top rated videos; articles and words in general can be calculated on a worldwide level. My future goal is to become a children’s author and integrate the web with reading books for a young audience. With the Internet allowing access to see what is selling on websites such as Amazon it is helpful to gaining knowledge of what is popular for young children. This also can be said for top websites that children visit. What do they have? Games? Videos? Pictures? With the interaction of the voting system it is now easy to calculate what sets certain items apart from others. Also what is more popular at any given time.

One of the more interesting web applications I have come across lately is the grooveshark application for Blackberry phones. This application will allow one to in theory gain access to any artist, album and song anywhere. With this application for blackberry phones it allows one to have full access of music for free and be able to listen to it whenever one has their phones on them. I find this so revolutionary because I wonder if ITunes sales will be affected in a negative way.