Disconnect

Took a night off recently, and threw on a film I'd heard about a few weeks ago which ended up being very relative to COMM 2F00. So for some sweet sweet participation marks I decided to write a bit about it.

Disconnect follows multiple timelines, some which converge and others that do not, they all however rely heavily on the internet as a medium of interaction as the basis of each story. The timelines include subplots of cyber bullying, identity theft, and a third involving a reporter getting a story on a male internet stripper which is, in my opinion, doesn't fit as neatly as the other two. Perhaps included for a little sexual tension for Hollywood to better sell the film, and it does ad something of the more seedy underbelly of the internet that some people may not be aware of, which would be intriguing.

Each timeline begins by demonstrating a fracture or disconnect due to the internet medium. As each timeline moves forward and climaxes there is a slow and sometimes subtle (depending on which timeline) breakdown of such digital communication and into more face to face interactions. These interactions ultimately bring the characters back down to earth from the brink that the destructive use, intended or not, of the internet brought them to.

I don't want to spoil too much as it really is a good film. Although most are extreme cases and dramatically portrayed, the threats of cyber bullying and identity theft and other exploitation on the internet are very real. You will most likely re-evaluate your security settings on all your devices after watching, and maybe even contemplate disconnecting entirely.

M1.2.2

The internet did, in fact, begin as a tool of the "maaaaan" as ARPANET a military communication tool which became the publicly used internet protocol we use today. Although its origins are militaristic, once the internet was in the hands of the public many communities, groups and cultures beyond those relating to the military were quickly formed. This internet was much different than the internet most people interact with today. Many of these beginnings did occur in the silicon valley region of California, which was only natural due to its establishment as a headquarters of computers oriented subculture.

It is worth considering how we've come to the middle of the road state of the internet. The convergence topic helps explain this. The top-down and bottom-up really kind of grew together in the shaping of the internet and any user today does have the option to take either road. But, I will state my bias here in saying that a majority of users, especially new ones tend to get stuck in the top-down road of the internet controlled by the mass media and never go beyond their Facebook homepage, for example.

As an aside, it has been reported that a growing minority of users believe Facebook, simply, is the internet. 

Now, it really does depend on the person when asking how one will use the interest. After all, the hippie counter-culture of regional silicon valley was a close relative if not the mother of early online culture. And so, it was the venture capitalists soon after that saw the internet as a new tool for brand new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses, as opposed to the kind of frontier of digital social space as it was being used by its earlier and initial hippie counter-culture users.

Fast forward to today and think about Twitter, Facebook, etc, and its hard to deny that today's internet as consumed by the majority is an amalgamation of both of the mass communications corporations from the top-down and the participatory users from the bottom up.

M1.2.1

I'm Andrew and right now, besides my name, there isn't much about myself I'm pressed for any reader to know immediately. You will learn much about me shortly. But, since you asked, a quick background as to why I'm here. I am taking this course to further my knowledge and gain insight into new media practices. As well as further my experience and knowledge to assist in the social media endeavors that are becoming more and more a part of what I do in my own line of work, and have even lead to new business partnerships rooted purely in social media.

I engage daily in a fair amount of social and new media. A typical day is checking Facebook maybe 10 times a day throughout, Twitter less often with maybe 4 or 5, I use the user generated new website Reddit as often if not more often than Facebook. All of these outlets I use primarily for business related interactions  For pure pleasure, Reddit is probably my primary source for news and other information, sometimes information I'm actively seeking out and sometimes I will browse Reddit similarly to how one might watch the evening news. Just to see whats going on in the world. What attracts me to Reddit the most is the "user generated" backbone on which it operates. Because of this, there is much less influence of media conglomerates on what is distributed on Reddit. A key feature here is the voting system, wherein any registered user (registration is free) can vote on any topic's popularity which increases its visibility. As a sociology major this style of new media interests me immensely and I expect to write more later about social mechanics in social and new media.