Virtuality, Immersion, Simulacra and Avatars

Virtuality has formally been described as “An aspect of reality that is not material” – Wikipedia, 2009. The virtual side of reality comes with a variety of examples, such as viewing something from Space and virtually how we input ideas about the world around us. The virtual world also, on a large scale, presents games which enable an illusion of fantasy and exploratory to appear. To explore this idea we created virtual postcards on Photoshop to send from Space.

Have a look at http://davinakumal.blogspot.com/ ‘s example of her virtual post card creation.

When it comes to virtuality, looking into the studies from Marie-Laure Ryan is very useful and constructive. The former scholar and critic has written several books and articles on issues regarding narratology, fiction and cyberculture.  Furthermore, she looks at virtual reality and human narrative. In Ryan’s latest book, according to Wikepedia 2009, she “embraces a transmedial definition of narrative based on cognitive premises”.

  Immersion has commonly been defined as “common human activity”. A peer of mine explores the idea that in the late 1980’s and early 90’s goggles and gloves were originally used in order to show an example of a virtual world, which furthermore allows you to see and formally touch the virtual world you are in within immersion. Read further into Davina’s blog, http://davinakumal.blogspot.com/ to see the connection between reality and the virtual element we live in.

Within immersion there is such thing as emotional immersion. This involves the acts of getting attached to books and films in an emotional sense. It should be highlighted that this in fact is a common feature for many people. Similarly, if you have enough going on in your body, you can actually get immersed in that sense. For example the constant training from Athletes.

  

The vast majority of what we know in today’s society originates from our influences from the media, this concept links directly to Simulacra. A simulacrum is an image of representation of someone or something.  





The main, most common example used to relate to this point would be the area and population involved with Disneyland. It is obvious that not in anyway are the events or people real and this was used as a clear distinction of reality, or more so what isn’t reality. The previous point was all explored by Baudrillard, and to continue he in great detail emphasises that Disney as a company enables us to constantly engage with different fantasies and myths which overall create hyper reality. As a whole we all have the ability to create barriers between the reality of our own situation and our extended virtual reality.

Finally, I am going to explore the concept of Avatar. Avatars and immersions are both representations of ones self in an additional world, you are an avatar virtually immerse in another world. The concept of Avatar with regards to computers involves the graphical representation of the user and the user’s alter ego. This itself can link directly to my previous post on representation and identity of ones self created through different media forms.

Identity and Representations

There are many ways in which identity is constructed through the means of technology. Who we are formally originates from the roots of our families. Our identity is rooted in our gender, class, political ideas, belief and custom, subculture. They all each individually help define us and construct our overall personalities.

Media and Identity are both closely linked. The example I looked at in detail was the events that took place around the events of the 9/11 bombings. The events were mediated, I found out about the tragedy due to the use of media and its way of communicating ideas. I personally wasn’t in New York when the events took place; my understanding was constructed through the media’s broadcasting. There were broadcasts all over the internet and television, which was the initial way of transferring messages to those, like me, who weren’t actually present at the scene of the tragic event.

The presentation of oneself is constructed in a variety of ways. As humans it has become noticeable that we all perform roles and these roles are fabricated through our identity. Goffman said “Identity is a process”, a way where by in which we create our identity and present to a variety of audiences. An example of this includes writing a Facebook status. This, as a whole, helps someone to present themselves in an online personality they have constructed.

Very rarely you will see a true depiction of someone’s everyday life; to us as “readers” it may be seen to be boring or unnecessary. Instead, the majority of statuses posted will far fetched and exciting. Similarly, the status’ will be in some lights a way of one to post something that needs attention brought to. In today’s society, Facebook is a way to express feelings and emotions and has been to known to explore messages of sympathy when someone’s life is sadly taken from them.

The profile pictures someone individually selects have been chosen out of choice, they aren’t necessarily a true image of what the person looks like. The photos could have been edited or modified to make them look, in their opinion, better.

Furthermore it has been suggested that you could potentially have a different identity online in comparison to your real life identity seen in flesh. Referring back to the Internet being a performance for some people, an example of this could be the website Tumblr. People spend time to develop a page to construct what they believe is their personality, but by doing so without realising they could be creating a different identity to their Twitter or Facebook page. A Tumblr page is a lot more artistic in comparison to Facebook and a Twitter feed as such only allows you to post something of 140 characters at a time, so when doing so you have to be particular in what you say.

Celebrities are in fact becoming more famous through the use of the internet and sites such as Twitter. It is their way of advertising new projects and connecting with their fans.

It is also important to note that identity and interface are closely linked. Designing WebPages helps identify companies and similarly this is done by the layout and choice of colours and images presented to the audience. When having to fill out forms about you on the internet, this raises a lot of diverse issues. Web 2.0 allows drop down menus to help identify ones personality, but are there ever enough drops down menus? Years before, this was the case. There were never enough options available for everyone, when it came to politics and religion the selections were narrow.

So, if it is suggested that we are performing roles, the main question is who are we actually performing to?

Issues of the body: Cyborgs and Artificial life

When someone first asked me what it meant for us to be networked I was always a little confused and misunderstood. Through research I looked into what it actually means to be networked, developing upon the underlying question as to weather we would all ultimately like the internet in our head? It seems a little extravagant and is true to say that 10 years ago no one could ever imagine something so extreme, but through development of technology in today’s society, that “extravagant” idea doesn’t seem so far away now, does it?

Life itself is seen as having unique and sacred properties. The notions of life, also known as “Materialism” share a lot of properties with the nonliving world. It may be a little bizarre to suggest that our life is very similar to one of a computer, but it is in fact true. Regardless of the qualities both have, a humans being their vital organs to allow it to live, and a computer being the properties that allow it to function….. They both are capable of growing, developing, and mending and changing to suit a pattern. Life simply is a self ordering pattern.

1. Cybernetics
In today’s society people are less scared of technology. How a programme works is very similar to how a body works, we recognise and address this by conforming to its codes and conventions. Ie, when a laptop needs charging we will charge it, preventing it from dying in order for us to carry on our research/ study. Then similarly, when a human is unwell, it is known that we go to the doctors and may possibly be prescribed with medication to make us better. Medicine itself is using technology, so once again we are faced with a diverse link between humans and technology that maybe we never thought we would see?!

Another question to boggle our minds is who controls our body?..... Do we as humans control our own body, or when influenced with alcohol doesn't alcohol? Can computers furthermore control our body? A common example of this is a heart pacemaker.  A pacemaker, or commonly known as an artificial pacemaker, is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart. The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an adequate heart rate for one who is suffering from serious medical problems. Modern pacemakers are externally programmable and allow the cardiologist to select the optimum pacing modes for individual patients. Additionally, some combine a pacemaker and defibrillator in a single implantable device.

2. A recent experiement took place in the USA when a man, Kevin Warwick tried to connect himself to the internet. Warwick plugged the internet into his arm…. This may seem a little bizarre, but who is to say that we might be presented with this idea “naturally” in a few years time. Weather or not it is natural is a matter of personal opinion, but sooner rather than later in my opinion it will be the norm before we know it. The internet in ones head is slowly becoming close to the biological norm.

With the internet in our heads being an issue currently raised, the issue of viruses also occurs.  What would happen to the internet in our heads if it got a virus? Would it send us crazy and make us break? These are all issues which should be discussed before any form of invention takes place. Even though it seems unimaginable to think of, it is furthermore something we should consider, as clearly these ideas are just around the corner.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg ) The term cyborg is often today applied to an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology, through this perhaps over simplifies the necessity of feedback for regulating the subsystem. 

Finally to conclude I have a question for you all which was raised in my lecture previously….. Would you upload yourself? Some could consider blog posts/ tumblr accounts/ Facebook/ Twitter as a form of this, but I mean proper upload yourself, officially. Weather it could be deleted or replaced is unsure, so would you do it when you die? I know I wouldn’t, but I couldn’t say certainly, because who knows where technology will leave us in 50 years time? 

Issues of the interface

This blog post is going to focus on the complex issues of interface. User interface is a means by which people interact with a particular machine, device or computer programme.

Interface is a boundary across where by two independent systems meet and act upon, or communicate with each other. You may be questioning where you do actually find interfaces, the answer would be everywhere! They are found in both desktops and handsets and it is likely that you will have a relationship with many on a daily basis.

In computer technology there are several types of interfaces that we all use pretty much on a daily basis. To begin I will explain what the varieties of interfaces are and how we use them frequently without necessarily realising we are doing so. A user interface includes devices such as keyboards, mouse’s and menus on the computer system… All of which I have used to create this blog post. The user interface allows the user to communicate with the operating system and complete all documents/ take part in research. Transferring such a simple action into something a little more complex is usually quite hard to understand; in this instant it is easier to imagine the user interfaces as a connection between us as humans and the action that is completed on the computer/ adequate piece of technology. We give the keyboards instructions by tapping each key and it is furthermore the interface, which allows the words to deliver on the screen we are watching.

Software interface is ultimately the language and codes that the applications individually use to communicate with each other and with the hardware. Then finally the hardware interface is the wires, plus and sockets that hardware devices use to communicate with each other.

I'm aware that all the issues discussed above are complicated and a little complex, but the easiest way to get your head round the meanings of interface would simply be that they all individually transfer a message to one and another, allowing us users to use the technology to the best of our ability.

We have spoken in quite some detail about computer interfaces and how our actions deliver us with messages on screen, but a more diverse theory presented is the question as to weather human bodies in itself can be an interface?

This might seem a little ludicrous, but when related to the example of dance matts it’s a little more realistic. We plug in a dance matt to a television, this delivers the most obvious interface, but furthermore as we move around the codes are being delivered on screen as the matt notices when we hit the different areas. This then sets up the question, as maybe interfaces aren’t as simple as initially noted? Interfaces are frequently addressed daily in our lives and maybe we just don’t realise?

If I was to then say that it is possible to define our faces an interface, it might seem again a little far-fetched, but this is in fact the case. A CCTV machine will recognise your face and could easily notice if you have been seen before. Face recognition is a common device used by many. You may not realise your face has been recognised, but it would have been. Walking down the street isn’t as simple anymore, by doing so you would have connected with various interfaces without necessarily even realising!! 

What is 21st Century News?

Through development of technology, the ability to publicise news has increased dramatically. News now is more accessible to the general public as well as being more in the publics general interest. Throughout this blog post I will explore a diversity of meanings when it comes to something being newsworthy, in the public interest and furthermore how technology expands this. I will go back in time and refer to how news travelled and weather this was a reliable source or not, I similarly will talk about the dying trend of newsprint.



Being able to define what is newsworthy differs when it comes to the person reading the news. Similarly, a great deal of this involves the notions involved through the public. Different people may consider a variety of aspects of news as newsworthy, regardless of a personal opinion.

It has been suggested that new information about a subject should primarily be considered news, however there are many published articles where this is not the case. For example, with regards to the Beijing Olympics, we were all aware that they were going to take place, but when it came to publishing new stories on the events, they still will be considered "current news".



It is important to relate back in time when looking at the development of news and technology. What makes 21^st century news today has been greatly influenced by the events that took place in history. Back in the late Bronze ages, if you didn’t appear to own a horse, the fastest most reliable way if transferring news was to walk. Even though this may seem bizarre and far-fetched in today’s society, it was in fact a device used worldwide. Even though publications have developed in the UK and USA, this isn’t however the case in places such as Afghanistan. Regardless of their diverse technology in comparison to the new media aspects we use, it isn’t necessarily a bad way of delivering information.



There have been a lot of studies that have taken place in the outskirts of Africa which have proved that a slow, yet reliable way of transferring news is surprisingly affective. However, transferring information verbally does have its down sides. These could, in turn, be interoperated to out weigh the positives. There is a fine line between transferring messages in a direct way to create new stories and "gossip". There are many aspects which get in the way, such as new media devices; these allow the spreading of information to develop rapidly. This, as mentioned before, isn’t always beneficial as the facts could be inaccurate.



The final issue regarding the news development in the 21^st century, lies with the issue focussing on print journalism. News has in fact, always been about speed, but from analysing the position we are in currently, it is impossible to speed up the delivery time for news anymore than current. If the speed of transferring information speeds up more than it is at now, it will eventually turn into bad journalism. If the production of news stories is done too quickly, stories will soon become false and of a bad quality. 

In the 21^st century a lot of people can transmit messages relating to news, examples include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other new media devices. In relation to this, furthermore this highlights the problem that print journalism is dying out, and will eventually be nonexistent.

All of these points reflect the development of both technology and news at current, in the 21^st century.

Media Change

Is there ever such thing as a "new media"? This is a question, which is often asked as media develops.

Is all new media just a development of old media? This isn’t the first time that this has been suggested, but for me it is coming more and more apparent. Before distinguishing what new media is, we have to establish what old media is and the context that comes with it. Old media is more specifically traditional print media; mainly newspapers, but it also includes network radio and television. Through my research it has become obvious that slowly old media is being transferred into new media to suit the needs of society. An easily identifiable example of this includes newspapers investing heavily in websites in order to keep their readership. With a drastic development in the internet, the buying and selling of newspapers is decreasing. Whilst they are trying to stake bigger claims online, one new publication is pulling material off the internet to be printed in ink.

John Wilpers, editor in chief of Boston Now, the publication which was only introduced last month, said he wanted to fill the paper with items that local bloggers submitted to the Boston Now Web site. This reiterates the fact that even though old media is still present in our everyday life, it is vital to use new media to continue with a high percentage of readership. People will still buy newspapers as they are convenient, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that someone running down the street with a camera and microphone will create the reports. Instead, it is likely that the information presented in the newspapers, will have originally been developed from the Internet, or other new media devices.

There is no escaping the development of technology and as I grow up this becomes more apparent. My whole life revolves around the use of technology and this is only going to get worse. My phone for example, isn’t a phone; it’s in fact a mini computer. It is capable of going on the Internet, accessing emails as well as capturing photographs.  The impact these pieces of technology have on society is mammoth and furthermore is the focus of current change. It seems impossible to imagine, but eventually everything I consider new media will be old media. In years to come, technology will develop even more and we will all be presented with new forms of new media. I believe that this will be forever the case, as society develops, so will technology.  

There are many questions about when does something stop being new media and transfers to old media... New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged into our everyday vocabulary in the latter part of the 20^th century. Usage and the discovery of the Internet is an example of new media, similarly when using the Internet to create podcasts and blogs, this also is an example of using new media in todays society. Primarily new media is web-based, but it also can include some television or radio sources. 

Technology is constantly developing and this will remain the way forever. There always are new inventions that beat a previous, all supplying the audience with something new and exciting. It is a common concept that we want our devices to have consistency, forgiveness and product stability.

Cyberspace..... So what?

The birth and death of Cyberspace!

Interestingly enough, unlike most computer terms, Cyberspace does not actually have a standard, object definition. Instead, it is used primarily to describe the virtual world of computers. Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication tends to take place. Examples of this include Email technology, Twitter, Facebook and many more. The term cyberspace was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson. 

It has been suggested that we are not free from the mass media. Furthermore, there are many attached myths that stem from the wold revolving around cyberspace. Many would propose the idea that the Internet is protected, as are its users. Evidently, this is not the case. Identifying people over the Internet is easily done, so could it be said that the Internet is not protected? IP addresses prove this, so surly this sufficient evidence justifies further that the internet is not protected. 

Many have suggested that cyberspace will die, or at least the cyberspace that we know. From what I understand, cyberspace revolves around the work and development of the Internet; therefore it is impossible for it to die out isn’t it? Technology is prominent in our lives; so surly the development of cyberspace is forever increasing? This is indeed a rhetorical question and its answer is only available through a matter of opinion. As mentioned before, in my mind I see the death of cyberspace being virtually impossible, instead the theory will develop along side technology. 

How important is history to Digital Cultures?

Technology is always changing and as it does so, it is increasingly benefiting us. History has greatly influenced where we are today, not only has it positioned us in the state we are in, but it also allows us to grow with technology. It seems to us now, that there was no life before computers, but that is not the case. Long before there were digital computers, there were mechanical ones.

The earliest computers worked out mathematical sums and as apposed to being a piece of technology, they were instead women working out complex calculations. Furthermore, this reinforces the point that while men were seen to be the dominant ones, their involvement in technology was minimal. Anna Lovelace (10^th December 1815-27^th November 1852) is commonly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine.

To conclude this post, it is important for us to be aware that the very first personal computer was developed by hobbyists in 1975 and the first microcomputer, the “Altair” was sold in kit form.

Why blog?

Blogger in general has a wide motivated range. The reasons behind me using a blog will differ to others dramatically. It is important to understand that Blogs today have developed hugely and are not just about me, as a journalist, writing and keeping track of events. We have the tools to comment on other people’s blogs as well as make direct links to our own Blogs. By linking different sites or blogs, it ultimately is a way to increase our personal views. This enables us to make reference to Blogs that relate to what we are doing. As young academics, writing a blog is easy and convenient to suit our life styles.

It has been noted that Blogs are focused on multiple subjects, but have an element of personal impacts. This differs from newspapers and allows us to influence our work in a way we desire. Being a young journalists blogging is easy and practical, it also suits my way of life. I am able to blog from my laptop as well as my phone. This brings me onto the subject of "Microblogging"..... Which is the posting of very short entries and, or updates on a blog or social networking site, typically via a mobile phone. The most common form of microblogging is with the commonly known social networking site Twitter. Twitter is free to use and allows anyone around the world to post an update of 140 letters. Simple? Very. Twitter is a new way of communicating, not only are you able to embed images and videos you also can present your update to a live stream. It is also possible for journalists to attach their twitter stream to their Blog, which allows readers to interact and have a constant update of news whenever they so desire.

Why study digital cultures?

It is difficult to answer the question “Why study digital culture?” because ultimately there are many reasons as to why we should….. I'm to studying journalism and it is important to have an in depth understanding on different digital cultures and how they will impact our futures.

Technology has a huge impact on society and is in constant development. As our knowledge on this subject increases, so will our understanding as to why we should study such a subject. It is important for us to be aware of the changing culture so we are able to respond appropriately. The aim of the unit in general will provide us with "a critical introduction to the key views arising out of widespread adoptions of digital media forms". This furthermore will allow me to expand upon why I chose to study this unit of information and as I begin to reflect on my knowledge this will further become clear.


Digital Culture gives an in depth explanation as to how every arena of human experience is changing. In today's society, Digital Culture is part of our way of life. The different aspects of digital culture give us social responsibility.