Evaluation at Midterm

The Googlization of Everything

Admittedly I skimmed this book and didn't look into it much after the first skim. Although, skimming through this book helped me to realize that many people are still nervous about new ideas and wary of new ways of doing things. Yesterday, I attended the Crandall Printing Museum for one of my editing classes. (This place is awesome, you should all go! It gives some insight into the beginnings of the digital media age—starting way back with Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of a moveable type printing press.) Anyway, one of the historians explained that Gutenberg was very careful to not change anything too drastically by the invention of his printing press. He copied the Latin letters exactly as they were hand-written in the first bible he printed. People don't like change back then, and even though our society is more accepting of change now, people still get nervous when big changes happen. The author of this book seemed to be worried that Google will eventually take over everything. He worries that our searches will be limited, that maybe Google will have control over all of the information we look at or place on the internet. I don't think we have to worry about this. Although we operate in a different way in the digital age, we don't have to worry about the actual Googlization of the digital age.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

In my novel (not actually a work of fiction, but definitely a novel) I read about David Eggers and his reaction to a huge traumatic change in his life—the loss of a mother and father to cancer within months of each other. Although we don't want to think of the digital age as a traumatic change in a negative way, digital culture has changed life dramatically and continues to do so at a much faster rate than we plan for. I read once that a traumatic event can be described as an event that does not fit into any known frame of reference. Eggers never could have foreseen or even imagined what would happen to him when his parents died. He never thought he would be raising his younger brother. He never thought he would lose both of his parents so quickly. He chose to see himself as the new model and at first he tries to do everything different than his parents did. He soon realizes that many of the things he does after their death, are the same things his parents would have done. He realizes that he has to combine some of the old rules/habits with some new rules/inventions to get through his situation. Now that we are in a digital age we need to apply some of the old rules to the new system while still allowing space to explore and enjoy the newness of the system.

Self Directed Learning

I am enjoying applying these ideas to my group project and also struggling with them myself. While I'm looking for ways to improve family connectivity through the fluidity of the internet and other digital devices, I'm struggling to post blogs that are fast, quick, and still in the process of forming. I like to develop my ideas before I publish them. But I think it is important to understand the new format of Web 2.0 and understand that this new more fluid system can be beneficial. As google chrome advertisements say "the web is what you make of it." It is ok to throw out some ideas in social networks or on a blog, and have people comment on them to give quick feedback. I'm excited to see how a webinar works and excited to brainstorm and work over the web to grow and learn together. And just as communities can be brought together in digital culture, families can be brought together using digital media. In my personal efforts to look for useful information for my group I have searched all over the web, talked to people on and off of the internet, and have done some personal reading. I've learned so much and found so much. Outside of class it has been fun to work on the internet and see how people interact with my 'official' facebook posts for the Museum of Art and the College of Fine Arts and Communications. The internet is a vast expanse and although much of it is unfamiliar territory, I know I can benefit from it. I'm excited to see where the internet and digital culture goes next.

Others Influence

Wow, I'm impressed with the hard work of the other students in the class. Their enthusiasm gets me excited to work on my own projects and search deeper in my own topics (further proving that the idea of interactivity that comes from Web 2.0 helps creativity). I have learned a lot from watching the google+ stream and from talking about the other group projects in class. I've learned that crowd sourcing can be difficult, but also extremely useful. I also have found that as we continue to connect in this way it becomes more natural. The sharing of videos, images, and articles is easy. Instead of explaining something I saw on television the night before, I can simply send a clip of the show from Youtube. This speeds up the learning process and helps me more easily connect with group members and even those that we are trying to get social proof from. In class, I have loved learning about the Church's influence and use of digital media. I'm excited to participate in the digital future of the Church. And those are just a few thoughts that I have about digital culture.