One of the most immediately relevant sections of the story:

We're an information economy. They teach you that in school. What they don't tell you is that it's impossible to move, to live, to operate at any level without leaving traces, bits, seemingly meaningless fragments of personal information. Fragments that can be retrieved, amplified... (Gibson, "Johnny Mnemonic," Writing Material 171)

I'll discuss this quote and a few other key passages from the story during my oral presentation, but I wanted to post something brief for everyone to look at.

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This portfolio is a collection of links to all of the most thoughtful and insightful related entries I've published since my last portfolio. Please feel free to browse through and leave comments on topics that interest you. I'd love the opportunity to engage in further discovery with my readers. If you have any questions or comments you'd like to send to me directly, you can contact me at cecil.chris@gmail.com.

Thanks!

The future of the GUI in gaming - In this entry I discuss the use of text and graphics in user interface design for video games. (Coverage, Timeliness, Depth)

A well-annotated timeline - Here I briefly explain how I developed an appreciation for history. (Coverage, Timeliness)

Peer Presentations - Slot C - In this entry I respond to my peers' presentations on "Conformity and Knowledge in the Mechanical Era." (Coverage, Timeliness, Depth, Interaction)

Racing towards new digital storage solutions - Here I relate a reading about digital storage to a report about the development of a new storage technology. (Coverage)

In digital culture, size matters - In this entry I explain how the size of digital storage devices can affect human behavior. (Coverage)

The basic building blocks of virtual life - Here I relate a reading to a metaphor discussed in class that drew a connection between the building blocks of matter and computer code. (Coverage)

The "illusion of immateriality" - In this entry I briefly describe a possible thesis for my term paper inspired by a reading. (Coverage)

The separation between private and public life in new media - Here I connect a hot debate on another blog to the effects of new media on social perceptions. (Coverage, Depth)

Memory as a currency of power - In this entry I explain how memory empowers in digital culture. (Coverage)

Preserving information: links between digital and oral culture - Here I mention a connection between oral and digital culture. (Coverage)

Disillusioned in Doctorow - In this entry I respond to the notion of understanding "magic" and how it ruins the illusion. (Coverage)

"Robbing from your future self" - Here I ponder the characters' ability to distinguish between their present and future selves despite immortality in Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. (Coverage, Interaction)

Here are links to some good discussions related to the topic on my peers' blogs in which I participated:

Kayla Sawyer - Aarseth
Jeremy Barrick - EL-336 Aarseth Cybertext Video Texts
Rachel Prichard - EL 336 - Turkle
Daniella Choynowski - The conversion
Rachel Prichard - EL 336 - Kirschenbaum chp1 and 2
Leslie Rodriguez - Kirschenbaum (Preface, Introduction, Ch 1, Ch 2) Informal Reflection...
David Cristello - Hitchhiker

This almost sounds like a conversation between a parent and child (the doctor does call Julius "son," after all). It reminds me of the kind of talk a parent would have with an irresponsible child who is 'throwing his life away' by refusing to grow up and take responsibility for his own wellbeing. It's strange, because you'd think there's no sense in distinguishing between your present self and your future self in Doctorow's fictional world--you never die--but for Julius, it's a distinction that makes all the difference. The doctor, too, seems like he's drawing a division between the two, but it's only for the sake of convenience; it really has nothing to do with the two very different lives of who Julius is now and who he might be when his fresh upload is complete.

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Unfortunately for Julius, learning the secrets behind "magic" usually ruins it. Once you know how it works, it's not magical anymore.

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I was immediately reminded of the nature of oral culture by the notion of "preservation ... (as) a social domain." I never really gave it much consideration, but I think that digital culture reflects oral culture in that way more than manuscript or print culture; preservation is incredibly important both on and off the Internet, since the digital storage and retrieval of information is such a vital technological ability.

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This just reminded me of the way web pages sometimes load in piece by piece if you're using a slow internet connection. I'm assuming that the order is determined by the size of the elements (those with smaller file sizes are loaded first), which relates to our discussion about memory in class last week.

In digital culture, memory is a form of power. The more memory your computer has (both hard drive disk space and RAM), the faster it functions and the more information it can process and store. It's the same with digital cameras, mp3 players, cell phones, etc. More and more devices are including space for additional memory as they get the digital treatment (photo frames, for example), because a digital device is only as useful as its memory allows.

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For obvious reasons, I can't share the whole Infocom Drive. But I have to share some of the best parts. It's just too good. (Andy Baio, Waxy)

While I understand Baio's excitement, I think it was a little careless to post the e-mails without permission from the sources (especially since most of them are obviously active on the web). He notes early in his post that he didn't contact them, but it sounds like he wasn't expecting any bad blood over this (only the need for a few corrections and clarifications)--I imagine he might have been overwhelmed by the nature of his discovery and probably didn't consider that publishing his findings might upset anyone, or thought that the historical significance outweighed the possible risks involved. But journalists should know that getting permission to publish the facts is just as important as getting the facts themselves. Journalists are held in check by privacy laws and concerns, as well they should be--they shouldn't have free reign with information simply because they have access to it.

Now, I don't believe Baio necessarily had any ill intentions. He wasn't publishing this information to hurt anyone, he just wanted to share some interesting facts. But it's common courtesy to take others' feelings into consideration when it comes to their private lives.

I think part of the problem might be the effect of new media on the separation between private and public life. For bloggers (and other new media enthusiasts), personal and private information are so often a part of the equation on public forums that we sometimes forget that not everyone is as comfortable with sharing as we are.

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This would be an awesome launching point for my paper. I want to talk about the relationship between books and video games, and how textuality is different in each medium. The fact that games themselves use text to create an illusion would add an interesting layer to my investigation.

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This passage reminded me of a class discussion earlier in the semester when we were talking about how all life around us is basically like computer code at its core. It's interesting how closely digital code resembles the patterns found in the natural world.

I wish I could think of a thesis statement that tied this concept to the notion of the book as a cultural medium. That's a paper I'd love to write.

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I'm inclined to agree. I have an iPod Shuffle, with the capacity for approximately 250 songs, and I reached that limit a while ago. Now, each time I buy a new CD or song, I have to comb through the list of songs stored on the device and decide which ones to delete in order to make room for the new ones--in other words, I'm constantly forced to reevaluate my taste in music.

Granted, I still have copies of the songs that I delete from the iPod. They're stored on my computer's hard drive, which offers almost limitless storage capacity (I still haven't used even half of my desktop computer's hard drive space). But still, I have to decide which songs are worth keeping and which ones I can live without for a while.

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This passage immediately brought to mind IBM's recent work on developing their "Racetrack" memory technology. Basically, they're developing a new type of data storage that can house more than 100X the density of current storage devices (in one article, it was mentioned that this would equate to the possibility of a 500,000 song iPod).

I think Kirschenbaum is right on track with his study of storage tech, especially since--as he points out himself--it's so often neglected in critical studies of digital culture.

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I think every experienced reporter can relate to that feeling that you're on the trail of a good story. Before you even begin interviewing or digging up information, you can almost picture it in your head--what the sources will say, where you can insert key facts for maximum effect, how readers/viewers/listeners will feel at the end of your article--and sometimes that feeling can overwhelm your senses. You feel the temptation to breeze past unexpected facts or quotes that don't fit your angle, and you start to lose sight of the real purpose of your pursuit: finding the truth (the whole truth).

As reporters, we naturally develop a keen intuition regarding which sources we should interview and what they're likely to say; it's comparable to, say, a scientist who gets better at guessing the right methods for and results of his experiments over time, because he has become more familiar with the formulas involved. But formulas encourage us to overlook the possibility that we might be misinterpreting what is really going on.

Throughout the course of reporting on countless stories, we start to trust our instincts a little too much, and we let bias creep into our reporting before we ever actually begin writing the article. We, like the scientist, have to be careful to follow the proper procedures. You can't skip steps 1 and 2 and jump immediately to step 3 when you're reporting the news just because you think you already know what you'll find in your early investigations. You have to give every story the same consideration, the same hard work and attentiveness to detail, no matter how big or small it is.

That's easy to argue in theory. But the reality is that reporters are often under pressure from editors and deadlines that make taking shortcuts a very attractive alternative to taking the long and winding road.

A few journalists acknowledged privately that pressure from editors to produce a story can sometimes push a reporter to write the story before it is ready, when more reporting might reveal a picture that is closer to reality. Others complained of pressure from assigning editors who had fixed views of what “the” story was, even though the reporting was developing a different picture. One journalist said, “I’ve worked for a few editors who would never dream of doctoring a story — but they were willing to try to doctor a reporter.” (Haiman, Best Practices 57-58)

As Haiman argues in his book, editors have to learn to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, and reporters have to have the guts to speak up when they feel like their stories aren't getting the time they need to develop naturally.

I can recall at least one time when I had to ask for an extension on an article I wrote for The Setonian because I knew I was missing quotes or facts from good sources that might change the way I decided to frame the story. It was a story about student clubs and organizations on campus. As the deadline approached, I managed to speak with plenty of students who spoke about these activities as positive experiences, but I knew there had to be some other opinions out there, so I kept interviewing. Eventually, I stumbled upon some students who gave me some insight into how their experiences have had a negative impact on their academic success at Seton Hill (as well as how difficult it was to keep students interested in the club).

It's important to know when to quit, too--that is, to know when there's no story at all. I can't count the number of tip calls I received while interning at the local TV news station that led to dead ends. It happens all the time. You also have to be careful to distinguish between tips about legitimate stories that deserve coverage and tips from sources who just want free publicity for themselves, their organization, or some event they're involved in. These sources understand how the news works, so they know how to put a spin on their tip that will entice journalists into believing there's a story to be had, even if there isn't.

During the 1999 Unity convention in Seattle, a panel discussed recent coverage of the Buffalo Soldiers, the little-known Army Calvary troop of black soldiers who exhibited great courage and bravery in protecting Western settlers from hostile Indians. The Buffalo Soldiers got little recognition or news coverage until many years later. Several black journalists attending the panel expressed pride and satisfaction that recognition of heroism in battle finally had come to the Buffalo Soldiers. There was a general feeling of “justice finally was done.” But a Native American journalist shook the room by asking, “How can you possibly celebrate a group of men who systematically murdered and butchered Native Americans?” It was a poignant moment that demonstrated how the framing of a story can be influenced by the perspective and values one brings to it. (Haiman, Best Practices 59)

This last section really struck me while reading Haiman's book, and I think it's a powerful example of the way framing can affect a story. It's situations like this that explain why editors have to be careful when they select a reporter to cover a story. They have to choose someone who is appropriately distant from the news, someone who can provide some objectivity on the topic.

I've spoken to several editors on the Setonian staff in the past who have said they feel like their job isn't really important because all they do is assign stories, but in truth, our reporting wouldn't be of such high quality if it weren't for their keen sense of who's best for the job.

I preferred to keep my computer chaste and self-contained, aloof from all potential communicants. (Lesser, "The Conversion," Writing Material 227)

I remember the way my parents resisted getting an internet connection at home because of all the potential problems it could cause, but shortly after I finally convinced them, they grew dependent on it (and later, I added a wireless network, which they are practically addicted to now). It's hard to imagine using a computer that isn't connected to the Internet nowadays--seems so limited and restrictive. We're spoiled by new technology all the time, and once we get hooked, it's hard to go back to the way things used to be (especially after the technology becomes deeply engraved in our culture).

Kayla Sawyer - Forum 3: Conformity and Knowledge in the Mechanical Era

That early machine was full of caprices, full of defects--devilish ones. It had as many immoralities as the machine of today has virtues. After a year or two I found that it was degrading my character... (Twain, "The First Writing-Machines," Writing Material 503)

It's easy to characterize the early iterations of a new technology as defective, because they are by their very nature just experimentation--not yet finely tuned by numerous revisions and updates, similar to a rough draft in literature.

I'm not sure what Twain was talking about when he said the typewriter was "degrading (his) character," though I like Kayla's suggestions.

Rachel Prichard - Media and the Remix/Redo

I like the way Rachel linked to several different media to demonstrate her point.

It's interesting how certain media are used as support for arguments made in other media, something that is easy to accomplish on the Internet, but much more stilted when used in a handwritten or printed text. For instance, citing a video in an academic research paper is well and good, but if you post that paper online and "remix" it as hypertext, you can actually post the video online or link to it. Digital culture has connected different media much more directly than manuscript or print culture ever could.

Jeremy Barrick - The Red Queen's On Her Head

I'm not sure how Jeremy got the idea for his presentation topic, but it sounds awesome.

I've never really studied hypertext fiction much, but I'd like to learn more about it. It reminds me of interactive fiction to some extent, because it gives the reader/user the power to decide what information they want. The "examine" option in interactive fiction can make a game last much longer, depending on how much detail the reader/user wants to access, and I've played a few IF games where it was crucial to examine just about everything in order to piece together the solution to a puzzle or mystery. I wonder if hypertext fiction could accomplish something similar?

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I can relate. I remember growing up hating my history classes in elementary and middle school because it always felt like I was just relearning the same information over and over again. It wasn't until I started to read historical novels (both fiction and nonfiction) and watch historical films and television programs that I started to develop a real interest in history, because for the first time I realized that history was more than just a well-annotated timeline.

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There's been some controversy lately surrounding the GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) used in video and computer games, particularly FPS (First-Person Shooter) games. The focus is on the shift towards cleaner GUIs that require less on-screen clutter at all times.

Developers are starting to use graphics and sound to replace the text (and sometimes old-school, basic imagery) of dialogue, ammo counters, health bars, etc. Rather than alert a player that he has low life with a bar that slowly decreases in size, for instance, developers are alternatively using sounds like heavy breathing and steady, pulsating visual effects. Rather than alert a player to the fact that he's out of ammo with a "0" somewhere on his screen, developers are instead using a sound effect for an empty clip.

While most critics seem to agree that this makes games more immersive, it's met with some resistance because it requires the player to adapt to a completely new set of cues for each game. Eventually it might be standardized, I suppose, but that seems unlikely since it would go against the inherent purpose of the shift to new visual and auditory cues; that is, letting developers experiment with ideas that are less and less intrusive.

Personally, as an avid gamer, I prefer a clean interface that combines text and graphics and uses the advantages of both to good effect. Most commercially and critically successful CRPGs (Computer Roleplaying Games), for instance, have mastered this art (take Bethesda's Oblivion or Obsidian's Neverwinter Nights 2, as examples).

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