The World Wide Web itself is an untouchable structure of electronic information that is used for communicate with others. This cyberstructure is not of brick and mortar, but of accessible information that has no direction or territory limits. Cyberspace being a body of limitless information is like DNA from our body. Each website, blog, video, audio source and scholarly article is a strand making up the body of information that is cyberspace. The endless amount of digital information on the Internet is untouchable. Internet information consists of a language of code, graphics, sound and inputted data.
Cyberspace exists because structures like engineering, labor, marketing, and technological constructions enable it to exist. The expansion of the web is driven these many structures. Global cities are information cities (spaces) that are linked to global flows of finance, demographic data, human rights, and social media. A term increasingly used to describe the wired nature of information cities and societies around the world is Network Society.
Information Spaces
Information spaces are online social media spaces for information exchange. Listservs, databases, blogs, email, chat platforms, and newsgroups are examples of information spaces. Electronic mail came into use in 1970. Like all forms of communication, email is a social process, a mode of interaction. Internet Browsers like Earthlink, Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer were early pioneers in cyberspace information surfing. America Online was one of the first multitasking social media web browsers. Texting platform software like America Online Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft Network Messenger opened the door to quick peer to peer conversations. A symbol system used by these social messengers was Emoticons. These are small facial punctuation graphics used during texting.
Connectivity
With the creation of networking, businesses and homes could be linked together regardless of location. With the more recent hotspot technology, people can carry their laptop and mobile devices anywhere to find a connection. This idea of the portable Internet excited the masses, creating the need for more hotspot friendly venues (shops, cafes, condominiums, schools, etc.). Information and Internet web pages were more accessible, but made cyberspace seem more unmeasurable in terms of endless space than ever. Cyberspace is nicknamed "Cloud" because it is always filled with information like a rain cloud. Cyberspace is never too full with information because it has no capacity limit. It is endless...
With wireless routers people could be anywhere in the office or home to view and share information with others. The reliability and connectivity of wireless routers, network servers and hotspots created the need for new electronic devices like tablets, wireless USB cards and Internet apps for an array of mobile devices. The Apple company were the first major innovators when it came to wireless Internet and smart phones. Android quickly took after Apple's iPhone, creating a huge line of competitive mobile devices.
As an aside that I found interesting, the text stated that for women, the "intrusion' of the Internet and Personal Computer has transformed everyday life in significant ways. "Home office" is the new space for women to occupy where they carry out daily tasks.
Cybercities are intersections of the material and immaterial, the real and the virtual, the social and technical, in a world of unpredictable social communication and leisure entertainment. Sites like Wikipedia, Ask.com, WebMD, Google and Amazon.com, allow us to look up information on a chosen subject regardless of global location, gender or age. This allows people of all cultures and lifestyles to look up information about a subject that informs you about another culture. This form of globalization is not just America influencing the world, but the world influencing the United States. The ease of access to cultural information from around the world has made cyberspace the most interconnecting tool of the past 40 years.
Below is a video about how the governments make decisions about what goes and stays on the internet.
Accessing Documents, Music, Film and Photography
Cyberspace in recent decades has open the door to digital file accessibility. Music sharing sites like Napster and iTunes have made connecting with friends a new world fulled with sound and motion picture. With Microsoft's Windows Media Player, playing your downloaded files while multitasking on your computer has now been made easier. iTunes allows you to use your digital MP3 players to create your own playlists. Sites like Photo Bucket, Flickr, Instagram and Facebook create a way to share and archive pictures online. This new form of connectivity has its flaws. The youth of today are stressed as to how they should display their 'real' identities online through Myspace, Facebook and texting. The use of Avatar profiling has helped us share our musical tastes, monumental photos and stories while hiding behind a digital profile. Businesses can share work files through e-mail, FTP sites, peer to peer programs and USB thumb-drive. Google Docs allows collaboration on business and school related projects. Security systems allow companies to archive activity in a certain business. Electronic connectivity has come a long way since the beginning of the Internet.
Using Cyberspace as a Reference Desk
There are now more and more sites that allow Internet surfers to search for home improvement, travel, health and fitness, resturant reviews and more. New sites like Angieslist, Kayak, UrbanSpoon, Zagat and HomeAdviser and Care4Hire let people research this information. Business now have a closer relationship between consumer and product, archiving opinions of how people rate a service or item. HomeAdviser lets someone find the perfect plumber, carpenter or electrician, while Kayak shows you the best hotel rates and airline deals. The use of websites like Yelp and MashSpots allow Internet users to research the nearest restaurant with reviews from clientele. The newest website to hit cyberspace is Care4Hire.com, letting someone search for the best rated babysitter in the area with the click of a mouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment