List of things I noticed about what my attention liked or disliked when reading the readings:
- spaces between paragraphs
- shorter paragraphs
- giant blocks of text put me off, some sites seemed to have a design initiative with regards to white areas or lack of them however when not synonymous with the content of the text it just made the site boring and clunky
- clearly defined paragraphs also helps skimming articles so I can read the first few lines of paragraphs to gauge their importance to understanding the overall point
- INTEREST: if it's directly relevant to my life, it automatically is placed of higher importance and more attention is reserved for it
- as a visual society, if the site does not look appealing, the words have to be really really really really really engaging to retain attention
- more conversational language, i.e. not articles speaking to no one and not articles talking about what the author thought
- getting to the point
- outdated or non-universal references that have no meaning to me makes the entire article seem irrelevant
- it's easier to read when I know how much I have left, this is easier to calculate with pages of text and more difficult when pulling the scroll bar on the side of the window up and down
Thoughts about attention and memory:
- Facebook messaging pops up as a small window within the larger window of the site so you can still scroll while private messaging someone, this reiterates the idea of multitasking
- Multitasking has possibly emerged because some tasks do not require full attention e.g. chatting to a friend online. Wiser multitaskers know what to multitask and what not to. It can be more productive to multitask within categories and fulfil goals specific to those categories e.g. chatting to friends while listening to music means you maintain friendships with those people and catch up on the latest song from your favourite artist and overall take less time so you can go back to studying
- Interactive things receive longer spans of attention because they promote the concept of exploration and "seeking" of the next thrill
- I approach activities with a standard level of attention reserved depending on the activity (reading, watching, chatting) which is then reconfigured depending on the title (what affects attention rates?, cat plays beethoven, _friend_) which is then reconfigured depending on how interesting the first few paragraphs, seconds, or topic of conversation seems
Increased exposure to the same things embeds those things into our memory. Even exposure to something for two seconds that doesn't register into our consciousness can be embedded into our memory if that exposure continues regularly. As discussed with archives, these prostheses extend our brains and means we don't have to remember and store absolutely all information. We access information we need and when we don't need it, it remains within archives, often readily available.
While having a good attention span and good memory are excellent, admired, and useful skills, such a skill is no longer immediately necessary in our daily lives.
The
technology we blame for stunting our memories and attention spans also
supplements these drawbacks.
Sunday 31 August 2014
Saturday 23 August 2014
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Week 4: Actor-Network Theory
Mind Map of Actor-Network Theory
Sourced from:
Heiki Santillana 2011, Mind Mapping the Actor Network Theory, blogger, Accessed 19 August 2014
Image is referenced as from the Wikipedia page on Actor-Network Theory however the image can no longer be found on the original source page.
My attempt at an Actor-Network Theory mind map:
Through constructing this image I have found that Actor-Network Theory:
- Does not account for human nature and allow for differentiation. The main criticism of Actor-Network theory is its treatment of human and non-human as equal. As mentioned in user davidbank's (2011) piece on Actor-Network Theory, there is no account for major factors such as power, race, gender, or any human influencers however these play a major role in behaviour within networks.
- Is impossible to fully satisfy. When including factors such as the computer that allows access, do we also include the company that made the computer, the people that designed the computer, the materials that make up the computer, the machinery that physically constructed the computer? Actor-Network Theory doesn't differentiate the extent to which we include or exclude factors.
- Has no rules. My mind map ended up looking like a Venn diagram because, true to the concept of a network, everything was linked. However it was difficult to figure out what to include and exclude (as mentioned in the above point) because of the main principle that everything should be treated as equal, even though in real life situations, certain factors have a greater magnitude of influence than other things, and these different magnitudes are apparent to us partially due to factors specific to being human, as mentioned in the first point.
In conclusion, the Actor-Network Theory is an interesting and admirable approach to describing the links between elements within a network however the main criticism, in my opinion, is not the equalising of human and non-human, but the larger umbrella issue, which is that it has poorly specified rules as to what can or cannot be accounted for in such a network.
References:
Banks, David (2011) ‘A Brief Summary of Actor-Network Theory’, Cyborgology, November 2, Accessed 19 August 2014
Tuesday 12 August 2014
Week 3: Paywalls
The implementing of paywalls is useful to newspaper companies because it indicates how valued their content is, as audiences who truly want to read their articles will gladly pay for digital or digital and physical subscriptions. Instead of receiving cyclical revenue through advertising space paid for by companies that receive custom from newspaper readers who are encouraged by advertisements in newspapers, newspapers are gradually receiving direct profits from their readers in the form of subscriptions. This indicates a shift in weight of sources of revenue for the news industry.
This is also beneficial for readers as:
- News sites are motivated to increase the quality of their content so target publics are willing to pay for access to articles
- Audiences can distinguish between newspapers with comparatively better content based on the amount of subscribers and the amount of revenue they generate instead of revenue from advertisers
However at the moment, paywalls are not generating maximum potential revenue because they're targeting readers who are loyal to newspapers themselves- businessmen, older generations, and stable households who rely on the paper for their news. Paywalls are not remotely appealing to people with a news reading routine similar to mine: be told of news on social media, follow links on social media to articles that elaborate, and if the news is particularly interesting, we'll read the first three articles that Google provides and accept overlapping information as truth. Our connections on social media represent people with similar situations to ours, for example university students, or topics that interest us, for example anthropology. Therefore any news that pertains to our interest will come to our attention, and our profile on social media will naturally filter out information not immediately important to us- because we care about a particular story, not which company tells it.
How companies can increase appeal of paying for their paywalls (as mindmapped by me):
Link for Guardian Masterclasses about the need to make magazines and journals appealing. This would be beneficial for newspapers as well as we are a literate culture heavily influenced by visual aesthetics.
The Guardian (2014), Guardian News and Media Limited, London, Accessed 12 August 2014
< http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/the-future-of-digital-magazines-peter-houston-publishing-course?INTCMP=mic_233434 >
This is also beneficial for readers as:
- News sites are motivated to increase the quality of their content so target publics are willing to pay for access to articles
- Audiences can distinguish between newspapers with comparatively better content based on the amount of subscribers and the amount of revenue they generate instead of revenue from advertisers
However at the moment, paywalls are not generating maximum potential revenue because they're targeting readers who are loyal to newspapers themselves- businessmen, older generations, and stable households who rely on the paper for their news. Paywalls are not remotely appealing to people with a news reading routine similar to mine: be told of news on social media, follow links on social media to articles that elaborate, and if the news is particularly interesting, we'll read the first three articles that Google provides and accept overlapping information as truth. Our connections on social media represent people with similar situations to ours, for example university students, or topics that interest us, for example anthropology. Therefore any news that pertains to our interest will come to our attention, and our profile on social media will naturally filter out information not immediately important to us- because we care about a particular story, not which company tells it.
How companies can increase appeal of paying for their paywalls (as mindmapped by me):
The Guardian (2014), Guardian News and Media Limited, London, Accessed 12 August 2014
< http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/the-future-of-digital-magazines-peter-houston-publishing-course?INTCMP=mic_233434 >
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Week 2: Integrated Physical Digital Books
Paper-based media is in
decline in favour of online publishing. To our generations of book reliance,
this is saddening and affronting. While this decline is unfortunate digital publishing supplements some drawbacks of publishing that weren't previously evident (other than the obvious sacrifice of trees for paper). I believe with technology and imagination printed and published media can be integrated to work together for humans.
Don't be satisfied with the book store
Even though there are a variety of books to choose from, is there a better budding author somewhere else?
The manuscript acceptance
rate in publishing houses is very low.
This may be due to draft
books not meeting the minimum quality, but it may also be due to the publishing
houses' desire to meet profit margins.
Here, I insert the real world example of the continuous rejection of J.K. Rowling's Harry
Potter being prudent here.
This raises questions of are readers in publishing houses qualified to identify potential in manuscripts for new markets, how many potentially successful authors have been rejected and discouraged, and shouldn't manuscripts be trialled with their target market instead of the limited tastes of a few select employees in a busy publishing house?
Digital publishing counters this in that they allow anyone to share their work directly with their target market. Online publishing also benefits authors when they receive a variety of feedback from the extensive reach of the internet, and also good content garners a lot of attention very quickly.
But don't convert entirely to digital books!
When I first discovered
that I couldn't focus well on readings, I assumed it was the heavy content
because focusing on online news articles was not a problem for me.
Then when accessing printed readings, I realised it was not the heavy content, but the
medium the text was presented to my brain in.
After reading some articles,
Studies support the theory that it is harder to focus when reading online due to the nature of screens to project light which physically tires the body, the lack of impression of text location which reduces memory retention, and inability to physically engage with the text through note making and highlighting relevant information. Therefore when studying or seriously reading, paper may be the better choice.
SO WHAT CAN I DO?!
People aren't ready to give up the revolutionary book, however the convenience and benefits of technology are irrefutable. I believe the two can work together to benefit people, ensuring the endurance of the book but also utilising digital technology.
Here, I have to include the (regretful) example of best-selling Fifty Shades of Grey.
but don't stop there!
INTRODUCING: PHYSICAL DIGITAL BOOKS
Marshall McLuhan stated
"In the name of 'progress', our official culture is striving to force the new media to do the work of the old"
Take this single technology:
<< http://vimeo.com/90653961 >>
We are not limited to merely typing books on our devices and not printing them.
We cannot force people to purchase books, and we cannot stop the prevalence of the digital world on nearly every aspect of our lives, because this is new technology and we as humans will not stop until we explore every alley of possibility it can offer. What we can do is stop placing print books and digital books on opposite sides of the playing field but instead figure out a system where they can work with each other.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)