Wendy Chun – Programmed Visions
Software is a part of new media that opens up many doors to explore the complexity of the world. There is merit to understanding the intricacies of this medium, as the article puts it, understanding software is in some way a form of enlightenment. There is a sort of relationship between visibility and invisibility within the medium that makes it a powerful force in the new media age. There is still this question of how it truly works, as a big part of it is still unknown to us and that’s something to explore and discover within this new and growing tech that is emerging.
My question is, is this something to be explored on an individual basis? What are the tools that we should acquire beforehand to get a better and deeper understanding of the mechanisms of software?
Matthew Fuller – How to be a Geek
This article is doing the opposite of what we’d consider gatekeeping, in that it is suggesting that the culture and community surrounding the software and technical aspect of the world is not just limited to the experts and the ‘geeks’ that are enthused by the evergrowing interest of software. Although ‘geeks’ are known to be somewhat like the face of the internet obsessors, the actuality of the situation is that everyone is open to explore the knowledge of software, regardless of expertise. We are all allowed to ‘geek’ out. This article also discusses the relationship between technology and humans, in that the contemporary technology we know of is “not an extension of man”, rather, it is a complex technical medium that aids in our ability to understand the world more.
My questions for this would be, is there a way to present the knowledge of software and technology in a more accessible and less intimidating way to reach a wider range of people? Should everyone be thought more about the usage of software in school and everyday life? What can we do to remove the stigma of being a ‘geek’ so that people are less apprehensive about the idea of technological exploration?
Geert Lovink – Sad by Design
This article introduces and discusses the lack of control we actually have when it comes to the extremely complex and intricate technology we possess in our pockets, and how our experience with it has been monopolized and capitalized to benefit the provider as opposed to the user. Major corporations have successfully captivated their users to succumb to the need to use their apps and tech through means of behavioral analyses that they have used to develop addicting tech. The youth, especially, are so engrossed in their phones that they are bound to check it every so often and this is because these capitalist organizations have figured out the best way to sink us deep into the rabbit hole that is a technological obsession. They have also honed into the inciting emotions (sadness, in particular, commonly extracted from female users) to keep us drawn in.
What can we do to bring awareness to this capitalist scheme for other users so that we can collectively learn to un-engross ourselves in technology?
Soren Pold – New ways of hiding: Towards meta interface realism
Within the complexities of the worldwide web comes the question of who is actually in control of being seeing and being seen. In this article, the author goes over different ways the meta interface collects data from everyday users and does so under a camouflage that makes it hidden from everyone else unless it is actively being searched for. This interfacing is both voluntary, (meaning it is present in the terms and conditions that the user can agree to) and involuntary (where there are activities that happen in the background that tracks and stores user activity and information without them even realizing it). The article introduces a possible method to explore and find out about how this happens through the form art and presents several artists who have explored and successfully presented the myriad of ways the meta interface tracks us in the dark.
What can regular users do to become more aware of this occurrence as well as protect our own information and be more secure about it to the best of our ability?