Mike R's Blog

Pixelanthropy: Charities Tap Into Second Life

msr04179 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:56:46 +0000

I thought this article was really interesting. It described how Second Life has boomed, not only in accounts on the site, but also with other organizations on the site. I thought it was real cool how charitable organizations were being created on Second Life. It’s interesting how this virtual world, or to some a fake life, can actually raise real money for people who really need stuff in life. I couldn’t believe it when it said that The American Cancer Association had a Relay For Life on second life. It is real cool to show the progression since it first started raising $5000 and then recently raised over $100,000. It is remarkable how this virtual world could have virtual avatars walk in a Relay For Life and actually raise REAL money for people who need it in the REAL world. I also liked how with the growth of the site, there is more growth in the money raised for these charities. Overall, this article is really uplifting and interesting.

Interactive Flash Project

msr04179 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:19:04 +0000

file:///Volumes/Students/M/msr04179/FLASH/Flash_Project.html

Second Life Tour

msr04179 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:58:37 +0000

St. Cathedral Catholic Church

Coffee Shop

NCAA Final Four

Free Stuff

Museum

Park

Princeton University

Swimming

The Experience of Embodied Space in Virtual Worlds

msr04179 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:46:35 +0000

This article started off my describing The Second Life and how popular it has become. They describe how it is basically a whole different world that people can do wahtever they want in. This includes building their own buildings and buying their own plots of land. It is really interesting how Second Life has blown up with tons of users who play in a virtual world rather than just living their real life.

The article goes on to describe how people got so knotted up in Second Life that they started doing some odd things. One is that some men were in charge of the women in second life in this one community. It discusses how basically the men had the rule over the women and how it represented a man’s book from the 1970′s. I think it is ridicuous that people go on this virtual world and get ruled over when they could just live their own life of freedom.

Trust and Hyperpersonal Communication in Online Friendships

msr04179 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:37:11 +0000

This article describes online relationships and how well you can trust people online. It discusses how meeting people on the internet can be something scary due to people frequently representing false identities. The article goes to describe what you can do to further understand if the person is who they say they are and how you can find out if you like the person. The article says you can look at their reputation on the site. Usually the better the reputation, the better the chance of them being a real unique person representing their own identity. Another is performance and how they act on the internet. This is whether they are nice and respectful or the complete opposite. Basically the article describes how online relationships can sometimes be scary, but there are many different ways to judge the trust of the person online.

Avatars, Second Life, and New Media Art

msr04179 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:00:12 +0000

This article describes the use of avatars in the booming virtual worlds across the internet. Whenever I am in one of the virtual worlds and I look at the avatars, I initially believe that they resemble the person behind the character. In many cases, however, the avatars don’t resemble the user at all. I think the avatars are based on either the looks of the user or the personal character of the user. For example if they are serious people then they would most likely create an avatar of themselves. If they have a sense of humor they would probably make an avatar of something different, something funny. Some people, mostly young people, would probably try to create an avatar based on who they want to be rather than who they really are. For example they would probably make their avatar really strong and big, with cool facial hair, and a cool haircut. I believe that regardless of whether the avatar looks like the user or not, the avatar still resembles how the person acts.

“A Rape in Cyberspace”

msr04179 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:49:24 +0000

This article brought up a very odd subject that I’m sure not many people, including me, have been introduced to before. It discussed about a virtual rap in cyberspace and how it affected the people associated with the crime. This article seemed completely ridiculous to me. I don’t understand how people could be so in depth and dependant on the virtual world that these actions could occur and affect someone’s emotions. What would influence someone to commit a virtual rape online and what could make the victim be so upset and insecure. I know it states that she had a past of rape, but does she not understand that this is a virtual world, a world that has absolutely nothing to do with real life? On the other hand, how do you punish something like this? It is a crime in real-life but, he didn’t commit anything physically. It makes you wonder is there a justified sentence?

It was really interesting how it described these virtual worlds as just files instead of worlds where people can interact. It is correct however, people are spending more of their time on a virtual life rather than a real life. It is a real reality-check, people are plain wasting their lives. I sometimes think of this on my xbox 360 with call of duty 5. I have played for 5 days online since it came out which doesnt seem like much however, thats 120 hours of gameplay. It really makes you think, should you live your life without alot of electronics and virtuality or should you live your life in whatever way is the most fun? I guess it’s up to you.

Site

msr04179 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:15:16 +0000

my site is :
http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/msr04179/FLASH/flashproject.html

Podbean Account

msr04179 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:57:31 +0000

My podbean account is nygiantzrock@yahoo.com

Will The Ipod Kill The Radio Star?

msr04179 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:56:48 +0000

This is an interesting article that describes the technological advance through ipods and podcasts. People nowadays can make their favorite playlists with their all-time favorite songs and download them onto their ipod. They can then listen to the ipod anywhere they are, even through their car speakers. Podcasts also are becoming popular where anyone can create or generate a video of their feelings on virtually any topic in the world. This article brings up an interesting topic of whether the ipod and podcasts will eventually make the radio obselete. I there is definitely a chance for this in the future. Currently, however, I don’t think many of the older people are technologically advanced enough to understand how to use ipods and podcasts in the same way the radio and tv is used. I think the radio and tv is also, for them, a more convenient way of listening or watching what they want. In the future, however, when people understand the digital world more, I think that the radio and television will soon be obselete because virtually everything will be offered on the internet.