Response 1—FrankS
From the readings I thought the authors perception of the meaning medium and media was really interesting. There are many words that we use in our day-to-day language that are in the wrong context and most of us are just unaware of it. This probably has to do with what the news calls certain things or ideas that present them selves. Most of the time we see something labeled because the concept needs to be labeled so everyone knows what is being talked about. My guess is many people think that media is just the technology we use to interchange information. The writing goes on to explain that there are only three true mediums land, water, and the sky. This is because these are the only ways we can transfer real tangible objects from one place to another. Everything else is just a vehicle used with these mediums. I have never heard of this idea before probably because I had the preconception that media was just information presented in different ways. This idea and they idea of many other labels is interesting and makes me wonder what other concepts have been skewed and don’t mean what they are labeled as.
The concept of hacking is different from what people conceive the word hacker to mean. As said in the documentary, the press have created an image of hackers in a negative sense when in the beginning hackers where the ones who really allowed computers to become personal and part of our day to day lives. I have heard of the concept of hacking before this class in a positive way. Hacking to me would be accessing something and making it do something other than its intended purpose. For example I have seen projects where people hacked into a Xbox Kinect and created and art installation that changed based on the persons body movements when they are in front of the camera. Obviously if a person has enough skill they can hack things and have access to information that they aren’t allowed to have access too. The only hackers that are shown on the news are the ones that break the law, not the hackers who have created something amazing by changing the purpose that it was originally intended for.
New Media makes a lot of things possible but one thing that I find fascinating is the amount of new ways we are able to share information. New Media has allowed use to instantly be able to share information with each other and choose who gets to see the information that is shared. Many people wield the powers of new media by being able to gather information and send information that is beneficial. I think that exploration and creativity is very important when it comes to New Media. New unique advances are born from trying things that are different and changing the purpose of things to better suit what you may want them to do. In the hackers film Steve Wazniak linked a computer to a TV and told that computer to project images on the TV screen just to see if it was possible and it worked. This was the most basic form of the first PC. By using these new advances people are taking political stands that cannot be censored.
The video we watched in lab was about the destructive form of hacking that people use to exploit information that was previously private. In the film they’re where hackers called hacktavists who hacked certain websites that where against their political views. This is a way that you can a lot of information across to many people about certain people and their views. The hacktavists targeted many important governmental parties such as the CIA or FBI. These attacks were presented from many angry people to many people who look at these government sites. This type of hacking is interesting and important for people who want to present social change and it is a very effective way of protest. Across the board there are a variety of different types of hackers and things you can do with New Media.
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“The only hackers that are shown on the news are the ones that break the law, not the hackers who have created something amazing by changing the purpose that it was originally intended for.” Is there really a difference here? if what you want to create is a system with better power balances, better informed citizens, and more freedom, could this be “changing the purpose that it was originally intended for” i.e. Fox news is intended to make companies look good to us, but the YesMen change that intended purpose to show the other side of the story that is being hidden from us in plain sight.? Is the search for a just society life less of a creative act than repurposing an Xbox? Could the two be linked in many ways? The fun? creativity? purpose?