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[dani171]

Blog Post #10

What does the TCP report mean?

In our reading for this week titled “Ethnic Online Communities” by Steven McLaine we read about The Children's Partnership (TCP) put out a report back in 2020 by the name of “Low-Income and Underserved Americans: the Digital Divdie’s New Frontier” the report was regarding online content. The findings of this report were that those who “...have low income, live in rural communities, limited education or are members of racial or ethnic minorities..” (McLaine,236) were looking for things like sites to help with lack of literacy and local jobs and low-cost housing as well as the local cultural information. In other words it was obvious that the people in this report were looking for help online through these sites however, these cites sometimes fails them in providing the information needed.

2.Do community websites bring in more profit than help?

In out reading titled “Ethnic Online Communities”  by Steven Mclaine we learn about websites made for minority coumintes. These websites are titled “AsianAvenue.com” “BlackPlanet.com” and “MiGente.com” These three websites were for the Black, Asian and Hispanic communites. In our reading we see that a report Coumminty Connect Inc. reported “very substantial ad revenue” (McLaine,240). Meaning that there was revenue coming in therefore profiting off of helping. However how do we know for sure minorites were helped and the reviews like the one we see on “BlackPlanet.com” accurate. 

3. Is the gaming community “toxic” against women?

In a reading this week titled “What is Gamergate, and Why?” written by Jay Hathaway we hear about a women named Zoe Quinn being esstinely exposed of all her information because her ex-boyfriend claimed she cheated on him. Although this is not an ideal situation Quinn was actuat trying to publish a text-based game titied “Depression Quest” and the coumminty was not having it. Why well because she is a woman meaning they were looking for anything to try and find a fault within her. The claim made by her ex-boyfriend was perfect. 

4. Is the discussion under #Gamergate ethically? 

In our reading for the week  “What is Gamergate, and Why?” written by Jay Hathaway  we see the discouin reagaridn the relationship between women and the gaming community. It is very clear from many examples that the relationship between the two is not a healthy one which is how #Gamergate came to be. In our reading we see a great reason as to how it is not ethical “...there are too many writers who maintain friendships or other close relationships with game developers.” (Hathaway,5). This meaning that game developers have each others back however to what extent and does being a women have a difference and how does it come into play.

[dani171]

Blog Post #9

Why is animal crossing seen as an escapism? 

In one of our readings for the week “Animal Crossing Isn’t Escapist; It’s Political” written by Ian Bogoost speaks on the difference that Animal Crossing has had on society as a whole. Especially as Animal Crossing being viewed as an escape. During the time of 2020 people found many ways to stay busy. Animal Crossing was one of these with the author even agreeing her son viewed it this way. Many viewed it as a new world they could escape too from the terrifying world that we were living in. 

How is animal crossing political? 

In our reading “Animal Crossing Isn’t Escapist; It’s Political” written by Ian Bogoost we hear the author's voice their concern for how many issues Animal Crossing as a game can teach. The writer Ian Bogoost gives great examples of these types of issues that Animal Crossing has. The first one is a “...trickster and a symbol of wealth..” (Bogost.2020) which refers to Tom Nook. It is very obvious that a trickster man is not a strange idea to our politics. We also see the author speak on climate change which can be seen in certain ways through the game.  

What is Castells’ behavioristic model? 

In our reading “Communication Power in the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement” written by Fuchs we are talking about Castells’ behavioristic model. This behavioristic model says social media is the result of revolutions and rebellions. The writer gets in with more specific which is it being “Facebook rebellions” and other claims that were made by a blogger of the name Andrew Sullivan. Sullivan said that the “revolution will be twittered” meaning that all of this information of such events would be on full public display online. 

What was Jeffery Juris' ideology on social media?

In the reading for this week “Communication Power in the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement” written by Fuchs we read about a man named Jeffery Juris. Juris was very vocal on his opinions on social media and how he felt. He essentially believed that with so much information that was constant being put on social media people would create what were sometimes crazy ideas. These crazy ideas would then lead to their being protested by these people. Juris would blame all of these protests on social media and its power. 

[dani171]

Blog Post #8

How do I identify a troll from a person?

In one of our readings from this week “The Origins of Trolling” by Phillips we see the discussion of how to know if you are speaking to a troll. A troll can be faking it all or just barely faking it. The reading says a troll can fake its entire persona this being religious, age. Careers are sometimes faked as well. These are things people would consider things that make you, you. Meaning knowing someone is faking these makes them a troll. Our reading says “...often repeated joke/reassurance/warning..”(Phillips,62) these can also be signs or alerts that you are speaking to a troll. 

What was 4chan? 

In our reading “The Origins of Trolling” by Phillips we see the mention of 4chan. This 4chan was created in 2003 by a fifteen-year-old by the name of Christopher Poole. The overall idea was this was an image board which includes things like anime, random, cute and hentai. This image board expanded over time and included other topics. As the image board or so of 4chan was changing over time things changed and the trolls began to overtake the idea of 4chan (Phillips,62). 

Who was Grandpa Wiggly? 

In our reading “Dont Feed the Trolls” by Bergstrom we get told about the world of Reddit and what it brings to the troll community. In this specific reading we hear about Grandpa Wiggly who began on reddit in 2008. The persona in which this Grandpa gave himself was an 80 year old English teacher with a wife and seven cats. Many knew this man as “the grandpa of reddit” (Bergstrom,4). His reddit post consisted of your stereotypical grandpa stories filled with sillines however many did eventually catch on that he was a troll. 

How far do hate groups go?

In our reading for this week “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace” by D.K. Citron we get to see many cases in which hate groups go very far. They began to make rape threats or comments that seem to lead this way. Majority of the time these threats go straight to women. An example of this would be in the case of the state of Maryland where men felt okay and obligated to harass women and show up at their doorsteps.

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Blog Post #7

Here is what I choose for my day to day avatar. I choose to make her as closely to me as possible making her a simple with earrings and caring type of girl. I gave her glasses as I am a bit blind and used the hand heart shapes to show I am caring.

Here is what I used as my gaming avatar. I ended up going for my actual avatar on a gaming site called Roblox. I gave her hair liked mine but then added some cute accessories and clothing that I feel matched my comfy gaming outfits.

Lastly this is what I choose for my dating avatar. I personally have never used a dating site before but if I ever were to I would try and capture my fun talking side. I feel as if the pose gives off the feeling that I love to be natural and real.

[dani171]

Blog Post #6

What did the OKCupid data provide?

The online dating website OkCupid released data in regard to racism and race on its platform. OkCupid revealed that there is a certain preference when it comes to white men and women. The majority would only respond to messages from other White men and women. OkCupid then revealed that women of Asian and Hispanic descent were seeking out White men meaning they were given the option to message back people of color. This information was all mentioned in one of our readings this week "The Social Media Handbook" by Jeremy Hunsinger and Theresa Senft.

What is "Black Twitter"?

Twitter in general is a great place to find "your people" or in other words a community in which you share certain interests. In this case, we have the community of "Black Twitter" which is mentioned in our reading "The Social Media Handbook" by Jeremy Hunsinger and Theresa Senft. In this reading, we hear of a study called Pew Study which discovered that 25% of black people who are online use Twitter. It is said that the users "prioritize the performance of their racial identity" (Senft & Hunsinger, 2014). Meaning they are building a foundation/ community.

Hunsinger, J., & Senft, T. M. (2014). The Social Media Handbook. Routledge.

How is Shondaland making television normal?

Shondaland is a studio owned by Shonda Rhimes that produces hit network television shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and even the Netflix's original Bridgerton. Majority of these shows have people of color as the main character which at the time these network television shows was not common. In a way the same can be said for Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte in the show is portrayed as a person of color which is not historically accurate but instead a great way to give the spotlight to people of color and the change the narrative in a positive direction. So yes, this is how Shonda Rhimes is making television normal in a positive way.

Can we control race with technology?

Technology for the majority of us is right in front of us, and what we are unaware of is the power that we have to voice our opinions online and make a difference. Applications like Twitter make it easy for others to find our posts on their feed and influence their opinion. An application not mentioned in our reading "Race After Technology" that is also a platform that can make a change is TikTok.

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Blog Post #5

What is the social constructionist view on race?

Social constructionists views that dividing the world's population into groups is based on there being no genetic or biological basis. This was mentioned in our reading this week "Race in Cyberspace" by Kolko. These social constructionists' view is not a view the average person would have. Many times, with these views we get certain patterns that do not go along racial categories.

Kolko, B. E. (2000). Race in cyberspace.

What is a revision of Haraway's manifesto?

Haraway's manifestos went through various changes and revisions. One of them is the inclusion of the issues within race however, she also spoke on issues of masculinity. She provided alternatives for certain situations all to avoid any "...masculinist response in her work." (Dew, 53). This came from our reading "The Revenge of the Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator" by Jeffrey A. Ow.

Has gaming become a races project?

Games are at times innocent things we play in order to distract ourselves from everyday issues or simply use just for entertainment. However, in one of our week's readings Ludo-Orientalism and the Gamification of Race we see different. A game by the name of Pokemon GO is mentioned all just like our reading said this tends to be a fun and innocent game. However, for some it was quite opposite. People of color specifically felt like they were being stared at while walking around communities while playing this game. These stares were completely uncalled, all these players were trying to do is entertain themselves with the trending game application.

What is the differences between Ludo-Orientalism and Techno-Orientalism.

Ludo-orientalism and techno-orientalism go hand in hand. As out reading from this week says "... ludo-orientalism is related but not reducible to the more well-known concept of techno-orientalism."(Fickle,8). It's almost as if ludo challenges techno. This is due to the fact that ludo-orientalism focuses on various things including concerns regarding techno-orientalism itself.

Fickle. (2019). Introduction: Ludo- orientalism and the gamification of Race. The Race Card, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479884360.003.0004

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Blog Post #4

What is Intersectionality?

Intersectionality is all about the oppression a person receives based on their race, ethnicity, and gender. I would like to add an oppression, not mentioned in our Ted Talk video by Dr. Kimberle Creshaw, which is an ability. Many are unfortunately not able to do everyday things that at times turn into oppression from other people. In the case of Dr. Kimberle Creshaw she speaks on African American women, and how till this day they continue to be oppressed through intersectionality because of their race and gender. Unfortunately many people don't turn their heads when it comes to women's stories in general and adding the fact that they are African American makes less and less people turn their head making their stories go unheard. 

How does the New Racial Caste System develop? 

This New Racial Caste System is a system that the US carceral made based on a colorblind ideology. This colorblind ideology negatively affects those minorities who may be struggling and even those who are no at times. This colorblind ideology labels minorities as ““criminals” that permits legalized discrimination against them” (Benjamin,28) as said in our reading “Race After Technology Intro”. This is unfortunate as it seems like the government found just another loophole to find ways to discriminate. 

Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology: Abolitionist Tools for the new jim code. Polity.

Do we believe a company when there is a glitch? 

From one of our week's reading “ Algorithms of Oppression” By Noble we read about a certain glitch made by the company Google in 2015. “...a “glitch” in Google’s algorithm led to a number of problems through auto-tagging and facial recognition…”(Noble,36). At first this doesn't sound too bad as it seems like it was genuinely just a glitch however, after hearing the details it takes a sudden turn. The “glitch” consisted of tagging African Amercians as apes and animals and the digoritary word often used for African Americans would take you to the White House where President Obama currently lived at the time. Google claimed this was all just an error but is it really? It could but could it have also been an employee messing around seeing if anyone would notice. Could it have been a slip up in technology to where they gave power to the wrong person.

Are humans along with technology an issue to society?

Throughout the development of technology humans have learned to enjoy it however they have also learned to abuse it in many ways. One of the modern ways is being harsh online in regards to discriminating  many on applications like Twitter and Instagram. In our reading “Algorithms of Oppression” by Noble we see certain examples of this with the abuse of certain words or images. This does not help society in anyway as it is a way to normalize this kind of negative behavior and leave it on the internet forever. 

Noble. (2018). Algorithms of oppression. New York University Press.

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Blog Post #3

What is the overall purpose of Cyberfeminist?

Cyberfeminist has a lot of purposes as the Jesse Daniels paper "Rethinking Cyberfeminism: Race, Gender and Embodiment" says it can be many things like debates and theories all "'...about the relationship between gender and digital culture..."(Daniels,102). Cyberfeminist gives us a door to start conversations about the different experiences that genders have within the digital world. Gender no longer just goes through issues in the real world however they now go through issues online too.

Daniels, J. (2009). Rethinking cyberfeminism(s): Race, gender, and embodiment. WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, 37(1–2), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1353/wsq.0.0158

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Blog Post #2

What is the fine line between government and media?

Media and the government over the years have created a relationship that many believe has crossed a line. The government is easing its way into our media each and every day. Many view this as a positive thing as we are being informed about many important events however others like me feel as though this is just one more thing the government just has to control. This gives the government the opportunity to change the media narrative. In one of our readings for this week, we hear about this being done about race "For more than 250 years the nation's news media, no matter how politically liberal, conservative or radical, no matter what class they purported to represent, reminded the press of its white population."(Gonzales & Torres, 2013 ). We can only imagine who was behind the scenes making the media push this narrative rather than allowing it to speak about the nation's other half.

Is minority or ethnic media still being erased today?

Minorities were constantly being silenced going back a couple years. This unfortunately includes the erasing of the media in which they created in hopes of being heard then and now years later. One of the readings tells that unfortunately they were always being pushed aside which is not ever ethnical. "The editors and journalist of this "other" press were often ignored, disdained or persecuted while they were alive; many of this newspapers and broadcasts were never archived..."(Gonzales & Tores, 2013). Now when you think of our current times you can probably name a decent amount of ethic news sources however when you consider the quality, the exposure and the representation is it really enough.

Should Marx's opinions be considered if he is not knowledgeable on modern times?

Marx's was one of the first philosophers in regard to technology and he is who is introduced in one of our readings. Because he was one of the first and therefore from the past it should be a conservation if his work should still be considered to take in and use. I believe that after reading about how he believed"...humans can change society. Therefore, society and the media are open for change and contain the possibility of a better future."( . His work should aboustibly be conisdered. Marx shows to be open minded and aware of social change it should also be noted that he "...stressed the importance of the concept of the social."(Fuchs,2014)

What does the concept of sublation do for society?

In our introduction with Marx we also learn about Georg Willhelm Friedrich who is a Germen philosopher. Together these two had a process in which would be used in case of tension between opposing poles. This process was sublation, and although our reading described it as rather difficult it "...helps us to understand how change happens."(Fuchs,2014) Society is a constant changing environment and for us to change and proceed as a a society we need tensions and conversations. Which is what the concept of sublation does for us. it guides us through change.

FUCHS, C. (2014). Social Media: A critical introduction. SAGE PUBLICATIONS.

González, & Torres. (2012). News for all the people: The epic story of race and the American media.

[dani171]

Blog Post #1

Technology has failed me quite a few times, however, they are always just small inconveniences well except for the one-time Twitter or now X decided to post all of my "private" tweets. Before the transition to X, Twitter had a feature similar to Instagram's close friends called close circle. I would use this feature to type out my thoughts and help release them from my head. I did have some followers on twitter however I had no one in my circle meaning I felt free to express my feelings knowing no one will ever see it. After a couple months of using close circle I decided to take a break from all social media. During my break twitter became X and certain features and algorithms were changed. To my beautiful surprise when I came back to my social media all of my close circle tweets were posted for my followers and public to see.