Open Sky, Part 3

"From now on, distancing prevails over nuptial abduction; as, with teleconferencing, what counts above all is the separation, the putting asunder of face-to-face parties; touch, physical contact between partners, being no longer the go so much as the rejection of the other person"
-Paul Virilio

In part three of his book, Virilio discusses sexuality on the internet and how it has diverted humans from relationships with one another and disconnected us from physical relationship with other people. I think this is a shocking reality that we are faced with the internet, not just sexually but relationally. With the internet and global media, despite the fact that we are members of this "global city," we are divorced from real relationship with one another, sexual and emotional alike, by being removed from their physical presence.

Once again, Virilio is onto a good idea, but takes it a few steps too far. I don't think virtual reality or sexuality on the internet is going to ever replace the physical drives of human beings. Sexuality on the internet does not threaten reproduction, and by doing so, threaten the continuity of the human race. Marriage will continue to be an institution regardless of the effects of the internet, and we do not need to worry that "the only societies left to ensure the continuation of the human race will be those that are underdeveloped and, worse, 'media'-deprived."

Open Sky, Part 2

Virilio's Open Sky makes several interesting suggestions about the notions of space and time and the way that these are affected by modern technologies, but I just think that he is far too cynical in his approach to these new realities of our world. While there are undeniably negative effects, he fixates too solely on them and gives them too much power. In Part 2, he discusses the effect of global media on physical space, and his claims are pretty outrageous.

"But the tragic thing in this temporal perspective is that what is thereby polluted, fundamentally damaged, is no longer just the immediate future, the sense that the environment is missing: in a word, the death of geography."

Geography is hardly dying with the use of global media, and it is a little extreme to assume that digital interactions will completely replace ones occurring in the physical world. While technology is seemingly making the world feel smaller, geography and physical space are still immutable realities.

Virilio's Open Sky

In his book Open Sky, Paul Virilio makes several speculations about the information age and how the technology and media have shaped and shifted the nature of our society. Many of his claims are incredibly valid--the ways in which technology has altered our views of time, space, and reality are undeniable. However, I think his argument is incredibly difficult to follow, and part of this might be due to some of the clarity being lost in translation from the original French to English.

I found the most interesting part of his argument of telepresence. One of the most interesting effects of modern technology is the way that it alters and affects "real-time." Technology makes it possible for you to be "tele-present" almost anywhere in the world instantly.  This distorts the most basic reality--you don't have to physically be in a specific location to be present anymore. I think Virilio sees this as a danger to society, but I honestly think that it can be good for us in moderation. His view is pretty cynical and I don't believe it takes into account the positive things that can come form this type of technology.

Life On Brews Control

User Experience

Creating a simple and effective experience for users is vital for any company or organization hoping to get their website off the ground. Simply put, if a user has a bad first experience with a website, it is unlikely that they will come back again. Lack of attention to the user experience is the kiss of death for a webpage. Good user experience means good business. Businesses strive to analyze their return on investment by looking at different conversion rates to measure how many browsers are turning into buyers.

There are 5 planes or elements that help create the user experience--the surface plane, the skeleton plane, the structure plane, the scope plane, the strategy plane. The strategy plane is vital because every other element stems from there. Each element of the website should be used to advance the strategy or purpose.

For example, the motivation behind the American Airlines website is to sell plane tickets. Every element of the webpage, from the aesthetics to the structure, is utilized to advance the strategy. It is an incredibly user friendly website, which always encourages me to use them when I fly.

First Impressions

As someone who frequently gives up on technology because I just can't figure it out, the topic of usability is vitally important. A website that can clearly and efficiently portray its purpose, agenda, and how to navigate around is gold for the technologically impaired. If I can figure out a website quickly, I will love it forever. If it takes me too much time to navigate a site, I will move on quickly and never look back. It is vital for a website to make a good first impression on users.

To look into this idea of first impressions, I decided to analyze search engines. Google got me right off the bat, simply because it is so simple. There is not a lot to distract you, and it is easy to search for exactly what you need.

Yahoo is also incredibly usable. It is less simplistic, but still clear. There is a lot more information, but it is organized in such a way that everything you need is easy to find.

Bing appears simple from the outside, but it is slightly trickier than the others. The homepage looks simple like google, but with more pictures like Yahoo.

But when you search for something on Bing, it tries to connect you to social information as well, but it does not organize it in a particularly efficient way. There are three columns of information that extend fairly far on the webpage.

The Points of View

In productions of media, there is always a message to be conveyed, some bit of information to be communicated. It may be theoretical, ideological, moral, instructional. Part of the producer's job is to figure out how to most effectively present their message. Each message is a story, and it is vital for the producer to decide from which point of view to communicate the narrative. All sorts of elements factor into creating a point of view--audio, video, language. However, when it comes to the film element of the message, the point of view is very limited. Videos are, by nature, shot in the third person. Even if the narration of the production is delievered in the first person, video records and relays the action in the third person.

To potray this idea, I attached a scene from one of my favorite movies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In the scene, Matthew Broderick is addressing the audience in the second person, talking directly to them as if it's a conversation. But although Broderick is looking directly at the camera, addressing the viewer, the video itself is still very limited in it's point of view. The monologue is second person, but the video is undeniably third.