THE ESSAY!!

For the essay I decided to do the 3rd question in regards to 'Professionals' versus amateurs and the challenges that 'Professionals' face when amateurs are able to create digital content that was once a job left to 'Professionals'. I chose to do it on Video Games.


The production of video games was once a job left to professionals but the Internet has enabled everyday users to access the tools needed to create a reasonable gaming experience that anyone can enjoy. With the speed of the Internet, a cost effective, easy-to-make game can turn into a social phenomenon that can have millions of people playing worldwide within minutes. This raises questions about where professionals of game design for consoles, such as the Play Station 3 (PS3), are left when amateurs produce content quickly and cost effectively, with a larger audience of players. This essay will explore the effects that cheap online games have on the consumption of large budget games made for consoles, starting with the price of games.

As the prices of games get more expensive consumers are expected to pay more for their games, but this does not mean companies are bringing in more profits. (Richtel 2009) Free or low cost online games have millions of player’s everyday (Richtel 2009) which are taking valuable customers away from the retail games that are available. A study conducted by GFK Australia showed that Australians bought 15.4 million video games in 2007 (Australians spend 1.3 billion on games 2008) . But this is a small comparison compared to the amount of people who play online games, a staggering 217 million people worldwide (Comscore 2007). This is a problem for companies who spend millions of dollars to create a visually enticing game that no one will buy because they are able to play games online for a fraction of the price. The average cost to make a game for consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 is now about $26 million.(Richtel 2009) This is a huge price considering that the average game can go for around $65.The price of purchasing retail games is a big reason why players tend to play more games online.

Free or low cost online games can take from as little as an hour to make. (Instructables 2008) This is a tiny fraction of the time that it takes to produce a large budget game that has been worked on by professionals for hours. It is hard to establish the average amount of time and money that is put into games made for expensive consoles but figures like three years and five million dollars may sound about right. (Bethke 2003, p.261) In 2007 ‘forty-five businesses in Australia involved in game design made $136.9 million and incurred costs of $128.5 million.” (Australian Bureau of Statistics Releases Data on Local Games Industry 2008) This meant a very small margin of profit for the game designers. Over two-thirds of the amount spent on producing the game went on the hiring of employees (Australian Bureau of Statistics Releases Data on Local Games Industry 2008). Game designing is a time consuming job that may not pay what it is worth and there is no way to raise paychecks if the industry is finding it hard to profit.

The video games equal violent children debate has now been disagreed by many, as most consumers are considered to be adults who play games that can improve ‘problem solving skills, team-building skills and better communication skills.’ (Chappell et al 2004, p.1) This shows that adults, who have choice to play what they feel, are more likely to buy games from stores. But statistics have shown that the controlling of youth by parents and guardians may have an effect on the games that are actually purchased in stores. (Martin & Oppenheim 2007, p.2) A study in America found that over half of adolescents are restricted to play games found suitable by their parents. (Martin & Oppenheim 2007, p.2)This can have a decreasing effect on the games that are purchased from stores. It can also cause adolescents to play more games online as parents don’t have as much control over what they do while they are on the computer.

It is interesting why those who are interested in games would rather play a game with hardly any narrative and a poor gaming experience then the professionally made games that offer an excellent game experience that sometimes stimulates real life. One reason that Choi and Kim offer is because customer’s practice ‘customer loyalty.’ (Choi & Kim 2004, p. 12) Customer loyalty is when customers return to games made by the same company as they are loyal to that particular brand. This can be evident with games from brands such as Zynga and Playfish. These brands have released numerous games since they were established which shows customer awareness to that brand. These brands incorporate ‘social interaction’ in their games, where people are able to meet and interact with others playing the same game. (Choi & Kim 2004, p. 14) Linking these games to Facebook offers a closer social interaction as they enable users to play with people they are friends with. Although game consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 offer online play it is less personal as many of the games don’t offer a personalized avatar and the gaming experience can remain anonymous for most.

The point to make about video games is that it is just another form of entertainment that is a different experience for different people. (Poole 2000, p.13). Whether or not it is made by an amateur game designer or a million dollar company the point is that the programs available have made it easier for people to create something that others can enjoy. As long as the professional’s talents are recognized, as there is a huge difference in the quality of the final product, then there should be no problem with people having a go at designing a game that will bring joy to someone’s life, or in some cases do the opposite. Although the game industry has been threatened by cheaper computer games the more expensive consoles will always offer a better gaming experience, as well as a more Professional standard of gaming, which will stabilize their place in the gaming world.

References


Australian Bureau of Statistics Releases Data On Local Games Industry 2008, Kotaku Australia Website, April 11
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2008/04/australian_bureau_of_statistics_releases_data_on_local_games_industry/

Australians Spend $1.3 Billion on Games 2008, News.com.au, January 22,
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23089959-5014239,00.html

Bethke, Erin 2003, Game Development and Production, Wordware Publishing, US

Chappell, Darren Gri ffiths, Mark Wood, Richard, 'The Structural Characteristics of Video Games: A Psycho-Structural Analysis,' CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOUR, vol 7, no. 1, pp. 1-10

Choi, Dongseong & Kim, Jinwoo 2004, 'Why People Continue to Play Online Games: In Search of Critical Design Factors to Increase Customer Loyalty,' CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOUR, vol 7, no. 1, pp. 11-24

How to make real computer games 2008, Instructions on how to make a computer game in one hour, The Instructables Website, March 23,
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-simple-computer-games.

Martin, Suzanne & Oppenheim, 'Video Gaming: General and Pathological Use,' Trends and Tudes, vol 6, no.3, pp. 1-7

Poole, Steven 2000, Trigger Happy: Video Games and the Entertainment Evolution, online edition,
http://stevenpoole.net/blog/trigger-happier/

Richtel, Matt 2009, 'Video Game Makers Challenged by the Next Wave of Media,' New York Times, 29 March, 2009

Worldwide Online Gaming Community Reaches 217 Million People 2007, Comscore Website, Online Press Release, London, UK, July 10,
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2007/07/Worldwide_Online_Gaming_Grows

I have been trying to upload my video and it turns out that videos on my phone won't work on the computer! I had to do my story all over again! But here is my new one anyway. My sad attempt at a fake news story. Try to enjoy...

Clean Feed

The Clean feed topic is really interesting!

Although everyone would agree that they don't want children exposed to age-inappropriate material it is too hard to put a filter on the Internet. Many problems have been raised about the use of the Clean Feed system that will have a 2 tier system that involves a controlled blacklist of certain sites and an aggressive filter that removes all inappropriate material. One of the problems with introducing the system is that the government isn't sure if the problem is bad enough to spend so much money and time on a project like this one. Apart from the cost of the scheme the government is worried about the scheme being ineffective and bad for the connection and speed of the Internet. If the filters become active there will be a big problem with the speed and performance of the Internet which will cause major problems for nearly everyone.

As I use the Internet daily, sometimes all day, a decrease in Internet speed will be very time consuming, not to mention irritating and frustrating. A high-speed Internet connection is nearly vital in our everyday lives as we rely on the computer for almost everything eg. checking bus times, movie times, assessment! information, contacting friends and family, banking etc. Anything that even risks a slower Internet speed should not be accepted!

Rather then effecting every one's Internet connection maybe the government should bring in some kind of law about how parents and teachers etc. should be watching children while they are using the Internet. Parents should take responsibility and teach their children about how to use the Internet correctly. They should watch to ensure their child is safe and if their child stumbles across something inappropriate they should be there to explain it to them. Maybe if computers had their own blocker to block certain sites it would be better. But overall, parents need to watch their children!

Some other important points have also been brought up as well. What about the content on television which is more accessible then the Internet, as your computer can be locked. Have they decided to block any inappropriate television shows or any of the advertisements about receiving messages on your phone, I'm sure we all know the ones. When you stay up late to watch a movie and every add is about 'sexy Russian babes' or 'college girls.' This is very inappropriate and they are played when you could be watching a totally appropriate show or film.

If anyone has anything to say about this topic go to http://nocleanfeed.com/.. It has all kinds of links so that you can voice your opinion about the 'Clean Feed' eg. Blog and Twitter.

CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY website!

Jason's website is nuts! But I like it!

I really didn't understand the games. There was so much happening. What he calls his 'poetry' is harder to understand then real poetry written by poets hundreds of years ago. But a lot more fun then to try and decrypt the old poetry . His site has heaps of wacky games and gizmo's to play around with and I was left totally confused and I have no idea what the purpose of the games are. The different doomsday events were quite funny, so much imagination! I think he is just trying to express himself in a weird and wacky way. Maybe to be different? He is very creative with all his drawings in the background on the games. I think he may make all original sound effects as well. Which is good as that is a quality hard to find these days. He expresses himself through his work on his site and I think we are meant to be left with a feeling of Loss or Frustration.

This is How You Will Die!
Apparently I am going to die from forgetting to breath after a virus attacks my brain after I have got a role in a film. Hmmm. Doesn't sound like me.. But oh well.. Very interesting. Jason made a game out of his death fortune teller. If you die a certain way you get more goes at spinning the death wheel! My guess is that you get as many goes as you want. I mean, he would probably have to make it easy and accessible because its not very fun.

Doomsday Endings
The Doomsday Endings were representative of all those crappy horror movies that you watch and your like 'what a stupid story!' I think he is definitely on to something with his doomsday warning about how 3 mile long goldfish will mass produce and be soo big they can swallow cruise ships! He should really approach someone about it and make a film!

Game, game,game and again game

The 2nd level of this game was an interesting take on the Bible, it must be like Jason's personal Bible! As I am thinking he's probably a total computer junkie the things he wrote on this game could probably be his own crude version of a techno bible or something. I thought it was great how he used the 'Jesus Fish' as little pick-ups and had the various different 'contemporary verses' popping up everywhere. The splitting church in the middle is a bit weird. And the video is totally weird as well! Once again I was left confused but got stuck playing the game! I actually ended up finishing it after some minor setbacks! The finishing video, 'Possibly Evolution,' was Jason's evolution theory using potatoes, milk and 'capsule people.' Not to mention other crazy things. It is funny but I am once again left baffled!

Political Beliefs?

So I went online and wanted to discover how easy it is to voice my opinion online. And there were many avenues for me to somehow do this and find out about world leaders and what they are doing. It has now become easier for people around the world to voice their opinion to people who may actually care and feel similarly about certain issues. Here are some things I did and/or found out:

I had to sign an e-petition about Animal Welfare! I love animals and think that they all deserve a good environment to live in. So I went a bit crazy and signed a couple of e-petitions: Stop Animal Testing, Stop Animal Cruelty, Help Stop Animal Abuse etc... I was also tempted to sign the petition that was called THROWING PUPPIES OFF CLIFFS IS WRONG but when I read about it I decided not to because there wasn't much information about it. I feel bad now! But I did have more tasks to complete.

Soo.. What is our favourite president doing today?? As I am doing this late I believe that Barack Obama is giving a very 'inspirational' speech today. The speech is about the health reform in USA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdU2dxJgNsM Watch it here! It is excellent quality for a YouTube video! Just keeps getting better and better.

Our favourite prime minister also had something to say online. 'First news I got having arrived in the states was that the Broncos had won. Terrific. Important work this week with UN & G20. KRudd' I'm sure all the twitter obsessed people would have felt satisfied with such a meaningful tweet. I like the fact that he discusses 'normal people' topics on his twitter. Much rather then the boring political stuff which shouldn't have such a big influence on twitter anyway. That is what they made the government websites for. Once again impressed about how open and available politicians are becoming!

Then to our Premier! On twitter she also had something very important to say! 'Congratulations Titans on a great year- making the finals in 3rd season is a terrific effort - better luck next year guys.' Well politicians sure do love their NRL! We have really good leaders in this country! But this kind of tweeting doesn't bother me at all as I would much rather read about their interests and likes then any boring political stuff!

Well I researched some of the questions and I have discovered that it is very easy to access political information and have a say online now. It is amazing how leaders and politicians are using the Internet as a source to promote themselves and it is awesome how we can have our say about them online! The Internet is being used to voice opinions about everything and politics is definitely an important issue where some are very passionate about.

The PM and Brack Obama talking about important things like Footy

Creative Commons and FLOSS

This lecture was about Creative Commons (CC) and FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software).


In the first half of the lecture Adam talked about CC. He seemed very passionate about CC as he was wearing one of their t-shirts, as well as a LINUX hat (I Think). I suppose it is understandable to be passionate about something like CC. CC is a good answer to the problems that face many artists with Copyright. It is a great way to share your creations how you want to share them. You control the restrictions on your work and let people use it how you think is ethical. As Creative Commons is a free, not for profit organisation it is evident that they have designed it to benefit its users not themselves. Well I suppose it benefits them as well. I think it is an effective way to ensure control of the content that you are willing to share online.

FREE SOFTWARE!!
I have tried Mozilla FireFox before and had no problems with it at all. My mum uses it on her computer as her 'computer whiz' friend put it on there for her. She doesn't really know the difference between the two and neither do I. They both do the job and that's all that matters.

I have no problem with any of the free software I have tried. I downloaded the Open Office program and I thoroughly enjoyed using it. I just had a bit of a play with it and I found that it was pretty much as good as Microsoft Word. It doesn't have all the perks, like the layouts and word art that Microsoft has, but who can complain if its for free! It has heaps of fonts and various different bullet points, backgrounds and even sounds to experiment with. I had fun playing around with it. The download process had no problems at all. Which is good because I hate waiting too long for anything. Overall a good program! It is definitely worth the ..... downloading time!

Tutorial 6- Video

Okay. I have finally uploaded my video. I tried really hard and this is what I came up with. I started with an idea and then it just morphed into a mash-up of different things.


I found the experience fun and a bit challenging at times. I can't believe how hard it is to cut out the face off a picture and put it on a PowerPoint! But the experience was interesting and fun above all. It is quite easy to make a simple video and upload it. The only problem I had was uploading to YouTube. So instead of mucking around I uploaded it to another video sharing site, Vimeo. Not as good as YouTube but there were no troubles so I was pleased. I uploaded the video onto the page and added the link to the video on Vimeo as well. The video on here isn't very good quality so it may be better to watch it on Vimeo.

G.I Kehoe on Vimeo- http://www.vimeo.com/6571795

Lecture 6

Consumption and Production was the topic of this Lecture. This was a really good lecture! I was thoroughly entertained throughout. I think we were supposed to be learning about whether or not we are consumers and/or producers. I think the answer to this is that many people are both now!


The lecturer, Josh???, broke the ways in which we consume media into two categories, Big Screen and Little Screen. Obviously Big Screen consisted of Cinema, TV and PC and the Little Screen was Media Players and Mobiles. This was all basic stuff which I understand quite easily, for once. I think he was just trying to show us the ways in which we view things and get information. He made a point about watching videos, Mobisodes or Episodic Stories, on I-Pod touches and Mobile Phones. He talked about watching them 'On the Fly,' a new term which may become useful to me. The problem with watching Mobisodes is 'that the file size is too big and the screen is too small.'


When the lecturer came to the Production part of the lecture he talked about ways in which Internet users are becoming Producers. This was the most interesting part to me, not just because he showed us some YouTube videos but because it showed me how easy it is to become a Producer myself. Well actually, I suppose I all ready am one! Although I don't make anything as entertaining as Fan-Films and Fan-Edits, I have put a couple of videos on my Bebo site, not for everyone to see though. I have done this for my friends and family to see.


The last part of the lecture was about Mobile Production. I think this last part was about what I would call 'Citizen Journalism.' Where lucky randoms in the world are just coincidentally at the right place at the right time. They get a photo, or a video that resembles something like the image they claim is on the shot and then news outlets will use it in their stories as they have no better images to use. This usually happens because the story is really good but there are no visuals available, apart from these ones. You usually can't really see the images too good and its hard to hear sometimes because they are usually filmed on mobiles or video cameras. A good example of 'Citizen Journalism' are the 9/11 hijackings. Many tourists and regular people took photos and videos of the planes before, after. during etc. the attack. The story was sooo big it didn't matter what the picture looked like. The dodgyness of the images have led conspiracy theorists to believe there were bombs in the tower and that the plane wasn't the plane it was said to be etc. The low quality pictures and videos captured are obviously to blame for these nonsensical theories! They are rubbish! Or are they???...

Here are some videos about some of the conspiracy theories......

Lecture 5

WHO OWNS THE CONTENT YOU PUT ON THE INTERNET AT VARIOUS SITES??
The lecture this week raised questions that were quite scary. In the tutorial Daniel asked this in a different way. He said "if Facebook was to make a coffee table book with your pictures would that be all right? Would you get any of the profits? This made me think! So I started looking at the terms and conditions or the TOS (Terms of Service) on several social networking sites. Most of the sites said that the 'materials' you put on the web remain yours but they are allowed to use it for certain things. In Bebo's TOS they stated that by putting 'materials' onto your Bebo account they have a limited licence to use, modify etc. This is quite scary! They claim that Bebo wouldn't be able to perform without this kind of use of 'materials.' I'm not sure if this is right or wrong? Maybe a little bit of sharing of ones material is needed to have a good social networking site. But I would definitely think about reading the TOS if I would be unhappy for websites to use my 'materials.' But me personally.. I don't really mind. My stuffs not to important anyway. But if there were profits involved then maybe I would care...

As for the 'Are we Consumers or Creators' Question...
I think we are both now. The Internet has enabled us to create what we consume. We have become the ones who choose what advertisements we take notice of. To a point. Where as on TV we had no choice, now we do. But the Internet is still choosing what ads we see. But they are more catered to what we are searching for. If you search for information about gym equipment on Google, up the top and down the side there will be numerous of websites advertising their 'sales' and 'special deals' on gym equipment.

Search Engines

The main way that search engines rank the pages are by the location/frequency method. The search engines will rank the pages depending on where and how frequent the words are on each page. The highest ranking pages are usually ones with the search term in the HTML title tag. Then they will put the ones that have the search terms in the first couple of lines on that page and in the headline. This is better explained at this site http://searchenginewatch.com/2167961. I am not very good at explaining things. I think this has basically answered the second question or maybe I just don't understand it! If the question is about who can make your web page rank higher when searched then there are programs that you can buy that will do this for you. This website has one of these products you can buy http://www.seoelite.com/index2.htm.

My favourite search engine is definitely GOOGLE! Its just so much easier to use. I usually only search for general things that aren't really important so google finds me what I want. Maybe it would be wiser to use different search engines for searching different things but I tend to stick to Google.

Lecture 1

Oops. I forgot to write about the first lecture. But I remember it quite well. It was basically what the topic for the lecture was, Introduction to New Communication Technologies.


The lecture material for the week were basic introductions and definitions of communication and technology which helped get a feel for the subject. He also included a list of New Communication Technologies which included stuff like Cd's, Internet etc. this was a very basic introduction of NCT which was probably just to help us understand the key concepts of the course. Stephen touched on these concepts during the lecture. But the most important part of the lecture was when Stephen showed us a video called Cocaine Jesus.


The video, which was made by Stefan Boscutti, is a simple show of words displayed on a black screen. The background song, Cocaine by Cruel Sea, helps keep the audience involved with the story as it adds to the excitement and thrill of the story. It has some very interesting twists and turns that surprise the audience and make it every entertaining. This video shows how easy it is to make an entertaining piece of communication with great simplicity. I think Stephen was trying to show us that we are all capable of making a good piece of communication even without the best of technology.

3D Worlds Vs IM

There are a few qualitative differences between the normal chat services, like IM and Facebook Chat, and the various 3D Worlds that are now on offer. The list of services that Active Worlds provide is quite amazing. And it is somewhat odd that on the web page at the bottom of the list is that you can create an avatar and chat with others. This shows that just chatting between people, who can be on the other side of the world, just isn't enough anymore. There has to be a sense of being there. Which is one of the qualitative differences. Rather then chatting to a photo, or nothing at all in some cases, there is a much better experience talking to a 3D avatar. It gives the person you are talking to an identity. This makes it more realistic.

The more realistic aspect of the 3D worlds is what makes them more qualitative. The avatar that you create, while in these worlds, can have different features which can show personality. They can often show emotion, to an extent, by showing different facial expressions, moving the head around and body language. These emotions are usually activated by clicking the mouse on something. This is evident in Secondlife. I suppose that these are the more advanced version of smileys. They are used to show different emotions without having to show them in text form. The 3D worlds add a face to that emotion which makes them more qualitative.

I googled my name in images!

Okay I google image searched my first name and what came up is probably not suitable for my blog! The majority of photos were very raunchy and I didn't want to put something like that on my blog. Apparently the photos are of a swimsuit model. What followed was more pictures of different 'Faren's' a couple more being models as well. One from the Superbowl, One from catwalk. Quite interesting. Then there are the photos of some dogs, normal people and bands or band members. When I google my full name, which is a bit of a tongue twister, the usual Maori stuff comes up. Newspaper articles, Marae's and once again band members.

These searches didn't come up with any pictures of myself or my family which is a good thing. I would have been really shocked if I typed my name in and a photo of me popped up! In one way I guess the privacy is good because usually there is no privacy online! I find the image searches really good. They usually always come up with what I want. Very useful tool.

Internet related crime on 4corners

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/default.htm



The silly man who thinks that the Internet may or should be cut off is, well, silly! The Internet is taking over many things that people do in their everyday life. Sometimes making normal tasks easier or harder. But there is no way that the Internet will be 'cut-off.' If anything, it is going to get more and more faster and useful. There is no way that the Internet will die. With technology getting more advanced the Internet is only going to do more!

One site I found talked about reasons for the Internet being used by more people. It is now more cost effective with pre-paid plans and cap plans that tie in with home phones and foxtel etc. It seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper as well. It is a very competitive business and many flock to special deals to save all the money they can. But depending on connection speed and the amount of G you get a month people are also willing to pay more for their Internet. As it is becoming a necessity. So cutting off the use of internet would be stupid!

The last couple of years has seen the use of wireless internet. Both at home and on the go. At home there are wireless modems that can keep many different laptops, computers and ps3's etc connected at the same time! Which is getting more popular now as many households have more then one of these things.

Scavenger Hunt

1. What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park?
Answer:Alan wore a gas mask while cycling around Bletchley Park to prevent a hay fever attack.
Search Engine: Yahoo
Source: bletchleypark.com


2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
Answer: October 29, 1969. Can't find where they were.
Search Engine: Bing
Source: computerhistory.org



3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
Answer: Bill Gates was born on October 28th in 1955. The first software he sold was 'Traf-o-Data' at the age of 15. (Not sure if this is right!)
Search Engine: alltheweb.com
Source: Biography.com


4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
Answer: At CERN, Switzerland
Search Engine: Ask.com
Source: boutell.com

5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago? Answer: Well.. Computers these days are a lot faster! They are a lot more compact in size. They have way more memory! They do nearly everything compared to before they did nothing really. LoL.
Source: Just off the top of my head.

6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown? Answer: One site said that the largest parsnip ever grown was eaten! Thanks for the good info!



7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales? Answer: On the 6th of June, 1859. As for the second part a bit more challenging to find!Search Engine: Ask.com Source: http://www.answerbag.com/

8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954? Answer: I don't think this is the exact weather for that date as it was based on the whole month. But this is the closest I could find. The heavy October rains over the Darling Downs followed by thunderstorm rains in November maintained fairly high levels in the Condamine and Macintyre rivers , particularly during the first half of the month. The peak height at Surat on 1st was the result of heavy run-off from the October rains. This crest moved slowly downstream and peaked at St George on 4th. Heavy 25 to 75mm rains on the southern Downs during the 3rd and 4th renewed the flooding in the Macintyre River which was still carrying considerable run-off from the October rains. The resultant sharp rises on 4th , 5th and 6th gave the third flood for that stream in 5 weeks. A peak at Goondiwindi on 6th resulted in moderate flooding and temporary dislocation of traffic.
Local flooding due to thunderstorms occurred at isolated places throughout Queensland during the month. The following are examples :- Some 30mm at Dayboro on 5th caused a temporary rise in the Pine River . Approximately 100mm in an hour near Surat caused freshes and another peak in the Condamine River on 9th. A severe storm brought 40mm in 15 minutes to Ingham on 10th , flooding shops and business premises. Up to 50mm of rain fell in 90 minutes at Caloundra , flooding a number of houses on 10th. Source: bom.gov.au

9. Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice? Answer: I think he is still remembered as a good poet as he wrote a lot of poetry there. He also lived in Venice and he became attached to a married Countess. Who left her husband for him.
Search Engine: Hotbot.com
Source: british-poetry.suite101.com

10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name? Answer: The Black Assassins. His real name? All I keep getting is stuff about 'real' Assassins.
Source: My Space

Lecture 4

Lecture 4 was short lived. A short run through on the history of moving images and films and we were onto watching some funny videos.

The first, 'Troops,' was hilarious! A very smart idea to merge 2 really famous viewing titles! It was funny to watch the way they made Stormtroopers act like the cops from Cops. A certain moment I remember is when one of the Stormtroopers/Cops is being is explaining why he does this job and if he likes it etc. It is really funny to see a Stormtrooper talking like one of the cops off Cops. I would rather watch this Parody then watch Cops any day and I find it quite hilarious that someone else finds Cops a tad bit ??? silly. I even watched the 'Troops' video in full when I got home. Was a pity that we had seen the best during the lecture.

The Awesometown video of the introduction was quite funny as well. I found it especially funny when the group , who I found out to be Lonely Island, are introducing themselves. The one who refers to himself as ' the sensitive one,' Jorma, has the funniest introduction. He tries to look like a 'gangster' in his introduction. After his intro his friends look at him in a funny way but then they all return to singing the them again. These videos are both good examples of entertaining communication and they should help us with the films we have to make.

Lecture 3

Lecture 3, which was actually presented today (week 4), was some what amusing. It was very easy to follow and the lecturer was good. I didn't catch his name because everyone was still talking when he introduced himself. If he did introduce himself.

The slide show, Cinespeak, was simple but interesting. The shots in movies are something you don't think about when viewing, but when someone shows you why/how they position the camera the way they do you realise the effort and thought that goes into making films. The way film makers answer the specific questions like why, who, what, when etc. are amazingly simple and smart. These questions are the most important parts of the plot and story in a film so it is very important that they are communicated effectively. These ways are especially good at showing the answers to these questions easily.
It was also very interesting to learn about how much space is needed when characters are talking. I never thought about how the camera must stay the same, while filming the characters, or they will look like they have grown or shrunk in a weird way. This knowledge will help a lot with Film & Screen as well.

The lecturer ran through the slide show really quickly so I don't have much more to write about. But how hard is it to explain these concepts. Just look at the slide show!

Communication Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0ztxdsFis

I found this video on YouTube. All I did was type the word communication into the search box and this was one of the first responses. This video is just an interpretation of what the future of communications could be like. I chose to post this video as the future of communications is very important to me! As a wannabe journalist the thought of the newspaper becoming extinct scares me. I found it both funny and scary whilst being entertaining at the same time. Like, I love television! I love watching the news on Television. How scary would it be to not do that anymore! I do enjoy getting a lot of my news off of the net though because it is easier to access. But there is nothing better then having a cup of tea, sitting down and relaxing in front of the 'telly' watching the news.

My Internet Experience

HeLLo Digital People..
This post is about my experience with NCT's. Well just the Internet really.
The first time I used the Internet was when I was about 8. I used to use it to make word puzzles to take to class and share with my friends. It was off some silly site that made find-a-words with the words that you wanted. We all thought it was quite amazing that our names and favourite things were in a find-a-word! Ridiculous to me now I don't do that anymore! Now the Internets purpose for me is to keep in contact with all my friends and family that seem to be all over the world! If it wasn't for social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo, Zebo, Hi5, MySpace, Flixster... I wouldn't be able to keep in contact with my family who live everywhere from here to New Zealand and England. These sights are also a good way to catch up on the competitive rivalry that is missing now that your older brothers live in different places. Although it isn't as good as playing the Playstation in the same room, some games on these sights enable a satisfactory game experience. I have now conquered my family in Pet Society, Restaurant and Vampires. I think they abandoned the first 2 games already but they still want to be the head vampire of the clan!
My first experiences with online chat was definitely on MSN Messenger. This new way of chatting was favoured by my mum as she didn't have to worry about me clogging the phone line anymore with conversations recapping the day at school with my girlfriends. Now we could just type to each other and have cute little pictures of yellow circles with smiles on them. I don't think my mum really liked it though when I was still up early the next morning gossiping about what the snob said to the popular girl which made the weird girl cry.
Privacy has never been an issue for me when I use Facebook or Bebo. I tend not to say really personal stuff on here for people to see. The only time I was worried about privacy was when my Mum was peeping over my shoulder trying to read my 'secret' messages from my friends. She would have freaked if she knew what they said. What parent wouldn't be angry if they found out their daughter was holding hands with a boy at school.

Me & NCT

I just wrote a really long post and something happened to it!
I will start again!
Well this is my first post on my first blog! So I apologize if its crap and boring I just have to do this blog thing for a subject at Uni. I will start with a bit about myself. I love to shop! Especially for clothes, shoes and bags! I don't care what brand of clothes and stuff as long as it looks good. I also love to buy stuff to make my house look better. IKEA is my fave place for this. I like going to the gym when I have time. I don't have a job! Yet.. Maybe soon. I just bought my first puppy! He is so Gorgeous! I really love travelling! Have been to England, NZ, Paris, Egypt and various places in Aussie. I am trying to complete a Bachelor of Journalism and this course was one of the electives which is why I chose to do it. I don't know if I'll major in a subject like this but it seemed a lot more interesting then World History or Sociology! New Communication Technologies or NCT as I will call it is the course, the reason why I have a blog. I hope to learn more about the technology and history about the various aspects of NCT's and I really want to learn how to have a good online presence.