Finale : Communication and friendships

     Just the day before, the topic on technology and the role it plays in communicating was being discussed about. It got me pondering about the different type of technologies we use to help us converse, understand and learn. Be it Social networking website like Facebook and Twitter, Mobile technology such as Touch screen and 3G phones,  learning sites such as Wikipedia, we have been so reliant on technology in our daily lives.

     Mails have been replaced by Emails, Face to face interaction replaced by Skype, Books replaced by Kindle and many much more can be cited.  However I will like to bring YOUR focus to one specific company that has enables all these to happen:

The Google Story from Nick Scott Studio on Vimeo.

     Yes it is Google that gives us Gmail. Yes it is Google who own YouTube.  It is the same Google that provides us with the search engines. It is also Google that dictates what we learn about, on the internet, whenever we try to reach out for information through its search engine. More importantly, it is Google whom reminded us that communication should be free and unrestricted, when it goes against the censorship of China.

     Indeed, Google has been ambitious to provide us with almost everything we seek for in aiding our daily lives.  Be it Google documents, images, news, and the latest Android phone,  Google has been at the forefront in simplifying technology for the masses.  Now, Google is even trying to influence the way we seek direction by introducing Google Street view as shown below:


      Now here is the question:  What will happen if one day the world wide web is gone?  Will we then contradictory become impaired by technology instead of being assisted by it?

      I personally think that our reliance on technology has not help us become better communicator but instead have made us worse than before. We just have to take  a look at Facebook to understand why. Facebook is supposed to aid us in communication by allowing us to chat in real time.  Although Facebook does not limit what a person can post about, it encourages people to just post about what they feel  and in turn encourages knee-jerk reactions to the emotions. In another words, it has become such a way that we only communicate on the surface and have little intent to communicate at a deeper level.

     Technology has also reduces the intimacy of relationship. By these I do not mean the love-doves but referring to all forms of relationship. It used to be that communication requires the full attention of individual towards another individual, such that quality time must be spend to communicate and understand. Yet now, we treat all relationship like “just another MSN conversation” that we can open and close at will. Now honestly, ask yourself this question

“ How many friends do you have which you can proudly declare that can connect deeply with?”

   Now don’t you think that technology is a barrier rather than a tool for satisfying inner needs of proper and meaningful communication?
  

    I urge everyone to just spend a minute tomorrow to truly connect with a friend. Tell them how important they are to you and how much you care about them.

With that, I end my Communication 101 blog and I am really thankful for all the mates I have for my project group. I know that it is them who make the arduous easy and the mundane an exciting affair.
Till then!  

:

Note: This is NOT an official post! So if you want to help comment, please refer to the post below this =) Thanks!

Unit 05: Computer mediated communication and you!

Profile:

     Jane McGonigal is a game designer at the Institute of the Future. This is where she is heavily involved in the research and development of games that can help can solve real world problems. World without Oil is her brain child, developed to simulate real world problem where oil has become a scarcity and players are invited to “live” in this world. It is through such games that she hopes to solve real world problem through online gaming.

     Below is a video of the speech she had given recently in February at TED 2010. She had chosen to speak about how gaming can make the world a better place and she did manage to bring out an interesting observation that is well supported by evidences.


     She argue that in order to survive the next century on this planet, human must drastically increase the amount of weekly gaming hours from the current 3 billions hours per week to 21 billion per week. This is because we can achieve more in the game world and this motivates us to do something that matters, inspire us to collaborate and to cooperate. Moreover, it is only in game world that we bring out the best version of ourselves and stick to the problem until it is solved. However this is not reflected in the real world as when we are face with failures, we feel overcome and give up easily. Therefore, gaming can help bring to reality the better side of human.

      From the perspective of computer mediated communication (CMC), I find the point Jane McGonigal has brought up very interesting. I will like to discuss about the influence of CMC. There are people who find that online personal identity is a very debatable issue, especially when people are maintaining different identity in the virtual world as to reality world. This brings me back to Jane’s point about shifting online identity offline to solve real world issue. If personal identity can be constructed on the virtual world, does it also mean that a person can maintain two different sets of personalities when communicating on and off line? I find this intriguing as a person must have maintained two sets of personalities, such that it allows them to be succesful in solving problems online but failed in solving real life issues.


     Moreover, CMC such as MSN and online role playing games allow a person to remain anonymous. This brings me to another point: is CMC providing a safe haven for people to find acceptance online when they can’t find it in reality? I certainly do not think so, as being online not necessary means that a person is not being accepted in reality. One just have to take a look at Facebook to understand that there are people who are making use of CMC to enhance the personal image that has been crafted in reality. Also, Facebook being a socializing tool, goes even further to show that CMC actually encourage people to be truthful and not hide their identity.


So do you think it is possible to be a different person on MSN/Facebook as compared to real life? Will you consider that schizophrenic?

     Most of you must have hear or even played the game above. Yes I am writing about Farmville here and the rate at which this technology of Farmville has taken the world by storm, or rather by farm! Here are a few interesting facts about Farmville:


-There are 70 millions people who are playing Farmville
- There are 270 millions farms maintain by people all around the world.
- It is taking away 0.5 billion productive work hours from our world production force per week.


     Do you know that Farmville is also a form of CMC which allows it users to communicate and maintain a community? However I do think that there are many ill effects and the playing should be stopped, which is best summarized by the video below:


FarmVille Break-Up from Valentina Mitzkat on Vimeo.

Now tell me more about the various CMC you are currently using and how you make use of them to help you connect with your friends! Do you think you can live a day without Facebook, MSN? How about your cell phone? What importance does it play in your life?

Unit 04: Let's waste time together!

     The fresh round of budget debate for the work year 2010 had just concluded. The key point which emerged from the entire fiasco is the need to improve on the overall productivity of Singaporean. So what is productivity and how is it measured? According to the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC), productivity is to achieve more despite using lesser resources and it is being calculated by dividing whatever output there is by the total input that is required to produce it. So why is this important? Because raisingproductivity growth to between 2 per cent and 3 per cent from just 1 per cent over the next decade can grow the economy between 3 per cent and 5 per cent on average.


      With blunt honesty, this topic of raising productivity is of as much significance as Chicken Little’s call for a falling sky. I may be casually labeled as apathetic but the fact that I followed through the entire debate religiously may just suggest otherwise. Using the mass media, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam suggested that to raise productivity, Singaporeans ought to innovate and grow skills. Indeed, I couldn’t agree more with him. However, what I am skeptical about is the effectiveness of the role in which mass media has to play in delivering this message to the public.



     Having moved into a knowledge-based society, are our citizens still being treated as passive agents incorporating everything that the mass media offers? I reckon not. Rather, our citizens have become such an active agents in the selection of messages by the mass media that even the young are taught not to be naiveté in their choice. As such, I feel that the mass media might have limited effect in their message, given that the message has almost no relevancy to the lower and middle class families whose challenge lie with meeting their daily needs− not raising productivity. Moreover, the mass media has invisible receivers who might not have the initial skill to decode the message. The messages from mass media are also transient and can be terminated at will, signifying that our citizens may not even bother about the rally to raise productivity.

Since Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam did not specify the reasons for our low productivity, please allow me to point out the three main culprits that have lowered our productivity:

1) Facebook
2) YouTube
3) Procrastination

I will like to discuss more about the issue of procrastination.
Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

     Procrastination is about time being stretchable. It is about providing excuses not to get something done. It is about reading this entry and not doing yours. It is about being online instead of studying.

     Recently, I was taught that different culture structures the concept of time differently, either monochronic or polychronic. For monochronic view, time is not stretchable and everything in this world has it time and place. As such, one who adopts a monochronic view will be good with delaying gratification. As for polychronic view, time is stretchable and unlimited; thus, one can waste the time of others. As such, procrastination and being late for meetings are the best examples for people who subscribe to this view.

     As such to have everything linked up, I suggest that to rise productivity of Singaporeans, we should look into how procrastination has been aided by the major distraction of following threads on Facebook and watching videos on YouTube while at work. Moreover, we should also educate people on their behavioral pattern so that precious time can be use to increase productivity than to wait for late comers.


     What are your views on procrastination? Are you a member of this prestigious club? What are some of the things that made you procrastinate?  Share with me how late can your friends be when meeting you? 

Unit 03: Three Cheers for the relationship!

    The data team at Facebook has always been curious about the type of trends Facebook users express through their social networking site. Since Valentine’s Day was just gone by, the team has apparently decided to analyze how relationship status impacts individual happiness. (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=304457453858) 

     As indicated in the article, the team based their findings by looking at how many positive and negative words over a period of one week in January. After which they compare their findings with their relationship status to eventually examine whether a person's Facebook relationship status affects how positive and negative they are. Below are two of their findings:

    
     From the findings, people who are in a relationship seem less happy compared to married folks, but there is less variation in both positivity and negativity amongst married people. More importantly, the data seems to suggest that people who do not disclose their relationship status are about 50% more negative than everyone else; moreover, guys are more positive than girls when in a relationship or married, but they are more negative when married or engaged.

    

    I find these data very intriguing as it seems to suggest that although the development of a relationship occurs in stages, what happens within each stage may vary according to gender. This seems to suggest that the notion “walking into the grave of marriage” proves to be truer for guys as compared to girls. This brings me to a possible hypothesis:

    Due to cultural norm, man has the tendency to be the one in pursuit of a woman; therefore, they are more positive than woman at the coming together stage of relationship, since man finds it a challenge to pursue. However when the bonding stage occurs, man lose that sense of challenge and thus become more negative during marriage, especially if they realize that the bonding occurs too quickly, which may then results in the differentiating and eventual stagnation of relationship.

    What is your opinion on this hypothesis? Do you think that men should shoulder the fault when a relationship dissolute or do you think Woman has a part to play in maintaining a positive relationship once two people are married? Or after watching the video below, you feel that it is better to be together?



"Better Together" for Match.com from FriendsWithYou on Vimeo.


     Now, there might be some of you out there who feel that relationship in the form of friends will suffice, as friendship seems to be much simpler to engage in. While I do agree that friendship requires less commitment; however, it requires the same amount of effort if you will like to maintain a close relation with your friends. As such, the ability to maintain an effective interpersonal communication may become crucial in the maintenance process of friendship. If equity is not presence between a dyadic friendships, the imbalance of contribution by either of the party may then result in one under-benefiting while the other over-benefiting. In the long term, this may then result in the dissolution of friendship which can be painful to everyone. As such, I feel that it is of paramount importance that friends clear out time from their schedules to spend quality time with their friends.

     What do you think are important in the maintenance of a friendship? Does spending time together necessarily mean that a strong friendship will be build? Share with me what you think that will constitute a healthy friendship.     



Les Dangereux from RedForty on Vimeo.




     Lastly, I will like to share with you a video on how bad interpersonal communication may result in unnecessary conflict. After watching the video, you might just want to let down your guards and allow that special someone to enter your world. There are still 358 days till the next valentine! 

Unit 02: The time has come

Fish Leong and Tony Chao from Mayad Studios on Vimeo.


       Queen of ballad, Fish Leong finally said “I do" on the 1st February 2010 at a romantic beach wedding held on Borocay island in the Philippines. The lucky person whom Fish tied the knot with is her fiancé Tony Zhao. The occasion was witnessed by 50 relatives as the entire event was filled with joy, bliss and tears. The couple is staying at the six stars Discovery Shores Hotel in a honey moon suite costing S$827 per night.


        Having grown up listening and memorising her love songs, it became a channel through which i learn about the complex emotions in life. Be it a divergence of friendship, the despondency of heartbreak or the delectations in life, there is a 'Fish's moment' for everyone in her lyrics. Her captivating voice seem surreal yet fitting enough to both heal a confound soul or grace any gleeful occasions; therefore, to have watch the above video very much feels like reaching a significant milestone in my life. Like a process of seeing someone 'grow up' and finally having all emotions culminating at an event - the wedding ceremony.

           
         The significance of wedding ceremonies may differ in perspectives across culture and individuals, but is very much perceive through our past experiences with weddings and our knowledge about the ceremonies. For me, wedding ceremony is where all the various perspectives congregate and be shared through our actions.

          Beginning from the bride and groom, the exchange of rings, hugs and kisses are the amalgamate of experiences they have went through. In accepting each other's differences, it requires a huge level of accommodation. Even for the various attending guests, each of them will have their individual past interactions with the bride and groom, therefore each of them will bring a different perspective to the occasion. Despite the differences in personal constructs, what i feel of importance is not to try providing attributions towards the union but instead, give them our blessings and respect for their decisions. In providing them room to grow together, we are also seeking from others the freedom to explore and mature. Do you then think that mutual respect is essential in our way we perceive the world?

Chan raak ther    i Love You   Je t'aime   Kimi o ai shiteru  Te adoro

Saya cintakan awak    Te amo      wo ai ni

            Wedding ceremony is also showered with fireworks of verbal language and non-verbal communication. Above are some words important in wedding ceremonies. Indeed, both verbal and non-verbal communication is essential for a couple before and after their marriage. Since verbal language has been well covered by many, i will like to elaborate on the much disregarded non-verbal communication.

             Phrases such as "actions speak louder than words" and "walk the talk" have already exemplified the salient role non-verbal communication has. Our action very much represents who we are and what other thinks about us. Although what other perceives of us is subjective and receiver-oriented, it does not mean that you should ignore the non-verbal aspect. In fact, i feel strongly that be it appearance, actions or the lack thereof, constitutes up to 70% of who we are. Our inactions are an action in itself; therefore, our value to the society is then being judge accordingly. As such, do you still think we can remain as a hermit and be narcistic if we want to have value to the society?


Search Me Here!

            Words found in language may have different meanings to different people. Above i have provided a search link which you can try typing in your name to find out other meaning to your name. Finally, share with me what your name signifies (according to the above search link above) and provide me with your perspective to where do you think a perfect wedding ceremony should be held?





*Side note: I kind of think wedding ceremony am the sweetest event in life and it oftens bring tears.

Unit 01:Twitter: Why Women are exonerated and how i met Twitter's co-founder

   It was verified on BBC news today that the world's richest man finally found his way to Twitter. It was confirmed by Twitter's staff Caroline Mizumato. Thus far, he has only tweeted and retweeted twice each. Although he is not the first high profile figure to have step into Twitter's realm, he is by far the person with the fastest growing number of followers. In the short span of 8 hours, he has surpassed the 100,000 followers. (Picture on right  courtesy of google and Twitter)
                                                                                                    


    How is this phenomenon related to us? In fact, using this as
an example, we can then identify that Twitter is far more        
outreaching and impactful on our behavior and life as much as
its usefulness for communication. Already there have been many
pages dedicated to the seriousness of Twitter, thus i will like to bring
out a lighter side of Twitter for discussion.

    Raise your hand if you are a female reader. (Yes, yes i see your hand there!) It has been researched that women can now be clear of their conscience for being accused of having Twitter activities centric to women. This misconception that women spend more time on tweeting might root from the prejudice (probably from men again) that women spend more time on table chats as compared to men. This causation link is now unfound.
In fact, men have been found to have 15% more followers than women. This shows that men, instead of women, are the main culprits when it comes to spending more time twittering.

    In my view, by not having as much chatting session as compared to women, men should be then forgiven for utilizing Twitter to express themselves. However, i have a major concern as to whether 140 characters are enough to substantiate a meaningful communication. Besides, we should ponder whether by posting on Twitter, are we looking just to express ourselves or seeking a two way communication whereby others will provide feedback?

     In view of defining communication, i feel that Twitter has an interesting role to play. Proponents may think that communication involves the physical interaction and thus body language plays a part. This is where Twitter plays it role as a medium in which it permits both single and dual directions communication while eliminating the influence of body language. This can then perhaps give rise to interesting experiment, such as how people will respond differently to same set of questions if they are to Twitter directly in front of each other, as compared to asking these same questions physically in front of each other. This experiment can also helps to explore if Twitter has an aiding or detrimental effect on effective communication.

  
   ( Image Courtesy of Brain Solis, Click to enlarge )


      As mentioned, Twitter is far more outreaching than merely being a communication tool. My interest in Twitter started when i had the rare opportunity to meet Biz Stone (Co-founder of Twitter) over lunch at an international conference. He was kind enough to explain why he felt Twitter as being central to communication in the 21st century and the vast potential Twitter has as a company. This is best summarized in the picture above describing how Twitter extend its reach to various part of our lives.

     I believed that something of importance to the society must have been able, at some point of time, convinced its usefulness as an tool. Then the greatest compliment must be to witness how mass behaviors are changed as a sign of success.

    In conclusion, i will leave you to ponder upon how Twitter has changed the way we communicate. Do you think Twitter is useful as a communication tool and whether 140 characters are enough?
  


  

    

Unit Testing: Never Imagined i will resort to this

*Ahem* Testing Testing

One Two Tree!!!