Digital Ethnography Project - Final Thoughts

The objective of this project was to evaluate the possibilities of online collaboration on topics related to new and interactive media. Our group's chosen topic was Instant Messaging. We wanted to understand its impact on society today and its many phenomena. With further research, we came up with 10 phenomena and 10 questions on Instant Messaging and will proceed to present our findings during class.

Thoughts on 4 web tools: -

The 4 tools presented, namely Diigo, Wetpaint, Evernote and Blogspot, are web-based applications and mainly function as collaborative or social publishing tools.

These tools in short, are simple to use due to their friendly graphical user interfaces and comprehensible instructions on the respective websites. The use of the Internet for research is inevitable; hence, many of the tools, after experimentation during our assignment, are well suited to the needs of researcher and students with the need to collaborate in any study. The ability to share and input comments for the community to evaluate and critique helps groups of researchers share their idea efficiently.

Digital Ethnography Project - Links

Diigo (userID:melvinkwan) - 

http://groups.diigo.com/groups/nm3225digitalethnography

Wetpaint (userID: helloz) - 

http://digitalethnographyproject.wetpaint.com/

Evernote (userID: helloz) - 

http://www.evernote.com/pub/helloz/nm3225

10 Questions on the effects of using Instant Messaging

1. Is IM replacing email for good?

2. Is IM improving our efficiency in school and work?

3. Can IM help in deeper relationship building?

4. Is IM the most cost-saving and efficient way to communicate with friends and colleagues?

5. Is it easier for youths to forge and maintain relationship ties, with the use of instant messaging as a communication tool?

6. Are people more connected due to the usage of IM?

7. Are companies becoming more efficient and productive due to the usage of IM?

8. Are people aware of the security and social threats when using IM?

9. Does having anonymity when chatting online and allow people to be more expressive?

10. How then should parents and peers educate youths on the safety of using IM and what security measures are available on IM software that helps protect our youths? 

10 Phenomena on Instant Messaging

1. Instant messaging is preferred over SMS texting and emails

2. The use of IM brings about a whole new level of productivity in the workplace

3. The use of IM changes the way business communicate with one another

4. A study in the video tells of IM as being the fastest growing medium of communication in history, reaching the 50 million-user milestones in less than half the time it took email.

5. IM companies will become the equivalent of telephone companies in the future as the technology is posed to become the communication tool for the masses

6. IM will replace email in the future with IM clients offering similar functionalities with email

7. IM reduces face-to-face contact and changes the way how youths build relationships with their family and friends

8. Youths are becoming too dependent on IM to keep in touch with family and friends

9. IM adds a whole new level of meaning to connectivity and collaboration for businesses and individuals, on a global scale

10. People are becoming more connected due the advancement of integrated technology and the usage to IM on multiple devices

Video 10

Secrets of Instant Messaging Secrets

SUMMARY:

The video by wydea.com, “Secrets of Instant Messaging Secrets”, demonstrates how IM works. IM is one of the fastest growing forms of communication, both at home and at work. The main benefit of IM is its ability to communicate real-time between 2 or more participants. To start using IM, the client basically connects to an IM server, which will authenticate and update the user with the latest buddy list and status. Messages are then sent to and forth the IM server during a conversation. This brings up a common issue of privacy, where by messages can be intercepted by malicious Internet users and attach viruses to these messages. To counter this problem, more IM clients are offering secure direct connections for all communicating parties.

Video 09

Instant Message

SUMMARY:

The video by Josh Davidson & Leigh Sturgeon, “Instant Message”, is based on a short story of actual events. This home video is a submission for Project Direct for Sundance Film Festival 2009. The story is on a little girl who is too often neglected by her family and turns to a friend she made online in a chat room. This poses the question for parents – Do you know whom your kids talk to online? The film highlights several issues pertaining to youths these days, such as sexual predation and solicitation. Many malicious IM users use the software as a tool for communication between their preys. As such, ethic and proper usage of IM comes into question. How then should parents and peers educate youths on the safety of using IM?  What security measures are available on IM software’s to protect youths? 

Video 08

Instant Messaging and the Workplace

Watch LoanChatLive.com - Instant Messaging and the Workplace in Educational | View More A

SUMMARY:

The video by loanchatlive.com, “Instant Messaging and the Workplace”, briefly discusses how IM and Live Chat is quickly becoming the preferred method of communication in the workplace. IM creates more efficient communications and greatly reduces email, the current preferred choice of communication in offices. A study in the video tells of IM as being the fastest growing medium of communication in history, reaching the 50 million-user milestones in less than half the time it took email.  It predicts that all business and employees will start switching to IM services from email due to its benefits such as efficiency and productivity gains. The study also found that majority of emails sent in workplace are not more than 1 sentence long. The growth in IM is astounding and tells of how using the technology gives business a competitive edge.