Chatroulette – Not so freaky
Posted: September 27, 2011 Filed under: participation 3 | Tags: chatroulette, Flirting, Jack-in-the-box, pornography, Saw, Staebell 1 CommentI’ve experienced Chatroulette before, and had some pretty interesting, and creepy experiences. Tonight I was prepared for some very graphic images, but fortunately I did not! This may be random speculation, but after tonight, I think it may depend on the day of the week as to what you will find on Chatroulette, and therefore the technopanic can be more accurate on different nights.
In the past, I’ve chatted on a Friday or Saturday night, with my friends just goofing around and seeing what this website was all about. Oddly enough, I was on at the same time as a friend of mine, but we never saw trace of each other, yet I found numerous people multiple times. That night, guys would be sitting around drinking, flipping through the masses of people who came through their computer screens, playing pranks, and showing off their genitals. I can definitely understand why there is technopanic about this website, if you are constantly viewing inappropriate and pornographic material. It can be fun for mature audiences, but for an unsuspecting teenager, or preteen, it can be a scarring experience.
Tonight, however, was a much more pleasant adventure. Everyone was clothes (whew) and I only encountered a few people who skipped past my chat immediately. Most people stayed to chat, and were just looking for something to do, someone to talk to, and probably hoping to find something silly or a creative prank. One person set up a jack in the box, which reminded me of Saw. They didn’t stay to chat when I tried to talk. I chatted with one guy who was from Mexico, and attempted to get information out of me as to where I was from, where I studied, and personal information I didn’t feel was appropriate to share with a stranger. I evaded questions and gave vague answers. He complimented me and tried to flirt with me. It was not a situation where I would feel technopanic, but I also did not feel comfortable just sharing information that he was requesting. Luckily, this site allows you to just flip right by the people who give you the willies, onto the next viewer! Another guy was getting high in the bathroom, and I couldn’t hear him, but from what I could get out of him, he sounded ready to debate and battle anyone – probably his means of entertainment, or maybe he’s more confrontational when he gets high, who knows.
So overall, concerning the technopanic, this is a harmless website for adults who are aware of what to content expect (just about anything!). I would say this website is not appropriate for young children, for obvious reasons that I experienced that one Friday night. However, it also does not disclose any more information than you are willing to give, except your country of residence. I suppose if someone were to try to hack my IP address, they could probably find my general vicinity some how, but the odds of that are slim. Most everyone I chatted with tonight was just being fun and friendly. Good experience, especially since I feared the worst 🙂
Introductions
Posted: September 13, 2011 Filed under: intros, participation 1 | Tags: intro, participation 1, Staebell Leave a comment
Hello! I’m also Jenny, I see there’s another one of us!
I’m from Madison – born and raised. My major is Comm Arts focusing on the rhetoric side. I’m driven by interpersonal communication and a much more psychological analysis of humans. I like to learn how people tick, and how to better appease them, whether they be business customers or friends. My first thought was to major in marketing, but I enjoy the CA courses much more because they are theory based and can be applied to every-day-life, as well as career-life. I’m looking forward to understanding this course, especially since I have no academic history with TV/Radio Courses, and my entire semester is filled with internet-based curriculum.
I like to make earrings in my spare time. I created a business plan in high school and intend to carry it out. You can find my earrings on facebook, but it’s a work-in-progress since I just created it, and half of my materials are at my parents’ home. The business is called ‘Earrings By Lobe Designs’, and hopefully one day I will open on State Street!
Okay, great meeting you. Hasta luego!
Reaction to History of the Internet
Posted: September 13, 2011 Filed under: participation 2, Uncategorized | Tags: participation 2, Staebell Leave a commentThis video had a very good way of explaining the main concepts, and especially at showing. The images helped understand both what was happening, and what they were trying to avoid (ex: the scene about decentralization, with blowing up one tower, what that would do to the network, then displaying how they combated that threat). All of this sounded like a good review of what we went over in class.
The one thing that put me off guard though, was the part about IMPs. I am a little confused about the point of the mainframe, if they have another computer that is doing all the work, and controling network activities. Why did they need two different mechanisms for what seemed to be doing what one computer was capable of?
I suppose I’m thinking from the 21st century, with mini computers for phones, but I did have to go back over that portion of the video and try to understand a little more clearly.
Jenny
