Facebook accounts function as "cyborg counterparts" to users. The document argues that a person's Facebook account takes on aspects of their identity and personality separate from their real-life identity. As users continually update their Facebook profiles and interact on the site, they are simultaneously shaping both their online identity on Facebook and their "second self" or cyborg counterpart. The widespread implementation of the "Like" button further enhances this process by cataloging users' interests to refine their Facebook profiles and cyborg identities over time. The document examines this phenomenon through the lenses of theorists like Sherry Turkle, Amber Case, Frank Biocca, and Ollivier Dyens to argue that humans are becoming more integrated with technology through sites like
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
February 28th cyborg to borg—cont’d, with michael chorostDoug Thompson
Robert Bloomfield welcomes Michael Chorost once again, as his guest on Metanomics. The discussion during Michael’s last visit centered on his book, Re-Built and his experience of receiving a cochlear implant. As a science writer, he knew how the implant worked, yet it was a fascinating journey to share his experience of stepping up to Cyborg status, utilizing lines of code and an implanted physical device to regain the ability to hear. His new book, World Wide Mind has just been released and further explores the integration of humans and machine coupled with the connective potential of the internet. It’s been widely praised in reviews including The New York Times, Wired Magazine, New Scientist, and The L-Magazine. All agree that the science is dazzling, and the interwoven account of his personal journey to become a more complete human, emotionally speaks to how this merge with technology might affect us all.
Click here to watch video http://www.metanomics.net/show/february_28th/
Is social media a revolution or just more conversation? What are companies doing to protect their reputations online? Where do virtual worlds fit in to the Web 2.0 ecosystem?
Chris Abraham, President and COO of Abraham Harrison was the guest on Metanomics, a weekly broadcast which explores the serious uses of virtual worlds.
View the video: http://tinyurl.com/ydv3c7t
Schemas for the Real World [Madison RubyConf 2013]Carina C. Zona
Social app development challenges us how to code for users’ personal world. Users are giving push-back to ill-fitted assumptions about their identity — including name, gender, sexual orientation, important relationships, and other attributes they value.
How can we balance users’ realities with an app’s business requirements?
Facebook, Google+, and others are grappling with these questions. Resilient approaches arise from an app’s own foundation. Discover schemas’ influence over codebase, UX, and development itself. Learn how we can use schemas to both inspire users and generate data we need as developers.
--
META
Where: Madison Ruby Conference 2013 (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Date: August 23, 2013
Video: http://www.confreaks.com/videos/2627-madisonruby2013-schemas-for-the-real-world
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
February 28th cyborg to borg—cont’d, with michael chorostDoug Thompson
Robert Bloomfield welcomes Michael Chorost once again, as his guest on Metanomics. The discussion during Michael’s last visit centered on his book, Re-Built and his experience of receiving a cochlear implant. As a science writer, he knew how the implant worked, yet it was a fascinating journey to share his experience of stepping up to Cyborg status, utilizing lines of code and an implanted physical device to regain the ability to hear. His new book, World Wide Mind has just been released and further explores the integration of humans and machine coupled with the connective potential of the internet. It’s been widely praised in reviews including The New York Times, Wired Magazine, New Scientist, and The L-Magazine. All agree that the science is dazzling, and the interwoven account of his personal journey to become a more complete human, emotionally speaks to how this merge with technology might affect us all.
Click here to watch video http://www.metanomics.net/show/february_28th/
Is social media a revolution or just more conversation? What are companies doing to protect their reputations online? Where do virtual worlds fit in to the Web 2.0 ecosystem?
Chris Abraham, President and COO of Abraham Harrison was the guest on Metanomics, a weekly broadcast which explores the serious uses of virtual worlds.
View the video: http://tinyurl.com/ydv3c7t
Schemas for the Real World [Madison RubyConf 2013]Carina C. Zona
Social app development challenges us how to code for users’ personal world. Users are giving push-back to ill-fitted assumptions about their identity — including name, gender, sexual orientation, important relationships, and other attributes they value.
How can we balance users’ realities with an app’s business requirements?
Facebook, Google+, and others are grappling with these questions. Resilient approaches arise from an app’s own foundation. Discover schemas’ influence over codebase, UX, and development itself. Learn how we can use schemas to both inspire users and generate data we need as developers.
--
META
Where: Madison Ruby Conference 2013 (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Date: August 23, 2013
Video: http://www.confreaks.com/videos/2627-madisonruby2013-schemas-for-the-real-world
Second Life Next: Dusan Writer's 2010 SLCC Keynote PresentaionDoug Thompson
My Keynote Presentation from the Second Life Community Convention 2010.
To view the video of the presentation fast forward to the latter half of this video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8922472
And this:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8925416
Social Software and Publishers - Gavin Bell - O'Reilly Tools of Change 2007Gavin Bell
A talk at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishers conference. I spoke about social software and how to make it work for book publishers, summng up with a core list of activities publishers need to do to engage their readers better.
Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do (Read Serials)NASIG
Per the ethics of librarianship as codified by the American Library Association, knowledge seekers can expect that librarians will "protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted." Can librarians honestly promise this with respect to electronic serials? Do library users know or care whether librarians do? Do serials publishers and vendors acknowledge ethical duties toward readers and their privacy? Dorothea Salo will outline legal, technical, logistical, and licensing facets impinging upon, sometimes threatening, the serial reader's privacy.
Speaker: Dorothea Salo, Faculty Associate, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Business Social Networking - part 1: cultural and historical perspective #BSN...Roberto Lofaro
This book is based on two drafts/concepts (on social networking and marketing, and social networking and security) that I had registered with WGA in 2008, before giving a non-exclusive license to part of the material to contribute to a marketing book, and preparing to contribute to a book on networking (technology and methods; eventually my participation was scuttled), extensively revised and updated in 2013.
The second volume, initially forecast for 2015, was not published due to a potential conflict of interest (a contract started in 2015 that ended in 2018)
Therefore, it will be revised and published in late 2018, with a focus on social networking and marketing, six months after the enforcement of GDPR (i.e. forecast for early December 2018).
This short book (or extended essay) is just part of a series of collected thoughts and analysis.
Focus: the impact of social and technological change on traditional management practices.
Aim: to raise informed questions, not to provide answers
Join the discussion on http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertolofaro
Other business books (links to both the free and paid versions, and additional online material if available): http://www.robertolofaro.com/books
You can find more articles, essays, commentary on current affairs, technology, and their impact on social and business environments on http://www.robertolofaro.com/portal
More details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqAr1fzhU0
Last week, we were asked to inaugurate TED's very first "partners" session on behalf of Orange. This was the an absolutely awesome experience, as frankly, getting to present the thinking behind On at TED was a dream come true.
TED Global took place in Oxford, with some 800 attendees. After the gloom years, the focus was on the good news. The presentations on spreading education , in true TED style, were astounding, as were talks on decoding the brain, and applying video gaming (Tom Chatfield) behaviours to general motivation. Ralph Simons gave us an entertaining insight into My Sharona, while Annie Lennox got us all sweet dreaming again before reminding us of the topicality of the fight against AIDS. Naif Al-Mutuwa tought us the power of comics in fighting against stereo-typing Islam. Matt Ridley gave a compelling explanation of why progress accelerates. And I managed to miss (slight hangover) a brilliant appearance by Julian Assange on WikiLeaks.
Second Life Next: Dusan Writer's 2010 SLCC Keynote PresentaionDoug Thompson
My Keynote Presentation from the Second Life Community Convention 2010.
To view the video of the presentation fast forward to the latter half of this video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8922472
And this:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8925416
Social Software and Publishers - Gavin Bell - O'Reilly Tools of Change 2007Gavin Bell
A talk at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishers conference. I spoke about social software and how to make it work for book publishers, summng up with a core list of activities publishers need to do to engage their readers better.
Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do (Read Serials)NASIG
Per the ethics of librarianship as codified by the American Library Association, knowledge seekers can expect that librarians will "protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted." Can librarians honestly promise this with respect to electronic serials? Do library users know or care whether librarians do? Do serials publishers and vendors acknowledge ethical duties toward readers and their privacy? Dorothea Salo will outline legal, technical, logistical, and licensing facets impinging upon, sometimes threatening, the serial reader's privacy.
Speaker: Dorothea Salo, Faculty Associate, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Business Social Networking - part 1: cultural and historical perspective #BSN...Roberto Lofaro
This book is based on two drafts/concepts (on social networking and marketing, and social networking and security) that I had registered with WGA in 2008, before giving a non-exclusive license to part of the material to contribute to a marketing book, and preparing to contribute to a book on networking (technology and methods; eventually my participation was scuttled), extensively revised and updated in 2013.
The second volume, initially forecast for 2015, was not published due to a potential conflict of interest (a contract started in 2015 that ended in 2018)
Therefore, it will be revised and published in late 2018, with a focus on social networking and marketing, six months after the enforcement of GDPR (i.e. forecast for early December 2018).
This short book (or extended essay) is just part of a series of collected thoughts and analysis.
Focus: the impact of social and technological change on traditional management practices.
Aim: to raise informed questions, not to provide answers
Join the discussion on http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertolofaro
Other business books (links to both the free and paid versions, and additional online material if available): http://www.robertolofaro.com/books
You can find more articles, essays, commentary on current affairs, technology, and their impact on social and business environments on http://www.robertolofaro.com/portal
More details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqAr1fzhU0
Last week, we were asked to inaugurate TED's very first "partners" session on behalf of Orange. This was the an absolutely awesome experience, as frankly, getting to present the thinking behind On at TED was a dream come true.
TED Global took place in Oxford, with some 800 attendees. After the gloom years, the focus was on the good news. The presentations on spreading education , in true TED style, were astounding, as were talks on decoding the brain, and applying video gaming (Tom Chatfield) behaviours to general motivation. Ralph Simons gave us an entertaining insight into My Sharona, while Annie Lennox got us all sweet dreaming again before reminding us of the topicality of the fight against AIDS. Naif Al-Mutuwa tought us the power of comics in fighting against stereo-typing Islam. Matt Ridley gave a compelling explanation of why progress accelerates. And I managed to miss (slight hangover) a brilliant appearance by Julian Assange on WikiLeaks.
Cyberspace and IdentityAuthor(s) Sherry TurkleReviewed wo.docxtheodorelove43763
Cyberspace and Identity
Author(s): Sherry Turkle
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 6 (Nov., 1999), pp. 643-648
Published by: American Sociological Association
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Looking Toward Cyberspace:
Beyond Grounded Sociology
Cyberspace and Identity
SHERRY TURKLE
Program in Science, Technology, and Society
Massachusetts Institute of Bechnolo<gy
We come to see ourselves differently as we catch
sight of our images in the mirror of the machine.
Over a decade ago, when I first called the com-
puter a "second self" (1984), these identity-
transforming relationships were most usually
one-on-one, a person alone with a machine.1
This is no longer the case. A rapidly expanding
system of networks, collectively known as the
Internet, links millions of people together in
new spaces that are changing the way we think,
the nature of our sexuality, the form of our com-
munities, our very identities. In cyberspace, we
are learning to live in virtual worlds. We may
find ourselves alone as we navigate virtual
oceans, unravel virtual mysteries, and engineer
virtual skyscrapers. But increasingly, when we
step through the looking glass, other people are
there as well.
Over the past decade, I have been engaged in
the ethnographic and clinical study of how peo-
ple negotiate the virtual and the "real" as they
represent themselves on computer screens
linked through the Internet. For many people,
such experiences challenge what they have tra-
ditionally called "identity," which they are
moved to recast in terms of multiple windows
and parallel lives. Online life is not the only fac-
tor that is pushing them in this direction; there
is no simple sense in which computers are caus-
ing a shift in notions of identity. It is, rather,
that today's life on the screen dramatizes and
concretizes a range of cultural trends tha.
With the vast increase in technology, the number of ways that the us.pdfaravlitraders2012
With the vast increase in technology, the number of ways that the use of cybertechnology impact
the personalities are also increasing. Many of the social scientists has proofs for this.
One incident, in the 1980s, that quickly caught their attention involved a male psychologist who
joined an online forum for disabled persons, where he identified himself as a woman who had
become crippled as a result of an automobile accident.
Mitch Parsell (2008) describes the Internet as a \"powerful new force\" for what he calls \"the
manufacture of identity.\" He believes that this technological medium offers an unparalleled
ability to create ourselves in our own image. It gives users an unprecedented capacity to
determine their initial presentations to others.In short, it enables users to be masters of their
identity.
Now when we talk about Ethics and Technology: Controversies, Questions, and Strategies for
Ethical Computing:
Cybertechnology as a \"Medium of Self-Expression\" Sherry Turkle (2005) notes that by the
mid-1980s, computers had become an \"evocative object\"—i.e., an object that \"provoked self-
reflection.\" Turkle suggested that a computer could be viewed as a model for analyzing and
constructing one\'s identity. She also noted that the computer has become a medium through
which people could discover their personal identity; for example, computers provide a context in
which individuals can try out different cognitive styles and different methods of problem solving
to ultimately discover which style or method they prefer. Because people develop their own
unique style of computing, Turkle argues that the computational environment becomes an
extension of themselves, in much the same way that their manner of dress is an extension of their
personality. So, in her view, a computer can function as a \"medium for self-expression\" as well
as for \"self-discovery.
Impact of cybertechnology on Sense of Self
We have examined some effects that one\'s interactions in virtual or computer-mediated
environments, including MOOs and MUDs, can have for one\'s personal identity.
2 main factors are:
our relation to nature,
our relation to (and sense of place in) the universe.
Williams notes that in the aftermath of these milestones, we have a much humbler view of our
place in the universe than our ancestors did.
How, exactly, has cybertechnology also has influenced the way that we see ourselves in relation
to both the factors—i.e., how has this relatively recent technology already begun to define us as
human beings?
To support Bolter\'s thesis that we have come to see ourselves more and more in computer-like
ways, we have only to reflect for a moment on some of the expressions that we now use to
describe ourselves. For example, Bolter points out that when psychologists speak of \"input and
output states of the brain,\" or of the brain\'s hardware and software, they exemplify Turing\'s
men. And when cognitive psychologists study the \"mind\'s algorithm for searchi.
Luke Robert Mason delivering a talk on using virtual persons as tools for understanding the social layer of the web 2.0.
LSEsu AMP
The Annual AMP Conference: Surviving in a Digital World
Tuesday March 6th 2012
Weavrs are virtual bodies of information, which re-purpose and remix social media streams in order to generate their own personae from the digital detritus of our online lives. Using Web APIs and a custom filter design (a mix of narrative techniques and statistical probability) these autonomous, semi-intelligent software agents have become useful collaborators for market researchers, writers and advertising agencies. By giving brand managers and researchers the ability to create quick, virtual embodiments of their target demographics, Weavrs offer a unique method via which to navigate and author the narratives that emerge on the social web. When all marketing has ever asked of user experience is to make people into users. Phactory ask if, “Surely it’s easier just to make some users?”
Keynote delivered at LSU Center for Computation and Technology's Virtual Worlds: New Realms for Culture, Creativity, Commerce, Computation, and Communication Conference.
Please download this slideshare ppt, as it will give you access to all the youtube and slideshare streams that are embedded in this presentation. In this narrative powerpoint which connects to the work of others, I envision the future of humanity influenced by technology.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptxJheel Barad
This presentation provides a briefing on how to upload submissions and documents in Google Classroom. It was prepared as part of an orientation for new Sainik School in-service teacher trainees. As a training officer, my goal is to ensure that you are comfortable and proficient with this essential tool for managing assignments and fostering student engagement.
1. I See Borged People
In our new information age the purpose of this paper is to argue that Facebook
accounts are cyborgs. Ah the wonders of the information age. Being able to literally
witness Web 2.0 evolve. From text based MUDs (Multi-user Domains) to full blown
social networking enabled by and taken to new grounds mainly by Facebook. How
elusive this piece of cyberspace has become. How influential, embedded, evocative it
has become to us. It is something we hear daily now as we walk down the halls of
school, work, malls, etc; it has penetrated the real world, real life (RL). Facebook has
come to a point where people panic when Facebook is down, because of a newly
inherent need to be connected to others via this ever evolving medium we call the world
wide web. No, the need to be connected to others is not a new need, but connecting
via Facebook is something new and worth taking a closer look at.
Facebook takes this need to connect to others and makes it stupidly easy,
explicit, attractive, and concurrently personal and social. But there is something else at
work here. Something we don’t really take notice of. The idea of cyborg counterparts
or as Psychologist Sherry Turkle termed, "the second self." (Turkle 1995). When I say
2. 'cyborg' I mean a, "symbiotic fusion of human and machine."
(www.cyborganthropology.com). My claim is that a person’s Facebook account is a
cyborg representation of you. Think about it. A person is giving a piece of cyberspace
an identity, personality, and half the time people represent themselves differently (i.e.
more outgoing, talkative, social, conscientious; to name a few) from the RL counterpart.
Is your cyborg counterpart (Facebook) a... better you? A counter you? A true you? An
evolved you? The purpose of this paper is to examine the cyborg element of Facebook,
and to prove the second self is there, and is learning via the newly implemented Open
Graph protocol or better know as the “Like” button. Let us start by looking at our
"second self"
The second self is an idea where, “[p]sychologist Sherry Turkle...use[d] the
phrase “second self” to identify our bodies in virtual space.” (Amber Case: O’Reilly
Webcast 2010). A prominent cyborg-anthropologist, Amber Case, quotes Turkle in
considering, “the computer not as a “tool,” but as an extension of the psychological and
social self in reality. Cyberspace allows one to sample the self - that is, choose which
pieces of the self to present the self with. A person, experiences thousands of moments
3. every day. The moments one chooses to report shape one’s identity.” (A. Case: O’Reilly
Webinar, 2010). In relation to Facebook Amber says, “[t]he production of identity in
virtual reality can occur on a social network, through text, image or video and can occur
in small moments or large ones.” (A. Case: O’Reilly Webcast, 2010). Every time we
share information (i. e. updating personal info, status updates, uploading photos,
commenting on photos, any social interaction) we are building in tandem the identity of
our self and our cyborg counterpart. I believe it is the “in tandem” part that causes our
cyborg counterparts to be overlooked. Remember how I mentioned Facebook being
concurrently social and personal? It is personal in how interactive and customizable the
interface is (setting up your page just the way you like it for others to view). It is social
because of our use of the interface in communicating with others. It is our personal
interaction with Facebook that overshadows our cyborg counterpart, by giving us the
illusion the cyborg counterpart is our RL identity. So the Facebook account is like this
pseudo-identity in which the entity is suppose to mirror our RL identity. But the RL
identity is attached to a body and Facebook is disembodied. This makes things
complex and will be addressed later on in this paper. Since it seems there are two
4. identities being shaped I turn to Dr. Sherry Turkle.
Turkle, in her monograph, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet,
where she claims that, “[a]s players participate, they become authors not only of text but
of themselves, constructing new selves through social interaction.” (Turkle 1995, p. 12).
Here she is referring to a text-based game, but the same logic can apply to social
networking giant Facebook. In this book she uses the term MUDs (Multi-User Domains)
frequently to refer to anywhere where people gather in the virtual world. Facebook will
fit this description. She offers a reason as to why we become so engaged with MUDs
saying, “MUDs...offer parallel identities, parallel lives, The experience of this parallelism
encourages treating on-screen and off-screen lives with a surprising degree of equality.”
(Turkle 1995, p. 14). Treating on-screen and off-screen as equal constituents of identity
is just the beginning. On-screen and off-screen are beginning to blur. Turkle captures
this distortion when quoting players, “...jok[ing] that they are like 'the electrodes in the
computer,' trying to express the degree to which they feel part of its space.” (Turkle
1995, p. 12). The irony here is that the players do not realize just how tangible this
“joke,” being the electrodes of the computer, is. To explain this further I look to Amber
5. Case's webcast.
In the O’Reilly webcast that Amber Case led, she mentioned Michael Wesch and
Hyperlinked memories. The idea that hyperlinked memories are extensions of our own
memory into cyberspace for future retrieval. What I found interesting about this
concept, is hyperlinked memories fit into the “joke” of being an electrode in a computer.
The analogy being made is that cyberspace is a brain of collectively gathered
hyperlinked memories. This suddenly makes Mike Wesch’s video, “Web 2.0 … The
Machine is Us/ing Us,” salient. In this video, which I first viewed last year when Wesch
did a lecture here, he explains that all the data that is exploding on the internet is going
to be sorted and organized by us. Making us the organizing and sorting machine. He
also points out that with every upload of data we are "teaching the machine." Facebook
is a good example of how the Machine is us and using us.
To take this further I want to refer to Frank Biocca’s paper, “The Cyborg’s
Dilemma: Progressive Embodiment in Virtual Environments.” Biocca outlines our
relationship with technology and concludes that the cyborg’s dilemma is,
The more natural the interface the more “human” it is, the more it adapts to the human
6. body and mind. The more the interface adapts to the human body and mind, the more
the body and mind adapts to the non-human interface. Therefore, the more natural the
interface, the more we become “unnatural,” the more we become cyborgs. (Biocca 1997)
The main idea behind this is we are achieving a more symbiotic coupling with machines.
Biocca explains that, “[p]rogressive embodiment is defined as the steadily advancing
immersion of sensorimotor channels to computer interfaces through a tighter and more
pervasive coupling of the body to interface sensors and displays.” (Biocca 1997).
Biocca believes that the new media will disembody the brain and, “would be coupled to
a machine brain rather than to cognitive environments.” (Biocca 1997). I can think
through machines, doing research. We can communicate through machines, cell
phones and facebook. Is it that the mind seeks to be disembodied? Facebook has
found a way that appeases our mind; we have let it enter us and us into it.
With Facebook we are being immersed in a virtual environment where the basic
need to be connected to others is being fulfilled. Amber Case points out that, “[t]he
more one contributes to Facebook, the more information Facebook has on human
interests and behaviour.” (Case: O’Reilly Webinar, 2010). And the more Facebook
7. learns about human interests and behaviour the more natural it’s interface becomes,
thus probing Biocca’s cyborg dilemma.
How does Facebook learn about human interests and behaviour you ask? Mark
Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, recently implemented, in April 2010, a new protocol
called “Open Graph” (Joanna Ng 2010). As mentioned in the introduction the “Open
Graph Protocol” is much better known as the “Like” button. In the article, “The Personal
Web: Smart Internet for Me,” author Joanna Ng describes the Open Graph procedure
as, “users integrat[ing] web pages themselves by using the Facebook’s “Like” button,
resulting in the “real-world things” represented as Open Graph objects, imbedded as
subset web elements from a web page of a web site to become a part of the Facebook
page.” (Joanna Ng 2010). Facebook is cataloguing your interests and behaviours
through this button. Question answered.
The implications of this “Like” button are quite interesting. Zuckerberg is quoted
saying, “My identity is first with Facebook and then is defined by things all over the
web,” at the Facebook F8 Developer Conference in April, 2010. (Joanna Ng 2010). By
clicking the “Like” button around the world wide web people are refining their cyborg
8. counterpart (Facebook account). I perceive this as evidence that our counterpart is
indeed learning. This really is allowing, “Facebook users [to] become kind of curators
of the web, saying what they like and what they don’t like, and all of that is stored in
Facebook. So it’s this complete treasure trove of data.” (Case: O’Reilly Webcast 2010).
This is the data that will build the identity and personality of our counterpart. A
person’s Facebook account can be seen as a memescape (As said by Ollivier Dyens,
"an electronic geography of memes [idea-viruses]; it is a 'plastic' idea-landscape. Dyens
1994: 328.) In this memescape, the second self thrives and Facebook is catering to our
counterpart because, “if you list things that you like on your profile, instead of linking out
to that actual page, it becomes a link within Facebook. So the idea is that you never
have to leave Facebook, and all the clicks outside of Facebook add content to
Facebook.” (Case: O’Reill Webcast 2010). You would not have to leave Facebook
because the "like" button causes a person to subscribe to updates of the 'like'd' web
element. Facebook has definitely established a relationship with its users and their
cyborg counter parts. Dyens provides an interesting perspective to this relationship.
In Ollivier Dyens article, "The Emotion of Cyberspace: Art and Cyber-Ecology,"
9. he defines our relationship with the interface as "slippage." He argues that, "...each
interface is a cyborg, for, even in the simplest one, human- and computer-information
processing overlap and slip into each other." (Dyens 1994: 327). This makes the
relationship much more fascinating in that it implies that the cyborg can interact with us.
Dyens explains that what makes cyborgs unique is, "reciprocity. Whereas McLuhan
proposed the extension of the human nervous system into technologies, I am proposing
a parallel extension of technologies into human beings." (Dyens 1994: 327-328). What
he is saying here is that our body serves as a screen in which the cyborg has access to
reality. (Dyens 1994). According to Dyens we have a "cognitive sexual" relationship with
computers and because of this relationship, "It is no longer the materiality of bodies that
dominates our perception of the world, but rather their perpetual slippage." Our tie to
the computer runs deep, to a point now where we are dependent and view the world
differently. Turkle also questions our relationship with the cyborg.
Turkle explains that, “[o]ur new technologically enmeshed relationships oblige us
to ask to what extent we ourselves have become cyborgs, transgressive mixtures of
biology, technology, and code. The traditional distance between people and machines
10. has become harder to maintain.” (Turkle 1995 p. 21). Questioning of body and mind are
being rethought. The computer,
“...is a mind that is not yet a mind. It is inanimate yet interactive. It does not think, yet
neither is it external to thought. It is an object, ultimately a mechanism, but it behaves,
interacts, and seems in a certain sense to know. It confronts us with an uneasy sense of
kinship. After all, we too behave, interact, and seem to know, and yet are ultimately
made of matter and programmed DNA. We think we can think. But can It think? Could
it have the capacity to feel? Could it ever be said to be alive?” (Turkle 1995 p. 22)
As Facebook is proving, it appears that we must begin to take our counterpart into
consideration when theorizing the future of technology. And also, perhaps, the future
course of anthropology.
Case makes the claim that, “cyborg anthropology will eventually absorb all of
anthropology, because anthropology is nothing more than a chronicle of humankind and
its relationship and cultural reaction to tools. And now our tools are evolving much
faster than we are.” (Case: O’Reilly Webinar 2010). I agree with this claim. The
information age and Web 2.0 are taking us to places that could not have been
comprehended. Case, backing up her claim of cyborg anthropology absorbing all of
11. anthropology is proven by how, “technology, as it did in the beginning, will continue to
co-create us, and we will co-create it.” (Case: O’Reilly Webcast 2010). We are living in
exciting times. We are in the midst of a digital revolution. We have embraced this
digital revolution so comfortably that we have hardly even questioned it.
Biocca also similarly points out that, “[i]t suggests that we are designed to be
cyborgs, to achieve a tighter and tighter coupling of our minds and bodies with the
externalizations of ourselves, that part of the physical world that is mixed with human
forms, that part is our technology.” (Biocca 1997). Biocca believes that our body itself is
basically a form of technology that allows the mind to navigate the physical
environment. People always say how powerful the mind can be. Maybe there is
something behind that. Maybe bodies are irrelevant to who we really are and just an
exoskeleton for our mind. It could explain why in virtual worlds people often will make
avatars of opposite gender. It allows the mind to gain a new perspective. To provoke
those who disagree with this ideology Biocca says, “[a]nyone who believes that there is
a “natural” place where the body is not wedded to technology may be embracing both
technology and self-deception. Cyborg theorists point out that ‘we are already
12. cyborgs.’” (Biocca 1997).
In conclusion, it is indeed apparent that Facebook is giving us a glimpse at our
cyborg counterpart. It is also giving us a glimpse at how it is learning. It is also proving
several theories about how we are coupling, and not just coping, with technology.
Facebook may be just a simple communication medium, but exactly because it is a vast
and emergent communication medium it makes us more prone to progressive
embodiment, in Biocca sense. Communication is simple, necessary and enhanced on
Facebook. The “Like” button augments communication and also allows the counterpart
to learn human interests and behaviours. Frank Biocca suggests it is natural that we
embrace technology. Sherry Turkle also believes our relationship with computers is
making the cyborg counterpart more salient. Ollivier Dyens points out that computers
and humans are "slipping" into each other more and more. And Amber Case echoes the
sentiments more assertively,
“We’ve already been Borged.”
13. Look at the eye interface and facebook interface, look how they slip and couple with each other
(http://www.danpontefract.com/?p=434) accessed Nov. 25
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