in a clear day

There are usually two aspects of surveillance in the digital world. According to the survey about how American people see the future of the Internet, some consider surveillance as necessary and with positive effects because surveillance can help prevent crimes and the databases obtained by private firms can build a more convenient and ‘personalised way’ of life. Others take it as a potential threat of security as it gives the government too much power whereas the counter force seems hard to make it balanced ( Fox, et al. 2005: p 22-3).

The prison with panoramic view designed by Bentham is with great intelligence. People in the centre of the prison as to watch the movements of prisoners do not have to stay there all the time, however, this design are able to make the illusion for the prisoners that they have been watched by someone continuously. Therefore, people who think of being watched will behave in a favorable way, and this is what all those CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras (whether they are real or fake) designed for. Similarly on the Internet, people are also being watched. As people usually have to register an account with a username and a password in order to comment about a piece of news on Sina or updating a new story on Renren. Everything may looks just fine until one of your journals or comments are deleted all of a sudden. Sometimes, even your account will be removed with a notice of conveying too sensitive political-relevant remarks which have violated the law. Just as those car drivers who violate the traffic rules, you will get punished. Sometimes it may be just a warning like a reminder that informing you of sensitive words in your article; whereas at other times, the drivers’ license will be revoked like the online users’ account will be done in the same way only in the virtual space.

Of course, either governments or private firms take good advantage of new technologies of surveillance and ordinary people benefit from them as well. With these technologies, they controls over the order of every movements of people they watched (Bhuiyan, 2008: 105). People can get better service if a hospital keeps a database of patients; alumni will be easily keep in touch with each other if providing private information on social networks; crime may be reduced due to CCTV. However, how far should surveillance be limited to? How safe is our private information kept in this digital way? These questions should be asked as are particularly important for people under authoritarian regimes in order to protect human rights. In addition, there is always possibilities that information we provide by ourselves will one day become the cause of security problems.

References:

Bhuiyan, A.J.M.S.A., (2008), ‘Peripheral View: Conceptualizing the Information Society as a Postcolonial Subject’ in International Communication Gazette, Sage Publications: 105. Available online: http://gaz.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/70/2/99

Fox,S., Quitney, J.A., and Rainie, L., (2005), ‘The Future of the Internet’ in PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT, pp 22-3. Available online http://www.pewinternet.org

Literally, alternative media refers to all kinds of media forms except for those ‘established forms of media’ (Fenton, 2006: 336). As Fenton introduces this concept, it is a ‘counter-cultural production’ that challenges mainstream one. Alternative media does not limited to practices on the Internet. It includes various ways as it is quoted ‘literacy campains, street theatre, alternative newspapers … and others’(ibid).

Fenton (2006:359) believes that alternative media helps the development of culture and the change of society. In recent years, a new flow of a Japanese sub-culture Otaku is flourishing among the youth who obsess animation, manga (cartoon) and video games. Other sub-cultures like Goth and Emo also find their stages to perform with alternative media. Transnational campaigns and movements become decentralized and are able to be exercised in a wide range of people from different places with different ideologies and beliefs, but having the same appeals. Largely depending on the Internet, mass populations are able to create a new identity as a counter force towards global neo-liberal economic system (Empire, 2000; cited in Fenton, 2006: 361). A form of interesting and brilliant campaign called ‘ flash mob ’ or ‘smart mob’ has been conveyed in many places such as eating ice cream in Belarus in 2006 (see http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/tag/flash-mob/ ) and a pillow fight in the United Kingdom in 2009 (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/8384046.stm ). Although this form of practice does not have to be a protest, it surely gives people innovative way to express their voices. Thus it can be seen as a tactic of the multitude against strategies of the dominant power.

Some may consider alternative media, especially the Internet can be a alternative camp for ‘true democracy’ where everyone are able to practice their right, and political movements because it technically allows ‘equal and inclusive communication’. However, it does not take pluralism and complex power relations into account. (Habermas, 1998; cited in Fenton, 2008: 45; Fenton, 2006: 359). Pluralism on the Internet celebrate its diverse values and views, however, it also leads to polarization of oppositional groups (Sunstein 2001: 65; cited in Fenton, 2008: 46-8). Therefore solidarity on the Internet in regard of social changes become the main issue for some scholars (Fenton 2008).

Another problem of alternative media is digital gap. Even though it seems that online populations are quite large, those marginalized groups who need the most help does not have the access to new technologies. Without these people, it seems hard to say that alternative media can give birth to the so-called ‘true democracy’.

One question about public sphere on the Internet among Chinese online users is how influential those public opinion leaders’ voices can be? Like Han Han, one of the most popular opinion leaders online (particularly for the youth), some may consider him as a person who provoke the awareness of citizenship among China. However, according to comments following his blog (blog.sina.com.cn/twocold), most people appear as cynical to the status quo or simply agree   to what he says. There is a worry about this phenomenon that through this kind of mild criticism, people one day may get use to it and become numb.

  Emo

Gothic girls

otaku's room

References:

Fenton, N., (2006), ‘Another world is possible?” in Global Media and Communication 2006; 2; 355. SAGE publications, pp 359, 336, 361.

Fenton, N., (2008), ‘Another world is possible?” in Global Media and Communication 2008; 4; 37. SAGE publications, pp 45-8.

Recently in March 22^th , a couple got married in the city Sanya, China. The couple is not an ordinary one – the bride, Barbie Hsu, is a popular star in Taiwan and the groom, Xiaofei Wang is from a very rich family in Beijing. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous with the gathering of a great number of celebrities. However, one rule of the wedding was that journalists were not allowed to join this ceremony. Despite this, the rule did not prevent millions of Chinese online users to witness this big wedding through micro blogs. Pictures of the scene were sent almost simultaneously with the wedding. Those who took the pictures and then upload them online were exactly the guests – those celebrities with mobile phones in their hands.

No matter how upset those journalists were, they have to accept the fact that sometimes, news reports do not always need a professional. With a mobile phone that has a camera on it and necessary net service, one can be a journalist who tells the world what is happening. This phenomenon is called ‘citizen journalism’. According to Quinn (2010: 31), in many Asian countries and regions, the penetration rate is quite high. For example, the national penetration rate of mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam was 80 per cent in 2009; in Japan, it was nearly 90 per cent; and in China, it was about 50 per cent. Quinn also suggests that there will be an incredible growth of mobile phone users in Asia-Pacific region (ibid: 30). Accompanied with social networking websites, mobile phones become the indispensable tool for some people to maintain their social relations and keep in touch with the outside world.

The tendency of citizen journalism may not be a disturbing issue only for professional journalists, but also for the mass audience who are both recipients of mass information and transmitters. One problems of privacy. From the beginning of 2011, a movement called ‘rescuing begging children by taking pictures of them wherever you go’ is widely known online. Many pictures of begging children were taken and uploaded by the Internet users. However, some argue that this movement violates the privacy of these children and their parents. It seems that not many people like to be photographed and uploaded online without permission, whereas when we think of doing something with a benign intention, privacy becomes less important. Another issue is the authenticity and reliability of citizen journalism. Certainly it would be faster without too much censoring and editing. However, source is essential to journalism, otherwise it can be misleading hence cause other problems.

photos taken during the wedding of Wang and Hsu (from Sina Weibo)

Reference:

Quinn, S., (2010), ‘Asia’s mobile phone innovations’ in Asia’s Media Innovators, volume 2. Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, pp 30-1.

The boom of information comes hand in hand with digitalization developed by new communication technologies. While people is enjoying the convenience that digitalization has brought, they also find incredibly great deal of information waiting to be discovered.

One of the most significant characters in the digital world is the Internet. After the shock by its amazing functions that create a virtual world where people all over the world are able to connect with each other and the massive information is shared, the Internet becomes part of people’s everyday life practice. The distribution of the use of the Internet stretches to every aspects of the society including government, commerce, education and other areas. As a university student, one of the most essential part of my school life is to write essays, which means academic resources are greatly needed. In the past, libraries were the places people would inevitably go to when doing researches, as the books, journals and other academic works provided there were usually collected in large numbers and with fine qualification (White, 2007: 42). Although it is too early to assert that this traditional practice is effaced entirely because of the digitalization of information, education and academic studies do depend on the Internet and other digital forms of resources to a large extent. China as one of the countries with fastest growing Internet users also articulated the importance of the Internet on education. According to Lu et al. (2002: 211), the proportion of the Internet user distribution in research/education is 10.8% as the third highest, and it is quite close to the first and the second. Instead of going to libraries to find a book, using a search engine such as Google or Bing on the Internet can be faster without limitations of time and places (Halavais, 2009: 88). Since many universities and academic institutions have been opening the gate to their own database most of which need be purchased (Halavais, 2009: 100),   it becomes easier for people to access academic materials.

However, digitalization also brings problems such as inauthentic information, domination of using English language, cultural homogenization, commercialisation and insufficient ranking system of search engines (ibid). China in particular, has its own major issue about copyright. Recently, 50 well-known writers and publishing managers were protesting and negotiating the copyright issue with Baidu, the most popular search engine in China, as its database allows free sharing their works without their permission. Six of them finally sued Baidu after the failed negotiation (Fenghuang News, 2011, see http://tech.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2011_03/25/5355350_0.shtml ).

references

Fenghuang News, (03-25-2011), ‘Fracture of first negotiation between writers and Baidu; e-library’s DNA identification system will launch online on April’ at http://tech.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2011_03/25/5355350_0.shtml

Halavais, A.M.C. (2009), Search engine society . London: Polity Press. pp 88, 100

Lu, W., Du, J., Zhang, J., Ma, F. and Le, T., (2002), ‘Internet development in China’ in Journal of Information Science 2002; 28; 207, SAGE Publications, p 211.

White, A. (2007) “Using CD-ROMs as a pedagogical tool,” Multicultural Education and Technology Journal , 1(1), p 42.

Since the beginning of my college life, I've been knowing that there is strict censorship here in my country. For more than three years, I believed the effects of setting this Great Fire Wall is to block the dissenting voices. What I did not notice is the incredible upswing of the growth of domestic social networks. The popularity of Tudou, Youku, Renren and Sina Weibo is believed to a great extent the result of the blockade of their equivalents Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

According to the statistics from Royal Pindom (cited in Quinn, 2010) by early 2010, China has approximately 384 million online population. Some children now start to use computer in a quite early age, and for many young people who used to be farmers but sold their farmlands with a considerable amount of money, spending much time on the Internet chatting, playing poker games with online friends, and watching pirated movies and televion series becomes one of the most popular and convenient way to kill time.

Social networks such as Renren and Sina Weibo changed people’s everyday life. People start to look for former school mates who have been lost in contact for years. People share their favorite video clips, articles, amusing pictures, travelling pictures and put their private life to the public. Renren, Kaixin and Sina Weibo has become a indispensalbe part of a great number of people’s everyday life as many of them are college students and office workers who have the opportunity to spend hours online. Even they do not have a laptop at hand, they upload their status and ideas that flash by their mind  through mobile phones.

Due to the huge population base, social networks becomes a new and effective platform for celebrities and many organizations including commercial and non-commercial ones as strategies of public relations and advertising. It is unavoidable to follow this overwhelming wave in order to keep self in fashion. For ordinary people, social networks technically enable direct communication between any two people, including celebrities. For celebrities, sharing their everyday life can also raise their popularity. However, always being cautious about the wording is a very important tip for all celebrities. Social networks can bring one thousands of fans but can also tear one’s image into pieces in an hour. Advertising on social networks is another phenomenon being popular recently.  A great number of advertisements are sent through micro blogs to encourage people to consume their products. Others like publishing journals on Renren about recommending online stores on Taobao is an alternative way of promoting products online like public relations.

Reference

Quinn, S., (2010), ‘Asia’s mobile phone innovations’ in Asia’s Media Innovators , volume 2. Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, p 17.