readings :: basic concepts of new media ::

Readings

March

30 March:
(1) Chapter 4, "Technologies of the Third Mediamorphosis" from Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media by Roger Fidler (1997) and (2) "Social Aspects of New Media Technologies" from Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research by J. Bryant and D. Zillman (eds) (1994) (both on eReserve)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 30 Mar : Two "ah-ha's" from these readings. [ 1 post ]

April

4 April :
(1) " Introduction to Internet Architecture and Institutions" from Berkman Center for Internet and Society by Ethan Zuckerman and Andrew McLaughin (Aug 2003) ; (2) "Introduction" from Media, Technology and Society by Brian Winston (eReserve). Optional (extra-credit): "As We May Think" from Atlantic Monthly by Vannevar Bush (176:1) (July 1945)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 4 Apr : Two "ah-ha's" from these readings. [ 1 post ]
6 April :
(1) "Networks of Remediation" from Remediation: Understanding New Media by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin (1999) OR "The Medium Is The Message" from Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan. (1964); (2) "Principles of New Media" from The Language of New Media by Lev Manovich (2001) [all eReserve]
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 6 Apr : Two "ah-ha's" from these readings. [ 1 post ] [If you do both Networks and McLuhan reading - 1 extra credit post]
11 April :
(1) "We Have the Information You Want, But Getting It Will Cost You: Being Held Hostage by Information Overload" from ACM Crossroads by Mark R. Nelson (nd) ; (2) "Information overload, retrieval strategies and Internet user empowerment" from Proceedings: The Good, the Bad and the Irrelevant (COST 269) by Christopher N. Carlson (2003) (click the PDF link to read the article)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 11 Apr : Use these readings to explain how your life is affected by information (too much? too little? just enough?) [ 1 post ]
13 April :
(1) "Role of the Internet in National and Local News Media Use" from Journal of Online Behavior by Eric Riedel, Amy Gangl, Alina Oxendine, Melinda Jackson, John L. Sullivan, and Eugene Borgida (1:3) (2003). (2) (Optional/Extra Credit) "A Beginner's Guide to Media Reform" from Free Press (nd) (read the entire, multi-page article - pay attention to the "Did You Know" factoids)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 13 Apr :
  Do you agree or disagree with the authors of the required reading? Why? What 'ah-ha's did you gain form these readings? [ 1 post ] [1 extra credit post]
18 April :
(1) "Being Analog" (formerly published as Chapter 7 of The Invisible Computer) by Donald Norman (1997). (2) (Optional/Extra-credit): "Affect and machine design: Lessons for the development of autonomous machines" from IBM Systems Journal by D. A. Norman, A. Ortony and D. M. Russell (42:1) (2003)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 18 Apr :
  How have these readings changed your view of the man-machine relationship? [ 1 post ] [1 extra credit post]
20 April :
(1) "Voting and Usability: Lessons from the 2000 Presidential Campaign" from STC-PMC News and Views by Whitney Quesenbery (November 2001) ; (1) "Wanted: A Legible Voting Ballot" from Slate by Jessie Scanlon (6 October 2003) ; (3) "The Bombay Ballot" from Slate by Eric Weiner (29 September 2004) ; (4. Optional/Extra-credit) "A Brief Illustrated History of Voting" from Voting and Elections by Douglas W. Jones
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 20 Apr :
  What is your opinion about electronic voting after reading these articles? Why? [ 1 post ] [1 extra credit post]
25 April :
(1) "The GNU Manifesto" by Richard Stallman (1985). ; (2) Chapter 4 "Markets are Conversations" from The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual by Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger (1999, 2001)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 25 Apr : Why should communication scholars study the open source software movement? [ 1 post ]
27 April :
(1) "Wireless Revolution and Universal Access" from Trends in Telecommunications Reform 2003 by Michael L. Best, MIT (nd) [pdf]
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 27 Apr : What are the implications of wifi technology for communication scholars? [ 1 post ]

May

2 May :
(1) Chapter 1, "From Tom Paine to Blogs and Beyond" from We the Media by Dan Gillmor (2004) and (2) "Social Software and the Politics of Groups" from Clay Shirky's Writings About the Internet by Clay Shirky (9 March 2003)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 2 May : How does blogging software facilitate community? What are some challenges? [ 1 post ]
4 May :
(1) "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends of Friends of Friends" from Fortune by David Kirkpatrick (30 September 2003) [eReserve] and (2) "The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head" from The Berkman Center for Internet & Society by James F. Moore (31 March 2003)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 2 May : Do you see any relationship between the ideas in these readings and the open source software movement? Why or why not? [ 1 post ]
9 May :
(1) "Hacking for Free Speech" from FindLaw by Chris Sprigman (July 2003) ; (2) "Weblogs Unite to Protest Detained Iranian Blogger" from Online Journalism Review by Mark Glaser (24 September 2004) ; (3) Optional/Extra-credit: "Curbing the Commercialization of Public Space" from NewRules.org (nd)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 9 May : What does the concept of public space in cyberspace mean to you? Elaborate. [ 1 post ] [ 1 extra-credit post]
16 May :
(1) "Organization Man: Joe Trippi Reinvents Campaigning" from The New Republic Online by Noem Scheiber (10 November 2003) [or eReserve]; (2) Notes for a Panel Discussion at the AAAS Annual Meeting on Voting Technology, "Keeping Electronic Voting Honest" from Voting and Elections by Douglas W. Jones (18 February 2005) ; (3) "Digital Democracy?, Mother Jones (4 March 2004)
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 16 May : How does Internet technology impact political activity? [ 1 post ]
18 May :
(1) "Applying the ADA to the Internet: A Web Accessibility Standard" by Cynthia D. Waddell, JD. Presented at the American Bar Association National Conference (17 June 17 1998) ; (2) "Accessibility: The Politics of Design from IA/Usability (22 January 2001) ; (3) Optional-Extra-credit: "The Race of the Web Sites 2004" from ACM Interactions by Kathy Gill (November-December 2004) [pdf]
- blog post due by 9.30 am Wed 18 May : What is the relationship between cyberspace as a public space and accessibility standards? [1 post] [ 1 extra-credit post]
23 May :
(1) "How Voice-over-IP Works" from HowStuffWorks by Jeff Tyson and Robert Valdes (nd) ; (2) "Voice-over-IP: The Future of Communications" a working paper from The World Bank by Global Internet Policy Initiative (2002) ; (3) Optional/Extra-credit: "What Makes Voice-over-IP Work?" from Cisco Systems (29 October 2002) ;
- blog post due by 9.30 am Mon 23 May : How do you expect VoIP to impact cable and telephone networks (both are regulated infrastructure industries) [ 1 post ] [ 1 extra-credit post]

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