Alone Together

This week assignment was to watch a video where Sherry Turkle talked about how technology has changed our social habits. Sherry Turkle - Alone Together

In the video Sherry was talking about how nowadays people are “alone together”, for example how people are spending time together, but not really concentrating on each other because they are holding their phones and having other conversations or reading something interesting, or playing something trough the internet.

When you’re having a conversation trough text-messages or e-mails, it’s easier to control what you say or when you response. You have more time to think about your answer and for some people it’s easier to express yourself by writing than by talking.

Nowadays people are used to that they can use their phone when they’re having a “boring moment” like waiting for something, or they can skip a boring part of a conversation by consecrating on their phone applications.  Some people easily ask others to wait a minute if they are about to say something, if they’re just reading or writing something from their phone.  Some of our group members admitted to do the same.

Before it was very rude to have a phone in your hand for example in work, meeting or at lecture, but nowadays is really common.  Sherry was talking in the video how she doesn’t want to bother her co-workers if they’re concentrated on their phones or laptops, because she thinks that they are doing something important, but at the same time she doesn’t want to be disturbed either.

One of our group members had a example how a little girl who is used to talk with text messages, answered to a letter in a simply yes or no, and didn’t realize that the letters receiver does not know in which questions is she answering to.

Sherry is talking about the technology partly negatively and party positively, she is saying that we need to concentrate more on each others “in real life” than trough the internet. At the same time she’s really happy about a text message that her daughter sent her earlier. People still need to remember that texting is not same as real face to face conversation, so many little things like body language and tone of voice is missing. Emojis does not replace the human face.

We think that the most important message that Sherry is talking is that we need to learn how to use technology to make more good than bad, like make our relationships stronger.  We need to find a golden mean between technological and real life communication and let those support each others, not just focus one or the other.  

M.T

Second Life?

Our this weeks assignment was to explore a virtual site called Second Life. Here’s what we came up to.

Second Life is a virtual role- and communication place (”CMC” computer mediated communication) and it has a realtime chat (”synchronized communication”) and it has over a million users from all over the world so it is a part of a social media, where you can ”meet” new people. You can interact with people via messages or microphones. There is also its own virtual currency, the Linden Dollar, (I found it a little amusing) which is exchangeable with real world currency. Isn't that crazy? So you can actually buy things and make some kind of bisnes with people.

When you log in Second Life you start your journey by creating your own avatar. You can be man or woman or even a dog. But hey, you might have always wanted to be a dog, congratulations, in second life that's possible, or even better.. you can also be a vegetable, mineral, or a combination.(come on like seriously?) Basically anything is possible in second life. You can improve your avatar along your journey.

It seems that Second life is a place where you can actually have a second life, a whole other place to live your life. life what you have created around you. for example you can have a family in real life and you can have a family in second life. 

Second life also have these awesome beaches, pools, discos and nice cars, a very rich way of life. I think people wants to experience that kind of lifestyle if it isn’t possible in real life.

Avatars seemed to be very good looking, men had trained bodies and tattoos, and women were skinny and had also very goodlooking bodies. We thought that they looked a little plastic, and they could be a little more realistic. Based on screenshots they also were having very little clothes on. And there we’re lots of sexual things happening there and even a women giving birth to a baby. So it's safe to say that some of the actions here are things that can happen in real life also but there were also a very disturbing things like a women having sex with some kind of dog? So others things maybe not so realistic...

                                                                          

Of course these kinds of sites have also negativity around them. Maybe one reason is because you can't really know who is behind that avatar, it can be anyone. So you need to be realistic and careful.

Here is one really interesting document about second life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwD7u7wwcY

-CS

Internet Bookstore - How to Market It?

Our assignment this week was to create a plan for a company's communication in the network society. We had to come up with a new company that doesn't exist yet and figure out what that company sells and to whom.

What is the company?

An internet based book store, that sells both concrete copies of the books, and also virtual versions, e-books. Books differ from all kinds of genres to all kinds of origins. All books are not available in both forms, both that is the company's aim. All the registered customer's also have an account on the site, where you can save your e-books. You can access to that account on every device that has an working internet connection. When you purchase a book, you can also automatically download it straight to your computer or other device. Books are able to be read on tablets and phones through an app, that is free of charge. You can this way have a reach for tour purchased books anywhere you want.

To whom are the company's products aimed at?

This company is for every person who is eager to read and/or collect books either virtually or physically. Company's products cover a large audience and there are books for every age, gender and interest. Customers who are keen to virtual downloads and e-books can also gain a lot from this company. Streaming is of course wireless and very easy.

Where in the social media can the company be found?

This bookstore can be found in a lot social media outlets. One of the most largest of these is Facebook, where the company has an own page, where new releases and news can be found. Also adverts from the company can be found on Facebook's sides, especially when a person has an interest on books.
Twitter is another big outlet, where all the same information that comes in Facebook can be found. Other social media outlets are for example Instagram, where the company can be found uploading quit often, mostly of the new releases and maybe host a photo competition every now and then.
Also on blogs where a person has an interest for books, can this company be advertised and it's products displayed on the sites. Blogposts can be made of the books and the bloggers can cooperate with the company. There can also be ads of the company on YouTube on the start of different videos. The company also has an own YouTube channel, where it frequently downloads book-related videos.

What are some effective marketing strategies company has?

This bookstore does not have any shipping costs, even with the physical products. This makes it easier for the customers to place an order. The variety in the books is also a selling point for the company, because the products vary so much and really fit for every one.

One of the marketing strategies is spreading and using QR-code. The company's code guides the device straight to the company's website. There can also be codes that guide you straight to a single book or a category in the shop. Pictures of the codes can be spread in a lot of different places around public places in a sticker form. For example on public traffic, street adverts and in school hallways. They can also be spread in libraries, although that would probably not be legal according to law.

There can be different sales according different holidays ans seasons. Also discounts for students and elder people are important, and a good selling point for the company. Specially school books can be purchased with a student discount all over the year. It is important to get people interested in the company on special times. For example over Christmas time the sell numbers can be increased a lot if the advertisement is on point.

It is also very useful for the company to have tracking on the site, so you can see where from social media the customers come from. This way the company can really focus on that social outlet and really increase it's potential in the number of customers. This way it is also easier to find sponsors for the company, when you can reference to a number of visitors on a social outlet.

SWOT- analysis is always a good technic to use. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) This analysis can be used when the marketing strategies are made. It is important to know where you lack knowledge or talent and on the other hand, where you are more strong and can really shine.
Developing the company is always important as well, and turning your weaknesses in to strengths. You have to change and keep up with all the new inventions to succeed, especially when the business is so addicted to social media and digital world.

Written by Jonna Sulkanen

Steam vs. HDFin

Our this week´s assignment was to find two webpages: one trustworthy and one untrustworthy site which relate to group´s theme, lifestyle. After finding these two pages, we were assigned to discuss their features and in the end to write five arguments for the trustworthy website, and five arguments against the untrustworthy one.

We decided to discuss these two webpages: 

1. http://store.steampowered.com/  (trustworthy)

2. http://www.hdfin.com/items.php (untrustworthy)

Steampowered.com is a platform for game distribution, multiplaying, and communication between players. Steam offers both free and chargeable games, and in order to buy games and communicate in the community users are required to create an account. Steam has about 70% market share in the distribution of digital PC -games, so it has a remarkable role on the gaming market.

Five arguments for STEAM

1. The webpage is trustworthy, because the main links lead the user to reasonable pages, the search -function is easy to use, and the information is logically organized in certain places such as the list of genres, latest offers, most popular games, etc...The structure is clear and smart.
2. Site functions in multiple languages, this makes it a lot easier to use the page. Steam.com also has existed for quite a long time on this line of business, over ten years, and over the years it has gained even more than 125 million active users.
3. Webpage clearly informs the user about its developer and the characteristics of it. The developer of Steam is a professional, informal gaming- and entertainment corporation called Valve, which consists of a group of professional game creators.
4. Steam does not require much information of the user in order to join the community. The Steam download is completely free, and it´s available to various operating systems. It also takes extremely small space on the hard disc when downloaded (1,5Mt).
5. Webpage has a professional appearance: the texts are written correctly (grammar, formality), color scheme is simple blue, there are no irrelevant adverts, the privacy protection -practices are accessible, as order contract and other juridical information.

Hdfin.com is a webpage for streaming movies and series online for free. Its idea is very similar to Netflix. Besides viewing movies users aren´t only able to rate them and participate in different discussions on the discussion forum, but also download their own content, such as pictures and videos, to the website. In order to view content, users are required to create an account to the page, and attach their email to their profile. 

Five arguments against HDFIN

1. The webpage is untrustworthy, because most of the links on the website don´t work properly, nor do most of the movies. Also, often wen a link is clicked open, suddenly there pops one or various windows on the screen with some kind of adverts. This is called a pop-up advertisement.
2. Webpage´s appearance is unprofessional and unconvincing. It looks cheap and unreliable. There are many irrelevant advertisements on the main page already. There´s no logical structure, the pictures are bad quality and the whole site is unclear in general.
3. On the homepage there´s a message from the administrator of the site (HDFin/HDLord). It´s lacking a clear aim, and sounds very odd. It´s written in very rash and emotional manner: full of colloquial language and grammar errors. This gives an extremely unprofessional impression of the website, and refers to amateurism of the administrator.
4. The webpage does not mention, how have the movies ended up there. Generally, the content is very suspicious and dysfunctional and is most probably illegally downloaded. Hdfin is run by advertisements, and this contains a security risk to users.
    
5. There´s a 'FAQ', 'Terms', and 'contact us' -page but they open only in english even if Finnish was set as a language. 'Terms' -page is out of reasonable order, it´s constructed very disorganized, and it does not give the viewer a sensation of trust in the content and the way page functions.

S.P.

Valentine's Day Invitations

On week 7, we were assigned to log in to Evite where we were to create a fictional Valentine's Day invitation for a receiver of our choice. Afterwards, we were to analyse our work by its substance and style (theme of the week), e.g. what our textual and visual choices tell about our purpose and how.

During our meeting on Tuesday 17th, our group created an invitation for a Valentine's Day dinner & pool party at our beloved campus. We decided to go with our own name as a group and invite a made-up group, Vaasa University Card Collectors, as guests. Altogether, the event would serve approximately 14-15 people and last from 06:00 PM to 12:00 AM, ending the night with an after party at Fontana. We decided not to add pictures, possibly to keep the invitation clearer and simpler.

From a multimodal point of view, the invitation combines linguistic, spatial and visual modes.

Textual substance & style
The substance of the text is cultural-social as our general purpose of the invitation was to gather a group of friends to spend some time together via food, sports (swimming) and chatting.  We wanted to have a small, relaxing break from studying as well as celebrate Valentine's Day. We also wanted to embrace some old Finnish traditions with the dishes and sauna. So, our main values included bonding, celebration and relaxation with a small traditional twist.

The welcoming spirit of the invitation is conveyed already in the title: the exclamation mark at the end tells about enthusiasm and the fun nature of the party. The receiver is addressed politely in the opening line of the text and the following 'we are pleased to invite you' makes them feel wanted. Describing the place 'glorious' gives it a powerful and lofty sound with maybe a small humorous effect  as well.

The program is presented in a logical order with some additional information and widely described with adjectives. The politeness and kindness is shown again as the receiver is asked to bring their swimsuit and towel with them ('please'). Including 'traditional' features in the program in form of food and sauna both convey a nostalgic feeling to the Finnish students and, possibly, give a new experience to any foreign students involved. Also, the term B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Beverage) is a sort of a pop culture-reference that fits well the event with university students. In fact, the soft nature of Valentine's Day and a wild pool party with alcohol create a rather unusual and interesting combination.

The ending line welcomes the receiver one more time and reminds them to have a break from their studies. In general, the purpose of the text is to inform the receiver about the event in a kind and polite manner with a certain tongue-in-cheek touch to spice it.

Visual and spatial substance & style
As there weren't really any templates combining card collecting, pool party and Valentine's Day, we went with a simple, all-purpose design. The design features the word 'love' in a hand-written type of font, surrounded by hearts, with the color schemes of red, white and pink. The host's name, title, time, place and attendance options are featured in this template with the invitation text lying beneath against a simple white background.

The design's colors and shapes convey warmth, friendliness and good will in general. The color red is also thought of as energetic and cheerful, thus fitting the young students involved, while the white and pink soften the atmosphere and convey love and relaxation. The 'love' font is old-fashioned and looks sweet and welcoming  while the title font, in contrast, is modern and youthful-looking, telling the receiver the event will be fun. There is also certain gruffness in the design (as seen in the hearts) that makes the invitation look original.

Spatially, the card is assembled somewhat expansively with the colorful upper part stretching wide to catch the receiver's attention. The invitation text is centred neatly below; however, it takes much less space, leaving the sides nearly blank.

That will be all for the fourth assignment. The funny thing was, as Valentine's Day had already passed and we were not allowed to make a past invitation, we had to set the time to 2016. Oh well, at least we will have plenty of time to prepare for the party next year!
                                                                                                                                     

E.L.

A Little Trip Back to 90's

In this week’s assignment we were asked to log in to Pinterest, choose a theme, and then pin some interesting pictures to our board. After that we needed to analyse pictures we had chosen. We picked 90’s fashion to be our theme. We chose this theme mostly because some of our group members thought that fashion and styles from 90’s are coming back again.

90’s fashion – million miles away or just behind the corner?

In 90’s people used a lot of pastel colors. Particularly pastel-colored jackets and shoes were popular. Pastel-colored shoes might not be very popular anymore, but jackets are still at least a little part of today’s street scene. Flannel shirts and Nike Air-shoes were preferred already in the 90’s but they are also very popular nowadays.

Pic 2, Example of pastel-colored jacket

Pic 1, Example of pastel-colored shoes

Grunge was one the most popular genres in 90’s. Kurt Cobain and Johnny Depp are good examples of celebrities taking part to a grunge-scene. Rock music was perhaps the most important part of grunge but there were also some fashion features which were linked to grunge-style. Ripped jeans, old-fashioned leather jackets, military boots and Converse All Star-shoes are great examples. Lots of men were using a long hairstyle and a little beard and women preferred short and shaggy hair. Many of these features are still very popular nowadays.

Pic 3, Brad Pitt also used a long hairstyle in 90's

Pic 4, Flannel shirts are very popular nowadays

We all know how popular rap music and hip-hop style are nowadays. However, it was already in the 90’s when people started to get excited about rap and hip-hop. There are also some features in the fashion of 90’s that you don’t see too often anymore. Great examples are overalls and certain type of necklaces used by women, which are better known as “chokers”.

Pic 5, Rap-genre started its rise in 90's

Pic 6, Example of "chokers"

Pic 8, Overalls played a big part in fashion of 90's

Pic 7, examples of Nike Air - shoes from 90's

All of the pictures are from Pinterest. We mainly used words like 90’s, grunge, 90’s hairstyle and 90’s fashion as our headwords. We found a lot of interesting pictures but we only chose couple. The main similarity of these pictures is that they all relate somehow to 90’s and its fashion. Originally pictures were taken from other blogs, online shops and news articles. Our name in Pinterest is Internet Explorers and you can find our board by using headwords viikko 6 ryhmätehtävä, if you are interested more about where to find original pictures.

E.K.