Category: BCM 206

Cyber warfare has become a threat to today’s society as it has made the security barriers which protect information and data weak and easily impenetrable. There are countless amount of leaks and breaches of personal security which has emphasised how unprotected data is in this day in age.

As the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump has been exposed to such leaks of recent. Trump has been exposed by the distribution of secret information enclosed by the government and even at times the manipulation of information just to frame him infront of an already skeptical American audience.

A leak which thwarted American officials is the recent illegal leak of a ‘whistleblower’ complaint about Trump’s classified conversation with Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky. This lead to Trump’s impeachment.

The message raised from this encounter highlighted the ease for media outlets such as The New York Times to retrieve confidential sources for worldwide distribution. Hackers are able to achieve exploitation of large entities, such as Trump, with ease thus highlighting that no one is safe in this society where ‘protected’ data is never really protected.

Julian Assange’s ‘Wiki leaks’ begun in 2007 where a 38 minute video, displaying the deaths of 18 people by the hands of American soldiers, was distributed around the world. This video was confidential and was hidden by the American government. Julian Assange aimed for a transparent society uncovering the secrets locked by large entities such as the American government.

Anonymous, much like Assange and WikiLeaks, works to uncover the truth. They have so far hacked NASA and the American government in a bid to expose secret content which have been kept enclosed by these large scale entities.

NASA’s data and information is highly classified. This barrier is thought to be impenetrable, however, obviously not to Anonymous. They uncovered secret photos of overly large skeletons whilst also leaking a video showing Aliens to be real. This video was viewed 900,000 times and whilst it was highly speculative, created a sense of fear over mainstream media.

But do you think there is more to this that large entities, such as NASA, are hiding? And should it be exposed by these hacking organisations in a bid for transparency?

James M

Feudalism takes the aged idea of a ‘walled garden’ and modernises it to display what the internet is like today. Feudalism 2.0 is the idea that certain companies create ‘walled gardens’ surrounding their products to prevent the external use of such aspects, therefore patenting their work.

When Steve Jobs introduced the first Apple products, he made the iPhone “sterile” and neglect the ability for customisation. This in itself placed a metaphorical bubble surrounding the product and Steve Jobs is the garden owner.

Nowadays, Apple maintains full control over their IOS applications and maintaining their metaphoric ecosystem. Consumers may customise, personalise and design to their own pleasure, using Apple and IOS applications only.

Putting up a walled garden pulls and entices users to buy more Apple products and thus benefiting profits across the board. A smart idea which companies are beginning to use, benefiting their operations and marketing.

For this weeks blog post we look at the chronic task of sorting, in particular I will shed some light on ‘Liquid Life’ and the fragility of owning a job in this generation.

“Today we are in the middle of a new media revolution – the shift of all
culture to computer-mediated forms of production, distribution, and communication.” (Manovich, 2001).

In a way media can act as as a peacemaker to a liquid life in which we live in. Media can make us understand how the world is changing and make sense of everyday life. It’s what makes the world tick in a way and my GIF displays this notion. It also shows both risk and debt as being present in the world but media can still act as a way to forget and push aside such anxiety.

I’m sure it’s daunting for most BCM students knowing that they are studying for a degree which could possibly lead to unemployment or a long period of searching and sorting for the perfect job. Personally, I do feel worried about building a portfolio in a “portfolio workplace” with the uncertain nature of finding a job (Deuze, 2006). Yet this BCM206 subject can help manage and increase the awareness of my content to future employers.

James M

In this weeks lecture, Ted focuses on the development of a societal paradigm dependant on informational communication technologies. These ICM’s allow for fluent communication between human to human and has revolutionised the way the human race connects.

My GIF explores a civilisation which has become dependant on the use of informational communication technologies to socialise, connect and form relationships. Much like in Fahrenheit 451, a city which is dependant on electronics may have the possibility of a totalitarian society and this must be evaded. The moon acts a symbol of attraction, something that everyone will look upon and this generations ‘moon’ is the phone.

It’s obvious that our network society would diminish if it wasn’t for this generations technological paradigm (Castells, 2004). A phone as an ICM for example has reinvigorated the way a message travels and the speed in which it does. With a technological paradigm starting with telegraphs, the phone has made a gigantic leap.

James M

For this weeks’ blog post we must look at the Global Nervous System, the Internet, and the significant change which has undertaken over two decades.

Through one of this weeks readings “Brief History of the Internet” I gained key insights into the development of the internet. It shows the “incomplete” timeline of the internet and the different aspects incorporated within the development.

My GIF explores “The History of the Future”, as said in my chosen reading, the internet must continue to change and with the computer industry. I believe the Internet must keep innovating and updating as the human race truly relies on it.

What’s key to this change is the “social structure” which maintains control over the domain. A core group of designers have diminished and wealthy stakeholders have risen which could be a detriment to the evolving state of the internet.

James M