Social Networking Part IV

I think social networking has to offer a lot for the future. It has already started to become very prominent in our world today-in our industries, organizations, celebrities, and just the average Joe. It is a way to interact and participate in things you usually would not have the time to commit to as well as keeping in touch with others. It is a new form of connecting without the actual intimate connection or participation. Social networking has taken over and will proceed to take over the way we interact with others as well as being informed and updated about news, events, and lives. Through the internet, there are endless changes and updates to the actual social network to be more creative, simple, and attractive. Social networking through the internet has revolutionized networking entirely, missing a day of updates and seeing what is going on can leave someone unprepared or disconnected from others and the whole social network.

It is scary how our generation has changed the way we interact. We can interact with the whole world in complete silence-typing away on the computer or watching or reading without physically holding a book or being there. The computer has evolved with a purpose of reliability and a need. We cannot live without a computer. We do work on it, play with it, receive information, and now-the internet has taken us away from direct face to face connection. We can have conversations, relationships, and an interpretation of someone without ever having to meet the person in reality. We can do a countless number of things on the internet, and social networking is one of the most popular.

For the future, I would not be surprised if the only way we interact and do work with people is through some sort of media, technology, or networking. Though this is the path we are gliding on, social networking will never have the same attachment, emotions, and feelings as conversing or spending time with someone in actuality.

Design Analysis of Twitter- Part III

I chose to join the popular new service known as Twitter. Twitter has grown to become a social network not only to connect with friends, but to be informed of the news, updates, and events of businesses, organizations, and many famous celebrities. Twitter serves the community from young teens to adults, businesses, and all of the above.

My experience in signing up for this network was a simple sign-up. Creating a username, e-mail, and locating friends, people, or sectors you want to "follow" is a part of the sign-up process. Though I was confused on how to post my very first status update or "Tweet," I did not know how to find this post as well as "retweeting" someone's previous post. I am still trying to get used to Twitter, I believe I am having trouble with it because I don't necessarily understand how the whole network is set up.

The user interaction on this site is pretty simple. You tweet or post things, as well as search for people to follow so you can be updated on what they are doing. The goals of the users on this network is to establish followers-those who are reading and paying attention to your posts/tweets, as well as locating or finding someone TO follow and being informed of upcoming events. Keeping each other up to date on what seems to be important to tell everyone is the social goal for this network. To be socially successful in this network, I believe it is to have as many followers possible-having followers shows that people want to see and be informed on the new post/what is going on in your life. Social status is measured and displayed on the amount of followers you have and the comments and responses to the tweets you make.

Social Networking Part I

My history and use of social networking probably started when I was in fifth grade. Not knowing that it was considered social networking, I was first introduced to America Online’s Instant Messenger, a blog network known as Xanga, then to photobucket, myspace, youtube, and facebook. I would use these networks to keep in touch with friends, browse other people’s pages, see what they are doing, also the fun of stylizing my homepage with different colors, fonts, and pictures. Currently speaking, I only use photobucket, youtube, and facebook. The social network I use most is facebook because it keeps me in touch with my old school mates, friends, classmates, and other networking companies and organizations. I prefer using facebook over the other social networks I signed up for originally because it is simple and I am not interested in the new social networks out there.

Active Research: Virtual Worlds

The Avatar
I have chosen to create an avatar in the Virtual World of Toon Town. I was curious on a virtual world made for kids and what features, story, limits, and capabilities the game had. I wanted to have fun with this assignment so I named my cat-looking avatar 'Kool Kat.' Kool Kat's virtual identity is a short rounded cat that likes to make new friends, fight bad guys in her town by doing pranks and 'gags' on them to help Toon Town remain happy and free. Kool Kat's virtues is she makes friends with everyone. She will go up to everyone and ask to be there friend even though she gets denied at times. She is a friendly cool cat that is also saving up to make her home nice with a lot of furniture ordered from Clarabelle over the phone. She is not afraid to fight the 'cogs' and wants to gain as much laff points and gag levels as possible. However, she does fear becoming poor with no more jelly beans because she bought too much furniture.

Social Event
I attended Princess Dandyswirls Party that had two canons, a tug-o-war, and a rocket launcher. The event did not have many avatars in it compared to other parties on the list to choose from. This event consisted of about ten avatars. I interacted with a few by asking how they enjoyed the party, if they're going to stay, and if they ever held a party themselves. I thought this event was okay, later on I went to other parties that had more avatars and activities. When hosting a party, there is a time limit and the purchase of having one is a minimum of 100 jelly beans. During the party, playing activities can help you gain jelly beans as well which I think are fun and easy ways to increase income.







Design Questions:
1. In Toon Town, the world provides me with TEXT-based information through conversations with the tutorial characters, a book or guide that they give each avatar-once created, the book performs as a Menu screen for directions, maps, information, and settings.
When speaking to a default character, you hear sounds the animal would truly make, so in order to understand each other when speaking to, everything is read and written through text.




2. Toon Town's NON-TEXT-based information displays arrows, colors, noises, and visuals. Arrows would jump out at you with its' motions or colors to help guide you without telling you in text. You can distinguish certain noises when someone is fighting a cog, approaching you, or trying to get your attention. In the toon book, there is a visual map that displays what districts you have been to or not through a whole picture of the map with clouds blocking and hovering over districts that you have not been to, it is obvious through this visual map that there are many places that you have to journey to-which enables the clouds to go away and the map become more revealed and complete.



3. Color in the world or interface design functions to show that this virtual world Toon Town, is definitely a fun, simple, and child-like game due to the many colors used. To distinguish between good and bad in the game, colors are represented to show the good whereas a grayscale of black grey and white is shown to represent the bad 'cogs.' Motion is utilized to make the actions of the avatars more realistic. Hand waves, jumping, running, the wiggling of their arms and legs, are functional motions to show animated movements. Sound functions in this world when conversations, warnings, rewards, actions, or just background music is on. Sound creates actions and feelings become more lively and entertaining.

4. Various tasks and goals are communicated to me at the start with tutorial exercises that are said to be toon tasks. I had to receive and respond back to Toon Headquarters with tasks to complete-allowing me to get used to the functions of working and getting used to my avatar. I was encouraged to complete tasks and attain goals with the rewards of receiving jelly beans (the income), gags (weapons/tools to fight the antagonists), and the privilege to move on to more tasks.



5. Features Toon Town has to contribute an immersive feeling is through the interactions with other characters/avatars. Having conversations and imitating my thoughts and feelings from the actions the avatars act with makes me feel as though I am really talking to someone else in person. Features that break these feelings is not being able to listen to the voice of the other character. Toon Town is based on animals, and so their voices are short computerized animal noises-which throws off the feeling of interacting with a person, but gives the feeling of interacting with an animal instead. The access of staying in your house, using the phone, having a piggy bank, and the legibility to move around your furniture contributes to feelings as if you are home.




6. Attempting to socialize with other avatars, I approached them or they approached me, and many times a conversation did not start. The first request from the other avatar was whether or not you will accept or decline them asking to be your friend first. So the basics I did to socialize was to approach someone, perform a hand gesture, then start a conversation with a greeting. Many times the other avatar would stare at you, are unresponsive, say a little greeting back, but never went into long conversations with other avatars. They would be distracted by something else and run off majority of the time. The end results would either be: having a new friend, or being shut down in conversation and/or friend request. Some limitations I experienced when trying to socialize with others was trying to get their attention and start a conversation with them. I was also limited from certain words I could use (since the age range for this game are from kids-adults).

7. The economy in Toon Town is based on jelly beans (the income-you can purchase or gain) as well as gags (tools and weapons to use to fight against the bad cogs.) My avatar participates in this economy by playing games and doing activities or tasks in order to gain jelly beans which then can buy gags, furniture, more actions, phrases, and so on. Kool Kat tries to play as many games she can in order to get more jelly beans to stock up on gags and accessories.




8. My favorite in-world activity would be fighting the cogs. I enjoyed tag teaming with another avatar and fighting together to defeat the cog. I would say this is my favorite because you are fighting and competing against the bad guy. If you are successful in defeating one, you gain skill and 'laff' points which then boosts up your performance.



9. In-world objects tells me how to operate/aid them with the help of arrows, sounds, navigating buttons, and colors. Hovering over objects will pop out instructions or guides on how to operate them as well.

10. A simple aspect of Toon Town is the goal-driven navigation of defeating the cogs. Goal-driven navigation is directly related to the HOH-Agency Chapter because through navigation of your avatar and through the environment,

"...stories that are goal driven enough to guide navigation but open-ended enough to allow free exploration and that display a satisfying dramatic structure no matter how the interactor chooses to traverse the space."