Objectives:
- Choose four concepts from the concepts document. Discuss, reflect upon, apply to your experiences in this unit and expand upon each of those concepts.
- Provide two annotated further reading sites for each of those concepts.
Permanent ephemerality (concept # 9)
‘… electronic communication is marked by an uneasy tension between its permanence and its ephemerality. … Advanced Internet users do not confuse the electronically generated ‘ephemerality’ of their communication with a real ephemerality: they take seriously the requirement to communicate with clear vision of the consequences of what they are doing. … While communication appears ephemeral, but is not; websites appear certain, but are indeed often ephemeral. Perhaps this suggests that Internet users need to emphasise the use of communication more than information‑seeking.’ (Allen, n.d.)
This concept poses a paradox that websites are often perceived to be ‘frozen’ or persistent, while email and other forms of Internet communication often give the appearance of being ephemeral.
There is increasing awareness of the transitory nature of websites, often experienced via frustration over out-of-date links and ‘website not found’ errors. Koehler (2004), who has conducted longitudinal research into the ‘half-life’ of websites over the past decade, argues that this issue should be taken seriously. He states:
‘If we are to understand the dynamics of the Web as a repository of knowledge and culture, we must monitor the way in which the knowledge and culture is managed.’ (Koehler, 2004, p.2)
In one sense, websites are intended to be short-lived. As noted by Schneider and Foot (2004, p.2) a feature that distinguishes websites from permanent media is that the preceding version of a website is regularly ‘destroyed’ each time it is updated.
‘By analogy, it would be as if each day’s newspaper was printed on the same piece of paper, obliterating yesterday’s news to produce today’s.’ Schneider and Foot (2004, p.2)
However, the transitory nature of websites gives rise to issues such as ‘link rot’, leading to difficulties with citation for scholarship and sourcing required information (particularly for scientific and legal purposes). Such concerns have prompted various digital preservation efforts, such as the Internet Archive and PANDORA in Australia. However, such projects require a conscious effort to preserve information. In addition, someone needs to make decisions about what is preserved, and may not necessarily decide to capture the ‘right’ information. For example, as discussed by Smith (2005, p.4) the Pandora project only archives online publications. Moreover, the format of preservation is also important. As noted by Schneider and Foot (2004, p.3), websites are more than words; the internal and external links and how the website is displayed also provide important contextual information.
Ultimately, digital preservation efforts have a limited scope and are only likely to store a small percentage of websites. Advanced Internet users also need to be aware of tools such as various search engines to find ‘dead’ links. Website providers may also tools such as Link Checker Pro to ensure that external links have not suffered from ‘link rot’.
The consequences of ephemerality depend on the context. In the case of weblogs, ephemerality is an expected and often desired characteristic; blogs that are regularly updated are likely to be more attractive to some audiences. At the same time, however, blogs also have persistent characteristics; as posts are often chronological, the old posts often remain and provide an ‘enduring’ record. Similar issues arise with the emergence of searchable newsgroup archives such as Google Groups.
One implication of this, as observed in my experience with NET11, is that participants are likely to choose more formal language when using a forum that may be persistent (such as WebCT or the external Net Studies forum) than when using chat, as the former is seen as more enduring and the latter ephemeral. Topics of conversation are also likely to vary (e.g. be more personal) if the conversation is seen as ephemeral, often regardless of whether this is actually the case.
For email, archiving is often more automatic and does not require a conscious decision. Indeed, corporate interests often require storage of emails for litigation reasons, and for business records. In practice, advanced Internet users need to be aware that email messages may persist as an enduring record, and should communicate with this in mind.
Site 1: The Web as an object of study.
Schneider, S. and Foot, K., (2004). New Media and Society, (6(1), 114-122. Retrieved 2 May 2008 from http://faculty.washington.edu/kfoot/Publications/Web-as-Object-of-Study.pdf.
The authors, Assistant Professors at the University of Washington and the SUNY Institute of Technology, discuss the challenges posed by the ephemeral and permanent characteristics of the Web.
Schneider and Foot discuss three main approaches used to analyse websites over the past decade, and the limitations of each. The authors propose a new approach to web site analysis entitled ‘web sphere analysis’. A key feature of this approach is to utilize the users of websites more actively when analysing and archiving websites, for example by creating metadata to accompany archived information. The article is useful because it highlights some of the key challenges faced in ‘cataloguing’ and archiving the Internet.
Site 2: Still lost in cyberspace? Preservation challenges of Australian resources.
Smith, W., (2005). The Australian Library Journal, August. Retrieved 8 May 2008 from http://alianet.alia.org.au/publishing/alj/54.3/full.text/smith.html
The author, the inaugural director of the National Library of Australia’s PANDORA project, writes about some of the challenges faced by those aiming to preserve digital resources. The article is published in a refereed journal.
The article is useful for this topic because it provides an overview of digital preservation efforts in Australia and, to a limited extent, overseas. Smith is critical of the limitations of PANDORA, and argues that Australia has effectively lost 10 years of the web component of its documentary heritage. However, Smith’s article does not appear to recommend concrete solutions to address this situation.
Human-computer interfaces (concept # 23)
‘… The Internet lessons the recognition of difference between humans and computers because, at a distance, it often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a machine. Interacting with websites feels similarly impersonal or, more subtly, further indicates the extent to which humans readily accept the presence of machine-like ‘intelligence’ in their lives.’ (Allen, n.d.)
This concept suggests that interaction over the Internet, particularly at a distance, can make it harder for people to distinguish between interacting with humans and computers.
Attempts to fool people into believing that computers were human have been popular for some time, perhaps stemming from the Turing test, which posed the question ‘Can machines think?’. However, the popular emergence of the Internet from the mid 1990s has increased the scope for both serious and seemingly frivolous experimentation in this area, including the development of ‘chatterbots’ such as ‘Julia’ and ELIZA – computer programs that aim to give the appearance of intelligent conversation. According to Mauldin (1994, p.3), ‘Julia’ was able convince some people playing in a multi-user dungeon (MUD), at least for a while, that it was human.
The success of ‘Julia’ and her successors may be an implicit comment on Internet users’ acceptance of poor online communication skills. However, researchers such as Lee and Nass (2003, p.290) have also argued that computers have a ‘social presence’, referring to ‘the sense that other intelligent beings co-exist and interact with you’. Nass and Moon (2000, p.81) have expressed this as ‘the Computers are Social Actors’ paradigm, meaning that people tend to unconsciously apply social rules such as politeness when interacting with computers. Nass, Steuer and Tauber (1994, p.3) also found that ‘social responses to computers are commonplace and easy to generate’, even despite a conscious awareness that computers are not human.
If this argument applies, software and website designers may find it worthwhile to take account of people’s inclination to treat dealing with computers as a social interaction. For example, Tractinsky and Rao (2001, p.111) suggest that this theory could be applied to make online shopping more ‘social’, including through the use of flattery (e.g. when buying a shirt, the buyer receives an automated suggestion that ‘this would look great with …’).
While there may be some merit in the argument that people tend to respond socially (at least in part) to computers, we should be careful not to extend it too far. For example, during the Telnet exercise for Module 1, I was even more aware than normal that I was operating a remote computer, possibly because the interface was not particularly user-friendly. In this case, the remote distance of the connecting computer was irrelevant to my perception. However, perhaps this could eventually be overcome with advances in technology, such as more realistic avatars and synthesized voices.
Finally, Allen (n.d.) also suggests that ‘interacting with websites feels similarly impersonal’. While this may be the case for many ‘static’ websites, the Internet in recent years been characterized by increasing personalisation of websites. For example, the increased popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, blogs and video-sharing websites such as YouTube have demonstrated an increasing appetite for people to share information about themselves. Similarly, as discussed above, online stores are taking more account of the Internet as a social space, and are increasingly being designed to be more personalised and ‘real’. These trends suggest increasing personalisation of the Internet, perhaps even further highlighting the distinction between humans and computers.
Site 1: Designing Social Presence of Social Actors in Human Computer Interaction.
Lee, K. M. and Nass, C., (2003). Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 5(1), 289-296. Retrieved 4 May 2008 from http://www.vf.utwente.nl/~conagent/Eerste%20samenvatting/p289-lee.pdf.
The authors, who are respected researchers in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), describe the results of an experiment into people’s social responses to media. The article was presented as a conference paper at an annual conference on HCI.
The article is useful because it provides a good overview of key research in HCI. Interestingly, the authors found that people reacted differently to computers with an ‘introvert’ and ‘extrovert’ voice in experiments, and applied social categories to the computers, despite being aware that they were not human. As the authors also approach this issue from a psychology background, it also provides a different perspective on human-computer interactions.
Site 2: Incorporating social dimensions in Web-store design.
Tractinsky, N. and Srinivasaon Rao, B. (2001) in Human Systems Management, pp. 105‑121. Retrieved 3 May 2008 from http://web.ebscohost.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=12&sid=77e9099c-4f84-4c93-8c2c-96dffee5f9a3%40sessionmgr3
The authors, researchers at Ben Gurion University and the University of Texas, apply the ‘computers as social actors’ theory to online shopping. The article is published in an international journal on organisational and management issues.
This article provides a good summary of research into how people appear to ascribe human attributes to media such as computers. The most interesting aspect of the article is the application of this theory to online shopping, suggesting that people react positively to factors such as politeness, flattery, and the perception of expertise in such a context. Regardless of whether the ‘computers as social actors’ theory is valid, the suggestions outlined in the paper generally appear sensible and intuitive.
The Persistence of History (concept # 27)
Advanced Internet users inquire into and analyse the kinds of applications available over the Internet, even if they do not regularly use them, so as to learn lessons about past developments and to anticipate potential new developments, based on the meaning of those applications.
Meanwhile, while new systems ‘appear’ different, they often use or include much older, traditional applications…’ (Allen, n.d.)
This concept proposes that it is important to understand older Internet applications, as this provides context for past developments, and can give us insights into possible new Internet developments.
While the older Internet applications are often viewed as anachronisms, they still endure in various forms. Telnet, for example, is a long-lived application that is still used, as demonstrated in the Module 1 exercise to telnet to Deakin Library. Indeed, Khare (1998, p.91) suggests that two keys to the longevity of Telnet are its simplicity and ability to evolve. While Telnet is less widely used now because of security vulnerabilities, this knowledge is intrinsically useful, as it helps Internet users to be aware of the limitations of older applications.
Allen also notes that ‘while new systems may ‘appear’ different, they often use or include much older, traditional applications’. Because many Internet applications are ‘hidden’ behind browsers and email programs, most Internet users would have no need to be aware of the applications that enable their Internet use. However, some older applications, such as file transfer protocol (FTP), are still widely used – for example, in web publishing. So, not only are the earlier applications often the ‘building blocks’ for ones that are used today, including when they are ‘hidden’ in applications, many are still being used.
Understanding the Internet’s early applications can also help us comprehend some of the factors that have underpinned its development. For example, Leiner et al. (1997, p.106) state that free and open access to basic documents, and especially the widely available specification of those documents via the request for comment (RFC) series of notes, helped stimulate new ideas. In other words, an understanding of the ‘building blocks’ of the Internet was used as the basis for new developments.
A further reason why it is useful to understand older applications is that the Internet is dynamic and constantly changing. As noted by Leiner et al. (1997, p.108), the Internet has changed rapidly, and must keep changing to remain relevant. Nardi and O’Day (1999, p.3) also discuss such change when applying the notion of an ‘information ecology’ to the Internet, where:
‘Information ecologies are filled with people who learn and adapt and create… People’s activities and tools adjust and are adjusted in relation to each other, always attempting and never quite achieving a perfect fit. This is part of the dynamic balance achieved in healthy ecologies – a balance found in motion, not stillness.’ (Nardi and O’Day, 1999, p.3).
Seen in such a context, understanding the past is important to allow users to anticipate and adjust to the future of the Internet. This means being aware of the limitations of older applications, and the advantages of those that are still in use, so that we can look ahead with a more critical eye.
Site 1: The Past and Future History of the Internet.
Leiner, B., Cerf, V., Clark, D., Kahn, R., Kleinrock, L., Lynch, D., Postel, J., Roberts, L., Wolff, S. (1997). Communications of the ACM, February, 40(2), 102-108. Retrieved on 6 May 2008 from http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~lk/LK/Bib/PS/paper204.pdf.
This article is co-authored by several people who played key roles in the development of the Internet. It is published in Communications of the ACM, a respected organisation for computing professionals.
The article provides an interesting overview of the history of the Internet to the mid 1990s and discusses issues such as the role of the Internet in creating communities, and its ability to deliver ‘new’ tools such as electronic commerce.
Although the article is over 10 years old and precedes many developments in the Internet, it is nevertheless useful because it is written from the perspective of people who have been directly involved in the Internet’s history.
Site 2: Telnet: The Mother of all (Application) Protocols
Khare, R., (1998). IEEE Internet Computing, May, 2(3), 88-91. Retrieved on 6 May 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1424138981&sid=1&Fmt=1&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
The author, who wrote this article while a graduate student at the University of California, provides a simple and sometimes passionate description of Telnet. The article is published by a large international organisation of computing professionals.
While this article is also nearly 10 years old, it is useful because it summarises some of the key features of Telnet, as well as describing how it works. The most useful element of the article is Khare’s brief analysis of the lessons of Telnet, which he contends include its simplicity and evolvability. As it is written for an audience of computing professionals, however, the article is sometimes more technical than is required for this topic.
Information and attention (concept # 33)
‘One of the newest and most significant ways of thinking about the Internet is termed the ‘attention economy’ (Goldhaber). In this kind of economy, the most valuable commodity is people’s attention … Searching for and evaluating information, while not especially ‘commercial’ in this sense, does involve questions of attention. … In the era of the ‘attention economy’, readers and users of Internet information must carefully craft, in their own minds, the kind of metadata which will – almost instinctively – ‘fit’ with the metadata of the information sources they want, so that – in the few brief moments of initial exchange, when a seeker of information encounters information being sought, rapid, effective judgments are made that ‘pay off’ in terms of further reading, accessing and saving.’ (Allen, n.d.)
This concept applies the notion of ‘attention as a scarce commodity’ to the use of the Internet. It suggests that Internet users should give careful thought to how they use tools such as search engines and email, so that they can make timely and effective decisions about information.
Most of us are aware of that people’s attention on the Internet has value, as demonstrated by the prevalence of various forms of Internet advertising. Such advertising aims to go beyond attracting people’s attention; it ultimately seeks to prompt users to act in response, for example by ‘clicking-through’ to buy a product or service. Indeed, online stores are also increasingly using tools to obtain and keep people’s attention. As Iskold (2007, p.3) states:
‘the key ingredient in the attention game is relevancy. As long as a consumer sees relevant content, he/she is going to stick around – and that creates more opportunities to sell.’
One example of this in practice is online stores using automated recommendations (e.g. when selecting an item for purchase, noting that ‘people who bought this also bought …’), as described by Tractinsky and Rao (2001, p.112). Such tools aim to tailor content to meet the ‘needs’ of users, and may ultimately provide a more efficient exchange of information, so that the buyer sees more goods that interest them, and the seller earns more revenue.
The search engine business model and the prevalence of paid advertising is a concrete way of demonstrating that people’s attention on the Internet has value. It implies that search engine providers have a strong interest in ensuring that users find the information they are looking for; so they will return to that search engine for future searches (and hence secure future advertising revenue for the provider). Among other things, Mostafa (2005) notes that future search engines are likely to include more personalisation. While this may raise privacy concerns, it is also promising for Internet users, as it means that search engines are likely to be more effective at meeting the ‘needs and goals’ of users.
The concept of attention as a scarce commodity has other implications for Internet searching. Search engines are vital to help users find what they need in the shortest possible time (because people also generally claim to be ‘time poor’). This highlights the importance of searching effectively. For example, in Module 4 we looked at Boolean operators to refine searches, and using a range of search engines, including ones that search the ‘deep’ web, if appropriate.
Evaluation of search information is also important. Indeed, information is seemingly becoming infinte; people are presented with so many options that they may find it difficult to choose between alternative sources of information. As noted by Allen, relevant considerations here might include a search engine page ranking and the title, as well as the ‘authority’ of the website (e.g. comparing an article in Wikipedia against a peer reviewed article). Other exercises in Module 4 also highlighted the need for Internet users to carefully manage the information they obtain from the Internet, for example by using bookmark managers. In a sense, this suggests that advanced Internet users should also be aware of the personal value of their attention.
Finally, it is also worth noting that the concept of ‘attention economy’ also applies to the use of email. That is, if users want to obtain people’s attention and get the desired action, they should make sure their title, message and purpose are clear. Microsoft Office Outlook has a useful article on tips for writing email messages that get attention.
Overall, the value of people’s attention is useful concept to keep in mind when communicating and seeking information via the Internet.
Site 1: Seeking better web searches.
Mostafa, J., (2005). Scientific American, February, 292(2), 66-73. Retrieved 6 May 2008 from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=15609520&site=ehost-live.
The author, an Associate Professor from Indiana University, gives an interesting overview of how web search engines work, and how they are being improved to deliver more customized results for users. The article is published in Scientific American, a respected magazine with a diverse audience.
The developments discussed by Mostafa include providing more capacity for users to personalise their searches, and using electronic sketch pads and music recognition systems to search for pictures and songs.
The article is useful because it highlights that search engine providers are keenly aware of the importance of effective searching; if search engines can be improved, both users and providers should benefit from more effective use of the Internet.
Site 2: The Attention Economy: An Overview.
Iskold, A., (2007). Readwriteweb. March 1. Retrieved 7 May 2008 from: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/attention_economy_overview.php
The author is a feature writer for a popular blog on web technology news. While the article is not peer reviewed, it nevertheless provides a very interesting recent overview of the ‘economics of attention’.
The most useful aspect of the article for this unit is Iskold’s view that people be educated about the value of their attention. Indeed, a key focus of the article is the need to put users in charge of their Internet-related information, not just to address privacy issues, but also so that the user can take advantage of personalisation when using the Internet.
Bibliography
Allen, M., (n.d.). Internet Communications Concepts Document. Curtin University. Retrieved on 7 March 2008 from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/student/serve_bulletin.
Iskold, A., (2007). The Attention Economy: An Overview. Readwriteweb. March 1. Retrieved 7 May 2008 from: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/attention_economy_overview.php
Khare, R., (1998). Telnet: The Mother of all (Application) Protocols. IEEE Internet Computing, May, 2(3), 88-91. Retrieved on 6 May 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1424138981&sid=1&Fmt=1&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Leiner, B., Cerf, V., Clark, D., Kahn, R., Kleinrock, L., Lynch, D., Postel, J., Roberts, L., Wolff, S. (1997). The Past and Future History of the Internet. Communications of the ACM, February, 40(2), 102-108. Retrieved on 6 May 2008 from http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~lk/LK/Bib/PS/paper204.pdf.
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