...the effects that social media has in generating a greater kind of change, social change. This paper analyzes the impact that social media can have on revolutions in the twenty-first century. I use the Arab Spring as a means to point out the strengths and weakness that social media forums can have on a revolution. Primarily looking at Twitter and the role that Tweets played during the Arab Spring, I outline the role that Social media can play in times of uprising. Like most things, moderation is key. While social media offers many benefits, in excess, it can generate chaos and present an apparent lack of directions. This ultimately raises the question of how will changes in technology change us and how we change humanity. Nathan Willis William Penman Interpretation and Argument December 2, 2013 Not Following the Leader: How Social Media Impacted the Arab Spring Introduction As long as there have been established governments, there have been revolutions to test them. In times past, these revolutions frequently came from people discussing their dissatisfaction with other members of their towns. The advent of the telegram allowed people to overcome the barrier that distance created. Yet, two major problems remained: the time that elapsed between correspondences and the lack of ability to communicate with masses of people. However, developments in technology and the birth of social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have overcome these barriers. The effectiveness...
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...Google Glass as a Cybernetic System Paola Gulian 18/06/2013 p.gulian@me.com Stavangerweg 352, Amsterdam 1013AX Telephone: +359 888 88 30 81 Student Number: 10396144 Thesis supervisor: Michael Dieter Media Studies: New Media and Digital Culture Universiteit van Amsterdam 1 Table of Contents: 1. Introduction / 3 2. Chapter 1 – History of Cybernetics theory, Systems Theory, Cyborg and Posthumanism / 6 2.1. Introduction to Norbert Wiener’s theory of cybernetics / 6 2.2. Gregory Bateson on second-order cybernetics / 8 2.3. The kinship between human, animal and machine, Donna Haraway’s theory of the cyborg / 12 2.4. The disembodiment of the human being, Katherine N. Hayles’ theory of the posthuman / 14 3. Chapter 2 – Google Glass, Individuation and the Black Box / 21 3.1. Introduction to Google Glass / 21 3.2. Google Glass and Gregory Bateson’s theory of self-corrective systems / 24 3.3. Industrialization of memory through Google Glass and Bernard Stiegler’s theory of the exterior milieu / 26 3.4. Google Glass as a black box and W. Ross Ashby’s theory of the black boxing / 29 3.5. Experience Design, Olia Lialina and the disappearing user / 30 3.6. Miniaturization of technology, Google Glass as a ubiquitous computer through Mark Weiser’s theory / 32 4. Chapter 3 – Google Glass as an Extension of the Human Being: MediumSpecificity and Becoming Posthuman / 34 4.1 Media ecology through Marshall McLuhan and Google Glass as an extension of the human being / 34 4.2 Perceptual...
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