tutorial activity responses

Microsoft word exercise...

Was pretty straight forward, I've never used mail merge before, but other than that I knew how to do everything. No issues/ problems, can see how it's useful. (as if we didn't know!)

Excell exercise...

All good untill the macros bit...cans see how this would be really handy, only issue would be remembereing what formulas do what.


What is different about the kinds of socialising that happens in these spaces? Does the 3D aspect make much difference?

I used the active worlds one, i think some of the main differences is that with msn you only talk to your contacts who you can clearly see/know who they are, with the 3d spaces anyone can talk to you who is logged on, so its a wider (more confusing) range of people to socialise with. also there are alot of things to distract you from actual conversations, it is more of a game than a chat like msn. From the short time i was on it, in which i crashed and got stuck in a creek, in i didnt really see too much socialising other than chat about the actual game, like this person needs to click here to do this and did you know you can do this, so it was actually quite different to msn, which was probably due to the fact that they could do all this other stuff apart from chatting.

Week 6 Blogging Task

Your Task today is to find two wikipedia articles/entries about unrelated topics that you know something about. That might be a movie, a sport, a type of car, a particular musical artist, a Television show, a particular hobby or past time... Something that YOU are an expert on.

Article 1- My Fav Band- HIM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIM_%28Finnish_band%29

Article 2- My Home Town- Bundarra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundarra

Now go to the article and read through it. Consider the following things about the article and write a post on your blog for each of the articles/entries:

* Is this an accurate article?

This article is actually pretty good, it has a lot of the basic facts and dates which are supported by other websites and stuff that i have read.

Yeah, its pretty much accurate in what it says, just a little outdated.

* Does it cover all the basic facts that you'd need to understand this topic?

Yep. And it has some more detailed facts as well about their albums and recordings.

Basically, if you want to know a brief history, but it doesnt include a lot of possible information.

* Does this article follow the wikipedia guidelines for useful articles?

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_guidelines this article is pretty ok. The only small things that the guidelines mention are about not using statements that date quickly, the article does use "recently" instead of a date, but it is quite up-to-date so it's not really a problem. Also the lack of citation of sources could be an issue.

Yeah it does.

* Is this article fair and balanced, or is it biased towards a particular side or argument?

There isn't really an opinion portrayed, its more a statement of facts about the band, so it doesnt come across as biassed.

Same as the other one, its just facts not opinion so it is unbiassed.

*Finally - What changes would you make to this article to improve it and make it useful for the wider wikipedia community?

This article is quite comprehensive, maybe include some more details about the individual members of the band, or pictures. Or link to these.

Include more up to date details, particualarly about the school (goes to 12) and the shops and thing in the town as there are some more now. Include pictures and more information about what there is to do etc.

Who said the blogs were too easy?! ... Walter Benjamin Questions...

OK so here goes..........Walter Benjamin, JEEZ!!!!


How do the ideas from Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply to contemporary digital media?

Benjamin’s main theory (as far as I can gather) is that an artworks significance is all in the “aura”, that is the fact that the artist actually painted, sculpted, built the work in person there was a physicality and close relationship between the two which makes the work individual and special, the artwork in a sense contains these ‘memories’, all this history and context creates the works ‘aura’, and makes the viewing experience special.

“One might subsume the eliminated element in the term “aura” and go on to say: that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art. This is a symptomatic process whose significance points beyond the realm of art. One might generalize by saying: the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence. And in permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, it reactivates the object reproduced. These two processes lead to a tremendous shattering of tradition which is the obverse of the contemporary crisis and renewal of mankind. Both processes are intimately connected with the contemporary mass movements.”- Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" Section 2

The act of mechanically reproducing an artwork distances the artist from the work, killing the ‘aura’ and uniqueness of that work.

Therefore, contemporary digital media would be devoid of an ‘aura’ and the merit of traditional art (painting, sculpture etc), according to Benjamin. Of course, the piece was written in 1936, so he probably didn’t really have much idea about contemporary digital media, so it’s not really fair to apply his thoughts to these new works. The may possess an entirely different ‘aura’ that is, the evidence of time consuming and skilful computer generated art, which contemporary audiences can appreciate on a different level to Benjamin’s preferred traditional art.


There was a time when "Art" was made by artists who were skilled professionals. Now that anyone with a computer can create things digitally (music, images, videos, etc), what does that mean for "art"?

It means that there are way more artistic forms and styles, new medias and skills to be mastered in order to become a proficient artist. While “anyone with a computer” can create things it doesn’t mean they are all going to become respected artists, just as not every skilled painter makes it. So, it doesn’t really change ‘art’ in the sense of making it easier, it just makes it a more broad word encompassing more varied works. (Which is inevitable, anyhow, in a
Post Modern society where the convention is to challenge traditional conventions.)


Is a photoshopped image "authentic"?

Well, that all depends doesn’t it, on what images are used and how.
But my simple answer is yes, it is an authentic photoshopped work. I’m sure Walter Benjamin would not agree, but photoshopped images require work and technique like any other art form. However the uniqueness of these images is increasingly challenged as thousands of digital artists are constrained by the same software, the same tools, colour pallets and techniques generally speaking, can have ‘that Photoshop look’. We all know that magazine pics are photoshopped to perfection and people who work with the software can deconstruct elaborate designs with their own knowledge of the techniques. So, the images lose their ‘wow’ factor, they are no longer separated from the audience by the super- duper skill and technique they embody, in a sense this detracts from their authenticity as artworks.


Do digital "things" have an "aura" (in Benjamin's terms)?

No. Because they can be mass produced and reprinted to within an inch of their lives. Therefore losing their connection with the artist, their uniqueness, and their ‘aura’.

Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." click here!!