Masculinity on the Web

AskMen.com defines masculinity through stereotypes such as a fixation on female sex appeal and sexuality. One of the most prominent features is “AskMen.com’s Top 99 Women 2008 Edition,” showcasing photos of scantily-clad women. Under the “Sexuality” channel, there is information about male and female sexuality. However, as one female commented, the female aspects seem to be written from a male perspective. AskMen.com is a sexually driven website that pigeon holes men as sex beasts who only have one thing on their minds. This site caters to men’s other hedonistic desires like alcohol and outrageous top ten lists like “Top 10: Brothels.”

 

Men’s Health is another website that uses male and female sex appeal to define masculinity. Another focus as its name suggests is on how men can sculpt the ultimate physique according to society’s standards. On the homepage, there’s a picture of a chunky man and next to it there’s a shot of a muscular man running. All of the photographs feature half dressed men and women, with sculpted abs and fitting society’s ideal of beauty. There is a section dedicated to sex but there are also tabs that take you to fitness, health, guy wisdom, weight loss, nutrition and style. The idea of masculinity at this website is focused on physical appearance and how to achieve perfection.

 

Dull Men’s Club is the polar opposite of AskMen.com and Men’s Health. The only picture on the homepage is a clipart image of a bird at a feeder advertising February as the National Bird Feeding Month. The masculinity is portrayed as being laid back and eager to learn about various topics from the communication skills of a frog to offshore wind farms to a beige penguin. With slogans like “Celebrate the Ordinary” and “Born to be Mild,” the Dull Men’s Club focuses more on the intellect of men, offering a variety of topics of discussion, which don’t rely on sex appeal but do offer comic relief. This website doesn’t focus on the physical characteristics of masculinity but rather the playful and thoughtful aspects, which ordinarily don’t get as much attention when society stereotypes masculinity.

 

I’m not sure that I agree with the author’s quote about men initially feeling insecure and anxious about these websites but that eventually leads to a greater understanding of their masculine identity. But perhaps this opinion is the result of society’s brainwashing of me to view men and their masculinity in stereotypical ways. AskMen.com and Men’s Health seem straightforward about the information they offer but maybe not all men are as obsessed with sex as the American culture insinuates. I don’t think that the Dull Men’s Club causes men to visit it with uncertainty because it is very approachable and doesn’t really play in to stereotypes. However, I think that the Dull Men’s Club really allows men to explore and experience personal freedom through the randomness of the topics discussed and the community of men who are okay with being average and coming to terms with who they are.

Technology Literacy Narrative

What is your earliest memory of using a computer, and what did you use it for?

I remember using a computer in elementary school to play the Oregon Trail and do word processing programs to teach me the “home row,” how to type and to improve the number of words I could type in a minute.

What is your earliest memory of using the internet to communicate with someone else? What was your intended purpose in that communication?

I think in 6th grade I started using instant messenger, and it was probably just because everybody else was doing it. I would chat with friends from school and gossip about what happened that day.

How did who that person was (a friend, a relative, a teacher, etc.) shape the communication choices you made?

I would usually talk to friends and abbreviations were really popular and at that age I felt absolutely obligated to use them. I would type in lol or lylas (love ya like a sister).

What in your life (if anything) would change if you suddenly were no longer able to communicate with others in digital ways? It would be extremely difficult because that’s how I keep in touch with most of my friends and it’s perfect for thanking family members for sending me cards and such. It’s quick and easy and it’s so much cheaper than snail mail.

Describe a time when you miscommunicated with someone through a web interface or via email. What was the nature of the miscommunication? Would the miscommunication have still occurred if you were communicating face to face? Why or why not?

Talking on instant messenger always leaves the opportunity open for what you say to be misinterpreted. I don’t think it would be too much different face to face because sometimes you just don’t understand the person’s train of thought. I guess I’d have to say that it would be easier to get confused while communicating online than in person.

My Personal Homepage

If I were to create a personal homepage, I would definitely want it to capture the fun side of my personality where humor and laughter are a must. I would also like it to represent the different dimensions of my personality. Regardless of the fun loving nature of the content, I would still make sure that spelling and grammar were correct because that is another part of who I am. As an editor for the paper, I strive to use proper grammar regardless of what medium it’s being used in. (On AIM I even type in complete sentences and try not to abbreviate). Despite observing the rules of English grammar, I would in no way want my homepage to be boring or generic. I think that spelling things correctly and using proper punctuation is important, and by following this I think that I’d be making a statement somewhat against the people who use variations of “cyber language” (u, ttyl, brb, lol).

I would want my homepage to be a good measure of who I am, so if someone visited it, they would get a real sense of the type of person I am. Currently I have a Facebook page that provides a glimpse into who I really am but I remain somewhat guarded because other people can see it. I think that would be my only concern with a homepage is that I provide enough of a sense of who I am but not too much information. Again, being careful about revealing too much to strangers represents the cautious side of my personality, which others could read in to based on a lack of information.

In addition to giving people an idea of who I am, I would like to show them the kinds of websites that I enjoy going to. By personally endorsing certain sites this would also give someone some more insight about me. The sites I would include links to are as follows:

www.itunes.com

www.facebook.com

www.theonion.com

www.weather.com

www.forever21.com

www.mcdanielfreepress.com

www.youtube.com

www.google.com

www.imdb.com

 

Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That’s Changing Your World

Hugh Hewitt

 

Blogs, short for weblog, have exploded on the Internet and since their creation from 1999 to 2005 their numbers have grown to more than 4,000,000. From poliblogs to warblogs, blogs have made their mark on society, allowing anyone with a computer and Internet access to become a journalist. Americans are in search of a new way to obtain their information that offers a more unique perspective than what is provided with radio, television and newspapers. The blogosphere is designed so people can get information instantaneously. The eruption of blogs in American culture is symptomatic of an information reformation. Hewitt adopts the attitude that blogs are the wave of the future and that businesses would be wise to develop their own blogs to keep up with the changing nature of information acquisition. The blogosphere is constantly changing and evolving. It has become a source the trust that newspapers and television stations have lost. Aimed at a sophisticated, business savvy audience, Blog explores the history of how information spread, what is being done with blogs presently and how one can create a personal or professional blog.

 

Doing Internet Research: Critical Issues and Methods for Examining the Net

Steve Jones

 

 

 

 

The Internet is a relatively new medium for collecting. It is a research tool that can be helpful and is closely related to society, politics, culture, economy and communication must first be studied. The ultimate goal is to create a field of “Internet studies” (xi) that explores approaches to doing research on the Internet without overanalyzing it to the point of systemized rigidity. Regardless of what one thinks about the Internet, the fact is that its effects can be felt in various aspects of life, and it is necessary to explore what it means to society. The Internet is most broadly characterized by the ability to search and retrieve data and the “interactive communication capabilities” (xix). More can be learned about the Internet by examining its history, social constructs, communication capabilities and ownership of information.

Crossbreeds of news and social software

Google Zeitgeist is a collaborative effort between computing power and human power that pull together interesting search trends. Statistics on these trends are calculated based on the billions of searches that occur via Google. Within the statistics that are generated, the site does not provide information on an individual searcher’s information. The statistics are presented in the form of top ten lists. Under the tab Newsmakers, the most popular search items are divided into the categories of Most Searched-For Candidates, Google News Most Popular Searches (global), Presidential Campaign (most searched-for), Lawsuits, and RIP (or rumors of). Some of the most searched-for pieces of news include American Idol, YouTube, Britney Spears and the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Other tabs cover topics like Showbiz, All the Rage and Top of Mind. Additionally, there is one for 2007 Year-End Zeitgeist, which compiles the most searched-for topics that arenot necessarily news-related.

Memeorandum aims to provide users with a fresh tool to stay updated on the top news stories, primarily focusing on U.S. politics and current affairs. Every five minutes, a news summary is automatically generated, drawing on help from experts/pundits, insiders/outsiders, media professionals and amateur bloggers. Sidebars allow for easy navigation of the site, highlighting such features as New Item Finder and Featured Posts. Under Top Items, summaries can be found about McCain’s lead as the Primary Election Day Approaches and the validity or lack thereof of Hillary’s words. By clicking on the links for any of the stories, the user is taken to another webpage where the complete story can be viewed, and underneath the hyperlink of the article’s title, are various links to discussion on the topic.

Digg is open to all people to share content from anywhere on the web. Emphasis is placed on the control the users have over the content and community consensus about the value of such content. Similarly to Google Zeitgeist, Digg has different tabs that can make searching more efficient. They include the following: All, News Videos, Images and Podcasts. There is even a button called Customize, which can be activated by joining Digg.

Based on aesthetics and functionality, I think that Digg is the website that best combines news and social software. Zeitgeist is very limited in the information that it provides; the content is available in easy-to-understand list format, however it lacks depth and detail. Memeorandum appears to be an excellent site to follow the news in politics, but it fails to provide information about other types of news. The fact that Digg provides the information in different formats, ranging from articles to videos to podcasts makes it more versatile and more appealing to a larger audience.

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