Paper Blog 2

I spent the last week playing Dungeon Blitz every once in awhile. I can see a lot now how the game relates to the Theatre Model theory. For example all the players are in a way creating their world by completing quests which in turn allows them to enter new areas. This actually took me almost all week to figure out that I was not talking to the right non player characters or NPCs in order to finish the quests. I had to ask a couple of people before I even got a response on how to enter the new area when I found it cause the path is blocked until you finish the quests. It was surprising how few people would respond to my question though even though I posted it so that everyone could see it in the chat  feature. In the end someone finally told me you actually have to talk to the NPC characters in order to complete the quest, not just do the task they ask you to do which I had not realized before. This allowed me to finally continue onto the new area where I am now. I was also surprised by how many people attempted to friend me without even questing or talking first but I think this may be due to the fact that if you click on a person it brings up a box asking if you want to chat, friend or party with the person and it is very easy while running around to click on someone without meaning too if your not paying to much attention. So far I'm a little disappointed that most people have turned down my request to party or if they accept they've logged off shortly afterward before we even have a chance to go through a dungeon or play at all together but I'll keep trying.

Paper Blog 1

The topic I chose to do for my paper is the online game Dungeon Blitz. Dungeon Blitz is a online role-playing based game. I will be examining the game and how players interact with each other. The reason I chose this tool is because I have been a gamer since probably 4th or 5th grade but I have never really taken the time to examine the social characteristics of players and how they interact with each other and communicate. I think it will be interesting to see what I can learn if I actually try observing more of the characters around me and how they are behaving rather than simply focusing on my own character and what I'm doing in the game. I will also be comparing this to the Theatre Model to see how the different players and NPC characters interact to create the world and story in the game.

E-Learning

1. How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?
The tool MindMeister relates to the topic of the week because it can be used as a type of E-Learning tool. MindMeister is similar to a social learning environment because people can create maps of information relating to different topics which can then be shared with others so they can also learn about the topic. It can be used to organize presentations or papers so people can clearly define their points and what they are trying to teach people about.

2. What function does the tool serve?
MindMeister serves the purpose of an organizational and learning tool for people. It can be used to create different information webs about topics which people can then organize into a presentation or paper. You can also share these maps with others who use MindMeister so that you can collaborate together on the project if you are working together. MindMeister can be used for a variety of different projects and is useful for large groups because it is easy to create a map and share it with others so you can collaborate together on the project.

3. What did you find most interesting about the tool?
I found MindMeister to be rather interesting because it was easy to create maps and organize them in the various ways you want too. I found it rather interesting how you could adjust the way the web looked to however you wanted by just dragging the pieces around. I've seen other software and tools that make it much more difficult to customize the information web because you could only grab pieces in certain places but MindMeister was very quick and simple cause you just had to grab the piece to move and drag it.

4. What did you find most challenging?
There was not a lot of difficulty in using MindMeister that I experienced. The only difficult part I had was figuring out how to create the different branches at first but once I figured out it was tab and then enter it was very simple. MindMeister is set up very easily so it was not very difficult to figure out how to do things in it. It may be different though if you upgrade since you have more capabilities using the upgraded versions which might be difficult to use.

5. How does the tool improve or complicate communication?
I think MindMeister can significantly improve communication because it allows people to easily collaborate on ideas over long distances. A group of people can design a presentation or project of some kind without meeting very often by just organizing the entire project using MindMeister. MindMeister can complicate communication though because if the people only use MindMeister then some points of information may not be made clear in the web designed for the project so one person may have a different idea on what that web piece means compared to another person in the project so this could cause collaboration problems. This is probably unlikely though because I would expect people to use email or meet in person occasionally when working on a project of some kind.

6. What is your critique of your experience?
Overall I think MindMeister is a very interesting and useful tool. I enjoyed using it a lot because it was easy to figure out how to customize the maps and organize them however you wanted too. I think it would be incredibly useful to me for outlining papers before writing them and organizing them so I know exactly what I want to include and focus in different parts. I think MindMeister is a very useful tool for organizing and sharing information with people, especially since it can be made public so other people can view it whenever they want too. This would be especially useful in a college setting where a professor could post the map publicly so the students could access it whenever they wanted too.

Organizations and E-Commerce

1. How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?
The topic of the week is organizations and E-commerce. Flickr relates to this because it is a picture based social media tool for people to display different pictures they own. Flickr can be used by businesses to display pictures of their products and provide information about the product like how much it costs and where to order it from. Flickr is a way for organizations to display pictures of their company also and to potentially get involved in E-commerce and selling things online.

2. What function does the tool serve?
The tool Flickr is designed as a social media tool for sharing pictures with people. It is similar to other media tools like Facebook because you design a profile and then import pictures to your profile which are then displayed. You can also find friends or join different groups that you may have an interest in. Flickr can also be used by companies to provide a way for consumers to view products before buying them and get an idea of what the company is about.

3. What did you find most interesting about the tool?
I found Flickr interesting because it seemed like a great product for small businesses to use in order to promote their products and company. It provides a quick and easy way to display pictures of products and provide some general information about your company and the various products you sell. I also liked the fact that it was easy to find similar kinds of pictures on a topic you might find interesting without having to use a search engine like Google where you might find millions of pictures but some of them may not be what your looking for even though they came up in the search.

4. What did you find most challenging?
Finding groups and adding friends was rather difficult. During the in class portion it was rather difficult to find a group for motorcycles that was similar to what a motorcycle business would want to promote too. We could find numerous groups and profiles about motorcycles but most of them seemed to just be people posting images of motorcycles and their were not a lot related to motorcycle clubs and things a small business would want to promote too.

5. How does the tool improve or complicate communication?
I think Flickr is great for improving communication when dealing with small businesses because it is an easy way for them to promote their products and display them online for others. You can provide an email address or other website in your profile also which can lead these viewers back to your company and provide you with business. I think it can complicate communication though a little because it is a little difficult finding groups on Flickr which are related to various topics and I don't know how many fans clubs use Flickr which are what a business would probably want to promote to the most. It would involve a little searching potentially by the company to see whether it was worth it or not.

6. What is your critique of your experience?
Overall I liked Flickr because it seemed like a rather useful tool for small businesses to promote products and let people know about their company. If I were ever to open a small business of some kind I would certainly consider creating a Flickr account to promote my business and try to improve my online sales. Flickr was easy to use and setup which would be very nice for a small business because it does not take a lot  to keep it updated like a normal website does. I don't know if I would necessarily use Flickr unless I were a business owner though because I do not take a lot of pictures and since that is the main purpose of the tool I don't have a lot of use for it and will stick to Facebook instead.

Online Gaming

1. How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?
The game Dungeon Blitz relates to the topic of the week because it is an online game. Online games are important because they let people have new experiences by fantasy playing as a person they might not be like in real life, such as a knight or wizard. Dungeon Blitz is a type of role playing online game and allows players to design their character however they want and play how they want too. Characters choose from 3 different classes and then play through a fantasy world and gain levels and abilities. They can also interact with other players and join them on different quests which allows for socializing between players.

2. What function does the tool serve?
Dungeon Blitz allows players to create a fantasy character which they can play in a world of monsters and dragons. It allows players to socialize with others by adventuring together and befriending different players so they can play together again if they want too. It also lets players create Guilds which are a group of people who regularly adventure together and also share equipment and other items. Guilds can also provide access to more difficult areas than a solo player might be able to enter or provide access to better equipment. Dungeon Blitz lets players enjoy an entertaining game and role play as a person online that they might be afraid to try and be in the real world.

3. What did you find most interesting about the tool?
I found the house building to be quiet interesting in the game. I thought it was kind of cool that you could hire different people to do different jobs for you like mine or garden and you would then gain items from this. Most games I have played that are similar to Dungeon Blitz do not have a house or require you to do your own mining or buy the items from someone rather than paying a person to do it for you. This was nice cause it allowed you to adventure more rather than grind away for a few hours gathering resources, something I have done in similar games and do not always enjoy. The only unfortunate thing was how long their jobs took to complete.

4. What did you find most challenging?
The thing I found most challenging about Dungeon Blitz was that it was difficult to know where to go at certain points. I found a ton of people who wanted different quests done for them but I could not always find where they wanted me to go to or what item they were looking for. I would have liked it better if their had been some kind of quest log like in other games I've played which tells you what quest your currently doing and possibly where you need to go for it or what to do.

5. How does the tool improve or complicate communication?
The tool improves communication because it allows players to interact with each other by adventuring together or trading equipment with each other. It also lets you create or join Guilds where you can meet other players and adventure with them more often. Guilds are a great way to meet a lot of different players and learn more about the game. I think Dungeon Blitz can complicate communication though because players may spend more time online playing it than talking to others around them so they may start to feel more comfortable in socializing with other players in the game than friends outside of the game. Also people might become obsessed with the game and just never stop playing and stop communicating with others outside of the game altogether

6. What is your critique of your experience?
Dungeon Blitz was slightly easier than most games I've played but I found that rather nice because I did not have to focus as much while playing and could relax more. I preferred playing it on a PC over a MAC though because I did not like the single click for all attacks on the MAC and preferred being able to have one button for physical attacks and one for ranged attacks with my wizard character. I also liked that most of the dungeons could be finished rather quickly in under an hour or so and you did not have to spend long hours fighting your way through the entire place just to finish it, which is something I have experienced frequently with other games that are similar. Overall I rather enjoyed the game but will still probably stick to playing something a little more difficult on a regular basis, although I'm sure occasionally I'll play Dungeon Blitz again when I need something quick to play in a short amount of time.

Cyber Culture & Virtual Communities

1. How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?
The tool Secret Life relates to the topic of cyber-cultures and virtual communities because it deals with connecting people in a virtual based environment using avatars as representations of people. It can be used to bring numerous people together in different areas inside of the game based on their interests which is what virtual communities are sometimes made for. It also is a type of cyber-culture because it involves the creation of an avatar and allows people to live out a "second life" in a virtual environment rather than living in the real world which is what cyber-cultures sometimes involve.

2. What function does the tool serve?
Secret Life functions as a way for people to join together in a virtual community to socialize with others. It allows people to create an avatar and socialize with others who share similar interests in a virtual environment rather than simply chatting with them in a chat room or on a social network like Facebook. The avatar allows people to create a fantasy character with which to act out different actions like dancing instead of just chatting with the person online and can potentially act as a representation of the person instead of using a picture like on Facebook, assuming the person chooses an actual humanoid avatar. The tool also functions as a way for people to pretend to possibly be someone their not and have their avatar act in a way they normally wouldn't because of the anonymity provided by the avatar.

3. What did you find most interesting about the tool?
I found the Secret Life interesting because you could travel to different areas that were designed for specific interests and chat with other people in those areas or have your avatar act out some action in them like dancing. I also thought it was interesting that college classes were using Second Life as a learning environment and it would be interesting to learn more about how they were using it and why. I would have also liked to see how designing the environment works but it seemed like that was something for people who paid for Secret Life rather than just people who played for free.

4. What did you find most challenging?
I found moving around the world to be rather difficult because of how long sections took to load. The controls were rather difficult at first also because every time I flew I had trouble landing or else my avatar would look strange when I did land because I was using the cat avatar and it would look like it was upside down when trying to land. This also happened when I changed to other avatars too, although I never used a humanoid avatar so don't know if it would happen with them too.

5. How does the tool improve or complicate communication?
I think Secret Life improves communication because it is an easy place for people to join together online and talk with others about different topics. It also allows people to express themselves by designing their avatar how they want it to look and to possibly express themselves differently due to the anonymity of their avatars. It complicates communication I think though because people may be more cautious due to the anonymity of the avatars since people can be non-humanoid avatars or a person could have an avatar of the opposite gender. People may also attempt to live out their lives in the game instead of in the real world and lose the ability to communicate effectively with people in the real world because they become more comfortable living in the game than the real world.

6. What is your critique of your experience?
Overall I found Secret Life to be interesting but it was not incredibly enjoyable. I did not find much purpose in the game besides socializing with others and I don't feel an avatar is necessary since the communication method is still based in a chat window as it would be on a chat site like Facebook. I found a few world's that were designed rather creatively, one was like a museum of sorts with kind of ancient architecture which was cool to see. The other worlds seemed to be based on just introducing new people to the game and providing free stuff to design their avatar differently.  I would have been interested to see how the college classes use the game or how to build locations but that required a payment and I would not want to spend the money just to see what its like.

Blog 2

1.How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?
The tool Meetup and Omegle relate to the topic of interpersonal communications because they are both forms of meeting and communicating with people. The tools both involving communication through online conversations and using both verbal and nonverbal signals because you can use emoticons or keyboard signals in Omegle and in Meetup you can share information through discussion boards with other members of the groups you are a part of.

2.What function does the tool serve?
Omegle allows you to engage in a nonverbal conversation with people by chatting with them online about various topics or whatever you want. Meetup.com lets you meet new people with similar interests and share basic information about yourself in your bio page when you join a group. You can then talk with members of that group or possible meet with them in person on the assigned dates and locations that the group actually meets at. You can talk about different topics in discussion boards posted.

3.What did you find most interesting about the tool?
I found Omegle surprising because so many people did not take the questions seriously no matter what was posted and instead just use it to post swear words or talk about inappropriate things. Meetup was enjoyable because it was easy to find groups base on your interests since they had such a wide selection and the discussion boards were cool because they would talk about the topics although mainly they were used for asking about different meeting places. It was still cool to be able to see the different people in the area that have similar interests though like I found a couple of people who are looking for a D&D group in Davenport which is something I have been wanting to get back to playing for awhile.

4.What did you find most challenging?
I found Omegle challenging because no matter what question I posted the people did not take it seriously and would just swear or talk about inappropriate things. The questions that were premade tended to be uninteresting and rather stupid usually too. Meetup was challenging because joining groups required you to post certain information, including a picture which is something I am not comfortable placing online so I just used a random picture I had on my computer rather than an actual one of me. 

5.How does the tool improve or complicate communication?
Omegle could be a good way to improve communication if people used it properly because it could help them improve their communicating skills by talking to various people about different topics and questions. It complicates communication though because you do not know who you are talking to and people do not take it seriously and post whatever they wish to because of the anonymity. Meetup can improve communication because you can discuss topics you are interested in with others who share that interest and find out where to meet up with these people to enjoy whatever activity you share.

6.What is your critique of your experience?
I enjoyed Meetup overall and thought it was useful for finding people with similar interests in your area. I think it would be especially helpful if you had just moved to a new area to meet new people and make friends. Omegle was not enjoyable though cause people did not take it seriously and just used the anonymity to make inappropriate topics and statements.