Journal Entries 2022

8/28/22 - Laurel Schwulst, My Website is a Shifting House…

I had never thought about the many different ways that a website can function. In many cases having a website with smaller functions might be better than having one website with a lot of functions. Creating more specified websites could generate a new way of using the world wide web. There could be websites about anything and everything, and people would be able to use the web in a way in which we haven’t been using it for a long time now. Shifting from big websites that take over the web (such as Instagram, Twitter, and Tik-Tok) to smaller websites handmade by artists or other people, in general, could really end up making a change in just how people are using the internet. Right now most people only use the internet to be on social media but if smaller and smaller websites were made then I think people would take an interest in exploring this new way of using the internet.

8/28/22 - Ursula K. Le Guin, A Rant on Technology

The way that technology has advanced so quickly has almost given the word technology a new meaning, and I think that’s what Le Guin was trying to say. Technology isn’t only new iPhones and smart TVs. Technology is engrained in everything we do and in every way in which we live. From what we eat every day (and the way that it is gathered/made) to the way in which we sleep on our beds. All of these things come from technology. Just because it isn’t what we think of as “new technology” doesn’t mean that it isn’t still technology.

9/04/22- J.R. Carpenter, A Handmade Web

As someone who grew up with social media and big websites like Instagram, Twitter, and Google it is hard to believe that at one point it wasn’t the usual. Smaller websites that were more specific and more handmade used to be a lot more normal and a lot more used. Handmade websites are so rare now because most people just build their identities through social media and google is able to tell you everything you need to know about any subject you can think of. The death of small websites was quick and it’s almost hard to imagine what it was like before when the internet was filled with them. I also think it’s interesting that some people predicted that bigger websites would rule the internet and that most people would rather not build their own websites to host their identities.

9/19 - Taeyoon Choi, Hello World!

The city as a computer is a comparison I never even thought of it could have ever imagined. In a way, it makes complete sense. Being that humans usually have a lot of repetition and in that way, we make the city alive. However, there would be too many small variables that break the “code” per se. In the end, the question makes me wonder whether we could build a computer city and I wonder how well it would run. I imagine that it would be a very robotic city. People would get bored so easily. Is there a way to make a city run smoothly without it turning into a prison? Without taking away the will of the people in it?

9/29 - Callum Copley - A Friend is Writing

Quote: 'If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold. Thoughts: Social media like Instagram, Facebook, and youtube, bring in money for the very few people who are at the top. It can also bring cash for individuals but at a much smaller scale. Influencers will get paid but there can only be a few influencers. I think it’s great that France is going to limit people checking in on their jobs after they get off work. A lot of the time people don’t think it’s affecting their lives, but constantly thinking about work and checking in whether it be by email, group texts, etc. can really take a toll on people’s mentality.

10/10 - Frank Chimero - The Web’s Grain

If there are only certain solutions for all websites to have good responsiveness, does that mean that we have to conform to this sort of design? Maybe Apple is trying to make its website different because they don’t want to follow the same design everyone else has made. Responsive design can be made well and be made without having to follow a set of rules.