Computer mediated communication (CMC) is one of the most common forms of communication today, with people communicating with the use of technology. But because of the anonymity and common use of the internet, some people have made use of this accessibility to their advantage, cheating others online.
A few months back, my cousin and her two friends had wanted to get some tops from a blog shop (basically blogs that are set up to sell merchandise online). Her friend's father offered to pay for them first via bank account. Yet when the blog shop announced that the new batch of clothes have arrived, the owners did not contact my cousin or her friends at all! They went online and found out that many people who have ordered clothes from them have also met with the same problem because they had and posted up complaints demanding their money back. Luckily the girls had a receipt with them, so they are able claim their money back. If they paid with cash, I doubt that getting the money back would be an easy task.
People should learn from such examples when shopping online. Cases of internet scams (it happens in Maplestory for goodness' sakes!), identity theft and fraud are not unheard of, yet many still fall for these internet traps. These cheats are hard to nab when the internet is so easily accessible, and it is even harder for victims to claim back the losses so it is better for online shoppers to know how to protect themselves first.
Here are some tips about online shopping provided by the Carnegie Mellon University Police: 1. Keep your password(s) private 2. Don't judge item by initial appearances posted online 3. Check out the seller, especially when shopping online auction sites 4. Shop with companies that you know or at least know who you are dealing with; make sure that the company is legitimate 5. Get all the details involved before making an Internet transaction, such as complete descriptions, total price, return policy, etc. 6. Ask your credit card issuer about "substitute" or "single-use" credit card numbers – these allow you to use your credit card without putting your real account number online 7. Only share credit card information when buying from a company that you trust 8. Pay by credit or charge card online, because you have a legal right to dispute charges for goods and services that were never ordered or received 9. Keep a record for proof of the transaction
These are just simple things to look out for before you make any purchases online. For all you know, it might just keep you from being scammed!
In communication, there are always constraints, namely time, distance, speed, bandwidth and synchronous/asynchronous communication. Such constraints have led to the inefficient and ineffective transfer of information.
Luckily boys and girls, these constraints can be overcome with the invention of technology! Video cameras and cameras have made it possible for people to record their material...not to mention the rise of phone cameras that have made the task easier due to its convenience and compact design. The computers and Internet age enables people to upload the videos and pictures online to share the information with a wide range of people from all around the world.
Citizen journalism is one of the main benefits of the improvements of technology. According to Jay Rosen, citizen journalism is 'when the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another'. People share all these information online via platforms like blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, websites or online forums. Other visitors to these sites can easily find out what is happening in different parts of the country, and join in discussions about the topic. Many precious news material and footage are usually gotten from these people (with the aid of technology like phone cameras or video cameras) that happen to be at the scene at the right time.
Yet, I feel that citizen journalism can be intrusive at times. Take STOMP (http://www.stomp.com.sg/) for example.These citizen journalists sneakily take videos and pictures of people who are the supposed 'wrongdoers'. Most STOMP users post about people being inconsiderate in public transportation. Although it helps to give a clear picture of how Singaporeans are like (it provided me with material for my previous post anyway), such posts are phrased as like complaints and they disregard privacy, making the website more like a personal complaint portal.
Citizen journalism should be more like what ohmynews (http://english.ohmynews.com/) has done. It gives a clear category for topics like world, entertainment and sports. This makes it much more like an information sharing site than some ranting platform. It makes it hard to believe that all these articles are written by citizens, especially when they are very professionally written.
Perhaps STOMP should model their site like what ohmynews has done-giving a space where Singaporeans can discuss about serious topics, and another one where they can post up their 'caught-in-the-act' material? And do you think there should be regulations to stop people from getting too intrusive?
This recent piece of news is about a cartoon that was published on the New York Post that has sparked racist arguments.
Well, the dead chimpanzee is OBVIOUSLY referring to Mr Obama, because he drafted the latest stimulus bill (DUH). And so many have concluded that the cartoonist was associating African-Americans as chimpanzees. Pretty unflattering, of course.
But personally, I think that people shouldn't read too much into it. Yes, the cartoonist was targeting Mr Obama (really mean of him), but I think it was more about the stimulus package rather than his race. After all, the cartoon was drawn in reference to a previous article about a woman being mauled by a wild chimp. I guess people have these really strong reactions because they have been facing prejudice all their lives, so they're extra sensitive to these issues.
African-Americans=Niggas, Blacks. Rappers, drug dealers and pimps that live in da hood.
Asians=Chinks. Yellow skinned with upward slits for eyes and knows kung fu.
Americans(fair-skinned)=Whites. Big spenders, fat and McDonald's loving.
Yeah, obviously these stereotypes are pretty wrong. I mean, Malays=yellow skinned!? People tend to group people with the same skin colour together, and assume that they have the same traits. And they are usually prejudiced in their thinking, which contributes to ethnocentrism, where one believes that his culture is superior to others.
The 'whites' see 'blacks' as threats to their well being and quality of life. 'Blacks' are portrayed to be dangerous and dirty, and 'whites' to be of a higher class. A pity really, when they are being judged based on their skin colour and not character. This impedes communication, and causes lack of understanding between people, resulting in incidents like the racist cartoons being blown out of proportion.
So this week's topic is about culture. When the lecturer asked about how we would describe our small little island, tons of answers ran through me head.
"Fines, strict rules, the kiasu-ism, the kiasi-ism, passive people, the Merlion(?), racial harmony...."
OK, and among the weird thoughts and negative ones, the first positive aspect of Singapore to pop up would be racial harmony. And for the rest of the following minutes I thought long and hard for the positive qualities that we have (it turned out to be good food). Does Singapore really have nothing we can be proud of?
Personally, I think that Singaporeans' way of reserving seats is really quite inconsiderate and uncultivated. It really gives a bad impression on foreigners who expect Singapore to be a sophisticated society, but in the end found out that it is just a national sport to be kiasu(afraid to lose) and kiasi(afraid to die). I guess it is true Singaporean culture at work here, but what exactly is our culture like? Is it a individualistic or collectivist?
For me, Singaporean culture would be something that goes along the lines of collectivism that stems from individualism (yeah, its deep). A collectivist culture is mainly based on the needs of a social group rather than an individual, and individualism is more about personal goals, attitudes and values.
Let's break it down. The humble origins of the tissue paper culture: 1. During lunchtime, people who found seats can't walk away peacefully to buy food in fear of having their seats snatched away. 2. So they came up with using tissue paper packets to reserve their seats-cheap, portable and heavy enough to stay where it is. 3. With that, many people have now adopted this method to protect their seats while being able to buy food. *applause*
Basically, the tissue paper culture began from pretty selfish and self-centered reasons(individualist). People want to get their food during busy lunchtime hours while beating the crowds to get their seats. So when this gets more and more popular, gradually others will be influenced by their actions and conform to the trend(collectivist).
Yes my friends, now do you see? Singaporeans follow trends when some random person starts them for personal reasons and convenience. Perhaps this trend of reserving seats with tissue papers is really embarrassing to me as a Singaporean, but we cannot deny that it is part of our culture. So let's just hope that things don't get so bad that we will have to book seats in trains and buses beforehand!
Today I shall talk about love. (It being Valentine's Day and all...)
Many people have lost loves. Unrequited loves. Some had found their true loves. Others are still searching. Many are in love with people they have never met, be it celebrities, rock stars or just that special unknown one out there. A few of them are tired from heartbreaks, but deep down they still yearn for it. Some have love at first sight, and for most of us, love just blooms in time. There are all kinds of love, but one thing that we all agree about is that we all need love (some way or another).
So how do we fall in love?
There are 10 stages of the relational model by Knapp, and the first 5 stages namely- Initiating, Experimenting, Intensifying, Integrating, Bonding- are the 'in-love' stages.
Initiating Well, its the start of the relationship! We tend to be more cautious at first, while we slowly evaluate the person we are interested in based on many criterias like appearances or how they act.
Experimenting Where we get to know more about each other, and talk more about each other, be it about themselves, their families, how they think, etc. It is also at this time where we learn to communicate effectively with one another.
Intensifying This is when the relationship is in a more serious state, and the two friends turn into a couple. The commitment level is increased, and they will spend more time with each other, sharing more secrets and have more physical contact...in short, be madly in love!
Integrating Yep, as the picture shows, the stage is when the couple tells their family and friends that they are together, and want to be identified as a pair. Couples tend to be more responsible to each other's needs, and will be more tolerating when they have built a stable sense of trust.
Bonding The final stage of love, when couples officialise their relationship by marrying and having a home together. An important decision, no doubt, and it also requires alot of sacrifices to maintain the relationship. Some couples may end up in a divorce because they live together under such proximity, but there are also couples who are married for 50 over years and still very much in love.
So on this special day for loving, do express your appreciation for the people around you that have been good to you, be it your significant other, family or friends.
Oh yes, do share any stories of relationships that you've had before...all comments are welcome!
So I was travelling home on the bus a few days ago, and I suddenly saw my secondary school friend waiting for her bus when we passed by some random bus stop on the usual route home. To make it clearer for visual learners, the situation was something like this (Sorry for the ugly doodle):
Pretty surprised, I have to say, because I didn't expect to see her around the area. She spotted me too, and we had a small conversation without words(we didn't have other choices, did we?) in the few minutes passengers alighted from the bus.
Me: Where are you going? (Points at her and shrugs) Her: Going home, You? (Does walking action with her fingers and points to me) Me: Yes, what bus are you taking? (Nods, points downwards and shrugs) Her: 99 (Shows the double nines with her fingers) Me: Ohhhh (Nods again and makes 'O' shaped mouth) Her: Haha, ok call me (Laughs, makes a six with her fingers and put her hand against her ear) Me: Sure, see you (Nods and waves)
No speaking. Purely gestures and facial expressions. But we understood each other perfectly (classic example of how actions speak louder than words)! I bet many of us didn't notice how powerful nonverbal communication can be (except for communications students of course), or the fact that we use it unconsciously in everyday life. Every action and signal represents and relate to what you are going to convey to the other party. For example, people just need to flag for a taxi by reaching out their hands. Taxi drivers then will get the cue to stop and let the passenger get on board, simple as that.
Nonverbal communication is also the first form of communication. When our ancestors discovered fire, they 'OOOHHHHed' and 'AHHHHHHed' over it to express their amazement and surprise. When tragedies struck in modern times like the September 11 attacks, the whole world united together in a prayer by putting their hands together and hoped for the best. This shows that this form of communication is more powerful when it breaks language barriers. And who can forget the evolution of entertainment via nonverbal communication? From silent movies in the Charlie Chaplin era to the latest Pixar hit, Wall-E, these movies require no speech. Just by using sounds, gestures, expressions, they have brought immense pleasure and entertainment to people.
Nonverbal communication is one of the most powerful and effective form of communication. The nonverbal cues that we use repeat, contradict, substitute, complement, accentuate and regulate verbal messages to communicate the message effectively and accurately. Many verbal messages like speeches, orders or even simple conversations may lose their meaning or impact when they lack the correct nonverbal cues.
Check these out:
YES, WE CAN!
Hmm, maybe not for him
Nonverbal cues are all around us, but people just don't realise them. It just takes a little more attention to spot these unspoken messages, and it might just help you understand people more.
I've read that people make first impressions on people they've met for the first time within three seconds, whether they're educated, simple, good, bad, rich, poor, haughty or humble (just to list a few characteristics). And the thing about such impressions is that they last and people will form firm ideas of you. Atrocious, really, when you think about it. How can someone judge you based on your gait, speech, dressing and features in just a few mere seconds?
Remember this advertisement? It was on television a few years back for Mediacorp's radio stations. The scene opens with an Eurasian guy, sweaty, burly and clad in a dark singlet who signals to the unseen crowd that screams and wolf-whistles at his appearance. You think that he is a wrestler, or a rock star. He then sits him self down, sticks out his tongue at the crowd and hits two sticks to signify the start of a performance. By this time you would have formed an impression that he should be some kind of rock drummer that is wild and unruly. Yet as you watch on, it turns out that he is actually playing the yangqin, a Chinese instrument! This is such a contrast from the initial rock star image as the yangqin is usually associated with being gentle and refined. This shows that people's first impressions may not always be right, and of course, that the advertisement is really successful when it catches everyone's attention.
Like what many Singaporeans did when they first laid eyes on the advertisement, I bet many of you have made inaccurate judgements about people (because while we may feel indignant and scream "Who are you to judge me?" just because of a visible tattoo, this is unfortunately, what we all do), and vice versa. I still remember my teacher who once told me that she thought that I was the 'quiet-type' in the first day of school. Not really. She should have seen me with my friends or spent more time with me to know that I'm not what you would consider quiet. Maybe she got clues from my nerdy spectacles, neat uniform and my liking for books that made her to conclude that I'm a bookworm and hence prefer to be quietly read my books rather than play badminton outside with friends. I'm sorry to say this Miss Chiang, but I'm pretty sure that you're wrong.
When we meet people for the first time, we will inevitably make an assessment of him or her and will then conclude and construct some kind of way of communication with that individual. For example, when you meet a well-dressed bespectacled business man, you don't walk with a swagger and give him hi-fives. Instead you politely come up to him, dressed appropriately, to give him a firm handshake. This is fine and good because we need to act according to the circumstances correctly or else we shall make a fool out of ourselves.
However, I would like to think of first impressions as being, well, first. We should take first impressions as a objective reference, and then form real impressions when we get to know and communicate with the other party. Everyone has a right to judge things for themselves, but to do it in three seconds would be really unfair.
After all as the saying goes, 'Do not judge a book by its cover'!
