COMP Reflections, Op.3505

by Rebecca Campbell

In terms of enjoyment and frequent use, Google Calendar, Twitter and Last.fm are top of the social and mobile computing tool list. However, blogging on the latter inadvertently turned into a review of the annoyance that is Facebook, seeing as every tool tested could be presented on in it some way. Then in the face of that, a report that had to be posted online opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of the damned social computing tool, Blogger. For the sake of social and mobile computing, this report will endeavour to review the affectivity of Google Calendar, Twitter and Blogger tools in their social and mobile aspects.

Google Calendar was handy on a personal level, as its flexible structure allowed easy manipulation of events and saved on paper. Randomly testing out the tool, clicking on most things resulted in a response, usually to edit that field and so it felt very intuitive. However, even though it was used to basically plot out time for doings, it ended up being used more as a journal, to keep track of what had been done. Whilst working on an assignment, the hours studied were recorded into the calendar; mainly as a reassurance that time had been spent on the assignment, despite time to word ratio. The addition of other peoples calendars didn’t prove beneficial, but in terms of trying to organising group projects in the future, it could be a useful tool. The only provisos being everyone would have to maintain their calendar and clarify whether the periods left vacant were for leisure or available for work purposes. In this respect, it’s more effective as personal tool than social tool.

At first, Twitter seemed pointless, given Facebook had the same device mixed in with the rest of its useless applications. But with it’s free-to-mobile posting, Twitter helped conduce awareness of peoples random doings whilst serving as a reminder to the existence of the program itself. Without the mobile updates, it would have been something used every Wednesday for approximately 2 hours max. The way students used in this predicament was to post random tid-bits of information. People following each other would either observe or choose to answer with their own tid-bit. However, answering to someone’s post didn’t guarantee an answer in return. It’s more like a conversation where everyone’s just saying what’s on their mind but not really taking anything in. Twitter has the ability to support conversation, but it requires constant monitoring on the participators behalf and there is no way of knowing if the other will reply. It’s very non-committal and even if a reply was expected, offence can’t be justified. For formally organising group work or events, it would be ineffective. The nature of the tool is such that there is no hello or goodbye (although people tell will say if they just woke up or are going to bed), only their current state at the time of posting. If there is no response, it means they are currently not using Twitter and that’s it. In terms of mobility, Twitter wins hands down, simply because of it’s ability to reach anyone who’s signed their phone up to the service. As long as they’re in range they can receive and post updates themselves and these will be relayed to people wherever they are at.

Ignoring the inconsistencies in working between Word and Blogger, it was interesting how different the approach to writing and submitting became, knowing that all people in the course could possibly read and comment on it. This also changed the composition of the presentation, as it had to be catered to a wider audience. Because of it’s blog presentation, the motivation to present something interesting to read, and to inject some form of personality into the piece is a driving force, so that it is not just another report with the same facts as everyone else. Unfortunately, if the subject is not particularly interesting to the author, the content may only reflect sarcasm.
Usually submissions are seen by the lecturer, tutors and possibly family members for proof-reading. Their marks and remarks can be taken on-board and learned from. With peer assessment, this leaves the window open for constructive, non-constructive and/or abusive comments. One comment could change the entire way the topic is viewed and result in the report being re-written. A waste of time, or a success in social technology…?
Reading already posted blogs is also an interesting aspect. It can either induce motivation or lethargy, depending on the viewers personal blogging standard. Commenting does not determine the validity of the content. In fact, the more outrageous the blog, the more infuriated comments may be incited. In the interests of a social and mobile study of web tools, which would prove more fruitful?

A big part of an effective social tool is its ability to be used in a way that is fun and enjoyable for all participators. This is based on the tools actually being redundant in use unless it does provide some form of entertainment or hold and interest for anyone. In class it was mentioned that if everyone was made to sit down and Twitter in a formal setting, it wouldn’t have been as popular as it has become. Blogger is a way of publishing any opinion waiting to be said, regardless of the validity of the piece… doesn’t necessarily guarantee it will be heard/read. Google Calendar was the least social tool in this context; it was probably made for people who are incredibly busy and all collaborate through google applications.

The biggest test will be to see what tools continue to be used outside of uni course requirements.