requested YOUTUBE login info

I copied and pasted the original post below:

-adrienne



I made us a class wide email account at gmail. This gmail is the email i used to set up our youtube page. Here is the info...


Gmail:

Email: politics.internet@gmail.com
Password: blogging
Security question: What is the name of your Professor?
Answer: Jodi Dean

Youtube:
Account name: JodisClass
Password: blogging363

Class Presentations: Day 2

I enjoyed the presentations for the most part today. It was unfortunate that computer was not working right away. It really took away from time we could have asked the presenters questions or provide them with any comments. Also, it made the transition from one project to another rushed.

I enjoyed Brandon and John’s presentation about surveillance on the campus of HWS. The video was very well put together from the music and editing options. The beginning and end were pretty neat. I liked how the films you used presented your project and ended the project. The interviews with students seemed professional and serious. It was good to get a vocal viewpoint of people about how safe they feel on campus. I also thought it was great how you went to the security department and got an interview with Bob Cowles. The interview was interesting, I felt like he may have contradicted himself. Regardless, like Jodi’s Favorite Group, the interviews were very beneficial and really gave the presentation a real and serious feeling. It was evident that Brandon and John put in a lot of time, between filming and gathering information.

Jodi’s Favorite Group, minus myself, plus Anna did a good job and I thought their information was interesting. I thought the purpose of the project was appealing as well. The video the group put together had good aspects and bad aspects I felt. For example, the scenes that had another member in the background seemed immature and it was a joke. That took away from the serious aspect of the film. The topic you discussed is important and controversial. Why take away from that with unneeded humor? I can’t help but think of Max’s presentation. His topic was serious yet had mysterious implications. His voice in the film fit the concept and helped strengthen the intention of his topic. I also thought that the interview within the group could have been more serious. It seemed that it was unplanned. I really like the fact that you did personal interview. It is always nice to hear a filmmakers view on the subject. Also, it was very distracting to hear the laughing from the group while the presentation was going on. It distracted me from watching the movie and reading the screen.

On a positive note, it was really interesting to have an interview with someone from the Human Resources Dept. This really helped strengthen your focus on the project. I also liked the statistics you used from polling members of the Hobart and William Smith Community. I think you brought awareness to the community at the Colleges and you revealed some pretty interesting information about the topic of security at school. Your whole group put in a lot of effort to produce the video. It was obvious you spent time to gather information and draw your conclusions.

I had mixed feelings about Yanina, Jessica and Dave’s project. At times, the movie was overwhelming. There was a lot going on and it was hard to read (may have been the screen in the room). It also had a lot going on at all times between images, content and music. Don’t get me wrong; I commend your editing skills. It was impressive, however I was overwhelmed because I felt like the information could have been presented in a more clear and concise way. At points, the amount of editing and features took away from your focus. I knew you were talking about the millennial generation and I realized towards the end how the mash up and presidential election points are influenced by the millennial generation. Or, I think I did? It was clear that you put in a lot of work and your effort should not go overlooked. It was a very intellectual project that had a strong viewpoint.

One thing that bothered me was that some people did not present. More so, some people did not even show up to class at all this week. I apologize if there is a personal reason. However, if you did a project, I felt like you should have at least told the class what you did. I know my group worked hard and it was pretty obvious other groups did as well, so to me, it was disrespectful that some students did not even stand up and say what they did. Have pride in your project. You could have been as simple and straightforward as Corey. He did not have a presentation planned; yet he talked about what he did and his goals. I thought it was great and I got to hear about what he was working on all semester.

I was hoping more people would comment on presentations. I think they are a pretty important part of our class. I know some people probably will not like my comments. I am not saying that anyone’s presentation was bad. I think everyone should be applauded for the effort. I respect everyone’s efforts and think their presentations turned out well. I am not a film critic, nor am I the most talented presenter, so do not take my opinion or view seriously. I am simply just saying what I thought. Plus, I thought that was the point of our class blogs. I know some people will disagree with me. That is fine. I know this may influence your peer evaluation. I understand. That is a risk I will take…ah!

Sam

Class Presentations: Day 1

I enjoyed the presentations in class yesterday. I especially enjoyed the first groups. Man, they were great. Right?!

I thought Max's presentation was very interesting. I learned a lot. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about. The definitions and terms he had on one of his first slides baffled me. However, as the presentation progressed I really began to understand what he was talking about. First, I thought Max did a great job explaining the definitions of terms he was using. I am not very tech savvy, so it was something new to me to learn about how people can hack or work there way around a system to watch DVD's, listen to CD's and play video games for free. At times, Max presented a lot of information that took mw a few minutes to comprehend. Again, the terminology was confusing to me, but that may just be because it is new.

I liked how he incorporated case studies. This brought a different component to the presentation that gave his information a lot of credibility. Also the examples of how a person can get around a secure system was interesting. Max defiantly knows how to break the system. Be careful!

It was clear Max did a lot of work on his project. His presentation technique was different, but I liked it. When Max explained why he decided to record his voice in the slide show, I could defiantly understand where he is coming from. I get nervous when I speak in front of a large group of people because I do mumble and talk to quickly. I thought that recording the voice added a certain feeling to the presentation. A feeling of mystery I guess. Overall, I really enjoyed his project and I learned a lot.

I thought Pat's presentation was very good as well. I was hoping someone would do a project on the Election. I thought Pat put in a lot of time to obtain the information and facts. It was nice to see some logistics about the election once it has ended.I feel like sometimes people do not take time to look at different statistics once the election ends. It was interesting to see the different numbers, whether it was how much money one candidate spent compared to the other. It is evident that Pat could have multiple arguments for why Obama won. He could pull information relating to specific numbers, the candidate's websites or their campaign policy. Pat had a laundry list of differences among the campaigns and many reasons why Obama pulled away with the victory. Pat had examples for nearly every aspect of each candidates campaign! I think having a strong argument with multiple examples really helped Pat produce a noteworthy project. I kept thinking he could not find more information to persuade the class about why Obama won, but he kept coming out with more! It was nice that Pat dissected the election like he did. I learned a great deal about each candidates campaign.

I thought Pat's presentation technique was strong. His PowerPoint displayed clear and accurate information. It was clean and easy to read. It was nice also because Pat rarely read right from the slides. He knew what to say. Overall, it was a strong presentation that presented great information.

Excited for Thursday.

Sam

HELL YEAH I'M AFRAID

I would like to respond to yesterdays class. According to Professor Dean we are afraid to take risks and we should do more exiting stuff in class. Apparently, this is the class to take risks and apparently we have done it before. We have been making PowerPoint presentations in 5 minutes and we have been making videos.

However I do not view this as a risk at all. Every time we have done something other than just talking, we have been told to do it by the Professor. Even in class (when the last group presented videos) it was after Professor Dean had told us that she expected more. I cannot remember one time where a student came up (in class) with a new way of presenting. We have been told to do those presentations EVERY time we have been doing it. We have never taken risks in this class and I am sorry, but I do not want to.

I do not want to take risks in this class because every time we do something other than a normal report of what the book says we get a (beep) load of critique. When we made a PowerPoint presentation we had done nothing right. Well, I am sorry but I cannot make a PowerPoint presentation that fast. We might be millennials but that does not mean we can do everything in 5 minutes. I understand that we cannot be cuddled every time we do something, you do not have to give us compliments. But you cannot blame us for never taking risks if the only option after that is getting bombarded with critique. I am afraid to take risks in this class, I AM PLAYING IT SAFE.

By
Merel van Helden

Class 12.4.08

I liked that we went back into the same groups we were in last time we met as a class. I think that was important because the group could continue their thoughts from the previous class and continue their discussion. Our group worked on developing some bullet points from each chapter to discuss as a whole class. (They may be scattered because I was typing them as we went along.) Some of the important concepts and questions we discussed included the ideas about the most powerful components of the Internet and how did business interact with the Internet in the past when they first encountered it? Invisibility is one. We then discussed how corporations implement the Internet during this time period? We then moved on to talk about the way people acted at work or the way employees have gone about their work. Has it changed or stayed the same? Is the way a person should conduct himself or herself in the workplace embedded in human nature? We also discussed the importance of the Internet on businesses. Is the Internet a good influence? What ways can is it a bad influence? Another topic we talked about in our group focused on people’s view of their boss or another authoritative figure. A person’s voice is essential on the Internet because the Internet allows people to speak without interruption. Our group conversed of the issue of a person breaking free from the typical, the usual. The way a business works is tough and will suck you in, however if you can set yourself aside of the standard, you will succeed. We talked about making mistakes and learning from them. We thought about how do business leaders feel about this? The CTM talks about Fort Business. When a person enters the real world, there is a lot of interaction with outside resources, compared to a number of years ago when business leaders attempted to teach a new employee to stay within the realm of their own office. The importance of networking is huge. A business succeeds with networking.

When we broke from our individual groups into a class discussion, I was very surprised with Prof. Dean’s response to the group work. I guess I did not realize that she was expecting us to make a power point, a new set of thesis, etc. CTM talks about employees voicing their opinion and not being afraid of asking questions. I was experiencing those same thoughts and feelings in class. I was too afraid to say something because I did not want to say something dumb or irrelevant. That is something I need to work on because I do it a lot in other classes as well. I need to voice my opinion and not care about whether it is a dumb comment or not.

Moving on, I give Yanina a lot of credit for her response to the CTM reading. It was thoughtful and intriguing. She definitely helped stir more discussion and move the class in the right direction. I like how she thinks outside the box. It allows me, maybe others, to think differently about the subject as well, stirring other feelings and opinions, which lead to a prolonged discussion. I understand where Prof. Dean was coming from when she explained her reasoning about her unhappiness with our group work. We are in the last few weeks of class and we should have known better to make a better presentation. That is our faults. I apologize.

Excited for next week and final projects!

Sam

Clue Train Thoughts

I have really enjoyed the book so far. Many statements and claims by the author’s have made me think more about life. I knew that the discussion about authoritative figures and employees would come up in class and I am glad it did. I was interested to hear what people thought on that topic. I am not sure how I stand on business firms wanting young people to think highly of them or having their firm being appealing to our generation. That whole discussion is interesting. I feel like some companies put in an intimating act and some companies do not. Regardless, any success a firm has depends heavily on communication. Communication is important in any line of work.

I thought the first chapter was very thought provoking. The advertising world is making people think they need things and the convenience of obtaining such materialistic things is easy. I believe that people’s hobbies are one way to initiate a conversation that may not occur otherwise. This is one way people can learn from one another and this spreads the knowledge of a hobby to one person and eventually they will tell someone else.

Chapter 2 was interesting. The Internet is a place that is so magnificent that it entices people into the cyber world. People become engrossed in what is on the Internet. Anyone can find something they like or enjoy. This shows how anyone can express his or her passion or feelings online. This is a gateway for others to join them and share their passion for something. I also thought the second chapter was interesting because the author made a claim that the Internet allows people to control their lives more efficiently. Since the Internet has the capability to hold so much information, someone at the cluck of a button can research what he or she would like and surely come up with what they are looking for. It allows people to become more knowledgeable and learn how to think and figure problems out.

Chapter 3 continued a discussion that was intriguing. I agree that silence is the death of anything. When something becomes dead, it is because there is no more discussion about it. Silence is the slow killer of many arguments or discussion. A person who does not do anything does not progress anywhere, whether it is in their work or social life. If you work hard, good things will happen and you will make progress. I believe you will take steps in the right direction.

I am excited to continue reading. After the first chapter, the author presented very upbeat, positive thoughts, which was nice. Sometimes you read books or articles and some author’s can be cynical. The first couple of chapters were great and they were helpful. I learned a lot about how the Internet began and how it works logistically. The focus on our age generation is also beneficial.

Sam

Class 12.2.

I really thought class today was helpful. I liked that we went right into group work after we read the Wall Street article. I thought the article was very interesting because it involved our generation and this stimulated a lot of people in different ways. The Wall Street article sparked a great discussion latter in the class. Before we get to that though, I think the group work was beneficial. I thought our group did a good job discussing the Clue Train author’s opinions about voice, authenticity and play and the post on Prof. Dean’s blog. We all thought that business needs rules to keep their employees in line. I personally think a business should implement rules because it will help the business run smoothly and efficiently. This helped move the discussion back to the Wall Street article and tie it together with the reading from class. In our group, Anna made very interesting remarks that she shared with the class about people our age needing that authoritative figure and having that person telling us we are doing well. She went on to say that an authoritative figure is necessary for many important reasons to help support the business or corporation and help keep younger employees in line. I really liked her comments on this subject.

Another part of class I enjoyed was Corey’s comments. Corey's statement about a more black and white world rather than a world where people could cut slack was interesting and I agree more with him on his argument pertaining to the black and white world. I think a person’s opinion can vary depending on their work ethic, commitment and competitiveness. I think people should take responsibility for their actions and that includes turning in something late or not showing up for a meeting. That doesn’t cut it in my mind.

I liked how Prof Dean brought the class back together after the groups had time finish their discussion. It was nice to hear her opinions about the Wall Street article she handed out and also the reading. It was interesting to hear that Prof. Dean thought all people in the work force should be on an equal level. I never have though about that but the more I do; it has a lot of positive aspects. At first glance, one may not see them, but when you take a step back and think about the pro’s and con’s, I think they are more pro’s. Overall, I was pleased with class and I thought it was great that the article stimulated people and got everyone thinking.

Sam

95 Complaints.

So I just read the 95 theses and I don't think I get it.

I get that he thinks there should be more communication between both parties and that they are going to fail if they don't start listening to each other but some companies do listen to the market. They have to pay attention to it if they are going to succeed. You can't make money if you aren't meeting your customers needs. I don't think companies need to listen to every comment anyway. Not everyone is going to be helpful and make a positive change. They need to be able to read each other but I don't think businesses are failing all over the place because they don't listen. I think there are alot more reasons that they fall than just not listening.

Becky

Thesis 14

Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networked conversations. To their intended online audiences, companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman.

I think this is really true. Corporations do not know what people want but they still try to sell it. Therefore they keep talking in this commercial advertisement way that sounds very inhuman. By trying to be funnier than everyone else they lost all the humor. It seems that when you go online you see only adverstisement. You are getting really confused about the overwheliming amount. Or they try to talk to you in a very mechanic way that attracks no one. I do believe that markets are doing a good job with this. They know how to attract their online audience much better than corporations do.

I think that the introduction gave a very good quote:
"But learning to speak in a human voice is not some trick, nor will corporations convince us they are human with lip service about "listening to customers." They will only sound human when they empower real human beings to speak on their behalf."

I think that that is the solution for corporations, if they want to catch up to the markets that do know how to speak in a human voice. It is definitly possible for corporations to catch up again, as long as they make a real change and not a fake change by pretending to be human.

By
Merel van Helden

Funny cultural difference

Hi guys.
I just wanted to tell you guys some cultural differences, even though they are not really related to class. But in the extension of our cultural differences in leisure time I thought I could share this.

The Cannabis College, an advisory body to softdrugs in Amsterdam, has existed for ten years. To celebrate the College holds a festival of ten days, including films and hemp wine. There are awards for people that have praised hemp and cannabis in art and movies and of course there are discussion about the legalisation of softdrugs.

I, for one, think it is ridiculous that my country is doing this, but in the words of Matt: You think why? We think why not?

By
Merel van Helden

gamer theory

Wark makes some cool points, i do find the idea of Gamer Theory interesting, especially the military entertainment complex Professor Dean talked about during class. I enjoyed when the class discussion moved to the topic of boredom. Two points were made (i dont remember who made them) but they both stand out in my mind. The first was "Boredom is what creates designers" and "Boredom is a liberation...a kind of freedom." Boredom as liberation or a kind of freedom is neat concept. What a cool way to consider boredom? I agree with that point. When you're bored you often need something new to do to keep you occupied. At this point you're free to move away from what you are doing and to try or engage yourself in something new. This ties into the point "boredom is what creates designers" because if people weren't bored or looking for a new entertainment outlet, the desire for new things would be non-existent as well as unnecessary. I wouldn't go as far as to say boredom is the basis of our creativity but I do believe that boredom is quite often the baseline for new ideas.

Overall, Gamer Theory definitely was a difficult book for me. The beginning reminded me a of a riddle but then once we got to the chart i began to feel very confused. Both times after the class discussions i went back and re-read sections of the book because i had a better understanding of what was going on. For me, the foreignness of what Wark was talking about made the experience of reading his book feel like a mini game...One where his content became some secret code that i had to decipher or crack in order to get to the next level of understanding.


-adrienne

A Community all about games - created by You, played by everyone

so i found this website - XNA creators club online - where you can actually make your own games and then other members can play the games you created. If i understand it all correctly, if you have windows creating / submitting your games is free, but if you purchase the premium membership you can actually develop games for xbox 360, which is cool.



-Adrienne

Gamer Theory

Gamer Theory has been a book I have struggled with. I have had a very difficult time grasping the concepts the author is talking about. I am not sure I like the format of the book. I know we talked about how the book reads as a game. That bothers me. I do not comprehend material very well if it is not directly stated. I know the points of learning and is dig through information and dissect information. However, sometimes the author just needs to get it out there. I would not mind digging around and figuring out what the author has to say in Gamer Theory, but every time I do or the class does, we get no where I feel. I guess I am disappointed. When i looked at the books for the class that we would throughout the semester, I think I was most looking forward to this one. I guess i did not live up to my expectations. I know I am putting off some strong feelings of dislike towards this book, but I feel like I needed to get it out there. No offense Prof.

Regarding the model we have been so intrigued about the past few class meetings. I don't get it. I don't get what we are supposed to get out of it. I think the only step in the direction of understanding the chart was from the help of David. I was lucky to have Dave in my group when we first went over the chart. He really helped me understand the book for one, and the chart as well. The idea of the lines connecting made sense to me. The idea of progression was intriguing. Yanina also had a interesting thought about connecting the chart with digital enclosure. Overall, I think Dave and Yanina explanations have made the most sense, but I still am having trouble with Gamer Theory as a whole.

After reading over what I just wrote, I realized that i was rather negative in me feelings towards Gamer Theory. I just have had a hard time comprehending the material and understand what the author wants me to learn. On another note, I have really enjoyed our class discussion and what we have been doing. I like hearing Prof. Dean lecture and tell us what she thinks. It is pretty helpful. Talking about our final projects yesterday got me excited to hear what people may be doing. It is approaching soon!

Sam

Youtube to sell advertising on Pages of Search Results

the title says it all. Check this article out in the Ny Times.





adrienne

Internet in space.

Hi Guys,
Another fun message from the Dutch News:

"AMSTERDAM - NASA has successfully tested a network that allows distant satellites and space vehicles communicate with Earth as computers with internet.

The software for the network, disruptions-tolerant Network (DTN), was developed by Vincent Cerf, the grandfather of the Internet. He is the inventor of the TCP / IP protocol that is the basis for the terrestrial Internet.
There is the risk that communication will be interrupted in space, because a spacecraft is behind a celestial body or because there is a solar storm. The distance between earth and the space objects make it difficult to send information too. A message from Mars for example, takes 3.5 to 20 minutes to reach the earth - depending on how far the two planets are from each other. On this moment people on earth must determine when the circumstances are most favorable for a transmission to planetary explorers. With DTN that work fully automated.
For the test with the DTN, which was held last month, photographs were sent back and forth between a network with nine points on earth and the Epoxi, a satellite that is on course for a rendezvous with the comet Hartley, in 2010. Next summer there will be a test with DTN on board the international space station ISS."

As you can read the internet is advancing fast. Soon we will not only be able to facebook with people in space but also with aliens :P.

By
Merel van Helden

work now play later?

Work. Work. Work.
That's what America is all about. The more we can get done the better. work work work...it's ingrained in us. BG mentioned in his blog: "The concept of productivity is highly Americanized in our culture." I completely agree with that statement. It's as though we are trying to find the quickest, most efficient ways to accomplish tasks, and then instead of using the time we gain to relax , we instead take on more tasks. Why have we become a nation of workaholics? Why is relaxation time not guaranteed on a daily basis?...something's got to give...if you want to have one, you can't have the other. I'm not saying everyone is like this but for the most part i feel like America's an uptight nation. To kick back and relax isn't as easy as it used to be. I for one try to balance my work with play. I think it's essential to kick back and relax but I also recognize the importance of getting my work done. I prioritize and with that said, sometimes work isn't my first priority...Play often is, and I'm still successful. To me success isn't just about accomplishing a ton of stuff,... success is getting things done but still having 'me' time. Me time -however you may spend it- is crucial. What good is success if you can't even enjoy it because you are too stressed out or uptight? The way i see it...Life's all about moderation and balance..if you can maintain a balance between work and play and still accomplish everyday tasks then i consider that successful.



-adrienne

Leisure time: BIG SURPRISE and 1 BIG question

I thought that last class was pretty interesting. Often if you read the book discussion seem pointless because everyone reads the book so what is there to discuss about? But this time we had a good discussion I think. I especially liked the ending. To most people it might seem normal by I am actually still amazed by the way people here spend their leisure time. Now that it is mentioned I see it everywhere.

This weekend I was looking for people to hang out with and everyone was busy, doing something useful. I would actually have to say "useful" because the fact that we can justify it with "it looks good on a CV" does not necessarily mean it is usefull. But still, everyone was busy. It hits me every time: people are WORKING!

The Netherlands is so completely different. There were days last year where I just spend my entire day doing nothing, even spending several days doing nothing. Days where you would spend 6 hours of the day watching movies. Many friends of mine go out 5 times a week until 4am and sleep until 12pm, week in, week out. The only things I can put on my CV are working for 3 weeks during 1 summer at a company that distributes books and a vacation with friends to South Africa where we happened to build an Aids Centre. I would not say that we do not work at all in the Netherlands. I study a lot, but every time I call friends to have lunch they say yes because they can put aside their work for a few moments to do nothing.

This post is not meant to be negative at all. There are so many good things about the system here. I am amazed by the level of discipline people have here. It is hard to find students that study in the weekend in the Netherlands (unless there is an exam the Monday after). In this country you become someone because you worked for it. But still, I couldn't imagine how my life would look if I grew up in the US. I value my "useless" time so much. Just doing stuff with no reason at all. No justification. I would never want to stop doing that. To me, this is the first BIG difference that I encounter between the US en the Netherlands. It only took me 3 months :P.

Another example is vacation. I consider my parents to workaholics. But when I think about it, they have vacation about 7 weeks a year and they still has free days left. I think this is not much at all but apparently it is here.

I can tell you: of all the differences that I expected to find when I would come here for the first time, I never expected leisure time to be one. So I have one BIG question. This is not to be stupid, mean or trying to change anything, I just really want an answer. I really hope someone can explain this to me.

How can people be happy if they are working all the time?

By
Merel van Helden

Useless

I just realized that I did not yet post my "useless" picture flying trick. So what you do is you go to the website you want to look at. Then you put the following code into the url:

javascript:R=0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI=document.getElementsByTagName("img"); DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; i-DIL; i++){DIS=DI[ i ].style; DIS.position='absolute'; DIS.left=(Math.sin(R*x1+i*x2+x3)*x4+x5)+ "px"; DIS.top=(Math.cos(R*y1+i*y2+y3)*y4+y5)+" px"}R++}setInterval( 'A()',5); void(0);

And then the pictures are flying. To stop it just exit the website. I must say that I would have never thought that this would actually start a discussion.

By
Merel van Helden

Rory Kennedy

Yesterday there was a speech by Rory Kennedy. She makes documentaries about social aspects of life. I found it very interesting, especial when she talked about the film she made about Helen Thomas at the White House. She told us that (I believe) Helen said that journalism (whether online or not) really is the fourth brange of government in the checks and balance system. Since it is the task of journalism to ask the difficult questions about policy. I think that was a very interesting view and I sort of agree with her. But this does pose the question that was asked in class as well: Who should be the journalists? Should there only be journalism from professionals, journalism that is censored by editors? Or should everybody be allowed to be a journalist? The danger with that is however that it might become (as Brandon said) a wikipedia, where anybody could say anything.

By
Merel van Helden

Gaming v Real life

"Uncritical gamers do not win what they desire; they desire what they win. The score is the thing." This is often true. A friend of Merel always plays online games, which are easy and there is no real goal. The games are ususally puzzle like games. However, he plays these games because you can win points and if you have enough points you can "buy" a key chain or a mug with those points. In the end this friend is spending a few hours every day playing, not because he likes the game, but because he wants to "buy" something. Even though a key chain or a mug is not really special. He is desiring what he can win, he is not winning what he desires.

The book also talks about knowing the game. The Sims is an allegorithm. As a player you learn the code of the game, you can win if you understand the system, any value can be discovered through trial and error. You can win if you understand that expensive objects make your sim happy and cheap ojects do not. You can win if you understand that you need 4 points in charisma, 6 points in creativity and have 4 friends. But then it just becomes a routine you go thourgh to get more expenive stuff.

Games take images from other media. So its not the content that is special to games, but it is the form. The more the game starts to look like real life, the more we discover how it is not like real life. In its simplest form we do not expect a representation of real life. But when the game becomes more complex we expect a better representation of real life than it can give us. In addition, the game is everything the gamerspace is not. The game seems utopian and therefore we see how the gamerspace is not.

The game and the gamespace have one very important diference. In the game you can quit, you can go back to a previously saved moment in the game, you can start new. In gamespace we however do not have that option. We cannot control time and therefore we cannot always tie the loose ends. In the Sims, when things go bad the Sim looks at the gamer to ask for help. However, in real life the gamer has no where to turn to when things go wrong.