FLOG #7

This week has been high stress for me as most of my classes have decided to assign larger projects for this week. I also struggled immensely with trying to figure out what to do for my third hack because I found it difficult to think outside of the box and use a software for a different purpose than what it is initially intended for. I think this is because many softwares are created for certain purposes, and since there are so many softwares that could be used in a better manner than the ones I was thinking of, it made it increasingly difficult to remove myself from the mindset of a consumer and instead focus on the A/B list used to design and critique work. I also had to re-read some of the readings from previous weeks in order to add to my artist statement because I had slightly skimmed some of them and forgot what I had read because I hadn’t annotated. This set me back in accomplishing my artist statement because I wanted to make sure I was incorporating the readings more as per my feedback from my last artist statement. I also struggled to do the readings for Thursday because of everything on my plate this week, but I got it out of the way as a means of procrastination from other bigger projects.

Reflection on Readings

Looking into the readings for Thursday, it aroused this idea of apps and software having more functions than we typically see or use on a daily basis. With the creation of newer phones or desktops, how differently is an older version compared to a newer version. Sure there may be more storage space or faster run times, but there are probably similar functions on both phones that we just don’t tend to notice because many of us are caught up in the glamour. It’s interesting, I also thought about this when it came to Hack #3 because of the fact that we tend to use apps for limited purposes than their capabilities. Once we are set into a routine, we don’t really venture out of it. How many of us can say that we have used every single app that comes downloaded onto a brand new Iphone, I know I can’t. There is also these questions posed in the readings, asking us to think closely about the technology we use/create. I think this sits besides the idea of not using software to their fullest potential, we also don’t tend to think of how technology affects us and the world around us. For example. Uber has made it more convenient for people to make money with a flexible schedule and the comfort of their own car while allowing consumers to call a ride at the click of a button, but this has killed the taxi industry and also caused difficulties for older people who are not as tech savvy or people who cannot afford the prices. There are positives and negatives to all pieces of software, but we just don’t tend to look at them, which is what the reading is trying to direct us towards. I also thought about how tech developers don’t ask themselves these questions either. Is it not their responsibility to think about what they create and how it will affect society, or whose job is it?