Technology being Discussed

I have chosen to discuss the use of WordPress as a website and place to hold my blog, Life With Others. I am using WordPress to share my voice and the voice of others with a larger audience in mind that will be consuming the media I am sharing.

Sociability of the Technology

  • Ability to consume 
    • → WordPress allows readers to come into contact with written or imaged content and therefore allows the reader to absorb what is being presented to them. They get to take in the media that they are consuming and really get to understand it, or ask questions about it, this indulges the viewer to think about what they are seeing; does it move them? Does it leave them with more questions rather than answers? Do they leave feeling inspired? Etc. 
  • Ability to connect
    • Through the use of WordPress I am also giving the audience the ability to connect with what I am sharing. For instance if I am sharing a story about grief and what that experience is like maybe one of my viewers had recently gone through a loss and they are able to resonate with the experience I am sharing. This allows for connectivity where the user is understanding and relating to the content being shared.
  • Ability to converse/reflect 
    • Maybe what the viewer is seeing through my WordPress site inspires them to start the conversation. Maybe they had reflected on the experiences they were reading about and felt seen and understood and it inspired them to get the conversation rolling. For example they could be asking themselves: why are we allowing this to happen? When reading stories about assault, or racism. They can ask themselves: How do we do better? When reading about depression that knocks us off of our feet. Really they can just be inspired to reflect on their individualized experiences, how it relates to what is being shared in this forum, and then feeling compelled to further the conversation by either reaching out to me as the creator of the project, or maybe even sharing these reading pieces with friends and family allowing them to feel seen too.

Cultural Values of the Technology

  • Individualism/Collectivsim
    • My WordPress site will allow the user to not only see themselves in an individualized lens but also through a collective lens as well. The user will feel seen and understood and they’ll feel represented through their individualized struggles; yet they will also see the collectivity that stems from that struggle. That we are all human beings with unique individualized experiences yet as the collective whole we all struggle and have highs and lows. 
  • Being/Doing
    • Allowing the user to visually see someone who is simply being and who is simply doing and inspiring the user to freely exist and ‘be’ and ‘do’ too.
  • Lifestyle
    • Seeing various lifestyles being portrayed in the different stories shared will allow the user to be educated on different forms of lifestyle and/or even see their specific lifestyle being represented which will then give them a satisfaction to see that representation.

Technology Affording my Actions

  • Ability to connect with a younger audience
    • Through the use of WordPress I would be able to connect with a younger audience around the same age as me as most people my age that are able are computer savvy and know how to access and work a WordPress site so I wouldn’t necessarily struggle with lack of viewers as it is a pretty manageable site. 
  • Quick accessibility/publishing
    • I wouldn’t have to worry about time constraints when it comes to publishing new content on my site and I wouldn’t have to worry about those who are able to get quick and efficient access to my site since it is free of charge. 

 

Technology Constraining my Actions

  • Difficulty connecting with an older audience
    •  Older generations may not be as tech savvy and therefore may not know how to utilize and access the software.
  • Not accessible to people without the mode to get there
    • For example if people do not have access to larger technologies such as a phone or computer or some type of technology giving them the access to the software then they will not be able to view it and to be moved by it. This is limiting to my project as it keeps out a certain group of people. With this in mind that is why I wanted to create a printable copy of my book so there is a physical copy of it for those who can’t rely on digital as well as other consumers can.