The matters of inter-subjectivity, the idea that people receive messages, interpret them in their own way and change it as they send it along, and of inter-textuality, the idea that no message is complete as for each particular person it gains different meaning, depending on all the other messages they have received and sent, have recently caught my attention. The message they receive is determined by their own personal experiences. I believe that this misinterpretation and confidence that what others understand by something is the same or similar to what you understand, has always played a part in the outcome of society and human history.

This topic is fast becoming an important one. As New Communication Technologies become more interactive, the problem of misinterpretation is getting worse. As I study NCT further in the following weeks, I hope I can gain an understanding of the effect that the technology, which has progressed so far in such a short period of time, is having on our world.

2008 was a year that, looking from the outside, didn’t bring much. Although I began the year by moving away from my family to Brisbane and started my first full time job as a receptionist at a firearms distributer, I really had no idea what I wanted to do, and soon left my job to settle into a life of ‘leisure’. My friends were Ellen Degeneres, the Sex and the City girls and a number of characters from 90’s teen drama/comedy/angst shows, including Freaks and Geeks. I continued this for a little over a year, until I came to the conclusion that although I don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life, I am still interested in having at least a basic knowledge of our universe, society, it’s history and people, and the things that assist in changing and developing it.

Despite not having a clear goal, I began my higher education at Griffith University, believing that having a general knowledge of the world around me would help me in the decisions I make and the way I perceive things, as well as opening other opportunities that might appeal to me at a later date. I decided to use university not primarily to aid a career, but hopefully as a way of helping me to understand people and things in a more comprehensible, less confused way. So far my Arts degree has exposed me to some history and literature, as well as a more in depth look at writing. This semester, I began another history subject, a news and politics subject, and a third subject that looks at the unbelievably rapid advancement of New Communication Technologies, and the effect that it is having on society. As part of my research, it is required that I write my own blog that covers what is learned each week as well as my own response to it and any other thoughts I might have.