HCI?! Here we are again! Decoding another section of Eyman’s infamous work.
In last week’s class in groups, we were told to discuss some quotes (as we frequently do). Me, who usually enjoys these tasks, has been thinking about one in particular.
“Google teaches us that “ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed” (Carr, p. 23).
Why? Well, because my initial thoughts pointed the finger at the interface. Or, for the sake of being literal, turning the blame solely on Google. The truth is, the blame is on the rapid-rate consumption contract our society didn’t hesitate to sign. We’ve swirled the use of computers in every corner. There is no opting out.
These are themes I’ve held onto for the entire semester. And it might be tiresome for you to hear them once more, but, in my opinion, they are critical points for the case. Therefore, I believe it has something to do with the modernized meaning and perception of HIC (human-computer interaction). Dix, Finlay, Abowd, and Beale (1993) definition of HCI is my personal favorite (I love a painless explanation)…
“is, put simply, the study of people, computer technology, and the ways these influence each other” (xiii).
Modern-day internet users know how easy it is to get lost on various platforms or websites. Hyperlink after hyperlink, we press. We sign up for newsletter emails in exchange for “Welcome!” discount codes. Or we hit follow, like, and share and facilitate all-consuming parasocial relationships. Unknowingly taking ourselves exactly where the maker wants us!
HCI- Humans Interaction
A rhetor has mastered his craft if we’ve acted without thinking. Being objected to all kinds of web schemes, I am certain we might agree on the following statement: Because of digital rhetoric, we are adequate critics of digital technologies.
We know something has failed if we don’t want to continue using it. An example is Vine. This platform couldn’t catch up with the times. It couldn’t persuade its users to spend long periods of their time invested in their app’s contents. Therefore, failing as a digital rhetor.
Hence, even if we aren’t aware of it, we are critics. The world moved on, Vine fading into inexistence.
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