Rise of Plagiosphere & Ecstasy of Influence

Every time I type a paper for school, I constantly have the thought running in my mind, “What if this was already said?”. I would never intentionally plagiarize in my school work or in any other type of writing, first of all because the consequences are harmful and second because I have no need to. I am able to read something and summarize my own thoughts about the work, but what if how I summarize something or the ideas I acquire from a certain work I have read, is the same way someone else already has? In this never ending world called the Web, people are constantly posting their thoughts and ideas, and we are bound to run into someone who feels the same way we do. The article called “The Rise of Plagiosphere”, mentions the Turnitin program that many professors have begun using. Yes, this is a good idea if a student is stupid enough to copy an entire text and say it was his own words, but when it comes to small phrases, I hope they don’t think I am plagiarizing because ultimately I am probably going to have the same thing to say as someone else once did. It’s almost impossible not to plagiarize some one’s words, because someone somewhere has probably already thought or said what you already have. The article titled, “Ecstasy of Influence”, depicts how some newer pieces of work, such as movies, cartoons, and books, have been influenced by older works. I see no problem with this. The world would never grow and improve without people sharing their ideas and learning from others to be inspired to contribute their own thoughts. Our ideas must start somewhere, and somewhere is most likely form someone else’s thoughts. This article also talks about the commons, which is something that everyone can share. I see our blogs and any one else’s blogs like the commons. We are free to express our own ideas and thoughts and learn from others without being worried about how we say something and if it has already been said. I think we must have caution when writing on the Web, we must realize what we say will be seen by others and might even be used by others. But isn’t that the whole reason we write? Don’t we want people to hear us and take something out of it? No, I don’t want someone to take credit for an entire essay I wrote, but if they see something they like and can expand on it, that’s the reason I wrote it in the first place.

ENGL 303 First Post

I would consider myself to be "digital native" because this media greatly influenced my life while I was growing up. I use everything from computers, to cellphones, to ipods, in my everyday life. This type of technology started to become increasingly popular while I was in middle school, therefore I've grown up using As for others in my family, they do not rely on it as much as I do. Both my parents do not really understand how to use computers and they can't see the reason behind me texting all the time. I would say they are far from being a "digital native".

My earliest memories of using the web was chatting in the chatrooms and using AIM to talk to my friends from school. I would spent endless hours instant messaging people. That was what I used the web most for when I was in middle school.

I use the web for all sorts of reasons now. The main reason would be to find information quickly and easily. Within seconds I can find answers to questions I have. I am also bascially forced to use the web through school, since essentially everything from professors or other important school information is sent to me via my MIX account, which is required to have as a student here at WVU. I also use the web to keep in touch with friends, such as through Facebook. It's such a great and easy way to keep in touch with 100's of "friends" at once.

There are a variety of sites I visit, but the ones I probably visit on a daily basis would be my MIX account and Facebook. These are sites that are constantly updated so I am constatnly checking for any new information I might need to know. Besides using the web to keep in touch with important information, I also text message a whole lot. I think i text my friends more than I call them now, because it is a lot easier and quicker in a sense.

In conclusion, I am defintely use digial technoloy all the time.