AGGIELIFE
lue Jay, April 4. 20(K) THE BATTALION Page 3
Camera Shy
BY KELLY PREISER
The Battalion
A dvances in technology are quickly changing
the way we communicate. The introduction of
the WebCam is one of those items that have
changed communication and pose new questions to
people who use the Internet.
WebCams can be bought at retail computer stores or
over the Internet and attached as peripheral devices to a
personal computer. This innovation has lead to a fad for
people with Websites to connect their cameras to specif
ic sites like CollegeClub.com and post their camera
footage on the site. Visitors to the site can also peek into
the donn rooms of others. There are many reasons col
lege students might be interested in participating in this
type of interaction.
“I think college students are interested in WebCams
just to have something to play around with. But on the oth
er hand, some people are exhibitionists; especially in to
day’s society,” said Jeremy Carpenter, a junior industrial
engineering major at Texas A&M.
“I think there are various reasons a person would do
this. Maybe they’re starving for attention, looking to
meet new people, or maybe just for fun and games,”
said Jody Detmer, a junior theater major at the Univer
sity of Massachusetts, who has her own “DormCam”
footage posted on a site.
Eric Swarthout, a junior computer science major at
Pace University, said he thinks meeting new people has
been one of the most interesting tilings he has encountered
since he posted his footage on the Internet.
“I met a lot of really cool people because of it. Of
course, there are strange people out there, but I actually
still talk to several people who first saw my Website over
a year ago.”
“It also encourages you to design and maintain a Web
site, which is a skill in high demand in today’s job mar
ket,” Swarthout said.
When a student is thinking about posting footage of
the dorm, there are a few things that should be considered:
privacy and decency.
“I would recommend putting it on a Website to any
one who doesn’t mind sharing a peek into their life with
strangers,” Swarthout said.
“DormCams are great if you want to ‘oooh’ and
‘aaaah' your friends, but nowadays they are pretty useless
unless you are planning to show a nice view out your win
dow or strip in front of them for cash,” Detmer said. “If
you wanted to put a cam up for other reasons, expect a lot
of jerks.”
Nancy Amato, professor of computer science at A&M,
said there are still other reasons people may post footage
on a Website.
“You have to decide what your purpose is. If your
family lives far away, you can use it to communicate
with them [similar to the old videophones], or parents
might want to talk to their child and see them in their
donn room,” Amato said. “It can also be used for pro
fessional purposes such as for meetings, or even for stu
dents who want to study together and show each other
their work without having to walk across campus at two
in the morning.”
“It’s a cool and fun idea, but you need to consider pri
vacy and security and remember to turn it off when you
don’t want people seeing all this. One needs to ask one
self, Do I really want people to see into my donn room?”
Amato said.
The introduction of WebCams has had positive and
negative repercussions.
“I think it has been positive for people who don’t have
anything better to do, or another way to meet people. But
a negative aspect is that people in general are forgetting
how to communicate person-to-person; this is just con
tributing to that fact,” Carpenter said.
“WebCams have an advantage over phones and video
phones in that only one person has to have one for two
people to communicate. I also think it’s more feasible eco
nomically. It can be beneficial for business and even for
education. Right now I think it is more of a fad to have
WebCams, but eventually it will be a more productive
means for communication,” Amato said.
Detmer said there are advantages to hosting a Website
with footage and offers a word of advice to people who
are considering starting their own.
“The biggest positive aspect of having a DormCam is
meeting new people.... If privacy issues bother you, don’t
bother doing it,” Detmer said.
A computer science professor who wishes to remain
anonymous said there are still other tilings one should con
sider before making a decision.
“One thing to consider is that now you can have a
bad hair day over the phone. You never had to think
about that before.”
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
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