In life, as is with the Internet, often the most simple, yet significant things are overlooked. Our generation has grown up in a judgmental society; we are never willing to fully take into consideration the words of another, whether it be a friend or a company, because for us, seeing is believing. This is especially true in the online world.
Where would the World Wide Web be today without photos? It would be lifeless. The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) formed in 1986. The group issued a standard for photographic files in 1992, and it was approved in 1994 (Wikipedia, 1998).
The JPEG standard intertwines both a codec and a file format to produce images. A codec is "a device or program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec may be a combination of any of the following: 'compressor-decompressor', 'coder-decoder', or 'compression/decompression algorithm'"(Wikipedia, 2008).
JPEG compresses images into a stream of bytes and decompresses them back into an image, and then specifies the file format used to contain that stream (Wikipedia, 2008).
The most commonly used form of this process on the web is called lossy compression. As the name implies, a small portion of the data being compressed is lost, reducing some of the quality of the image. However, this loss of data is far from drastic, and it has proven to be the most popular and efficient way to transfer photos to the web.
Now that the basics of the technical and historical aspects of JPEGs have been discussed, I need you to truly think for a moment. I can say with confidence that if the web did not have photos, all of our lives would be drastically different. Photos on the web control both how we spend our time and how we present ourselves, whether we realize it or not.
Nothing has changed since we were children. Picture books have always been more fascinating than text, and likewise, images provided on the web serve the public more than any amount of words could possibly manage. The only difference: instead of flipping a page, we are now clicking a mouse. JPEG images are fast, simple, and truly define the web.
How much time would an average college student spend on Facebook if the only information they could retrieve were by means of text? That's right, no pictures means: no stalking, no casually 'browsing' for attractive others, and no visual evidence to see who was doing what last weekend. Excuse my informality in my writing, but wouldn't you say that kind of sucks the fun out of Facebook? As much as our generation would love to deny it, we are an insecure, and judgmental group of people. Photos on Facebook serve as a convenient personal resume without words. We not only present ourselves, but we compare friends to friends, and decide who are potential friends will be. As discussed in class, the web is alive. Sure, you can de-tag yourself in a picture if you feel it does not represent you well, but that picture is still consuming space on the web; it is not a physical medium that can be ripped up and thrown away. In a way, it is kind of scary, but extremely engaging and addicting at the same time.
Now, in a a business and marketing perspective, imagine Ebay or any online store for that matter, without photos. Online shopping would be almost nonexistent if it were not for the instant photo representation of products. Purchasing something online would be like walking into a store blindfolded and actually listening and believing everything that comes out of the sales person's mouth. Humans need at least some amount of visual aid to make decisions in life, especially when it comes to what they are spending their money on.
Lastly, the introduction of JPEG images to the World Wide Web has not only put images of friends and commercial products at our finger tips, but has also succeeded in bringing the world of pornography to the homes of whoever needs an instant 'sexual upper'.. if you will. Let's be honest, sex was everywhere before the World Wide Web was ever created, yet the web has provided a way for anyone to just browse or even view on a regular basis pornographic images. Quickly uploaded JPEG files have visually stimulated millions over the years. The fact that these images are so easily accessible and provide decent quality, viewers can look at images at their own leisure, and without the embarrassment of one may feel when buying a pornographic magazine from a store.
In essence, images on the web both consume and save our time, influence how we spend our money, and provide all kinds of stimulation and information without text. The JPEG standard may seem like a simple invention/technology, but it is this medium that truly brings the World Wide Web to life.
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5 comments:
You're right that photos really make the internet. I can't imagine what facebook would be like without photos either. The funny thing is that several years ago when my sister started facebook she said that the only pictures on it were profile pictures...wow has a lot changed!
After I read this, I surfed around to other webpages, taking note of the pictures that were involved with each one. It is astounding how many there are, and I have always taken them for granted as just space filler. The concept of webpages would be so boring without jpegs there to spruce them up a bit.
I also agree, without pictures to go along with readings and so on, the webpage would look boring and simple. This was a very good observation GRIZ
It's interesting to think what the internet would be like without pictures, facebook, sports websites, and even news sources such as cnn need to get through to the reader by means of pictures. Text cannot express what a picture can, all while keeping someone hooked.
seeing is believing but in regards to the internet... can we believe what we see? pictures or jpegs provide webpages with life. it is deff interesting to think what these sites would be like if there were no images. esp social networking sites like facebook & myspace... without these images would they even be as popular?
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