Digital Media Production Distribution

Digital Media Distribution

The audience of my digital media artifact changed the day I submitted my final draft. I decided that my design was elementary compared to the information I was trying to convey. That being said, I think I would have had an easier time with the project had I thought about my design and the subsequent audience a little further. Now, however, I am looking to distribute my work into an online space and I have chosen pinterest.com.

As a Web 2.0-centered location, Pinterest is an interactive and engaging website for people of all ages to “pin” things they like. As a space where teachers can pin class lessons, ideas, experiments, etc., I believe it is an appropriate place to distribute and publish my digital media artifact about political image.

Web 2.0, compared to Web 1.0, involves participating and engagement. Web 1.0 was very static; a location where information was displayed, but not interactive. Pinterest provides users with a place to keep what the find online in a central location. If you see something you like, you can “repin” or “like” it. Each pin also is able to lead you to the original source (if done properly).

Danah Boyd in “Streams of Content, Limited Attention,” talks about four core issues in regards to the flow of information online. One of the issues, power, was interesting to think about because the creators and users of Pinterest are not trying to assert power over anyone. Presumably, they are trying to create a space where people could find things they like and keep them in a central location, whether they be gifts, plans for a wedding or party, or recipes.

The structure of Pinterest is very Web 2.0 focused. Tim O’Reilly writes in “What is Web 2.0?” that the main difference between web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is a level of participation, interactivity and community. Before, people were not able to connect in a way that would allow for them to make suggestions for additions to sites. Now, they can do that. Anyone can pin or repin something from someone else. It is the ultimate interactivity in cyberspace between people who want to share their ideas, what they like, etc.

Pinterest does not have advertisers on their site, which begs the question “how do they keep themselves running?” This Web 2.0 internet source does not follow a “commercial imperative” attitude, as Henry Jenkins explains in “Why Participatory Culture is not Web 2.0.” Jenkins also says that many sites, even educational ones, take on a money-driven attitude. Pinterest is different in that it there aren’t any advertisers or advertisements on the site itself. I think the pinning a company’s product is an act of unconscious advertising in itself.

            I think this site is a great place to distribute my digital media because anyone (teachers and educators, included) has access to it, create an account, and go and repin my piece of media. I have since published my work to the site, on one of my boards “My sister the teacher” because my sister is studying to be an elementary teacher. I pinned a voting button first, then put the link to my PDF in the description. The link to the pin, link and the board where they are pinned is http://pinterest.com/pin/17029304812714860/ . Pinterest is a location where many people will see my media production and I believe it to be one of the best places to distribute it. 

Web 2.0

Reading about the evolution of the Internet and things that have changed? Unfortunately, I am uninterested. Reading about the ways the Internet adapts and the way communication methods changed over time because of the adaptation? That's a little better.

Upon looking at each of the readings for class tomorrow, one thing stuck out in my mind: it is important to understand that the web is and always will be changing and it's own evolving entity. The flow of information adapts, but you must adapt to it, the technology changes and the changing times in out society and world.

The flow of information and our use of the Internet for communication and new content is such a large part of our lives we don't notice the impact is has.

The Internet is an enabler.

The Rhetorical Situation and my digital media creation

A presidential election occurs every four years. Americans vote for their candidate based on a variety of things. I think a candidate’s political image can also have an effect on voters; how the candidates present themselves physically and how they speak can sway votes.

An example from this year’s election is the American flag pins the candidates wear. During the debates, although both of them wore the pin, Romney’s was noticeably larger than Obama’s. Is this because Romney has more patriotism? Although political (physical) image may not be the deciding factor of someone’s vote, it surely adds to the long list of things to sift through and think about before a decision is made and a box is checked at the voter’s booth.

Lloyd F. Bitzer, in The Rhetorical Situation, says a rhetorical situation comes to exist “because of something beyond itself; it functions ultimately to produce action or change in the world; it performs some task.” (pg. 3-4, Bitzer) He also says that “Rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action.” (pg. 4, Bitzer) Because of this, I believe the Presidential candidates’ political images are a great example of a rhetorical situation in today’s societal context.

Bitzer goes on to describe exigency, or when a rhetorical situation is capable of positive modification and when positive modification requires discourse or can be assisted by discourse. (pg. 7, Bitzer) In this particular case, the exigency (organizing principle) explains the audience (voters) and the change to be effected (the outcome of the election based on factors, including, as I argue, political image.)

A rhetorical situation arises when the outcome of an action causes a change to occur. With this definition, the action (Presidential Election) causes a rhetorical situation, the outcome of which is a new president of the United States (or in this case, another four years with the incumbent.) My topic fits directly in as one of the seemingly overlooked pieces of information that matter to an election’s outcome.

The purpose of my digital media artifact is to inform my audience about some of the things that go into preserving a political image, such as makeup, dress, voice and body language/gestures, each of which are meticulously chosen with the interest of the candidates’ political image in mind. Demographics such as age, race, gender and other matters of identity all make umbers of my audience. By looking at this diverse group of people (voters), I generated a better understanding of what affects and doesn’t affect them.

I first chose to create an illustrator “poster” featuring each candidate being “dissected.” By this, I meant for the candidates to be diagramed on the page with lines drawn with one end leading to areas of their body, the other end leading to an explanation of each candidate’s image in reference to a particular category.

I used both images and text to make my argument. Although presenting the information in an interesting format (diagram) may be considered cluttered or messy, I think I’ve achieved an organized, easy-to-read digital artifact that addresses my argument. Using my in-class peer review comments, I made modifications so that I was focusing on one candidate. I also made the font size bigger so that it would be easier to read. Although I felt as though my first design was well put together and unique, I took into consideration the critiques of the class and finalized my project.

At the time of submission, I believe I created a visually interesting and easily readable piece of digital media using good design principles. Even though the election is over, the factors of political image I described still matter. This poster or piece of digital media can be used again and again in election years to come.

(I'll try and post a link to my actual final creation soon.)

Comments from Tuesday: Class Peer Reviews

Julia:
Argument: against horoscope/astrology/disproven by science.
Strength: good contrast, very informative/evidence, appealing layout that fits the theme
Development: it is a lot of block text, maybe add some images to break that up?

Meredith:
Argument: photo manipulation is often unnecessary?
Strength: interesting! very relevant to society today
Development: text, talk about the effects and the powerfulness of the program (photoshop)

Olivia:
Argument: you are encouraged to travel, each state has something different to offer
Strength: quality images, color contrasts, cool layout
Development: title, some images have text and some don't (happy medium?)

Kim:
Argument: buy local, homemade and handmade
Strength: nice flow, easily understood headings (don't need to unpack a lot of information)
Development: watch the white space

Courtney:
Argument: that you should participate in National Novel Writing Month
Strength: cool color and layout, good use of white space!
Development: all text, maybe add an image somewhere? (plain novel image, book, pages, etc.)

Devon:
Argument: cost of a meal plan/food at Tech
Strength: tumblr blog will reach the intended audience well
Development: create some subheadings under each post (ie: cost, options, etc.), your images also need some more explanation

Hannah:
Argument:
Strength: color is calming, layout is intriguing
Development: the white on green heading is a bit dizzying

Jane:
Argument: we need to use our technology and skills and put them to good use (or better use than what we are already)
Strength: color contrast, good recognizable images
Development: get the music to work :) and watch the speed of the text, add a few more images?

Jana:
Argument: Halonen Landscaping is the premier lawn and garden care
Strength: clear argument, black white and green contrast well, pop of color is good, adds interest
Development: shadow on the secondary text, name to contact?

A New Direction! (and a sloth to keep my mind off of the encroaching deadline)

Hello!! After struggling in the lab for some 6 hours between yesterday and today, I have decided to take my project in a new direction.

Although my statement of purpose will remain the same, I want to focus more on presenting the information I researched and less on an "interesting" way to display it. Gettin' scientific with either a ven-diagram (which WILL be interesting in its own way) or an image of Obama and Romney with descriptions coming from each aspect of their image (speech/choreography, makeup and finally wardrobe).  In relevance, here is a photo of Romney and Obama I plan to look at through my process.

Is help on the way? Please encourage me as I struggle some more with some programs I am trying to learn! I wish the HDMZ would offer some sort of workshops (with students who know how to use the programs) so that we can just learn at our own pace, rather than on deadline for an assignment.

In other news, I have acquired a vehicle! Having to rely on the BF for rides is no more!! :) In the meantime, here is a picture of a sloth to make you say "Awww."

Presenters: 11/08 Feedback

Sarah:
Major argument: more students should join Vocal Achord, singing group on campus.
Strength: great simple display, very structured and clean. Can't wait to see color!
To work on: although it does have a fun feel, do the letters of Achord need to be titled in the first logo? Maybe you've already explored that and like the tilted look better. :)

Cassandra:

Major argument: Greek Life is a good opportunity to take a leadership role. It's not all about socializing. 

Strengths: nice flow, like the headings and title is great!

Work to do: provide more examples, slow the prezi down so readers can stay on slide and finish reading. :)

James:
Major argument: there are consequences to online piracy (specifically music piracy)

Strength: awesome color contrast! Visuals are also very relevant to your argument.

To work on: fill the white space at the bottom with something (you plan to). Also state your argument more clearly. Citing your sources is also a good idea to add credibility.

Charlie:

Major argument: more college students should join the club for various reasons

Strength: appropriate information grouped together well, displayed in the right order

To work on: do you plan on using some music or something in the background? More visual interest as well (add the photos)

Issues!

I'm not sure yet if I like this assignment or if I don't. From what I've been doing, which is mostly coming up with ideas, its really hard for me to put it into a program that I don't know very well and trying to get the image in my mind onto the page or into the design program. :( I have a lot of ideas, but my project is hard to express on the page. Again, :( .

Maybe I need to rethink this...and focus on something I know more about. Gah!

Revised Statement of Purpose

I would like to make the following revisions to my statement of purpose.

“I would like to create a digital media artifact using information about Presidential election candidates’ wardrobes, specifically the American flag pins, to argue that image and how the present themselves really does matter to undecided voters.”

 
I did a bunch of research into the past Presidential debates, but I am not sure if any of the information I've found is really helpful on that end. In comparison, I did find a lot of information about the flag pins in particular, which is very (I think) is very helpful for my argument.

I am not exactly sure the type of digital media I am going to create yet, but some ideas were a blog or maybe  digital"posters" of some kind. Perhaps I will play on the word "oPINion".

Statement of Purpose

Since the Presidential Election is so close these days, I wanted to do something political for my assignment, but not the traditional "Support so-and-so" pitch.

I noticed during the Presidental Debate on Monday night (as well as in the past debates this year) that the American flag pins the President and Govenor Romney wore were very different in size; Romney's even (supposedly) had the seal of the Secret Service on it.

For this assignment, I want to analyze each candidate's wardrobe for the past three elections' debates (9 total) in order to argue that what they wear really affects how the uncertain voters see them. I am unsure, however, what digital media avenue I would like to pursue. Possibly a blog?

Your image is everything: what you do (or plan to do when elected president) and how you represent yourself go hand in hand.

A Lesson in Argument

Frankly, I found the Lynch and Wysocki reading to be a bit redundent... this information is stuff we've gone over and over and over again; it kind of reminds me of the freshmen composition, unfortunately.

Either way you look at it, thought, the information provided is important. Formal vs. informal argument presentation styles need to be compared to see which one is most appropriate for your project.

Your argument must also be addressing a change in something, such as an action or situation. There is no use arguing in something that cannot be changed.

It is important for an argumentative (is that even a word?) document to contain the following:

1. A specific audience: who are you talking to? why are they interested in your topic/ how does it benefit them?
2. A clearly stated thesis/argument: you should state your purpose and what you hope to find and present to your audience
3. Clear, concrete and credible evidence to support your argument, to further persuade the audience to agree with your argument
4. A larger context: your argument should have some connection to a larger social context, it must be relatable
5. The mode of communucation must be appropriate to the argument itself

A Portage View

The Importance of Copyright

One thing I noticed about the reading for this blog post was that it was written by a high school student...

Anyway, copyright is very important. Without it, proper credit would never be given to the appropriate individuals who created, invented, wrote, composed or in other words produced a piece of work. In order to be protected under copyright laws, the work must be able to be "perceived, produced or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

I had heard about "fair use" before, but I never really understood what is meant. According to the reading, a provision of the copyright Act called Fair Use limits the copyright holder's rights in order to promote free speech and learning."

I had always associated plagiarism with copyright, but never knew that the two terms can be confused with each other. Interestingly enough, copyright law "applies mainly to the economic loss incurred due to an infringement." In comparison, plagiarism is "a crime against ethics." Teachers warn of plagiarism, as does the university, of a misrepresentation of work, or no credit where credit is due.

Also included are a list of limitations for multimedia applications:
1. Time
2. Portion
3. Motion Media
4. Text Material
5. Music, Lyrics and music videos
6. Illustrations and Photographs
7. Data sets
8. Copy and distribution

Ironically enough, although it is an example, the piece of writing properly sites her sources of information.
 I also noted this at the top: "*Permission is granted to freely copy this document in electronic form, or to print for personal use. If you had not seen a notice like this on the document, you would have to assume you did not have permission to copy it. This document is still protected by you-know- what even though it has no copyright notice."

Itsy Bitsy Bitzer

The "Rhetorical" Situation... get it? Stupid.

Lloyd F. Bitzer's The Rhetorical Situation focuses on the reasons he believes the rhetoric of a situation is just as important as the situation itself, I think...

Situations of all kinds surround us and make up every aspect of our lives. Bitzer argues that the situation calls the rhetorical discourse into existence, not the other way around. By this he means to say that without the situation (context, etc) what causes something? How does this happen?
He writes, "A work is rhetorical because it is a response to a situation of a certain kind."
He also writes that the audience of a discourse has the opportunity and power to change reality if they want to because they are "the mediators of change." Reality can be changed by the mediation of thought and action.
Again, I think what he is getting at here is that the rhetoric of a situation is just as important as the situation itself.






Halloween Cupcakes!

While workin on my literacy assignment, my sisters and I made Halloween cupcakes!
Overall great day.

Assignment 2: Literacy, Fluency and Competency (NEEDS HYPERLINKS AND CONCLUSION)

Digital Literacy, Fluency and Competency: Connections in a rural setting

            The Copper Country: rich in history and natural beauty, low in technological access. Students attending colleges like Michigan Tech feel a constant urge to be connected through their smartphone, tablet, laptop or other device. Having grown accustomed to the changes in the technological sphere, they don’t even flinch when something new comes along; they adapt to it with ease because of the knowledge they already have. How does one react when those technologies are hard to access?

            Consider this: you are a student coming from a populated area (say a suburb of Detroit or other large city) attending Michigan Tech. With cell phone and laptop in your backpack, you make the move up to Houghton, only to find that cell coverage is spotty and internet and Wi-Fi access only reach certain parts of the area. Do you feel angry, frustrated or anxious? All of the above? I would like to argue that because of the rural area in which Michigan Tech is situated in, students feel a greater need to be connected.

For this research paper and in order to answer these questions firsthand, I conducted a survey of students on campus. The following questions were asked to four male and four female students from out of the area, ages 19-22, who participated.

1.    How does the access to the internet/cell phone coverage differ here at Michigan Tech/Houghton than from where you are from?

2.    Do you have a smartphone, laptop, tablet or other mobile device that you feel keeps you connected?

3.    When was a time when you felt disconnected from the rest of the world because of a lack of technological access, internet or cell phone service?

4.    How do you feel when you are experiencing “technological difficulties” on campus or at home? What types of things run through your mind?

5.    How would you describe a “Digital Native”?

To start, every student expressed disgust with the internet access and cell phone coverage available. Many responses included the word ‘consistency’ and the fact that this area does not offer many providers for service. Each student stated that they have a smartphone, laptop or other device that keeps them connected and when that device isn’t working, they feel “frustrated… upset and angry…distraught… annoyed…” and even like he “wants to throw [his] computer out the window.” 

I think that if I would have asked the entire student population on campus these questions, the feelings expressed would have been similar if not the same. This generation, many of which were born after 1988, are “Digital Natives”. In Born Digital by Palfrey and Gasser, a digital native is described as someone whose “Major aspects of their lives—social interactions, friendships, civic activities—are mediated by digital technologies.” They just don’t know anything else. 

To contrast with the students responses, I also looked at some of my personal observances in my daily life regarding an older generation or those people who wouldn’t be associated with the term “digital native”. My mom, for example, does not have a cell phone and just recently acquired internet access and a computer. My grandparents do not have a computer or cell phones. Those of older generations do not feel as strong of an urge to be constantly connected because they were not born into the age of technology or they may not be comfortable with using the technologies, as Kate Williams explains in Literacy and Computer Literacy. Students, or the digital natives, however, are able to adapt to the fast-paced and ever changing world of technology they live in. Again, these students don’t know anything else from a technological world in which they’ve grown up in.

The final aspect of this I would like to look at is how technologies become such a large part of our lives that we form a bond with them as though they are a part of us.  Digital Natives in today’s world seem to always carry their cell phones or other devices with them, tapping away at the touch screens or keys. Through this technology is they interact with their friends and sometimes their family, conduct homework and reach a majority of their entertainment such as Facebook and Netflix.

Because a vast majority of our time is spent in online spaces, we become one with them, expressing ourselves in that space and showing the world who we are (or are not, for that matter). Access to those technologies and the necessary components to run them are scarce in the Houghton area… causing students much frustration, as stated in the survey. An online identity is created and must be obtained.

Works Cited

1.    "Coverage Map in Houghton, MI." Cell Reception. Web. 08 Oct 2012. <http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/mi/houghton/page1.html>.

2.    Horrigan, John. "Home Broadband Adoption 2009." Pew Internet. Pew Internet Web. 10 Oct 2012. <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/10-Home-Broadband-Adoption-2009/1-Summary-of-findings.asp&xgt;

3.    Palfey, John, and Urs Gasser. Born Digital. 1st ed. Basic Books, 2010. 1-14. Print.

4.    Waara, Katelyn. Personal survey of students

5.    Williams, Kate. Literacy and computer literacy ‘Analyzing the NRC’s ‘Being Fluent with Information Technology’. Journal of Literacy and Technology, volume 3, number 1, Spring 2003.

 

Literacy vs. fluency vs. compentency

I found a few things interesting in the reading we did about Kate Williams' study on computer literacy, one of which I would like to look at closer. Let me know if anyone else had this idea or came to this conclusion.

Firstly, I agree that our world has evolved technologically to the point that we are or should be considered to be a network society. If not, someone's living under a rock. Technology touches almost every aspect of our lives. It is unavoidable in many ways. We are very much connected through the technologies that surround us.

People say that computers are supposed to make life easier. In order for that to happen, however, your life needs to get harder; you need to work to become fluent and gain the knowledge you need to use the technology.

I thought the majority of the eleven theses made a lot of sense. I tried to pull examples for each of them in order to fully understand how they would come to that decision, but that became challenging.

Something that really stuck out to me was the word "policy" when they were talking about the crisis in literacy theory that can be resolved. When I think of a policy, I think of laws and that it must be followed by everyone it immediately effects.

It clearly states that more research needs to be done in terms of what people are doing now. The history of this, like anything, will always changing.

And for the record, MNF at Applebees's is dead slow tonight, but my boneless wings were delish! Thanks April!

Career Fair Day

Thought I needed to share this with everyone... "Everyone serves a porpoise"

Palfrey and Gasser and Blackmon

While chugging my Arizona sweet tea and leafing through my study abroad information books, I decided to take a break and read /post long-winded for class.

What a little smartass. 

I am a digital native. I grew up directly connected to technology. I remember getting a computer and internet and my dad's first cell phone (which  I remember setting up my first email address with Hotmail. I remember having a hard time figuring out what my email address should be. I remember my dad getting a new computer (that came with a demo of the original Sims) and my sister and I wanting to "paint," play solitaire and build houses on Sims on rainy afternoons.

Now, as a student, I use technology during the majority of my day... whether its in class, on campus, or at home. The technologies that I use are part of my childhood and my present day as well as my future, inevitably.

The Palfrey and Gasser reading, where I was introduced to the term "digital native" was powerful. It made me think about the many ways that the current technologies we have really do take over our lives, quickly becoming a way that people define us as people.

With that thought, I realized that we as a society place labels on people depending on the technology they utilize. An example, "He's an iPhone user, she has a Samsung." This classification can also be related to income and financial stability in the world. Citizens of other countries around the world probably cannot afford some of the technologies we have in the US, let alone have the electricity and networks to operate them properly and effectively.

Samantha Blackmon's (Cyber)Conspiracy Theories? African-American Students in the Computerized Writing Environment was also very interesting to me. I never thought I would be one to become interested in gender and racial studies, but this reading was very interesting to me for many reasons.

For the many students who Blackmon spoke with for her article, they all shared one common observance: minority students are both underrepresented and/or misrepresented online. Not all African-Americans are rappers or great at sports. Not all of them even like sports.

As far as internet usage, access and knowledge go, minority groups have less of each of them for a variety of reasons. If you do not have access to the internet, you cannot use it, thus you cannot gain knowledge of its many facets.  Its unfortunate. If, in an education setting, a student fails something because they do not know how to use the program, Blackmon points out that it is usually blamed on the student, when in reality we should all be looking at the cultural and social conventions that put up those road blocks for a minority student to try and hurdle over.

On a final note,  I liked Elspeth Stuckey's definition of literacy:

"Literacy, like communication, is a matter of access, a matter of opportunity, a matter of economic security - a total matter."

Thanks, Elspeth. I agree. Cool name, btw.

 

Banana afternoon

I just wanted to share what I did this afternoon with everyone... My apartment smells amazing!

Online adoption: Internet usage stats

The title of this reading was funny... Online adoption?

Anyway, the Pew Internet reading offered some interesting statistics from recent years about the internet and its usage in homes across America.

Some of the categories include age group, education, income and other demographics.

What I found most interesting was that "A majority of home broadband users see a home high-speed connections as "very important" to at least one dimension of their lives and community..."

Something else they included in the study was reasons why 21% of adults do not have internet access in their homes... the highest percentage of which said they are just not interested in getting online.

My generation grew up with all of this... whereas the Baby Boomers did not... it is foreign to them. In other words, "I survived without the internet this far into my life... why do I need to use it now?" Or, as my Grandpa would say,"I'll look that up in my computer upstairs," in reference to his Encyclopedia collection.

Assignment 1 Draft: ASPCA ad

ASPCA ad featuring Sarah McLachlan and “Angel”

Animal cruelty is wrong. As an avid animal lover, it is hard to understand what could go through someone's mind when they have decided to harm their pets or other animals. With the many hours that we spend watching television each week, it is hard to meet someone who has not seen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' video featuring Sarah McLachlan and her song "Angel". Because this video gets me every time, I have decided to analyze it as my digital media artifact for this assignment.

The ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was the first humane society to be established in North America. Formed in 1866 by Henry Bergh and headquartered in New York City, the ASPCA is one of the largest humane societies in the world today. According to their website, the nonprofit organization was also the first humane organization to be granted legal authority to investigate, arrest and prosecute those who commit crimes against animals.

In 2006, the ASPCA released one of their most haunting and depressing fundraising ads featuring singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan and her song “Angel.” Although McLachlan only appears for a short amount of time in the video to make the plea for donations in support of the animals that follow, the moving shots of starving cats and injured dogs really hit your heart. As a longtime supporter of the ASPCA, McLachlan’s ad has raised a lot of money for the organization; close to $30 million since it began to air. They were even able to purchase primetime slots on widely watched channels to try and gain even more supporters.  

Because this ad gets me whenever I see it (and because I sometimes even have to change the channel so that I don’t start bawling) I decided to use it as my digital media artifact. I would argue that this ad is a digital media artifact for the following reasons: 1) it is broadcast on national television and uses a “public figure” to persuade you to donate money, and 2) the ad uses visuals of animals to show people that this is a real problem and that people actually treat their pets and animals in this way.

Gitelman: History of the digital media artifact. This ad still airs in its original form from when it first appeared on television in 2006. There have other ads made with McLachlan, using other songs including “Silent Night” in 2008 and “Whisper” (January) 2009. I would argue that a history is being created or already has been created because of the memorability of the ads and the hundreds of times that they have aired on television.

Baudrillard:  Animal cruelty a simulation? These images are successful because they are “reflection of basic reality,” although some hope these horrors aren’t true.

McLuhan: “All media works us over completely.” McLuhan thought that all print and digital media were/are things that affect our society and affect our lives over a long period of time. This video ad would fall into this category because of its quick message to donate, but also because of the images that accompany the words. They are something that isn’t easily erased from memory.

Sources:

1.    aspca.org

2.    Youtube.com (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_JqNdp2As)

3.    New York Times (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_JqNdp2As)

4.    Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_McLachlan)

5.    McLuhan

6.    Gitelman

7.    Baudrillard

Digital Media Artifact: ASPCA

Sorry to do this to everyone, but I thought I would share my digital media artifact with you a little early.

This ALWAYS gets me. I literally have to change the channel. :'(

WTF McLuhan

WTF McLuhan.
I found this reading easier that Baudrillard (surprise there), although some concepts took a bit more thought than others.

When he talked about electric circuitry, I literally thought of wires and plugs in the walls. What he meant though was the electric circuitry of the human body and brain and the different ways that we as a society react to situations.

The images he chose throughout the book not only added visual interest but also added another level to think about. Personally, I read the text and then looked at the images and tried to decipher how the image related to what he was talking about on that particular page. Some made more sense than others. For example, I liked he drawing on page 69 of the something century men each looking at the same "diagram", we'll say, from different angles or perspectives, just as people will look at the same piece of media from different angles and perceptions.

McLuhan touches on print and digital media as things that have affected our society and lives over a long period of time and continue to affect our lives. In short, he wanted to get the message across that "All media works us over completely". Our perceptions, decisions and movements change because of what media portrays to us and how we come to understand its many meanings.

Also, check out the link to his website above. Its pretty interesting. The "McLuhanisms" are fun.

Baudrillard Reading

"The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true." -Baudrillard

Much of this reading was confusing as hell, to be honest. 

I do think I understand bits and pieces of it, but I may be wrong. 

When he is talking about dissimulation, he meant faking or copying something you have... with simulate, he meant faking or copying something you wish you had, something you want. Simulation "threatens the difference between "true" and "false" and "real" and "imaginary". 

Baudrillard also looked at the simulators can do... in the military and then on to the idea that a God or other divinity loses authority because its image is produced over and over again to the masses. Is the image/visible "God" as effective as the one you cannot see, but still believe in?

I really liked the section on "Murders of the real" and the "murderous capacity of images". Images can become replacements of the real thing which exists in reality, not on the internet. "To this murderous capacity is opposed the dialectical capacity of representations as a visible and intelligible mediation of the Real. All of Wester Faith and good faith was engaged in this wager on representation : that a sign could refer to the depth of meaning, that a sign could exchange for meaning and that something could guarantee this exchange..."

Baudrillard also touches on the successful phases of the image:

1. it is a reflection of basic reality

2. it masks and perverts a basic reality

3. it masks the absence of basic reality

4. it bears no relation to any reality whatever: it is pure simulacrum

Agree.... some images, like photos for example, are reflections of reality...

Others mask and pervert it. 

Some altered images, such as those manipulated with Photoshop (maybe) show the absence of reality because they have been changed.

And finally, some are totally created in order to be different than the reality we live in...

 

THE DISNEYLAND EXAMPLE

Baudrillard talks about Disneyland because it is a different kind of reality... you enter willingly, have a great time while inside (spending money, mostly) and then are essentially dumped at the door when the park closes to wander back to your car and get back on the freeway. Disneyland is not an imaginary place, it exists, and adults, for example, go there to live out their childishness (or the illusions of their childishness).
Los Angeles is nothing more than a "town of fabulous proportions, but without space and dimensions." It is expansive, although its limits can be seen on road signs. The ideas about Los Angeles and Disneyland, for example, far surpass the amount of space the actual places hold.

Guess what I just got...

Server Error

404 - File or directory not found.

The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Look what I just got... a 404 error! Thought I would share it's beauty with everyone.

Scoobs

Tonight some friends and I went out to Applebee's (exciting, I know) and participated in Wednesday Night Trivia. It was super fun!! You create a team name and then answer 3 rounds of 20 questions. Our name... Trivia Virgins... it was out first time there for Trivia together. Seemed fitting.

We may make it a weekly thing. Not like there's much else to do on a Wednesday night in Houghton, right? Tonight there were a lot of questions asked about Scooby Doo, which was awesome! Because I like him and he should have been a part of every child's life since 1969 in some capacity... here's a little bit of Scooby for you to take in. :)

Gitelman Reading Response

Sitting here, eating my frozen blueberries blended with orange juice, I decided to get some of my work done "early". This reading and post isn't technically due until Thursday before class, but I'm going to get it done Tuesday night since I have a boatload of other things to do this week. Plus, I want to have time later to Skype with my beloved sister who I miss dearly. Not that she'll ever read this...

So, the Gitelman reading was hard for me to follow at first. I had to go back and reread the beginning to really understand why she was complaining about... something with the Internet and the  "least recently modified web page". Detailing how she believes the "least recently modified" page really HAS changed, such as its location, name/title, context and appearance, she proves her point very well. Gitelman writes that "The least recently modified web page is offered to readers as a historical document within a context that complicates the very grounds of its historicity," meaning since the "least recently modified web page" really IS modified in its name, location, contextual changes, etc, its historical value is invalid. (?)

Gitelman uses some interesting analogies to describe the internet and its many kinds of contents as evidence, such  as art student looking at slides of paintings, knowing they are know the real thing, but also assuming and agreeing with the "computer source" (EVIDENCE) that they actually exist in real, physical form somewhere.

Gitelman also asks some interesting, rhetorical questions which she does her best to answer later on: "How are media the subjects of history when doing history depends on so many tacit conditions of mediation? How might present attempts to historicize the Web be complicated by the users and characteristics of the Web itself?"

I particularly like the second set of questions. It made me think about trying to create a history of the internet and the ways that it could get so very complicated because of the ways it is always evolving and the ways that people use it on a daily basis. How do you chart the history of something when the history is always changing? With the number of records being kept online always growing, how can we ensure that they don't get lost in the translation or moved and forgotten about? What's to say they just happen to disappear all together?

Search engines help to find the information, but where did it first originate on the Web?

Response to Manovich Reading

In the Manovich reading, a lot of information is given about the history of digital media. He talks about and decribes different types of media and their individual histories. He also talks about the change to "new media" and the principles that make up the concept. After a lengthy explanation, he talks about what new media is not. He lists some of the differences between new and old media and criticizes them.
Personally, I found this reading kind of boring. ;( Plus, I am still battling this sinus thing and my head is clogged full of other stuff besides ideas. Bear with me.
Because there was so much information included in the one reading, it was, however, a litte bit hard to follow the flow of information for me. Manovich did have headings to helo guide the reader through his concepts, though, which was helpful.

Response to Vannevar Bush's "As We May Think"

Interesting.

I gather from the comments others had posted at the bottom of the reading online as well as context of his writing that Bush wrote this piece following WWII. (God, I hope that's a correct assumption...) His ideas for the spreading of information at that time really are revolutionary, "futuristic" even.

Scientists doing research at the time of the war, Bush says, are becoming more and more overwhelmed by the amount of discoveries and ideas they are finding. They are in need of a better way to keep that information compiled and together for future reference and use. Bush writes, "The difficulty seems to be, not so much that we publish unduly in view of the extent and variety of present day interests, but rather that publication has been extended far beyond our present ability to make real use of the record. ...the means we use for threading through the consequent maze of the momentarily important item is the same as was used in the days if square-rigged ships." (SULLIVAN'S references to SHIP LOGS here PEOPLE!!)

Bush goes on to talk about photography as a ay of gathering information and the many ways that information can be stored (film, wax disks, magnetic wires...) What most grabbed me was this statement: "There are plenty of mechanical aids with which to effect a transformation of scientific records." He's talking about the internet/computers or some other kind of device to help sort through things and to make it easier!

My favorite part of the entire reading, however, was this one: "The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability; and something is bound to come of it. A record if it is to be useful to science, must be continuously extended, it must be stored, and above all it must be consulted." MEANING, Bush knew these kinds of technologies would advance and extend, making storing and collecting data and information easier. He know, somehow, that, for example, photography would advance far enough in order to view the photograph immediately following the click of the button.

Interesting.


In other news, I either have killer allergies or a nasty sinus infection raging inside my head... Either way, this sucks.