Get A Life!

Okay to start of my blog this week, I would like to say that this is probably the most interesting stuff we have talked about yet. And I think that is mostly because a lot of us can relate to it. We are all fans of something, be it a sports team, television show, or recording artist. As I was reading this story, I was thinking about how I also tend to stereotype Star Trek nerds and other fanatics in unfair ways. I came across one section that really made me think and that I totally agreed with. Here is what it said. “Taste becomes one of the important means by which social distinctions and class identities are forged. Those who “naturally” possess appropriate tastes “deserve” a privileged position within the institutional hierarchy and reap the greatest benefits from the educational system, while the tastes of others are seen as “uncouth” and underdeveloped”(Jenkins 61). I agree that society looks well upon people with “good” taste and poorly upon people with “bad” taste. But how do we distinguish between the two. Does something have good taste if it is funny? If the acting is good? Bad taste if we enjoy the corny plot line that leaves more to be desired? I agree with this statement in the fact that taste really does divide us socially. I started to wonder what class I am in.

Like I mentioned before, everyone is a fan of something. Some are to the point where they are almost obsessed. Whether it be Grey’s Anatomy, Star Trek, or Harry Potter television shows prove to be a major source of crazed fandom. My personal weakness is The Office. I think the show is hilarious but it definitely has some sexual content. Some have told me that I have bad taste for watching a show that is not so “family friendly”. So because it’s not PG and has some vulgar language and suggestive comments, does that mean I have bad taste? I don’t think so. I think that the show is perfectly fine however I don’t want my 10 year old cousin watching it. It shows that society really casts stereotypes to what is good/bad or appropriate/inappropriate. I don’t think that Jenkins is blaming society here. I think that he is just stating a fact. And I don’t think he is out to judge us on our “taste”. However, I do think that society does. And that is why it was very unfair of me to laugh at the “Trekkies” because I am the same way only with a more “accepted” show. Maybe it is because the characters are dressed in regular clothes or set in modern day. Either way, you don’t hear people making fun of The Office fans (Except for the occasional person who gets sick of me quoting lines!) If people think Star Trek is bad taste then they should think a million other shows out there have bad taste. This article really opened my eyes to the fact that there are crazy fans out there everywhere and that I’m even one! Maybe in the future, I will give Trekkies more of a chance and won’t be so quick to judge on their taste.

Sorry...this is the real Flickr post (forgot the URL on the other one)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23693505@N03/sets/72157603903998965/

I really enjoyed the Flickr assignment that we did this week! I thought it was a cool way to get to know other people in the class as well as have some fun and tell a story. The preparation my team did wasn’t hard. We just thought of a topic that we wanted to tell a story on and then thought of each shot we wanted to take. We laid it out frame by frame and then decided what the specific props would be that we were going to use. Additionally, one member of my group opened an account on Flickr so we could easily share our slideshow with the world.

Once we loaded our photos onto the computer, Flickr was very easy to use. There were clearly labeled tabs of the things that we needed and the instructions we’re difficult to follow. In no time we had a picture set and had arranged our pictures into the right order for our slideshow.

I think Flickr is a very effective tool in creating user generated content and sharing it with others. Flickr allows people to take their own pictures and put them on this website where they can get critiques or praise and other people can help them become better photographers. I know that when I read the article “Flickr Changes Lives, Launching Photo Careers” it made me want to become a photographer. I have always appreciated photo but I never was able to take a photo class in high school because my parents didn’t want to buy the expensive camera that was required. With Flickr, I can just take my digital camera and take photos that don’t require fancy lenses and get people’s opinions on them. I usually just take pictures for memories or to show other people but perhaps using Flickr will cause me to be more creative and artistic with my photos.

I most definitely think that Flickr can be used for photojournalism. There are a lot of people in the world with very strong opinions and this is a very safe, subtle way to make a statement. Some people make protests through marches and rallies. Others do it through photos. Personally, I think that looking at an image is such a powerful thing and it might help sway me towards one position or the other. I just really like how Flickr gives people a voice and let them express themselves creatively. I think at times, society tries to oppress our creative self if it isn’t in line with what the government wants or with what higher authorities want. Flickr allows normal, regular people to be their own stars and the stars of the online photo community and finally gives them a voice.

Flickr

I really enjoyed the Flickr assignment that we did this week! I thought it was a cool way to get to know other people in the class as well as have some fun and tell a story. The preparation my team did wasn’t hard. We just thought of a topic that we wanted to tell a story on and then thought of each shot we wanted to take. We laid it out frame by frame and then decided what the specific props would be that we were going to use. Additionally, one member of my group opened an account on Flickr so we could easily share our slideshow with the world.

Once we loaded our photos onto the computer, Flickr was very easy to use. There were clearly labeled tabs of the things that we needed and the instructions we’re difficult to follow. In no time we had a picture set and had arranged our pictures into the right order for our slideshow.

I think Flickr is a very effective tool in creating user generated content and sharing it with others. Flickr allows people to take their own pictures and put them on this website where they can get critiques or praise and other people can help them become better photographers. I know that when I read the article “Flickr Changes Lives, Launching Photo Careers” it made me want to become a photographer. I have always appreciated photo but I never was able to take a photo class in high school because my parents didn’t want to buy the expensive camera that was required. With Flickr, I can just take my digital camera and take photos that don’t require fancy lenses and get people’s opinions on them. I usually just take pictures for memories or to show other people but perhaps using Flickr will cause me to be more creative and artistic with my photos.

I most definitely think that Flickr can be used for photojournalism. There are a lot of people in the world with very strong opinions and this is a very safe, subtle way to make a statement. Some people make protests through marches and rallies. Others do it through photos. Personally, I think that looking at an image is such a powerful thing and it might help sway me towards one position or the other. I just really like how Flickr gives people a voice and let them express themselves creatively. I think at times, society tries to oppress our creative self if it isn’t in line with what the government wants or with what higher authorities want. Flickr allows normal, regular people to be their own stars and the stars of the online photo community and finally gives them a voice.

Photoshop for Democracy

Maybe I am completely clueless when it comes to these readings but one thing I did understand was the concept of convergence culture. Henry Jenkins gives several examples and ends by saying on page 208, “In each case, entrenched institution are taking their models from grassroots fan communities, reinventing themselves for an era of media convergence and collective intelligence”. I think that pretty much sums but what convergence culture is. It is taking old forms of media and new forms and colliding them. Grassroots, I believe, would be the old media (or the things that people are used to.) An example of convergence culture is companies who try to engage a stronger emotion in their commercials as opposed to just stating the facts like they used to.

We also discussed convergence politics in class. This means politics coming together with things of pop culture to appeal to more people, especially a younger audience. An example of this would be the YouTube/CNN debates. Ever since I could remember, presidential candidates have had televised debates. However, at least in my opinion, these debates have been uneventful and boring to watch. I’m not that into politics. I mean I understand it pretty well however I would rather go out and debate it then watch other people do so. So for me, they have never been something I took great interest in watching. Now, after hearing about the YouTube/CNN debates, I find myself watching more and more of them. I really like how people can send in videos to ask questions. It doesn’t matter how old you are and you don’t need to physically be there to ask questions. It provides America with a more interactive experience with the candidates so they can make a more well-informed decision. Some say the debates were rigged to only show the most non-controversial questions. However, I’m not sure I believe this to be true. If they did select their questions to be non-controversial, it might be because they were trying not to start a uproar so close to the election. I don’t know the full details but I found an article that gives some good information about the debates if you want more information. I know we already talked about them in class but here’s more!

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9729506-7.html

Smart Mobs

I found the concept of “smart mobs” very interesting. I especially understood that there can be disadvantages to being so technologically advanced. For example, the great lack of privacy. Rheingold shows this through his statement “When you piece together these different technological, economic, and social components, the result is an infrastructure that makes certain kinds of human actions possible that were never possible before”. He is talking about radio chips, and wireless internet and ways that people use technology, all of that makes up this puzzle of a “smart mob”. I really agree that we are doing things now that never in a million years we all thought technology would be capable of. Back to the privacy issue, surveillance is a technology that is increasingly developed to new levels. When we used to know very little about people, we can now know almost everything due to surveillance. It is almost scary how people can get information about you.

I remember watching the movie “V for Vendetta” and seeing how surveillance plays a huge role in that film. The government has the power to see almost anyone and the use of cameras and video footage really brings to life that these people are being watched constantly. When I watched it, it made me really question if I was really had all the privacy I thought I had. I fully understand that in some cases surveillance can be a good thing. Video cameras in convenience stores and banks have saved lives. However, it is a real privacy issue. And with the Patriot Act in effect since after September 11^th, it is as if we have no privacy at all. This is a definite disadvantage of “smart mobs”. While they are good for many things, they are not very respectful of privacy.

Open Source Democracy

The reading this week again proved to be a little bit wordy. However, I found one point as I was reading that caught my attention and made me think. On page 29 of “Open Source Democracy Chapter 3” Rushkoff says “Channel surfing and similar behavior became equated with a very real but variously diagnosed childhood illness called Attention Deficit Disorder. Children who refused to pay attention were (much too quickly) drugged with addictive amphetamines before the real reasons for their adaptation to the onslaught of commercial messages were even considered”. I’m not entirely sure how Rushkoff meant this statement but for me I was a little offended by his approach to Attention Deficit Disorder. I have a couple close family members who suffer from severe ADD and I don’t think it should be taken so lightly. It is a disorder that needs to be treated with medication. The medication that my family member’s take is life saving to them! It really helps them to stay focused. The way Rushkoff put it by saying that they were “drugged” before the “real reasons for their adaptation” just kind of struck me the wrong way. There are hundreds of organizations dedicated to providing help and hope to those with ADD and I really wish Rushkoff would have considered looking into this before he made such a brash statement. He might not even have meant it that way but he should think before he writes something. He is kind of like my roommate in that sense. She is very politically opinionated which is great, more power to ya! However, I tend not to always agree with everything she says and she can be extremely rude with her comments at times. If she doesn’t know what I believe or how a feel about an issue, then she shouldn’t be so voiced about it in front of me or at least be a little less blunt with her comments. Some of them have left me feeling very hurt and angry and I don’t think I should have to live in a situation like that. Anyways, the point of this blog is that sometimes the things authors write can be offensive and that you have to go into reading everything possibly with a very open mind.