Patrick Meier-Changing the World, One Map at a Time

Patrick Meier made a comment in his video that really made me consider how I thought of humanity as a whole, and how humans connect with one another.  Meier was discussing the text messages received from people during the Haiti crisis.  The number one most used word was "please".  Meier emphasized the fact that these people had lost as least one person, if not entire families, and they are still saying please.

Not only is Ushahidi profound at mapping crises, it also maps all kinds of other things.  According to Meier, there have been more than six-thousand maps launched on Ushahidi.

Core Thoughts

Alex DuJardin

6/22/11

Core Thoughts

            After reading articles about new media technology and how it’s growing in the world, I have been inspired with new questions to this new world.  The first question is, will all newspapers be completely wiped out by competition from the on-line news organizations and from citizen journalists?  My second question is, can people of this current generation of new media technology succeed up to the current social and work status quos with out new media technology?  The third and final question is, although it is true that new media technology enhances and has changed the social culture in so many positive ways, are there any major signs of decreases in our social skills when it comes to face-to-face interaction?  (By the way, Skype does not count as face-to-face; I’m talking about interaction with people “in the flesh”.) 

            The rest of this paper will include more details of the three questions and how specific articles helped answer my questions.  A challenge of discussing or contemplating these questions is that right now, it seems as if everything is always changing at a very fast pace.  Everyday, there is something new in the media, and if you’re not new-media savvy, you’ll be out of the loop.  With that said, it’s difficult to predict what will happen to certain aspects of new media technology, and old media technology, because everything is always changing, there is always something new.

            Starting with my first question, will all newspapers be completely wiped out by competition from the on-line news organizations and from citizen journalists?  Personally, I feel this is a topic that should be thought very carefully about, because I believe that yes, someday news on paper will no longer exist.  One reason I think newspapers will die out is because of citizen-journalism.  However, in the article, “Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable” by Clay Shirky, he wrote, “ If you want to know why newspapers are in such trouble, the most salient fact is this:  Printing presses are terrifically expensive to set up and run” (2009).  For me, this is a new thought to why newspapers could be done for someday.  Economics after all, are a huge component of what keeps products going.  

            Secondly, can people of this current generation of new media technology succeed up to the current social and work status quos, with out new media technology?  Being twenty years old, and growing up in the ever growing world of new media technology, right now it truthfully is hard to succeed more than others at important things like work and social lives with out it.  Today, it seems as if the majority of everything people can do involves some sort of new media technology, and if you’re not fluent with this new generation, it will be difficult to keep up with the changing culture.  In the article, “Nine Propositions Towards a Cultural Theory of YouTube”, it is said that, “Social networking emerges as one of the important social skills and cultural competencies that young people need to acquire if they are going to become meaningful participants in the culture around them” (Schoz & Hartzog, 2007).  This statement answers my question; having social networking skills with new media technology is very important to meet the new status quo of the culture of media.

             Lastly, although it is true that new media technology enhances and has changed the social culture in so many positive ways, are there any major signs of decreases in our social skills when it comes to face-to-face interaction?  I would say yes, because today, a major portion of our ways communication with other people is on the Internet.  In many cases, people become very dependent on getting their “social fix” from the Internet, and therefore eventually lose the ability to regularly interact with people face-to-face.  Especially when it comes to expressing thoughts or emotions.  It is much easier for people to express things to other people on the Internet than in person because if there are consequences, they can be avoided by the click of your mouse, and in the end, facing reality just goes away.  People are acting in ways on the Internet that they would not do in real life.  Being and acting in anyway you want is possible because of the Internet.  This is causing people to lose their social skills.  Kaplan and Haenlein wrote in their article, “Users of the World, Unite!  The Challenges and opportunities of Social Media”, “…virtual social worlds allows inhabitants to choose their behavior more freely and essentially live a virtual life…there are no rules restricting the range of possible interactions” (2009).  This citing even shows how people will even chose to live their “life” on the Internet as a virtual avatar.  Could faking a social life on the Internet possible decrease your real life social skills?  I hope the obvious answer is yes. 

           

Oscar Grant's Case - Discussion Board Experience

I enjoyed my experience of discussing the Oscar Grant case on D2L. It was nice to what other people thought about the incident and how they reacted to it. I was surprised at how many people said they have never heard of the Oscar Grant shooting before this assignment. Also, it was interesting to see what everybody else said what they would have done in the situation, whether to record the incident for proof of injustice, or to get involved and try to help and save Grant.

After reading the article, I was shocked to learn about this incident, but seeing the actual footage made me agree even more with the fact that YouTube and citizen journalists are very important to society and to the things that can happen within them.  If it weren't for this actual footage, that cop probably wouldn't have gone to jail.    

Just like in the first video of this post, the actual footage of the shooting was very shocking. With professional news media telling the story and the facts of the situation, might have helped a person understand more of the circumstances if they have not already heard of the incident.

Social Media: Implications Re-visited

Shirky's presentation really made me consider more about how people are communicating and socializing with each other  through new media technology.  I guess lately I have not even realized how much I rely on new media technology such as Facebook, Twitter, and texting.  I think this is because I have grown up with it and it seems natural to use these technologies, I don't think twice when I contact friends or family through Facebook, but not too long ago it seems as if talking on the phone was the primary way of contacting people using technology.

I also really liked how Shirky said that there are more amateurs than professionals who communicate information to the world.  I feel like I have already understood this concept, but Shirky put it into words that make a lot of sense, he explained it very well.    

Henry Jenkins Video

I suppose I never realized that the biggest non-fiction success of transmedia story telling is the Obama campaign.   Obama became a huge mass media icon by becoming involved in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and even texting campaigns.  Now looking back, it was a brilliant idea to project his campaigns through those new media technologies since they are becoming a way of life for a huge number of people.

Henry Jenkins Interview Video

I really liked how Jenkins explained in detail the exact difference of two collective intelligences, Wikipedia and encyclopedias.  Wikipedia is the process of collected intelligences, and the quality of data and information comes along with time.  On the other hand, encyclopedias are products of expert systems.

Usability Test (mtv.com)

1.  Play the game "Jersey Shore Quiz" and share it with a friend.
2.  Watch the music video "Can't Be Friends" by Trey Songz.
3.  Watch the interview "What does Trey Songz look for in a Woman?" and share it to Facebook.
4.  Watch "16 and Pregnant" episode 216 and join the chat discussion with your Facebook account.
5.  Find the news article named "Call of Duty: Black Ops- Zombies Mode Survival Guide" and comment on it.
6.  Find the page where you can purchase the "MTV Heart Tank - Girls" and add it to your cart.


I had my boyfriend Kyle take my usability test on mtv.com.  He doesn't ever go on that site so it was a good one for him to actually work at.  He did pretty good navigating around the different pages without using the search bar.  The only thing he had a little trouble with was figuring out how to join in on the discussion chat about the 16 and Pregnant episode.  The easiness of finding how to join in the chat was really the only problem that mtv.com seemed to have from the test questions that I had.  They could improve that by making an obvious button to click that said "Join Chat" or something similar to that.  The overall site seemed really good and developed and user-friendly.  

Mockup of Website Project

9 Year Old is Whippin' It

Above is a music video from KnowYourMeme named, "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith.  The artist of the music video is only 9 years old, and is also Will Smith's daughter.  With an easy way into the music industry because of her father, Willow's new song is number four on the top ten chart on iTunes.com. 

Even though she credited and taken seriously on iTunes, it's a little different elsewhere on the web.  All over there are parodies of the song, some are funny and others are pretty lame.  The parodies range from Sesame Street to bored people on their web cams to the Beyonce Single Ladies dance.  The main focus point in most of the parodies is on the lyric, "I whip my hair back and forth."  It's extremely repetitive in the music video, but how much more could you really expect from a 9 year old in the music business? 

Here are some parodies of Willow Smith's song: 



Best Lol Cat

Lol Cats

You Better Say 'Yes' to Panda

^^^
English Translation:

Employee 1: Hey, do you want some?
Employee 2: No thanks.
Music
Announcer: You can’t say no to panda.

On Know Your Meme there is a video called "Never Say No to Panda."  It sounded pretty strange so I read a little bit about it then watched the video.  It is a viral video, but a commercial for the product Panda Cheese.  There are three different versions of the Panda Cheese commercials; office, hospital, and grociery store.  The one I have posted above is obviously the office version.  All three of them are extremely funny but the office version is definitely the best. 

What actually happens in the commercials is a small scenario where a person will decline Panda cheese that is offered to them.  Then all of a sudden a cute panda bear apperars in the room and will either destroy things that belong to the person or hurt them.  It's a little outrageous but extremely funny.  The actual commercials were created by Advantage Marketing and Advertising for the Arab Dairy Company in Egypt.  The commercials were even nominated for the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and won the Silver Lion Award.

YouTube Druggie?

It's pretty well-known that a large amount of people spend way too much time watching YouTube videos.  I think we all can admit to either sometimes or all the time that we watch too much YouTube.  Whether it's I'm an Orange! or Freddy the fast talking teen, it can't be all too good for our brain cells. 

One individual, Josh Sundquist, decided to make an interactive quiz video on YouTube.  The results you get will either tell you that you watch way too much YouTube, or that you're doing okay.  To be more detailed, there are 5 categories you can score into. 
                                  1.  Healthy Human Being
                                  2.  Recreational User
                                  3.  YouTube Tweaker
                                  4.  Certified Addict
                                  5.  Full Blown YouTube Junky
I took the quiz and scored as a recreational user, hopefully I will never end up as a Full Blown YouTube Junky.  There are only 10 questions in the quiz and the actual video is only about a minute long.  How ironic though, a YouTube video that tells you if you watch too much YouTube or not. 

Forever Alone

On Know Your Meme I found a link to a news topic called "Forever Alone."  The picture caught my attention because the drawings and pictures look so ridiculous you cant help but laugh and look at all of them.

Forever Alone is a comic that's popular for it's crude humor and making fun of people for being alone or being losers.  It's not really known where Forever Alone originated but it's mostly seen on sites like, Tumblr and Fuck Yeah Forever Alone!.  Forever Alone is a pretty new yet popular activity on the web right now. It's believed to have started in April 2010.  Below are a bunch of funny Forever Alones I found on FuckYeahForever!.com.

After researching more about the fad Forever Alone I have the impression that it's very similar to the idea of the lolcats.  Anybody can make them in their own creative way.  Lolcats and Forever Alone have very different humors but all around it's the same concept.

 

"The Office" Gets Scary on 3rd Floor (Tubefilter)

Above is a sneak peak of NBC.com's new internet series, "The 3rd Floor."  The 3rd Floor will have the same direction of humor as in NBC's successful television series, "The Office," but they are filled with horror.  The show will premier on October 21st, just in time for Halloween.  I have just recently started watching The Office and it's one of my new favorites.  I love all the characters and the humor in the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the "horror version" of The Office will be like.

B.J. Novak, who is a character as Ryan Howard in The Office, is the creator of The 3rd Floor.  Mindy Kaling, who also characters in The Office as Kelly Kapoor, stars in and is the director of the new series.  Other familiar characters who rolled in The Office such as Erin, Meredith, and Kevin will also be part of the The 3rd Floor.  As I stated before, Mindy Kaling who will be starring in the 3rd Floor, made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last Tuesday.  She talked about how the new series will be absolutely entertaining, especially to those who are familiar with The Office.

Raving Rabbids Go Live (Kotaku)

I have seen these little bunny creatures on T.V. before but I had no idea what they were.  I found out recently that they are part of a video game made up of 70 mini games.  The game is primarily designed to be played for Wii but is also played on PS2, PC, Gameboy Advanced, XBox 360, and Nitendo DS.  The game is all about these obnoxious rabbits that you use to play with in the mini games.

Aardman Animation is now working on a live-action television show, and Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids is definitely interested in taking the job.  The show would feature a live-action/CGI mix, which I think would turn out pretty sweet, plus the fact that it would be live is really cool too.  Aardman Animation is also the creator of the hilarious Wallace and Gromit, once i found that out I was much more interested in learning about this subject because I absolutely loved Wallace 
and Gromit growing up as a kid. Other CGI movies like "Flushed Away" 
were also created by Aardman Animation.  

From all I've researched about Aardman Animation I'm pretty impressed and found out that they were even the creators of one of my favorite shows-Wallace and Gromit, so this new Raving Rabbids T.V. show should be pretty legit. 

Spiders on Steroids?

The spider web on the right is the most toughest biological material known to man.  Who knew that a web made out of silk would be so strong?

The article I read really caught my attention because of the picture of the spider and its web.  I absolutely hate spiders and they creep me out more than most things on the planet, so I was pretty intrigued.

The name of this spider is Caerostris Darwini, or Darwin's Bark Spider for short.  Darwin Spiders can build their webs over areas of more than 30 square feet.  It's common for Darwin Spiders to web over rivers or streams, and are very successful at catching many insects.  The home-place for this spider is in the thick jungles of Madagascar.  Scientists say that it's even possible for Darwin Spiders webs to catch small birds or bats, but there has never been proof or footage of it.

Halo 3 Reach Trailer

When I first saw the trailer for Halo 3 Reach on TV last week I was instantly engaged and interested.  I loved the graphics and effects that were used, also the music pulled me in.  

The best feature of the trailer in my mind is definitely the music.  The sound of the music starts off very quietly, and almost mysteriously.  It made me want to keep on listening and watching.  Even the sounds of every explosion and fire were quietly muffled under the music.  Next, the slow calming music gets just a little bit more intense, but still very slow.  The whole time the slow beautiful music is playing, the scene of the trailer is a battle field.  As someone is about to die, the music takes a slight turn and almost makes the death scene seem as peaceful as the song itself.

The design of the trailer was impressive to me.  It was extremely detailed and had a distinctive character to it.  Although the trailer was not in game play view, I would still be very interested in seeing how the game would actually be to play, due to the great trailer.  Towards the end of the trailer, a message comes to the screen and says, "Remember Where It all Began.  Remember Reach."  This makes it seem like the game is targeted to people who have previously played Halo, and would understand what the trailer meant by "Remember Where It All Began."  

Prancing Cera

On the right is young actor Michael Cera.  He's most known for his comedy movies such as Superbad, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, and most recent, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  

Cera has become popular in different aspect aside from being an actor.  His current nickname on the web is the "Pancing Cera."  Basically it is just a photo of Cera in a prancing-like position that has started a trend of photoshopping.  The first photoshop picture of the Prancing Cera was taken by Edgar White in Norway to help promote his film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  

After this photoshopped image was seen on the internet it was taken over by so many people and redone in creative ways.  Some examples are shown below: