This is the mini-storyboard for the youTube project that I quickly made for last week, although it will probably change significantly as I work... it always does.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Reading reflection.
I think that the reading would have been easier understood had I read/heard the original address that the two writers are refering to. I think the second paper, "Reinventing the Tube" is contradictory in its remarks, first saying that youTube is revolutionary in finding "more efficient ways to classify and search media objects" then saying that it fails to do just that in the last paragraph, when he says there is a failure to "manage" all the content. The paper fails to take a side; I am confused as to what the point of the second paper is other than to state that youTube is "new media" according to Lev Manovich.
The first paper--by Anne Helmond--is broader in scope. Her critique of the term "user generated content" is interesting, saying that it "tends to homogenize the content" by giving all the content the same level of significance. I think that its a worthwhile question to ask if videos of lower quality should be segregated away from those of higher quality. I think that the community does some of that on its own, though. The content seems to live in some sort of Darwinian system. The better quality videos get higher ratings, views and comments, which then leads to more of the same (since higher views and higher amout of comments leads to a higher place in the search). The videos that are not worth the energy of the viewer don't make the viewer go out of their way to leave a rating or a comment, therefore they get less attention and are weeded out.
James.
The first paper--by Anne Helmond--is broader in scope. Her critique of the term "user generated content" is interesting, saying that it "tends to homogenize the content" by giving all the content the same level of significance. I think that its a worthwhile question to ask if videos of lower quality should be segregated away from those of higher quality. I think that the community does some of that on its own, though. The content seems to live in some sort of Darwinian system. The better quality videos get higher ratings, views and comments, which then leads to more of the same (since higher views and higher amout of comments leads to a higher place in the search). The videos that are not worth the energy of the viewer don't make the viewer go out of their way to leave a rating or a comment, therefore they get less attention and are weeded out.
James.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Connected
This is the original uncut script for the "Connected" piece which was due last week.
Once upon a time there was a power plug who thought he could connect to everyone. "I am connected," he would say. He was orange and happy. He wasn't alone. He tried to connect with other plugs. Ethernet cables, USB cables, Composite Cables, VGA monitor cables, he went everywhere to find the connections. He didn't have to make an effort, it was easy. He was addicted to the connection.
He had networks. Being connected to all those different plugs at once was great. He went to connection brothels. He would try to connect with two, or even three plugs at once. "I am connected," he would say. He didn't understand that the connections he was making were useless. They were empty.
He couldn't interact with these connections in any meaningful way. It wasn't until he saw someone just like him that he realized what he was missing. This plug went into the world and found a true connection. He saw his counterparts connect. He was jealous. He didn't have a perfect fit.
"What was the difference between me and them?" he wondered. He had met more people than they had. He had been involved in the social networks. He had three hundred and forty four Face Book friends. He knew many plugs. But was the connection real? Did the networks really make his connection?
And that was it. He understood. He left the brothels behind, and went into the world. He forgot about the social networks, and met people. And eventually he met one of his own. He made a true connection. And they lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time there was a power plug who thought he could connect to everyone. "I am connected," he would say. He was orange and happy. He wasn't alone. He tried to connect with other plugs. Ethernet cables, USB cables, Composite Cables, VGA monitor cables, he went everywhere to find the connections. He didn't have to make an effort, it was easy. He was addicted to the connection.
He had networks. Being connected to all those different plugs at once was great. He went to connection brothels. He would try to connect with two, or even three plugs at once. "I am connected," he would say. He didn't understand that the connections he was making were useless. They were empty.
He couldn't interact with these connections in any meaningful way. It wasn't until he saw someone just like him that he realized what he was missing. This plug went into the world and found a true connection. He saw his counterparts connect. He was jealous. He didn't have a perfect fit.
"What was the difference between me and them?" he wondered. He had met more people than they had. He had been involved in the social networks. He had three hundred and forty four Face Book friends. He knew many plugs. But was the connection real? Did the networks really make his connection?
And that was it. He understood. He left the brothels behind, and went into the world. He forgot about the social networks, and met people. And eventually he met one of his own. He made a true connection. And they lived happily ever after.
Monday, February 2, 2009
I wrote this trying to get inspired for the slideshow project. It almost worked...
Your individuality goes so far as your online moniker. Your username is your persona. Privacy has degraded to the point where it only extends to your password. Facebook and twitter actively and proudly seek to inform the world of your every doing, instantaneously. The entire point of Twitter is to give mini updates on your life throughout the day. Cell Phones have abolished privacy, anyone can be reached at any time with no effort; phone numbers aren’t even memorized anymore. This constant connection destroys a sense of self, no one needs to probe into their selves anymore. It is the death of the individual—everything is now a network. Social networks, professional networks, online communities, MMORPGs, everyone is connected.
At the root of it is the never ending search for a connection on a personal level. These online communities are empty though. The connections are only zeros and ones, overlapping databases on a server somewhere. The term “friend” has lost all significance. People you’ve never met are added to your tally of friends in a continual self “pat on the back.” I have 344 friends on Facebook. Those relationships are completely meaningless… but everyone needs to be connected, everyone needs to be loved.
And that’s what it comes down to… maybe the higher the friends count, the more you feel like you’re popular, that people like you. It’s self deception. I think it’s the empty connections that fuel the addiction. You get that connection so easily on the internet, because you can hide behind the screen, its easy and it feels good. To have that momentary connection, that’s what we search for. But the connections are empty because you’re so far removed from the person. You can’t have a connection with text. You can’t have a connection with pixels. You can’t have a connection with a screen. Not a real one.
Monday, January 26, 2009
This week I worked on the slide show where we had to use a set of images that were given to us. I found this constraint to be limiting, but I suppose that I balanced that out by taking a fairly liberal reading of the final rule--"You may use your own text and graphics"--which allowed me to have more fun with it.
I spent the first hour in the lab trying to figure out how to connect the images into some sort of narrative. My reading of many of the images made me think about traveling, especially with several being of specific locales or modes of movement. So, my thought process was originally to go from macro to micro, taking a journey from the world to the key and all of the steps in between... but I quickly got bored, and I took the logical next step-- a quirky little story where our female protagonist ventures into a land with a gun toting thief who is intent on stealing her earmuffs.
The photo of the woman with earmuffs reminded me of old film, especially film noir, so I wanted to relate to that on some level. I ended up on a silent film theme with intertitles that propelled the story.
James
I spent the first hour in the lab trying to figure out how to connect the images into some sort of narrative. My reading of many of the images made me think about traveling, especially with several being of specific locales or modes of movement. So, my thought process was originally to go from macro to micro, taking a journey from the world to the key and all of the steps in between... but I quickly got bored, and I took the logical next step-- a quirky little story where our female protagonist ventures into a land with a gun toting thief who is intent on stealing her earmuffs.
The photo of the woman with earmuffs reminded me of old film, especially film noir, so I wanted to relate to that on some level. I ended up on a silent film theme with intertitles that propelled the story.
James
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