For my final project, as stated earlier, I have been focusing on online missionary efforts for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In particular, I wish to focus on the effects of meta-data, and how it could be used most efficiently. For my final project, I will be creating a wiki-page detailing the need for metadata, as well as links to current labels different platforms use. Hopefully with this curation, others will be able to more easily connect with others who are interested in online missionary efforts as well. In addition, I will write a paper, arguing for the greater need of metadata within the online LDS community, and the need to make personal connections, not just create content. I have researched some possible locations to submit this paper.
1. Meridian Magazine-This is an online magazine run by the LDS community.
2. International Journal of Religion, Science and Society-This is a call for papers discussing the relationship between religion, science and society.
3. Religion in Society-This is a call for papers relating to topics affecting religion in our society today.
With the second and third options, I would revise my argument slightly to apply to all denominations, not Mormonism alone, although my examples would likely remain focused on the LDS missionary efforts.
I also did a quick search for Kylee and her research involving tourism. Along with the website I found earlier when doing my altruistic research for her, I also found this call for papers, the ENTER conference, which focuses on etourism, and is accepting papers discussing the entire spectrum of tourism and technology.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Final Project: How it's Looking right Now. Feedback Welcome
A thesis is like a scientific equation. You need certain elements to come together to create a certain product. I am not entirely sure what the final product is going to be. But I am now going to take this opportunity to lay out my ingredients on the table to see what I have and will likely end up with. This is not my final thesis and venue, but just me thinking through my ideas. Lots of feedback would be welcome.
I want to somehow respond to my ideas on immersion from the midterm. A good secondary term for immersion is engagement. Using the terms more or less interchangeably, I define an individual's engagement or immersion within a fandom as a relationship with a fandom with the end goal of promoting a change change of value within the fandom, either for oneself or for the fan community. Open immersion adheres to the values of the fan community and compromises with them to create value. Closed immersion is only interested in the individual's veiw of how a fandom/fans should exist or behave and seeks to tear them down.
I also want to return to the idea of memes. A fandom is a meme or contagious idea, as are the social morays within them. Cultures have their own distinctive symbols, such as the harpoon or the line to Moby Dick's whalers, or Captain America's shield in the Avengers films. Like these more physical symbols, there are also internal ideas that spread and change within a culture, like a whaling captain's responsibility to his crew or, to use an Avengers example, "COULSON LIVES!" It can be as simple as a joke or a motto, or as complex as a value judgment about a certain topic delivered by a community or an individual. I want to understand how memes spreading within a fan community are a manifestation of people working together to add meaning to a fandom and pass judgment on media. Thus,the people create the fandom and not just the entertainment industry. (hmm, nice ring to that). Memes are a product of fan immersion.
The 19th-century whaling industry depicted in Moby Dick is its own culture and, in a way, a fandom, at least the way Ishmael regards it and the way Ahab works within it. The difference between Ishmael and Ahab, as I pointed out in my midterm, is that one is openly immersed and the other is closed. "Where Ahab errs, it seems clear, is in sacrificing others to his egocentric interpretation of reality[....] Disvaluing speech with other men in his desire for a dialogue with speechless nature, Ahab inevitably experiences the isolation that lack of communication and lack of community entail" (Barnett 148). Ahab closes himself off from all other interpretations of the White Whale than his own--human, natural, and supernatural--and charts his course of revenge accordingly. The closed fan only interprets his fandom his own way and only opens himself to people or media that value his fandom the way he does. Likewise the media producers that ignore the needs and desires of consumers are unable to sell their product or ignore larger opportunities for profit. From my reading of the Star Trek Fan Phenomena, what made the difference between Star Trek being a failed TV show and the vibrant fan community it is today were the fans who incessantly clamored the TV networks for a continuation of the show--and that in the days when the internet itself was still the stuff of science fiction. The digital age has turned fandoms into a force to be reckoned with.
An open fan, however, is a breeding ground for memes, or in other words values other people's ideas about the value of a fandom and adds them to his own. Ishmael is symbolic of this type of fan.
"Ishmael [...] is purged of his antisocial feelings by his commitment to Queequeg and then [...]to humanity in general. Intellectually saved by repudiating the narrowed perspective of Ahab's quest, and then physically saved by the caring of others, he is returned to a society whose common totems [...] he now willingly embraces" (147).
To put it more simply, Ishmael's experience in whaling culture re-fits him for life in human society in general. A fan finds meaning and values within their fandom that they apply to real life and not just their narrow-minded quest for satisfaction. Solidarity with fellow fans produces real-life relationships. Fandom does not exist just for the sake of the entertainment but for the sake of well-being, not just for the individual but for the community.
My guinea pig for this project will be Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." This is a brand new TV show that is linked to a fandom (ie Marvel's Avengers) that is currently enjoying enormous success, although the show itself is currently received with mixed reviews. I will be examining the success or failure of SHIELD's introduction to fans as a new fandom of its own and within the context of the Avengers fandom, and compare this to fandom evolution in general. I will also trace the fan responses to the show before it premiered, during the first few weeks, and also the last three or more weeks, between which periods there has been an interesting change in fans' reception to the series. In other words, how are we seeing the SHIELD fandom being created and adding to the Marvel fan universe?
I am not sure where I would want to submit my paper as of right now, but I would like to submit it to some conference or journal dealing with media or entertainment studies or pop culture/fan culture studies. I also want this research project to be of benefit to the people who are actually producing the show. I admit, trying to give Joss Whedon a report about himself sounds like preaching to the choir--but I want to demonstrate my engagement with SHIELD by trying to produce something that could represent a unique form of feedback to the industry about how their product is working and why--in other words, to point out that we are perhaps experiencing a unique phenomenon in the history of fandom. Heck, if I wanted to I could present this at LTUE or a comic-con next year.
The results of this survey (in other terms, after doing a lot of thinking):
fandoms (Marvel (SHIELD))+memes+fan immersion=a unique phenomenon
argument: The Marvel fandom has the power to make or break the show's success because (1) the Marvel films and characters have a lot of value to the fans, particularly Coulson, (2) the fans are working together to derive value from watching the show, (3) and at a certain threshold of involvement, they will either express common approval or disapproval of the show that will make or break it.
Then, add something that people in the higher tiers of academia or the industry don't know: Tell you what, I'm going to sleep on that. The fans create the fandom. Give them stuff to build with. How about that? I'll post my final thesis/venue/other main ideas tomorrow or Monday. I have a headache. And the hiccups. Bedtime. zzzzz.
I want to somehow respond to my ideas on immersion from the midterm. A good secondary term for immersion is engagement. Using the terms more or less interchangeably, I define an individual's engagement or immersion within a fandom as a relationship with a fandom with the end goal of promoting a change change of value within the fandom, either for oneself or for the fan community. Open immersion adheres to the values of the fan community and compromises with them to create value. Closed immersion is only interested in the individual's veiw of how a fandom/fans should exist or behave and seeks to tear them down.
I also want to return to the idea of memes. A fandom is a meme or contagious idea, as are the social morays within them. Cultures have their own distinctive symbols, such as the harpoon or the line to Moby Dick's whalers, or Captain America's shield in the Avengers films. Like these more physical symbols, there are also internal ideas that spread and change within a culture, like a whaling captain's responsibility to his crew or, to use an Avengers example, "COULSON LIVES!" It can be as simple as a joke or a motto, or as complex as a value judgment about a certain topic delivered by a community or an individual. I want to understand how memes spreading within a fan community are a manifestation of people working together to add meaning to a fandom and pass judgment on media. Thus,the people create the fandom and not just the entertainment industry. (hmm, nice ring to that). Memes are a product of fan immersion.
The 19th-century whaling industry depicted in Moby Dick is its own culture and, in a way, a fandom, at least the way Ishmael regards it and the way Ahab works within it. The difference between Ishmael and Ahab, as I pointed out in my midterm, is that one is openly immersed and the other is closed. "Where Ahab errs, it seems clear, is in sacrificing others to his egocentric interpretation of reality[....] Disvaluing speech with other men in his desire for a dialogue with speechless nature, Ahab inevitably experiences the isolation that lack of communication and lack of community entail" (Barnett 148). Ahab closes himself off from all other interpretations of the White Whale than his own--human, natural, and supernatural--and charts his course of revenge accordingly. The closed fan only interprets his fandom his own way and only opens himself to people or media that value his fandom the way he does. Likewise the media producers that ignore the needs and desires of consumers are unable to sell their product or ignore larger opportunities for profit. From my reading of the Star Trek Fan Phenomena, what made the difference between Star Trek being a failed TV show and the vibrant fan community it is today were the fans who incessantly clamored the TV networks for a continuation of the show--and that in the days when the internet itself was still the stuff of science fiction. The digital age has turned fandoms into a force to be reckoned with.
An open fan, however, is a breeding ground for memes, or in other words values other people's ideas about the value of a fandom and adds them to his own. Ishmael is symbolic of this type of fan.
"Ishmael [...] is purged of his antisocial feelings by his commitment to Queequeg and then [...]to humanity in general. Intellectually saved by repudiating the narrowed perspective of Ahab's quest, and then physically saved by the caring of others, he is returned to a society whose common totems [...] he now willingly embraces" (147).
To put it more simply, Ishmael's experience in whaling culture re-fits him for life in human society in general. A fan finds meaning and values within their fandom that they apply to real life and not just their narrow-minded quest for satisfaction. Solidarity with fellow fans produces real-life relationships. Fandom does not exist just for the sake of the entertainment but for the sake of well-being, not just for the individual but for the community.
My guinea pig for this project will be Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." This is a brand new TV show that is linked to a fandom (ie Marvel's Avengers) that is currently enjoying enormous success, although the show itself is currently received with mixed reviews. I will be examining the success or failure of SHIELD's introduction to fans as a new fandom of its own and within the context of the Avengers fandom, and compare this to fandom evolution in general. I will also trace the fan responses to the show before it premiered, during the first few weeks, and also the last three or more weeks, between which periods there has been an interesting change in fans' reception to the series. In other words, how are we seeing the SHIELD fandom being created and adding to the Marvel fan universe?
I am not sure where I would want to submit my paper as of right now, but I would like to submit it to some conference or journal dealing with media or entertainment studies or pop culture/fan culture studies. I also want this research project to be of benefit to the people who are actually producing the show. I admit, trying to give Joss Whedon a report about himself sounds like preaching to the choir--but I want to demonstrate my engagement with SHIELD by trying to produce something that could represent a unique form of feedback to the industry about how their product is working and why--in other words, to point out that we are perhaps experiencing a unique phenomenon in the history of fandom. Heck, if I wanted to I could present this at LTUE or a comic-con next year.
The results of this survey (in other terms, after doing a lot of thinking):
fandoms (Marvel (SHIELD))+memes+fan immersion=a unique phenomenon
argument: The Marvel fandom has the power to make or break the show's success because (1) the Marvel films and characters have a lot of value to the fans, particularly Coulson, (2) the fans are working together to derive value from watching the show, (3) and at a certain threshold of involvement, they will either express common approval or disapproval of the show that will make or break it.
Then, add something that people in the higher tiers of academia or the industry don't know: Tell you what, I'm going to sleep on that. The fans create the fandom. Give them stuff to build with. How about that? I'll post my final thesis/venue/other main ideas tomorrow or Monday. I have a headache. And the hiccups. Bedtime. zzzzz.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Research for Brittany
So I have always been interested in the do it yourself culture that has significantly increased with the creation of digital tools such as YouTube. Having read previous posts from Brittany such as the ones about using YouTube to cut her husbands hair(which I thought looked fantastic), I decided that I wanted to research more about the Do It Yourself phenomenon. At this point I was unsure if Brittany wanted to focus on this as her final project, but here is some of the research I found about DIY.
Wiki
http://diy.wikia.com/wiki/Do_It_Yourself
Online news
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/
http://www.scoutiegirl.com/
Articles
http://www.jstor.org/stable/
http://www.paulos.net/papers/
http://www.starlab.vub.ac.be/
http://rre.sagepub.com/
So by doing this research I now only learned a lot about the background of the Do It Yourself movement, but also some of the short and long term effects this movement has if it still continues to progress.
Wiki
http://diy.wikia.com/wiki/Do_It_Yourself
Online news
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/
http://www.scoutiegirl.com/
Articles
http://www.jstor.org/stable/
http://www.paulos.net/papers/
http://www.starlab.vub.ac.be/
http://rre.sagepub.com/
So by doing this research I now only learned a lot about the background of the Do It Yourself movement, but also some of the short and long term effects this movement has if it still continues to progress.
Altruistic Scholarship for Kylee
As a fellow lover of travel, I was really excited when I saw that Kylee had decided to work her final project around this topic. Hopefully this will help you out a bit!
One website I found that is super interesting is Tnooz. According to their website, they are a "gloabl provider of news, analysis, commentary, education, data and business services to the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. It is the leading voice to the industry for all areas related to travel technology. It focuses on distribution, marketing, systems, devices, startups, social media and commerce in the travel sector." This looks like a great resource to find others who are also interested in how the digital world has changed travel, and could be a place to submit your own research and ideas, as they have a blog and regularly post articles.
Here are links to some articles from this website that stuck out to me:
Also this webinar on travel reviews and data analysis
I also stumbled across this article, which addresses the social marketing aspect of the travel industry, and some of the dangers that presents. It addresses some of the issues the travel industry will have to work through.
Finally, there's a lot of discussion going on in social media regrading this topic. I searched #traveltechnology and found lots of different groups and discussions going on about how technology is changing the way the travel industry runs, and how they can stay on top of it.
Hopefully this helps a little bit! Sounds like a really great idea and I'm excited to see what you do with it!
Final Project
So I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do for my Final Project. I have been jumping around on topics that I want to study and I have finally decided that I would like to look at identity within the digitual culture. Specifically, I would like to look at how technology and online identity effects relationships.
For my final project I would like to look at specifically the online identity and relationships. I"ve always been facinated with the way the digital world lets people create and present themsleves with an identity online whether it be through the youtube videos they make or the facebook pictures they post.
As for the second half of my project, I don't know how, but I'm going to tie in somehow how online identity effects relationships from the way we create and maintain them to the effects they have on them as a whole. I think that living in today world where we are very dependent on technology and it is so prevalant within our lives, I would love to look at the impact technology has family relationships.
Now I know that at this point my project is pretty vauge, but I'm hoping that it will become more specific as I do more social connecting and research on this topic.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.
For my final project I would like to look at specifically the online identity and relationships. I"ve always been facinated with the way the digital world lets people create and present themsleves with an identity online whether it be through the youtube videos they make or the facebook pictures they post.
As for the second half of my project, I don't know how, but I'm going to tie in somehow how online identity effects relationships from the way we create and maintain them to the effects they have on them as a whole. I think that living in today world where we are very dependent on technology and it is so prevalant within our lives, I would love to look at the impact technology has family relationships.
Now I know that at this point my project is pretty vauge, but I'm hoping that it will become more specific as I do more social connecting and research on this topic.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Altruistic Scholarship for Kayla
Dear Kayla,
I noticed that Dr. Burton already helped you out a bit, but I thought I could do some more for you, since you seem to have piqued my interest. A lot of these articles look really informative.
The Boundaries between Citizen Journalism and the "Real Thing."
Shifting Boundaries This article looks at the theoretical bounds of professional and amateur journalism and how they interact.
Citizen Journalism Just as Credible This is based on a study that found that students do not differentiate between professional and citizen journalism.
Enhancing Citizen Journalism This article argues that there are no differences between citizen journalism and professional news sources.
Whose News? Whose Values? This study evaluates attitudes of readers and journalists towards traditional journalism standards.
Opportunities and Limits This article uses a theoretical approach towards analyzing citizen journalism.
Citizen Journalism in other parts of the world:
Citizen Journalism in Nigeria This is an article about the pros and cons of emerging citizen journalism in a developing country.
I Can Do Better This is based on surveys of professional journalists in various European countries. The primary conclusion of this study was that journalists claim to act out of duty rather than the need for individual expression.
Gatekeeping and Citizen Journalism this article is specifically about the Arab Spring
Reporting the Voices of the Voiceless This article compares the history of non-mainstream news reporting during a miners' strike in the UK in 1984 to citizen journalism today.
Thinking about citizen journalism has reminded me of something. When I was in the fifth grade, there was a show on PBS called "Liberty's Kids." The premise of the show was journalism during the American Revolution, or rather three kids who want to be news reporters that get an inside scoop on the people and events of that war. At the end of every episode there was always a little tag that said something along the lines of "You can be a journalist, too! If you see news happening, report it!" You can watch most of the episodes on You Tube if you like, and here is a link to the show's web site. I think it might have something interesting to say about how certain parties want to present news and encourage news reporting, especially in media geared toward younger audiences.
Glad to be of Service,
Lizy
Missionary Work by Digital Means - for Kelsey
I decided to do the altruistic scholar assignment for Kelsey. It seems like her posts have been revolving around using digital means to do missionary work, so I wanted to help find some sources for her that show what the Church is doing in terms of an online presence and online outreach.
I know that you have to be pretty careful when finding websites regarding the Church because there is a lot of anti literature out there that is less than helpful. However, here are a few resources I found that might help:
1. Forums: LDS.net contains a lot of forums of people discussing beliefs. I searched through a few of them, and most of them seemed to be conversion stories. There were a few that had something to do with investigating the church in the title. Kelsey might use this to analyze the use of forums for investigation. It is much less threatening to pose a question online and view responses than it is to meet face to face with the missionaries, for example. It might not always be as effective, and there is always the risk of getting biased and incorrect information, but I think we have to recognize that it is definitely a major way that people are finding out about the Church. There is also, of course, Mormon.org and the profiles there. I think observing the way people are asking questions and what questions they are focusing on could really help in your research.
2. Blogs: In this post, Kelsey mentioned that she wanted to explore some blogs that were branded LDS and see how they were received by those who are not LDS. Whenever we start talking about Mormon blogs, naturally Mormon mommy blogs come up. There are so many aspects to explore here, including DIY culture. This article is a young feminist atheist who loves reading Mormon mom blogs, one reason being that they portray motherhood with respect. I found it incredibly enlightening, especially seeing it through a nonmember's eyes. Here are a few blogs that I found that you might want to look into:
I know that you have to be pretty careful when finding websites regarding the Church because there is a lot of anti literature out there that is less than helpful. However, here are a few resources I found that might help:
1. Forums: LDS.net contains a lot of forums of people discussing beliefs. I searched through a few of them, and most of them seemed to be conversion stories. There were a few that had something to do with investigating the church in the title. Kelsey might use this to analyze the use of forums for investigation. It is much less threatening to pose a question online and view responses than it is to meet face to face with the missionaries, for example. It might not always be as effective, and there is always the risk of getting biased and incorrect information, but I think we have to recognize that it is definitely a major way that people are finding out about the Church. There is also, of course, Mormon.org and the profiles there. I think observing the way people are asking questions and what questions they are focusing on could really help in your research.
2. Blogs: In this post, Kelsey mentioned that she wanted to explore some blogs that were branded LDS and see how they were received by those who are not LDS. Whenever we start talking about Mormon blogs, naturally Mormon mommy blogs come up. There are so many aspects to explore here, including DIY culture. This article is a young feminist atheist who loves reading Mormon mom blogs, one reason being that they portray motherhood with respect. I found it incredibly enlightening, especially seeing it through a nonmember's eyes. Here are a few blogs that I found that you might want to look into:
- Stephanie Nielson's blog http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/. This woman was mentioned in general conference and is one of the most well-known mommy bloggers that I am aware of. She has a very wide readership, LDS and non-LDS alike.
- Another pretty popular one, C. Jane Kendrick http://www.cjanekendrick.com/. The unique thing about this blog is that she is very open about her LDS faith, highlighting the brand you were talking about when discussing Public Parts.
- This Deseret News article lists some more Mormon mommy blogs and talks about why they are so prevalent and popular.
3. News Articles: At the very least, these articles can get you familiar with what is being publicized about the changing rules for missionaries and some researchers on the subject. I really liked what these articles had to say about how the world is changing, so missionary work must adapt to the changes and move along with it.
- Here is an article I found in the Religion News Service that talks about the changing nature of missionary work in the LDS church.
- This article is probably the most comprehensive overview of the recent announcement.
- This Wall Street Journal blog post about the announcement notes the radical change from missionary policy. It also mentions Dr. Burton, so that's pretty cool! What I also think could help would be to read through some of the comments on the blog post and see how these changes are being received. Maybe there will be some leads to some other sources for you.
I hope this helps at least a little bit! Good luck with your research.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Moby Dick and Metadata
Since returning from my mission, I've struggled finding the balance of continuing to share the gospel, without being too preachy or over-zealous. Our conversations in class and the recent conversation within the Church has really sparked my interest into how digital tools can allow us to share the gospel in a manner that is very warm and approachable. Lots of efforts are already being made to educate others in how to share the gospel online, as well as efforts to go ahead and start sharing! Throughout this semester, I've come to realize the necessity of connecting with others. Sharing doesn't amount to much if you're not sharing it with the right group and making connections with those that share your passions. In regards to the LDS community, I believe that metadata will be a key component of efforts really taking off and significant progress being made. If those already invested in this work cannot connect with each other and cannot be found by those searching, it will not amount to much.
Moby Dick is one of the larger books I've read lately, and if I'm being honest, it was sometimes extremely difficult to remember everything I read and where it was found. Yet the book is methodically organized, with short chapters and the heading describing what is contained-tedious as that topic may be. Melville writes, "What then remains? Nothing but to take hold of the whales bodily, in their entire liberal volume, and boldly sort them that way. And this is the Bibliographical system here adopted; and it is the only one that can possibly succeed, for it alone is practicable" (ch. 32). Just as Melville sorted through his narrative the same way a whale is sorted through, so must we sort through the information we share about our religious beliefs. Through the use of labels, titles, hashtags, etc. the content shared by members of the Church can be more easily recognized for what it is. As the parts are more easily recognized, so will the whole, or the larger whale. Without the smaller parts being extremely clear as to their function and purpose, it will not point people towards the larger goal.
The beauty of metadata is that it is a way of curating and gathering information that can continue on. There is no limit, the information can continue to evolve and expand. Melville shares similar thoughts, "Finally: It was stated at the outset, that this system would not be here, and at once, perfected. You cannot but plainly see that I have kept my word. But I now leave my cetological System standing thus unfinished, even as the great Cathedral of Cologne was left, with the crane still standing upon the top of the uncompleted tower. For small erections may be finished by their first architects; grand ones, true ones, ever leave the copestone to posterity. God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a drought-nay but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!"
This is a momentous moment for missionary work for the LDS Church. Leaders of the Church recognize that this is a process that will continue to change, and will not be perfected or completed soon. We must make sure that our initial structures, as the first architects, are stable structures upon which others can build. Instead of millions forming new structures, we need to group together and build upon that which already stands. I believe that the use of metadata and of using various curation tools to link these various sites and people together will help hasten the work in a very powerful and necessary way.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how metadata can strengthen and spark collaborations, especially in regards to missionary work!
Moby Dick is one of the larger books I've read lately, and if I'm being honest, it was sometimes extremely difficult to remember everything I read and where it was found. Yet the book is methodically organized, with short chapters and the heading describing what is contained-tedious as that topic may be. Melville writes, "What then remains? Nothing but to take hold of the whales bodily, in their entire liberal volume, and boldly sort them that way. And this is the Bibliographical system here adopted; and it is the only one that can possibly succeed, for it alone is practicable" (ch. 32). Just as Melville sorted through his narrative the same way a whale is sorted through, so must we sort through the information we share about our religious beliefs. Through the use of labels, titles, hashtags, etc. the content shared by members of the Church can be more easily recognized for what it is. As the parts are more easily recognized, so will the whole, or the larger whale. Without the smaller parts being extremely clear as to their function and purpose, it will not point people towards the larger goal.
The beauty of metadata is that it is a way of curating and gathering information that can continue on. There is no limit, the information can continue to evolve and expand. Melville shares similar thoughts, "Finally: It was stated at the outset, that this system would not be here, and at once, perfected. You cannot but plainly see that I have kept my word. But I now leave my cetological System standing thus unfinished, even as the great Cathedral of Cologne was left, with the crane still standing upon the top of the uncompleted tower. For small erections may be finished by their first architects; grand ones, true ones, ever leave the copestone to posterity. God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a drought-nay but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!"
This is a momentous moment for missionary work for the LDS Church. Leaders of the Church recognize that this is a process that will continue to change, and will not be perfected or completed soon. We must make sure that our initial structures, as the first architects, are stable structures upon which others can build. Instead of millions forming new structures, we need to group together and build upon that which already stands. I believe that the use of metadata and of using various curation tools to link these various sites and people together will help hasten the work in a very powerful and necessary way.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how metadata can strengthen and spark collaborations, especially in regards to missionary work!
Moby Dick and Travel
Okay, I have done a lot of jumping around and exploring different issues and topics relating to digital culture. After talking with Dr. Burton, I think I have finally found something that I am really excited about. Traveling has always been a passion of mine. I am currently working on the staff of Stowaway, BYU’s travel magazine. I have personally traveled a lot and feel like I have a pretty good sense of how to plan trips and how to make the most out of a travel experience. Traveling has been completely overhauled by digital culture. For my second post this week, I would like to relate elements of travel mediated by digital culture to elements of travel in Moby Dick. These are just some cursory thoughts that I need to start circulating, so I’m hoping that they fit within the scope of the second assignment.
Changing Motivations for Travel
The development of digital culture has opened a wide range of motivations for travel. Both traveling for business and traveling for pleasure have expanded in terms of options and opportunities, and we see a lot more overlap. Your motivation for travel can be anything from going on a company retreat in order to network with other professionals in your field, to going on a cruise because your favorite chef is doing a show, to going to a beautiful place because you know it will create the best picture.
Traveling has always been a way to restore the mind and body. Ishmael uses the ocean as a way to rejuvenate himself. He says, “Yes, as everyone knows, meditation and water are wedded forever” (2). He also says that he goes to be a sailor when he begins to “to grow hazy about the eyes, and begins[s] to be over conscious of [his] lungs” (3). Traveling to a new place puts our own lives into perspective. As we observe another culture, set of beliefs, and place, our knowledge grows. Depending on the experience, our tolerances or prejudices grow with the knowledge we gain. However, Ishmael notes that he does not go as a passenger, but as a sailor. Passengers must have the luxury and money to travel. Ishmael says that passengers also “get seasick--grow quarrelsome--don’t sleep of nights--do not enjoy themselves much, as a general thing” (3). Isn’t that interesting? Those who go for luxury end up complaining and having a worse time. In part, this could be because of the unfamiliarity of the ship and the conditions. Ishmael seems like he has been on a few ships in his life, so he knows what to expect. I wonder though if it is in part due to the fact that when traveling for luxury, travelers spend so much time romanticizing the vacation and trying to make it perfect, so when it doesn’t go as planned, it adds stress. Going for business means that you are being paid for your time. Whether or not this makes it more meaningful to you is subjective, but Ishmael here is showing that he wants to have some sort of employment to accompany his travels. He does not want to be a captain or a commodore, either. He wants to be a simple sailor, something that he is obviously familiar with doing. The only problem is that his voyage with Captain Ahab turns out to be a sailing trip unlike any that he has ever experienced.
Planning a Trip: The Search for the Perfect Accommodations
Planning a trip, whether for business or pleasure, is a process that involves reading many reviews from other travelers and consumers. No one wants to stay in a hotel that a reviewer on Trip Advisor says has bedbugs, terrible service, and weird smells. We have apps and websites that help us narrow down the search for the perfect place to stay, the perfect restaurant to eat at, etc. We are mainly looking at quality and price, and we demand comparison in order to find the right one. There are also certain amenities that travelers look for when searching for accommodations, depending on the nature of the visit. Do they have a pool? Do they have room service? A bar? A spa? Free parking? Sometimes, not having one of these benefits will disqualify a certain place. We find these accommodations by scouring the internet and by reaching out to our social networks for advice and recommendations.
Moby Dick is centered around Captain Ahab’s search for the white whale. He knows exactly what he wants, and no amount of other kinds of whales will substitute for Moby Dick. He employs others on his quest as he scours the waters for his enemy. He also reaches out to network consisting of other sailors as he passes them on the water. Each time he encounters a ship he asks, “Hast thou seen the white whale?” The elements of searching, while enhanced and quickened by digital culture, are much the same today as in the times of Moby Dick.
The Way We Experience People as We Travel
Digital culture is changing the way we interact in all areas, and traveling is one of them. Gone are the days when your only option for accommodations was a hotel. Sometimes people want the comfort of a home to stay in, partially for the experience and partially for the people that you can meet. Airbnb is an app that gives travelers the option to find a flight and a bed-and-breakfast to stay in. It connects people who are renting out their space and people who are looking for a local place to stay. People can rate their experiences, which often leads to travelers wanting to go somewhere they never would have thought of before because of the interpersonal element available. Still, even though you can read reviews, you never know who you are going to encounter. Traveling this way allows you to connect with people you never would have otherwise. In Moby Dick, Ishmael encounters Queequeg at the Spouter Inn. At first, it is clear that Ishmael is a little uneasy about sharing a bed with the “head-peddling harpooner.” But later, they become “bosom friends” and stay close throughout the novel.
I am still in the process of developing this idea of digital culture-influenced travel, so any feedback is welcome. What are some other motivations for travel that you can think of? What experiences have you had with any of the apps or digital travel services mentioned? Have you ever recommended locations, sights, places to stay, etc. to a friend? Have you ever sought out advice? How did the social aspect of planning a vacation influence your trip?
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Moby-Dick and Fan Culture
What I have decided to focus on for this post is communication within fandoms, particularly criticism about the fandom itself.
Moby-Dick is considered a unique novel because of the broken or one-sided communication performed by the characters. As with all types of communication, the aggregate of the communication within the novel leads to a certain conclusion. "[The] atypical nature of most speaking in the novel encourages the negative view[...]that the world is a place where communication is suspect and perhaps impossible" (Barnett 140). Although throughout the book various speeches and conversations are made about the White Whale and Captain Ahab, "the multitude of verbal styles consciously represents the heterogenious collectivity of mankind" (141) Likewise, indvidual fans think differently and have different ideas, but they all generally come to the same conclusions.
Can fandoms be compared to a product? Technically they start out as a product or series of products, such as a book or movie. As the item increases in popularity, authentic merchandise as well as fan-created materials begin to circulate. As people invest themselves emotionally within a fandom, or begin to immerse themselves within it, they seek to know whether or not the immersion is worth their emotional energy based on the opinions of others. Fans promote fandoms because they like their involvement and seek to express their liking and their identity within it. This especially happens within social media, because it brings together a variety of people who are not necessarily geographically or socially connected, but sometimes people who share mutual ties of trust. Interested fans also examine the opinions of other people they don't know to get a feel for what the quality of something is.
A study by Buzzetto and Moore found "participants exhibiting prosumer behaviors through the use of social media as a means to share comments, perspectives, and opinions about goods and services. As such, mediated messages conveyed through SNS [social networking sites] are influencing purchase decisions with word of mouth messages paramountin consequence and ability to impel action" (Buzzetto-Moore 77.) In Moby-Dick, Ishmael starts out as a prospective whaler who goes off information he gathers from Queequeg, Captain Peleg, and other people with experience in the industry. Later, Ishmael becomes such a fan of whaling that he spends most of the book promoting and detailing its work.
Participating in a fandom sometimes requires spending money to attend movie screenings, buy books/DVDs/Blu-rays, or to buy paraphanelia to the materials to make it. Individuals who want to spend money may be influenced by their peers in their decision whether or not a product is worth investing in. To give a personal example, I am not a Whovian (follower of Dr. Who), but I want to be because I have seen Whovian-generated memes on Facebook promoted by friends who ARE Whovians, and since I trust their reputation (aka I know they're awesome) I am inclined to think positively of the fandom. Fandoms can also require serious time commitments (e.g. making memes or costumes). This is also true of online missionary work of the LDS Church, but that's another story.
Then fans make them into something their own. Fans recreate their fandoms on social media sites for bite-sized chunks. On You Tube, for instance, "they come to consume pop culture like movies, television, and songs thesame way they enjoy cookies or chips – in conveniently packaged bite-size nuggetsmade to be munched easily with increased frequency and maximum speed (Miller,2007) [...] It can be considered a buffet of “snack” videos, highly meeting people’s needs for high-speed entertainment munching" (Shao11 ) It's called getting your daily dose of [Insert fandom name here]). Consider this version of "Call Me Maybe." All current episodes of Star Wars in one setting. If that isn't a pick-me up I don't know what is.
For fans, creating content can fulfill personal needs. "On Wikipedia, people can create new items or edit existing items with results that are immediate, obvious, and available to the world. Such contributing experience can help people believe that they have an impact on the group and that support their own self-image as an efficacious person (see Bandura, 1995; Kollock)" (14-15). So when I make or share a meme, I do it because I have observed something insightful about a fandom and want others to know about it. I want to be a part of the fan dialouge and enlighten others about how awesome something is.
Then fans evaluate media created by other fans and the industry. Because the internet is so customized to the individual user, user customization and feedback is vital to sites as well as fandoms and the creators themselves. "Customization provides individuals with an opportunity to express their interests, tastes, thoughts, and values. It also has the potential to generate positive attitudes and behaviors towards the sites (Carpenter, 2000; Graham, 2002; Kalyanaraman and Sundar, 2006)" (Shao 18). And in this way, fans get feedback from each other about their common interests and ideas.
So how about Marvel's Agents of SHIELD? How does social media inform us about this show? Following the conversations on Facebook that the FB site for the show has posted, I have noticed the generally negative trend of commentary on the show. However, the fans who are defending the show usually have the following reasons:
Discussion within fandoms also focuses on the subject of the media at hand as well as its quality. This link to a fan discussion board discusses the ending of the latest Marvel film, "Thor: The Dark World" (but it contains serious spoilers, so don't look at it if you haven't seen the movie yet). Although the participants in this conversation say a lot of different things, their discussion also arrives at a consensus.
What this is telling me is that although people can be of different backgrounds and ideologies they can still come to an agreement in order to navigate a common problem. However, this seems to contradict the effect of conversation taken in the earlier quote from Moby-Dick, that communication is hopeless and pointless. This might seem to make this positive perception of fan culture a little superficial, but taking the quote in context of the book, it is more easily understood.
Moby-Dick is quite a different animal from today's social networks. Unless you're FB friends with someone, you can hardly see the character development visible in books that lies behind the day-to-day conversations, and even with FB friends sometimes it's still obscure. While we can communicate, we do fall short of true understanding, because we cannot see what lies behind people's statements. This is why there are such terrible miscommunications on board the Pequod, if this holds true. Ahab is so deeply immersed in his monomania that he refuses to allow the objections of Starbuck or anyone else to deter him from his quest. Ishmael is keenly aware of the limitations of his relationship with Queequeg, who is from an exotic culture and whose values and ideas are completely different, but this only heightens the sublimity of their friendship. In fan culture, everyone watches a movie or reads a book differently, even if such media are mass distributed, and it is easier to come to an agreement with people who agree with your tastes than those who do not. But as far as superficial information-gathering is concerned, it's still the best way to gather information, even if we really don't know how to use it.
Moby-Dick is considered a unique novel because of the broken or one-sided communication performed by the characters. As with all types of communication, the aggregate of the communication within the novel leads to a certain conclusion. "[The] atypical nature of most speaking in the novel encourages the negative view[...]that the world is a place where communication is suspect and perhaps impossible" (Barnett 140). Although throughout the book various speeches and conversations are made about the White Whale and Captain Ahab, "the multitude of verbal styles consciously represents the heterogenious collectivity of mankind" (141) Likewise, indvidual fans think differently and have different ideas, but they all generally come to the same conclusions.
Can fandoms be compared to a product? Technically they start out as a product or series of products, such as a book or movie. As the item increases in popularity, authentic merchandise as well as fan-created materials begin to circulate. As people invest themselves emotionally within a fandom, or begin to immerse themselves within it, they seek to know whether or not the immersion is worth their emotional energy based on the opinions of others. Fans promote fandoms because they like their involvement and seek to express their liking and their identity within it. This especially happens within social media, because it brings together a variety of people who are not necessarily geographically or socially connected, but sometimes people who share mutual ties of trust. Interested fans also examine the opinions of other people they don't know to get a feel for what the quality of something is.
A study by Buzzetto and Moore found "participants exhibiting prosumer behaviors through the use of social media as a means to share comments, perspectives, and opinions about goods and services. As such, mediated messages conveyed through SNS [social networking sites] are influencing purchase decisions with word of mouth messages paramountin consequence and ability to impel action" (Buzzetto-Moore 77.) In Moby-Dick, Ishmael starts out as a prospective whaler who goes off information he gathers from Queequeg, Captain Peleg, and other people with experience in the industry. Later, Ishmael becomes such a fan of whaling that he spends most of the book promoting and detailing its work.
Participating in a fandom sometimes requires spending money to attend movie screenings, buy books/DVDs/Blu-rays, or to buy paraphanelia to the materials to make it. Individuals who want to spend money may be influenced by their peers in their decision whether or not a product is worth investing in. To give a personal example, I am not a Whovian (follower of Dr. Who), but I want to be because I have seen Whovian-generated memes on Facebook promoted by friends who ARE Whovians, and since I trust their reputation (aka I know they're awesome) I am inclined to think positively of the fandom. Fandoms can also require serious time commitments (e.g. making memes or costumes). This is also true of online missionary work of the LDS Church, but that's another story.
 | ||
| David Tennant as the 10th Doctor. Photo Courtesy ABC Radio. |
Then fans make them into something their own. Fans recreate their fandoms on social media sites for bite-sized chunks. On You Tube, for instance, "they come to consume pop culture like movies, television, and songs thesame way they enjoy cookies or chips – in conveniently packaged bite-size nuggetsmade to be munched easily with increased frequency and maximum speed (Miller,2007) [...] It can be considered a buffet of “snack” videos, highly meeting people’s needs for high-speed entertainment munching" (Shao11 ) It's called getting your daily dose of [Insert fandom name here]). Consider this version of "Call Me Maybe." All current episodes of Star Wars in one setting. If that isn't a pick-me up I don't know what is.
For fans, creating content can fulfill personal needs. "On Wikipedia, people can create new items or edit existing items with results that are immediate, obvious, and available to the world. Such contributing experience can help people believe that they have an impact on the group and that support their own self-image as an efficacious person (see Bandura, 1995; Kollock)" (14-15). So when I make or share a meme, I do it because I have observed something insightful about a fandom and want others to know about it. I want to be a part of the fan dialouge and enlighten others about how awesome something is.
 |
| Self-generated meme. Picture courtesy of ABC. |
So how about Marvel's Agents of SHIELD? How does social media inform us about this show? Following the conversations on Facebook that the FB site for the show has posted, I have noticed the generally negative trend of commentary on the show. However, the fans who are defending the show usually have the following reasons:
- The show is just barely starting and it could take a season or two to get on its feet.
- The show is supposed to be about the AGENTS, so obviously people who are expecting a mini superhero movie every episode WILL be disappointed.
- The show has a very small budget, which accounts for the lack of certain elements the viewers could be wanting, like having an actual superhero cameo. For instance, a Hulk cameo would never work because the show does not have the budget for that (and in my opinion, even if it was just Bruce Banner it would still be difficult to pull off because the Avengers are level 6 and don't know that Coulson's back--and they might not respond well to that revelation)
- The real reason the ratings are low is because people have the option of watching episodes on ABC.com or Hulu on their own time. (not actually said online, but true)
- People who are now disaffected with the show need to get off the Facebook sit.
 |
| Screenshot of my FB status after last week's episode. |
Discussion within fandoms also focuses on the subject of the media at hand as well as its quality. This link to a fan discussion board discusses the ending of the latest Marvel film, "Thor: The Dark World" (but it contains serious spoilers, so don't look at it if you haven't seen the movie yet). Although the participants in this conversation say a lot of different things, their discussion also arrives at a consensus.
What this is telling me is that although people can be of different backgrounds and ideologies they can still come to an agreement in order to navigate a common problem. However, this seems to contradict the effect of conversation taken in the earlier quote from Moby-Dick, that communication is hopeless and pointless. This might seem to make this positive perception of fan culture a little superficial, but taking the quote in context of the book, it is more easily understood.
Moby-Dick is quite a different animal from today's social networks. Unless you're FB friends with someone, you can hardly see the character development visible in books that lies behind the day-to-day conversations, and even with FB friends sometimes it's still obscure. While we can communicate, we do fall short of true understanding, because we cannot see what lies behind people's statements. This is why there are such terrible miscommunications on board the Pequod, if this holds true. Ahab is so deeply immersed in his monomania that he refuses to allow the objections of Starbuck or anyone else to deter him from his quest. Ishmael is keenly aware of the limitations of his relationship with Queequeg, who is from an exotic culture and whose values and ideas are completely different, but this only heightens the sublimity of their friendship. In fan culture, everyone watches a movie or reads a book differently, even if such media are mass distributed, and it is easier to come to an agreement with people who agree with your tastes than those who do not. But as far as superficial information-gathering is concerned, it's still the best way to gather information, even if we really don't know how to use it.
Friday, November 15, 2013
DRAFT of this weeks #2 post
So in the spirit of works in progress, I am leaving this up here for my reference as well as yours.
Fandom communication on Facebook.
Speech in Moby-Dick
"the atypical nature of most speaking in the novel encourages the negative view[...]that the world is a place where communication is suspect and perhaps impossible" (Barnett 140).
What kind of communication occurs on Facebook, especially in response to fandoms? What views does it encourage? (ie, is the latest media good or bad?)
"the multitude of verbal styles consciously represents the heterogenious collectivity of mankind" (141)
indv fans think differently and have different ideas, but they all generally come to the same conclusions.
Fandom communication on Facebook.
Speech in Moby-Dick
"the atypical nature of most speaking in the novel encourages the negative view[...]that the world is a place where communication is suspect and perhaps impossible" (Barnett 140).
What kind of communication occurs on Facebook, especially in response to fandoms? What views does it encourage? (ie, is the latest media good or bad?)
"the multitude of verbal styles consciously represents the heterogenious collectivity of mankind" (141)
indv fans think differently and have different ideas, but they all generally come to the same conclusions.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Pop Song Remix Needs a Music Video
So for those of you who are familiar with the pop song "Sail" by AWOLNATION, I wrote a spinnoff version called "Whale" based on Moby-Dick. Dr. Burton said I could post the lyrics below. I wanted to make a music video, but I wasn't able to record a video over a kareoke track of the original. So I need help on that end. But here are the lyrics, as well as a few (crude) illustrations that I would want to use in a potential video.
Whale!
This is how the crew will die
This is how the crew will die
white whale's gonna make us cry
blame it all on Ahab, baby,
Ahab's gonna work us all
we're gonna pay for his bad call
Blame it on the devil, baby!
Blame it on the devil, baby!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Maybe we should jump this ship,
maybe everyone should quit,
blame it all on not enough pay,
baby.Maybe this just wasn't right
Maybe we picked the wrong fight
blame it on monomania, Baby
blame it on monomania, Baby
Whale!Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
La la la la la
La la la la la oh!
La la la la la,
La la la la la oh!
La la la la la,
La la la la la,
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Deciding to consider a deeper context for this remixed song, I noticed that the original talks about disturbing mental health issues, which reminded me of Ahab's monomania. So considered in that light, I looked up "monomania" in the text of Moby-Dick. The Oxford English Dictionary defines monomania as a mental disorder or emotional state in which a patient is continually drawn to a single subject. Modern psychiatry would identify some cases as OCD. From the usage of the term in the novel, not surprising for a 19th-century text, monomania is regarded as something to be dreaded. To the monomaniac Ahab, the world around him exists only to satisfy his wishes, and even the "veriest trifles" point to the theme he seeks. And the things that drive him away from his goal he distrusts. Ishmael/Melville associates monomania and "madness" in general with disorder, with savagery, with the infernal imagery of the try-pots. As someone who has experienced OCD personally, an obsession of that caliber does get to be a drag after a while.
I feel like the song I've written is a reflection of how the crew of the Pequod tries to cope with the instability of its commander. From both the text of the novel and the song I've written, Ahab's obsession takes its toll on the crew as well. In writing this I was also inspired by the Divine Comedy music video "Fail," which laments the draining academics of BYU.
So, anyone wanna help me make a real music video?
Translations of Moby Dick
So I decided to translate the first sentence of Moby Dick into another language, and then translate it back to English. In my original blog post, I originally decided to try three different languages, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided to stick with one language.
Ultimately, I wanted to translate the first sentence into a language that was much different from the English language. As you know, the English language itself can be at times a difficult langague. Drawing words from other languages the English langue has a wide variety of words that are used. I have heard from individuals speaking other languages that because of this there are some words that are used in the English language that just can not be translated into other languages.
So the language that I wanted to translate Moby Dick to is: Hebrew.
So here is some background information on Hebrew provided by Wikipedia.
So when I translated the first sentence of Moby Dick using google translation this is what I got:
קוראים לי ישמעאל. לפני כמה שנים - לא משנה כמה זמן בדיוק - שיש
מעט או ללא כסף בארנק שלי, ושום דבר לא מעניין אותי במיוחד על
חוף, חשבתי שאפליג על קצת ותראה את החלק המימי של
העולם.
After translating it back to English this is the result:
Call me Ishmael. A few years ago - no matter how long - that
Little or no money in my purse, and nothing particularly interesting to me
Beach, I thought I sail a little and see the watery part of the
World.
As a result, though the sentence structure of the sentence was there, the main idea of the sentences could change because the word shore apparently did not translate back into English, it was instead, replaced with beach. This little word change for me could even change the way you interpret the text, making the reader wonder if Ishmael is in fact sailing across the world looking for a beach or if it was the beach he had in mind the whole time, or maybe he just wanted to become a beach bum. Putting all of these thoughts aside, this little exercise made me realize how different languages can be both a barrier and insightful at the same time.
Ultimately, I wanted to translate the first sentence into a language that was much different from the English language. As you know, the English language itself can be at times a difficult langague. Drawing words from other languages the English langue has a wide variety of words that are used. I have heard from individuals speaking other languages that because of this there are some words that are used in the English language that just can not be translated into other languages.
So the language that I wanted to translate Moby Dick to is: Hebrew.
- Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages in Israel
- Modern Hebrew is written from right to left using the Hebrew alphabet
- The vocabulary used within the Hebrew language has been altered from its original form due to its reintroduction to various cultures of organic life throughout time.
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.
So when I translated the first sentence of Moby Dick using google translation this is what I got:
קוראים לי ישמעאל. לפני כמה שנים - לא משנה כמה זמן בדיוק - שיש
מעט או ללא כסף בארנק שלי, ושום דבר לא מעניין אותי במיוחד על
חוף, חשבתי שאפליג על קצת ותראה את החלק המימי של
העולם.
After translating it back to English this is the result:
Call me Ishmael. A few years ago - no matter how long - that
Little or no money in my purse, and nothing particularly interesting to me
Beach, I thought I sail a little and see the watery part of the
World.
As a result, though the sentence structure of the sentence was there, the main idea of the sentences could change because the word shore apparently did not translate back into English, it was instead, replaced with beach. This little word change for me could even change the way you interpret the text, making the reader wonder if Ishmael is in fact sailing across the world looking for a beach or if it was the beach he had in mind the whole time, or maybe he just wanted to become a beach bum. Putting all of these thoughts aside, this little exercise made me realize how different languages can be both a barrier and insightful at the same time.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Moby Dick in a Minute
When we first received the assignment to mediate the text of Moby Dick, the first thing that came to mind was doing some kind of "Moby Dick in a Minute" production. I thought about doing an illustrated video, but decided instead to do a kind of text slideshow. I uploaded it to YouTube and have embedded it below.
What I realized first is that condensing a novel this long into one minute is difficult, especially considering that I chose a medium that required time for transitions and time for readers to actually read the text. However, while the main points I chose may seem very basic, I think this basic format has a place on the internet. We are all about simplifying and condensing in order to fit more into the 24 hours in our day (can you tell I still have Present Shock in the back of my mind?), so finding simplified versions of things sometimes becomes a priority.
I initially got the idea from the Barats and Bereta Bible in a minute video:
(Sorry for any sacrilegiousness)
The advantages to having a visual and audio video rather than a text video is that they are able to fit a lot more in to the one minute than I could. They did this in one take (or so I assume), and then they added effects later. They get right at the basics of the Bible, which is what I tried to do in my video. One thing I noticed between the two is that the Bible in a Minute video gives keywords rather than full descriptions. These keywords would not mean much to someone who had never read about or studied the Bible. I think my video does something different, in that it tries to tell the story of Moby Dick to someone who may not be familiar with it.
While I was creating the moving text in PowerDirector, I knew I wanted to enhance it with an image and with sound. I found the image on photopin.com. I thought it was a cool interpretation of Moby Dick. As I searched for music to add to my slideshow, I tried to find something that would convey the harshness of the life at sea that Ishmael experiences. It was fun to combine these different elements to create something new. And who knows, maybe some 9th grader will stumble upon it and it will help them understand a few of the basics of this long novel they have to read for their English class.
What I realized first is that condensing a novel this long into one minute is difficult, especially considering that I chose a medium that required time for transitions and time for readers to actually read the text. However, while the main points I chose may seem very basic, I think this basic format has a place on the internet. We are all about simplifying and condensing in order to fit more into the 24 hours in our day (can you tell I still have Present Shock in the back of my mind?), so finding simplified versions of things sometimes becomes a priority.
I initially got the idea from the Barats and Bereta Bible in a minute video:
(Sorry for any sacrilegiousness)
The advantages to having a visual and audio video rather than a text video is that they are able to fit a lot more in to the one minute than I could. They did this in one take (or so I assume), and then they added effects later. They get right at the basics of the Bible, which is what I tried to do in my video. One thing I noticed between the two is that the Bible in a Minute video gives keywords rather than full descriptions. These keywords would not mean much to someone who had never read about or studied the Bible. I think my video does something different, in that it tries to tell the story of Moby Dick to someone who may not be familiar with it.
While I was creating the moving text in PowerDirector, I knew I wanted to enhance it with an image and with sound. I found the image on photopin.com. I thought it was a cool interpretation of Moby Dick. As I searched for music to add to my slideshow, I tried to find something that would convey the harshness of the life at sea that Ishmael experiences. It was fun to combine these different elements to create something new. And who knows, maybe some 9th grader will stumble upon it and it will help them understand a few of the basics of this long novel they have to read for their English class.
Moby Dick-It's Black and White
When I was researching for my paper, I found lots of quotes and opinions discussing how Melville addresses the issue of race in Moby Dick. So I decided to do a search of the text available through Project Gutenberg. In the text I found the word "black" appears 138 times, while "white" appears 317 times. As I looked more closely at the various examples, I found that "white" was often used either in a description of a man of power, or of solid substances. For example, "white" is the adjective used to describe ivory, lumber, churches, etc. The "white whale" is specifically referenced 108 times out of the 317. On the other hand, "black" was often in reference to indefinite ideas and objects such as clouds, waters, air, storms, soot. References in particular to black men or white men are few, but I feel that an analysis of Moby Dick through the use of these two basic words allows us to see what the text really is saying in regards to race. While "black" is indefinite and often dangerous, the whole novel focuses on chasing after that which is "white". The entire novel is in pursuit of the white whale. Examining the text in this way has caused me to reconsider the way I read Moby Dick, and I'm interested to see what other pairings come from searching opposites.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Video Review of Future Shock
So I posted the review of my video of Future Shock on google plus, but I forgot to create a blog about it. For some reasons I am having trouble uploading the link on to the blog so here is a link.
The video review of Future Shock I was pretty hard for me, I"m not going to lie. After about twelve takes I reached a point where I realized that because this is my first video, it won't be perfect. For some reason I just felt super self conciouse filming myself, I guess because it was because I was using a new medium.
For being my first video review I think I did a pretty good job, though my ideas could be a little more clearer. I don't think I explained the pain points of the book very well, and if I could do this assinment again, I think that I would write out exactly what I was trying to say as well as the main point that I would want to explain.
Overal, I think that this was an good expereince and excellent assinment to have in this class. I think that most people, including myself, have yet to make a book revie online so for me this was an excellent learning experience.
The video review of Future Shock I was pretty hard for me, I"m not going to lie. After about twelve takes I reached a point where I realized that because this is my first video, it won't be perfect. For some reason I just felt super self conciouse filming myself, I guess because it was because I was using a new medium.
For being my first video review I think I did a pretty good job, though my ideas could be a little more clearer. I don't think I explained the pain points of the book very well, and if I could do this assinment again, I think that I would write out exactly what I was trying to say as well as the main point that I would want to explain.
Overal, I think that this was an good expereince and excellent assinment to have in this class. I think that most people, including myself, have yet to make a book revie online so for me this was an excellent learning experience.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Against the Machine Video Review
So, as you can tell, unscripted performances and video-making are not my forte. And I am obsessed with my own reflection. But making this video encouraged me to believe that I could someday make more videos and improve their quality. AND this was my first video with tags--definitely a step forward.
Video Review on Present Shock
This was a very, very quick and rough edit. I did not want to spend too much time touching it up because I started going over the time limit as was, and the assignment requested to stay within two hours of working on it.
What I learned from creating this video:
1. The more editing and work you do, the more room there is for something to go wrong and for error.
2. Trying to condense the points of this book down into a few minutes is extremely difficult. I felt like the only things I had time for were the abstract ideas, and I had to sacrifice the concrete examples that went along with these ideas. Were I to do it again, I might spend less time on the 5 different syndromes and try to consolidate them into a couple sentences, then try to bring in some more concrete examples to help give the argument some credibility.
3. Personally, I feel like videos that have some editing keep my attention more. However, you have to be careful to add too much, or it feels disjointed. As I tried to find that balance, I found myself cutting scenes in favor of making the video seem more coherent. I also tried to stay away from special effects in order to preserve the authenticity of the video.
4. I think my voice is too mellow to be a vlogger.
This assignment was really beneficial for me as I took into consideration my audience and tried to fit a relevant presentation into the short time allotted. I think breaking down the book as succinctly as possible forces you to get at the main ideas and the most appealing content to those interested in reading the book.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Video Review of Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis
Well, seeing as Public Parts is a book advocating online sharing and not being afraid to put ourselves online, here is my video review of the book, in all my post-run glory. (A very attractive opening frame, wouldn't you agree?)
Making this review was much harder than I thought. Presenting is one thing, but watching yourself on a screen is something entirely different. Public Parts is all about online sharing and how we consciously represent ourselves online, and I think that made me all the more paranoid about the video being as close to perfection as I could get it. At the end of the day though, it made me look at the book in a different way and decide what was really important in 90 seconds.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Review of Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis
Also reviewed on Goodreads.
Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis is a really easy, yet interesting read. Jarvis uses personal and cultural examples to illustrate the importance of public sharing, and also highlights the challenges in separating public and private life. Jarvis's arguments in regards to businesses being more open in sharing ideas and interacting with their customers is especially strong. While I personally do not agree with publicness online to the extent that Jarvis does, I found that his logic for the most part made a whole lot of sense!
Jarvis really does make this an entertaining and easy read. He discusses the history of publicness and highlights the benefits of being public online. He addresses the concept and definition of privacy, and how that relates to the business world. Towards the end of his book he discusses the need to protect publicness and in a sense calls for support in this cause.
I think one of the strong arguments Jarvis makes is our need to make connections online. He writes, "The people we want to meet are a connection away.” While I have reservations about needing to be completely public online with our personal lives, his argument for the needs companies have to make connections online made sense. The online presence a company has now has a large affect on it's brand, and is something companies need to acknowledge.
Whether or not you agree with the argument Jarvis makes, it is good to be aware of it. The digital age truly is changing the way we live our lives, and we need to be aware and informed on the issue of privacy. The digital world has expanded to the point where it can no longer be ignored.
Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis is a really easy, yet interesting read. Jarvis uses personal and cultural examples to illustrate the importance of public sharing, and also highlights the challenges in separating public and private life. Jarvis's arguments in regards to businesses being more open in sharing ideas and interacting with their customers is especially strong. While I personally do not agree with publicness online to the extent that Jarvis does, I found that his logic for the most part made a whole lot of sense!
Jarvis really does make this an entertaining and easy read. He discusses the history of publicness and highlights the benefits of being public online. He addresses the concept and definition of privacy, and how that relates to the business world. Towards the end of his book he discusses the need to protect publicness and in a sense calls for support in this cause.
I think one of the strong arguments Jarvis makes is our need to make connections online. He writes, "The people we want to meet are a connection away.” While I have reservations about needing to be completely public online with our personal lives, his argument for the needs companies have to make connections online made sense. The online presence a company has now has a large affect on it's brand, and is something companies need to acknowledge.
Whether or not you agree with the argument Jarvis makes, it is good to be aware of it. The digital age truly is changing the way we live our lives, and we need to be aware and informed on the issue of privacy. The digital world has expanded to the point where it can no longer be ignored.
Siegel's Against the Machine: Review
Here is the link to the Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/742375803
Despite its promising title, Lee Siegel's Against the Machine is less about the struggle to maintain our humanity in the digital age and more about his problem with how the internet age has completely bereft our society of creativity, impartiality, and pure artistic originality.
My very negative preview of Against the Machine was for the most part confirmed by my reading it. It is for the most part poorly written, with a few coherent statements and positive suggestions scattered amongst lengthy commentary on how the internet and its promoters have destroyed our culture and anecdotes about how the internet has turned its consumers or "prosumers" into distorted reflections of itself. He is all about how the internet is people with no talent or originality selling their poor interpretations of things they did not create. Value in this digital society is determined by popularity, not quality or artistry, and value is also based on marketability rather than detached enjoyment. Siegel refers a lot to Alvin Toffler's Future Shock (review by my friend Melee here), making references to how we have become more or less the very society that Toffler predicted. Between the lines of Siegel's ranting is a drawn-out elegy of the death of gatekeeping, regulated print culture, major media outlets and "real" art.
Ironically, although he complains about the bias of our individual-based internet culture, this book is distorted with his own biases, which was disappointing since I chose to read this book based because I thought it promised objectivity. Perhaps in writing this Siegel is presenting his book as an object lesson about how biased our individualized media is. If this is the case, Siegel is trying to imbue us with his own negative perception of humanity and modern culture. He has very little good to say about the internet or the people that use it. Understandably, Siegel wrote this book to reflect on his very negative experiences with the internet. So coming from a completely different perspective--where the internet can also be used as a source of good, uplifting content when created by good people for good reasons--Siegel perhaps would not blame me for thinking that he is missing half the picture.
What good points Siegel does make, as I have pointed out, are few and far between, but I will point them out just so we don't lose faith in the author's humanity. He does have a point that he says that the individualization/customization of the internet is not always a good thing. While it surrounds us with the things we like, however, individualized media insulate us from things we do not like. The internet encourages the glorification of the self and the self's fantasies rather than bringing us closer to understanding other people. Siegel claims that this contributes to the hate, bigotry, and misunderstanding on political blogs, comments, and other internet posts. People just say what they want rather than trying to understand the other person's point of view. I do sympathize with Siegel's claim that detachment from people and media as means to an end is disappearing, but I disagree that it is totally lost--or ever will be lost, from society.
What Siegel could have argued for better, if he argued at all, is a need for limited immersion in the internet culture. Instead, he just rants about the Internet as a corrupt media, an enhanced societal enslavement and a failed democracy, and a culture that has fallen for corporate capitalism's trap. He could have at least offered a solution to today's internet culture, if there is so much wrong with it--after all, in the prologue he says "Things really don't have to be the way they are." So how can they be, Mr. Siegel? Really?
I read this book on Kindle for PC. Against the Machine is divided into three segments with three chapters each. It is fairly short, easy reading.
Despite its promising title, Lee Siegel's Against the Machine is less about the struggle to maintain our humanity in the digital age and more about his problem with how the internet age has completely bereft our society of creativity, impartiality, and pure artistic originality.
My very negative preview of Against the Machine was for the most part confirmed by my reading it. It is for the most part poorly written, with a few coherent statements and positive suggestions scattered amongst lengthy commentary on how the internet and its promoters have destroyed our culture and anecdotes about how the internet has turned its consumers or "prosumers" into distorted reflections of itself. He is all about how the internet is people with no talent or originality selling their poor interpretations of things they did not create. Value in this digital society is determined by popularity, not quality or artistry, and value is also based on marketability rather than detached enjoyment. Siegel refers a lot to Alvin Toffler's Future Shock (review by my friend Melee here), making references to how we have become more or less the very society that Toffler predicted. Between the lines of Siegel's ranting is a drawn-out elegy of the death of gatekeeping, regulated print culture, major media outlets and "real" art.
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| Adam Thierer, Flickr |
What good points Siegel does make, as I have pointed out, are few and far between, but I will point them out just so we don't lose faith in the author's humanity. He does have a point that he says that the individualization/customization of the internet is not always a good thing. While it surrounds us with the things we like, however, individualized media insulate us from things we do not like. The internet encourages the glorification of the self and the self's fantasies rather than bringing us closer to understanding other people. Siegel claims that this contributes to the hate, bigotry, and misunderstanding on political blogs, comments, and other internet posts. People just say what they want rather than trying to understand the other person's point of view. I do sympathize with Siegel's claim that detachment from people and media as means to an end is disappearing, but I disagree that it is totally lost--or ever will be lost, from society.
What Siegel could have argued for better, if he argued at all, is a need for limited immersion in the internet culture. Instead, he just rants about the Internet as a corrupt media, an enhanced societal enslavement and a failed democracy, and a culture that has fallen for corporate capitalism's trap. He could have at least offered a solution to today's internet culture, if there is so much wrong with it--after all, in the prologue he says "Things really don't have to be the way they are." So how can they be, Mr. Siegel? Really?
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| occidentalobserver.net |
Review of Present Shock
Here is the link to my Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/757111747
The text for it is below:
Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now by Douglas Rushkoff is a case study on the present-day phenomenon of being trapped in and consumed by the present moment. Whereas the twentieth century saw the rise of an obsession with the future (manifested through the development of technologies that allowed us to connect, gather data, and even be in multiple places at once), the twenty-first century saw the paralysis of life in an actualized future. Rushkoff shows that because of trying to preserve the current moment that comprises compressed time, we actually miss out on the moment, resulting in present shock.
He discusses five different phases of present shock: narrative collapse, digiphrenia, overwinding, fractalnoia, and apocalypto. These stages reveal different steps of present shock that the current population experiences. It seems that the more we try to catch up with the present, the further removed we are from it. Rushkoff says, “If we could only catch up with the wave of information, we feel, we would at last be in the now. This is a false goal.” He goes on to say that our devices have outpaced us. For example, catching up with your Twitter feed is a way to read what is happening at other places in the same moment. However, by catching up, we are reading moments of the past, not the present. In the meantime, our personal present moment has passed. Rushkoff brings up some very interesting points about digital culture.
I think the ideas related to present shock are worth exploring, and this book served as a great initial exploration. Like others have said, I think that there are parts of the book that feel disjointed and out of sequence. The end of the book ends with a discussion of apocalypto (showing how humans are anticipating an end to humanity). This felt like the least developed idea, and there was not a wrap up at the end. I found myself looking for solutions for present shock or even ways to cope with it in this part of the book. Though I did find some moments of solution, they were scattered throughout the book. I wish that the end had a little more explanation of how to handle present shock and navigate through the deluge of information and technology without surrendering to the effects of time-compressing tendencies that characterize the digital age.
The text for it is below:
Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now by Douglas Rushkoff is a case study on the present-day phenomenon of being trapped in and consumed by the present moment. Whereas the twentieth century saw the rise of an obsession with the future (manifested through the development of technologies that allowed us to connect, gather data, and even be in multiple places at once), the twenty-first century saw the paralysis of life in an actualized future. Rushkoff shows that because of trying to preserve the current moment that comprises compressed time, we actually miss out on the moment, resulting in present shock.
He discusses five different phases of present shock: narrative collapse, digiphrenia, overwinding, fractalnoia, and apocalypto. These stages reveal different steps of present shock that the current population experiences. It seems that the more we try to catch up with the present, the further removed we are from it. Rushkoff says, “If we could only catch up with the wave of information, we feel, we would at last be in the now. This is a false goal.” He goes on to say that our devices have outpaced us. For example, catching up with your Twitter feed is a way to read what is happening at other places in the same moment. However, by catching up, we are reading moments of the past, not the present. In the meantime, our personal present moment has passed. Rushkoff brings up some very interesting points about digital culture.
This diagram that illustrates the stages of present shock
I think the ideas related to present shock are worth exploring, and this book served as a great initial exploration. Like others have said, I think that there are parts of the book that feel disjointed and out of sequence. The end of the book ends with a discussion of apocalypto (showing how humans are anticipating an end to humanity). This felt like the least developed idea, and there was not a wrap up at the end. I found myself looking for solutions for present shock or even ways to cope with it in this part of the book. Though I did find some moments of solution, they were scattered throughout the book. I wish that the end had a little more explanation of how to handle present shock and navigate through the deluge of information and technology without surrendering to the effects of time-compressing tendencies that characterize the digital age.
Alvin Tofler's: Future Shock
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/757000290
Living in a society that is centered on
technology, I have always been interested in learning more about how this
technological age we live in effects us as individuals, families, and as a
society. Alvin Toffler within his book Future Shock address within this book
the change that is happening within our society as the pace is constantly being
sped up through technology. Toffler in his book goes on to explain the consequences
and the future shock that can occur while living in living in a fast pace society due to
technology. Though this book was written over 30 years ago, the concepts and
issues that Alvin Toffler addresses within his book Future Shock are still
applicable today.
Future Shock was an interesting read as Alvin
Toffler tackles complex issues and topics as he seeks to answer the question
posed in his book “How can we prevent mass future shock, selectively adjusting
the tempos of change” (395). One of the
issues he address within his book ,concerning the negative consequences of
living in such a fast paced world, is the effect this will have on the family
as a whole. Toffler examines how because
the pace within society gets faster and faster, the process when it comes to
growing up, leaving home, getting married, and starting a family will become in
a way so rushed that Toffler suggests that this process will become so rushed
that he says that marriage will become in a way non-existent.
Though the book was a slow read in the beginning,
Toffler manages to introduce various topics and aspects of the effect of living
in a continually increasingly fast paced society. I feel that though this was written some time
ago, today as a society we are still seeking answers to many of the questions
that are brought up within Future Shock.
Overall, I would recommend this book because it is an interesting read
and the concerns are still applicable today.
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