• Last semester of school

  May 2012

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1. Do you think I should add a gender element? My main point is just to look at video games and the type of socializing that emerges

2.Intervention video not relevant? Wanting to use it to demonstrate the dark side of video gaming in terms of it being an addiction

3. Video Blog, does it meet copy right issues? Will my personal data get mixed in with my secondary data?

4. Do you have an recommendations for  for an online video game that I can play involving a social aspect. Like other than WOW

5.  On the rubric I did the worst in the methodology section, is it because my ideas don’t really work to proving my research question or is it because I am not explaining them well?

6. Narrowing my thesis down, any ideas?

Sooo this blog is already a day late and I still feel like i have no exciting creative ideas to write about. Honestly, I have no idea how people write these every week just for the fun of it. So, I am just going to write about my life and hope it relates back to the class….Tomorrow I am going to see the DJ/production Duo Bloody Beetroots play a show at Guvv. For those of you who do not know who the Bloody Beetroots are, they spin house music also known as electronica. Watch this youtube clip to get an idea of how their music sounds. This clip is of the tour they will be playing when I see them tomorrow!!  

The majority of the music played by Bloody Beetroots is created by them. However it is not uncommon for them to play mash-ups from other artists….which is apparently ILLEGAL. The whole genre of  House/Electronic music is all about sampling different sounds and songs and putting them together often using distorting technology and making something new. Watch this clip, its a popular mash-up I’ve heard in clubs on numerous occasions by the DJ/Production Duo Croockers. (If anyone knows anything about electro-house, it’s that a lot of aspiring DJs hope to be as good as Croockers someday.  

Okay, so in this video the Lion King is being playing right? WRONG, it’s “King of Africa” by Crookers. If you research Crookers you will find that they have done a lot of remix with famous artist, those are all legal and agreed upon with the original artist. However, every night they spin their mash-ups to crowds of thousands of people it’s Illegal?? My question is, just how illegal is it really? I’ve attended my fair share of electro-house shows and even just out to see other artist perform mash-ups at clubs…it doesn’t seem like anything illgeal is happening. If it’s so illegal why aren’t police there at these shows to arrest them? Also, if I am attending these shows where DJ’s are performing mash-ups and calling it their own, am I not doing something Illegal by supporting it?  It seems to me like copyright laws are putting a limit to the amount of creativity people are allowed to have. It’s kind of  like what that documentary was saying new ideas and culture are built off ones from the past. I don’t think it’s fair the creative expression can so easily be deemed ILLEGAL.

In the morning, (granted I wake up on the right side of the bed) I like to stand in front of my mirror and sing into my hairbrush.I have my music blasting loud and I dance around like a fool. I can confidently say, I would not want anyone to witness this, nor a lot of other things I do behind closed doors.  So, why are so many people taking videos of themselves doing random and embarrassing things and posting them for the world to see?

Well, I have two words for you people… INTERNET CELEBRITY!! Now if we go to our ‘trusty’ website Wikipedia we find that Internet celebrity is defined as, “someone who has become famous by means of the internet” Very intellectual definition, thanks Wikipedia. But in all seriousness, with the invention of digital media and web 2.0 you don’t have to win a Noble prize or even star in movie to become a celebrity….You can simply just sit at home and with a click of a button post a video of you doing, well anything.  With the invention of Youtube, it’s no longer about getting your 15 minutes of fame; instead Internet stardom often rises from the number of hits or views a video gets.

There are many videos that have become popular, receiving millions of views and some have shot their participants to ‘celebrity’ status.  The comedy South Park responded to the concept of Internet celebrities by airing an episode containing some of the most popular videos from Youtube. Take a look at this clip from South Park to get their feelings on this new found craze. (Start at 24 seconds in and watch up to 4:49) 

…as if these people haven’t already been humiliated enough…South Park decides to take a crack at ‘em. That being said, I’ve heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…or maybe we just really like laughing at the expense of other people…

Now, I think it is important to keep in mind that some of these Internet celebrities may not have wanted all this fame… The popular Numa Numa kid, featured in the South Park clip is one example of this. The New York Times, put out an article entitled “Internet fame is cruel mistress for a dancer of the Numa Numa”.  Gary Brolsma a.ka. Numa Numa kid apparently upload his video to the Internet with little though to its purpose or where it would end up. His video was then picked up by some video hub website and then spread across video sites all over the world. When the video blew up, Gary was reported to have hid in his home and was embarrassed…there was talks of his parents originally wanting to sue.

Do we really know the cost of this instant celebrity stardom? Is anything we post on the Internet private anymore? Essentially we now can humiliate someone with the click of button….

If you ask me, I think Numa Numa kid has little to cry about. He was voted # 1 Internet Icon by 40 Greatest internet Superstars and he set a record in the Guinness World Record 2008, for orignal Numa Numa video. Again, maybe he didn’t want this…but then don’t go and post videos of yourself online for everyone to see!!!

Am I heartless, maybe? Take a look at the facts and you decide…

Hungry? Watch this youtube clip, it might change the way you crave your favorite fast food items. (Start 23 sec in — the beginning just has a disclaimer saying each item was bought and displayed in the condition it was purchased)  My favourite part is 1:27… The Big Mac. I can’t lie I see ads for it everywhere, on TV, on billboards and I just got to have it. That being said, in my experience I have to agree it does never look as good as it does in the pictures. But at the end of the day does that really matter? It still tastes as good as always…isn’t that the point?

Since the explosion of digital media and the popularity of photo editing there has been a lot of talk surrounding the issue of credibility. How much of what we see is real and are these images distorting the way we see life?

For all those people out there who are reading this and feeling cheated, I want to take a moment and shake you… We’re living in 2010 and it’s the marketing business people…nothing is real anymore!!! In a world were fast food businesses hire “food stylist” to make their food look perfect and delicious, how can we expect some next Joe at McDonalds to make it look just as  good!?

I think when when it comes to matters of credibility I really do believe that what you see isn’t what you get and the concept of real, is over. I think it’s important that we educate ourselves to be critical of the things that are deemed to be credible, especially  when it comes to advertising.

I don’t really have a problem with photo manipulation, I see it more as a form of art. Maybe this is because I’ve given up on the idea of anything being real. For me, I think photo editing becomes most dangerous when it distorts the way people perceive body image.  All these young girls want to look like the celeberties they see on the cover of magazines. And the fact is, none of them really look like that… and that is all thanks to a little program called photoshop. Take a look at this picture of Brintey Spears.

She doesn’t even look bad in the before… and that is what makes imagine editing so dangerous. It’s that extra little bit of perfection that makes beauty unattainable. To give Britney some credit she did allow these before and after photos of herself to be take and shown to the public.  I think if people are going to be open about their editing and showcase it as a talent and form of art rather than reality then there is no harm in imagine manipulation. I think it is our job as the viewer to look at everything with a critical eye and to be aware of how this digital media phenomena is affecting our lives.

I choose to use my face and Marilyn Monroe in this assignment for the same reason that guy pretended to be spider man. I think there is term to explain this… But I did it as a form of flattery and imitation. Marilyn is gorgeous and I identify with her on a personal level. Also, for Halloween I was considering being marilyn, so why not paste my face on there and get an idea of what it might like look?

I learned that the art of photoshop is a lot harder than I thought and I think in the right circumstances photo manipulation can be a real art. This program is definitely something I am going to play around with in the future.

(On a side note: It may seem like pasting in this little face would only take a few minutes…on the contrary. This was actually extremely challenging for me to do. And it doesn’t even look that great. But Here you have it…Me as  Marilyn Monroe. Enjoy!)

When reading the economics section in the Van Dijck article, I was excited to see the word “google“. I have this theory that google is secretly evil.(which is ironic, because googles catch phrase is Don’t be evil)  Google seems all good and all knowing…but what really goes on behind the scenes?

Heres my version of what happens at google…

Well, its this crazy buliding with everything you could ever imagine needing. 5 star chefs, a gym, a daycare, a pool, a laundry service, and your own personal chauffeur to bring you back and forth to work. Basically a building designed to make you never ever want to leave google. Crazy right?

Ok so here’s where the evil part comes in… Every time you type something in that little white box and press send, google saves your searches! So say you search how to make a bomb or how to grow marijuana google saves those searches and attaches them with your IP address. Also google has access to your e-mail if you are using its popular site G-mail.There goes the end of privacy…

Google:behind the scenes -the end of privacy

So what does google do with this information? Well according to Van Dijck and the documentry “Google: behind the sences” google takes the users data and sells it to companies who can afford to have an edge on the leading competitors. Why is data so valuable? Because it contains the information that companies need to market good ad campaigns based on what the consumers want.

Google:behind the scenes

Another thing that I think secretly makes google evil, is that google claims to be unbiased with the information that gets put up on their website for the public to see. However, I have personally experienced that this not true. For a past project I need to search all the red and blue states in america. (basically, a list of all the states that were conservative and liberal) When I typed my search into google, i could not find any information about this. After many failed searches, i look on yahoo for the same information. And you know what I found…the answer to my search on the first link! Unbaised…yeah okay google!

So maybe it is a little extreme to call a simple search engine evil, but when you look at the facts google is one rich and powerful company. Who are they to decide what is important and what the public should see? And are we really okay with the world having access to all our information? How well do we know whos watching on the other end when we type into that little white box and press search?

Maybe I am just being crazy. Is google evil? I don’t know…you decide for yourself!

This whole blog assignment is turning out to be harder then i thought…

Lets start with the first thing that pops into my mind… hmm.. of course, FACEBOOK!

Facebook, the centre of digital communication…the site that got me hooked on the idea of publicly  displaying my life to the world. Why? I don’t know, but its almost like it’s become an addiction. Okay, maybe  ”addiction” is too strong of a word…but it has definately become a part of my daily life.

The social network-  The facebook movie trailer <—– click link

And…now we’re making a movie about facebook. Kinda lame, I know. But my point is, whether we like it or not, facebook has changed the world and the way we communicate in it. It has taken all our every day social experiences and put them out onto the web for the world to see. It has given people the ability to share their feelings and creativity on a grand scale.

Like every great invention there are always pros and cons. My relationship with facebook has been only a positive one. However, when I think of possible cons surrounding the facebook phenomenon questions of freedom of speech and censorship come to mind.

On  several occasions my mother,(member of the baby boomer generation; slightly tech handicaped) has come to me with an article about how facebook can be dangerous. And she’ll go on and on about how it can hinder me from getting a job if I’m not careful with the information/pictures I post. I often shrug it off and snicker to myself… thinking, she’s just out of touch with the times. But is the possibly of not getting a job because of a picture or a thought I had actually something I have to worry about?

I dont know…  But the whole thing really seems foolish to me. Either way, I am at that time In my life were future employeers will be “creeping” my facebook to  make sure I am  not some crazy partier. So needless to say I have conformed to my mothers crazy notions and have slightly censored my facebook profile to make it employer friendly.

But as for me, I am too involved with facebook and my 316 friends to think of terminating the relationship because of a little controversy.

I think we are just at the beginning of this online social network craze and that web 2.0 has had a huge impact on my generation…

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