Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Reflection on group identity project

The group  identity project was a fun project for me. The group and i choose a character who was well known for being suave, sophisticated and interesting.  It was humorous to go online and find out that there are websites dedicated to writing funny, witty sayings about how awesome he is.  The social network we used was myspace, i would not use that again.  Myspace was slow, confusing and overall very dated.  We wanted to use it because we could design the layout of his site and because we could play music that matched his interests.  Those aspects were effective and fun but overall i would not use myspace as a professional avenue for social networking.  The page we designed was for fans and people that wanted to find out more about his suave persona.  It was for a younger audience (pre 21) as well as had a link put on it that would link the page to his website which was for 21 years old and up.  The project overall was fun to try and put ourselves in someone elses shoes and design a page that we feel the client would appreciate.

Online Identity performance topics

Some topics I'm considering are me as a christian, me as a future film maker or me as a big brother and uncle to my sister who has an illness.  I intend to me as honest as possible although it puts me in a vulnerable position.  I intend to be as informative as possible as well and i feel this would be effective either through podcast and video presentation.  For this project i intend to have other people in my life talk like my girlfriend and Friends or family.

Telling a story with sound

To tell a story or hear a story only in sound it takes on an entire different life.  There is no visual stimuli to reference to, as a listener you cant afford to be lazy and just watch the story unfold, you have to give your complete attention and focus.  I feel it is harder to convey a message and express feeling with audio only, its easier to watch an actors face and gestures and be able to comprehend and feel more what they are going through and there story.  I takes someone who can enunciate very well and very animated to make a listener feel something while hearing there story.  There are perks to only audio storytelling though.  Most often if its a topic that a listener can relate to like perhaps, someone has cancer, then in my opinion they well connect with that story more as oppose to if they saw it instead.  Without visual aid they will relate to what they are hearing and picture there loved one or whomever as the characters of the story since it relates to them, and i feel this would impact them more.  Telling a story without sound allows listeners to also improvise a bit and imagine who they want as "characters" and also imagine certain scenarios however they want, they are restricted to what they see on TV as to how a certain situation looks or is handled. There's definitely pros and cons to telling a story without sound, however it can still be imapactful and effective.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

PodCast ideas!

Some topics I'm kicking around for my podcast are these.
1. getting with my nephew and talking about "bullying". He has a lot to say about the topic and its interesting hearing it from a 6 year old perspective. It all depends on how clearly he can articulate.

2. Divorce,  I wanted to get my brother and sister together and talk about my parents divorce. It was in 2002 and its been a considerable amount of time and think it will be interesting to hear our perspectives.

3. Bartenders and servers.  I wanted to do a round table podcast with fellow employees of mine who work in the food service industry. I want to get there takes on that industry.  Trust me it would be interesting.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Advantages and Limitations

Because of technology I'm abled to keep in contact with all my friends and family, even those who don't live in the same city as me. Technology keeps me connected to the news and things going on in my city, state, country and world via the Internet, television, applications, social networks and podcasts.  I am able to search for any answers i have on a daily basis about trivial things through technology in an instant and that has made me wiser and more informed.  However technology does have its limitations.  The biggest limitation i can think of is that it creates a wall between people and their interactions. Technology is a poor substitute for face to face human interaction/connection.  It also gives people a scapegoat for avoiding  "in person"confrontation, they have become more willing to discuss about necessary and confrontational topics via text or e-mail to avoid any huge fight or face to face awkwardness.  This might eliminate any awkwardness or feelings getting hurt but it only prolongs the inevitable because most often discussions through text, e-mail etc are taken out of context, and most often the root of the problem isn't fixed.

Monday, February 28, 2011

if life were a Dollhouse

After watching that clip from "Dollhouse" it illustrates to me how much as a society technology influencses us.  First of all it took alot of creative thinking to think up a show based on erasing peoples personalitys and giving them new ones. I mean it s been thought of before but to make an entire series about it and to show us that in film takes some effert.  I feel like people in todays society really is interested in concepts like these and that if it were possible at this point and time that scientists would initiate stuff like this and implament it to happen , as well as some people in society would volunter.

Age old statement..Men vs Women

Gender is a definite and unavoidable approachable way to define the ways men and women use technologies.  Its not a surprise that more women use social network sites than men.  By nature woman are more social and willing to gossip and discuss about social topics.  Men are more willing to listen and provide some feedback but are not as likely to post it as a "status update" or start messaging their friends in there inbox.  In my own life i have had these experiences.  My girlfriend posts updates all the time throughout the day that detailing where shes going or what shes doing.  A lot of the time i use my facebook just to look up old friends or communicate some prayers or feelings, i don't usually post what I'm doing throughout the day because i don't feel why it would be important.  I would defiantly rather surf the Internet for random things and play video games rather than play with facebook. I feel its a medium that women love because its so informative about other peoples lives and it keeps them up to date and in the loop. 

Tech Auto Thesis

For my Technology autobiography paper i will highlight points that illustrate how technology has impacted my life. Its stemmed from my past, shaped my future and is defiantly present in my life right now.  I am also going to discuss how its defined our lives in today's society and how we communicate with others.  My argument will be that although technology has given us many positive perks that ultimately it is a poor substitution for human one on one communication. 

Monday, February 21, 2011

Online freedom of speech???

The question is this: Are online spaces appropriate sites for discussing troubling race and other such controversial topics?

In my opinion there are pros and cons to this answer.  I feel like posts/replies and other discussions about controversial and sensitive topics displayed online is just another way for people to express themselves and utilize their freedom of speech rights.  For one expressing yourself online gives you time to really think and reflect on what you want to post about a certain topic.  It allows you the time needed to decide and debate on how you feel as a person on a subject as oppose to having to come up with an almost instant answer or response like you would if you normally would had you been in person.  It also creates some safety for you.  Communicating opinions about highly emotional topics online takes away that face to face element which obviously includes the emotional aspect of debates which can often times become hostile.  Online you may create an argument or a hostile backlash but because it's online there is no physical threat.  
Discussions about such topics online though can be very impersonal and dialogue online is often times taken out of context.  This is a main problem of having these kinds of discussions online.  A reader may take your opinion of a certain topic in a way that is meant to come off totally opposite, but because all it is is words online its hard to interpret the authors tone and sincerity.  This can cause hostility and ultimately misunderstanding by both parties, and the point of the topic to begin with will be lost in translation.

-TOP 5 MEDUIM ANALYSIS TOPICS-

Some possible topics I'm thinking of:
1. Xbox live
2. www.avamovement.com
3. www.dvxuser.com
4. you tube videos specifically about 35 mm adaptors
5. www.griptionary.com

These are my top 5 choices. I believe xbox live will provide me with the most information and research and its also the most well known medium out of all my choices.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

elmo is burning

I thougth it was useless to burn an Elmo doll but funny at first.. but there was a part of me that felt bad for the little guy.. i guess when you give something a voice and eyes that's associated with laughter, love and children and set it on fire , that it can evoke compassion even if its just a doll.

ww2 picture MAN THE GUNS

I found this picture to be interesting and very symbolic.  I feel that its representing the war in the aspect that its for strong men who want to be apart of all the "guts and glory" being in the military has to offer.  The fact that the two navy guys have there shirt off both with huge bulging muscles is expressing that it takes a manly man to join the navy.  Soldiers never fight with there shirt off, this is definately representing strength and brute force.  This poster is definately meant to intice men and perhaps men who feel a bit inadequate to join the navy so that they can become hero's and icons of strength. 

newNEW media readings!

I found the reading very interesting as well as informative.  I've always know i live in a digital age and that its only getting more informative and accessible, however after reading chapter 1 of our book and seeing how well and extensively the author compared "new new" media to "new" media i am a little overwhelmed by it all.  From just 5 years ago technology has leaped all sorts of hurdles and some of the things our society can do now days is amazing.  To be able to grab my phone and just connect to the world wide web in seconds as well as see what people from all over the world are currently  via there facebook "status updates" is insane! It makes me realize how many more possibilities there are out there right now for me as i try and graduate and make a name for myself in my career, it also definitely made me feel lazy and like I'm not doing as much as i can to explore the avenues and possibilities that this digital age and the accessibility this century has given us.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Digital Native

I'm definitely a digital native. I didn't grow up with parents who were technologically savvy, but i always had an interest and grew up experimenting with gadgets and learning how they work.  I find a sense of satisfaction when i come across technology or a software that seems foreign and complicated to me, but that i research and learn about .