Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Importance of Google Maps in Darfur
The personal testimonies on the Google Map's layers of attacks in Darfur provide a completely personal experience and connection with the horrible occurrences in Darfur. This personal connection can provide users with powerful incentive to create change, or at least spread the word of what exactly is going on overseas.
Lisa Parks of UC Santa Barbara believes there are issues with the interface, as well as criticizes Google for its "involvement in the Crisis in Darfur project and use of it to market and extend its brand name..." Although the corporation's involvement in such a politically charged subject-matter can only be beneficial when trying to spread the word about the crisis, I do agree that Google's involvement will certainly only help their public image. Parks also argues that there is a disconnect between social and political change and showing images and testimonials online. She believes that just displaying digital documentations of the travesties occuring in Darfur isn't enough to ensue political change.
Google's involvement not only shows their interest in improving the lives and situations of others, but I think the company is using it's power and popularity to spread information about a very important issue. An issue that needs to be addressed and dealt with before our world is affected by any more genocides.
-Kate Aronson
US uses taxpayer dollars to purchase/destroy war memoir
A second, edited version of the book is going to be released; Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan, with some portions blocked out.
The New York Times acquired a copy of the book previous to the Pentagon pulling it from the publishers. The Times described the book as “a breezily written, first-person account of Colonel Shaffer’s five months in Afghanistan in 2003.” Wikileaks is said to release a copy soon.
These actions should be met with scrutiny by journalists and American citizens. Is the government trying to cover up unlawful actions taken during war? It definitely wouldn’t be the first time.
-Kate Aronson
Will Free Speech in China Ever Truly Exist?
Blogging and freedom of speech are important to ensuing political and social change; however, with China owning "the most extensive, technologi-cally sophisticated, and broad-reaching system of Internet filtering in the world" (OpenNet Initiative 2005), the Chinese government has a lot of control over what type of information it's citizens can see.
Take the example of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. This event began with some intellectuals and students protesting the Chinese political system. The group of protestors eventually grew to be well over what the Chinese government believed was reasonable, and subsequently planned an attack on the protestors. Chinese military began approaching the square from all corners of the city. Protestors ran into the streets to block military tanks and vehicles, but were met with open fire.
The Chinese government reported 241 dead and 7,000 wounded; however, a document in Soviet archives suggested the actual death toll was around 3,000 protestors. The worst part is the the Chinese government tried to erase this massacre from its history.
The country has blocked all access to information about the massacre inside country lines. The government even blocked pages of the Economist which featured an article about the 10-year anniversary of the incident.
Can blogs create social change? Not when the government's technological sophistication mixed with its relentless communism block the majority from conspiring to have a voice. In order for this to change, the political structure of the government has to drastically change. However, communism has been running deep in China's blood fro quite sometime now; I don't see it erupting into anarchy anytime soon.
-Kate
The truth about Wikileaks, according to GAP
In this video: Jesselyn Radack breaks down the truth about Wikileaks and its importance to free speech and the empowerment of American citizens. Radack is Human Rights Director for the Government Accountability Project. The GAP is a leading advocacy organization for whistleblowers. Be sure to check out her column in The Daily Kos too, where this story was originally posted.
-Kate
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Why you should forget your lucky stars and thank Iceland.
Iceland: Population 320,000.
In September of 2008, the country experienced, per capita, the largest economic meltdown of any western society to date. Before this point, the country was rolling in it; some citizens were making up to 1 million dollars a month. During this surge in Iceland’s economy, the country made some shaky business decisions. Iceland ended up borrowing over 6 times what the country produced in a year, and ended up investing most of it in a little something from the United States called Mortgage-backed securities. (And we all know how that ended up). The downfall of the mortgage market cause Iceland’s economy to fall as well…and hard. Almost overnight, Iceland lost everything, and the Icelandic people began to demand answers.
On July 30th, 2009, Wikileaks released a 209-page document revealing shaky loans and shady insider trading of Iceland’s largest bank, Kaupthing. Kaupthing obviously didn’t like this kind of exposure, so soon after it’s release, the bank tried to hide it’s dirty laundry by filing for an injunction against Iceland’s national broadcaster, RÚV. The injunction was granted just prior to RÚV going on-air to cover the matter of the newly exposed documents on Wikileaks. Needless to say, the Icelandic people were not happy when Kaupthing, a publicly-owned entity, was trying to hide relevant information from its very owners: the public.
Frustrated and tired of their government making decisions for them, the people of Iceland decided to make a change in the transparency of information, and to prevent the recurrence of RÚV’s experience with Kaupthing. So, the founders of Wikileaks got together and wrote up a proposal. By using some of the strongest and most progressive legal language from countries such as Belgium, France and The United States, Assange and Schmitt created guidelines for which information and its messengers can be preserved and protected. And out of this desire, the Icelandic Modern Media Imitative was born. Respectfully known as IMMI (pronounced “emmy”), this initiative was passed unanimously in the Icelandic Parliament. The IMMI is the most progressive set of media laws in the world and will hopefully inspire other countries to take the same steps in protecting information and upholding transparency.
My Ordinary Moments
This was a class assignment, and sort of a self-portrait of my outrageously ordinary moments.
Bonnaroo is Love!
Whoo! I'm actually really proud of how this video turned out. Not to mention Josh is hilarious. It's funny because I based another project of mine from something he had written in the past; it's almost like he's my muse. I wonder if someone could get paid for that. hmm.
Anyway, Bonnaroo was amazing. The first night we saw 6 concerts in 3 hours. It was overwhelming, but awesome. The second night I saw my all-time favorite band, THE FLAMING LIPS. And literally fell in love with Wayne Coyne. He is old, but still has it. His stage presence is strong and confident, and his creative energy runs rampant through his audience. His eclectic uses of video and audio equipment provide a strange, cerebral experience for the concert as well. Not to mention, The Flaming Lips' version of Dark Side of the Moon is pretty incredibly done.
I was close to 5 rows back, and I touched his foot when he got in the hamster ball. It was really cool. The rest of the weekend we sat around a lot and basked in the sun. One of the concerts we went to was none other than THE Stevie Wonder, who, surprisingly, put on a really incredible show. Laura and I went with our self-proclaimed theme and danced like old ladies in between naps. The last day we snuck out early and went to a waterfall near Manchester, TN. All in all, the whole weekend was just magnificent.
Anyway, I'm going to get back to it. I love you all.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Storytelling is important for the proliferation of societies!
Storytelling for New Media
Adam Brackin
April 27, 2010
Stories have been shared since humans muttered their first syllables. It is the method by which we communicate our feelings, our perceptions and our experiences. Story telling is essential for the development of concepts, religions, even societies as a whole. Storytelling is often fun, collaborative and inspiring. Upon initialization of my own storytelling process, these were the attributes I wanted to implement in the development of my own project. In addition to a collaborative effort, I wanted to employ a strategy using social media and emergent properties. Thus, I fell upon the concept of KatesEpicStory.
During the brainstorming process I knew it would be in the story’s best interest to implement a plan using social media. Because of the sheer numbers of users on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, I thought the project would be easier to advertise and execute if it were on a medium users were already comfortable with. I also knew I wanted interactivity within my in order to make the process more entertaining for users. My first iteration included a pre-made story, which would be hyped up using real-world elements such as t-shirts and flyers. After the initial hype, I would slowly release parts of the story via microblogging platforms such as Twitter and Facebook status updates. I eventually threw this idea out because I foresaw users not sticking around; I knew it didn’t have enough interactivity to keep the attention span of my cohorts. I then came upon a plan which used a well-balanced mixture of social media, interactivity, and emergent properties. I wanted to hone in on the creativity of the masses, so I devised a course of action to utilize each of these elements, and I called this method KatesEpicStory.
I chose the name KatesEpicStory because I wanted it to be distinctive enough to remember, yet something familiar enough so that people would participate. I chose to eliminate the spaces in the title as the quality of distinction. This also made branding the story easier because website URLs and Twitter handles do not have spaces. I used my name in the title as something familiar, because I knew my friends would trust what I was asking them to do something constructive. I wanted to use epic in the name because that is exactly the direction I wanted the story to go, and luckily, that is the exact direction it went.
Understanding the importance of visual literacy, I wanted to choose a graphic which would be eye-catching and easy to remember. I wasn’t sure what to use, but I stumbled upon a funny and slightly ambiguous drawing of a man in a suit with a plastic bag over his head. I liked the color scheme and thought it would be a good branding tool for my story. The artist was David Creighton-Pester, a graphic designer based out of Hamilton, New Zealand. After efforts of contacting him for permission to use his graphic turned out to be unsuccessful, I chose to use the graphic anyways, but sited the source on the side of the image. I was satisfied with the graphic, but I added a purple background and text which read “KatesEpicStory” in order to brand my story further. I even made the graphic my personal profile picture on Facebook to both create hype and allow users to make the connection between the story and the brand. It worked, because the storytelling process was more successful than I had originally predicted.
KatesEpicStory consists of a short introduction from which users could add their own variations of what came next in the story. The effort was a general success; 21 people added to the story, and it ended up being an interestingly messy collaboration. The story itself was all over the board. The main character’s name was Sammy, and the story began with him in his room, cleaning up a pile of dirty clothes. The story then turns to Sammy falling downward, cascading into a world of pigs. This world was equipped with a Scientologist Kraken, a hot-air balloon, Sammy’s junkie father, and an elephant named Brainy Jim. The story came to a literary pause when Sammy was awoken from his dream, so I continued the story by adding a chapter two. This chapter didn’t get as many entries as the first chapter, but it allowed the story to end in a logically entertaining manner. Overall, this story was absolutely a pleasure to read, and through this experience I have learned that collaborative creativity is a positively useful tool.
As a whole, this project was quite a cool experience. It has shown me that anyone can tell a story, and that tapping into the creativity of the masses is easy, and allows users to feel part of something that is bigger than them. The overall purpose of the project was fulfilled in my eyes, mainly because of the engaging response of users. It turned out to be a success because I used platforms such as Facebook that were familiar to the people I wanted to participate. I also advertised on Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger with hyperlinks to the story, so it would be easy to access. I chose a graphic, which was funny and slightly ambiguous, so that people could gain interest in and remember the story. I was surprised at how little I had to advertise the process in order for it to gain momentum. The secret was to make it easy for users to link to the story, read, and add their own input. Overall, this was really interesting, and I would like to see how I can implement creative collaboration in the future with other media.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Question: Music may be art, but it is also big business. To what degree do you think independent artists actually have a shot at "making it" today?
First, I will touch on my opinion on the matter. Ever since 10th grade, I have been listening to music that generally can't be heard on the radio; "indie" music, if you will. Now, this "indie" music in my opinion has always risen above the quality of music that I find on the top-40 radio stations, as it is safe to say that the usual top-40 stuff sounds alike. From my personal experience of only listening to "indie" music, I would have to say that yes, independent artists do have a chance at getting big, it just may not be the usual direction as, say a top-40 artist would take.
Take the band The Flaming Lips for example. The group formed in 1983, releasing their debut album in 1986. The band is still together, and just released two full-length albums in 2009 (Embryonic, and a cover album of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon). Their song "Do You Realize??" was also unanimously voted as the official rock song of Oklahoma (due to the band's formation and residency in OK City). With all of this sucess, during the Flaming Lips' history, I have yet to hear any of their singles on any top-40 radio station. The band has also been awarded only three Grammys during their 27 year history. Yet, does this define them as unsuccessful? In my opinion, it does not.
The Flaming Lips would have sided with Chuck Salter in his argument that there is a way behind the power of the record company promoters. Salter and John Legend agree that there are ways to get around the music conglomerates; especially with the rise of Web 2.0 and the extended use of social networking, music and media blogs, and digital transfer of music files. Boehlert argues that radio has become ridden with cookie-cutter music, and that this problem is due to record promoters influencing radio's choice of music.
I agree with Boehlert, the radio has become overwhelmed with music that is no longer creative; it all sounds the same, with the same catchy beat that's fun to dance to. If what he says is accurate, that the indie promoters of the music world are bringing the industry down, then I say, artists who actually want to make music for the sake of music (think, The Mountain Goats, Neutral Milk Hotel), then by all means, find another way to pay the bills. Don't rely on the potential of "making it big" (think, Brittany Spears, U2) by intelligently using the internet.
Radiohead for example, is another extremely well-respected band who has been together since 1985. They have won three Grammys for "Best Alternative Album", and even sold their last album In Rainbows via digital media outlets, allowing customers to set their own price. The band sold three million copies of their album, all without a record label (on the digital media). Radiohead's front man Thom Yorke told Time, "I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'Fuck you' to this decaying business model."
Even Yorke agrees that the music is more about the business than the music. In conclusion, you asked if independent musicians can make it big within the music market today. My simple answer: yes, they surely can, but it will take much patience, and a strategic utilization of internet and information resources.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Delicious Recipe: Mayonnaise-free tuna salad
As I was preparing to make tuna salad in my college apartment, I realized my mayonnaise had long since expired, and since eggs and oil are nothing to mess with once gone bad, I decided to play it safe and toss the stuff. With no mayo around the apartment, I had to turn to something else. What follows is that something else. Read carefully and please feel free to try this at home! It's an awesome low-fat version of our favorite comfort food.
1 small can tuna fish
2 hard-boiled eggs
1/8 cup chopped bread and butter pickles (or pickle relish to taste)
1 tablespoon guava jelly (or pineapple, or peach; any light-colored jellies that do not have too-strong of a taste)
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 teaspoon honey
Mix together; enjoy! This is a cheap, healthy option for a light and quick meal! Don't be afraid to enjoy this on bagel chips or my personal favorite, sweet potato chips.