I recently did a report based on the new media premise of Podcasting. Its a topic I found incredibly interesting because of its independent roots. In a world full of Michael Bay films and over produced pop songs, I think that the world needs entertainment that is tangible for people who are growing up.
Podcasts are arguably one of the cheapest forms of entertainment that i can think of. When it all boils down, its just a person (or a couple of people) and a microphone. It takes a computer and an internet connection and you can have your very own specialized radio show. The simplicity is really an incredible thing.
The podcast that inspired me is one called Smodcast. Smodcast is a show directed by well known, low-budget filmmaker, Kevin Smith and his producer and long time friend Scott Mosier. Smith and Mosier started the podcast as a way to reunite and get a chance to talk to each other once a week. the show varies topics based on what the two are thinking about and really has no important purpose. The show has just recently reached its 300th episode this week, a feat 7 years in the making.
Listening to this show has inspired me to want to start my own podcast. I am someone who glamorizes the 'indie' way of thinking, especially when it comes to entertainment and art. Seeing the success of Smodcast makes someone who aspires to be in the arts someday, such as myself, feel attainable. It doesn't feel that far away and having that as a motivating factor is very important not only to myself but young artists all over the world.
If the only art I had to relate to were summer blockbusters and flashy pop songs, I dont know if I necessarily would be where I am at in the creative process. I think that when people think of 'Hollywood' it seems like a place that only the most important people hang out and live. I don't think it should be this way at all. I think that the way movies and music are being made today is off putting to some and it is losing its connection to the arts.
Podcasting brings out the indie roots in all of us. We can say and do whatever we want. That is what i think art is, and what i think we should be telling aspiring artists. Its not about who can make the biggest explosions, but who can tell me the best story.
11.5.14
Drawing the Line
The Internet has done incredible
things for people all over the world.
There are thousands of articles that pull on our heartstrings and really
make us glad the Internet and social media exists. Fundraising campaigns to
help out people who are in need are something that I see all around the Internet.
We see people who are in need of transplants and people who have lost their
house in tragic fires. There are people who can’t afford the important surgery
for a loved pet or even people who are looking to raise money for a charity
they feel strongly about. These people will reach out to websites like
gofundme.com or kickstarter.com to help get a social media presence and reach a
larger audience for donations. These websites allow donations online from
anybody all over the world to help out those in need. It really is an
incredible testament to the human condition. People who have never met are
helping out each other in a time of crisis.
These fundraising websites raise an
important question though. What is the difference between asking for money
online and begging for money on the side of the road? Is it ethical to ask for
money online at all? Where is the line drawn between need and want when it comes
to asking for help?
I’m Facebook friends with people
older and younger than me and I have been starting to notice a trend with
people who have been on their own after college for a year now and are starting
to realize how difficult is it to pay back their student loans. I have seen two
specific examples this week of people who have started a gofundme.com account
to pay off their student loans. Is this ethical? Is it okay to ask for money to
pay off your student loans from strangers?
In this example there is a student,
currently living in Huntington Beach, California where rent is roughly
$1,500/month. The cost of living in California is some of the highest in the
country. The person posts photographs of themselves at various sporting events
and with their new dog often, but has raise over $1,000. Is it okay for
somebody who is seemingly irresponsible with their finances to ask for money to
pay off their student loans? I’m not somebody who is going to make a judgment
on the part of this person. I just know that I could not ask for money when
living well above my means.
It all comes down to an ethical
judgment from both the asker and the doner.
This is another top story that
seems to be popping up all over the internet are people trying to fund their
movies though websites like Kickstarter. Is this okay? Should there be
restrictions on people who can ask for money and for what reason they are
asking? Zac Braff is an actor/director who funded his next movie, Wish I was
Here, through Indiegogo, another fundraising website. He caught a lot of
backlash from the Internet and filmmaking community for this method of funding.
While he isn’t the richest celebrity in Hollywood, he has an estimated net
worth of $22 million. Critics say he could fund the movie on his own, but he
didn’t. Was it okay for a millionaire to ask for money?
Again, I don’t think I would do it, but where can we draw the
line? Are people abusing the system or is this what it was set up for? I guess
that’s up to the donators to decide.
7.5.14
Help is on the way.. we can hope.
We hear examples of this phenomenon 'cyber-bullying' constantly. It is in the print media, on TV and even on our own Facebook walls. We are constantly seeing people similar to Amanda Todd, who have been bullied relentlessly, being pushed to the edge and ultimately committing suicide.
Its a terrible tragedy.
I don't know what we can do as an online community. After doing a Google search on possible tactics to stop bullying there really isn't much to see. We have a very similar mantra of:
Its a terrible tragedy.
I don't know what we can do as an online community. After doing a Google search on possible tactics to stop bullying there really isn't much to see. We have a very similar mantra of:
- Stay confident
- Stop responding
- Tell an adult
- Report to police
These tips are great, but not everyone identifies bullying as the same thing. There ARE drama situations that some may feel are bullying. There are actual bullying situations that may just seem like childish nonsense to some. There is a very blurred line when it comes to what IS cyber bullying.
I can really only hope for the future.
I don't have any immediate cures for this, however, I do think that help is on the way. Just in class we had multiple people talk about their first hand experiences with cyber-bullying. This isn't to mention that people don't have friends or relatives involved in similar cases.
The first step is to recognize the problem and make people aware. Help will come. With the median age of people who are 'digital natives' rising, we can only expect those who are first hand learners in cyber-bullying will rise to formulate a solution. People who know exactly what its like and exactly how they got out of their situation will help those in need.
Its not immediate, but maybe someday there will be no more cases like Amanda Todd.
13.4.14
Just Google It..
The verb 'google' has become one of the more important ones over the last few years. With the overwhelming access to the internet that we all have now, its become something that is commonplace. Googling things has become somewhat ritual for a lot of us. Everyone has their own opinion on it and that's something that can't necessarily be googled.
Personally, I think its great. Having the worlds collective knowledge at my fingertips? Who doesn't want that?
A lot of people will say that the amount of information we have so readily available will make us lazy. We are no longer people who store information but just machines that research and repeat. I don't think this is necessarily true. Unpopularity, I think its become more helpful than harmful. The things that I google are things that I want to know the answer to quickly. An argument with a friend or a quick random thought that pops in my head and I want to more about are typically the reason that I google things. I think that our brains work at a higher level now with the advent of googling.
We push out that useless information to make more room for more important things.
How important is it really to retain information like:
What was the dog in Air Bud's real name?
or
Who won the Stanley Cup in 1986?
or even
Did Al Gore invent the internet?
Those are all the types of things I find myself googling on a daily basis. If I spent all my energy remembering what that recipe for blueberry pancakes I cooked 3 weeks ago was, I don't know if I would remember the important things in my life. I use google as the database to solve every "bar-type" argument I have with my friends. It's an endless source of the most and least important information to man. If I put my appointments and class schedule in it to help me remember, its for my own benefit. Nobody gets an award for being the guy who can remember his schedule. They get the recognition for showing up and being organized. Google helps with everything in my life. From the most important of dates to the least important and useless facts you can even imagine.
Its possible I don't use it like everyone else, but the next time I want to prove that Shakespeare invented the word swagger, I'm happy Google is there to back me up.
Personally, I think its great. Having the worlds collective knowledge at my fingertips? Who doesn't want that?
A lot of people will say that the amount of information we have so readily available will make us lazy. We are no longer people who store information but just machines that research and repeat. I don't think this is necessarily true. Unpopularity, I think its become more helpful than harmful. The things that I google are things that I want to know the answer to quickly. An argument with a friend or a quick random thought that pops in my head and I want to more about are typically the reason that I google things. I think that our brains work at a higher level now with the advent of googling.
We push out that useless information to make more room for more important things.
How important is it really to retain information like:
What was the dog in Air Bud's real name?
or
Who won the Stanley Cup in 1986?
or even
Did Al Gore invent the internet?
Those are all the types of things I find myself googling on a daily basis. If I spent all my energy remembering what that recipe for blueberry pancakes I cooked 3 weeks ago was, I don't know if I would remember the important things in my life. I use google as the database to solve every "bar-type" argument I have with my friends. It's an endless source of the most and least important information to man. If I put my appointments and class schedule in it to help me remember, its for my own benefit. Nobody gets an award for being the guy who can remember his schedule. They get the recognition for showing up and being organized. Google helps with everything in my life. From the most important of dates to the least important and useless facts you can even imagine.
Its possible I don't use it like everyone else, but the next time I want to prove that Shakespeare invented the word swagger, I'm happy Google is there to back me up.
-north
6.4.14
Blogging on Blogging about Bloggers: A review On A Jason Kottee Interview
I just finished reading the interview featuring Jason Kottee, a professional blogger, that was conducted in August of 2006. The interview was a part of series of interviews conducted by a reporter by the name of Rebecca Blood. The series follows a bunch of different professional bloggers talking about their own unique experiences in the new frontier of blogs.
The interview went through a bunch of different general questions i.e. What was your first blog? How did it become popular? etc.
The section of the interview I thought was the most interesting was the part that he talked about his wife, who is also a professional blogger. he talked about how his blog led to them meeting and their lives together now. They both maintain blogs but Jason admits to not always reading everything his wife posts. He says that sometimes he gets caught 'skimming'. I thought it was interesting how he says that it led to actually having conversations (albeit about their blogs) in person.
It shows how these people who spend 8-10 hours online a day can sometimes get caught up in their online personalities and loose touch with people in the real world. This sentiment is pretty cliche but is a little closer to home the more I think about it.These people use these blogs as jobs. They earn income from these websites and spend 8 hours a day working on them. My life isn't too far off. I don't spend nearly that much time online but I spend more than enough time making pizzas. Most people would think that spending 8 hours a day making pizzas and running an italian restaurant is ridiculous. These bloggers life are very similar to mine or anyone working full-time. Everyone just puts in thier 8 hours and then goes home. They do their best not to let each one conflict with each other.
The interview made me relate to these bloggers more than I thought I could. They just all seem like normal people who seemed to stumble into the beginnings of something huge.
-North
The interview went through a bunch of different general questions i.e. What was your first blog? How did it become popular? etc.
The section of the interview I thought was the most interesting was the part that he talked about his wife, who is also a professional blogger. he talked about how his blog led to them meeting and their lives together now. They both maintain blogs but Jason admits to not always reading everything his wife posts. He says that sometimes he gets caught 'skimming'. I thought it was interesting how he says that it led to actually having conversations (albeit about their blogs) in person.
It shows how these people who spend 8-10 hours online a day can sometimes get caught up in their online personalities and loose touch with people in the real world. This sentiment is pretty cliche but is a little closer to home the more I think about it.These people use these blogs as jobs. They earn income from these websites and spend 8 hours a day working on them. My life isn't too far off. I don't spend nearly that much time online but I spend more than enough time making pizzas. Most people would think that spending 8 hours a day making pizzas and running an italian restaurant is ridiculous. These bloggers life are very similar to mine or anyone working full-time. Everyone just puts in thier 8 hours and then goes home. They do their best not to let each one conflict with each other.
The interview made me relate to these bloggers more than I thought I could. They just all seem like normal people who seemed to stumble into the beginnings of something huge.
-North
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