There is a reason why this amazing blog is growing in popularity faster then any blog in history... because it is awesome. The blog provides in-depth analysis of the most pressing political and social issues affecting this current generation. It has appeal for all readers, with sections covering sports, current events, technology, the markets, the economy, the celebrities, and the latest governmental activities. There are also little "tid-bits" updated hourly that provide endless, random information to entertain your co-workers, family, and friends! Please visit this blog! And the following video has nothing to do with the blog at all but its really awesome.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Taking theatre to the masses
God I love New York! Once again its citizens have spawned something wonderful that is quickly spreading across the globe. Its called Improv Everywhere and was founded in 2001 by Charlie Todd. They pull pranks on a huge scale and these pranks have led to the creation of Improv Everywhere Global. I could say more but to truly understand what I'm talking about you just have to see it for yourself.
They have a wide range of pranks and stunts that they have pulled. They do something completely out of the ordinary then as they finish they fade into the crowd. "We never break character, and we never have a reveal moment at the end of the mission."~Charlie Todd To me this is wonderful because it challenges people to think and wonder why. They've invaded a best buy in blue polo's and khaki pants posing as sales associates, they've done a spontaneous musical in a mall, pillow fights in the streets, a cell phone symphony at a library bag check, and one of my favorites no-pants days on the subways!
Ideas are spreading world wide and groups share their work with each other getting videos and photos of each event. What would you do in situations like this, how would you respond to the breaking of conventional social norms. Would you heckle one individual where you would stare in wonder at a large group? The best part about this is that they aren't selling it or putting it together for a television show. People don't get paid, individuals just volunteer. I wonder if there is a Denver group yet? Would you want to put yourself out there? Goodnight and Good Luck.
They have a wide range of pranks and stunts that they have pulled. They do something completely out of the ordinary then as they finish they fade into the crowd. "We never break character, and we never have a reveal moment at the end of the mission."~Charlie Todd To me this is wonderful because it challenges people to think and wonder why. They've invaded a best buy in blue polo's and khaki pants posing as sales associates, they've done a spontaneous musical in a mall, pillow fights in the streets, a cell phone symphony at a library bag check, and one of my favorites no-pants days on the subways!
Ideas are spreading world wide and groups share their work with each other getting videos and photos of each event. What would you do in situations like this, how would you respond to the breaking of conventional social norms. Would you heckle one individual where you would stare in wonder at a large group? The best part about this is that they aren't selling it or putting it together for a television show. People don't get paid, individuals just volunteer. I wonder if there is a Denver group yet? Would you want to put yourself out there? Goodnight and Good Luck.
Free PhotoShop
I thought DMS majors would find this interesting.
Adobe is planning on releasing a free version of Photoshop, named Photoshop Express.
I’ve never really bothered with Photoshop in the past and relied on the free open source alternative “Gimp” for most of my image processing needs. There is even a Gimp Shop, a program that basically recreates the Photoshop UI inside of Gimp for free. These seem like popular ideas online and I’m guessing that the gaining popularity of open source software and the increased piracy of software online is what is driving Adobe to try to expand its customer base to users that can't afford its $650 dollor price tag.
Link to article
Adobe is planning on releasing a free version of Photoshop, named Photoshop Express.
I’ve never really bothered with Photoshop in the past and relied on the free open source alternative “Gimp” for most of my image processing needs. There is even a Gimp Shop, a program that basically recreates the Photoshop UI inside of Gimp for free. These seem like popular ideas online and I’m guessing that the gaining popularity of open source software and the increased piracy of software online is what is driving Adobe to try to expand its customer base to users that can't afford its $650 dollor price tag.
Link to article
Cuban on bloggers as a blogger
If anyone knows who Mark Cuban is you will appreciate this for both its direct reflection of the man himself and because it's as ridiculous as he is. Cuban has a blog entitled Blog Maverick. I read it occassionally for a good laugh. I love his strong personality and think, no matter how serious he is being, that he is hilarious. The more serious he tries to be, the funnier I find him.
Anyways, so Cuban is a mega business man who owns the Dallas Mavericks. He recently banned bloggers from the locker room because he doesn't think that bloggers need lockerroom access to be able to write about it. Cuban classifies ALL sports blogs as just being witty responses to articles, coaches, players and every happening. The NBA, however, told him that he couldn't ban bloggers.
Cuban's post, Bloggers in the locker Room. It's the Pros vs the Joes, he goes on to invite bloggers to post samples of their work as comments on that post. If they are good, regardless of whether they worked for ESPN or were in 8th grade, Cuban would give you credentials to cover the Mavs.
What I find hilarious is that because of his big ego, Cuban can't see that his blog is as pointless as those he critiques.
On a more serious note, I like that he is inviting anybody and will give anybody an opportunity to cover the Mavs, which is creating participation. Participation and convergence with sports, the internet, blogging and sporting events, will build interest in him, the team, games and coverage of the Mavs.
He is a smart business man, that's for sure.
Anyways, so Cuban is a mega business man who owns the Dallas Mavericks. He recently banned bloggers from the locker room because he doesn't think that bloggers need lockerroom access to be able to write about it. Cuban classifies ALL sports blogs as just being witty responses to articles, coaches, players and every happening. The NBA, however, told him that he couldn't ban bloggers.
Cuban's post, Bloggers in the locker Room. It's the Pros vs the Joes, he goes on to invite bloggers to post samples of their work as comments on that post. If they are good, regardless of whether they worked for ESPN or were in 8th grade, Cuban would give you credentials to cover the Mavs.
What I find hilarious is that because of his big ego, Cuban can't see that his blog is as pointless as those he critiques.
On a more serious note, I like that he is inviting anybody and will give anybody an opportunity to cover the Mavs, which is creating participation. Participation and convergence with sports, the internet, blogging and sporting events, will build interest in him, the team, games and coverage of the Mavs.
He is a smart business man, that's for sure.
iPhone PWNED
The iPhone Dev Team has just released "PwnageTool" to the public today. This allows iPhone users full access to their iPhone and do cool stuff other than what Apple will provide to the users. I personally don't have an iPhone so I haven't tried this yet, but the process to hack the iPhone seems to be fairly easy and do able even for people who aren't high tech. I'm pretty sure Apple will do something about this on the next update, but how long will that take to be hacked?
More info on HOW TO from links below.
main - iPhone Dev Team site
Blog - iPhone Project
Community site - mod my ifone
More info on HOW TO from links below.
main - iPhone Dev Team site
Blog - iPhone Project
Community site - mod my ifone
"Bert is Evil" Convergence
I was surprised and interested in the "Bert is Evil" example in the reading form last week, so I decided to take a better look at it. I went to YouTube and searched "Bert is Evil." There were quite a few videos pertaining to the Bert is Evil pictures, but I found one particularly interesting. This one is a mock movie premiere, which uses scenes and pokes fun of the film "Vantage Point." It is pretty professional looking, especially compared to the other clips. Its interesting how the "Bert is Evil" campaign has progressed, starting with photography, integrating the internet and now video. If we are going to look at this in terms of cultural convergence, rather than technological, as Jenkins says, then what can we say about the culture? Maybe we can say culture is now focusing on the transition from consumer to producer, and that youtube is just another mode for that transition.
iKnowItAll
A perfect example of convergence was picked up by the ever-dry blog Stuff White People Like (through the Los Angeles Times) concerning the iPhone: The risk for Apple iPhone users: They know too much. We are presented with many examples of how having constant access to so much information is helpful for the user, but probably extremely irritating for anyone around them. While it's arguable what constitues as useful and what constitutes as annoying, the point is that the iPhone gives access to phoning, music, photos, and internet, among others. By having access to the internet, the user has access to so many sources. Not only are Google and Wikipedia ridding the need for a classroom, but now you can carry the world of knowledge in your pocket!
Cool Hunting brought to you by the WEB
My favorite thing about the web is that I can see so many things I would never have access to without the web unless I spent hours at Borders searching through piles of books. Blogs range from the very specific topic of say something like Australian Gymnastics to a wide range of topics like the cool hunter, which happens to be one of my favorite blogs. Since I am interested in random topics like, ads, fashion, art, design, architecture, and so on this blog is right up my alley, and you will probably enjoy it too.
This blog is highly visual which probably why I like it so much (I'm the kid who likes magazines for the pictures). The way this site brings together so many different "cool things" into one place provides much opportunity for inspiration and additions to a personal image bank to draw upon for later use. Its also collective. One person manages it but he gets tips and pics from around the world from other people, which makes it so much more interesting.
who wouldn't want to work in an office like this:
or listen to music in your own personal music box like this: (made out of cardboard)
another creative use of cardboard:
items like these fall under the UIBFA (useless-indulgent but-fabulous-anyway) category:
anyways these are just a couple of examples... check it out. My only grievance is it isn't updated super frequently, but everything that is updated is quality.
Xbox Blogs About You
On the website 360voice.com , users can set up a blog for their xbox. Users create an account on the website, and the xbox "blogs" about them based on their xbox live activity such as what games they have played, how long they have been playing them, and what achievements they have unlocked on their xbox. The idea has become popular with many xbox users, if not simply for the humor of some of the blogs and the novelty of the idea. The advantages to this are that xbox users and their friends can track their activity by reading the blog. The pitfalls are that blogs often turn out to be repetitive, and you must be constantly logged into xbox live for the blog to track your activity. However, the idea behind this website is revolutionary in bringing a new aspect to social networking in gaming, particularly console gaming. The website also features forums and user generated content. I think that this concept shows the convergence of two different forms of media: the internet, and console games.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Music Companies Trying to Crack the Net
This month's issue of Spin magazine features a story in the Noise section about four internet companies trying to create the ultimate music application. These newbies are trying to revolutionize how people discover and download music while somehow generating a decent revenue. The problem seems to be that these companies are offering too little too late in the wake of the iTunes uprising. I think that the two most promising are AmieStreet and OurStage, check them out and see what you think!
AmieStreet - Artists upload their music which can be purchased for free at first, but increases in price as the number of downloads indicate a growing popularity. This seems like a good idea as the sliding pricing scale tops out at 98 cents per song, but the music variety is pretty much all over the place, and not in a good way. Using the site is like looking for a needle in a haystack for new tunes BUT if you want to purchase from established artists like Architecture in Helsinki or the Cold War Kids you can get some pretty sweet deals.
OurStage.com - This site puts the power in the hands of the fans in the same vein as American Idol. Users log on and vote for their favorite artists with monthly winners receiving $5,000 dollars in a prize money. While a giant popularity contest doesn't seem like it would work, the site is gaining momentum and has begun hosting stages at many of the country's largest music festivals. Plus, winner include some pretty decent artists like actor Jason Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. I just can't figure out how they plan to make money off of this site though.
The future of the iphone
I was just reading an article on Wired that talked about the future of phones, and iphones specifically. http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/news/2007/10/wimax_iphone
There is a rumor that claims that WiMax (a high speed portable internet) will become mainstream within the next few years. I thought this concept was interesting because it plays into the whole idea about media convergence. In the next 10 years, cell phones, tvs, and ipods could become obsolete, and people will just carry one little device that holds it all. After all, isn't that would the newly popular iphone is already trying to do?
There is a rumor that claims that WiMax (a high speed portable internet) will become mainstream within the next few years. I thought this concept was interesting because it plays into the whole idea about media convergence. In the next 10 years, cell phones, tvs, and ipods could become obsolete, and people will just carry one little device that holds it all. After all, isn't that would the newly popular iphone is already trying to do?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Google Knol
While looking into blogs this week, I came across Knol, a project undertaken by Google to create what will basically be a more academic form of wikipedia, comparable to scholarpedia. This will be a wiki that will be available for posting by invitation only, as the intent is to have the articles written by experts in various topics and areas writing the posts, with other people denied access to edit to their specific page without their permission.
I find it interesting to have found out that there have been professors that ban their students fom utilizing wikipedia and google for their research, which is evidence of cultural norms in the practice of research and academia. It will be interesting to view Knol upon its completion, and to see what the response is from the academic world about this as form of knowledge acquisition.
For some more information about Knol, you can visit these sites:
Official Google blog - http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html
Unofficial Google blog - http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-knol-encyclopedia-written-by.html
"Rival wikipedia" - http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2007/12/googles_plans_to_rival_wikiped.html
For a quick wikipedia reference to Scholarpedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholarpedia
I find it interesting to have found out that there have been professors that ban their students fom utilizing wikipedia and google for their research, which is evidence of cultural norms in the practice of research and academia. It will be interesting to view Knol upon its completion, and to see what the response is from the academic world about this as form of knowledge acquisition.
For some more information about Knol, you can visit these sites:
Official Google blog - http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html
Unofficial Google blog - http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-knol-encyclopedia-written-by.html
"Rival wikipedia" - http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2007/12/googles_plans_to_rival_wikiped.html
For a quick wikipedia reference to Scholarpedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholarpedia
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Digital Ethnography YouTube
This is making the rounds among the Student Life administration here and I thought it was very interesting in the same way that the "The Machine is Us/ing Us" video was. Enjoy!
A Vision of Students Today
Further information on this project can be found at: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/
A Vision of Students Today
Further information on this project can be found at: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Digital Manifest Destiny
In class today, I heard someone remark off-hand that hacking an iPhone to work on carriers other than AT&T is "illegal." Whether or not he or she misspoke (I'm pretty sure it's more of a warranty issue than a legal issue), it points out something that a lot of us aren't willing to admit—that we really don't know a whole lot about what we can and cannot do with our newfound freedom. You may think you do. But then something comes out of left field.
It reminded me of an article on Ars Technia that compared the struggles of copyright law today with the struggles of property law during America's westward expansion. Then, property law was based on the British Common law system. In Britain, land was scarce and ownership well-defined. The opposite was true on the American frontier. Inevitably, landless Americans moved out west, settled on an arbitrary plot of land, and built homestead. These squatters were there illegally, and frequently, blood was shed over their claims. It was a widespread problem. Ultimately, however, it was solved, not by more strictly enforcing the laws of the time, but by adapting the law to new realities on the frontier and legitimizing squatter claims.
In copyright, we have a similar situation. Twentieth-century copyright law was geared toward large firms like publishers, broadcasters, record labels, etc.
It reminded me of an article on Ars Technia that compared the struggles of copyright law today with the struggles of property law during America's westward expansion. Then, property law was based on the British Common law system. In Britain, land was scarce and ownership well-defined. The opposite was true on the American frontier. Inevitably, landless Americans moved out west, settled on an arbitrary plot of land, and built homestead. These squatters were there illegally, and frequently, blood was shed over their claims. It was a widespread problem. Ultimately, however, it was solved, not by more strictly enforcing the laws of the time, but by adapting the law to new realities on the frontier and legitimizing squatter claims.
In copyright, we have a similar situation. Twentieth-century copyright law was geared toward large firms like publishers, broadcasters, record labels, etc.
Because few individuals could afford their own printing presses or broadcasting equipment, 20th-century copyright law hardly ever impacted the actions of ordinary Americans. The large firms that were subject to copyright law could afford to hire lawyers to advise them on what the law required. But the emergence of the Internet and other digital technologies have brought the technologies of wide-scale content creation and distribution to the masses [read: convergence]. As a result, millions of people suddenly have to worry about copyright issues that previously applied only to commercial firms. Many of them find the requirements of copyright law unreasonable, and they have reacted by simply ignoring it.Essentially, I see two things happening, here.
- Technology is evolving faster than the US government can legislate. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 2000 was amended with exemptions only six years after entering force (it was originally an amendment to a 1976 act), and even amended, is outmoded in regards to the problems of today.
- The average citizen probably doesn't even know about the DMCA, let alone its content.
Monday, March 17, 2008
syllabus
DMST 2200: Critical Approaches to Digital Media Spring 2008
Professor: Adrienne Russell
Sturm Hall Room 334 Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00-11:50
Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:00-1:00
Office: Sturm Hall 216 Contact: adrienne.russell@du.edu
Course Blog: http://spring3250.blogspot.com/
This course introduces students to the historical, economic, social and behavioral context of the digital media with particular emphasis on the Social Web—the so-called web 2.0 technologies focused on social interaction and community.
The rapid growth of participatory culture online through, for example, interactive news sites, community boards, bookmarking, tagging, virtual worlds, gaming, IM, social networking, and blogging has significant social implications and brings up issues of privacy, intellectual property, and the nature of community and public engagement. This class will explore these issues as they manifest in various cases including politics, youth culture, activism, news and art. Particular emphasis will be placed on the question of how new media differs from mass media across various fields of cultural production (music, news, advertising, for example) and on what influence new digital products and practices might have on these industries and on cultures and societies more generally.
The objectives of this course are two-fold: 1) to become familiar with the various cultural, economic, and political forces that help shape the digital technologies and practices and that vie to determine its future; 2) develop analytical and theoretical tools to examine a specific Internet space, issue, topic, or phenomenon. The aim of this course is not simply to accumulate facts, but to develop analytical and theoretical tools to examine digital media products and practices. We will use two methods in our research. The first centers on our own observations. Students are encouraged to bring to class on a regular basis digital media artifacts that relate to the issues and ideas being covered in class. The second method is based on close reading of the assigned texts. Students are expected to have read the assigned chapters and articles before the class period for which they are scheduled to be discussed. Classes will combine lectures, student presentations, and discussion. We'll conduct discussions both within the traditional classroom setting and on a course blog. Please remember that discussion is a way of helping you to see different sides of issues and to evaluate different arguments. It is essential in the development of your thinking that you participate in discussions and that you work to express your thoughts effectively.
REQUIRED BOOK
Henry Jenkins. Convergence Culture. NYU Press. 2006.
ORGANIZATION OF COURSE AND ASSIGNMENTS
Blog
You will receive an invitation via email to join our blog group. Please follow the directions in the email. This is not an extended discussion format as much as it is a graffiti wall and an ongoing exercise in collaborative linking. At least once a week by Sunday at midnight you must contribute to our blog a link and a short review (1 paragraph) of a site, article, art project, news story, or other resource relevant to that week's reading assignments. Also you are required to comment on at least 2 other blog posts each week.
Exams
There will be two exams. They will be essay exams and you will be allowed to use any resource you like to inform your work including consulting with classmates, the web, books, articles, email exchanges with your parents, whatever. You must, however, use your own words to craft the answers to the questions and you must do so in the time allotted for the exam.
Presentation
In order to integrate diverse material into the course, each student will present in class a digital media product (an ad, a website, a video clip, an article, a video game etc.) and present it, explaining how it exemplifies, problematizes, or in some way helps illuminate an issue or idea that we are discussing in the course. The assignment is intentionally not strictly defined. Here are a few guidelines to consider as you plan your presentation: 1) you must show a digital media product in class; 2) be prepared to talk to the class about how your media product is related to a particular topic, issue, or theory; 3) consider preparing some questions for the class to encourage involvement in the analysis of your media product; 4) consider focusing on a media product you are particularly familiar with that others may not be (for example, if you are from a country other than the US presenting something from where you grew up, or if you are really into cell-phone ring-tones bring in your phone and some ideas about how ring-tones relate to the larger issues being addressed in the course); 5) be prepared to speak for at least 10 minutes and not longer than 20 minutes; 6) be absolutely sure to present on the day on which you signed up to present; 7) come talk to me or send me an email if you need help coming up with or refining an idea.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Please be honest in your work. You are expected to express your thoughts in your own words and to use citations when using other people’s words or ideas. Any form of dishonesty in this class will result in an F, either for the assignment or for the entire course, depending on the incident. If you have questions or are unsure about a particular practice, please ask me for help before you turn in the assignment in question.
SCHEDULE WEEK 1
M 3-24 | intro W 3-26 | where old and new intersect Reading:
1. Jenkins intro; Please find at least 3 blogs you like and 3 blogs you don’t like and be prepared to discuss why.
WEEK 2
M 3-31 | what is the social web and where did it come from?
Reading:
1. Kelly, Kevin. "Wired 13.08: We Are the Web." Wired News. 1 Jan 2005. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/tech.html;
2. O’Reilly, Tim. “What is Web 2.0” http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
W 4-2 | what is the social web and what can we do with it?
1."List of social networking websites - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 16 Jul 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
2. Bruns, Axel, “Introduction,” Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage http://snurb.info/files/Produsage%20-%20Introduction.pdf
WEEK 3
M 4-7 | who controls the internet: amateurs and code
Reading:
1. Jenkins ch 1
2. Lessig, Lawrence. “Code is Law.”
W 4-9 | who controls the internet: corporations
1. Wu, Tim. “Yes, Google Is Trying To Take Over the World.” Slate. >http://www.slate.com/id/2178158/<
2. Manjoo, Farhad. “The corporate toll on the Internet,” Salon >http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2006/04/17/toll/index.html<
WEEK 4
M 4-14 | who controls the internet: governments
Reading:
1.Hogge, Becky. “The Interent’s fading promise.” Open Democracy.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/media/internet_fading_4634.jsp
2. Electronic Frontier Foundation resources:
http://www.eff.org/patriot/
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism/antiterrorism_chill.html
W 4-16 | net neutrality
Reading/viewing:
1. Jon M. Peha, William H. Lehr, Simon Wilkie. “The State of the Debate on Network Neutrality.” http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/192/100
2.“Net-neutrality.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
3. NetNeutrality (what would happen) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eszI8A3AUZ0
4. Ask Ninja. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H69eCYcDcuQ
WEEK 5
M 4-21| Exam
W4-23 | Kids: digital natives and helpless victims
1. Jenkins 5
2. Class handouts
WEEK 6
M 4-28 | social networking and the meaning of friendship
Reading:
1. Boyd, Danah. “Why Youth Heart Social Networks.” http://www.danah.org/papers/WhyYouthHeart.pdf
2.Pew Internet and American Life project. “Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview.” Jan. 7, 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf
3. Pew Internet and American Life project. Teens, Privacy, and online social networks. April 18, 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Privacy_SNS_Report_Final.pdf
W 4-30 | politics: new and old tools and practices
Reading/viewing:
1. “New Media, Old Politics?” MIT Communication Forum. http://mitworld.mit.edu/play/238/
2. Tryon, Chuck. “‘Why 2008 Won’t Be Like 1984’: Viral Videos and Presidential Politics.” Flow. http://flowtv.org/?p=143
3. Heffner, Alexander. “YouTube Debates.” CJR. http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/youtube_debates.php
4. Castells, Manuel. “Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society.” International Journal of Communication. v.1 2007. http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/issue/view/1
Sites to check out:
http://www.moveon.org/
http://www.campaignads.org/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
http://www.mittromney.com/
WEEK 7
W 5-5 | pop and politics Reading:
1) Jenkins 4
2) Jenkins 6
3) Future Active handout in class
Sites to check out:
http://www.mccainblogette.com/
http://politicalremix.wordpress.com/
http://www.theyesmen.org/
W 5-7 | transformation of cultural industries
Reading:
1. Adrienne Russell, Mimi Ito, Todd Richmond, and Marc Tuters. “Culture.” http://networkedpublics.org/book/culture
2. Jenkins 2
3. Jenkins 3 WEEK 8
M 5-12 | future of entertainment
Anderson, Chris. The Long Tail http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html
Quarterlife http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022703374_2.html
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2007/12/16/webtv/index.html
W 5-14 | news
Reading: 1. Jenkins Conclusion
2. Rosen, Jay. "PressThink: The People Formerly Known as the Audience." Department of Journalism at New York University. 27 Jun 2006. http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html
3.Diggnation http://digg.com/users/diggnation
WEEK 9
W 5-19 |wikipedia debates
Reading:
1.Daniel Terdiman. “Wikipedia Faces Growing Pains.” Wired. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/01/66210
2.Chris Anderson. “Jimmy Wales.” Time. April 30, 2006 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187286,00.html
3.“Will Wikipedia Mean the End Of Traditional Encyclopedias?” The Wall Street Journal Online invited Mr. Wales to discuss the topic with Dale Hoiberg, editor-in-chief of Britannica. Sept 12 2006. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115756239753455284.html
W 5-21 | Future of the social web
1. Cascio, Jamais. "WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: The Rise of the Participatory Panopticon." 4 May 2005. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002651.html
2. Googlezone http://blogoscoped.com/videos/epic-2015.html
3. Anderson, Chris. “Free.” Wired http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free WEEK 10
W 5-28 | Final Exam
Professor: Adrienne Russell
Sturm Hall Room 334 Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00-11:50
Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:00-1:00
Office: Sturm Hall 216 Contact: adrienne.russell@du.edu
Course Blog: http://spring3250.blogspot.com/
This course introduces students to the historical, economic, social and behavioral context of the digital media with particular emphasis on the Social Web—the so-called web 2.0 technologies focused on social interaction and community.
The rapid growth of participatory culture online through, for example, interactive news sites, community boards, bookmarking, tagging, virtual worlds, gaming, IM, social networking, and blogging has significant social implications and brings up issues of privacy, intellectual property, and the nature of community and public engagement. This class will explore these issues as they manifest in various cases including politics, youth culture, activism, news and art. Particular emphasis will be placed on the question of how new media differs from mass media across various fields of cultural production (music, news, advertising, for example) and on what influence new digital products and practices might have on these industries and on cultures and societies more generally.
The objectives of this course are two-fold: 1) to become familiar with the various cultural, economic, and political forces that help shape the digital technologies and practices and that vie to determine its future; 2) develop analytical and theoretical tools to examine a specific Internet space, issue, topic, or phenomenon. The aim of this course is not simply to accumulate facts, but to develop analytical and theoretical tools to examine digital media products and practices. We will use two methods in our research. The first centers on our own observations. Students are encouraged to bring to class on a regular basis digital media artifacts that relate to the issues and ideas being covered in class. The second method is based on close reading of the assigned texts. Students are expected to have read the assigned chapters and articles before the class period for which they are scheduled to be discussed. Classes will combine lectures, student presentations, and discussion. We'll conduct discussions both within the traditional classroom setting and on a course blog. Please remember that discussion is a way of helping you to see different sides of issues and to evaluate different arguments. It is essential in the development of your thinking that you participate in discussions and that you work to express your thoughts effectively.
REQUIRED BOOK
Henry Jenkins. Convergence Culture. NYU Press. 2006.
ORGANIZATION OF COURSE AND ASSIGNMENTS
Blog
You will receive an invitation via email to join our blog group. Please follow the directions in the email. This is not an extended discussion format as much as it is a graffiti wall and an ongoing exercise in collaborative linking. At least once a week by Sunday at midnight you must contribute to our blog a link and a short review (1 paragraph) of a site, article, art project, news story, or other resource relevant to that week's reading assignments. Also you are required to comment on at least 2 other blog posts each week.
Exams
There will be two exams. They will be essay exams and you will be allowed to use any resource you like to inform your work including consulting with classmates, the web, books, articles, email exchanges with your parents, whatever. You must, however, use your own words to craft the answers to the questions and you must do so in the time allotted for the exam.
Presentation
In order to integrate diverse material into the course, each student will present in class a digital media product (an ad, a website, a video clip, an article, a video game etc.) and present it, explaining how it exemplifies, problematizes, or in some way helps illuminate an issue or idea that we are discussing in the course. The assignment is intentionally not strictly defined. Here are a few guidelines to consider as you plan your presentation: 1) you must show a digital media product in class; 2) be prepared to talk to the class about how your media product is related to a particular topic, issue, or theory; 3) consider preparing some questions for the class to encourage involvement in the analysis of your media product; 4) consider focusing on a media product you are particularly familiar with that others may not be (for example, if you are from a country other than the US presenting something from where you grew up, or if you are really into cell-phone ring-tones bring in your phone and some ideas about how ring-tones relate to the larger issues being addressed in the course); 5) be prepared to speak for at least 10 minutes and not longer than 20 minutes; 6) be absolutely sure to present on the day on which you signed up to present; 7) come talk to me or send me an email if you need help coming up with or refining an idea.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Please be honest in your work. You are expected to express your thoughts in your own words and to use citations when using other people’s words or ideas. Any form of dishonesty in this class will result in an F, either for the assignment or for the entire course, depending on the incident. If you have questions or are unsure about a particular practice, please ask me for help before you turn in the assignment in question.
SCHEDULE WEEK 1
M 3-24 | intro W 3-26 | where old and new intersect Reading:
1. Jenkins intro; Please find at least 3 blogs you like and 3 blogs you don’t like and be prepared to discuss why.
WEEK 2
M 3-31 | what is the social web and where did it come from?
Reading:
1. Kelly, Kevin. "Wired 13.08: We Are the Web." Wired News. 1 Jan 2005. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/tech.html;
2. O’Reilly, Tim. “What is Web 2.0” http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
W 4-2 | what is the social web and what can we do with it?
1."List of social networking websites - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 16 Jul 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
2. Bruns, Axel, “Introduction,” Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage http://snurb.info/files/Produsage%20-%20Introduction.pdf
WEEK 3
M 4-7 | who controls the internet: amateurs and code
Reading:
1. Jenkins ch 1
2. Lessig, Lawrence. “Code is Law.”
W 4-9 | who controls the internet: corporations
1. Wu, Tim. “Yes, Google Is Trying To Take Over the World.” Slate. >http://www.slate.com/id/2178158/<
2. Manjoo, Farhad. “The corporate toll on the Internet,” Salon >http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2006/04/17/toll/index.html<
WEEK 4
M 4-14 | who controls the internet: governments
Reading:
1.Hogge, Becky. “The Interent’s fading promise.” Open Democracy.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/media/internet_fading_4634.jsp
2. Electronic Frontier Foundation resources:
http://www.eff.org/patriot/
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism/antiterrorism_chill.html
W 4-16 | net neutrality
Reading/viewing:
1. Jon M. Peha, William H. Lehr, Simon Wilkie. “The State of the Debate on Network Neutrality.” http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/192/100
2.“Net-neutrality.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
3. NetNeutrality (what would happen) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eszI8A3AUZ0
4. Ask Ninja. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H69eCYcDcuQ
WEEK 5
M 4-21| Exam
W4-23 | Kids: digital natives and helpless victims
1. Jenkins 5
2. Class handouts
WEEK 6
M 4-28 | social networking and the meaning of friendship
Reading:
1. Boyd, Danah. “Why Youth Heart Social Networks.” http://www.danah.org/papers/WhyYouthHeart.pdf
2.Pew Internet and American Life project. “Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview.” Jan. 7, 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf
3. Pew Internet and American Life project. Teens, Privacy, and online social networks. April 18, 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Privacy_SNS_Report_Final.pdf
W 4-30 | politics: new and old tools and practices
Reading/viewing:
1. “New Media, Old Politics?” MIT Communication Forum. http://mitworld.mit.edu/play/238/
2. Tryon, Chuck. “‘Why 2008 Won’t Be Like 1984’: Viral Videos and Presidential Politics.” Flow. http://flowtv.org/?p=143
3. Heffner, Alexander. “YouTube Debates.” CJR. http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/youtube_debates.php
4. Castells, Manuel. “Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society.” International Journal of Communication. v.1 2007. http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/issue/view/1
Sites to check out:
http://www.moveon.org/
http://www.campaignads.org/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
http://www.mittromney.com/
WEEK 7
W 5-5 | pop and politics Reading:
1) Jenkins 4
2) Jenkins 6
3) Future Active handout in class
Sites to check out:
http://www.mccainblogette.com/
http://politicalremix.wordpress.com/
http://www.theyesmen.org/
W 5-7 | transformation of cultural industries
Reading:
1. Adrienne Russell, Mimi Ito, Todd Richmond, and Marc Tuters. “Culture.” http://networkedpublics.org/book/culture
2. Jenkins 2
3. Jenkins 3 WEEK 8
M 5-12 | future of entertainment
Anderson, Chris. The Long Tail http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html
Quarterlife http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022703374_2.html
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2007/12/16/webtv/index.html
W 5-14 | news
Reading: 1. Jenkins Conclusion
2. Rosen, Jay. "PressThink: The People Formerly Known as the Audience." Department of Journalism at New York University. 27 Jun 2006. http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html
3.Diggnation http://digg.com/users/diggnation
WEEK 9
W 5-19 |wikipedia debates
Reading:
1.Daniel Terdiman. “Wikipedia Faces Growing Pains.” Wired. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/01/66210
2.Chris Anderson. “Jimmy Wales.” Time. April 30, 2006 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187286,00.html
3.“Will Wikipedia Mean the End Of Traditional Encyclopedias?” The Wall Street Journal Online invited Mr. Wales to discuss the topic with Dale Hoiberg, editor-in-chief of Britannica. Sept 12 2006. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115756239753455284.html
W 5-21 | Future of the social web
1. Cascio, Jamais. "WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: The Rise of the Participatory Panopticon." 4 May 2005. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002651.html
2. Googlezone http://blogoscoped.com/videos/epic-2015.html
3. Anderson, Chris. “Free.” Wired http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free WEEK 10
W 5-28 | Final Exam
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