While I can see the potential of Second Life to become a major and popular social network forum like facebook is today, I myself am an example of the less tech savvy user who tries, but easily gives up because of the commitment required “to gain your legs” in SL, and I may never be able to give it the time someone like me needs to become fluent. I gave SL a try; my name is Dada Oxygen, and I never made it off Welcome Island.
But clearly SL really can become a part of people’s consciousness, occupying their dream space and potentially existing as a happy place for people—like nothing else in their offline life. I like the outlet it has created for creativity and civic action. It’s hard for me even to grasp the magnitude of SL. I can’t imagine attending a film festival in SL that others may actually be attending. This is the mind boggling part.
Virtual Guantanamo as a game would offer an unusually visceral perspective of being held hostage, rendered helpless, and tortured as our U.S. military currently treats detainees. Watching Unconstitutional, the documenttion of the illegal detention of so many citizens of the world felt way too familiar. How can our culture normalize this atrocious behavior of our government? We just go on about our lives, reading books and watching documentaries like Unconstitutional, but seemingly unable to truly fight back, or just overwhelmed trying to get by ourselves. Craziness!
There is so much storytelling potential in the current crossroads of broadcast Internet technology and I hope that whatever new platforms emerge, they embody the democratic potential so ready to flourish in the Internet medium. I loved the idea of news channels being informed by their users. Sadly, I do not have any exciting links to share, but I’m excited to read up on other posts!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Guantanamo is no game, but...
Guantanamo is no game, but…
Jim McKinney
If it takes a video game to get people to take another look at what our government has been doing there, I’m for it. Suspension of habeas corpus and subjecting prisoners to torture is nothing to play around with lightly.. When prisons such as Guantanamo and such actions as the euphemistically named “extraordinary rendition” are taken offshore deliberately to skirt the U.S. Constitution, and then caught in the spotlight of international media scrutiny, it puts us all in triple jeopardy—not only do we have to run the already existing risk of attack by terrorists, but we exacerbate the problem by stimulating the proliferation of terrorists, while at the same time destroying the foundations of our own legitimate government institutions and along with them the freedoms and protections that they were designed to safeguard.
Nonny de la Peña’s documentary, Unconstitutional, and Second Life video game, put together 
with the support of the Bay Area Video Coalition (yea BAVC!), have tried to keep the issue alive, an issue that many people I’m sure wish would just go away. Watching the now six-year-old documentary, I felt as if the issue had been all but forgotten by most Americans. However, just today, November 1, 2010, the Associated Press has reported that Canada has agreed to repatriate Omar Khadr who was sentenced to eight years for war crimes that included the killing of an U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. . Khadr was 15 when he was captured in 2002. The sentence ordered him to remain one more year in the Guantanamo prison before he could ask the Canadian government to return him to his homeland to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Draxtor Despres’ interview with Wendy Levy in the BAVC Second Life studios was not only very informative, but for me a real eye opener as to how a virtual world environment could be used for more than just a vehicle for video gaming, socializing, or leisurely schmoozing. Watching the interview in a virtual setting showed me how virtual worlds could offer opportunities for people to meet in virtual classrooms, seminars, as well as conference and lecture halls. It was inspiring listening to the interview as they talked about this “paradigm shift” getting traditional filmmakers together with “people who speak different technologies” to work for social change and develop new media strategies for making and distributing their work.
Unfortunately, when I went to Second Life to sign up, I was unable to do so. I picked out a first 
and last name and submitted all of the required information including my e-mail address. However, when I tried to download the software to run the program, I was rebuffed. I re-checked the operating systems and memory limits on both my Microsoft PC and my Apple MAC, and everything seems to exceed the minimum requirements, but I was unable to get started. I am definitely interested in many of the opportunities available, but I guess that I will just have to try again later when I can find more time to seek the necessary technical support. In the meantime, I am very intrigued by all that is out there…
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/
http://www.techsoup.org/community/Second%20Life/page4997.cfm
Unconstitutional
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin FranklinUnconstitutional is a very important documentary that details the assault on Civil Liberties that the passage of The Patriot Act made legal. Its passage, mostly unread when dropped in the middle of the night, at a time when people were feeling very afraid and vulnerable should serve as a warning of what can happen when we let emotions overtake our judgement and reason.
Having researched Second Life I am amazed at the kind of time and money people have invested in this virtual world, often at the neglect of their real lives. People seem to be more invested in their virtual "lives" than in what is happening all around them. Therein lies the problem that technology both creates and can work to remedy. New technologies allow people so many different routes for escape from the mundane, the everyday, the unpleasant news and events of the world that it makes it easier for people to turn a blind eye to what is occurring in the world. To me this sounds an awful lot like the film The Matrix in that people are so invested in the world that is "the wool being pulled over their eyes" that they do not notice the reality that is the world lying beneath the surface. However, new forms of media such as Virtual Guantanamo that are being infused into platforms where people go to "escape reality" and are themselves way to allow people to interact with realities that they otherwise would not be able to can help people to retain connections to what is going on in the world around them.
Although many people do not need to experience something in a virtual world in order to feel empathy or understand its importance, if this parallel world of virtual experience elicits a reaction and wakes people then I hope it continues.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
I'm not really into games - especially electronic ones. However, a game with Gitmo started to sound not so bad -- I thought it might help people become aware of the horrors there and help us do something about human rights violations or something. I especially became more willing to give online rooms a chance when I read in _Infinite Mind_ that a Saudi woman and a Canadian kid were having a conversation about depression and that the online experience allowed the woman and others to talk about things more freely and that Lichtenstein noted "that’s more real than any other virtual experience."
That's how miwa Caeran was born -- or would she be reborn since it's on Second Life? Either way, I'm stuck a few inches from where miwa was born because of technical difficulties.
I' still worried that as society plays in virtual reality will not pay enough attention to "real world" issues and civil liberties will be destroyed right under our noses. I keep thinking about the comments in the documentary "Unconstitutional" that the USA PATRIOT Act was not the legislation unanimously agreed upon and was printed at 3 a.m. and voted on at 11 a.m. Who had time to read it? But then I wonder how many people are on Second Life at 3 a.m.? If we divided up the hundreds of pages of the Act, would there be enough people to read it? And discuss it? And help guide the decision for the legislators' vote at 11 a.m.?
Many years ago I took an old fashioned storytelling class in an Early Childhood Education class. I decided to tell the story of a girl who died of the "atom bomb disease". Someday I'd also like to tell the story of children in the Japanese internment camps and the story of children whose parents were detained after 9/11 or who were forced to register, based on their country of origin. Hopefully games can tell stories as well so we as a society don't keep making stupid mistakes that cost lives. Here's a link to my version of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~mcgratm/movie5.html (warning: this was my one and only class and I'm not a good story teller -- yet!).
That's how miwa Caeran was born -- or would she be reborn since it's on Second Life? Either way, I'm stuck a few inches from where miwa was born because of technical difficulties.
I' still worried that as society plays in virtual reality will not pay enough attention to "real world" issues and civil liberties will be destroyed right under our noses. I keep thinking about the comments in the documentary "Unconstitutional" that the USA PATRIOT Act was not the legislation unanimously agreed upon and was printed at 3 a.m. and voted on at 11 a.m. Who had time to read it? But then I wonder how many people are on Second Life at 3 a.m.? If we divided up the hundreds of pages of the Act, would there be enough people to read it? And discuss it? And help guide the decision for the legislators' vote at 11 a.m.?
Many years ago I took an old fashioned storytelling class in an Early Childhood Education class. I decided to tell the story of a girl who died of the "atom bomb disease". Someday I'd also like to tell the story of children in the Japanese internment camps and the story of children whose parents were detained after 9/11 or who were forced to register, based on their country of origin. Hopefully games can tell stories as well so we as a society don't keep making stupid mistakes that cost lives. Here's a link to my version of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~mcgratm/movie5.html (warning: this was my one and only class and I'm not a good story teller -- yet!).
social media
I am not the most computer savvy person out there but I have enjoyed exploring different sites, topics, and films. Personally I prefer sites that allow me to find indy bands and that allow me to talk with friends and family online. I also enjoy being able to express my opinion openly and without people criticizing me but that also allows me to explore others views. I couldn't get into second life but I did enjoy the short clip on virtual guantanamo bay. I think its a good way for people to learn and in some way experience what is going on in the world. One site that i found interesting is Firedoglake http://firedoglake.com/. I enjoy exploring political sites and although I am very liberal I still like going into conservative sites because I want to learn why they feel the way they do (don't think i've done a good job in understanding the other side). My best friend from highschool is going to start his own site and asked me to participate. Even though he has a degree in business and wants business to be one of the main issues on the site he also wants it to have a variety of other topics covered. He feels its important to communicate with others about different political social issues. I've tentatively agreed but I know it will be a challenge. I've always had a hard time sticking to a site. I prefer myspace because of the music and don't care much for facebook. In the end this will be a learning process and exploring FDL site and different forms of media for this class is going to help me become more comfortable with this type of media.
Virtual Guantánamo
I was able to login to Second Life and made it farther than I had before. The last time I earnestly attempted to enter Second Life, in 2007, I don't think I was able to find clothes, or if I was dressed, I didn't realize it. This time I knew that I was wearing clothes and what they looked like. I didn't really enjoy it. I went to a CNN news media news destination and it had a bunch of cars looking at a screen like a drive-in, it said to watch click on the screen. When I did that it brought up a regular html page in my browser, which seemed a little silly.
I did do searches on "political documentaries" and "Sundance Films," and other seemingly relevant terms but to no avail. Mostly I got text advertising. The atmosphere was appropriately Haloweeny but I found the virtual rats scurrying about a little upsetting. I could tell that some people were talking to me just in a basic flirty type of way which made me uncomfortable. And it seemed like I was privvy to other people's conversations, which didn't really make much sense.
In May I saw the film Life 2.0 and wrote a review for The Guardsman.
I watched the description of the Guantánamo "game" in 2.0 and have absolutely no desire to experience it. I feel like that kind of replication is preaching to the choir. People who would find themselves in the position of exploring how horrible the prison is probably already know it's horrible. I think it's more important to provide people with some sort of action they can take to help positive outcomes result.
The horror of the situation is easy to parlay and the movie did say something that I must have heard before but that never resonated and would probably resonate with people who are more conservative than I am and that is that allowing violations on treatment of prisoners of war gives permission to other countries to treat our people negatively.
I believe the film said a lot of important things but it was frustrating to me because I felt it focused on too many topics. It's hard to realize how important each individual story is when it is juxtaposed with about ten other situations which are equally egregious. I feel like treatment of the prisoners and going deeper into the identities of those people who are in the prison would have been helpful because some of them are bad people but not necessarily all of them.
The story of the family that was taken as prisoners was equally compelling and represented a different experience that needed to be addressed. I would have liked to have known more about them, where did the younger children go, what made the government suspicious (if anything).
The interview of you at BAVC was also interesting, but It seems like having it be virtual in Second Life didn't necessarily add anything to it. Couldn't it have been a regular video?
I did do searches on "political documentaries" and "Sundance Films," and other seemingly relevant terms but to no avail. Mostly I got text advertising. The atmosphere was appropriately Haloweeny but I found the virtual rats scurrying about a little upsetting. I could tell that some people were talking to me just in a basic flirty type of way which made me uncomfortable. And it seemed like I was privvy to other people's conversations, which didn't really make much sense.
In May I saw the film Life 2.0 and wrote a review for The Guardsman.
I watched the description of the Guantánamo "game" in 2.0 and have absolutely no desire to experience it. I feel like that kind of replication is preaching to the choir. People who would find themselves in the position of exploring how horrible the prison is probably already know it's horrible. I think it's more important to provide people with some sort of action they can take to help positive outcomes result.
The horror of the situation is easy to parlay and the movie did say something that I must have heard before but that never resonated and would probably resonate with people who are more conservative than I am and that is that allowing violations on treatment of prisoners of war gives permission to other countries to treat our people negatively.
I believe the film said a lot of important things but it was frustrating to me because I felt it focused on too many topics. It's hard to realize how important each individual story is when it is juxtaposed with about ten other situations which are equally egregious. I feel like treatment of the prisoners and going deeper into the identities of those people who are in the prison would have been helpful because some of them are bad people but not necessarily all of them.
The story of the family that was taken as prisoners was equally compelling and represented a different experience that needed to be addressed. I would have liked to have known more about them, where did the younger children go, what made the government suspicious (if anything).
The interview of you at BAVC was also interesting, but It seems like having it be virtual in Second Life didn't necessarily add anything to it. Couldn't it have been a regular video?
Mixx it Up
I was never into video games or online virtual sites so after navigating through Second Life, I was not having a good time. I understand the concept and it can be entertaining for people of interest but not for me. I actually found it a little childish but I admit I did have laugh creating my avatar which I named ZellyBoo Katana, which kind of made me feel like a kid again. Overall I was not a fan of the website.
Browsing around, I came across a site that is more of my taste. Its called Mixx at www.mix.com, is a general social news site that has different categories for the types of news. It can range in topics it covers from business to music to health and much more. The fun part of this site is the ability to create your own groups that you can post and share news with other users. It gives you the advantage to tailor your sources and basically become the editor in your style. An awesome site that should be checked out.
My Virtual Reality
My personal experience with the website second life ( http://www.secondlife.com/ ) was really not a very enjoyable one. I don't know if was because my laptop is kind of old, but it was hard for me to control my character. I played around with try to move my guy and it was a challenge, after about 1/2 an hour I was frustrated and gave up. But, it does seem like a pretty neat idea. Something maybe 10 or 15 years ago that seemed so futuristic is now here. I wonder how mainstream these virtual worlds will become. I liked how you could name your character and dress him as you like. I didn't even get to make it past the 3rd step of the instructions of the secondlife world... but, it does seem cool that you can talk and meet other people around the world.
As far as looking for other virtual worlds, I came across this game called Sim 3. It is being released on X box and Play Station this week and you can also play it on some of the newer smart phones. This is the third generation of this game and seems very popular and gets very good ratings. http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/sims+3/results It seems to have the same concept as the second life format, picking a character and name him or her. Picking your own style, color and naming you virtual self. Then going into your new community and interacting with others. I wonder if games like this will help people meet in real life? Maybe some love connections or making new friends. It seems as if the possibilities are endless and also very exciting!!
I did come across a few virtual documentaries and I like this one http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/virtual-violence/beb778cdf5c4bcc12b1abeb778cdf5c4bcc12b1a-256926417205?q=vitural%20documentaries&FROM=LKVR5>1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR8 it has to do the old question is there a too much violence in the virtual world, such as video games. This short documentary that I found on Youtube.com is done all in a virtual format.
As a little side note with this weeks movie and making it easy for people to leave a comment I ask.... Does any thing our government really surprise anyone anymore?
As far as looking for other virtual worlds, I came across this game called Sim 3. It is being released on X box and Play Station this week and you can also play it on some of the newer smart phones. This is the third generation of this game and seems very popular and gets very good ratings. http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/sims+3/results It seems to have the same concept as the second life format, picking a character and name him or her. Picking your own style, color and naming you virtual self. Then going into your new community and interacting with others. I wonder if games like this will help people meet in real life? Maybe some love connections or making new friends. It seems as if the possibilities are endless and also very exciting!!
I did come across a few virtual documentaries and I like this one http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/virtual-violence/beb778cdf5c4bcc12b1abeb778cdf5c4bcc12b1a-256926417205?q=vitural%20documentaries&FROM=LKVR5>1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR8 it has to do the old question is there a too much violence in the virtual world, such as video games. This short documentary that I found on Youtube.com is done all in a virtual format.
As a little side note with this weeks movie and making it easy for people to leave a comment I ask.... Does any thing our government really surprise anyone anymore?
Not Quite Yet The Matrix...
Political storytelling in virtual worlds can work to a certain degree if the world being depicted is accurately reflected. I came across this video/write up about understanding Islam using virtual worlds.
In this specific example, on the one hand it's a fascinating attempt to help folks explore the myriad facets of a largely misunderstood, mostly by the west, religion. On the other, and in more general terms, what one can explore is a creation by the owner. That "reality" will show what the author wants to show. If the script is true to form, then walking about a mosque, taking the Hajj or visiting an office can become a valuable experience. If the representations aren't accurate it might still be a wonderful experience but won't offer the visitor a "true" experience.
In the clip, one of the avatars greatly resents "visitors" visiting the mosque with their shoes on and wants to force everyone's shoes off. This got me thinking to how are these worlds governed?
Most of us were born into or adopted the governance of our respective countries, states, schools, clubs, or homes. In virtual worlds rules and politics were developed only recently. And, in a political sense, as these worlds evolve into more complex states and enjoy (or suffer) a wider diversity of visiting cultures, will the rules adopted become more like those in the "real" world or will virtual politics be able to iron out some of the existing kinks? If so can those fixes be brought back to and implemented in the "real" world...
"The paradox for Linden Lab was how to realize the ongoing creation of Second Life in a way that was consistent with their idealized vision of individual creativity and liberty, while remaining indisputably and unavoidably the single most powerful institutional player on the scene." -Legitimate Question, Terranova
In the clip, one of the avatars greatly resents "visitors" visiting the mosque with their shoes on and wants to force everyone's shoes off. This got me thinking to how are these worlds governed?
Most of us were born into or adopted the governance of our respective countries, states, schools, clubs, or homes. In virtual worlds rules and politics were developed only recently. And, in a political sense, as these worlds evolve into more complex states and enjoy (or suffer) a wider diversity of visiting cultures, will the rules adopted become more like those in the "real" world or will virtual politics be able to iron out some of the existing kinks? If so can those fixes be brought back to and implemented in the "real" world...
"The paradox for Linden Lab was how to realize the ongoing creation of Second Life in a way that was consistent with their idealized vision of individual creativity and liberty, while remaining indisputably and unavoidably the single most powerful institutional player on the scene." -Legitimate Question, Terranova
In the ever growing digital media world, Vimeo has emerged as one of my favorite video hosts. Far too many times have I navigated through other video sharing sites and been flooded with advertisements and spam! This site weeds out a lot that unwanted content, it doesn't permit commercial videos, gaming videos, pornography, or anything not created by the user to be hosted on the site. This is exciting because I visit these sites for specific reasons and slimming down the crap content makes for a far better experience. It's fair to
say that Vimeo caters to visual arts and is an artistic outlet, which provides a lot of beautiful imagery.
With roughly over 3 million users, about 16,0000 new videos uploaded daily, 10% of which are in HD. Speaking of HD, Vimeo was the first video sharing site to support High Definition playback, (720p) the majority of time that I watch something on Vimeo, the quality is far superior to that of Youtube's. Honestly I think the minimal approach and the focus on quality over quantity has won me over. This site is where it's at!
Diaspora
Diasproa - the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as a people or language or culture)
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
When Second Life first came out, I thought it was going to be the coolest thing online. I promptly signed up for an account and a few days later realized what I had done, and wondered, "Why?" Given what the definition implies, I wondered what was I going to do with yet another life? I already had a life in school, a life with friends, and a life with my family, why would I want one online?
Diaspora is a an open source project started by four students at NYU. Unlike facebook, myspace, and other social networking sites, you don't hand over all your information to a single entity. Instead, you'll be responsible for your information, and where it's stored. You'll also have control over who has access to you and your information. Diaspora isn't meant to take over as the next big thing. Instead, it's an alternative. I have no first hand experience with the site as it hasn't been released to the general public yet, but it sounds interesting. The only drawback is that hosting your information may not be completely free. But, with so many people willing to spend money on Farmeville and other games, it may not be an issue.
Second - coming next after the first in position in space or time or degree or magnitude
Life - the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living
When Second Life first came out, I thought it was going to be the coolest thing online. I promptly signed up for an account and a few days later realized what I had done, and wondered, "Why?" Given what the definition implies, I wondered what was I going to do with yet another life? I already had a life in school, a life with friends, and a life with my family, why would I want one online?But then I realized that not everyone is moderately satisfied with their life, and Second Life provides a venue for them to be someone else, to explore places they'll never see in real life, or to meet people they would never have a chance to. Because Second Life is providing a place for people to live, it makes since that there are goods and services offered there as well. NPSL helps non-profits establish a presence in a virtual world that is full of new opportunities. I haven't had a chance to interact with these individuals virtually, but I can imagine that they bring another, more tangible, element of real life into a virtual world.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Not My Cup of Tea
I have to agree with Sophay that after checking out Second Life I really wasn't impressed. It really reminded me of virtual games like Neopets and World of Warcraft that my little brother plays. I think these worlds are great for a certain niche of people, but Second Life really isn't my thing. I would rather speak to people in person, then in a virtual world. : )
But one positive thing I did find was a section devoted to Movietickets.com. It was set up like a theater and if you clicked on different movie posters, it would take you to the website and find where that movie was playing in your area. One documentary I found that they had listed was Michael Jackson's "This is It."
I'm kind of an architectural history nerd so I thought it was kind of cool when I went to the website http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/ and found a group called Neenah Historical Society. On October 25th, 2010 they gave a virtual presentation on the Octagon Ward house in Neenah, Wisconsin. They wanted to raise awareness and funds for this historic house which was built in 1850. I thought that was pretty cool that they did this whole virtual presentation. Here are two sites to go to about this presentation. The first one is of photos from the presentation and the second in a site on the Society.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amoration/5114168495/
http://www.neenahhistoricalsociety.org/
But one positive thing I did find was a section devoted to Movietickets.com. It was set up like a theater and if you clicked on different movie posters, it would take you to the website and find where that movie was playing in your area. One documentary I found that they had listed was Michael Jackson's "This is It."
I'm kind of an architectural history nerd so I thought it was kind of cool when I went to the website http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/ and found a group called Neenah Historical Society. On October 25th, 2010 they gave a virtual presentation on the Octagon Ward house in Neenah, Wisconsin. They wanted to raise awareness and funds for this historic house which was built in 1850. I thought that was pretty cool that they did this whole virtual presentation. Here are two sites to go to about this presentation. The first one is of photos from the presentation and the second in a site on the Society.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amoration/5114168495/
http://www.neenahhistoricalsociety.org/
“I didn’t invent Thug Life, I diagnosed it!” -Tupac Shakur
Malcolm X to the Panthers to Tupac
There is nothing so dangerous in America Black Man.
Is this the story of your life time? Have you lived through any of this? A Black Man with something to say and a way to be heard and seen and to be reckoned with. Revolutionary! With all respect to Gil Scott Heron and the Last Poets, this revolution is being televised. In 1996 the revolution of Death Row Records was brought to you by MTV, St. Ides Malt Liquor, Timberland, Hilfiger, Hennessey and Ghetto Fabulous. But the crack epidemic was brought to America
Does it surprise anyone that during a time when the law furthering the education & employment of 'minorities' was enforced that the resulting rise of a black middle class was met with yet another attempt at genocide aka crack? Heroin crippled and killed the best & brightest in the 1970's. Incarceration of those who dared to stand up and declare 'by any means necessary' had only created a ‘twenty to life’ era of over crowded prisons and the occasional cause celebre. A non response to Aids had had its ‘rule by fear’ uses.
But crack? Watching a very young Tupac bring the truth from the crack infested & invested street to the NAACP was electrifying. It was as a definitive a moment as the finger of God writing on the wall in Babylon
I lived in NYC when Afrika Bambatta & Fab 5 Freddie started something ORIGINAL! Sampling and was the roadblock to a new form of creative expression. And that is what we are being asked to consider when we discuss recut/reframe/recycle. What is an Original? Define Original image, sound, thought. YOUR Original Idea expressed in any form is Intellectual Property. Ownership, distribution, and reuse are at the crux of digital IP domain.
The Media may change in form. While the need to express your own unique self is 'constant as the northen star'. The challenge is to balance the rights of the artist with the needs of the Artiste. Individuals have traditionally responded to art, music, image, and thought with alters, shrines, parody, caricature, collage and homage; imitation being the most sincere form of flattery. A spontaneous creative response should not be punishable by 'fine or imprisonment'.
And that is where the Centre for Social Media enters into this discussion.
The American University
First writing a new law(s) is Sisyphean in its expected progress. Apparently these two have attracted the best minds in the country and are doing just that. Their Statement for Fair use is economical in defining the terrain of this skirmish. I was even more impressed with both the Durinationar and Open Course Ware.
The first program/website allows you to check material in the public domain. The second is brought to us from those mensa minds at MIT. Go to the website and read if you want to know details. (I spent a lot of time on this website. First, it is good to know that Pat is not yet another academic with 'publish or die' ringing in her ears. It was great to see her laugh at the clever chipmunks clip included in the video.)I was intrigued by the recent Innovate/Activate Conference at NYLS and the fact that we are in the midst of this sea change.
The internet has made all Media from all times, available for All TIME. How do you propose to control a Media Hydra that burns through YOUR life's work in seconds on YouTube? Sony and Disney and Death Row Records are about the Benjamin’s and control. Tupac called it the Illuminati after being in prison, and possibly died for giving this a name.
Because to call your enemy by his true name is to seize power over your enemy. From the Ancient World to the New World this is how you control and defeat your enemy. You pick your battles and name your enemy. Just like Tupac, Afeni Shakur, the Panthers, The Last Poets, Mamie Till, and Malcolm X; carpe diem. To paraphrase; 'this is how WE roll' in Political Documentary! All of the films we are watching have an unimagined afterlife on the Internet.
And with the establishment of the World Wide Web, utilizing innovative digital recording & transmission formats widely available to individuals, we may have achieved the ancient dream. We are immortal. We live forever in code and electonica.
"In the beginning was the word. And the word was God"
Just make sure you have something worth saying.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Poltical Story telling in the virtual world
When I went to the Second Life website, I didn't become interested in it at first because it reminded of video games. It reminds me of World of War Craft. It’s an online video game ($15 a month), where you create avatars and enter an enchanted world. It is extremely popular and addicting for a lot people. I didn't favor this at all.
Although I feel this way, I see how second life networks can help provide a platform of art, culture, and politics as stated in the Wikipedia website, but I still wasn't convince until I committed myself to finding out more about this new media. I came upon a website
that completely changed my mind. http://www.betterverse.org/2009/07/machinima-that-matter-a-list-of-machinima-films-with-a-social-political-message.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_bID58UlLo&feature=player_embedded
This website a great example in using the avatar world to tell a story.
The website is in the form of a blog run by a nonprofit. The recent post was on October 27th, 2010 about Thailand tapping into the virtual world to promote tourism.
"The Bangkok Post reports that the government of Thailand is launching a new virtual world to highlight the business and tourism opportunities in the southeast asian country this November. Called "Thailand Planet" the web-based virtual world seems to promise quite alot,"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
