CATFISH

Throughout the semester, the topic of web 2.0 and democratized media has has been talked about greatly in almost every class, so wrapping up the semester with the documentary "Catfish", was only seemed approriate.  Catfish sums up just how connected the internet has made us.  It shows how creativity can be transported at a click, how relationships can be established, but it also shows how easy it is to steal ones identity, lie and steal.  The interent, as we have spoke about, can be a fabulous thing, but also am awful thing...depending on how it is used.  In Catfish, Nev, the main character, seeks out a relationship with a young girl named Abby, who is a talented painter who saw one of his photos in an article. His brother, filmmaker Ariel Schulman who had already been making a documentary about Yaniv, basically kept cameras rolling to document their relationship, hoping to find something interesting about it, since an 8 year old painter is pretty intruiging. She sent him a painting of his photo, and they later began talking on facebook.  Through this, he then developed a relationship with her mother, and later a romantic one with his older sister, Megan.  Megan appears to be an extremely fun and attractive young woman, and Nev is immediately attracted to her. The two then embark on a very intimate online relationship which leads to constant texting as well as constant phone conversations. Nev quickly becomes infatuated with Megan, and it seems that Megan feels similarly about Nev.  Nev starts to realize some falsities in what the family is telling him, so he decides to go visit with his filmmaking friends. We later find out that almost everything he has been told by this "family" is false.  There is no older sister Megan, and Abby is not a painter.  Angela, the mother, is actually obsessed with Nev, and IS Megan.  We see a dark, twisted life that Angela was covering up. She has two retarded sons, and deals with the burden of taking care of them 24/7.  She admitted that she used the connection with Nev to escape, and be all the sides of herself that she wishes she had embraced.  She describes her story with a voice full of pain and heartache.  This twist opens eyes to the dangers of the interent, but it also shows a women using the internet to escape from her life full of pain and drama, as we have once talked about. The film Catfish displays and truly defines the basic ideas and values of Web 2.0
      Once the secret is out, Angela admits to everything, and explains how she had to use facebook and retrace the things she said so that they did not come off as lies.  She created over 15 facebook accounts to make it seem legitamet, but once her secret is out, it only makes her seem even more crazy.  Nev interviews her at the end, and the audience gets  a sense of sorrow, or at least i did.  I feel for her, her life was rough.  However, the movie ends with Angela painting a photo of Nev, and saying how hard it is.  It becomes eerie when she keeps referencing his "beautiful smile" and how much more beautiful it is in person.  Nev says he is ready to go home, and it seems as though he started to feel creeped out.  He gets the painting in the mail about a month later, and the movie ends.
      One of the reasons the movie was so intruiging was that the entire first half of the movie, you had NO idea that Angela was Megan...and that Megan did not exist.  Its very unexpected.  Once you find out, you realize that there WAS a real relationship between Angela and Nev, even though he was tricked to believe it was Megan.  At the end of the movie it says that they are still friends on facebook, so Nev did not completely "disown" her in a sense, i think he felt for her and her awful life too. 
       We still do not know WHY Angela seeked out Nev.  There was no indication of her doing this with anyone else.  SHE initiated it by sending the photo to Nev...but even the first encounter was a lie...which confused me.  She started the entire thing saying she was "Abby" the 8 year old painting prodegy.  So this makes me question her intentions.  Did she plan this sick,twisted relationship from the start? Or did she start off thinking she would make money if an 8 year old was the artist?  There are many unanswered questions that this movie has evoked in me. 

        The film Catfish basically uncovers the world’s fears of Web 2.0, and how easy it is to decieve others using the internet.  It made me think i need to be a little more private, and alert when talking to others online, because you really NEVER know who is on the other side of the computer screen.  It made me question for the first time how safe my pictures ar being up on the internet. Angela used a collection of photos of a random model who is married with children to form the identity of Megan Faccio and trick Nev into falling in love with this fake person.  I just imagined what would've happened if he ever saw that girl in the photos on the street.  She would've had NO CLUE who he was, and he wouldve been baffled.  The dangers and falsities of the internet are quite disturbing! All in all, i really really enjoyed this movie, and it was emotional, informational, and kept you watching.  The fact that it was not "based on a true story" , it wasn't "inspired" by a true story, it was TRUE, 100%, is what makes it so intruiging. 

Mr.Brainwash

"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary by Banksy, which follows Terry Guetta, a French filmmaker.  Terry is a street artist who uses street art to express himself.  It is a controversary as to whether the film is a complete hoax created by street artists.  However, assuming that it is NOT, this documentary shows just how quickly America can be "brainwashed" by advertising and word-of-mouth.  It shows how quickly people will follow the crowd.  It greatly relates to what we learned about culture jamming. (Remember Sheppard Fairley’s "Andre the Giant", and how quickly that image became popular).

This film begins with "Mr. Brainwash" (as he is known by street artists), following well-known street artists around while they "tag" buildings throughout the city.  He documents these artists whom he is fascinated by, and is thus a self-proclaimed film-maker.  Terry Guetta documents EVERYTHING.   At first, he is seen as a very genuine, artistic, and endearing character, with a passion for what he does.  He doesn't care that street art is illegal; it is a form of expression that deserves to be captured on film as true art. After much documenting, especially of the British street artist, Banksy, (who remains unveiled throughout the film) Terry decides that he wants to become a street artist himself.  This may seem inspiring, however, Terry rips off the ideas of many street artists he has documented, in order to become his own street artist. His mold of all these different works is the creator called "Mr. Brainwash". It is clear that most of his work is borrowed, not only from other street artists, but big names such as Andy Whorol.  This makes him seem much less genuine in his work, because originally in the film, street art was a form of personal expression that inspired him.  Later on, street art becomes a stolen art, which is NOT personal or genuine (at least for Mr. Brainwash).  It simply becomes a way to get his name out, become famous, and make lots of money.  Half the point of being a true street artist is remaining unknown, and mysterious (it is illegal).  Mr. Brainwash twists the entire concept of street are, making it public, and making it unoriginal.  He eventually puts on his own art show, with all these stolen concepts and designs, selling for upward of $60,000 a piece!  His show becomes the talk of the town and he is now even recognized by people such as Madonna.

Once he has his art show in the works, his entire demeanor and way he is seen through the documentary, changes. Terry, Mr. Brainwash, becomes extremely bossy, cocky, and all about the money. Going from Terry Guetta the self-proclaimed film-maker, to Mr. Brainwash, has changed Terry as a person, or so it seems through the film.   Banksy juggles the idea of endorsing Terry's show, because he is not sure if it a good idea, because he has also seen the changes in Terry. He doesn't really think Terry is a true artist; he seems him more as an opportunist. At the end of the film, the question of whether Mr. Brainwash is just what his name states, a person who tricks others into following the trend even though there may not be a reason to, or if he is truly an artist.  The public went crazy over Mr.Brainwash's artwork, so does that mean he is a successful artist?  Money wise, yes he is.  But the general public does not know his story or know that the works he "created" weren't really his true creations.  The end of the film leaves the viewer with a sort of bittersweet taste.  We watched a man go from being inspired by street art, documenting it all over the world, to becoming his own mainstream phenomenon.

Do you feel that "Mister Brain Wash" is a legitimate artist who is creating meaningful art?

       I do not feel that MBW is a legitamate artist creating meaningful work.  All he really did was document others, take their ideas, and call it art.  Such a large portion of his art were Andy Worhol's with a little spray paint on them.  He got his name out there by putting stickers up of himself all over the place.  It was almost symbolic when he plastered his design over another street artists.  Mr.Brainwash reminds me of a big corporation like Wal-mart, taking out small mom-and-pop businesses.  He doesn't care about the true art, he doesn't care about the other artists or "keeping art alive".  His works are not genuine.  What he cares about is people knowing who he is, knowing his "art" and spending their money on it.  He is an artist is the sense that he was able to get so many people to know who he was simply through word-of-mouth, which is definitely an artform of some sort.  However, when it comes to creating art, he should not be given much credit.  He took the ideas from street artists he had documented, other famous figures, and even had others creating the pieces of art for him! He is not a true artist.  The only art he really created was spray painting words on walls, which anyone can do. Any artist can have people working for him to produce some work, but the head artist is still producing art, he simply has the assistants to help.  MBW is just telling artists what to make for him.  Although he has "ideas" (which just about anyone can come up with a genious art idea or concept), he does not create it in any sense, he just tells others what to do and what to make.  The real artists are his assistants, creating the art.  Even when he had his show, Life is Beatiful, he wasn't even in there putting the pieces together.  He just told the assistants what to do, and when they needed help he was "too busy doing an interview".  Mr. Brainwash, in the eyes of a true artist, would be considered a coward and a poser.

GRADE REPORT

TRACING

Marylin Monroe <3

recreation of vector image

Recreation of my vector image, sorry i posted it a day late..my original  file got corrupted!

This is the original....

THIS is my recreation. It was not that hard with the shapes button to create the circles. I also used the curve angle tool to create the rounded edges. I actually enjoyed this assignment!

vECTOR iMAGE

I decided to change the image i am using for the vector assignment. This is the one i will actually be recreating

Vector Image

This is my image i will be re-creating for the vector assignment!

Keen

1.      How does Keen define Democratized media, and what are his main issues with this trend? use examples from the web in the form of links. Include this idea of "disintermediation".

Keen defines Democratized media as being media created by everyone. However, he does not see this as a positive.  Anyone can have a comment, or opinion, whether they are experts or not, and it is beginning to devalue truth in evidence and those who actually use research and care deeply about a subject or issue.  Democratized media has caused people to take opinions as facts, which is a disgrace to him because we no longer hold value in deep analysis. He feels that it is not credible because anyone in the world can edit and change it to their bias.  A great example is Wikipedia.  While the information can be great for quick information, the details are often not correct, and someone can completely change it if that want to. It bothered him a lot because in his opinion, it has ruined the music industry in many ways.  Anyone can because a “star” and create a band using applications and uploading to YouTube. Keen wanted to use technology to perfect classics such as the beetles.  To "disintermediate" it is the act of doing away with all the professional levels to go through in order to have a professional blog, movie reviews, any sort of talents, etc.

2.      Compare and Contrast Keens take on Social Media with Douglas Rushkoff's. What are these differences in opinion? Which one speaks to you and your own experiences and why? You may include the ideas of such utopian technophiles as Larry Lessig, Chris anderson, and Jimmy Wales (who are these guys!?)

While Rushkoff is interested in the drastic changes that the internet has caused, he is open to the change.  Rushkoff thinks there definitely are dangers with the way the internet is changing all aspects of life, including children, education, work environment, and many others, but he thinks it is powerful and is accepting of working with the changes.  Keen is on the total other end of the spectrum, he is completely against it and feels that it is completely ruining society as a whole.  In his opinion, it is “dumbing down” our society, 

comments

I have partnered with both John Vigliotti ( http://johnvigliotti.blogspot.com/ ) and Eric Johansen ( http://erjmedialiteracy.blogspot.com/  ). John's Thesis was " I think mostly all programs from Photoshop to Firefox should be open source so the online community can improve whatever they see fit". He provides really great examples and relates to the videos we watched about online gaming addiction.

Eric's thesis was  "Like everything else, consumption in excess is a bad. So the moderate use of technology is not harmful and quite extraordinary". He relates this thesis to how education is dealing with the technological advancements, along with gamers and everyday people using social networking

I also commented on Michael Snyder's page.

WEB 2.0

As we join groups and social networks from affinity sites to Facebook, are we extending and expanding identities, or increasingly conforming to the cookie-cutter profiles demanded of these interfaces? Is the loss of "personal space" and "reflection" so many users complain of merely the necessary surrender of "ego" as we learn to participate as members of a more evolved "collective organism" of "hyper-people?"
(You may want to re-watch "bubby" and "warcraft" sections of digital nation)


It is true that just about everyone is a part of some social networking site in 2011.  People use these sites for many different reasons.  One of the most popular by far is Face book.  What started out as a site specifically for Harvard students then became a site for college students and is now used by just about everyone I know, and most likely everyone you know as well.  It is rather amazing to think about how fast Face book and other social networking sites have grown--face book started just a few years ago and now has over 500 million users.  (That greater than the population of the United States, just to put things into perspective)


The possibilities on face book are endless.  People can meet friends, meet lovers, catch up with old friends, create groups and advertise and promote products and events.  It really opens doors to connection worldwide with others.  People also use face book to create a certain "image" of themselves that they would like to be perceived as.  Especially in the high school generation, teens are exposing so much of themselves through pictures that it is becoming rather risqué.  As we saw in the Web 2.0 video, many are creating a whole sort of "second identity" online on sites such as face book or MySpace.  It is seen as almost separate from real life, which is causing concern for many.  I definitely think social networking sites create the opportunity to change your appearance to the outside world, and many people who are unsure of themselves or have fantasies of being a certain type of person, thrive on this and make it a big part of their lives.  This is why social sites such as World of War Craft where you "become" a player in a magical world, are so popular.  In games such as these, relationships are created.  Time is spent with others for anywhere from 5 to 25 hours a week.  Whether to say these relationships are legitament or not is up to you.  I feel that they are legitament, but definitely have different qualities compared with real-life interaction with others.  Second Life is another site, which allows for this creation of a new identity. 
In the Web2.0 video we saw Bubbie, who LOVED cooking on YouTube with her grandson, and encouraged everyone to try it out.  She loved the connections she was making without even leaving her kitchen.  It was refreshing to see someone using the internet for such enjoyment.  A large question is whether or not the "connections" she was making with people who she couldn’t see were real or not.  In my mind, I feel that if SHE feels the connection and it is making her happy, than that is all that should matter.  However, I think people definitely should keep in mind how much weight they place on their online relationships, compared with their relationships in real life.  I say this because studies have shown (and predicted) that younger generations growing up with so much internet access and ways to "connect" through IM, text and social sites, have much higher levels of social anxiety and underdeveloped social skills.  This is because some kids are relying on texts and e-mail and non face-to-face interaction, as their main interaction.  This is a very big worry, especially when the time comes from jobs and interviews. 
It definitely IS a whole new world depending on what you use the internet for, and I believe that growing up with the internet as part of our lives definitely makes life much different than it ever was previously. Our online identities are definitely different from our true life identities; they can differ slightly, or they can differ greatly. I think our job is to figure out a healthy balance, and figure out how to separate real-life from internet-life.  It always takes time to work our kinks when something is new, especially with technology, but in time I think as humans we are smart enough to figure out the balance between the two. 

Folksonomy and the Folks.
Everybody is, indeed, here now - but should everyone be here? Does the rise of the amateur lead to an unnecessary devaluation of the professional? Do collective online activities promote a new form of participatory democracy and the development of new and accurate folksonomies, or rather to they lead people to overestimate the value of their unconsidered posts and opinions? Do representative democracy, academic disciplines and other seemingly elitist artifacts fall by the wayside?

Speaking briefly on the topic of folksonomy and the fact that EVERYONE is using the internet, which I mentioned early, there sure is ALOT to say.  I feel that the ease of using the internet now has created a lot of loopholes for many people, and created the ability for people to connect much easier.  Today, it is so easy to find old friends by simply searching someone’s name on face book.  10 years ago, it was merely impossible.  Today, meetings can be held with people in New York and people in Tokyo, using Second life or Skype.  10 years ago, thousands would need to be spent on airfare and hotel stays, for meetings like this to occur.  This is definitely an advantage of the new technologies and social sites.  However, along with these advantages, just like everything else, comes disadvantages. The ease of using the internet today has made things a lot easier, that people once had to be trained to do and usually requires a degree and years of experience.  Now, anyone can be a "director" using YouTube or the video on their iPhone.  Anyone can create a music band using things like garage band.  People can also all be journalists through the use of blogs.  Journalism has suffered greatly because of this and News stations and newspapers as well.  Instead of buying a newspaper at the store, they can be purchased online, or you can get extremely updated news on homepages such as yahoo, or by simply googling.  The internet has made it possible for many to "work from home" and basically be in their pajamas if they choose.  To think that someone working at IBM making 6 figures is lounging in pajamas definitely takes away from the professionalism we usually associate with such a position.  Also, the fact that basically anyone can be in the Army or Marines now, because they can sit at a computer and drop bombs in another country, is shocking to me.  I think it is VERY smart that they still make them go through training and wear the uniform to get them in the right mindset, but techniqually none of it is necessary now with the advances in technology.  If someone can play a video shooting game, they can pretty much be a bomber in the military.  These technological advancements have definitely changed my view and many others views of professionalism.  The concept has sort of become diverged with unprofessionals.  Again, I think we just need to find a happy-medium as a society between professionalism and the new advancements in technology, for things to work out for everyone.

Questions

I definitely feel that the "homegrown" appreal that TV shows and ads try to create to emmulate what is seen on the web will dissapear rather soon.  I think in general people would rather see higher quality in TV, online, and advetisements (IE Blue ray, high definition, 3d, etc.) and i feel that advertisements aren't going to risk "falling behind" especially with all of the advancements in technology and digital media. They will definitely make the accomidations needed to create better looking media, and with all the younger generations being more tech-davvy, this will definitely help within compannies online and for advertisments.

2.What social media sites do you find yourself using the most, and why? In your opinion why is Facebook so much more successful than MySpace, and do you think Facebook is "here to stay" for the long term. I definitely think the social media  i use the most is Facebook. The site had grown to over 7 million users, which is more than any other social site ever before.  Almost every single person i know has a facebook; it is actually seen as strange if someone doesn't have one. It has become incorporated into everyone's daily life. It really is a great way to share photos, talk with friends and people from accross the world, and even work with groups on school projects.  There are so many options with facebook, such as e-mail, postings that are visable to everyone, status updates, and even a chat.  It makes social networking so easy for everyone, and that is why i think it is here to stay. Also, The site is always changing and upgrading to make it more user friendly, and more of a "one stop shop"  than it was.  Originally it was only for college students, but it has grown to being used by gandparents, children, and just about everyone.  Facebook now has employees and has advertisers who pay big bucks to advetise on facebook.  Facebook has evolved and had the money  needed to grow and continue to grow with the evolving with technology.( Unlike sites  like myspace that weren't as diverse and changing with times)

3.
Transparency is so important in the social media world. A large reason has to do with how much easier it is to be open with oneself and opinions is much easier online because their is no direct response that you can see.  However, it is kind of ironic that once people feel that their online "privacy" is being violated, thry have a problem with it.  In 2009, Facebook changed their personal settings of privacy and stated that they owned eveything within the site, including photos and information of users.  Techniqually, this does make sense, but people had a major issue with this and the transparency of it.  There have been numerous issues involving transparency  with the growing use of social media.
Many companies have also been accused of astrosurfing and creating "fake grass roots"; they pretend to be a customer or supporter of the company, which is extremely misleading and bothers most people.  Politicans also use to to make the allusion of wonderful supporters. 
I definitely feel that transparency is very important offline but even more so on the internet, because the internet is the global connection that allows anyone in the entire world, and any nuumber of people to see what has been posted or created online.
http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/the-illusion-of-transparency-in-social-media.html

McLuhan Photoshop Final Post

McLuhan felt that technology included many mediums that changed society, not necessarily for the better. Technology is ever-changing and with all the advancements, especially today, it is helping and harming individuals.  McLuhan would probably feel that the advancements are destroying society, and making us care about things that are not truly important.  However, because he refers to the medium as the message, in this photoshop picture, the iPad is the medium. The message it is giving is a whirlwind of communication, in so many possible forms.  The iPad has so many ways of connecting, even across the globe. People from Spain can interact with those in New York with the click of a button. It's that simple. It greatly references McLuhans idea of the global village that is becoming more and more prominant.  I added the guy with the lightbulb, because all the advancements in technology are so innovative and are technically "inventions".  On the Ipad, instead of showing apps, i showed all the ways it is effecting society.  The iPad makes art and being artistic technologically much easier and innovative.   Facebook allows those across the globe to interact and connect with businesses, advertising, and in many other ways.  The iPad makes business much easier; you can pay bills, buy items, use the stock market, and even work from home or on the go now with the iPad.  Now you don't even have to stop what you are doing, you can just shop online with the iPad and find cheapest prices. Everything with the iPad is at your fingertips.

Progress of mediums

3 EXAMPLES OF MEDIUMS IN TECHNOLOGY

My first example of a medium in today's society is definitely cell phones.  There are so many ways that cell phones can be used to communicate with others, and be used as a medium. Cell phones allow you to connect with others through phone calls, text messaging, and picture/video sending.  This is a huge difference from just 10 years ago.  In the past two years, however, cellphones have become "smart phones" where you can basically do anything from search the web, download apps, pay credit card builds, and receive email.  The possibilities are endless and continue to grow each time new cell phones come out. Examples of these smart phones are the iPhone 4, which now has face time, where you can see the person you are speaking with while talking, and the android from Motorola.

My second example is the iPad. The ipad is similar to a lab top, because it is transportable, and has wifi connection. You can email, download apps, use mp3, search the web; the possibilities are endless. there are over 300,000 applications that are available on the ipad.  It is all touch screen, and perfect for business people, students, and just about anyone.  It makes it so easy to connect with anyone across the globe. This is a huge innovative medium in technology, and Motorola is coming out with a similar product soon.

Another medium in today's society is Face book. This site has over more users than people living in the united states.  They are a global social networking site that makes it so easy to connect and find out information about these 500 million people across the globe.  It is also now allowing businesses to get involved, and place their ads on your face book, base on your information sections, interests and hobbies.  Its amazing what face book is evolving to.