Fashion

I was thinking about the class we recently had about fashion and how they don't copyrights. For years I had been saying that fashion is cyclical because anywhere in history, you can see the inspiration for the fashions of today. Those shirts that girls wear with the empire waist were inspired from the fashions of regency England, and other times in history. I agree that there shouldn't be any copyright for fashion. It is an art form for people to express themselves, but ultimately, it is a utility. Everything is borrowing from each other anyway. Inspiration comes from everywhere. Like they said in the video, it comes from history, other designers, movies, even nature. How would you be able to claim an article of clothing you made when it was based off of nature? Would Mother nature come out and claim money for the use of "her" designs? I like this sharing and this concept should be used in other situations. Possibly music?

Webcam and Web videos

It is interesting to see that we are more and more exposed to the public due to the advanced technology. The Web videos and cameras have caused a tremendous effect on the way people interact as well as creating innovations on the internet community. People are now able to talk on video chat, without even having to type out their conversations to talk online. Now days interviews are even held online when the interviewer and the interviewee are in different areas of the world. I was watching a TED clip with Chris Anderson and he covered the basic changes and the innovation the web video has brought to us. For example, people were learning new things such as dance through web video. Dancers who were web taught were recruited to dance at the Oscars.

He talks about the video driven evolution of skills how strangers post videos of their talent online in which they would not be able to express by words. Videos carry an enormous amount of message compared to texts and images. This is also how some people became celebrities as well, like Justin Bieber who was found by Usher online. Chris Anderson argues that video images are more powerful and conveying than text. I agree with him in which I would rather watch a 30minute clip than reading part of a thick textbook. It makes it a lot easier to understand for learners like myself, especially when something being explained is very complex.

Technology has changed our lives and circumstances enormously. Technology like the web video creates new innovations and lead to outstanding discoveries of how talented someone may be for example. Because we are at a time where we are able to view web videos in many of our portable phones or ipods, it interaction between individuals has been taken to another level.

Fashion's Free Culture

It's not that i found it surprising that there are no copyright laws on clothing, it's just that i never thought about it before. It is a very interesting topic because I wonder why. Why was the issue never a big deal? Why wouldn't it automatically be copyright laws on clothing that people make? i figure if a garment is a person's original design, then it should be copyrighted. I guess that is the main reason why designers are fighting.
I feel like it would be one annoying person who calls them self a designer and try to claim a plain white t shirt with a little emblem on it. If clothing is going to have copyright laws on it, I feel that the clothing need to be worth it. The design needs to be very unique and distinctive. It should be signature to the designer. Any article of clothing that is basic should not be covered in the law.
Putting copyright laws on clothing will change the fashion industry in a noticeable way. When people find that someone has already made a pair of pants that they had in mind, they will not be able to make them, and making them will say that they are a knockoff because they were not the first pair made. In this case, everything will be considered a knockoff. A pair of pants made with one cuff at the bottom and a tie around the waste will be considered the knockoff of the pair that was already made with a smaller cuff and maybe a wider belt. This takes the fun out of fashion.
It is fun to be able to get a similar pair of Gucci pants. Not to get the pair that is supposed to be the actual Gucci pant, but the pair that resembles them a little and have the same flare. We will no longer be able to get the look for less. This is a sad thought.
Copyrighting laws placed on clothing will only make it more difficult for the fashion industry to grow and be as creative as possible. The fashion world is all about being fast paced and being able to tweak the designs of others to create a better version. Where will fashion be in ten years. Can't wait to find out.

The Good Ole Days

My friend's phone died last night, so she used twitter to contact me and we eventually met up. Years ago she wouldn't have had the technology to do that. She has a Blackberry, which means that she can tell when people read her text messages and vice versa. Technology tells too much When we met up we started talking about how much things have changed since we were little kids. Nowadays when somebody's phone dies, people panic. It's sort of like that exercise we did in the beginning of the year when we turned our phones off and felt disconnected from the world. If my phone were to die, I would feel uneasy because I couldn't contact people and I'm sure people would wonder what happened to me.

It's crazy to think I used to not own a cell phone, or an email address, or an AIM, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, the list goes on. I wonder how I ever made it without it but we all been through it. I feel like the overuse of technology can be detrimental on what goes on in real life. Technology is seeming to consume us rather than us consuming it. It has become a part of life. Not only do we use it to kill our downtime but we must use it to check email, sign up for classes, print out assignment, and so many other things just for school. Us using this blog as part of the class is the perfect example.

This class made me realize how much I depend on technology and makes me not want to indulge in social media as much anymore, but I'm held hostage by the Network effect. Only reason I'm still here is because I want to be included. As I get older, I'm sure I will revert to the good ole days, where technology doesn't run my life. Only time will tell, i guess.

Downtime

As stated in the article by Matt Richtel, "Digital devices deprive brain of needed downtime."

With constant technological advances, people are becoming so consumed in their digital devices and gadgets, that they are over working the brain too often. It's healthy to allow yourself some off time just to take a pause from technology. Maybe exercising, going out to dinner, or even just a nap are good ways to give your brain a much needed rest.

Everyday, when I get a little downtime, I turn my phone off for a little while and just sit and relax, using no technology.

Social Capital and Relationships

Many people have boundaries that they like to respect when it comes to dating . With that said, is it good or bad for people to have a relationship someone that is bonding, bridging, and linking? For example, two people who are dating, classmates, and working together, having similar positions on the job.

My personal opinion is that it's ok because it can only be beneficial when two people living similar lifestyles are together because they can then help one another get through certain things, like Barack and Michele Obama or Jay-Z and Beyonce. These couples work in the same businesses and are great help and support for each other career wise. Understanding what your partner is going through can help to have an emotionally stable relationship. As long as both people are still well rounded in different areas.

Facebook Forever

So I've been getting quite bored with facebook lately and don't really see the point in it anymore. I think it served its purpose while I had, which has been since my senior year in high school. It's not even a distraction anymore, more like something I just want to get rid of. I'm already connected with all of my close friends and family and I don't really use it for networking purposes.

When I tired to deactivate my account, it told me that at any time if I want to come back all I have to do is enter my email/password information. So it seems as though even if I deactivate my account, it won't be completely gone like I want it to be. I think this is facebook's way of keeping us forever to tempt us to sign on even once our account is deactivated. When I canceled my myspace account, it never let me log back on with the same email and password, I would have to create a new everything.

Once on facebook, forever on facebook I assume.

case of facebook censorship

Facebook has self-censored once again by shutting down a same-sex kiss-in event, which was planned for Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Spain next month.

The page promoting the same-sex kissing Flashmob had gotten 12,000 users confirmed for the event, which was scheduled to take place in Cathedral Square in Barcelona on November 7.

No word yet on how this will affect the actual event.

You can say what you want about the event's content, but the fact is this marks another case of censorship by Facebook, and it's directed at the gay community, which is NOT cool.

http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-25-facebook-shuts-down-same-sex-kiss-in-event-planned-to-take-place-in-front-of-pope-in-spain

This was posted on perez hilton, a celebrity gossip blog. There have apparently been many more things that facebook has shut down for specific reasons. Does this intrude on freedom of speech? what doe this mean when the creators and managers of facebook can determine what is put on this "user generated" site?

EVENT FYI: EMILY GOULD ON JOURNALISM, FEMINISM, WEBISM AND YOUTUBING

This is tomorrow at Paley! I wanted to share because I thought you might be interested!

October 26, 5:30PM 

EMILY GOULD ON JOURNALISM, FEMINISM, WEBISM AND YOUTUBING

@ Paley Library Lecture Hall, Ground Floor 1210 Polett Walk
A Conversation hosted by Rachel Blau DuPlessis

Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism takes a lot of heat, for people who go to far and post private information about people that should not be shared. It is also not the most reliable, because anybody can post what ever they want and call it "news". However, it is also one of the most important parts of our society. Citizen Journalism allows people to find out important and breaking news instantly. They can get this information raw and real and not rely on waiting to watch news on TV. However, citizen journalism cannot be the only means of news. Yes anybody can report that an incident is going on, but you need real journalists that you can truly count on. You need a system where facts are checked and people are held accountable for what they say. There are too many people out there confusing gossip with journalism. Just because somebody has a blog and may from time to time post quality information, does not qualify them as a journalist. While it is great to get opinions and news from many different places, facts are always the most important thing. Be careful of citizen journalism, it is not going away, but is it really journalism and should we really be getting our news from citizen journalists?

I disagree..

In class the other day we watched a video, and there was a statement made about segregation on twitter. The speaker said he was surprised to find out that blacks and whites talk about completely different things on twitter. Everyone else in the class was also surprised with this new information, except me. If you think about human interactions in person and not on the internet, people always seem to migrate towards others who are similar to them. That is where people feel most comfortable. I'm not trying to sound racist, because I'm not at all. I'm just being a realist. We are a free non-segregated nation thanks to a number of people in history, but we still segregate ourselves sometimes. It's human nature to flock towards people who are similar to you. We seek comfort in all aspects of our lives.

Facebook Feels Our Pain

Have any of you noticed that while on Facebook, old photos may pop up in the right corner? It happens to me where they show photos from freshmen year (I'm a senior now). I found it annoying because it would bring back old memories. Sometimes, there are pictures of me with people that I don't even hang out with anymore, or with people that I used to be close with.

At first I didn't understand why Facebook started doing this but I feel the purpose is to start conversation between users tagged in or familiar with that photo. Conversations can grow from just that picture to chat, wall posts, messages, etc.

We discussed in class how the structure of Facebook has negative effects on people who aren't highly involved. For example, people may feel bad if they haven't checked their page for a while and there are no new posts, messages, or friend requests. A major component on Facebook is the relationship status. It seems as if we are meant to feel bad if we are not in a relationship. Welp, speaking of relationships, Facebook has taken a step in making the pain and torture of being single a little more bearable. They have stopped incorporating photos of Facebook friends that you have had a relationship with. Therefore, my exes will never show up in Photo Memories because Facebook doesn't want to make me sad all over again (wow).

Get more info about this new change:

Facebook stops showing you photos of your ex

I don't give a flying friend request!

In the midst of this week's craziness, I had to take a moment and post this Washington Post article: Keeping up with Social Networking Sites: How much is enough?

An excerpt:


"There's so much social networking she has not yet accomplished... It's nagging me."
At some big or small level, it's nagging all of the people who are mired enough in social networking to bother following the latest developments. This isn't everyone -- despite the fact that institutions from your local radio station to your dry cleaner beg you to follow them on Twitter, there are whole swaths of people who just don't give a flying friend request.


But consider this: At one point in their centuries-old history, the Amish were not the technological relics they are today. Everyone else was churning and buggying right along with them. At some point, electricity was invented and the Amish had to reject it. Cars were invented and they took a pass. We're good with the buggy, they said. Motor on without us.
Now, in an onslaught of sites designed to aid connection, communication and cross-promotion, individual stopping points must be declared. When will you go 21st-century Amish?"

So, when will YOU go 21st-century Amish?

Social Media & "Pseudo Activism": I like it on the floor?

I was thinking a bit about class today and wanted to share this link: 

Risqué Without Risk: On Gendering Disease, Sexy Status Updates, & Pseudo Activism

You may remember back to last October when your lady friend's status updates simply stated a color. Turns out they were listing the color of their bra's in an attempt to raise awareness about breast cancer. This year you may have noticed status updates noting where the FB user "liked it"; another attempt at raising breast cancer awareness. 

This link, Risqué Without Risk, addresses three problems with this particular brand of Facebook Activism: 

*The gendering, reifying, and branding of disease;

*The oversexualization (and consequently, the trivialization) of women's issues and bodies;

*The disinterested, low-risk, low-engagement pseudo-activism made all too easy (and commonplace) by social media.

While I think it's great to increase awareness of cancer, I worry that sometimes the interception of popular culture and societal issues diminishes/confuses/distracts from the specifics related to the issue at hand. As we continually negotiate our relationship with new media, I believe we need to keep in mind not only actions, but also impact. 

Oh, PEACHES!!!

Gabrielle Shirdan

Professor Mary Beth Ray

Adv. 1101 Media and Society

December 04, 2009

The Media, Peaches and Cream: An Anti-Image Of Women

In the media, women have always been casted to play a particular role. They are props--beautiful props in magazines, in movies, in music, on television and on a man's arm, always. A woman's silhouette is outlined by the media, drawn out by the expectations of society and very few women color outside the lines. The lines are drawn thick. Women are suppose to be thin. Women should have long hair, like uncut spaghetti. Women should wear high heels and cover their skirts in pink, their shirts should be--well, uncovered. Women should show skin, because sex sells--sell themselves out to what is in.

Women in the media, in the music we hear, in the movies we see, and in the magazines to which we subscribe to are decorations. They make the male in this male dominated world look good, sound good. The image of women in this media based society does not depict women in their true beauty, as the women on the other side of the television or as the reader of the demeaning print advertisements. Women are at war with the media. They are fighting for their definition. They are fighting for their colors and some women have been slowing crossing the lines, like an eight year old child with crayons and a coloring book. Women are beginning to color outside the lines--those thick lines that have been placed around them in the media, thicker than the four sides of a television set, and thicker than the collective magazine pages they grace.

Peaches is a woman. She is the anti-all of the above. Her entire being is outside of the lines and in full color. She is the anti-image of women in the media. She is a musician. Peaches is a "pubic hair-flaunting feminist idol ardent in her quest for sexual equality" (All Mouth, No Trousers 1). She is fearless. She plays with gender and bends the typical image of women in the media. She balls it up and throws it away. Peaches is "a self-made, self-produced phenomenon, pulling unashamedly at the corset strings of sexual repression and indeed challenging sexual identity all together" (Cleary 1). Her hyper-sexual lyrics, her line wandering wardrobe, and her role in the music industry puncture the glass ceiling. She trades places with the men on top and redefines women in music and in the media.

Peaches is known for her sexually explicit lyrics and live shows. She smears her makeup and she smears gender distinctions. She blurs the lines between men and women in the media with her eclectic sound. The dimensions of her artistry reach new levels, and cross more borders than an escaping immigrant. "I've been very, very dedicated to pushing boundaries," Peaches says (Farber 1). Her music penetrates speakers with elements of rock and roll, hip hop, electronic music and punk, even rap.

Peaches's real name is Merrill Beth Nisker and on one of her own songs, Nisker calls herself the only "Peaches with a hole in the middle" (McDonnell 1). Her songs are noted, critiqued and enjoyed for their use of sexually straightforward lyrics. She plays her own instruments, she programs her own electronic beats, and produces her own albums--media gender breach numbers one, two and three. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Today, she lives and works in Berlin. Peaches grew up to be a children's music teacher who went by her real name. By day she was a music and drama teacher and then by night, Merrill was Peaches--"living out of her car and playing rock shows all over Toronto" (Tzou 1).

Before being signed to a major label, Peaches put out a short CD called Lovertits in the year, 2000. Yes, Lovertits--she is recognized for her sexual explicitly, remember. Peaches was later signed by Berlin based Kitty Yo Records. In 2001, her first full-length album hit stores with the title, The Teaches of Peaches. It turned heads and shook headsets everywhere. People were intrigued and caught on her catchy homemade beats. "Solely written and produced by Peaches, the disc, filled with loud, explosive rants about feminism and sex, shocked anyone who dared to listen" (Peaches 1). To this date, her most notorious song is Fuck The Pain Away from that album where she chants "fuck the pain away" sixteen times between each verse. Her offbeat act spread to the above ground music scene. She later signed with an even larger label, XL Recordings. (Peaches 1).

In 2003, her sophomore album hit stores, titled Fatherfucker. iTunes uses all stars to censor her title, but her music is hardly censored past that. Peaches plays with gender. She blurs the divide. She appears on the cover of her second album, Fatherfucker, with a full beard. "When asked if she had chosen the title for shock value, she commented, “Why do we call our mothers motherfuckers? Why do we stub our toe and say “Aww motherfucker!”? What is motherfucker? …We use it in our everyday language and it’s such an insanely intense word. I’m not one to shy away from these obscene terms that we actually have in our mainstream. Motherfucker is a very mainstream word. But if we’re going to use motherfucker, why don’t we use fatherfucker? I’m just trying to be even” (Merrill Nisker 1). Peaches tries to balance gender in the media. She does. She is not trying to balance her check book--this is her cause. She says, "If I was trying to sell albums, I wouldn't have called the album Fatherfucker" (Peaches 1). Peaches is real. She means the things she sings and she is making political corrections by being lyrically correct--lyrically connecting to her fans around the world, lyrically changing the image of women in the media through her music.

"At the beginning of my career I wanted to present music in the strongest way possible," Peaches says. "This time, I wanted to push my own boundaries by pushing the vulnerability" (Farber 1). She has since published two more albums, Impeach My Bush in 2006 and recently, I Feel Cream in May 2009--could one expect any other title? She earned the support of her musical peers Bjork, Marilyn Manson, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop and Madonna. Peaches, her sexual excitement and her vulgarity became very popular very fast, even though her music would rarely be played on the radio for its content. Her songs have been featured in movies such as Mean Girls, Lost in Translation, and Jackass. Her lyrics have been put to such televisions shows like The L Word, South Park and Ugly Betty on ABC. Peaches has a success that is a testament to the evolution of a woman's role in music--in media.

On and off stage, Peaches wears short shorts if any at all and flashes her audience impulsively. She posts pictures of her crotch on her website and the cover of her debut album in 2001, The Teaches of Peaches, was a close up of in between her thighs in tight hot pink shorts that left little to the mind. Peaches is distinguished for her stage costumes and her animated sense of style. Her looks are often evocative and futuristic, outlandish and they almost always push the limits of gender identity. Peaches has short black hair that is styled in her sleep. Her face is slightly masculine and her body is not a size two. In her song, AA XXX, she sings, "I'm only double-A but I'm thinking triple-X." She talks about sex, but she is only sexy by her own definition. She dresses provocative purposely and not to fit in with the sleazy midriffs of pop stars and pop culture or the tight thigh high heels of hip-hop singers but to show that all women are not tall and thin with long hair and big boobs and amazing bodies. She shows her skin to prove a point--to create a different definition of women in the media.

A lot of the time in music, women are confined to the backgrounds of music videos or to the forefront of sexually explicit lyrics sung by men. Women are the objects of a man's sexuality in the media, but in that same media, women may only express their own sexuality to satisfy men through sleazy apparel and sultry moves. This is the image of women in the media. In music, women sing about being in love with men and men sing about being in women with ease. Hip Hop rapper, The Notorious B.I.G for example says in his song, Fuck You Tonight, "I like that waist line, let me hit that from behind." Women are artifacts--items of this culture in most media. Women are props in music with small waist lines. They are the naked model in an elective art class. Men look at the them without feeling them and draw them how they see them. They outline women.

Industrial rock band, Nine Inch Nails in their song, Closer, say, "You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you...I wanna fuck you like an animal." Women are sex toys in many of the lyrics sung by men--animals even. They are plastic and opaque, penetrated and observed. Women become inanimate in a man's song--in the media, but Peaches refuses "to become the vulnerable subject of the male gaze, she turned the tables, instead using her platform to objectify the guys" (All Mouth, No Trousers 1). She jumps over the outline men draw. She erases it and walks out of the art class. Peaches makes the men the objects of media for once. Her in-your-crotch lyrics expose and explore sexuality--not exploit it.

Perhaps, Peaches evens out gender. Her lyrics are raw and she sings vividly vulgar song titles like Two Guys (For Every Girl), Tent In Your Pants, Cum Undun, Shake Yer Dix, Slippery Dick, Stick It To The Pimp and Back It Up Boys. Her songs backfire against the demeaning lyrics of rappers like B.I.G and rock stars like Nine Inch Nails.

Peaches has titillating lyrics that stroke the audience. "The listener is either seduced or annoyed by the constant whining and purring of a woman who is not going quietly into the night" (I Feel Cream: iTunes Review). In her song Stick It To The Pimp, Peaches says, "Pissed in your pimp cup, drink up. Pissed in your pimp cup so lets get it up" (Peaches). Women are called bitches, hoes and tricks in the media--in hip hop lyrics so much. Peaches gives women the perfect comeback. Her lyrics follow an "amusingly graphic path" (All Mouth, No Trousers 3). They personify sexually explicit. In her music, she says things like, "I'd rather fuck who I want than kill who I'm told to" (Peaches). She makes a chorus out of lines like, "Huh. What? Show me what you got. Rub it against my thigh" (Peaches). Peaches has an entire song repeating the phrase "Suck and let go" (Peaches).

In her song, Two Men (For Every Girl) she rants, "Just one thing I can't compromise, I wana see you work it guy on guy" (Peaches). Her lyrics also free up men's sexuality and every straight man's fear of other straight men. Her lyrics normalize and embrace homosexuality, every type of sexuality. Peaches's lyrics are discussed as part of the Queer Studies course curriculum at the University Of Toronto, and she has been invited to lecture at the Contemporary Music Academy in Berlin (Merrill Nisker 1).

Peaches has a musical texture that rubs her audience--gets them damp. Her fans enjoy the vulgarity that her critics critique. The lyrics sung by Peaches on top of her self-produced tunes are an anthem for women. To raunchy to play live on cable television on radio or in front of anyone under the age of eighteen, but the anthem gives women a song to sing, to express their sexuality, to color outside the lines, to objectify the men for once, to redefine themselves in their own words and to be the anti-image of women in the media. As an artist, Peaches has made it possible for singers like current sensation Lady Gaga to express her sexuality like she does and many other artists have joined the fight to redefine the image of women in the media. As a person, Peaches "rejects the sanitized portrayal of women in popular music" (Merrill Nisker 1).

The lyrics that bounce of the beats of Peaches are uncensored. Her lyrics are dirty and uncut, but they sing something other than curse words, body parts and sex positions. They self satisfy women and empower their sexuality in the media. They turn the tables and escort men on a fifteen track journey in women's shoes. Peaches takes her music, her lyrics, her leather shorts and goes against everything expected of her as a woman in music and in modern media. Her songs are a soundtrack to the future of women in mass media--with parental advisory of course. Her lyrics make background music for every women coloring outside the lines of society and the lines thickened by men in the media. Peaches makes men the naked art model--she, for all women, outlines men for once, makes objects of them. The British publication, Boyz, called Peaches the best live act of the year (Peaches 1). Peaches is very live. She is live even when you listen to her through the radio. In the media, women have always been casted to play a particular role, but Peaches acts out and is hosting a new casting call for a new definition of women in the media. Peaches is a woman. She is a musician. She is the anti-image of women in the media.

... I said I would share. It was a research paper so I'm going to assume no body feels like ready this. lol. Enjoy if you do.

Citizen Journalism, Twitter At Work

When the plane crashed/landed safety in the Hudson River last year, the very first news and photo of the accident was posted to twitter. (http://twitter.com/jkrums/status/1121915133) CNN, MSN or NBC didn't get the first look. Janis Krums from Sarasota, Florida did and he shared it with the world via his twitter account which is now followed by about 7,000 users. He delivered big news in 140 characters or less to the public. I just checked out his twitter page (i'm following) and his bio says, "The Miracle on the Hudson Photo Guy, Latvian, Co-Founder of Elementz Nutrition and InboxAlarm, Investor in AIT Bridges." Yes, he is the Miracle on the Hudson Photo Guy. He is also a business man. He is a citizen journalist. We all are or at least can be right? He didn't go to college for journalism, he didn't spend his years wrapped up in newspapers and interning at the Inquirer, but he delivered true news. He, for about a moment--the time it took him to snap the photo and post to twitter--was a journalist.

The second photo released of the crash was posted to Flickr by acclaimed citizen journalist, Gregory Lam.

When keeping track of things goes too far.

Last year in the Philly suburb of Lower Merion, there was a controversy involving laptops and webcams. The school district issued laptops to their students and were secretly using the webcams on the computers to spy on their students while in school and at home. The district claims that the use of the webcams were strictly for security purposes and as an anti-theft tool. This caused such controversy because it was a serious invasion of privacy. The district used the webcam to snap photos of kids smoking weed and accused one student of popping pills even though he was actually eating Mike & Ikes.

When does the use of technology go too far??

The main kid that sued the school recently signed a settlement, awarding him $175,000 due to the school's invasion of his privacy.

Here's a full article on the case.

Where's the next Facebook?

I believe someone posed this question last week: What's next? Seems Ezra Klein from the Washington Post has some ideas on technology and innovation. Check it out: Here.

Article to my previous post

I don't think the link to my article worked so here it is...


The pros and pros of 'citizen journalism'

By Jason Stverak
No comments | Archive Link
Jason Stverak is President of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a leading journalism non-profit organization. The Franklin Center is dedicated to providing reporters, citizens and non-profit organizations at the state and local level with training, expertise and technical support. For more information on the Franklin Center please visit www.FranklinCenterHQ.org.

Gerry Storch quotes some people who miss the point in his Feb. 26 column, The pros and cons of newspapers partnering with 'citizen journalism' networks. Four sources who cited "The Negative" about citizen journalism do not understand what it truly is and does. Even the five professionals quoted for "The Positive" disparage the credibility and integrity of citizens who choose – as did those at the founding of our nation -- to make journalism their chosen field and passion.

The point all of them miss is traditional news media reporters and editors are being devastated by a financial crisis, not a journalism crisis. Somebody has to fill the void.

Those of us who work with citizen journalists in online news ventures know better than anyone what a tough, disciplined calling it is. That is why we hire professionals and rigorously train citizens.

We also know the future is online. And online news produced by citizen journalists can toss traditional media the lifeline they so desperately need.

Face facts: Traditional media have put journalism last for at least a decade, cutting thousands of jobs and wondering why readers, viewers and listeners flee. America lost a generation of professional journalists. That is a serious threat to self-government. How will we replace them?

Reanimation of journalism arises in online news ventures. The blogosphere is no longer just for the ranters and ideologues. Increasingly, straight-shooting journalists cut from newsrooms join online non-profit ventures. There they get the opportunity to reemerge as hard-news reporters of yesteryear who investigate stories traditional media now cannot or will not cover.

By decentralizing the news business, investigative reporters for online non-profits are creating quality coverage of America's most important issues and making it available to all.

The rise of online non-profit investigative journalism stems not only from the overall newsroom cuts around the nation, but also from the growing vacuum in state-based coverage. Many traditional newsrooms no longer have the staff or financial resources to send a reporter across town, let alone cross-country, to investigate a story.

For at least a decade, newspapers have curbed reporters' ability to investigate major stories while producing daily beat copy to feed the beast. With the accelerating decline of professional investigative journalists at state-wide newspapers and television stations, how is corruption supposed to be exposed? Who is scrutinizing the mountain of public records and attending meetings? Who is developing sources and asking tough questions to expose fraud, corruption and waste?

Just recently, a series of state-based watchdog groups proved online news websites can churn out investigative pieces and breaking news stories. The effects of their reporting has impacted the entire nation.

* An online journalist broke the "Phantom Congressional District" story about the chaos in tracking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. On November 16, 2009, Jim Scarantino, the investigative reporter for New Mexico's Rio Grande Foundation, discovered that the recovery.gov website listing federal stimulus money was riddled with ludicrous errors. His online story prompted other citizen journalists he had networked with through the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity to look into their own state's recovery.gov data. When all was said and done, these online journalists found that $6.4 billion in stimulus funds had been awarded to 440 non-existent Congressional districts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four American territories.
* It was an online journalist in New Hampshire who broke the news when Newt Gingrich admitted during an interview he made an endorsement mistake in a highly contested congressional race.
* A Watchdog in Texas recently discovered that the Department of Homeland Security lost nearly 1,000 computers in 2008.
* An online reporter in Minnesota got the attention of the state government when his organization, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, released a report proving that Minnesotans were leaving the state due to high taxes.
* And it was a reporter in Hawaii who delved into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's pricey holiday trip, which included an astonishing $10,000 nightly expense and more than $21,000 in security cost to Hawaii's taxpayers.

In addition to quality news coverage, many of these non-profit online news organization offer a "steal our stuff" policy that provides newspapers with free news. This is an obvious cost advantage over the traditional news wires that charge for content.

As more non-profit journalism organizations develop, and more online journalists emerge in cities around the nation, the traditional wire services will have stiff competition unless they deal with reality and start picking up the best work these journalists produce. Non-profit journalism organizations as well as citizen journalists are producing news that too often is overlooked by traditional media. Not all those who write online stories are journalists - yet - but the ones who are should get the same access and treatment as those few still employed by newspapers, television and radio.

At the end of the day, a partnership between newspapers and citizen journalism organizations will be beneficial not only for both, but also for Americans who will be better informed. That's the point. It also is the mission.

If you are a reporter or a citizen journalist interested in getting involved in non-profit journalism, please email Info@FranklinCenterHQ.org.

Some benefits of Citizen Journalism

I found this article that talks a little more about the positive side of Citizen Journalism. Like many people voiced in class, this article mentions that although all online bloggers are not journalists, those citizen journalists/online journailists who take what they do seriously and really are contributing to the dissemination of information deserve recognizition. The article although touched on a topic that we didn't discuss too much in class, which is the fact that these citizen journalists can save journalists a lot of money, especially since many news rooms and the like have had to cut down on the money spending over recent years.

Chat Rooms

The well was a pioneer in the development in the modern chat room. Today the chat room has developed into ways for gamers to connect with one another, support groups to connect and a lot of good to be done on the web. However, the chat room is also a way to connect criminals in a cyber-world with no identities. A place for criminals to steal credit card, social security, and other important information and sell it and share it in chat rooms. While people only usually look at the good that a chat room does, like a way for mom's to share recipes, there is a whole other world out there that people just seem to forget about. This criminal world is a dangerous one and really needs to be remembered by everyone when they do things online. People are not as safe as they think, I have seen many people enter email and other information into pop ups and what ever they think is cool or can get them free stuff, even songs. This stuff can be harmful, and be aware of where you are giving and to whom your giving information to online. The chat room is certainly a great achievement in online development, unfortunately it also makes it easier for criminals to work.

Power to the People?

Can social media cause social change?

In a recent New Yorker article, Malcolm Gladwell argued that digitally based activism lacks the power to enact real social change. Today, Henry Jenkins responded with a blog post detailing how Gladwell failed to address technology and history, as well as how we should characterize social change. Jenkins uses Dan Savage's It Gets Better project as an example of "slow, quiet change rather than large-scale revolution".

Where do you stand on the power of social media?

crazy gamers

Today's class really got me thinking about games and technology and just how everything has evolved. It is crazy to think that once upon a time, gamers were thought of as those socially-awkward nerds who sat alone for hours at a time consumed in nothing but their video games, their alternative world. Flew mentions this in the text. Those who played video games were stereotyped as the geeks, the smart kids, the weirdos. This was only up until a few years ago. And nowadays... gamers are something much different. Gamers can create their own world first of all. With more engaging video games such as War of the Worldcraft, one is able to create their own character, own world, own scenerio. The gamer is not limited to only abide by the game's creator. Video games are also played by more than that one lonely 15 year old boy. In today's society, games are to be played socially. Just as the internet has open up a window to social networks, video games have evolved from being played solo to a group of people. Technology has done the opposite of what many think: instead of making people more secluded and alone, it has made them more socially reliable on other people. With the creation of Wii and Xbox Live, gamers can interact with others. Even if they are playing alone, they can communicate with other people through a walkie. Wii sports allows a group of people to engage in a fun, thrilling game. It just goes to show that we have come a long way from what gaming used to be considered. Games nowadays have allowed the gamer to interact with more people as opposed to devoting his hours to playing in his lonesome.

Social Media, My Love.

Social media = web = what I do/want to do. I decided to add social media in relation to advertising, creative, and design to my topics list on my personal blog (because i'm obsessed). Social media is now a big part of advertising agencies--it's now a service. It is now the main service of many digital agencies. Last night I had dinner with the Director of Client Engagement at Stuzo, Samantha Urban. She's amazing and It was a pleasure/honor to eat burgers at Marathon Grill with this amazing, young, leader. It is awesome to talk to people who are where you want to be. Stuzo is a creative technology company specializing in the development of innovative, user-centric social media marketing platforms, programs, and applications. With a proven technology platform and a track record of exceptional execution, Stuzo supports leading national and global brands and their agencies in achieving targeted results within social channels. Their client list blows me away: HBO, Covergirl, P&G, Budlight, Coca-Cola, Chevorlet, Chrysler, Calvin Klein, Chick-fil-a and that list goes on & on. Clearly, I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet with her. So now that I am hype on social media and it as a specialty, I thought I would share this AMAZING power point slide show that I found on my new FAVORITE, AMAZING site,www.noteandpoint.com Some key points:

• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web

• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media

• Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months...

• 1 in 6 higher education students are enrolled in online curriculum

• 80% of companies using LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees...

• There are over 200,000,000 Blogs

• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands

• More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook...daily.

Check it out:

http://noteandpoint.com/documents/pdf/smbc.pdf

& Check out Stuzo http://stuzo.com Their work is amazing. (dreams!)

-- smile.

Hello from DC!

I'm here at the Future of Music Coalition's Policy Summit at Georgetown University and have had the opportunity to hear from a number of great folks (Chuck D, Hank Shocklee, Jill Sobule, etc.) on state of popular music culture. This afternoon I'm attending panel on music consumption. Check it out:

Monsters of Data-

For decades, the music industry has relied on a few basic metrics to gauge a band’s popularity and understand career arcs: SoundScan reports, airplay charts, tour grosses. But what happens to our understanding of music’s “value” when it’s possible to collect billions of points of data, online and off? What can massive amounts of traffic and consumption data — from P2Pdownloads to subscription plays, YouTube hits — tell us about where and how people are accessing music? How are we now using this data?  How has it affected musicians’ choices? And have music fans changed their consumption patterns to either protect or reduce their privacy? A panel of data monsters will discuss what billions of data points can tell us about the future of music consumption and access.

danah boyd Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research
Eric Garland Founder/CEO, BigChampagne Media Measurement
Erin McKeown Musician
Tim Quirk Musician; Recovering online music executive
Peter DiCola Assistant Professor, Northwestern School of Law (moderator)

The conference is being streamed from the FMC website. Pop your head in a check it out!

Twitter Song.

LOVE.

LYRICS :


.. So you're telling me..
There's a way to see..
.. what anybody's doing at any given moment?

Well, prove it.
Let me see you do it.
.. not that i don't believe..
I think I just need to see what it is..
.. how it works.
This is cool, I see the perks!
Hey, I'm always in tune now!

Oh, I'm Twittering, I'm Twittering, wow!
Check your followers, I'm following you.. starting now.
Oh, I'm Twittering, I'm Twittering, wow!
What else can I see?
I hope you're following me..

Man, everyone's on this!
I get the latest dish..
Shows that celebs are just people..

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/twitter-song-lyrics-gabe-bondoc.html ]

.. with normal days, I guess.

Man, this is so much fun..
I follow everyone.
Kevjumba, Happyslip, Kina, David, Olivia Munn..

[chorus]

Our generation has changed..
.. the way we communicate.
A hundred and 40 characters to say what you'll say.
Screamed at the top of my lungs..
This way is more efficient..
.. to show you what i'm doing.

I guess I'm always in tune now..

[chorus]

Just an Essay. Just thought I'd share. (to those who feel like reading a lot)

Here is an short essay that I wrote about Social Media--inspired by an editorial cartoon. I thought it was relevant.

In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg co-created a new definition for connectivity in his Harvard dorm room--He called it Facebook. He gave “people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” Today, 500 million users worldwide are connected via this open world—the social networking site, Facebook. Twitter connects over 100 million users and over 200 million are tied through MySpace. There are only 308.4 million citizens living in the United States. There are more users connected to Facebook than there are citizens in America.

Society, through social networking sites, has created a new way of maintaining and creating relationships—of staying connected and it all takes place online. It’s casual. Connectivity and access to social networks are simply part of life. We do not even recognize the dependency we have on technology and the amount of time we dedicate to these social networking sites or to what extent it has taken the place of our everyday actions—like saying hello on someone’s Facebook wall as opposed to giving that someone, your mother, a call. We surrender ourselves to technology. We let machines do what we use to with our hands and with our voice. Now, we express ourselves in 140 characters or less. We exist in two parts—in person and online. It’s simple. You are not connected if you are not online. This notion of connectivity is thoroughly illustrated in “Our Connected World,” an editorial cartoon by David Horsey published April 09, 2009. Horsey’s opinion on the impact of social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace is portrayed thoroughly through his rhetorical use of language, sarcasm, and humor in the cartoon’s dialogue. Visually, through the use of contrasting colors, a sepia tone background and variations of the backgrounds, Horsey brings to light the effects of “our connected world” -- the effects that society so easily misses because technology is slick. We depend so deeply on technology to do the thinking for us that we rarely step back and consider what we think of technology, like Horsey illustrates his opinion in his cartoon.

In the cartoon, a young man is yelling at a woman wondering where she had been. He checked his email, his text messages, her blog, her Facebook and he just couldn’t find her. For the five minutes that her Twitter was idle, she was. As if she only existed online, Horsey recognizes that effect of social networking sites and illustrates that not only in his character’s conversation, but also in the background. The top portion of the cartoon is white. It’s blank. It represents the sad fact that she didn’t exist until he checked her twitter. Only after he saw that she tweeted her whereabouts did that background come into the cartoon. The illustration reflects a social perception that if you are not on Facebook, you do not exist -- “It’s like you fell off the face of the earth!” Our dependence on this Facebook created state of being connected has changed that “face of the earth” into status updates on your wall, tweets, emails and blog posts. Social networking sites are the new face of the earth. They are the face of what it means to be connected.

Horsey’s use of a sepia tone background could simply represent his desire to have the characters stand out, or maybe it plays a role much deeper. The use of sepia tone in the illustration may symbolize the notion that the world around us is dull without technology. Color represents life and life in this editorial cartoon only exists online—when the characters are connected. The device they are using to connect online is in full color, but the world around them is pale. Horsey’s use of color is a part of his rhetorical strategy—it supports the claim he illustrates.

Online, we create this digital presence that acts as an extension of us—sometimes as a surrogate to our physical capabilities. Though the message is the same, the medium is different. Tweets have replaced the common handshake. An email has taken the place of a simple phone call and relationships are not official until updated on Facebook. In the case of Horsey’s cartoon, instead of telling her friend where she went, she tweeted it. It’s simple, but it represents a complex theory. These prominent social networking sites have redefined us—our way connecting to one another and communicating with each other.

Horsey was precise in his rhetorical strategy for this cartoon. He wanted to prove a point and he chose his words with determination. The woman tweeted, “Upstairs. Going to the bathroom. Be back in 5.” Horsey gave her those words for a reason. He gave her the simplest activity—to depict the idea that we, as a society, use technology in every aspect of our life. By being connected, we must tell the world everything that we are doing, when we are doing it—even when it is just simply going to the bathroom. Knowing what other people in your social network are doing is a captivating feature of social networking sites. It is connectivity.

More than 500 million users are connected online, and the characters in Horsey’s cartoon represent those 500 million social networked consumers. Technology consumes us. It is starting to replace us. It does our work for us and we give it permission to. Society has become Google-educated and Facebook dependent. We rely on Facebook notifications and Twitter’s trending topics to communicate—to connect with our social network. When users create an online profile, upon hitting log on, we submit our control to technology—our voice to html text and status updates. Our connected world is an online one. It grays out the rest of our life—our background becomes sepia tone and we depend on these social networking sites to exist for us. You’re not connected if you are not online. “It’s like you fell off the face of the earth!” Facebook created a new definition for connectivity. Twitter, email and MySpace redefined communication. It’s easy.

Rutgers' Suicide

In class we have been discussing the impacts of media and social networks on real life, and recently there was an incident released to the news that directly relates to these impacts. A student at Rutgers' University committed suicide after a video of him having a sexual encounter with another male was released on the Internet, posted by his roommate. The situation began a few days prior when the roommate of the deceased, Tyler Clementi, tweeted on Twitter that he had just seen his roommate make-out with another male. He then claimed he secretly set up his web cam in the room to stream the video. Clementi even posted his suicide 'note' as a status via Facebook.

While I believe the increase in social networking and advances in media have helped society in a variety of ways, it has also had various devastating impacts as well. Some years ago, this would not have been able to occur. One would not have been able to stream a video, to have it available immediately available for viewing, especially by mass groups of people.

This situation also reminds me of the Megan Meier's MySpace suicide years ago. One of her piers created a fake identity online, pretending to be a boy that was interested in her who eventually used the artificial relationship to harass Megan. While the network's themselves did not 'murder' these people, they held a significant influence on the incidents.

Below are the links to article with more information about both cases.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39445225/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001

http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/

People are People

Before Facebook it was Myspace. Before Myspace it was Xanga. Before Xanga it was Friendster-and the list goes on. When you think about it, people have always been addicted to the idea of knowing what other people are doing and, sometimes more importantly, sharing what they themselves are doing.

Before all of these sites existed, this concept was evident in other, less blatant ways. Instead of plastering your Facebook page with pictures of your new dog, you'd slap a Santa hat on him and send out a mass photo in a Christmas card. This is a natural human instinct to assume that everyone in the world cares about your new dog. It doesn't require a specific technological medium to tell your whole town that your kid made the honor roll, just buy the bumper sticker. Technology doesn't change the fact that no matter what, people will do whatever they can to find a way to put these things out there for the world. These days, it just happens to be on Facebook.

Also, I feel like the more easily we are able to accomplish this mass spreading of our personal lives, the less able we will be to give it up. If Facebook were to disappear tomorrow, would you lose sleep at night wondering if that girl from your Chemistry class ended up breaking up with her boyfriend? It sounds completely ridiculous, but I know plenty of people who wouldn't know what to do with themselves.

I don't see myself as "above" social networking. I too am a college student who is curious about the lives of the people around me, but I don't have a Facebook. I never have and I probably never will. Despite this, I was once an 9th grader struggling to decide who my top 8 friends should be on Myspace. I added pictures, looked at others, and was a huge part of the social networking world.

We are all people and we all feel as if we gain something from interacting this way. Besides instances of true threatening situations that tend to result from misuse of social network sites, I don't feel as if this is anything to be ashamed of. If it makes you feel better to know that someone else is "stuck studying, but still snacking on cookies!" because you happen to be doing the same thing with your Friday night, good for you. Just because someone uses Facebook doesn't mean they have forgotten how to interact person to person. Just because I check my e-mail a trillion times a day doesn't mean I am consumed by technology. I still call my mom on Mother's Day, I still watch football with my dad every Sunday, and I am still a human being that just happens to take advantage of the incredible technology placed at my fingertips.