The Final Saga

Well, here we are. Week 15 and time for Christmas vacation. I think Gary Larson exemplified how I'm feeling with one of his far side cartoons:

I'm really glad I took this class. Even though I thought I had a pretty good knowledge of media tools, I've really learned some awesome techniques that I can apply to my personal life and eventually to my classroom.

Next semester I will be taking a communication in the workplace class and English Comp, both online. I'm really excited about finishing up my education online, especially since I now have knowledge of the resources I can use. I really enjoyed starting a blog, too. Make sure you check out my personal blog at www.sewsewgood.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!

R-Re-Remix

This week we're discussing copyright laws in regard to remixing. We saw one of my favorite news anchors, Stephen Colbert, discussing this with Laurence Lessig. Then we saw a TED video by Kirby Ferguson.
I agree totally with Mr Ferguson and Mr Lessing. In the words of the author of Ecclesiastes 1:9,

"What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun."

 Nothing we create is new. It may not have been seen or heard, but there are only so many colors you can paint with, so many notes in a scale, so many words to sing. I've always thought copyright laws were taken too far by our society. They should be there to protect the artist, not to exploit the legal system and take advantage of new artists. Especially in our instant communication society, no one will be able to truly take your work from you and discredit you. "Imitation is the highest form of flattery," don't attack someone just because they loved your work enough to add to it. You're both benefiting from this relationship.To punish them for expressing their own creativity is a disservice to yourself and the artistic community.

Generation F[acebook]

I actually think a few of the points Gary Hamel made in his article "The Facebook Generation" will be good for businesses. I think it's great the way the internet is effecting businesses. The company I work for, Select Design, is extremely successful, yet the two owners still come into the office and walk around our production department. They know everyone's names, and if you have an opinion on something they will listen and consider it. So many larger corporations such as Apple, Facebook and other web or technology based companies are adopting this "small town" feel to their offices and I think it's great for moral. I also love the emphasis on creativity and profit sharing that we've seen lately. No business is successful without the web and social media. It's important to include that in your company.
The only thing that really bothers me is the internet's influence on work ethic. I have seen quite a few younger kids right out of college that will walk out of meetings, throw fits, and send out insulting emails to colleagues. This kind of attitude of "I want to get my way no matter what" and "I don't have to do what you tell me to do" is so infuriating. Sometimes you have to do what your boss/leader says. You don't always get to choose what you do, and there will come days where you have to force yourself to do stuff.

The Long Tail

This week we read an article and watched a video on the long tail.
It took me a little while to really understand exactly what they were talking about. I think the DVD example Chris Anderson made in his TED video really helped the most. As the price of your technology drops, more people can afford it and it gets more popular. I remember my family held off on getting a DVD player for at least a year after they came out. Even then, we paid a few hundred dollars. Now? I could go out and buy one for 20 bucks. But I doubt you could find a home right now without one in it.
I definitely agree with Mr Anderson's theory. I can see it happening with everything we use. Computers, cameras, cell phones, and eReaders are all drastically dropping their prices, but the companies aren't suffering- quite the opposite. If you only sell 100 computers at $1000 a piece (100,000), you're making less than if you sold 500 computers at $500 (250,000.)

Podcasts, Ho!

I haven't listened to a podcast in about 5 years. I've been slightly busy the past 4, mind you (having a child.) But I used to be obsessed with one in particular: Ask a Ninja. My friends and I used to get more excited about that than LOST. Unfortunately you can no longer find the original on iTunes. Only some weird cartoon version that I don't really care for.

Now I must say, I'm not a fan of your traditional audio only podcast. Technically speaking, a podcast doesn't have to be only audio. It can be video, PDF or even files you download to your computer. (You can find the wiki definition here.)

Now wait a minute. What's the difference then between a Vlog and a video Podcast? Well, mainly it has to do with the downloading of the podcast. You can subscribe to it and have it directly downloaded into your iTunes so you can then listen (or watch) it later.

Podcasts in my opinion are going the way of the dinosaur. Apple kind of saw to that when they started throwing a fit about people using a word that included "pod" in it. 

Ultimately I think podcasts, blogs and vlogs are starting to mesh into one big group of subscription media. Anyone with a laptop or a smart phone (aka 90% of the population) can record their thoughts and advice, upload it, and gain an instant following. 

Back in the Vlogger again

This week we were told to "take it on the road" for our second vlog. Unfortunately I had a very uncooperative three year old, who made recording in a public place impossible. So, instead we did a tour of her play room/art gallery. Of course, she was an angel in the final video. Go figure.

Vlog Post

This week we're making Vlogs! I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a video about sewing, so I can use it for my personal blog, sewsewgood.blogspot.com.
My handsome and talented husband was my cameraman, and I added a few little bells and whistles for your enjoyment.
And now, your feature presentation:

Week 8: Power Point!

This week we were given the link to this presentation by Hans Roseling, a Swedish professor and data guru.
I loved the way he presented his material. He was fun, informative, and easy to listen to. Not only was his presentation put together well, but he spoke in a way that his words captured your attention and the graphics perfectly complimented his speech.
I think in a time when we have so many cool gadgets and graphics to use, some people underestimate the human aspect of a good presentation. Most people will just put their speech in a slideshow, add graphics and then read it off in a horrible monotone with no connectivity to their audience.
Nothing irritates me more than monotone repetitive information.
So what's the best way to keep people's attention? Make your power-point a helper, not a showcase. Use the program to add visual interest to an already interesting report. Focus on your information and use the graphics to reiterate the point to the audience. Don't let it overtake you as the star of the show.

Kindle and Copyright

This week we're learning about a lawsuit from a few years ago involving the Author's Guild and Kindle's "read aloud" feature. You can read about it from the A.G.'s  president's point of view here and then the other point of view here.
I'm inclined to agree with the latter article. I think a text-speech feature has nothing to do with an audio-book. It's simply your device reading aloud a book that you've purchased. I think it would be really difficult to charge extra for only people who were planning at some point to use that feature. What if I had a Kindle 2, but I hated the text speech? Would they have made me pay extra for a feature I had no intention of using just because that might have taken a few extra dollars away from the publisher? I hope that sounds as silly to you as it does to me.
I searched for an article about how that all worked out, but I had trouble finding anything recent. It seems like from that last link I put in the beginning, they reached an agreement, but also that they were setting their sights on Apple for exactly the same reason.
I feel like people are way too quick to point a finger at someone else about copyright. Maybe they just haven't done enough research to see when something is really in violation or not, or they just want to see if maybe the judge will grant them a whole lot of money. That's probably more likely...

Plagiarizer, Really?

                                                   The Shepard Fairey Obama poster                 the AP photo by Mannie Garcia

This week we're talking about photo copyright and Fair Use as it regards the iconic Obama campaign poster as seen above. The photo (right) it was based on is technically owned by Associated Press, and they've sued the street artist (Fairey) who "copied" their picture. I see the similarities, but I definitely think this is covered by Fair Use. Yes, he admitted to getting the picture on Google and used it as inspiration, but I don't think he completely copied it. From what I've read in this article on MSNBC, he based his poster on the picture. I don't think he took the picture and simply manipulated it. In fact, in the article from MSNBC, the photo they post as being the "original" is not the exact same angle as the poster. You can tell there that the pose is different. Even the original artist, Mannie Garcia says he didn't recognize it as being based on his picture (see this article).
All that said, I think Mr. Fairey should have first contacted AP and requested permission to use the photo. If they said no, he also could have simply asked the campaign to provide him with an original pose of Obama, and used Creative Commons to protect his work. It's annoying how something so simple can cause so much money and time to be wasted.
In the end, they settled the court case (you can read about it here), but AP is still trying to sue the companies producing the poster. I think this is ridiculous. Just because the artist had to pay tribute to AP does not mean that they now have control over his work. That poster is still his artwork, and should be produced without AP having any say.

Here's me as an "Obama-poster":

You can do your own at Lunapic.com under "editor."

iArt?

With young people practically glued to their cell phones, it's no wonder we've transitioned art and literature into the iAge (I just made that up). This week in class we're studying all the neat, artsy stuff you can to with technology. You can see a whole bunch of artwork done on iPhones here.
We also read an article about Japanese girls making novels on their smartphones. I love that literature has found it's way into the technology age. Although, I do prefer snuggling up with a real book on a rainy day. Hopefully in another couple of generations kids will still know what a book with paper is.

Week 4? Already?

This week in class we're talking about Creative Commons. Our teacher gave us this article to read about it from Sharon Housley.
I love the idea of Creative Commons. I think this is exactly what we needed to help with all the copyright infringement that's going on. It gives artists and writers a choice in how to share their material. It also gives the people who are wanting to share the work a way to understand what their rights are and what the rights of the creators are.
I also love that they have tools to help teachers and researchers with their work. It makes me really excited about someday having my own classroom. I admit, when we started talking about copyright laws I got a little nervous about how that would hinder my lesson plans and teaching material. Now I see that this has made it much easier for teachers to function in such a multimedia copyright-aware society. 

The Web is a Teenager.

For our assignment this week, we watched a video of Kevin Kelly talking about the Web. In his talk, The Next 5000 Days of the Web, he spoke about how far we've come and where we're going in relation to the internet. Who knew 10 years ago how much we'd be using it? But we take it for granted every day. As Mr. Kelly said, "It's amazing and we're not amazed."
His talk was done way back in 2007 (please note hyperbole), when the web was a mere 5000 days old. Today, when it's a little more than 6700 days old, most all the things he mentioned in his speech have come to pass.
When discussing the next 5000 days, he predicts the web will be smarter, able to anticipate our needs before we tell it and will be more personalized. Well, browsers save preferences and suggest sites based on our profiles, so those predictions have come to pass already.
He also mentions the web becoming more ubiquitous, and every day I see this in action. People unable to set their phones down for a minute, walking and texting, constantly checking their email. There's even a debate going on now about classifying Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) as a diagnosed mental illness.
He also speaks of more ways to access the internet in the future, like phones, etc. He mentions that every device will become a "window" or a "portal" into this "machine" that is the web. I heard on the radio the other morning that they've actually come out with a watch that can access the web. You can find Sony's version here.
Some of the statistics he gave concerning the power of the web are mind-boggling. He compares the web to a brain, how every 2 years it doubles in size, and in 2040 it will exceed human processing power. I, for one, am untrusting of a computer that thinks and acts by itself. If April 21st, 2011 hadn't already passed, I might be hunkering down in a bunker somewhere to try and survive Skynet's attack on humanity.
As it is, I plan on continuing to guard my personal information very carefully, despite the grand way Mr. Kelly was talking about the future of the web and the glories of data share.

My own personal "cloud"

This week in our class we're talking about computing in the cloud. I'd never really sat down before and thought about how much my family uses the internet. Right now I'm listening to my show tunes channel on Pandora Internet Radio while blogging about my online class. My husband is gaming on his computer, and our daughter got to watch a short show just before bed through our Netflix account we have on our Wii.
We Skype with my parents in Florida and my brothers in Texas and California. I also keep in touch with all my friends and family via Facebook. I do all my banking, watch any t.v. show I want, get recipes and even get my news online.
In the last 5 years not much has changed. With the new video chat technology it's become much easier to keep in touch with my family. We also switched to internet television and cancelled our cable service (except internet of course) about 6 months ago. I've had email and online journals for 12 years now, since I was 15. I also used to participate in freestyle role playing on Illusionary Minds Chat until I had my daughter, who takes all the energy out of me.
I definitely see my presence in the cloud growing in the future. I'm sure technology will continue to advance as my 3 year old gets older. I'll have to be up-to-date on all the latest things just to keep an eye on her. Not to mention the fact that I'm hoping to teach middle or high school once I complete my degrees.

Post number one

As part of our Multimedia class we have to have a blog talking about what we're learning (or not getting) and so on. I'm fairly knowledgeable about technology, though the "blogosphere" is relatively foreign to me. I'm hoping  this class will  introduce me to some of the media I'm not familiar with now, but will probably be needing to use in a classroom setting once I'm ready to teach.
As far as online classes go, I tried to take one my first time in college, but I was not nearly mature or responsible enough at that point in my life to concentrate on school work. Hopefully my motivation has become better with age, and I won't find online classes as difficult to keep up with this time around.  My goals right now are to finish up my Associates degree and then move on to my Bachelor's of English.  I'm taking my whole degree online right now, just starting out part time as I'm still working full time and helping to run a household with a 3 year old.
Until next time, stay classy.
Get it? It's for a class.
Alright.