"Who Moved My Media? Changes in Popular Media Formats":

The latest exhibit featured in the HBLL is oddly relevant and extremely timely for this class. I have stopped by and visited it several times, and each time I do I notice something new and interesting (aside from trying different tactics on Frogger). Especially fascinating to me was the manner in which new media's aesthetic has changed and developed, building on past appearances. The "play", "computer" and the "cinema" sections seem to all sort of blend together aesthetically, and it feels as if they have influenced one another. For example, the round shape of the film reel has translated to a small, flat DVD disk, as did Compact Disks and, eventually, game disks. The original games were boxy and thick, not unlike VHS tapes within that same generation. Some of the photography technology progressed in a similar fashion, going from purposely boxy to minimalistic. I suppose that overall, the "feel" of what is considered technological or new medial in whatever decade seems to reflect and project itself.

I also found it interesting that we try and recreate the old from the new, and enjoy aesthetic echoes. The racing games displayed, for example, look strikingly similar in structure, though the graphics are worlds different. The designs used, especially in new media, often feel recycled and built upon rather than reinvented entirely.

Both the aesthetics and the capabilities of the new media presented in the exhibit also beg the question of authorship. One informational plaque I noticed mentioned that the VHS tape battled hard to be America's choice of tape technology, and won. That means that whoever was the inventor and distributor of that technology played a major role in allowing us for the first time to enjoy our favorite movies at home in mass. Does that make those people partly authors of the content, since they had a legitimate hand in developing and mastering a manner for us to experience said movies? I thought of the same question when looking at the Blue-Ray disc, which is known for eliminating some of the limitations of past representations of film. The experience is greatly influenced by the technology itself, which is always developing from thousands of creative minds and authors in their own right.

Ultimately, visiting the exhibit was both inspiring creatively and productive to the class. I'm glad new media is a focus of the university generally, and hope the exhibit stays long enough to be enjoyed by future new media classes.

New Media Manifesto

New Media Manifesto by Barrett Burgin

Text of Essay:

People have always dreamt about the future. From biblical prophecies to modern day predictions, we’ve looked forward to what incredible advances the future will hold, to a day and age that improves upon the present. Whether or not we are continually moving in a positive direction is hard to say, but throughout recorded history there have certainly been some major improvements. With each passing generation, the world seemingly becomes more connected and aware of the challenges it has yet to overcome. The advent of the internet and new media have especially accelerated that process. What does the future look like for us? The modern age is advancing at an exponential rate, and although there is still much to overcome, history and current trends seem to suggest that we could use new media and technological advancements as the primary tool to solve the major problems of this century.

A major advancement that has come of the information age is globalization. People across the world are able to communicate far more freely, both as groups and as individuals, thanks to internet forums, online gaming, and social media sites such as Reddit or Facebook. This increased communication has made the world feel small. Greater communication has the capacity to build bridges across cultures and countries that would otherwise be impossible. An increase in communication can often prevent prevalent misunderstandings and misconceptions, such as the idea the people in other countries are radically different from one another. It can propel social change and awareness of social issues without being filtered by mainstream media PR machines. It can lead to greater unification, such as people changing facebook avatars and coming together online to “#PrayForParis” in response to the multiple terrorist attacks in 2015. Over the past several years, many discussions surrounding social issues have been propelled into public awareness and even pressed into public reform by being shared on social media. From LGBTQ rights to gun violence, people can immediately join the conversation and share information. Many voices that may not typically be heard can be shared through social media and step by step, globalization has the ability to lead toward greater unification. In these instances, public opinion is often able to shift and dominate and normalize issues that may have taken years to evolve otherwise.

Some of the issues born out of social media are complex and have not yet been peacefully resolved. Nevertheless, increased global awareness and open discussion can be considered a step forward, despite the occasional violent nature of the movement. For example, the unrest of Ferguson, MO in 2015 sparked a debate in the United States about the relationship between law enforcement and African Americans. This led to the #BlackLivesMatter movement and an increased exposure and exploration of the issue. A major component in the controversy surrounding Ferguson was its coverage. When people began to share their own accounts of what was really happening through social media, the world tuned in, and main media outlets began to change their rhetoric. New media has given other movements, such as those of the Arab Spring, the abilities and platforms to communicate, assemble, and revolt where they would not have been able to otherwise because of government control.

Of course, it is important to note that for every Arab Spring there is an ISIS, and that the development of this technology has not done away with hate groups or prejudices; in many cases it has also given them a voice and a manner in which to grow. New media has also accompanied a time of polarization, particularly in the political arena of the United States of America. We certainly are not more united than we’ve ever been. However, the opportunity is there to move past these problems, as are the tools, and we are slowly and surely making headway. History shows us a progression overall, and we can look at the United States as a case study. Racism is not gone, but we no longer have legal and institutionalized slavery. Misogyny still exists, but women are able to vote. Even if we typically take two steps forward and one step back, these tools of new media can help us in the right direction in the long run. As we continue to face social injustice and division, the advances of technology and connectivity will help continue to be a key tool in battling them.

Another key component of the information age is the education that is readily available. Over time, it is possible that people will begin to care less about cultural conflict as access to information allows prejudices and narrow views to slip away. This doesn’t mean that going on facebook will suddenly make a racist somehow less of a racist. But it does mean that over time, generationally, these ideas will become weaker. For example, it is not uncommon for children to have different accents from their parents and ones that are similar to their peers. More and more young people are “plugged in”, interacting with their peers online, and this type of globalization can eradicate more than just accents. As new generations spend more time on digital media than ever before, creating, exploring, sharing, and interacting, it is possible they will simply lose interest in the cultural battles of the past. Ideas of race, gender, and identity generally have evolved far more quickly because of the information age, and younger people propel these ideas by accepting them as normal. Their immersion within their own communities drown out antiquated ideas and beliefs, such as opposition to interracial marriage or that women shouldn’t be educated. If we continue these kind of trends socially and technologically, we may one day only be asking what we can do with so much information and entertainment, rather than spending time and energy telling each other what to do.

Obviously, the possibilities provided by new media are able to improve the quality of life. Many of the abilities we have now are convenient and even leisurely, such as having communication, personal data, schedules, internet access, and games all in one device. As more people benefit from increased technology and become more interconnected, perhaps they will want to share those developments with the rest of the world, friends who they’ve connected with across the globe. Perhaps online gamers will take an interest in the political climate of teammates in the Middle East, or friends on a forum will find solutions to wage inequality. This interconnectivity can allow people to invest in one another, and take an activist role in quality of life everywhere, as it has with groups such as the Harry Potter Alliance, largely organized online. If globalization and unification could help quality of life improve, less unrest and frustration would grow out of inequality and poverty.

Perhaps new forms of media and technology can solve these problems. Perhaps they’ll be the tool that eradicates the biggest issues facing us. It’s not unlikely. But even if they don’t prove their potential, it’s important to focus on the future, to envision a day of peace and prosperity. We’ve invented the impossible, so as we continue to dream up incredible innovations, perhaps we can eventually dream ourselves into that perfect age.

Community Curation Creation

http://striplingstudios-blog.tumblr.com/

The process of creating this piece was more informative in some ways about how people using social media process posts and online information than anything else, so I suppose that in that way especially it was a great success. Thinking of the concept for the project started as somewhat challenging, but became became even more so when considering how people might respond or interpret my call for entries. When I posted, I received way fewer entries than I expected. Normally I see a decent amount of activity on questions I post using social media, but they are simpler and require less thought or energy. It would seem that while people want to express themselves within a social media community, they do not necessarily want to spend energy to think about how to do so, at least when seeing a post in passing. In order to get more participation, I had to ask friends and family members, with whom I had social capitol, to think about a response and post something. I realized maybe people were over-thinking it once they decided they were going to think about it at all. My wife and sister-in-law both spent considerable time trying to come up with the perfect piece of media to post and repeatedly asked me questions about it, even though they initially had several ideas in mind and I reiterated several times that the project is very open-ended. This would suggest that they were hesitant to make any sort of definitive representational post about themselves in the community, especially about something that inspired them, without wanting it to accurately and positively reflect on them.

Interestingly, other friends who said they would participate hardly ever post anything on facebook, and don't seem to care all that much about how they are presented on social media. Not only did they post immediately when I invited them to, but I don't think they even really read the prompt. One friend posted a quote his grandfather told him. I can't think of any way I can pitch that as being any sort of media, but I am glad he participated. Interestingly, however, these friends tended to engage more in the conversation, liking others' posts, perhaps more to support the person or idea than to represent themselves to the community. One friend shared his own artwork and creative inspiration, but contextualized that decision by telling me it was a hard one and asking the community not to think him arrogant by doing so. Even more interesting, it seemed that the more posts I got, the more eager people were to participate, even if I had already asked them. Perhaps the posting is exponential, in that if people see a mass gathering online to discuss something, they are far more prone to be part of the conversation.

It would seem that community plays a very large part in shaping what is created or received online, if differently for different people. I can't help but think of other social media sites, such as tumblr or reddit especially, where art and information and community are all blended into one with memes. Memes are a particularly interesting form of community media in that they typically reference an understood original source, they are self-perpetuating, they can be used to make points, reference current events, create satire, simply joke around, etc, and they are even considered an art form with no original author.



Community calls to action are a cool and synthetic way curate this sort of online sharing and connection, but I find it even more mind-boggling when these sort of things spontaneously occur. Perhaps there will be a way in the future to better study and track this sort of information, but as of now we are still working on it, and I think we are doing well. There is a beauty to the viral, spontaneous unanimity of online communities and expression, and I'm anxious to continue evaluating my own personal presentation in the virtual world.