Twitter here, Flicker There

Politics is becoming more technological. McCain and Obama have anti-other videos on Youtube. The internet will not only change the way of politics, but democracy itself. People can create wikis blog and comment on the campaign. Candidates can use social networking sites to generate money, volunteers, and supporters. The article states that Obama understands how to use the internet to his advantage, and McCain is slightly tech-illiterate. However, the Republican party is taking steps to up their game. Voters are being separated into two groups divided by technology. One group is called the Millenials, people born between 1976 and 1996. This group is more technologically connected while the other group is older and relies more on more convention types of media such as tv. Do you think that use and knowledge of the internet is just as important in office as it is on the campaign trail?

Obama’s Txt

Obama is using mass texting in his campaign. What is happening is that the Obama campaign is involving everyone with a mobile device in a process to build database of phone numbers to get out vote. A person sends txt to get out that they are an Obama supporter and thereby get info back-such as when they received a txt about Obama’s choice of running mate.Techpresident believes mobile technology is the best way to reach young supporters who are in touch with today’s technology. He relates it to pebbles falling on quite lake…starts with one  ring and gets wider and wider. Would you want to receive a text from the Obama campaign?

How much is Youtube worth to Obama and McCain?

Both candidates have videos on Youtube, created by others and their campaigns. Obama’s number of hours viewed of his videos is significantly high than McCains. And the fact that these are free video’s, no money spent on tv time, means that both candidates are saving a lot of money. The article also points out the difference between tv campaign ads and internet ones. Tv is more of a push, meaning you are forced to watch it. Internet is pull, because you choose to watch it. Do you feel that the candidates are cheating when it comes to internet techniques-being able to make free videos and bringing in ridiculous amounts of money?

Twitter

“From voter caging to misleading fliers to faulty machinery to the long waits exacerbated by poorly trained poll workers, it’s often a lack of knowing that jams up the process.” Twitter can help change all that by correcting the information imbalance of the elections. 1. Empowering self organized volunteers 2. Sharing patterns 3. Serving as mobile legal aid 4. Smart routing around resource gaps. 5. And guiding the watch dogs. Do you think twitter will be successful in its endevours of the election?

The Daily Me

Technology is making it easier to filter out what media we want to view. With the aid of the internet, you can mix and match your media-movies, music, news, sports, shopping, and socializing. Everyone has the freedom to view what they want and avoid what they don’t want to see. Its almost a complete personalization of communications. But this raises some questions. “How will the increasing power of private control affect democracy? How will the Internet, the new forms of television, and the explosion of communications options alter the capacity of citizens to govern themselves? What are the social preconditions for a well-functioning system of democratic deliberation, or for individual freedom itself?” First, people should be exposed to materials that they would not have chosen in advance. Unplanned, unanticipated encounters are central to democracy itself. Second, many or most citizens should have a range of common experiences. Without shared experiences, a heterogeneous society will have a much more difficult time in addressing social problems. While the idea of digital divide and a utopian communicative dream isn’t so perfect and could cause more problems then one would think. How do you feel about this article and what it has to say about democracy and media?

Web of Activism

This article talks about viral marketing. The author compares it to word of mouth saying that internet marketing is much faster and more effective. But then the article talks about how these online sites can be problematic when it comes to politics. The internet can be a great tool in politics if one knows how to use it. But because the internet is more of a pull media, meaning you have to seek out what you want to see rather than have it shoved in front of you, it may not work out right in politics. They can’t always expect people to seek out there campaign ads, videos, and support sites, and putting them up on sites like youtube, facebook, and blogs might not be effective. Do you think that online politics is a good or bad move?

Blogging Star

1. Don’t expect to be rich @. Write what you want to write about in your own words 3. Fit blogging into your schedule 4. Keep a reliable rythm of posts for your readers 5. Always link baack to blogs whose idea you repeated 6. Put yourself out there by posting your link on other sites.

What is your favorite blog that you read on a regular basis?

Photo Flickr

Getty images finds Flickr photos to be of such good quality that they are reviewing all the photo’s and buying the one’s they like best. Flickr photo’s look more authentic because they are not taken by commercial photographers and advertisers like authentic. A program is underway in which all Flickr photo’s are eligible and those liked best will and participants will be ensured that their images have the proper releases to be licensed legally.

Do you think that Flickr is a good way to get photographers out there as a way to start your career?

Why Blog?

There is a man who started a blog called Stuff White People Like. Many many people like it and find it funny. Now they are planning on making a book. The article talks about how blogs being turned into books is an up and coming thing. But is also hit or miss. Some blog books make it big, others do not. White people will hopefully be a success because it’s site gets so many hits and the book will have mostly new material. Also, the blog is similar to a book already because it is written like a series of short essays. In reading this article I thought about in the past when books were written through magazines. Everytime a magazine came out another part of the story would be published with it. Blogging is similar expect it isn’t with a story, but arguments, thoughts, and topics.

What blog that you read would you like to see become a book?

Download this

Marie Digby made it look like she was an ametuer singer through her videos on youtube. In reality though, she has a record deal and it was Hollywood Records idea to get her name out into the pblic by making her sing cover songs. People search a famous singer’s song and she pops up in the results page with her cover. It is clever really, but also deceptive because she is still keeping up with this front. She still makes it seem like she was this nobody and youtube made her discoverable.

Do you think the fact that she made it seem like she was an ameteur helps or hurts her success as a star now that people know it wasn’t real?

Rebecca Blood

The article talks about the history of blogging. How it went from a few weblogs to hundreds upon hundreds. It also talks about how the definition of a blog has changed. Now it is a website that is updated frequently, with new material posted at the top of the page. A filter-style weblog provides many advantages to its readers. It reveals glimpses of an unimagined web to those who have no time to surf. Writing a weblong hepls you discover your own interests and value your own point of view more highly.

What topics would you like to discuss in your own weblog?

I honestly can’t decide who to vote for, and these debates aren’t helping much. All either candidate ever does is throw insults and accussations at the other. It’s ridiculous. It makes me want to scream at my tv saying, ” I don’t care what he did. Tell me what you did!”. And poor Joe Plumber. One of the networks counted, and his name was said around 30 times. He has a real name and it is not Joe Plumber. And this whole idea of sharing the wealth is a bit too socialist to me. Why should I give my hard earned money to people who haven’t earned it? But then McCain gets me annoyed because I do not fully know what he stands for. I felt that he was throwing more insults out of the two of them. Being accussed of being like Bush though really upset him. I just don’t know!

I think it is difficult to compare the two candidates of the same level. One reason being that McCain has a record of things he has and has not done in Washington while Obama is fairly inexperienced. Therefore some media compare their campaign promises based on what McCain has done and what Obama promises. How do you feel about this? Is it right? How can we level the playing field?

The world has changed and laws need to change with it. The law has terms of property and ownership that due to new digital technology such as the internet are now outdated. It is destroying creativity. Kids see this more than any one else is society.  They are the creators of new media. And while we can’t go back to the way things used to be, keeping these laws makes kids criminals. It makes them pirates, stealing from other media’s to make their own ameuter media. Two changes need to occur. Professional artists and creators choose that there work be made more available more freely for ameteur use, not commercial. Also, big business needs to embrace this oppurtunity more freely. This will allow it so that more free can compete with less free, balance each other out, and learn from each other. It is an artist choice that is the key for new technology having the oppurtunity to be open for business.

Did you ever make small films by using copyrighted materials and did you consider it stealing?

This article talks about PyMusique, a hardware that strips the copyright protection off of songs in ITunes Music Store. In essence, it enables illegal song-swapping on the internet. Though some believe this is wrong, others can show similar situations that aren’t considered wrong. One example would be copying a CD or DVD. This shows that what might seem to be black and white in the copyright world is actually pretty grey. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions about what is wrong and right when it comes to copying things. However, we see an age gap in opinions between older and younger people. Young people seem  to think that even going as far as downloading illegally is okay. They don’t see how this is wrong, how it is stealing. You aren’t paying for it, therefore it is not yours to take. The author sees the generation gap and then asks the question, what will happen when everyone feels the way as young people to. What will happen when no one sees anything wrong with downloading?

How do you think we can solve the problem of copying and copyrighting?

So this article is interesting. I think it is basically saying that there is nothing new under the sun, not to be cliche. But the article is especially pertaining to art, saying that there is nothing we havn’t seen. New art is based off old art. It is the inspiration, the guideline, the basis. And if there is nothing new and everything is reused in some way, then this causes a problem in today’s society with ownership. Everyone wants credit for something, to call it there own. This means people have to give credit to that person when using that idea, but if you don’t give credit, thats stealling. It’s called plagarism. Yet you can’t put a property title on art. It belongs to the people of the world to admire it, contemplate it, and use it. it is an economy gift. However, this economy gift connects easily with the economic market. We pay to see art in a museum, but one can’t put a price on the gift we receive when we are touched by a piece of art. “But if it is true that in the essential commerce of art a gift is carried by the work from the artist to his audience, if I am right to say that where there is no gift there is no art, then it may be possible to destroy a work of art by converting it into a pure commodity. I don’t maintain that art can’t be bought and sold, but that the gift portion of the work places a constraint upon our merchandising.” We can better understand a gift economy through public commons. Commons belong to everyone and no one and it is controlled only by agreed consent. Art is a public commons. We need to respect the public commons, to honor it and protect it from private ownership. Old and new make the warp and woof.

Do you make your art- paintings, articles,photos- from inspiration from old art, or are you inspired elsewhere?

I have tried to write a comment three times already and it won’t show up…so I am trying it this way. I edited a page on crayons, adding the section on production. My edit also seems to have disappeared once before as well. If this happens again, well I don’t know whats going wrong. Sorry! Here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayon

I thought the debate was very interesting. Palin was interesting to watch, and I am able to understand why she is perceived the way she is a bit more because we discussed it in my media lit class. It is actually her strategy not to answer any question directly. She does this so that she doesn’t lose voters by firmly picking a side. However, I think some of her answers made her seem a bit stupid. She really does not have much experience when it comes to national affairs. Biden did very well, but I think more people were focused on what Palin had to say because she has been so elusive with her political opinions. One thing that was interesting was her desire to increase the power of a vice president. Many people think that, with Cheney in office, vice presidential power has already increased too much. I do feel bad for Palin for how people put her down. Though inexperienced, she is likable, has spunk, and is very excited about being in the campaign. She really does try and does the best she can with campaign managers telling her what to say and the media filtering/interpreting her words.

If I could ask the candidates one question, it would be about higher education and plans for funding and improvement. This is important to me because of lack of funding in NJ state school and the economy being as it is.