Ito and Lessig

       According to the opening of her new blog, Mimo Ito is a cultutral anthropologist that studies new media use through younger people, especially in Japan.
The author of amateur media production invites us to look at amateur media as an essential sociocultural learning tool. She encourages the reader to let go of the ideology that amateur is bad and as an essential for cultural production. Amateur media production is distinctive cultural domain characterized by an ethic of peer-to-peer appropriation and experimentation that differs fundamentally from more professionalized forms of media production (itofisher.com).  In this day and age the study of amateur media cannot be ignored as we are encouraged by various social networking site, blogs, and media to be individual creators.Three key things focus around amatuer media production innovation, reputation, and participation. Ito states that amateur media is coming in to the limelight and even surpassing the importance of commercial media. The video for “Code Monkey”, was exa,ple of how someone who is percieved as amateur can use innovation, participation, and reputation to gain pro-status in the world of digital media. The role of the collaboration plays a big part in promoting amateur media artists becasue the fans fuel the artists and the artists fuel the fans. Collaboration and innovation combined with humor and imitation seem to off set a large number of social media changes that inspire and keep the amateur visions alive and growing.

Overall Mimo Ito sums it up best with this paragraph, “ The AMV scene is an example of a creative community that has been highly successful in recruiting a very broad base of young creators into video editing practices, keeping barriers to entry low and the pleasure of creation high. At the same time, the community has developed ways of highlighting and celebrating the work of those who have the commitment and skills to develop exceptional work. Although participants in the scene experience tension between the more "common" and "elite" forms of participation in the AMV scene, both are integrally related and synergistic. The health of the AMV scene as a thriving amateur, non-commercial, and networked creative practice is predicated on the diversity and hierarchies that have evolved over the years” .

Lessig

 Lawrence Lessig is a well-pronounced academic that has ahd the honors of teaching and studying in various departments at Stanford and HArvard Univerities.For much of his academic career, Lessig has focused on law and technology, especially as it affects copyright. He is the author of five books on the subject, including the one for the Introduction, Remix.
In the beginning of this article Lessig introduces a woman by the name of Stephanie Lenx, who like many of us, taped a video of her baby dancing to prince and posted to youtube.com for her relatives to view. Univeral Records, the owner of the rights to Prince’s music retaliated against youtube stating lenz violated the right sof the company and should pay. Lessig goes to point out the ironic and paradoxical train of thought that a multi million dollar company would be after an innnocent women playing an innocent part in the social media when in fact the lawsuit they were creating costed them more moeny then what they were suing her for. Overall I feel as  though lessig was trying to point out that corporate amaeirca is irrational and being wuite destructive and hypocritical, to an innocent and innovative participant of social culture. Lessig goes on to describe a gallery by the name of, “White Cube”, in London where T.V.’s filled with normal people singing John Lennon’s Solo’s were played back to back. A female artist artist with the last name of Brietz was respondsible for the works. The focus of th work was nto so much a tribute to Lennon but a tribute to the lives of the people he touched, since they were the star of the show. The core meaning of the exhibit was to focus on what happens after the distirbution process of such media processes sucha s music. However, like Lenz, Brietz faced a laerge legal battle to get the right to have ordinary people use pre claimed corporate media. I find this ironic becuase half these legal battles don’t have anythign to with the artists wishes but the corporate greed and control the record executives wish to have on social media. Lessig conveys that the blend of free media and culture have the potential to become something great for everyone. However it is industiry that is resisting this creative revolution by making erroneous claims about about money and rights, just to keep the ball in their court and not in the peoples. Jsut like the people have become interavtice in blending thses medias the record companies to become involved witht he remix culture, not oppose it aand artists can be that bridge, by donating music and certain rights to Creative Commons. This poses a great benefit for the artist and the label, as new people viewing the music perse  through a group of synchronized performers on t.v. Are feeling the same creativity and ispriiig artists int he same way the music was introduced to the audience years ago.

McCullough and Wiener

        The digital world brings hand crafts into the 21st century. In digital production craft refers to the condition where people apply standard technological means to unanticipated or indescribable ends. This article explores the paradox of craft through the use of hands, whether we use them to make a basket or create something through photoshop.
According to McCullough, the term craft implies amatuerism and difference. Over time the tem craft has evolved into a catergory that explains crafting as not quite art and isolated in the field of folk arts. However, with the emergence of the digital world, crafting can be viewed in a similar but new light, without negative conotation. Overall craft is skilled work whether done with or without technology. This article emphasizes the use of touch and direct manipulation when it comes to understanding the creation of digital craft, the term haptic exemplfies this. Computers and electronic symbol processing. Through computer usage one may may be able identify the minimal use of skill in other areas of ones life. Learning the ins and outs of computers actually helps you understand the skill, and mode it takes to learn a handicraft or even an instrument. Overall “ craft no only share technique but the capacity of the medium itself, a passion for practice,and moral values as an activity independent of what is produced”, this should apply to both the physical DIY realm and the electronic realm.


Cybernetics
This article involoves the problems of communication engineering. Communication engineering has brought up many issues to humanity, it  imitates human behavior, implying human behavior is slow and ineffective. Scientists and engineers who work in this field have tendency to be percieved as exploting technology at any cost. People now idolozie computers and their marvels yet the rapid expanse of technology in genereal seems to impose some kind of forbodung consequence on humanity that we all seemt o be unaware of. This article aims to find the role of message to man from technology, through the terms of input, output, and memory. Wiener states “it his thesis that the operation of the living individual and the operation of some of the newer communication machines are precisely parallel” .

Barbrook and Schultz

        Barbrook is an academic at the University of Cambridge where is obtained his BA in Social and Political Science. He obtained his MA in political behavior at the Univeristy of Essex and his Doctorate in politics and government at the University of Kent. He also heavily involved in radio and hypermedia studies. Schultz is an artist, author, and computer professional that lives in Berlin. He is project manager for reboot.fm, a Berlin based open radio that is a local and international P2P network of groups, individuals and non-commercial radios that combines "old radio" and "new" open source software.

The Digital Artisans Manifesto is a satirical manifesto aimed at preserving the practices of the graphic designer in the early 90’s. I feel it was written out of the fear of the unknown of the dot com era . Overall, I find this amusing yet I feel as though some of the assumptions made by EDAN on the direction in were digital artisans are placed in the future was a bit misguided. At times I found it hard to realize the objectives of EDAN, esepcially when they would oppose traditional economic systems but then put themselves in the likeness of the same systems such as the European Union. I also think inviting “everyone” to be a part of this system of artisans was a bit of an overstatement because I feel not everyone who works in the digital zone belongs in this catergory.

Gabriel and Wagminster

    Teshome Gabriel is an Ethiopian American Film scholar and professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in Los Angeles. Gabriel’s expertise lies in African film with an emphasis on developing countries. Fabian Wagmister teaches audiovisual creativity at the University of California, Los Angeles and I s a professor in the department of Theater, Film and Television as well.

     In this artciles Gabriel and Wagmister attempt to explain the paralells between weaving and modern technology.  Both authors encourage readers to think beyond the structures of modern technology as well as the ideology that handicrafts like weaving,  are a thing of the past. It is emphasized that in order for older, traditonal societies to come into technology there needs to be an understanding and bridge between both ideologies. “The assimilative process is not to mimic traditional forms in a new medium but to actually mutate the medium itself and have it respond to the aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual characteristics of the community.” 

     According to Gabriel and Wagminster there are already features present in both mediums that coincide with each other. For example: both require the use of hands, the lexicon of both are integrative. Integrating technology through weaving holds benefits for both third world and western societies. Western societies often don;t acknowledge the the roots of their digital orgins or make the correlation that the weaver is much like the photoshopper. Photoshop can be taught much like weaving and vice versa if the conceptuality is taught with the right mind frame. Overall, the main theme of this article is that technology and weaving should render each other in hopes of benefiting both societies.

Writing to you on Nyquil

This has been my week: Monday I contacted a bladder infection by Wednesday I had an Upper Respiratory, Its now Sunday and all this sickness has made it up to my right eye giving me a stye on top of it all. OH and my car broke down in Friday. I have 2 projects due this week and an exam I have been trying to make up for 2 weeks. The blogs are delayed but are coming soon ! IM trying very hard. ::cough cough, drinks Nyquil::
BLAH. Bare with me.

Digital Editing from Over the Break

The  following is a pic I edited during break. I took an un-copy written photo and edited it in both iphoto and photoshop software. Im attempting to get it into stencil format, so I have to precise about where I edit...You have to make these things called "islands" which allow you to cutout pieces in the stencils without the stencil losing form. It is more difficult than you think.

Jenkins Intro/Chapter 4/Project Progress

 Jenkins Introduction and Chapter 4 

Henry Jenkins is an American Media Scholar and Professor of Communication, Cinematic Arts,and Journalism at USC. He recieved his PHd in Communication Arts at UWM. Jenkins focuses on how individuals in contemporary culture combine numerous different media sources. He suggests that media convergence be understood as a cultural process, rather than technologically. Jenkins research also includes the field of video game studies.
Convergence culture is “where old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways”,  as well as the relationship between three concepts-media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence.(2). Overall, Media convergence is a world where all worlds (technological, social, cultural) collide and can be explored by all. It is shaped by peoples differing perspectives and unique experiences to various media, melted together by both grassroots and mainstream media sources. Convergence also alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres, and audiences. Jenkins states that it is our participatory nature that keeps media convergence alive. Through the use if colective intelligence we are able to create new ideas out of old and reworked concepts, so the continuation of these concepts can be reworked into even more creative and new ideologies. Jenkins warns of the dangers of media convergence moving to quickly, stating “ old paradigms are breaking down faster than the newones are emerging”. Moving to quickly doesn’t give time for reflection on the current state of media technology and dismantles companies before they get a chance to fully develop.  Jenkins specifically discusses how the delivery system of media is converging and convergence elements are both compatiable and  mismatched socially, culturally, and physically.
Overall, Jenkins’s perspective can be stated in this paragraph, “We are entering an era of prolonged transition and transformation in the way media operates. Convergence describes the process by which we will sort through those options. There will be no magical black box that puts everything in order again. Media producers will only find their way through their current problems by renegotiating their relationship with their consumers. Audiences, empowered
by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between old and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture”.
In Chapter 4 Jenkins uses Star Wars as an example of media convergence and advancement. Star Wars is a great example of media convergence and exemplifies the ideology of a participatory culture. Without the Star Wars participatory culture, the legend of Star Wars would not exist. The way Star Wars fans intereact with movie is very diverse. Fans re-create and parody movies on the internet , are inspired to produce new media based on the movie, hold conventions, and have developed a collector’s market that thrives in-store and through the internet. Through the use of the internet visibility of fan culture is more prominent than ever  (131).
Chapter 4 restates that the current moment of media change is reaffirming the right of everyday people to actively contribute to their culture, a culture that encourages broad participation (shaped by socio-cultural protocols), grassroots creativity, and a bartering or gift economy. Everyone's a participant but participants may have different degrees of status and influence.
When it comes to dealing with the intersection between corporate and grassroots modes of convergence,neither produces or consumers will the have answers. 
Jenkins says consumers can achieve balance by accepting and actively promoting some basic distinctions between media. Media producers can gain greater loyalty and more compliance to legitimate concerns if they court the allegiance of fans. Future media will be place more emphasis on the consumer than ever before thus the participatory nature of the consumer is essential for the thiving of media. To me this means we will be in control of the content we are marketed by how we respond to it, this can have both negative and positive consequences.
        Overall, Jenkins looks at DIY craft as an essential aspect of participatory culture, he encourages it yet warns of both the negative and positive aspects it has on culture, society, the consumer and big business. 

Midterm Project Progress

So, I have been making slow but steady progress with my project. The most I have accomplished so far is the gathering of materials. The other day I went to Michaels Craft Store and purchased meltable glycerine as well as shea butter soap. I added a new scent, “Pearberry”, to my collection of scents and picked out sum soft glitter for my soap. I also stopped by American Science and Surplus (cafty odds n ends type store) and picked out some glass bottles and soap molds. I still am working on picking out the exact recipes I want to use, I have few ideas but want to do some more research.