Dominating the eLandscape of the future....

When thinking about the area of Social Media that will dominate the eLandscape of the future from the topics that have appeared in this blog up to date it would have to be the mobile phone. Mobile phones have evolved at such a rate with the convergence of many technologies. As a society we rely very heavily on the use of mobiles and now in particular on iPhones or smart phones which allow us to perform multiple tasks on the one portable device. To think how fast this technology has advanced in such a short time period gives an indication how much further things will progress in the future. Perhaps we will become Cyborgs, the mobile becoming part of our bodies, an appendage which we can't live without. Making life more accessible, being able to perform everyday functions anywhere we go at the touch of a button. Or have many of us already become Cyborgs??

Online Documentaries.... enabling voices to be heard....

Online documentaries enable individuals to express their opinions on specific topics. It allows for freedom of speech that may not be evident in mainstream media productions. Many of the amateur documentaries can be found on platforms such as YouTube.
The documentary below is an example of one that is directed to a particular audience, to those who are interested in Meteorites. My partner made this as he has a great interest in Meteorites and decided to make a documentary explaining the basic information in order to inform people further. He used many of his own photographs of the Meteorites and provided a link to his website at the end. The video was uploaded onto the Facebook and YouTube. As he is involved with the Worldwide Meteorite community he has since had many Universities and scientific organisations contacting him wishing to use his documentary in their teachings. It has also lead to an increased interest in his already highly regarded website.

Below is the amateur documentary made by a holiday maker who was able to capture his experiences in a remote village in Ethopia. This provides an insight to viewers that would otherwise be hard to see unless one was able to experience it first-hand. This is just an example of many documentaries that can be found on YouTube of how holiday makers have filmed their experiences but it certainly allows people to experience various cultures and different ways of life through the viewing of these videos.

Anyone is able to create an online documentary providing that they have the technology and some basic knowledge of how to use it.

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:
http://www.youtube.com

Mobile phones-- making life more convenient or just a hassle

The mobile phone has become such a dominant piece of technology that we have become so reliant on. The primary use of a mobile is to make calls and send text messages. However this has changed and developed with evolving technology. The smart phones and iPhones that are available now are so advanced that they allow the user to do multiple tasks which were once limited to other devices such as the television, computer, or MP3 player. This is an example of media convergence where these features have been integrated into the one device. These tasks include accessing the internet, taking photographs, filming and watching  movies, and listening to music and radio. The most appealing aspect of having all of these features on the once device is that it is extremely portable and able to be accessed anywhere at any time. As levinson (2009) ponts out that such devices 'make useless places useful.'

However apart from the portability and accessibility of such owning mobile phones there is also a downside of owning one. It seems that it is just expected that if one owns a mobile phone that they 'should' carry it on them 24 hours a day and be available to be contacted at the drop of a hat. This eliminates the time that people once had to themselves in order to escape the world and just relax free of disruption. Of course there is always the option to leave the phone at home or even turn it off on such occasions. But there is still this expectancy of always being available. Going back about five years ago my old Manager would call my mobile, if for some reason or another the phone was turned off and her call had gone unnoticed I would never hear the end of it. There was this expectancy that I was available whenever she felt necessary to call- whether it be at 7am in the morning or 11pm at night. Then there was the friend who felt it necessary to send text messages up to 20 times a day. God forbid if there was a delay in replying to a text, or the text was too brief and not in the 'right' tone. After all with text messaging it is very hard to depict the tone in which things are written. After about the tenth text message and countless interruptions sometimes I felt it would have been much more convenient just to pick up the phone and have a ten minute conversation where things could not be misinterpreted or go unnoticed.

Even now if I miss a call from work (or anyone for that matter) when calling them back I always find myself give a reason as to why I didn't answer their call.... Do I really need to explain why I am not at their beck and call 24 hours a day though??

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:
Levinson, P. 2009 New New Media, Pearson, Boston, Chapter 13 pp 186-191.

Political campaigns and Social Media

There are many positive and negative aspects of utilizing social media such as YouTube for political gains. YouTube has allowed people to share full-motion video online which has enabled a much wider audience of varied demographics to access and contribute to the political sphere. With increasing technology which is targeting a younger audience platforms such as YouTube are lower cost and have a higher impact than traditional media forms such as television. The downfall to platforms such as YouTube is that it allows the individual to manipulate materials through freedom of expression which can have a negative impact on the content at hand. For example political figures can become the subject of ridicule through satire and parodies. With mainstream media outlets such as news channels they are often biased and although they can and do portray negative sides to political figures they are not usually in the same form as that of parodies and satire. Germany (2008) which looked at the politician, ' John Edwards,' revealed that on his website only approximately 166,000 people viewed his video launch in the two years prior to election. Whereas with Obama a video that was released on YouTube, 'Robots Attack,' attracted this amount in the first 24 hours of its launch.

It just goes to show that by releasing a political video on YouTube can reach a far greater number of people than that on a political website. Now of course this does compare Obama who was and is of great interest and Edwards who was running for Presidency but it still goes to show that people are much more likely to access YouTube for videos. However perhaps there should be concern that the most popular video on YouTube with John Edwards is the one below..... what does this do for his reputation??!!
(Note that this is not the original video with the high views as it was not available for embedding!)
There is a decline in political awareness and following in younger generations and as YouTube is popular with younger people it does make accessing the information more appealing.

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:

http://www.youtube.com

Germany, J. B. 2009, ‘The Online Revolution’ in D. W. Johnson (Ed.) Campaigning for President: Strategies and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques, Taylor and Francis eLibrary, UK. pp 147-159 (Electronic Resource Library Catalogue)

Producer -----> Produ'S'er.....

It is extremely hard now to come across work that is creative and does not utilize the work or content of previous people or producers. The media forms that we are seeing seem to be recycled and relabelled with a little extra added in order to make them sparkle just that little bit more than the last time we sore them. It is often not until we really look into media forms and realize just how much this is happening. Perhaps it creates a sense of nostalgia in the viewer/consumer making it almost automatically recognisable, perhaps even initially just at the subconscious level.

By looking into just how much 'Produsage' really does occur in the media industry I decided to do a search and find examples of this and how there is really a declining trend in production.

Now I did not actually read 'My Sisters Keeper,' by Jodi Picoult, however before seeing the movie I was given a summary of the book and was particularly surprised at the ending where unexpected events occurred which would not have been the predicted outcome. On viewing the movie that was based upon the book they had manipulated the ending which would have followed the 'so-called' expected outcome which one would have predicted when first reading the book. I was relieved in a sense but also surprised that they could make a movie version of the book yet change the ending. However this is often the case as the producer of the movie may have a different vision of what s/he thought 'should' have happened in the movie, obviously with the Authors permission.

On the topic of movies,  'Sweet Home Alabama,' one of my all time favorites allows for the viewer/consumer to be the 'Produser.' On the dvd it has the 'normal' ending and an alternate ending which allows for the 'preferred' ending to be used.

Many songs have been revived, ripped off and manipulated in order to create perhaps a mashup of an 'oldie.' "You've Got the Love," a song now in the charts has been redone many times by various artists including, Florence and the Machines, Candi Staton, The New Voyager, and Joss Stone. Have a look at the following versions:

Similar?? Is this creative?? The current release by Florence and the Machines is certainly a good version but just how creative is it? They obviously have talent and have manipulated it into their own version.....

Now back onto the topic of movies..... One of the most popular family movies of all time and Disney's blockbuster, 'The Lion King,' could be labelled as 'Produsage' with its similarities to the Japanese comic 'Kimba the White Lion.' Even though the plot is different there are many characters and scenes which are visually very similar....

Many examples of 'Produsage' that are evident in Media forms are legal and have the permission of the original content producer however there must be many cases of where this is causing legal disputes..... and many that have gone undetected.... Surely we will be seeing more and more cases of content misuse and copying without permission ....

Have a look at the article below.... a consequence of 'Produsage!'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/04/2809848.htm

Although 'Produsage' enables media forms to be recognisable it could work against it too. For example if I were a big Madonna fan and then were to watch an upcoming episode of Glee where they base the show on the Material girl herself. This could work either way- I might really like it as it brings a sense of nostalgia and I can sing along to all of the songs- or on the other hand I might really hate it as the cast may totally destroy the sings....... The way that Glee incorporates well known songs into their show does also promote people to download the original versions of the songs. So the original producer may in fact benefit as well as the 'Produser.'

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:

http://www.youtube.com

http://a5.vox.com/6a00d414287db16a470110168437d5860c-500pi

http://www.beansays.wordpress.com

http://www.ala.org

http://www.hroman.com

Cybersex, Pornography....Freedom of Choice.....

There are some critics out there who believe that internet pornography can be compared to drugs such as Heroin. Sure there may be similarities in that pornography itself may cause a biological release of naturally occurring opoids and in a sense cause feelings of gratification. However not everyone who views internet porn does become addicted.

Debate surrounds the topic of whether pornography on the internet should be regulated by law. There are many ethical reasons and especially the assumed right of choice as to why pornography is an important reflection of the right of free speech in society. On the other hand there are many adverse consequences that can result from Internet Service Providers allowing pornography to be accessible through the internet. Pornography is an industry that caters to basic human instincts and generates much revenue.

Pornography can be seen as weakening the emotional relationships in society by diminishing the ties of affection, love and sex. This can be viewed as altering the relationship between men and women thus having effects on the family structure. In games such as Second Life avatars are engaging in sexual encounters and ‘apparently’ this is a large part of the game which does in fact appeal to many people who take part. How ‘real’ can this simulated sex be though?? If a person is married in the ‘real world’ and their avatar has sexual relations with another avatar is this considered cheating?

I know if I found my partner on Second Life having sexual encounters with another avatar I would feel disheartened I mean as there is a person on the other end of the engaging avatar there must be some sort of human gratification (??) involved.

Much mainstream pornography through its gendered discourse has elements of objectification, submission and violence However, there are problems associated with proven causation between the consumption of pornography and subsequent behaviours and attitudes.

For those suggesting censorship or mass content filtering there must be justification and some compelling evidence of a correlation between pornography (or cybersex) and harmful attitudes/ behaviour. It is not just a case of moral preference in choosing to consume (or not to consume) such media but in fact due to social implications.

The Rudd Government has proposed compulsory internet censorship based on filtering out materials deemed inappropriate at Internet Service Provider level. Those opposing the Government’s attempts to impose a nationwide filter say that it will not help to stop illegal behaviour such as child abuse but will have implications such as filtering out important materials and slow down the internet and make it more costly. They say that society has a right to free speech and that censorship in a liberal democratic society is unethical and dangerous. In their view, there is doubt whether such proposals would achieve the intended goals because much illegal material is actually traded on the black market through the internet.

The debate over filtering is inadequate. The evidence for significant and extended adverse consequences is poor.  However, there may be compelling reasons for social control once we understand the causal relationships involved. The debate seems not to have encouraged further research to provide any relevant evidence. The filtering technologies are poor and if applied, with handicap all internet uses, irrespective of the material they are trying to access and view.

For the time being filtering software at user level and personal responsibility may be the answer because such a response is a private and individual approach that has no further social constraining impact and presumably maximises the outcomes preferred by the individual for their own benefit.

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/10/adult6_wideweb__470x381,0.jpg
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs30/f/2008/103/0/f/McGeek___Cybersex__by_Rimfrost.jpg

Second Life... Or Get a Life!! On second thoughts.....

A couple of years back I watched my partner log into Second Life and create an avatar. He named ‘it’ or should I say his Avatar ‘Jonathon.’ Now for a guy named Jeff I wondered how he came up with this name.... I wondered if it was just a random name or if maybe he liked the name. It then amazed me that a 6 foot 4” slim build man would design an Avatar with grotesque facial features and about 100 kilos heavier than his true self. What would be the attraction of creating a ‘so-called’ less unattractive version of yourself... Well I guess the answer to that would be that my partner did not associate this character as an extension of his being but just as a way of ‘trying out’ the game.

He was under the pretense that it would be a quick visit to the game to see his work mate’s (in the real world) creation. He would teleport himself to his friend’s Avatar in order to see his virtual workshop that would simulate his ‘ideal’ workshop that he would create in the ‘real world’ one day in the future. I did surprise me that 30 something year old men that actually did have normal hectic lives could find this time to spend in this simulated world. What was even more surprising was that another work mate of my partner had even posted a ‘photo’ from Second-Life on his Facebook page in one of his albums of his Avatar and his Avatars Girlfriend. It was a post-card from Ayers Rock. Their Avatars had been on a holiday to Central Australia ... Well the Second Life Central Australia.... I wonder if it was love at first site. Did these two Avatars or the people controlling them actually feel any emotion for each other? I actually met both of these guys on the weekend and having heard a lot about both and forming constructs of both in my mind I did find myself thinking that these guys were both quite ‘normal.’

My question is then why did these guys feel the need to engage in this online experience that consumed many hours of both of their lives? Well I am guessing that they just find this another way of engaging socially in a way that will not have real-life consequences. Perhaps it is a way in which physical presence is eliminated and therefore removes this awkwardness when ‘socialising.’ But who knows they may have their own set’s of reason’s like I am sure many people that have an Avatar do. I am still not convinced that this is a great way to spend hours on end a day though. I can see how people can interact with a virtual world in a way that might replicate ‘real’ life but you never know whether others are there for the same reasons. I might just add that I did in fact create my own Avatar on Second Life yesterday (after a lengthy discussion of the topic) but after frustrations with technology and multiple crashings of my PC I deleted the program. Plus do I really need another form of distraction from my studying apart from the endless and ever-growing list that I already have... NO!

Could there perhaps be another Second Life wedding on the way.... check out this one with a cost of approx $300.... money well spent???

MISHACHARLIE ACKNOWLEDGES THE USE OF CONTENT:
http://www.youtube.com
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