Interoperability

We talked about interoperability in class today - lo and behold, Meebo is leading a coalition (incl Google) on interoperability between social networking sites: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/technology/19facebook.html?hp - do you remember interoperability of messenger clients (MSN messenger sharing clients with Yahoo messenger and it didn't catch on...)

Domestic Robocop

Augmented Reality as demonstrated by a Masters Architecture student http://vimeo.com/8569187

A New Way of Visualizing Data Perhaps? Art or Science?

This article from The Economist's special report on the power of visualizing data - is it art or science? The article has an unfinished feel - more like an undergraduate work than a Masters :) http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15557455

Article for interfaces class

Go to Culture Machine and download the Patrick Crogan article on the Wii for next week!

Posting on blogs: anyone out there?

i ask myself whether blogs used in a small group discussion may be counter-productive? posting articles, new stories, etc can stimulate group discussion but in a small group, is there incentive for active participation instead of passive readership? thoughts anyone on how to get to a discursive blog - thoughts, comments, etc

Channel 4 want feedback

Saw this today and thought it was a classic example of news programs wanting feedback from viewers, however they are now enticing them with the chance to win John Snow's Tie ?!?!?!?!

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/channel+4+news+survey+what+do+you+think/3534837

Charles Leadbetter - new Report on 'Cloud Culture'

The new British Council report on cloud culture available now as a pdf to download. This could be useful for next week's class so I'd advise you look at it!

Economist special report on social networking

Special report in the Economist on social networking in this months issue: see online article by Martin Giles http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15351002

How does the Economist view differ from a media theory or social science perspective?

The Dollhouse (Season 1) & Heidegger

i added a new blog to my Facebook profile (http://apps.facebook.com/theblog/view/28242/), being an experiment to reconcile today's culture (The Dollhouse series) and the theory of digital media and technology (in this case, Heidegger), through the language of new media

appreciate any feedback, thoughts and comments

The Rise of Tortious Liability for Internet Vigilantes in China: "Human Flesh Search Engine"

In China, the Tort Liability Law passed in late Dec 09 gives citizens the right to sue for infringment of their privacy (yes there are legal privacy protections in China contrary to other media reports). The law is a result of the building tension created by the use of the Internet and China's attempts to maintain control over the population. The "Human Flesh Search Engine" is the phenomenon of ordinary citizens turning to the Internet to identify criminals and officials guilty of corruption or other misconduct, and to publicize them to the detriment of the targeted individuals i.e. Internet vigilantism. This can be used not only by individuals but officials may also use similar tactics. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/28/stanley-lubman-will-an-expanded-right-of-privacy-deter-chinas-internet-vigilantes/

User Generated content Problems

Stumbled upon this news article online. Its taken from June but is interesting to see some of the problems that have arisen from the rise of user generated content, and how some corporations have taken advantage of it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8118577.stm

mashups

As a web 2.0 phenomenon, the concept of the "mashups" meets the web 2.0 criteria, including media convergence, participatory culture, collective intelligence and much more. The idea of the web as a platform for software programming by professionals and amateurs alike is compelling, as demonstrated by the variety of mashups possible http://www.programmableweb.com/mashups.

Apple's iPad

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8484823.stm
this is the link of iPad's functions.
i think i need a device like this.

a few stories

For the class on business models - apple's profits

For the class on digital music

And an interesting example of UGC as a force of protest

Week 2's Reading

2 – USER-GENERATED CONTENT

AND SOCIAL MEDIA

One of the peculiarities of digital media is that they simultaneously submerge us as never before in a global mass whilst also empowering us as individual producers of content. This class considers how we as individuals and groups have moved beyond being simple audiences of mass-produced and distributed broadcast content to become major content creators, self-broadcasters of our own lives and opinions and collaborative peer-producers of both immaterial and material products, goods and services. In particular I want to look at three processes that transform the media ecology – user-generated and mass distributed content, personal individual modes of intercommunication and social-networked modes of communication, all of which add up to the realm of what I call ‘me-dia’: of personally produced and meaningful content.

Research

- My tags and any other news stories relating to the topics below.

- The history of user-generated content. What antecedents can we find before the web? How did individual production occur in earlier eras?

- Individual mediated communication. How did individuals communicate with each other prior to digital media? What channels were available and how effective were they? The rise of peer-to-peer, of horizontal communication and ‘me-dia’ and its significance - what new forms of personal communication have appeared?

- Social media. The rise of social networks of communication. How did these operate prior to digital media. What social media are available and what is their significance?

- Case study of UGC and their form, functioning and effect. E.g. Youtube videos, channels and comments.

- Case study of horizontal media: the mobile phone, SMS and MMS

- Case studies of social media: Myspace and Facebook

Reading

Jenkins, H. (2006) ‘Introduction’ and ‘Conclusion’ in Convergence Culture, New York: New York University Press (pp. 1-24; 240-260).

O’Reilly, T. (2005) ‘What is Web 2.0?’, available at: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Further Reading

Bruns, A. (2008) (Ch. 2) ‘The Key Characteristics of Produsage’, in Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond. From Production to Produsage, NYC: Peter Lang Publishing.

Shirky, C. (2008) ‘Gin, Television and Social Surplus’, April 26^that: http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html

For critical perspectives upon Web 2.0 and a famous video explaining the concept, see:

Zimmer, M. (ed.) (2008) ‘Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0’, special issue of First Monday, Vol. 13, No. 3, 3^rd March, at http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/issue/view/263/showToc

Wesch, M. (2007) ‘Web 2.0: The Machine is Us/ing Us’, on Youtube, at: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

The following are the most famous texts discussing the rise of collective creation and user or fan production:

Benkler, Y. (2006) The Wealth of Networks, London; Yale University Press.

Bruns, A. (2008) Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond. From Production to Produsage, NYC: Peter Lang Publishing.

Burgess, J. (2009) Youtube. Online Video and Participatory Culture, Cambridge: Polity.

Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York: New York University Press.

Howe, J. (2008) Crowdsourcing, New York: Random House.

Leadbetter, C. (2008) We Think: The Power of Mass Creativity, London: Profile Books.

Shirky, C. (2008) Here Comes Everybody, London: Allen Lane.

Snickars, P. and Vonderau, P. (eds.) (2009) The Youtube Reader, National Library of Sweden.

Tapscott, D. (2007) Wikinomics. How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, London: Atlantic Books.

Critics of the Web 2.0 world of user-generated content include:

Allan, S. (2009) Cyburbia, New York: Little, Brown.

Keen, A. (2007) The Cult of the Amateur, London: Nicholas Brealey.

Siegel, L. (2008) Against the Machine, London: Profile Books.

Carr, N. (2005) ‘The Ammorality of Web 2.0’, 3^rd October, at: http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2005/10/the_amorality_o.php

And Terranova’s essay is essential. Reflect upon your own use of Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook…

Terranova, T. (2003) ‘Free Labour: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy’, at: http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/technocapitalism/voluntaryand http://www.uoc.edu/in3/hermeneia/sala_de_lectura/t_terranova_free_labor.htm

The Digital Edge

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