Art is Art

Art is Art. It doesn't matter if its been painted, sculpted, molded, chalked, or even colored.

And, in the last class, we discussed whether digital art should be accepted into a category of high standards in this topic.

My answer: yes

When watching those videos posted for us, all I could think about was how well they were done. How much detail was put in them. It is most definitely a group effort. It is not just solely one person when it comes to some digital art. It's a collaborative team, that's what makes it so neat.

The final product can be molded and manipulated many times through digital art, mistakes taken out - when in painting, you have to start all over.

It really shows me how far we have come in technology. That video games are so realistic, and people actually go attend concerts with computerized stars.

I wonder what's next?....   I personally like digital photography! and cant wait to see what the future holds for it, and the masterpieces created.

 

 

Weinberger Leadership Presentation

During our group discussion regarding fun activities the class would enjoy participating in, we came up with this idea of, let's call it, "getting lost within the internet". On a regular basis people can average probably visiting over 10 connecting websites via hyperlinks from a sole page. What would happen if you kept clicking hyperlinks from every page that you came across during a random trip through the net?

Our plan: to have the whole class all start on one website (a few to choose from of course), make them click at least ten to fifteen hyperlinks, and see where they would end up. Then, of course - write about it and explain their experience.

*sort of like the Wikipedia game mentioned in class, only bigger

...................................so, I tried it...............................

I went from a respectable news site to an actors self page of promotion after only 5 clicks. Amazing, the ground you can cover via the net is pretty much immeasurable.

That being said: I do agree with Weinberger's point of " the Internet is a distracting and ‘dizzying’ place that can often lead us to unexpected places". I, myself, was getting dizzy by all the side bars, ads, and the amount of hyperlinks shown. Distractions are behind every click, which in turn, gets users off their initial searches the majority of the time.

There's no way I or anyone else have the time or the energy to see everything on the internet. The amount of information that is made available to us through the World Wide Web is immense. Yes, its free flowing, which, I guess is a plus, but there's no barriers. It's a never ending track that we all keep running. There is no end, like a book or article. There's always a point, an opinion, an argument being made, a different side being shown, an ad to click, or a picture to see on the internet.

If you get bored...

Ever since we watched that stupid "chicken on a raft" video in class awhile back I've been wondering what other kind of pointless sites are out there. What makes sites like the one above entertaining enough to watch for more than a few minutes? What signals are sent to our brains to keep our attention?

If you ever get bored in a class, check these pointless websites out:

1) "I love you like a fat lady loves apples"
All you have to do is use your mouse to move the arm of the woman to pick up the apple and eat it. After, you do it again, and again, and again...fascinating, but addicting. I don't know what's better, the drawing of the woman or the piano background music?
http://www.iloveyoulikeafatladylovesapples.com/

2) "The secret Door"
Pretty self explanatory: you push the door and see where it takes you. Wherever you end up, you get a 360 degree tour (like Google maps).  Oh, and the best part is that every time the door is open, the different destination point. Go explore!
http://www.safestyle-windows.co.uk/secret-door/

3) "Hue Color"
How well can you really see color?
 http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

4) "Sinuous"
Avoid The Dots! (This one is an actual game and is pretty fun)
http://www.sinuousgame.com/

5) "Forestation"
Build your own forest at the click of a button. Have fun planting different trees and placing them where ever you want on screen.
http://www.forestation.com/trees.asp

Personally, I think we keep watching or playing in hopes that the sites will change, that they will do or reveal something different than their norm.We cant understand the simplicity to them, so we complicate the situation by trying to grasp that there has to be more to the site than shown - when really there isn't.

That, or we all really do enjoy playing mindless games, and watching pointless things....

Nahhh - we all must just be really un-interested in lectures.

Average Room, Little People, Huge Connection

"The Smartest Person In The Room, Is The Room"

 

In his book "Too Big To Know" technologist David Weinberger describes how the internet is changing our concept of knowledge. Instead of relying simply on books or articles to look up information, our knowledge has become networked. Any person can now connect socially through the net and relay their own information about a subject. It is no longer only renowned experts or degree-holding doctorates information that can be published . It is changing both what we know, and how we know.

 

"Old knowledge institutions like newspapers, encyclopedias, and textbooks got much of their authority from the fact that they filtered information for the rest of us. If our social networks are our new filters, then authority is shifting from experts in faraway offices to the network of people we know, like, and respect."

 

So, about that saying up top... As the internet evolves and more information is flooded into it, the amount of knowledge available is becoming too large for any one person to understand. The net has surpassed us in comprehending. Therefore, the room, (or network) acts as a connection between those who are hosted within it, their thought and thesis's, and connects them to every other room along side it.

 

"As knowledge becomes networked, the smartest person in the room isn’t the person standing at the front lecturing us, and isn’t the collective wisdom of those in the room. The smartest person in the room is the room itself: the network that joins the people and ideas in the room, and connects to those outside of it"

 

It is this vast connection that is changing our concept of knowledge. Every aspect of life can be mentioned or at least shown on the net. Our realm of learning has become much bigger in the last few decades, that we are going to continue to have problems of clarifications or questions regarding facts. The net, along with technology is constantly evolving, and in turn, so will our knowledge. Do we know what's next, no. I think the question is do we really want to find out?

 

"It’s the connecting of knowledge—the networking—that is changing our oldest, most basic strategy of knowing. Rather than knowing-by-reducing to what fits in a library or a scientific journal, we are now knowing-by-including every draft of every idea in vast, loosely connected webs. And that means knowledge is not the same as it was. Not for science, not for business, not for education, not for government, not for any of us"



Stuart Edge

Your TO-DO List:

Go to YouTube.com
Search Stuart Edge
Watch Every Video He Has Ever Posted!

Why???

Because he makes some pretty damn good ones!

To be completely honest with you all, I do not know much about this man who takes these videos. Only that he is/was a college student (I think) and that he is crazy talented with using social media for self-publishing and promoting himself and his videos. His slogan, or saying that can be found on Facebook is "making YouTube videos that make YouSmile." He has everything from a YouTube account (obviously), Twitter, FB, Instagram, and even his own blog. He is using every outlet possible to get his creative abilities out in the open, and it seems like its working. Some of his videos have reached over 25 million views! He has been written about in papers, talked about on Late Night Television, and most likely interviewed via the radio - he is everywhere!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stuartedge/featured
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/10jkXog
Twitter: http://bit.ly/stuwitter
Instagram: http://bit.ly/inststu
Blog: http://bit.ly/YKeWSO

Huffington Post Articles: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/stuart-edge

In particular, there is one video of his that is my favorite: The Original, first-video posted, "Mistletoe Kissing Prank", which was published in December of 2012. The video shows people being asked a survey on winter activities, specifically, kissing under the Mistletoe. Would they do it? Coincidently, a mistletoe somehow pops up out of nowhere and the two interviewers kiss whoever hey are questioning at that moment. It is a holiday filled, feel-good, funny video that made a huge impact on the internet. It was only natural for Stuart to continue with his mini-movie's and his rise to  fame with other cool kissing prank ideas...

 

 

 

 

Stuart Edge likes to choose college campuses among his top locations for pranks. Who knows, maybe someday students we'll see him here at Potsdam. In the meantime, as we wait for his arrival...SUBSCRIBE!!!!

 

24 Hour Challenge

Alright, so as many of you already might be aware of, there is this 24 hour drinking challenge happening on Facebook that seems to be spreading like wildfire. The challenge consists of people making a video of themselves chugging a beer of choice as fast as possible, and then challenging three new people with the same task. Every new person who gets challenged (or tagged in the post) has 24 hours to make a video of themselves drinking. Newsfeeds everywhere are flooding with this crazy new "trend".

 

 

I can't help but wonder why this "trend" or "craze" has spread through the internet by Facebook and YouTube, and not others. All I can think of is all the posts that people write on their wall for others to copy and post on their own. For example: "If you support animal rights, please put this as your status." ( + there would be a saying or small paragraph before the request.) No one Ever does it ..... so why this? Because there's alcohol involved? What psychological steps are taken in our own minds to think that doing something like this is a better thing to show support of rather than topics like cancer? Is it socially acceptable? Is it cool? What about all those future employers, will they think this is a skill that will help us in the office?

 

Personally, I'm a Whiskey drinker, so this challenge is not for me. And although I do find some enjoyment watching people chug to see how fast is it humanly possible to finish a beer - I still think its stupid.  The internet hosts some crazy things, and yes, entertainment is obviously at its peak with this video (watching friends chug their favorite beers), but so is obliviousness to consequences and loss of self respect.  Catch up to your dignity people, so what If you can drink a beer in 10 seconds? I'd be more impressed if you succeeded in the Cinnamon Challenge. 

Facebookers

Okay, so earlier on in the semester I wrote a blog on what not to post on social media. It seemed to be a pretty popular read, so I figured I'd take the same idea and tweak it a little bit >>>

Earlier today I found a site called Social Media Today which hosted a post entitled "11 Things You Need to Immediately Stop Doing on Facebook." The author of the article, Daniel Zeevi, states in the opening paragraph that "Facebook is the most popular social network with over 1 billion active users. And with great popularity comes some shameful characters ..."  

Right away, reader's can tell that this piece of writing is going to announce the most annoying things that people do on Facebook, and to immediately stop if you are one of them. Take a look:

http://socialmediatoday.com/daniel-zeevi/1312321/11-things-you-need-immediately-stop-doing-facebook

Now, I realize the importance of Facebook in our everyday lives, hell, I'm on it everyday. It acts as a third community for me: I have my home town, college town, and internet town. But with every community, comes those people, those neighbors, that you just cant stand and who are always showing up outside your door with baked goods. The one's you get so aggravated at because a) they are always posting b) inviting you to play stupid games like candy crush c) poking you (which is way out of style or d) posting about how perfect their lives or relationships are.

Again, Facebook is not a place for everyone to know everything bout you, or care. We should all be focused on our own lives, rather than reading old posts of people, whom the majority of them, we don't even talk to or see on a daily bases. I find Facebook to be just one epic site of gossip and personal judgments. If I post something wrong, say something out of my supposed "character" (which isn't even my real self on the internet), or upload the wrong photos, I am definitely going to be judged for it. People's behavior changes erratically on social media networks. I guess I have mixed emotions regarding the site, and on whether its really a healthy communication device for society or not. Cyber bullying, another blog I wrote about, is easier on sites like this, and finding information on people is cake. I think people need to step away from the computer screens and go play outside for a change. Stop being that annoying self absorbed, judgmental person on the internet whose comparing themselves to the thousands of others on the media network, who cares? You are who you are, you don't need to do stupid things, or post ridiculous amounts of information about yourself to get noticed. We have plenty of snow outside now, go play.

Zeevi's post is both sarcastic and hilarious, it is one I found myself smiling and agreeing with the whole way through. Facebook really is a whole new world, with people who are far from normal.