Creative Video--UPDATE

Professor Baldwin,
As I told you in class on Thursday, I had done my video at the library, and I was unable to retrieve any work that I did there.  I was rushing and running late for class and it wouldn't let me e-mail the video to myself, and YouTube was being extremly slow.  This is all that I have, and I have tried multiple ways to download this video, although I was unable to find any embedded video downloaders (that didn't look sketchy and would put some killer virus on my computer).  I wanted to add some music to it, but I just thought that maybe I could be CREATIVE...and just add a link to an MP3 that you could play while watching my trailer ?  I put a lot of work into doing this, and I really like it the way it is, I just need some music to put in there to make it more worth while to watch.

YouTube Video (play while watching the video trailer)

http://youtu.be/DOYvhumpDZw

Final Paper- Cyber Bullying and Youtube

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Yk5Vqcv-1YS4LYaYoTByU7rDOWILo0UERMscsSPStQ/edit?hl=en_US#

Places I've Been

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217447453040123374293.0004b1cb76bf48cd960c7&msa=0&ll=38.933776,-80.57373&spn=6.143155,14.27124

Thoughts on Creative Project

I think that we have a lot of great ideas for this project.  With forming a social network site, it was certainly hard at first considering trying to get 20 peoples opinions to agree is hard in itself.  But with such a topic, we are all very knowledgable on this subject.  Social networking sites are something we are all very familiar with, which snowballed into tons of different ideas for this project.  I think that once we get it all together, we're going to come up with an awesome ending product.  Incorporating others opinions on social networking is good too, because then we'll fully understand what it takes to create the ultimate website, made for our users.  I think it will good to come up with our own ideas for DubU which would make our site different then others, not just take "screen shots" from websites such as facebook or twitter.  With all of our creativity put together, I think we will be able to create an amazing idea for DubU!

Found

I have never heard of Found before, but looking around it really interested me as a reader.  Why is it that we love to read watch and learn things about other people that we don't know at all?  It's like it makes our lives seem better by reading things by other people that are more dramatic or embarrassing.  Reading some of things in Found magazine interested me, but I'll never understand why.  For example, when the boy confesses his love to his substitute teacher.  I liked that one in particular because it was almost creepy to me, and I really like creepy things and situations (as long as their not happening to me).  Well, when I say "like", I mean its purely entertaining to me.  I wasn't able to view a lot on this website because it kept giving me error pages.  However, I think this is website I would like to visit in the future.  Reading things like this make you interested in what's going to come next; the next bigger, better, weird thing the next person will find.  But not only did I find kind of weird things on this page, I also found something that sparked a little bit of saddness.  Someone found something that was written by a friend that had passed away.  That would make anyone sad, but then it is also uplifting when you find it because it makes you remember the great times you had with that person.  "Finding" things can create many different types of emotions for everyone.

Facebook

If we're friends on facebook, does that mean were friends in real life? Most likely not. As we all know, Facebook is a social networking site that has taken over the world.  Interestingly enough, I had to write a paper analyzing my Facebook profile, and on Microsoft Word, if I didn't capatalize Facebook it told me I was spelling it wrong.  Facebook has gotten so big that it has taken over all of our lives.  How many times a day do you catch yourself saying "So I saw on Facebook that..." or "So and so friend requested me today...".  To some it is just a social networking site, and to some it is a way of life.  Personally, I really like social networking.  I have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and an old Myspace account floating around somewhere that I haven't used for years.  But, in all honesty, I am kind of getting sick of Facebook.  I feel as if it causes more problems amongst people than it is even fun anymore.  I'd rather Tweet than be on Facebook.  Twitter is just a place to share my thoughts, interest, and lifestyle; not a place where people can stalk the shit out of my life.

The World of Wikipedia

Wikipedia is one of the most used websites, yet one of the most unreliable at the same time.  Personally, I like to use Wikipedia to discover new information, however I then have to check the validity of it since anyone using the internet is able to change the information to whatever they want.  Ever since high school, I have always been told not to use Wikipedia for any type of paper I am writing, since it is an open site for anyone to edit.  However, its hard not to use it because when someone tells you not to, it makes you want to use it even more.  What makes it even harder not to use the website is that generally when you type something into your search engine, Wikipedia is most likely one of your first options to choose.  I do like to read Wikipedias to gain some general knowledge of the subject, then find my research elsewhere.

I learned that Wikipedia is ran by a non-profit organization- The Wikimedia Foundation.  Wikipedia makes revenue by purchasing new servers to keep it running.  The Wikimedia Foundation also relies on public donations, which come from fundraising that happens about three to four times a year.  Wikimedia also recieves grants and corporation sponsors.  It just amazes me how to site can mantain its stability without the use of advertising, which you rarely ever see.  People who write for Wikipedia are called "Wikipedians".  Anyone who wants to write for Wikipedia is allowed to, and you can post whatever you want.  The number of "named accounts" is currently at 15,518,247; however only a minority of these accounts are accessed frequently to create and edit Wikipedia pages.  As if that number isn't big enough already, there is also a large number of unknown , unregistered Wikipedians that contribute to the site.  After a conducted survey as to why people contribute to Wikipedia, the main response was simply just a leasurely activity, and are motivated internally by feeling "efficacious and self confident."

Lastly, there are five pillars to Wikipedia which consist of:
Blue Pillar: Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia
Green Pillar: Wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view
Yellow Pillar: Wikipedia is free content that anyone can edit, use, modify, and distribute
Orange Pillar: Editors should interact with each other in a respectful and civil manner
Red Pillar: Wikipedia does not have firm rules

Final Annotated Bibliography and Abstact

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VtNSDvvYaneOrXQeAw15EDBB7D-RQlFx5Iay2U4XETA/edit?hl=en_US#

10/11 Updated Abstract/Annotated Bib

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VtNSDvvYaneOrXQeAw15EDBB7D-RQlFx5Iay2U4XETA/edit?hl=en_US#

Youtube-ing

First off I'm going to start off by saying I'm boarderline obsessed with Youtube.  I love finding new videos that I or my friends find funny and sharing them with my friends.  I could watch a lot of them over and over again.  Its weird how much Youtube has evolved since the first video ever uploaded.  It's easy to see how many different types of things you could post to Youtube considering the fact that the first one ever uploading was a boy with some elephants.  Now theres videos of comedians, video trailers, music videos, mp3's, dancing, whatever you can think of; it's most likely there.  I actually remember being in 10th grade I think, when the "Numa Numa" video came out of the boy in his room.  That was the first Youtube video I watched, and I thought it was so funny.  From that video alone, there are many parodies of the Numa Numa everywhere.  It's crazy to think how one Youtube video can inspire so many people to make ones like it, producing many more videos to post on the website.

Another thing that I feel has been really popular lately is cats.  They are used a lot in memes, commericals, and also Youtube.  Just like the video posted about kittens playing classical music, other ones I know of are: Kittens inspired by Kittens http://youtu.be/FtX8nswnUKU , Cats inspired by Kittens inspired by Kittens (a parody) http://youtu.be/PnJXqAlcN1U , and this one of a Cat suckling the air http://youtu.be/WLveMNQ9U9w .  What makes cats so funny, I'll never know, but Youtube is a place where people like to watch and upload these videos, and I hope it doesn't stop!

Youtube is a place of self expression of any degree, and I think its a great way for people to share things with millions of other people over the web.  Whether you're trying to get a point across, or just have a little fun, Youtube allows you to explore a world that lets you in on other peoples lives.

Annotated Bib so far

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-DY1y5ZnrgJf9zHtiIfMlBksjQWkPJSi3u2RaadVnh4/edit?hl=en_US

Finally, some thoughts on my Abstract

After posting some links to Diigo today, I finally had some insight on what I could possibly write about.  Websites like peopleofwalmart.com and awkwardfamilyphotos.com humor people every day with pictures of people who aren't acting the "norm" I guess you would say.  Awkward Family Photos is pictures that people post themselves so I wouldn't consider it mean or offensive; obviously they wanted the world to get a laugh out of that.  However, websites like People of Wal-Mart, aren't meant to be nice, it is obvious we are making fun of all these people behind their back.  Which, would be considered mean or bullying, if they are unaware their pictures are being taken.  Then, I have thought about websites like thedirty.com or failbook.com , where you post pictures of people you dont like so that other people can comment or make fun.  Sometimes it actually disgusts me what people say on these things because they aren't just kind of mean, they are just downright hateful.  Either way, its not right to do.  If I ever found out I was on one of those websites I would seriously be upset.  So, I guess I have a start to my abstract, and we'll see how it goes!

Ehh...Thoughts on my abstract

I'm going to be honest here when I say, I really have no idea what to do my abstract on.  Im actually kind of confused as to whether we're supposed to relate our abstract to our video trailer, or if it is supposed to be about our video trailer; or if it even has to do with our trailer at all.  I guess I'll have to look at my syllabus to figure it out, hopefully I come up with something sooner than later :)

6-8

In these particular chapters, I learned some new things.  The section about community space hybrids caught my attention especially.  I had never heard of Dogster and Catster before and I actually thought it was really funny that there are actually social networking sites out there for animals (controlled by the "parents" of course).  I also thought it was really cute how Dogster has "forums, classifieds, Gimme some paw, treats" and etc.  As I was reading this though, everything I feel also relates to other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.  But, this website isn't free, just like most social networking sites; they make their money off advertising.  Because if you are clicking through a social networking site, the site is smart enough to place ads on the page that attract your interests; which in return makes them money when you click the ads.  This section of Remix really grabbed my attention because it had a lot to do with advertising, which is my major.  It gave some neat facts such as how Newspapers derive 37% of their total advertising income from classifieds.  I also learned that revenue from classified ads (such as Craigslist) account from around 43% of total advertising revenues from major papers.

Video Trailer

Search Story -- Google Plus vs Facebook

Thoughts on the Trailer

Making a trailer I think will be an awesome project.  I have made videos before with my friends, so I have experience with clipping them together, adding music, all the fun stuff! I have thought about a few ideas, mostly dealing with Google.  I have either decided to do Google+ and how it is better than all the other social networking sites that have been establish so far.  However, making a video about that may be kind of boring.  So then I proposed that I do a trailer about how Google is taking over the world.  But then, I am also really bad at making decisions, so I could quite possibly have a completely different topic by next week.  I guess we will see.

September 13th...

I have decided to go with Google+ vs Facebook. There are many differences and similarities between the two.  I will probably use screenshots of the two social networking sites in my trailor, and as far as quotes maybe try to find some quotes from the creators of both sites on their own sites.  I will use eyecatching images and headlines to capture the viewers full attention throughout my video.  I hope this can eventually show people what the pros and cons are between these two social networking sites.  This will be an informative video, I hope.

Nyle "Let The Beat Build"

Since we have been talking about copyrights and youtube, I thought of this amazing video I had seen a few years back.  A group of people re-create their version to a Lil Wayne song called "Let The Beat Build."  They don't really use all the same words, but it sounds exactly the same, just instrumental, with a few extra words.  What I really liked is the whole video is shot in one take; extremely talented.  I wonder if this would be a violation to copyright? Either way, this is a great youtube video

Lessig's Remix Response

The introductory part of Chapter 1 was something that really grabbed my attention.  Videos are uploaded to youtube all the time, who would ever think you'd have to get permission to use some of them.  It's kind of sad that a woman uploading a video of her baby dancing to Prince's song could be a violation to copyrights.  Wouldn't this mean every person that ever did the Soulja Boy, Dougie, or Cupid Shuffle would have to take theirs down too?  It would take days to find all these videos, and I really don't think it is fair for the woman to have to take this cute video of her baby off, when there is tons of other videos out there "violating" copyrights.  I don't agree with her having to take it off, as a matter of fact, I don't think any videos should ever have to be removed.  People do parodies of other peoples things all the time, 99% of the time, not trying to steal their stuff.  It's called inspiration for a reason, to create an idea, I feel as if you are always inspired by someone else to create this idea.  In my opinion, Universal took this case way too far by not backing down, you really took this woman to court over this?  Do you need money that bad?

As I write this I wonder if things I have ever done could get me in trouble.  Say that I sing karaoke, and my friends record it and put it on youtube as a joke.  I guess this could happen to me?  Somethings I just don't really agree with on copyright rules.  I feel that if your intentions aren't malicious, there shouldn't be a punishment.

Response to the Responses about "Internet Natives"

There is a similar pattern in the majority of the responses to the question "Are you an Internet Native?".  In the world today, people in their mid-thirties (or so) and younger, have grown up with the luxury of having the internet basically at their finger tips at all times.  It is very common to have a computer, and to of had one for quite awhile.  More than once, I noticed AOL popping up a lot in peoples postings.  When AOL first came out, I feel like not very many people had it, and I know at least with my friends, if you had AOL you were "so cool."  I guess simply for the fact that you had Instant Messanger, but once AIM came out, and you didn't need the full AOL, maybe thats where it started going downhill.  The main focus of people our age with AOL was the instant messaging part.  Maybe that's where AOL crashed, seperating the messager from the actual internet.  Technology evolves all the time, and we always wanted the next emerging media. 

wordle 2

so fun

First Wordle

my first wordle-- got it from my twitter!

First Post

I've never posted before sooo.....here goes nothin :)