http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYrfNaCbFPg

Blog 12

The film "Rip" was a documentary film about the outdated copyright laws in America. It goes to show how corruption in the media industry has made the creation of art more and more difficult. There are many scenarios that show how copyright laws are not only making the creation of art more difficult, but in some cases is preventing scientific advancements.

Lawrence Lessig talks about such issues in his book, Remix. One main point i picked up on that is shared in both, is our inability to create new works from the past. There is an example of a man who tries to draw an adult version of Mickey Mouse, only to be "destroyed" by the Disney Corp. But in reality, most Disney classics are rip off of other older stories...so who's right?

Both do agree though, that while there should be laws in place, it is vital that we update our laws to keep up with the fast pace technology world that we live in, where the sharing of any kind of information is virtually easy as 1,2,3.

Blog 11

A commercial economy is defined as the exchange in terms of a price. On the other hand, a sharing economy is defined in terms of the value of an object or service compared to another. In a sharing economy goods are also traded for their value not for their monetary value.

These two different economies are used to train us to deal with the dispersion and exchange of goods and services. We swap thing amongst one another in a sharing economy while we trade money for other things in a commercial economy. Simply just buying something at the store is a good example of a commercial economy, while a site like wikipedia is a good example of a sharing economy, where you can use the site for information as well as upload information for others to use.

These two economies are important to Lessig's main argument. He wants to show that while both economies matter to one another, they cannot exist without the other. This is quite similar to the RO/RW argument Lessig brings up and how the complete understanding of these two economies can lead to better business success online.

Blog 10

I found this remix to be really interesting: http://www.themusicninja.com/hip-hop-led-zeppelin-stairway-to-hip-hop-heaven-gramatik-remix/

I liked this song because I felt it encompassed much of what Lessig was talking about the "digital cupboard", where only a few separate ingredients create one dish, but when new ingredients are added, it can change the dish completely. This remix caught my attention right away as I am a big fan of Led Zeppelin, and an avid fan of remixed music. This new song by the producer Gramatik, provides listeners with another mellow yet bubbly remix.

Another point that I might relate my song to is when Lessig states "the meaning comes not from the content of what they say; it comes from the reference." Most people, when browsing through their music collection usually stop and enjoy some Led Zeppelin (if they know whats right for them), because the already know that it is enjoyable music. When remixes emerge using popular songs such as Stairway to Heaven, people seem to stop and listen only because they have heard the original before.

Blog 9

Lawrence Lessig really tries to open one's eyes with the introduction to his book: Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Ecomomy, takes a look at different examples of how the recording industry has led itself the becoming the "police" of the music world, who are trying to stop others from breaking the copyright laws that are in place for our country. Girl Talk is an up and coming musician who is breaking all the boundries by creating "mash-ups" of hundreds of songs into one. According to Lessig, this is how "our" generation goes about creating new things, by building on the past.

Lessig states that the difference between a RW culture and RO culture is that, in a RW culture "ordinary citizens" will "read" their culture by listening to or by reading representations of it. Then going back and creating or re-creating from things they have observed. The RO culture on the other hand is "less practiced in perfomance or amateur creativity, and more comfortable with simple consumption". Lessig fears that since we are living in a RO world, artists like Girl Talk will make it harder for others to build off of.

Blog 7

The seven laws that de Bourgoing brings up about the ever changing style that Hip-Hop music encompasses really helps one understand the real meaning of how hip hop has used technology to embrace the fast paced world. The first law shows how sites like Facebook and Twitter were becoming one of the main places for new artists to display their music, and the process of "leaking" a song is becoming more and more common in order to create a buzz about a new album.

Looking at how these laws compare to the first half of the semester, I noticed right away that involvement of the web used in many music genres these days really defines our generation. No longer do we go to the store to buy a CD, rather we find songs all over the web, in music blogs, through social networking sites.

Paul Miller then takes a look at how the hip hop culture is "innovative and it can absorb almost anything". The rhythm science that hip hop creates brings up new ways people can exchange their cultures with one another.

Blog 6

What are the key points/terms from Jenkins? How do they (or do they) connect with the key points from Weinberger?

There were three main points Jenkins wanted to focus on through out his book. He looks at the relationships between three concepts-media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence. Media convergence just means that content is now able to intertwine itself among many different devices. No longer do we need a "book" to read a book. Participatory culture looks at how media producers and consumers now have different roles, where instead of looking at the two as separates, think of them as one; but following a new set of "rules". And finally, collective intelligence, looking at how the power of a collection of information from different sources from all over the globe. I don't really see how these point connect with Weinberger, where he talks about different types of new organizational techniques.

Blog 5

Weinberger, relying on German philosopher Heidegger, says that "the meaning of a particular thing is enabled by the web of implicit meanings we call the world" (170). First, describe what he means by this. Second, explain how this is relevant to the third order of order. Third, draw/sketch/photoshop the following: choose a song that is important to you in some way. Draw the implicit web of meanings that make this song important to you. That is, make the implicit explicit. Ask yourself: what would a computer need to know in order to understand the relevance of this song in my life? (yes, a computer)

When the philosopher Heidegger, says that "the meaning of a particular thing is enabled by the web of implicit meanings we call the world" I believe he is trying to explain how each and everything we use in this world has some sort of process of formation before becoming the final result. In the example he used, the hammer, has all different parts that make up its uses. From the tree that the handle is made of, to the nails needed to make a hammer what it really is, Heidegger looks at these "items" from a very interesting angle.

This theory may be somewhat relevant to his third order, where we are "externalizing meaning". Most content and metadata is digitized these days so searching for particular items in large database is becoming easier to find due to the numerous amount of other "things" connected in someway to your query.

A song that is important to me would have to be Fake Empire by The National. I first heard this song a few summers ago, and I just felt like this song really represents the youth of Pullman (being a life long Pullman local).

(Picture coming soon..scanner problems)

Blog 4

Blog 3

Weinberger says, "Reality is multifaceted. There are a lot of ways to slice it. How we choose to slice it up depends on why we're slicing it up." Go back to the thing you described organizing on Tuedsay's blog. How might someone else organize this item? What does how YOU organize it say about what you value and who you are?

The digital media libraries of students these days are becoming somewhat astronomical, compared to libraries 5 years ago. We are collecting so much information from all different sources, whether it be music blogs, video clips, or movies. So how do we go about storing this information?

I personally have over 500 GB of just random "stuff" on my external hard drive, some of which I don't believe I've touched in over 3 years. But I do seem to have a very odd way of organizing my materials. As I was scrolling through my collection, I notices that I have everything sorted out by genre. My movies, music, even class work seems to all fall into some general category. While this may work for me, it could prove to be a disaster for others looking for certain material.

Someone else might organize such a library to be a bit easier to use. For example, alphabetizing their music albums or artists, or by last item used or downloaded. My download folder is set to list items as they are downloaded just because I am able to remember it better mentally. I guess it is up to each indiviual about how they might go about organizing their libraries.

Blog 2

Summarize what you see as the key points from the chapters. Second, describe one thing in your life you spend time keeping organized. Describe why the order you choose works for you.

Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger provides an unique look into the way we go about organizing our lives. The book begins by talking about how browsing for items in a library has changed over the years, mostly with the help of technology. iTunes is an example, he uses, of how the user has so much control over how their own libraries of music. Mixing and matching playlists to suit every mood or feeling has allowed for a more friendlier user experience.

Chapter 1 starts out with a look into how we organize every part of our life. Whether it be storage containers to books, we always have someway of organizing each item in a way that is familiar to us. Our digital photo collection is another good example of our organization routines. We choose certain photos to upload online, while others never leave their original folders. Our photo libraries have also become so huge that we don't remember photos for their pictures, rather their id number or tag. The chapter continues as Weinberger takes an in-depth look at how these changes have occurred over time. These changes of organization don't just apply to ourselves but to other aspects of life as well. The Library of Congress has had to change how they organize their documents to keep up with the times. He then looks at three orders of organization while comparing them with the Bettmann Archive. Each order looks at a different way of organizing things. For example, providing a description of a photo for each one in your library.

Chapter 2 looks at a part of organization: alphabetization. Weinberger takes a look at how the process of alphabetization started. The notion of alphabetizing things came at a very early time, where philosophers such as Adler came up the idea of a "encyclopedia", where everything was recorded. The book then looks at how the encyclopedia came about, emphasizing on how it was organized.

One aspect of my life that I find myself organizing all the time is my library of digital media. While I do have a extensive collection of music, I find myself organizing other medias I have stored on my computer as well. For example, my movie collection is sorted by genre, while many of my other friends have memorized their libraries by "last used" or alphabetical. My pictures are also organized in a interesting manner. Photos that I want others to see I have posted on Facebook, but there are some photos (family gathering, trips, old school photos), that I have stored in a completely separate folder. I guess everyone organizes things in a way that makes sense to themselves.

Blog 1

Describe what you see as the most important idea from this article given your own future professional goals--what can/should you take with you? What is the most exciting web application you've seen in the past year? What is exciting about it?

Before reading "Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On" I had some understanding about how the "evolution" of Web 2.0 has had dramatic impact on our entire society, even world. I totally agree with Tim O'Reilly's statement that the web is the new platform and that the internet is rapidly changing at a global level. Looking at O'Reilly's newest article about Web 2.0, there were a few ideas and concepts that caught my attention. Wikitude's travel guide application was amazing. I never really thought that such apps were possible. The fact that you can look through your smartphone at a building or structure and have this app find all possible information about it is astounding.

After college, I would like to find a job in the film industry, mainly animation or special effects. The "new" internet has allowed artists from all over the world to collaborate and show off their works for companies to view. While reading this article related to my profession include sensor technology, how newer smartphones have been equipped with all kinds of senors, senors that serve all types of purposes from GPS to a bar code scanner, or how Microsoft Photosynth is using computer power to synthesize 3D images, which reveals parts of the image not visible on a 2D photo.

With the rise of smartphones, the use of apps has become a vital part of our society. One of the coolest and quite interesting apps I have come across would have to be an app called Talk to Me. This app allows users traveling in a foreign country to be able to communicate with others speaking the native language. For example, one might need to know where the hospital is. So they would ask their phone the question, in English, and the app is able to translate it back into any language and can be played aloud for others to hear. While this app is mainly used on smartphones, it can be used as a web app as well. In recent news, Talk-to-Me is also being used at the United Nations to help ambassadors from all over the world communicate.

References:

O'Reilly, Tim, and John Battelle. "Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On - by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle." Web 2.0 Summit 2010 - Co-produced by UBM TechWeb & O'Reilly Conferences, November 15 - 17, 2010, San Francisco, CA. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. .