Time Frames

I'm glad to see someone is studying the conventions and rules of the comic art form. Personally I have learned much from Chris Ware, one of the most innovative comic artists I've read. Enjoy!

CHRIS WARE LINK

Also good.....A Softer World

Mythinfromation

The hottest issue in new media is the surveillance state. Having a devise in my pocket with GPS, a microphone, and a camera which is wirelessly connected to a larger network, I am intensely concerned about this issue. 

Obviously no one is listening in on me. The idea of anyone really caring about what I'm doing is ridiculous. However, with increased storage capabilities, I bet someone's recording everything I do. Why not? Why wouldn't companies or the government record everything I do. If not to save all he black mail they can get, then for marketing analytics at least. 

When people discovered that facebook was being used as a research tool for advertisers, they flipped. People felt betrayed, exploited, but worse they felt they had been spied on. If companies are studying me to find out how better to sell me something, or design something which I may buy, aren't I all the better for it? 

Brenda Laurel

Laurel takes a unique, yet vital approach in her analysis of new media- she looks through an Aristotelian lens. By this I mean she looks at computers from a humanistic perspective, using well defined models established for other forms of art. 

I feel this is vital as new media pervades nearly every aspect of the human experience. I can't function anymore without interacting with an some sort of electronic device...unfortunately. Without humanists involved in the design and creation of these devices, my life would be dull and grey. However, I wonder if we would have adopted our technologies to the extent that we have if they hadn't been designed with purely engineering thought.

The Media Monopoly

Despite the ever growing amount of media out there for our consumption, Bagdikian points out that fewer and fewer people control it. This is frightening. 

But what is more frightening is the threat that big business poses on the possibilities posed by the internet. The coercion of Napster into corporate hands is a key example of such a great service being destroyed by the financial and legal pressures of big business. The NMR posits that two way communication may one day be limited by big corporations. Indeed, many internet service providers like Time Warner Cable attempt to restrict the upload and download speeds of their internet users, as well as the speed at which specific sites are allowed to be uploaded. 

I argue that due internets primary communicative capability, these powerhouses of the capitalist system will have no option not only to keep the communication capabilities of the internet at a status quo, but will actually attempt to improve them. With phenomenons such as twitter and facebook, what people really want from the internet are social communicative capabilities. Since capitalists are in the game of making money, they have strong incentives at improving these services.

Thoughts on Video Art

Bill Viola is considered to be one of the most high profile video artists. His work is beautiful and, more than any other video artist, "lyrical." However, we have to question the role of the video artist in an image centric society.

In the world of video, video art is normally makes us reconsider the form as opposed to communicating a message. Looking to Nam June Paik, one sees that his experiments in video art clearly influenced the early MTV aesthetic. This aesthetic dominated airwaves while the corporate music industry filtered its messaging through. 

Through this we begin to see both the dangers and powers of explorations in video art. As film and TV are arguably the most powerful forms of media consumed, and as they are almost always controlled by corporate America and advertisers, the aesthetics that their mass audiences in become their most powerful tools. When people like Nam June Paik and Bill Viola make breakthroughs in the video aesthetic, their work is frequently reappropriated towards capitalistic ends. 

Though this is not necessarily a negative result, I simply find it interesting that an art form that is not necessarily attempting at communication is continually reappropriated by the communication giants so to sell sell sell.

Virtual Realities- Krueger, Morningstar, and Farmer

Myron W. Krueger's work is probably more important than we know now. Many anticipate that our lives will be spent more and more in virtual worlds. Indeed, there are always those, such as the characters of the web series The Guild, who spend most of their waking hours in these virtual worlds. 

For this reason Krueger claims, "The design of such intimate technologies is an aesthetic issue as much as an engineering one. We must recognize this if we are to understand and choose what we become as a result of what we have made." Truly, we are the products of our inventions. I see this more and more as I become more and more distant from friends who are engulfed in the virtual worlds of massive multi player games and Second Life.

But what does it mean when these virtual worlds become as meaningful and real to us as real life? For example, a couple met eachother on Second Life. After their relationship grew, they married and began to live together in real life. However, the wife caught her husband months later with another woman. However, the woman was on Second Life. Is it a problem when we begin to see the social interactions present in virtual spaces just as meaningful as those in real life?

"The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat" by Morningstar and Farmer seem to pose an answer. Through their work on Habitat, they learned that for inhabitants of cyberspace, personal interactions between other inhabitants are far more important than the sexy technology by which it is presented. As such, we begin to see that cyberspaces draw in inhabitants not for their aesthetics, but because they provide alternative means of social interaction. Bars in the East Village tend to provide the same thing.

Enzensberger and Baudrillard

Enzensberger sees problems stemming from media's tendency to limit communication by making it a one way conversation from producer to consumer. He argues that the consumer should have the ability to respond to the messages of the producer, therefore creating a two way conversation. Baudrillard will take this a step further and say that content should be produced jointly by producers and consumers. Perhaps this is being done in the blogosphere and sites like YouTube. Even the current election shows signs that this is happening as traditional forms of media like the TV channel CNN uses blogs and consumer's letters and opinions in their reporting. Though it seems as if the philosophical qualms Enzensberger and Baudrillard have with media are being solved, a whole new political problem is emerging. Now that everyone has a voice and the ability to create, the significance of each voice is diminished. However, there still exists a power structure where, even though CNN is using consumer content in its production, it still has the power to decide whose voice is heard and what it will broadcast. Is it possible to transgress the existing media superstructure? Or will the evolving discourses emerging form new media forever exist along side the flawed one way communication of traditional media?

Software

Software seems to be one of the first times that many of the early visions of new media came to fruition. Not only did it contain the first ever publicly accessible hypertext, it also marked the beginning of fulfillment of the cybernetic vision of artists such as Roy Ascott and Nam June Paik. It also was the point where new media developed the definition we use today-the investigation of new processes brought into the culture via computation.

ARC vs PARC

When power was transfered from the university funded ARC to the corporately funded PARC, several goals changed. I am one to assume that these new goals would be less altruistic than before. However, despite PARC's corporate smear, several of their new goals shaped new media in a positive way ARC never could. Here I mainly refer to PARC's insistence on the user friendliness of new technologies. Were it not for this simple goal, the PC explosion probably would not have occurred as soon as it did, therefore affecting everything from human communication to the music business.

One thing I am still torn on, however, is PARC's need to separate users from creators. It has done this to maximize profit, but countless issues have arisen because of the software industry's fight against piracy. Though the free software movement is still underway, I wonder if we are better off today having privatized the creation of software, or if we would be better if all software were the creation of the computer society as a whole.

Cybernetics and Nam June Paik

Wikipedia Says:

"Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory. Both in its origins and in its evolution in the second-half of the 20th century, cybernetics is equally applicable to physical and social (that is, language-based) systems."

Paik Video:

E.A.T.

E.A.T. seems to be a pivotal organization for the art form that is New Media. As New Media generally uses advanced technology, it only makes sense for their to be an established relationship between the engineer and the artist. What this opens up is the notion that engineers are themselves artists, and artists are engineers of sorts. Both are dealing in the abstract, and both generally are working for the advancement of society. Of all professions, it only makes sense for these two to have come together.

Marshall McLuhan: Pop Philosopher

McLuhan looked at the changing landscape of media and predicted a shift from a book culture to a culture of electronic media. Because of this he sees a shift in western thought as he notes a similar shift when the oral tradition shifted to a typographic media. Neil Postman puts it well when he writes, "This change-over has dramatically and irreversibly shifted the content and meaning of public discourse, since two media so vastly different cannot accommodate the same ideas." To me this is a call to study emerging medias more closely as they offer insight into our developing discourse. Advertisers are already ahead of me here as the new philosophy in advertising is to "let the media be the content." In so doing, they hope to create buzz around the innovative new technology as opposed to the message. Here it is good to note that text messaging is the quickest growing media in the history of the world. What does this say about modern discourse? Impersonal or efficient?

Ken Perlin

Yes the mouseless pad was sweet, and being able to empathize with a flying bird was something I've never experienced, but our conversation with Ken Perlin was where his genius really came out. When asked about his technology's involvement with the military industrial complex, he pointed out that not only is the military a positive thing when used correctly, like defense, but even under the Bush administration Perlin's technology is used productively as it helps save lives by enabling the virtual flight simulation technology that prevents troops from having to risk their lives in real life training exercises. Point taken. But one thing that stands out above all else was his philosophy on technology. Perlin views humans as virtual beings. Traditionally we associate the term "virtual" with computer technology. However, Perlin wants to remove the mystique and mystery that is "technology" and recognize that even the most advanced computer technology is a human invention on the same level with language. If we think of virtual interaction as that done through a computer, a line can be drawn from a computer to other technologies such as language and clothes. All day every day humans are having to communicate with man made symbols and sounds while representing themselves with man made clothes in man made buildings. We are completely tied to our technologies, and are therefore virtual beings. Going further he claims that no technology is really better or worse than another, rather certain technologies work better for humans than others, so we therefore adopt that which enables the most ease of use. Well put Ken.

Hypertext as Art

The Oulipo introduced the concept of the "choose your own adventure" stories. Though, it the context of their work they played with the concept of potential literature. It was something not yet created but through the participation of the audience became a whole. A key element here, however, is the artists ability to dictate possibility. He has control. The concept here is that the artist creates the potential literature, and the participant creates the art. I wonder how our notion of art is challenged when the artists ability to have some control over the end result is removed. Specifically I am looking at humanities interaction with the web. The web is so huge today that we, in effect, are always participating in a huge choose your own adventure story. The only difference, however, is that there is no individual person that has set out all the possibilities. Could one argue that social discourse, as it exists in an era of new media, is humanities collective art piece. Once, when media was more controlled, social discourse was very much the result of government and corporate influence, and many would argue that those controlling the media were artists of sorts. Now we see less and less of this control. A million voices scream out on the web, attempting to dictate the discourse, but few voices have much impact, and those that do never fully control. Who is the artist of today's living narrative?

Interaction vs. Participation

Frank Popper claims participation refers to the relationship between a spectator and an already existing open-ended art work, whereas the term interaction implies a two-way interplay between an individual and an artificial intelligence system. In happenings the audience members are simply participants in the art, and through this they affect the art. On the other hand, Telematic art, or interactive new media, allows the audience the ability to control. Happenings give spectators a situation in which to act, while telematic art give spectators to tools to play god. I would agree with these statements, but I wonder what we would call it if participation and interaction were combined in an art form. Can this be done? If audience members were each given something which they could control, and through their controlling of the digital object they affected a larger situation, would this be telematic art or a happening? Would it have a different name? Could one argue that the World Wide Web has created an alternate space where all that is happening is exactly this? Perhaps we already have a name for it... the blogsphere.

Thinking About Conversations

One of the few things I don't take for granted when it comes to computers is the sketchpad. Growing up, Paint was one of my favorite programs, and even today getting to play with a tablet will make my week. The New Media Reader says the sketchpad is the "first direct-manipulation interface, the first interface to use constraints, and the first conversational interface." The word conversational here is important to me. When we think about having a conversation with a person, we think about social politics, having to learn how to converse with said person, and developing unique conversational skills with much practice. Similarly, artists feel their work is conversational. Writing is often referred to as "the spooky art" for this very reason. A writer may set out to write one thing, but after interacting "conversationally" with his ideas, the page may turn into something completely different. 

I think this word "conversational" is integral for our under of New Media as an art form and as a social space. Once the sketchpad was introduced, people were able to stop thinking of computers are mere machines. A computer is no longer like a coffee maker. I no longer put in one thing and get the same thing back. Computers must be learned. Each computer and each program has its own personality and understanding its workings and capabilities takes time, like getting to know a person. Not only this, but now I can put anything in and get anything out. Computers are no longer just an extension of my arm, but a thing which can give back.

A dream unfufilled

I wonder how Douglas Engelbart feels, knowing that he is famous for something that he probably considers somewhat of a failure. Here I refer to the mouse. Yes he did invent the mouse, and yes my life as I know it would be different if it weren't for him, but do you suppose Doug has a different view of the world? When he sees the benefits of his creation, does he sit in awe at how much better the world has become, or does seeing the modern mouse only frustrate him, thinking that everything could have been so much better than you or I ever realized?

The Cut-up Method

I can accept the connection between the cut-up method and hypertext. But the connection between poetry and the cut-up method is more difficult for me. Often when I read poetry, I find the language beautiful, yet am often lost as to its meaning. This is not to say that I fail to develop my own understandings of the piece, I just fail to accept that I am correct. I know this brings up a controversial debate, whether or not poetry and literature has any one meaning, but I still tend to think some meanings are more on point than others. The cut-up methods fusion with poetry seems to dismiss this; granted it is only one form of poetry. All the same, the fact that when I read poetry done in the cut-up method and have a similar sensation as that created by a more traditional poem, I can't help but question the value of poetry and its validity as a communicative art form.

Happenings

I remember when I first heard of happenings. I was in a film class and we were discussing art of the 50's and 60's when someone brought up this strange art form. This intrigued me for all the reasons you would expect, but it never occurred to me that this sort of breaking down of barriers between audience and artist was setting a tone for much of New Media. Now, thinking in this way, and understanding the connection between New Media and the Happenings of the 60's, I have to ask- is facebook a happening? Facebook's creators have set up a scenario which the audience much interact with and respond to, much like Allan Kaprow. A main difference, however, is that instead of reading of this happening in the papers or seeing film clips of it in theaters, one finds the final audience of facebook being marketing firms using it as a way of collecting data. Does this capitalistic function of facebook prevent it from joining the art hierarchy of happenings? I would say no.

Licklider

Licklider's "Man-Computer Symbiosis" must have been very shocking when it was first published. I'm sure many people read it thinking Licklider was proposing making A.I. machines which would work in a team with humans to solve complex problems. However, when we read this article today his notes seem almost trivial as what he is proposing is something we take part in every day. Computers have very much become an extension of our existence. We have set the goals and criteria for our problems, and feel it only natural to go to our desktops for aid in solving them. Any question I have I ask wikipedia or google. Though the fact that I use the word "ask" suggests the changing dynamic between human and machine. I know I don't ask wikipedia in the same way I ask my friends, but I feel people in the 1960's wouldn't quite understand that.

America's Helvetica and Obama's Gotham

Few things sound as boring as typeface. I've never particularly thought about them other than trying to spruce up a paper. However, the Documentary Helvetica changed my mind on the subject. 

One thing I found particularly interesting was the fact that both American Airlines and American Apparel use Helvetica, but each have a unique feel. American Airlines feels streamline, professional, and trustworthy. On the other hand, American Apparel feels simple, trendy, and matter of fact. Granted both companies have totally different goals with their advertising campaigns, I still find it interesting that the same font can speak to multiple emotions, all the while remaining captivating and sleek.

Jumping from this new found appreciation for typeface into thinking about Obama's campaign became almost too self-reflexive. Having to recognize the emotional weight carried by fonts gave me cause to question my feelings towards Obama. I supported him before I saw his website, but ever since I delved into the site for the first time there was no turning back. But now I know why. The use of design with such an authoritarian, yet sensitive type face has made for a standard in political branding I'm sure will change the history of Campaigning as we know it.

Sticking Around Pays Off

I stuck around after viewing the EYEBEAM opening for a short presentation. Artists shared their philosophies as well as works that were too big or old to bring to the gallery. My favorite presenter was Michel de Broin, who used anything from refrigerators to cars to batteries for his art. My favorite piece by him was "Keep on Smoking." I don't know if this would be called sculpture or what, but in a nut shell it was a bicycle that emmitted smoke when driven. The irony of such a device was highlighted by the solitary passenger, and seemed to beg the question "what right does this guy have to screw up my air?" I realized that cars, though conventional poluters, often carry only one passenger, but their size gives the impression that much more cargo is on board. Seeing "Keep on Smoking" got me thinking about the absurdity of thousands and thousands of people all driving in their own cars to the same place everyday. Let's get carpooling people!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, He'll Want a Hotel Room

Doug Aitken's "Migration" places wild animals in human environments. We see beavers taking baths and Lion's having pillow fights. Not only is the film beautiful, but its presentation should strike a cord with anyone who's ever driven on the freeways. In the 303 Gallery in Chelsea, Aitken projects his film onto three mini-billboards. Such billboards are traditionally used for advertising, but by projecting alternative notions of migration on them, he seems to be calling for environmental action. This will definitely work for those who are staunchly opposed to moose sharing their towels, but I doubt many people feel empowered to take any action at all.

MICHAEL ZANSKY: The Western Lands

I took this picture at the Nicholas Robinson Gallery of Michael Zansky's exhibit "The Western Lands." The piece seen here consists of a doll headed angel backing a magnified rotating table. On the table one finds a merman king smiting some fat-headed WASP. All the while the magnifying glass conflicts with the glass orb next to the WASP which causes him to look tiny in comparison. This tension caused between magnification and minimization leaves the viewer only one option; to go behind the "curtain" and see for himself.

To me this effect speaks very much to the era of new media. Everyday we are faced with the conflict of apearance vs. reality. One network will show politicians hidden behind a veil of rhetoric and propaganda, while the next is uncovering what ever slanderous facts can be invented. This causes a state of constant unknowing, and forces citizens to look for themselves, resulting in large online communities such as digg and wikipedia.

David Fried Won't Leave Me Alone

We viewed David Fried's sound sculptures at Sara Tecchia's gallery in Chelsea. As soon as we walked into the gallery space, small spheres on a granite table started to aimlessly role about, bouncing off the boxing-ring-esq ropes. Surprisingly, the magical spheres move to the noise in the room. The louder the noise, the faster they move. Unlike many interactive new media instalations, Fried's sculpture doesn't need your concent to be interacted with- only your presence. You'll be standing in the room, trying to enjoy a painting, and this sculpute in the corner keeps anoying you when the spheres collide. "Stop making so much racket," you may think to yourself. But then you realize the art is actually saying the same thing to you. Everything was chill before you showed up.

"R. Luke DeBois: Politics as Usual"

Bitform's exhibit "R. Luke DeBois: Politics as Usual" is a scary way to look at politics. It takes State of the Union addresses given by each president and lays out the discourse like an eye chart. At the top we see the biggest word on the chart, which represents the most frequently used word in the SOTU speach. The second row contains the next most frequently used words, and each row decends in like fashion. Standing in a room with clear representations of the evolving American political discourses, the only word I can use to describe it is "frightening." On one side we start with Washington. "Gentlemen" heads the chart. On the far end of the room we find Bush. Imediately we see "Terror."

Gehry Building

The Gehry building in Chelsea looks like a huge ice burg. Maybe we should build something that looks like the Titanic next door. I'm sure we could get Leonardo DiCaprio to come for the opening.

LittleBigPlanet

I used to be into a game called Rainbow Six Rogue Spear. Every night I would sit up late talking to my buddy on the phone while we played the game online. One summer this was all I did. But as soon as the levels began to grow old, we discovered dozens of user-created levels for free download on forum sites. The fact that we could play on so many new levels without having to wait for the publishers to put out a new game made the possibilities of Rainbow Six seem endless.

If LittleBigPlanet truly allows gamers to create their own content, we may be seeing a new era in video games. Huge publishers will still be around, but I see many various subcultures emerging in the video game world. New stars will rise. Could LittleBigPlanet be to video games what mixtapes were to hip-hop?

Issuu and Online Magazines

Magazines are expensive and take up space. Though the aesthetics of a coffee table piled high with intriguing mags is unbeatable. What to do?

Issuu seems to think the next step is online magazine publication. But after perusing the site I feel they are too far off base. It is nice to have so many publications at your fingertips with high resolution photos and nice page turning graphics, but do these traditional forms of print have any reason to be on the web?

I immediately felt that looking at magazines in my web browser was awkward. Not only do I hate reading from a computer screen, but the intricate lay outs caused me to have to zoom in and get lost with copious scrolling. It just wasn't as satisfying as actually holding a magazine.

It seems to me that if you want an online publication, there are more aesthetically pleasing ways of doing so on the web. Blogs are quite prevalent, and online comics have begun to develop standards of their own. If you want a publication, you can have one, but do it right. If you want to publish a magazine, stick to it's strongest point and keep it physical. I want to hold "Stop Smiling" in my hand, not in my note book.

PSFK's 'BETTER"

PSFK's goal is "to inspire our readers, our clients and our guests to make things better - whether that’s better services, better product ideas or a better way of living."

This seems to mirror the community mentality of early adopters of the internet. Even before the internet, those involved in its creation shared this communal effort towards "betterment."

This sense of betterment and shared communal progress seems to be a thread at all points on the avant-garde of new media. Is this due to tradition or the fact that much of the avant-garde of new media are untapped markets and are therefore not surrounded by corporate greed. You don't see Yahoo and Google working together to make the best search engine do you?

Virtual Reality Cocoon: A Step Down the Wrong Path

NAU's Immersive Cocoon promises to provide virtual reality possibilities we have never seen. Not only can you see a vitual world surrounding you, you can also reach out and touch it, interact with it, and even jump in it.

What NAU has done is create a space (the cocoon) that simulates other spaces. Though this is a cool idea, it doesn't seem very practical. First, the space required for such a cocoon is unrealistic for most consumers. Not only this, but I feel the average gamer enjoys the thrill of traditional video games not only for the virtual world, but also because of it's ease of use. In a game I can run through a battle ground, jump over buildings, and duck from explosions, all without having to exert any energy. This may just be me, but if my failure in a video games is partially do to my physical abilities, I am going to get a little turned off.

In addition to this, NAU theorizes that one day AMAZON.COM will be a virtual book store, where we can walk around, pick up books, read their backs, and even talk to other customers. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but is Amazon's success not partially do to the fact that I DON'T have to go to a bookstore? Isn't is much easier to have Amazon's advanced search and consumer tracking technologies help me find the best book for me? If I want a book recommendation I'll go to a bookstore, but I'm going to Amazon all other days because I can't stand the idea of going into public. I like my anti-social internet just fine.

The Future of Gaming

The Emotiv EPOC headset - the first Brain Computer Interface (BCI) device for the gaming market is said to revolutionize the future of gaming. Not only does this technology promise to allow users to control games with their minds, it also makes sci-fi scenarios, such as those found in The Matrix, that much more of a reality.

There is a counter movement going on right now arguing that those things we thought were bad for us, such as TV and videogames, are actually making us smarter. If this is so, I can only imagine what Emotiv's EPOC headset will do. Imagine having to learn to control worlds and characters using "the force" from age five. I wish I had that kind of focus now....

Would you call this a documentary?

The Borges documentary was unlike any documentary I have ever seen. It not only interviewed the subject and those that knew him, but it also attempted to recreate some of Borges' works. To me, this approach felt like an episode of "The Unsolved Mysteries," as the film felt much more about the reenactments than Borges himself. Then, suddenly, we find Borges actually penetrating those very scenes he had earlier constructed. It is no longer about Borges or his work, but rather a philosophical take on what Borges' work represents, and posits the sorts of engagements Borges is currently having with it.

Microcosmos

Bugs up close taught me something important: Bugs have crazy mating rituals. The use of music during some of these scenes, as well as those scenes where bug battles ensued, heightened the tension to the point that I felt I was watching a Hollywood film. Who knew bugs could be epic?

Turing Test

The Turing Test is fascinating to me for several reasons, but one sticks out in particular. If we were in fact able to produce a machine which could pass this test, countless debate would ensue as to the true meaning of such success. Many would argue that though it was a great feat, it still does not constitute consciousness. I for one would agree with this. What is interesting to me, however, is that such a success for AI would beg the question of human consciousness. If I can't tell that you are any more conscious than a machine, what right do I have to say that you are any more conscious than a machine? Some might argue that the machine has no motivation or emotion, but I could just as easily retort and ask how it is that I am to KNOW that you have motivation and emotion. As far as I am concerned, I am the only conscious thing on this planet. There is no way I will ever know for certain if you or anyone I have ever known shares this same trait. But for my own sanity I will passively accept your claims of consciousness and not allow my delusions of grandeur to get the best of me.

Bush's Memory Suplement

Bush's writings on technology and progression say a lot about the thought of his era. For example, many of his ideas are centered around mechanical devices as opposed to the streamlined electronics of our day. But because of this mindset, his language offers unique insight into the functions of modern technology. This is direct result of his difficult task of articulating his futurist theories to a relatively ignorant public. A case in point is his 'memex," which he claims to be "an enlarged intimate supplement to (mans) memory" (45). This struck me as I have never thought of the internet, my hard drive, or RAM as an extension of my memory. To me, these things very much exist separately from me. But Bush is stuck in a situation where mechanical memory is unheard of, and the only way he can articulate such an invention is by relating it to our own forms of memory. Though I initially disagreed with his statement, I soon saw the truth to what he was saying. My mobile device, which is always on my person, contains contact information, notes, and my calendar. Often times I will email myself something as opposed to just memorizing it. The longer and longer I live this way, the more I realize that what I claim to "know" is not always knowledge stored in my own mind, but rather in an easily accessible electronic format that only I can access. Today I might "know" Josh's phone number, but if I were to loose my phone, this would no longer be the case. What is 'knowledge' in this era of new media?

Internet History

Something that has always struck me about the internet is the communal effort that has gone into its creation. Much of the software online is programmed by dozens of people who have never met each other, and will never see a dime for their work. Linux is an example of this. We have built databases of entertaining content that we can access for free because it was our own creation. Though often we must pay the price of being subject to online advertising.

I see a thread emerging here when looking at the history of the internet. The creation of the internet was a community effort. No one was looking to out do the next guy. They all had to work together to make it happen. This tradition seems to still be just as important in our online communities today as it was then.

Bingo, Ryan, and the One Man Who Created Them

Chris Landreth's Bingo and Ryan must have blown minds when first premiered. I'm sure the human like motion simulated in the films grabbed audiences in ways traditional animation never has. However, attributing these great achievements to only one man seems problematic. After each of these films, huge credit sequences ensued. The number of artists responsible for the creation of only a few minutes of computer animation is incredible, and each seem to only be responsible for the smallest piece of the puzzle, but without any one of them the film would be nothing close to what it is. I suppose this questions the status of director in all film and the artistic attributions we place on them, but in traditional film directors, cinematographers, and actors all share a slice of the credit. Will the genius of computer animation films always be attributed to one man?

Cyberculture and Engineers as Artists

The Text clearly separates the notion of "cyberculter" from that of "new media," claiming cyberculture is the study of social aspects of the internet and other new forms of communication, while "new media" is the culture (artifacts?) and computing of the new technologies.

I find it difficult to draw such a distinction between new media as an art from and the cyberculture that has resulted from it. It seems to me that if engineers are indeed some of the greatest artists of our time, like those who invented the internet, then the interactive spaces they have created and the affects on society that these spaces are having are the art that they have developed. Put another way, I question whether or not we can imagine the use of this new technology as a tool to paint a "social picture," therefore making the community surrounding it the art, as opposed to the user interface being what we see as the sole artifact.

New Media Reader Intro and The Guild

The Guild-

Celebrities addicted to video games over coke was good enough, but now The Guild? Can't have too much of a good thing.... What struck me with this web sitcom was recognition of the new world we live in with alternative communications. Through games such as WOW, people are breaking down age, gender, and racial barriers. My best example come from watching my little brother. He and his friends have found solace in the video game world. I'm sure escapism is at the core of their addictions, but they have found something more. One night I came home and found my brother and two of his friends all sitting in front of the computer. Though, as opposed to talking with each other, they were talking into the mic. Soon I learn that they waited up late for their friend from Pakistan to wake up. They had known this guy for over six months. He was in his thirties, a muslim, married, and employed. My brother at the time was a 15 year old WASP from Middle America. Good things are happening.


New Media Reader Intro-

What strikes me here is the notion that the term "New Media" depicts our confusion of current media progress. Indeed, "New Media" is a vague umbrella term for many new communication and art forms. But what is probably at the root of this confusion is the fear caused by such a speedily developing technology. Scientists, artist, engineers, and philosophers have been collaborating on this "New Media" for decades, creating something that almost tricked the Turing Test, and through this expanded human ideals of identity and democracy. What's more, it has given us the locus point from which to analyze film, tv, and radio in a historical context.

In this brief outline of the history of New Media, we see new discourses develop, particularly around the gaming youth. We see a power struggle between corporate controlled TV and the genius of free information through new media. New market places have emerged, new academic institutions have risen, and a real hope for a more utopic society seems to be just over the next hill. But all of this has come from the tireless work of engineers and scientists and an evolving ethics surrounding individualism and information.

Though this intro challenges the fears of New Media instilled by some of our darker thinkers, I question if our obsession with, and reliance upon, this new media form will not create horrors as of now unmentioned.

Hi

Hi Cynthia----