MAJOR4 Draft

Major Assignment #4

                For the distribution of my digital media production, I went through about four different Web 2.0 spaces before settling for Facebook. I thought about Twitter, gave Stumble upon a briefing, wrote a page of notes on the benefits of Pinterest, and even got the statistics on Pasty.net.  Facebook finally won my vote because it can be tailored by location, which I will explain in a minute. Pinterest sounded great for a little while, but out of the 10 million users of the site, a very tiny percent would be located in this area, therefore the amount that that sliver would be exposed to my design would be slim.

                This is the point I turned to Facebook. According to Social Bakers, a social media analysis site, Facebook penetration in the United States is 54.19% compared to our total population, and 73.19% in relation to the number of internet users.  In just the last six months, the total number of users has grew more than 10,074,820. These numbers blow my mind, but they do make sense. For the first time, more people in the U.S. use smartphones than regular talk and text phones, meaning they have 24/7 access to the internet, as well as on computers and what not at work and home. Facebook is not only just social networking either, almost every business you go passed has a “like us on Facebook” slogan in their front window. Left and right we are being directed to the site to “like” their page to enter contests and giveaways, as well as post on their wall to be entered in this or that drawing, etc. Companies are finding every which way to lead the consumer to their Facebook page because they are smart and realizing if they aren’t in the stream of it all, they might as well be dead.

                The tactic I find most interesting is how these network sites “know” what you like, therefore advertising just that on the side bar. It’s extremely smart, but it’s almost eerie too. The fact that with one click onto some other site and they can obtain that information and use it to remind you what you are looking for.

                I’m going to upload my production onto the Business’ Facebook page. With the upload of my digital production he can get immediate attention, which is an awesome benefit over newspapers, and personal websites. Once you post information, it pops up immediately on the newsfeeds of every account that has liked your page. Even those who have somehow hinted towards their location and an interest in landscaping will have this information pop up on their advertising bar, even if they didn’t like his page yet. That’s what’s neat. The web has this way of putting two and two together, as long as he has his location and purpose defined on his page, and the other user has their location. It’s this concept that we no longer have to access information as a destination or process; instead it finds its way to you. (“Streams of Content”) There are no longer these “hard” or defined boundaries, the communication world has become interchanged and connected in many ways.

http://gigaom.com/mobile/carrier-data-confirms-it-half-of-us-now-owns-a-smartphone/

Gaming2

   A few thoughts about video-gaming post class discussion & the video clip we watched of Jane McGonigal.   I guess I somewhat understand her logic behind gaming, though I am not a gamer in the least, and generally see them as a distraction (sometimes needed, sometimes harmful to production!) I see the benefit of creativity, etc. but I do not understand her thought process behind her ideas that by playing these games will help change the world. We definitely need to instill that ambition into the players that they can be as good in real life as they are in the virtual world, but the amount of gaming per week...21 million hours? That sounds absurd to me, and I think that gaming should be kept as a limited recreational activity, not this "part time job".

"Dream Machines" - Will Wright

   Mr. Wright starts off with the quote, "The human imagination is an amazing thing." In that he is most absolutley correct. From our youngest, childhood memories, we can mostly recall an imaginary friend, or an invented game or place we would visit. I find it interesting how he describes games. He says, as we grow we play, and as we continue to grow we add rules and goals, and this is the point where a game develops. I guess I never sit to think how these basic ideas, such as games come about, but when I sit here and read this article it's neat to see that evolution described.
   Our generation, and at this point in time we have a different set of games than any other age group. We are no longer simply playing cards, or your classic board game, but rather many different types of videogames. We have controllers and cords and discs that all connect to a TV to provide this interactive game. There are shelves of different options at stores all over creation, and when you purchase one you often don't already know how to play. We learn by this cycle of hypothesis, experiment, and analysis. We dive head first and learn on the fly.
   As video games have become so popular, and i will admit I am not a part of that hobby, but I see what Wright means when he points out how the older generations see it as such a bad thing. They are violent, addictive, and childish, but they are not the ones holding that controller and thinking through the game, and strategizing. He compares this to a movie theater. If you were simply watching the people watch the movie, without watching the movie, you would think it was so bad for causing people to become tired, or to binge eat on excessive amounts of junkfood, but you aren't in there experiencing the movie with your own senses.

It's no longer about push; it's about pull.

    In the article "streams of content" they are talking a lot about the means of information, and how we are receiving it these days. As my title foretells, we are no longer on the search for information, and going through these processes to access the info, with technology like twitter & Facebook, info is coming to us 24 hours a day, without the user actually going out & digging for info.
 They list four core issues of this flow through social media:
1.) Democratization: The model has been switched from distribution to attention, but because we are moving to a state where anyone has ability to get info that is out there in the "stream", doesn't mean that the attention of these people will be diverted

2.) Stimulation: People absorb the content that stimulates their senses. Anything that creates an emotional response & can excite, anger, or entertain. Same as how our bodies gravitate towards eating fat & sugars which causes obesity, on the internet we lean towards violence, gossip, or gross content which is humiliating, embarassing or offensive. And I find this a really neat analogy; "If we don't be careful, we're going to develop the psychological equivalent of obesity." And we all know where our culture & obesity stand at this point in time.

3.) Homophily: People connect to others like themselves. Various dating sites (Christian Mingle, etc.), the information they share on their FB pages, such as biblical quotes, certain movies/music, etc...

4.) Power: Power is at stake as far as a centralized source of information. We give power to people when we give them our attention & people gain power when they bridge between different worlds & decide what info will flow btwn 2 networks. Those who control which information goes where in today's networks get more credit than the actual TV producers, or record labels themselves.

Peer Review #2

Julia
Argument: Science proves astrology wrong
Strength: A lot of information, appealing to look at
Development: break up the big chunks of information to make it a little easier to read

Meredith
Argument: Photos are edited so much we don't even realize when we look at them how much they are fixed
Strength: Good photos, the first one shows a big difference of edits they really would make these days
Development: Add text to make a larger point.

Olive
Argument: Variety of images that represent each state, encourages you to see the diversity in our country
Strength: Looks really neat, images are good quality and interesting
Development: a few of the areas could use a small border, or in tight areas contrast the photos more

Kim
Argument: Selling UP unique products
Strength: Website has a easy going flow to it, different links and the slideshow of products. LOVE the background!
Development: check out the white space. Add a slogan of what is sold on the main page. (under title)

Katelyn
Argument: How a candidates image is gained during election
Strength: details I would've never know (makeup artist), interesting information
Development: I would probably connect the heads to the rest of the body to make them look a little more ligit, even though it may look like a bobble-head!


Courtney
Argument: To challenge yourself and write a novel this month
Strength: Easy to read, clear information. I like the font choices
Development: I don't mind the no-pictures, but maybe close up some of the blank space so it doesn't look like its waiting for something

Devin
Argument: Getting your meals off campus is less expensive, and better tasting
Strength: tumblr page is well laid out, well explained, well supported
Development: the graphs may help make info stand out, if readers didn't pick up on it in the paragraphs.

Sister's Blog
Argument: A space for the sister to share her thoughts
Strength: like the background, fun to look at
Development: can't read the title 

Jane
Argument: How today's technology can affect us both negatively & positively
Strength: easy to follow, straightforward
Development: some of the words that fuzz before disappearing was making my eyes hurt!

Constructive Criticism for Classmates

SARAH:
  1.) Major Argument: I think the major argument is trying to develop an identity for the Vocal Accord group on campus.
   2.) Strength: She has good skills, the logos don't look "homeade", they have a lot of potential
   3.) Develop: I really like the second one, I do think the colors need to be picked wisely or it will be hard to follow with the lines, etc.

CHARLIE:
   1.) Major argument: Recruiting for club indigo. Argument is that there is food, entertainment & social interaction
   2.)Strength: I like the layout of the slides, the variation in transitions
   3.)Develop: Definitely add pictures, will add a lot to the presentation

THIRD:
   1.) Major Argument: To show you the effects of the economy & the personal consequences of music piracy
   2.) Strength: The information is good, the colors are clear
   3.) Develop: The layout could use a little bit so it is easier to read. My head was spinning a little trying to decide what to read first
 
CASSANDRA:
   1.) Major Argument: To show you what goes on in "Greek Life", and all the opportunities you can get
   2.) Strength: The information is short & concise, but it fits everything in
   3.) Develop: clear up some of the fonts/colors, it gets distracting
 

Issues with this Project

   At the beginning of this week I was overwhelmed beyond compare. I had a topic that I was passionate about, but not a word from anywhere was coming to me and I couldn't think of a solid production idea to save my life. On Tuesday, after too many wasted weeks I had enough and changed my topic. I am now going to design advertising materials for my uncle Ben's shop, Halonen Lawn & Landscaping. If all goes as planned, it will work good because he is in need of an advertising solution, but doesn't have the time himself to start designing materials.
   Even still, I take so long for every step, which usually happens to me. I sit and think forever and at the last minute everything clicks together & the project evolves. I am going to try hard to stay ahead of the curve this time but my ideas are changing every few minutes so we shall see!