Tag Archives: Digital Space

Class Notes 12/1

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To do for Thursday 12/3

  • Revise your blog post and presentation to include multimodal components
  • Revise proposals to include the updated proposal at the top
  • Revise your reflection post to reflect any feedback from Jill or the class
  • Write short and thoughtfully post on the Skype session with Dr. Brian Greenspan of Carleton University 

Things to keep in mind

Progress reports should be a narrative of your progression with the projects thus far

Lighting presentations will be on 12/3

Check out page 132 and 141 in the Digital Literacies book specifically the sections on embodied stories in digital media.

Recap of the 20 minutes discussion before the presentation with Dr. Brian G

Game design– is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game to facilitate interaction between players for entertainment or for medical, educational, or experimental purposes.

Locative-(abbreviated LOC) is a grammatical case which indicates a location

Storytelling-

Location-based Storytelling-is popular and there is much to gain by applying a transmedia storytelling-based approach.

Interface– a point where two systems, subjects, organizations, etc., meet and interact.

Hyperliterate- extremely literate in hypertext

Alternative Reality-

Augmented Reality-is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS based.

Digital Humanism– is the notion that people are the central focus in the manifestation of digital businesses and digital workplaces. Businesses who embrace digital humanism use technology to redefine the way people achieve their goals and enable people to achieve things not previously possible.

Interconnectivity– refers to the state or quality of being connected together.

Holistic-characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

Key Takeaways from the Skype Session 

Digital Songlines

Dr. Brian Greenspan wants to take a holistic approach to game design. Perhaps with this approach to interconnectivity it can change the way individuals feel about the world.

 

The Drum: How Brands Can Participate in the Future of TV

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Last Tuesday I had the honor of being invited by The Drum’s CEO, Gordon Young, to their seminar “How Brands Can Participate in the Future of TV” The UK based media house recently marked its territory in New York which proved it to be a force to be reckoned with. The Drum is a creative agency that provides first class news information on marketing across an array of communication fields including Public Relations, Social Media, Advertising just to name a few. The seminar was a thoughtful discussion about the advertising discourse community and how brands can participate within the ecosystem. The panel discussion brought together Jim Mollica, the Vice President of Digital Under Armour, Jessica Sheehan, VP and Head of Social Media for JPMorgan Chase, Chad Parizman, Director of Convergent Media at Scripps Networks Interactive and Marc DebEvoise, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Digital Media. As a first time attendee, I found the discussion to be surprisingly insightful.

I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to join the conversation of how TV Networks, new technologies, social media are reshaping brands relevancy in the digital age. Many brands who lack creativity and who do not adapt to the new expectations will become dinosaurs, and we are all too aware of what happened to dinosaurs (they’re dead)–spoiler alert!  As a composer of content, I realize how imperative it is to be creative, resourceful, tech savvy, to be able to create a holistic experience for the readers/consumers of digital media. People are consuming content differently, whether its through different mediums or mediated outlets such as smartphones or tablets. The way we digest information is changing and will continue to change and it is up to the writers to be well versed or risk being inept. Writers and marketers have to tap into the mobile audience and provide insight, catchy content that will be unique to the readers. When new technologies are created there are new communities that are created and deliver a new approach for those communities. With the affordances of new communities, it creates a change in how we package our content, how the consumer receives it, and how they participate in that discourse community.

In essence, the role of the composer in these digital spaces is extremely difficult. For the composer to be a part of the community, shaping the community, creating new experiences within the community is extremely challenging. The magnitude of the impact composers will have on their readers/consumers is one we all know too well and they have to wear many hats. . . So as a composer, please excuse me as I learn what other hat I need o wear.

 

Digital Journalism

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Since the explosion of digital media, writing is more so referred to as the dying art. The shift from print to digital has severely affected writers of every medium. New media, digital media, digital journalism has changed the way stories are told, especially the ones told on the web. Although there are a few affordances that new media has contributed to there are constraints to it as well. One major affordances of digital journalism is it gives an author a chance to create content and have it distributed via the internet to millions of readers.

The world of journalism has changed drastically, journalism is not what it used to be. Nowadays, journalism is one of the most dangerous careers. Many journalist who want to report on foreign news are being tried overseas and many times killed. The ones who report domestically still face many of those problems. Journalists are also facing a hard time because many of the jobs are becoming contract based so there is no reason to have an in house journalist. The way journalist report current events has changed because of new technologies. Long ago, people relied heavily on receiving their news via major TV broadcasting channels or radio now many people receive there news via SMS, Smartphone Apps., emails, online forums, there is so much competition for journalist all around the world. Many of the ways we once communicated has seen a unforeseen change. The way information was once “fed” to readers/listeners has changed the way readers/listeners internalize information and use it. The amount of information that is available out there is terrifying. We are in this era of mass digital literacies, content overload, and big data that companies are spending billions of dollars to access information about their users like never before. Some of the information they pay to access and they become aware of may be detrimental to our health. As I think about the impact that these digital literacies has on the readers/listeners, I can’t help but wonder if our minds are becoming less stimulated and if the information seems mundane to us. It makes me think if we are really ever evolving with the internet. Certain sites have become so ordinary that the user may become disengaged and just passively surf the site. It could possibly affect the “mental” user experience. . .

As I read through “Photojournalism in the Age of New Media” by Jared Keller, I came across a quote that stood out, it read “News agencies are often happy with random snapshots from Egypt and they don’t necessarily need professional, thoughtful content all the time.” It made me think if images needs the content to explain it. For instance what if Frida Kahlo or Andy Warhol or Picasso had content to explain their works. . . would things have been different? Maybe pictures need words and vice-versa.

In essence digital media affects every career possible, each and everyone of us have to conform to the new technologies. Journalists have to wear many different hats than once before and social channels like Instagram and Periscope are making it incredibly easier to “showcase” your craft. It is a constant battle for journalist to create a authentic story that represents their uniqueness. To be honest, I miss the good ol’ days of when journalist strictly reported on current events instead of celebrity gossip and showing viral animal videos. In many ways they have lost a little of their credibility—what made them unique.