Final Blog Post

Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons

Going into this class, I would’ve never expected to have come out liking it as much as I do now. To be completely honest, the idea of having to make a weekly blog was one that I found very intimidating after I was first introduced to it. I have never considered myself to be too much of an open person, so having to consistently share my own writing publicly was definitely a new experience for me. However, throughout the semester I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much progressively easier it became to produce these weekly blogs. Two of my favorite blogs that I made were “Reddit - Community and Collaboration” and “Fair Use Should NOT be Ignored,” as they both revolved around topics that I felt I had the most personal connection towards based on my interests outside of class. One of my favorite replies that I made was on Josh’s Blog which revolved around Reddit where I discussed a differing opinion that I held in regards to his take on the topic. Another reply that I liked was the one that I left on Khalil’s Blog, as I felt I was able to provide a good answer to one of the questions that he brought up.

Not only was I able to step out of my comfort zone through my own writing process, but also through the many collaborative efforts that I was required to make during my time in this course. It was honestly fun to hear out others ideas and contribute alongside them, something that I would usually tend to avoid in the past. Two of my classmate's that I felt influenced me this semester were Hannah and Ryan. Not only did I find collaborating with them as a group to be enjoyable, but I also genuinely believe that they both did a terrific job at writing concisely and in a way that made me feel interested in what they were saying. Being a fan of movies, I can say that I also appreciated how Ryan was able to cleverly relate so many of our class topics to different films that I'm familiar with. Overall though, I would have to give my vote to Hannah for the best blog, as her’s were consistently structured in a professional manner with written content that was able to convey a deep understanding towards the topics she discussed.

Thanks to all who took the time to read this post and my other blogs throughout this semester. I hope you were able to enjoy them as much as I enjoyed reading yours!

My First Wikipedia Edit

Last week, I was able to contribute to a Wikipedia page for the first time through one of our in-class assignments. The particular page that my group and I contributed to was Teenage Suicide in the United States. Like the rest of the class, our edits consisted of approximately 500 words worth of information that was relevant to the article’s topic. Our added content was comprised of statistics and general information that was not previously stated within the article prior to our edit. Though I felt that our work was competent enough in terms of what we included and how we structured it, I was still sure that it was going to be removed, as I was under the impression that Wikipedia was fairly strict towards their articles’ content. This is due to me having witnessed pages get completely removed in the past, despite consistent efforts made by multiple users who attempted to keep the information accurate, cited, and professionally written. Because of this, I had little to no hope that our edits would remain intact, especially due to the heavy subject matter that’s inherent to the article’s topic. However, much to my surprise, I found that the information is still up and mostly unchanged, with only a few minor edits made to improve upon our structure. I’m honestly not sure what made our case different from the others that I’ve seen, but it’s at least nice to know that our work was found suitable and can be used to potentially inform future readers.

By English: Redrawn in SVG by Otourly (concept by Paullusmagnus) Deutsch: Nachgezeichnet als Vektorgrafik von Otourly (Konezpt von Paullusmagnus). (Original image Image:Wikipedia-logo.png) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Meme Saturation

In this day and age, I often find myself wondering when the next big meme is going to arise. For better or for worse, internet memes are constantly evolving, leading to some absurd results that can prove to be entertaining to myself and countless others. However, as our media becomes increasingly spreadable, I can’t help but notice that the rate of meme growth is seemingly at its highest. It feels like every other day a new meme will be introduced, whether it be about a cringy advertisement or the unfortunate demise of an innocent zoo animal. In a sense, there seems to be a limitless supply in terms of what can be poked fun at through the simple utilization of social media. This has ultimately, in my opinion, been what’s led to such a highly saturated supply of current memes that doesn't seem to be declining anytime soon. But, is that necessarily a bad thing though? After all, some people nowadays will never have enough memes to satisfy their hunger for entertainment.

By Carine06 from UK (Silverback) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Our Ever-Advancing A.I.

Last week’s reading discussed how, in recent history, humans have been able to create what is known as artificial intelligence, or A.I. for short, through the implementation of various algorithms. These algorithms are made up of several intricate instructions that much of our modern-day technology is built with the intention of following. However, as said algorithms begin to grow in their capabilities and overall complexity, more and more people have begun to fear the potential outcomes that could arise from this ever-advancing artificial intelligence. Even renowned scientific figures such as Stephen Hawking have become weary of A.I. advancements that are expected to come in the near future. As their limitations become increasingly refined, many are left wondering how soon we can expect to see A.I.s that exceed the capabilities of their human creators. We have already witnessed basic machinery replacing a multitude of jobs previously undergone by humans; therefore, it is not too unreasonable to fear that the same might happen, but to a greater extent.

Source: Flickr
By Global Panorama

Is Civil Inattention Possible Online?

In today’s reading about online content, I was introduced to the term “civil inattention.” This refers to a common societal norm in which people know not to interrupt or get involved in a conversation if they are not directly invited to do so by one of the original participants. The questioned posed, however, is whether or not this can be applicable or let alone possible online. Personally, I feel that it depends on how an online platform is being used, as there are several means of online communication that vary in terms of the privacy that they offer. For example, I feel that a significant portion of social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter promote public communication over privacy, as a majority of user’s posts are being made public and can be seen and/or interacted with by other users. In this sense, it is hard for civil invitation to apply. However, these same sites also offer a range of settings that make certain posts available exclusively to select users. If one wishes to receive even further privacy, they can even use direct messages to prevent anybody besides the recipient(s) from seeing their conversation. In the end, I feel that it is up the communicators themselves on whether or not they wish to make civil invitation applicable to their conversation; it all depends on which approach they decide to communicate with.

By EFF-Graphics (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 us (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Fair Use Should NOT be Ignored

“Fair use,” despite being what should be considered an essential limitation on copyright laws, is often ignored for digital creators that rely on its function. This limitation essentially grants one with the freedom to use the copyrighted works of others in their own media, just as long they alter it enough to make it easily distinguishable from the original. For example, one could sample the footage from a show or movie, while adding their own commentary and editing to offer potential audiences an entirely new experience that would differ from simply watching the piece of media that was sampled. This is common practice for content creators on YouTube, with many making a living by implementing this practice in their videos. Unfortunately, there are instances where the original owners of borrowed media are against others using their creations/property, resulting in them forcibly removing videos that should technically still fall under fair use. In fear of being sued by wealthy media creators/distributors, YouTube creators often comply to these cases of unfair video removal without making the effort to fight back. Last year, however, a YouTube channel known as h3h3productions did the opposite and actually went to court after being faced with a similar strike. After over a year of fighting their case in court, the channel was able to come out victorious, as the judge deemed their sampling of the plaintiff's content to follow the accepted rules of fair use. Nevertheless, this still came at a massive cost, as they were faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees that were necessary just to resolve the case. Luckily, the were fortunate enough to have a dedicated fan base that offered them support, thus, lessening what would have been a devastating financial burden. Many don’t have this luxury, however, making it all the more important to keep fair use alive and properly implemented in cases that it should rightfully apply.

Óðinn at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Spreadability vs. Stickiness/YouTube vs. Netflix

Earlier this week, we were assigned a reading that detailed the differences between spreadable and sticky media, two distinct approaches for reaching out to a desired audience. A website focused on spreadability will be much more preoccupied with making its content accessible through various means in hopes of gathering a diverse audience. This also results in a wide selection of content that can be easily shared by those viewing/interacting with the website. On the other hand, a website prioritizing stickiness will be much more focused on gathering a sizable and loyal audience that is attracted to what is being offered to them on that single platform.

By YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/)[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Youtube is a website that I feel embodies the spreadable approach, seeing as how the content produced is made easily shareable allowing individual videos to be sent to others and even embedded onto other websites. It is also made up almost entirely of user generated content, providing audiences with endless selections of videos that they can watch and share for free. On the other hand, I feel that Netflix is a much more sticky website, seeing as how all of its content is only accessible through its website/apps that require a subscription to get into. Its content also mostly consists of traditional media, such as movies and television shows made without the audience’s direct involvement.