Catfish

Catfish was the tale of a documentarian who begins an online platonic relationship with an year old art prodigy named Abby. He is lead to believe that he is corresponding with Amy, her mother Angela, her sister Megan, and her brother. Nev, the documentarian, even finds himself falling for Megan without ever meeting her face to face. However, after finding discrepancies with what he is being told by the family and facts he is uncovering through research, Nev decides to travel to Michigan to confront the family. He soon learns that the family he had grown close to was actually just one woman, Angela, posing as multiple people.

Catfish brought to life a major issue with democratized media and shed new light on the fact that the internet can often not be trusted. Web 2.0 allows for a free flow of ideas throughout the internet by all users. However, the consequences of this lack of monitoring is that often times what is being put out is not entirely accurate or flat out lies. Nev made the mistake of trusting what was being presented to him on the internet and did not take into account how easily a situation, a story, or even a life can be fabricated. Keen claims that Web 2.0 has caused the web to lose its credibility and Catfish brings to life how unreliable this internet truly is.

Catfish showed how easily one women in her attic can influence and manipulate someone else’s life by taking on different personas. It also proved how naïve people are to what they are being presented on the internet. This has created a huge problem in the digital world.  People are now subject to identity theft, con jobs, incorrect or bias information, false promises, etc. because of Web 2.0. The expression “take it with a grain of salt” can directly apply to much of what is put on the internet. With little to no filter on the internet, people must understand that the information they are being fed may lack any type of accountability. Democratized media has its positives as it allows the common person to voice their opinions or receive information from different viewpoints. Web 2.0 has allowed people from all walks of life to associate, share thoughts, make lasting connections, etc. However, it also has the dangers of allowing people the power of “truth”, and in many cases these “truths” are wrapped in deception or merely flat-out lies.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Exit Through The Gift Shop was a documentary directed by street artist Banksy. Originally intended to be an exposé on street art filmed by Thierry Guetta, Banksy would later turn the camera on Guetta and his seemingly overnight rise to fame in the art world. The documentary was able to captivate audiences by first bringing them into the world of street art through individuals such as Shepard Fairey and then revealing how one man can defy the art and reinvent himself into one of the most prestigious artist with virtually no street art background.

Guetta was able to create this art by taking what he had learned from the various street artists he followed. He began to understand basic ingredients and styles that made the art interesting and popular. All art forms including painting and music have artists who are influenced by those before them and this is often apparent in the works they put out. However, Guetta seemed to have little to no style of his own. What he created was completely based off of what he had learned by following the artists for the months before. He found simple theorems that Shephard, Banksy, or whichever other artist he had studied used and applied it to his works, making his art basically unoriginal. He clearly had no authentic vision which is why his artwork resembled those he followed and why he needed a team to actually create the works. Guetta’s vision was not that of his own but merely an accumulation of everything he had picked up from the true artists and masked into one large copycat art show.

This movie really made a statement about society. It showed how trends can occur with no basis or justification. Guetta had no right to present himself as a true graffiti artist, yet, thousands of people showed up to his art exhibit and paid top dollar for his art works. This mirrored a society who likes things because it is “the thing to like” and not necessarily because they enjoy it. Trends often become trends because certain people say so and not because people make their own judgments out of free will. Guetta was able to spark interest and create a buzz about his work by simply receiving the support of Banksy and Shepard and getting his name in a popular newspaper. This proved that society is made up of many people who yearn to be a part of a fad or whatever is the new, hip thing.

The argument can be made that the internet has allowed for trends to flourish and why Guetta was so successful. However, I believe that this is not completely accurate. Trends have been able to blossom for years without the use of the internet. In the 80’s, punk rock music emerged in the underground scene by word of mouth. Small groups of people found this music to be edgy. Therefore, many people began listening and became fans mainly because of what the music represented. Fashion often finds its niche because of who wears it rather than how it looks. The Michael Jordan sneaker brand is able to re-launch old sneakers by marketing them as vintage and cool. Although consumers may not find them particularly attractive they still purchase the sneakers because of trends and what the shoe represents. Guetta’s over-night fame was helped by the internet, but was more so spurred upon by a society who has a history of eating up whatever is proclaimed as the fresh and cool new trend.

Rasterized Vector Dominos

Vector Image Bruce

Vector LoGo

Keen

1. How does Keen define Democratized media, and what are his main issues with this trend? use examples from the web in the form of links. Include this idea of "disintermediation".

Keen describes democratized media as content put out by the masses by use of the internet for everyone to view.  He finds faults in this "deomocratized media" because there is a lack of responsibilty and credibility by people posting their opinions or creative views. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of folksonomy written about in my previous blog. This trend has lead people to feel a sense of entitlement to post their feelings, distort facts, and lead to an amatuer approach to articles, videos, blogs, etc. found on the web. Websites such as youtube.com allow users to to post amatuer videos that may devalue legitimate and credible works found on the website. The idea of "disintermediation" cuts out the middle man and leaves little to no supervision of what is posted on the interenet. Keen sees the oppurtunity and potential the internet has in allowing mass opinion and creativity to be exposed. However, it also leaves a question of "what will happen to legitimate and proffesional works?"

2. Compare and Contrast Keens take on Social Media with Douglas Rushkoff's. What are these differences in opinion? Which one speaks to you and your own experiences and why? You may include the ideas of such utopian technophiles as Larry Lessig, Chris anderson, and Jimmy Wales (who are these guys!?)

Keen and Rushkoff have opposing views on social media. Keen views it as a hazard to our society, while Rushkoff sees the upside of it. Rushkoff sees the potential of Web 2.0. He feels that if utilized properly the possibilities of the internet age are endless. The average person will have the same ability to voice their opinion and be as creative as those who control the mass media. Keen feels like the web will be the destruction of the word and the way people socialize and construct factless writings that the population will soak in. I believe Keen has a more realistic view of the internet. Too often I have found myself reading articles or watching amatuer videos releasing incorrect and creditless information. If left to the masses to decipher fact from opinion there will be a slew of misinformed people. Misinformation or interpretations could cause many problems within society regarding the way people think and interact. The internet has a great amount of power in today's society and I am not certain that it is ready to be unpatrolled.

Comments

I commented on Vicky, Becky, and Meg's postings.

Folksonomy and the folks

The internet has become a forum for a free flow of ideas and opinions from people of all walks of life. On the surface this would seem like a positive approach to a country founded on the principle of "freedom of speech". However, over recent years people have found a sense of entitlement through the internet that has resulted in a loss of credibility throughout most of what is published across the web. Blogs, articles, postings, etc. are often times places for people to rant about their own personal opinions without sources, facts, or an unbiased outlook to consider. This approach has in turn caused media sources which are valid, credible postings to lose its integrity simply by being posted on the internet.

Professionalism has been devalued in some regard by the amateur nature of the internet. People are less likely to be able to differentiate from professional postings of videos, news, etc. and rather follow whatever trendy, flashy, entertaining outlet is being put forth. Although, one could view this as a way for people to learn how to sort through the nonsense put out and find the truth that lies within the media. Professional outlets must learn how to integrate the amateur phenomenon that has swept the internet into their own professional standard.

Democracy has always based itself on the ability for the voice of the common people to be heard. The new found folksonomy through the web has allowed this to be true. However, it must be used responsibly to ensure proper results and reasoning. The value of one post goes hand in hand with the integrity of the thousands of other voices being expressed, without proper posts and opinions then anything one deems not synonymous with their own opinion will be disregarded.

The internet is a tool never before experienced. It is a way for the common man to get his or her voice heard by the masses. It is a power that must be harnessed responsibly and educatedly. Without proper use of this power, the amateur videos, postings, blogs, etc. will be lost in a shuffle of uncredible voices streaming through the web.

Social Media Questions

1) I believe that production quality will continue to get better for amateur user-generated videos. Although many people enjoy the realistic depictions shown in many commercials and television shows there is also a strong movement towards high definition and 3D filming. As technology progresses these types of productions will become the norm for television, as well as a progression in amateur films.

2) I find myself using facebook and twitter. Facebook is a great place for social networking because it allows you to experience a portion of a friends life quickly and easily, while twitter is convenient for me to use on my smart phone and it allows me to quickly skim through multiple people's jokes and opinions. I believe the layout of facebook as well as its user friendly features made it more successful then MySpace. MySpace had an extremely basic outlay without many of the features that drew people towards Facebook. Facebook continues to make adjustments and changes to keep it relevant therefore I believe it is here to stay.

3) Transparency has become such an important concept in social media because in today's digital age much of business operations, news, and personal information can be through these arenas. When using the internet people can hide behind false names or descriptions and allow for untruthful or slanderous material to be leaked out. I believe transparency is just as, if not more, important in the offline world. It is understandable not to trust what is seen on the internet, however, once faith is lost in the real world then nothing said or written will be perceived as accurate.

The Twitter Tree

Twitter is a social network that allows people from all over the world to interact with one another. In this image I have incorporated the Twitter bird logo to depict how everyday people and celebrities can come together in the same forum to connect with one another with thoughts and ideas.