Refusing to Write for THE MAN

I don't think that I have ever willingly and independently submitted anything that I've written to any sort of literary magazine. My big hesitation is. . . What's the point? I submit something that I've worked diligently on to a snooty magazine or on campus publication, hope that what I've done is better than anyone else who submits, and then maybe it will be added to a minor publication. And then what? My words are out in the great vastness of space to wither away and be read a handful of times. And that's if it's even published.

I'm not a huge fan of writing because I'm forced to. Nor am I a fan of my work being used to build up someone else's reputation. I barely enjoy using so-called scholarly writing to make myself seem like an intelligent and well informed scholar. Heaven knows that I am far off from the typical idea of the scholar. If I'm going to write and have it be read, I want it to reflect myself and not necessarily be used to show the elitist nature of a magazine. Follow?

On her blog for our digital culture class, Natasha Watts expressed her frustration with the pretentiousness of some literary magazines as well as their readers. Read her post about it here. Her solution was to create an online literary magazine that would take submissions from readers, allow for better writer/reader interaction, and just be a darn happier place to be. And you can read a little about that idea here. We're teaming up with four other student from class to do just that. But we're going to need a lot of input from audiences to really get us going.

This is a call to all my pals that have any sort of interest in the subject. Do you feel like literary magazines are elitist? Too hard to become part of? Not accessible enough? Don't include the kind of writing that you want to read? Our design has a lot of potential to get more writers read through voting systems, a wide variety of genres, abilities to interact with writers, and a user friendly online format. Weigh in on what you think, even if you think that we're being ridiculous. Cliche ending statement: The possibilities are endless!

Media Fast? Media Snacking? At Least it Wasn't a Media Feast

Oh, the media fast. Definitely not as big of a success as regular fasting has been for me. I began at noon on Friday with the intention of going pretty hard core for 24 hours. No phone, internet, laptop, TV until noon on Saturday. And then I cracked...

Friday, approximately 1:00 pm: I work in the Cougareat so I knew that I would have a little bit of technology interaction. The radio would be playing in the kitchen, I would work with the cash registers, I would have a walkie-talkie, I would need to write an email to management. But I could handle all that. No big deal. Then I get stranded while making a delivery. Necessary phone call #1 for someone to come pick me up. I wasn't bummed out because it was for work and it made me really happy to have a phone.

Friday, 5:15 pm: I get off work and need to meet my friend. I was running late so I was hoping that she could grab my car and meet me somewhere. I grabbed for my phone to call her when I remembered that I wasn't supposed to. Oh well, I would just have to continue to be late.

Friday, 5:30 pm: I'm running late and need to text my sister and tell her I was going to be late taking her to a concert that evening. I decided that she would just come to that conclusion when I didn't arrive to pick her up on time.

Friday, 7:30 pm: I'm trying to find where the concert is with my spatially challenged self and sister. It was at the U and I am super not familiar with their campus. Once we finally got around to where the U is, we had no idea where the concert would actually be taking place. Necessary phone call #2 to call my friend at the concert and try to figure out where to go and where to park. This turned out to be pointless because she was close to the front and a speaker so she couldn't even hear me.

Friday, 8:00 pm: My mom texts me and without thinking I flip my phone open to read the text. Oops. Unnecessary text reading #1. I told my sister that she would have to text her back for me.

Commence concert enjoyment. I'm not listening to the music on an electronic device, so I decide that it's acceptable.

Friday, 10:12 pm: My friend calls to see if we want to meet up with them at Denny's. I knew that if I didn't answer she would think that we were blowing them off so I answered and made it snappy. Thus, slightly necessary phone call #3.

Friday, 11:16 pm: Arrive home and in my tired state, reach for my laptop to check my email. After doing so I realized that I definitely wasn't supposed to do that and instead of wrapping it up, I decide that I'm already using it so why not check Facebook too. Judgment error #1.

Saturday, 11:36 am: Receive a text from an old friend. Once again, to avoid hard feelings I decide that it would be better to bend the rules than to wait too long. Unnecessary text reading #2.

Saturday, 12:01 pm: Give a sigh of relief.

More than anything, this experiment showed me just how often I use my gadgets and how dependent I am on them. Even when I was using them when I shouldn't have been, I was very aware of the fact that I was using them and for how long. I definitely found some ways that I could cut back and some ways that I actually don't abuse all of this technology.

Confessions and Crowdsourcing

So I've been avoiding blogging for class for quite some time now. I'll be honest here. I just didn't know enough about digital culture to feel comfortable making statements on it. And I still don't. But this is a start. A late start, but a start. They say to write what you know and that hasn't gone so well for me so instead I'll write what I like. Which is music. I stinking love music. And as an avid music lover, I've worked on finding some connections between digital culture and music. I have found some gems!

Crowdsourcing!

When we were talking about crowdsourcing in class today I had a huge moment of realization. So huge, in fact, that I had to mentally prevent myself from actually hitting myself in the head. I know something about music and crowdsourcing! Last year the artist Imogen Heap started a new music project. At the beginning of this project she warned her fans that it would take up to three years to create but that they would enjoy the journey with her. She knew that she needed to produce a record and for various reasons she decided that using her fans to help her would be beneficial. Since then she has created 10 songs in collaboration with fans, other artists, and producers. And they aren't too bad either! She has taken sound bites, lines of music, images, moving images, lyrics, and ideas from willing participants and made her music into art. One of my favorites is her first one, originally titled "Heapsong1" and later re-titled "Lifeline." You can explore other projects that she is doing on her website (the Listening Chair project is especially interesting).

I'm not saying all this because I'm a crazy fan of Imogen Heap. She's a good musician but I'm just not that into it. What I am interested in is crowdsourcing within a field. It can be tricky to decide that line between crowdsourcing out of interest and collaboration for profit. I've heard plenty of artists collaborate with each other to create a new sound. And yes, it can be awesome. But when you're pulling from a larger crowd with a greater sample, I think that creates a lot of potential.

When I met with Professor Burton he suggested that it would be interesting if we could share other ideas the way we share music, particularly scientific and medical breakthroughs. What does it say about our culture that we're willing to work together to create social networks, music, recipes, and service projects but unwilling to make business models, medical steps, and technology together? In a world where it is so easy to share everything, we put a limit on what we give and take from the web.

Lord of the Flies: Step One

Admittedly, it has been several years since I last read Lord of the Flies. But the opportunity to read it again was just too good to pass up. Another confession though. I am afraid that my connections to digital culture will be a little too literal. I'm hoping that once I get to do a deeper reading I can find some more valuable connections.

• The boys are forced onto the island without any choice. Once they are there they have to figure out how they want things to work and who their leaders will be. The obvious similarities here -- either change with technology or be left in the dark. As we've discussed briefly in class before, we're still trying to decide what the rules are for the internet and who decides what those rules are.
• The boys fear the things that they don't understand (the trapped parachute, the pig's head, each other). However, Simon discovers that the main evil is within themselves. Who are we to say that things on the internet are evil when really we get out of it exactly what we put into it.
• There are very obvious social divides on the island. The hunters, the thinkers, the survivors. There are also very obvious groups on the internet. Those who use it for business, use it for pleasure, use it for terror.

Hopefully I'll come up with a few more solid ideas in the coming week or two. But these are the springboards for now!

My Folks and Their Gadgets

Old people and the internet. Just thinking about it makes me want to roll my eyes. Every time my grandpa joins my family for dinner I find myself explaining some new technology to him. Kudos to him for being aware enough to ask, but trying to talk my grandpa through Twitter is not one of my favorite activities! So far we've gone over Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and simple email. There are really only so many times you can hear the word "twittering" without going crazy. However, I found an ironic situation about a week ago.

One summer I was doing some pretty intense job hunting at home. I spent hours everyday filling out online applications for jobs all around my home town. But whenever my parents would walk into my room and see my on my laptop, it looked to them like I was doing nothing. It took some time for me to explain to them that most companies prefer online applications now. They could not fully wrap their heads around this concept.

Then, just last week, my family was sitting at the table for Sunday dinner. We had all finished eating and were just sitting around talking. Lately my whole family has been obsessed with the game Song Pop. We're all competitive and we all love music so it's perfect for us. Inevitably the topic of Song Pop scores came up at which point my mom pulled out her iPad and my dad pulled out his smart phone. My sisters and I just looked at each other as I said, "Hey, no technology at the dinner table!" My mom's answer? "You're just jealous!"

Since when did our (or maybe just my) parents surpass us on being so up to date with their gadgets? My parents are still no where near tech savvy. I still have to show my mom how to get pictures off of her digital camera. But I think I've been underestimating my parents' abilities when it comes to technology. How have your parents transitioned in the past few years? Have they resisted the tides of change or embraced all that it has to offer?

Original Title aka First Post

For the first post I thought it might be a most excellent idea to explain why I chose to alter an Elvis song for my title. First off, Elvis! Does anymore need to be said? And oh hey, here's a link! Who doesn't love a good Youtube link?! And reason two for the title...
Have you ever tried to make plans with your friends via texting? Has it taken you way longer than you anticipated? Once the plans were set, was there some sort of miscommunication? This has happened to me on more than one occasion! And it drives me up the wall! All of the technology we have is great for starting conversations and saying things but how much communicating really goes on? Is this just a misconception that old people made up so they could add it to their repertoire of "back in my day" stories?
Most of the posts on my blog won't be on communication vs. conversation, although it is something I've taken a special interest in. For now I'll just go where the links take me!
PS: Speaking of links (and a relevant one at that)... Remix culture strikes again!