Tut 9. Essay Plan

In regards to getting my topic approved, I received some feedback on my abstract. My original plan was to write about how business can use new communication technologies as a marketing tool to reach the active and engaged consumers. My tutor made me realize that with the direction I was going, my essay was going to be a broad, very broad business essay.

To make sure that the topic is related to this course and that it is going to be a humanities essay, I am going to focus on the consumer and how they can benefit from new communication technologies in regards to their consumption of LEGO products.

To capture the humanities aspect of things, I will try to only research articles from journals that belong to the humanities database. 

My essay plan:

The topic of the essay is how modern consumers can benefit from new communication technologies when engaging with businesses. I am going to include a socialistic theory (or maybe more if I can fit them in there) and find different arguments to back the theory by using journal articles. In order to illustrate the point, I am going to use LEGO as an example of how consumers build a LEGO universe and engage with each other by using new communication technologies.

This essay plan is based on a brainstorm and I have not started my research just yet, so be aware that this essay plan is only a guide.  

Below is the result of a (mind-blowing) brainstorming session

Tut 9. Political possibilities of the Internet

Task 2

In reply to the lecture:

As Stephen Stockwell told us about today, the development in the communication and consumer technologies has opened the door for several options to take part in for example the political debate. This development in technologies includes viral campaigns that use music, humour, fuzzy logic, ambush promotion and interactivity to spread arguments of political parties among the population.

I think the viral campaigns are a clever idea, seen from the sender’s perspective. The modern consumers are becoming less sensitive to traditional mass media, and because we are bombarded with advertisement that tries to persuade us to buy different products, we do not ‘trust’ the sender (being either businesses or political parties) anymore. If we receive any direct mail as a result of marketing activities from businesses or political parties we immediately delete it (if it has not already been caught by our spam filter). On the other hand, if I receive an email or a post on my Facebook profile with my friend as the sender, I find it more reliable and I am more open to the message compared to the ‘persuasive’ sender. Whether or not this strategy is effective depends on the receiver’s ability to identify the ‘real’ sender of the message.

Political possibilities of the Internet:

As it is stated on our course’s site, I should only complete the tasks if I can stick to my political belief. These are the tasks that I felt I could complete without putting my political belief at risk.

-          President Barack Obama is a busy man. Today his day has started off with the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office, followed by a meeting with his senior advisors. Around noon he is going to Cincinnati in Ohio to deliver his remark on the American Jobs Act. He is expected to be back at the White House at 5.25 pm (The White House).

-          Censorship and filtering the web in a democracy:
With an example of the ‘Green Dam’ in China, a desktop web filter uses two different approaches (Chen & Wang, 2011). First it checks a requested URL against blacklists and then scans text for obscenities and politically sensitive phrases. To filter pornography, the Green Dam includes an image recognition software. If a human face is not the primary component, the filter classifies the image as pornographic and blocks the site. However, tests of the Green Dam have found the porn filter to be fallible, mistakenly filtering Garfield the cat, Johnny Depp, Paris Hilton, and flesh-colored pork (Chen & Wang, 2011).
The article presents a good argument: “As a mass medium, the Web is unique. Traditional print media such as books and newspapers require time to publish and distribute physi­cally, while electronic mass media, namely radio and television, typi­cally depend on official licenses for operation and are either state-regu­lated or self-censored in exchange for fewer regulations. In contrast, the Web lets individuals easily pub­lish a rich range of content—such as multimedia, hyperlinks, and Java-Script—globally in real time to PCs and various mobile devices” (Chen & Wang, 2011, p. 94). Personally I think that what we know as ‘democracy’ is threatened in line with the censorship of the web. Because who then has to decide what information we can and cannot receive? I think what I have heard about the targeted search result you get based on your Google account is scary enough!

-          Being a Dane living abroad for the previous election in Denmark (last week), I had to go to the Royal Danish Consulate of Brisbane in Toowong to vote. As you can see on the picture below, the process of voting is not particularly influenced by the technological development. Even though we live in a highly developed global world (both in Denmark and Australia) I still had to physically write the name of the candidate that I wanted to vote for and then put this piece of paper into an envelope. This envelope was then shipped all the way to Denmark (approx. 16.000 km from here). So much for living in a high-tech world!

-          I did actually send this candidate a message using Facebook. I found it easy and informal compared to email. (Previously, we were given the task to translate something into Spanish, to solve that task I used http://www.freetranslation.com/ to help me. I will warn you of the credibility of these translation tools. Whether or not you decide to try to translate this of course depends on your degree of curiosity J)

References:

Chen, T. M., & Wang, V. (2011). Web Filtering and Censoring. Computer , pp. 94-98.

Stockwell, S, “We’re all hackers now: Doing global democracy”, CreateWorld, AUC-Griffith University, 7-10 December 2008. http://createworld2008.edublogs.org/2008/12/24/hacking-for-global-democracy/

The White House. (n.d.). President's Schedule. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president/2011-09-22

Tut 8. Essay preparation

Task 1

In terms of preparation for my essay, I have chosen not to write about any of the essay topics that were posted on Learning@Griffith. After the lecture about “produsage” i got an idea. I want to write about how the development in communication technologies affects marketing, and how the traditional marketing is losing its effectiveness in line with the consumers being more interactive.

I have read the journal article from Axel Bruns about “produsage” and used that as a starting point. He highlights how consumers have moved from being passive receivers of mass media to active participants in production and distribution of user-led content.

Basically, in my essay I want to explore how business can rethink their marketing activities and make use of new communication technologies as a marketing tool to engage its consumers, differentiate from its competitors and built brand loyalty.

Of course I need this topic to be approved, so I wrote an email with an abstract and now I am waiting for the response from my tutor before I can continue.

In the meanwhile I am surfing Wikipedia for further inspiration on the topic.

Tut 8. Movie making - mission completed!

Task 2
As our tutor told us, this movie is not an attempt to win an Oscar. I would have loved to win the Oscar for Foreign Language Film, but the winner of that Oscar was Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World” from Denmark. Watch it if you get the chance, it is really good. Award winning!  

My idea with the movie was that I wanted to show the development in the technology of communication technologies. I was highly inspired by the movie “Mankind Is No Island”, so I wanted to try and do the same thing - making a movie with pictures. All of the pictures in the movie are mine and if you look at the pictures by themselves they do not make much meaning. However, when they are put in a context like this and you add some text to them, they do tell a story. I call my story: "In Tech We Trust?"

The plot of the movie is reasonably uncomplicated. Act 1 sets up the mood of the movie and presents us to our sympathetic lead character. As we move towards the end of act 1, the point plot 1 is revealed and the story takes a different direction into something we did not expect. The lead character has to overcome the big hurdle / problem of making a movie. Act 2 deals with the hurdle and we see how the movie takes its audience on a journey through the development in technology with the starting point of old ways of communicating; cave drawings and rock art. Throughout the movie the director draws a parallel to old and traditional ways of communication technologies and at the same time addresses the audience and their feelings towards technology. The main climax is in act 3, where the development in technology is being questioned. The resolution and what provides the audience with a sense of closure is when the main character’s attitude towards the development in technology is being revealed. However, the movie does have an open ending that force the audience to consider the question raised by the director – in tech we trust?

“With its dynamic composition and the audio codes, this movie certainly questions the development in technology in a way that captures the audience” – anonymous movie enthusiast

 

Behind the scenes
Okay, now let us talk about the making of my movie. I totally got carried away late Friday night listening to sound effects on http://free-loops.com/audio.php?term=instrument&page=5 Who knew you could find sounds like that? Cool stuff! Continuing my search for a soundtrack to my movie on http://www.artistserver.com/genre_charts.cfm/g/genre_charts.cfm?G=31 – I didn’t even know there where genres like this “Symphonic Electronica”!

I found the perfect soundtrack for my movie: “Still waters run deep” by Christoph Burghardt on this page for royalty free music: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/96389

According to the website, this music is registered with some rights reserved under the creative commons. That means that I can copy, distribute, advertise and play this particular album as long as I:

-          Give credit to the artist

-          Don’t use this album for commercial purposes

-          Don’t alter, transform or build upon this album

Have a listen to some of the other songs from the album ‘Unshot Movies’ by Christoph Burghardt http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/96389 and think about how the various tracks on there can be used to create a different mood in the movie :)

Tut. 7 "Produce a video that you can embed in your blog"

Task 1 – “The produsage lecture”

This week’s lecture was the most interesting of them all. Mainly because it related to a topic that I have been thinking about for my essay (which I will not reveal just yet, so stay tuned). The lecturer introduced us to the term “produsage”.

I actually went home and read Axel Bruns’s journal articles about produsage and citizen journalism right after the lecture! (Now that is something!) 

I find it very interesting how consumers have moved from being passive receivers of mass media to active participants in production and distribution of user-led content and how the collaborative engagement leads to further development and improvement of existing material (Bruns).  

Produsage is part of the paradigm shift which is supported also by the rise of new media technologies. This paradigm shift also involves a change in knowledge management. Bruns emphasizes the importance of produsage when educating students. We are moving away from a hierarchical, institution-led and non-collaborative environment towards a new model of learning and teaching that focus on collaborative engagement between learners and teachers. The use of blogs, wikis and other collaborative content authoring tools provides learners with an opportunity to share knowledge and work in groups and on long-term projects.

I have actually had experiences with the use of wikis in a course at UNSW in Sydney. This course, Innovation and Entrepreneurship used wikis instead of Blackboard. In the beginning, I thought it was annoying and difficult, but this two-way learning and teaching relationship made it possible to share knowledge in a way I have never seen before. Basically, I think this is a good idea but I am still a bit suspicious when it comes to wikis. I guess it takes some getting used to.  

Task 2 - The process of my movie

As I described last week, the Windows Movie Maker didn’t really work for me, so I changed Picasa 3 instead. So far I have put together the pictures in my slide show and added some text in order to create some meaning, so it is not just a collection of random pictures.

I still have to figure out how I can save it as a file that allows me to play it as a movie, and not just open the file in the program.

I still have a long way to go, I need to add some sound and different visual effects. I have one particular song that I would like to use in the movie, but I am worried about the copy right issue. I will have to look into that and see if the creative commons can provide me with some music or effects that can be useful in my movie.

Bonus info to my loyal follower(s)

In the lecture we were introduced to the short-film “Mankind is no Island”. The short film was the winner of Tropfest NY in 2008 and shot entirely on a cell phone, using signage on the street of NY and Sydney to tell a story about the two cities. Having lived in Sydney the first six month of 2011, I actually recognized a lot of the places and some of the homeless people in the movie as well.

I came to think about a story about this homeless guy in Sydney making a lot of money from begging, so I had to do some research. I found the article. This homeless guy can make$50.00 a year begging and $400 on a good day! According to the article (The Sunday Telegraph 2009), the Newstart unemployment payment is about $32 per day. It makes you think, how much money do you make??

Reference:

The Sunday Telegraph (August 23, 2009) ‘Sydney homeless man makes $50.000 a year begging’ Retrieved from: http://www.news.com.au/national/sydney-homeless-man-makes-50000-a-year-begging/story-e6frfkvr-1225765153392

Tut 6 - Hollywood Cinema & Production Techniques

Task 1

The topic of this week’s lecture was Hollywood cinemas and we were presented to a timeline of the development in the moviemaking business from the first Walt Disney film in 1937 to the first completely computer animated film Toy Story in 1995, the introduction of 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, Imax theatre and how the Internet affects the world of cinema / entertainment.

I find it interesting how the Internet can both be used as a marketing tool for Hollywood, but on the other hand it is also considered to be a threat due to piracy. According to Ron Wheeler, head of the ant-piracy efforts at Fox Entertainment Group, Hollywood is more concerned about internet piracy that physical piracy, because controlling it is harder (Economist 2008).

If we take a look at the life cycle of a movie, we might find that trailers that are put online are an important part of the introduction stage. If we consider the movie showing as the growth / maturity stage, then DVDs, video-on-demand, online services and pay-cable television is a way to extend the product life of the movie before moving into the decline stage.

In regards to the question whether or not the Internet is threatening Hollywood and going to replace cinemas, I don’t think is will be the case. Personally, I find ‘going to the cinema’ a social event that is often associated with dinner, a movie and a night out with my friends. I do not think the Internet will be able to replace watching a movie as a social event, regardless of HD-widescreen home-cinema surround sound systems. However, I do believe that it is only a matter of time before the DVDs reach the decline stage of the movie life cycle and it replaced by a online service that can be downloaded (il)legally to people’s personal computers and hooked up to their home cinemas.

For further reading regarding this matter please have a look at the article ‘Coming Soon’:

'Coming soon' 2008, Economist, 386, 8568, pp. 86-88, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 September 2011.

Task 2
Exploring "simple" production techniques... I like how they describe it as "simple". Let's find out how "simple" it is going to be!! :)

My experience with simple production techniques:

Okay, I admit it. It is the first time for me to make a movie. I have always believed that everyone should do what they do best (and therefore I have always agreed with other people that the result would be better if they produced movies instead of me). I guess I finally have to make up for that now.

Being new in the movie world I thought I would start with Windows Movie Maker. I spent a fair bit of time looking at the program’s different features. I even started making my movie in there. The result was … surprisingly …. bad! I would have loved to upload the result of Windows Movie Maker, but somehow the f@æøåg file did not want to open. (This is me being part of a tech savvy generation and whining about modern technology!)  

I wanted to make a movie with pictures - a slideshow if you will. I continued my search in production tools and came across Picasa 3. Installed it and got carried away … [to be continued]

Tut 5 - Essay Prep and Scavenger Hunt

Task 1 - Screenplay structure in the Rubber movie

Rubber – the movie of a killer tire starts with an opening scene in extremely long shot of a guys standing in a dessert. This shot establishes the environment (the dessert near a dirt road) and introduces us to the tour guide by using a medium-long shot. A car appears on the road and hits several chairs on its way so they fall down (the question is why? “No reason”). A sheriff gets out of the car and starts explaining how a lot of things happen “for no reason” in movies. The use of medium-long shot makes it possible to see some facial expressions.

The movie is about a movie of a tire, and how these spectators experience the events in a different way and attach different meanings to them. Throughout the movie, different shots such as medium-close up and close up are used to get more familiar with the tire. When the tire uses its telekinetic powers to blow up different things, the big close up is used to illustrate the anger that the tire is feeling (I assume) together with audio codes in terms of special effects, that sounds like an engine that is overheating.

One of the most important hints in the movie is the song “don’t wanna be lonely” and this is an example of how audio codes can be used to set up the story and give us an insight into the mind of the tire.

Task 2 - More research

1. First university:Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt - founded in 969.
URL: http://ask.yahoo.com/20030501.html
(That is what Ask Yahoo says) :)

 2. Stehpen Stockwell Band:
"The Black Assassins", Stephen: keyboard / vocal
Name of a song: "Death take me now"
URL: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm
Found this by using Yahoo.


3. The world's biggest machine:
Sorry, I got carried away by Guinness World Records.
Have a look at this: The largest mining truck - sure can hold a lot of coal!
URL: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/largest-mining-truck-body/
Found this by randomly browsing on the website of  Guinness World Records


4. Justin Beiber's lawyer - qucikest way to get into contact with him:I have no idea, can't find it. I guess a way to get into contact would be to do something unethical and get prosecuted?


5. Cheapest form of travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne:If you're feeling lucky, why don't you get a lift from a trcuk driver?
However, do check the Hitchhiking's guide
URL: http://www.stiffarmingsociety.com/hitchhiking/hitchhiking.htm


6. Who is Hatsune Miku? Company she belongs to + birthday:Hatsune Miku is the most popular Vocaloid character, created by Crypton Furture Media on August 31, 2007.
URL: http://kadakat.hubpages.com/hub/Vocaloid-Miku-Hatsune
Found this in Yahoo and had to look at some different sites to get there.


7. Live webcam in Belarus. A place to stay in Antarctica?
URL: http://www.webcamsmania.com/belarus/  (Yahoo)
Unless you want to camp next to the penguins, try a floating hotel:
URL: http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/our-ships (Yahoo)

8. Song that was the top of Australian top chart this week in 1991?Bryan Adams - Everything you do (i do it for you)
URL: http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1991.htm 


9. What type of car is used to make Google Street View?Hey who said they used a car? Could I get a job as that biker??
URL: http://maps.google.com/intl/en/help/maps/streetview/technology/cars-trikes.html 

 10. Translation of the questions into Spanish:
1. Dónde estuvo la primera Universidad establecido y en que año?
2. ¿Qué es llamada la banda de Stephen Stockwell y qué juega él? ¿Puede denominar un par de sus canciones?
3. ¿Qué es el peso de la máquina más grande de mundo? ¿Cuánto costó construir?
4. ¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y qué son la mejor manera (más rápido, más seguro) contactar al abogado?
5. ¿Qué es la forma más barata de viaje de la Costa de oro a Melbourne?
6. ¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿A qué compañía pertenece ella? ¿Qué es sus cumpleaños?
7. Encuentre una webcam viva en Bielorrusia. Encuentre que un lugar para permanecer en Antártida.
8. ¿Qué canción fue la cima del taponazo australiano traza esta semana en 1991?
9. ¿Qué tipo de coche es utilizado para hacer 'Vista de Calle de Google'?

Now that was fun, I have no idea if this is right, I guess I'll just have to trust: http://www.freetranslation.com/ 
I am tempted to write something in Danish and have it translate that .. But then again, I should spend my precious time on something else!