Origin?

In case anyone comes back.

Momentum

- ebbs & flows (like a wave)

- micro to mega

ex. Friendship, online communities.
Does ebb require a replacement to happen?
Still depends on potential, possibility → part of momentum?
Facebook – added on Murtaugh list?

Ebbs & flows in life are natural, but momentum in participation is artificial

ROFLCon – helmet diaper man. His photo was circulated
Rmb: memes, The Tipping Point – how are they spread?
How do you harness the power of momentum?
- requires external validation
- 1. How do u figure out right place right time?
- 2. If it wasn’t, how do u persevere?

Congo line
- expectations?


Whatever u do, is to have a goal in mind of what type of participation

U want it to involve ppl, so don’t show exclusiveness. How do u convince them?
- Conga: how do we keep going?
- the stronger your perspective, the more ppl want to participate, extremes
- what happens to the things in between?
- numbers

- blog
- last one standing
- ownership
we all are it, it is us, we are neighter it nor it us, but it cannot exist without us



To Keep In Mind while writing Portfolio:
analysis – what did I learn? How diff is it from what I expected?
From that, how does it relate to the bigger picture?
PORTFOLIO: What u expected, what you got, what you learned?
- about the medium – about communication & participation in general
-
b/t geek & people
how tech work ⇔ people work

Class discussion Mar 19 - New/Old Media

March 19, 2009

Transition Old ⇔ new
- what is different?
- participation, dimension, technology, temporal, control – on demand, choice
- analog?
- receptive?
- knowledge based diff? literacy?
- look from past/ future?
- new skill set required, function pattern, social → new way of thinking about it? → new set of values?
o (new edu degrees)
- Internet
o rmb when it was not around?
o what do u gain? lose?
o visiting = passive participation = creating a trail/record, a membership
o some just transform old stuff to new tech without changing its form
- TV: the box or the content???
o delivery system/platform vs. content
o hardware that attracted content production (both tv n internet)
o then shifted to value content
• internet too??
o ex. Vietnam war failed b/c TV was new and produced diff consciousness
- relationships b/t content, tech, people
- how do we make the transition meaningful?
- diff motivations for disagreement, diff ways of delivering
- collective: not BIG group but many small groups
o dispersed nature of activity
o dominant mode of communication determines how the society thinks, acts..
o shifts the responsibility away from the leader

Global society:
- still western dominant
- “glocal” – ideas shared, just letting it be up for grabs, but u still retain ur own
- so, how did u start wanting it?
- global village: getting stuff from everywhere at your own spot
- now, global: not being at one place, but being everywhere else
- where is the value??
Friends
- local VS anywhere else
- value
Choice: do u trust yourself in your choices?
- do u know the options?
- expertise/ how well u know abt stuff?
- analog VS digital

ex. is it ok to ‘outsource’ someone to write a paper for u?
- depends on what is the goal of the degree – ability to complete the process VS gain knowledge
- value of credentials
- do we still apply old standards of values to new stuff?


Sharing
- solitude VS privacy
- a feature of the transition – ability to be unplugged; omnipresence – always feel need to be connected, still in the loop.
- value of solitude, changed? negative consequence VS positive necessity
- it’s hard to be alone now – always thinking abt being connected ex. upload photos from camping trip → being subject to it
- shift in social understanding
- more comfortable
- to be able, or connected in diff ways?
- solitude: connected to self, not others
- change in technology or people? – they influence each other

private: restricted access, yours, control
- when we choose to share our private lives (FB status, PS, FmyLife), talking on cell phone on bus…
- imaginary safety bubble? idea of privacy shifted?
- are we trying to connect thru similarity and not acknowledging differences any more?
- what do we choose to keep private? benefits?
- copyright form – sharing → collaboration; bad: less chance of each gaining possession n making it better?
- sharing online VS offline – offline more skeptical; online less, just trust it!
- being physically removed makes us feel diff abt being private
o consequences? need?

good/bad being private:
- bad: can’t know full circumstances; good: judge!

SUMMARY
more / less participatory
redefine personal space – physical/ global
solitude vs. privacy – value? definition?
These are questions of transition, to be aware of what is going on and where we are now
things are redefined; words that are used again don’t mean the same thing as before
analog vs digital
what is gained/ lost? good/bad consequences? value??

VIDEO – Zeitgeist

Google: prosperity institute

Class discussion March 12 - Potentials

Previously: microcelebrities

Potenial – in aspects of participation
Personl VS broadly manifested
For good vs bad
Re: longtail

Possible potentials:
- networking – of like minds
- unite in action
- changing industry
- changing model of production -> transition from hierarchical → collaborative
- new tech
- participaction
- investment
- redefine (self) identit(ies)
- efficacy of affiliation
- shift in cultural territory, values…

changing industry
- Q: change power status VS technique for listening
- citizen journalism – newspapers closing – infrastructure collapses
- good: no one can own anything this big any more – more voices!
- bad: ex. Sending CDN ppl to war zones w/ protection. Citizens cant do that
- more voices -> that’s why we liked web 2.0!
- web 2.0- successful = being authority (the longtail oxymoron)

changing model of production:
- ex. Anonymous/4chan – anyone can be leader, but WHO is it? Accountability?
- Reciprocity-
- ideas
- idea vs inspiration: idea requires work. What makes an idea “legit”?
- depends on the context

is progress good or bad??
Only the best small part of the society is advanced, not the rest of it
Society: advanced by isolation (city) then babck to group…
Market > factory > artisans
Progress: ability to regress

News: ppl turning to satirical shows rather than 24 hr news channels
The shrunk the 24hr, highlightin gsignificant issue
Redefine
Politics VS politics
P: gov’t
p: socially active ← Obama recognized this

Technology:
- things, thinking process, attitude, evaluation, relations b/t things

efficacy of affiliation
- does it mean anything to be “associated” with someone

marketing
- control -= removing expertise
- platfom
- new way of market research
- Doritos – shift meaning creating process TO the consumer


Old system → New Web: diff culture, language
Bring something to share
- describe process
- what have you learned?

There aren't two types of people in the world

I finally deciphered the lyrics to this song I have been hearing on the streets, tv, internet, and radio. The song is britney spears' Circus, and the first line is: there are 2 types of people in the world -- those who entertain and those who observe. I would guess she us referring to the spectators of her rollercoaster life and how she is a performer in the ring (hence the Circus). It made me think: this dichotomy would not entire be valid in participative communication, would it? ;)

Class Feb 19 - Gift Economy

reciprocal altruism 

- oxymoron -- karma

- reciprocal: economy VS altruism: just because

- expectations, conditions, scale of return

altruism VS competition

- when you throw it out there, and if someone doesn't use it, is it a waste? is using it good enough? 

- just contributing, share VS status

- writer's audience is fiction - apply to altruism

- is it about yourself or others? fulfill someone? 

ex- activism/social movements

- goal = change -- if you are so good, the organization will close itself down

- surviving on deficiency, "I am better at providing", "they are incapable"

- if goal = change, = optimization, balance; contradict deficiency

- capitalism's goal is maximization

competition VS collaboration

- altruism      - gift economy    

-- contradiction? 

- reap what you sow

- actually -- spread/distributing YOUR ideas hat are a part o fwhat you give away; CENTRAL SOURCE

- regulated by language, culture, tech... 

-- just layering on top

-- just killing other potentials (ex. social movements, detrimental to cause)

Altruistic rule - give them their gift, can't tell them what to do with it

- ex. Holland's biccles

- is gift economy giving conditionally? how do you determine the conditions? to continue it? to extend it? 

- ex. Castro - amount of labour VS quality of labour

- gift economy does not guarantee sustain & optimize life (nor does capitalism)

OWNERSHIP, PRIVATE PROPERTY -- a culture idea

- private vs communal

create sth -> useful -> nth useless

ex. freecycling - why is it a bad thing to not give in return? taking VS energy in continuation

rather pay or take for free? b/c too good for it

- nth is for free, for no resaon

---

relate to participative communication - sharing, system of exchange, involves power, financial, social relations

how do we encourage continue it? to extend it? to make it a transformative action? 

-- imagine a different way of life

Distribution of Information - Charmin Extra Strong toilet paper!

While using the bathroom, I suddenly thought of an example of how information is distributed. It is a short path, but I could track how my group of friends became fans of Charmin's Extra Strong toilet paper.

A group of us students came from overseas, so we all lived by ourselves or with friends/siblings had to take care of our chores and groceries. One day while hanging out at Carl's* house, Jane praised the tissue in Bob's house was the best she had used. She wondered out loud what brand it was. Bob appeared, and answered that it was Charmin's tissue. What he didn't mention was that I had introduced him to the tissue when we went grocery shopping together. I was checking flyers I got in my mail and saw that brand was on sale. When Bob and I went to the store, I pointed out the toilet tissue that was on sale. He decided to get some as well. The next few weeks, we mostly hung out at Bob's place. Thus, Jane had a memorable experience with Charmin's tissue.

The flyer from the store was the source of information. I introduced it to one person, Bob. Bob became the disseminator of this information when he made the experience of using this tissue available. Jane highlighted this information, and brought it into awareness of this group of people. Things and roles could have played differently. If I had hosted my friends during that time instead, I could have been the sole source of this trend to my friends. And right now, as I blog about Charmin Extra Strong toilet paper and its praises, I am a potential distributor to the intended readers of this blog, students of SOSC 4330. If this blog remains in use and its presence shared, I might trigger an increase in C.E.S. tissue sales!

This reminds me of what I read in the book "The Tipping Point" about how Hush Puppies shoes went from a fading brand in the 90s to a high-fashion trend in around 3 years. HP did not approach high fashion designers to promote their shoes. What happened in those few years was that some young people started wearing HP with other trendy shoes. And possibly, it became noticed and adapted by fashion conscious citizens, and this trend was brought to the attention of designers. Very soon, the HP shoes hit the runway and Hush Puppies became popular again.
The incident has already passed, so the exact path of this trend cannot be traced but can only be inferred.


*Names have been changed to protect my friends' reputations from being uncool people having domestic discussions.

Class notes - Feb 12

WASTE

examples:
ubiquitous mozilla
cornify
unicorn lady

FORMS OF WASTE

• time vs. experience
  
• energy - cognitive, electrical, physical
  
• resources - material, financial
• opportunity 
• technology

depends on... 

• how you use them?
• efficiency?
• purpose? productive? 
  
• trade offs

ex. QWERTY keyboards

• inefficient layout
• create new one VS standardize VS customize
• learning a new method - wastes time
• during planning / execution / use

ex. US analog/ digital signals - 

WASTE - relative? universal? 

ex. Gillette scam, printer VS ink

Participation: 

ex. discussion VS activism - facebook, forums, strike... Green campaign, (Red) products, petitions 

- small action VS actual action -- fulfilling? does it actually contribute? 

- diminishes the actual action??! 

- does potential efficiency matter? or the belief that it had an impact? 

HWK: 

- Waste in relation to Gift Economy - research

- in relation to Participative Communication/ Culture

- to engage - ow do we interact? and move from that? 

- every week, present work in progress and what you learned. 

Class Discussion Feb 5

Keywords:

• auto- ethnography

• participation
• xenophile VS bridge
• network: volume VS variety

• neutral VS activist
  
• involvement: putting in VS taking out
• accomplishments: social VS political
  
• increments VS tangible

• Waste
• cognitive energy
• success VS failure -- tangible outcome? learning process?
• individual VS collective
• value?

Examples of Waste:

technology, electricity

and it just so happens that today, I stumbled upon... www.cornify.com .
and on a related note, http://bacolicio.us/