Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Summary lecture week 9

Jason's lecture today was about how to teach yourself software.
He gave us some really good advices what to do, how to do it and what not to do.
First he told us, that you should try to teach yourself easy software and not to ask first other people for help. For example how to use Adobe Flash, a really important page, cause the most movie websites or the sites of MTV or Nike use Flash.
But he also mentioned, that the right use of software could be a problem, cause if your not that into it you can make terrible mistakes. Therefore we talked about how you can teach yourself software in a few days. The result was that it's nearly impossible to do that, cause good software is deep and you need months or years to learn it. It's not enough if you have tried photoshop once for example and then say 'Yes, i can use it'.
At the beginning you should try to learn it by playing with it, open the software and try to use it. But make sure that you save all your data. Save your work is really important.
Another advice was to try many different ways to learn software and don't waste your time by spending to many hours at one solution.
And if you have problems or if you need help use the help file or search for help or better join forums and ask questions. But make sure that the forum has an active community. Another way for help could also be the use of video tutorials.
But always keep in mind, that if you are able to use software it's all about the content. Easy software can be used by every person, but the content is important!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

News for today!!



...really crazy and scary.I think the climate warming and the changing weather are going to be a huge problem in the next years.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Lecture summary week 8

The weeks lecture by Stephen Stockwell was about 'Political Possibilities'.

We learned more about CyberPolitics and eDemocracy and it was a really interesting and informative lecture.

We started with the definition of Democracy and some other terms like CyberPolitics or eDemocracy. Then we moved on and had a look at new political formations arising from new technologies, for example the work of hackers and cyberpunks.

CyberPolitics:
- politics of the internet
- there are a lot powerplays around the actual structure and functions of the internet (decided by the Internet Society and ICANN and even by political activities in forums, between bloggers and in games.

eDemocracy:
- intervention in real world politics
- it covers political campaigns and the government's use of the internet
- people can discuss political debates and critizise the government and their mistakes

After that we moved on to a general view of democracy. We learned more about it's history and we spoke about some simple definitions of democracy continue to inform popular discussion:
-the rule of the many
-the rule of the majority
-government of the people, by the people, for the people

The Democracy as we know it today is mainly the product of the nations of the industrial age. But the things we talked about in the lecture don't adress the impact of the present period of rapid transition from an industrial to an information economy and the consequent challenge to the power of nation states by global economic and cultural processes.

Then we had a closer look at the universal acceptance of democracy and the ambivalence of political process. Around eighty percent of Australian and American adults say, that they are interested in politics, but actually no more than half of the adult population follow public affairs in the mass media and only as few as five percent vote in elections.
The most obvious alternative to representative democracy is participatory or direct democracy, based on the ancient Greek model where all citizens have a right and a duty to be involved in all decisions made. Democracy, they argue, can only work where citizens understand that they have a duty to foster democratic processes as a common undertaking and, most particularly, a duty to participate in those processes. Participation is seen to educate and empower the participant and this is crucial to the health and strength of democracy.
So the search for a definition of democracy can never be concluded.
Chantal Mouffe argues in her preface to Dimensions of Radical Democracy that:
-democracy can only consist in the recognition of the multiplicity of social logics and the necessity of their articulation... [with] no hope of final reconciliation. That is why radical democracy also means the radical impossibility of a fully achieved democracy.

Our next topic was: Gaps in the Mass Media

The increasing concentration, centralisation and commercialisation of the mass media appear to have foreclosed avenues for democratic participation in currently existing representative democracy. To have a closer look at this we talked about Habermas ideas and his thoughts of the public sphere.

Basically you can say that if the mass media are the main forums for democratic deliberation then citizens must have the potential to make their voice heard or it is not a democracy. We learned,that there are potentials for demotic use of the mass media through the gaps provided by their commercial, competitive nature, by building public spheres for autonomous deliberation and by appreciating the hermeneutic capabilities of the citizen-audience.

Then we talked about 'Free Speech and Censorship'

-> 'The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it' (John Gilmore)

Deliberation and discussion are key attributes of democracy, maybe talk is the most important element of democratic activity. The ability to convince and the willingness to be convinced are what provide the give and take that makes democracy something for all citizens. And that requires access to free speech!!!

But in Australia there is no constitutional right to free speech, like we have it in the USA and the most European countries. So we have to ask: Is free speech a basic right?
Rather we might view free speech as self-correcting mechanism - in using free speech people make democracy happen.
But there are a lot battles between free speech and censorship on the net. On the one hand it's the case, that the net is like a newspaper, but it isn't mass media in the accepted sense. And you also have the problem of copyright.

Later Stephen went on to 'Citizen-Hacker: Doing Global Democracy'

One space for the recreation of the citizen has been cleared by the hacker. They move freely through machines and their networks to find obscure and hidden information. Hackers regard computer systems not as corporate property but as part the common wealth and do not believe it is wrong to break into systems to look around and understand.
The Hacker's Manifesto from 1986 explained the hacker ethos: 'This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons? We explore... We seek after knowledge?' (Blankenship 1986).
Today Hackers have a bad name. They are always named together with computer criminal, but in the Hacker's Handbook of Hugo Cornwell he notes two other uses: 'those involved in the recreational and educational sport of unauthorised entry into computers and, more generally, the enthusiasts 'who love working with the beasties for their own sake, as opposed to operating them in order to enrich a company?'
And there is also 'The Hacker Ethic'. This code says, that the data the hackers found are for free sharing and that they never harm information they found.
As the final word Stephen chose Hugo Cornwall's quote:Computers 'can threaten our traditional concepts of freedom, individuality and human worth. I like to believe hacking is a curious re-assertion of some of those ideas.'

After that we came to the topic 'Cyberpunk':

It is an outlet for political expression with regards to the internet and studies the political possibilities.
The word 'Cyberpunk' comes from the amalgamation of Cybernetics (the study of communication, command and control in living organisms, machines and organisations) and Punk (a style of fast, loud, short rock music with an anarchist political philosophy and a DIY, anti-expert, 'seize the day' approach to life).
Cyberpunk developed as a reaction against the over-blown stories of for example George Lucas's Star Wars.
The movie Matrix pushed the limits of cyberpunk so it became like the bloated soap operas that it had originally scorned. Nevertheless it deals with philosophical issues at some depth. It also explored a possible future world where machines are smarter than humans and where people are dominated by machines and media.

Cyberpunk Themes:

1. Technology and Mythology:
- connected for a long time
- in greek mythology ('Prometheus')
- 'Sisyphus' (used technology against the wishes of the gods -> see Albert Camus' Myth of Sisyphus')
- 'Adam and Eve'
- 'Faust' (a doctor, who sold his soul to the devil for unlimited power and knowledge, but was very unhappy with it, cause he couldn't find a way out of the deal)
- 'Frankenstein' (Dr Frankenstein tried to reanimate the reconstituted dead, but he created a monster which went out of control)
-> Cyberpunk was used to remythologise technology

2. Utopia and Dystopia:
- there are strong myths for and against technology -> Utopias (imaginary places, people, world, everything is perfect and humans and technology are in harmony)

3. Cities as Machines
- the city is a machine for living- it creates human life just as humans create it
- the city is a natural thing, created by natural beings (humans)just as bee-hives and ant nests are created by natural beings
- the city is a living being- a cyborg which combines human issue with synthetic infrastructure

4. Technological change
The First Media Age(centralised dissemination) vs. the Second Media Age(decentralised interaction)
-> First Media Age:
- early forms of electronic were quite similar
- but the telephone was a great invention
- characterized by the use of one source, but many receivers

-> Second Media Age:
- invention of the Internet
- characterized by distributed systems of interaction

Finally you can say, that the right understanding for technology is really important.
The new media brings with it a need for new understandings- particularly political ones- to protect the public interest.
New Technologies are always a chance, but you have to think really carefully about their need, the problems they can bring and how it can effect our live and the community.

The Miniature Earth



...really interesting, I never had a look at the earth this small before

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Tutorial week 8 + 9

Task for this week:

What opportunities can we find for political participation via the internet? We have to do some research and answering most of the following tasks.

->
First we had to sign an e-petition.
Democracy is essential for our live. It guarantees the human rights and gives us a choice to be part of a community, in which we have the chance to decide and change things.
I signed an e-petition of the German parliament. It is about a commission of inquiry to investigate the financial crisis. I think that's really important, cause it is about our future and our money.
You can find me as number 1059 with the following link:
https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/index.php?action=petition;petition=6483;sa=sign

Next I was to respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.

The following task was to find out what Barack Obama is up to today. On the website http://www.barackobama.com/ it is said, that the president has some interviews on a number of the major Sunday morning news shows, including ABC's This Week George Stephanopoulos , CBS's Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press , CNN's State of the Union with John Roberts , and Univision today (September 2o).

Our next thing was to find out,who our local, state and federal representatives are.
It was pretty tough for me to find out who they are, cause I'm from Germany, but finally I got all these information
-Local member of parliament:
Cr Ron Clarke, MBE– Gold Coast City Council
(http://www.councilofmayorsseq.qld.gov.au/content/FAQ.asp)
-State member of parliament:
Peter Lawlor- State Member for Southport
(http://www.qld.alp.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=379)
-Federal Member for Parliament:
MP Stuart Clarke
(http://www.robert.com.au/)

The last time our Southport State member Peter Lawlor spoke in parliament was on the 17th of September.He talked about the Personal Property Security Bill.
(http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/isysquery/51b8dcba-dc7c-4ce1-8aef-552b04e771fe/27/doc/)

(pictures:google images)

ireport

I created a (fun) news-story.
First I was thinking about making a video about a shark attack or a robbery, but then I found the following video on my computer and had the crazy idea to change it into a 'news-story'. I made this video last May back in Germany and actually it is about a spontanous event (Flashmob) at a famous place in Cologne where a few hundred people brought their own pillows and started a pillow fight.
So this is my really crazy news-story and my video:

Demonstration for snow in Cologne!
Cologne, 24th September 2009
Yesterday a few hundred people demonstrated in Cologne, Germany for more snow in the following winter. They started a big pillow fight to copy real snow. The demonstration took place in front of the famous cologne cathedral to get also support from the powers that be.



(http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-332922)

The funny thing is that I got a message from CNN/ireport after uploading my video and obviously they are believing in my story...:)

Hi there,
Thank you for sending a video of the pillow fight in Cologne. I have a couple of questions about your submission.

1. Can you confirm you shot this video? Is there anyone else to courtesy?

2. What is your full name?

3. Are you over 18?

4. When was this shot? What was the scene like?

5. Is this an annual event? Who organizes it?

6. Do you live in Cologne? Does it usually snow there?

7. What’s the best phone number to reach you?

8. Do you give CNN permission to show your iReport online and/or on TV?


If you have anything else to add, please do. I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Katie



And this one:

Hi Carolin,

Thanks for your reply. I just need a little more information about the video before I approve it for CNN. Can you send me a link to where the event was announced, or any information about it? I haven't been able to find much online, but that may be because I don't speak German!

Thanks,
Katie

Monday, September 14, 2009

Lecture week 7


Free Software and the Creative Commons

This was a really funny lecture. It was about the 'Digital Life' and we got to know more about free software and saw some really crazy things on the internet. I learned a lot about using other software, cause usually I'm the normal windows user with only little software knowledge.
We had a look at pages like www.mininova.org, www.portableapps.com or www.openoffice.org.
There are two options: You can have the software online, or you can have all the applications on your computer, or on a memory stick.
Open Office is like Microsoft Word, Power Point etc. but you can download it for free.
That's the same with GIMP (like photoshop), Blender (animation) and a lot more.
And if you have any problems with your computer software, just go to www.freewaregenius.com and download their software packages.
The problem of www.download.com, another so called 'free- download page' is, that it first says the downloads are free, but often you have to pay for it in the end.
The result of all these is, that you can safe a lot of money, cause you can find really good free software for downloading, but be careful if it's really for free.
(picture: google images)

Tutorial week 7




The task for todays tute is to download one or more of the freeware apps that Jason mentioned or one that we can find by ourselves and then write about it in your blog.

I downloaded the 'YouTube Downloader'.
It is a software program with which you can download videos from YouTube and many other pages and convert them into other video formats.
It is really easy to use. Just visit YouTube, choose your favourite video,then specify the URL for the video and click the 'OK' Button and that's it. After that you can also use the downloaded videos for your IPod, MP3 Player or just play it on your computer. Special features are also that you can cut and select the output quality of converted videos and that you can play the videos in Flash. So basically it is a very usefull and easy handling programm.

Another program I downloaded and tested was Picasa.
It finds and organizes all the pictures and you can also work on them, like fixing red eyes, or cut some pictures. You can send your photos via e-mail or create an online picasa page with all your pictures on it or you can watch the photos via slideshow of the album. It's easy to handle and you don't need so big knowledge as for photoshop for example.
(pictures:google images)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Summary lecture 6

This lecture was about consuming and producing.
Consume:
1. Big Screen:
- Cinema (shared experience)
- Television (first shared, but today more private experience)
- personal computer (private/ shared)
-> all three are consumers of media!
2. Small Screen:
- Personal media player (iPod) ->on the go
- mobile phones (iPod touch)
- 'Smart phones', 3G- Information ->on the fly

Produce:
- Fan films (fanfilms.net), fan edits, 'phantom edit'
- mash ups:
Re-Genre
Re- Cut
- mobile production:
ENG
short films

Sketchcast.com

My google maps


My way 2009-2010 auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen



German Sports University Cologne auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen

Tutorial week 6




The task for today is to create my own google maps. But first I should search my Name at personas (http://personas.media.mit.edu/personasWeb.html). And above you can see the result :) Unfortunately it couldn't find anything with my full Name, so I only got information about my first Name 'Carolin'. But it was a funny experience to read all these crazy things about 'me'.

Tutorial week 5




This short film is about a photographer who took a picture of a moribunding child istead of helping. She wins a price for this picture later, but she isn't able to accept it, because she is feeling to guilty. I think this is a really good short film- it doesn't really need many words, but the pictures are very deep and soulful.




This is my favourite film. It shows how bad and egoistic a person can be if he has the chance of lots of money and a life in heaven. I think this short film is really arousing and the story and the actors are really good. When you watch the movie you feel always the need of changing the actors behaviour. I think the film has the intention to awake people and that they should think about their own thinkings, feelings and behaviour. It is a really thought-provoking short film.




My third film shows how many really different things can happen at the same time. For one person it is a perfect day, for another person maybe the last day in his life...