Response 1 – MegC

Describe the hallmark characteristics of New Media.  

The hallmark characteristics of New Media are Individualized information that can be seen by an infinite number of people and that all the people involved in the creating the piece of media have equal control over the piece. You can communicate with multiple people at one time instead of just one and even individualize the content to multiple people.

I think this changes who has power to define reality via the media by equalizing power. The power and control over media is no longer one sided, but instead is balanced between all those who create and access it. This really changes the reality around media from a one to one scheme to a many to many scheme. For example, the free internet really opened up the floodgates for a many to many outcome.

EXERCISE 1: WHICH IS THE NEW MEDIA SOLUTION?

For each of the following past capstone ideas, identify which solution embodies the “many-to-many” principle and which one doesn’t and explain why in 1-2 paragraphs.

 PROBLEM: A DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

Ian Larson wanted to help preserve the Passamaquoddy language from extinction.

• Solution B  Distribute laptops with video cameras to school kids in the Passamaquoddy community, and ask them to record their grandparents telling stories in Passamaquoddy. Upload these to a Web site along with the grandparents’ definitions of particular words used in the story, and make these words searchable via a tag cloud.
• Solution B uses the many to many principle in multiple ways, one of which is by gaining the Passamaquoddy language videos from many sources. This solution also makes the videos accessible by many people by putting them on a website. The tag cloud allows searches to be used by whoever needs it.

PROBLEM: NEGLECTED RUINS

Evan Habeeb wanted to make people aware of the beauty of abandoned buildings.

• Solution B  Build a Website that allows adventurers to print stickers they can leave behind in abandoned buildings they explore. Create the stickers so they can be scanned by a mobile phone to reveal a Website built to feature photographs taken by those explorers.
  
• Solution B is a better Many to Many approach than Solution A because it not only encourages people to adventure these places on their own but it also gains a sort of life of its own as the building collects pictures of past trips and a series of stickers on its walls. Many people can be involved in starting up the campaign while many others can participate in it.

PROBLEM: MISUNDERSTANDING COMPUTER ANIMATION

Ryan Schaller and Jason Walker wanted to help people understand the many layers required to create a computer-animated film, including wireframe, textures, and light effects. As a case study, they created an animation depicting a cartoon archeologist digging for ancient artifacts.

• Solution A Design and build a touch-screen interface that allows viewers to “rub” away layers of the film with their hands to reveal previous stages of the animation as it plays.
• Solution A is a better solution because it is more interactive than Solution B. By allowing people to actively partake in the application they are more interested in learning about the subject and are more likely to talk about what they did with friends.

PROBLEM: A BROKEN FOUNTAIN

Danielle Gagner wanted to renovate the waterfall fountain under the skylight in the middle of the University Union, which had fallen into disrepair.

• Solution A  Repurpose the existing plumbing to irrigate a garden planted in the former fountain. Research the types of plants that would grow well together at different levels of the fountain, and meet with dining hall staff to find out what herbs or vegetables they might add to salads and other offerings. Then plant these in collaboration with the sustainable agriculture club on campus, and invite students to pick the resulting parsley, strawberries, and other fare from the garden for their lunch.
• Solution A is a better solution because it encourages many people to interact with the piece and even to help with the design and input of the project. It takes something that was in disrepair and makes it interactive, fun, and community driven.

EXERCISE 2: INVENT YOUR OWN MANY-TO-MANY SOLUTIONS

NEWSPAPERS ARE LOSING SUBSCRIBERS AND ADS

How can you help the Bangor Daily News attract more eyeballs?

Solution: Make an interactive application that allows people to capture images and video and upload them to a server where they can contribute to stories being written by the newspapers. People could also submit their own stories to be reviewed and published by the news. The articles and footage could be taken directly in the app while articles already in the paper could be shared directly to others online.

I hope that this would encourage people to be more involved in their community and the events taking place. People would feel more encouraged to read the articles if they knew their photos or videos were being used or if an article they wrote was being included in an addition of the paper.

RESPONSE 1B

1-List your topic/issue and your proposed intervention  (Eg UMaine requires immunization for students matriculating, but Maine has a law that allows citizens to refuse immunization. UMaine should explain the pros and cons of each choice, educating students, and give students this option)

I believe that President Trump is making a lot of mistakes in office regarding public policy, social standards, and laws that were previously passed by President Obama. I want to make a series of “memes” with images of trump in situations that he is against.

2-List your top strategies , how they work, and why you would use them.

Create a series of memes with trump in the situations that he’s putting others in. Flood social media with these images.

3- Describe how you will reach your target audience:  Consider effectiveness, as well as aesthetics, fun, surprise, or any other aspects that make the strategy appealing. What does this say about the conventional line between serious & playful? What is that line doing there? Who does it benefit?

I think that posting a flood of pictures on social media is a good way to reach my target audience because most people use some form of social media these days. It’s a very visual project that captures your eye when scrolling through social media which will work in my favor. It walks the line of serious and playful because the topic is very serious but it also plays with a form of art that is seen as playful.