Response 1-MitchF

1. What is New Media?

Describe the hallmark characteristics of New Media.  How do you think this changes who has the power to “define reality” via the media?  Give an example of where this might be the case. (2-3 paragraphs

For the first half of this article, I got the vibe that it was a bit pretentious. However, by the end of it, I actually thought that there were some good points brought up. I had never thought about the relationship between vehicles and these three mediums, and really differentiating vehicles and there mediums. I had always thought of computers, the Internet, email, television, newspapers, etc. as mediums instead of vehicles for a medium, which is a valid point. I had also read a ton of articles on New Media in the past in NMD100, and I always felt like they were so complex, and yet vague at the same time. But, I thought this article did a good job describing the difference between the “Interpersonal Medium” (As the article puts it), the Mass Medium, and the New Medium in a direct way. I think someone else mentioned it too, but these definitions don’t necessarily prepare for the unknown future. However, in the current state of things, these definitions suit these different forms of media very well. The hallmark characteristics as the article states are:

1. •No longer must anyone who wants to individually communicate a unique message to each recipient be restricted to communicating with only one person at a time.
2. •No longer must anyone who wants to communicate simultaneous messages to a mass of recipients be unable to individualize the content of the message for each recipient.

One other sentence in the article that I thought summed it up well was, “New Medium serves not just a ‘one-to-one’ or ‘one-to-many’ medium but a ‘many-to-many’ one.”

I don’t think this change really grants any one group of people in specific power to “define reality” via media. I think anyone is capable of harnessing this “power.” It’s really open to whoever wants to take advantage of it, from any individual to large corporations, and anywhere and everywhere in between. The advantages to the new medium are multidimensional, so examples can look different. But, one example of this communication that I’ve seen being very prevalent is advertising. Take even something as common as Facebook Ads for example. Anyone using Facebook ads has the ability to communicate a specific message to large, yet very specific groups of people based off of age, gender, sex, locations, hobbies, work, interests, etc.

Even in something as silly as mass emails, it’s so easy to use just a little bit of code to make an email so it addresses each individual by their first name. It’s interesting to see just how personalized everything has become through the new medium. t I don’t necessarily think that this is always a good thing. It is certainly unbelievably affective and is absolutely a great thing in many instances. But, sometimes I wonder if because everything we like and are interested in are sort of shoved in our faces, if we aren’t a bit spoiled because of it. Just a thought. Over all though, I thought this article was insightful.

2. New Media Strategies

After reading the article, answer the following questions (you should cut/paste the questions from exercise 1 into your post, then your answer of solution B or B copying the full answer, then  your explanation for why this is the correct answer; for exercise 2, just post the single problem you are choosing and follow with your brainstorm/solutions)

EXERCISE 1: WHICH IS THE NEW MEDIA SOLUTION?

Problem: A disappearing language.

Solution B

I think Solution B is the New Media solution. Instead of getting a group of experts to collectively come up with a dictionary for the language, letting anyone and everyone record their grandparents telling stories in Passamaquoddy would involve many preserving the language for the many out there who are interested. I think a combination of these two methods is more ideal. However, solution B certainly seemed like the new media solution.

Problem: Neglected Ruins

Solution B

Solution B certainly seams like the new media solution to this issue as well. Building a website that allows adventurers to print stickers they can leave behind in abandoned buildings they explore involves a solution in a many-to-many strategy. It allows anyone involved to be interactive and actually contribute to the website instead of just consuming media like solution A, which essentially involves people consuming just consuming media in the form of a DVD.

Problem: Misunderstanding computer animation

Solution A

Solution A is the new media solution to the problem. Building a touch-screen interface that allows viewers to actively learn about layers in animation provides a many to many solution in the way that many are able to interact with the interface.

Problem: A broken fountain

Solution A

Solution A is a many-to-many approach. The students’ involvement in interacting with the fountain makes it the New Media Solution, that plus the involvement of the dining hall staff and other professionals in creating the fountain. Solution B is fancy, but there is no interactivity for the consumer. It is more of a mass media approach.

Exercise 2: Invent your own many-to-many solutions

THE OCEANS ARE DYING

How can you stimulate students to learn more about the oceans?

I think if there were an application created allowing users to track various statistics throughout the ocean in various locations, it would give users a sense of involvement and stimulate curiosity about the ocean.

I’m not sure exactly what the statistics would be or the criteria of allowing people to post findings. I think that would have to be decided by someone within the field. But the concept itself could create a lot of data, and the involvement aspect could spark a lot of interest. A user would be involved in tracking statistics, as well as being a solution to any issues tracked, creating a many-to-many solution.

3. Theater of the Oppressed

How does media oppress people in this article, and how does Boal try to give that power back to people? How does he use humor to do this? (2-3 paragraphs)

How can New Media accomplish similar goal?  give a few examples. You can add projects we review in class, but you might want to start by trying to think of some yourself. (2 paragraphs)

Well, for starters the Theatre of the Oppressed was inspired by an unbelievably oppressive society that Boal lived in in South America… So much so that his colleagues were murdered, he was tortured and jailed, and eventually exiled. There was no freedom to speak out or express feelings, and that’s why Boal was treated this way when he created this new and innovative form of theatre. Boal created a theatre in which it wasn’t just shut up, listen, and watch. Everyone became involved, and it turned from entertainment to meaningful problem solving art. By doing this, Boal gave the people a voice. All of the examples discussed in the chapter took issues and situations of abused power and allowed everyone present to suggest all possible options in handling the situation in which they would act out. There were different roles, but everyone was involved and expected to contribute in some way.

From what I gathered, there was an element of humor incorporated in that all possible solutions were accepted. And because everyone was involved, humorous people would give possibly humorous solutions. In no way were these propositions just jokes. But again, from what I gathered, an element of humor was certainly involved. That was the beauty. There was no suppression, even to maybe somewhat ridiculous solutions to these problems.

I always watch movies and think about what if this or that would have happened. In this art form, you weren’t just able to speak up and share your opinion, but expected to. Again, besides the whole dynamic of this type of theatre, it really hit me how ground breaking this was in problem solving and challenging roles and power in society. Obviously, this was why Boal faced such scrutiny.

New media can certainly accomplish similar goals as Boal’s “Theatre of the Oppressed.” Because of the vehicles we now have to connect many-to-many, problem solving should be easier. It’s easier to connect with people with similar interests and skill sets (as well as people with different skill sets), and collaborate. We see this utilized a lot in learning. Different forms and discussions exist online connecting people to propose different solutions and possibilities to questions. We see this in education, politics, art, etc. Groups exist via the Internet that allows artists to connect and share work with each other, gathering feedback. Personally, I use websites to learn new songs where musicians gather electronically and post tabs and chords to share with each other. It’s collective problem solving and learning.

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Response 1b

My team discussed various ideas, but we didn’t really hone in on one specific issue, and none resonated with me as much as one that recently came to mind, so I’ll write on it.

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)

One issue that came to mind was human trafficking in the Atlanta airport. I understand that most people would agree that this is a terrible thing, and that it should be stopped. It’s not a matter of changing peoples mind, but educating them on how they can contribute to a solution on how to end this sad and troublesome issue. I am actually from Georgia and just outside the Atlanta area, which is why this issue resonates with me a little more. Atlanta is actually one of the largest human trafficking hubs in the world, and although there are already numerous efforts to conquer this tragedy, I think new media could play a much larger role than it currently is.

I think if the data and statistics from Atlanta trafficking were visualized throughout the airport in a series of signs educating people not only on the statistics, but how they can help, we could see a large drop off in trafficking. It’s obviously a bit grim and uninviting to put up a bunch of signs about trafficking, but I think the benefits would outweigh the consequences. Also, I think signs could be slowly taken away or cut down on once people understood the system.

Now for the system, I’d pose that many-to-many strategy we love in New Media. Using the ATL public network, anyone with a smart phone would be presented with an option to report suspicious activity, along with a few other options (Location could be recorded by smart phone, but specific location description, details, person description could all be presented as options to submit) on the homepage of that network. It would be as easy as opening an Internet browser and using the page that automatically pulls up. Obviously, this wouldn’t replace telling a local authority what you saw. But it would provide another avenue to report people or issues, while being more discrete. And, local authorities are not present everywhere in an airport. Places where multiple reports were made would very quickly report where a serious threat was.

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

The strategies used based off of the new media strategies on the project design lab page would be “Aggregate, Automate, and Visualize Data.” As discussed above, placing simple, vibrant signs around the airport would make those aware. And, then using a “Many-to-many approach,” we would be able to “Distribute and Connect Information,” alerting a local team of authorities designated for this issue.

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?

Obviously, the target audience would just be all in the ATL airport, so that would be pretty easy. The design would be simple and direct as far as the signs and network page interface for alerting authorities. With such a serious, this leaves no room for humor.