Response 1 – Tyler R

I. 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)

After defining the differences between media and medium, the author presents the three mediums in which we communicate. They are the interpersonal medium otherwise known as the one-to-one, the mass medium or the one-to-many, and the most recent new medium or many-to-many. The first two mediums have limitations as to how many people it can address at one time, or conversely how individualized the information presented can appear. The New Medium is able to provide individualized information to an unlimited amount of people, and everyone involved has an equal amount of control over that information.

This new type of communication takes power away from the few and puts it in the hands of the masses. This gives the general public the ability to take in multiple and all viewpoints, and to think for themselves. No longer will people be forced to choose from only three major news outlets. Now they can discover a multitude of sources displayed directly to them, and have the ability to fact check and verify along the way.

EXERCISE 1: WHICH IS THE NEW MEDIA SOLUTION?

PROBLEM: A DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

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

• Solution B  Distribute laptops with video cameras to schoolkids 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 is the correct solution because it involves multiple many to many strategies. It effectively crowdsources the job by supplying community students with laptops to input information. It distributes and connects information by tapping into local networks and creating a database with the information. This strategy shares what was inaccessible by creating a database for people to log onto and learn about and preserve a native language, that otherwise would have only been available to the families of the Passamaquoddy.

PROBLEM: NEGLECTED RUINS

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

• Solution B  Build a Web site 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 Web site built to feature photographs taken by those explorers.

This solution is a many to many solution because it revolves around individuals creating a community based around photographs of an specialized area, in this case abandoned buildings. Allowing the public to print and spread the product, as well as upload photographs follows the idea of mobilization and connecting information.

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 fits the many to many solution because it creates an innovative environment for people to visualize what goes on behind the scenes in an animation. Allowing the viewers to have an interactive interface gives them an individualized and in-depth platform to gain new information.

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.

This solution uses a many to many strategies that utilized DIY, crowdsourcing, and tapping into local networks. Restoring the entire fountain would be too costly but repurposing it into a garden is a DIY solution to help use that space. Getting a sense of what plants to grow to best benefit UMaine cuisine taps into local networks to gain data, and crowd sources through collaboration with the sustainable agriculture club.

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

THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF SOUND ARE UNDERAPPRECIATED

How can you make an audio installation that makes listeners more aware of their 3D sonic environment?

3D print a binaural recording case for microphones to capture HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) audio samples. Then arrange a speaker setup that immerses the audience in a total 360 degrees. By using the specialized audio samples, I would create a composition that moved the audience through a simulated space with creative mixing techniques and a possible video accompaniment.

III. 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)

The Theater of the Oppressed is based on giving control back to the spectators. It is about letting the audience give input about what topics are portrayed in the play and how the problems resolve. The main form of media in this article is the theater. The theater is oppressive to people in this article because the writers and actors of normal plays are typical of a higher class, and presenting topics of struggle for that higher class. These topics dismiss the spectator and do not represent their lives or hardships.

This article describes how Boal created the Theater of the Oppressed in order to give the theater back to the spectators as a tool to benefit those who are oppressed. This coalition would allow people to create a solution to problems that are representative of their lives. Allowing the spectators to problem solve real-world issues in a space such as a theater empowered everyone who was involved. Humor was a by-product of the unsuppressed nature of the theater. Any solution was welcome to attempt to solve a problem, no matter how ridiculous.

I believe that the essence of New Media is the ability to give power back to the people. Across any platform, the many-to-many principle is revolutionary to how information travels throughout the world. We can look at education as an example.

The amount of information you can acquire simply from having an internet connection is endless. The average person does not need to have wealth in able to learn new ideas and progress their thinking. Before New Media, the most common place to acquire new knowledge was through a costly university. Now all you have to do is dedicate time to research any subject you want on the internet almost entirely free of cost, through such platforms as YouTube and online data bases.