Like an adventurer on a jungle safari, I am stalking the elusive Motion Information Graphic. Today I am deep in the heart of new media software land to further examine where these elusive creatures come from.
What I have learned: generally, they are made on an Adobe application called After Effects.
From this sweet little addition to the suite (Creative Suite that is) have spawned some really cool info graphics. After Effects is an enhancement program which allows designers to add all kinds of special effects to text, video, etc. Mastery of this program has spawned much in the way of instructional websites (and even Podcasts) to help spread the creativity.
As we discussed in class, these short animated graphics can be extremely influential, mostly because of all of their subtle stimulus. The motion information graphic truly unites multiple forms of media, in large part because the software required to make it allows for intricate manipulation of many layers of information. How does the whole of the finished product exceed the sum of all of these parts of media that it is composed of? What is the synergistic value of these productions? How can the motion information graphic be used for good or evil!?!
All this and more on the next installment of: New Media Jungle Safari.
Here are some links until I remember my delicious username (awkward).
also…
and this
After our discussion on Tuesday, I thought about the Arms Race. Whoever had an atomic bomb back then was obviously a force to be reckoned with, and the development of weapons became an indicator of the world’s power struggle. Today, countries are still just as eager to build weapons and develop advanced defense/offense strategies, even though we’d like to think that the world has wised up since the days of nuking entire cities. It’s for, you know, just in case.
In class we mentioned the attack of the machines, and how there is this lingering fear of robotics and their potential “intelligence” – or their potential to eventually rise up and kill us. Well, that was the same case for the A-bomb. Scientists knew the devastating effects of one of those things, but it was simply safer for us to have one than to be without. It’s the “they might do it first” fear at work. It wouldn’t make sense for us to just sit around and wait for other countries to build entire armies of robot soldiers.
Then I saw an interview of P.W. Singer, the author of Wired for War. He was talking about how the culture’s view of robotics is an interesting reflection of the culture itself. In Hollywood, as we mentioned in class, androids are often associated with fear, harm, and some type of battle mentality (Game Theory, anyone?). But in other parts of the world, like Japan, robots are portrayed as genial and even heroic (Mega Man). In robot demonstrations, they are dancing, not actively using 0′s and 1′s to obliterate the opponent.
Here’s a comedic take on our future with robots:
And, a Rubik’s cube solving robot:
Harkening back to our semi-heated discussion of jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer, I write this post aware of the following things:
- As Mushon said, Egypt is a dictatorship, so laws are “flexible” there.
- It’s both impossible and unwise to foist American concepts of free speech on countries other than America.
- Internet is inherently different from any form of tangible, printed media, and this holds true regardless of what country you live in.
Because of the whole Egypt being a dictatorship thing (sidenote: how stupid you feel when none of us knew that?), there’s no point in discussing Kareem in particular, it won’t get him out of jail. But the general, theoretical debate about the constraints of local law on internet activity is an important one.
The internet does not have a specific location. If you have unfettered internet access, the country from whence the posting you’re looking at came has no bearing on your ease of access. With no fixed location, it’s definitely debateable but certainly not entirely inaccurate to argue that there is no “local government” to persecute web journalists.
This isn’t to say that posting proof of tangible crime– murder, for example– won’t get you screwed. Posting that proof online would lead to the finding of hard evidence, a body (or body bits, maybe). But how can a local government reasonably punish someone for a “crime” committed in a place that is technically not within their territory of rule? How can any government, regardless of whether or not they’re into freedom of speech, jail someone for a crime that begins and ends at an intangible URL?
In our discussion, Steve used the term “configurable culture.” In which context, i don’t remember, but i took note of it because it’s such a perfect way to describe the web. No other media is as user-generated and user-controlled as the web, and despite the potential dangers that come with such power, it is surely exciting that we finally have a medium that is truly of, by, and for the people. I’m a big believer in using new media for social change, so i’m happy to see that many non-profit organizations are using Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and various blogging platforms to promote and finance social causes. And then you have sites like PostSecret that build a community and empower it through collective catharsis and empathy. PostSecret has a cult-like following, and it’s even been known to save the lives of the suicidal through the group support of not only the blog itself, but the accompanying forum as well.
But i have yet to see a radical use of new media for a social cause. Promotion on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter is already so common that most people treat it as spam. As a potential social worker, i’m interested in how new media can revolutionize the world and bring lasting social change. If the web is configurable, surely, our culture is configurable as well, and i’m waiting to witness the full and creative realization of that potential.
I consider myself an optimist, and perhaps this is why I can’t entirely agree with the point made in “The Trap” about how people are self-seeking. A majority of things CAN be explained with numbers, but this doesn’t mean we should try and do so. After all, what’s life without a little mystery in it? We’re only human so we understand the inherent evils that human beings have. And as such, we become distrusting and afraid of each other. Still, I’m a big believer in helping whenever possible, whether it’s spending half an hour one day to donate blood or choosing a career in social work to help sexually abused children. Yes, numbers can come into play in these situations – how much blood is donated, how many lives are saved, etc. But the joy behind it all does not lie in the numbers. It lies in knowing that you’re able to help and to give to others. Little things that we may do from day to day can seem selfless, such as not holding a door open for someone because we’re running late. At the same time, a simple smile or ‘hello’ can brighten someone’s day. Where are the numbers in that?
When it comes to the Internet, I feel like a lot of people have a love/hate relationship. I myself, am one of those people. Having grown up in America, I am all for freedom of press, yet at the same time, I’m able to understand how this doesn’t apply to other countries. Some may consider this unfair and a violation of our rights as human beings, but we must remember that America is still fairly young as a nation and our culture has been based around the concepts of freedom. As much as I love the Internet and the ability to find almost anything through a simple search engine, it scares me how some people take advantage of anonimity and use it to manipulate people – more specifically, child predators. However, I don’t believe that the Internet should be policed by the government. It’s the responsibility of the parent/users to regulate themselves. When it comes to the Internet, we’re basically exposed to whatever we let ourselves be exposed to. The Internet is still at the point where it’s being tested. I feel that this is one of those things that will begin to regulate itself over time.
If you guys can go back to the days of middle or maybe high school when our lovely history teachers taught us all about the elastic clause I would bet that most classes considered how this addendum to the Constitution would be applied to the proliferating power of the Internet.
Most members of our American society have come to be fairly familiar with the Internet, yet the only “rules” we have to govern our cyber behavior come in the form of an intangible social contract. The Elastic Clause states that Congress should have the power to to make all laws which shall be neccessary and and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers of the Constitution — yet this power has yet to be exercised.
As discussed in class I am a proponent of maintaining the status quo, and keeping the cyber world free from regulation. I believe in the power of an organic, self-selecting process. In other words I believe that it’s almost possible to apply Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest to the Internet. Those arguments, opinions, movements, and artistic expressions that are powerful enough to receive attention and recognition deserve the forum to be heard if they are strong enough to be found amongst the plethora of information that floats in cyberspace.
Here’s the video I told you guys about in class — definitely let me know what you think of this lil troublemaker:
After class, I really wondered when the internet will become too much. We are constantly able to monitor what our friends are doing- whether we are checking their status updates on facebook or instant messaging them on aim. The internet also allows us to communicate with complete strangers. We are able to talk to people thousands of miles away using webcams . Unfortunately this good idea for keeping family members in visual contact with each other also allows criminals to mingle. Annually, news is plagued with stories of pre-teen or teen girls and boys running away with someone they “met” on the internet.
However, this shield, or the ability to conceal your actual identity sometimes leads these wayward children into bad hands. Since you never know who is hiding behind the mask of a computer and keyboard, the internet’s freedom does need to be monitored and screened. While I do 100% agree that monitoring the internet is near to impossible and some may say it violates the freedom of speech act, I argue that the internet is a much easier way to lure people astray.
In regards to recent events, one of the most disturbing events that happened on the internet was a mother convincing her neighbors daughter to commit suicide after feigning the identity of a high school boy. Additionally, a few weeks ago, viewers catalyzed and watched as a Florida teen contemplated suicide. After several comments, the boy eventually did commit suicide on camera. This clip was accessible to all internet viewers. Shouldn’t this be monitored or at least harder to do?
At the rate that the internet is advancing, one can only imagine what will happen in the future. But I wonder if these events continue to happen, when will enough harassment without a face be enough online. As the internet continues to conceal our identity, people will continue to fall prey to the lack of identity that the internet provides.
Like the events portrayed in “The Trap,” in life, what we want isn’t always what we get. When political and social theories meet reality, the results can get very messy. We see this in Part III of “The Trap,” which outlines many historical examples where good intentions led to less than desirable results. From the French & Bolshevik Revolutions to America & Britain’s role in the Iraq war. What we see is that many times, the desire to protect or spread “freedom” manifests itself in the loss of it. That’s the trap.
Like, the documentary, the Internet can also be thought of as a trap. While it enables to communicate instantaneously and more efficiently than ever before, it is achieved at the cost personal interaction. In my honest opinion, there is something de-humanizing about interfacing with a computer. IM’s, e-mails, and text messages have replaced face-to-face conversations. Like a previous post mentioned, this has inevitable led to social awkwardness in situations where personal interaction is required. Having an in-person conversation has become so alien to some of us that we fumble over with anxiety. In some extreme examples, entire relationships from beginning to end have been consummated online. It is sad but certainly not unusual (in today’s world) for some people to have never even met their girlfriend/boyfriend in person. A concept that was hilariously parodied in the South Park Episode, “Overlogging.” I highly recommend you see if you haven’t already.
Ideally the Internet should help us to communicate our ideas while not replacing traditional and more visceral forms of inter-personal communication. That is – we need to find a balance.
Watching “The Trap” was an interesting experience since I disagreed with a lot of what was being said; mainly, the assertion that human beings are self-seeking, rational decision-making automatons. Although, I understand this might not necessarily be the point-of-view of Adam Curtis, the video makes it clear that many people do believe this over-simplified notion. From military strategists, to scientists, to economists; these people have tried to explain why people behave the way that they do and they start by assuming humans are rational. I think that’s hilarious. I can think of 5 things I did TODAY that in hindsight are very irrational. I gave $5 to a homeless man on the R-train because I thought I had a $1 in my wallet. When I brought out my wallet and saw that I only had a $5 bill, I was too embarrassed to put my wallet back without giving, so I just handed it over. Sounds stupid, right? Hardly rational considering I’m a poor college student. The reality is that humans and the reasons behind their behavior are way more complex than they are given credit for in the documentary. Our behavior is not only decided by rational decision-making, but also fear, emotions, crowd behavior, stress, unconscious desires, etc, etc, the list goes on. Although the rational thing to do is often quite easy to recognize, following through with rational behavior may not be as easy.
