ANONYMOUSPICKLE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS A FILM IN ASSOCIATION WITH DIGITAL ETHNOGRAPHY SPRING 2009 AND THEANONYMOUSPICKLEBLOG "THE POWER OF ANON PEOPLE" INSPIRED BY THE ANONYMITY PROJECT
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Power of Anon People - Edit #3
Kept the same storyline but tried to make it more avant-garde in how it was presented. This one feels pretty close. Things like zooms, pans, and screenshots will be cleaned up in the final edit.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Power of Anon People - Edit #1
I blacked out...what just happened?
So I'm starting to see why three drafts will be a necessity. Either way this seems like a good start. I think it will take a couple of minutes into the video to understand the primary point in this first draft and that's definitely something which will be worked on throughout the next two cuts. This is a work in progress and after hammering away at this overnight I'm confident it's heading in a positive direction. There are some things that have been left out which I will also try to incorporate in the next cut as I piece together the most important points that need to be conveyed. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think and especially if you're able to make sense of any of it. That after all is what will be most important upon the video's final release.
So I'm starting to see why three drafts will be a necessity. Either way this seems like a good start. I think it will take a couple of minutes into the video to understand the primary point in this first draft and that's definitely something which will be worked on throughout the next two cuts. This is a work in progress and after hammering away at this overnight I'm confident it's heading in a positive direction. There are some things that have been left out which I will also try to incorporate in the next cut as I piece together the most important points that need to be conveyed. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think and especially if you're able to make sense of any of it. That after all is what will be most important upon the video's final release.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Storyboard
I'm satisfied up to the McKenna soundbite. The first minute or two of this video will move quickly and have a dark musical undertone to it. I want the video to hit hard after my opening voiceover and have a nice paceing. The thing I would like for the pacing of the video to do is to represent the ruthlessness and speed in which anonymous public opinion can change things.
OPEN – VO
In a functioning democracy every individual has the equal opportunity to pursue political leadership or power and those liberties go along with many others, which allow those who make up the community to freely and openly voice their opinion and be heard. But what happens when those same principles hold true but the individual has no name…no face…no place to call home…only opinion…only words?
*Music hits hard with numerous screen shots of cyberspace where documents, comments, blogs, ect… have been posted anonymously*
VO -
Impact happens. New Ideas happen.
-Introduce WikiLeak’s
-WikiLeaks Case.
VO –
This impact. . .this change only happens because people decide to speak up. It encourages others to speak up and become part of the majority.
Neumann “the Spiral of Silence” (I will read this section from the book)
- one view dominates the public scene and the other disappears from public awareness and it's adherents become mute."
VO-
This is why over 1.2 million documents have been anonymously submitted and published on wikileaks…”aiming for maximum political impact.”
I will bring everything full circle with a poetic ending and describing the similarities in movement from public opinion in small, local, communities to that of endless ones in cyberspace.
OPEN – VO
In a functioning democracy every individual has the equal opportunity to pursue political leadership or power and those liberties go along with many others, which allow those who make up the community to freely and openly voice their opinion and be heard. But what happens when those same principles hold true but the individual has no name…no face…no place to call home…only opinion…only words?
*Music hits hard with numerous screen shots of cyberspace where documents, comments, blogs, ect… have been posted anonymously*
VO -
Impact happens. New Ideas happen.
-Introduce WikiLeak’s
-WikiLeaks Case.
VO –
This impact. . .this change only happens because people decide to speak up. It encourages others to speak up and become part of the majority.
Neumann “the Spiral of Silence” (I will read this section from the book)
- one view dominates the public scene and the other disappears from public awareness and it's adherents become mute."
VO-
This is why over 1.2 million documents have been anonymously submitted and published on wikileaks…”aiming for maximum political impact.”
I will bring everything full circle with a poetic ending and describing the similarities in movement from public opinion in small, local, communities to that of endless ones in cyberspace.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Power, Public Opinion, and People
It’s fascinating when you think about how many areas of the world have arrived at the high-octane entertainment juncture it finds it in today. Generations of people worked to industrialize the world and built it with their bare hands, now many individuals, young and old spend their days moving a mouse, typing on a keyboard, anonymously spewing as much of their own thoughts and desires as possible with every click. These same kinds of hands, which worked to build the tallest buildings in the world, now create the Leroy Jenkins of the world. One can write what they want, instigate what they want, and represent what they want. The word “they” almost becomes irrelevant within this idea. However, you don’t have to troll the Internet with an alias for a name to do it. There are so many ways in which ones anonymity on the web gains a voice, “Public discourse involves much more than transmitting messages to individuals for the purpose of influencing their opinions” (Crespi, 1997, p. 56) For example, Wikileaks , represents over 1.2 million documents which have been submitted anonymously all with an aim for maximum political impact and releasing information to the public which would never be mentioned by a major media network. If you so much as click on certain news story or navigate through a site your voice is already heard. In a world where people were once accountable as individuals with a face and a family name, there is now the very convenient option to be accountable via only our opinions, words, and most importantly the voice in which one chooses in a democratic society.
There is no one corporation or government power fully capable of stopping this free flow of information which only manifests itself on a daily basis because mass quantities of people are so passionately involved. It creates a world were there are both good and evil, and it does so because the people have an opportunity to make a stand using their own convictions and for the first time in history having the ability to relate those words without being confined to a quote in a newspaper article or on television.
The Power Of Public Opinion
The fuel that keeps this well-oiled Internet machine moving is simply the power of the user and those users who choose to speak and those who choose to remain silent. These are two major players in the way the public opinion pendulum swings in cyberspace. Meyrowitz, conveys theses ideas with the words "It is not so much that media affect people, as it is that people selectively use, and thereby affect, the media." (Meyrowitz)
According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, "Observations made in one context spread to another and encourage people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominates the public scene and the other disappears from public awareness and it's adherents become mute." (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 5)
So, even in these anonymous communities there is still a thirst to be part of the majority. Is this just human nature or has it become a major flaw in humanity because of the consumer driven world we are all subjected to at birth? "..The agreement between your own convictions and your assessment of the trend of the times, the spirit of the age, the mood of those who seem to be more modern, more reasonable, or simply the feeling that the “better” people are on your side.” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 26)
The spiral Neumann speaks of in her book, "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," refers to the cyclical change which occurs much easier on the web because information is permanent within it’s endless boundaries and those who seek it can revive it at anytime. Think of it in the same way you’d think of how social trends such as clothing, movies, or even toys come and go in popularity among young people in particular. Everybody involved from the manufactures down to the people who are the consumers keep each other in check. (Merchants of Cool)
Real social change and action comes when ones back is against the wall and there’s in a sense nothing to lose. Someone is much less likely to speak up and “stir the pot” per say, on a topic they’re in favor of.
Opinions and public perception have the ability to drastically swing one way or another due to the overall view, which in return forces those who disagree into one of two things: hiding or thrusting themselves into the center of the discussion with their own hypothesis. In cyberspace this same theory holds true.
Swinging Gate Theory
Public discourse within small local communities in a physical world or on the web act as a swinging gate, going from one end to the other raking up everybody in it's path and in a sense saying, "You're either coming with me or I'm dragging you in the dirt until you join me." It's a form of hierarchy, which is not tied to the public laws we all abide by, but if we wish to be part of certain communities this, "swinging gate" acts as a form of governance. It’s a climate that comes in waves, and can change just as quickly or quicker than the climate within our region of the physical world.
When you consider the norms which start to take shape within public debate on the web, whether it is view counts on a video, language within an Internet community, or post counts. There’s a striking trend which poses the question: Why in a place such as cyberspace and in anonymous public opinion forums or video sharing websites do users typically give more respect and are less cruel to those with a high post count, view count or a high comment count? Is it nature’s way of respecting our elders in cyberspace? Just as human beings have viewed their elders as people who’ve traveled the road we all soon will, just as people once valued the stories of their parents, grandparents, and teachers on a much higher level because they had more knowledge, now seems to have moved this instinctive trait to a world where the number of hits now fills the role because of this thirst we all have, which is to look up to someone with authority. It’s become a very natural normality, which has triumphantly carried over to the web.
It also helps to think of political campaigns when considering the power of public opinion. Political success is highly dependent on the people.
“The way a party fares in an election depends greatly upon its ability to get its follower to participate in the election campaign…which party’s supporters showed more idealism and personal involvement…” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 24)
There are a range of differences that can dictate the direction the ruthless gate of public opinion can swing and the way in which is does so. While major corporations still manage the world with their billion dollar budgets and abide by laws in which everyday average citizens also abide by, pubic discourse on the web is starting to slowly effect how these businesses operate. In March of 2009 Skittles had to rethink their website and social networking strategies because users on Skittles’ twitter page “after users deluged the site with inane and often profane "tweets,"” (www.businessweek.com, “When Skittles Met Twitter”)
When you think about what public opinion has become in today’s world there is so much to consider. Town hall meetings with Senator John McCain, could be one aspect of it, but the more daunting area is composed almost entirely of human activity on the web.
Individuals wonder aimlessly through the halls of the world wide web assembling here and there and while the only thing that seems to truly hold any credence in an anonymous public setting is the written word.
Communities of human beings now have information available in an endless fashion, where things are compressed into a single entity and handed back through neatly organized pipes of news feeds, rss feeds, wireless devises, and Internet social norms. While these can be tools to freely and conveniently spread information and connect people, they also offer and aid in the dark side of the information super highway. They connect children with sex offenders, and the entirety of the anonymous Internet with a single person and that individual’s own life can then be slapped namelessly all over the web, ruining thier existence.
It’s all possible and it's all powerful.
Because of the power of public opinion on the Internet and because, according to the credo of the group that call themselves anonymous,“none of us are as cruel as all of us.” The only way to change this mind boggling, mega structure of technology is to completely re-tool and re-think the exact means in which it was built. Many corporate entities including major media and journalistic networks are starting to be downsized and exposed because of the truth that is brought about by public discourse. While one day some form of political power will surely try their hand at ending the free flow of ideas, information, and nonsense in cyberspace, it’s success will depend greatly on what the public allows...and change could certainly happen. As long as the climate of opinion doesn’t disagree. **Note** Outline Below
Works Cited
www.businessweek.com. March 8, 2009. http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca2009038_020385.htm
Crespi, Irving. The public opinion process: How the People Speak. 1997
Noelle-Neumann, Elizabeth. The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin.” 1993
Meyrowitz, Joshua. No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. 1986.
PBS/Frontline. "Merchants of Cool" 2001.
Thompson, Clive. “Web ushers in age of ambient intimacy.” International Herald Tribune, 8 Sep 2008
OUTLINE
Relate Idustrialization of America/world with present day.
•Physical Work – People built this country with their bare hands.
•Work on a computer now consists of thinking and moving a mouse and on a keyboard.
•“they” becomes irrelevant.
Power of Public Opinion
•People keep the cyberspace moving and progressing.
•Introduce Neuman “The Spiral of Silence”
•Even in anonymous communities there is still a thrist to be part of the majority.
Swinging Gate Theory
•“Join me or get out of the way”
•Obeying elders in cyberspace.
•Carries over to the web.
Change and the Future
•Hierarchy will try and change the current free flow of info.
•Will depend greatly on the climate of opinion and where the people want it to go.
There is no one corporation or government power fully capable of stopping this free flow of information which only manifests itself on a daily basis because mass quantities of people are so passionately involved. It creates a world were there are both good and evil, and it does so because the people have an opportunity to make a stand using their own convictions and for the first time in history having the ability to relate those words without being confined to a quote in a newspaper article or on television.
The Power Of Public Opinion
The fuel that keeps this well-oiled Internet machine moving is simply the power of the user and those users who choose to speak and those who choose to remain silent. These are two major players in the way the public opinion pendulum swings in cyberspace. Meyrowitz, conveys theses ideas with the words "It is not so much that media affect people, as it is that people selectively use, and thereby affect, the media." (Meyrowitz)
According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, "Observations made in one context spread to another and encourage people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominates the public scene and the other disappears from public awareness and it's adherents become mute." (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 5)
So, even in these anonymous communities there is still a thirst to be part of the majority. Is this just human nature or has it become a major flaw in humanity because of the consumer driven world we are all subjected to at birth? "..The agreement between your own convictions and your assessment of the trend of the times, the spirit of the age, the mood of those who seem to be more modern, more reasonable, or simply the feeling that the “better” people are on your side.” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 26)
The spiral Neumann speaks of in her book, "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," refers to the cyclical change which occurs much easier on the web because information is permanent within it’s endless boundaries and those who seek it can revive it at anytime. Think of it in the same way you’d think of how social trends such as clothing, movies, or even toys come and go in popularity among young people in particular. Everybody involved from the manufactures down to the people who are the consumers keep each other in check. (Merchants of Cool)
Real social change and action comes when ones back is against the wall and there’s in a sense nothing to lose. Someone is much less likely to speak up and “stir the pot” per say, on a topic they’re in favor of.
Opinions and public perception have the ability to drastically swing one way or another due to the overall view, which in return forces those who disagree into one of two things: hiding or thrusting themselves into the center of the discussion with their own hypothesis. In cyberspace this same theory holds true.
Swinging Gate Theory
Public discourse within small local communities in a physical world or on the web act as a swinging gate, going from one end to the other raking up everybody in it's path and in a sense saying, "You're either coming with me or I'm dragging you in the dirt until you join me." It's a form of hierarchy, which is not tied to the public laws we all abide by, but if we wish to be part of certain communities this, "swinging gate" acts as a form of governance. It’s a climate that comes in waves, and can change just as quickly or quicker than the climate within our region of the physical world.
When you consider the norms which start to take shape within public debate on the web, whether it is view counts on a video, language within an Internet community, or post counts. There’s a striking trend which poses the question: Why in a place such as cyberspace and in anonymous public opinion forums or video sharing websites do users typically give more respect and are less cruel to those with a high post count, view count or a high comment count? Is it nature’s way of respecting our elders in cyberspace? Just as human beings have viewed their elders as people who’ve traveled the road we all soon will, just as people once valued the stories of their parents, grandparents, and teachers on a much higher level because they had more knowledge, now seems to have moved this instinctive trait to a world where the number of hits now fills the role because of this thirst we all have, which is to look up to someone with authority. It’s become a very natural normality, which has triumphantly carried over to the web.
It also helps to think of political campaigns when considering the power of public opinion. Political success is highly dependent on the people.
“The way a party fares in an election depends greatly upon its ability to get its follower to participate in the election campaign…which party’s supporters showed more idealism and personal involvement…” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 24)
There are a range of differences that can dictate the direction the ruthless gate of public opinion can swing and the way in which is does so. While major corporations still manage the world with their billion dollar budgets and abide by laws in which everyday average citizens also abide by, pubic discourse on the web is starting to slowly effect how these businesses operate. In March of 2009 Skittles had to rethink their website and social networking strategies because users on Skittles’ twitter page “after users deluged the site with inane and often profane "tweets,"” (www.businessweek.com, “When Skittles Met Twitter”)
When you think about what public opinion has become in today’s world there is so much to consider. Town hall meetings with Senator John McCain, could be one aspect of it, but the more daunting area is composed almost entirely of human activity on the web.
Individuals wonder aimlessly through the halls of the world wide web assembling here and there and while the only thing that seems to truly hold any credence in an anonymous public setting is the written word.
Communities of human beings now have information available in an endless fashion, where things are compressed into a single entity and handed back through neatly organized pipes of news feeds, rss feeds, wireless devises, and Internet social norms. While these can be tools to freely and conveniently spread information and connect people, they also offer and aid in the dark side of the information super highway. They connect children with sex offenders, and the entirety of the anonymous Internet with a single person and that individual’s own life can then be slapped namelessly all over the web, ruining thier existence.
It’s all possible and it's all powerful.
Because of the power of public opinion on the Internet and because, according to the credo of the group that call themselves anonymous,“none of us are as cruel as all of us.” The only way to change this mind boggling, mega structure of technology is to completely re-tool and re-think the exact means in which it was built. Many corporate entities including major media and journalistic networks are starting to be downsized and exposed because of the truth that is brought about by public discourse. While one day some form of political power will surely try their hand at ending the free flow of ideas, information, and nonsense in cyberspace, it’s success will depend greatly on what the public allows...and change could certainly happen. As long as the climate of opinion doesn’t disagree. **Note** Outline Below
Works Cited
www.businessweek.com. March 8, 2009. http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca2009038_020385.htm
Crespi, Irving. The public opinion process: How the People Speak. 1997
Noelle-Neumann, Elizabeth. The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin.” 1993
Meyrowitz, Joshua. No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. 1986.
PBS/Frontline. "Merchants of Cool" 2001.
Thompson, Clive. “Web ushers in age of ambient intimacy.” International Herald Tribune, 8 Sep 2008
OUTLINE
Relate Idustrialization of America/world with present day.
•Physical Work – People built this country with their bare hands.
•Work on a computer now consists of thinking and moving a mouse and on a keyboard.
•“they” becomes irrelevant.
Power of Public Opinion
•People keep the cyberspace moving and progressing.
•Introduce Neuman “The Spiral of Silence”
•Even in anonymous communities there is still a thrist to be part of the majority.
Swinging Gate Theory
•“Join me or get out of the way”
•Obeying elders in cyberspace.
•Carries over to the web.
Change and the Future
•Hierarchy will try and change the current free flow of info.
•Will depend greatly on the climate of opinion and where the people want it to go.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Presentaion Points
In an effort to make sense of something as vast as anonymity and my project I constantly ask myself what, when, where, and why (the "why" part is usually a tough one). It's been a useful tool and every time I've stumbled or been stuck in my progress these simple questions have been my guide. In asking these questions here are some of the aspects of my research that have stuck with me and will be used for my in class presentation.
-How anonymous public opinion has influenced social media and published journalistic reports.
-Introduce the "swinging gate theory."
A form of governance in cyberspace
-Creates a form of hierarchy.
-Respecting your "elders" in cyberspace.
-Introduce Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's book, The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin"
-Political influence.
With five minutes I'm pretty confident these six talking points will easily lead me through. Like the blogs, I hope doing this presentation will give me a much more clear picture of where I'm at in my research and were it's headed.
-How anonymous public opinion has influenced social media and published journalistic reports.
-Introduce the "swinging gate theory."
A form of governance in cyberspace
-Creates a form of hierarchy.
-Respecting your "elders" in cyberspace.
-Introduce Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's book, The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin"
-Political influence.
With five minutes I'm pretty confident these six talking points will easily lead me through. Like the blogs, I hope doing this presentation will give me a much more clear picture of where I'm at in my research and were it's headed.
Monday, March 2, 2009
This Is The Method
One of the things I'm constantly doing on a daily basis is re-defining exactly what my research is. In a sense I try and convey it in Lehman's terms to myself and to anyone who's interested in what we're doing with the anon project .
The best way I've come to describe it is"
"How anonymous public opinion effects social media and major networks in their journalistic reports."
lately some of my best research has come the farthest in doing these blog posts. While I'm constantly adding websites, google books , and articles, these blog posts have allowed me to work through areas of my investigation which I'm still unsure about. With each reading I really feel like I gain a much deeper understanding of my research as I relate them to my topic and then try and convey it in written word through these blogs. It's simply has been invaluable and I think I will continue to use this blog for the same purpose in the future.
For my final video piece I plan to use most of the content from the final project but also will do some voice overs and will read passages from a couple books I've been referring to for the project.
Evernote has not been too helpful and I don't think I'm really getting everything out of it I can, and personally there just hasn't been a need it for the way I'm conducting my research.
As I mentioned last week, things are starting to really take shape now which is very exciting and has helped make the experience more enjoyable as things viciously move forward.
The best way I've come to describe it is"
"How anonymous public opinion effects social media and major networks in their journalistic reports."
lately some of my best research has come the farthest in doing these blog posts. While I'm constantly adding websites, google books , and articles, these blog posts have allowed me to work through areas of my investigation which I'm still unsure about. With each reading I really feel like I gain a much deeper understanding of my research as I relate them to my topic and then try and convey it in written word through these blogs. It's simply has been invaluable and I think I will continue to use this blog for the same purpose in the future.
For my final video piece I plan to use most of the content from the final project but also will do some voice overs and will read passages from a couple books I've been referring to for the project.
Evernote has not been too helpful and I don't think I'm really getting everything out of it I can, and personally there just hasn't been a need it for the way I'm conducting my research.
As I mentioned last week, things are starting to really take shape now which is very exciting and has helped make the experience more enjoyable as things viciously move forward.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Climate of Opinion Pt. II
After reviewing my notes and looking back through some chapters I had highlighted from "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," there were some aspects of this extremely useful text that I'd overlooked.
While all of my ideas have certainly changed course a number of times already throughout this research, things have recently started traveling along a consistent path. The plan is to develop an in-depth understanding of public opinion, and it's roll in journalism, politics and cyberculture which now are all intertwined and highly influential upon eachother within the Internet and the communities it seems to naturally create.
Social trends and status seem to be a constant throughout Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's writitng and research on public opinion and are two influential aspects of the "skin" we create along with this public status. Public discourse within small local communities or on the web act as a swinging gate, going from one end to the other raking up everybody in it's path and in a sense saying, "You're either coming with me or I'm dragging you in the dirt until you join me." It's a form of hierarchy really that is not tied to the public laws we all abide by, but if we wish to be part of certain communities this "swinging gate" acts as a form of governance. The reality of all of this is the governance is nothing more than the people working things out within this discourse.
Neumann pg. 24, The Advantage of Having Talking People on Your Side.
"..the agreement between your own convictions and your assessment of the trend of the times, the spirit of the age, the mood of those who seem to be more modern, more reasonable, or simply the feeling that the “better” people are on your side.
Noelle-Neumann
"Observations made in one context spread to another and encouraged people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominated the public scene and the other disappeared from public awareness and it's adherents became mute."
People are less inclined to speak or inject on a topic they are in favor of. Real social change and action comes when ones back is against the wall and there is nothing to lose.
There are some conflicting aspects in this book in regards to those who choose to speak and don't. Lurking through this public opinion has to play some kind of roll in things like politics and voting. I plan to look more into Wikileaks and read more of W. Phillip Davison's "The Third Person Effect in Communication" to make sense of some of these unawnswered questions.
While all of my ideas have certainly changed course a number of times already throughout this research, things have recently started traveling along a consistent path. The plan is to develop an in-depth understanding of public opinion, and it's roll in journalism, politics and cyberculture which now are all intertwined and highly influential upon eachother within the Internet and the communities it seems to naturally create.
Social trends and status seem to be a constant throughout Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's writitng and research on public opinion and are two influential aspects of the "skin" we create along with this public status. Public discourse within small local communities or on the web act as a swinging gate, going from one end to the other raking up everybody in it's path and in a sense saying, "You're either coming with me or I'm dragging you in the dirt until you join me." It's a form of hierarchy really that is not tied to the public laws we all abide by, but if we wish to be part of certain communities this "swinging gate" acts as a form of governance. The reality of all of this is the governance is nothing more than the people working things out within this discourse.
Neumann pg. 24, The Advantage of Having Talking People on Your Side.
"..the agreement between your own convictions and your assessment of the trend of the times, the spirit of the age, the mood of those who seem to be more modern, more reasonable, or simply the feeling that the “better” people are on your side.
Noelle-Neumann
"Observations made in one context spread to another and encouraged people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominated the public scene and the other disappeared from public awareness and it's adherents became mute."
People are less inclined to speak or inject on a topic they are in favor of. Real social change and action comes when ones back is against the wall and there is nothing to lose.
There are some conflicting aspects in this book in regards to those who choose to speak and don't. Lurking through this public opinion has to play some kind of roll in things like politics and voting. I plan to look more into Wikileaks and read more of W. Phillip Davison's "The Third Person Effect in Communication" to make sense of some of these unawnswered questions.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Climate of Opinion
My goal is to understand the power of public opinion and the ways in which it sustains itself. Some believe that in a democracy public opinion should go further. It should mean more to the people and to the ones who are elected by the individuals. While some feel the power is hardly in the hands of the people, in my research, I've come to find the public's voice and the potential it has to be more powerful than most of us realize. It can seek and destroy or bring life to the dead and everything you can imagine in-between.
Think for a moment about what public opinion is in today's world. It's composed almost entirely of human activity on the Internet. People are essentially pieces of the puzzle, wondering aimlessly through the halls of the Internet assembling here and there and when your personality fits into one aspect of it, you find a way to fit in. In this medium, your words are one of the most significant things you can contribute. They're your thoughts, but they don't have to be connected to anything. They're just thoughts.
In Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's book, The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," Her primary message is that public opinion simply depends on who talks and who doesn't. It's a very elementary concept but when you think about it we all have opinions, we all have desires, but how many of us actually share those thoughts and concerns? This gets very interesting, almost problematic when politics are involved.
Noelle-Neumann refers to her research here:
"Observations made in one context spread to another and encouraged people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominated the public scene and the other disappeared from public awareness and it's adherents became mute."
Opinions and public perception have the ability to drastically swing one way or another due to the overall view, which in return forces those who disagree into hiding. To me, this clearly indicates how our news and political coverage of even truly historical events in time are portrayed to us.
Another book I've read parts of that I will pursue for my research is W. Phillip Davison's "The Third Person Effect in Communication" While Noelle-Neumann does site Davison's work there are aspects of these two writings that conflict. Davison's book focus' more on the individual aspect of why we are inspired to have this public discourse no matter what the circumstances. *Note..More to come on Davison as I look into more of his published works.
Moving forward I plan to combine these two aspects regarding the overwhelming climate of public opinion and see how they impact published journalistic reports (specifically political) in our current world. I feel this is becoming a much more influential aspect of humanity as we continue to evolve and understanding it's power can be a useful tool to those who care to use it. The idea is greater than one person, which is something that can always be an extremely powerful, beautiful, or even dangerous thing.
Think for a moment about what public opinion is in today's world. It's composed almost entirely of human activity on the Internet. People are essentially pieces of the puzzle, wondering aimlessly through the halls of the Internet assembling here and there and when your personality fits into one aspect of it, you find a way to fit in. In this medium, your words are one of the most significant things you can contribute. They're your thoughts, but they don't have to be connected to anything. They're just thoughts.
In Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's book, The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," Her primary message is that public opinion simply depends on who talks and who doesn't. It's a very elementary concept but when you think about it we all have opinions, we all have desires, but how many of us actually share those thoughts and concerns? This gets very interesting, almost problematic when politics are involved.
Noelle-Neumann refers to her research here:
"Observations made in one context spread to another and encouraged people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominated the public scene and the other disappeared from public awareness and it's adherents became mute."
Opinions and public perception have the ability to drastically swing one way or another due to the overall view, which in return forces those who disagree into hiding. To me, this clearly indicates how our news and political coverage of even truly historical events in time are portrayed to us.
Another book I've read parts of that I will pursue for my research is W. Phillip Davison's "The Third Person Effect in Communication" While Noelle-Neumann does site Davison's work there are aspects of these two writings that conflict. Davison's book focus' more on the individual aspect of why we are inspired to have this public discourse no matter what the circumstances. *Note..More to come on Davison as I look into more of his published works.
Moving forward I plan to combine these two aspects regarding the overwhelming climate of public opinion and see how they impact published journalistic reports (specifically political) in our current world. I feel this is becoming a much more influential aspect of humanity as we continue to evolve and understanding it's power can be a useful tool to those who care to use it. The idea is greater than one person, which is something that can always be an extremely powerful, beautiful, or even dangerous thing.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We The People
We the people make up the media. We shape the news, the media doesn't give us the news, we are the news. We the people need the news and we the people consume, discuss, and shape the news. Now more than ever this seems to be more and more evident and true. Media and Behavior go hand in hand and is fueled by public opinion and public discourse. This is why I feel my research is significant. Both Meyrowitz and Dr. Wesch convey the importance of public involvement in media. Public discourse and participation now drive the overall opinion and perception of modern social views with much more significance than in any other time.
Meyrowitz, simply conveys all theses ideas with the words "It is not so much that media affect people, as it is that people selectively use, and thereby affect, the media."
Dr. Wesch seems to display in a much clearer picture as to why "the people" affect the media and their direct roles within this phenomenon. He does this by simply using youtube as just one of the many avenues in which social interaction is the driving force behind all things. It's everything. Comedy, compassion, anger, dispute, and even love.
What these readings do for me is reiterate the fact that it is insanely crazy, for there to be one way or one person who is the mighty sage who reports, teaches, lectures, or even scolds those around him or her. It's a concept that has been in action for many many years and one that I feel is just now starting to change in a more positive, progressive, and public manner. This crazy idea, I feel, will never successfully be able to flourish again, simply because WE will not allow it.
Meyrowitz, simply conveys all theses ideas with the words "It is not so much that media affect people, as it is that people selectively use, and thereby affect, the media."
Dr. Wesch seems to display in a much clearer picture as to why "the people" affect the media and their direct roles within this phenomenon. He does this by simply using youtube as just one of the many avenues in which social interaction is the driving force behind all things. It's everything. Comedy, compassion, anger, dispute, and even love.
What these readings do for me is reiterate the fact that it is insanely crazy, for there to be one way or one person who is the mighty sage who reports, teaches, lectures, or even scolds those around him or her. It's a concept that has been in action for many many years and one that I feel is just now starting to change in a more positive, progressive, and public manner. This crazy idea, I feel, will never successfully be able to flourish again, simply because WE will not allow it.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Evolution of Ambience
Clive Thompson portrays the evolution of social ambiance throughout his article, Web Ushers in Age of Ambient Intimacy. It's interesting because the article is basically a documentation fueled by personal testimonials and reactions of the people who've been a part of things like Facebook and Twitter since the beginning of the two mediums. Thompson moves things forward chronologically and does so documenting the many changes and effects that have taken place on these sites. I even found myself thinking of the many different emotions and views I had when facebook so suddenly changed it's workings with a news feed. This was a revolution of sorts that led to the unimaginable amount of information we now have access to about our "friends" on facebook and it doesn't matter if we want the information or not...it's just there.
One paragraph in Thompson's writing I want to make a note of came on the third page, second paragraph.
"Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends' and family members' lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting."
All the information, even in it's one liners are nothing more than pieces to the puzzle, which eventually make up your opinion and identity of those you identify with and even those you don't.
One paragraph in Thompson's writing I want to make a note of came on the third page, second paragraph.
"Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends' and family members' lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting."
All the information, even in it's one liners are nothing more than pieces to the puzzle, which eventually make up your opinion and identity of those you identify with and even those you don't.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Cyberculture Generations...From Fire to Firewire
David Silver’s writings on cyberculture studies hit the nail on the head, for me at least, with the analogies he referred to as the internet being as significant as the discovery of fire to mankind and later quoting William Gibson with “Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators.”
While Gibson and Terrence McKenna might adamantly agree on the hallucinogen aspect of things and it’s influence on the positive progression of mankind, I’m sure many would vehemently disagree. Silver digs quite deep into three topics, Popular cyberculture, cyberculture studies, and critical cyberculture studies. To me, this is one of the better scholarly articles regarding the Internet and cyberculture that I’ve come across. What Silver does is he documents the history of cyberculture and the profound studies that have been researched and discussed regarding this evolving phenomenon since the early 90’s. He then uses those things to convey how many see and use it at the turn of the 21st century. I absolutely love how he starts the essay on cyberculture studies…”Like most generations, mine bleed.” What a wonderful summary for the second generation of cyberculture. After all, every generation suffers a crisis of significance in some way or another. This reading sparked the thought in me, ‘what if the crisis of significance that runs ramped on the web and spreads faster than the common cold in an elementary school classroom is just the crisis of the current generation, not humanity as a whole over time?’ The only difference is the generation isn’t necessarily restricted by age.
To think that we are the “second generation” of the cyberworld is almost unphathomable because there is still so much unknown. But we are and it is evident when you look at the dualism that exists today with people and their thoughts of the web and it’s activity. This dichotomy of beliefs is not limited to age either. Silver notes that it now seems to be a decision between identity and the opportunity to expose more of yourself or to remain unknown and anonymous, but either way, remaining a part of the culture.
While Gibson and Terrence McKenna might adamantly agree on the hallucinogen aspect of things and it’s influence on the positive progression of mankind, I’m sure many would vehemently disagree. Silver digs quite deep into three topics, Popular cyberculture, cyberculture studies, and critical cyberculture studies. To me, this is one of the better scholarly articles regarding the Internet and cyberculture that I’ve come across. What Silver does is he documents the history of cyberculture and the profound studies that have been researched and discussed regarding this evolving phenomenon since the early 90’s. He then uses those things to convey how many see and use it at the turn of the 21st century. I absolutely love how he starts the essay on cyberculture studies…”Like most generations, mine bleed.” What a wonderful summary for the second generation of cyberculture. After all, every generation suffers a crisis of significance in some way or another. This reading sparked the thought in me, ‘what if the crisis of significance that runs ramped on the web and spreads faster than the common cold in an elementary school classroom is just the crisis of the current generation, not humanity as a whole over time?’ The only difference is the generation isn’t necessarily restricted by age.
To think that we are the “second generation” of the cyberworld is almost unphathomable because there is still so much unknown. But we are and it is evident when you look at the dualism that exists today with people and their thoughts of the web and it’s activity. This dichotomy of beliefs is not limited to age either. Silver notes that it now seems to be a decision between identity and the opportunity to expose more of yourself or to remain unknown and anonymous, but either way, remaining a part of the culture.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Reflections With Words
In regards to Hines, it seemed as if most of her writing was spent trying to define and then un-define virtual ethnography. The main idea that struck me was the point that along with the Internet and its vastness there is virtually no tangible thing that you can point to as the credence or representation of it all. It seems the only real kind of measurement that can be calculated is the conectiveness and activity of the community. Hines alludes to this in her fourth point, “As a consequence, the concept of the field site is brought into question. If culture and community are not self-evidently located in place, then neither is ethnography. The object of ethnographic enquiry can usefully be reshaped by concentrating on flow and connectivity rather than location and boundary as the organizing principle.”
It’s comparable, I feel, to the quote I think Greta used in one of her video’s in regards to once something exists you can’t get rid of it; you can only criminalize it. The topic regarding the implications of anonymity in public discourse relates to this in that, there are no parameters as to who, what, when where or why information has been distributed. So, just like when you try and pinpoint or define a culture that is literally floating in the airways around us and is now accessible on nearly every inch of the planet, this too is all brought into question. If you don’t know where the information came from how can you measure it’s effectiveness and influence rather than it’s reach?
In Benkler’s writing I found the studies by Keith Hampton and Barry Wellman very fascinating. Their research focused around a community where high speed Internet was available in a time before broadband was widely accessible. What they found was that people who were connected recognized three times as many of their neighbors by name and regularly talked with twice as many as those who were not wired. I immediately thought of Kevin Champion's video about the industrial revolution and suburbia damaging the tribal community. The findings by Hampton and Wellman, in some ways, bring back that tribal mentality along with connectiveness, and significance (on a much wider scale) that communities really haven’t seen in ages. I’m not sure if I’m crossing over too many boundaries with these thoughts, but in my mind I see a captivating connection.
It’s comparable, I feel, to the quote I think Greta used in one of her video’s in regards to once something exists you can’t get rid of it; you can only criminalize it. The topic regarding the implications of anonymity in public discourse relates to this in that, there are no parameters as to who, what, when where or why information has been distributed. So, just like when you try and pinpoint or define a culture that is literally floating in the airways around us and is now accessible on nearly every inch of the planet, this too is all brought into question. If you don’t know where the information came from how can you measure it’s effectiveness and influence rather than it’s reach?
In Benkler’s writing I found the studies by Keith Hampton and Barry Wellman very fascinating. Their research focused around a community where high speed Internet was available in a time before broadband was widely accessible. What they found was that people who were connected recognized three times as many of their neighbors by name and regularly talked with twice as many as those who were not wired. I immediately thought of Kevin Champion's video about the industrial revolution and suburbia damaging the tribal community. The findings by Hampton and Wellman, in some ways, bring back that tribal mentality along with connectiveness, and significance (on a much wider scale) that communities really haven’t seen in ages. I’m not sure if I’m crossing over too many boundaries with these thoughts, but in my mind I see a captivating connection.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Final Trailer / Proposal
The cultural and political impact of anonymous blogging and public discourse within those forums.
My research will focus more on the political side of things and how anonymous discussion, ideas, and accusations effect major media networks and their overall content. I will specifically focus on anonymous blogs and open forum discussions surrounding politics and it's relation to published media reports.
For example, the Daily Kos is a left wing radically liberal blog which was the first place the story about Bristol Palin's (Sarah Palin's daughter) pregnancy gained steam. ArcXIX called the governer out saying, "Well, Sarah, I'm calling you a liar. And not even a good one. Trig Paxson Van Palin is not your son. He is your grandson. The sooner you come forward with this revelation to the public, the better."
In the end Gov. Palin was pregnant and so was her daughter Bristol. The actual accusation proved to be untrue but it did force the truth. The national media wouldn't have been on the story as quickly without the anonymous report on the dailykos.
Another avenue I will explore is the fact that we now see the "experts" and "talking heads" getting involved with these anonymous bloggers, which is one aspect of this I think is crucial to the project and shows the mergence and relentlessness of anonymous and its existence and movement into every form of mass communication.
Here's my trailer. I made some changes to it but not much, just tweaked the audio a bit, added some sound effects, and made some textual changes.
My research will focus more on the political side of things and how anonymous discussion, ideas, and accusations effect major media networks and their overall content. I will specifically focus on anonymous blogs and open forum discussions surrounding politics and it's relation to published media reports.
For example, the Daily Kos is a left wing radically liberal blog which was the first place the story about Bristol Palin's (Sarah Palin's daughter) pregnancy gained steam. ArcXIX called the governer out saying, "Well, Sarah, I'm calling you a liar. And not even a good one. Trig Paxson Van Palin is not your son. He is your grandson. The sooner you come forward with this revelation to the public, the better."
In the end Gov. Palin was pregnant and so was her daughter Bristol. The actual accusation proved to be untrue but it did force the truth. The national media wouldn't have been on the story as quickly without the anonymous report on the dailykos.
Another avenue I will explore is the fact that we now see the "experts" and "talking heads" getting involved with these anonymous bloggers, which is one aspect of this I think is crucial to the project and shows the mergence and relentlessness of anonymous and its existence and movement into every form of mass communication.
Here's my trailer. I made some changes to it but not much, just tweaked the audio a bit, added some sound effects, and made some textual changes.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Proposal
Think back to the 1990’s when instant messaging was starting to take off and you had to choose a name for internet activity for the first time. If my memory serves me right, it seems that just about everybody naturally chose an alias to chat with friends and neighbors on the web. My question is why? Why do internet users instinctively choose names other than their own? Maybe it’s fun; maybe it’s a way of being creative. Whatever the reason, people, for the most part, simply did not and do not use their real name for internet identification.
I guess you can call this a look back at the history of anonymity and published works through time. After all, everything anybody submits, sends, looks at or posts is technically a published piece of work. Ultimately though, I want this research to be specific to the use of names through published works in history. I want to research the trends in choices of usernames and determine how certain trends get started. This may sound a bit weird but resources for this project could be things like cave drawings, the bible, Bill Shakespeare, early letters to the editor in newspapers, ect..
Remember the movie Sleepless In Seattle? Tom Hanks’ son (Jonah) called into a radio station and told this heartbreaking story and it was eventually slugged, “Sleepless in Seattle” Hanks (Sam Balwin) and his son became popular figures or shall we say “microcelebrities” over the radio waves through being so candid behind this name (It's fiction but it seems relevant).
So does anonymity begin and end with a name? Surely not.
I guess you can call this a look back at the history of anonymity and published works through time. After all, everything anybody submits, sends, looks at or posts is technically a published piece of work. Ultimately though, I want this research to be specific to the use of names through published works in history. I want to research the trends in choices of usernames and determine how certain trends get started. This may sound a bit weird but resources for this project could be things like cave drawings, the bible, Bill Shakespeare, early letters to the editor in newspapers, ect..
Remember the movie Sleepless In Seattle? Tom Hanks’ son (Jonah) called into a radio station and told this heartbreaking story and it was eventually slugged, “Sleepless in Seattle” Hanks (Sam Balwin) and his son became popular figures or shall we say “microcelebrities” over the radio waves through being so candid behind this name (It's fiction but it seems relevant).
So does anonymity begin and end with a name? Surely not.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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