Awinters’s Blog

PostSecret is an online forum where people submit their most cherished secrets, or things that they cannot voice out loud. This is an alternative source for people who want to connect with others. Everyone annonymously sends in secrets on post cards, and then a selected few are posted online every sunday. The secrets range from world issues, personal demons, and funny antidotes that could brighten someone’s day. Anyone can read this website, and that is what makes it so touching. You can send in your biggest secret, and if it is directed to someone, then they might just find out. Secrets of love and heartache are common, and everyone goes through that once in their lives, and by sharing these, people know that they are not alone. No one is alone when things seem like they are at their lowest.
I sent in a secret about two weeks ago. Whether it is posted or not does not matter to me. What matters is the fact that I was able to share something about my own feelings that no one knows. Someone close to me has made a major impact on my life without them even know what they did. I was able to share that in my postcard. I will not say what it is on here because that defeats the purpose, but when, or if it was posted, I know that others will be able to relate to it. This website and community lets people share their life experiences with others who could have been through the same traumas and wonderful events that they have.
PostSecret does not advertise on their website, but instead sells books full of post cards that are full of secrets ready to be shared with others. These books pay for keeping the website running. The founder of the website also does tours around the country. He talks about these secrets and promoting human nature. The essence of the website was to have people share their personal thoughts with others, and he talks about what comes from these postcards. How they have helped others, and how they have brought people closer together.
By sending in my own secret I hope to help others and let them know they are not alone. Just as Frank does (founder), I hope that by sharing this I can find others that have been effected by the same unfortunate, natural, and unexplainable mishaps of life.

Coming into this class, I was aware of “alternative media”, but I had my own definition. The first day of class we discussed what alternative media meant, and there were defnitions/ideas that I had never even thought to consider as alternative media. I disagreed with some, such as the idea of OUT magazine being alternative.

But, throughout the class, I think that I have gained an understanding of what alternative media really is, and have now tweeked my own opinion or definition to fit my new understanding. To me, alternative media can be anything that is unconvential to main stream media. Any sort of communication tactic that uses a new way to attract its followers. People have been enhancing technology throughout the years, and anything new, can be considered alternative. For me, I am still wondering when something is no longer alternative media, but instead, mainstream media. I do not feel like we really answered that question, and if there is even an answer because it can be based completely off of opinion.
Throughtout this class we touched on many different forms of alternative media, and enjoyed most of the forms, but there were some that just kept my attention more than others.

The idea of culture jamming and graffiti is amazing to me. Culture jamming is, to me, one of the most hilarious means of self-expression, or just humor in general. It could qite possibly be one of the funniest things to Google. These are just evntertaining, and even informational ways people can educate or entertain others.

Second, the documentary about grafitti was just cool. (I tried to think of another word, but cool just fits.) To see people all across the world engaging in the same thing was so interesting. Yes, there is a lot of graffiti that has gang affiliation, but then there’s the graffiti that is purely art. One question that I sill have, is where do we draw the line? When is this hurting the community, and when can it be allowed. For instance, people started “tagging” the Bean in Millenium Park, which to me, is just disgraceful. Yes, I think that graffitti is impressive, but I have my limits. Because of this, I think that there should be designated areas where people can display their street art. But, does that raise the question of it not being alternative anymore? One guy on the documentary thought that the second graffiti was displayed in art galleries, that it was no longer considered graffiti, and that the artist had sold out.