Awinters's Blog

Secret that are shared

awinters — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:33:08 +0000

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.

Final Blog Posting

awinters — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:19:02 +0000

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 a rt. 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.

The only problem that I had with this class was the lack of knowledge that I had in some of the areas. There were some bands, meems and other things that I had no idea existed. I guess I’m not really that up to date on as much alternative media as I thought. I just wish I would have known more about some of these ideas before discussing them. Instead of just reading, I should have gone online (since this IS alternative media, and researched a tad more). Other than that, this class was interesting and opened my eyes to other ways that I can communicate with others, and express my own ideas. This blog alone was something new that I tried, and might even keep up.

Extra Credit Blog

awinters — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:37:23 +0000

It seems like everything we have in our lives has to do with technology. We do not use a map anymore, but now a GPS system. There is less handwritten letters to one another, and more frequented emails that can communicate answers to questions in a matter of minutes. People are even eliminating house phones because everyone in the family has a cell phone. Is everything going to be electronic in the next few years?
It many seem easier to have technology in our lives, but this leaves room for the infamous hackers to make their presence known. Buying things online, or entering your information on a website lets hackers find out vital information that can lead to identity theft. But when did hackers become peoples’ worst enemy on the Internet?
“Civil disobedience entails the peaceful breaking of unjust laws,” as stated by Manion and Goodrum in the article “Terrorism or Civil Disobedience”. Hackers were portrayed on the movie Hackers as people trying to fight for a cause and hack into a system that was a “threat” to society with what they were doing. The team of younger computer geniuses was seen as the heroes in the movie because they were fighting for a good cause. In reality though, hackers are not seen as someone that you want to be associated with and the term is more associated with stolen identity than anything else.
Even though the idea of being able to hack into a system to help save the world is an awesome idea, it is against the law. Is there a certain point where this is okay? How would we justify the use of hacking in our world, today? I feel as though this is something that would be incredible to use, but the hole world could be turned upside down, and if the wrong people could hack into global systems, who knows what would happen? If people were to get into the FBI’s file system, what would happen?
Hacking has become something that no one wanted. In the beginning the idea was new and interesting, and is still humorous at times, but what about identity theft? When criminals use something this strong and powerful, the consequences can be endless. Even with all the protecting blocks on the Internet, people know ways around them, and that makes everyone a possible victim.

Mashups: New Favorite Genre

awinters — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:15:25 +0000

Ever since I listened to the Linkin Park and Jay-Z album, Collision Course, I have admired mashups. Granted, I never knew there was a specific title for such a talent, I always thought they were just collaborations, or remixes of another sort. But infact, this a talent that I’ve realized deserves credit where credit is due. Just watching the YouTube mashup of the top songs of 2008 was pretty impressive. I have to admit that I thought it was just going to be something jammed together that might have had the songs fade into one another, but this was one cohesive song that sounded like it should be played on the radio to promote the 2008 top hit songs.
After playing around on jamglue, which has one of the most appropriate names for a site, I realized the talent and skill it takes to “mash up” songs, and especially songs so different as Jay-Z’s hip-hop and Linkin Park’s more rock tone. To be able to find tones that are blendable, and noticing the slight differences that could be formed together to create a “new” song or sound is pretty impressive. The closest I came, was to picking out parts of songs that I liked and making one long song so that I wouldn’t have to change my Ipod when driving.
As in the reading “Recipiecs for Disaster”, the importance of creating your own media is a way to get around the corporate companies idea of what the public should be allowed access to. Mashups are a form of entertainment that is created by combining two separate songs, or clips to make a new one. This may be a different form of media, but it is a new way of bringing two separate sounds, Linkin Park and Jay-Z, together to form a new and “improved sound”.
However, as always, there is legal issues that come with tampering with someone else’s music or lyrics. With people being able to play around on a fun site like jamglue, what means they won’t post it on YouTube for other’s enjoyment? If songs like this become a new “meam” that interests the public, someone is bound to make money off of it, but is it the right person? Are the new songs breaking rules of copywright laws that musicians fight so hard to keep? I do not know if I would say jamglue should be an illegal site by any means, probably because I enjoyed it so much, but the ways in which people share what they create should take into consideration the original artists that were involved. Or, popular artists could get creative and do mashups of their own, much like Jay-Z and Linkin Park, I don’t think the CD stores would appreciate their genres being so jumbled though…

Blog Posting #4

awinters — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:45:12 +0000

Memes are covering the internet as fast as viruses. Everyone has experienced a meme, or forward that has something funny or entertaining attached to it. Memes can easily be that “annoying” email that you want to just add to the spam box. But do you ever think about how many people this is sent to? How many people that you are connected to by this one email?
I feel that memes are something that can connect the whole world in one way or another. One little email can be sent to everyone in your contact list, then everyone in everyone elseses contact list. This is a way to connect everyone in an entertaining way. With everything going on in the world, everyone deserves a laugh and that can come from one little meme.
Internet memes are a way for people of all cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. to bond with one another. Even if that bond is for a 30 second clip that has nothing to do with you, the bond of laughter is something that we can all share. Memes are just as much of a media source as an entertainment magazine, if not more.
Alternative media is something that informs, entertains, and reachs all different kinds of people. Memes are no different, and to me are the ones that reach the most people. Granted, you have to have access to the internet, but the amount of people that are involved in just one meme is unbelievable. One particular meme that comes to mind is the most recent YouTube phenomenon of “David A fter the Dentist”. This is not just a video posting, but a meme that has had so many views through YouTube and even email forwards. The one thing that lets me know the success of something, is when i can talk to my grandma in Nebraska, and she knows exactly what I’m talking about. The success of memes not only reaches throughout the US, but also throughout the world. This shows how alternative media, even without a specific definition, is important to media communications.

Blog Posting 3, Culture Jamming

awinters — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:45:18 +0000

I agreed with what Rodriguez de Gerada was doing because he also had a valid point. Advertisers are putting up billboards everywhere, from the high posts across highways, to buses, and even popping up on the internet. They know that adolecents are going to be seeing them, and they are the most easily persuade age group. But what happens when these adds can be harmful to kids? Is there a certain responsibility that advertizers should take upon themselves? In Gerada’s arguement, he mentions how these ads show activities and glamour that kids in the ghetto are not exposed to. this creates intruige from younger teens to see what a product is all about. Smoking a cigarette on a sailboat looks amazing to someone who has never seen a beach. This then becomes a false reality to them, and adds in the persuasion tactics that say “if you smoke you can be this cool and see the ocean”. Is this even fair?
I feel that culture jamming is something that expresses ideas in a way that is even more creative than Commissioned advertisers. This is just another example of self-expression through a form of art. As I read in Naomi Klein, No Logo, there are many places that dedicate their ground to culture jammers trying to make a difference. In SoHo Down & Under on West Broadway in New York, there are examples of culture jamming that you are able to buy. This in itself turns into its own advertisement. But, there is still the question of whether defacing property is okay, even for the better good?
Not only culture jammers are trying to spread a message, but so were the protesters of the WTO in Settle, WA in 1999. To see the amount of people that stood up for themselves was incredible. With that though, came nervousness. The city officials were scared to see this many people ban together for a cause and called the police in. Like we talked about in class, I think that there would have been even more police brutality if this would have happened today because of the attacks that have been made on this country. Does that give them an excuse? No. But to think that the police, people we supposedly trust, hurting people that were standing up or what they believe in, in a nonviolent way, is still occurring in our present day is scary. Is the freedom of speech and right to assemble going to be a distant memory for us? With actions such as the ones from the WTO protests, one would think it is a high possibility.

Punk music, or was it more of a movement?

awinters — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:46:20 +0000

In the 1970′s punk music went into full swing because of many teens that were tired of the “artists that compromised their integrity” as Dylan Clark said in the article “The Death and Life of Punk, The Last Subculture”. Many of those teens were the influential generation that consumed punk music in its prime. Was the appeal of something controversial intriguing to these teens, or the idea of something less mainstream and more their “own” the main appeal? The beginning of punk was the beginning of a new “subculture”.
In the movie, “American Hardcore”, influential bands of the time are interviewed and help us understand where punk music originated from, and why. For many teens, anger is a common feelings whether it is toward the world, parents or society, it is there. Those teens were the ones that needed an outlet from the world, that punk music eventually gave them. Punk music was their alternate source of entertainment to what was being produced mainstream.
Punk music had a DIY mentality that led to its popularity. The idea of this being the alternative scene that angered teens could be a part of was enticing. This was the outlet that many parents probably feared because they simply did not understand it. I feel that there is a certain appreciation that goes along with anything that has a “DIY” mentality, and punk music is no exception. Was the idea that these bands were self-proclaimed even more appealing to teens because they were dealing with their own hardships?
I am not a personal fan of the music that I heard on the movie, but the whole idea of promoting yourself on your own was awesome. I felt that it was part of the idea of punk as a whole too because it was something that was different, and promoting yourself was not something that was commonly done at that time. Now-a-days we have Myspace which enables people to promote themselves and become “overnight” celebrities, if you will, but this was not something that was available to these bands at the time.
As a result, punk became more of a movement than just a type of music because of what it represented. But, has it really a “dead” movement, or are there bands that still embody the same message and style that the original punk rockers had?

New Age Advertising & Labeling Alternative Media

awinters — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:42:45 +0000

Growing up in the first generation that was intertwined with media and technology from day one is somewhat of a bragging right. it may not be jealousy, but it is heard in those side comments that I might here my parents make when I figure out what button should be pressed on the computer in a mater of seconds and it had taken them an hour. Being around everything that has evolved in the last ten years is quite a sight. We first had tvs and maybe a computer, but now it is unusual for someone to be without access to the internet, without a tv, cell phone, or mp3 player. These are things that we are accustomed to having in our everyday lives.
Having all of these new devices is rather intriguing, but it opens up the advertising world to all sorts of new media forms and ways to become engaged with a younger generation in nontraditional ways. We all dislike waiting through commercials on tv when our favorite show is on, so people are starting to record shows or watch them on the internet. Where does that leave the advertising companies? I believe that this is when the ad agencies, specifically, had to become more creative or use alternative ways to reach more groups of people.
When watching a certain tv show, you might catch an ad for an up and coming new series that is being advertised. What happens when we skip all of the ads when using a TiVo? Television companies can not only rely on word of mouth to engage millions of people to tune into the new series that will soon be on tv, they have to use an alternative motive. I was on michigan avenue last week and saw what seemed to be typical people walking around, but they had though bubbles with NOT so typical sayings written on the bubbles such as, “I stripped my way through college”. This is something that would catch people’s attention and make them want learn more about what is going on. In this case, the tv show might have just earned new viewers for the simple fact that they used more of an alternative way of advertising.

I do not think that there is any particular way to define “alternative media”. Our first discussion in class was very interesting to listen to because of all of the opinions being represented. They varied in one way of another, but in the end I think that there was one conclusion, even though it was not stated.
What I took from everyone’s opinion on alternative media, whether is it right or wrong, was the simple fact that it seemed to be alternative if one was not used to it. This is so open ended, and I hope we can discuss it more in class even if there will never be a conclusion that everyone agrees on. In sake of my defense, take the conversation of OUT magazine. I do not see this as alternative media, because it is still a magazine, only it is directed towards a more specific group of individuals. It is a magazine that still discusses the same issues as magazines such as TIME, COSMO, and health magazines. If we were to say that OUT is an alternative media for someone who is straight, then wouldn’t we have to say EBONY is alternative media for the white woman, or a hunting magazine for the vegetarian? Defining alternative media is something that I hope we concentrate on all year because I feel there is no “answer” yet, that is, if we ever will find one.

Hello world!

awinters — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:02:34 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!