I actually found it really interesting that religious sects have included social media in their world of religion, but then again, i feel like it should have surprised me. Our world has become so intertwined and linked together that it only makes sense that social media become useful for all types of things, including religion. I found the idea of a religious facebook page, and twitter page especially interesting. It makes sense that people use these platforms to share their views of religious just as so many people use them to share politics, world views, economic input, etc.

Because of the very nature of these platforms it is no surprise that they have become instrumental in the world of religion. They might be used for a weekly facebook news letter for christians, or a way for muslims to ‘follow’ religious leader on twitter. The very fabric of these sites acts to promote a certain message, whatever it may be. This is precisely what religion does as well.

The explosion of religiously backed apps comes as expected with the explosion of twitter and facebook. The app revolution exploded exponentially more than anyone expected. So why wouldn’t there be a bible app, where one can search for any passage or scripture. It makes perfect sense when you really think about it. Religious sects are doing everything they can to stay desperately relevant wit their ancient messages as texts. A perfect way to move into the digital age is to update all of these ancient things by creating digital versions of them.

In this evolving digital age it has become all but essential that anything desiring to stay relevant  has to go digital and viral. All corporations, no matter what the business audience has to involve social media if they want to stat on the up and up. Even companies that don’t utilize social media in their relations with the public are creating twitter and facebook accounts in an effort to better promote their product or services. That’s what it really comes down to in my opinion with social media: promotion. If you want to get your message, product, idea, etc. out to as many people as possible, you must use social media platforms. This logic transfers flawlessly to the world of religion. Promotion of ideas and teachings via social networks has only made the church;s job easier.

When deciding what to do my podcast assignment on there were a few things that I wanted to take into account first. When picking a subject for a project like this I wanted to chose something that I was interested in, and something I had a decent amount of knowledge about prior to the assignment. Music has become a large part of my life. Whether it’s making music, working with people who make music from a business stand point, or simply enjoying the many parts of the music scene, I am very involved with all of it.  For this project, mainly due to the audio component do it, I decided to do my podcast about the underground music scene in San Francisco. I spend a great deal of my weekend time going to concerts and shows in many different cities in California.

There are a number of things I am taking into account when preparing to record my podcast. Because I am focusing on a subject that heavily involves music, I want music to be a significant part of my podcast. There will be a musical intro and outro, as well as music spread throughout the podcast itself. One tip I learned from Terry Fitzpatrick of UPIU, is that if you chose to use music within your podcast, you should really only use it when changing the mood of the conversation. Using music to induce a certain feeling, and then proceeding into an interview that goes along with this mood can be very effective.

Another technique that i found very useful was to keep your podcast flowing; don’t jump around too much with your questions. You want to keep your listener interested in what you have to say, and jumping around too much can lose their attention. It is also important to keep the sound of all the parts of the podcast similar. I got some points lost from my last podcast project when i re-recorded my questions at a later point because it sounded to jumpy. The sound when I recorded the interview was different than when i re-recorded the questions, and this made it sound a bit strange.

Sometimes, as an interviewer, you can look a bit intimidating when interviewing your subjects. A technique I was taught to avoid this is to hold the mic at a 45 degree angle when interviewing. This way the mic isn’t right up in the persons face, but off to the side. This is not as intimidating, and actually records a better sound in the long run. The point of a podcast is to paint a picture for your listener with the audio you record. These tips are important to use if you hope to achieve a mental picture with a podcast.

Twitter and other social media platforms have become instrumental in the spread of knowledge for obvious reasons. They have become particularly useful in the spread of information and knowledge from oppressed countries whose free speech has been constrained. The universal anonymous nature of these things has led to the inability of the oppressors to keep tabs on the spread of this information.

Because these forums simply exists in the clouds, they allow for information to be seen from anywhere on the planet. Protesters in Egypt used twitter to send out important information for rallies and group protests. The article says, “Twitter emerged as a key source for real-time logistical coordination, information, and discussion among people.” Twitter became the key organizational tool for the resisters. Because twitter is used as both a professional platform for journalism, as well as a platform for citizen journalism there was a considerable amount of information that was shared by both recieving equal attention.

The relationship between social networking sites and news organizations is becoming more and more interesting. Because of the simplicity of the sites citizen journalism has spiked tremendously. This influx in citizen journalism has helped spread the knowledge of certain things happening around the world at a wildfire pace with no cost to major news organizations. Twitter has essentially become it’s own user run news organization.

In the digital age of music that we live in today, podcasting has become a way for music to be spread throughout the online universe seamlessly. There are countless weekly podcasts released through online radio every week in all different genera. There are a few that I personally follow, one in particular being Skream and Benga’s “In new DJs we trust.” Every second Thursday each month Dubstep superstars Skream and Benga host a show on BBC Radio 1 that debuts the hottest new songs from producers all over the world. the majority of the time the songs are brand new, and often unreleased.

These online radio show podcasts have become very integrated in the world of music. Musicians often send their music to these shows before anywhere else. It’s a great way to debut tracks to the public because of the large international following. Getting your song played on podcasts like “In new DJs we trust” can be a huge step for up an coming artists. Because these podcasts are full of water marks and plugs, it makes the songs impossible to rip, but still allows for the most promotion possible. In the world of online file sharing, especially music file sharing, it has become very difficult for musicians to promote their music, while still receiving compensation for their work. These podcasts take care of that problem. The hosts provide tracklisting, as well as links to the URLs where the songs played can be purchased.

Most of the big artists in the business host similar radio show podcasts. With artists like Annie Mac, Giles Peterson, Armin Van Buuren, and Ferry Corsten constantly pumping of radio shows like this there is never a shortage of new music. And these podcasts have become very important in the world of music. Any kind of promotion, especially free online promotion can make a career take flight.

This is a blog post that I decided to do on my own accord.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest issue regarding ethical use of the internet today is the legality surrounding the use of Person to Person (or P2P) File sharing. There has been tireless debate over the subject, and many different rulings on whether or not it should be allowed. One of the biggest legal instances was the Grokster Case. In the Grokster Case a file-sharing website was taken to court over whether or not they were allowed to be promoting the illegal downloads of copyrighted material. The prosecutor was MGM Movies, backed by the MPAA and the RIAA.

The Supreme Court’s final ruling was as follows:

1)StreamCast and Grokster not only provided the software to pirate files, they also actively promoted pirating. This promotion was in the form of active marketing steps and on-screen statements that described users downloading copyrighted content using their products.

In response to 3.

In our world today there has arises a skepticism for the credibility on many sources. More than that, we have lost faith in the news sources that have been legitimate information sources for centuries. A sense of media paranoia is now plaguing our culture. We are convinced that television networks, newspapers, online media sources, etc, have become so biased that their information if unreliable. these networks have their loyalty to a certain political party, or school of thinking, and in their efforts to remain loyal that excrete a stream of extrodinarily biased information. To some, this makes them unreliable.

This is where youtube, and other like sources of information come into play. They serve as a platform for the masses, allowing anyone to get their voice heard to millions of people. It appears we now look at social media platforms like twitter, facebook, and youtube to get out information. They serve as an ear to the people, without the ulterior motives of the main networks. This “viral marketing”, as Jenkins calls it, seems to be the way of the future.

Jenkins talks about how clips from shows or interviews from programs on major networks now get more views from sites like youtube, than they do from the original network that aired the clip. A perfect example of this is Rick Perry’s “Strong” campaign. (Which can be viewed HERE.) The commercials were aired on a very right wing network, and were seen by some, but over looked by many people who didn’t care for the network’s agenda. When the video went viral, over seven million people saw it on youtube, most of which would not have seen it otherwise. I myself first saw the video on facebook with a link to youtube. There would have been no way i would have seen this political campaign if it wasn’t mocked all over the inter-webs.

Though Jenkins’ article is over five years old, I believe he portrayed a spitting image of what these sites would look like in the future. The social media explosion has been instrumental in the way we spread information in todays world. Without these things many would be left in the dark.

The design element is one of the most important parts of anything that you hope to showcase anything on. Whether it’s a music blog, a forum in which to showcase your accomplishments, or even a billboard or flier. The goal is to attract the attention of people so they will listen to what you have to say, purchase your product, etc. For our personal hypertext project the design element is one of the most, if not the most, important element.

I have had a decent amount of experience with website work, and a little bit with design. And one of the tips that really stood out for me was to make the format and operation of your website different than most of the cookie-cutter sites you see today. While still making the site easy to navigate, make the look of your site different. There’s nothing that will attract more attention initially then a totally different look.

I found the ideas and themes suggested in 10 Unusual Places to get Design Inspiration  quite interesting. I really liked the idea of looking to different eras for inspiration. Giving your site a retro feel could be very cool and different. Because I’m very into music I liked the idea of using album covers and album art as inspiration. I also thought that a combination of different themes could be interesting, possibly a retro album cover theme.

Some other things I noticed about some of the layouts were that the majority of them were very pleasing to the eye. When creating a website you want people to be interested in what you have to say on the site; that’s the whole point. If the format of a site is to abrasive or boring people might ignore what you have to say purely based on the aesthetics of the format, regardless of what you have to say.

For my personal hypertext project i want something thats fresh, contemporary and pleasing to the eye. I think I’m going to use something musically focused to be the theme of the page, including headers, backgrounds, and possible link icons to other pages.  I like the idea of using different eras when designing the theme of my page. I thought about using a retro theme, but I’m also thinking about going in the other direction and using a technology infused futuristic feel for the site as well.

In Danah Boy’s article, “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life”, she studies the way that teens interact with each other, and with the interfaces of Facebook and Myspace. Boyd’s article researches the social effects that accompany these social networking sites, and how the use of them has progressed. When Myspace first hit the mainstream it exploded on the web with millions of users. But when Facebook was introduced everyone attempted to move to the new, more exclusive social media site. Boyd looks at why this happened, and what the ramifications were of this shift.

Initially users shifted to Facebook from Myspace because it simply appeared as the new, more in depth, and more exclusive forum to socially interact as they had been doing. But Boyd argues there is a another important reason for the shift from Myspace to Facebook. Like Boyd says, many users started shifting to Facebook looking to the new site as a way to move up the social status ladder. When Facebook first hit the inter-webs it was only for the use of college students, and one had to be invited to Facebook to be able to create an account. This gave users the look that they were older, more mature, and thus higher on the social ladder. While some were permitted to use Facebook, others were still stuck using Myspace, which created a social gap between groups of people; essentially a social media induced social stratification.

In the interview with Kat in Boyd’s article, the young girl often uses the term “ghetto” to describe the type of people who use Myspace. Her association with the alleged lower class of Myspace users comes from certain social norm enforced by social media in her world. Facebook makes itself look better than Myspace to attract new users, causing those who stay behind to look of lower social status.

Danah says that while many chose to use both sites, those who only chose one tended to be from different backgrounds. Like I mentioned before, Facebook was originally intended for the use of college students and those who attended the top high schools in the country. Because of this, one of the ramifications of this elite status is that now, teens from lower income backgrounds are more likely to chose Myspace, and teens from more elite, higher income backgrounds tend to chose Facebook. Likewise, students who attended colleges that were ranked higher were more likely to be using Facebook over Myspace, compared to college students attending colleges ranked lower.

Facebook’s use was intended for the most elite, and the repercussions of that are absolutely shown in the demographics of its participants today. One of the greatest marketing tools to date is to make consumers believe that the product you are selling is only for the elite, or for an exclusive group of people. By making your product unattainable, at least for a period of time, you will greatly increase the demand for it. And when it is revealed to the public, the use of the product will be explosive. This is the pattern we saw with Myspace, Facebook, and now Google+. The flip side of this technique is the when the masses move on to the next big thing, those left in the dust with the old and outdated now posses a lower social [media] status.

It appears that one of Keen’s primary arguments is that the legitimacy of the content we take in is being threatened buy the increase in user-generated content. The explosion of bloggers and similar sources of information that have no ground to stand on has started to become the primary source for a lot of people to find their information. While the majority of these sources are legitimate, there are many that are not. And the incredible amount of information made readily available on the Internet makes it hard for us to decipher which is which. Keen warns that, “The distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred.”

He goes on to warn about the dangers of the “cut and paste” culture we have adopted, where content is shared freely between people via the Internet. These actions have seriously injured the entertainment industry. With this free sharing of intellectual property we have, and will continue to see great change in the creative industries. While some argue that it only fosters further creativity, other worry that those who create should have the right to market their ideas in a way only they see fit. We are warned to consider the ramifications of blindly supporting a culture that encourages plagiarism.

In the video interview Keen inquires about the accusation that apple runs itself like a terrorist organization. He is referring to the way the Apple executive release information to those lower in the company. Information is released on a need to know basis so that nothing is ever leaked to the public. One of the biggest things that Job’s stressed was how to handle crisis management, and the events to follow his death. Also similar to a terrorist organization Apple prepared for the death of Job’s by transferring more power from Jobs to the board of executives. While keen argues that successions are more complicated than they appear, it’s argued that apple will not experience a hiccup in his absence. The transfer of power had been taking place for many years, and it’s believed that in the period leading up to his death the company was run completely independent of Jobs, where he was only there for creative purposes.

While the comparison of Apple to a terrorist cell operation may be extreme, the analogy serves the situation well. Like the incredibly intelligent man that he was, Jobs came to terms with the idea of his absence in the company, and prepared for it. Just another reason Apple is the successful giant that it is today.

When I first read the part of the story about Stephanie Lenz and he baby dancing to the prince song taken as a threat to the multi-billion dollar company that is Universal I found it both hilarious, and horrific. These companies are so paranoid and over powering that they fear someone hacking a youtube video just to avoid paying prince for 29 seconds of his song! I found this absolutely ridiculous. But that’s what its come down to, we are so paranoid and protective of original material being stolen that we forget what it was really created for: the enjoyment of the fans.

From my perspective, I find these arguments and debates of extreme interest. Over the last few years I have become more and more interested in the dance/electronic music scene, until it has become virtually all I listen to. With the DJ/Producers in the electronic scene, none of this makes any sense! Producers pray for their music to be downloaded, even release high quality rips of the songs for free! I worked with a company’s whose sole goal was to find the underated music of talented people and promote the music for free to as many people as possible. I’ve run a website devoted to that purpose for over a year and a half. Tijs Verwest, also known by his super-ego DJ Tiesto is one of the largest, if not the largest DJ in the electronic scene at the moment. In multiple interviews he is quoted as saying that “illegal downloading is how dance music survived.” The tireless promotion of free ideas and music to others created and almost underground family within the music community. And as you can see today, these efforts over the last 10 years have turned into the largest and quickest expansion of music genera in history.

My point being, if we stifle the sharing of and artists ideas we stifle the method is which the artists got their inspiration in the first place. Art and media go hand in hand. With this recent media/technology boom we have seen an exponential increase in the amount of art that has been produces. We need to keep creation alive, not lock it in a cell.