People are always questioning what art is and what it is not.  Gaming has become a new source of debate; is game making an art? The article Persuasive Games: The Proceduralist Style by Ian Bogost answers this question.  Bogost gives a brief description of the major art ‘eras’ through history, which gives us the context of his argument.  Basically, he displays the erratic, defiant, and unpredictable nature of art throughout its history. He continues his argument by displaying the functions of the different styles of games, how they perform, the question the games arise, how people interact with games, etc.  Overall, he makes a solid case for his belief that gaming is an art due to its overall function.

Human’s have a general tendency to shy-away from change and the new frontiers of concepts–especially the concept of art.  This inability to accept new forms/styles/mediums as art has been a reoccurring habit of humanity as Bogost begins to display.  Of course, there is a need to draw a line somewhere.  We can’t just say that that any object is art. Or can we? What the concept of art incorporates, and what it does not, is a tricky question to say the least.

Gaming is not the only new art frontier that has been having trouble acquiring the title of ‘art’ in recent times.  Graffiti has also encountered the same issues.  It seems that certain people have trouble seeing art in certain forms of self-expression, because they do not understand the media or are culturally opposed it.

I downloaded the Second Life program and created an avatar to roam the virtual world of SL.  I visited an Irish pub, an island celebrating Mardi Gras, and a trance dance floor called Zapp.  At the Irish Pub I hung out at the bar and watched the other avatars “drink” their “drinks”.  I edited my profile, which let the SL world know that I am a student at Santa Clara University.  I named my avatar “HungryPandaMonk”, because the avatar is a panda and I couldn’t find him any food that he could eat.  Therefore, I left the bar and transported my panda self to a beach island.  There I had conversations with a few strangers and felt strange.  They were from all over the world including: Mexico, Costa Rica, London, the Mid West in the United States, and somewhere in Asia (I couldn’t read the chat writing).  Well, the various ethnicities I encountered there did not make me feel awkward, but the conversation did or I guess what was actually going on within SL.  I could see all the other avatars roaming the island, sitting on beach chairs, flying, and what not, but I couldn’t help but imagine all of the people sitting behind their computer screens in a room having their social-lives entertained by playing the SL game. I wondered if the SL players ever got out of their homes and attempted to communicate with people outside of their SL lives.  I wondered what purposes brought these people to play the game and socialize in virtual reality.  Do they have socialization issues? Are they just bored? Do they have controlling parents/ or partners? Are they afraid to step out of their homes? etc… Well, I know I may never know the truth, and I am sure that people sign into SL for various reasons.  I asked people in SL why they enjoyed SL, and all of their answers seemed the same: “To meet people” or “Because I’m bored” or “It’s fun.”  I guess, that’s the reason why people go out in reality also.  I then transported myself to a trance dance floor where I taught my panda to dance.  People kept on commenting in the public chat: “I’m having so much fun!”, “Trance Rules”, and the such.  SL is the place, I guess, if you can’t get out of the house.  However, I prefer to dance to trance in the real world.

I browsed the Google search engine in order to find out how to make a “good” podcast.  I clicked on a couple links, and read a few articles/blogs.  Most of what I read was common sense, such as “know your topic”, and edit out the “awkward pauses.”  However, as most information, the common sense aspect from the tips I read on pod-casting was obvious after I read it, but I doubt I would have recognized all of the aspects of a good podcast shared on the various sites.  Therefore, reading these sites was essential in order to flesh out the obvious-but-not-so-obvious techniques of good pod-casting.  Furthermore, I decided to create my own (shortened) list of essential pod-casting techniques/tips/information gathered from the sites I visited.

1. Know the information you wish to cover.

2. Plan and script the podcast ahead of time.

3. Find a unique way to podcast that sets the podcast out from the rest.

4. Stay consistent.  Broadcast the podcast on a set schedule.

5. Try to stay on a specific subject, or create a timeline, in order to cut confusion and keep the audiences’ attention.

6. Acquire software that allows an editor to edit the sound and/or video.

7. Acquire a good mic and/or camera in order to have clean audio/video for the audience.

8. Acquire software, such as Skype, that allows for video conferencing; and software that allows for screen recording in order to record and edit the conference.

9. Put the Podcast on iTunes, and/or, make it easy to find in a search engine by giving it a unique name and logo.

10. Archive the work and make sure the new podcasts stay relevant.

This is an over all list of tips I gathered from multiple sites. If you wish to visit those sites, the links are below:

http://mashable.com/2011/03/25/podcasting-tips/

http://www.feedforall.com/podcasting-tips.htm

http://www.goinvo.com/practical-tips-for-producing-a-professional-podcast/