Web 2.0 and User Generated Content

I loved the quote,  'I have always imagined the information space as something to which everyone has immediate and intuitive access, and not just to browse, but to create.' Tim Berners-Lee, 1999, from our readings.

The process of doing our group's final project of a Mormon Messages video has definately been a process of creation.

A screen shot taken in Final Cut pro of an interview with my niece

Additionally, in the readings, I loved the quote,  "Today’s generation are pressing ‘record’ on their video cameras and hitting their mouse keys. With a few clicks of the mouse a user can upload a video or photo from their digital camera and into their own media space, tag it with suitable keywords and make the content available to their friends or the world in general." This is exactly what our group is doing.

It has been exciting. We have been able to create near professional-quality video with the digital tools that are available to us. We have used an HD camera to conduct several interviews with different kids. Later we used Final Cut Pro in the Multi Media Lab in the campus library to begin editing the video.

The ease of the creating of video (e.g., the developement of cheap hardware and software) is similar to the development of the laser office printer and a desktop word processor that Paul Anderson mentions. Both series of developments have allowed former spectators to now be part of the creative process and conversation. I love it!

CREATE - Darwin's Adventures

For this digital literacy lab I learned how to create and created an online comic book. It was fun! I found that there are several websites available to do this. I used one called Pixton.com. I think Pixton was the most advanced (you could do the most things on it) comic book website I found.  

Final Project - Our Plan of Attack

For our group’s final project we are creating a Mormon Messages video. After much thought, planning, and discussion we have decided to create a video in which we interview little kids (ages 3-8) about their families.

We want to do interviews similar to the style of Out of the Mouth of Babes, however we want to ask them questions like,

• Why do you love your family?
• How does your family show that they love you?
• How does your mom/dad show that they love you?

A Logic Named Joe

Source: Hackaday.com

I really enjoyed “A Logic Named Joe” by Murray Leinster. It is a short story written by Murray Leinster in 1946. The story is based in the future about a “logic” (i.e., computer) that changed the world very quickly. In Leinster’s futuristic tale, Leinster correct predicts many of the technological advances that would come in the future.

I found a blog post by Mark Bernstein, who is the chief scientist Eastgate Systems, Inc.  Bernstein lists out several of the things that Leinster got right:

The Medium is the Message, Mess Age, Massage, Mass Age?

I found a great blog post on Marshall McLuhan by Maki, a senior studying psychology at Lawerence University. She provides a great summary of McLuhan and of his famous paradox, “The Medium of the Message.” She does a great job explaining what that means.

On her blog I found a link to a review of The Medium is the Message by Mark Federman entitled, “What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?” Federman in his essay review (which p.s. has a creative commons license which I thought was cool) makes some really interesting points. These are some of the points that I enjoyed:

Member Missionary Work

As I have been doing research for our Mormon Messages final project, I been exploring different videos that members of the church have made. I came across this video that I actually saw for first time while on my mission.

The video shows and talks about what it means to be a member missionary. I think it's really well done. It's called, "Small and Simple Things"



Continued below...

The 'Wheat of Nations'

I think by far, innovations the occurred in the 20th century are among my favorites. I think that’s because it’s easier to quantify their impact and typically their results are seen on a global scale in a relatively short amount of time. One such example of 20th century innovation that changed the world occurred in agriculture.

In 1900 farmers made up 38 percent of the U.S. labor force; by the end of the century they represented less than 3 percent. With machines doing most of the work, millions of farmers and farm laborers had to look elsewhere for a living—a displacement that helped fuel booms in the manufacturing and service industries, especially after World War II. It also fueled a dramatic shift in the entire culture, as metropolitan and suburban America began to replace the rural way of life. Source.