What is love?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Collage
This is a short Animoto video collage of some of my photography that I took in the duration of my Digital Photography class. I have a free-trial account so it's only about 30 seconds.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Animation How-To
This is a quick tutorial on how to create animations with Pivot. I used this program for my animation assignment and it is super easy to use, it just takes time to create just like any other animation.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Featured Photographer #13
The images from Elena Kalis are truly sights to tantalize the imagination. I originally found her through the site DeviantArt but I knew that she also had a Flickr account. While I was searching the site for a new photographer to feature, I randomly stumbled upon one of her pictures: it was instantly recognizable as her style. The interesting thing about Kalis' gallery is that it consists solely of underwater photography. You should also know that the water isn't fake or even from a swimming pool: Kalis lives in the Bahamas. Most of her work is centered around little girls, at least one being her own daughter (yes i t sounds creepy but the images are picturesque innocence). Sometimes she uses themes, most prevalently Alice in
Wonderland. The true magic of her photos lies in the fantasy of the colors and the fact that the images are underwater in their own world. Her pictures are stunning and her gallery has many more photos like this one so go check her out. Some of her work has been featured in magazines.
Wonderland. The true magic of her photos lies in the fantasy of the colors and the fact that the images are underwater in their own world. Her pictures are stunning and her gallery has many more photos like this one so go check her out. Some of her work has been featured in magazines.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Social Media: Response
When I returned to this site after my holiday break from the computer I was shocked and yet please to find response to my recent blog on social media. The comments brought up an argument on the other side of the coin that I am debating. In my blog 'Social Media: Future or Fall', I question whether social media will be our future or our downfall, the latter being my ultimate decision. The first comment that I will address is Mr. Anderson’s. His main argumentative question is ‘how do you propose we slow social media down?’
While the feat seems impossible, like Mr. Anderson said ‘Technology always prevails and it is our species that must adapt’, it is not impossible. Take the iPod. This is technology that countless people have ‘adapted’ to from tweeners to senior citizens. Think way back to the year 2001 when the very first iPod was put on the shelves. It was easy to get learn to use and the concept was easily understandable. Since then the iPod has evolved, slowly adding more features from pictures to videos to the now ever-popular applications. Granted Apple did this strategically to wean more money out of its customers, but this can be taken out of context and applied to virtually anything. Apple slowly evolved and gave people time to acclimate to the newest model before releasing the next new thing. Could social media not be regulated in the same way? Give people what they can handle. When the consumer learns to take on the task of the latest model, bring out the next new thing.
Now this is the literal answer to Mr. Anderson’s question but I have a feeling that he meant it more figuratively as if to say ‘This is impossible’. But was internet borne of its own accord or did we invent it? Are we not the masters of our own inventions? We can regulate our own actions, what is boils down to is having the proper responsibilities for what our actions spur. Humans need to understand that social media is not ‘out of control’. We are in charge of our own actions and we are letting ourselves and our acquaintances ignore our task to regulate what we do and how much we accelerate what we cannot keep up with.
It does seem forever true that certain humans will never learn to accept and abide by their responsibilities for their actions and so another solution must be made available. Mr. Anderson also touched on this answer; offer some sort of education to those who use social media (i.e. almost everyone) to educate them on their responsibilities. But this also seems like an impossible feat; sure high schools and colleges could require a philosophy class like this but what about the rest of the world? Air the classes on television? I can guarantee you that most will not be willing to take the time of day to learn about the responsibilities that so many ignore. So if people aren’t willing to learn about their responsibilities and it seems apparent that it is human nature to ignore reining themselves in, how can social media be slowed down to a comprehendible and solely beneficial level? The answer isn’t simple nor is it appealing. When situations spiral out of control, who is the responsible one who steps in to regulate what we cannot be bothered to? Government. No, it is not appealing and the word ‘government involvement’ gives permanent wrinkles in people’s brows but what if the government did studies on social media and issued public warnings on the less desirable side of the subject? This could be educational and push people towards looking inward at their own responsibilities when it comes to social media.
The comment from Joshua also is answered in Mr. Anderson’s question. ‘Is it the nature of social media that creates problems, or are the problems due to the behavior of the users?’ Like I said, are we not the masters of our own inventions? Just like we watch our children and stop them from getting out of control can we not also do the same for social media? A product of the people is the people’s responsibility and it is apparent that many people cannot handle this responsibility. This means that those who are the inventors need to help push the people into this. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, has instilled more privacy options, the ability to make certain status posts and pictures ‘for friends only’ or even for the eyes of certain friends that are tagged. If every website CEO or social media inventor gave these options and informed their consumer’s on their importance, social media would be less detrimental and yet still beneficial.
This links to the final question posed by Mr. Anderson: do the cons outweigh the pros? No, I did start my last blog showing the many benefits that make social media the power house it is. But I feel the cons are increasing in number as social media skyrockets and the benefits cannot keep up. It is up to the creators of social media to encourage its individual participants to regulate themselves and slowly eliminate the cons that tarnish social media’s reputation.
While the feat seems impossible, like Mr. Anderson said ‘Technology always prevails and it is our species that must adapt’, it is not impossible. Take the iPod. This is technology that countless people have ‘adapted’ to from tweeners to senior citizens. Think way back to the year 2001 when the very first iPod was put on the shelves. It was easy to get learn to use and the concept was easily understandable. Since then the iPod has evolved, slowly adding more features from pictures to videos to the now ever-popular applications. Granted Apple did this strategically to wean more money out of its customers, but this can be taken out of context and applied to virtually anything. Apple slowly evolved and gave people time to acclimate to the newest model before releasing the next new thing. Could social media not be regulated in the same way? Give people what they can handle. When the consumer learns to take on the task of the latest model, bring out the next new thing.
Now this is the literal answer to Mr. Anderson’s question but I have a feeling that he meant it more figuratively as if to say ‘This is impossible’. But was internet borne of its own accord or did we invent it? Are we not the masters of our own inventions? We can regulate our own actions, what is boils down to is having the proper responsibilities for what our actions spur. Humans need to understand that social media is not ‘out of control’. We are in charge of our own actions and we are letting ourselves and our acquaintances ignore our task to regulate what we do and how much we accelerate what we cannot keep up with.
It does seem forever true that certain humans will never learn to accept and abide by their responsibilities for their actions and so another solution must be made available. Mr. Anderson also touched on this answer; offer some sort of education to those who use social media (i.e. almost everyone) to educate them on their responsibilities. But this also seems like an impossible feat; sure high schools and colleges could require a philosophy class like this but what about the rest of the world? Air the classes on television? I can guarantee you that most will not be willing to take the time of day to learn about the responsibilities that so many ignore. So if people aren’t willing to learn about their responsibilities and it seems apparent that it is human nature to ignore reining themselves in, how can social media be slowed down to a comprehendible and solely beneficial level? The answer isn’t simple nor is it appealing. When situations spiral out of control, who is the responsible one who steps in to regulate what we cannot be bothered to? Government. No, it is not appealing and the word ‘government involvement’ gives permanent wrinkles in people’s brows but what if the government did studies on social media and issued public warnings on the less desirable side of the subject? This could be educational and push people towards looking inward at their own responsibilities when it comes to social media.
The comment from Joshua also is answered in Mr. Anderson’s question. ‘Is it the nature of social media that creates problems, or are the problems due to the behavior of the users?’ Like I said, are we not the masters of our own inventions? Just like we watch our children and stop them from getting out of control can we not also do the same for social media? A product of the people is the people’s responsibility and it is apparent that many people cannot handle this responsibility. This means that those who are the inventors need to help push the people into this. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, has instilled more privacy options, the ability to make certain status posts and pictures ‘for friends only’ or even for the eyes of certain friends that are tagged. If every website CEO or social media inventor gave these options and informed their consumer’s on their importance, social media would be less detrimental and yet still beneficial.
This links to the final question posed by Mr. Anderson: do the cons outweigh the pros? No, I did start my last blog showing the many benefits that make social media the power house it is. But I feel the cons are increasing in number as social media skyrockets and the benefits cannot keep up. It is up to the creators of social media to encourage its individual participants to regulate themselves and slowly eliminate the cons that tarnish social media’s reputation.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Featured #12
This photographer I didn't pick for her entire gallery but for this one picture. It is beautifuly edited and the wall makes everything pop. You can tell that this photo was thought through before it was taken. The girl who took this has a really long usernameso I'm not going to write it but she is a teenager from Spain who is learning just as we are. I think she has a really great start and her gallery shows her progress which is nice to see for someone who is also in the learning stages of this industry.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Social Media: Future or Fall?
There are many things that have impacted this world but no influence has caught fire and spurred so much change in so little time as social media. Social media, while unheard of in just the early 2000s, has expanded exponentially- the very word is connected to phones, internet, television, magazines, computers, and virtually any way that the populous connects with each other (which nowadays is pretty much everything we own). Social media has connected people from opposite corners of the world and has given voice to those otherwise unheard. But is this change for the better? Or does the fast-paced journey we are now on lead to a crash course.
While there are undoubtedly many assets to the expanding cyber world, the unseen end at the end of its growth may prove to be more disastrous than good. If you ask the average person under, say, 30 years old, more likely than not they will have a Facebook account. Facebook, while originally (and successfully) meant to connect college students to their peers, has grown exponentially to include unnecessary applications and features that do more harm than good. The most common instance of this: pictures. It is well known that any possible employer can find you very easily on Facebook, hunt down your pictures, and then hire or fire you based on what he or she sees. This is just one example of how ‘private’ things in life are being distorted by social media.
There are many other instances today that show the darker, less desirable side of social media. Take Twitter as well. You Tweet about how annoying your boss is and your followers see it. Perhaps they re-tweet this. In a matter of seconds hundreds of people have already seen your spur-of-the-moment venting on your boss. The worst part? More likely than not, he has seen it too. On Monday you get a very nasty conference call and then you are among the many that are unemployed.
These are just a few examples but similar stories of how privacy is abolished can be retold by countless who have become victims of the out-of-control social media network. In the process of connecting millions of humans, glitches and corruptions have poisoned the good that has come from the revolutionary network. And this is just the early stages of social media’s development. Imagine the future (the very near future, actually). Social media will be following everyone. Maybe it is implemented at work. Perhaps instead of calling home to tell someone to pick up milk you access video calling which is viewable by anyone and everyone by the right means.
While social media has merits, I fear that at the rate it is going, all human privacy will be eliminated if we are not careful with our new responsibilities that are attached with the privilege of being alive in this day and age. It has also become apparent that many will ignore these responsibilities and rules that accompany this industry. I believe that the surge in social media needs to slow down, or else we will not be able to keep up with the demands that accompany the new network.
While there are undoubtedly many assets to the expanding cyber world, the unseen end at the end of its growth may prove to be more disastrous than good. If you ask the average person under, say, 30 years old, more likely than not they will have a Facebook account. Facebook, while originally (and successfully) meant to connect college students to their peers, has grown exponentially to include unnecessary applications and features that do more harm than good. The most common instance of this: pictures. It is well known that any possible employer can find you very easily on Facebook, hunt down your pictures, and then hire or fire you based on what he or she sees. This is just one example of how ‘private’ things in life are being distorted by social media.
There are many other instances today that show the darker, less desirable side of social media. Take Twitter as well. You Tweet about how annoying your boss is and your followers see it. Perhaps they re-tweet this. In a matter of seconds hundreds of people have already seen your spur-of-the-moment venting on your boss. The worst part? More likely than not, he has seen it too. On Monday you get a very nasty conference call and then you are among the many that are unemployed.
These are just a few examples but similar stories of how privacy is abolished can be retold by countless who have become victims of the out-of-control social media network. In the process of connecting millions of humans, glitches and corruptions have poisoned the good that has come from the revolutionary network. And this is just the early stages of social media’s development. Imagine the future (the very near future, actually). Social media will be following everyone. Maybe it is implemented at work. Perhaps instead of calling home to tell someone to pick up milk you access video calling which is viewable by anyone and everyone by the right means.
While social media has merits, I fear that at the rate it is going, all human privacy will be eliminated if we are not careful with our new responsibilities that are attached with the privilege of being alive in this day and age. It has also become apparent that many will ignore these responsibilities and rules that accompany this industry. I believe that the surge in social media needs to slow down, or else we will not be able to keep up with the demands that accompany the new network.
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