Minds For Sale

The idea of 'minds for sale' as Jonathan Zittrain explains in his 2009 lecture - available here - is bitter sweet. . With the example of companies displaying issues they need fixed with a dollar reward for whoever fixes the problem first it seems a brilliant idea with little setbacks. It appears to be a fantastic, easy work at home job, but as Emma explains, this can leave you feeling as though you’re always at work. This sort of new media work also means no financial stability; it's all a matter of who can fix it first. In most cases large amounts of experimentation is necessary which means products, time and knowledge all of which mean negative money. Not to mention you won’t always get in first, or fix the issue at all, everyone has bad days, but by working for yourself in a way, you can’t have bad days, it all adds up to money loss.

Photo Credit: mysteryshoppersmanual.com

With apps such as field agent you can have the middle ground working the hours you want with extra cash, all without leaving a stable 9-5, Monday-Friday job. There is always the other side of the story as Sally explains in her blog, there is a need for stay at home jobs.

References:

Zittrain, Jonathan. 2009. “Minds for Sale.” YouTube video, posted November 29. Accessed April 21, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw3h-rae3uo&feature=youtu.be

Virtual Morals

Photo Credit: vault.hanover.edu

“Do we need a new morality for virtual reality?” (Hamelink, 2006).

It’s impossible to show every aspect of who you are on facebook, but what about stretching the truth? If you told someone face-to-face that you’re 30cm taller than you actually are, you would be laughed at. So why does it become acceptable online? 

In a way there is already a new set of moral ‘rules’ for the online community. Everyone has a different set of moral standards, even in day to day life; some are wide spread such as please and thank you, whilst others depend on cultures. For example in some countries it is polite to laugh at someone who has just fallen over. 

These moral ‘norms’ stretch when placed online. I don’t believe they truly go out the window when someone becomes just another I.P address on the web (as you can never truly be anonymous online). However, it becomes much easier to show who you really are (negative or not) under the idea anonymity. If you’re a 20 year-old male who’s only way of making it through the day is to jump into an online community and pretend to be a 30 year-old female, so long as it isn’t hurting anyone, it’s fine by me!

References:
Hamelink, C. 2006. The Ethics of the Internet: Can We Cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net? In Ideologies of the Internet, Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. Hampton Press Inc. New Jersey. Accessed March 25, 2012 from http://cmd.lbrary.qut.edu.au/KCB206/KCB206_BK_313947.pdf


Leong, Susan. (2012). KCB206 New Media, Beliefs, Politics & Ethics: Week 4 Lecture notes. Accessed March 25, 2012 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/


Comments:
Blogger n8295409

A KCB206 Student's Blog - I'm not sure what their name is, or how to have my comment shown, so here is the comment (just in case): I used the 'ask' feature... 


In response to 'Reliability of Online Materials'. I can see what you mean when you talk about the KONY video. People should be weary of what they see, even if it looks professional, that doesn't make it correct. However, I also believe a lot of good came out of that video (and others like it). It opened up our eyes to issues that are occurring. This was a national phenomenon and if only 1/10 people who watched it became activists for other issues, then that’s a million people more globally aware.

Film Fundamentals Funded

Photo Credit: Tom Grill - Getty Images.

New media is evolving so rapidly it blurs the lines of entertainment and interaction. Film has adapted to a new way of connecting with their audience, it’s no longer a one way communication. Fans interact with their shows by talking online to the actors, creating and publishing scripts online, and even creating their own homage to their favourite film and sharing it through websites like youtube.com.  In 2007 Casey Pugh did just this, asking fans to recreate Star Wars: A New Hope in 15 second sections, since being uploaded to youtube on January 18^th 2012 this recreation has been viewed over 2 million times creating the global hit Star Wars  Uncut: Directors Cut. 

Similarly Freddie Wong from the youtube channel freddiew has recently started filming his own webisode series Video Game High School with the help of kickstarter.com, a place where anyone anywhere can ask for funding from viewers. Freddie Wong and his filming partner Brandon Laatsch managed to triple the funding they were expecting using kickstarter.  By using programs such as kickstarter many entrepreneurs are receiving the funding they need whilst bypassing the restrictions of labels and distribution companies. It is clear that viewers are willing to support their artists, and with new media evolving there is now the ability to do so with funds or encouragement.