TRANSVERSALLY
Music and revenue was never something that was connected from the very beginning. It's only in our commercially driven society that forced us to see music as nothing more than a product sold and distributed to the masses. Music personally is something that's nothing more than art, something that you listen to, its a side dish to lifestyle created by people who want to create a piece of art. Do people who make poems think they'll ever sell millions of copies? Music is a feeling rather than a can of coke, its abstract, it doesn't quench your thirst physically but it does mentally.
The reason I wanted to start this off to talk about transversality is because of how skewered the definition of music has become; a result of this week's news report articles about the music industry. Sure, the music industry is real, and its dying, its trying to renew itself in many different ways, but its struggling because of music piracy amongst other things. But that's what I think is the interpretation of transversality.
What used to be separate and distinct ideas which are not easily merged or discussed together has seem to have deterritorialised. New ways of doing things because of this corrosion of norms, music having the ability to reach more people than ever before because of digital media and a wide social network of people.
The music industry whines about how hardhitting internet piracy has become when what they're trying to say is that they could not cope fast and think flexibly enough to distribute their music in a number of new ways that could still help them make money.
How is it independent game developers are capable of getting money to produce entertaining and original games without the complex resource structures that big label companies or game companies have?
That's because they make use of social networking, kickstarter and word of mouth through online media to make people interested to help them produce games. For example, Homestuck.
Homestuck being a purely online web series has a large fortune from the online fan community from basically out of nothing but pure creativity. They produced t shirts, calendars and other memorabilia, they didn't have factories and wide spread resources, but what is most significant in their arsenal is online technology. Its likely one of the most successful new age media I've ever seen because of how widespread the community has become.
So why couldn't the music industry survive in the new age when other mediums can re-imaging themselves to be more like this? It seems more like stubborn corporate policies are holding the industry down and nothing else.
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Saturday, 20 April 2013
ARTS3091 - Wk6 - Data empowerment
DATA
What is data exactly? Data according to media analysts is a collective amount of raw unprocessed information which could be manipulated and distributed in a number of different ways depending on the coder (Business Dictionary 2013).
What's interesting about this is that this so called position as the coder, the person who uses this data to create useful tables like statistical information, charts and pictograms has shifted from an elite amount of people to virtually anyone with a working computer. Excel and other softwares and programs have allowed everyday users to wrangle data into anything they want it to be. And what's more, data has become democratised in a way that anyone can access it.
There are still many different forms of data which the public could not access and this forms of data are most likely commercially traded to other businesses such as supermarkets to create large marketing campaigns against the public. This is a form of data privacy in which the public has no control over which could basically lead on to issues like internet piracy and such.
I see data as something which is quite useful, I remember a few years ago studying about the idea of visualising information onto different platforms and modes of media. Something as similar as an excel sheet could be easily transformed into charts. Why? It gives us different perspectives about what something might look like. A glass jar of jellybeans could easily fool someone into thinking that there are maybe less than a thousand of them, likewise this also happens when we look at tiring amounts of numbers.
This week one of the readings discussed the issue of climate change and how it is often argued that it doesn't exist simply because of a clash of different data types. I personally agree that climate change is happening and the way the writer explained it does have a fair few points which further corners skeptical scientists. For one, data having been processed through different models and systems and the fact that these models and systems have the potential to change and be replaced over the years by technology. It goes to show that we cannot argue about something looking back at its history when the data used has never been standardised.
Business Dictionary 2013, What is data?, accessed 13 April 2013, <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/data.html>
What is data exactly? Data according to media analysts is a collective amount of raw unprocessed information which could be manipulated and distributed in a number of different ways depending on the coder (Business Dictionary 2013).
What's interesting about this is that this so called position as the coder, the person who uses this data to create useful tables like statistical information, charts and pictograms has shifted from an elite amount of people to virtually anyone with a working computer. Excel and other softwares and programs have allowed everyday users to wrangle data into anything they want it to be. And what's more, data has become democratised in a way that anyone can access it.
There are still many different forms of data which the public could not access and this forms of data are most likely commercially traded to other businesses such as supermarkets to create large marketing campaigns against the public. This is a form of data privacy in which the public has no control over which could basically lead on to issues like internet piracy and such.
I see data as something which is quite useful, I remember a few years ago studying about the idea of visualising information onto different platforms and modes of media. Something as similar as an excel sheet could be easily transformed into charts. Why? It gives us different perspectives about what something might look like. A glass jar of jellybeans could easily fool someone into thinking that there are maybe less than a thousand of them, likewise this also happens when we look at tiring amounts of numbers.
This week one of the readings discussed the issue of climate change and how it is often argued that it doesn't exist simply because of a clash of different data types. I personally agree that climate change is happening and the way the writer explained it does have a fair few points which further corners skeptical scientists. For one, data having been processed through different models and systems and the fact that these models and systems have the potential to change and be replaced over the years by technology. It goes to show that we cannot argue about something looking back at its history when the data used has never been standardised.
Business Dictionary 2013, What is data?, accessed 13 April 2013, <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/data.html>
Thursday, 11 April 2013
ARTS3091 - Wk5 - The reality of realities
AUGMENTED
I want to spend a little bit more time talking about technological determinism and cultural materialism. Again, I see virtual reality on the side of technological determinism. It has its own set of rules and guidelines on how it works and has a strong impact on our society due to its strong ubiquitous nature. I see virtual reality as something of a computerised space that existed far before roleplaying games and web 2.0 was invented. Its existence may have shifted over the years in definition but its basically a space where people could simulate their presence on the internet, I feel that we have already been doing this ever since emails, webcams and voice chat has been invented - just that it wasn't to the level of having a physical connection to the virtual world since we were quite limited in technology over a decade ago.
In the future I see virtual reality to play a big part in our society, my experience with virtual reality connects with the classic sci-fi film Tron (1982) where it depicts a world created through computer processes and binary, through such spaces, many of readings are mixed in terms of what virtual reality could impact society but most encourage its use due to how it could benefit society. I really like the idea of having a Tron-like reality where we could render virtual shopping malls and have people set up shop there which could lower fixed costs. I personally see a lot of good in virtual reality as it is also acts as good training such as military training on driving tanks and personnel.
As for augmented reality, in contrast to virtual reality which is a simulated space with its own set of principles and a whole different plane of reality; augmented reality enhances our reality and basically assists our reality in many ways. In this regard it leans towards cultural materialism since because of its nature. I could name a few augmented reality things that are available to the public today such as the Xbox Kinect and an old augmented reality simulator game which simulates fishing and hunting dragons (Japan Trend Shop 2013).
Again I believe virtual reality and augmented reality are both things that try to tap into a higher potential of the human brain as detaches and delegates our body into useful machines.
Remember World Lens (QuestVisual 2010) a while back? Well that's also a piece of augmented reality. I like how it draws from a simple program we use regularly like google translate and shifts its gaze into enhancing our reality. This idea of extending our capabilites to machine is definitely one of the major ideas of augmented reality. Sure, it makes us redundant in the process but it makes our lives easier.
References
Japan Trend Shop 2013, Dragon Hunting Real Augmented Reality Virtual Fishing Reel, accessed 13 April 2013,
<http://www.japantrendshop.com/dragon-hunting-real-augmented-reality-virtual-fishing-reel-p-1348.html>
QuestVisual 2010, Introducing World Lens, online video, accessed 13 April 2013,
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2OfQdYrHRs>
Tron 1982, film, Buena Vista Distribution Company, United States.
I want to spend a little bit more time talking about technological determinism and cultural materialism. Again, I see virtual reality on the side of technological determinism. It has its own set of rules and guidelines on how it works and has a strong impact on our society due to its strong ubiquitous nature. I see virtual reality as something of a computerised space that existed far before roleplaying games and web 2.0 was invented. Its existence may have shifted over the years in definition but its basically a space where people could simulate their presence on the internet, I feel that we have already been doing this ever since emails, webcams and voice chat has been invented - just that it wasn't to the level of having a physical connection to the virtual world since we were quite limited in technology over a decade ago.
In the future I see virtual reality to play a big part in our society, my experience with virtual reality connects with the classic sci-fi film Tron (1982) where it depicts a world created through computer processes and binary, through such spaces, many of readings are mixed in terms of what virtual reality could impact society but most encourage its use due to how it could benefit society. I really like the idea of having a Tron-like reality where we could render virtual shopping malls and have people set up shop there which could lower fixed costs. I personally see a lot of good in virtual reality as it is also acts as good training such as military training on driving tanks and personnel.
As for augmented reality, in contrast to virtual reality which is a simulated space with its own set of principles and a whole different plane of reality; augmented reality enhances our reality and basically assists our reality in many ways. In this regard it leans towards cultural materialism since because of its nature. I could name a few augmented reality things that are available to the public today such as the Xbox Kinect and an old augmented reality simulator game which simulates fishing and hunting dragons (Japan Trend Shop 2013).
Again I believe virtual reality and augmented reality are both things that try to tap into a higher potential of the human brain as detaches and delegates our body into useful machines.
Remember World Lens (QuestVisual 2010) a while back? Well that's also a piece of augmented reality. I like how it draws from a simple program we use regularly like google translate and shifts its gaze into enhancing our reality. This idea of extending our capabilites to machine is definitely one of the major ideas of augmented reality. Sure, it makes us redundant in the process but it makes our lives easier.
References
Japan Trend Shop 2013, Dragon Hunting Real Augmented Reality Virtual Fishing Reel, accessed 13 April 2013,
<http://www.japantrendshop.com/dragon-hunting-real-augmented-reality-virtual-fishing-reel-p-1348.html>
QuestVisual 2010, Introducing World Lens, online video, accessed 13 April 2013,
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2OfQdYrHRs>
Tron 1982, film, Buena Vista Distribution Company, United States.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)