Enter World: exploring mediated cultures

Saturday, April 26, 2008

reading: Cult of the Amateur

I’m not sure how much more I can read, and I’m just starting. If it doesn’t flesh out into something more than the desperate ranting of a man frightened of losing his imagined cultural control, I may not make it to the last half of the book.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Nielsen fails to support web strengths

I was shocked and angered to see Jakob Nielsen’s response (below) to a student highlighted in his April 21, 2008, Alertbox email:

I WON’T DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Last week I got this email:

“My name is Donald Duck, and I am currently a junior psychology major at Duckburg College. For my senior thesis, I would like to conduct some usability studies in the process of redesigning my old high school’s website. In making this my senior thesis, part of what I have to do is find out what research is currently being done in the field, in order to build upon it. I do not know much about usability or interface design from a research perspective. I am wondering if you might be able to point me in the right direction for where I can get started learning about this field.”

Sorry - I am not going to do your homework for you. Even today, there is such a thing as the library. Or search engines that rapidly will turn up articles such as “Usability 101” to serve as a starting point for online research if you can’t be bothered to crack open a book or research journal:  > http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

What good is a usable site if you refuse to connect with the readers? The ability to contact people otherwise remote is at the center of the internet’s democratization of networking. Unless more than the name, “Donald Duck” is surely not the sender, was edited by Nielsen, it appears that the student was asking for resource suggestions to start researching not a 250-word essay to plagiarize.

On top of that, although I am an avid fan of libraries—why discount the student for contacting the most notable primary resource on the topic rather than relying on secondhand information watered down by publishing houses and buried in the stacks? Yet another thing that a usable internet gives us is access to the source.

Nielsen was flat out rude and inconsistent with usability—on top of which, he downplays his own site by referring to it only as a source to use as a last, lazy, resort. Poor form.

Pandora’s support for middle-class musicians

Just got out of the SNCR forum presentation by the creator of Pandora, Tim Westergren. I remember loving Pandora back in 2000-2001 when I worked in Tallahassee. Then it disappeared. Then it reappeared. I’m glad it’s back, even though it’s nowhere near as awesome in its new formation (can’t click through more than a certain number per hour, ads) ... at least they are able to keep it up and running.

The parallels between news media and music were touched on, and that got me thinking. The internet has definitely made a more (genuinely) democratic means of networking available, moving away from leaders and toward multiple centers rather than following one big talking head. That scares the shit out of the people who like working in the crumbling network structure based on figureheads and fraternities. But it excites the hell out of me. Why let one corporation take 90% of the insane profits of the 1% of musicians who make it, all the while keeping down 99% of the people with music (or art or news or whatever) in their souls when that insane profit can be split up amongst all of the people who want to work at making and sharing music—giving them all enough to live even if no one gets filthy rich? Fuck the man. Here’s to the many.

But, conversation kept meandering away from music and opportunities for independent musicians toward business models. It seems like a lot of the people at this conference are here to be told how to make money with XY&Z—even at the expense of attending a later presentation on Net Neutrality, which could make or break their ability to even use social networking.

I’m going to enjoy going to the smaller presentations on the two tracks that everyone else is missing. (I’m also thinking no one will show up to mine tomorrow, because not only am I not going to tell them how to make money but it’s the last session and it’s beautiful here, who wants to be inside?)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Birthday Wanderings

Yesterday I turned off my cell phone for almost half the day as a birthday gift to myself. I headed out to the big, downtown library to get some reading done. The research I’m presenting this week was done a year ago, so even though I have it all prepared, I wanted to read up on anything related from the past year.

Somehow I passed the library and figured I’d just go over that next hill to see what was there, it turned out to be a part of Schenley Park I hadn’t been to yet. When I pulled up to a pond with a fountain surrounded by trees dripping with magnolia blossoms, I knew I needed to be sitting at a picnic table in the 70-degree sunshine being scoped out by a squirrel instead of inside an air conditioned library.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Google News

I’ve had “media psychology” in my google news since 2004. Typically 4 or 5 headlines show up that are slightly related. Today was the first day when there were more headlines in this category than any other. 

Friday, April 11, 2008

Movie Madness: Filming Shelter

Shelter is being filmed in Pittsburgh now, and will soon be taking over Braddock. At some point they will be in Mayor John’s house, the Braddock library, and even in Jodi’s bank.

They offered Mayor John a part in the film, I think he’ll be meeting Julianne Moore and wheeling her on a gurney. Cindy told me her sister went to school with Moore at JDHS, so that’s an interesting twist.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Move Update

Made it across the country just ahead of the bad storms for the most part. The day we left Colorado Springs we would have stopped if there was anywhere to stop, but lack of boarding prevented what would have been a silly move. Instead we spent three hours driving through thick fog and freezing rain, getting a little over 100 miles in that time. Lucky we kept moving though, because behind us was up to 12 inches of snow, required chains on the roads we passed through, and then flash flooding. What’s a little fog and freezing rain compared to being stuck for days?

Today I am going to look for a table and chairs to put in the room we are staying in since I have wifi but only my lap to work from. I also got a library card because they have nice big tables and wifi for members, so I can go hide down there in the quiet to work. But I’m not planning to be back to anything other than answering email until next week. It’s hectic with my parents up here, all of us living in a couple hostel rooms with a sink on our floor but the only toilet on the first floor and the kitchen and shower two doors down in another building with three other people living there ... 

Friday, March 14, 2008

A little slice of life on the road

The scenery changes the most in the West, here are some photos of the trip so far ...

I love the caged soda machines ...

Sunday, March 09, 2008

TrueCrypt ate my VIFs

TrueCrypt is absolute horror.

The idea of encrypting files in a folder seemed practical and like something I should do before embarking on my cross-country drive. I researched some available Mac programs and settled with TrueCrypt. I installed it, set up a space, and copied over every file I deemed really truly special: my Very Important Files. The top of the top. Receipts, business licenses, applications, taxes, scholarship info, student loan info, scans of important documents, everything financial, everything with personal information.

I did not immediately trust the program, instead I shut it down, reopened it, refusing to make a new backup or delete the files from their original locations until I had thoroughly tested it. Over about a week I opened, accessed, read files, moved files, renamed folders, closed, shut down, remounted, accessed, etc. without troubles.

Finally, I trusted the program and removed the original files. Then I didn’t look at the files between February 28 and last night when I decided to whip out my business tax files and start preparing what is needed ... and the whole thing was blank.

No files. No folders. Nothing.

I can open it, the password works, but it says all 400MB allotted is free and there are 0 files, even though on February 28 there were 4 folders with files dating back to 2001 that took up 149MB. I spent most of last night trying to find them. They no longer exist. Even the backup of that file is empty (or corrupted?) now.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Moving to Braddock, PA

Within the first day, we knew we were moving to Braddock.  There are so many energetic people there, taking on challenges and following or discovering dreams. It’s a hard place to be calm in. I’ve already signed myself up for a ton of projects. And what is equally exciting is that I was inspired to work on my concept paper revisions while I was there even though I am officially on leave right now.

We arrived during a happening week in town. We rolled in on Valentine’s Day and were invited to the Elks Club Valentine’s dinner. That night the cook made the first vegan dishes ever served there. (I hear the mayor got them to add veggie dogs to the standing menu also, and they are perhaps the only Elks Club in PA with such an offering.) We ended up applying for membership. It seems like it will be needed if we live there, not just for networking but also for a place to hang out in town.

Friday was a going away and birthday party at the gallery with a film screening. The films were made by a guy who is still in town, starting in 1979 and up into the 1990s I think. Saturday was a black history month celebration at the library and a dinner. Sundays are standing potluck dinners at the co-op, and we also had brunch at the mayor’s. Monday and Tuesday are a blur. One day we managed to make it into Pittsburgh and hit the Carnegie natural history and art museums.

We thought a large portion of our decision would be based on Pittsburgh, but other than knowing it is available Pittsburgh had little to do with everything we fell in love with in Braddock. My favorite part is that it is a place to live where you are free to do the things you want instead of the things you have to do. And the things people are choosing to do so far make all the difference.

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