Blogging about a class on.. blogging!

My Take-Aways from Online Video and Social Media

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:57:00 +0000

In my first blog, regarding my course expectations, I mostly wrote about the opportunities in social media for marketing. I've learned lots about how to utilize different elements in order to get a message out to an audience. But I'm also glad that we learned about all of the exciting opportunities for education! I teach dance at Pace University, and as a dancer video is such an important part of capturing the history of the performing arts. With YouTube and other websites, anyone can view clips of all types of choreography. During this course I started a blog project with my dance students at Pace. It's a forum for us to share and discuss clips of choreography relating to the work we do in class. It has been so fun for me to get their comments, and to 'see' the work through their eyes through this blog conversation!

On the marketing end, I'm the head of a student organization here at TC (Student Advocates for the Arts, visit the link below!) and we use Facebook and a blog that we maintain as a website to inform our members. Over the holiday break, one of my projects for SAA is to create a video to let everyone know about our upcoming advocacy trips to Albany and DC. Video captures attention moreso than just an email (I hope!) and just seems to be a more personal message. I'm also going to rework our blog site (through Wordpress, although I wish we used Blogger now that I feel so comfortable with it) to include live feeds from other arts advocacy organizations to provide a better flow of up-to-date information.

I'm very glad that we've not only learned about all of these different avenues for online communication, but also that we've spent a lot of time through assignments actually using them. Although I've updated our student organization blog multiple times, I had no idea of all of the other ways to utilize a blog and all of the fun, interesting things I could do with it! I will definitely use all of these skills with Student Advocates for the Arts blog and with my classroom blog at Pace (I'm reworking my curriculum over the break to make use of the blog regularly). Thanks so much! Happy blogging to everyone (and have a great holiday)!

Social Networking Post #2

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:48:00 +0000

My previous blog (#7) about social networking prior to this class somewhat covered our requirements for Blogpost 8. This class wasn't my first interaction with Facebook or MySpace, I use both frequently, almost more so now that I'm in school because a lot of student organization/networking groups only use Facebook to promote events or update members on upcoming activities. LinkedIn is on my to-do list, I think it would be more useful in finding a job post-graduation than the other sites since it is specifically for professional connections.

These sites have changed the way I communicate with my friends - there are some that I don't use email with at all, particularly groups of friends because we can all communicate simultaneously (sort of, with Facebook threads). Also, the visual element makes keeping in contact more interesting, I feel like I can see what their lives are like rather than just read about them. It makes for quicker and easier communication, as pictures/videos can tell stories faster than text.

Shannon a.k.a. Liza Foxclaw in Second Life

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:15:00 +0000

I'm not sure about that name, Liza Foxclaw, but I just saw Liza Minnelli in concert and then Second Life chooses your last name for you...

This afternoon I tried Second Life for the third time, and I have to say I'm still not very hooked at all. I haven't found much to do other than walk around, and living in NYC provides a much better 'real life' walking around experience. I read the articles on the syllabus, and one of them mentions that one of Second Life's downfalls is its lack of engagement for first-time users (hmmm... 'OK, I'm here, so now what?...'). I guess my feelings so far are summed up in: why would I go to a bar in Second Life when I can do that in real life?

But I can see where this would be great for education, especially in creating an international setting. That said, as a child I was totally fascinated by the rest of the world. I had pen pals (back in the day before email :) from various different countries. If I was given the chance then to participate in some sort of international classroom, I would have jumped on it (I still would!). How exciting to think of that as an answer to 'the next best thing'? A virtual classroom, taking place in different replica countries in Second Life, with students from all backgrounds and cultures!! Sounds much more interesting than my 8th grade social studies class...

I found this wiki, Second Life in Education, that lists a bunch of different schools and organizations and the ways that they use Second Life. There are descriptions, screen shots, and links to visit in Second Life. It was really interesting to see all of the different ways institutions utilize this phenomena. For example, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard presents a course on persuasive argument in media space that meets in Second Life, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Second Life Island provides simulations of weather conditions like tsunamis, hurricanes, and melting glaciers. The wiki gives SLURLs, which I now know stands for Second Life URLs, so you can click and open in Second Life and transport to each of these places (do we call them places, this is confusing!..)
http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/educationaluses

Also, I found this article on museums in Second Life, which is interesting for me to read since my degree is Arts Administration.
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/rothfarb/rothfarb.html

Social Bookmarking

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Social bookmarking is totally new to me! I bookmark sites often, but only on my own computer, not through a browser. I usually only bookmark sites that I visit repeatedly - nothing interesting, mostly bill-related like AT&T and Citibank! So I did a bit of research first to see what this could be used for...

According to About.com:
"Even if you don't bookmark a lot of websites, you can still benefit from a social bookmarking website. The most valuable piece of information we have on any product -- be it a book, a movie, a computer, a car, or something else entirely -- is what other people have to say about it."

This is interesting, but it makes me think about the other question posted in our syllabus - "can we add to the message without increasing the noise?" I looked around delicious but really didn't even know where to start looking for a site that I would find useful and/or relevant. But I do find it interesting and I can see where this would be particularly useful with a specific project/job in mind. Many of the articles I read referenced social bookmarking's usefulness to teachers - sharing sites that can provide good lesson plans, etc. I can see how it could be useful as a student in working on group projects - to be able to share sites with research information.

Anyway, I've added my delicious site as an RSS feed on my blog. I tried to look for others in the class to share my bookmarks with but it's impossible without knowing user names.. So come find me, user name = shann7998, I've only bookmarked the articles I mentioned above regarding social bookmarking!

Anya at La Salette

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:48:00 +0000

This is a Maynard (my mom's side) family Christmas tradition - the annual trip to La Salette, a park dedicated to a Christmas light display! The video is of my cousin's baby Anya, and her first trip joining this time-honored tradition ;)

Social Networking

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:43:00 +0000

My Social Networking Experience...

Ok, my experience with social networking recently has been more work than social. I think (according to Wikipedia) that MySpace began around the summer of 2003, following Friendster and copying its more popular features. I never joined Friendster, and I think that I joined MySpace around the winter of 2005?..

It was addicting at first, especially for me because I've lived/worked around the world. So many of my friends I keep in touch with via email/phone because we don't live anywhere near each other. I would mean to only check MySpace, and then spend hours catching up with people, seeing what they were up to now, looking at photos, etc.. As a performer, my friends and I tend towards the nomadic.. It is hard to keep up with a group of friends that have new jobs in different continents every few months or so!! So MySpace was addicting because it wasn't stagnant like email, but I could look through their sites - at pictures, blogs, etc. (this was a little before video posts were common, I think) - and 'feel' like I was catching up with them.

But now, I have a hard time keeping up with everything! I use social networking (mostly Facebook) for marketing purposes in the various internships I've had and for communication on behalf of the TC student organization I'm president of. I'm interested in arts marketing, and my internships have primarily been involved with online media. So when all of this becomes work instead of 'catching up with friends', it makes it a little less fun..

That said, I do still think social networking sites are great marketing tools, and much more fun to build a 3D mailing list than just send postcards from a list of database-generated addresses. But I do participate in it less as myself, just for fun..
That could have something to do with being a graduate student, as well :)

http://www.myspace.com/shannonmariehouston
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shannon_Houston/1039613434

Online Audiences - Passive or Participatory?

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:35:00 +0000

From Rebecca Blood, author/creator of Rebecca's Pocket Blog
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

In Douglas Rushkoff's Media Virus, Greg Ruggiero of the Immediast Underground is quoted as saying, "Media is a corporate possession...You cannot participate in the media. Bringing that into the foreground is the first step. The second step is to define the difference between public and audience. An audience is passive; a public is participatory. We need a definition of media that is public in its orientation."

This quote from Greg Ruggiero is very interesting to me, and speaks to one of my earlier posts. Although as a performer (former dancer), I would disagree with the thought that an audience is passive. I think an audience can be passive, if the speaker believes it to be true. But for me, as a dancer, the best performances were the ones in which the audience was actively engaged. Instead of feeling the imaginary 'fourth wall' separating the audience from the stage, that is stripped away and the audience is pulled in to the action. So Web 2.0 has allowed for the media 'fourth wall' to be stripped away. The audience is only passive if the subject chooses. Prior to Web 2.0, the subject (media) didn't have a choice, only those sophisticated in HTML could participate. But now everyone can, and so the question is how media can take advantage of the opportunity to pull the audience in.

Instructional Video-Spanish Web

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Welcome Tyson!

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:51:00 +0000

My brother's new boxer puppy Tyson's YouTube debut!

Progressing in Online Media...

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We continue to progress in our online media technology course, moving on to video now. I'm hoping at some point that we discuss how to navigate the world of blogging; i.e. how to evaluate the credibility of a blog or how to gauge readership/audience/popularity. I'll also post this question on the class blog to get some feedback from the professor. My video is soon to post!

The 3-Dimensional 2-Dimensional

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:43:00 +0000

Can 2-D be 3-D?

Blogging is fun, easy, instant, accessible, fast, and many other simple adjectives (not all good, either, particularly depending on who you ask). But it's much more complicated than these simple adjectives - it's changed the way companies market and advertise, the definitions of entertainment and journalism, geographic borders. And perhaps, most importantly, it's changed the way people communicate, socialize and interact with one another.

Blogging is meant to be interactive - 3D rather than 2D. Although when looking at a computer you see a flat object, the fun part of blogging (and the difference between a blog and a website) is that it is a two-way interaction, creating a three-dimensional feel. Can you have a conversation with your computer? Still up for debate, but blogging has taken this concept one step closer.

What is Web 2.0 and what does it mean for me?

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:46:00 +0000

What is social media? What is Web 2.0 and what does it mean for me?

I'll start with a quote from one of our readings, from A New Literacies Sampler (New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies): "The logic is of use rather than participation; of reception and/or consumption rather than interactivity and agency."* The authors are describing the difference between Web 1.0 and 2.0, although I think this definition can be used in a broader sense to cover the entire evolution of the internet to where it exists today. It's now open for a two-way conversation (or three, or four, or infinite!); an interactive experience, a democratic one in which your voice is 'heard'.

Social media describes those interactive sites, particularly the ones built around the concept of socializing. I would also say, however, that because of the interactivity of most sites today, that the definition of social media widens to include sites not only created specifically for social interaction (like Facebook and MySpace) but also any that encourage collaboration, as collaboration is inherently social in nature. As the article in Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year (that was You, i.e. anyone reading/posting a blog right now) read, this is "a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before."** A community and collaboration that is instant and borderless (both in the traditional definition of space and also in medium - audio, video, text, etc..). But it's social because the computer isn't 2006's Person of the Year, You are; behind all of this communication and collaboration are people, socially interacting (not your mom's social interaction!).
It is worth noting here, that when googing 'social media' the first definition that comes up is wikipedia's...

So what does it mean for me? Or for You? I expect to learn in this class how to utilize the opportunities presented in Web 2.0 for collaboration and communication. My area of study is arts administration, and my specific area of interest is arts marketing, so I approach this subject of social media from a slightly different background than those in education.

I've included this quote below, because of the phrase "democratic notion." I'm intrigued, maybe not so much in reference to us all as stars (or People Magazine's Person of the Year), but to the idea that online the playing field is leveled. Can you truly be whatever you want to be? Online you can. On YouTube you can, or MySpace or Facebook, and that is a very democratic, and American, notion. And that's the lure...

"There's something admirable and uniquely American in the act of self-creation— but it helps if you actually create something. In a conceptual artist, cultivating emptiness falls within the acceptable bounds of shtick. (Even Warhol's originals were reproductions.) But Warhol also put his blankness behind a series of conspicuous velvet ropes, turning a democratic notion— we're all stars, or at least we all could be— into something slightly toxic."
Essay: Andy Was Right by Josh Tyrangiel (Time Magazine, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006)

References

*Knobel, Michele and Colin Lankshear (Editor): A New Literacies Sampler (New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies). Peter Lang Publishing, 2007.
**Time's Person of the Year: You by Lev Grossman (Time Magazine, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006)

Learning to blog

smh2149@columbia.edu (Shannon Houston) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:35:00 +0000

This is my blog about learning how to blog!

I'm currently a student in Arts Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University, enrolled in "Online Video and Social Media Technology". I think social networking is a very exciting element of marketing for arts and cultural organizations. It's a 'live' audience community - one that can talk back to you! We always hear that marketing shouldn't be one-directional; rather, it should reflect the offer of the organization or company to the consumer and conversely return the needs of the consumer back. But many arts and cultural organizations are under tight budget constraints. The opportunities presented in the many channels of online social media are vast, borderless, and (maybe best of all) for the most part free! I'm looking forward to learning more about these channels of distribution, and how to best utilize and take advantage of all of the opportunities offered to marketers online.