Screen grab from visitsteve.com.

Lately I feel like my brain is made of mush. I just don’t feel as mentally sharp as I could be and any project I undertake is constantly interrupted and punctuated by my obsessive-compulsive need to check my email and my Facebook account. Sound familiar?

Now, I suppose no one will fault me for my mental dullness seeing as I am the sleep-deprived mother of a two year-old and a five month-old. For me I have exactly 3.5 hours per day to do ALL my non baby related stuff in my office at The American University of Rome where I teach. (I’m back part-time right now and the semester has just ended.) But it doesn’t take motherhood to make one want to occasionally zone out and surf the internet and take hundreds of mini “breaks” throughout the course of a few hours via social media.

My students do the same thing. You can see it in their writing. There was an excellent PBS Frontline documentary not long ago which spoke about the problem today’s students have with always being plugged in and how it affected their critical thinking and forming cohesive, unified thoughts and arguments. What usually happens is they write one paragraph. Facebook break. They write another paragraph. Check email. Facebook and Twitter break. Write another paragraph. Flip through the TV channels. Check Facebook, etc. The resulting paper can often be an adequate collection of well-written individual paragraphs but the paper will be a Frankenstein of pieced together, unrelated ideas and one that lacks focus and unity. In other words, nothing really goes together properly.

What can be done to help the weak-willed among us to block out electronic distractions? Enter my favorite free program for the Mac, appropriately titled Self Control.

Self Control, as described by Steve Lambert on visitsteve.com,  is an OS X application which blocks access to incoming and/or outgoing mail servers and websites for a predetermined period of time. For example, you could block access to your email, Facebook, and Twitter for 90 minutes, but still have access to the rest of the web. Once started, it can not be undone by the application or by restarting the computer, you must wait for the timer to run out.

For those of you working on a PC, you can try Focal Filter which is also free and easy to use.

These tools won’t completely alleviate fears that today’s educators have about students being too plugged in to learn, but at least they might help us all make better choices about which media products will occupy our time and give us all a little self control to focus on our important projects and the things that matter most.

–Kristen Palana

Kristen Palana is a Professor of Digital Media at The American University of Rome. Visit her online at kpalana.com.

Scott Thompson, disgraced former CEO of Yahoo!. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

The recent resignation of Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo! for a mere four months, came as no surprise to most netizens once Daniel Loeb, a principal shareholder in Yahoo! through the Third Point LLC, brought his botched resume to light. Thompson’s position in the company had simply become untenable after allegations were proven true that he had lied on his resume, and in fact had no background in Computer Science.

Similarly, in South Korea during June 2010 a popular Korean-Canadian rapper named Tablo also faced allegations of faking his academic record. His detractors formed a group called “We urge Tablo to Tell the Truth,” and swarmed to more than 131,000 members at the height of the controversy. Playing on the sentiments of the Korean people by insinuating that Tablo’s high social standing also played a part in concealing his fake academic record, his accusers managed to convince a larger audience that more than academic honesty was at stake. The group was primarily challenging the claim that Tablo had graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University in just three and a half years, and refused to believe him despite documentary evidence provided by his English professor, Tobias Wolff. At the lowest point of his life, he mumbled to a reporter, “They’re saying I’m not me, and I can’t convince them I am. It’s like I’m living in a Kafka novel.” The controversy affected his music career adversely, resulting in a musical hiatus for over a year until September 2011. Were it not for the persistence his wife showed in arranging a meeting with YG Entertainment, her management company, Tablo’s music career would have ended due to rumors.

Tablo, South Korean rapper. Photo: TV Daily

Yet above and beyond the boardroom power play behind the scenes at Yahoo! and the misguided online character assassination attempts of Tablo in South Korea, a larger social trend emerges
– the capacity of the Internet to both fact-check and spread unsubstantiated rumors is a potent mix. As in the case of Tablo, many today still believe the lies spread by the perpetrators behind the hate groups, and despite official police statements proving the allegations false, Tablo’s fan base in South Korea has shrunk.

The Internet in its role as a double-edged sword takes no prisoners, fulfilling its function as a prolific medium towards a great information pool while serving as an easy tool many employers utilize today to do background checks on prospective employees. Oftentimes disregarded with an “It won’t happen to me,” many fail to realize, for example, that up to 20 percent of companies
admit to scrutinizing the profile pages of interview candidates on popular social networking websites such as Facebook before deciding to employ them. This attitude of ignorance is one that needs addressing, as the Internet has and will continue to be used as a medium to discredit individuals, be they wrong or right. In view of this, an overarching summary of the main characteristics of the Internet, when juxtaposed against the two cases mentioned above, aims to serve as a timely reminder for responsible information management.

The first and most obvious trait of the Internet that comes to mind is the anonymity afforded to those who utilize it, effectively reducing power distance between the influential and ordinary. Tablo’s online attackers remained unidentified until Tablo filed lawsuits against them, involving the police in the matter.

Tying in with anonymity is the unique ability of the Internet to grant any individual a platform to air his or her views towards a larger global audience. Used responsibly, it provides a utopian environment for knowledge exchange and the experience of cultural interchange without having to leave one’s national borders. In the hands of rumor mongers, like in the case of Tablo, it emerges as a stage for the permeation of baseless accusations and falseness.

A third trait of the Internet lies in the digital footprints it captures we leave while interacting in an online environment. Scott Thompson initially blamed his degree error on a recruiter from search firm Heidrick & Struggles, only for an audio recording to emerge online in which he did not deny having a computer science degree, leaving his defense unsustainable.

Unavoidable, omniscient, and ever-evolving, the Internet and its ability to rapidly proliferate information to a global audience means that we need to be more aware of its implications than ever. In the case of Thompson, a single mistake in a remarkable career amplified by his digital trail cost him his job with the search engine giants. In more unfair circumstances, Tablo had to find out the hard way how an unsubstantiated rumor could personally affect his career. In retrospect, both these cases should present lessons on Internet risks associated with privacy and the manipulation of facts.

–Andrew Yeo

Born in Singapore, Andrew is a Communications and Sociology undergraduate student at the University at Buffalo–SUNY.

Plenty of young people in the past decade have risen to (sometimes brief) stardom on YouTube. Various stars, from Justin Bieber to Soulja Boy, were discovered on the Internet after having publicly posted their performances on the site. Search through the millions of videos on YouTube and you’ll see the many teens, tweens, children, and adults who’ve posted videos of themselves (or their pets) online in hopes of getting famous. It’s a practice that’s become more and more ingrained in American culture: the pursuit of posting a video that might go viral.

This is exactly what happened to Sophia Grace and Rosie, two little girls from the U.K. who Ellen DeGeneres has turned into regulars for her show. They were first seen in a YouTube video that their parents posted featuring the two girls dancing, singing and rapping to Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass”   (see lyrics here). When they first appeared on Ellen, they had the chance to meet Nicki Minaj who offered the advice, “Music is beautiful but I want you to stay in school, okay? Put your books first and singing second.” The girls listened, then twirled with excitement while the audience applauded and they shrieked. DeGeneres and Minaj followed up the advice by dressing the girls in the wigs and jewelry, telling them the popstar would take them on a shopping spree the next day. “I want to take you on a shopping spree to get all the stuff that you want whether it’s books, bookbags, pencils, clothes, guitars, whatever you want, okay?” Minaj assured them.  “Cars?” DeGeneres teased.

Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland on "Ellen." Photo from celebrity-gossip.net

After seeing this clip I went on a Google rampage, searching for every video possible that contained these two little girls. Along the way, I read comments and articles on them praising them for their cuteness and spunk and Sophia Grace for her bold talent. The girls are admittedly spunky, witty, and brave for offering a presence in front of a camera that most adults could never muster. Yet after far too much time spent with these little girls and their fans in cyberspace, I left feeling like I generally do after a TRHW marathon: uncomfortable. It’s taken me a few weeks to come to articulate exactly why and, in the end, I realize my discomfort isn’t actually about these little girls in the first place. In fact, it’s a much bigger issue.

Youth are consumed by the commercialization of childhood and the notion that the combination of fame, wealth and celebrity is the ultimate identity. In many ways, this Sophia Grace and Rosie video embodies these challenges, and they’re just 8 and 5 years old. It’s no wonder, since YouTube offers a potentially instant audience, that it’s become an audition platform for aspiring young celebrities looking to be discovered. The more likes your video has, the more famous you might be. For some that can be bittersweet, especially when comment sections so easily give voice to discrimination and stereotyping. It’s clear that popularized videos help create social discourse through YouTube and the media it interacts with. In essence, the popularization of Sophia Grace and Rosie is contrasted with a backdrop of social inequality in a country whose society says girls and women’s bodies are far more important than their brains. When we look at how media discourse has framed this performance of these two little girls, it seems the advice Minaj gave to them upon their meeting was set aside, seen as less important than the number of viewers gained by their charisma and talent while interviewing the stars and appearing on Ellen.

Social oppression affects all aspects of this country and since media is such a pervasive tool, youth tend to follow its behaviors. So until Ellen DeGeneres invites The LAMP onto her show (and takes us on a shopping spree?) I think we’ve got our work cut out for us.

–Emily Breitkopf

Emily Breitkopf is a contributing writer to The LAMPpost. You can read more of her work on her blog, Kids and Gender and follow her on Twitter @emilybreitkopf.

Contact: Ani Hurwitz, VP, Communications
212.686.0010 x224 | afh@nyct-cfi.org
nycommunitytrust.org | @nycommtrust

iPad Games, Digital Mapping, Media Remixing:
$874,000 for 12 NYC Projects Working Together to Get Teens Excited about Learning

5/16/12, New York—Using smart phones to map skateboarding hotspots in New York City, learning to view media critically by remixing commercials that reinforce stereotypes about older adults, projecting multimedia projects on building facades. Welcome to learning 3.0.

Grants from Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust support NYC nonprofits working with teens to develop ways of tapping into their digital lives to encourage creativity, interests, and learning. All grantees are members of Hive Learning Network NYC and work together on projects, sharing what works—and what doesn’t—in the ever-evolving worlds of digital media and education.

For more information about the projects listed below, or to arrange a visit to see the work in action, contact Ani Hurwitz at (212) 686-0010 x224 or at afh@nyct-cfi.org.

“These projects are driven by the topics, platforms, and technologies that interest youth most,” says Chris Lawrence, director of Mozilla’s Hive Learning Network NYC. “This third round of funding supports both expanded versions of existing projects as well as new initiatives that share resources, expertise, and best practices as we continue to build an innovative, collaborative network of informal learning organizations across the five boroughs.”

“The New York Community Trust’s role is not only to fund these exciting projects, but to use our knowledge about local arts and education to identify effective nonprofits developing digital media learning projects and to bring funders together to magnify impact,” says Kerry McCarthy, arts program officer at The Trust. “With the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur and Mozilla Foundations, we are helping kids discover their interests, connect with others who share their passion, and tie it back to what they are learning in school.”

The following grants were approved in April 2012:

Bank Street College of Education, $50,000, for Civil Rights Remix, a youth-produced multimedia exhibition connecting contemporary and historic civil rights events in New York City. Partners: the Schomberg Center and People’s Production House

Bronx Museum of the Arts, $23,000, for a summer program in which teens will record audio and video interviews with residents in Joyce Kilmer Park about living and working in the Bronx. Partner: City Lore

Brooklyn Public Library, $32,000, for Brooklyn teens to develop multimedia book reviews and teach these skills to other teens at 10 library branches in Sunset Park, Crown Heights, Bushwick, and other poor neighborhoods. Partner: Eyebeam

City Lore, $83,000, to expand a project in which teen skateboarders record and share videos of skate culture in New York City. Daylong programs in skate parks will introduce skaters to digital mapping, video production, and other innovative ways to share their passion. Partners: Reel Works and Bank Street College of Education

Common Sense Media, $25,000, for a teen-produced activity kit that provides young people with the information, tools, and practical skills they need to consume and discuss media. Partner: WNYC’s Radio Rookies

Joan Ganz Cooney Center for Media and Research, $100,000, to develop a series of video game design workshops at Hive Learning Network member sites that also encourage youth to participate in the National STEM Video Game Competition. Partner: Global Kids

The LAMP, $50,000, for an intergenerational media literacy program covering biased media messages about seniors, in which participants respond by re-mixing video and audio clips on the topic. Partners: Museum of the Moving Image and OATS (Older Adults Technology Services)

Museum of the Moving Image, $42,000, to help teens create digital videos using the Museum’s archive of presidential campaign ads. Partner: YMCA of Greater New York

New York Public Radio/WNYC Radio Rookies, $150,000, for a program where teens learn journalism basics so they can produce print, audio, and video pieces that explain what it means to them to be Americans today. Partner: Facing History and Ourselves

Parsons the New School for Design, $7,000, to create a series of projects, quests, and games that engage and reward youth while they explore the ecology of the urban environment.

Queens Library Foundation, $38,400, to help youth who use the Far Rockaway Teen Library to look critically at the media they consume and produce their own print, digital, and broadcast news stories. Partners: the LAMP and People’s Production House

Reel Works, $50,000, to help film and science students create an online database of short science clips and make films from the Museum’s archives. Partner: American Museum of Natural History

Urban Word NYC, $150,000, for the Words on Walls project, in which teens create poems, blogs, and videos and present them at events around the City against the backdrop of their multimedia projections cast by City Lore’s POEMobile. Partners: City Lore, Bowery Arts & Science, Nuit Blanche NY/Bring to Light Festival, and Global Action Project

Wildlife Conservation Society, $48,224, to help Bronx teens learn about climate change and create online games, oral histories, and other multimedia projects on the topic. Partner: Eyebeam

World Up, $25,000, to help youth to create original music using digital recording tools. Partners: DreamYard and the New York Hall of Science

About Hive Digital Media Learning Fund

In December 2010, The Trust joined with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to create Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust to promote adolescents’ and teens’ learning anytime, anywhere through digital media. This year, funds also are provided by the Mozilla Foundation and the Joan Ganz Cooney and Beth M. Uffner funds in The Trust.

For more information, follow: @HiveLearningNYC and @SpotlightDML, and visit bit.ly/tyhvqG and explorecreateshare.org.

About The New York Community Trust

Through the generosity of New Yorkers past and present, The New York Community Trust makes grants for a range of charitable activity important to the well-being and vitality of our city. We’ve helped make donors’ charitable dreams come true since 1924. Grants made from these funds meet the changing needs of children, youth, and families; aid in community development; improve the environment; promote health; assist people with special needs; and support education, arts, and human justice. The Trust ended 2011 with assets of nearly $2 billion and made grants totaling $137 million.

Press release originally posted here.

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Click here for the press release.

Tobacco marketing is a highly controversial issue. While I’m not against cigarette branding altogether, I do think tobacco companies need to use a bit more discretion and be responsible about how they go about it. As we can see in this video, they’ve got a long way to go.

–Emily Long

Follow The LAMP on Twitter: @thelampnyc

Follow me on Twitter: @emlong

It is a sad truth that media are often complicit in creating and reinforcing stereotypes and celebrating bully behavior through reality television shows, advertising, video games and much more. These students should be commended for using media to fight back against the media, replacing messages of hate with messages of respect. At the same time, they also learned how to create their own media, and how they can use their new skills to make their voices heard and effect positive change in their communities. Watch the PSAs below: