The initial goal I had set out to achieve was to make a dance video of myself, which I had never done before.  I did make a “rough draft” video and put it on YouTube early on for practice.  Also I created a Tumblr blog to advertise what I liked and was about before I put up the video.  So really the main project was supposed to just be the video, but it ended up being the whole Tumblr blog that I created and uploaded the video to.  The bulk of my Tumblr is videos of dancers and perfomers, specifically Michael Jackson and the dancers of Dragon House Crew, that inspire me.  I have created a total of 24 posts including these videos, things that I have reblogged that related to my blog, as well as the two dance videos I have made of myself.   To try and promote my blog I posted links to it on both my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  This very unsuccessfully only generated about 1 or 2 followers.  The rest of the followers were friends and family members that I asked personally to follow it.  For the past week I have been searching for posts about things that I like and following the people that post them.  This worked a little better, until I realized that my dance blog was only the secondary blog to the blog I created first, and the one that the people I followed saw was one that I was not even using.  So to try and avoid them following this blog, I posted something directing them to my dance blog and telling them not to follow the primary one.

I finally got the finished product dance video finished over this past weekend and posted it today on Facebook, Twitter, and my Tumblr.  The only traffic it received regretfully though was on Facebook.  It was shared by my friends Dylan, Cheyenne, and Susan.  It was also shared by my sister and my mother.  Yes I know it’s a little pitiful, BUT THEY LOVE ME!  Also, all the traffic on Facebook did not lead any new people to follow me on Tumblr even though I posted the link to my Tumblr with the video.  Also, my friend Dylan posted  the first rough draft video I made.  Overall my video received 25 likes, 20 comments, and 5 shares.  My dance blog currently has 4 followers, and my primary blog has 2.

Overall, the video making process was a very frustrating experience at times with numerous complications, but even though I did not get as much traffic from it as I had hoped, it was definitely worth it.

jekillmardanceinspiration.tumblr.com

http://www.facebook.com/jekillmar

https://twitter.com/JEKILLMAR

http://www.youtube.com/user/jekillmar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhInLLwzcFI&feature=plcp Basshead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGmi81JRs1k&feature=plcp 8 Bit Superhero

I loved this class because it is so relevant and will remain relevant because the internet and its uses are only growing.  Like I have stated in previous blogs, I believe that Wikipedia is growing and becoming more helpful and useful.  It was at first seen as a joke because anybody could edit any article.  This is only half true now because a lot of articles are locked down from being edited.  Also Wikipedia has just about the same error record as the actual encyclopedias.  I have learned how to more effectively utilize Wikipedia as well as the sources used to create it.  This has also been a semester of blogs for me.  I have a blog in this class, my Persuasion class, and my Argumentation class.  Before this semester, I thought of blogging as something useless and boring.  Now I see it as a very useful tool for anyone trying to make a career through the internet, or as just a way to express one’s interests and opinions.  Needless to say with three different class blogs, I think I have got the hang of it.

In regards to the blog for the final project, it is very difficult to promote it because not many people I know have a Tumblr, so posting a link to it on Facebook and Twitter is virtually useless.  The blog was not even the biggest part of the work I am doing for the project, but I will have something of my own personal work to add to it by the time I need to present it, perfect or not.  This project has been a good learning experience in and of itself with me learning how to edit videos by myself.

I also loved this class, with our last session online in particular, because we talked about subjects I am already so interested in such as Harry Potter, The Matrix, and The Walking Dead.  I have also learned a lot about the work that is put into making an indie video game as well as transmedia, fan culture, and of course, the long tail.  The Long Tail is probably the most important because of how much it applies to everything in media from music, to movies, to book, etc.  All in all, I was probably most engaged in this class this semester.  It was very interesting, and it definitely sparked a lot for me.

Here is my Media 2.0 project blog. http://jekillmardanceinspiration.tumblr.com/ If you have a Tumblr, it’d be really cool if you could follow this. Thanks a lot.

-John

The main outlets from which I receive my information on politics are Facebook, The Daily Show (which is not a terrible source if you’re a democrat), bits and pieces of debates and speeches I catch, and obnoxious rants I hear from my friends.  I guess I could say SNL, but they focus way more on exaggerating the flaws of politicians than presenting political matters.  SNL is more like the songified version of the first debate.  They are both purely for comedic purposes.  Although this election, SNL has seemed to hit Romney way harder than they did Obama.  From what I could tell, it seemed like every celebrity I saw that stated who they were supporting was supporting Obama.  I don’t really know what that means, but I just thought it was interesting.

When it comes to a person’s view on politics, I do not think anyone’s views will be easily swayed by anything they are exposed to unless they are starting out completely neutral.  I especially think any discussion about politics online or any exposure to political views and reasoning behind them online will not sway a person’s views because politics are very personal.  This is especially true with young people.  Whatever helps “you” the most is what you are going to be behind.  For most people who follow politics, it’s about what will help them in the long run instead of what is best for the country as a whole.  This is at least what I have noticed on Facebook and Twitter.  There are people who supported Obama because he is for student loans, and there are people who supported Romney so their tax money does not go to the healthcare of the jobless.  Both of these are relevant issues, but those are the main things that certain people look at.  Then there is the completely radical side where people are talking about leaving the country because Obama was elected again, and that we are going to be in a depression now even though we are already in one.  For me, politics on the internet is obnoxious to say the least.

I think for a huge majority of the hardcore gamers, not many of them acgually pay much attention to the indie games. Two of my friends, who are both big, big gamers had never even heard of Super Meat Boy or Fez because they are both already so into the mainstream games like Halo, Borderlands, Assassin’s Creed, and Resident Evil.  I do think niches exist in the video game world too though because there are still people seprated by those who only play Xbox, those who only play PlayStation, and even those who only play on the PC or Mac.  Then thereare thoss niches seperated by genre such as sports games, first person shooters, racing games, strategy games, etc. And finally there are those hardcore fans of specific games such as Halo, COD, and Gears of War and the people who hate the other games so much and completely bash anyone who plays them. Indie games are probably the smallest video game nichd of all and it is still pretty hard to tell whether or not it is growing or getting smaller.

I have chosen to write my artist profile paper on a YouTube video blogger who goes by the name of Munky King, or more commonly, MK.  He puts up video after video criticizing people, groups of people, and musical artists popular today.  A lot of what he says is not actually what he believes, but his goal is to open your eyes to all of the bull crap in today’s society while being extremely hilarious at the same time.  He has his own webpage, YouTube channel, Twitter, and Facebook page to promote himself.  He is now even sponsored by the company called “Likeable Assholes.”

http://mklovesyou.com/   Webpage

http://www.youtube.com/user/GroundZeroOnline?feature=watch     YouTube Channel

http://www.facebook.com/GZOFanPage?ref=ts&fref=ts     Facebook Fanpage

https://twitter.com/Ground0Online   Twitter Page

It is really hard to say whether or not the internet is a threat to musicians.  For right now, it is a definite asset because if you are really talented, you can put your stuff anywhere and everywhere for everyone to see.  If you have the resources to keep creating and creating and you are just different enough to be intriguing and fresh, your name and materials will slowly begin to spread.  Once they do begin to spread, you have to keep creating still, because the public will forget about you just as quickly as they started to like you.  I can also understand how anyone being able to put whatever they want online might hinder talented artists because if everyone is doing it, it raises the competition level a lot higher.  There is so much different music and videos uploaded every day, it makes everything so diluted.  One really has to catch the attention of a lot of people.  The money making side is a whole different thing.  The internet has opened a lot of new ways for artist to make money off of their works, but it has just as much created a way for them to lose it as well.  If one is careful, they can do a good job of making sure their music cannot be downloaded for free from any source, but that is probably not an easy thing to do when all you are trying to do is get your name and work out there.  That is what seems to be the best way to do it now though.  The best way to become successful through music on the internet is to put a whole bunch of your stuff out there for free at the beginning.  Then when a lot of people like what you do, that is when you make new material and make it only available for purchase.  That is what Tyler the Creator did and that is what Donald Glover/Childish Gambino did, and they are both very successful.

I had known so much already about The O.C. before I even started this paper.  The Wikipedia page is huge though and filled me in on a lot of fan culture as well as plenty of interesting behind the scenes stuff that I would have never known about.  There is a huge fan base for the show on YouTube.  Over half of the spoofs, that have had thousands of remakes and copies made, were started by the comedy group The Lonely Island.  It also had copy cat shows made after it like Laguna Beach and The Real Housewives of Orange County.  I learned that people are always throwing out ideas.  Most of them are putting their ideas forth before they actually add it to the page.  If too many people agree that adding a new page is unnecessary, then it will not be added.  Most of the edits though were minor ones either to grammar or to change minor statistics or facts.  From what I could tell, there were no edits or revisions necessary for me to make.  Thankfully I did not find any vandalism or just completely wrong facts about the plot of the show or the actors and actresses themselves.  This is one of the few shows I have actually watched from beginning to end, so it would have been easy to catch flaws in the storyline.  One thing I had trouble with was comprehending some of the revisions that were made.  It was a little unclear to me at times because sometimes it would list a part was edited and I did not see anything that was changed.  Other than that, I learned a lot both about Wikipedia and The O.C.

Sturgeon’s Law that states that 90% of everything is crap is somewhat debatable.  It might feel that way when one is browsing through YouTube and is constantly skipping videos that are downright obnoxious, but when it comes to me and most people I know, there is a very wide variety of material that we all like.  Over the years though, I have slowly weaned myself off of relying on the mainstream filter.  I probably listen to the radio now maybe once a month.  The first think I do when I get in my car now is hook up my phone to play my own music.  I’m also definitely not opposed to mainstream music because most of the music I listen to probably is mainstream.  Most of what I am exposed to is on the internet though.  The internet though is also rapidly becoming more and more of a mainstream source.  My stance on Sturgeon’s Law though is that it is highly exaggerated, and who is to say what crap is and what isn’t?  Stuff that was a hit 20 years ago may be like crap to a lot of people today.  I’m very stern with my taste in things though.  Once I like something, I always like it.  I can always go back to it and enjoy it maybe not just as much as the initial time, but still enjoy it and not just consider it as the old me.  That goes for movies, music, food, clothes, etc.  I seriously doubt that all of the things that I like or could possibly like in the future only make up 10% of everything.

P.S.  The title is a joke.  Not that conceited.

Like most people of our generation, I am a fan of many different things that are at least somewhat involved in the media.  I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I enjoy all kinds of music and dance but mostly R&B/Hip Hop Music and Hip Hop dance, and I am just a movie fan in general.  With that being said, I do not see myself making any kind of fan fiction, re-vamping a script, or putting a spin on any those things and making a video out of it.  My enjoyment from those things usually always comes straight from the source.  That is also why I do not particularly enjoy watching any fan fiction videos or spoofs.  They just do not spark my interest.  Some might say I am just not as big a fan as the people who make these kinds of videos, but I just think I am a different kind of fan.  The farthest I would go when it comes to making a video based off of being a fan of something is just using a song or two as the back track of a video of me or my friends doing something completely original.  This is also apparently against copyright laws because I do not own the rights to redistribute that song to the public.  This is especially ridiculous to me because like the incident mentioned in class, one can be sued for even unintentionally having a track in the background of a video and posting the video online.  The charges are usually dropped for ridiculous cases like this thankfully.  Some corporations are a little stricter on distribution like this such as Disney and George Lucas, but mainly just Disney.