And so it concludes.

So here we are. Curtain call. The end of this subject for yours truly. Which means the end of this blog.

Before you begin to cry shamelessly, let’s look back on the time we spent together; blogger and fellow bloggers, together in this world of zeros and ones.

Net Communications for me was challenging but I found as long as I stayed organized it wasn’t too hard to manage. Things became a lot easier after the essay was done and we started blogging, because I found it a lot easier to deal with assessment written informally where I’m also allowed, (nay, required,) to use my au natural sarcastic social observations for some kind of purpose. Whilst doing this I was also pushed to think critically in order to get my head around some of the tougher concepts in this subject- particularly the ones I found a bit drier. (The ‘We Hate Comic Sans’ reading was a standout.) Since for my core posts I needed to think and speak a little sharper, when writing all my other posts I found at times that voice translated. Sounding like you know what you’re talking about is a good thing.

Concepts I particularly enjoyed were the nihilist impulse, and the idea of the internet as this giant, wide, open marketplace, where everything from social media to Wikipedia is some kind of ‘product,’ and simply by logging on we are acting as prosumers in this unique media marketplace. Since all of these concepts are insanely huge and would take me more words then feasible to discuss properly, I’ll just say what particularly struck me about them in relation to blogs, and blogging.

Blogging was something new to me. And I really found it interesting. My niche is social commentary, and half my posts are just my own, subjective thoughts about things I think are awkward. These thoughts are not really ‘worth’ anything in a literal sense- just me rambling, really. The only reason I am producing them is purely for the sake of it. Bang, nihilist impulse.

By producing this nothingness I am de facto a producer, my blog de facto becomes MY product. And since what I say is so subjective I am my own product- much like my facebook profile page. And so my blog gets a social value. I receive an online social value. I’m expanding the market, and as the market grows the number of niches grows. (Ahem, longtail…)And then amount of bloggers increase and so the amount of nihilism out there rises accordingly. But then conversely so do the amount of ‘shares’ in the social value market, so it’s not really nihilism because it serves a value-exchange purpose, but then that purpose is achieved through nihilism…? Watch this space, I guess.

 I also really like the idea of participatory culture, even though as I have discussed previously I don’t think the internet is a rounded Habermasian-esque discussion sphere. But as far as ideas go, free and equal access to ‘culture’ (i.e. social value distribution) via the net is a nice one. And one I would be interested in exploring further and pinning down a bit more.

This idea also leads into what I’d call the most pertinent issue I encountered during this experience- against the advent of new media how your reputation online is really, really important. With the internet being a port of access to a plethora of other media, (music, art, radio, newspapers, journals, books etc,) the way your product i.e you is received really translates into your ‘real life’ identity. (I say ‘real life’ in inverted commas because the way things are going, the increasing importance of who you are on the net directly affects your day-to-day physical existence. So in a sense it is your ‘real life.’ Again, would like to push this idea further)

A strong example of this is all those people in the news recently getting in trouble for writing controversial things on twitter, particularly if they were somewhat of a personality in ‘real life.’ Look at Catherine Deveny. Sacked sacked sacked.

We can even take that idea further and look at Heather B. Armstrong of www.dooce.com. Sacked for what was written in her blog, but through being infamous was able to then make money off it. What is a market that typically trades in social value then translated into a traditional market that trades in cash. Again, it’s that idea of ‘real life.’

I can’t say for sure how I think I did because I’m new to the blogging game. I’m also new to the Net Communications game, so thinking about the internet and new media as critically as I was pushed to was something else entirely. But I don’t think I’d do anything differently.

I’ve never been one for goodbyes, but alas guys it’s time. Let’s not drag this out. It’s been fun. Thanks for reading. Thanks for commenting. I hope I’ve enriched your lives by at least 2%.

Arriverderci.

 

 

another Tarantino plug...

Keep your cooties to yourself!

So the other night my house was full of underagers.

Before your mind jumps to the affronted side of the gutter, let me explain myself.

The right side is obviously the affronted side

I have a younger sibling at perfect teen-adolescent high school age. And she had a little soirée the other night, when I happened to be at home, trying to catch up on sleep for an epic few days of work ahead.

Boy, did it bring back memories.

You could pretty much smell the hormones in the air. Girls squealing at decibels I thought were actually impossible for humans to reproduce, boys shuffling, making their little jokes and producing the cruiser or two they stole from their older sister or, if they are really cool, a 6-pack someone else bought for them.

ZOMG it TOTZ made my tongue BLUUEEE

I knew they would all be at least a little intimidated by me, purely because I have a car and can buy alcohol legally. Also because when I speak the tone of my voice is at least three octaves lower than any of theirs.

Even though they were all squealing and ‘pumping’ up their funky beats and seemingly having a good time, I couldn’t help feel awkward for them. I felt like they were all trying too hard to have fun. And then I thought… maybe that’s what we were all like. Maybe throughout all those little ‘gatherings’ and backyard parties we all genuienly thought Cruisers were a ticket to cool-dom and hooking up ( or as it used to be called in my day, ‘Getting,’ ) was a carefully planned operation in which friends from both sides would lodge enquiries with each other before the actual event took place, if it even did at all.

Maybe I’m just older now and look at their young faces (that are yet to sprout hairs, in the boy’s case,) and can’t help but wonder what form of joy they get from this. Pretending they aren’t nervous next to each other, nervously making jokes, nervously sipping fairy floss cruisers, ( but not too fast- don’t want to vomm that up too quick,) nervously hypothesising about who might want to hook up with who but not actually having the vaguest idea what they would do should the situation eventuate.

Thank God puberty ends.

But I mean, I guess adolesence really is a good place to start. Socially, I mean. Not that you really get much of a choice whether you go through it or not,  but where better to get all your social awkwardness out and learn what NOT to do whilst everyone around you is covered in acne and (if they are lucky, ) bum fluff?

So maybe its the hope that they are on their way to a life of succesful social interactions via this awkward pit-stop that makes them enjoy these awkward little gatherings. Or maybe its that whole high-school-esque obsession with social power that provides enough distraction to overcome the awkward, ‘almost’ hormone exchanges.

Let’s hope that by next soirée enough awkward has left their systems so that their squeals don’t permeate my Tarantino session.

Design is Cool

Design and appearance are the most potent cause and effect partnership since cheese and tomato found a jaffle machine.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

When I typed anti-design into Google, hoping for an easy definition to help me get my head around the meat of this post, this is what I got.

It’s a piece by Norwegian design agency Anti.  In a lot of ways you could say it is anti-design… traditional hierarchy, scale and focus of the piece are definitely distorted, as well as the function of owls digressing from their role in the eco-system. But let’s not dissect art; we’ll be here all day.

Anyway.

How anything is designed CREATES its appearance, which is the means by which it is distinguished, judged, and remembered.

The way things are designed (and thus the way they appear,) is paramount to the way we consume and categorize them, and feeds directly into how popular they are.

So that means on the Web, the way you design your page is not only a distinctive marker of yourself and your aesthetic preferences, but it categorizes your page in consumers’ minds, ( in turn shaped by trends and perceptions of what is ‘cool,’ and what isn’t,) and effectively determines how many hits you get.

Since you always want to get as many hits as possible, you want to design your page in accordance with these ‘cool’ criteria. Apparently, the way to make your page appear ‘cool’ is to be minimalistic.

Webpages that ‘suck’ are ones that are too busy, say Flanders and Willis. Busy with background images, mixed fonts, graphics, (i.e. Java, Javascript) all just suck. And they suck because they ignore both the ‘sans serif and white space minimalism.’

So minimalism= cool. If you design your page in accordance with this style, you and your page are marked as cool. You know the rules. You’re up with it. You’re not a web amateur.

But then there’s a problem. If everyone’s cool, and everyone’s minimalistic, then won’t cool become the norm? How will this help me sell my site? The answer, O Hallowed Bloggers, is anti-design.

Anti-design is a movement started in 1960s Italy, in response to ideas of commercially (i.e. conventional, i.e. what is cool) ‘good design.’ Playing with design elements and principles such as scale, tone, form, colour, balance, hierarchy etc., often the featured objects’ ‘fundamental value’ is undermined. These are Alan Liu’s Rules of Cool.

So by using principles of anti-design, you’re giving minimalism your own spin, helping your page stand out from the crowd. Marking your own identity as a producer by showcasing your aesthetic preferences, marking yourself as familiar with conventions of web design and what is required to make it stand out/ get hits, and thus not marking yourself as an amateur.

My niche, social commentary, I don’t feel has a specific design style that is really consistent. I think the individuality of the blogger’s voice is more important, and depending on their tone/ design constraints they might experience due to their hosting site etc, they might add personalized elements like widgets and custom headers.

I chose my theme based on the easy symmetry and contrast it provides. I figure maximum contrast via black on white gives the best readability.  Again, I went for minimalism- its cool so that makes it user-friendly on that fundamental level. To personalize my blog I added the page ‘Who Am I?’ in which I feature a picture that stylistically (and conveniently,) addresses anti-design style.  Also my choice of widgets and a custom header conveys a sense of my individuality.

So my goal is to first be marked as a blogger who knows about the rules of design-cool, and therefore is not a web amateur, who is also an individual and therefore whose written voice is interesting and unique and just makes you want to read everything I’ve ever written. Plus you guys get to know me a little. But I mean don’t get too excited, we’re not facebook friends just yet.

Niche me.

When interactive internet spaces i.e. user generated content creation sites… like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc graced our screens, internet users evolved.

This new generation of users, (‘Generation C’ as PR industry watchdog Trendwatching called them,) have the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to engage with user-generated spaces and cross the line between consumer and producer, so says Dr. Axel Bruns. Now ‘prosumers,’ ( PRO ducer + con SUMER ) the power to Create Content, ( Gen ‘C’)  i.e. produce is readily, if not instantaneously, accessible. So logically, with more and more producers out there, there’s going to be more and more products in the media marketplace.

With the internet marketplace approaching infinite size, the popularity of each product is similarly going to approach zero. Welcome to the Long Tail.

When it comes to blogging, we’re talking about the ultimate user-producer dichotomy. The whole idea behind blogging is that anyone, anywhere, with internet connection and literacy skills can become a publisher. And to blog, you must.

So the more blogs that are out there, the further we travel down the long tail.

With a virtually infinite choice of products, a demand for niche markets is created. How can we possibly make consumption decisions otherwise in such a gigantic marketplace? So niche blogging, in the era of the long tail, is positively essential if you’re hoping people will notice your blog. Appealing to smaller markets with more specific interests means you can cater for their demands more accurately, and subsequently the people in that group are more likely to ‘consume’ your blog. But because there are so many niches, each separate niche group becomes smaller as consumer demands are able to become more specific. Again, as number of products approaches infinity, popularity of each approaches zero.

Speaking of niches, let’s talk about mine. I’m a producer after all, and I want people to read my blog. So how am I going to make it stand out? The problem is that nearly everything has already been done so being unique is near impossible.

So I’m going to write about life and the awkwardness embedded in it. But not in a FML kind of way where I throw anecdotes at you and collect your laughter in my self-esteem vault. I’m going to DISCUSS awkwardness, and awkward things, in the sarcastic/honest/ cynical voice that so rings from my inner monologue. It’ll be a fun ( at times,)  little social commentary, if you will. Plus some media jibber jabber… this is the internet after all.

Two blogs that share my niche with me: (or rather, I share with them, I’m new,)

– Portage Digital Media

The thing about this blog is that it’s very structured. There are heaps of categories you can choose from and are offered specific social commentary on whichever you pick.  Although we share the same niche this voice is alot more intellectual then I can imagine mine being, and looks at society a little more critically.  Even though the niche we co-inhabit is social commentary, our written voices still differ. Perhaps we both represent niches within our niche?

–Dino Whore

Now I’d still call this a social commentary blog, but at the other end of the spectrum, which is why I wanted to profile it. These two blogs I’m profiling could not be more different in style, but both still offer social commentary. On different topics, yes. But under the same genre. Although this blogger doesn’t use proper English and this is obviously a bit of fun, I don’t feel that makes it any less relevant to the genre.