HAnder

ENGL 295 Winter 2020 Student

[hander295-blog]

Week 12: Managing Privacy

The article "Networked Privacy: How Teenager Negotiate Context in Social Media" by Boyd and Marwick, really resonated with me as I have different thoughts of privacy in social media then my most of my peers do and for years I have struggled with maintaining a context of privacy I am comfortable with.  When I first joined a social networking site, Facebook, I was 13 and was always told by my parents to be careful what you post and do not post any pictures of yourself.  Over the years I have maintained my careful posting habits, as I truly believe that you do not know who will eventually see all your posts, so if I want to post or share something that an employer would find embarrassing I will share it directly and not on my social feed.  This has actually worked well for me as I am friends with a former boss on social media.  

My problem with privacy was of what others posted of me on their pages, much like the situation described between Ramon and Mathew.  Determining context of images on my page vs Facebook friends pages has always been a challenge for me.  When I was younger and my friends would post a picture of me, I was of two minds on how to react.  On one I felt hurt that they would post without checking if it was ok with me and thus changing my own context and breaching the privacy barriers I created.  On the other hand, it was a little rebellious, as I had images out there of myself that went against my parents' rules without myself breaking them.  As I have gotten older I have relaxed this rule of mine, and will occasionally post a picture of myself but I have still run into issues with my network breaking my privacy barriers with their posts of me.  For me, this is one area of social media that I will always be navigating, what I think is best for me to show the world vs what my network wants to show.  There have been times I have gotten into fights with people over differing contexts, I felt something was too revealing but they thought it was not.  It is a constant struggle and evolutions every user must navigate in order to thrive in the digital environment.

What area of online privacy has been the hardest to regulate in your experience?

[hander295-blog]

ENGL 295 Week 10: Digital Dualism and Abstinence

The article by Joe Edelman "Can software be good for us?" argues that many social media platforms, mainly Facebook, causes people's values to be at risk because of the restrictive apps they choose to use.  One of the examples of a less restrictive app to compare Facebook to Wikipedia.  However, comparing Wikipedia to Facebook is not a comparable example.

One of the biggest differences between Facebook and Wikipedia is an individual identity.   Both platforms are similar because they encourage participatory culture and content creation on their websites but they are done very differently.  Facebook's content creation is done in a very public manner and attaches the individual identity to the content.  This also creates a public accountability for the individual for their content.  Wikipedia does not have any public accountability.  To create content on Wikipedia, you still need an account, but the public has no idea what content you have created or edited.  

The lack of public accountability has long helped to maintain the websites less appealing reputation because the casual viewer has no verification of the information and cannot hold anyone accountable other than the faceless website.  Facebook, on the other hand, shows you exactly who posted what and you can look into the individual.  Due to this different types of accountability, I would argue that Facebook holds more values then Wikipedia because the public accountability holds more sway over keeping people honest and does not provide the safety net of amenity that Wikipedia operates under.

How do you think Facebook and Wikipedia compare as social networking sites?

[hander295-blog]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail Recut as a Crazy Intense Drama - Trailer Mix

With the upcoming movie 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ coming in 2017, we wondered if it might be better to just recut 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' ...

My favourite Recut Trailer so far! By CineFix

[hander295-blog]

ENGL 295 Week 5: Meme Genres - Recut Trailers

Memes have become a huge part of today's culture.  I always thought that memes were limited to just the 2D manipulation of photos and drawings that create a connection with the viewer.  Having read Limor Shifman's Meme Genres, a chapter in the book, Memes in Digital Culture, I can see his point of different internet video like flash mobs and recut trailers as being a meme genre due to the similarities of expressing ideas through reused content and connecting with audiences.

Shifman argues that recut trailers reflect current users of the internet ambivalent nature towards movie companies' genre marketing techniques.  I agree that these trailers are very critical of the market, however, I think they are also a demonstration of these creators genuinely love the movies too.  Based on the techniques that are employed to recut trailers, it is a clear critical parody of the market by making a mockery of the formulas.  On top of the parody, the clips that are needed to formulate the recut trailers have to be very specific also demonstrates that creators love of the movie based on their dedication to creating believable trailers.  That kind of dedication only comes from re-watching the film multiple times.  

One of my favourite recut trailers is Monty Python and the Holy Grail Recut as a Drama.  Watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr2AGCPxQfU

What is your favourite recut trailer?

Do you think this meme form is critical or a demonstration of admiration for?