Media: December 2007 Archive Page

Philip Kennicott (Washington Post) reflects on what we might learn about ourselves when we notice that the photographer who snapped the iconic image of a young girl crying in terror after a napalm attack in Viet Nam 35 years ago also snapped the iconic image of Paris HIlton weeping in the back seat of a police car.

They are both photographs. They were both taken by Nick Ut. They are both images of someone in pain. There, with the word "pain," you feel the powerful forces of repulsion. The pain of a little girl burned by napalm (dropped by our South Vietnamese allies) can't be equated with the pain of a silly goose who doesn't have the basic maturity to face a well-merited and laughably mild punishment with any dignity. The photograph of Kim Phuc is about a pain that is real and compelling to the conscience, not just because it was physical but because it was inflicted on an innocent child. The tears of Hilton were due to a court order that returned her to jail to complete a 23-day prison term after repeated probation violations (stemming from a drunk-driving arrest). The vision of her weeping just doesn't feel real. Hilton's pain was fodder for the national pastime of schadenfreude -- an ugly use for celebrity that often borders on sadism -- but at the same time, her pain could have disappeared in an instant, if she were capable of a single philosophical thought.

In Reason, David Harsanyi reviews The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture, by Andrew Keen.

"Can a social worker in Des Moines really be considered credible in arguing with a trained physicist over string theory?" he asks, referring to Wikipedia, the online, user created encyclopedia. "Can a car mechanic have as knowledgeable a 'POV' as that of a trained geneticist on the nature of hereditary diseases? Can we trust a religious fundamentalist to know more about the origins of mankind than a PhD in evolutionary biology?"

Well, yes and no. I, of course, have the prerogative to trust whomever I want. In the same way I once gathered my news from The National Inquirer and listened to Art Bell's late-night radio broadcasts for clues to my place in the universe, today I can ferret out similarly useless information webwide.

The more significant point, one that Keen ignores, is that the Web 2.0 explosion has provided me with something I've never had before: access to ongoing discussions between and among trained physicists, trained geneticists, and religious fundamentalists. Laymen as well as experts are now invited to sit in on these conversations. On occasion, the amateurs get it right, triggering dramatic results. Matt Drudge can announce the Monica Lewinsky scandal while Newsweek dithers about publishing it. Or a blog like Little Green Footballs can help catch Dan Rather peddling forged documents about the president's service record. Rather than undermining information, this new access has expanded users' understanding of the world.

I'd like to add just a bit to Harsanyi's defense of the conversational nature of Wikipedia. The social worker who isn't qualified to argue with a trained physicist over string theory can, of course, contribute to an article on social work. But more important, if the social worker asks questions on the string theory discussion page, or even makes bad edits in the article itself, that's a sign that at least one member of the audience doesn't understand the Wikipedia article, and it's a beacon calling for others to fix the problem, making the article more accessible to the social workers of the world, and in the process, improving it.

This is, of course, the very reason why Wikipedia is not a reliable source for college research papers (or even middle-school ones), but quite frankly nobody should turn to any encyclopedia, not even the printed encyclopedias gathering dust on the library shelves, as the final destination of any serious research. (Encyclopedias provide a general overview, putting a topic into a general context, but you won't find original research in any encyclopedia, you'll just find someone's summary of sources that a serious research should really go read first-hand.)


Because the discussion over each article happens transparently, with each mis-step and correction chronicled in the article history page, the enemy of usefulness on the internet is not the nature of the information itself, but rather the naive attitude of a reader who does not approach that information with the proper critical standpoint.  Each year when I explain to freshmen my attitude towards Wikipedia, somebody in the class is shocked to learn that anybody -- anybody -- can edit an article. Recently, one young man said, "They wouldn't let them put it on the internet if it wasn't true!"

I have high praise for the high school teacher who, instead of banning Wikipedia, instead assigns students to read the discussion page of a controversial topic, so that the students who go on to college will arrive with the idea that college is not all about hunting through textbooks or listening to lectures to find the "right answers," but rather that college is an opportunity to learn the skills necessary to succeed in an information-centered world.

1up:

Ten years ago, Westwood released its point-and-click adventure game adaptation of Blade Runner. Blade Runner was, if nothing else, a towering achievement in terms of evoking the original film's memorable aesthetic. The game's mo-cap sprites moved against dim, smoky noir backdrops; every exterior shot felt exhilaratingly accurate, while interior locations were ominous and claustrophobic. In 1997, Louis Castle -- then the executive vice president of Westwood Studios -- told PC Gamer, "This is not a game about the movie; it is a game about the movie's environment. It's about the tension and emotion of the movie."

A good overview, though it's not nearly as detailed or rigorous as if this topic were the subject of an academic study. Still, I'd rather see the glass as half full -- I'm glad to see such a weighty topic being considered by a mainstream gamer publication.  It's yet another sign of the critical sophistication of gamers who want to read about more than walkthroughs and cheat codes.

Spokesman Review:

"Our editors (Wednesday) night noticed the similarities in the two photos," said Paul Emerson, Tribune managing editor. "We are not crime-stoppers here. It is just a weird coincidence. If it did solve a crime, I'm glad it happened. I have seen nothing like this in my 26 years as Tribune managing editor."

A Tribune employee, originally alerted police about 3 a.m. Thursday to the obvious similarities between the men in both pictures.

The employee wanted police to see the front page before Millhouse did. The employee pointed out Millhouse was clearly the man police were seeking, sporting his blue- and black-checkered jacket and dark-colored, hooded sweatshirt in both pictures.

In 2002, David Winer bet Martin Nisenholtz that

In a Google search of five keywords or phrases representing the top five news stories of 2007, weblogs will rank higher than the New York Times' Web site.

According to Workbench:

So Winer wins the bet 3-2, but his premise of blog triumphalism is challenged by the fact that on all five stories, a major U.S. media outlet ranks above the leading weblog in Google search. Also, the results for the top story of the year reflect poorly on both sides.

In the five years since the bet was made, a clear winner did emerge, but it was neither blogs nor the Times.

Wikipedia, which was only one year old in 2002, ranks higher today on four of the five news stories: 12th for Chinese exports, fifth for oil prices, first for the Iraq war, fourth for the mortgage crisis and first for the Virginia Tech killings.

The special coding Wikipedia has developed for its user-edited pages is powerful. Some shortcuts are simple and elegeant -- you just put [[square brackets]] around words to make them into links, and clicking on the link will automatically either take you to an existing page, or let you create a new one.

But as Wikipedia has grown in size and complexity, the code of its pages has become harder for newbies to read. I've never encountered negative vibes from someone who's come along after me and cleaned up my sloppy coding, and learning this sort of thing is part of my job description as a new media teacher. Nevertheless, I can see how intimidating it could be for someone whose subject matter expertise is in the history of Latvia or the cultural significance of oregano.

I just came across this older post by Jason Calacanis, who expresses the issue in stronger terms than I would use, but he really gets to the point.

We've been talking a lot about the Wikipedia recently here at calacanis.com, and I wanted to make my podcast from last week a little more clear. I spoke of technological obsurification--the process of using obscure technology to keep people from participating.

Having spent seven days at the Wikimania and hacking days last year in Boston I've learned a lot about the insular culture of Wikipedia, how they make decisions, and how they block participation. Yes, you read that last part correctly. The Wikipedia is currently designed to lower participation so it is easier to manage.

Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to limit participation in Wikipedia--perhaps that's what necessary to keep the project on track. However, I think we should be really honest about the fact that Wikipedia is not an open system--at least not open in the sense that anyone can participate.

A student sent me an e-mail asking for advice on how to write a letter to the editor. I found plenty of web resources that are designed to help volunteers write letters designed to get a particular message out -- that is, Citizens for the Defense of Rutebegas offer specialized tips for how to write letters that raise awareness of the plight of rutebagas.

I wanted something more general. On rhetorica.net I found a good overview of the general form of a persuasive letter.

Letters to the editor should be thought of as bits of a sustained civic conversation. You are not going to change hearts and minds with a single letter. But you might have a chance with several, well-written letters offered over time. Write for the moment. Write for the one point you're making today. Don't write as if you expect to slam-dunk the issue for all time. Ain't going to happen.

[...]

To conclude: You do not have a First Amendment right to be published in your local newspaper. You do, however, have the right to publish your own newspaper, or a blog, or you can stand on a soapbox and speechify to your heart's content.

This ABC News story following up on an early 1990s story ends on a deftly sensitive note.

Since entering prison Smart has completed two master's degrees, one in law and one in English literature. Those studies have kept her focused.

And she said her favorite book is "The Scarlet Letter," which is the tale of a woman condemned for having an illicit affair.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' is a story that I could really relate to," Smart said. "I feel like I'm this modern day scarlet letter that I can't ever get rid of."

"I'll be forever punished by my own bad choices," she added.

News I saw on theonering.net (via Slashdot) has LOTR fans unclenching their hairy, unshod toes and reaching for the tobacco jar:

The two "Hobbit" films - "The Hobbit" and its sequel - are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of "The Hobbit" release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.

In Wired, Jenna Wortham focuses on what blogs typically look like to journalists.

Blogs are re-shaping not just news and entertainment, but also publishing, politics and public relations.

Robert Scoble, Microsoft's most famous blogger, is widely credited with putting a human face on the giant company and facilitating an exchange between customer and corporation. Matt Drudge's news blog Drudge Report garnered national recognition for his coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal; last year, Drudge -- a former convenience store clerk -- was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. "Rathergate," a blog-driven critique of Dan Rather's journalism, led to the CBS anchorman's early, ignominious retirement.

Furthermore, blogs have become important news sources in their own right. Behind-the-scenes footage and reports emerged during crises like the South Asian tsunami, the Hurricane Katrina aftermath and the recent Burmese uprising, when coverage from traditional outlets was scarce.

The article doesn't really talk about the impact of the long tail -- that is, the effect of the many, many bloggers who are not at the top of the pecking order, but who have nevertheless formed readership networks that enrich the blogosphere. It's because so many people are writing -- instead of just reading what a small number of media producers deem printworthy -- that the top bloggers can find such quirky but as-yet-unknown things to blog about.

My students are almost all on Facebook, but not all of them have heard of weblogs, even though a Facebook network incorporates pretty much everything that weblogs are good at. Facebook users are encouraged to link to each other, rather than outside resources. The gated community strengthens the group, which keeps the value of the user content within the Facebook network, which is in some ways the opposite of what a blogger is doing by giving that value away to the internet at large, but the principle is the same.

Katie Haegele quotes Chris Joseph:

"It seems most people these days equate literature with the novel, which is obviously a relatively recent form, and then judge all other literature by that standard, which is a terrible measure of digital literature," Joseph said in an e-mail interview. "My feeling is that younger audiences already do accept digital lit as lit; for the elder population it may well happen through cell phones rather than computer screens, as for most people the latter are too cumbersome, related to work tasks, and too uncomfortable to read on for long periods of time."

From the Google Blog, a preview of Google's mashup of Wikipedia and About.com:

The key idea behind the knol project is to highlight authors. Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors -- but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted. We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content. At the heart, a knol is just a web page; we use the word "knol" as the name of the project and as an instance of an article interchangeably. It is well-organized, nicely presented, and has a distinct look and feel, but it is still just a web page. Google will provide easy-to-use tools for writing, editing, and so on, and it will provide free hosting of the content. Writers only need to write; we'll do the rest.

A knol on a particular topic is meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read. The goal is for knols to cover all topics, from scientific concepts, to medical information, from geographical and historical, to entertainment, from product information, to how-to-fix-it instructions. Google will not serve as an editor in any way, and will not bless any content. All editorial responsibilities and control will rest with the authors. We hope that knols will include the opinions and points of view of the authors who will put their reputation on the line. Anyone will be free to write. For many topics, there will likely be competing knols on the same subject. Competition of ideas is a good thing.

Blogged as a reference, for the next time I have to introduce students to semiotics (ytmnd.com).

Doris Lessing doesn't like those silly bloggers one bit, as interpreted here via commentary from Ars Technica:

Computers and the Internet and the television have wrought a revolution on ways of thinking and spending leisure time, and Lessing doesn't believe that society as a whole has really thought through the implications of these changes. "And just as we never once stopped to ask, How are we, our minds, going to change with the new internet, which has seduced a whole generation into its inanities so that even quite reasonable people will confess that once they are hooked, it is hard to cut free, and they may find a whole day has passed in blogging and blugging etc." It is now common, she says, for "young men and women who have had years of education, to know nothing about the world, to have read nothing, knowing only some speciality or other, for instance, computers."

Because, of course, to know about computers is to know nothing of value.

I just read a paper from a college senior who, when writing a paper on a canonically validated text, initially cited more sources from a DVD documentary than from scholarly books and articles, so I, too, lament the decline of literacy. Yet I'm not exactly comfortable with Lessing's take on the value of a liberal-arts education, or her assessment of the causes of the decay of literacy. Like the printing press, blogging puts the power of literacy in the hands of the populace. If the unwashed masses have the tools in their hands, they're going to use them to produce texts about what matters to them, not what matters to the ones who were already in power before the tools escaped into the wild.

It is rather amazing that educated people who don't have time to read a book have the time to make Lego stop-motion animated versions of viral dance videos, but I'd much rather that people create and share their own works -- which means the processing of a few diamonds along with a lot of roughage -- than limit themselves to silently swallowing what big-business wants them to consume.

Adam Parrish:

The Frotzophone is an interface for making music with interactive fiction. The topography simulated in the game is used to generate sound, as is the player's path through the game. A Frotzophone "performance" looks just like playing a text adventure; but in addition to playing a game, you're also playing music. Here's a sample of the Frotzophone's audio output. This sample was generated from playing the first part of Zork I--up until I got killed by the troll. Download the full track here (2'12", 192kbps MP3).

This morning when my nine-year-old son got up, he buried his nose in a book on the War of 1812, and every so often he shared some detail: "Did you know the British liked to shoot together? They would say, 'Ready! Aim! Fire!'"  He knew that the Battle of New Orleans was a decisive American victory, and he knew the battle took place after a peace treaty had been signed (but before word had reached the troops). But he didn't know the Jimmie Driftwood folk song commemorating the event: "In 1814, we took a little trip..."

I wanted to play the song for him, and wasn't having any luck searching for MP3 samples, so I went to YouTube, and found this clip.

ZDNet explores the public reaction to Amazon's new e-book reader.

I don't usually judge things by how they look but this thing, in my opinion, is ugly in a way that I thought was exclusive to the Zune. Weighing up the pros and cons, I'd come to the conclusion that the Kindle has already hit the peak of popularity and the only way for it to go was down.

But then I realized that the Kindle had a cult.

From a speculative essay by Richard M. Stallman:

In his software class, Dan had learned that each book had a copyright monitor that reported when and where it was read, and by whom, to Central Licensing. (They used this information to catch reading pirates, but also to sell personal interest profiles to retailers.) The next time his computer was networked, Central Licensing would find out. He, as computer owner, would receive the harshest punishment--for not taking pains to prevent the crime.

Inside Higher Ed offers short stories on two student papers that are struggling to keep their administrations at bay:

At Oklahoma State University, the editors of the Daily O'Collegian, the more than 80-year-old campus newspaper, have for several weeks refused to let the articles they write for the print publication appear on ocolly.com, the newspaper's online portal, because the student journalists are at odds with the university administration's publications board over who should have the power to hire and fire staff for the online operation.

And the editor of the student newspaper at Connecticut's Quinnipiac University has been threatened with the loss of his job in the wake of his public criticism of a university policy that bars the weekly Quinnipiac Chronicle from posting articles on its Web site until after they have already appeared in print. The editor, Jason Braff, argued that the policy impaired the newspaper's ability to keep the campus informed, but Quinnipiac officials said it was designed to improve the accuracy of the Chronicle's reporting, "in light of a student's enthusiasm to release 'breaking news.'"

I must have missed this video when I was sick earlier this semester... Michael Wesch at Kansas State University:

... the basic idea is to create a 3 minute video highlighting the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. We already know some things from previous research (and if you know of any interesting statistics, please list them along with the source). Others we will need to find out by doing a class survey. Please add whatever you want to know or present.