Social Media: The Media of All Medias

I deserve a welcome back party or something, its been forever. Thanks midterms, the flu, and alpha phi for keeping me away from my blogging expeditions. 

The next unit of study in our Communications Class is appropriately covering the "social media" while studying the book Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives, and Our Future. Dun Dun Dun. 

While I have not always been a fan of the "social media," and the title seemed almost ominous and foreboding to me, the first couple chapters were not only interesting, but informative. I must admit, I have come to let a few social media sites rule my life (not an exaggeration), I've never thought too much about its structure and influence until now. 

First and foremost, the book of faces is my go-to guy for my procrastinating and stalking (just kidding) tendencies. Actions I associate with facebook are stalking (just kidding, again), "updating" the all-important status, commenting walls/pictures/videos etc, uploading pictures, and all that other fun stuff. My new favorite thing is the "like" button, to be clicked when you have strong positive feelings about a comment, picture, yadda yadda yadda. I try to use it sparingly, but i like EVERYTHING. I'm wondering why they don't have a dislike button though. I'm sure its coming soon.

I've also recently resigned myself to the world of youtube. I was originally not a fan because lets face it, not everyone has amazing movie making abilities (like my group). Now though I'm starting to realize there is some real entertainment lurking in the millions upon millions of videos posted every day. Some actions I associate with youtube include, uploading and watching (obviously), commenting, linking, embedding, and sharing. 

As for twitter, myspace, and all those other social media sites, I'm staying clear for now. I waste too much of my life already thank you very much. On the other hand, I'm starting to recognize the many positive aspects of this social media frenzy. Thanks, Content Nation!

"The pieces of a new kind of future are falling into place rapidly-so rapidly that many people aren't capturing just how different the future will look when it's complete." - Content Nation

Eat Your Heart Out Murchie

(A long weekend of sickness, thankfully not swine flu sickness, temporarily delayed me from revealing my group's video progress, but now I'm back and ready for action)

After appropriately learning all we've ever wanted to know about the editing process of filmmaking, the only plausible next step would be to try our hand at our very own creation.

The progress of our video is still in the storyboard phase, but it is QUITE the board of stories. I am, for lack of a more suitable word, pumped for the idea our group has so ingeniously come up with, and am envisioning one of the most creative short videos EVER.

Just to give you a little preview, our dramatic question has something to do with the a person's connection to music and how important it is in their every day life. It began as a simple idea of what we thought would be interesting to our peers and has become so much more. We will be attempting to answer our dramatic questions through interviewing as well as video and still images, and of course, lots of MUSIC!

This week is THE week. The week to take our awesome idea and make it a reality. I cannot wait to get started.

"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter if your friends and your sister star in it.  Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and fee." - James Cameron