Global Media News

Photographer Needed: Art Students Need Not Apply

    At some point in 2010, I began to see incredible pictures popping up on my Facebook feed. They had borders, blurred edges and filters. “Wow Cory’s a good photographer, I never knew”. Turns out Cory, as well over 80 other million users, have logged onto Instagram. Instagram.com describes the experience as “Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a memory to keep around forever.” These photographs continue to come up on my Facebook feed, and they certainly are beautiful to look at, but I wondered if this new advent would piss off professionally trained photographers.

    The art critic Michael Glover recently commented on the new user-photography phenomenon by saying, "Photography has become so thoroughly prostituted as a means of visual exchange, available to all or none for every purpose under the sun that it is easy to forget that until recently one of the most important consequences of fearless photographic practice was to tell the truth about power." He certainly won’t be logging into Instagram any time soon. And it doesn’t sound like Chris Ziegler of the site “The Verge” will either. “The Verge” is a website that covers tech, science, art & culture. Ziegler recently called these photos “damaged photos”. Maybe Ziegler will come around, but right now he sounds like a typical hyper-critical tech guy. There are those though, who embrace Instagram in the field of photography. I often log on to Scott Schuman’s fashion blog “The Sartorialist”, where he uploads portrait photographs taken with a Digital SLR, and Instagram. Both turn out beautiful, perhaps the SLR one’s more, but they are all produced from a professional. Another professional photographer, Peter Essick, who works for National Geographic recently said that he “looks at it as another medium to use as a photographer.”

    Whatever the “art world” has to say about Instagram and other filters apps, it doesn’t speak nearly as loud as the actual Instagram community. The creators of instagram said “We love taking photos. We always assumed taking interesting photos required a big bulky camera and a couple years of art school. But as mobile phone cameras got better and better, we decided to challenge that assumption.” That challenge has produced a simple way to produce unique images, after all, 80 million plus people are currently enjoying it.

Bringing Tech to NYC (We'll Provide The Space, You Provide The Genius)

    Technology is the greatest factor that is linked to economic growth. According to Oxford Economics emerging markets are increasing because digital technologies are growing consumer income and demand. As a result of these successes, corporations are investing in this industry in order to fuel economic growth.

            According to Oxford Economics, this is considered the “third wave of capitalism”. It is considered so because of the tremendous impact it is having on societies, governments, innovations and economics. With increasing technology, there is a need for new business models in order to evolve with this megatrend.

            The Aspen Institute believes that as the internet grows in scale and scope, it accelerates innovation in new and existing businesses, and enhances the creation and delivery of public goods. For example,  Etsy is a perfect example of a new, successful online business model, because its innovations allow for people to sell, buy, and trade their art and clothing. The simplicity of the site’s model has led to growth, and an interest in those who would like their sites to be interactive. The Aspen Institute believes that because the internet is run by the many, there are highly beneficial qualities that go along with that.

     New York City has recently become a new tech hub for computer geniuses. While the sector is growing, Tracey Samuelson of WNYC says that, “so too have the number of meet-ups, happy hours, demos and networking events – somewhere in the ballpark of hundreds a month are held throughout the city”. These events are producing new ideas through networking and ultimately revving up excitement for the New York tech industry.

Image Courtesy Of Wired.com

    There has been a shift from a rigid, and old Silicon Valley to the bright new economical process in NYC. One way in which office dynamic is changing, is through a new practice called “co-working”. According to Manoush Zomorodi of WNYC, it’s “a communal office space where freelancers, telecommuters, and entrepreneurs can come together to share a copy machine, avoid NYC’s high rents, and make business connections (and friends).” New York leads the way with the most co-working spaces of all the cities in the world. Co-working will no doubt save valuable capital for these up and coming businesses, while also providing a playing field for ideas to bounce around. 

Bringing Tech to NYC (We'll Provide The Space, You Provide The Genius)

    New York City has recently become a new tech hub for computer geniuses. While the sector is growing, Tracey Samuelson of WNYC says that, “so too have the number of meet-ups, happy hours, demos and networking events – somewhere in the ballpark of hundreds a month are held throughout the city”. These events are producing new ideas through networking and ultimately revving up excitement for the New York tech industry.

    There has been a shift from a rigid, and old Silicon Valley to the bright new economical process in NYC. One way in which office dynamic is changing, is through a new practice called “co-working”. According to Manoush Zomorodi of WNYC, it’s “a communal office space where freelancers, telecommuters, and entrepreneurs can come together to share a copy machine, avoid NYC’s high rents, and make business connections (and friends).” New York leads the way with the most co-working spaces of all the cities in the world. Co-working will no doubt save valuable capital for these up and coming businesses, while also providing a playing field for ideas to bounce around. 

VideoPal

    While recently visiting a friend in Massapequa Long Island, she was eager to introduce me to her new friend Pierre. This introduction was through a very modern sense, that being the application Facetime, which allows for video calls. I was not blown away by Facetime however, but where this call was going to. Pierre was from France, and my friend had met him through Interpals.net, a website for seeking friends around the world, and/or to learn a new language by having a conversation partner.

    I was completely in awe, and my mind fired off with possibilities. There has been much talk in recent years about social media connecting people around the world. That I day I found an online community that was bringing people of many nations into conversation. Sites like these enable conversations about politics, daily life, language, friendship, love. My friend has gained a new friend from Europe, and it all just started with a click of a computer key.

New Online Dating Sites, Not So Online?

To your average person, the most commonly known online dating sites are ones like e-harmony or match.com, but little do many people know, there are new types of dating networks that have a bit more interaction.  These new start-up sites mesh the use of the internet with hip social settings such as singles parties and meet and greet gatherings.  

A network like Me So Far, based out of Chicago, gathers singles together in a face to face social setting.  At these gatherings every interested single presents a six minute power-point or monologue about what they have done, and where they have been.  Afterwords the singles are able to mingle and discuss more about themselves.  But is this type of interaction more affective than the traditional dating sites?

 

In an article from The New York Times, journalist, Stephanie Rosenbloom explains the hype of this type of dating opposed to the "old school" online dating services.  

"After all, while the Web does broaden the dating pool, it has also disappointed scores of people (a fact that does not surprise social psychologists who recently reported that dating site algorithms are hardly scientific.) Sitting home at night scrolling through online profiles can sometimes feel like the 21st-century equivalent of sitting in a bar alone, hoping to score."

Now this doesn't mean that the internet is completely useless here.  Although there is a desire for an in person introduction with your potential mate, founders of these new networks make sure there is a middle ground between the internet and face to face interaction.

Tawkify, another dating network, gathers singles for a short period of time on the internet , then transfers to phone calls.  The applicants submit pictures and answer ten questions about themselves on the site, and then are interviewed over the phone by a team of matchmakers.  After a week the single is then coupled up with another applicant and they are set up on an over the phone date.

So are these new networks on the rise to becoming the next sensation in dating? Or will our traditional online dating sites keep doing what their doing? Or maybe just maybe more people will meet the really old fashioned way.

 

Nigeria Newspaper Bombed!

    April 27, 2012 a suicide bomber and man were armed with explosives. These racial Islamic sects attacked two news offices on Thursday they wounded 26 people and killed 7 people. These two people were the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram that claimed responsibility. These two men’s drove from Abuja which is the capital of Nigeria into a reception area of the Nigerian major newspaper. The Nigerian major newspaper says this

    “This Day, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross said. The blast killed at least three people and wounded others, he said.”

   The other attacks occurred in the northern part of the city of Abuja and stuck the building of TheDay which was shared with two other newspapers that day. Some offices say that “At least four people died in that blast and the police said they had arrested the bomber. Boko Haram is blamed for killing hundreds of people this year alone in a growing sectarian fight against Nigeria’s weak central government”.

Boko Haram is one the growing Islamic threat in Nigeria. In the Article of Nigeria they state that Boko Haram

    “Has haunted predominantly the Muslim region of northern Nigeria, surviving repeated, bloody efforts to eliminate it. It appears to be branching out and collaborating with Al Qaeda’s affiliates, alarming Western officials who had previously viewed the militants as a largely isolated, if deadly, menace. The group has called for a strict application of Shariah law and the freeing of imprisoned members in the region, where mass unemployment and poverty have helped fuel social discontent”.

 

The Media's Role in Helping the Blind Lawyer

 

This is a video clip that is showing the force of which guards are using to keep the  blind lawyer named Chen Guangcheng under house arrest and alone. But as the New York Times says he escaped and fled to the U.S. Embassy. This is for the best for Mr. Chen but for the Chinese government, not as much. The Chinese government has banned all things on Mr.Chen online.

The social media that should be free is not so in China. Social media in China is not free, just like their other rights, Chinese people do not get the same freedoms that we have here in America. This is important to see because the government in China gets and  keeps its power in this control.

The New York Times states that "Banned searches turn up this message: “According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, these search results cannot be shown.”" in regards to searches done that the government has banned.  The media in China is so controlled that Mr. Chen was beat during his house arrest to try and stop him from opposing the government one child policy.

Lucky now Mr.Chen is in safe hands and sharing his story to the people of the world.

 

Codenames in France for Winners Via Twitter

"In France on Sunday, the flan was decidedly in the oven, while the tomato was surprisingly green. By the same token — according to Twitter, at any rate — the temperature in Budapest hovered near 25 degrees" this is the opening line for the New York Times article "For Results, Twitter Gets Out Early Word, in Code" by Scott Sayare. This is about Twitter being used to get around the laws that the French government has to stop the Media

In France Media sites will be fined if they post the results of an election before 8p.m. The reason for this it because the poles do not close until eight. Other countries though do not abide by these rules and give an unofficial count of the votes and a projected winner.

To fight this law the people of France took to Twitter in code to talk about the results  of the presidential race. As the New York Times decodes the Twits as such

"The flan stood for François Hollande, the Socialist favorite, who finished the evening in the lead, with about 28 percent of the votes in the first of two rounds of voting. (Before losing weight for his presidential bid, the jovial Mr. Hollande had been known in some circles as “Flanby,” a brand of jiggly French custard.) The tomato was the far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose Left Front party was largely composed of communists — thus the red fruit reference. He finished with a disappointing 11 percent."

This is important to understand because social media could be changing the way voting is. In a CNN article by Alice Antheaume titled "Why social media will reveal French election winner,"  she talks about how social media is changing the way of politics but not how we might think.

Antheaume wrote

"The 2012 campaign has proved a pivotal moment in political history: for the first time, the Web and social media are part of all candidates' strategy -- from Nicolas Sarkozy (center right) to Hollande (center left), Jean-Luc Mélenchon (far left) to Marine Le Pen (far right) and Eva Joly (Green)."

This shows that politicians are using social media to help try to win votes. Sometimes this has been proven affective but more often than not, they have not figured out to make a facebook "like" into a yes vote. According to Antheaume she believes that  ""Can an election be won on social media?" is: in France in 2012, most probably "no". However, the question: "Can social media predict the name of the next French president?" calls for a positive answer." I agree with her on this but i also believe that in time social media sites will start to show pull for certain politicians.

Spotify: Reaching Out to the Global Market

At a press event in New York City the founder and CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, announced that they will be partnering up with the beverage giant, Coca Cola.  The purpose of the unlikely partnership is to promote the music service on a global scale as well as advertise Coca Cola to bring up revenue.

To join forces with a hundred plus year old company that is known world wide would be considered by many as the collaboration of a life time.  Yet, Ek expressed that, "this partnership is just as important as the Facebook relationship for us" as reported by PC Magazine.

As for Coke, they are no strangers when it comes to working with the music industry.  According to Ad Age, they've have been using music to attract the younger crowd due to this demographic:

"teens are projected to represent one-third of the global population by 2020. The U.S., China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan are expected to have half of the teen-age population by then."

This statement clarifies why Coke would want to work with Spotify.  In addition, ABC News reporter Tina Trinh, further explains Coca Cola's logic to working with Spotify:

"By renewing its focus on technology and aligning itself with a music service used by young adults, Coca-Cola is attempting to stay relevant to young consumers and their changing musical tastes."

In the coming months, Daniel Ek also announced that they will be adding brand apps onto their Spotify desktop app to allow its users access to new music.  They've made plans to work with Coca Cola, McDonald's, AT&T and other brands as they expand their business to the global community.  

One could say that Spotify is lucky to work with these well known companies, but i feel they are lucky to work with Spotify.  Although, these companies that are collaborating with Spotify are much more known, Spotify's business caters to the majority of the population whether they are well known or not.

 

 

Tupac resurrected

Deceased (or allegedly so) rapper Tupac made his return the other day at the Coachella festival. But, how is this possible if the rapper had passed away in 1996? The Rolling Stone says that with a whole lot of money, a little help from a company called 'AV Concepts' and Digital Domain, and an idea bought about by Dr. Dre, the rapper made his debut back on stage.... as a hologram.

In a MTV article, Smith, owner of AV concepts says it was all Dr. Dre:

We worked with Dr. Dre on this and it was Dre's vision to bring this back to life," said Nick Smith, president of AV Concepts, the San Diego company that created the hologram. "It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life."

AV Concepts, has done similar work. The company did work for the Grammy's making the holograms for the group the Gorillaz possible. In the same MTV article, Smith says that this could possibly lead to something bigger than a simple hologram:

"I can't say how much that event cost, but I can say it's affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country," he said.

The Tupac hologram is already taking over the media as the hologram has its own Twitter account with 11,922 followers, probably growing by the minute. Is it possible that maybe holograms will be the go to for artists unable to perform, or maybe unwilling to perform? An article in Business Week states that other holograms were successful but Tupac's performance is the closest thing to raising the dead. Who's next? Business Week guesses Elvis. But Ed Ulbich, Digital Domain's chief creative officer say's it doesnt seem to promising to see the King swinging again:

“While we’ve demonstrated that we can certainly do that,” says Ulbrich, “that’s not really our business model.” Instead, he’s more excited by the fact that such a realistic hologram was created in just a few months. “It took us two years to do Benjamin Button,” he said. “Now that we’ve developed the tools to do this, we can start to look at other applications—advertising, commercial work; until now things like this haven’t been feasible.” 

Looks can be deceiving- are your favorite artists on stage real, or just a hologram?