Spring Cleaning My Research Topic

At first when I set out on my journey of trying to find an interesting and not so ordinary topic that will excite me I wanted to focus completely on the authenticity of citizen journalism, but over the weekend I have discovered that my topic is a little difficult to research.  I began my research by using the archives and sources through the online San Jose State Library database.  Since I have used this database may times, I decided to stick with the sites that I know I can depend on for quality information.  A few of the sites I looked into were CQ Researcher, JSTOR, ProQuest and MLA Bibliography.  At first when I started my resarch, I became quite discouraged because no articles immediately came up regarding "citizen journalism."  Instead of becoming completely frustrated with the several different search outcomes I decided that I needed to expand my vocabulary in the search in order to encompass a larger field of online journalism since the phrase "citizen
journalism" is quite new and perhaps non-existent in many
(Image borrowed from: http://www.math.hmc.edu/~tucker/math104/resources.html)
 of the articles that are a few years old.  I have decided that instead of focusing completely on an already formulated thesis on what I am trying to prove, I need to allow room for flexibility.  So far I have picked six articles that range from blogging to how online journalism is taking over written journalism.  When working on my annotated bibliography I continue to go back and forth between wanting to stick with my intital topic of the authenticity in citizen journalism and how the online world of community journalism is quickly taking over print journalism, since I have been finding more and more articles involving this domination of the new over the old.  Well I am off to read more of my articles for the bib.....

Cheers to You with my Imaginary Guinness!

In my previous post, I talked about the idea of "gatewatching" from chapter four of Axel Bruns' book which focuses on how online public communities contribute to citizen journalism.  In this particular chapter, Bruns seems to look at citizen journalism in a positive way and later on discusses how the public's active involvement in writing has completely transformed over the years.  Originally writing primarily occurred in school and now there is a complete shift: the majority of literacy emerges from writing that takes place outside of school.  In contrast to Jay David Bolter's book, Writing Space, Bruns' perspective is much more realistic becuase of the time period in which the book was written.  Bolter's book was published nine years ago, prior to the extreme public shift into the online world of avatars and status updates.  When looking at chapter eight Critical Theory, Bolter seems to have a negative outlook on the developing world of technology and the public's involvement/interest in that world.  Although the chapter is divided into a few different parts, I focused primarily on the (Image borrowed from:http://openvein.com/art/vforvendetta/) section titled THE END OF AUTHORITY. Even in the title alone, I can sense Bolter's fear of this loss of authority.  In the beginning of the section he talks about how popular culture now welcomes casual and unauthoritative sites rather than sites with real significance.  Later on in the section on p. 169 he writes, "The relationship between the author, the text and the world represented is made more complicated by the addition of the reader as an active participant."  In comparison to Bruns, who encourages the involovement of public communities and online users to create the product of citizen journalism, Bolter seems to fear the participation of everyday average Joes as active users and authors in the online world.  In the end, it seems to me like the chapter in Bruns will be more helpful in my research rather than Bolter's ideas which are dated and reject the idea of user participation as a significant part of the online world.   

(Image borrowed from: http://maxdunbar.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/here-comes-the-fear/)

Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Citizen Journalism...

I have been thinking a whole bunch about what I am going to write about for this research paper.  I have narrowed my ideas into a general topic relating to the authenticity of the every day Joe writer.  My exploration of Digg.com has greatly influenced this vague topic that I have stumbled upon.  There are so many exisiting conflicting ideas out there on whether or not sites like Digg are authentic and reflect an expert opinion or scholarly writing.  I have come to decide that Digg is absolutely not a site that is meant for purely expert-type writing, but rather it is a place where truth occurs.  The truth is told about the world, from the biggest events to the smallest often seemingly insignificant stories about everyday people and happenings.  But that is okay...at least in my opinion.   (Image borrowed from: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/r/regurgitating.asp)The first paper topic/question that I came up with is: Can "citizen journalism" ever be taken as expert journalism?  The second topic that I pondered is: Does "citizen journalism" contain authenticity or is it simply a regurgitation of previously stated ideas from another person/group/site?   The third idea that I thought of reflects on some of the ideas inside from chapter four in Axel Bruns' book, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond. When talking about the term "gatewatching" Bruns talks about how communities are the filters and drive of "citizen journalism sites." So my final and I think most intriguing possible paper topic is: Does the everyday person and online community on "citizen journalism sites" help to expand the growth of information and articles or does the citizen involvement hinder the authenticity of the information on "citizen journalism sites?"

.......on that note and with the lovely music notes of my sleeping boyfriend, I bid you, cyber world, a very well goodnight.

I Pre-Apologize.....

My favorite and most memorable sing-a-long song from the Barenaked Ladies:

.....Chickity China the Chinese chicken
You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'
Watchin' X-Files with no lights on
We're dans la maison
I hope the Smoking Man's in this one
Like Harrison Ford I'm getting frantic
Like Sting I'm tantric
Like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy......


"One Week"  has been ingrained in my brain ever since I stole this cd from my sister some time back in the wonderful 90's.  To many this song is simply forgetable but I personally consider it a classic.

All You Can Eat Buffet

I have come to love Digg.  It is a site that reminds me of a chocolate labrador.  Chocolate labs are known to be the biggest spazzes in the labrador family.  Good luck trying to teach them to shake, sit, get the paper or simply stop jumping on company coming over to visit.  Digg.com is much like a chocolate lab, a little scatter-brained, a little bit of a spazz and often has difficulty staying focused on important tasks that need to be done.  At first when I started to explore the site over a week ago, I knew right off that it isn't a very scholarly or organized site, which are qualities that I thought I would immediately hate.  But quickly, I developed a rather likeable taste for its slight disfunctionality.  Just like a chocolate lab, Digg.com is loveable and the more disfunctional and odd it becomes, the more I want to love it.

Another criteria that I want to include in my list of grading the site is social access.  Beyond the disfunctionality is is organization throughout the site.  Although there are a few random stories here and there regarding umbrellas and cool pictures of Jello (Image taken from Chicagonow.com), there also exists useful information about important thing within the technology realm, the environment and world news.  Because of this multi-faceted quality, the site allows every user to have social access.  Users have access to the latest breaking news stories because other users have conveniently provided them with a quick and easy link.  Users of the site are not only able to access the site to see and hear about popular news stories but the site also provides social networking.  Users have the chance to interact with other users by using the comment feature and within the comments for every article post there is also an available option for users to digg the actual comment written about the original article that was dug.  Opinions are everywhere which is one of the qualities I love most about the site.  One opinion/comment leads to another and another, thus creating a virtual social world.

                                               (Image taken from http://www.ageofarmour.com/3d/images/present.jpg)
A criteria quality that I thought about in class today is accessibility.  Does the site allow users to access what they need to know and in a time efficient manner? Absolutely.  Instead of having to poke around through a bunch of different windows, Digg conveniently provides a main page where the most popular dug stories can be found.  There's no need to take quality time out of your day to search three different sites for the news and information you need because everything is sealed up in a tiny neat little package on the main page.  Too bad everything in life can't be put into such a neat package.

In the end, my review of Digg.com all boils down to this:
-Random/Obscure
-It is both a writing space and a writing tool.  Space-wise, you have the oppurtunity to show others something you personally find intriguing.  And Digg acts as a tool because it is a site that is both useful and allows readers to find what they need to know when they need it and within a time efficient manner.
-It is a site of leisure.  Some people consider this quality to be a bad thing but I digg it.  It does offer stories and information that are meant for purely entertainment means and pleasure but it also provides stories that are more serious and fact/knowledge based.

                                            (Image taken from http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/virginia/2009/07/10/den-summer-webinars-updated)

 My favorite overall quality about the site is that it doesn't tell You what you have to read, but rather you have the opportunity and relationship space to explore whatever you please.  There are no strict guidelines directing you like a nagging spouse but rather you have Freedom.  And freedom is such a beautiful thing.  Personally I give the site a solid A. Look past the scatter brained chocolate lab qualities that the site can often have at first glance and imagine the world of Digg as if it is a food buffet with endless choices and possibilities.     (Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/unnamed/47093936/)

Life is a Garden, Digg it!

At first I was a strong advocate of defining the differences between a writing tool and a writing space, but I have come to realize a red flag needs to be thrown out onto the field of this debate.  Okay well maybe it's a yellow flag, forgive me, I don't follow football unless my boyfriend forces me to watch a Green Bay game and even though I always watch the Superbowl, I am always doing homework on the floor paying little attention to the game and only look up at the good commercials.  Hilarious.  But if any of you saw the original E-Trade commercial a year or so ago when he talks about hiring the clown and "underestimating the creepiness of clowns," that was hands down the best but "Milk-a-what?!" is pretty hilarious too.  Laughter = the foundation of life.  But back to the flag throwing.  I was trying  so hard to personally define for myself in my own mind the (Image from Cafepress.com) difference between a writing tool and a writing space, but a few days ago I threw a time out flag in my own game of obstacles and heavy hitting line backers.  I have come to discover that I need to stop trying to define them as two separate things but rather accept them as one because they contribute to the technologically driven world in such similar ways.

Personally I have a few requirements or rather criteria that are involved when determining if something is a writing space/tool:
1. Communication to a broader audience.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide spaces in which users can write their thoughts for a broader audience to view.  Initially I considered Twitter to be simply a tool because it is often used for rather insignificant means like telling someone that you ate Pinkberry for the first time.  Although seemingly insignificant, it communicates to a broader audience nonetheless and therefore becomes not only a tool but also a space.
2. Anything online in which someone writes a comment I consider a writting tool/space.  The new site Digg, that I have been looking into is the determiner to my conclusion that anything written online in this web-connected cobweb we call the internet is both a tool and a space.  I may sound a little out there but try to stay with me.  Stay at home moms write reviews of a new baby crib on Target.com.  Their review is written in a space or area where there are lots of other mothers just like them who judge the quality and dependability of the particular crib, thus they are writing in a space that is suitable to their lifestyle and personal home environment.  The space in which the online reviews take place is also a tool that assists others in similar environments to discover the quality of a particular thing.  This type of judgment and rating system takes place all over the internet from "like" comments on Facebook to "thumbs up" comments on Digg.  Ordinary people just like us have the chance to see how smart certain celebrities can be sometimes.  This story was digged or rather dug (?) 200+ times.  The cool thing that I like about Digg is that ordinary people/users just like you and me have a chance to make the front page for millions of people to see.  Submit something intriguing that sparks the interest in other users on the site and if enough other users "digg" it then it will be promoted as a headliner on the main page.  A moment of allowed celebrity-ness?  A chance to shine?  I digg it.  It's like the shinning spotlight we missed out on getting throughout all those years of pitiful elementary stage performances that our loving parents have one VHS video tape to show at our wedding rehearsal dinner  a few years from now.

.......Sorry about the tangent, I tend to pull those out quite often so be prepared.  My point with the second point is that any area on this world wide web whether it be a WOW fansite or a movie rating site, where you have the oppurtunity to write something that is personal from your own mind, I believe is a writing space and a tool simultaneously because you are giving your opinion, which others can view, even if your opinion comes in the form of a click-able thumbs up.

 

(Image taken from http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2009/10/thumbs-up-on-orange-line-this-morning.html)

From a Lobster Headdress to an Ice Cream Cone Shaped Piece of Pizza....what a night!

Call me old fashion and perhaps a little lazy, but I enjoy my easily accessible technology tools.  I tend to stick to three major tools: Yahoo, Microsoft Word and everyone's favorite....FACEBOOK!  It is so easy to log on to my little white Apple laptop, sign onto Firefox, check out the latest news on the Yahoo homepage and then proceed to open up Facebook and Microsoft Word, only to secretly stalk my friend's newly posted pictures from the party last weekend, in an all out effort to procrastinate my Chaucer essay for as long as possible.  Sure I'll check out the top local news as well the four major stories on the front page, but there is always a part of me that yells "DON'T DO IT!  TURN AWAY FROM THE DARKNESS, DON'T LET IT CONSUME YOU!" For the most part, I resist my internal voices and continue to indulge in such gluttony as an amazing lobster headpiece worn by Lady Gaga.  Fun fact about lobsters in restaurants and especially in those fun-looking lobster tanks every child loves: the moment the lobster enters into the restaurant, the place lets the lobster starve in order for his/her internal track to be clear of any unusual brown substance that may taint the lovely rich white meat beneath the bright red shell upon consumption.  Is it odd to be eating an anorexic lobster? Absolutely.

Although I completely enjoy useless, images, gossip and unnecessary facts, like the one's my boyfriend informs me of that originate from the top of his lunchtime Snapple bottles, I have become bored with the same old same old stuff I see on Yahoo and Facebook.  My new challenge in my English 105 class is to try out a new technology that exists as either an electronic space or electronic tool.  I decided to give Digg a shot.  Never tried it myself and have never heard of it.  A shot in the dark perhaps, but hey it's worth a shot.  On my first gallivant around the site I discovered another completely awesome, yet useless piece of information.  Pizza cones exist!!!!!! Who whould have thunk it?  From my first look at this new writing space/tool I think that it just might in fact become my favorite new place to look at content on the web.  What's next?  Perhaps an article on pizza flavored ice cream?  (Eh, knowing how crazy people are, it has probably already been done.)

 

(Image taken from TwobyTwobyTwo website)