Systematic Destruction

Well, the term is over and my final project was publically viewed at Lawrence University today. Jinglie and I worked extremely hard for ten weeks to construct this music video. I truthfully think the ending result was beyond amazing. It was a joy to work with Jinglie, he really is stylish in everything he does. To Azati Williams and Corey Torres, the artists who helped create the song, I thank  you as well. This video was such a major collaboration assignment and I enjoyed every moment of it. The rendering on Final Cut Express was not always fun, but it was worth it.  

Gentrification

Strikes our nation making it,

Better? No. Far worse.

“Systematic Destruction” is the title the music video Jinglie and I showed for our final piece. The video begins with a poetry slam between myself and Azati Williams. During the poetry slam, we chose to keep the background black and have different words that were being spoken appear in the background. I think this aspect of the video was captivating, intriguing and creative. Once this part of the video was over, we entered into the actual music video section of the video. Throughout the video we showed various parts of Chicago along with different alleys and graffiti images. The video was very stylish, full of color, and still delivered the overall message. Check out the video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZYdQju6Bus

Hype and Us

This week I researched an artist that related to my final project. Harold “Hype” Williams is a well known music video director today and has been for close to twenty years. He was born in Queens, New York in 1970. Hype attended an art and music high school and completed some of college. There is not much background information on Hype as a child. However, the work he has created through the years is absolutely incredible! His style and concept he places in all of his videos are intriguing to watch. As a student, I can only wish and hope to be as successful as Hype is today, seeing that I want to pursue the same profession.

In class, we presented a brief presentation about our artist we chose to research. I chose to show this video by Hype that stirred up some conversation among my peers. I chose this video because it related the most to the concept of out video. Gentrification is a serious issue, and so are the Blood Diamonds in Sierra Leone.  Check it out.

Hype is also known for directing singer/actor Aaliyah’s last video titled “Rock the Boat”. Shortly after the shoot was over her plane crashed as she was heading back to the states from an island on the Atlantic coast. Here is her last video before she passed, directed by Hype.

Another aspect that Hype did really well was market himself through artists’ videos. I think this is really clever. Here is a video where his name constantly is flashing through the production.

I can go on and on with videos by Hype. Research says that he has made 196 videos in counting and that is not including some of his most recent work, like “Turn off the Lights” by Kanye West ft. Rihanna and “Not Myself Tonight” by Christina Aguilera. He is truly a remarkable artist. I only wish our work will turn out just as successful.

On another note, I thought that Kristen was a great guest earlier this week. She was perfect for many of us to hear from, especially the seniors. I have had trouble trying to decide what my next steps would be once I graduated from Lawrence. It was great to get some insight from an alumni that is just getting her foot in the door. She gave great advice, and was just an overll cool person.

Gentrification video

This week I did not look into any major artists. Instead, I focused more on my own project that will be premiering March 11, 2011 in the cinema at Lawrence University. Jinglie and I have had an entire week of editing, but for some reason I do not feel like we are far enough in this process. However, I am currently in Chicago getting some more shots for our video. All together we have about two more studio filming sessions with the green screen, and one day to do straight shots of different scenes. Jinglie really has this massive, stylish vision for our music video. I do as well, but I focus more on the content than the style. We both have a similar vision; we are just focusing on different aspects of it. I think our ideas are creative and inspiring. With both of our intellect combined, we will create a video that makes a statement and is still full of style.
On a different note, our product is complete and on sale at Zazzle.com. We are selling posters online for 9.95. Please go on to this website and check out the design we created on Photoshop. Here is what the poster looks like, with the exception of a few titles.

 

The Internet Exploding

So this week I read articles by Jorge Borges, Bill Viola, and Tim Berners-Lee. After reading their points of view of the Internet, I was not at all in shock. What I received from the readings was that the Internet would soon power our society. Were they wrong? Think about it. At Lawrence University, when the network is down for hours, students and faculty both are loosing their minds. Sad, but it is true.

The World Wide Web is so much more advanced today; it can link so many different themes in one passage, like a blog. I sit here and think about the different social networking spaces that are available to the world, and how hypertext and HTML have both contributed to the Internet exploding the way it has. For the purpose of my final project, we have to come up with a product and sell it. Jinglie, my partner, and I have decided to create posters and T-Shirts and sell them at a launch party. In order for any of this to be successful, we desperately need the Internet. The web is this cycle that our society tends to rely on. 

Ray and Mary Jane Jacob

Ray Johnson and Mary Jane Jacob both struck me as impressive artists in the 20th and 21st century. In my previous blogs I have explained how I can appreciate experimental art, however some pieces I can not connect with on a personal level. With Johnson and Jacob's work, I can relate to many of their pieces, which makes their work more enjoyable for me.

After watching, "How to Draw a Bunny", a documentary about Ray Johnson, I took a trip with my class to Depere, Wisconsin to visit a "Ray Johnson Art Gallery" in a man's bathroom. Bizarre? Yes, it seemed that way to me as well. However, after taking the trip I was excited about Ray Johnson all over again. I enjoyed Johnson's collages that he formed through silhouettes of different artists and ordinary people. He was extremely talented, but some of his work, I couldn't understand. I am starting to be more understanding to art that I do not understand, but some art still is just way out there.

Mary Jane Jacob is that artist I have been looking foward to reading and hearing from all term. Jacob came to Lawrence University to speak about different collaborations she has done and her experiences as a whole in the art industry. I particulary found her work with the Charleston area to be really touching. Basically, she collaborates with different artists and they express different emotions that are still present post Civil War and Civil Rights Movement. She spoke about a plantation home that still has its space in that town, yet other homes are being torn down. This related first hand with my project. The issues of gentrification in Chicago has its similarities to some of Jacob's work, which made it more interesting to listen to.

Life Is Art

Allan Kaprow is an interesting character that I learned about this past week. Last week, I briefly discussed the fluxus movement and what it meant to be a fluxus artist. I have not come across many fluxus artists in my studies here at Lawrence, but I can say I enjoy it. It is something different, and outside of “the box”. Some people may wonder how could I possibly enjoy Kaprow’s work and not like Bueys from last week. Honestly, there is something about Kaprow’s work that is intriguing in a way, involving his audience in his pieces. Bueys was just simply disgusting. I understand that his work was relating to his emotional pain from being imprisoned and involved in WWII, which possibly is why I cannot relate to it. One piece I didn’t like of Kaprow’s was the housewives licking the jam off of the car. I personally think it’s entertaining and captivating, but I am a firm believer in things being sanitary as well. Art can be beautiful and magnificent without being gross.

Kaprow is a performance artist in a different way. When you think of performance art, one would think of some sort of action being done by the artist, like in my piece. In my final project, Jingle and I are piecing together a poetry performance piece with a music video. In both of those pieces, we have artists performing for the audience. In Kaprow’s pieces, the audience is the art itself. I find that to be intriguing, but I think it can only be done once. If another artist was to try to duplicate Kaprow, I wouldn’t consider it art.  

Here is an example of some spoken word poetry, and the type of performance art we will deliver through video.

Beuys Art

Joseph Beuys is complicated. There is not one word that can really describe him as a person, or his work. The idea of Fluxus is basically any and everything in life is art. As an artist, I can appreciate other artists and their works, but the idea of Fluxus is hard to accept as true art. Perhaps I look at life like I am human first, and an artist second. The very things that humans take for granted in everyday  life is what some consider to be art. I can appreciate this idea, at the same time I firmly disagree with it.

What is art to one person can be complete garbage to another. Take for instance my project; Many people can agree with me that a music video and poetry are both pieces of art. The type of music that I recorded for this project is Hip-Hop. Some people truly admire the music and really enjoy it, while others can not stand the very sound of it. Similar to Beuys, although some do not enjoy Hip-Hop, they can not deny that it is a form of art. Outside of this, there is not much of a connection between my piece and Beuys's style of art.

Beuys has my respect as an artist, but I dislike his work. One piece I just could not wrap my head around is the "Dead Hare" piece. I did not see any point at all in this piece, and it was rather disgusting. Here is a picture.    

Stroszek Similarities

Last week I briefly discussed Werner Herzog and one of his many films, Stroszek. Last week I had seen majority of the film with commentary. This week, I viewed the film in its entirety without any commentary. It had a different affect, however, I couldn’t help but remember side notes the director said in the commentary when I was watching the film throughout. The ending of the film was quit clever to say the least. The impact that Herzog left on viewers, both American and to other’s worldwide was out of the ordinary. It was far from horrible, but not necessarily your “fairy tale” ending. I say this is brilliant because of a few reasons. Americans are known to be accustomed to the “happy ending syndrome”. We love it when two people fall in love and live happily ever after, like in Notebook.

We admire films when fathers are willing to sacrifice their life to stand up against the system like in John Q.  

What Herzog said was, No! America is not all peaches and cream. Sure, it is the land of the free, and the perfect place to go from “rags to riches”, but life does not always happen that way.

In my project, I can relate to the message that Herzog was trying to convey. Gentrification is a serious issue, but some do not look at it as such. People have certain ways of thinking that tearing down buildings and homes in poverty stricken areas is a good thing because the new buildings will help those communities. That is not always the case. Building new buildings and raising taxes creates the issue of people not being able to afford their homes, and being evicted. Some people get a little money from the government, but that money is only going to go so far.

Influences from Herzog

Werner Herzog is a German filmmaker with a different style of directing. As a potential director myself, I find Herzog to be rather intriguing, to say the least, particularly with his approach in the film Stroszek. A few days ago I viewed this film with the commentary and discovered so much in depth of his vision. There are major sections in the film that is improvisational, completely off script. There are different locations in the movie that Herzog decided to capture in the spare of the moment. To put the cherry on top, out of all places in America to film a movie, Plainfield, Wisconsin was where he shot much of the film. Why not Chicago, Illinois? Why not Los Angeles, California? Why not New York City? I think Herzog had a perception of America being this place where immigrants come for that typical “Rags to Riches” story. Interesting enough, our main character’s dreams of success in America didn’t come true.

  In chapter 5 of a reading titled, “Herzog on Herzog”, Werner said, “Musical influences have always been very strong, maybe the strongest. He went on by saying he does not read much, but when he does, it is always a very intense experience. He especially likes poetry by Holderlin. I thought that was ironic because I too am influenced by music. For the purpose of my final project, both poetry and music are deep elements to the entire project. Music and poetry does not just influence the piece, it is my piece. Herzog collaborated with magnificent artists, such as Bruno S, so will I. Jinglei Xiao, who is a classmate of mine, has agreed to collaborate with me on this project. With his extraordinary editing skills, and both of our creative minds, there’s no telling what the finished project will convey. However, I can say this much, it will be revelating.          

Do Everything - Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is an artistic genius to so many people worldwide. His witty intellect and stylish domineer influenced so many artists during his time, as well as now in the 21^st century. I recently viewed the last hour or so of a documentary about Warhol’s life. His life choices were daring, risky, and I am convinced that that mindset rewarded him with successful films and paintings, as well as the issues that come with being famous. Like many famous people, Warhol experienced a near death experience that briefly blocked his creative juices. After Warhol was shot, he created a project that accumulated millions of dollars. In his early days, he created the painting for the Campbell’s soup Ad. 

He made money from simple art people take for granted. Later in his career, after he was shot, he used a similar pattern, creating famous celebrity paintings that reined at the top of pop art culture. He made 100 million dollars for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. Pablo Picasso and very few other artists have only reached that mark. 

Warhol said, “Do Everything”. He said it, and firmly stood by it, as he created paintings, digital pieces, films, worked with rock bands, and more. My digital project is a lot like Warhol’s “Do everything” theme. For approximately five minutes I plan on presenting a poetry performance piece about different issues I think are significant in America, then it will fade into a music video related to the same topic. In my short video I will have directed, produced, performed, and edited a project that the world could view on the web.  Warhol said everything, my project is very close to that.

Back to Natural...

Synopsis: A short informational video, addressing the issue African – American women encompass with the image of their hair. 

Statement of Purpose: As a society we are constantly over-flooded with imagery, and what they consider to be beautiful. From designer pumps to Gucci and Channel purses, technology is always projecting these images of what it means to be beautiful; But who really creates these rules? For my project, I chose to create a brief video, concentrating on what it means to be a beautiful black woman.

Jill Scott is a poet and a Soul artist who refrains from putting chemicals in her hair. It is not often that she is in the media, but when she is, her image seems to be humble and wise. She is an example of one who distributes beauty within, and embraces her natural looks.      

In the 70's', African Americans were uplifting their natural looks and rebelling against different politicians, and other Caucasions in high powered positions. The Black Panthers was a major part of the Afro epidemic among the black culture in the 70's. Here is photo of the late Michael Jackson sporting his afro, and George W. Bush, being photoshoped with an afro. Although the photo of Bush is meant to be funny, it is also humilating to African  American culture.

Since past generations, society has had this notion that straight hair is more beautiful and socially accepted than Corse and curly hair. In response to this belief, several of African American women put chemicals (perm) in their naturally curly hair to make it straighter and more socially acceptable. To deliver my perception on this dilemma, I chose to interview junior Ashley Dowdy, who has recently returned her hair to its natural essence. Her story is intriguing. To watch my video, click on this link, (Back to Natural), or, you can watch it below.

Manovich and New Media

Do you know your new media history? Well I certainly did not before reading Lev Manovich’s article titled, “New Media from Borges to HTML” in the New Media Reader. Manovich’s article is the opening to this anthology of new media that he also considers to be a radical new history of modern culture. Manovich writes, “a view from the future when people will recognize that the true cultural innovators of the last decades of the twentieth century were interface designers, computer game designers, music video directors and DJs – rather than painters, filmmakers, or fiction writers, whose fields remained relatively stable during this historical period.” He then breaks down the what exactly new media is into eight different propositions which include: New Media versus Cyberculture, New Media as Computer Technology Used as a Distribution Platform, New Media as a Digital Data Controlled by software, New Media as the Mix Between Existing Cultural Conventions and the Conventions of software, and he elaborates on the New media and how it relates to four more subjects throughout his article.

 Rhizome is a content magnet and delivery system that exposes the entire site. (The content, structure, and metadata). So, instead of just creating a site with URL’s that correspond to a page of HTML, you can create URLs that represent just about anything, and this is what our internet has come to today. In other words, everything is intertwined with one another, and the New Media is growing faster than ever. I think it is amazing, especially how Manovich visions the future as people looking back at computer game designers and music video directors as the radical new history of modern culture. That puts the image in me that we are creating history now. In three hundred years, sure someone will still be teaching Picasso, but they also will be teaching Hype Williams.

Video Art with Bill Viola

Bill Viola is by far one of the most important and vital artists in the 21^st century. He is a video artist, taking a contemporary approach to all of his creations. Viola is honorable in that he bases so much of his work on either birth, death, or the human consciousness. I can be honest in saying that researching him, I never was drawn to boredom. Although his work may seem a bit over the top with spirituality, that is exactly his method and what he is pushing for. Viola believes we live in a visual society and that images are our global language. Some of his work is incredibly beautiful, some of it is rather odd. Nevertheless, all of his work is inspirational, thriving with his visions, ideas, and what he feels is important for society to understand. I created a brief slideshow to show some examples of Bill Viola’s work and his concepts. I included some of his works that impacted millions of people, such as “The Raft”, as well as some work that many have possibly never heard of, like “Four Hands”.  

In so much of his work, Viola seems to have a strong obsession with water in his films.  In the slide show I chose to show “The Raft”, “Ocean’s Without a Shore”, and “Two Women”, all near each other to show his infatuation with water. Here is a brief example of  “Ocean’s Without a Shore”.  



 Recently, I had discussed how the medium is the message. Bill Viola responded in a interview with ,“Any time there’s a new development in the medium there are new creative possibilities”. I completely agree, and you can clearly see Viola expresses this through his work.

The Medium Is the Message

"Today when we want to get our bearings in our own culture, and have need to stand aside from the bias and pressure exerted by any technical form of human expression, we have only to visit a society where that particular form has not been felt, or a historical period in which it was unknown." Marshall McLuhan is a fascinating individual. I read a brief article in the book, "The New Media Reader", written by McLuhan, that opened my mind to different ideas about how I precieve different mediums. His ideas in his article titled, "The Medium Is the Message", are interesting, to say the very least. McLuhan has a certain style of writing about present technology and how it compares to earlier technology. Aside from this, he also has a very strong belief that any form of media is always a combination of another media. I fully agree with his concept. Here are a few pictures of differnt mediums doing more than one task at the same time.

Today, almost all media is made up of another media, from television, to IPods. I tried thinking outside the box by going as far back as books, in saying that this is one form of media that content is not another media. In some cases this point would be valid, but nowadays, there are so many books that contain works by a collaboration of different authors that I am convinced that argument will soon no longer exist. McLuhan also brought up a point that technology acts as an extension to our body. I thought this was a very original and clever way of forming an idea that so many others have also had, but could never articulate in this fashion. I have heard people say technology influences society, and I have heard people talk about the positives and negatives in how technology advances so rapidly. I have yet to hear anyone argue McLuhan's argument, and yet I see his argument in so many other's. I find this to be ironic, considering one of his main arguments was how no media is without some form of another media. Does this have the same affect with ideas?  

"Mic Check, 1, 2" Hip-Hop Technology and Society

Filming and editing are hobbies that I enjoy greatly. After reading an article titled "The Technology and the Society", by Raymond Williams, our task as a class was to create three videos of our own, with certain restrictions, that would convey an idea regarding technology and society. I have a very strong relationship with Hip - Hop as a culture, so I decided to focus on the technology of Hip - Hop and how it evolved through time. 

My first video is titled, "I Wake Up to Hip - Hop". It is a simple one minute video showing myself in the morning preparing for my day, while listening to a Hip - Hop classic, "You're All I Need", by Method Man and Mary J. Blige. The music with what I chose to frame myself around really brought my video to life. In the background there is a poster of Michael Jackson and Kobe Bryant. I am wearing a shirt with the face of George Jefferson on it and one of his famous quotes from the TV series, " The Jeffersons". I chose to surround myself with African - American's who have all influenced or have been influenced by Hip - Hop in some way. The camera acts as a mirror in my room. 

My second video is titled, "Hip - Hop Technology, From When It Was Sweet". This video is all found footage. I chose to combine Hip - Hop Culture, both New School and Old School to show the variety of the Hip - Hop form. From round groups in a cypher, to Jay-Z bleeding from your speakers, to graffiti artists, the technology in Hip - Hop has strongly impacted society. 

My Third and final video is titled, "Hip - Hop Technology, Sweeter Than Ever". In this video I combined found footage with some of my own to get across a message about Hip - Hop culture from its roots. I chose to go completely Old School, from artists like Kid  & Play and Dougie Fresh. I enjoyed creating this video the most because it brought me to a place when the music was pure, real, and fun.  

REMIX and Frank Lewis

Frank Lewis is an instructor at Lawrence University; He is also my instructor for the course , “History of Photography”. Tonight he lectured a group of scholars in the Wriston Auditorium at Lawrence regarding the concept of the history of photography and how early labor was recorded and documented through this new media. Lewis briefly explained how photography was invented in 1839 by L.J . M Daguerre, and since then, it expanded to so many different conventions. Since I am enrolled in Lewis’s History of Photography course the lecture served more of a review for me than it did for others. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the concept and the art gallery showing that followed his presentation.

On a different note, “Remix – Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy” by Lawrence Lessig was a very interesting and entertaining article to read. As young artists in the course, Digital Processes, we are in the process of “remixing” video projects reflecting technology and society. Lessig began his argument by describing an old classmate of his. His colleague Ben would always do exceptionally well on his essays because, “every paragraph was constructed through quotes” Lessig said. He went on in his article asking certain questions like why do authors become offended when a student asks to use a quote from their writing. Lessig made it very clear in his article that remixing writing is different than remixing digital. Personally, I agree. Writing is something that is so original that to tap into one’s work with words can make someone a bit sensitive. However, if you are quoting words from other artists and then backing them up with your own facts, well, is that not how almost all scholars write today? We remix almost everything, from songs to papers. I will even argue that most of the time we do it unconsciously.

This is a example of two hit songs collaborating, remixing to expand across two different genres.

Technology and Society

From an invention as a result of scientific and technical research, to a medium of entertainment and news, television has come a long way. After reading a article by Raymond Williams titled "The Technology and the Society", published in the book "The New Media Reader", I obtained so much more information on technology and how it relates to society. Williams wrote that television was no single event or series of events when it was invented, but instead, it depended on a complex of inventions and developments in electricity, telegraphy, photography & motion picture, and radio. Many people can make the argument that television influences our society. Television shows people how to feel, how to kiss, the different joys and hells that come with life. So in this aspect, technology is influencing society everyday, showing us how to react to different situations from a television set. This goes beyond television, though Williams article is perfect justification for my argument. What do you think?

There were several videos I viewed that related to technology and the society. Stan Brackhage created short clips of abstract objects by placing these things on a reel of film. I found it to be clever and interesting to see what his perception of art can be using film. Last week I wrote about how dreadful and god awful the film "Decasia" was. Ironically enough, Brackhage's films were much more enjoyable and they come from the same style. Perhaps it was the length of the films and the fact that they were silent. The silence gave his work much more of an opportunity for his viewers to create their own interpretation. If music was added, it would have been too much for one to absorb. Here is a video of "The Garden of Earthly Delights".

Although I can appreciate the belief that everyone is an artist and art can be created just by different things in your environment, William Wegman's work did not stand out as art, in my opinion. Sure, his videos were hilarious and original, but is that really all it takes to be an artist today? And if that is true, is it all it takes to be considered a damn good artist? I feel like there is a difference. What do you think? On a different note, I enjoy his photography. Here are a few photos.         

                                                                            

Mashups and Stuff

Taking existing art then turning it into something that is your own is certainly art within itself. Do I always enjoy those collages of different art - works mashing together to be something different? Not really. The film, "Decasia", for me, was somewhat a waste of film. John and Julia asked if the film from the video should have been saved from melting away, and my response was that it certainly shouldn't have. Perhaps I do not fully appreciate vintage film but "Decasia" was just a on - going head ace for me. I feel like the music playing through out was the icing on the cake. The loud banging and sirens screaming through the entire piece reminded me of the film, "Man With a Movie Camera", directed by Dziga Vertov. In my opinion I did not see the point, but perhaps that is the point. What some consider art others may consider irrelevant. At the end of the day isn't that the beauty of being an artist in the first place? On a different note, William Burrough's article, "The Cut Up Method of Brion Gysin" was something that was more reasonable, and something I would consider art. Poetry is a form of art that can be that open to different pieces written by different artists colliding. Poetry does not always have to rhyme. There are very few restrictions for a poet. Filmmakers, on the other hand, should want to produce something that will ultimately get a point across to its' viewers. I am not saying every film needs to have a plot, but can it at least have a storyline? Am I not being open - minded enough? What do you think? Below is a video of a mashup video that I feel is rather clever. Check this out.

I Always Feel Like, Somebody's Watching Me! - Panopticon Project

For "The Panopticon and Still Image Project", I focused primarily on the idea of surveillance as a negative aspect to society. In no way was I trying to say that surveillance is irrelevant because in certain situations it is necessary and appreciated. However, when surveillance is drawn to extreme measures, like invading people’s privacy, then it becomes an issue. With that in mind, I decided to direct three separate stories with photography, all relating to one another. My first set is of one subject who grows from being tolerant to the camera, to highly outraged. This is a photo of Sash Johnston, my subject for my first set.

My second set is based on a stalking relationship. A stalker is obsessively watching a college student. I created this conflict to symbolize how the government and other organizations can watch you without you knowing. However, the watcher is not always someone with massive technology. Facebook users today are constantly watching what others are doing around them by viewing their photos, reading their statuses, checking their updates. We are constantly being watched without our knowledge. Below is a photo from my second set.

My third and final set takes place in an actual meeting. The people in the meeting were caught off guard in this shoot. They were upset because of the invasion of privacy so they released their anger on the camera itself. Here are a few photos.

The captions and title’s in all of my sets tell the story, from beginning to the end. All of the sets were designed and directed by myself. I felt like there was a message that could have been related through a series of photographs so I artistically took full advantage of it. If you wish to view my entire project, feel free to view my Flickr account.    

Endless Possibilities

“The whole PC V.S Mac’s wars are just nerds masturbating! If you are a true artist, you can make the tools you have work”. Rachel Crowl was nothing short of extraordinary with her talk on Wednesday about her life, how she got to this point, web 2.0, and just life advice to us young artists today. This specific quote hit me the hardest because for the longest time I have always felt like Mac’s were more superior to PC’s. I waited over half of my life to own my very own Macintosh machine; to hear that a PC can do the same things was a reality shock. Outside of that, I feel like Crowl had so much information to offer our class. She took us through the history of the Web and how we got to web 2.0. She said that the social media democratized self publishing. The entire aspect of self publishing did not take off until blogs came about. I find this to be rather fascinating considering most of our class requires us to blog about social issues and we can share our artistic ideas with the world. “The comment were the glue”, Crowl said. She is absolutely right! If you think about it, rather I write complete and utter bullshit for a blog, or something impressively brilliant, it means nothing to me if I get no reaction from my classmates for it.  Sure, I get graded on my blog, we all do; but the insight and comments make the blog that much more special. Strobist was one of the first blogs to show photography to the world. According to Crowl, Scripter was also one of the innovating websites that helped the Web excel further. When asked what would be the future in web 2.0 she said a quote from another innovator who said, “Nobody knows anything!” Her advice to us was to try something. Tools are getting cheaper, possibilities are endless, so why not be fearless? Impressive     

This is a trailer of the new film Social Network. I feel like this relates to Rachel Crowl's talk. What do you think?