CMN450 (03) Participatory Media

The expansion of Kopimism, a religion formed from the recognition of file sharing as a virtue. There is an extreme adoration for the greatness of file sharing and many people have changed their lives to dedicate themselves to the idea of free flowing information online.

This contains a list of Disney movies that have used plots from movies, songs, and books in the public domain. This makes me question how many other movies outside of Disney have followed suit in taking ideas from public domain. Is there actually any original inventive ideas?

This study on narrative in media informs us on how narrative is very evident in media today. Not only do we use the form in literary works, but narrative (hand in hand with genre) work in media. For example, in the news, it is presented in order of first: the credibility of news, then presenting the current issue at hand, and finally an explanation of the resolution or following matter. This is applied in all forms of media.

This brief blurb on how media has influenced society is very relevant to teenagers today. It touches on how teens are easily influenced by celebrities and advertisements in media, and how that will easily sway our decision making habits. As well for the general population of all demographics, people are easily swayed by mass mediums - it isn't hard to convince people with an attractive advertisement or commercial, clearly.

This article discusses the pros and cons of the current lifestyle we live in a social-mediated world. People are learning new ways to "speak" with shorter-slanged words, and more concisely; and even using photos to communicate with others (through photo sharing platforms). Users are also over sharing their private lives with the world on social platforms, not realizing that almost anyone can see and read what they are putting out there.

Looking at this reading on elements of good storytelling, the writer informs on 7 crucial parts in every good story. Starting with the premise, this gives the story a base, in which the characters are able to evolve from. In a good story, you need a main setting as well, where all events take place and gives reason to the story. Within the context of this story, you need both a protagonist and antagonist character, who are the main fighting force in the story. They add to the conflict, which is the rising part of the story, connected by arches, leading to a final resolution.

This article touches on several ways to take a story from good to great including engaging all of the readers/listeners senses, writing at your own level, and tapping into the emotions of your audience. All seven tactics can be used in all kinds of writing and would be especially helpful in the world of narratives as they would help the audience feel immersed in what they are reading of listening to.

This article speaks to the effects of listening to the radio compared to watching TV, surfing the web, or doing none of the above. Radio, according to this survey, makes people happier and gives them more energy as they go about their lives everyday when compared to people that watch television, people that use the internet, and people that consume no media at all. Could this be because of how engaged it forced us to be? 

This article relates to the prior discussion of "blindness" experienced by radio listeners.  To elaborate, radio is a simple form of media which can thus produce a more intimate relationship between host and listener.  Radio hosts often seem to have more authentic personalities vs those on other forms of media, which makes content more friendly and familiar to listen to.  This article reflects upon positive emotions experienced by listeners vs those experienced by other media.  

This is an article that I had to read for another one of my classes but I thought it also fit well here. This article speaks about how social media has impacted friendship, community, and social circles and how they have changed from their original meaning to what we know them as today. It touches on how, as a society, our understanding of intimacy has altered, our understanding of ourselves has changed and how our idea of 'knowing someone' has transformed all due to the impacts of social media.

This article gives 100 tips from various podcasters around the world that will make your podcast great. Tips like listening to your own show to find ways to improve, be yourself behind the mic, and don't over edit can be helpful for anyone. This list also has links to the podcasts the advice is coming from. Lots to check out! 

This short video talks about how the internet, mainly Google, is changing the way we think and how we learn. The main point being that we finally have an unlimited amount of information literally at our fingertips but this ability has made our brains work differently so we cannot absorb the information that is so easily accessible. It brings up the interesting topic of how this technology and social media is changing the way we work as humans and leads us to question where it will take us.

This article discusses and clarifies the ideas of virtual realities. This site also provides a very helpful video on the first page, called "The Internet of Things". The video gives great visuals and examples to help solidify the concepts surrounding virtual realities. Very interesting, hope you like it!

This article is about a firm called Canipre, which is the only anti-piracy enforcement firm that provides forensic services to copyright holders in Canada. The firm has been monitoring Canadian users' downloading for several months from Ontario-based internet provider, Teksavvy.

This article summarizes the history of Canadian fair dealing and explains the transition from fair dealing to fair use from three different scholars' perspectives. It also includes case-based examples, such as Access Copyright's legal action against York University.

The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, states that torrent piracy in Canada has gone down by 50% since the establishment of Netflix three years ago, although no research or statistics have been able to support his claim. Hastings claims that piracy helps "create a demand" for legal ways to watch video through the internet. Is this true?

A religious group dedicated to worshiping the act of copyrighting. One part of this groups religious practices is copying information as a way of worshipping it.

Interviews can be intimidating and there are many rules to follow to be successful. This article talks about the 10 interview mistakes that should be avoided, in order to secure the job position.