User talk:WiKirsten

WikiAssignment1: Educational Project
Casey Neistat is a filmmaker and YouTube personality. Known for his daily 'vlogs' (video blogs), he has become a defining character in the creation of online content. Hailing from Connecticut Neistat struggled with the consequences of dropping out of high school and multiple job losses before moving to New York in 2001, and discovering the value of creating videos. Starting off with basic equipment Neistat made and produced a number of personal videos with his brother before HBO picked the pair up for a show in 2010.

Neistat has now risen the ranks of internet fame: his videos have been reported on in many major media outlets such as The Independent and The Daily Mail. The most recent example was the viral video, Snowboarding with the NYPD in which Neistat used the heavy snowfall in New York to its advantageous video potential. His other prolific works include adverts for Nike, Google and Mercedes. He also makes content highlighting issues such as the danger involved with bike lanes in New York and the ethical issues surrounding Apple products.

As well as his video content, Neistat is the co-creator of mobile app 'Beme' along with former Head of Engineering of Tumblr Matt Hackett. The app is similar to Snapchat in its short video grabbing function, although a defining characteristic is that you simply place your phone against your chest to film. The video is then posted straight away with no opportunity for editing. Neistat claims to have created Beme as an antidote to traditional social media outlets, which he said were: “highly sculpted, calculated, calibrated version of who we are.”[1]

Neistat is married to Finn Jewelry creator Candice Pool and has two children; Owen and Francine.

WiKirsten (talk) 10:05, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

WiKirsten (discuss • contribs) 12:54, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Comments
Interesting read! I tend to watch gaming vlogs or beauty vlogs so it was cool to see a different perspective of Youtube and where it takes people in their careers. Youtube has been an amazing platform for some Youtubers and this is an excellent example of this. NoRagrets9 (discuss • contribs) 13:44, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I personally do not tend to watch many vlogs but after reading your article it is very encouraging to hear that regardless of past histories and educational performances, you can achieve a lot more than what people could have ever imagined. The app 'Beme' that he has created is a very interesting revolution to be part of, especially in this day and age where creating a new app, and ensuring recognition, is becoming a race against time. This is a really interesting discussion, well done. Purneet kainth (discuss • contribs) 17:12, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

I watch a lot of youtube videos but I did not know this guy, even though he has become very famous, according to what you wrote. I think that, in the past few years, Youtube has become a very powerful tool, which gives people the chance to do very cool things and realize their dreams (a lot of youtubers have, for example, written a book). The UK most famous youtuber I think is Zoella, who does beauty related video most of the time, but who got a lot of success and has many many followers. The tricky thing about youtube is that you do not really know if this 'trend' is going to last forever or if it is just temporary, and that might be scaring because, if it is really going to finish soon or later, what would they do in that case? Nikynikay (discuss • contribs) 09:44, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

I watch some vloggers, but hadn't heard of this one before now and he sounds interesting. I might check him out. The ideas behind 'Beme' - removing some of the falsification in online content is interesting, however I'm curious as to how it works in practice: even if you can't edit the video, surely in planning it before hand there is still ample opportunity to create something true to the life you want to present to the world, and not your actual life? Petrichorblue (discuss • contribs) 11:42, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise 1: Formative Feedback
This reads more as a biography of Casey Neistat that a discussion of why you find his vlogs interesting (particularly the final paragraph). While it is important to have a description of a subject, this must be supplemented through analysis. For example, why are his vlogs interesting? How does he use vlogs in a way that differs from traditional broadcast media? Since your description links nicely to themes of online identity, it would have benefited from a critical appraisal from with in the frameworks presented in the module. Your comments are a little terse. Make sure to engage critically with your colleagues' responses to the exercise.

A post of this standard roughly corresponds to the following grade descriptor: Satisfactory. Among other things, satisfactory entries may try to relate an idea from the module to an original example, but might not be very convincing. They may waste space on synopsis or description, rather than making a point. They may have spelling or grammatical errors and typos. They might not demonstrate more than a single quick pass at the assignment, informed only by lecture and/or cursory reading. They may suggest reading but not thinking (or indeed the reverse). The wiki markup formatting will need some work. Sprowberry (discuss • contribs) 10:40, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise #2: Visibility and Online Footprint
There is much debate on whether or not your online presence is an accurate portrayal of who you are. Some people spend hours tailoring their profile to an idealized version of themselves who they want to present. It could be argued that in some instances the persona adopted on Facebook is how they aspire to be. Recent studies have even suggested that the competition element to Facebook actually makes people feel more lonely and excluded from the off-line world. The report suggests that we post because we feel we ought to, not because we genuinely want to.

Of the social media accounts I use (primarily Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram) only the former is an account I use to actually represent who I am. I think this is down to the fact my Nokia phone is less tailored to social media than the Android and Apple alternatives. I don't have the apps as they take up too much space and I don't have the front facing camera for the necessary selfie crucial to maintaining a facebook presence. I also prefer to share more personal photos on websites such as Instagram (or Snapchat if I had it) as I am closer to the followers I have there - so they are more likely to engage in my content. A person's use of social media is tightly woven around how they present their ego.

That being said, perhaps when the time comes to invest in an iPhone my online visibility will skyrocket, and I will become as Megan Tulloch puts it 'a Peacock of Facebook.'

WiKirsten (discuss • contribs) 21:44, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Comments
Hi Kirsten, this was a great read! I am fascinated by the idea that we create the versions of ourselves that others see online, and it is good that you picked up on it! An example of this would be the way that selfies on apps like Instagram allow you to manipulate the angle of the picture, and add filters so others only see you through the filter and not in "natural" light, etc.

Really interesting opinion on self-representation online. I'm not going to lie I tend not to post stuff on Facebook these days apart from occasional photographs because I know my parents and family will look at it so the stuff I'd rather they didn't see tends to go on Twitter or Snapchat! Jdwharris (discuss • contribs) 18:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

I find it really interesting that the technology you use holds you back from using all social media accounts. In the past there was a clear line between iPhone users and other device users as most phones could not download the apps and even if they could (in my experience) the layout was too complicated to understand. In the present day I didn't think that this was still a problem as technology has advanced so far that any phone company that couldn't keep up got left behind.

I also agree with Jdwharris in that every picture we take in manipulated in some way whether its the angle we use or the framing. Also I am the same when it comes to posting things on Facebook where I tend to use Tumblr and instagram to post things I don't want my family to see and only use Faceboook to show big moments of my life or to show something I'm proud of. Unprofesh (discuss • contribs) 15:31, 25 February 2016 (UTC)

I really liked this post! I find the competition element that you mention about Facebook interesting, and I think it can really be applied to all social media- so often you see the Instagram of somebody you do not know and it's easy to be fooled into thinking they have some sort of idyllic lifestyle while the reality could be entirely different, but you can only base your judgements on what you see. If you took everything you saw online at face value, it would be so easy to see everyone else as having a better, much more exciting life than your own but it's more likely that they only post the things that contribute to that image, and are very conscious of that fact. I think it's difficult now with the prevalence of so many social media platforms, to discern what is real or not, as so many people are an online persona, as you say, rather than being themselves. Lilygeorgia96 (discuss • contribs) 17:58, 25 February 2016 (UTC)

As someone else with a windows phone I totally agree with your point about Windows phones being not as social media friendly as other types of phones. With the Instagram app stuck in a Beta hell, and no Snapchat app it's easy to feel excluded from social media. Interesting points about people feeling compelled to post on Facebook though, sometimes it feels like I need to post every so often to keep my family back home updated on what's going on in my life. ItsMartholomew (discuss • contribs) 11:50, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

Assignment 3: Information Overload
'''How do you deal with the fact that there is a lot of information out there and that it is easy to be distracted? Why have you come to deal with it in this way? What are the contributing factors for the decisions you make in dealing with this abundance of information? Write a mini-essay directly responding to this question, building a coherent and critical argument. '''

The Internet is a blessing and a curse. The wealth of information makes it incredibly quick to find an answer, yet researching an essay can have you unwillingly swamped by information, and therefore slow the process down. Social media sites allow a simple means of interacting with far away friends or for organizing events, but they can morph into a source for identity paranoia and dreaded 'FOMO:' Fear Of Missing Out.

Information overload is the process of a person struggling to makes a decision coherently in the presence of too much information. The phrase was first brought to light in Future Shock, Alvin Toffler's best selling 1970 novel.

An interesting Guardian Article highlights how the plethora of internet information is making us far more busy, in a self involved sense. Thirty years ago you'd go into a store to have a salesperson book you a holiday, set you up a computer purchase or advise you on an outfit. Now as the article points out, "We are doing the jobs of 10 different people while still trying to keep up with our lives, our children and parents, our friends, our careers, our hobbies, and our favourite TV shows." It is no wonder the internet is being credited with making the population more anti social and stressed.

It is clear that Information Overloads affect many people, it is the biggest first world problem to date perhaps. Businesses are realizing this. Google now has a interesting new feature called 'Inbox Pause.' It allows you to pauses your flow of emails for when self restraint is not strong enough. There are dozens of articles advising how to manage your internet usage or addictions. Ironically enough at the end of each article is a 'Share on Facebook' button.

To cope with Information Overload we need to learn to relax, accept that we can't read every interesting article from that witty site, we can't attend every event our friends are at and it is sometimes good to remind ourselves of the real and present world.

Clay Shirkley accurately states; "It's not information overload. It's filter failure." --WiKirsten (discuss • contribs) 13:51, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

Comments
Hi Kirsten, you've got really interesting article you've written here. You've found a large scale problem, and highlighted it's affects across different areas and different sectors of the world's market and job market. I apprechiate the sense of irony google poses, and find it responsible but also a solution to information overload itself. It is an interesting reminder that most of us live too much or the majority of our time in the virtual world, and what we really should be focusing on is the real present world. I liked both of the texts referenced, and you've used them to support your argument excellently. MLCRooney (discuss • contribs) 18:32, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

I find it interesting how you mention that this ‘information overload’ has made us much busier than we used to be. Most people spend a large chunk of their day checking their social media, but rarely do we actually get anything out of it. Yes, we are keeping up to date with our friends and family, but quite a lot of the information we see is irrelevant or not important. Sometimes I think about how much more time I would have if I didn’t have social media, and quite a lot of people have completely quit social media for this very reason. This would give us more time to spend with our loved ones in real life. But the benefits of social media just about balance the costs, so I’m probably unlikely to quit any time soon.

AmyBevs (discuss • contribs) 13:02, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

Hey there, I agree with your comments on the internet disbanding us from our social connections rather than its intentions of connecting people. The internet is full of entertaining yet irrelevant content, so it is difficult to focus on what is important. I particularly liked the article you linked from The Guardian about why the modern world is 'bad for the brain',with specific focus on the smartphone being like a swiss army knife. It is complicated trying to stay afloat on the internet without clickbait dragging you down. From my own experience, I am not using the internet to its fully capabilities and possibilities and that in itself is a shame. NoRagrets9 (discuss • contribs) 00:06, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

You make some valid points. I particularly agree with your suggestion that people have a fear of missing out - I can personally agree with this. I want to delete my Facebook account, but won't for this precise reason.

I also agree that Social Media is actually making us more anti-social, quite ironic I must add. The example you use is a perfect account. The article is an interesting read too.

I agree with your conclusion too, we do need to relax more and to accept that we can't know everything. Jackgpounder (discuss • contribs) 10:31, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

It's really interesting how you describe our social media use as addicting, I have never actually realize just how much I use sites such as Facebook. Even now as I sit with a tab open on my Facebook news feed I don't admit that I'm addicted. But then who does? I agree with AmyBevs in that social media does take up a lot of our time but for many people who live away from home it is the perfect way to stay in contact with family and friends. Without the use of social media I probably wouldn't know half of my family (the aunts and uncles) as they all live abroad and I never get to see them in real life. Unprofesh (discuss • contribs) 10:40, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise #4
==== '''Wikibook Project Reflective Account ''' ====

The end of the WikiBooks project is nigh and I thought it would be worth discussing the online experience in relation to the topic of The Civic Web. The Civic Web is essentially the platform from which young people act on the internet. Furthermore the debate surrounding The Civic Web stems from whether or not said young people are being dumbed down by the internet or becoming better citizens as a result of the usage. For this task we were contributing to the group wikipage; An Internet of Everything? from within smaller class groups. It was collaborative working at its best and an example of young people using the Internet responsibility and furthering their skills as a result of the process.

Jean Baudrillard writes "The media are monopolized by the dominant classes, which divert them to their own advantage.” I think what was important about this task was that there was dominant class, as markers took a back seat. Every student was fairly equally experienced in the field and therefore performed to their best ability without fear of being overshadowed. I do think this allowed for confidence in our civic web usage to grow. In The Age of Clickitvism Lindgren discusses the so called spreader who "deems content to be worthy of being watched, shared, and interesting, and evaluates which is the proper channel to do so. Attaching a message to the shared content is another way to be active when passing stuff along." We essentially became "spreaders" through our wikibook tasks. Despite the fact we were instructed to them we still had plenty of room for free will and to put our own spin on the assignment.

A large factor of the final grade was through the Engagement process which made this task more interesting. It was done through 'speaking' to classmates on the discussion page, rather similar to talking on a group chat on Facebook, the only difference was formality. Through speaking online on social media we already had a basis to work of for this collaborative task. As a result, it is worth questioning whether the WikiBooks discussion page was a form of social media. In Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky he discusses the litmus test which I think very much links to our task. “The litmus test for collaborative production is simple: no one person can take credit for what gets created, and the project could not come into being without the participation of many.”

What I found interesting was although we spoke on the WikiBooks discussion page, and on Facebook Messenger very frequently during the two weeks we had to do the assignment, we made the most progress in the two hours we met face to face at the library. I really enjoyed talking about such diverse topics and seeing my classmates shine intellectually. This isn't always apparent through Facebook conversations or other visible Internet usage. I don't think new technology is holding us back from our real life, on the contrary the civic web is filling the void met by a complex and often boring reality. The Internet - in my opinion - is not leading us down a spiralled descent into anti social oblivion for the human race, it is merely reinventing the very aspect of society. Whether that be good or bad, time will tell. --WiKirsten (discuss • contribs) 08:27, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

Comments
Hi there, your post shows that you are obviously aware of how this project was intended to run. You have used several theories that point to how working together within the internet and outside of it can be beneficial to the users and the readers. Your comment on the litmus paper was particularly interesting. You talk about how your face to face meeting was more valuable in configuring the process of the chapter, which I find interesting as in my post I mostly used communication in the form of internet discussions. This project was a leap into the unknown and it seems that it has heightened your understanding of collaboration within internet platforms. The part where you discuss equal standings within the project was rang true for my project as well, as finding balance within contributions was extremely important. Overshadowing and hiding in the shadows cannot be a part of collaborative work as everyone must work as a unit. Great job in explaining some of the inner workings of the project and relating it back to the civic web. NoRagrets9 (discuss • contribs) 17:07, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

Hi, I really liked the part you wrote about the Internet being somewhat complementary to real life. This is particularly interesting when related to cultural determinism because we are implying that not only the Internet is part of the "realistic" world but some aspects of it can have direct consequences in shaping the world that we traditionally classify as authentic. The idea that the two world are co-existent makes me think that they are equally as physical, and the merging of humanity and technology, which looked like a science fiction and cyberpunk imaginary concept only a few decades is really happening. GABRIEL9 (discuss • contribs) 23:23, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

this was an interesting read, the fact that we had to talk online instead of in person made it very hard to actually communicate as wikibooks would not notify people when they are offline. How do you think this effected your project and the timescale that it was completed in? I think if we were able to talk in person we would've been able to do everything quicker although it could arise to the problem of people shouting over each other. Unprofesh (discuss • contribs) 09:35, 8 April 2016 (UTC) Unprofesh (discuss • contribs) 09:35, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Marker’s Feedback on Wikibook Project Work
Your contribs reveal a sustained engagement and collaboration with colleagues. There is evidence of tackling secondary material in your responses to the exercises but some of the exercises are a little brief and would benefit from further analysis and critical engagement. Your referencing also needs work - URLs are not enough. Make sure we know where something will take us.

Content (weighted 20%)

 * Your contribution to the book page gives a satisfactory brief overview of the subject under discussion in your chosen themed chapter. There is a fair range of concepts associated with your subject, and an effort to deliver critical definitions. There is evidence that you draw from relevant literature and scholarship, however your own critical voice in the building of a robust argument is slightly lost, perhaps due to a variable depth of understanding the subject matter or over reliance on rote learning. The primary and secondary sources you found about the chapter’s themes cover a somewhat circumscribed range and depth of subject matter.

Understanding (weighted 30%)

 * Reading and research:
 * evidence of critical engagement with set materials, although some ideas and procedures more securely grasped than others
 * evidence of independent reading of somewhat circumscribed range of appropriate academic and peer-reviewed material
 * Argument and analysis:
 * well-articulated and well-supported argument featuring variable depth of understanding
 * satisfactory level of evidence of critical thinking (through taking a position in relation to key ideas from the module, and supporting this position in discussion);
 * satisfactory level of evidence of relational thinking (through making connections between key ideas from the module and wider literature, and supporting these connections in discussion);
 * evidence of variable independent critical ability

Engagement (weighted 50%)

 * Evidence from contributions to both editing and discussion of content to a variable standard (i.e. volume and breadth of activity as evidenced through contribs)
 * Satisfactory engagement with and learning from other Wikipedians about the task of writing/editing content for a Wikibook
 * Reflexive, creative and fairly well-managed use of discussion pages using deployment of somewhat limited judgement relating to key issues, concepts or procedures

Overall Mark % available on Succeed

FMSU9A4marker (discuss • contribs) 14:53, 3 May 2016 (UTC)