World Clock

It's a little disturbing,

But it's an interesting use of flash.

Reflections on DM

We covered a lot in digital media this semester, but I didn't feel particularly challenged. Considering it was a 101 course, I understand why we don't go into these things in depth, but I'm excited to do so in second year RTA.

Showing examples in lecture helped inspire me and give me an idea of what can be done through different media. The tutorials were helpful but seemed pretty redundant at times.

This course should offer more instructions and possibilities when it comes to programs. More importantly, programs like Fireworks which aren't used by professionals should not be bothered with. There is no reason not to start with Photoshop, as this course should be an introduction anyway. I think this was the most frustrating part of the course, since Fireworks is rather crippled software and you would never use it again outside of class.

I have always been interested in digital media, and am definitely considering a career in the field. However, I wish we had a better idea of what these careers would be, specifically. This isn't covered in the course and would introduce ideas student previously hadn't thought of in occupations related to digital media.

The most important thing I learned in this course is how to use Flash and all the information about the web. We're on the internet everyday, but we generally don't spend time analysing it or thinking about its effects. It's important to think critically in this digital age and this digital media course helped me do just that.

See you next year!

The Importance of Getting on the Web

In these technology and web-saturated days, it is absolutely crucial for businesses and individual persons to have a presence on the web. With out fingers practically connected to our keyboards, cell phones, and PDAs, we want information fast, and if we can't get it fast, we move on to different topics of interest.

So what is a perfect example of individuals with a web presence? I believe the answer to that is the authors of popular webcomics. They draw something, we laugh, and we keep coming back for more.

Personal favourites:
1. xkcd - Randall Monroe
2. Sinfest - Tatsuya Ishida
3. Perry Bible Fellowship - Nicholas Gurewitch

Web 2.0

According to O'Reilly Media, Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.

Here are some sites that exemplify the main characteristics of Web 2.0:

Dynamic Content
Example: Google Maps
Combining real life mapping data for use on the internet is a mashup, creating dynamic content viewable on multiply platforms.

User Contribution
Example: Reddit
Users generate post or generate headlines and stories, popular ones get upvoted and sent to the top of the page for everyone's internet surfing convenience.

Social Media
Example: Youmeo
A social networking site that lets the user import data from MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc and control it from one interface. Created by a 15 year old genius who makes me feel rather unaccomplished.

Online Applications
Example: Google Documents
Word processing and data spreadsheets programs available online. They allow for group collaboration and chat, giving everyone control and access to the same document at the same time.

Harnessing Collective Intelligence
Example: Delicious
Social bookmarking and tagging uses individual efforts to contribute to a larger database that may help everyone else.

Political Satire At Its Best

After stumbling upon Blurb, a bookmaking site, I found the illustrations of Zina Saunders. She does political commentary through vivid illustrations with incredible detail.