Capstone Figure 8's - Jenkin's Style

This is a defense of my new media capstone project based on :


Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape
http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006/11/eight_traits_of_the_new_media.html
by Henry Jenkins

1. Social and Cultural Experimentation

Experispace I believe does experiment with the culture. For people to post their memories for everyone to see is a big step, of course people already blog, and that is an obvious step, but many myspace profiles and such are becoming private. It seems like the online world is becoming more hermitizing then digital means once has been, which is also a big portion of what I hope to achieve with this project - the getting outside of the computer box.

2. Where New Media Meets Any Media

they use the web to talk back to media producers or tell their own stories about fictional characters.

This project is about telling your own stories. In some ways though the convergence portions depends on your intent of the project. The idea of memory has been long lived over many cultures, this is just one interpretation of sharing memories and stories as the natives do orally.

3. Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, Everyday

This is the big focus of my project. Even if i have to integrate some sort of texting technology/gps type deal, that will suit the project well. The goal of this project is to make it very easy to log in, click on the map, tell some stories, and if people want to spend more time with it, they could upload pictures, find 6 degrees of themselves, etc. etc.

4. RE - RE - RE Mix

The core of this project has a digital space on the web, so the idea of remixing it seems a little off handed, though I would not be against people taking the project and doing new things with it. I myself did a variation or two on these projects. One that was called Digital_Worlds where users would mark their MEMORIES of digital spaces in a map of the WWW, and the other being one where maps of fictional lands could be created maybe for tv and episode guides, or an imaginary place where you played as a child. Therefore, the core components of the project are very simple, sharing memories in a visual space.

New modes of entertainment, such as computer and video games, depend on our active engagement: we do not simply consume them; we make them happen.

Very simply many people take works and reinterpret them in many different ways, like Jenkins quotes above, it is possible as long as there is active engagement. For example, a video game based on a world of memories could be made. A game in which you have to travel through this world of real memories and fight your way through the good and the bad. Maybe you would feel more worldly afterwards, or at least one is playing a game about the things in the real world

5. Networking Lives

Another strong aspect of my project in an obvious sense. People are coming here to share memories and stories with each other, and network based on those, finding similar qualities over place and time.

-- trying to decide how to communicate their ideas only to those people they want to see them while maintaining privacy from unwanted observation.

Unwanted observation is always a tough spice when you trying to allow such an open community of stories. But, Experispace has a quality and tone to it, which I hope to set from the get go. Serious stories about things that people feel were large or very small milestones in their lives, whether it be a death of a favorite aunt, or learning a new recipe, anything can see big or small, but the point is to reflect on these occurrences and realize that life is changing and taking notice makes all the difference.

6. From Maine to China and Back to Beijing and Bucksport

To be global can be difficult with cultural and language barriers, but as Jenkin says :

Some worry that the most economically powerful nations will overwhelm the rest, insuring a homogenization of global cultures; others contend that such a world requires the constant production of cultural difference

There is a debate over this, but the good thing about Experispace is that every single person whether from U.S.A. , Germany, France, or Indonesia, has stories to tell. I think the cultural diversity that Jenkins spoke of is the important part and the homogenization needs to stay away. What kind of people are we if we were to go to Experispace and people in China were having the same experience of those in Maine. One of purpose of this project is obviously to connect people based on like experiences and maybe someone in Maine and someone in China both got their first jobs. The contexts of those stories will probably be very different, yet somewhat similar.

7. From My Kids to My Grandkids to My Great Grandkids until I can't count anymore

To be generational can at times be difficult. Something that can be passed on no matter what the age. I think something that is "Remixable" has the same potential to be generational. Relationships to media will always be different. Experispace is generational in the fact that if one's great great great great great grandchildren (many years from now) were to go on, they could find their ancestors and look at their experiences, and though that is not generational from a medium standpoint, it is relative to digging up old photos from the attic. People are interested in the past, and Experispace is a neat and clean place to work with these topics.

8. If I give you a piece of candy and you give me a rock, do i feel like an ass or what?

Communities need to be communities in the obvious definition of the word, but many times you find communities with a lot of "guests". There are problems with this because if someone is going to buy in they want to see it before even signing up. Samples work in these cases, but I hope the community for Experispace grows, and people want to be part of the sharing process

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Out of these 8 new media qualities, I think overall most of the categories fit some nook that Experispace tries to offer. I think Jenkin's did a very good job of laying out some of the qualities of New Media. I do not think that anyone will ever come up with a DEFINITION of New Media that I feel is suited, but qualities of NM rather. These 8 qualities are some of the important aspects of NM for most people, but even as we learned in 206 thinks like autobotography, hacktivist, etc. are parts of this web.