Tuesday, September 30, 2008
LonelyGirl 15 Thesis Statement
The Lonely Girl 15 series on YouTube brought in many viewers, however, controversies were raised when questioned about its realism.
digg.com discussion summary
Digg.com is a website where people exchange news. It is often times thought of as a newspaper of the people especially diggers or members of the site. The website typically generates more liberal articles. The lure to use digg for many people is that it is perceived as a democratically styled public forum because members vote on articles to decide which articles are considered important by the majority. When articles generate positive votes or are dugg they are promoted to the front page as opposed to the articles which get buried because they generate negative feedback or don't get positive votes. People can post articles that they find interesting on the site from anywhere else on the web. Although digg is seen as a public forum where users may get there opinions to the public, it could only simulate a democratic public forum if the founders or administrators didn't have so much authority and oversight on the content being posted. On occasion users have complained that there accounts have been disabled or have been blocked from posting after making comments in the user - moderated forums that may be in conflict with the views and opinions of the operators of the site. Many users argue that the founders exercise too much control over the content on the site and that it takes away from the whole principle of the site where people should be able to express there opinions without censorship or oversight. This is a valid argument because with such oversight the website becomes less democratic and more like a selective forum. The operators of the site should allow people to offer there personal opinions without any censorship because this is essentially why people use and appreciate digg. Also, the "bury" option has been criticized for being undemocratic due to its anonymous and unaccountable nature. In order for digg to truly obtain the democratically styled open forum that people desire, the operators and founders must have no authority or oversight over the articles being posted. Additionally, there should not be any attempts to block any posts being added by members or any attempts to disable accounts.
Monday, September 29, 2008
digg.com thesis statement
For digg.com to truly be a public forum, the administrators should not have any authority or oversight on the content that is posted.
The Thesis Statement of eBay.com
eBay is one of the biggest online marketplace on the world which offers an online platform for people to trade every day.
The Thesis Statement of QQ.com
Tencent QQ has grown into China's largest and most used internet service portal.
The Thesis Statement about Baidu.com
1. The baidu.com has been played a very momentous role about communications in the virtual world.
2. It’s very comfortable for people would enjoy looking up, exchanging and setting up information on BBS about baidu.com.
2. It’s very comfortable for people would enjoy looking up, exchanging and setting up information on BBS about baidu.com.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Jeffrey Gomez thesis statement
Volance in video games does not play a role on the violant acts that are commited by either children or people.
Thesis Statement
Any type of criticism is more then welcomed.
A big problem of many online communities is false and misleading information that can jeopardize an individuals life or financial status.
Thanks again.
A big problem of many online communities is false and misleading information that can jeopardize an individuals life or financial status.
Thanks again.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
QQ.com
Hi class! I'm going to change my topic, I will talk about QQ.com on next following Monday which is October 6th, tencent QQ was also a Chinese website, it was founded in Shenzhen, China in November, 1998. Tencent, inc. has grown into China's largest and most used internet service portal, and it's the world's third most popular IM service. We will disscussed more about tencent QQ in the class. here's some link about tencent QQ:
http://www.tencent.com/en-us/index.shtml
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/qq_china_im_web20.php
Ting
http://www.tencent.com/en-us/index.shtml
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/qq_china_im_web20.php
Ting
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Hello, I thought the thesis statement was supposed to be on the privacy issues we discussed in class rather than our cyberhoods we presented on. So, which is it? Anywho, here are both thesis statements just in case. Let me know what you think...thanks!
"Cyber privacy is a growing concern that mus't be over looked."
-OR-
"Child safety on myspace is a growing concern that musn't be overlooked."
"Cyber privacy is a growing concern that mus't be over looked."
-OR-
"Child safety on myspace is a growing concern that musn't be overlooked."
Thesis
Hello Everyone,
Following is my thesis. Let me know what you think or if you have a better idea.
"Orkut.com provides bread & butter to many in India" or
"Orkut.com helps many to run their families in India".
Following is my thesis. Let me know what you think or if you have a better idea.
"Orkut.com provides bread & butter to many in India" or
"Orkut.com helps many to run their families in India".
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Here my article on Monday
Dear my classmates:
This is the article I’m going to exhibit on Monday, especial it’s a Chinese website and I hope everyone would like it. And I will try to my best to introduce this Chinese website and let you know what it is during the class.
www.baidu.com is a comprehensive website on the Internet and it’s as the same as the Google you are familiar with. Besides the Baidu.com is very popular and welcome in China because so many years before when some people made contact on the Internet for the first time they just knew the Baidu.com even didn’t know the some other websites existed. So as the years past the Baidu.com has became more and more perfect and more people enjoyed it. And the functions of Baidu.com is powerful so people could get a lot of things they want. For example, people could find the files they search for, could download the music the like, could search the game they enjoy, and they could make communication with others in the world even they could search themselves.
Sincerely
Jin chuang
This is the article I’m going to exhibit on Monday, especial it’s a Chinese website and I hope everyone would like it. And I will try to my best to introduce this Chinese website and let you know what it is during the class.
www.baidu.com is a comprehensive website on the Internet and it’s as the same as the Google you are familiar with. Besides the Baidu.com is very popular and welcome in China because so many years before when some people made contact on the Internet for the first time they just knew the Baidu.com even didn’t know the some other websites existed. So as the years past the Baidu.com has became more and more perfect and more people enjoyed it. And the functions of Baidu.com is powerful so people could get a lot of things they want. For example, people could find the files they search for, could download the music the like, could search the game they enjoy, and they could make communication with others in the world even they could search themselves.
Sincerely
Jin chuang
MSN.com
Hi Everyone! I will present MSN.com on this coming Monday. MSN.com is an online community which you can shop, game, talk and meet new friends, watch news, weather and traffic. It is easy fast and popular. Here is the articles we will discuss on Monday.
http://www.answers.com/topic/msn-technology
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078835/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22346236/
http://www.answers.com/topic/msn-technology
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078835/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22346236/
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Orkut.com
Hello everyone,
I will be talking about Orkut.com on Monday. Following are the articles to read about Orkut.com. We will discuss them in class.
http://http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20070609023308375471c33a6
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/06/64046
See you all on monday
I will be talking about Orkut.com on Monday. Following are the articles to read about Orkut.com. We will discuss them in class.
http://http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20070609023308375471c33a6
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/06/64046
See you all on monday
Friday, September 19, 2008
Xanga.com
Hi, guys, I am going to present xanga.com next Monday. Xanga is a community when you can start your own free weblog, this website is similar as Myspace which you can share photos, video, audio, looking a social network profile, and meet new friends.
I knew xanga.com from one of my friend, and I am new. Be honest, i never use this website before, so i just register a new account for myself, it's easy for presentation.
Here's some links for xanga.com:
about xanga
terms of use
xanga sites view
I knew xanga.com from one of my friend, and I am new. Be honest, i never use this website before, so i just register a new account for myself, it's easy for presentation.
Here's some links for xanga.com:
about xanga
terms of use
xanga sites view
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Cyworld.com
Hello~ everyone! I will present on Cyworld next Monday. Cyworld is a South Korean website which is a common social network similar to Facebook and Myspace. 90 perscents of young people has Cyworld account and Cyworld mobile has brought in over 2.5 million user in South Korea. Today, Cyworld operates its site in the United States, China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, as well as South Korea. Many Korean and Chinese stars have their own account on Cyworld to communicate with their fans. Actually I am a beginner to use this website and I just sign up in the website last week. If you never heard this website before, I will introduce it and share some fun with you.
Here is the link about Cyword:
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/cyworld
http://gigaom.com/2007/06/01/cyworld-usa-to-go-mobile-next-year/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/08/01/8382263/index.htm
Here is the link about Cyword:
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/cyworld
http://gigaom.com/2007/06/01/cyworld-usa-to-go-mobile-next-year/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/08/01/8382263/index.htm
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Machinima
Here is a link to the video I started to show you, "Yoga Deathmatch", which is set in the world of Half-life. And below is another machinima video from the same author, Jim Munroe. This second one is called "My Trip to Liberty City" and it's set in the world of Grand Theft Auto 3.
Synthesis Writing Assignment
I'm asking you to take the final step in writing a synthesis of the three articles about privacy: write a paragraph (no more than 200 words) that gives a succinct overview of the arguments of the three articles. This kind of synthesis writing will be important to you whenever you write a research paper and you want to present information from a range of sources that comment on the same issue.
Step one: read and understand the main points of the three articles. Use the checklist on the handouts.
Step two: decide what issue the articles have in common: what is the general conversation of which the articles form a part? Start by explaining the issue.
Step three: you can now explain how each article relates to the main issue of concern, and how they relate to each other. Be sure to state who wrote each article, and use active verbs like "claim", "argue," or "suggest" to represent the position taken.
Hints: Think carefully about how you will organize the paragraph. Which article or articles will you mention first? Can you group them together somehow, or is each one coming from a completely different angle? Is there more than one issue, or are there issues that are addressed by only one or two of the articles? You may have to address agreements and disagreements over different issues separately (for example: A, B, and C all agree on X. However, on the subject of Y, A holds the opposite opinion of B, while C has no opinion.)
Email me your paragraph, and bring a copy with you when you come to class Monday.
Step one: read and understand the main points of the three articles. Use the checklist on the handouts.
Step two: decide what issue the articles have in common: what is the general conversation of which the articles form a part? Start by explaining the issue.
Step three: you can now explain how each article relates to the main issue of concern, and how they relate to each other. Be sure to state who wrote each article, and use active verbs like "claim", "argue," or "suggest" to represent the position taken.
Hints: Think carefully about how you will organize the paragraph. Which article or articles will you mention first? Can you group them together somehow, or is each one coming from a completely different angle? Is there more than one issue, or are there issues that are addressed by only one or two of the articles? You may have to address agreements and disagreements over different issues separately (for example: A, B, and C all agree on X. However, on the subject of Y, A holds the opposite opinion of B, while C has no opinion.)
Email me your paragraph, and bring a copy with you when you come to class Monday.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PureVolume
PureVolume is a musical social networking site. It's very similar to Myspace Music, but it focuses mainly on rock music and all of its sub genres such as emo, pop punk, indie and hardcore. Artists are able to make their own homepage where they can post their songs, pictures of their band, upcoming shows and other information. As of now, there are over 400,000 artists on PureVolume. Listeners can make their own pages, where they can add bands to their favorites, add songs to a playlist, upload their own pictures and comment artists and other listeners. There are no real controversies surrounding PureVolume, and many people have alot of positive things to say about it. Here are 2 articles praising PureVolume:
The only real complaint about PureVolume seems to be the slow bandwidth and a boring layout, and considering all the problems with other websites with privacy and such, these are minor issues.
Amazon.com by John K.
Hello class, this is John K. I will be presenting about Amazon.com on wednesday. Here is a controversy I have found on amazon. The first article is from 2007 and descripes what the issue was with the Humane Society of the United States(HSUS) against Amazon.com and the 2nd article is recently in 2008 on what has happened so far in this case. Hopefully you guys can read both to understand how the case has progressed, but if not i'll gladly explain in class during my presentation . Thanks. Here are the links if you guys don't want to read them off this page
Article 1:http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/amazonvshsus
Article2:http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/19/daily9.html
Article 1:
September 28, 2007
Amazon.com is in the cross hairs of an inquiry by the Humane Society of the United States this week. The web company sells two magazines that deal with cockfighting.
The Feathered Warrior and The Gamecock carry ads for blades that are attached to the birds' legs – which HSUS reps say constitutes the sale of illegal contraband.
Amazon contends the first amendment protects the mags, since cockfighting is still legal in two US states. But the HSUS had this to say.
Freedom of speech is a historically strong defense - and since two states still allow the fights, the mags in question technically still have markets for which they aren't advertising contraband. But does that make it permissible?
What do you think? Let us know by posting a comment or video response below, or emailing us at news@zootoo.com.
Article 2:
The Humane Society of the United States has claimed a partial victory in its fight to remove a magazine devoted to cockfighting from Amazon.com Inc..
Last year, the Humane Society sued the Seattle online retailer (NASDAQ: AMZN), claiming that selling "The Gamecock" magazine violated misdemeanor provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.
In an agreement announced Tuesday, the Washington D.C.-based animal protection organization said it's reached a settlement with the publisher of "The Gamecock," who agreed to eliminate all advertisements for fighting animals, knives and "illegal paraphernalia." The magazine also won't be sold on Amazon.com for a year, until the publisher demonstrates compliance with federal law, according to the Humane Society.
But the animal rights group said Amazon officials have "vowed to fight on in the case," a position the animal rights group called "bizarre."
"Amazon cannot seem to grasp that the First Amendment does not offer any defense for people who want to peddle contraband," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for the Humane Society, in a statement.
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said "Amazon.com has not entered into any settlement agreement with the Humane Society. We are in the process of reviewing their settlement agreement with the magazine publisher, but have no further comment at this time."
Article 1:http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/amazonvshsus
Article2:http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/19/daily9.html
Article 1:
September 28, 2007
Amazon.com is in the cross hairs of an inquiry by the Humane Society of the United States this week. The web company sells two magazines that deal with cockfighting.
The Feathered Warrior and The Gamecock carry ads for blades that are attached to the birds' legs – which HSUS reps say constitutes the sale of illegal contraband.
Amazon contends the first amendment protects the mags, since cockfighting is still legal in two US states. But the HSUS had this to say.
Freedom of speech is a historically strong defense - and since two states still allow the fights, the mags in question technically still have markets for which they aren't advertising contraband. But does that make it permissible?
What do you think? Let us know by posting a comment or video response below, or emailing us at news@zootoo.com.
Article 2:
The Humane Society of the United States has claimed a partial victory in its fight to remove a magazine devoted to cockfighting from Amazon.com Inc..
Last year, the Humane Society sued the Seattle online retailer (NASDAQ: AMZN), claiming that selling "The Gamecock" magazine violated misdemeanor provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.
In an agreement announced Tuesday, the Washington D.C.-based animal protection organization said it's reached a settlement with the publisher of "The Gamecock," who agreed to eliminate all advertisements for fighting animals, knives and "illegal paraphernalia." The magazine also won't be sold on Amazon.com for a year, until the publisher demonstrates compliance with federal law, according to the Humane Society.
But the animal rights group said Amazon officials have "vowed to fight on in the case," a position the animal rights group called "bizarre."
"Amazon cannot seem to grasp that the First Amendment does not offer any defense for people who want to peddle contraband," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for the Humane Society, in a statement.
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said "Amazon.com has not entered into any settlement agreement with the Humane Society. We are in the process of reviewing their settlement agreement with the magazine publisher, but have no further comment at this time."
Monday, September 15, 2008
Hey I have some feedback
I was playing around with the website. Everyone suggested that I should post a question asking why my question was removed. Turns out I'm not the only one that that has happened to. There are two other questions asking why the questions are being removed and those questions themselves have been removed. I hope everyone looks at the website, its very entertaining as you saw today. :P
eBay is the World's online Marketplace
Hi,everyone! I am so happy that I can give a presentation about eBay.com on this Wednesday. Maybe most of you know that eBay is an online auction and shopping website. It offers an online platform where millions of items are traded each day. But do you know how to operate or use eBay? And how many of you know that the items and services about eBay exactly?? Honest speaking, I am also a beginner of using eBay. If you never use eBay before, or know a little bit about eBay, we can take the chance of this presentation to learn more details about eBay. Here is some links about eBay:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/technology/20ebay.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27bridesmaid.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=5615219
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/technology/20ebay.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27bridesmaid.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=5615219
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Craigslist-Good or Bad
Hello everyone, as you all know. I will be presenting on Craigslist. As we all know and if you don't know, Craigslist has been the pinnacle of controversy on the world wide web.
The Good- No fee to sign up. Many postings for specific services are free. Anyone can see your posting with out being a member of craigslist.
The Bad-Many people are fraudulent in what they say on thier postings. Many ask you to send a check first before you recieve your item. Prostiution is a big problem on craigslist.
Heres some more info
HowStuffWorks "Craigslist Controversy"
As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist, Law Takes Notice - New York Times
The Good- No fee to sign up. Many postings for specific services are free. Anyone can see your posting with out being a member of craigslist.
The Bad-Many people are fraudulent in what they say on thier postings. Many ask you to send a check first before you recieve your item. Prostiution is a big problem on craigslist.
Heres some more info
HowStuffWorks "Craigslist Controversy"
As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist, Law Takes Notice - New York Times
YELLOW-continued.
I'm still learning how to use this website so please disregard the post below. :P My presentation will be about Questionstream.com. It is a recently created website (recent as in a year ago). On this website anyone can create a user name and profile. You have the option of putting as much information about yourself as you please. The basic information that the website actually asks for in order for someone to sign up is: display name, email, a password, and a birthday. In order to join the blog you have to be over 13. The main purpose of this website is to allow people to ask any question and get responses from different people. Opinions are given in comment boxes which evolve into conversations between many different people. There has yet to be any controversy on this website because it is fairly new.
http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/945/851
http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/945/851
Saturday, September 13, 2008
digg.com
Hi everyone. I will be presenting on digg.com on Monday the fifteenth. Digg.com is a website where people share news they discover from the internet through links and stories. After articles are submitted they go to the "digg area" where they are voted on by diggers, or members of the site. This voting process is called digging and burying. News articles which receive numerous positive votes are then added to the site. Only the most dugg articles appear on the front page. The articles which do not generate enough positive votes are then considered buried and are not added to digg.com. A controversy which often surrounds digg.com is that users have too much control over the content being posted on the site. Some criticize the site for being an open forum where misinformation thrives. Although the site was set up to be a democratically styled news information site, many users complain that there posts have been blocked or there accounts disabled due to the posting of articles which do not reflect the views of the operators of the site. Still, many users believe digg.com is an excellent representation of what the masses are actually interested in. Several users find it refreshing and liberating that they can actually decide what constitutes as pertinent news. Here are two articles illustrating each of these views so you can decide for yourself which you agree with.
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/webportals/fr/diggreview.htm
http://www.populartechnology.net/2006/07/problems-with-diggcom.html
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/webportals/fr/diggreview.htm
http://www.populartechnology.net/2006/07/problems-with-diggcom.html
Friday, September 12, 2008
BitTorrent, sharing the whole world
Hi everyone, I will give a presentation about BitTorrent on the coming Monday. BitTorrent, or maybe BT, is one of the hottest words in the cyber world. It is a file sharing protocol used to distribute large data. Usually, it is 3 or 4 times faster than the traditional download service is. Besides, a BT search engine, which is different with Google or Yahoo, can help you to search the share files on any other personal computer if it is also in the BT network. Because of its super power, just like the nuclear technology, it is till not in the good control. One of bad things it brought is that it made a “rocket ship” for the illegal copy.
Here is some information:
http://tasvideos.org/WhyBitTorrent.html
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/01/13/why_bittorrent_is_a_wave.htm
http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2005_05_25b.pdf
Here is some information:
http://tasvideos.org/WhyBitTorrent.html
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/01/13/why_bittorrent_is_a_wave.htm
http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2005_05_25b.pdf
Wikipedia
I'll be presenting Monday the 15th. Wikipedia is an online, user-editable encyclopedia. Right now the site has over two and a half million articles, all added by users of the site. This freedom to add and edit articles has contibuted to a few problems over the years. Article vandalism has occurred, but more seriously, misleading information has popped up on pages with subjects ranging from political figures to the oil industry. Several articles have been written about this issue. Please take a look at a few:
http://www.journalism.org/node/1672
http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2007/05/sand_castles_of_knowledge.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/technology/01link.html?ex=1378008000&en=2690a3850cb270d0&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
http://www.journalism.org/node/1672
http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2007/05/sand_castles_of_knowledge.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/technology/01link.html?ex=1378008000&en=2690a3850cb270d0&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Reading for next week
Hi everyone. Please keep an eye out for the articles posted by next week's presenters, and don't forget to comment (each student is required to comment at least twice each week). Your comment should identify what issues or debates arise from the article, and it should let us know which side of the issue you're on.
Also, for next week I'd like you to read the introduction to the book The Future of Reputation by Daniel Solove. I mentioned this to you before; the introduction talks about a woman whose dog pooped on the subway and who was made infamous on the internet because of the incident. The author makes a lot of interesting points about how the internet is changing our ideas about privacy and about reputation. The entire book can be found online here. You'll see links for each chapter; you just have to read the introduction (chapter one). We are going to do an in-class summary exercise involving this text, so make sure you read it carefully.
Corey
Also, for next week I'd like you to read the introduction to the book The Future of Reputation by Daniel Solove. I mentioned this to you before; the introduction talks about a woman whose dog pooped on the subway and who was made infamous on the internet because of the incident. The author makes a lot of interesting points about how the internet is changing our ideas about privacy and about reputation. The entire book can be found online here. You'll see links for each chapter; you just have to read the introduction (chapter one). We are going to do an in-class summary exercise involving this text, so make sure you read it carefully.
Corey
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Summary of Youtube.com discussion
I am in a state of fear right now. I fear for the lives of my friends, enemies, family, pets and, more important, I fear for my own life. This is not due to the nearing prospect of nuclear war, I fear the most odd videos on earth: YouTube.Everyone knows what I'm talking about. You sit down at your computer to get some work done-maybe write a paper that was due yesterday. But, instead of working, you accidentally see the YouTube icon in your "Favorites" list. Now you're doomed. You click on the icon to just browse for a few minutes and before you know it, the day is over and you're horribly screwed.I can't tell you the number of times that I've wasted an entire day or weekend by sitting around and hearing of those dummy videos like "throwing a baby" .By the wayI saw this video , before it was deleted . I would need a NASA super computer to figure out how often I've watched a pointless video on YouTube. It can't be a good sign when I, an adult and a soon-to-be college graduate, can't budget my time around one internet web site like YouTube. But, to be fair, the site is the giant of the internet.The amount of videos on Youtube is absolutely for fun or fake audio stories.YouTube is like a pregnant woman because it carries billions of videos , so with any digital cameras falling, any uneducated persons can pick one up and film themselves doing just about anything. With the ability to rate these ridiculous videos, I find myself clicking on videos that other people find interesting or funny.The ability of this site to find topics and videos that interest us personally is scary. If the ability of a site to waste my time is this good now, I shudder to imagine what it'll be like in 20 or 30 years when I have kids. How the hell am I going to get my kid to study or get away from the computer to engage in sports? My only hope is that they'll evolve the ability to ignore the senseless and random information on the internet, because I sure don't have that ability. That summary of what I feel toward Youtube , I consider it that isn't more than learning and watching useful video . I wonder till now how people can upload their videos easily to the puplic unless they feel that those videos will be the main factor to get the "Presidency Chair".
That it's a summary of my discussion , but it's not the description of how Youtube looks like.
Thanks ,
MAGGI YOUSSEF
That it's a summary of my discussion , but it's not the description of how Youtube looks like.
Thanks ,
MAGGI YOUSSEF
dance.net
sorry it didn't post.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/12/BUQ0T8SK6.DTL
Here is the link
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/12/BUQ0T8SK6.DTL
Dance.net
The website I had chosen for my topic is not a very well known social networking site. The website dance.net is a social networking site that dancers young and old use to post blogs about what is new in the dance world and asks for advice when they have a question on a technique or a step. The site allows dancers to post pictures of things they have done or even videos. Other members of the site then critique or give advice on what they see. Considering my site is not very well known I found articles that talk about other social networking sites that help artists in todays world. The first one being posted is a social networking site that MC Hammer is starting with a business associate that is a reminder of youtube but with more focus on dance. Making them might being able to find the next big star.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Talking about: niche communities
Hi everyone.
We've got posts below having to do with Myspace, DeviantArt, HarryPotterFanFiction, and LonelyGirl; make sure you read through the articles, and most importantly, post some comments! (Just click on the link at the end of each post that says "(0) comments".) You are only obliged to add two comments per week total (as long as they are substantial - at least 5 lines long). You can comment on anything you feel like commenting on, but each week I'll be counting to see that you have commented at least twice.
By the way, I asked you on Monday to write a quick description of the community you're working on. Rather than post these to the blog, just to prevent confusion, I'll ask you just to email them to me. And upon thinking about it some more, let's shorten the parameters: try doing your description in just 100 words. You can send me these anytime.
Corey
We've got posts below having to do with Myspace, DeviantArt, HarryPotterFanFiction, and LonelyGirl; make sure you read through the articles, and most importantly, post some comments! (Just click on the link at the end of each post that says "(0) comments".) You are only obliged to add two comments per week total (as long as they are substantial - at least 5 lines long). You can comment on anything you feel like commenting on, but each week I'll be counting to see that you have commented at least twice.
By the way, I asked you on Monday to write a quick description of the community you're working on. Rather than post these to the blog, just to prevent confusion, I'll ask you just to email them to me. And upon thinking about it some more, let's shorten the parameters: try doing your description in just 100 words. You can send me these anytime.
Corey
LonelyGIrl 15
Lonelygirl 15 is a video blogger on YouTube which began June 2006, and ended on August 1st, 2008. It was a video blogger of the life of a 16 year old Californian girl. She faced everyday matters as she faced the teenage world and her videos grew more interesting as her parents disappeared and investigations were conducted. It became one of the most popular video blogs on YouTube and brought in more than 50 million viewers. It became so popular, and viewers were so interested, that they began posting up their own blogs and comments. Viewers believed that is was “real”, as the star of Lonely Girl even created her own MySpace page in which she became in contact with her viewers. However, many fans grew suspicious and questioned if Lonelygirl was “real”. Many investigations led to the truth that Lonelygirl 15 was fake. Bree, the star of Lonelygirl 15, in reality, is a 20 year old New Zealand actress, who began these series with her screenwriter, film producer, and others characters also involved in the series. Although Lonelygirl was revealed as a fictitious blog, the storyline continued to grow on YouTube and MySpace and the videos had to be stopped. Lonelygirl 15 came out with their own website which contains all of the complete videos for fans to view and have access to.
The main controversy on Lonelygirl 15 was that it proved to be a phony. Fans grew upset as they felt they had been cheated. Many articles and interviews were conducted on this matter.
Please see the following links which include the website and articles of the controversy:
www.lg15.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/technology/13lonely.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/08/entertainment/et-lonelygirl8
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/11/blogophile/main1999184.shtml
The main controversy on Lonelygirl 15 was that it proved to be a phony. Fans grew upset as they felt they had been cheated. Many articles and interviews were conducted on this matter.
Please see the following links which include the website and articles of the controversy:
www.lg15.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/technology/13lonely.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/08/entertainment/et-lonelygirl8
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/11/blogophile/main1999184.shtml
Description of Harrypotterfanfiction.com
Harrypotterfanfiction.com is a website where Harry Potter fans can write their own version of the popular series. Stories either fall under the category "cannon", meaning staying true to what's already been established in the books or "A U" (alternate universe), which is basically anything goes. With A U, you can also introduce original characters into your story which leaves room for a lot of freedom with the plot line.
When you post your story on the website, other members can leave you comments about what you wrote ranging from a quick "cute story - keep writing" to long dissertations on technique and style. It's really very helpful for first time writers to be able to hear what the more experienced ones think.
In order to post on harrypotterfanfiction, you must set up an account. You just chose a penname (screen name) and password and you're set. Before any of your stories can be posted, however, it must be reviewed by certain people who operate the site called moderators. They make sure there's no content contrary to the terms of service, such as plagiarism
and graphic content. If it is satisfactory, you're story will be viewable within the next few days (if they're not too backlogged).
Your account is where you can manage your stories, view comments people have left you, and edit your favorite authors/stories. If you read something that you really like, you can save the author or story to "my favorites" were it will be easily accessible to find in the future. You can also opt to be notified whenever a favorite author posts a new chapter.
This website also offers other fun things such as quizzes, forums where you can discuss all things potter, and podcasts for you to download. All and all, this is a fun, safe, community where Potter fans can take an active part in the stories they know and love.
When you post your story on the website, other members can leave you comments about what you wrote ranging from a quick "cute story - keep writing" to long dissertations on technique and style. It's really very helpful for first time writers to be able to hear what the more experienced ones think.
In order to post on harrypotterfanfiction, you must set up an account. You just chose a penname (screen name) and password and you're set. Before any of your stories can be posted, however, it must be reviewed by certain people who operate the site called moderators. They make sure there's no content contrary to the terms of service, such as plagiarism
and graphic content. If it is satisfactory, you're story will be viewable within the next few days (if they're not too backlogged).
Your account is where you can manage your stories, view comments people have left you, and edit your favorite authors/stories. If you read something that you really like, you can save the author or story to "my favorites" were it will be easily accessible to find in the future. You can also opt to be notified whenever a favorite author posts a new chapter.
This website also offers other fun things such as quizzes, forums where you can discuss all things potter, and podcasts for you to download. All and all, this is a fun, safe, community where Potter fans can take an active part in the stories they know and love.
Summary of Classmates.com discussion
Classmates.com was one of the first social networking sites of its kind. It gives older generations the ability to contact and find old classmates that are also on the site. IT is quite different from facebook.com being that the main objective of classmates.com is to find old friends while facebook.com on the other hand lets you contact people you know, as well as don’t know. Classmates.com is a much more private website. With a double blind email system people trying to contact each other can not see the others email unless they exchange them between each other. Also being that classmates.com is a paid subscription you don’t get advertising companies looking at your profile in order to target what advertising to place on your page as you do on facebook.com. However there is a downside to classmates.com. Being that you do have to pay to get the full benefits of classmates, many people seek use in free social networking sites like facebook.com or myspace.com, sites which probably offer more features and they’re free of charge. I believe that if classmates.com would like to keep up with their competitors they will have to be willing to make it free for all of the features on its website. Another problem with having to pay for a subscription to classmates.com is email spam. Whenever someone looks at your profile, or requests to email you, you get an email saying so and so has found you on classmates! When you click into this email, however, you are prompted to sign up for a subscription before you can contact the person. You can get many emails a day, but if you’re not going to subscribe then they are quite pointless. PC magazine actually rated classmates.com one of the worst sites when it comes to canceling subscriptions because even after you cancel your account on classmates.com you continue to get annoying spam emails.
What it comes down to is in order for classmates.com to keep its status as one of the top social networking sites, they would have to give free memberships with all of the features available, as well as find a way to stop annoying spam emails.
What it comes down to is in order for classmates.com to keep its status as one of the top social networking sites, they would have to give free memberships with all of the features available, as well as find a way to stop annoying spam emails.
MySpace tightens age restrictions
MySpace tightens age restrictions
The website has no way of verifying the age of membersSocial networking website MySpace.com plans to introduce restrictions on how adults contact teenagers on the site.
The changes aim to make it more difficult for users more than 18 years old to befriend 14 and 15 year olds that they did not previously know.
A 14-year-old girl in the US is currently suing the site after she said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old who she met on MySpace.
The website says the new restrictions are unrelated to the case.
Huge growth
Earlier this year, the website was criticised by parents groups and authorities, who said that the site was not doing enough to protect younger members.
Earlier this year the site introduced adverts warning teenagers about the dangers of sexual predators on the web and appointed a security chief to oversee child safety on the site.
MySpace tackles teen safety
MySpace began as a webpage for music fans but has been transformed into a site where users can chat and share interests online.
It was bought last year by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $580m (£315m).
Users put up personal profiles, including photos, which are searchable by any of its 87 million users.
Members can build up a network of online friends by inviting other users to join their group. Alternatively, other users can ask to befriend a member by submitting a request to them.
Personal details
At the moment, children of 13 and under are prevented from setting up an account.
The site also only shows partial profiles of 14 and 15 year-olds unless the viewer is already on their list of friends.
Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace for $580m (£315m)
The partial profiles show the gender, age and city of the user.
Full profiles can include schools, hobbies and any other interests that a user chooses to disclose.
At the moment, MySpace has no way of verifying the age of users.
In March this year, two men were arrested in the US over sex charges after they allegedly used MySpace to meet two girls aged 11 and 14.
A 14 year old girl form Texas is also suing the owners of the website for $30m (£16.2m) after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 19 year old man she met on the site.
The lawyers representing the girl claim the site does not do enough to protect minors.
Site changes
The new restrictions aim to make it more difficult for older users to befriend younger members previously unknown to them.
Users of 18 and above will no longer be able to request to be added to a 14 or 15 year-old's group of friends unless they already know the teenager's e-mail address or full name.
Members will also be given an option that will mean they can only be contacted by users within their age group.
In addition, all users, no matter what their age, will also be given the option of making only partial profiles available to people they do not know.
MySpace say they also intend to change the way it targets advertising that will mean that younger users will not see adverts for gambling, dating and other adult themed sites.
The new restrictions are expected to be introduced next week.
The website has no way of verifying the age of membersSocial networking website MySpace.com plans to introduce restrictions on how adults contact teenagers on the site.
The changes aim to make it more difficult for users more than 18 years old to befriend 14 and 15 year olds that they did not previously know.
A 14-year-old girl in the US is currently suing the site after she said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old who she met on MySpace.
The website says the new restrictions are unrelated to the case.
Huge growth
Earlier this year, the website was criticised by parents groups and authorities, who said that the site was not doing enough to protect younger members.
Earlier this year the site introduced adverts warning teenagers about the dangers of sexual predators on the web and appointed a security chief to oversee child safety on the site.
MySpace tackles teen safety
MySpace began as a webpage for music fans but has been transformed into a site where users can chat and share interests online.
It was bought last year by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $580m (£315m).
Users put up personal profiles, including photos, which are searchable by any of its 87 million users.
Members can build up a network of online friends by inviting other users to join their group. Alternatively, other users can ask to befriend a member by submitting a request to them.
Personal details
At the moment, children of 13 and under are prevented from setting up an account.
The site also only shows partial profiles of 14 and 15 year-olds unless the viewer is already on their list of friends.
Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace for $580m (£315m)
The partial profiles show the gender, age and city of the user.
Full profiles can include schools, hobbies and any other interests that a user chooses to disclose.
At the moment, MySpace has no way of verifying the age of users.
In March this year, two men were arrested in the US over sex charges after they allegedly used MySpace to meet two girls aged 11 and 14.
A 14 year old girl form Texas is also suing the owners of the website for $30m (£16.2m) after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 19 year old man she met on the site.
The lawyers representing the girl claim the site does not do enough to protect minors.
Site changes
The new restrictions aim to make it more difficult for older users to befriend younger members previously unknown to them.
Users of 18 and above will no longer be able to request to be added to a 14 or 15 year-old's group of friends unless they already know the teenager's e-mail address or full name.
Members will also be given an option that will mean they can only be contacted by users within their age group.
In addition, all users, no matter what their age, will also be given the option of making only partial profiles available to people they do not know.
MySpace say they also intend to change the way it targets advertising that will mean that younger users will not see adverts for gambling, dating and other adult themed sites.
The new restrictions are expected to be introduced next week.
Monday, September 8, 2008
RE; Facebook
I just had a thought about unknowingly appearing in a photo posted by another member of Facebook. Would the poster of that photo be liable for any damages arising from his/her "unauthorized" use of your likeness? Facebook does raise some interesting points regarding privacy...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
DeviantArt's Virtual Community...
Hey Everyone,
My presentation on Wednesday is going to be based on the popular art website, Deviantart. Some of you perhaps never heard of it before. Deviantart started on August 7, 2000, which isn’t so long ago; the amount of people joining this website is gradually increasing and as of right now there are over 8 million members. I believe it is a great community where artists all over the world can share their artworks with one another; sometimes seeing other pieces of art can inspire you to expand your creativity towards your own work. It is a great site to express yourself and to share with others your exquisite talent. This website contains different forms of artwork such as photography, traditional art, painting, digital art, literature, animation, and filmmaking. Each member of Deviantart has their own homepage, where they can customize their own artwork; they also have a personal journal, where they can comment and explain their own collection of pieces. Other members are gladly able to leave their own opinions or comments as well. Any piece of artwork will cause different reactions to different people. On the site, people are able to give you constructive criticism on how to improve your art and designs; sometimes peoples’ opinions can help to enhance your mind to view or see things in a whole different perspective.
Here is an article I found about Deviantart:
Feel free to comment on my blog. Thanks.. :)
~Antesh
Harry Potter Fan Fiction
Hi All,
Here are some articles pertaining to my upcoming discussion on Harry Potter fan fiction. The first is from "Wikipedia", the second is from "The Wall Street Journal". Enjoy!
~Kat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_fan_fiction (I copied the part specifically about "fan fiction". Also included in the link is a bunch of other cool stuff about Harry Potter fan comunities, so feel free to have a look. Could be fun...
Fan Fiction
"Rowling has backed fan fiction stories on the Internte, stories written by fans that involve Harry Potter or other characters in the books. A March 2007 study showed that "Harry Potter" is the most searched-for fan fiction subject online. Some fans will use canon established in the books to write stories of past and future events in the Harry Potter world; others write stories that have little relation to the books other than the characters' names and the settings in which the fan fiction takes place. On FanFiction.Net, what has been referred to as the "granddaddy of fan-fiction sites", there are over 370,000 stories on Harry Potter. There are numerous websites devoted solely to Harry Potter fan fiction. Of these, FictionAlley.org has grown to be one of the largest: it hosts over 80,000 stories and 20,000 works of fan art. A well-known work of fan fiction is The Shoebox Project, created by two LiveJournal users. Over 5000 people subscribe to the story so that they are alerted when new posts update the story. The authors' works, including this project, were featured in an article in the The Wall Street Journal discussing the growth in popularity of fandoms.
Rowling has said, "I find it very flattering that people love the characters that much." She has adopted a positive position on fan fiction, unlike authors such as Anne McCaffrey or Anne Rice who discourage fans from writing about their books and have asked sites like FanFiction.Net to remove all stories of their works, requests honored by the site. However, Rowling has been "alarmed by pornographic or sexually explicit material clearly not meant for kids," according to Neil Blair, an attorney for her publisher. The attorneys have sent cease and desist letters to sites that host adult material. Potter fan fiction also has a large following in the slash fiction genre, stories which feature homosexuality that does not exist in the books. Famous pairings include Harry with Draco Malfoy or Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin with Sirius Black. Harry Potter slash has eroded some of the antipathy towards underage sexuality in the wider slash fandom.In the fall of 2006, Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Potter films, said that he had read fan fiction about his character and gets "a huge kick out of the more far-out stuff."
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115836001321164886-Cled0vmX0d4M0mDQQvEU9VSfC6I_20070917.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top (Wasn't sure if this one would open - gave me some trouble- so I copied the text. Hope it's not too long.)
Rewriting the Rules of Fiction
Amateur authors writing tales about favorite characters are drawing big audiences and landing book deals. Meet Harry Potter's grandparents.
By JOHN JURGENSENSeptember 16, 2006
She writes about a group of young wizards attending the Hogwarts School. She has legions of readers throughout the world.
Her name is Hannah Jones, and she's 19 years old.
Fan fiction, stories by amateur writers about characters from their favorite books, movies and television shows, was once mainly a fringe pursuit. Now, it's changing the world of fiction, as Internet exposure helps unknown authors find mainstream success. Some Web sites are attracting unprecedented numbers of readers and, in some cases, leading to book deals. They are also feeding the appetites of readers and viewers who can't get enough of shows like "Lost" or "House."
There's a librarian in Rathdrum, Idaho, who spent 10 years posting her writings about a character from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" online; Simon & Schuster paid her a $150,000 advance to publish the works as a three-novel trilogy. In Brooklyn, N.Y., a free-lance copy editor has become one of the Web's best-known "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" fan-fiction writers, and has landed a three-book publishing deal for a young-adult fantasy series. When a comic-book store manager in New Jersey decided to take his first stab at fan fiction this year, entering a contest sponsored by Showtime's "The L Word," he got the attention of a literary agent, who signed him last month. And Ms. Jones will soon have her first book published.
One sign of the growing influence of these authors and stories is that media companies, usually quick to go after people who use their copyrighted material, are increasingly leaving fan fiction writers alone. Mindful of the large, loyal audience the writers represent, many companies are adopting an attitude one media professor describes as "benign neglect." While most professional writers say their lawyers advise them not to read fan fiction to protect themselves against charges of plagiarism, some say they check the numbers of fan fiction stories posted about their work regularly as a measure of their success.
The rise of fan fiction is part of the spread of amateur-created content online, from viral videos to music playlists and blogs. Increasingly, audiences have become used to watching videos posted by other users on sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Reading fiction online is another extention of this trend.
Ms. Jones, who has been writing fan fiction since she was about 11 years old, got her start writing about TV shows and movies like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," but took off in the fan-fiction world when she moved into "Harry Potter." The J.K. Rowling series is by far the biggest source for fan-fiction stories on the Web now, dwarfing franchises such as "Star Wars."
ALTERNATIVE PLOTS
• The Journal's John Jurgensen discusses the roots of the fan-fiction movement.
• See some of the most-popular fan fiction on the Web.
Ms. Jones is best known for a series called "The Shoebox Project," which she writes under the name "Jaida" with a writer named "Rave." The story is a prequel of sorts, focusing on Harry Potter's now deceased parents, along with two other wizards, Remus and Sirius, imagining them as teenage wizards finding themselves in high school during the 1970s. Interspersed in the text of the stories are scrawled notes that look like they were written by the characters themselves.
In one critical turning point in the series, Harry's grandparents are killed by Death Eaters, minions of the dark lord Voldemort -- a plot point that mirrors the killing of Harry's parents, described in Ms. Rowling's series. But Ms. Jones says she was chagrined to learn later about an interview with Ms. Rowling where the author told readers that Harry's grandparents had died of natural causes.
The series, which Ms. Jones began the summer before her freshman year at Barnard College in 2004, is up to 25 sections and the equivalent of 600 pages. While Ms. Jones says it's impossible to track how many individual readers her entries have, nearly 5,000 people have signed up to be automatically notified whenever she posts a new part on LiveJournal.com, the Web community favored by many fan fiction writers. Each installment generates hundreds of reader comments and reviews.
Ms. Jones was contacted by Frank Fradella, an author running his own small independent book-publishing company, New Babel Books, who had read her work on LiveJournal. Next month, he's publishing her first print book, a collection of poetry called "Cinquefoil."
Like virtually all fan fiction, "The Shoebox Project" was created without the permission of the author or publisher. Many authors don't object to the fan-fiction surrounding their work, seeing it as a sign of a devoted audience rather than an act of copyright infringement.
Meg Cabot, author of "The Princess Diaries," says she herself was once a fan-fiction writer, writing stories inspired by Anne McCaffrey's fantasy novels about dragons when she was in high school and college. "I never told anyone. I've started admitting it now," she says. She says she was delighted to discover that her books had inspired hundreds of stories by fans.
Although Ms. Cabot says she occasionally goes online to see the tally of "Princess Diaries" and "Mediator" fan-fiction stories, she says she never reads them. Legal advisers warned that if she did read fan fiction, she'd be opening herself to potential lawsuits from fans who could claim she'd stolen their ideas.
Some authors take a less friendly view of the genre, however. "No matter how flattering, it's still robbery," says fantasy novelist Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, whose vampire works have inspired a number of fan-fiction writers. She estimates that her attorney has sent out about 20 "cease and desist" letters to writers and owners of fan sites. Ms. Yarbro says this has caused some of the writers and sites to take their stories down.
For much of its history, fan fiction centered on the science-fiction and comic-book worlds. While the subject matter of fan fiction has expanded greatly, to include everything from "Desperate Housewives" to the Bible, the genre has several entrenched tropes. Many stories take the form of prequels, imagining the back stories of central characters. Crossover fantasies also have long been a key element of fan fiction, pairing characters from different books or shows.
"Shippers" (the term is believed to be derived from "relationship") are writers that explore -- and often invent -- relationships between characters. A subgenre of this is "slash," which creates gay relationships between characters such as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from "Star Trek." Slash fiction is often sexually graphic, and fan fiction's association with slash has made some mainstream authors and TV networks wary of it.
Increasingly, however, media companies, undeterred by the stigma of slash, are looking for ways to capitalize on fan fiction and its large audience. A company called FanLib is working with networks and publishers to create fan-fiction promotions and contests for books and TV shows.
FanLib recently launched a romance-writing contest with HarperCollins's Avon imprint. "We're looking for ways to reach the real core readers," says Liate Stehlik, Avon's senior vice president and publisher. To avoid copyright problems, they had writers create chapters of a novel from scratch, instead of basing them on one particular book.
FanLib's first high-profile project was a fan writing contest earlier this year devoted to "The L Word," a Showtime drama about a group of lesbian characters. FanLib Chief Executive Chris Williams says that 20,000 people registered on the contest site, where one of the show's writers assigned scenes.
The possibility of being discovered was a motivation for aspiring novelist Ervin Anderson, who was one of the seven contest winners and the only male to win. The manager of a comic shop outside Philadelphia called Fat Jake's Comicrypt, Mr. Anderson, 35, works on his own fiction at night. He was a casual watcher of "The L Word," but when the contest was announced in the spring, he saw it as chance to get an audience with industry professionals. In the second week of the contest, voters picked one of his scenes, which touched on eating disorders and mental illness. "Being a straight male, I wasn't sure I could compete. But everyone was very welcoming," he says.
With press clippings about the "L Word" contest in hand, he met with a literary agent and signed a contract in July. He's also entered the HarperCollins contest, and has read four romance novels by popular author Julia Quinn to prepare. "As a struggling writer, you've got to take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you. You really never know where your break is going to come from," he says.
At the same time, however, many fan-fiction writers shield their identities online and keep their pursuit secret from friends and colleagues. Meredith Elliott, who works at a theater company in Vancouver, British Columbia, has a following for her writings based on the TV show "House," but has only told her mother about her hobby.
"There's a sense of guilt. I always feel that I should not be using somebody else's characters and should be doing my own writing," she says. "But then I remember I am doing my own writing."
Write to John Jurgensen at john.jurgensen@wsj.com
Here are some articles pertaining to my upcoming discussion on Harry Potter fan fiction. The first is from "Wikipedia", the second is from "The Wall Street Journal". Enjoy!
~Kat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_fan_fiction (I copied the part specifically about "fan fiction". Also included in the link is a bunch of other cool stuff about Harry Potter fan comunities, so feel free to have a look. Could be fun...
Fan Fiction
"Rowling has backed fan fiction stories on the Internte, stories written by fans that involve Harry Potter or other characters in the books. A March 2007 study showed that "Harry Potter" is the most searched-for fan fiction subject online. Some fans will use canon established in the books to write stories of past and future events in the Harry Potter world; others write stories that have little relation to the books other than the characters' names and the settings in which the fan fiction takes place. On FanFiction.Net, what has been referred to as the "granddaddy of fan-fiction sites", there are over 370,000 stories on Harry Potter. There are numerous websites devoted solely to Harry Potter fan fiction. Of these, FictionAlley.org has grown to be one of the largest: it hosts over 80,000 stories and 20,000 works of fan art. A well-known work of fan fiction is The Shoebox Project, created by two LiveJournal users. Over 5000 people subscribe to the story so that they are alerted when new posts update the story. The authors' works, including this project, were featured in an article in the The Wall Street Journal discussing the growth in popularity of fandoms.
Rowling has said, "I find it very flattering that people love the characters that much." She has adopted a positive position on fan fiction, unlike authors such as Anne McCaffrey or Anne Rice who discourage fans from writing about their books and have asked sites like FanFiction.Net to remove all stories of their works, requests honored by the site. However, Rowling has been "alarmed by pornographic or sexually explicit material clearly not meant for kids," according to Neil Blair, an attorney for her publisher. The attorneys have sent cease and desist letters to sites that host adult material. Potter fan fiction also has a large following in the slash fiction genre, stories which feature homosexuality that does not exist in the books. Famous pairings include Harry with Draco Malfoy or Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin with Sirius Black. Harry Potter slash has eroded some of the antipathy towards underage sexuality in the wider slash fandom.In the fall of 2006, Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Potter films, said that he had read fan fiction about his character and gets "a huge kick out of the more far-out stuff."
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115836001321164886-Cled0vmX0d4M0mDQQvEU9VSfC6I_20070917.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top (Wasn't sure if this one would open - gave me some trouble- so I copied the text. Hope it's not too long.)
Rewriting the Rules of Fiction
Amateur authors writing tales about favorite characters are drawing big audiences and landing book deals. Meet Harry Potter's grandparents.
By JOHN JURGENSENSeptember 16, 2006
She writes about a group of young wizards attending the Hogwarts School. She has legions of readers throughout the world.
Her name is Hannah Jones, and she's 19 years old.
Fan fiction, stories by amateur writers about characters from their favorite books, movies and television shows, was once mainly a fringe pursuit. Now, it's changing the world of fiction, as Internet exposure helps unknown authors find mainstream success. Some Web sites are attracting unprecedented numbers of readers and, in some cases, leading to book deals. They are also feeding the appetites of readers and viewers who can't get enough of shows like "Lost" or "House."
There's a librarian in Rathdrum, Idaho, who spent 10 years posting her writings about a character from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" online; Simon & Schuster paid her a $150,000 advance to publish the works as a three-novel trilogy. In Brooklyn, N.Y., a free-lance copy editor has become one of the Web's best-known "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" fan-fiction writers, and has landed a three-book publishing deal for a young-adult fantasy series. When a comic-book store manager in New Jersey decided to take his first stab at fan fiction this year, entering a contest sponsored by Showtime's "The L Word," he got the attention of a literary agent, who signed him last month. And Ms. Jones will soon have her first book published.
One sign of the growing influence of these authors and stories is that media companies, usually quick to go after people who use their copyrighted material, are increasingly leaving fan fiction writers alone. Mindful of the large, loyal audience the writers represent, many companies are adopting an attitude one media professor describes as "benign neglect." While most professional writers say their lawyers advise them not to read fan fiction to protect themselves against charges of plagiarism, some say they check the numbers of fan fiction stories posted about their work regularly as a measure of their success.
The rise of fan fiction is part of the spread of amateur-created content online, from viral videos to music playlists and blogs. Increasingly, audiences have become used to watching videos posted by other users on sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Reading fiction online is another extention of this trend.
Ms. Jones, who has been writing fan fiction since she was about 11 years old, got her start writing about TV shows and movies like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," but took off in the fan-fiction world when she moved into "Harry Potter." The J.K. Rowling series is by far the biggest source for fan-fiction stories on the Web now, dwarfing franchises such as "Star Wars."
ALTERNATIVE PLOTS
• The Journal's John Jurgensen discusses the roots of the fan-fiction movement.
• See some of the most-popular fan fiction on the Web.
Ms. Jones is best known for a series called "The Shoebox Project," which she writes under the name "Jaida" with a writer named "Rave." The story is a prequel of sorts, focusing on Harry Potter's now deceased parents, along with two other wizards, Remus and Sirius, imagining them as teenage wizards finding themselves in high school during the 1970s. Interspersed in the text of the stories are scrawled notes that look like they were written by the characters themselves.
In one critical turning point in the series, Harry's grandparents are killed by Death Eaters, minions of the dark lord Voldemort -- a plot point that mirrors the killing of Harry's parents, described in Ms. Rowling's series. But Ms. Jones says she was chagrined to learn later about an interview with Ms. Rowling where the author told readers that Harry's grandparents had died of natural causes.
The series, which Ms. Jones began the summer before her freshman year at Barnard College in 2004, is up to 25 sections and the equivalent of 600 pages. While Ms. Jones says it's impossible to track how many individual readers her entries have, nearly 5,000 people have signed up to be automatically notified whenever she posts a new part on LiveJournal.com, the Web community favored by many fan fiction writers. Each installment generates hundreds of reader comments and reviews.
Ms. Jones was contacted by Frank Fradella, an author running his own small independent book-publishing company, New Babel Books, who had read her work on LiveJournal. Next month, he's publishing her first print book, a collection of poetry called "Cinquefoil."
Like virtually all fan fiction, "The Shoebox Project" was created without the permission of the author or publisher. Many authors don't object to the fan-fiction surrounding their work, seeing it as a sign of a devoted audience rather than an act of copyright infringement.
Meg Cabot, author of "The Princess Diaries," says she herself was once a fan-fiction writer, writing stories inspired by Anne McCaffrey's fantasy novels about dragons when she was in high school and college. "I never told anyone. I've started admitting it now," she says. She says she was delighted to discover that her books had inspired hundreds of stories by fans.
Although Ms. Cabot says she occasionally goes online to see the tally of "Princess Diaries" and "Mediator" fan-fiction stories, she says she never reads them. Legal advisers warned that if she did read fan fiction, she'd be opening herself to potential lawsuits from fans who could claim she'd stolen their ideas.
Some authors take a less friendly view of the genre, however. "No matter how flattering, it's still robbery," says fantasy novelist Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, whose vampire works have inspired a number of fan-fiction writers. She estimates that her attorney has sent out about 20 "cease and desist" letters to writers and owners of fan sites. Ms. Yarbro says this has caused some of the writers and sites to take their stories down.
For much of its history, fan fiction centered on the science-fiction and comic-book worlds. While the subject matter of fan fiction has expanded greatly, to include everything from "Desperate Housewives" to the Bible, the genre has several entrenched tropes. Many stories take the form of prequels, imagining the back stories of central characters. Crossover fantasies also have long been a key element of fan fiction, pairing characters from different books or shows.
"Shippers" (the term is believed to be derived from "relationship") are writers that explore -- and often invent -- relationships between characters. A subgenre of this is "slash," which creates gay relationships between characters such as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from "Star Trek." Slash fiction is often sexually graphic, and fan fiction's association with slash has made some mainstream authors and TV networks wary of it.
Increasingly, however, media companies, undeterred by the stigma of slash, are looking for ways to capitalize on fan fiction and its large audience. A company called FanLib is working with networks and publishers to create fan-fiction promotions and contests for books and TV shows.
FanLib recently launched a romance-writing contest with HarperCollins's Avon imprint. "We're looking for ways to reach the real core readers," says Liate Stehlik, Avon's senior vice president and publisher. To avoid copyright problems, they had writers create chapters of a novel from scratch, instead of basing them on one particular book.
FanLib's first high-profile project was a fan writing contest earlier this year devoted to "The L Word," a Showtime drama about a group of lesbian characters. FanLib Chief Executive Chris Williams says that 20,000 people registered on the contest site, where one of the show's writers assigned scenes.
The possibility of being discovered was a motivation for aspiring novelist Ervin Anderson, who was one of the seven contest winners and the only male to win. The manager of a comic shop outside Philadelphia called Fat Jake's Comicrypt, Mr. Anderson, 35, works on his own fiction at night. He was a casual watcher of "The L Word," but when the contest was announced in the spring, he saw it as chance to get an audience with industry professionals. In the second week of the contest, voters picked one of his scenes, which touched on eating disorders and mental illness. "Being a straight male, I wasn't sure I could compete. But everyone was very welcoming," he says.
With press clippings about the "L Word" contest in hand, he met with a literary agent and signed a contract in July. He's also entered the HarperCollins contest, and has read four romance novels by popular author Julia Quinn to prepare. "As a struggling writer, you've got to take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you. You really never know where your break is going to come from," he says.
At the same time, however, many fan-fiction writers shield their identities online and keep their pursuit secret from friends and colleagues. Meredith Elliott, who works at a theater company in Vancouver, British Columbia, has a following for her writings based on the TV show "House," but has only told her mother about her hobby.
"There's a sense of guilt. I always feel that I should not be using somebody else's characters and should be doing my own writing," she says. "But then I remember I am doing my own writing."
Write to John Jurgensen at john.jurgensen@wsj.com
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Monday Presentation
Here are some articles on classmates.com that will be discussed during my presentation monday.
http://paulbeard.org/wordpress/index.php/archives/2006/11/18/classmatescom-spam-scam/
http://www.webtalkguys.com/article-classmates.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classmates.com
http://paulbeard.org/wordpress/index.php/archives/2006/11/18/classmatescom-spam-scam/
http://www.webtalkguys.com/article-classmates.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classmates.com
Youtube is a binomial or double-edged weapon.
Hi everyone ,
Iam going to present next class on Monday how Youtube has beneful and harmful effects . I've posted these two articles to give you backgrounds that Youtube website isn't just a video entertainning website, but it has alot of serious issues.
*The bad one:
Sections: News, Web, Websites, Online Music/Video
YouTube plus stupid or criminal acts is not a good combination, or is it?
by Robert Nelson on Jul 4, 2008 at 04:07 PM
Keeping in mind that there are just some things that you should not do. Take “throwing a baby” for example, but assuming you felt the need to do such a crazy thing, then why would you feel the need to not only record it, but also post the video to a popular site as YouTube. Its almost like asking to get in trouble, isn’t it?
The latest teen did just that, he had his friend film himself throwing a baby, well not actually throwing, but sort of launching it. The 16-year old placed the baby on a large inflatable pillow and then jumped on it to send the baby flying across the room. The teens then posted the video online and it was later found by one of the students teachers, who promptly called the police. The 16-year old has since been charged with felony cruelty to a child, and according to Sheriff Harold Breeden;
“It’s not going to be funny when the judge gets through with him.”
Could not have said it any better myself, lets just hope the judge does not go easy, because it was also noted that this particular teen “has never been in trouble before.”
While some people feel that YouTube is a least partially responsible for these acts, personally I am glad YouTube and similar site are around. Its hard to imagine that someone who is dumb enough to do something like this would have not done it in the first place, at least with sites like YouTube and the Internet in general it makes it a little easier on law enforcements ability to catch these stupid criminals.
*The good one:
Sections: Web, Websites, Online Music/Video
YouTube becomes a good tool for local police
by Robert Nelson on Apr 15, 2008 at 06:15 AM
YouTube, while being widely popular and still taking more than its fair share of criticism over the use and what videos get uploaded still has some very good potential uses. It’s just up to the user or in this case the group to make good use of such a wide potential audience.
The Palm Bay Police Department, located in Florida has become the latest to attempt to make good use of YouTube’s potential. They have created their own channel and use it to share videos ranging from one about the “Florida Tour de Force” to clips of criminals in action and people they are looking for. While its always fun to watch those silly videos that go viral, its refreshing to see a law enforcement department be able to fit in with the craziness.
I hope these two articles to be just a good way for us to learning.
thanks ,
Maggi Youssef
Iam going to present next class on Monday how Youtube has beneful and harmful effects . I've posted these two articles to give you backgrounds that Youtube website isn't just a video entertainning website, but it has alot of serious issues.
*The bad one:
Sections: News, Web, Websites, Online Music/Video
YouTube plus stupid or criminal acts is not a good combination, or is it?
by Robert Nelson on Jul 4, 2008 at 04:07 PM
Keeping in mind that there are just some things that you should not do. Take “throwing a baby” for example, but assuming you felt the need to do such a crazy thing, then why would you feel the need to not only record it, but also post the video to a popular site as YouTube. Its almost like asking to get in trouble, isn’t it?
The latest teen did just that, he had his friend film himself throwing a baby, well not actually throwing, but sort of launching it. The 16-year old placed the baby on a large inflatable pillow and then jumped on it to send the baby flying across the room. The teens then posted the video online and it was later found by one of the students teachers, who promptly called the police. The 16-year old has since been charged with felony cruelty to a child, and according to Sheriff Harold Breeden;
“It’s not going to be funny when the judge gets through with him.”
Could not have said it any better myself, lets just hope the judge does not go easy, because it was also noted that this particular teen “has never been in trouble before.”
While some people feel that YouTube is a least partially responsible for these acts, personally I am glad YouTube and similar site are around. Its hard to imagine that someone who is dumb enough to do something like this would have not done it in the first place, at least with sites like YouTube and the Internet in general it makes it a little easier on law enforcements ability to catch these stupid criminals.
*The good one:
Sections: Web, Websites, Online Music/Video
YouTube becomes a good tool for local police
by Robert Nelson on Apr 15, 2008 at 06:15 AM
YouTube, while being widely popular and still taking more than its fair share of criticism over the use and what videos get uploaded still has some very good potential uses. It’s just up to the user or in this case the group to make good use of such a wide potential audience.
The Palm Bay Police Department, located in Florida has become the latest to attempt to make good use of YouTube’s potential. They have created their own channel and use it to share videos ranging from one about the “Florida Tour de Force” to clips of criminals in action and people they are looking for. While its always fun to watch those silly videos that go viral, its refreshing to see a law enforcement department be able to fit in with the craziness.
I hope these two articles to be just a good way for us to learning.
thanks ,
Maggi Youssef
Facebook: Privacy Concerns for Students
Hello class!
I will be beginning our presentations this coming Monday with a discussion on Facebook. I am posting two articles in preparation, both from newspaper's of highly recognizable universities in the United States; Washington University and Northwestern University. The articles can be found at:
http://dailyuw.com/2007/4/25/facebook-poses-privacy-issues-for-students/
http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2007/11/5072/employers-use-facebook-information-when-hiring/
After reading these two articles, I have personally reconsidered my page's content and maybe you will too. Enjoy the readings and see you all Monday.
- Jake Gold
I will be beginning our presentations this coming Monday with a discussion on Facebook. I am posting two articles in preparation, both from newspaper's of highly recognizable universities in the United States; Washington University and Northwestern University. The articles can be found at:
http://dailyuw.com/2007/4/25/facebook-poses-privacy-issues-for-students/
http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2007/11/5072/employers-use-facebook-information-when-hiring/
After reading these two articles, I have personally reconsidered my page's content and maybe you will too. Enjoy the readings and see you all Monday.
- Jake Gold
Cyber-Communities Schedule
So, here's what our discussion schedule looks like now. If there are any problems please let me know as soon as possible. If any of you are ready to present on Monday with Jake and Maggi, that would be welcome. Remember that this will not be an in-depth presentation. You just need to find an article about your topic, post it (48 hours before class, please), and then talk about the website and the article in class for about 5 minutes.
Sept. 8
Jake Gold: Facebook.com
Maggi Youssef: Youtube.com
Matthew Costanzo: Classmates.com
Sept. 10
Elizabeth Escobar: Myspace.com
Katrina Montagna: Harrypotterfanfiction.com
Stefania Silva: Lonelygirl15.com
Christine Endriss: Dance.net
Antesh Sharma: Deviantart.com
Sept. 15
John Anderson: Wikipedia.org
Lynette Rodriguez: Questionstream.com
Haisheng Lu: Bittorent.com
Naveen Naqvi: Flickr.com
Sept. 17
Miguel Tepale: Craigslist.org
Jacqueline Lin: Ebay.com
John Kaczmarek: Amazon.com
Jeffrey Gomez: Xboxlive.com
Michelle Sheridan: Purevolume.com
Sept. 22
Jin Chuang: Baidu.com
Ting Han: Xanga.com
Amarpreet Kaur: Orkut.com
Weiran Guo: MSN.com
Rongke Zhao: Cyworld.com
Sept. 8
Jake Gold: Facebook.com
Maggi Youssef: Youtube.com
Matthew Costanzo: Classmates.com
Sept. 10
Elizabeth Escobar: Myspace.com
Katrina Montagna: Harrypotterfanfiction.com
Stefania Silva: Lonelygirl15.com
Christine Endriss: Dance.net
Antesh Sharma: Deviantart.com
Sept. 15
John Anderson: Wikipedia.org
Lynette Rodriguez: Questionstream.com
Haisheng Lu: Bittorent.com
Naveen Naqvi: Flickr.com
Sept. 17
Miguel Tepale: Craigslist.org
Jacqueline Lin: Ebay.com
John Kaczmarek: Amazon.com
Jeffrey Gomez: Xboxlive.com
Michelle Sheridan: Purevolume.com
Sept. 22
Jin Chuang: Baidu.com
Ting Han: Xanga.com
Amarpreet Kaur: Orkut.com
Weiran Guo: MSN.com
Rongke Zhao: Cyworld.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Web 2.0 video
Thanks to those of you who posted your thoughts about the Web 2.0 video by Michael Wesch. I thought some of you might like to see it again, so here it is.
And here's another take on the internet, from a slightly different perspective.
And here's another take on the internet, from a slightly different perspective.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thoughts On Web 2.0
Ever since the day I saw the video of "Web 2.0", I haven't yet stopped thinking about the impact the web has on EVER single individual . When you think about it, every single individual in this world has some type of association with the web. It can be a social network or even just a simple email account. Honestly, the whole idea that we as individuals rely on the web...kind of scares and concerns me of what the future will behold for generations to come. A great example would be a good friend of mine that literally lives of her laptop. From Facebook, Myspace, her bank account, ordering food online, watching videos, and reading books. I asked her one day "What would you do if your laptop ever was ever damaged?" She replied that she would beg for her room mates laptop and hold on to it till her own laptop was fixed . She told me in her own words that the internet is her life. Its these types of actions that concern me about how we rely on the web so much. Come to think of it, what would you do if suddnely the world's internet suddenly stopped working? Theres always the library you know. :)
The nature of web 2.0
When I saw the video in our class , I recognized that every single thing in our technology world , is coming by the fastest way of using the small word that can express our lives issues .I mean by that if we just wrote the word "friend" on google website, it would lead us to whole specific details about this word so fast and we can got all websites of how we can get friends . I analyzed also when I saw youtube video of the machine that that video is kind of brainstorming session .The web has updated some information and alot of stuff about how anything we search for it , comes with alot of ideas and knowledgable backgrounds of how we can interact with our small world by social networking . From this point , I can say that our world is just small village which we can reach anytime and everywhere , so we can find that every person has his or her own account on facebook or my space or any other networking.
the nature of web 2.0 ---Haisheng lu
After watching the YouTube video “The Machine Us/ing Us”, I think the nature of web 2.0 is on two element facts:
1) The World Wide Web is no longer a machine or a tool but has become a kind of relationship between people, just like love, family, classmates, co-workers or friends.
2) The human beings are becoming a subset of the World Wide Web
It reminds me of Keanu Reeves’s movie “The Matrix”. Will it be true that one day all the human beings would do nothing but just “sleeping in a “real” dream”? It appears so, I think.
Because yesterday the World Wide Web was just a super library that we can find any information we need., but today it has already becomes a relationship that we rely on. Maybe tomorrow it will develop its own mind, or we should say “his” mind.
That’s why in the final seconds of “The Machine Us/ing Us”, the author says “we will need to rethink ourselves”
1) The World Wide Web is no longer a machine or a tool but has become a kind of relationship between people, just like love, family, classmates, co-workers or friends.
2) The human beings are becoming a subset of the World Wide Web
It reminds me of Keanu Reeves’s movie “The Matrix”. Will it be true that one day all the human beings would do nothing but just “sleeping in a “real” dream”? It appears so, I think.
Because yesterday the World Wide Web was just a super library that we can find any information we need., but today it has already becomes a relationship that we rely on. Maybe tomorrow it will develop its own mind, or we should say “his” mind.
That’s why in the final seconds of “The Machine Us/ing Us”, the author says “we will need to rethink ourselves”
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