Friday my regular slot on WPRB was pre-empted for sports (OH HAI), so I managed to plow through a pile of coursework. The amount of work, and the speed at which it was completed is exhilarating. (I used to think I was a fast reader, then I came to grad school felt like I was in remedial English. Am I better reader now? Depends on the material, and how quickly it puts me to sleep [content analyses, I'm looking at you].) Anyway, I did this so I could go to BarCampPhilly on Saturday, which turned out to be worth aggravating the ol’ carpal tunnel.
There was definitely a part of me simply wanting to see the venue, a.k.a. my undergrad alma mater, UArts. Back then, the Terra Building was still in construction and my classmates would sneak into the empty floors to take “artistic” photos of themselves. (What’s the icon for eyerolling?) But it was nice to see how fleshed out the space has become and how welcoming it is for students. (They even have a radio station now, which makes me totally über-jealous considering how my profs would chastize me for trekking up to WPRB!)
But of course, the main reason I was there: the conference itself. Sometimes I just need a break from theory and see how people are using those ideas in The Real World. Of course, some of my research interests (technology, people) were major factors in what I selected to attend (Web 2.0 & Academia, Online Media for the Offline, “The Internet Sux,” Creative Commons & Art, “The Scene”).
Before I prattle on, Roz & JP, you did an amazing job of putting this together! Thank you! Congrats on a job well done!
Kierkegaard Would Not Have A Blog
Interestingly enough a thread emerged: notions of public/private, public vs. private, and so on. Especially in the Mark Schoneveld-generated discussion, “The Internet Sux,” which began as a conversation on unfriending, unfollowing, and so on, yet shifting to a discussion about privacy issues. Though all of the participants voiced a concern about the issues, what seemed to be missing in retrospect were our personal definitions of privacy.
In the spirit of that conversation, what does it mean to be “private” to me? I believe it is an individual choice to oversee what information (and access to it) is available about me in the public sphere, as well as a right to be left alone.
What people do with information is an entirely different issue. There are some who (1) find use with whatever I put out there, (2) maybe even appreciate my contributions (even when I don’t), or (3) who use that info for less-than-classy reasons (marketing, ego, general creeptitude). As a result, I find myself radically altering/compromising said information (and the performance of it) as a result of that third group.
I could go on about this crap forever; identity politics, etc blah blah. But its interesting to see how the new media/tech folks in town are encountering what has been commonplace in the spheres of entertainment (music, film, etc). It is my recommendation to those folks who are grappling with it to see what’s failed/worked w/r/t those areas, but don’t give up. There’s a happy medium somewhere, I think.
Making It Happen
But to be more self-aware, even self-censor, makes it difficult to do anything. In the discussion, “Your Idea & Why It Hasn’t Happened Yet,” progress only happens when you put it out there. Paraxodical, huh? So here we go. This is project I’m working on you should know about. Feedback would be great, whether that’s in the form of “your idea is stupid” (be able to back that up, jerk), a book recommendation or whatevs:
I’m interested in exploring the role of college radio today. It’s easy to think college radio is a dead medium, especially when paired next to sexier technologies (mp3blogs, podcasts, etc), yet it persists. Students still do it, listeners still listen. The larger broadcasting industry has definitely benefited from it in a myriad of ways. So what are people getting out of it, anyway?
OK, now it’s time for you to throw down in the comments.
Completely unrelated: my copy of 3 Feet High & Rising is skipping like crazy. Sadtown!
