Current Events in Transmedia

Justin Hall links

First off, I’m not sure I would be comfortable posting about a pending divorce or my entire life story online, but clearly that is what drove people to his page and created web traffic for him.  Sacrificing your life for money (or web fame) seems like a bold choice, because it would be my guess that most women wouldn’t appreciate it- clearly it is a risk- but it was such an innovative idea that I’m sure he felt that he had to run with it and see what would come of it.  The guy took risks, and they weren’t small ones.  He speaks of doubling down on the green screen and getting bored of work after six weeks and moving onto radical spur of the moment hunches.  I have always been one to trust my gut, but I can’t say it has worked out every time.  It sounds like his blueprint was to make some money first and then metaphorically double down at Caesars Palace on a green screen no less.

It seems like Justin has been able to use the autobiography site to bring in some amount of cash to add to whatever business he was involved in- Gamers.com, DeNA, etc.  It seems like one of the few rational, yet irrational decisions the guy has made.  Justin in a nutshell is the rational irrational man.  He creates the blog, which few have done and held onto since 1994, then he publishes every detail of his life that is happening from friends passing away to eventually a divorce.  He chronicles everything.  He sounds like the guy that assumed everything would always work out as he discusses failing nearly all his sophomore classes.  Justin doesn’t seem like the materialistic guy, in fact he seems like the complete opposite of that.  Making money was never his goal, but web traffic seems to be.  The passionate guys seem to be far and few that make it, because they make too many sacrifices and compromises along the way, but Justin never deviated his route and seemed to always know where he wanted to head no matter how irrational it seemed to the naked eye.

The “Beat”

Day 1:

2 a.m. Rod sends out Facebook feed that he has attacked and left a Red Cross team on the side of the road.  Rod reports he is going to help other villages that are connected to him.

6 a.m. Liberian Chronicle reports that Liberian native Rod has attacked a Red Cross van and suggest that Red Cross teams should be armed.

10:00 a.m.   24/7NEWS is now getting a report from the Liberian Chronicle that a Red Cross team has been attacked by a 2 person assault team.  The team was let live, but are in critical condition after being stripped of their communication and forced to walk to the nearest town.  The report claims that a younger child was given a weapon.

Day 2:

8 a.m.  Professor Bill reports to students that a man has been attacking Red Cross vehicles and distributing the items to fellow countrymen.

12 p.m.  24/7News reports that Red Cross vans attempted fire on villagers seen running at the vehicle.

4 p.m.  Chris dismisses all claims by 24/7News and reports that 24/7News is an untrustworthy source of news.

Day 3:

8 a.m.  Professor Bill shows students how horrible meddlers can be in mass media with the reports from 24/7News.

10 a.m. Liberian Chronicle writes article on Western help and how more need to contribute.

12 p.m.  Liberian Chronicle publishes article to warn villagers that Red Cross vehicles are armed.

Day 4:

8 p.m. 24/7News reports anarchy and that village rebels have teamed up with other hijacked Red Cross vehicles and equipment.

10 p.m.  24/7News reports that Red Cross vehicles are not armed.

11 p.m.  Professor Bill speaks to class on hindsight and how unhealthy it can be.

Day 5:

8 a.m.  Rod reports to followers that Red Cross vehicles do not have any GPS tracking.

12 p.m. Liberian Chronicle publishes report that villagers are aware how vulnerable Red Cross teams are and that they do not possess any tracking features.

9 p.m.  Chris blames 24/7News for the villagers of Liberia now being aware that they can attack Red Cross vehicles without blow back.

Day 6:

9 a.m. 24/7News takes credit for villagers awareness, although they had nothing to do with it.

1 p.m. Professor Bill tells students that people are desperate for fame and integrity is sacrificed because of it.

3 p.m. Chris dismisses reporters and denies that he made up the report.

Day 7:

4 a.m. Rod makes final attack on Red Cross vehicles, but turns out they were pirates themselves and killed Rod and his son.

12 p.m. Professor Bill tells students that they can’t understand chaos and its true meaning until you see it up close.

1 p.m. Liberian Chronicle reports that Red Cross hijackers are now turning against one another.  Chaos was inevitable and things have actually become worse.

2 character voices

Rod (voice):  Writes in all caps, vengeful tone to everything he says and always reminds everyone that he is doing it for his son.

Rod’s Facebook:  Man I just jacked another Red Cross van and my son is still going strong.  Real talk.

 

 

Bill’s (voice):  Bill writes from a very informed perspective with lots of Twitter source citings.  He usually doesn’t post without citing someone who has direct knowledge to the situation.

Bill’s Twitter:  @Abdu Salawei your point is contradicted by @cNN.  Thoughts?

3 favorite projects

Madrigal writes about a fake Twitter handle satirizing a public figure.  It is something I’ve enjoyed over the past couple years with my fellow sports writers being mocked over Twitter by kids around my age.  What we don’t realize during the fun is how damaging it can be to ourselves and the person we are impersonating.  The formula was Punk-Rock Attitude + Deep Feel for Chicago + New Media Storytelling Chops + Day-to-Day Political News Watcher = @MayorEmanuel.  The fake account went unimpeded for 5 months posting over 2000 tweets, but suddenly shut down.  The Chicago Tribune published an article that expressed how much the people of Chicago missed the Twitter account.

Aunt Diane.  Many of us will admit that we have the far from savvy relative who wants to be one of the kids again on social media.  Aunt Diane reminds me of my uncle, so taken by the craze of Facebook he would post everyday and comment on old delicate photos of mine.  Aunt Diane’s artistic nature is clearly an acquired taste and seeing as how she would rather be paid in eyelashes than actual money it would lead you to believe someone may be having a little fun with this Twitter account also.  This sentence would mortify any young high schooler- Aunt Diane- First sentence of my memoir: “It was an orgasm so powerful that the antelope screamed like harpies and the clouds vomited rain.”

You suck at photoshop.  People have different ways of keeping an audience engaged.  This guys method of constant insults and borderline indecency is an interesting method of attraction.  The guy puts up a front that he is showing us how to photoshop as a momma’s boy basically, but he continues to go off course with friends calling to play video games or whatever else occupies his attention.  I like his mixture of a few techniques and distracting humor.

Character Descriptions

Rod is a middle aged single dad who lives in Guinea.  Rod is a selfish man who only wants to survive the outbreak with his son.  He is a highly reactive widower that targets the Red Cross for supplies.  Rod mainly operates on Facebook.

 

Bill is a young man with a big heart.  He lives in Colorado with no family.  He works at UC-Boulder as a philosophy professor and is a radical altruist.  Bill volunteers at the Boulder Clinic.  He operates on Twitter mainly.

 

The Liberian Chronicle is the biggest daily paper in the area, but constricted by the government.  The paper is translated to English online.  They are an extension of the government and want to lead the Liberians to think that there hasn’t been an outbreak of EVD.  The paper has had a few staffers disappear for their published work on Twitter.

 

24News Network is a cable station operating out of New York.  They make light of any rumors going on no matter how credible they may be.  They work around the clock.  They are driven purely on more exposure for their station and sometimes get flagged for reporting news without credible sources.  They are negligent.  Meddlers with general public information.

 

Steve is a New Yorker who hates 24News Network.  He has his own blog and often discredits what 24News puts out in the world.  He has a wife and 2 adopted sons.  He is a harsh conservative and a great family man.  Steve believes people need to figure things out on their own, and has a very low tolerance for individuals that pollute the general population.

Ebola group response #2

Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma has widened a quarantine to include another one million people in an attempt to curb the spread of Ebola.  The northern districts of Port Loko and Bombali, and Moyamba in the south, will be sealed off immediately.  Tension is rising and people are fleeing.  Nearly 600 people have died of the virus in Sierra Leone where two eastern districts are already blockaded.

President Obama spoke this week on nations coming to aid West Africa.  “There is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be,” President Obama told a high-level United Nations meeting on Ebola.  The death toll is climbing.  New UN WHO research shows that 2,917 people have died in the outbreak, with Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea the worst affected.  A third US aid worker, Dr. Rick Sacra, has recovered after becoming infected with Ebola in Liberia, and has been released from a US hospital.

Liberia with a 4.2m population: 51 doctors; 978 nurses and midwives; 269 pharmacists.  Sierra Leone with a 6m population: 136 doctors; 1,017 nurses and midwives; 114 pharmacists.  Not exactly the ratio you would hope for, but The World Bank just added another 9-figure sum to help combat Ebola in West Africa and make these ratios a little more livable.  The current outbreak of Ebola is posting a 70% mortality rate with no vaccine or proven cure.

Ebola group response #2

Group links- Many want more information that that the government is clinging to stop panic and chaos. The sources describe what African nations are doing about containment and folks in Guinea don’t even believe there has been an outbreak. Equipment needed like suits and masks is not something these nations have lying around and they cannot easily contain the virus without outside help or suits.  Wealthier countries have it good because they can get close to the virus with the suits and treat people at close range.

Personal experience links, it paints a cruder picture of what they are going thru and walking thru what is happening with their families. Many do not survive because they stay with their family, but the one’s that leave have made it to a hospital and at the moment are still being treated.  A lot of these entries are acknowledgments and pain for groups to speak together online about family or friends that have been lost to the virus.

The consensus among African countries is that the community will find out, so we are going to fully disclose where the virus is. The countries with little resources are so much worse off than nations that have so few cases/people diagnosed with the virus. Countries are fighting their own battles with the world crisis ISIS and it is so monumental that private groups step in to help these African countries because countries who aren’t faced with the outbreak are basically losing patience and sympathy.

Ebola group links

Henry Jenkins

Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies, according to google.com.

Henry Jenkins contradicts google’s definition saying “that Transmedia Storytelling is perfectly viable without using new technologies, and that the latter have mainly been used as facilitators by the modern creators of transmedia universes.  He was referring to the latter as “the narrative universe of The Wizard of Oz (musicals, cartoon series, books, comic strips) to illustrate the idea that, in his opinion, Transmedia strategies were in place well before the term was coined and defined, and certainly well before the rapid rise of digital media.”  The definition of transmedia storytelling is defined differently by nearly everyone you ask.  Jenkins believes that it wasn’t just created that it has existed for a lot longer than my 22 years on this planet.  That issue may not be resolved.

One thing I’ve learned from this is that people will function in different ways.  They will share their material on different forms of transmedia storytelling.  Jenkins is old school so he would likely spread his examples like The Wizard of Oz without using blogs or social media.  The way you choose to circulate is entirely your choice, but the way you chose likely correlates to the generation in which you were born.  Professor Wittig isn’t the only person his age that can perform adequately on Twitter, but people don’t want to take the time to learn something new when they already have something that works.  Opening yourself up to more transmedia may make it so the circulation does not become dead.

If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.  You need to harness your personality and integrate that personality with your pitch- much like what we are doing on Twitter.  If you can create something that is unique and consistent, then you have a great character.  The problem then becomes how will you spread it.  I will not despair because I understand why we are doing some of the things in class is to get a better grasp on who we are or learn how to teach others who we are.

All the times you’ve heard be yourself hasn’t really resonated until college.  In high school things were just a simple flow with little care in the world, but now that we are faced with more choices I really feel like that has always been in my head ‘be who you are Will’.  We need confidence and for that to happen we need others to believe in us most of the time.  Locking down some allies on #netprovtv seemed to be crucial in the opening stages and when my character wasn’t drawing attention I switched my character a few times until I found one who I felt was the most like me and the most known to our generation.  I chose Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy.

The previous paragraph was basically a reiteration of what Henry Jenkins and Matt Ratto have told us.  “‘DIY citizenship’ generally meaning the right to self-determine one’s own identity through engagements with the concepts and ideas on offer within the media. According to Hartley, the DIY citizen is one who creates their identity and individuality through a process of choosing from the semiotic material on offer.”  It is so difficult to put yourself out there in a room where you don’t know anyone and the credibility you thought you had- like playing football in high school- is totally non-existent and all they see is a fake Twitter page you created for class.  It is so key to establish those allies who will back you up when you fall, and you have to remember that you aren’t there to knock people down, instead you are there to build something and grow with people of common interests.

You have to buy in and it is difficult to do that at times because you are not sure why you are doing something- like talking on Twitter with classmates of only 2 classmates names you know.   According to Jenkins “Citizens, people, users of the world wide web, increasingly make it part of their daily lives and work to create, shape and share information with their communities.”  We share information everyday in class.  We share to understand new developments and also to understand things that may not have seemed interesting to us, but someone else is able to make the material more appealing on why it means something to them.  I understand what we are doing a lot more now that I’ve read these blogs and I’m buying in.

Soccer-Ebola football ban on west African countries to remain

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Bans on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone hosting any international football because of fears of spreading Ebola were kept in place by the Confederation of African Football, its executive committee decided on Saturday. The three west African countries — at the epicentre of the outbreak of the highly contagious disease — had originally been banned from hosting all games until mid-September but has now been extended indefinitely, CAF announced. It means Guinea and Sierra Leone must again move scheduled African Nations Cup qualifiers to alternate venues next month. Guinea had to play their opening group game against Togo in Morocco earlier this month and also last weekend staged an under-17 qualifying tie in Casablanca. Sierra Leone could not find an alternate venue for their qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo 10 days ago and instead ceded home advantage to their opponents. Liberia have no scheduled international matches in the near future. Ebola has infected at least 5,357 people in West Africa this year, mainly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, killing 2,630 of those, according to the World Health Organization. The disease has also been reported in Nigeria and Senegal but these two countries have not been banned from holding games by CAF. The epidemic has brought sport to complete standstill in both Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Guinea were ironically on Saturday named as a future host of the Nations Cup finals in 2023 at the same meeting of CAF’s executive committee in the Ethiopian capital. Teams from the affected countries were also subjected to vigorous checks before being allowed to play matches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Uganda earlier this month.