The Revolution Will Be Digital

For our CS400H final project, one of my classmates Jill created this great online magazine 'The Revolution Will Be Digital'. I really like how she included a Letter from the Editor, where she states how she feels about print vs. digital texts. It demonstrates an important aspect of citizen media, where it is normal and somewhat expected that the author disclose his/her bias. I also like the different graphics and fonts, especially the magazine cover. My only question/critique is regarding the "master plan" font and if it is supposed to be spaced awkwardly. It could be that it shows up differently on my mac than intended, or perhaps it's supposed to be like that for effect.

The articles are well written and I think you did a great job, Jill!

CS400H Final Project - Response to Vancouver Olympics

For the final project of my 4th year Communications course entitled Citizen Media and the Public Sphere (the course I was required to write this blog for), I was asked to engage in a citizen media project. I chose to make a YouTube response to the Vancouver Olympics that outlined the actuality of all the Winter Olympic spending. The importance of putting this spending into context is outlined in the remix of clips. The links to the clips I used are at the end of the video.

The creation of this video illustrates the concept that citizen media (like YouTube) can provide an alternative view to mainstream, hegemonic news. As well, it illustrates that the concept of remixing other texts (in this case, YouTube clips) is an effective way to create a new idea built upon other works.

This is the first time I've created something like this, so any and all constructive criticism is encouraged! Feel free to say things like "the clip from _:_ to _:_ is too long", "blank doesn't flow", or whatever you'd like. For the report part of this project, I need to include some feedback I receive, so please comment, rate and share it with your friends. The video is too wide for this post, so feel free to open it in its own browser to view it in proper form.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy it!

When Mainstream and Citizen Media Collide

Earlier today in Toronto, a tractor trailer accident caused Highway 401’s Westbound lanes to close for a significant amount of hours. Spilling two trailers worth of materials resulting in a serious clean-up, CP24 and other mainstream news outlets were sure to be on the scene and report the incident. Not surprisingly, many drivers traveling by were also taking footage of the accident and mess, bringing out their cell phones and other electronic devices to either snap a photo or take a video. What these drivers didn’t realize though, was that as they were travelling slowly by the accident filming the scene, the many police officers standing by would notice this and surely do something about it. After all, in Ontario it is now illegal to use a cell phone in any way while driving a car, so this traffic accident became the perfect opportunity for officers to enforce the new law. While being interviewed live by CP24, an officer noticed a man using his cameraphone while driving and swiftly pulled him over. Watch this humorous encounter between mainstream live media and citizen journalism.

Check out the video on the top right of the CP24 site.

Do you think this is merely bad timing on the driver's behalf? Or do you think it could be staged to set an example or precedent for other citizens not to use mobile devices while driving?