everyone is a photo-citizen-journalist

Forget about citizen journalism, its all about the photo-citizen-journalist!

Citizen journalism also known as, networked journalism, open source journalism, and citizen media, is defined as “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information.” (Bowman & Willis, 2003, 3)
Below is a visual representation on how citizen journalism operates as a produsage in comparison to normal mainstream news coverage.



Source: Bowman S., & Willis C., (2003) Chapter 1:Introductionto participatory journalism, We media,http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php?id=P36 (accessed 07.05.08)

The aim of citizen journalism is to provide news and information that is:
-independent
-reliable
-accurate
-wide ranging
-relevant

Although without training, all these core structures of citizen journalism are questionable, however so is mainstream journalism.

Tom Alderman 2008 article Citizen Journalism: Can We Trust it?
from The Huffington post, sates that citizen journalism is as old as democracy , with the recent rise due to the internet.

According to We Media the explosion of citizen journalism came after the September 11th attacks when mainstream media were overloaded with information, with citizen turning to email, forums and web logs. (Bowman & Willis, 2003, 2) The September 11th news coverage is probably the first memory I have of citizen audio-visual journalism being used as the basis of the story. I remember seeing shaky, poor quality footage with too much zooming in and out of the event. But it was perfect! It was successful because it captured the event-as it was happening. No professional journalism would have been able to predict that but then again citizen journalism is partly about timing.

Active participation in the creation and dissemination of news and information is increasingly becoming easier due to the easy to use and access web publishing tools and mobile devices. (Bowman & Willis, 2003, 3) Anyone can now publish their writings or visuals with a high chance of it being read or seen.

Not everyone can produce quality blogs, emails or forums that necessarily aid or add to citizen journalism; however in my opinion nearly everyone can take a reasonable quality photo as a citizen photo-journalist. They may not be fantastic or follow visual rules but they are a successful in recording information or an event. Not only does it defy language barriers but also provides visuals of who, what, where and why, that often cannot be described or conveyed in words.

Today there are major companies like Getty images,, Flickr, iStockphotos, and Shutterstock that incorporate amateur photographers into their business models.

Stock photographers work on the model where a photographer, professional or amateur, photographs an image, bringing their works to a stock agency for licensing for clients to purchase under the agreed license.

In the article “Stock Waves: Citizen Photo Journalists Are Changing the Rules” by Daniella Zalcman she discusses that the line between professional and armature photographer is increasingly becoming thin. With stock photography it raises the issue in what makes a professional photographer- quality tools/experience or neither?

The development of microstock: a lower cost system where royalty-free images that go for as little as a quarter each, lacked major credit from large corporations but was supported by an increasingly large and enthusiastic crowd, microstock companies like iStockphoto have become multimillion dollar companies. (Zalcman, 2007, 2)

Below is an image the comparison of a photo Corbis- a traditional stock photo company- and the other collected from iStockphoto-a non traditional company that sources it’s images at lower prices and more from amateurs. Can you pick which is from Corbis and which is from iStockphoto?





Left: iStockphoto / Right: Corbis.

Did you get it right?

Or this one…



Left: iStockphoto/ Right:Corbis

How about this time?

Originally iStockphoto was created to act as a source for free sharing of photos but due to running cost, chargers had to be applied. In the article however the founder of iStockphoto, Bruce Livingstone, explains that after asking the community if it was appropriate, that they agreed that it was acceptable. “I asked the community, which at the time was about 500 people strong, if they were okay with that, and everyone agreed. We worked out the budget, and it came out to around 25 cents a photo, so that's where we started.” (Bruce Livingstone, 2007 cited in Zalcman, 2007, 2)

The company Scoopt was created as “an agent between citizen photojournalists and the press” (Zalcman, 2007, 2). With companies like Scoopt, anyone who can pick up a camera and take a picture, now has a chance to not only be seen by people but also make money from it.

The photographer can no longer rely on as heavily on quality in order for their photos to be used. Citizen photo-journalism has become part of the photo journalism and an important source for main stream media, due to the web publishing tools, mobile recording device and stock and micro stock companies.

Reference

Alderman T. (2008) Citizen Journalism: Can We Trust it?, The Huffington Post,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-alderman/citizen-journalism-can-we_b_97286.html (accessed 07.05.08)

Bowman S., & Willis C., (2003) Chapter 1:Introcuton to participatory journalism, We media
http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php?id=P36 (accessed 07.05.08)


Wikipedia (2008) Citizen Journalism, Microstock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism (accessed 07.05.08)

Zalcman D. (2007) Stock Waves: Citizen Photo Journalists Are Changing the Rules, Wired magazine
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/07/stockwaves (accessed 07.05.08)

creativity in Second Life

When researching Second Life (SL) I had come across a lot of articles discussing SL in relation to it being a marketing tool and a money making avenue. What is also discussed but not as highly is the ‘art’ created in SL. I am using the term ‘art’ lightly as it is a highly opinionated word.

I am beginning this blog by opening with my opinion: that although what can be created in SL is amazing, it does not hold any creative credentials or recognition due to the online virtual nature of the medium.

As mentioned in my previous blog-SL is open source software, leaving people with the ability to change and alter the source code to their desire. It is a space in which everyone can gain access with the right to create.

Directly sourced from the official SL site Linder Labs (where you can also find more information about creating in SL) states that,

“The Second Life world is a place dedicated to your creativity. It's about dreaming of something one moment and bringing it to life the next. Everything in Second Life is resident-created, from to the strobe lights in the nightclubs to the car (or spaceship) in your driveway.”

(Second Life, 2008, ¶1)

With the motto “Your world, your imagination,” from the beginning Linder Labs advertises that SL was made for creativity.

To begin my study I looked at famous projects in order to get a visual of what has been created in SL.

Below are a collection of snap shots from well known projects and environments.

City of Gion, which is styled after the famous geisha districts in Japan.

Famous Dresden Gallery in Germany – Real world and Second life

Inside the Dresden gallery containing all 500 paintings

Although these are duplicates of real world places, they demonstrate the level of detail and realism the user has/can achieve.

After seeing only a view examples of what had been created in SL I instantly changed my view. The Dresden museum gallery especially caught my attention because it really exists.

In an article on Wired by Andrew Curry it discusses the opening of Dresden Gallery and its impact on art museums and technology. He explains that accessibility to the internet, that people who can’t or wouldn’t normally visit the gallery in Germany now can. (Curry, 2007, 2) It has subsequently opened up avenues for accessing creative works.

In the article by Second Life: A “Global Creative Context” of the Future by Tish Shute discusses SL creative commons team including artist Cao Fei (China Tracy in Second Life). Cao Fei explains at a conference that

“… Second Life was a place for artistic expression that gave Chinese artists unrestricted access to an international audience”

(Shute, 2007, ¶4)

Not only does it open up new access avenues for creativity but defines international physical boundaries.

SL has also caught the attention of organisations including The New Media Consortium (NMC) who are

“..an international 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium of over 260 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies.” (2007, ¶1)

A major focus of the organisation is the study of creativity in Second Life. In August 2007 NMC presented “The symposium of creativity in Second Life.” It was a week long event containing conferences and classes from fashion to creative teaching techniques.

“The symposium provided a place where beginners could practice basic skills, more advanced builders could refine their techniques, and practices centered on the educational use of virtual worlds could be shared. The symposium was designed as a blend of hands-on instruction, self-paced practice time, demonstrations, performances, discussions, and peer review.”

The week-long symposium included six major components:

• “Studio Sessions — self-paced, hands-on studio sessions in machinima, fashion, sculpture/modeling, and virtual photography with access to expert instructors;
• Breakout Sessions — highly interactive 90-minute sessions on topics like basic and advanced building concepts, avatar design, scripting, machinima, photography, creative teaching techniques, and more;
• Featured Sessions — keynotes, panel discussions, tours;
• Learning Exposition — a showcase of easy-to-learn techniques, links to educational sites, and video learning;
• Parade of Sims — a set of tours led by the people who built and created some of the most sophisticated islands in Second Life;
• Social and Arts Events — a special series of exhibitions and performances intended to be both fun and to stimulate your own creativity.”

(nmc,2007, 1)

From this example of an organisation it is evident that there is a community supporting this type of art-it has been recognised.

After asking a few people about Second Life- the general opinion was that people who use Second Life had no life and that they didn’t understand how people spend time and/or money on it.

It was evident from this common perception (also noted in kcb201 tutorial) that people know little about SL when they voice their opinion. (my original opinion included)

After learning more about SL I then proclaimed that it is actually a positive program, offering artist a platform for promotion, interaction and exploration.

In my research I came across an interesting blog devoted to art in the SL called Second Life Art News. In this blog it contains current competition, reviews of environments and productions, openings of art galleries and exhibitions, instillations, news and must see places -to name a few. Through users snap shots of ‘must see places’ from SL such as ‘Dyna Fleur’ (See image below) it is evident that there is a community out there supporting this creativity. This blog demonstrates that like in the real world there is a community surrounding this type of art. In other words SL art is just another type of art form only that it is more tangible and flexible. It even has coined its own word SLart ®, which has even been copyrighted.

SLart ® magazine is an online space for critical reviews and journals of the virtual arts. A book has also been created by SLart® as a documentation of art in being created in SL.

Slart® is another useful resource for finding artists, works, galleries and exhibitions. Established artists like Bathsheba Grossman also known as Bathsheba Dorn in SL, are also utilising the medium.

The sculpture below was created by Bathsheba Grossman in SL.

After learning more about her other projects from her website 'bathsheba' I realised that if a well established artist like Bathsheba Grossman is using SL to explore ideas, then it must in turn complete some artists’ needs for a creative platform/space.

In an interview with SLart® she descries how SL offers the artist more possibilities in design than would in real life, that would be physically or financially apossible. (Slart®,2007, ¶2) Below I have included a short passage from the interview in which she discusses her art works impact.

"Slart®: How do you feel about the impermanence of art you make here?

Bathsheba: It's another respect in which SL is perfectly opposite to RL for me. My RL work is both very archival in its physical form – the metals I use are silicon bronze and stainless steel, which are very robust and do not corrode – and has a very good shot at immortality in the digital form. Digital artworks have been the most long-lived ever since the invention of writing."

Due to the nature of trends and developments, Bathsheba also identifies that the SL is also intangible and unstable medium prone to trends, technology and being outdated. Consequently this type of art is not as stable in existence as other physical arts are may be. (Slart®, 2007, ¶8) For example- painting.

Being a virtual medium, the question of rights and ownership must also be mentioned but will not be investigated in depth in this blog. The question of ‘did this person really create this?’ will always be an issue due to the nature of internet and online communities.

As stated before my opinion changed immediately upon beginning my research, as I discovered communities and organisations supporting SL creativity. Through online articles, snap shots and SL official site it has demonstrated that Second Life art or Slart® is just like any other type of art; To create you need skill, imagination and a medium.

To finish I would like to leave you with a video called SynaesthAsia. When watching this video, just imagine if this could be possible in the real world- and how just how amazing it could be. This is the aim of SL; to explore what could be impossible.

Reference

Curry, A., (2007), Dresden's World-Class Art Gallery Duplicates Itself Online, Wired magazine, CondéNet Inc,
http://www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2007/08/gallery_dresden (accessed 06.0.08)

NMC, (2007), About the symposium,
http://www.nmc.org/symposium-on-creativity/about (acessed 06.05.08)

Second Life, (2008) The Creations, Linden Research Inc, http://secondlife.com/whatis/creations.php, (acessed 06.05.08)

Second Life, (2008) Showcase, Linden Research Inc
http://secondlife.com/showcase/sub_page.php?showcase_category=1&blog_category=1

Shute T., (2007) Second Life: A “Global Creative Context” of the Future, Ugo Trade blog,
http://www.ugotrade.com/2007/06/18/second-life-a-global-creative-context-of-the-future/ (acessed 06.05.08)

Slart, (2007) SLART Magazine Interviews Bathsheba Dorn,
http://slartmagazine.com/Bathsheba_Dorn_Interview.htm (acessed 06.05.08)

Below are notes from the four corner report seen in kcb201:

how far could we go?

-everything that is contained in second like occurs in first life..sex gambling
-average age is 32'
-45% are women

-$2000 per year per person spend in SL

-Philip Rosedal-CEO of second life
-come together to generate new ideas
-new content being built every day
-freedom and lawless .. questions control?.. lots of transparency
-generation gap of opinion
-why people get involve-interaction, accessibility, communication
-difference from the real world- moral repocusions
-should there be limits? banned child sex
-can be electronic violated?
-possibilities


open source
- practical improvement to alternative sources
-demonstrate skill
-entertainment
-interest
-community paticipation
-updates rapid

closed source
-slow process