Ankit's blog

Cross Marketing

2008-04-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

The above link takes you to a video of 50 cent discussing the cross-promotion of his most recent album with Kanye West’s most recent album. In order to do this cross promotion, the two artists engaged in a dramatic competition to see who could sell the more records of his album. Both albums were released simultaneously on the same day, and websites online charted the album sales for both rappers. In the end, Kanye won the competition, but both benefited from the hype and drama created through the competition.

The internet played a critical role in both promoting the competition, the hype, and the record sales. First, rap enthusiasts went online to supplement their knowledge about the rap competition. Through the internet fans found out the parameters of the competition and kept up with the latest news and hype. This constant flow of information increased awareness of the competition and created a buzz because such a thing had not been done before. Second, new technology allowed listeners to purchase the albums or individual songs online without physically going to a record store. Doing this decreased the transaction costs of the purchases and facilitates sales. Third, online charts kept track in real time of who was selling more. This constant tracking kept fans and enthusiasts engaged and excited, as they continued to support their favorite artist.

Key Areas for Technological Innovation

2008-04-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

Technological innovations revolutionize the way we, as members of society and a university, function and interact. Over the past 20 years or so, the internet has driven the information revolution, and I believe that it will continue to shape and mold our society for several years to come. Right now, the internet offers several services and access to a wide array of information. But there is still room for improvement. The first key is to find an easy and cost-effective method to make the internet accessible to everyone everywhere. By doing this, more users will log on which increases the probability of the creation of new programs and new uses for this revolutionary technology. Of course, in addition to new developments on the web, this increased access to information will likely spur economic development in several of the underprivileged parts of the world as entrepreneurs and politicians can work together to spur economic growth in a well-informed and conscientious way.

Mobile media are also a key emergent areas. Cellular phones, PDAs, touch iPods and other items that facilitate communication and access to information are increasingly important because they connect people in an effortless and convenient way. Staying in touch 50 years ago was difficult- no cell phones, no internet, and no emails. Today, using tools such as Skype, emails, IM, and other programs helps keep people together and in the loop, and this changes the way people’s social networks are set up. Such items allow for broader networks and more communication simply because it is so easy. As we progress into the future, the enormity of the opportunity with mobile media becomes more and more apparent, and service providers will certainly capitalize upon this by unveiling new products and innovations.

On the flip side of this, there will always be flash-in-the-pan fads that come and go. Right now, I believe that video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the new hot item, but with time, their popularity will inevitably diminish because of the limited amount of diversion they provide and the competition that the future will bring. Products such as these are not necessary and tend to lose their luster with time. However, the broader genre of video games will be around for a long time mainly because of its consistent appeal to certain demographics and its engaging and immersive nature.

As for academia, I see changes happening throughout the university. In the majority of my public policy classes and electives, professors have integrated the internet into their classes somehow, whether it is through Blackboard or some other program like LexisNexis, Youtube, or Google Scholar. The change, however, oftentimes begins with the more technologically-oriented departments such as ISIS or computer science. Once these departments adopt certain technologies, others slowly catch on. Additionally, over the upcoming years as professors become more comfortable with technology, we will see it become increasingly utilized in the classroom; simple familiarity and confidence in using technology are the biggest structural changes and these will be overcome with time.

Technology is a continually changing and evolving being that both reflects and molds society, and there are several key areas for innovation and creativity. The internet, in addition to mobile media and other key technological areas, provides tremendous opportunities to develop new technologies and spark a revolution that changes the way we live today.

The DiVE experience

2008-04-04T17:40:00.001-07:00

Going to the DiVe on Thursday was an entirely new experience for me, and I was left in awe. Never before had I been in such an immersive and convincing virtual environment, which engaged me not through a screen but, rather, through a fully interactive system that adjusted to my perceptions and movements to maximize the impression of reality it projected. While I was in the DiVE, I experienced several programs which simulated a variety of different environments. For example, there was a program which simulated walking off of a bridge and falling into an abyss, and it was so convincing that I was scared of walking off of the bridge and falling. While I was virtually falling, all my sense told me that I was actually falling (except for the lack of wind that would normally accompany such a fall). The screen was moving appropriately and my sense of depth perception changed accordingly. I could feel my heart flutter. Also, there was another program that simulated a roller coaster ride, and I felt like I was actually on a roller coaster; the DiVE manipulated my vision and sense of direction to reinforce the roller coaster feeling. I had to check myself to remember that it was only a virtual experience. The entire experience was eye-opening: I did not realize that such technology existed, and I would like to learn more about it, including how it works and how to develop programs for it.

When I compare the DiVE to Second Life, a number of comparisons immediately stand out. First, Second Life occurs on a two-dimensional screen and tries to create a three-dimensional feel; conversely, the DiVE is three-dimesional. Second, the DiVE manipulated my senses to reinforce the sensations it was trying to create (for example, falling); Second Life could not do this. Third, the DiVE is more interactive and immersive than Second Life. As a participant, I am physically involved in the DiVE whereas my involvement was only virtual in Second Life. Fourth and finally, the DiVE is significantly more expensive for participants than Second Life.

In the end, the DiVE is a more immersive experience and is a truer representation of a virtual life, but given the immense costs associated with purchasing and installing a DiVE, Second Life is the more cost-effective way of engaging in a virtual reality.

Sketchup

2008-03-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Programs like Google Sketchup provide a unique service in helping users quickly and easily create a three-dimensional representation of an object or image. Today was the first time I had used Google Sketchup., and within about 20 minutes of playing around, I had grasped most of its functions and the overall way in which the program worked. Such programs are particularly helpful because they can show data or images in a convincing and easy to understand way. For example, if I was in an architecture class, instead of trying to render a hand-drawn depiction or an oral description of a building, I could use Google Sketchup to show exactly what my architectural plans are. This type of depiction would clearly be much easier for an audience to understand and also far more convincing because of its close semblance to reality. In my initial Sketchup, I created a building and imported a car next to it.

This tool could also be helpful in research or teaching because it would allow people to experiment with real-world ideas in a virtual world where there is no risk of failure, In the virtual world, if something does not work out, you can simply retry at basically no real cost. For example, an design teacher could ask his students to submit a project proposal via Sketchup prior to actually creating the project. This way, if there is some deficiency with the proposal, it can be corrected virtually, thereby maximizing the probability of success when the real project is made. Another possible use of such a program is in literature. A teacher could ask her students to read a descriptive passage and then recreate the people and places described in Sketchup. This would engage the students and help them better understand the passages they are reading. This program also has practical applications in math courses since it provides exact measurements of the virtual buildings. Programs like Google Sketchup are unique and interesting, and they can have a tremendous impact in the classroom.

Serious Games

2008-03-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

As a child, like most children, I played a lot of different games with varying rules, talents, and strategies involved, but my purpose for playing these different games was almost always constant: diversion. I simply wanted to have fun. Recently, the invention of serious games has completely revolutionized not only the act of playing but the point and purpose of playing a game as well. Serious games allow a person to enjoy the fun and diversion normally associated with a game but also combine that with a deeper, more profound message or meaning. In this way, serious games can promote awareness of challenging situations or compel a person to action. Serious games can take several different forms: they serve the purposes of advertisement, education or learning, awareness, or event simulation.

Darfur is Dying is an example of such a serious game. The purpose of the game is to increase awareness of the genocide in Darfur and compel players to action to better the situation there. In this game, the player is a refugee from Darfur trying to obtain water for his village while avoiding Janjaweed, who will kill you if you’re caught. I tried five times to beat the game and successfully bring water back to the village, but each time I failed and was killed. The game is stressful and scary in its own right; the prospect of death is grim and imminent. There is also a section on a Darfur village, which explains all the problems that occur there. This is also compelling and tugs at heart strings.

I think this game, and serious games more generally, are an effective way of promoting awareness and possibly change. I found it to be convincing, and the most convenient part was that after I finished playing, the game provided me with several ways through which I could get involved and make a difference. This is probably the most important thing, as it give the player immediate access to further informational materials and access points from which to address the problem. A shortcoming of serious games is that players may miss the meaning, or that it is not compelling enough to spur action. In the end, while serious games may not be the overall best way to promote awareness, it can serve as one effective method to spur change among many different methods.

2008-03-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

The above picture of Marilyn Monroe is entitled “Marilyn Monroe and the Camera.” This picture was taken during an interview with Georges Belmont in 1960. The picture is intended to show several different and contrasting sides of Monroe: glamorous juxtaposed against girl-next-door, sexy juxtaposed against serious, carefree juxtaposed against caring. The picture was an instant hit and eventually became a popular poster.

In 1967, Andy Warhol took this image and reworked it into an original piece of art. He repurposed the picture through his signature mark of repeating the image multiple times and changing the color scheme in drastic and strongly contrasting ways. The final products are the second and third images that you see. In the second picture, Monroe’s image is duplicated nine times, with each image exactly the same except for the color scheme. Each of the nine pictures contrast both within itself through the colors of the background, Monroe’s hair, and Monroe’s skin and also contrasts against each other, as the colors of adjacent pictures differ sharply. To accentuate the intra-picture contrast, the third picture is a larger picture of the bottom right square of the second picture.

The final picture is the one I have reworked on my own. I used Microsoft Powerpoint to manipulate the color contrast and comparative sizing of the picture. In this effort, I tried to mimic Warhol to a large extent because the contrasts he develops are very aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, I think the contrasts excellently show how the same image can be seen in a variety of ways through a variety of lenses. Along these lines, I wanted to create a sharp contrast between the light and the dark to emphasize Monroe’s salient features such as the curls in her hair, her eyebrows, and her lips, but I did not want to inject color as that would become too similar to Warhol’s work and would likely dilute the contrast I was aiming for. The final picture is my end result.

visual literacy through Coca-Cola ads

2008-03-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

When it comes to visual literacy, understanding the culture and context of a picture of is of utmost importance. Above, I intentionally have placed next to each other several advertisements for Coca-Cola from across a spectrum of years. Based off of just a quick glance, it is immediately apparent that the ads are different and reflect the available technologies and culture of the time in which they were produced. Trying to understand these pictures requires a working knowledge of the historical context. Conversely, however, it is important to understand that all these ads have the same purpose: promote Coca-Cola. Consequently, there are several similarities and differences between them, and I will discuss each of the ads in turn.

The first photo of the man holding the case of Coca-Cola was created in 1949, and there are several telling factors that help date the image. The form of animation used was the predominant form of animation used at the time, and although this type of animation is sometimes used today, it is mainly for the effect of “throwing back” the intended audience to this time period. The type of suit the man is wearing and the type of haircut the man has are also reflective of the culture of the late 1940s.

The second image does not have any animation but, instead, features a bottle of Coca-Cola surrounded by several fruits, with the caption, “It’s the real thing. Coke.” The resolution in the picture, when coupled with the font, seems reminiscent of the 1970s, and, indeed, the ad was developed in 1970. Additionally, the positioning of the fruits and cheese around the Coke simply does not seem like a modern advertising technique and hints of the past. The combination of these factors makes the ad seem dated. The ad is similar to the preceding one in that Coca-Cola holds a prominent position, as it naturally should.

The final ad is a digital animation of polar bears endorsing Coca-Cola on their iceberg. The telling fact regarding the date is the digitization of the picture, and this ad reflects a growing culture of digitization in America at the time of production, 2002. Furthermore, the digitization allows Coca-Cola to manipulate convincingly polar bears into endorsing their product. The ad is creative and catchy.

A visually literate individual will pick up on these differences and see that all that the ad is telling them regarding the historical context of the advertisement and the technological capabilities available at the time, not just the product the ad is endorsing. Pictures oftentimes can relate more information than that which is most obvious, and the visually literate can pick up on this.

Visualizing Data

2008-02-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

Wikimapia

Wikimapia is a really interesting and engaging tool that allows the broad public to identify and write short descriptions about various places. For this assignment, I identified my selective living group Mirecourt and wrote a short description about it. It took a few minutes to find, but the program is user-friendly and easy to use.

Google Earth

Google Earth is another tool similar to Wikimapia in that it allows the user to engage with an interactive map that can be manipulated to suit the purposes of the user. I thought it was neat that it offers so many options in terms of identifying places in either a geographic, political, or hybrid format. It also facilitates the use of maps and does it in an engaging way that sparks a curiosity within the user. Overall, I thought this program was super cool.

In terms of academic collaboration, a tool like Google Earth can simulate as closely as possible for students what a distant place actually looks like; when this tool is combined with other cultural resources and perhaps communication with a person from that distant place, it can all come together to engage a student in a personal way about a different culture. While there is no sufficient substitute for physically going to a different place and experiencing something new, it is impractical for everyone to travel, and Google Earth in combination with other tools can provide a stimulating simulation.

Also, Google Earth can be used to for anthropological or cultural academic research, as it provides a wide variety of tools and can be extraordinarily helpful through the bird’s eye view it provides. Beyond this, Google Earth can be a great way to explore your own surroundings and become more familiar with a place, especially if you are new to it.

Excel Graphing Function

I’ve used the Excel graphing function extensively before, and I’ve always been amazed at how user-friendly and accurate it is. Once you figure out how to specify the x and y variables (which, I admit did take a while at the beginning), the program basically runs itself. For my senior thesis, I did experiments and the write-up required several graphs; excel made the whole process easy and enjoyable.

Reflections Upon My Online Identity

2008-02-26T10:38:00.001-08:00

Our online identity is a complicated thing determined by several external factors, and when it is viewed and shaped through an online medium estranged from who we really are, it can become dangerously malleable and easily accessible. When I initially completed this assignment by Google searching my own name, reviewing my account on Amazon, and checking my credit score, I did not find anything that surprised me, but I was amazed by the ease with which others can find information about me and use it to characterize me in such a way it creates an artificial online identity for me.

For example, by simply Google searching my name, I found several websites which referenced me and also several websites which referenced other people with the same name as me. Assuming that some was searching for information about me, it would be difficult for that person to differentiate websites about me with those about others, which could create confusion and dilute my personal identity with that of another. Amazon serves as another example of identity formation based on incomplete information. The last book I searched on Amazon was an education book for one of my classes, and because of this previous search the website recommended several other education books, all of which I am not interested in. In this way, Amazon has created my identity as an education-aficionado when in actuality I am not; I only purchased the other book as part of my class. The final example was searching my credit score. One’s credit score, more than any other comparable index, represents a person’s trustworthiness and can affect a person’s life outcomes in terms of access to capital. Then, I found it appalling at how easy it was to access my information. If someone was to tamper with my credit score, I would be seriously disadvantaged and suffer serious costs.

Clearly, one’s online identity is important and can be shaped by a variety of factors. This was something I had never seriously thought of before, but I am glad that I did this assignment and am now more aware of it. From now on, I will definitely pay much closer attention to my online identity.

E-books v. Regular Books

2008-02-20T15:17:00.001-08:00

There are several losses and gains associated with digitizing books, and I will enumerate each that I see in turn. The first loss is could be the loss of ownership by the author. By this, I mean that the book may be circulated illegally, as we have discussed in previous classes, causing the author losses in terms of royalties he would have otherwise received. E-books are easily reproducible, and this concern about the author is a serious one. Second, I find e-books harder to read in their digital format, and reading an entire book through a computer screen sounds like a tough task. For this reason, it is likely that people reading the entire book would probably print it out, negating some of the paper that would have otherwise been conserved. Also, it may be easier to change things in an e-book, thereby manipulating the original text and losing the intended meaning. Third and finally, I believe that there is an aesthetic loss by not having physical books. There is a beauty in the act of opening a book and turning its pages, and the reading an e-book digitally would simply lose it. It is significantly less romantic to think of curling up with a laptop next to a fire on a cold day than a physical book.

On the other hand, there are significant benefits to an e-book. First, if it is done legally, electronic books could allow for quick access by several people. This will minimize the transaction costs of going to the bookstore, finding the book, and paying for it; all of this will be digital and done in seconds. Second, there are pertinent features that will facilitate research and reading such as the search feature (Cntrl +F, or check out Amazon’s search feature) or autosummary, for example. These things can save valuable time and resources and are unavailable on standard books. Even the index cannot compare to an electronic search bearing instant results.

In summary, I do not believe that we should adopt one form to the exclusion of the other; on the contrary, both forms have their benefits and disadvantages, and I think that both should be used simultaneously. This allows people to have the best of both worlds and benefit from both regular and electronic books.

Link to Amazon’s search feature: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1565122798/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-8103822-5187121#reader-link

Google Scholar e-book:

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ues7VM41NsIC&oi=fnd&pg=RA1-PA3&dq=the+nature+of+prejudice&ots=-Oh-T2ZRds&sig=4FYXPCypsPtLuExrS9Medlmg5Mk

Copyright and Data Ethics

2008-02-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

In this age of new media creations, certain organizations are popping up which are designed ot facilitate new media creation, and I briefly outline four such organizations here. Electronic Frontier Foundation fights to maintain our civil liberties in digital mediums. Their homepage highlights important current court cases, news updates, and links to more information, all regarding civil rights in a digital medium. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that works to provide the tools necessary to facilitate creative ventures and explorations; it meets its goal by freely providing the digital tools necessary to be creative. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act penalizes the illegal production and dissemination of copyrighted technology. Archive.org allows people to archive old media and share it with others. It serves as a digital library and provides its services freely.

The common thread running through these entities is that they work to increase access to digital media and safeguard digital creations vis-à-vis copyright. These groups are necessary because in this age of easy access to information, they provide the tools and ability for new digital creations. More specifically, CC and Archive all provide access media and programs which facilitate media generation. EFF and DMCA work to provide the copyright and intellectual safeguards which prevent created media from being plagiarized or stolen; more simply, these safeguards protect authors and ensure that they receive due credit for their creations.

I believe that these organizations can and will succeed. Their work is necessary to facilitate and to promote the creation of new media, and without such organizations, those involved in media creation would suffer as they would lose access to valuable resources and protection of their ideas. After looking over the website, it seems that they have become increasingly popular and in demand over the last several years, and this is most likely springs from the necessity of the services they offer. Most of these organizations are nonprofits serving the greater digital good, and it seems to me that their nonprofit status lends them extra credibility, as it shows that they are working for a cause that goes beyond themselves and not for personal gain or profit.

2008-01-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

Here is my mashup about Duke basketball!

Conceptual Selves

2008-01-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

To me, CMaps are a new tool, and a useful one. While exploring the CMap program, it was largely user-friendly and easy to navigate; I surprised at the ease with which even a novice could maneuver and use the program. More importantly, however, the CMap program allowed me to quickly and easily create a conceptual map that visually depicted the relationship between my favorite foods. I am happy to have learned about this new tool, as it can come in handy in preparing for and writing papers. I'm sure I will use it in the future.

The auto-summarize and word filter features available in Microsoft Office were also new discoveries for me. I used both on my thesis, a lovely 61 page document about African American and Latino race relations. The auto-summarize feature did better than I expected, as it seemed to pick up on key words and sentences based upon their frequency of appearance and relative positioning within the paper, respectively. Although the auto-summarize feature did not clearly explain or put together all parts of my paper, it did provide a rough overview of the main topics. This feature is not suitable for rigorous academic work, but it can be handy in creating quick estimates.

Furthermore, the word filter features were impressive. They pick up on the key words and note the number of times each word appears in the paper. This can also be a helpful feature in determining the main points of an article.

All in all, these tools are helpful in representing, summarizing, and understanding articles and main points.

The Folksonomic Revolution

2008-01-23T13:58:00.001-08:00

After completing this week’s ISIS assignment, I am both excited and weary of the Folksonomic Revolution, in which anybody can upload information to the internet and consequently, spread it quickly to a large number of people. My first reaction was that such technology can have a transformative effect on the availability of information worldwide and that an increased availability of information will lead to higher rates of efficiency and better decision making. This seems only natural. But after thinking more critically about this assignment, I realize that there are significant costs associated with the ability to easily disseminate information- namely, the ease with which inaccurate or wrong information can be spread. To this end, I was disturbed by how quickly I could change a Wikipedia webpage and while the literature states that Wikipedia’s fact-checking oversight is effective, I am still skeptical. The volume of information is simply too large to be continually fact-checked. Furthermore, where I turn to a website like juicycampus.com where malicious intent, damaging rumors, and gossip of all sorts is on public display, I feel bad for the humanity of our campus and am outraged the type of electronic medium that facilitates this hurtful behavior. These types of websites are easily accessed, easily changed, and can have a profound impact.

On the other hand, there are innumerable benefits associated with the Folksonomic Revolution. The general public can quickly and easily access information of all sorts. And furthermore, people can share a variety of types of information. Photo-sharing or networking sites are ideal to keep in touch with others. Wikipedia is a wonderful starting source to use when it comes to conducting preliminary research on a topic. Flickr, blogs, and a multitude of other sites are tremendously helpful. All of these have truly changed the way I live my life by making it easier to stay in touch, find information, and be more efficient.

In the final tally, I am still very happy with the availability of such easily accessed and easily used sites, and I think that the Folksonomic Revolution will have an overall positive impact. But along the way there are costs to bear, and we, as a public, must be aware of this.

Technology to Support Learning (assignment for Jan 22)

2008-01-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

The “Technology to Support Learning” article adds several new dimensions to our continuing class discussion regarding the role of technology in an academic setting. While the article seems a bit out of date, it is still relevant in our conversation. The article highlights five key ways in which technology can positively impact education: enhancing curricula, providing tools for learning, facilitating teacher feedback, building educational communities, and expanding opportunities for teaching. Each of these areas of impact has the potential to significantly change, and possibly even revolutionize, education overall. These innovations can make learning more interactive or problems more tangible; they can engage students, provide frameworks, and bring people together. To underscore the potential benefits of a variety of technologies, the authors cite several convincing studies and use case examples. The authors conclude by stating that technology is an “important instrument in education” and holds “great promise both for increasing access to knowledge and as a means of promoting learning” (229).

While this article is well-written and convincingly argues that technology has undeniably important impact in education, it fails to substantively discuss the complicated relationship between technology and traditional teaching, and this is one of the areas I am most interested in. At what point does technology become overbearing? At what point does it hinder social interaction? Where and how is this line drawn? These are all difficult questions. On the one hand, technology provides a new and innovative way of doing things that may be more efficient, but on the other hand, a traditional approach emphasizes interpersonal skills, teamwork, and a freedom from what, if unchecked, could quickly become a debilitating technological dependence. Finding the middle the ground between the two and balancing the costs and benefits of technology versus the traditional approach is complicated. I’d like to further discuss the issue in class.