#blogpost9

I did go ahead and sign into my submittable account. I did submit some poetry in May 2022 to The New Yorker through there. While it did not get picked up I used it as a learning experience. I hope to submit to Cygnet for school and then once I get even stronger submit to some other journals and places again.

Small yet Productive Ways to deal with STRESS

1. Calm Down

Calm yourself and calm your mind.

2. Breathe

Take longer and deeper breathes to release stress & tension from your body and mind.

3. Recite

Recite the name of GOD i.e. the Supreme Power you believe in which will help you focus your mind on one recitation quotes.

4. Declutter

Declutter a small part of your office or home to get relief from stress.

5. Conversate

via Dreamstime

Dan M. Kotliar in “Data Orientalism: on the algorithmic construction of the non-Western other”, explores the concept of data colonialism and the algorithmic gaze along with the ways in which algorithms are programmed to see, depict, and understand the Other.

Scholars Couldry and Mejas compare the appropriation of territory, resources, and people for profit that characterized historic colonialism to data relations and the exploitation of human beings through the extraction of their data that defines data colonialism. According to Couldry and Mejas, what makes the collection of data colonial is its tendency for expansion, both geographic and social. “Data colonialism simultaneously seeks new territories to set its algorithmic eyes on, as well as new aspects of sociality that have previously been missing from its purview” (4). Personal data, in this sense, represent the new oil and currency in the digital media world. Data are continuously extracted offering opportunities for behavioral influence on users. Historic colonialism and data colonialism are based on the same principle of “cheap nature”. Historic colonizers used this principle to justify their actions since, in the place they appropriated, there was an abundance of natural resources and raw materials, whose appropriation was considered unproblematic from the colonizers’ point of view. The same principle is applied to personal data, that are abundantly produced by users and can be used. Moreover, the concept of social rationality gives a justification to this process of data extraction treating the users labor, which makes the data collection possible, as “just sharing”.  

Kotliar emphasizes the idea that colonialism was not only about military force or processes of modernization, but it was also about knowledge creation - the way in which colonizers categorized indigenous into racial, ethnic, and cultural categories which sustained and justified colonial power. This cultural differentiation is what Edward Said described as Orientalism – the process about the creation and the distinction between Oriental and Westerns. “Said predominantly saw Orientalism as a discourse … that systematically devalues the Oriental Others, depicting them as backward, primitive, or weak” (6).

Kotliar bases his article on an empirical study on Extractive, an Israeli start-up company that provides user profiling algorithms to the East Asian market. It gains access to users’ Facebook account and makes the users transfer their credentials and their data into the companies’ hands. These profiles can be later used to create a market segmentation and approach costumers with personalized offers, contest, or services. Therefore, the Extractive algorithms transform anonymous users into accessible costumers. Moreover, Extractive works with Deep Pocket Inspection (DPI) which allows companies to gain access to users’ smartphones and their location, text messages, apps and many other features. Extractive argues that their work does not have cultural or linguistic barriers and have, thus, a universalizing perspective. Instead of categorizing people based on their racial, cultural, and ethnic identity Extractive divides them basing on personal preferences. They have a set of just 30 categories thar can describe people in the entire world. The categories it offers to its clients include names like “techie”, hipster”, “globetrotter”, “artsy” or “sporty”. Therefore, while they claim their algorithms can disregard language and universally categorize people, the categories they created are from a very culture-specific perspective – a Western point of view. Data colonialism, indeed, is deeply connected with capitalism and maximization of profit.

The implications of data colonized subject can be:

 -    Tethered of data judgment: algorithmic discrimination. For example, the face recognition technology perpetuates the racial bias. The algorithm decides, like in the HP case, whether a human face is recognizable or not.

-       Dispossession through data: colonial appropriation. For example, Facebook can decide for a person of color to show the job positions that are more adequate based on who he/she. And, generally, are the job positions that are less prestigious compared to the white counterpart.

 Ethical Bean

Brand Positioning:  To better the lives of the farmers and families living and working in the Guatemala coffee industry.

Brand core value:  Social responsibility, global awareness, & environmental accountability. Brand characteristics/emotional attributes:

Canadian-based company

Ethical (social, env, organic contents)

Charity outreach (donations & international non-profit)

Product Description:

Roasting is determined by coffee expert

No chemicals or preservatives

Organic

Product Line Description:

Medium, dark, French, etc

Package deals

Flavour intensity and budget options

Marketing Objectives:

Organic ingredients

Informative 

Different story on each flavour

Scholarships and charity donations

Fair-trade > ethical labour laws

Eco-friendly 

Recyclable Packaging

Free bag exchanged for 12 empty bags (free coffee if returned in person)

Can be sent to specialized recycling company

Compostable coffee pods

Coffee production in carbon-neutral facility

Bags flatten > large quantities transported at once (cuts emissions

Package Design Communication Objectives:

Logo comparable with app > allows for scanning (view content about farmers, coffee, & story of coffee purchased)

Sealed for freshness & easy use

Attractive on counter

Graphics and colours communicate flavour & roast level

Communication Hierarchy:

Coffee type (lush, bold, etc)

Brand name and type (grounds/beans)

Fairtrade/org certified

Target Consumer: 

Departments stores, online shopping, trading, wholesale

Coffee drinkers > students & professionals

Male & female

16+

Busy lifestyles

Environmentally/socially conscious

The craft of knitting has given me a new attitude. I don’t like being disturbed while I knit, I lose my concentration.

I was talking to my mother about knitting at bars but she said it would be too antisocial. Maybe I can start a new trend? I think it should be an acceptable craft to pursue anywhere at anytime.*

*Depends on certain events.

What will the music industry look like in the future? What’s next after online stores such as Apple’s iTunes and digital players such as the iPod?

In the last ten years, there has been a shift away from physical media to digital media collections. According to the RIAA, sales revenue from CDs has decreased approximately from 5.5B (62.3% of total revenue from music formats) to 1.1B (12.1% of total revenue). Interestingly, both formats are now overshadowed by digital streaming. Streaming services have become more popular, with people not buying songs or albums individually but instead paying to have access to large collections of music such as with Pandora or Spotify.

It makes up $5.7 billion of the total $8.7 billion of revenue from music sales, approximately 65%. These figures pertain to the United States, but it gives a good idea of the trend music formats are following. It seems that at least for the close future, the music industry will turn to primarily non-physical media, and just as vinyls and cassettes became obsolete, so will CDs. It is important to note that the revenues above only include legitimate sales. Piracy and illegal downloading of music also contribute to the popularity and availability of digital music. There is an abundance of music accessible compared to years before and it is only growing.

What comes next? Production of music may come to be made by technology itself. There are already virtual singers and artists present, so it may not be long before they can synthesize music that seems just like the real thing. There is also the aspect of virtual reality and how it may later be incorporated into how we experience music. The future of music could mean being able to broadcast your favorite band playing anywhere and at any time, in a 3-dimensional manner. Replicating the sound and feel of artists playing music on a virtual field, so that we can experience it on a larger level, may be the stepping stone for even more advanced breakthroughs.

Works Cited