Y U NO HIRE EVAN?

Hello. My name is Evan Jones and I am a recent graduate of USC’s Annenberg Program For Online Communities.

I write things. And I make things. And this is my resume.

(Hi.) 

Some of you may be wondering “why do a Tumblr resume?” Well, despite other options, I think it’s time to point out the Pink Elephant in the room: static resumes are kind of lame in terms of acting as a barometer of quality. They often create more questions than answers, which means that the hiring process gets drawn out and becomes slug-like and tedious in nature. And who gains from that rigamarole?

(Besides people who really like interviews.)

With that said, I’m constantly amazed by what happens when people get a chance to go in and make something theirs; cultural framing be damned. Expectations are a funny thing, and in my experience they tend to get undercut on the reg. I’ve met high school drop-outs that I think are smarter than people I know with advanced degrees from Ivy League universities, and I’ve met coffee clerks who knew more about religion than most ministers. As much as I hate empty tautologies, I do feel that it’s hard to get the proof out of the pudding.

TL;DR: When you’re looking at people for your team or your project, it’s not about the school that person went to, the polite-yet-formal letters written on their behalf, or how nice their suit is. It’s about what they can do, and how well they can do it.

I want to show, not tell.

So the point of this, er, “living” resume is to show you how I work and what I can do. I will be posting a variety of projects from the past year with links, commentary, and assigned specifications in an attempt and to convey my attitude and approach to creative problem solving and narrative storytelling. It’s just more (SHOCKING!)honest that way, and hopefully that’s something that will resonate with you.

As per the question of what I want to do: I’m interested in several fields and emerging sub-fields in the media and tech worlds. Journalism, narrative fiction, and film reviews are all things I’ve done before, and video web productions that I’ve had a hand in over the past year will all be posted here as well. I’ve also helped launch start-ups and worked in tech as a server, network, and mobile analyst. And I’m not against traveling or relocating to say, Mongolia or Brazil, if anybody’s listening. 日本語でもOK。

In the interim, feel free to follow me on Twitter or visit my oft-neglected but fun tech blog. For the nerdier folks out there, I’m still writing for Ani.Me as well.

More to come soon.

-Ev.

So you have a website, event, client, "thing" etc., right?

And they have a Twitter account, yes? And so they probably want more followers, correct? But how does one go about that? There's a lot of hype and noise and suggestions out there, but here was our magic bullet.

The secret? 

FREE STUFF.

Last week at Ani.Me, whom I work for part-time, we ran our first ever Twitter contest for a giveaway sponsored by Funimation, a media company in Texas who are the big dogs in the Japanese animation DVD market. Over the course of 4 days we increased our twitter followers by 110; and it was also a fun way to promote a show that fans are excited about and to work in a medium that we've grown to like more and more over time. You can see the contest announcement post and rules here on the site.

So let's talk about the take-aways from the contest.

1. Establish easy but concrete rules.

Our rules were bone simple: add us, tweet us the name of your favorite character, and include a custom hashtag. Then hang out until it was over. We also made it a fairly short deadline so as to keep it from being too low-priority.

Quick and easy; no fuss, no muss. 

2. Keep it simple.

This works both for rules and for fulfillment. For example: we only opened this contest to US participants because we wanted to decrease shipping hassles and costs. Make sure you're upfront about how you'll handle things and that people are aware of your approach. Don't make it into a hassle!

3. Utilize Partners and Platforms. 

Don't be afraid of attention. You WANT attention!

Funimation reaches a LOT more people than we do on Twitter. Every day we'd send out at least one notice about the contest and throw them the "@" just so they'd know we were doing it. Every time they retweeted it we got that many more followers. We also ran a story about the contest on our site (as a feature, natch) and posted about it via our facebook group.

4. Have a plan.

For short-term projects, you can play it by ear, but what if something happens? Even if it's just a quick tweet-em-up, things can spiral out of control, and then you've failed after making a bunch of noise. Oof. It's a bad look.

As much as we wish it wouldn't, it's true that life happens. There will come a time when you have to leave for a meal or a date, or there will be a flat tire, or there will be an emergency ABBA reunion that you have to attend. How do you avoid getting hamstrung by that whole "life" thing? Easy.

PLAN.

Plan to the end. Make a checklist if need be. Not just when writing the rules but also when figuring out how you'll go about executing your contest. It helps, and it also saves time. 

5. Stay on it and listen to feedback.

Don't throw it on the back-burner and forget about these things. Being inattentive can only hurt you; see what your followers and readers and users and friends are saying. And don't wander off from your post! Tweetdeck is your friend.

6. Be NICE.

Be sure and say thanks to everybody who entered, and be sure and give a public tip of the hat to your sponsors or partners if you have them. It never hurts to stay classy.

...

The above paper is an analysis of the creation, distribution, and the impact of Yacht Rock, JD Ryznar’s hilarious and loving video series which acted as a tribute to the music he fell in love with during his college years. During its time in the web spotlight Yacht Rock snowballed from a few videos into an acclaimed fan favorite, and underground music punditry is still feeling the effects of its sarcastic yet warm influence.

Some people may ask “Why would you ever write a paper about Yacht Rock?”, but I feel that the series is not only uproariously funny but also expresses the power of online media as a fan phenomenon; a few good ideas, some great jokes, and some snarky writing was all that was needed to fuel an entire Yacht Rock revival craze that even John Oates (of Hall & Oates fame, of course) credited as beneficial to his act’s recent success. A bibliography and synopses are included.

QR Codes and the memorial industry

Quick response codes have hit the US by storm 18 years after their invention in Japan. Even before interning at daqri, who uses QR codes to anchor their augmented reality experiences, I had been intrigued about the use of QR codes on memorials and tombstones and wondered if they could be applied in creating memorial tours around cities and public spaces. Could people feel history resonate around them by way of mobile technology?

I felt that QR codes (as well as geotags) were a fine solution to this conundrum and prepared the following presentation pitch as an example of the kind of forward-thinking ideas that memorial companies could use in the age of point and click social media. I was inspired by videos I had seen about Japanese graveyards, and wondered if I could expand these concepts to entire cities or even countries. And I wasn't the only one wondering about this.

This report was a presented to a digital marketing class in Spring 2011 at USC's Center For the Digital Future in PowerPoint form. 

...

Who We Are and What We Do: We are Keyoku.com, and we are a service-oriented company devoted to the re-invention of the memorial industry. We feel that we can best describe our service as a highly-customizable time capsule system wherein the beauty and poetry of life is captured and redistributed back into the everyday. Using our service means that you don't solemnly close the door on somebody you care about when they pass. By choosing to work with Keyoku you allow memories and history to be delivered at will for generations and generations to come.

What We Aim to Achieve: It is our hope to utilize modern online, offline, and mobile technology to re-integrate the memories and accomplishments of your loved ones into the spaces that defined their lives. It is our belief that the so-called “death industry” is callous, off-putting, and divisive by design, which results in an uncomfortable and upsetting experience for the bereaved when they have to make lasting and costly decisions regarding the most beloved members of their family and their community.

But what if you could remember those that you care about in a manner that doesn't make you feel like you're rushing through to separate yourself from them? What we're establishing is not a hidden, gray grassland filled with saddening and morose statues, scary crypts, and depressing atmospheres, but a bright, vibrant, lively, and real representation of the people we care about, in context and in place. Where it counted and where it will count.

Our Process: Clients can browse our website and look at a variety of standardized packages, ranging from a very affordable basic electronic memorial set all the way up to a fully customized remembrance suite that includes a painstakingly rendered video and a 3D augmented reality life tour. From there, a prospective client may contact us via phone, email, instant message or fax and we can begin a free consultation. Each one of our packages is customizable with options and modules that are easily implemented, and turnaround time can be as little as two weeks. Upon sign-up, an initial deposit covers design, delivery, and upkeep, and from there our team will begin building the Keyoku memorial in earnest before submitting the package to the customer for final reviews. We offer two review passes for each project, and account representatives will be available to address the concerns of clients during the entire build. The memorial will launch with full connectivity upon final payment, as noted on the customer's final project approval form.

Keyoku in Action: We've made some big claims, and we fully intend to back them up by combining passionate design with innovative delivery and a compassionate demeanor. Our memorial packages leverage personalized embedded videos, dedicated sites, mobile applications, QR codes, three dimensional augmented reality models, sound, multimedia, sculptures, and digital images with one goal in mind: celebrating life. But where we shine is in the application of the technology.

Simple, small, and easily-managed quick response codes can be placed in almost any environment in a non-invasive, cost-effective manner. These codes, which are elegant, attractive, and endlessly malleable, can be used to trigger videos, slideshows, or even letters and personal password-protected messages written by your loved ones in a manner of seconds, and they can all be distributed to and affixed at the places that mattered to them. Geolocative tags, which are completely invisible to the naked eye, can be used in public or high-traffic areas to the same effect.

Example: A family decides to make a life tour for their great aunt. Working with our account representatives, they collect images, videos, letters, postcards, music, and art that weave a rich personal tapestry. Our team creates four dozen QR codes and geographical tags that trigger responses on a personalized mobile application that her friends can download immediately on several platforms. After final adjustments, the family goes on a life tour around the town their aunt called home, exploring the places that she made her own and that colored her life. They visit a nearby library she frequented when she was finishing her thesis on post-revolutionary French literature at the local university, the same library where she met her husband, whom they learn wasn't exactly the best math student. They then explore the symphony hall where he proposed to her on the front steps in front of 300 tuxedo-clad fans of Vivaldi. Later the family goes by the hospital where her daughter was born, the school house where she served as a vice principal, and the sports arena where her son played football on the state championship-winning team. At the end of the day everyone retreats to a local eatery and sits in “her” booth, where her favorite meals are listed along with stories about her relationship with the older immigrant family who ran it. And finally, they celebrate with a nightcap at her favorite pub, which features a 3d augmented reality statue dedicated to her, complete with a quote by Moliere.

With Keyoku, memorials become accessible and prodigious. You won't have to lobby for a heavy bronze plaque and you won't have to countenance paying tens of thousands of dollars for a staid and morose piece of carved concrete in an upsetting graveyard. We allow you to celebrate what matters publicly; life, friends, community, and places.

Our Management, Our Model, and Our Team: Our team consists of a core group of experienced staff. We launched in May 2011 as an LLC, and we are a bootstrapped operation that began with $30,000 (US) in personal funds. We are currently “ramped” until the end of 2012, and most of our employees are half-time. Our projects are handled by a variety of creative professionals that we have on contract, and we offer a separate service contract with an affiliated agency that guarantees your memory package is maintained, cared for, and updated in a responsible fashion for generations to come. A lot of us come from a creative and art history background, and we maintain that the creative spirit informs our discipline and fuels our commitment to providing our clients with a truly memorable service. Our team of writers, designers, artists, programmers, and digital architects will work to understand and satisfy your personal needs. We want to make something that lasts, and we want to make something that is fitting for you and your loved ones.

Our Marketing: Our marketing plan is simple and clean. We will begin by placing notices about our existence in select trade publications, and from there we will court the mainstream press in earnest by employing the talents of a publicity specialist. Several Keyoku memorials have been established for members of our own families as a proof of concept; my own grandfather has a memorial tour in his hometown. We aim not to promote by hype or flash, but by showing the same kind of class that our clients deserve. Our validity as a service will avail itself through word and deed.

Who We Compete With and Why We're Different: We have three major competitors at the moment: Service Corporation International's Mem.com service, MuchLoved.com, and Bcelebrated.com. Keyoku, however, is not just a website; we're dedicated to integrating memorials into a “life” space where anybody with the proper access tools can see them. We don't relegate things out of sight, and we refuse to present ourselves via a poorly-designed website filled with banner ads or other inappropriate calls for attention. Our content team is world-class, which ensures that our clients will have wondrous and unique memorials both on and offline instead of perfunctory template-based web pages.

Conclusion: We would like to thank you for your time and we welcome your questions and comments. We are open to having discussions about investment, partnerships, or staffing, and we look forward to hearing from you. You may reach me at -Redacted- at your leisure.

Bibliography:

"Eternal Space: a Debacle?" Final Embrace. 14 June 2009. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://finalembrace.com/2009/06/14/eternal-space-a-debacle/>.

"Homepage." Celebrate Your Life and Legacy - BCelebrated.com. Bcelebrated, 2009. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://www.bcelebrated.com/>.

"Homepage." Light a Pixel - The Online Memorial. Light a Pixel, 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://www.lightapixel.com/>.

"Homepage." Making Everlasting Memories, Worldwide Memorialization, Establish a Living Family History. Making Everlasting Memories, L.L.C., 1998. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://www.mem.com/>.

Last year I studied both online communities as well as online community interaction while working on my master's at USC. As part of my course work I did, well, a LOT of reading, and every now and then I would contribute a mini-review to a class blog or for the sake of class presentations. One of the first of several dozen books on my reading list was Henry Jenkins' Convergence Culture, which is probably the definitive "go to" text (at least in English) for those studying the re-distribution and fan interaction / creation community phenomenon that's sweeping the web via any number of sites, practices, or technologies. This review was originally posted at this site, and I decided to put it up today because the book is the first up in USC's "One School, One Book" event, which you can read about here.

It's most definitely worth your time if you're into modern media studies (Itou, Rheingold, Shirky, Godin, etc.). Get into it.

In Convergence Culture, USC media guru Henry Jenkins analyzes a shifting cultural landscape and dissects the current particulars regarding audience interaction with mass media. Jenkins uses a hodgepodge of examples drawing from sources such as television (Survivor), film (The Matrix), fiction (Harry Potter), and political campaigns (Howard Dean, Barack Obama) to investigate the nature of modern media and how its axis has shifted radically to allow for remixing, re-interpretation, canonical deviation, and culture jamming on terms established by fans instead of producers. Jenkins also looks at how these practices have influenced producers and media itself.

Jenkins states in the introduction that “If old consumers were assumed to be passive, the new consumers are active.” Example after example presents the new vistas that affordable digital technology and transmission media have opened, and the takeaway is that while “old” media fans could only consume, modern fans can easily reciprocate with their own interpretations of pop culture if they should so choose. Media dispersion, canonical deviation (“Which version of Blade Runner is definitive?!?”), and the nature of knowledge communities are explored in a multi-tiered analysis of what it means to be a fan in the age of configurable media, Facebook, MMORPGs, and Photoshop.

In a nutshell, the concept of convergence is one in which fans have forgone the “one-way” nature of old media to forge a new path that allows them to interact with their favorite creations. Harry Potter fan-fiction is one such example explored by Jenkins, as is investigative reality TV “hacking” by fans who have taken their interest in shows such as “Survivor” and “American Idol” to a new level. Concatenating and amassing a gestalt in fandom is now a process of curation and construction influenced by multiple iterations and knowledge communities, where credence is leveraged by the degree of veracity that one will give a retcon, side story, or alternative interpretation. For example, I believe that Han Solo shot first because of the nature of his character and because of the weight that the original Star Wars carries with me. My apologies to George, of course.

Dr. Jenkins also notes the expanded nature of narrative media, exploring the distributed “transmedia” plot of The Matrix, which was spread over various transmission media like video games and an animated side story. His analysis of media production models and “co-creation” explores the various contrasting attitudes of creators in the modern media space; some producers openly welcome fan-created content while others have a more mercurial or even adversarial relationship with it.

In the updated version’s afterword, Jenkins explores the impact of convergence culture on the 2008 presidential campaign and examines the attitude of mass media toward fan-created content in the realm of “proper” media. The descriptions of the difference in approach between quick-thinking, innovative fans and that of oft-restricted conglomerates exemplify Jenkins’ main ideas in an elegant way, although he does note the media’s shifting attitude toward embracing user-generated content. Additional insight is given with regard to the lionizing weight afforded to established monoliths as well as the coeval pursuit of “parallel interests” by both independent grassroots alliances and well-known media interests.

Convergence Culture won the 2007 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Katherine Singer Kovacs award for good reason: it’s an excellent, well-written, fast-paced, and surprisingly enjoyable book about modern media that balances an encyclopedic knowledge of culture with insights culled from leaders in communications research like Rheingold, Levy, Itou, and Eco. One wouldn’t usually expect that reading about the participatory nature of modern media and how it reflects the same kind of melange that birthed The Odyssey would be anything besides a chore, but Jenkins proffers an excellent crash course for those who want to explore the roots of interactive media cultures.

My take: If you are at all serious about communications research that is focused on modern media consumption and fandom, you need to read this book.

Like, today.

Much like a roller-coaster ride, convergence culture as a practice could be interpreted as an assault on the senses that could easily overload or confuse somebody. So much happens simultaneously across so many mediums that we can only hope to grok a general appreciation of where a certain fandom is heading at any given moment; but the corollary is that each personal take can be valid, genuine, and meaningful.

Reviewing my notes on the book, I was surprised to realize how dense it is in terms of its breadth. Jenkins’ sense of construction allows you to cruise from Mcluhan to Spock to Peter Bagge to Anderson Cooper in 294 pages without feeling like you’ve short-changed yourself academically or culturally, which is at the very least a commendable accomplishment. Aside from an inexplicably repeated passage that is most likely due to a printing error, the book is a satisfying and fairly brisk read that conveys an important message: we have an “all you can eat” pass at the cultural smorgasboard.

As part of the CMGT 534 course at APOC, students were assigned to introduce various guest speakers who came to speak to our cohort at the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future in Santa Monica. My guest speaker introduction was for Greg Liberman, the CEO for Spark Networks.

Intro speeches and intro writing can be an unforgiving and boring enterprise, so after I did some research to make sure that he'd appreciate it (I believe Heidegger referred to this as "covering your arse"), I went ahead and wrote up Greg's biography... in a manner that indicated he was a robot. It went over well and Mr. Liberman appreciated it.

This paper was prepared as part of research exercise looking at the trends surrounding Quick Response codes in North American marketing. If you can't tell by now, I'll go ahead and state the obvious: I love QR codes. They're really interesting to me as a means of transmission and as a semiotic phenomenon.

It doesn't hurt that they're also pretty useful, although I did cop out of the QR code tattoo that I was thinking about on my right arm.

Trends

While QR codes have long been a major presence in Asian mass media campaigns, they have only recently begun making an impact in the North American marketing sphere. Adoption and implementation of QR codes have rapidly increased in frequency, and new tracking metrics are becoming indispensable tools with which to measure the success of QR-based campaigns in offline channels such as print advertising. It is estimated that one out of every five companies in the Fortune 50 are now using QR codes in their marketing campaigns, and with Smartphone markets expected to expand 50% this year, the number of such campaigns are likely to increase exponentially in the next few quarters. Note the movement of Google's QR code search results along the vertical axis from 2009, when they were virtually non-existent, until now:

A major factor for the explosion in popularity of QR codes has been their use in media as a trans-narrative augmentation device. The extra-narrative and “mysterious” potential of QR codes have lead to an increase in their utilization in the promotion of video games (THQ's Homefront), music (Soulja Boy), and films (Iron Man 2).

Value Proposition

Quick Response (QR) codes convey large amounts specialized data in a fast, easy, non-intrusive and low-cost fashion to consumers on the go. The codes are incredibly low-cost, easy to create, use very little space, are highly malleable, and require a minimal investment of time from the market audience; a user can scan a code and access relevant information about a business or product in less than 10 seconds. QR codes also enable point-of-action exchanges such as renewing a magazine subscription directly from a smartphone, and their scan results can be tracked in any campaign, be it hyper-local or global. Aside from their cost-effectiveness, the presence of a QR code itself implies that a business is forward-looking and aware of their marketplace.

Levels of Engagement

The level of engagement is directly tied to the willingness of the end-user to take advantage of the code and what it offers. Traditionally, a QR code is used to make a somewhat involved activity into something instantaneous; instead of taking out your computer, turning it on, opening a browser, and going to a website via manual entry of a URL a user can now simply scan a code with their mobile device of choice and immerse themselves instantly. Most importantly, campaign statistics can helpt to calculate ROI for formerly “fuzzy” avenues such as magazines. Examples like the one below (which is theoretical) would be impossible to calculate and quantify without spending hundreds and thousands, if not millions, of dollar on research.

Engagement via QR codes allows traditionally single-dimensional media avenues to embrace multimedia precepts. Nike, for instance, ran a QR code campaign in a magazine advert that allowed readers to instantly view the ad's corresponding television commercial when scanned.

Successful Quick Response Campaigns

Game publisher THQ worked with Augme Technologies to hide 10 QR codes in their game Homefront. Clicking the codes allowed users to download exclusive video and wallpaper graphics, which enticed gamers to return to the consoles and search for them. Within 2 days they reported 30,000 scans, and the effort quickly surpassed 50,000 QR scans, 30,000 image downloads and 18,000 video viewings.

The Verizon / Motorola Droid campaign by Scanlife racked up 150,000 scans over the course of three months from US readers, with 67% of their readership being male and 68% of the respondents being between the ages of 18 and 44.

Time Magazine ran a successful and high profile ad campaign with QR codes in Times Square in January. Around the same time Macy's began running a highly visible campaign that covered print and television. The Macy's effort worked to educate the public as to how to use QR codes, and one of their New York stores reported 20,000 downloads originating from scans during a single week in February.

Rap artist Lupe Fiasco drove 25% of his pre-order sales for his “Lasers” album through custom QR codes and flash mob marketing. The code was beamed onto walls in New York and Los Angeles after some Tweeter posts from Lupe, and those who scanned the code were sent to a landing page for the album.

Tracking Analytics:

http://qreateandtrack.com (free and paid options)

http://www.qreatebuzz.com

http://www.insqribe.com/barcodes ( free and paid options)

http://www.i-nigma.com/CampaignDashboard.html

http://www.tappinn.com

http://pingtags.com (Track QR Codes on business cards to linkedin profiles)

http://www.qrme.co.uk

http://api.qrcode.kaywa.com

http://scanlife.com

Sources:

http://2d-code.co.uk/homefront-qr-codes/

http://fonegigsblog.com/2011/04/30/fonegigs-qr-codes-versus-sms/

http://heidicohen.com/qr-code-metric/

http://qrcodes-in-advertising.blogspot.com/

http://mashable.com/2010/07/13/calvin-klein-qr-code-billboard/

http://blog.greattv.com/2010/09/top-150-must-read-quick-response-qr-code-stories-of-2010-aka-two-dimensional-2d-scan-codes-ezcodes-tag-mobile-tags-for-smartphone/

During the past year I specialized in engaging in qualitative research with an ethnographic focus for my online studies and research work. The majority of these investigations were performed under the auspices of Heath Row from Google, who was teaching the research class for APOC at the time.

To his infinite credit, Heath basically said to us "go research what you want, but make SURE you research it." Seeing as how basic concerns about infrastructural and cultural biases have been an interest of mine for a long time, especially concerning popular perceptions of the "dark side" of the web, I wanted to look at Facebook's approach to social media in contrast to 4chan's anonymous "anything goes" approach. The following graphic (and paper) constitutes my first move into that direction.

See the original full-size graphic here.

What it is: This document, which was prepared by Namesake.com and published on its blog, examines the differences between Facebook's approach to personally-attributable communication and 4 Channel's approach to community-based anonymous interaction. The infographic cites a number of research institutions and organizations, and compares the two under the headings of “Transparency” (Facebook) and “Anonymity” (Four Channel).

What it says: The graph states no ultimate teleological goal beyond comparison. It includes statements and visuals regarding the difference in approach between Facebook and Four Channel, and also posits a list of groups who benefit from each respective approach. The bottom half of the graph, titled “The Current Situation,” includes statistics quantifying people's concerns about both internet privacy and online transparency.

What it means: The graph implies that there is a vast difference in the discourse of Facebook and Four Channel, and uses the sites as representative models in a debate about Transparency versus Anonymity.

Methodology: Although the direct methodology used to ascertain the information presented in the document is not clearly delineated, one can assume that the figures come from preexisting research gleaned from places like the Pew Institute, Venturebeat, Namesake itself, Slate, Gallup, and Computerworld. All of these as well as David Kilpatrick's book The Facebook Effect are listed as sources. Study names, exact details, and exact pages are not included, and there is no definitive extrapolation of the data as applied to a particular demographic.

Issues: The graph's contextual framing purports that a fundamental dichotomy exists between the two sites, although Namesake claimed that they also aimed to address a philosophical middle-ground in their original blog post. It is the author's assumption that such a middle-ground is only elliptically acknowledged in this study, which raises a number of fundamental concerns about the graph in that it alludes to the existence of a total division or an enmity between the two camps. Can a user not simultaneously take advantage of both?

Presentation bias is also a concern. Christopher Poole is falsely posited in the introduction as the “leader” of 4Channel's “anonymous” contingent in comparison to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg who holds an established corporate title. Directly comparing a small business such as 4 Channel with a media and advertising conglomerate could be seen as a false equivalency. 4 Channel's business model is not mentioned in the graphic, and readers can see inconsistency in the writing between various sections.

The graphic is also infused with what could be construed as linguistic biases. Facebook is denied the luxury of a statement regarding the importance of transparency, while a quote from Poole's recent SXSW speech praising the anonymous approach to communication is included in the piece. Although an unsourced quote from Zuckerberg appears as well, the terminology used to support it (presumably written by Namesake's staff) uses loaded terminology, including the word “cowardly.”

The Facebook member numbers are wrong according to Namesake's own admission in the comments of their original blog post. The actually have over 600 million users now. While this is not a direct admission of failure or an intentional misrepresentation of facts, it could reflect poorly on the timeliness of their research into the sites.

The graph fails to mention the fact that Poole himself has stated that users are not literally anonymous to 4 Channel as a site or as a business entity. In an interview on Reddit, Poole stated that users are not invisible when they post to the site; one can assume that standard methods (IP address tracking, etc) can still be employed by 4 Channel administrators. Users may also post under a name if they would like to, which means that the false dichotomy theory mentioned above may be more valid than the creators of this graph would like to admit.

The Current Situation section of the graph is severely challenged in terms of explicating the scope, type, and sources of research it displays. This instilled a sense of confusion in the author. Consider some of the following questions: do all of the figures originate from the Pew Research study? Are they a mish-mash of various other research endeavors or surveys? Are such numbers therefore reliable? How many people were involved in the test set?

There is a lack of direct attribution for statistics, leaving readers to wonder which numbers came from where on the graphic although they are noted as being verified as to coming from respectable sources. Again note the Current Situation subsection; who is being polled here and under what pretense?

Confirmation bias is also a concern. This graphic was created by Namesake, who embraces the attribution philosophy in its mission statement. Their About section states: “At Namesake we have tremendous respect for those who create. People who aren't afraid to embrace risk. People passionate enough to challenge the status quo. People who push us forward despite all odds. We've learned many valuable lesson (sic) building Namesake but none important than the power a creative vision can wield.” Their position, viewed in light of their business model necessitating a “contact” point and a reputation, means that they may by their very nature embrace a philosophy far more amenable to Facebook's ideas about the internet than 4 Channel's. As mentioned above, Namesake sources itself in this infographic as well.

Some of the suppositions in the graphic can be nullified by happenstance, consequence, or design; e.g. credit for content may not always be attributed to you if you should happen to be a Facebook user, nor always denied to you by virtue of the fact that you use 4 Channel. This again brings up the author's concern that there is a false dichotomy at play in this argument stemming from the murky-but-extant middle ground.

As the testing group (or groups) are unclear, one can begin to wonder whom is being effected by what or who is answering what. Are all of the users polled in the second half of the graphic speaking specifically about their use of Facebook and not LinkedIn, Friendster, et al? Are they US-based? English speakers? Do they have a uniform approach to digitally-based cultural interaction? Are they men or women? What are their ages? Such questions are not authoritatively addressed and could cast doubt upon the statistics and conclusions presented.

Final conclusions: The graphic aims to communicate and expound upon an interesting phenomenon crucial to internet users in first world societies, but unfortunately said information is vague and possibly obfuscatory. In a turn of poetic justice, the biggest issue for the author is this graphic's lack of transparency and nebulous sourcing, which tacitly underwrites concerns about the nature of internet representation and accreditation. It's also inconsistent in its execution and design, albeit not so much to infer collusion or intentional attempts to influence the audience in the author's mind.

In closing the author considers this a well-intentioned graphic that succeeds as a conversation starter but fails to deliver as an exercise in well-mediated and regulated data interpretation.

Sources:

Namesake Team. "Are You Who You Say You Are? - Namesake Blog." Namesake Blog. Namesake, 18 May 2011. Web. 30 May 2011. <http://www.namesake.com/blog/2011/05/namesake/are-you-who-you-say-you-are/>.

Back in the heady days of junior high and high school I got into punk rock. This interest is responsible for defining the cultural thrust of my life; I still have a somewhat hard time relating to people who claim to be outside of its influence or don't feel a kinship with it as a highly-varied and self-actualized creative movement. I guess something had to get me out of bed every day.

I liked everything about it. I liked its dichotomous nature, its humor, and its faux ahistoricism. Obviously there were (and are) things to weed out as well, but that's part of life, and I found that as time went on my batting average got pretty high. The upshot remains that it just spoke to me. Bore yourself to sleep with the Stones as much as you'd like, but I have Mission of Burma singles to buy.

Fugazi, who went "on hiatus" (read: broke up and rendered us all speechless) in 2003, epitomized everything I liked about the music. An easy choice? Sure, but as much as I liked Godflesh and Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Joy Division, I couldn't pretend that they surpassed Fugizzle in the sheer joyous skronka-skronka horse race.

Anyway...

Fast forward to 2009 and I'm messing with servers, firewalls, SMBs, and... analogue phones(!) at Common Sense Media in San Francisco, CA. At the same time in the cold and distant realm known as "Seattle," friend and ex-USS Horsewhip / current Police Teeth guitarist James "Grump-zilla" Burns edits together his long-promised Fugazi comedy album in anticipation of an upcoming Vic Chestnutt show featuring Fugazi's own Guy Picciotto on guitar.

Lulz ensue.

Being in the know, Chunklet publisher Henry Owings picks up the story and covers it on his website, and the next thing you know those noise-lovers at NPR get wise. (Heh.) Fast forward another year and half and I'm at USC as a "pale guy who actually likes the things he studies" minority admission getting a master's in 4cha- er, "online communities." I'm taking a discourse analysis class taught by this professor from Texas and I have a paper due on discourse analysis. I remembered James, who had in the interim created an online pledge drive to pay Weezer to break up, and said "hey, that's an interesting concept for analysis, and it means I can listen to Fugazi all day long and read papers about bad straight edge hardcore bands who are obsessed with Minor Threat."

Thus this paper.

The stage is an interesting concept in the world of rhetoric and discourse. And an intimidating one. I tried to pose several questions about these interactions via this assignment. Can a band ever really hope to engage with its audience beyond facile pleasantries? Is there room for such engagement? Does the entertainment aspect of rock music, even underground rock music, always subvert the communicative paradigm to one-way transmissions? I think it's a venue that's ripe for deeper analysis on a rhetorical level.

Over the summer myself and Ani.Me co-founder / Twitter guru (heh) Mike Prasad acted as the go-to guys for the community aspects of AM2, a first-year con dedicated to Japanese pop culture, music, movies, and anime.

Mike and myself have hit up numerous cons over the past year and a half in an attempt to build our site not only as a source for news and information but also as a community and a venue for fan interaction. The results speak for themselves: we average 1k unique visits a day, we've passed out 80,000 stickers, we're always speaking at panels and events, and our mobile app has exceeded 35,000 downloads.

Not bad for a site run by 3 part-time guys who were either in school or on other jobs at the same time.

Anyway, AM2 had the good fortune to occur during my internship at daqri, a company that I ran up to at Launch and asked to intern for (I blame my over-enthusiasm on William Gibson; thanks Bill!) and who have been happy to indulge my creative side by letting me (ab)use their platform for the sake of scavenger hunts, geolocative art, etc.

This making of video is from the scavenger hunt that I cooked up before the con, where users would interact with daqri's QR codes and then proceed to fulfill a mini-mission for rewards, prizes, and the ever-enviable standby known as "bragging rights." Prizes were handed out at our website panel at the end of the day. It was a ton of fun.

In my final semester at USC I took a transmedia class with Dr. Henry Jenkins, which was a nice callback to my old days as a film student at Ryerson University. Our final group project was a pitch for The Call, a media series that we created to re-frame HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos as a modern action-horror story that drew upon concerns about terrorism, ecology, corporate malfeasance, and hacktivism.

Oh, and death cults and space monsters.

The above video was an introduction piece that I put together with the aid of Jen Goldberg, who did the sound recording. It was voiced by Jen as well as by Robotech and Bleach alum Dan Woren, who was awesome enough to come down and record at Jen's apartment after fighting off a vicious cold.

The crafty (and geeky) among you may note the references to The Misfits and Patlabor, as well as various other nods. It was put together at USC Annenberg's computer lab. Watch in HD for best results. And call the number sometime!

USC For Japan was an online information clearinghouse for USC students, alumni, fans, and friends to use in an attempt to aid disaster victims in Japan. Myself and Charles Rubinoff (read about his work on the site here) established the site over the course of a few long, intense, caffeine-driven days with the help of our adviser Dr. Karen North and our friends from the USC APOC program.

We knew that, immediately after the disaster, bigger and more experienced groups and organizations would begin mobilizing in an aid to provide relief efforts and information. We also knew that these organizations would need a lot of time to perfect their planning and approach. USC For Japan was specifically designed to use on-the-ground social media outlets to gather information in a way that empowered people in the interregnum. It was exciting and challenging work, but it turned out to be a fascinating process and we managed to spread the word to USC students, staff, and alumni quickly and effectively. Here is an article which talks about the site.

We ended up making several press appearances over the course of a month.

The site was later recognized by the office of USC President CL Max Nikias. You can read the statement here.

Scoutline was an application that myself and two classmates cooked up for our practicum (fancy word for "practical thesis") while in the Comm Management / APOC master's program at USC. The above video was put together to show the app in action.