The Chaser's War on Everything ~ Video Podcast Review

Being up late doing homework I decided to select a comedy-based video podcast and I'm glad I did...

The Chaser's War on Everything produced by ABC (not the one we're used to) is quite hilarious.

The Australian-based company has a video archive that includes 67 past videos, each were very short and very funny. I found the short form to be quite a draw. Each video was well produced and held your attention. The style made you want to click through to watch more and more shorts. They have a live studio audience when they are on set, but they also go on location quite a bit for various bits. The production quality is quite high.

The two clips I wanted to include were:
Firth vs Michael More and Sex Offender T shirts

When I tried to "watch the latest episode" I could not. The following explanation was given:
"Sorry Due to copyright reasons this video program is available for download by people located in Australia only. If you are not located in Australia, you are not authorised to view this video. If you ARE located in Australia and feel an error has been made we would appreciate your help with improving this service. Please provide your details below to help us resolve the problem. Disclaimer: Note that IP addresses are captured to assist with problem resolution. The ABC will only use the information you supply to improve our services and for statistical analysis of audiences only. We will not use your details for other purposes."

Their website was also well laid out with a virtual tour of the set, detailed cast and crew information and built-in comedy based around their theme, Osama and war. You can even send your friends an email from Osama. They used to provide a blog space for viewers however "Commenting has been switched off as this blog is no longer moderated."

I thought the site and the video podcasts were a complete package and the quality behind the content made it a valid source of comedy that I would continue to subscribe to ~ given the time and means to do so.

Mexican singer El Shaka killed after denying his murder: Blog Comparison

I found the Original Story on the BBC Homepage. From there I Googled "Sergio Vega" to see what would appear. I thought it was interesting that the top 4 results were web 2.0 applications. The first a blog and the second, third and fourth were tweets about the story.

The original BBC news coverage was in-depth as you would expect for a breaking story while the two versions presented below proceeded to fade on the credibility scale.

Billboard presented the facts... Vega had in fact died, he was on his way to a performance, he was 40 years old and he had just moments earlier confirmed he was not murdered. From there they put their Billboard spin on the story noting who he was signed with and his latest singles. For me Billboard provided a bit more credibility at this point by providing details of the whole picture. They gave details of 10 other deaths associated with Mexican musicians in the past 4 years. The story was short, to the point, provided a spin that you would expect being an established icon in the music industry. Credit is given to the author and Billboard staff making it seem much more reliable. Once again it is associated with a trusted source in the industry.

Helium on the other hand... still presents the basic facts but also intersperses them with opinions and commentary style writing that lessens the impact and removes credibility. Sure it speaks to a specific audience, but for this comparison the writing style, lack of connection to a verified news source, and overall poor presentation of potential motives kills the bloggers credibility for me. They do provide a link to the author if you would like to know more about him, but it's just not enough.

YouTube video uploaded from Russia

If nothing else each additional version provided a different perspective on the story. What I learned is that if I want a trusted news source, I still have to go to a trusted news source. If I want additional perspectives, that is an option as well. It comes down to what we discussed in class editing is necessary and not everyone blogging possess that skill.

In-Class Assignment ~ Current Event Blog

My Left Wing


Having read that most bloggers are right winged men, I decided to simply search for a left wing blog. Well, this is one of the first ones I found. Oddly enough it happens to originate from a woman...


"Rage, rage against the Lying of the Right" is there subheading... how do you think they really feel?

Current News Events seem to be the topics on the forefront of the blog. There seem to be daily posts by multiple authors. It does utilize pictures, links and videos but too many. It is a very busy page.

As for credibility, it seems a lot of the content is based or linked to credible sources. However, I struggled to find a theme or any organization that allowed my logical brain to follow the flow of ideas. It is certainly biased, that's no secret.

Blog Controversies ~ The Internet Warrior

I chose a controversy from the New Zealand blogosphere...






Cameron Slater was "charged with five counts of breaching name suppression orders. The charges relate to two blog posts that contained pictures which revealed the identities of a prominent New Zealand entertainer and a former New Zealand Olympian who were each charged with sexual offenses."


In addition to these charges he also blogged about the "identity of a former Member of Parliament charged with indecent assault on a 13 year old girl."


He is using his blog and his political power (being the son of former National Party president, John Slater) to make a stance. He feels the name suppression laws in New Zealand are in need of reform. Critics worry that his actions will lead to the identification of the victims. Slater comments on that in the link above...

He is well known as an Internet Warrior...

"He sees his blog as a continuation of his old-school, placard-defacing politics of abuse and ridicule, albeit in a digital format. It's a way to participate, to peddle some influence in the political process, without sitting through meetings or kowtowing to anyone."


Says Slater, "We most demonstrably are media," he says. It just happens to be new media. And it's immediate"


Ultimately Cameron is using his blog as a way to participate in politics and institute change in laws he himself sees un-fit. This is admirable to a point, but anyone willing to take a stance must be willing to pay the consequenses. He himself broke the law in order to change the law. It will be interesting to see how these web 2.0 tactics pan out for Cameron and others filling the same role.

Web 2.0 Application and the 4C's

Although I work in a technical field I am relatively gun-shy when it comes to Web 2.0 applications. I chose to write about Facebook for this assignment since it is the only application I've used on a regular basis.

I was dragged onto fb kicking and screaming by a former co-worker. My picture remained the faceless question mark for months on end. Now I'm connected to 385 people and have emails forwarded to my blackberry - which never leaves my side due to an on-call type job.

COMMUNICATION:
As our book mentions, many aspects of the 4C's overlap. At the very basic level, all four are indeed forms of communication. The basic communication attributes fb provides for me as of late are:

• Reconnecting with old friends and family members
• Taking communication from fb into the real world... ie. attending events I'm invited to, or meeting a long-lost relative via skype (after my poison ivy clears up)
  

Basic Detriments include:

• Realizing how different many of my views are compared to some friends and family
• Wanting to slap people on a regular basis for posting mindless bleh when they are given a chance to have a voice

COOPERATION:
There are certain friends who post video clips or urls that help spread knowledge about pertinent current events that help me stay in touch and not tune out the rest of the world due to my day-to-day responsibilities. Reminding me I need to be aware of the world around me.

COLLABORATION:
Being in a band is difficult when you all live in the same town, let alone when you are separated by geography. For me, fb allows me to stay in touch almost synchronously with each of my band-mates. We schedule practices, book shows and make overall decisions via fb email all of the time. It's way more organized than when we talk in person. It's documented so we can build upon the discussion and it allows practice time to be about the music... mostly.

CONNECTION:
While I understand security is important, I think some new fb security features cross the line into freaky... I recently noticed several of my friends posting comments... ok, that's normal, but since some of their friends are not my friends... and they've blocked their posts to only be viewed by their friends... it looks like the original poster is having a conversation with him or herself. Clearly they're answering someone, but I can't view the entire conversation.

In the past I may have chosen new friends based on their witty banter or intelligent comments. This stifles my options for adding new friends, pushes me away and ultimately seems to defeat the purpose of the whole social networking aspect of Facebook.