2014年10月17日 星期五

Digital Media and Activism - How social media affect the Hong Kong Student Strike

 Hong Kong Student Strike


Hong Kong students Monday(22th September,2014) began a week-long boycott of classes, the start of what democracy activists say will be a wider campaign of civil disobedience against China's refusal to grant the city full universal suffrage.Students sat on the street in Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok ,to fight for a fair nomination method for the Chief Executive election in 2017.


Compared to the last student strike in Hong Kong which is about to decisively kill the 'brainwashing' program from China had more than 8,000 students participated,the scale of this strike (in the first day) is much bigger that over 13,000 students from different universities boycotted their classes.It had quickly aroused the internetional concerns.

 

The function of social media in Hong Kong Student Strike




Social media(eg.Facebook,Instagram,Twitter and Whatsapp) help spread the related messages to more people who dont know through pictures,videos and words.Social media is so powerful that about 130,000 people join the signatory to White House for complaining and seeking help. Moreover,the news and videos about the policemen using tear gas and pepper spray to the protestors had been widespread in the internet and caused more people ,even the elderly,to join the protest.Students also used the tags -#studentstrike #umbrella revolution to arouse public's awareness.

However,some fake message had also been shared and cause misunderstandings.For example,there had been many messages that someone claimed himself as a police and said that police will use tear gas,even guns to attack protesters but it didnt happen and caused chaos.
Therefore,we should use the social media responsibly and not to spread the message without thinking.It could be a better way to support the protest.



Reference :
The Standard http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=53644
東網電視 http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/news/20140925/00407_033.html?pubdate=20140925

2014年9月21日 星期日

Digital games - But are they art?

What is art?I think it could have different answers.

In my concept,art should be beautiful and narrative.
However,how to define beautiful is subjective.Many digital games have designed scene,characters,pictures,words,etc.All these design could classify as beautiful depends on different people.
Also,most of them have a story to attract player.If writing is one type of art,a game have a story could be one of them.Therefore,digital games which contain design and story are art.


This is an interview about art and videogames of my group.

               

Modern Times,Then and Now


In this video,i saw what is farsightedness.
There are many questions spring up in my mind after watching the clip:
Is that all technology is useful and good for us?Is it good to be the first one to try the new technology?

Eating meals take time,so there is a eating machine.

Charlie Chaplin who is the first person to test the machine can eat without using his hands.At the beginning,he looked enjoyable and a little bit confused but it changed quickly after the machine was out of contorl.He lost the freedom and rights to choose what he wants to eat,the only thing he can do is locked on the machine and being tortured.

What happened on Charlie Chaplin is similar to our experience now.There are many new technology or products produce everyday but not all of them are useful or helpful.

However,it will never have a lack of guinea pigs because they like following the trend blindly.Also,using internet is similar to the eating machine that once you used,the things you can control are less.For example,if you post a photo that you don't really want to post,even though you delete immediately,the photo may already saved by others.Therefore,we should make decision carefully.


Digital media in my life

 
What you hope you will learn about digital media in this course?
 
Using the internet is unavoidable nowadays,especailly the digital meadia,it is important that we should learn more about these things.In this course,i hope i can find out the relation between visual culture and digital media,and also the impact and the value of it.

What are some kinds of digital media that are important in my life, and what are some pros and cons of these ?


There are many digital media that are important to me,such as Facebook,Youtube,Instagram and Tumblr.When i surf the internet on my mobile phone,i was usually using these apps.

As everyone knows,Facebook is a social media which is multi-function and very convenient.We can see what our friends do through their photos,words or videos,updating our own status,following the celebrities' pages,chatting with friends or even strangers,etc.
Another digital media which is nessesary to me is Youtube.We can watch the videos all over the globe even though it is long time ago.For example,i watched the video "teletubbies" which i never watch before on Youtube recantly and suddenly find that it is really interesting.The function of instagram and Tumblr is similar that we can see photos or clips posted by others and comment on it.


However,it may pose a risk if we do not use these digital media carefully.What you post could trigger off the cyber-bullying or to leak out your personal infornmation and what you get could be a fake information or news.Also,these convenient digital media cause the lack of communication,people would rather chat on Facebook,than talk face-to-face.

 


"Simpson" is one of my favourite cartoons.That's a picture that i find touching when i was using Facebook.(You can see my Facebook name on the right hand side.)