I can honestly say I have no idea how 5 weeks have gone by so quickly. I feel like it should still be week 2!
For my midterm paper I intend to take more of a look into the concepts of spreadability and stickiness. The concepts themselves are fairly simple, but I would like to try and take a deeper look into what can be done with projects to have a greater rate of shares, and a deeper level of retention.
As a producer of any kind of content (traditional or cross media) I think it is imperative to understand what makes something shareable verses something that might be of interest, but is not shared across platforms by viewers. Related to understanding what makes something shareable, I think knowing how to bring someone into a site, or a project and retaining their interest, enthusiasm, and engagement is one of the most valuable lessons a producer can learn.
I want to use some examples of artists, and educators that utilize the concepts of spreadability and stickiness, as well as looking at how crossing mediums can be beneficial to projects that aren’t using it. I would like to also look at the possible pitfalls of trans-media when not used to it’s full extent or when it is not targeted properly, what happens when producers miss their marks?
One other idea that I am toying with, but haven’t explored too deeply is a comparison between old media methods and new media methods to see if they are actually better for outreach. I’ve been thinking a little bit about whether or not content creators are overcompensating and creating too much content, I know that is actually a problem we have here at work.
I will admit that I am feeling a little bit lost in this class, not because I’m not doing readings or researching websites, but because I feel very much disconnected from the class. This distance style learning is not how I process and engage with information, I need much more interpersonal discussion and dialogue. While we live in a world that is increasingly online, I still find that I can learn more, and have a deeper understanding of information by meeting in real world environments. For me this format of class is not working at all, I would much rather have weekly classes with discussion than logging onto this word press site. Does anyone have any ideas how I might be able to better utilize this distance style of class, I know it seems odd to reach out halfway through the term, but honestly every week that goes by I feel less connected to this class.
Jerry, sorry to hear you are feeling so disconnected. Does your group meet regularly for your project? That helps me a bit because we can talk a bit about how annoying Gere’s big words for the sake of big words is, for example. But it is not a deep discussion. I am sure meeting tomorrow will help.
I think you have an excellent paper idea. I would like to read it eventually if you would share it. I am interested in that as well. Which online viewings/projects are you planning to analyze? And I assume you would really on the Jenkins book mostly?