Week 8 – Derek Yoshikane

Each project we viewed this week would fit nicely in a high school curriculum resource page.  Some of the interviews in the La Buena Vida project offered up interesting points of view about American influence.  The project seemed more about public perception of the U.S.  The validity of the things being said rested upon who was saying it.  The project seemed very structured and almost scientific in the way each person was asked the same questions.  I could see how a history teacher could use some of these interviews to demonstrate how “real” people feel about the U.S.

The Hurricane Digital Memory Project contained a collection of still photos that documented too much.  The images painted a picture of the whole time period from the devastation of the hurricane to the people returning to their homes.  I found that some, not all the photos were interesting and relevant to the collection.

I went to the “about us” tab and read the article, “Why Collecting History Online in Web 1.5.” After reading the article, I immediately thought of our challenge with our “Heart Yourself” photos that are taken by students and then posted on our Facebook page.  Instead of just having the students post photos directly to the Facebook page, I need to collect the images, screen, and then post them.  This is not the more familiar “Web 2.0”, but it is the safer, controlled “Web 1.5”.

Postsecret is a very insightful and thought-provoking project.  I appreciated the simplicity and constraints of the format (postcard with image and text).  I liked the way the project didn’t capitalize upon its participants.  There is no advertising on the site (yet).  At a minimum, Frank Warren (founder) opened himself up to be a listener on a massive scale (1/2 million submissions).  We have to remember that people are participating anonymously.  I wonder why people feel compelled to share?  Is it because it’s art? Or is it appeal of having a mass audience?

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