M5.1

In the past year I've consumed and engaged with a myriad of media and in a range between (seemingly) original content all the way to complete mash-ups of music and different types of film. I'd have to say the most would be YouTube and Twitch TV, I even run a separate weekly blog of my YouTube finds which I guess is a mash-up in itself (http://pause-youtubular.blogspot.ca/) which would count towards my online production. It would also be in addition to activity on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube itself. Most contribution to these latter three is in the form of comments/posts, likes and retweets, always some form of commentary on whatever the subject matter happens to be. The kind of ground level interaction that these new types of media so easily allows is something that attracts me to participate. Before any internet like technologies I can imagine it being fairly daunting and it being much more of a take to write into a newspaper or magazine. Even then your contributions are easily ignored. While with digital media, whether intentional or not, somebody will read your opinion if it is online. My only inhibitions are towards being more of a voice that a critic online. Such as a focused contribution like a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter account, etc, dedicated to a specific area of interest.

In my opinion many of them are already doing it. Considering Twitter, it is kind of an open platform if you think about it. Anyone can make an account and choose to use this platform in a number of ways. Some ways may be more successful than others but even those conditions for success are socially constructed, lending Twitter to be very socially fluid, perhaps more so than some could be in a real world situation. Everyone can have a soapbox to stand on.

Social platforms such as Twitter are approaching a point that we cannot see beyond when it comes to copyright. Many laws crafted to impose more enforced laws into the realm of the internet are being struck down and remade often. I believe it is only a matter of time before enforced copyright makes its way into the internet. It is very hard to say what could happen beyond this point. One way I like to picture it going is similarly to the plot of the film The Matrix. Once copyright (The Matrix) infiltrates the internet (Zion) Neo is given a choice, reset The Matrix or stand and fight. In this instance I think (like in the movie) The Matrix will have to reset a few times until the right Neo comes along. That reset being the abandonment of the internet we know today and the birth of a new, probably encrypted, internet. Can you tell I enjoy sci-fi? :)