Crowdsourcing Links Response

I think the idea of crowdsourcing is a great one and is unavoidable with all the technology that exists in todays society. It was cool to find out that crowdsourcing can actually decrease the cost of designing things while increasing the quality; a great business model. As for websites like wikipedia it takes devoted volunteers to ensure vandalism stays down. I always wondered how wikipedia stayed on the less profane side as it is so easy to edit the pages. It was also crazy to find out that there was only one real wikipedia employee. At first I thought crowdsourcing could be detrimental to quality but I guess a bigger selection of designs could allow for the 'diamonds in the rough' to emerge. I really liked the idea of the declaration of interdependence video and I thought it was cool, although I am more inclined to 'normal' narrative cinema storytelling, I think crowdsourcing is a great way to advertise an idea, concept, and or a shared ideal amongst the people of the internet cheaply and quickly. 

MEDIA FAST.

I started my media fast on friday at around 4:00 pm. Thankfully, I am not one who finds myself always attached to my phone (at least I thought). I started by disabling my Facebook which helped me feel less obligated to go on and explore it. It wasn't hard to refrain from going on devices, however it felt pretty good to be consciously aware that I was not able to. I saw this as more of a meditation in self control. I chose to do it over the weekend because I had a friend visiting from out of town. It was funny to see how he was on his phone, compulsively observing instagram, I'm sure I do this and am unaware of how compulsive it can lead me to be. We went out and I noticed that people who feel awkward at parties (like I sometimes do) are looking at their phones. It seems that in 2014 the cellular phone is used for dealing with awkward silences, or even as a means of social escapism. I did feel awkward at moments while out, standing around not really sure what to do, and as I looked around I imagined that everyone who had a drink in one hand and their phone in the other felt exactly the same as me. Being consciously aware that I was taking part in a media fast made this awkward, not-know-what-to-do-ness a really interesting sensation. Its like the phone has replaced this socially complex feeling in todays society altogether. When I wasn't doing something social, I also felt pretty comfortable. Normally I don't really watch any television. I prefer to read, or play guitar instead. Since my friend was visiting i wasn't going to coupe myself up in my room and read… The waves were kind of fun that day and it was raining, so I surfed for a little while, got dinner and went to a party at my neighbors house. Today (sunday) was a really great day to be outside, which I was for most of the day. I surfed in the morning, and in the afternoon a friend and I were testing out his new go-pro drone at Wrightsville Beach, which was pretty awesome. Throughout the day, I was kind of missing my technology, I wondered what had been posted on instagram, I wanted to open my overload of snap chats, and I wanted to spell back in words with friends (I informed a few people I was doing this so I didn't seem offensive). After I responded to everybody, at around 4 or 5 pm, I experienced a brief relief that this was over. Although I think life would be better without all this technological madness, I need to face the facts that everyone has and uses these things. And although some devices could be done without, it's almost strange to not be using it since everyone around you is.