Copyright is “Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of creative work, usually for a limited time. ”  in his tedtalk, Larry Lessig discusses how copyright laws have suffocated creativity. He makes it very clear that he is not saying that people should have the right to basically plagiarize someeone’s work, but the laws have made it hard to recreate someone’s work in a professional manner.

Something that Lessig said that stood out to me was, “Culture where creativity is consumed, but the consumer is not a creator.  A culture which is top-down, owned, where the vocal chords of the millions have been lost.”  This was interesting to me because the whole TedTalk was about how copyright has made it extremely difficult for children to express themselves without breaking the law.  Personally, I can see the necessity for copyright laws, but I also think that we monetize and criminalize everything.  I feel like copyright is a way for people to basically hoard creative content,

And while you should be protective over something you created, but I do not see the harm in someone being inspired by my work. I personally believe that the government likes to stick their nose in everything.  I see people who go live on Facebook who have to put a copyright notice in their message if they’re playing music, just so their content won’t get shut down.  That’s excessive. But at the same time, should we allow people to blatantly rip off other people’s creative content? There is definitely a middle ground, we just have to find it.

The End of the semester is here!!

This was one hectic ride of a semester!! Having classes all online has definitely tested my resilience.  I feel like I never want to see a computer screen or a keyboard again.   But this class, even though I definitely struggled keeping up with the work, was definitely the high point. I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for this class, but I’m was pleasantly surprised

To be apart of a class that allows so much creative freedom and expression is definitely not something you see to much of in college.  I definitely enjoyed this class and I learned some new things.  I learned how to make my own gifs and memes.

Giphy is definitely my favorite website that i learned about this semester.  Im the kind of person who loves to have conversations with gifs and memes and it was so fun exploring the website.I learned how to photoshop and learned about Aaron Schwartz, a very important person in our technological age.

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If there is one thing that I’m disappointed about, it is that I did not do everything that I wanted to do on my website.  Even though I created a website, I did not do enough work to make it what I wanted it be.  But since I have my domain until next year , I definitely plan on continuing with what I had intially planned.

Even though it is extremely hard to be honest with yourself, I think I earned around a B-.  I like to put my all into what I do and with the course of everything going on, I didn’t do that.  Even so, this class was still fun and interesting. It’s the kind of class that students need in the the middele of  a hectic semester and even to learn skills that will be useful throughout college career.

Thank you professor, for being so understanding during such a stressful time and I hope everyone has a happy holiday and stays safe and healthy!!NOw, it’s time for a nap!

I feel like this semester is slow and still incredibly fast.  The midpoint of the semester can so quickly!! CT101 has been a very interesting class, to say the least.  I never thought I would find a class in college that gives you full creative control and encourages you to do what you want. Something new that I’ve learned so far is how to create my own website. I did not realize that so much work went into creating and maintaining a URL.

I definitely feel like my creativity is what makes this class a little easier.  All I do is use GIFs and memes to communicate so it’s not that different for me to do it for this class.

Now…For my weaknesses…

My BIGGEST weaknesses for this class (and all of my other ones) is my workload and horrible time management skills. I still have a job and I’m taking 15 credits this semester.  Add that with my subpar time management skills and

Right now in the semester,   I feel like I’m in a B maybe B- range.  I really need to work on managing my time better if I would like to get a higher grade.

This is honestly really hard for me because I have commitment issues.

I get bored so easily and I can see myself want to change my domain name 2 days into having it. With that being said,I have a few names in mind.

1. Lilo’s World-Lilo is the nickname my sister gave me because of how much I love Lilo and Stitch.
2. Ramblings of Aleia
3. Chat time with Aleia

So, I think I would make my website about my personal opinions or about things I see throughout my day. I have a lot of opinions about pretty much everything, so it would be a great platform for my to talk when my sister doesn’t want to listen to me talk.

Aaron Swartz was a computer programmer, hacktivist, and a casualty of a capitalistic society hellbent on monetizing everything.  I thought the documentary was revealed what is wrong with our society and how people can twist the “justice system” to vilify people.  A couple of things stood out to me in this documentary:

1. He did not use any of the materials that he illegally downloaded.  He was apprehended before he even had a chance to share it with anyone or even use it himself, so  I was confused about what they were supposed to be charging him with.  Meanwhile, there are government officials that have proven ties to certain foreign countries and commit all types of fraud but…

2. JSTOR dropped the charges.  If there is no complainant and they didn’t feel that they had been defrauded, what’s the complaint? The people who he “stole” from didn’t find it serious enough but a prosecutor with an agenda had the right to repeatedly harass him?

3. The prosecutor admitted that they wanted to make an example out of him.  Maybe I watch too many crime shows, but that clearly proves a bias or something.  Stephen Hymann should have never been allowed to harass him or his friends and family to “make a point.” I think it also reveals a deeper and more sinister part of our government: the part that needs to protect profit above anything else.  The only reason they would’ve needed to make an example out of Aaron is to deter people from doing what he did.  They were afraid that more people would realize that information is a right that we should all have, especially in the digital age that we’re in.

Personally, I don’t think that Aaron committed suicide solely because of the case.  I think people like Aaron are normally troubled; too smart for the world and often misunderstood. I’m not saying he would’ve committed suicide eventually, but the ridicule and villification of his actions probably confirmed what he already thought: he wasn’t meant to fit in this world.  I hope that the Internet’s Boy is resting in peace.

 

For my first DS106 assignment, I decided to make a collage of some of the things on my bucket list.  The first picture is what has been on my list the longest. I have wanted to deepsea dive since I watched Finding Nemo as a kid.  After watching the movie, nature documentaries were all I watched.  All I could think was “I have to see this for myself.” It’s actually my goal to go deepsea diving before for my 30th birthday.

I feel like bungee jumping is on everyone’s list. I don’t have a real reason why, I just want to see what the hype is about.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved to perform. I’ve performed talent shows, competitions, and benefits.  I fell off why I got to my junior year of high school but I miss the stage. So I would love to be in Broadway play before I die.

The underwater hotel is a more recent goal.  I know that Dubai and the Maldives have one so this is more of a long-term goal.  However, it’s super expensive so I might have to settle for a cabin on the water. The Maldives underwater room is about $17,000 a night so… it’s more of a fantasy right now.

Google defines art as, “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” With that being said how can memes not be viewed as art?

I believe that art changes through the generations.  Everything isn’t supposed to be victorian or look like a renaissance painting because that was then and this is now.

Memes are our generational art and they are multifaceted.  We use them to have conversations, and they’re expressive enough to help us fill in the gaps that the texts or posts might not convey.  We even have turned art from the renaissance age into memes.

We’ve turned the Grumpy Cat into our Generation’s Mona Lisa.  Kermit the Frog has contributed so much to our meme culture and they can be made and understood across cultures.

Not only that, I’ve noticed that means have given people an outlet to the things that are around us. it may seem insensitive at times, but memes have given people a way to laugh about the things they can’t change and make the best out of a bad situation.  We have used memes to laugh through “end of the world” predictions, asteroids, and floods.  We connect through memes and we share in laughter,even in hard times.