#Grassroots Vol. 2

[qqueenofhades]

With full acknowledgement of the general shitty stress of the times, and a very deep appreciation for your steadying words over the last couple of years: I've been somewhat conflicted about volunteering with my local Democratic Party infrastructure; since it feels like at the Federal level, some of those representatives are at best incompetent and/or out of touch; verging on malicious incompetence. Especially with the most recent cycle, for them to sit there and harp on the danger Trump presented and then be caught apparently flatfooted after his inauguration.... is it even worth considering, at this point in time, the responsibility(?) of all parties involved, whether its voters who sat out this cycle, sloppy behavior from the party at various points over the last couple of years, Republicans for being bad actors; or is setting aside that degree of analysis and focusing on just pulling through the next 2-4-6-8 ish years the way to go? Focusing on what can be changed vs. what has come before? If you do not want to answer or don't have the bandwidth, totally understandable. :) Thanks again for all your hard work in this regard.

There are two things I can say here, which is that one, the federal-level Democratic Party kind of makes a habit of being unprepared, behind the eight-ball, pre-emptively cowed, generally disorganized, constantly alarmist followed by crickets, or pretty much anything else you can think of. They have already started the "stop Trump!" fundraising emails, and plenty of us, me included, are like "brother you aren't getting money from me until you POINT OUT what the fuck you're doing and start doing it, this ain't the first rodeo, GET WITH THE PROGRAM."

The second thing to say is that at least the Democrats will respond when you push them and can generally be bullied into doing the right thing eventually, and that there is no way they will learn that, get their heads on straight, or figure out a cohesive stop-Trump action plan unless we help them do that. Some of them are more successful than others; witness Democratic state AGs being blitzingly fast off the blocks and filing a barrage of lawsuits to stop the worst executive orders, while Democratic senators and House reps (at least initially) seemed passive, confused, fearful, or just content, per Chuck Schumer, to just "sit back and wait for Trump to screw up." Like, if that's your big plan to stop fascism after you spent the entire election season telling us (rightly) what a threat to democracy Trump posed, then you deserve to get your complacent ass primaried, Chuckie m'boy. Which someone can in fact do if they want to! If nothing else, it might give them a scare!

The good news is that after the grassroots Democrats started making an enormous stink, the national party woke up somewhat more and started acting more proactively. We understand that they are out of power in all three branches and cannot do anything to substantially stop Trump if all the Republicans continue to march in MAGA lockstep, but they can at least look like they give a shit. Which Senate Democrats did with their all-night opposition to Vought (the Project 2025 guy who got confirmed to OMB). They could not stop him from being confirmed, but they could make a high-profile stink about it and show that they were responsive to people going HEY GUYS SO ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS OR. Which they will need to do, because it will maintain grassroots energy to get the House and hopefully the Senate back in 2026 and put the brakes on any substantial or legislative-related Trump BS.

The point is: the Democrats, especially on the federal level, are often chronically behind the curve and need to be kicked hard to get moving, but once that kicking happens repeatedly, they do generally tend to get the message. And if you want to make the most difference and have an active hand in shaping and discussing that effort and pressuring them to keep going, then yes, you should go ahead and volunteer. As ever, doing something is far, far better than not doing it. So yes.

[ultravioletfuture]

ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS: UVF-010, Skyline Season 3, Bandcamp Layoffs, and the Revival of Website Culture

Hello UVF! Welcome back to another brand new edition of "ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS", where I give updates on the current underground Vaporwave/Electronica scene, as well as recommend some music I've been listening to along the way.

Firstly, just wanted to remind you all of our latest release on the UVF label!

UVF-010: The Book of Nonsensical Oddities Vol. 2: micronapz in the chromatic cloud fortress by waavypanda

This newest waavypanda release is the 2nd installment in their "Book of Nonsensical Oddities" series so far and its been a pleasure to make UVF it's home. Both releases are their own unique blend of synth heavy ambient/electronic music that present these beautiful sonic soundscapes filled with ear candy.

"micronapz in the chromatic cloud fortress" is much more dreamy and pillowy compared to Vol . 1. Waavypanda's use of glittery synths that are constantly generating these eclectic sequences of noise give this release so much shine and air. The track "heart tremors" is a big standout track for me with it's massive pads and glistening synths.

This release is a very refreshing piece of minimal, experimental, ambient/electronic music that I highly recommend for anyone wishing to space out and float into a whole different dreamlike world that waavypanda has painted in front of us. The album dropped last Friday October 20th, and is available digitally as well as on CD!

Skyline Tapes Season 3 / "SL​Œ​JAMS vol. 3" by amber dregs

Gonna give a quick shoutout to our friends over at Skyline Tapes for their official launch of Season 3 for their label! They just dropped their first release of the season, "SL​Œ​JAMS vol. 3" by amber dregs, and it is fantastic! Amber dregs has been one of the most prominent and promising artists to feature on Skyline Tapes and is finally back again with another banger release.

After a small hiatus, amber dregs has returned to bring us what I believe is their best project yet with its insanely crisp, vaportrap production. Tracks like "RETINA FLASH" and "ODYSSEY OF TRUTH" are highlights for me for their forward thinking sample chopping and percussion that drive the songs forward with such fluidity. Really happy to see amber dregs return and super excited to see what Skyline has to bring to the table for Season 3!

Also wanted to quickly mention that Skyline Tapes is currently accepting applications to volunteer for their "Skyline Street Team". If anyone is interested in applying to help promote some of Skyline's releases, events, and merch, I've left all the information down below as well as the Google Forms link to apply!

Songtradr's Acquisition of Bandcamp and the What This Means for The Future Of Independant Music

Let's get started with one of the biggest news in the online music space, Epic Games selling Bandcamp to Songtradr. Songtradr is a music licensing company that allows artists to license their music to then be legally used in content such as commercials or movies. In theory, as long as Bandcamp is allowed to run as is, just as it has been under Epic's acquisition for the past year, then this might be a great tool for artists to be able to additionally monetize their music with their already existing library of music integrated directly through Bandcamp. However, in the very short amount of time that this acquisition has been made public, Songtradr have not started on a great note with the community.

Late last month, Epic had already layed off around 16% of their employees and after then selling the company, only plans to have 250 employees offered a position with Songtradr. Any remaining staff that didn't receive an offer were layed off, despite various attempts from Bandcamp's union, "Bandcamp United", to settle an agreement to recognize them. It's said that a large portion of the employees that didn't receive offers were part of their writer/editorial team for the "Bandcamp Daily" articles.

Despite this maybe not having a major effect on most of the key Bandcamp music features, this news has shown Songtradr does not have as much care or appreciation for the curation/editorial side of the site and has left many users and artists to feel worried for the future. Many independant artists and listeners on the platform have shown a discomfort with the idea of a random company buying out Bandcamp and swaying the future of their beloved community.

In recent times, building your own website to sell your merch and distribute your music has already become a popular choice especially among certain independent music labels. Many artists have already been looking towards other alternatives for hosting their music and it seems like we might be expecting a resurgence of "DIY Websites" to come. But it's not just the Bandcamp acquisition that has artists worried about losing their community.

Twitter (aka "X") has gone through many major changes throughout the past year since Elon Musk's acquisition of the company back in April 2022. Over the last year, Elon's sporadic decision making as well as laying off large portions of the Twitter team has also made it's users very worried for the future of the site. To be fair, Twitter is a much bigger site and would take much more work to completely ruin overnight compared to Bandcamp, but I see a comparison to people's responses to both acquisitions. Twitter is where a lot of fan engagement, promotion, and community building occurs within smaller independent music groups, and Bandcamp is the heart and soul of where all that art takes place. WIth both websites potentially going through major shifts, it's very understandable for artists to want to look for alternatives that don't rely on the behalf of a large company for their art to continue disrupted.

At the end of the day, all artists want is a place to be able to share their music with a community of like minded people and for listeners to be able to partake in that without any hassle. In an ideal world there would be a platform that is completely run and controlled by artists without the need to focus on constant expansion despite having an already profitable business model. But in this age, capitalism begs companies to consistently find ways to grow and increase profits regardless of whether the company is already finding profitable success. Asking all artists to abandon all other resources and rely only on building their own website is far too drastic and unreasonable, but I would love to see a future where artists have a platform that is completely driven by the art and not profits. This future won't happen overnight and will require a ton of work, but artists should have the final say in how their platform is handled and distributed when the main "product" that is being provided is 100% produced by artists.

As for my own personal experience, the Twitter changes have heavily discouraged me to post or interact as much on the site and switch over to other alternatives like Bluesky. But with Bandcamp, we might just have to wait and see how drastic of a change things will be under Songtradr. I'm optimistic about Bandcamp being able to stay the same in essence, but these recent events have definitely encouraged me to look towards building my own website as a backup that is supplementary and not a replacement for distributing my music and merch. I would love to build a site in the near future that is completely designated to ULTRAVIOLET-FUTURE, and I love seeing other artists and labels start their own sites as well.

Before I end things off, just wanted to shoutout EQL since we're on the topic of websites. They run a cool site where they feature music news, weekly music picks, and occasionally host live events like DJ sets or Radio shows. They actually got to record an interview with Tech and James from death's dynamic shroud and it should be going up sometime this weekend so I highly recommend checking them out!

Thank you all for checking out this week’s UV Visions! This week's post was a bit wordy and more of just a think piece for my thoughts on the current state of things but I hope you all enjoyed!

If you aren’t already following UVF on our socials, go ahead and check us out at our Twitter and our Bluesky pages! Also join our Discord if you haven’t already since that’s where I’m most active and where I keep up to date on all the things happening with the label. We've got 2 new albums dropping by the end of the year so stay tuned for any upcoming announcements in the coming weeks! -portal.uvf

[snackpointcharlie]

What, summer’s over you say? BLAH BLAH BLAH I CAN’T HEAR YOU! Join us on the latest Snackpoint Charlie as we go into full denial mode about time and the seasons and world events and local disasters here and abroad and war and famine and WHAT’S THAT YOURE SAYING? WHAT? Live Wednesday Octover 10 from 10pm to midnight eastern US time on WGXC, 90.7-FM and downloadable now at the link below. But first, links to aid Western North Carolina:

Beloved Asheville is regularly filling up their trucks with food, water and gas and distributing it in Asheville. Donations go directly to funding the food, water and supplies they are bringing. https://www.facebook.com/BeLovedAsheville

Mountain Mule Packer Ranch are taking strings of pack mules with supplies to hard hit areas that are not accessible by any other way. https://www.facebook.com/mountainmulepackersranch/

The Cajun Navy 2016 is bringing supplies directly to the people. https://www.facebook.com/cajunnavy2016.org

Grassroots Aid Partnership - Another local, grassroots org that is cooking meals locally sourced and distributing in Asheville. https://www.facebook.com/grassrootsaidpartnership

Hearts with Hands disaster relief in Asheville - https://www.heartswithhands.org/

Asheville Dream center is setting up a large distribution center of supplies at the Asheville Mall. Donate at - https://ashevilledreamcenter.org/

Manna Food Bank of Asheville - https://www.facebook.com/MANNAFoodBank

World Central Kitchen (not local, but doing direct relief work on the ground) is cooking warm meals daily and distributing in many of the effected areas, not just Ashville. Here is a link to their website, and it looks like you can specify in the comments where you want the funds to go - https://wck.org/

+++++

Snackpoint Charlie - Transmission 146 - 2024.10.02 https://wavefarm.org/wf/archive/etktvz [ ^ click for download ^ ]

PLAYLIST

1) Saagara - “The Rite of Rain” from 3 https://waclawzimpel.bandcamp.com/album/3

2) Rokia Koné - “Kurunba” from BAMANAN https://rokiakone.bandcamp.com/album/bamanan

3) Etran De L'Aïr - “Amidinine” from 100% SAHARA GUITAR https://etrandelair.bandcamp.com/album/100-sahara-guitar

(underbed throughout:) Pinchas Gurevich - "Resuss"

4) Group Bwazan - “Badenya Foli” from BADENYA FOLI https://groupbwazan.bandcamp.com/album/badenya-foli

5) Vazesh - “Divan” from TAPESTRY https://vazesh.bandcamp.com/album/tapestry

6) Morton Gould - “Poinciana” from TEMPTATION https://www.discogs.com/master/1465882-Morton-Gould-Temptation

7) Nahawa Doumbia - “Demisen Kulu” from VOL. 2 https://nahawadoumbia.bandcamp.com/album/vol-2

8) Ryuichi Sakamoto - “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” from CODA https://www.wewantsounds.com/?lightbox=dataItem-m0qkq12e

9) Dawda Jobarteh - “(Take My Hand and Let's Go to) The Red Desert” from I MET HER BY THE RIVER https://dawdajobarteh.bandcamp.com/album/i-met-her-by-the-river

10) Karen Schoemer & Zak Boerger - “Panda On” from DAY FOR NIGHTS https://dayfornights.bandcamp.com/album/day-for-nights

11) Blue Mysteries - “A Message from Outer Space” from FRAGILE https://bluemysteries.bandcamp.com/album/fragile

12) Garlands - “Those of Us Here” from VULNERARIES VOL. 7 https://davidgarland.bandcamp.com/album/vulneraries-vol-7

13) Ata Kak - “Time Bomb” https://youtu.be/pn0_s9gJ6CI?si=rMAwmXd_zq8mrk-A

14) Matthew Shipp Trio - “Tone IQ” from NEW CONCEPTS IN PIANO TRIO JAZZ https://matthewshipp.bandcamp.com/album/new-concepts-in-piano-trio-jazz

15) R.M.Ng. Rana Suripta & Langen Praja - “Dhenggung Turulare” from WORLD MUSIC LIBRARY: MUSIC OF MANGKUNÊGARAN SOLO I https://www.discogs.com/release/2429188-Langen-Praja-Music-Of-Mangkun%C3%AAgaran-Solo-1

[thelensofyashunews]

CHICKEN P SHARES "DRINK MY SODA HOT" VIDEO

Milwaukee rap cornerstone Chicken P has just shared the video for "Drink My Soda Hot" from his new project 4EvaLit — out now via 10K Projects and Really Rich Empire. 4EvaLit arrives on the heels of the rapper's recent Hardest N****a Livin’ mixtape, a triumphant, unflinching life portrait in which Chicken P chronicled his gritty road to success out of the streets of Milwaukee that went on to peak at #10 on the Apple Music Hip-Hop charts. A celebratory summer heater stamped by its memorable hook ("I don't got no ice in my cup, I sip my soda hot"), "Drink My Soda Hot" sees Chicken P continuing his momentous run as he scales the ranks of the Midwest’s booming rap scene.   

2023 proved to be a breakout year for Chicken P, with the Milwaukee rapper christening his status as one of the most noteworthy new acts to come out of his home state in recent memory. Chicken P first emerged onto the Milwaukee scene during the 2010s and carved out a name for himself for his raw lyricism and bass-loaded sound with projects like the BussaBrick series (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and 2023’s Aint Lost Shit. The locally-grown, grassroots momentum reached a boiling point in early 2024 following the release of BussaBrick Vol. 3, a string of features with fellow Milwaukee newcomers Certified Trapper and Myaap, as well as his biggest song to date “Venting” (4M+ Streams) — effectively catapulting him into the upper echelon of underground street rap. Chicken P has since caught the eye of Sexxy Red, Peezy, YTB Fatt and Jalen Green while earning co-signs from rap heavyweights like Veeze, Rylo Rodriguez, Skilla Baby, and Babyface Ray — and playing a key role in leading the Milwaukee scene to mainstream success in the process.

[huanyukang]

Reader: sources and significance

1

Xiaoyi, J., Haiying, T., Huilin, Z., & Yuxin, Z. (2020). A study of Chinese elements in Hollywood movies. Frontiers in Art Research, 2(1), 10-19. Available at: https://scholar.google.com/  (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article mainly describes the application of Chinese elements in American Hollywood films. The author summarizes the development process of Chinese cultural elements in Hollywood since the beginning of the last century, and introduces the classification of Chinese cultural elements in Hollywood films. The author first introduces the history of a large number of Chinese culture introduced into Hollywood films, mainly from the beginning of the 1890, the Qing government led by Li Hongzhang visited the United States, which made the traditional Chinese cultural elements spread rapidly in the United States, and directly affected Hollywood films in the early 20th century. Secondly, the author introduces the classification of Chinese elements in Hollywood films, such as the application of Tai Chi element in the movie the Mummy 3 and so on

2

Sukhenko, I. (2022). Situating Tierratrauma within Permaculture Ethics in Nuclear Fiction: Intermedial Ecocritical Perspective. Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article presents an analysis of set design in American science fiction films, and the author focuses on the sources of inspiration for the design of large space stations that exist in science fiction films. The author uses the example of the large space station design in the film Star Trek to introduce the inspiration for the design of the space station's shape, such as the aesthetics of the rounded shape of the design. At the same time, the author focuses on the internal architecture of the station, such as the construction of the transport hub between the station's residential area and the experiment building, the structural design of the massive station supports, and the composition of the station's massive water system. In addition, the author is also delving into the significance of the scene design of science fiction films for the future development of mankind

3

Tang, F. (2019). Chinese Aesthetics in Film and Television: A Case Study of Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke's Movies. In 2018 International Workshop on Education Reform and Social Sciences (ERSS 2018) (pp. 296-302). Atlantis Press.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article mainly introduces the film aesthetic styles of two famous directors in Chinese cinema. The author summarises the aesthetic styles of the two directors, such as scene layout, and author also compares and analyses their film aesthetic styles. And the author introduces that director Zhang Yimou likes to design grand and colourful scenes in his films, like the red sorghum field and the corresponding architectural design in his film "Red Sorghum", he likes to create grand scenes and also likes to use a lot of traditional Chinese elements to set up the scenes. However, Jia Zhangke likes to record the lives of ordinary people and the grassroots in China, and his films are full of the imprints of the lives of the grassroots in society, so that ordinary people can also follow the empathy

4

Gao, X., & Zhang, L. (2010). Discussing on the Traditional Chinese Elements and Animation Design. In Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Information Technology and Scientific Management (Vol. 1, pp. 11-17).Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article is a practical research and summary of animation. The author introduces how to use Chinese elements in animation character design and scene design. The author mainly takes the film kung fu panda as an example, how to collect the material of traditional Chinese elements in the model design part, and find the corresponding sketch of the relevant material painting. At the same time, the author also introduces how the movie Kung Fu Panda collects the corresponding materials in the generation of character animation, such as how to make the Chinese Taiji movement realized in the role. In addition, the author also analyzes some specific design cases of Chinese animation

5

Liu, M., & Wang, P. (2010). Study on image design in animation. Asian Social Science, 6(4), 39.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article mainly introduces the expressive elements of image design from the three perspectives of artistic style, that is, modeling style, motion performance, and indisguise. The author first introduces the workflow of traditional animation companies, from making sketches to generating models, and then to the production of the final animation. Secondly, in the part of character action design of animation, the author also studied the action production process of other kinds of animation, such as the production of traditional Chinese marionettes, and compared the differences between some experimental animation and traditional animation production process. At the same time, the author compared the production process of different kinds of animation and put forward some suggestions on animation innovation

6

MORALIOĞLU, B., & GÜL, L. F.（2021） FROM SCIENCE FICTION TO DESIGN FICTION: SPECULATIONS ON THE ADAPTATION OF XR TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE FUTURE SPACES. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article describes the inspiration of architectural design in science fiction movies. The author mainly discusses the representation of alien civilization in science fiction movies, and focuses on the representation of Utopian and anti Utopian architecture in science fiction movies. Secondly, the author gives some examples, such as the design of the space station in the film iron man, and the environmental analysis of the planet corresponding to the space station. In addition, the author analyzes the climate, atmospheric composition, soil composition, terrain and landform of many other planets, which are also the elements that affect the architecture and scene design in science fiction movies

7

Jiang, C. (2016). The Representation of the Silk Road Culture in Chinese Traditional Animation. Art Research Letters, 5, 7-16.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

At the beginning of this article, the author criticized the production level of Chinese animation in recent years. The author believed that because Chinese animation borrowed too much from the American style and used a lot of special effects in recent years, it lacked Chinese characteristics. Therefore, the author mainly studies the animation style of the peak era of Chinese animation in the 1980s. These animations, like the monkey king, show a unique style of Chinese ink painting, which is unique to China and is completely different from the animation style of other countries. These animation styles are made of the unique color of Dunhuang murals in China. The author mainly analyzes the Chinese animation style of this period

8

Lu Yurun. (2023). Research on the inspiration of traditional architecture on modern illustration design creation. Design, 8, 1133.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article mainly describes how to transform traditional Chinese architecture into illustrative elements. The author mainly summarizes the style of traditional Chinese architecture and the general classification of elements. At the same time, it gives an example of the “three stars of fortune, luck and longevity”painting in traditional Chinese architecture, and analyzes the influence of the color composition on the creation of illustration. In addition, according to her own practical experience, the author summarizes how to transform the symbols of traditional Chinese architecture into advertising images and illustrations through refining, element replacement, combination, comprehensive application of software and other techniques

9

Wu Kaili. (2019). Styling analysis of the animated film "Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes to the World". Art Research Letters, 9, 6.Available at: https://scholar.google.com/(Accessed: 15 February 2024)

This article mainly analyzes the design aesthetics of the animated film Nezha: birth of the demon child. The author first analyzes the role design of the film, in which the role prototype draws on a large number of Chinese Taoist mythological images. Then the author analyzes the scene art design of the animated film, in which the most representative Tianting is designed by drawing on a large number of Chinese traditional architecture and painting styles, At the same time, this animated film is more distinctive in the production of special effects, including the use of many Taoist styles in three-dimensional scenes. In addition, the author also analyzes the influence of the lines and dialogues, sound design and so on in this animation on the scene design

10

Luo J. （2017）Research on the Characteristics of Chinese Animation[C]//2017 4th International Conference on Literature, Linguistics and Arts (ICLLA 2017). 2017: 165-168.(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

This article mainly studies the character design in Chinese animation films. The author believes that first of all, in terms of character design proportion, Chinese animation character design pays more attention to anatomy and character proportion design. In contrast, Japanese and foreign animation like to exaggerate the proportion of characters in character design, so Chinese character design is more realistic and forms a unique style. Secondly, Chinese animation is also keeping pace with the times, absorbing the styles of American animation and Japanese animation. The most characteristic is that the character design also draws on the humorous characteristics of American animation, and also shows the characteristics of humor and entertainment in the design of character action

[jnkmamma]

Listen/purchase: GRASSROOTS HOUSE vol 2 (corky TRAXMAN strong) by T.R.A.X.M.A.N (teklifetekkdjz)

[env0writes]

Janus Estuaries Vol.2: Different Doors, 2.22.22 “Blow Me Over and Blow Me Away “

Blow wind, blow And take from me, All that I've carried With delicate care for too long,

From grassroots to graveyards With those hale, shrill whispers Let them, from me, find shelter I am not the soil for their groping roots

Follow the peripheral stars That flit out of focused sight Warmed by the sun Cooled with the moon

Blow wind, blow And bring to me All that I've struggled towards With ardent earnest for too long

From snowpiles to worth-your-whiles With those building steps Taking me from comfort into growth I am not yet reached my breadth

Squint into the furrowed sun And follow me without bated breath Towards the prevailing wind Fair or otherwise, I'll exhale my own breeze

But not with ease

@env0writes C.Buck Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artist!

[janicechenblog]

2. A new turn in political communication: the development of political brands

Political brands date back to the 1990s in British and American political elections, and in 2008 the Obama team and the 2016 Trump team's political branding highlighted some of the characteristics that echo the new model of political communication. Political communication in the United States is exemplary, and the political communication techniques and methods used by the United States are often emulated by political campaign teams in other countries, and spread rapidly around the world, such as Canada, Germany, Australia and other Western democracies, and even as an emerging technology, into the political campaigns of developing countries such as India and Indonesia. Political brands are widely used in various types of "political products", including personal brands of politicians, political party brands, government brands, policy projects, urban brands, national brands and so on.

The rise of political brand is a reflection of the political shift in western countries influenced by the postmodern trend. The "postmodern" trend is a complex political and social overall turn, which coexists with the "modern" trend, which in many cases presents many contradictory, conflicting and even completely opposite characteristics. This trend has had a profound impact on political communication.  

The first influence is that the political communication environment tends to polarize, and the influence of identity politics increases. With the deepening of the trend of pluralism and polarization in post-modern society, new political parties or interest groups based on the demands of small groups are emerging. The public in political communication is no longer broken down by traditional geographical, demographic and other factors, but by groups based on different identities. This means that the public facing the current political communication is no longer the "majority" in classical representing democracy, but a "multi-minority" based on personal status. Under this new trend, the individual emphasizes the identity characteristics of the individual who distinguishes himself from the other; But unlike individuals in modern politics as isolated "atomic individuals", the current public is linked through a small group of self-organizing groups and participates in political communication accordingly. Political brands operate as a response to this trend, reflected in an ability to be linked to customers and build relationships between brands and users by promoting the formation of brand communities, resulting in long-term brand loyalty.

Secondly, the grass-roots trend of political communication began to divide. With the advent of postmodern characteristics, the democratic model of modern democracies and the associated ways of political participation of the public have changed dramatically: traditional congress democracy appears to be somewhat "obsolete" and is beginning to shift to participatory democracy. On the one hand, public power has increased, and the degree of direct democracy has been strengthened, on the other hand, social movements have emerged, social conflicts have intensified, and anti-elite popularization and populism have emerged. Under the influence of this trend, the political communication structure begins to divide from the form of a media-to-audience slope pyramid to institutionalization and grassroots. Political communication actors are emerging into an "audience-centric" atmosphere: politicians communicate with the public in more popular language; Political talk shows, street interviews related to political issues and other programs are welcome; As a result of live broadcasts on television or video sites, serious parliamentary debates begin to take into account media logic and audience preferences; New things such as consultative polls and citizen news are emerging. As the representative of the new mode of operation in the western political communication, the political brand is widely regarded as a result of the continuous growth of consumer power in the political communication, which reflects the "empowerment" of the communication audience by the new technology represented by the Internet under the trend of social structure change. Many of the operations in the macro framework of the brand, such as brand management, brand culture, brand resonance, etc., focus on the public as participants in the social construction of the brand.

Thirdly, political mistrust, cynicism and relativism have intensified in the political communication. In the field of political communication, scholars believe that modern political communication needs to be responsible for the emergence of the above phenomenon, because political communication is becoming more and more intelligent, more and more "strategically constructed" information, more negative reports used to attack opponents, the public from this information to distinguish the motivations of politicians, and thus more and more disgusted with politics, the emergence of so-called "cynicism spiral" and political values of "relativism." The traditional marketing path of political communication has been unsympathetic to this and has even exacerbated this trend. In order to gain political support and votes in this new trend, political communication has begun to explore new paths and methods.

References

Kenneth Cosgrove, Jennifer Lees-Marshment & Brian Conley. (2014). Personal Political Branding at State Level. Political Marketing in the United States.

Robert Busby & Sue Cronshaw. (2015). Political Branding: The Tea Party and Its Use of Participation Branding. Journal of Political Marketing, Vol.14, No.1-2, pp.96-110.

Alex Marland，J. P. Lewis & Tom Flanagan. (2017). Governance in the Age of Digital Media and Branding. Governance, Vol. 30，No. 1，pp. 125 - 141.

Eleonora Pasotti. (2010). Political Branding in Cities: The Decline of Machine Politics in Bogotá, Naples and Chicago. Cambridge University Press.

[anotherstephencobert]

August 22, 2019, Blog a Day

Five albums that remind me of my Teen years

Boy oh boy, is this ever gonna date me!

Abbey Road - the Beatles

Canned Wheat - the Guess Who

Greatest Hits Vol 2 - the Grassroots

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

Piano Man - Billy Joel

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to a weekly collaboration between FiveThirtyEight and ABC News. With 5,000 people seemingly thinking about challenging President Trump in 2020 — Democrats and even some Republicans — we’re keeping tabs on the field as it develops. Each week, we’ll run through what the potential candidates are up to — who’s getting closer to officially jumping in the ring and who’s getting further away.

With less than one month until the first Democratic presidential primary debates, the DNC announced on Wednesday that its third primary debate will be hosted by ABC News in September. They also upped the ante to qualify, raising both the polling and fundraising thresholds, which will make it even more important that candidates make a good impression in the first debate.

The question of whether or not to impeach President Trump also grabbed the national spotlight again, after Special Counsel Robert Mueller made his first public statement in two years on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Some 2020 Democratic candidates like Sens. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren took a direct step toward calling for an impeachment inquiry. While others, including former Vice President Joe Biden, took a more cautious approach, saying that Congress should “continue to investigate.”

Here’s the weekly candidate roundup:

May 24-30, 2019

Michael Bennet (D)

Michael Bennet, faces uncertainty on whether he will qualify for the first debate in June. He has yet to reach the 65,000 donor threshold and still needs to crack one percent in another qualifying poll in the next month. He stated this past week, however, that he will keep going even if he does not qualify for the first debate and will hold out until the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary next year.

This weekend, he is making his first stop in South Carolina since launching his presidential bid.

Joe Biden (D)

Biden released the first major plank of his platform this week on public education. His proposal would boost federal funding for low-income school districts, increase teacher pay, make preschool universal, and increase investment on mental health services for K-12 students.

Biden will also make his second campaign trip to Iowa on June 11th — the same day Trump is scheduled to visit the state for a fundraiser.

From ABC News:

Cory Booker (D)

Booker called for impeachment proceedings against Trump for the first time following Mueller’s public statement on Wednesday.

“Robert Mueller’s statement makes it clear,” Booker tweeted. “Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately.”

The senator has previously expressed hesitation in calling for impeachment, even as other Democratic presidential contenders approved of such a step. This week, Booker also made his third trip to Nevada to appeal to swing voters.

Steve Bullock (D)

The Montana Governor who declared his candidacy earlier this month is working to catch up to other campaigns, especially in Iowa. This past week, Bullock hired ten more staffers in the first-in-the-nation caucus state to help build grassroots support.

Pete Buttigieg (D)

On ABC’s “This Week,” Buttigieg told Martha Raddatz that “there is no question” that the president used bone spurs as an excuse to avoid service.

From ABC News:

“I think to any reasonable observer that the president found a way to falsify a disabled status, taking advantage of his privileged status in order to avoid serving,” he said.

Buttigieg also criticized Trump for meeting with Kim Jong Un, saying it gave the North Korean government “legitimacy.” “The way diplomacy works, the way deals work, is you give someone something in return for something … it hasn’t worked at all,” he said.

On the topic of impeachment, Buttigieg moved closer to calling for it than he had previously, tweeting, “This is as close to an impeachment referral as it gets. Robert Mueller could not clear the president, nor could he charge him — so he has handed the matter to Congress, which alone can act to deliver due process and accountability.”

Julian Castro (D)

Last Thursday, Castro pledged to refuse contributions from oil, gas, and coal industry executives.

He tweeted saying, “Since day one, my campaign refused contributions from PACs, corporations, and lobbyists. Today I announced we’re also refusing contributions from oil, gas, and coal executives—so you know my priorities are with the health of our families, climate and democracy.”

The former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is also set to participate in a Fox News Town Hall on June 13. Many Democratic presidential contenders have wrestled with the decision to participate in events hosted by the news network, but Castro will be the fifth to do so.

Bill de Blasio (D)

During CNN’s “State of the Union” this past week, de Blasio said that Biden’s 1994 crime bill was a “huge mistake” citing a “mass incarceration crisis” in the country.

“That crime bill was one of the foundations of mass incarceration in a very painful era in our nation’s history,” said de Blasio. “The [former] vice president and anyone else has to be accountable for every vote they take and what’s on their record, and I think that was a huge mistake.”

De Blasio also said that he understands Trump’s tricks and strategies better than other Democratic candidates and can “get under his skin.”

“I know something about Donald Trump that’s different from the other candidates because I watched him for decades.”

John Delaney (D)

Delaney has been in the race longer than any other Democrat running for president and has been to Iowa far more times than any other contender.

Currently, he has made the cut to participate in the first debate, having met the polling threshold, but he has not met the 65,000 donor threshold. This could complicate his chances to participate if more than 20 candidates qualify as candidates who meet both thresholds will have their spots secured first.

On ABC News’ “The Briefing Room,” he declared that the debates are “really important” to his campaign’s ability to gain traction and blasted “the crazy DNC methodologies” which might keep him off the debate stage.

From ABC News:

Delaney also released a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would create seven new infrastructure funds and increase the size of the Highway Trust Fund.

Tulsi Gabbard (D)

Earlier this week, Gabbard, who served in the medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard, criticized some politicians who she said, in a statement to ABC News, exploit the real meaning of Memorial Day.

“So nothing angers me more than the hypocrisy exhibited every Memorial Day by warmongering politicians and media pundits feigning sympathy for those who paid the ultimate price in service to our country, while simultaneously advocating for more counterproductive regime change wars and the new Cold War and arms race,” she said.

The Hawaii congresswoman has made foreign policy a centerpiece of her agenda, highlighting her credentials as a veteran. She also recently signaled during an interview with Fox News that she would reverse course with the Trump administration on the Iran nuclear deal, and re-enter the agreement if elected to the White House.

Gabbard heads to the West Coast this weekend for the California Democratic Party convention among other events across the state.

From ABC News:

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Mueller’s public statement Wednesday moved Gillibrand to explicitly support steps to remove the president.

“It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to begin impeachment hearings and follow the facts wherever they may lead,” she said in a statement. “We cannot let this president defy basic accountability measures built into our Constitution.”

In an early and significant show of support in the first-in-the-nation primary state, the New York senator also landed her first New Hampshire endorsement this week, from state Rep. Sue Ford, who said she’s “the best person” for the White House.

Kamala Harris (D)

Earlier in the week, Harris stopped by Wofford College in South Carolina for an MSNBC town hall to outline her plan to confront the spate of anti-abortion laws sweeping across the country.

“Are we going to go back to the days of back-alley abortions? Women died before we had Roe v. Wade in place. On this issue, I’m kinda done,” she said. Harris is one of several co-sponsors of the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill currently stalled in the Senate, but if passed, would vet laws passed to restrict access to abortion services.

Harris also joined Booker and Gillibrand in calling for impeachment, tweeting, “Now it is up to Congress to hold this president accountable. We need to start impeachment proceedings. It’s our constitutional obligation.”

Harris returns to her home state this weekend for the California Democratic Party convention and the MoveOn Big Ideas Series.

John Hickenlooper (D)

Amid the wave of states like Alabama, Georgia and Missouri passing highly-restrictive anti-abortion laws, Hickenlooper unveiled a new proposal to “protect the reproductive rights” of women by proposing a federal expansion of long-acting reversible contraception.

“I think that it’s a fundamental inalienable right that women should have control over their own bodies,” Hickenlooper told MSNBC of his newly-announced plan. “What’s going on in Indiana and even Missouri now, I mean so many states, is horrific.”

On Thursday morning, Hickenlooper echoed the newest slate of 2020 candidates in calling for impeachment proceedings, telling CNN, “After listening to Mueller, and I wanted to hear what he had to say, I think of myself as an extreme moderate. But I think he laid the responsibility clearly at the doorstep of Congress.”

“I think we have to begin an impeachment inquiry,” he said.

From ABC News:

Jay Inslee (D)

Inslee announced this week he crossed the 65,000 donor mark, virtually ensuring himself a spot on the debate stage next month, making him one of a dozen candidates to qualify for the first debate based on both the DNC’s polling and fundraising criteria.

At a campaign stop in Nevada, the Washington governor endorsed Marie Newman, a progressive Democrat who is staging a primary challenge in the Illinois 3rd to oust one of the few pro-life Democrats still left in Congress. Inslee joins Gillibrand as the only other 2020 Democratic candidate to weigh in on the race. Gillibrand endorsed Newman back in April.

Inslee is also set to address the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco this weekend.

Amy Klobuchar (D)

At a campaign stop in Iowa over the weekend, Klobuchar recounted to a crowd the day of Trump’s “dark inauguration,” sitting between Sen. Sanders and the late Sen. John McCain.

“John McCain kept reciting to me names of dictators during that speech because he knew more than any of us what we were facing as a nation,” Klobuchar she said. “He understood it. He knew because he knew this man more than any of us did,” she added.

This prompted a response from McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, who asked Klobuchar to leave her “father’s legacy and memory out of presidential politics.”

From ABC News:

Wayne Messam (D)

Messam reiterated his call for impeachment on Wednesday, writing in a tweet, “Congress must now do its job of oversight and do what Mueller wasn’t allowed to.”

Seth Moulton (D)

Moulton, a former Marine Corps officer, disclosed this week that he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from Iraq in 2008 — as he announced a new plan to expand military mental health services for active-duty military and veterans.

“I had some particular experiences or regrets from the war that I just thought about every day, and occasionally I’d have bad dreams or wake up in a cold sweat,” Moulton told Politico in an interview.” He added that, “But because these experiences weren’t debilitating … it took me a while to appreciate that I was dealing with post-traumatic stress and I was dealing with an experience that a lot of other veterans have.”

Moulton unveiled his plan as part of a “Veterans Mental Health Tour” Tuesday night in Massachusetts and will continue his tour in Nevada this weekend.

From ABC News:

Beto O’Rourke (D)

The former Texas congressman rolled out a sweeping immigration policy proposal this week that would among other things, establish a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S., invest $5 billion in foreign aid to “Northern Triangle” countries in Central America, and increase the number of immigration lawyers at the southern border.

“The current administration has chosen to defy this American aspiration, drafted into our Declaration of Independence, welded into the welcome of our Statue of Liberty, and secured by the sacrifices of countless generation,” a memo from the campaign read. “Instead, the current administration is pursuing cruel and cynical policies that aim to sow needless chaos and confusion at our borders.”

Tim Ryan (D)

Ryan tiptoed closer to calling for impeachment proceedings, without explicitly calling on Congress to open an inquiry.

“The President, no President, is above the law,” Ryan wrote on Twitter. “And it’s Congress’ job to make sure we are true to our founding principle that the President is not a King and must answer to the American people.”

From ABC News:

Bernie Sanders (D)

Before a series of negative headlines about the progressive senator’s second attempt to capture the presidency emerged, Sanders returned to his home state of Vermont earlier this week for a rally in Montpelier, and went on the offense, turning his attention to taking on Trump.

From ABC News:

“The underlying principles of our government will not be racism, will not be sexism, will not be xenophobia and will not be religious bigotry – and all the other mean-spirited beliefs of the Trump administration,” a fired-up Sanders told the crowd.

Sanders’s campaign also took on Biden in emails to supporters. Sanders’s campaign manager Faiz Shakir had previously attacked the Biden campaign for their “high-dollar” fundraisers but now, he’s once again criticizing the former vice president’s fundraising efforts.

“These are not grassroots fundraising events. These are high-dollar functions hosted and attended by corporate lobbyists, health care executives, a Republican casino-CEO, and a union-busting lawyer among others,” the email reads. “We can win elections without begging those people for money. And, indeed, we are more likely to win with a candidate who does not.”

Eric Swalwell (D)

Swalwell stated that as a white man, he understands when to promote the voices of others.

In a video interview with Vice News, Swalwell stated, “A white guy who doesn’t see other identities or understand other experiences should not be president.”

“I do,” Swalwell continued. “And where there would be gaps in my knowledge or my experience, I will pass the mic to people who do have that experience.”

And after Mueller’s public statement Wednesday, Swalwell told MSNBC that he warned other House members to be prepared for impeachment proceedings, without explicitly calling for the start of a probe.

“‘Prepare for impeachment.’ That’s what I’ve told my colleagues,” he said.

Elizabeth Warren (D)

Asked if she believed Mueller might be convinced to testify before Congress or be drawn to speak out against comments from the president this morning, Warren said on ABC’s “The View” Thursday that she didn’t take Mueller for someone who would act on impulse.

“I think Mueller’s got a slow pulse. He knows what he’s doing. I don’t think rage is how he rolls,” she told the co-hosts. “I think he’s one of those people who says read the footnotes.” Warren added that she thought this wasn’t about politics for Mueller, saying, “It’s about the Constitution. It’s not only about this president, but it’s about what are the rules for the next president and the next president?”

From ABC News:

The Massachusetts senator has also not shied away from her policy to break up big tech companies ahead of her visit to the Bay Area this weekend for the California Democratic Convention, which will take place, of course, on many of the nation’s most powerful tech companies’ home turf. On Thursday, Warren unveiled a billboard that her campaign put up in San Francisco. It says “BREAK UP BIG TECH” next to a photo of her.

Andrew Yang (D)

On Tuesday, Yang signed a pledge to end the “Forever War,” which calls for the end of continued American involvement in military conflicts overseas in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We’ve continued in a constant state of war for the last seventeen years, and it has cost us tremendously in American lives as well as billions of dollars that could have been used to help families here at home,” Yang said in a statement.

The tech entrepreneur joined fellow 2020 hopefuls Sens. Warren and Sanders, and former Sen. Mike Gravel in signing onto the pledge.

[legenwaitforitdarythoughts]

Activism in the 21st century

When I think of activism, names like Doctor Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks come to mind, people who dedicated their lives to campaigning for human rights and social causes that brought about change on a large scale. As I began to read about activism in the digital age, I started to wonder what the activists of past generations would make of online campaigning. Would the ‘I have a dream speech’ been as potent delivered via a YouTube video instead of in front of a crowd in Washington? Would the message have had the same result, or would it have been lost within the millions of other videos? And would sharing a hashtag have brought about the same amount of change as the quarter of a million people who descended on the mall in Washington in 1963?

Today, through social media and the internet we are bombarded with charities, causes and videos showing horrific atrocities and society is quickly becoming desensitised and unmotivated to take real action. As a result, a new culture of activism is emerging known as ‘clicktivism’ and ‘slacktivism’ which Reddin (2018) defines as ‘armchair activism’ whereby ‘complex, serious issues are oversimplified to the point where viewership, likes and clicks is thought to be the equivalent of making a difference’. Scholar Evgenyi Morozov (quoted in Gerbaudo 2012) take this definition further describing slacktivism as ‘feel good activism’ that ‘creates an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group’.

But is activism in the digital age all negative?

Absolutely not, modern movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #MarchForOurLives, #Kony2012, and the Arab Spring are all grassroots causes that used social media in one way or another to further their mission and generate awareness. According to Youmans & York (2012), social media was a powerful tool in bringing about the collective actions during the Arab Spring providing a method to coordinate action, share information and raise public awareness of the issue on a global scale. Further, Rutledge (2010) strongly supports social media for facilitating sustainable activism suggesting that it brings together people who are passionate about an issue and provides them with a way to harness this collective energy and turn it into action.

There is no doubt that social media has a role to play in modern activism. However, as Sophie Egar cautions in her TEDx Talk, “social media activism is useless if it doesn’t create awareness that leads to action off the internet” (TEDx Talks 2018). Yes, real change requires action beyond the hashtag, like or share. We’re not going to change the world sitting in front of a computer.

I’ll finish with a favourite quote of mine – “it’s better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.” Actions do speak louder than words (or clicks).

Gerbaudo, P 2012, Tweets and the Streets : Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Pluto, London.

Reddin, M 2018, ‘Looking back at Kony2012, the father of modern “clicktivism”’, The Big Smoke Australia, 7 November, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://thebigsmoke.com.au/2018/11/07/looking-back-kony2012-the-father-of-modern-clicktivism/>.

Rutledge, P 2010, ‘Four Ways Social Media Is Redefining Activism’, Psychology Today, 6 October, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/positively-media/201010/four-ways-social-media-is-redefining-activism>.

TEDx Talks 2018, Slacktivism: Social Media's Effect on Activism | Sophie Egar | TEDxYouth@PepperPike, 12 November, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhPIgES_hws>.

Youmans, W, & York, J 2012, 'Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements', Journal Of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 315-329.

Images

Blain, A 2017, ‘Slacktivism’ [image], in Slacktivism – When You Care Enough To Do The Very Least, Amanda Blain, 1 November, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://www.amandablain.com/slacktivism-when-you-care-enough-to-do-the-very-least/>.

Cheng, G 2012, ‘Clicktivism meme’ [image], in Is social media the cause of slacktivism?, Johnson King Blog, 16 March, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://johnsonking.typepad.co.uk/johnson_king_blog/2012/03/is-social-media-the-cause-of-slacktivism-.html>.

‘Clicktivism definition’ [image], in WARNING: Clicktivism, 1in17, viewed 4 January 2018, <https://1n17.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/twittermind/>.

Linda 2016, ‘Click here to save the world’ [image], in I’ve added the hashtag, now what?, Gender Worlds, 17 October, viewed 4 January 2018, <http://wpmu.mah.se/nmict162group5/tag/clicktivism/>.

[justarachthing]

Week 8: Crowdsourcing & Crowdfunding

In the modern world, social media/social networking sites become a place where we give and feed ourselves information about events happening around us. It allows us to react to events that happen and trigger some form of action.

What is Crowdsourcing?  

Crowdsourcing is a type of participative online activity in which an individual, an institution, a non-profit organization, or company proposes to a group of individuals of varying knowledge, etc. the voluntary undertaking of a task (Bassi et.al. 2019). An example of crowdsourcing is ‘My Starbucks Idea’ by the coffee chain Starbucks in order to improve relationships with customers and satisfy their wants by engaging and getting their customers to participate in contributing ideas.

What’s good about crowdsourcing and why is it important?

Crowdsourcing allows the public to be more open to innovation and creativity by participating online; hence the rise of collective intelligence. Moreover, it also encourages more communication and collaboration allowing citizens to engage in contributions to the democracy process (Brabham 2012). Citizens no longer have to depend on traditional news outlets for information but on crowdsourced information. It’s important because things are changing and technology is making access to the public’s knowledge and resources more easier and with crowdsourcing the future would be one that inspires innovation and even one that changes politics (Houlihan & Harvey 2018). 

Lastovka (2015) states that with crowdsourcing, citizens are eager to engage online in new and participatory ways of having their voices heard. This can be seen in Malaysia’s GE14 where the hashtag #PulangMengundi on Twitter encouraged Malaysians to return home to vote. This generated lots of participation as people have formed communities online to become donors for people that couldn’t afford fly back to cast their vote. Hence, in times of need; social movements these can benefit communities as seen in GE14 where voter turnout was at a whopping 82.32%. The importance of returning home to vote was made known to Malaysians around the world; especially younger voters and this not only made an impact to Malaysians but also other countries around the world. The use of social media and participation from people undeniably led to the change in government.  

However, crowdsourced data can be unreliable as information collected by the public can be wrong which can lead companies to make big mistakes. 

Crowdfunding

Crowdsourcing also extends to crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a different way of funding compared to the traditional method of borrowing money. It is where projects by creative grassroots are funded through websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo (Benett, Chin & Jones 2014). Crowdfunding is beneficial as it helps to overcome funding difficulties and this doesn’t stop investors from only investing in their homes/close geographic proximity but also include potential crowdfunders from further locations (Macht 2014). However, one of the dark sides to crowdfunding is that it could be used to exploit fans and supporters. Independent producers who hardly have opportunity to fund would find their money being taken from successful artists. This is all part of a scheme by these artists to steal money.

:･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧ :･ﾟ☆✧

References: 

Abdullah, N & Anuar A 2018, What effect did social media have on the malaysian election result?, Today Online, viewed 1 May 2019, <https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/what-effect-did-social-media-have-malaysian-election-result>

Bassi, H, Lee, CJ & Misener L 2019, ‘Exploring the characteristics of crowdsourcing: an online observational study’, Journal of Information Science, p. 2, 2019.

Bennett, L, Chin, B & Jones B 2015, ‘Crowdfunding: a new media & society special issue’, New Media & Society, vol. 17, no. 2, p. 142.

Bouncken, RB 2015, ‘Crowdfunding: the current state of research’, International Business & Economics Research Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, p. 407.

Brabham, DC 2012, ‘The effectiveness of crowdsourcing public participation in a planning context’, First Monday, vol. 17, no. 12, 2012.

From #PulangMengundi to #CarpoolGE14: Malaysians unite to ensure voters turn up, 2018, From #PulangMengundi to #carpoolGE14: malaysians unite to ensure voters turn up, Today Online, viewed 1 May 2019, <https://www.todayonline.com/world/pulangmengundi-carpoolge14-malaysians-unite-ensure-voters-turn>

Houlihan, M & Harvey B 2018, How crowdsourcing is shaping the future of everything, Entrepreneur, viewed 1 May 2019, <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/307438>

Lastovka, M 2015, ‘Crowdsourcing as new instrument in policy making: making the democratic process more engaging’, European View, vol. 14, no. 93-99, p. 98.

Macht, SA & Weatherson, J 2014, ‘The benefits of online crowdfunding for fund-seeking business ventures’, Wiley Online Library, vol. 23, no. 1-14, p. 8.

[trainingtitta]

The cold and the dark the world after nuclear war

Albert Einstein, The Theory of Relativity & Other Essays (New York: MJF Books, 1950): p. The Human Experience, directed by Charles Kinnane (Grassroots Films, 2011). “Origin of Human Chromosome 2: An Ancestral Telomere-telomere Fusion.” Chapter 2: The Deep Truth of False Assumptions: Discoveries That Change Everythingġ. “Gene Content and Function of the Ancestral Chromosome Fusion Site in Human Chromosome 2q13-2q14.1 and Paralogous Regions.”ġ3. Wells, “Origin of Human Chromosome 2: An Ancestral Telomere-telomere Fusion,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 12 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2002): pp. Trask, “Gene Content and Function of the Ancestral Chromosome Fusion Site in Human Chromosome 2q13-2q14.1 and Paralogous Regions,” Genome Research, vol. Yuxin Fan, Tera Newman, Elena Linardopoulou, and Barbara J. Hillary Mayell, “Neandertals Not Our Ancestors, DNA Study Suggests,” National Geographic News (May 14, 2003). University of Glasgow, “Rare Tests on Neanderthal Infant Sheds Light on Early Human Development,” ScienceDaily (April 4, 2000). Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (Seattle: Pacific Publishing Studio, 2010): p. Thomas Hunt Morgan, Evolution and Adaptation (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1903): p. Jonathan Sarfati, “Archbishop’s Achievement: James Ussher’s Great Work Annals of the World Is Now Available in English,” Creation Ministries International. Michael Crichton, Sphere (New York: Alfred A. Chapter 1: Who Are We? In Search of Ourselvesġ. Albert Einstein, as quoted in an article, “Atomic Education Urged by Einstein,” The New York Times (May 25, 1946), and later quoted by Michael Amrine, “The Real Problem Is in the Hearts of Man,” The New York Times Magazine (June 23, 1946). “Report: Global Warming Near Critical Point,” Associated Press (January 24, 2005). Senator Olympia Snowe, to study the issue of global warming. The Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain, the Center for American Progress in the U.S., and the Australia Institute formed an independent task force of politicians, scientists, and businesspeople, co-chaired by Stephen Byers and U.S. Deep Truth: Resources Deep Truth – 1st Edition, October 2011 Introductionġ.

[qspc77]

Political communication in the US 2020 election

The US election under the epidemic has turned into a democratic "farce" and "tragedy" after Trump's supporters staged massive demonstrations in Washington, D.C. It is an outbreak of a long-standing disease of American journalistic values, the industry system and the entire political communication ecology(Danielle, 2021).

According to the latest Pew Research Center data, between 2004 and 2020, more than 2,000 local newspapers in the US will either close down or switch from offline to online publishing, and the total number of local newsrooms will drop by 25 per cent (Philip, 2020 ). The financial subsidies are needed to keep the newsroom running. However, these subsidies require the production of news products that are in line with party positions, which has led to a polarisation of the political views of the local press, which has evolved into 'Partisan Local News' (PLN). Various forces have used PLN's accumulated credibility with grassroots audiences for political propaganda, turning it into a political party sounding board at grassroots and community levels.

The internet and social media platforms give ordinary internet users more opportunities to have their voices heard than traditional media, and their 'decentralised' communication mechanisms ensure a free flow of diverse information and opinions, creating an emerging 'digital public sphere'. However, a survey by Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab shows that in 2020, Facebook's tweets to its users focused on the topics of "domestic current affairs" (41%) and "the new epidemic" (30%), while the number of tweets on the topic of "black lives matter" was only 2.5 per cent. " topics were only tweeted by 3% of users. This shows that social media platforms are not a "free marketplace of information and opinions" where everyone has an equal voice, but rather a space where public opinion is controlled by a few influential "KOLs". In contrast to traditional media gatekeepers such as professional journalists and editors, the views of KOLs tend to be highly individualistic, and their emotionally and politically charged statements can stir up polarised emotions among netizens and trigger a "mass orgy", thus becoming a "Digital Political Influencer" (DPI). Donald Trump, as an example, are typical representatives of DPI. The resources and mobilising power of political communication in the digital age are monopolised in the hands of a few (Andreu, 2020). This reflects the "recentralisation" of political communication on social media.

Before his Twitter account was blocked, Trump was posting dozens of tweets a day, the vast majority of which had no credible sources. But because of his presidency, these messages were retweeted in large numbers by the media. Social media platforms have become a tool for DPLs like Trump to set political, economic and social issues and manipulate public opinion. The " re-blurring" of news sources in the digital age is the direct cause of the proliferation of misinformation and misrepresentation. This marks the breakdown of the Fact Checking News (FCN) mechanism that was established in the media in the 20th century(Bente , 2020).

In practical terms, the US political communication ecosystem has undergone a comprehensive "downgrade", marked by the "re-partisanisation" of local news media, the "re-centring" of the internet and social media, and the " re-blurring" of news sources.

References：

Andreu Casero-Ripollés. Political influencers in the digital public sphere, Communication & Society [J], 2020, Vol. 33(2), pp. 171-173.

Bente Kalsnes. Platform transparency in the fight against disinformation [EB/OL], https://www.electionanalysis.ws/us/ president2020/section-5-social-media/platform-transparency-in-the-fight- against-disinformation/.

Danielle Kilgo. The insurrection at the Capitol challenged the way newsrooms frame unrest [EB/OL], https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/01/ the-insurrection-at-the-capitol-challenged-the-way-newsrooms-frame- unrest/.

Philip Napoli. Election 2020 and the further degradation of local journalism [EB/OL], https://www.electionanalysis.ws/us/president2020/ section-7-democracy-in-crisis/election-2020-and-the-further- degradation-of-local-journalism/.

[thelensofyashunews]

CHICKEN P SHARES NEW PROJECT 4EVALIT 

Fresh off the release of last month’s acclaimed mixtape Hardest N****a Livin’,  Milwaukee rap cornerstone Chicken P has just shared his new project 4EvaLit .The release follows the project’s high-octane lead single, Midwest party anthem “Low Life Rich N****a”, as well as the aforementioned Hardest N****a Livin’ – a triumphant, unflinching life portrait in which Chicken P chronicled his gritty road to success out of the streets of Milwaukee and went on to peak at #10 on the Apple Music Hip-Hop charts. Out now via 10K Projects and Really Rich Empire, 4EvaLit sees Chicken P continuing his hot streak as he scales the ranks of the Midwest’s booming rap scene.   

2023 proved to be a breakout year for Chicken P, with the Milwaukee rapper christening his status as one of the most noteworthy new acts to come out of his home state in recent memory. Chicken P first emerged onto the Milwaukee scene during the 2010s and carved out a name for himself for his raw lyricism and bass-loaded sound with projects like the BussaBrick series (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and 2023’s Aint Lost Shit. The locally-grown, grassroots momentum reached a boiling point in early 2024 following the release of BussaBrick Vol. 3, a string of features with fellow Milwaukee newcomers Certified Trapper and Myaap, as well as his biggest song to date “Venting” (4M+ Streams) — effectively catapulting him into the upper echelon of underground street rap. Chicken P has since caught the eye of Sexxy Red, Peezy, YTB Fatt and Jalen Green while earning co-signs from rap heavyweights like Veeze, Rylo Rodriguez, Skilla Baby, and Babyface Ray — and playing a key role in leading the Milwaukee scene to mainstream success in the process.

[jingqinontheroad]

Week 8: Crowd-sourcing & Crowdfunding

What is crowdsourcing? 

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of crowdsourcing was known as,

“the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers” (Swinburne, Week 8,2018).

It was sad with endless natural disasters and terrorist attacks around the world, people are started to turn to social media crowdsourcing tools such as Twitter, Wikipedia, Tumblr, Facebook, Ushahidi and others for crisis communication and emergency management. With the continues development of social media, these tools have become more widely used in society. Internet crowdsourcing are mainly positive and useful during the crisis, it also may have negative impact.

Ushahidi is a mapping tools that provide the location of the victims during the crisis events. In the year of 2007, The Ushahidi platform has provided the opportunity to report human right abuse by citizens after Kenya’s presidential election. Initially, the cooperation between Kenya and the United States of International journalists and the software developers developed this software that allow everyone can create their own map site and allow them to post reports to it. There is no doubt that using Ushahidi platform that can change the nature and the speed of political events such as find others who share their work and opinions together in different location which can produce powerful information of the sources. However, the users of Ushahidi will face main choices about what information to highlight and the authenticity of reports after the of user-generated content and the amount of date continues to increase (Ford, 2012).

The social media has become a communication system where allow different people to keep in touch with the geographic system (Communications System, 2018).  In December 2010 and early January 2011, Queensland was hit by a serious flood which make lots of damage toward homes, business and people (Queensland floods facts- December 2010- January 2011).  This crisis had highlighted important role of social media it is because Twitter was trending the topic of #qldfloods where the users can express their concern and acted as participants (The Twitterisation of ABC’S emergency and disaster communication, 2012).

What is crowdfunding??

According to Lucy Bennett. Bertha Chin & Bethan Jones 2015, the concept of crowdfunding is “where grassroots creative projects are funded by the masses through the website”.

The websites of Kickstarter and Indiegogo are a crowdfunding site where the public will visit frequently. It has been steadily gaining the attention of the media and has conducted lot of discussion around the powerful possibilities of this alternative funding method (Bennett, Chin, Jones 2015).

However not every campaign can be success. The most infamous crowdfunding campaign come from Alabama. A woman, Jennifer Flynn Cataldo established GoFundMe event aim to help paying medical expenses that related to her cancer. Before being convicted, she received more than $38,000 in donation. Now, her assets are being detained to pay back the donors. Although this story has a happy ending, cancer scam is very common. Therefore, do not trust that there will be any medical expenses or personal problem in crowdfunding events. It is because hard to verify these costs (Carpenter 2017).

References

Bennett, L, Chin, B, Jones, B, 2015, “Crowdfunding: A New Media & Society Special Issue”, new media & society, vol 17, no 2, p 142.

Carpenter, N, 2017, “The 5 biggest crowdfunding failures of all time”, Digital Trends, viewed 10 May 2018,https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/biggest-kickstarter-and-indiegogo-scams/

“Communication System” 2018, technopedia, viewed 10 May 2018, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/18430/communications-system

Ford, H, 2012, “Crowd Wisdom”, Sage Publishing.

“Queensland floods facts-December 2010-January 2011”, 2011, liberal sprinkles, viewed 10 May 2018, < http://liberalsprinkles.blogspot.my/2011/01/queensland-flood-facts.html >

Swinburne 2018, “Week 8: Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding”, MDA 20009 Digital Communities, Swinburne University of Technology. Learning Materials on Blackboard.

“The Twitterisation of ABC’S emergency and disaster communication” 2012, The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol 27, no 1, p34.