NetMirror and Data Detox – NetNarr 2020: Net Mirror

The Net Mirror community is committed to the notion of improving our collective digital/data literacy. We highlighted and considered some basic steps to improve our own digital and data literacy by reviewing and analysing the approach of the DATA DETOX KIT. This kit offers everyday steps you can take to control your digital privacy, security, and wellbeing in ways that feel right to you.

"Net Mirror" was slated 2 debut r interactive installation @ data literacy 4 @KeanUniversity Research Days Forum. In lieu of r F2F outreach work, we r sharing the Data Detox Kit: https://t.co/nlIWQSkSJO #netnarr #unboundeq #oer20 #digciz #dataliteracy #connectedlearning #digped
— Mia Zamora (@MiaZamoraPhD) April 19, 2020

We shared our reflections in Kean University’s virtual Research Days Forum. Originally, we were planning to participate in this special event (that was to be open to the public) in order to showcase our advocacy work via an open and interactive installation. We were slated to curate an interactive exhibition on data and privacy that would different ways of understanding how technologies are changing our lives.

We now know how much websites, apps, social media, and ‘smart’ devices all thrive on our data. Our open interactive installation was originally an invitation to the Kean Research Days community to explore how society is dealing with the growing dependency on data and technology, and the normalization of monitoring and surveillance.

Net Mirror Reflections

Detoxifying My Digital Soul (4/26/2020) by blueknights - It has been awhile since I've posted. In a sense, while my internet was down at my home, I owe some thanks to Verizon Fios for giving me some detox time from the screen. The data detox kit has a lot of useful information in it. I took particular interest in the phone detox information. It had me going through my phone changing settings for calls, privacy and even in my apps. It's crazy to think of how much these big companies are burying these settings so deep into their apps and devices, that you have to 'dig' to find the settings to change. What is even crazier is the amount of information that these apps have about our personal life. What happened to the days of privacy and not having to worry about these types of invasions on our lives? I attached the video below because it has more… (Continue Reading)
Data Detox: “Don’t Let Them In, Don’t Let Them See” (4/23/2020) by krock5228 - The Data Detox Kit truly encapsulates what it is that we have been talking about all semester long. When I reflect on the meaning of this class, I interpret it as a look into ways where we can reduce our online footprint and be more present in our everyday lives. I am actually somewhat familiar with a few of the strategies that were described on the website, and I find that all of them certainly serve some kind of purpose when it comes to teaching people of how they can decrease their online presence in a way ro prevent some of the oversight we have gone over in class to this point. As I was scrolling through all of the different avenues that are available for us to use to this point, a couple of them stood out to me. I’m sure we have all downloaded an app or opened… (Continue Reading)
How I Participate in Data Detox (4/23/2020) by thekettlespills - Hello everyone, as per usual I hope this blog finds you all well. I felt the need to get away from my typical settings and so migrated up north to my parent's home in the Catskills in NY. It's cold here, it was snowing quite a bit yesterday, but it goes between somewhat frigid with the wind chill and very mild without it. There are wild turkeys, coyotes, and other assorted predators/prey in the woods surrounding the property, and farms and the like with cows and horses all over the county. It feels somewhat that I've detoxed a bit already. Funny how a change in location and something of a change in society makes one feel like they're living a different life for a time. But I'm not so naive to believe that just a change in scenery is actually a serviceable data detox; and if anything it may serve… (Continue Reading)
Data Detox: SHIFT YOUR SETTINGS to secure your data (4/22/2020) by dennisart - As we wind down to the very close end of the semester, we are at the point where we, as the #Netnarr class, would be presenting at Kean University: Research Days. Due to the unfortunate current circumstances of COVID-19, the school unfortunately could not host the events in person. Even with that being the case, presenter were able to submit short videos to showcase their work! Below is our #Netnarr at Kean University Research Days, 2020! Big thanks to Dr. Zamora and Professor Levine on creating such a cool video! https://youtu.be/eE5XPqJQpqU Alongside the video is a Data Detox Kit that is meant to serve as a type of solution to the question posed within the #Netnarr video. So in honor of of the Data Detox Kit, this blog is dedicated to going through the kit and trying to incorporate the tips provided to help secure my data! I am formatting… (Continue Reading)
Data Detox: Degooglise Your Life & Smartphones Call For Smart Habits. (4/22/2020) by niveswrites - This Data Detox Kit is so awesome! I loved exploring and checking out the entire site! The two items in the detox kit that struck me most based on my relationship with social media and the internet was: The Degooglise Your Life and The Smartphone Habits tool box tips! I've used some of those smartphone tips in the past like shutting off notifications, and putting my phone away, like far far away in a drawer so I don't give in to the temptation to use it. Also being mindful of how much you use your phone is key! It was interesting to do this activity and reflect on a Data Detox Kit during this chaotic and turbulent time. During this pandemic I've needed technology more then ever and have held on to my phone tighter than I ever have before. What would I do without Google Meet, Zoom, WhatsApp, Snapchat… (Continue Reading)
Sharing is Caring in the Digital World (4/22/2020) by lindapham2020 - When Governor Murphy issued his stay-at-home order on March 21, 2020, I decided to join a local community WhatsApp group. I am not sure why I joined this group, especially when my teacher-friends questioned my decision. None of them have Twitter accounts. They could not fathom why I have Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. I am an introvert and enjoy reading, writing, and thinking. Yet, for some unknown reason, I had an urge to connect to my community during a period of isolation. I reasoned that I could always leave the group. So, I thought. One month later, my Wakeup Whatsapp group is my digital family. We share valuable online grocery shopping tips. We share daily COVID-19 numbers. We volunteer for local outreach efforts, such as calling seniors. We contribute to a local food drive for seniors in my community. I made sure that my experience in the group was positive… (Continue Reading)
Nervous Wrecktitude: Data Detox (4/19/2020) by medea - I used to feel superior because I turned my location services off. I am not cool. I'm an offender. I don't lock my Android phone. My iPad password is woefully inadequate, so is my password to enter my Mac laptop. What is wrong with me? Data Detox Privacy and Security smacked me awake with a cold ocean splash. I should know better. What is wrong with me? I ask it again. I am overvaluing convenience and sacrificing my privacy in the process. If I want to be a good advocate for others' data literacy and security, shouldn't I start by taking a look in the mirror? The real one. I started off posting in this course with a story about my 6-yr old self hiding behind a huge mirror that my father made. I wanted to see if it was double-sided. Hey, curious kid, get back here...adult me needs you.… (Continue Reading)

Announcements

The Net Mirror homestretch May 9, 2020 11:34 am

In the Net Mirror, we are now on the homestretch. As we look to this last week, and the completion of your work for this special class, it comes with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the semester has been a true roller coaster as we have faced many challenges both individually and together as a small community. And so it will feel like a relief to make it to the proverbial finish line. Regardless, in many meaningful ways, our group (and our weekly discussions) has meant so much to me. Our standing appointment to gather together on-screen has been a weekly high note during this lockdown. I will sincerely miss you all, and our tangible connection. Our work will continue of course (in either the summer or certainly in the Fall), but still, it makes me whistful thinking about how I will miss our #NetNarr hangouts and our Net Mirror conversations. Wrapping up Your final projects are all in “full swing” and our last hangout-workshop discussion covered much ground, from how to publish in the Arganee Journal, to making memes and refining your story concepts. Your blog post for this final week should be a quick progress report about your final project work, and your plan for presenting your concept on Thursday during our class hangout. Some dates to remember: On Thursday, May 14 we will have our final class wherein you will be invited to present your story concept work. Your formal deadline for publishing your story concept into the Arganee Journal is Friday, May 15th. You are welcome to publish it earlier (i.e. before Thursday hangout) if you would like, but the final deadline is on Friday. The final step in Net Mirror is the self-assessment narrative, which should be written in a google doc (we agreed that it will not be a blog), and sent to both Prof. Levine and me via email. The self-assessment is due by midnight on Sunday, May 17th. See you all for our grand finale on Thursday! xo, Dr. Zamora

Silly Media in Narrative Space May 7, 2020 2:18 am

I don’t have to explain often what a meme image or animated GIF is; we see them flying in social media, we reach for ones to express a reaction or an emotion. But for some time I’ve suggested there is a space to subvert the usual, throw-away and just-repeat-what-exists aspect this media for serious or perhaps narrative purpose. https://cog.dog/show/2019/03/20/silly-media/ See a conference talk I made out of this topic! For your final Net Mirror Story Concepts we are asking you to use this typical form of media differently, to weave it into your narrative. In the last session, we reviewed that extracting of small portions of film as an animated GIF– for your project, the task is to use this as a means of suggesting/showing how your imagined surveillance technology might work. The same approach for using giphy to isolate a scene from a Screening Surveillance film can be used to make a GIF from any video. In my ongoing demos, I am dealing with the Anonymous creatures in Google Docs that are taking over my writing. They animals are in control. This was my Story Treatment for last week’s Net Mirror Writers’ Room: I am so lost in my narrative I imagine that there really is a typing wombat! This is maybe not super technical, but it is my story. In my narrative, this would be woven into the flow of my writing. In the next segment, maybe I am trying to gain control back of my resume. https://giphy.com/gifs/wombat-netmirror-RNcctSIddbb0dkKCOr We are also asking you to make meme images a part of the narrative too. There are hundreds or more tools to do this, it’s mainly putting text atop an image, and you are welcome too to create them in any image editing software. When we teach Memes in NetNarr, we typically use the imgflip memegenerator. Like most meme making tools, they offer you a lot of popular based images to use, but you can also upload any image to build a meme image. For details on this process, see some of our previous activities; again, the steps are the same even though these were for different types of assignments: Most Fascinating Subject in the World MemeNosedive MemeA Meme to Counteract the Internet Darkness For your story concept, we are asking you to go beyond the simple, typical meme, and create a series of four or more that might represent a conversation or inner dialogue in your story. You can use any graphics software/site/app to make these, you will just need to create them as image files you can eventually add to he publishing site. For a really simple tool to add text to images, meme style and more, try PicFont https://picfont.com/ That was how I made this conversation: This is not the most scintillating dialogue, but it’s just a demo. Play with the form. The very last thing we’d like you to include is a true meme image, one that uses a commonly used image and message type (maybe it will be Oprah Everybody Gets a Car or Batman Slapping Robin), but bend it to be the cliff hanger for your plot or a closing commentary. Tp dp this, use imgflip memegenerator (or another) to find the meme’s “name” and research it on the Know Your Meme Database. This will help understand the meme’s origin and way it is used. This was the approach for the Memes That Meme Themself assignment. So I might try the Distracted Boyfriend because it’s so versatile. Hopefully by experimenting with this media forms, and creating your own content, you can expand the media limits of just writing to be writing with Silly Media. Image Credit Meme image generated from Grandma Finds the Internet.

Building your story concept May 2, 2020 8:03 am

In the “Net Mirror”, we close our time together with the composition of speculative fiction(s) in order to help synthesize our complex feelings (anxieties ?) regarding our relationship with technology. Each story will grapple with the reality of our data-driven society and the omnipresence of data surveillance. In the process of building unique story concepts, we hope to confront the possible consequences of new technologies that are inherently shaping our lives. In our last class meeting, I shared the plan for your Final Project for the Net Mirror: the development of both a “story treatment” and a “story concept” for our Net Mirror Story Collection. You have already developed a story treatment this past week, which is designed from a template that includes an image, a title, a plot synopsis, and credit. In the coming two weeks you will develop further details in a “story concept” that will include the following elements: Setting A description of setting and accompanying imagery: Where is your story taking place? What mood does it capture? What’s the ambiance- natural light, dark alley, fluorescent offices? What are the furnishings, the objects that make it seem real? Think of the apartment, the coffee shop, the riverside scenes from Frames and the Jai’s home, the doctor’s office, the street scenes from Blaxites. The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative, and it helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. Elements of your setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. When selecting multimodal artifacts or imagery to share a sense of your setting, look for specific visual/textual references that capture the aesthetic style of your story environment. Characterization List the main characters in your story. Name them, describe their physical traits and age, describe their personalities, give them a back story. What are their strengths and flaws? What makes them memorable? What motivates them? What is their relationship to the main character? Consider in Frames the neighbors in the elevator, the people on the bus, the strangers in the park. Or from Blaxites, what are the characters of the doctor, Jai’s friend, the staff in the special center? Plot Map What happens in your story? A plot map or storyboard allows writers to visualize the key features and key moments in a narrative. Give an overview/outline of the events that unfold in your story. Highlight key decision moments in your story concept. Look for moments in other video stories that match key moments in your story development, that you might be able to use as reference points. Sketch out and describe the important (turning-point) moments of your story. Media Your story concept will be written in a blog/journal style, but you will also be required to include at least the following media: Your story treatment (from the “Net Mirror” template)An overall metaphorical image to serve as a cover image for your conceptA screenshot / exported image of your NetMirror Writers’ Room plot summaryFive+ images of settings/scenesAt least two tweets (they can be your own) that may be used as plot points in your story (these can be embedded into your published concept).At least one original created animated gif representing the surveillance technology in your story.At least four original (self-created) meme images playing out a dialogue scene in your story, plus one to leave as a teaser for what happens next. Your to-do list: This week, make some progress on your story concept by working on the setting, the characterization, and your plot map. Also, tinker with gif making and build up your selection of media to be inserted into your story concept (you can keep all of this development material in a google doc which serves as a draft space). Next week in class we will workshop your story concepts further by discussing how they are developing and offering feedback. Prof. Levine will also conduct a meme making workshop (similar to this week’s gif workshop), and we will go over the details of how to publish your piece in the Arganee Journal. Your blog this week should be a brief reflection or progress report on how that development process is going. Some dates to keep in mind: On May 14 (our final class “hangout”) you will share your story concepts with each other in presentation-mode. The submission of your final Net Mirror story will be published in the Arganee Journal, and this submission is formally due on Friday, May 15. Reminder: Your final self-assessment blog is the last submission for Net Mirror class and should be posted no later than Sunday, May 17. Take care, and have a safe (and creative) week. Sincerely, Dr. Zamora

Looking closely into the Net Mirror April 24, 2020 4:34 pm

This week we had a great (virtual) class and I can feel the intellectual and creative energy that you all are contributing. I can’t believe we are nearing the end of the semester, and despite the fact that this has been an extraordinarily difficult time, I am starting to realize how much I will miss our weekly connections once the semester comes to a close. But we still have about 3 weeks in which to savor our learning together, and of course, the learning doesn’t end just because the Spring semester is winding down. Kean University Research Days 2020 As you all know, we were originally slated to design and host an interactive outreach installation at the Kean University Research Days forum on campus. This campus-wide event was obviously canceled due to our quarantine, but at least we were able to summarize our advocacy work with a brief Net Mirror data literacy advocacy video shared here: https://youtu.be/eE5XPqJQpqU Your Final Project These final three weeks of class will be devoted to developing a “story treatment” and a “story concept” for the final Net Mirror story collection. We have discussed that the reason why “Screening Surveillance” and “Black Mirror” are so compelling. They often build upon our existing anxieties about technology and push them just a step farther. In Net Mirror, we take a final turn now to speculative fiction(s) to help synthesize our concerns/wisdom/fears regarding our relationship with technology. We will think through the possible consequences of new technology by creating a collection of stories that push are imagination one step further. This week we shared with you the first step in this work, by prompting you to create a story treatment. We want you all to brainstorm a near future data surveillance technology based on a present-day experience of your own choice. It should be close enough that it seems like a plausible future. What are the potential social implications and/or ethical issues and/or regulatory challenges with this technology? What are the potential social implications and/or ethical issues and/or regulatory challenges with this technology? Your to-do list: When you browse and surf in current streaming services like Netflix, you can check out content by reading a brief “cover page” synopsis of the viewing selection. We invite you now to create a story treatment for our forthcoming Net Mirror Story Collection. In creating your story treatment this week, we have a template for you to work with. Use a blank slide in this presentation (or duplicate an existing one) to create the information for your own Net Mirror episode. Include an image, a title, a plot synopsis, and credit. Your blog for this week should include your story treatment (screenshot, embed, or link) and also share a reflection on your initial thoughts regarding the direction(s) your story might go. Next week we will explore our story concepts together in an open writer’s workshop, and also explore a bit of media making by creating some gif files together. As always, stay safe, and take care, Dr. Zamora