Tuesday, January 5th

Starter:  Class Survey and Responses
Please take this quick google form survey about your social media use!

Class Biz

• Please fill out the survey Jess Adams sent you to select the workshops you'd like to join on Thursday's Beyond the Nest day
• Please take the time to read through my syllabus page to be familiar with class policies and grading for this semester.  You will be held accountable to the policies on that document.
• Let's review the grading breakdown for the semester though!
• If you were absent yesterday make up the starter AND watch the TED Talk!

Agenda
Review the results from our survey

A different perspective from yesterday's TED Talk on technology: "Technology Made Us Humans": 

1. Do you agree with the narrator in the Shots of Awe video we watched today that, "Technology is the real skin of our species?" Why or why not? Are there fundamental differences between technological tools like an ax to chop wood and technological devices like smartphones? If so what are those differences especially in terms of the ways the two types of tools shape/help/impact us?

Class Discussion on Turkle's TED Talk from yesterday

1. Review your notes from yesterday and skim back through Turkle's TED Talk transcript
2. Questions:
   1. With your partner, share your idea/phrase/word/concept, and talk about them.  Notice similarities and differences.
   2. What was the thesis of this talk?  What, ultimately, is she trying to say about our use of technology?
   3. Share your questions: discuss them as  class
   4. “…our little devices, those little devices in our pockets, are so psychologically powerful that they don’t only change what we do, they change who we are.”  What does she mean?  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?  Dig deep!
   5. She talks in this TED Talk about the following question:  “What’s wrong with having a conversation?”  How would you answer this question?  Why do you think that people are more comfortable with other modes of conversation?  Do you see this in your own life?
   6. “We’re lonely, but we’re afraid of intimacy.”  True?  Untrue?  In what ways?
   7. Turkle lists three fantasies she believes are perpetuated by technology.  Which of these does your group think you, as a group, have bought into the most?  Why is this fantasy attractive?  What are the dangers of believing these things?:
      1. That we can put our attention wherever we want it to be
      2. That we will always be heard
      3. That we will never have to be alone
   8. If your identity is created through connections via social media and technology, what happens to your identity if those connections are taken away?  Is there a problem in having an identity so shaped by these forces, or is this just a new way of being, no better or worse than other ways, just different?

Social Media Smorgasbord (Choose 2, each should take 30-45 minutes)

OPTION 1:  This American Life + Group Discussion (3-5 people)

1. This American Life:  Status Update  (Prologue and Act One)
2. Get a small group together, and listen to the Prologue and Act One of this podcast. (14 min)
3. After the podcast is over, get together in your group and discuss the following questions.  Your discussion should take at least 20 minutes, but feel free to let it sprawl!:
   1. Personal Connection:  How true does this ring to you?  Is this something you’ve experienced in your own lives?  Connect the podcast to your own social media/networking experiences.
   2. Social Map:  What are the advantages of having a “social map” that is completely public?  What are the disadvantages?  Is there any benefit to having the social map be less visible?
   3. Social Obligation:  The girls in this podcast defining participating on social media as a “social obligation.”  Do you think this obligation exists for you?  Would you face social costs by not participating on social media, or commenting on your friends’ posts?
   4. Relevance:  Towards the end of the podcast, the girls start to talk about the idea of relevance.  What does this concept mean to you?  How does it differ from the idea of popularity?  How relevant (heh) is this concept in your own life?
   5. Voices Not Heard:  What are the consequences for people who AREN’T relevant?  Who don’t get 100 likes, or have lots of positive comments?  Does this type of social media use help them find their niche, or make them feel more isolated?
   6. Wrap it Up:  Ultimately, what do you take from this?  Is there a danger in the immediacy and transparency of these social interactions?  Or is it a net positive?
4. When your group is done, come and debrief with Ashley for a few minutes.

OPTION 2:  Cold Hard Analysis (solo)

1. Go to the Pro/Con Website
2. Read through “Did You Know?”  and then through the lists of “Pro and Con Arguments.”
3. Write a few paragraphs for me in your google doc starter notebook:
   1. Paragraph 1:  What is the strongest evidence for the pro side?  What makes it strong?
   2. Paragraph 2:  What is the strongest evidence for the con side?  What makes it strong?
   3. Paragraph 3:  Write a thesis statement that answers the question, “Are social networking sites good for our society?”, and write one paragraph defending your position.

OPTION 3:  Banksy And Other Artistic Critiques

1. Look at wide range of art about social media.  Here are some places to start.  If you’d like to look at these with a partner and discuss them as you go, that is fine:
   1. Nobody Likes Me
   2. Talk
   3. No Connection Detected
   4. Facebook Blinders
   5. Social Commentary
   6. Two
   7. Hashtags
   8. Selfies Never Die
   9. Facebook Periscope
   10. Teddy Bear
   11. QRFaces
   12. Social Media Propaganda
   13. The Truth Has Been Revealed
   14. Addiction
   15. The Leash
2. Write a paragraph for me about one of the following in your starter google doc notebook:
   1. What similarities do you seen between these pieces?  Analyze some trends and themes you see, referring to specific elements from at least 3 pieces.
   2. Choose one piece, and explain the message.  Dig deep into the visual symbolism being used here.
3. Create your own visual artistic response in any medium.  Think about what you want to say, what intellectual and emotional impact you want to have on your viewers!

OPTION 4:  Self-Excavation (solo)

1. Go to your Social Media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, other?)
2. In your starter google doc notebook:
   1. Create a found poem from things on here that says something about your identity.  Give it a title.  You can put in original text as well, but a substantial piece of this poem should be found phrases, sentences, etc. that you pull from your social media accounts.
   2. Write a paragraph about what you found in your excavation of your own social media identity.  What trends did you see?  How do you see your identity developing?  How are you curating yourself?  How is your social media self different from your internal self?