Creating the myth

In the Twilight (Meyer, Stephenie) saga Bella Swan is the hero. The Volturi and Edwards’s reluctance to change her into a vampire are the obstacles that she must overcome. In Twilight Bella Swan comes to Forks to spend time with her dad while her mom travels with her stepfather. There she meets Edward who she finds to be mysterious. She falls in love with him, and him with her, however he warns her that she should stay away from him for safety. When she finds out that he is a vampire she decides that she wants to spend forever with him. She wants him to change her into a vampire so that she can spend forever with him, but he is reluctant to change her into a vampire. Edwards’s dad Carlsile informs Bella what it’s like to be a vampire and guides her. Esme who is Edwards’s mom is a loving maternal figure in Bella’s life especially in the last book. The Cullen’s and Bella play baseball and while playing encounter three bad vamps (nomads) that smell Bellas' blood. The Cullen’s protect Bella and kill one of the three vamps. The bad vamp that they kill is the mate to one of the other of the two vamps, Victoria essentially vows revenge for her fallen mate. Later on Edward leaves Bella out of concern for her safety. She breaks down and finds comfort in a childhood friend named Jacob whom she finds out is a werewolf. As Bella falls somewhat in love with Jacob she learns that Edward believes her to be dead. Because Edward believes her to be dead he goes to Italy to have the Volturi (who are essentially royalty vamps) kill him. She goes to Italy to confront Edward and to tell him that she isn’t dead. While she is in Italy the Voultri find out that she knows about vampires yet hasn’t been killed or changed. They give the Cullen’s the choice of either changing or killing her. The Cullen’s opt to change her later. After the Cullen’s leave Italy and return to Forks, Edward tells Bella that he is still reluctant to change her however he is willing to change her if she will marry him. Jacob still loves Bella and tries to convince her that she can stay with him and not have to change. She says yes to Edward and they get married. After they get married they go on a honey moon and Bella gets pregnant. Bella’s baby isn’t fully human and it almost kills her. While having the baby she almost dies. To save Bella Edward injects her with his vampire venom and changes her into a vampire. The Volturi find out about the half vampire-half human. The Volturi are afraid of the half vamp-half human and they wage a war over its life. Edward and Bella live happily ever after.

In the Twilight (Meyer) saga there are many myths and archetypes. Victoria, the other nomads, and the Volturi are the “shadow figures” (Signs of Life, Seger, Linda p.362). They are the ones that either want Bella dead or want her changed to be a vampire for their own reasons. Carlsile, Edwards’s dad would be the “wise old man” (Signs p.362). He is a doctor and helps Bella. Esme who is Edwards’s mom would be the “good mother” (Signs p.362) because she loves and protects Bella. Bella and Edward are the heroes of the story. They are the main characters.

The author describes several myths, the hero myth, the combination myth, and the healing myth. The differences are the path that the hero takes, the reason the hero takes the path and the outcome. All myth story plot lines have an up and a down to the stories’ plot. The plot changes as the story goes on. Things happen to the heroes and their lives change. The Twilight saga was written by Stephenie Meyer. The words used to describe the archetypes are from Linda Seger’s “Creating the Myth”. (Signs of Life p.356-364) Linda’s examples were from Star Wars (Lucas, George) and my examples were from Twilight (Meyer, Stephenie).

Steven Johnson – It’s All about Us

The internet is growing at an amazing exponential rate. Nearly every piece of information known has been posted on some website. Now days, the web is directed and aimed at “us” or the general population. It is there to help us for whatever we need. Anyone can simply go onto Wikipedia and post anything they want and claim it fact. This could be a bad thing and this easily could be a great thing. In Steven Johnson’s It’s All about Us, he states “bloggers and Wikipedians are likely to do some things better than their professional equivalents and some things much worse” (447). Johnson is saying that these posts can either lead us down a new road that we never thought of or corrupt the present thoughts we have. It can go either way because there is no filter to what someone is allowed to say. For instance, there has been a huge boom in worthless drool on the internet that has no real meaning or use. A perfect example would be Facebook. Everyone posts random things about their day and what not. As Johnson points out “there is undeniably a vast increase in the sheer quantity of accessibility of pure crap” (447). He is saying that more and more pointless “crap” is making it onto the web thanks to everyone. An interesting way to think of it is that what might be pointless dribble to you might be extremely important to me. An ingenious use of blogging is the local conversations about your community. Local parents can easily go check out what is going on around them. Whether there has been a robbery on this street or a new library on that street. It is an easy way to connect the community on a virtual level without having to physically walk around and interview each person about what happened that day. This was never an option and I think we should take advantage of can so easily help our communities. Johnson mentions that “local knowledge has been limited historically to the personal contact of word-of-mouth. Now, on the Web, it has a megaphone” (448). He is aware of the possibilities that come with this technology. What we need to keep in mind is that we need to continue to expand our internet experience and not get into a cycle of the same websites. There is so much information to be seen and read. There are so many uses and possibilities that the internet will never stop growing.

It's all about me

The internet known today is known for many things. You can find anything you need with a touch of a button online. Whether it is that perfect mother’s day present for your mom or any type of information you are looking for, it is inevitable you will find it online. The thing about the information now and days is that you don’t know who posted it. Anyone can log on and post just about anything online. In “It’s All about Us” Steven Johnson states, “Web 2.0 is made up of ordinary people: hobbyists, diarist, armchair pundits, people adding their voice to the Web’s great evolving conversation for the sheer love of it “(446). In this you think about the celebrity bloggers like Perez Hilton, telling the public about the most intimate secrets of the celebrities today, or the people telling about their daily lives on Facebook or Myspace. People now have a say what is being put on the internet
He stated that in Web 1.0 it was organized around the pages and now it moved towards us, the people. Even information pages such as Wikipedia regular people can go in and right about historical events, people places, even though most schools or teachers don’t accept it as a source, it could be known for a reliable source. Like in the article It states “Bloggers and Wikipedians are likely to do some things better than their professionals” (447.) Even though this website is done by regular people that it could possibly be better than something an expert could write, it could give us a different perspective that the professional didn’t think of.
Johnson helped create something that monitored conversations that took place online about the neighborhoods around the country. This he monitored what people were saying in regards to their own personal communities. He looked at what was directly affecting the people. This service was called “outside.in”. From this people told what was actually going on in their own community, instead of media coverage, or lack thereof. The media only covers what people want to hear, like a puppy being saved from a burning building. It doesn’t really care about the issues of the people. From this I feel is helpful because it is helping the people actually get out their own opinions, and the real information is coming out. Not just the “sugar-coated” news coverage stories.
The internet could be a great source if used properly. One has to be careful where they find their information, or who they are hearing it from. Weither it is an actual professional or just in the grasps of the “placebloggers”, there needs to be some sort of filter (448). But it could also be helpful when encountering your own problems that you need to get out there and let everyone know.

Enough About You

Enough About You 5/3/10
Enough, enough already! Our culture has become obsessed with….ourselves. Which is no surprise really, since up until recently the majority of Americans received their news and information from traditional media sources such as Broadcast News, and print newspapers, all of which are falling by the wayside in this new digital media popularity explosion, and now approximately ¾ of us receive their news “via e-mail or updates on social media sites” (Doug Gross CNN).
That’s impressive, and a bit concerning. A full 61% of Americans get all of their news online, vs. 54% from news radio, and 50% newspaper. (Gross) Brian Williams, a ‘blogger journalist’, would like us to consider what is lost with the digital media overtaking the traditional, to think about what are we missing when everyone is a “potential expert” (Brian Williams Signs of Life). With this new ability, our intake of news and ideas tends to be tailor made for us…because we’re the Most Important Person in our lives. (and maybe even the world!) Williams also speaks to the idea that in focusing mainly on ourselves, we lose out on many “alternate perspectives” seriously curtailing our ability to make informed decisions, or even be aware of all that is going on in the BIG, real world.
The web takes over. It is so easy, so busy, so active and quick…. Ahhh, true bliss. According to Michael Agger (Lazy Eyes) we love “bulleted list(s)” the “use of bold”, “short sentence fragments” and anything else that allows us to be spoon fed only what we want at that moment. Williams brings up the idea that online media consumption is attractive because it allows you to find ANYTHING, and “All of it exists to fill a perceived need”.
What do we need? We need to be important. We need to be winners. We need to feel as if we’re the center of the universe. Maybe a little dose of (gasp) Communist theory would balance out the American idea of “me me me”?
In our glorified celebration of ourselves, we lose the very importance that we crave. When everyone wins, and everyone is ‘special’, it’s not really that special anymore. This need to share all aspects of our lives with perfect strangers would seem bizarre to most cultures. So why do I think that I need to post “just bought the cutest shoes today!!!” on Facebook? WHO CARES? Well, everyone must! And luckily, Jorge in Panama can now keep up with my shoe purchases via the social sites…thank goodness!
Such things that were once considered intimate and private are broadcast to the entire world. “John and Kate plus 8” wow! They truly believe that their lives are so important that we should all share in each and every moment, but I think I’ll pass….Real Housewives of Dallas is on.
We are honestly losing out on so many experiences by limiting ourselves to that which strikes an interest in us, and appeases our senses. Immersed in online sites with “internet programs ready to filter out all but the news you want to hear” while we listen to our Pandora radio, as to not hear any unwanted songs (Williams).
There is so much more that we should allow ourselves to be aware of! We are doing a great disservice to ourselves, and each other if we remain focused solely on what is comfortable and familiar, instead of reaching out, and becoming more aware of the amazing amount of information and ideas that exist elsewhere! “The danger just might be that we miss the next great book, or the next great idea, or that we fail to meet the next great challenge” (Williams), and that is a sad and depressing idea to ponder.
623 words J Parker

It's All About Us" by Steven Johnson

For most of us, the internet has become a part of our everyday life. If we have any questions or want to connect with friends, we go online. Because of the quick and easy access of the internet, it has now become our most important information tool. Everyone now has a voice that the whole world gets to hear. But how can we drown out the voices of the people that we do not want to hear when we go online?
In the article “It’s All About Us” written by Steven Johnson he talks about how much information has changed from web 1.0 to web 2.0. There has been a big jump from the information that one could once get from the internet (web 1.0) to what we get from the internet today. Everyday people putting their personal opinions out on the web have now over taken the internet that was once seen as a tool where a person could get reliable credible information. There has been a big shift from clearly knowing when you are speaking to a professional to now everyone who has a computer can put in his or her ore. It seems that the amateurs are over taking the professionals. Johnson states “There is undeniably a vast increase in the sheer quantity of accessibility of pure crap” (447). What Johnson is saying is that because there is so much information out there that it is hard for the reader to determine what is crap or fact. When I go online to check up on a symptom that I may be having, I rely on the information to be accurate, but most of the time when I confront my doctor about what I had read about a certain concern, it is not correct. My doctor always warns me about getting medical information online, as it is not safe and rarely accurate. The Web 2.0 has been a window for every ordinary person out there in the world to have a voice. Everyone now is considered an expert because they can relate to an issue on a personal level. However, do they really deserve that title when so many of us just write about our everyday life’s that do not necessarily concern everyone in the world?
Johnson helped launch a service called “outside. in” that monitors the conversations that take place online about the neighborhoods around the country. What he monitored was that people were talking about what had been happening in their community. They spoke about the things that directly affected them and what they were passionate about. Because the information is filtered into topic areas, online users now have a specific place to go to find out and keep up to date with what is going on in their community. This seems like an excellent idea for the professionals that want a clear line drawn between what they put out on the web to those who just put their opinions and have not gone to school to study a given subject. Johnson states, “The fact is that most user-created content on the web is not challenging the authority of the traditional expert” (447). In saying this, he argues that people are not challenging the words of the traditional expert and that when we get online, professional or not that we all consider ourselves experts. The internet is taking away from those who have studied and disciplined their selves in news and education and continues to blur the line of what is professional or not. Outside.in would be a good idea for the professionals and the public, the information we receive online is filtered so that users can get some kind of dialog. You could find out about a subject easier and could tell the professional opinions over the general public thoughts and experiences because of the categories. The people that want to find out about what is going on with their community have a direct way of finding that out and the professionals have a place where their work can be appreciated.

There will always be the need for professional advice in everyone’s life, so it is important that when you seek out information online be very careful as you do not know if the source is credible. As we continue to move on in this fast pace electronic world filtering information will become more and more important. Therefore, it seems as Johnson’s outside.in service has arrived just in time

"It's All about Us"

In Steven Johnsons short essay "It's All about Us" he talks about how the internet has exploded into something that lets every person who wants to have a voice. " Web 2.0 s made up of ordinary people: hobbyists, diarists, armchair pundits, people adding their voice to the Web's great evolving conversation for the sheer love of it"(Par 1). Americans live in a world today that is over ran by the internet and we live in a country where we can find almost anything we want by just typing in a few key words of we can type things with almost no consequences at the same time. Johnson describes these people as amateurs which there very much are and brings in the statement "For some, it has power-to-the-people authenticity. For others, it signals the end of quality and professionalism"(Par 2). For some of us we may know a lot about a certain topic, we can take me for example, I played baseball for a number of years and was a pitcher. I attended camps and was trained by players that had a vast majority of knowledge in all the things that you have to do to become an outstanding player. Now if I wanted to go and make a blog on the basics of pitching and being an amateur I could very easily teach people things but in no way know 100% of what you need to know to become an effective pitcher. Some may see this as something that really helps or some guy could come in and just say that all these techniques were false and say that it was no were near quality. One major concern there is with all this writing such as blogging and Wikipedia, being that some people just plainly don't know and are just blowing smoke to make themselves believe they are a professional at a certain subject. But then as you think Johnson is going to take this side that this is such a bad thing he claims "The fact is that most user-created content on the Web is not challenging the authority of a traditional expert. It's working in a zone where there are no experts or where the users themselves are the experts"(Par 5). Then Johnson brings into conversation the biggest places of dairy-style pages are webpage’s such as LiveJournal and Myspace, and then goes in by stating that they are not challenging anyone they are just writing about what is happening in their lives and says that most of the photographers on Flickr have no true dream of becoming the next Annie Leibovitz. It is just their way of showing pictures to their family and friends. I post pictures on my facebook because they look awesome and I want people to know what I have been up to, not to make money off of and be famous off of. Johnson helped launch a new service by the name of Outside. In. The service is compiled of a bunch of these ordinary people blogging about what happens in these real communities where people like you and I live in, talking about such things as the playground that is going to open up or about the No Child Left Behind service and the affects it has had on the public schools. These people are the real professionals and there is a reason why you don't see reporters in these places talking about what is happening because it is something that they just have not a lot of knowledge in. If these reporters can ignore this then why can't we ignore things that we have virtually no idea in? If we can cut all the just absurd things from the internet such as statements saying the earth is flat then maybe the everyday bloggers who actually do know something about certain subjects will not always be under the magnified glass about what they are writing about.

Change of Focus, A View on “It’s All About Us”

Steven Johnson presents a side of the internet explosion that concerns anyone who isn’t published but wishes to utilize the voice of opinion. In its beginning, the web designers focus was centered on his/her purpose of the site. The focus has move to us, the public. It also goes beyond giving us a product or service. It wishes to know what we think and how we feel. The public has responded to this en mass. Anyone with an observation of a topic will take the time to express themselves with blogs, tweets, or news feed updates. This offers an opportunity John Q Everyman has never had in human history, the ability to be heard without being published.

This is disconcerting to those who do focus on being published. There is a protest being presented from the academy and media centers. It states that outlets like the blog and Wikipedia will take away from those who work hard to uphold the integrity of news and education. It will make it difficult to distinguish a true source from an opinion. With the increase in volume, the separation of information wheat from opinion chaff will blur the line of truth.

Johnson sees the points on either side. He has taken the initiative to provide comfort to either side. The trafficking of opinions will happen if we want it to or not. That being realized, Johnson has developed a program to organize the floating information in a way that you can find things pertinent to you and your world. Outside.in takes the conversations about a topic and brings them together for those who would benefit from the dialog. Johnson has essentially helped create the world’s largest office water cooler. Knowing its there, the people can take a break from the cubical life and see what else is going on in the office. You receive something CNN cannot provide, the pertinent events that fly under headline radar.

This should be a comfort to the experts. It concerns the events important to the public but takes nothing away from their specific fields. The topics of quantum physics and how your local high school JV girl’s basket ball team will do this week rarely coincide. According to Johnson, each subject has its expert and can comment appropriately. Each one has its place, and we shouldn’t worry about the size of the river of voices. Johnson is proposing the use of a raft to navigate the white water of the internet.

Johnson’s observations are accurate and his solution is excellent. Time has always promoted the access of information. It started with the invention of the printing press and now offers instantaneous interaction. It is easy to see how the information elite would be threatened by this turn of events. History has shown us their reactions. When someone holds the key to knowledge, opening the back door lessens the necessity of their presence. I agree with Johnson that this isn’t the entire truth. The journalist and researcher are essential to production and distribution of topics beyond the layman. Your neighbor might not be able to give you in-depth knowledge of the gulag, but a diligent researcher can. On the same token, that same researcher would have less credibility in presenting a case for the latest mini van like a soccer mom could.

Considering the evolution of information, I think Johnson’s proposal is just in time. Filtering the flow of conversation would save time and provide a more stable platform for dialog. You could find someone who was honest about their subject easier. Also if you wished to communicate your own observations, you could have confidence that the right ears would receive it. This takes nothing away from expert observations and literature. If an expert opinion was necessary, the populace knows where to find them.