The Boston Globe’s special on Ted Kennedy demonstrates the unparalleled resources of a major newspaper. The institutional history and the access it took to produce the series remain the province of the Fourth Estate, something that must not go unnoticed in this time of “the great print struggles.” More so, the piece shows how, with carefully allocated time and resources, the Globe and other newspapers can take full advantage of the platform of the web.
Author Archives: Aubree Lawrence
Aesthetic and Academic Appreciation: Jeffrey Lipsky
JeFF’s work is fascinating from both aesthetic and academic perspectives. My introduction to jeFF’s work was via Second Life, an online Virtual Community. His art collection was the subject of a critical review I wrote in my studies as a Graduate Student at Emerson College. The paper, “Filthy and Digital Art,” examined notions of [...]
In with the Old
I recently made as my Facebook status, “Aubree Lawrence misses honest status updates.” A former student commented on the status and asked, “Aubree, what do you mean? Just curious. Does it have to do with the ‘old’ vs ‘new’ facebook?”
A quick question that prompted a lengthy response from me. (Surprised? I didn’t think so.) Facebook [...]
The (Facebook) Arc of Despair
I heart Facebook. Not ashamed to admit it, I really do. The “why” I offer to n00bs is this: I have two half-sisters by my father and one-half sister by my mother. The math on this is irrelevant, what is relevant is that despite being separated across three states and in one case a total [...]
She Works Hard for the Whuffie: Free Labor in the Age of Peer Production
It’s a title possibility for my thesis. Maybe I’ll change my mind. If I do I’ll simply come back and delete the entry altogether. How very 1984.
Thankfully the title, according to the Emerson College Department Handbook for the Master of Arts in Media Arts Program, 2004-2005 (my official catalog year), is open for redevelopment during [...]
Particitainment. Not a Typo.
The most powerful hybrid of communications and entertainment is “particitainment”—entertaining communications that connects us with some larger purpose or enterprise. - Futurist Paul Saffo, Consumers and Interactive New Media: A Hierarchy of Desires, 1993
I like this term “particitainment.” I can already hear my peers groaning at the introduction of another term to describe participatory culture, [...]
Lessons from a purple alien fetus
“I’d say it was a setup for disaster, but, it’s so much more than that. It’s my routine.”
Last Friday I fell. I fell hard.
I was sprinting down the stairs of the Central Square subway station when it happened. In typical Aubree Lawrence fashion I was listening to my iPod, reading an academic paper (marking [...]
Learning a Second Language in Second Life
(Above: (top) Ms. Chianti Carmichael hangs out at an assessment station on SL English, while (bottom) Ms. Aubree Lawrence instructs an ESOL class for BA&CE, circa 2005)
Second Life is has incredible potential as a learning platform. I was excited to read on Forbes.com that an English language school in Germany has launched an island “Second [...]
Greetings Professor Falken! ::gulp::
This is fascinating to me. Those crazy kids, err, I mean, Researchers at Rensselaer are using Second Life as a platform to test an engineered, self-reasoning avatar. Yes, avatar. The little character on the screen that comes to life when operated by a reasoning human being, only… without the human being. His name is Eddie.
The [...]
Window Shopping is work!
This week I’ve started assembling a budget for the CCTV in Second Life project. This, of course, meant one of my favorite Second Life activities – shopping!
In Second Life, all of the content is user-created. One cannot help but be impressed with the creativity displayed in the objects for sale. The picture was taken in [...]
