Multimedia for Social Change

Tina’s Final Presentation Prezi

http://prezi.com/gchuwpebzto8/alhambra-beyond-cars/

 

Tina’s Week 14 Reflection

So the theme of this post: get help when needed.

It’s getting quite stressful during this time of year and scheduling is a nightmare when there is much to be accomplished.
I’ve learned that I can’t possibly do everything and that I need to delegate work in order to stay sane.

Here’s an update  on ABC…

Video of James Rojas is up and running on our Facebook page!
Activity is low so far so I’m definitely going to be working on getting more eyes on our page by writing a small blurb about us.
I think I need to solicite James’s help in getting the word out via Facebook.

I typed a transcript up of James’s interview and is now sitting on the editor’s desk for approval. Unfortunately, she is out of town for vacation for a week so I’m afraid my deadline will be pushed back.

I’m not getting much help with editing footage from Alhambra High School so the man on the street interviews didn’t happen. Hopefully on the ABC meeting on Thursday I’ll be able to solicite some help from Efren, the other member of ABC.

Reflection on Games for Change…

I’m going to comment on the overall design of Darfur is Dying. I think that when the insert of a text blurb was needed to explain something, it was too long to digest and all it took was one click to get back into the game. What I think may be more effective would be to insert informational blurbs in a more design-savvy way. This could be using a better typeface, background color, length of message and when and where the message is conveyed. Users can easily avoid reading if the design of the message is poor and if avoiding reading the message is too easy.

Aside from some improvements on design, I think perhaps another way to  raise not just awareness but actual concern for Darfur is for the user to start with a character within a family and to be able to play characters in different roles. For example, to be the mother or the child. Or even, what is it like to be a helper in a refugee camp? The gravity of the situation in the game didn’t get to me as I felt like it should have.

I’ve finished playing several series of Call of Duty and can say that I’ve been intrigued to learn more about wars after playing. This is because the game is centered upon a storyline and is effective in visual storytelling. This should be an area that is high focused upon when developing games for change: to tell the story that change is needed before it is possible.

Tina’s Week 13 Reflection Reposted

Once again… I have posted on the wrong blog!
I published this on April 13th, 2011.

Tina’s Media Plan Updated

Interviewing senior citizens at Scripps Kensington? Done.
Footage will be uploaded onto Final Cut Pro (don’t have this on my computer) on Wednesday and will be edited by end of week.

I’ll be meeting with Youth Feeders tomorrow, Wednesday, right after school at 2:30PM to do man-on-the-street interviews with high school students.
It should go smoothly and we’ll have some good interviews and footage.

James is back in town so we’ll be meeting on Thursday for his interview and some good photographs to compliment the piece.
I’m excited to get some feedback on that work I’ve done while he’s been gone.

Below is my updated timeline:

Alhambra Beyond Cars
Media Plan March – May 2011

VI. TIMELINE/WORKPLAN:

Deadline	Deliverable
3/30, Wednesday	ABC Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter page
4/3, Sunday	ABC Logo finalized.
4/3, Monday	Interviews at Scripps Kensington
4/6, Wednesday	Finalize Mission Statement
4/6, Wednesday	Youth Feeder interviews and reporting at AHS
4/7, Thursday	Interview James Rojas
4/7, Thursday	Present finalized flyer for CicLAvia to James
4/8, Friday	Print flyers for CicLAvia
4/10, Sunday	Announcement posting on The Alhambra Source
4/10, Sunday	ABC Meet-up at CicLAvia. Hand out flyers.
4/17, Sunday	Publish James Rojas Interview on The Alhambra Source
4/17, Sunday	Man-on-the-street Interviews with ABC and Youth Feeders
4/30, Saturday	100 Facebook Follows/Likes, 100 Twitter followers
4/30, Saturday	Finished video of Alhambra residents
4/30, Saturday	Publish video of Alhambra residents on The Alhambra Source
5/4, Wednesday	Final Presentation

 

VII. Additional Notes:

-       This media plan was made based on the time and resources available. The target audience of online-users was chosen reflected this. Plans for the future to expand outreach to residents who do not use the Internet as their primary platform for communication are in progress.

While I was browsing the MobileActivism website, I realize the large need for designers and programmers who are knowledgeable on how to create functions on mobile phones that will enable activists to do more with a phone. I enjoyed the article on mapping SMS incident. What I find intriguing is the actual visualization of communication – I’m very fond of discovering new forms of communicating, especially  anything that has to do with visual communication. In this digital age, it seems like the concept of visually “mapping” information is popular.

Tina’s mini update: Secured interviews

Hi all! Thank you for all the good feedback yesterday – it really helped me get the ball rolling.

I’ve created a Facebook Page and Twitter account as @alhbeyondcars. No finalized logo yet so there are no followers as of yet. By the beginning of next week, I’ll expect some likes/follows when the logo is published and I start actively promoting the accounts.

Questions, comments, and concerns about Alhambra Beyond Cars (ABC) can be sent to our new Gmail account: alhambrabeyondcars@gmail.com
In addition to setting this up, I’ve also uploaded a contact list onto the Gmail.

Current Google docs include:
1. Mission Statement work-in-progress doc
2. All account passwords doc
3. My media plan for March – May 2011 doc (I decided to make deadlines for the end of May as I’ll be at a summer program in the east but will return and plan to make a more extensive plan).

Youth Feeders have agreed to help me with shooting and editing man-on-the-street interviews. We’ll be meeting on Wednesday, 4/6 in the late afternoon to do this.

My contact at Scripps Kensington, Ida Donohue, has also agreed to be interviewed for the video. I’ve set up the interview for Monday, 4/4. Hopefully, she will also be able to spread the word out to others who are concerned about pedestrian safety. I’ve sent out an email to Youth Feeders to ask if they’re interested in helping me out that Monday.

James has been away on the east conducting various workshops so I haven’t met with him this week, but have been in contact via email. We’ve agreed to meet on Thursday, 4/7 for me to conduct the interview and shoot some photographs. Daniela, the editor of the Alhambra Source, has given me permission to conduct the interview so I expect it to be published on the due date of Thursday, 4/17.

That’s all for now!
This weekend will be intense as I fine-tune the logo. It really takes a long time and is a constant work in progress because there can always be tweaks here and there… but I’m excited to see its publication and approval.

Tina’s Week 11 Post – Media Plan

Below is my media plan for Alhambra Beyond Cars. It’s concise and commits me to push out 4 deliverables by the end of the term.
There were so many goals that I wanted to accomplish but had to pick and choose the most suitable ones given the resources.
The logo is on its way to be finalized and I’m pretty stoked about unveiling it in the coming week.
James is out on the road but will be back soon. We haven’t met in a week because of that but I’m sure he’ll be pleased with my progress on the project.

 

Alhambra Beyond Cars
Media Plan 2011

 

I. GOALS:

-       Increase awareness in the community about the new organization

-       Increase participation in the program

II. AUDIENCE:

-       All internet using Alhambra residents who are concerned about transportation issues

• Walkers
• Cyclists
• Bus riders

III. MESSAGE:

-       To advocate for an environmentally friendly and safe Alhambra by educating and informing residents on how to affect local government politics and policies, raise citywide awareness of local problems, and organize into a collective unit.

 

IV. MEDIA LIST: All online content publishers.

-       The Alhambra Source

• Post meeting dates and times on the Announcement/Events page.
• Interview James Rojas and highlight formation of Alhambra Beyond Cars.
• Work with Youth Feed to produce video of man-on-the-street interviews with residents and citizens at Scripps Kensington.

-       Facebook & Twitter

• Goals
  • 100 Facebook & Twitter followers by 4/30

• Generate conversation with other environmentally aware groups such as: SGV Bike, AHS Environmental club.
• Follow other environmentally-friendly pages/groups.
• Friend city officials to raise awareness.
• Find friends by checking “Alhambra city” option

V. DELIVERABLES:

1.    ABC Logo

2.    Facebook and Twitter 100 followers

3.    Feature/Interview article, announcements, video posted on The Alhambra Source

4.    Video of Alhambra residents

 

VI. TIMELINE/WORKPLAN:

Deadline	Deliverable
4/3, Sunday	ABC Logo
4/6, Wednesday	Finalize Mission Statement
4/8, Friday	Facebook Group & Page
4/10, Sunday	Announcement posting on The Alhambra Source
4/10, Sunday	ABC Meet-up at CicLAvia
4/17, Sunday	Publish James Rojas Interview Feature on The Alhambra Source
4/30, Saturday	100 Facebook Follows/Likes, 100 Twitter followers
4/30, Saturday	Video of Alhambra residents
4/30, Saturday	Publish video of Alhambra residents on The Alhambra Source
5/4, Wednesday	Final Presentation

 

Tina’s mini-update: James’s workshop in JANM

On Saturday, March 12th, I attended one of James’s workshops at the Japanese American National Museum in Downtown L.A.

Here are some photographs I was able to capture:

From the workshop, I got a sense of James’s work and why he holds these workshops: the flow of creativity from children is amazing.

James explained me to the different patterns he’s observed from the many workshops he’s conducted. For children, he says, the cities are built based on experiential qualities. They focus mostly on play and creating places in which they can experience the environment. Whereas, adults are most focused on the technical aspects of a city; like the need for a city hall, a police station, where their house is, etc.

I’m really excited as I am also near securing a workshop at Nucleus.

It’s been a little difficult contacting the high schools, but I’m working on it!

Tina’s Comment on Civics, Popular Media, & Participatory Culture

My $0.02 on cwang’s post, “Making the Case for Fan Fiction.”

 

Tina’s Reflection #5: Feedback from Prezi Project Presentation

(Click on image to view Prezi).

Today’s class was so exciting and enriching because I saw everyone’s enthusiasm and dedication in presenting their project. I really, truly believe that this course is one of the best courses I’ve taken at USC and just can’t wait to execute my project.

The feedback session that came after my Prezi presentation was not the shallow responses like “I really liked your project” or
“It’s interesting,” but more in depth comments that revealed to me that my peers were actually actively listening to what I had to say and thinking about how I could better craft my project.

Major comments:

All the comments were helpful and encouraging. One helpful comment I received today was from Stasi when she encouraged me to delegate tasks to the Youth Feeders, but also to coalition members themselves. Because the coalition is in a nascent stage, James and I brainstormed many ideas and though I am extremely exciting to work with him and bring these ideas into form, I must remember that I only have a limited time of a semester to produce deliverables to 1. complete the course objective and 2. to support the coalition by producing content they can use. Of course, I will continue to be involved with the coalition, but having a time line for a concrete set of deliverables is helpful.

That being said, the concept of delegating the numerous tasks that a group is burdened with when it is just forming is, I believe, the most effectively way to get the ball rolling. Stasi suggested that delegating tasks will not only increase the probability of deliverables to actually happen, but also contributes to the overall sustainability of the project by having many others involved in the process of the making of the coalition.

In my presentation, I mentioned the concept of community outreach multiple times and when it comes down to it, do I really know what this means and how I can effectively achieve this? Sasha suggested that I conduct research on what media platforms Alhambra residents are using. Local newspapers? Internet? Communal posters? In addition, I should take into account age groups and ethnicity. To truly reach out to a community, I must be aware of and actually be present on the media platforms that residents are actually accessing and paying attention to. A good example Sasha brought up is a middle aged woman shopping at the grocery store and reading a poster about the coalition in Spanish. I need to find out where community members gather and where they are more likely to be attuned to visual messages.

In regards to the mapping project that will indicate where Alhambra residents believe are areas that need improvement, Sasha recommended looking into other platforms other than Google Maps. I will look into Healthy City, Geocommons, Dipity, and MapLib as possible platforms for our map. The data from the map will be gathered during the workshops conducted in Alhambra.

Tasks/Other thoughts:

• Sasha also suggested I look at existing groups such as the LA County Bike Coalition for inspiration and support.
• I need to develop a more concrete social media plan. Which platforms?
• Revitalizing James Rojas’s blog or creating a separate coalition blog? Time line of postings?
• Create the project in a way that is sustainable after I leave.
• Have a place in the coalition meeting agenda to present ideas, brainstorm, and delegate.

Tina’s Reflection #5: Working with James Rojas

Now that I have the Youth Feed on board and willing to help with the project, I set out to meet with Ida Donahue and other residents from Scripps Kensington who were involved in trying to make the streets bordering the Episcopal retirement home safer for crossing.

Ida, Mary, and Fran were able to meet with me last Friday at Scripps. We spent an hour discussing what steps they took to getting the issue of pedestrian safety solved around their home in Alhambra. The group organized a workshop following their appearance at a city council meeting in May of 2010. They invited other community members, organizations, and other retirement homes to the event, but none showed up said Ida. They’ve also worked with California Walks to hopefully bring about change and influence on the transportation planning of the city, yet no tangible results have been produced since last year.

Luckily, I’ve found just the right person who understands the technical aspect of urban planning, policy, and political influence.

Alhambra resident, James Rojas is an urban planner who attended MIT before working with Metro for a number of years. I met with him today to tell him about what I’d hoping to achieve with this class’s project and if a possible collaboration could work. James is in the process of creating a coalition of community residents who are interested in addressing Alhambra’s transportation issues and advocating for a particular vision for city development. Falling under this wide umbrella are also issues of sustainability, the walk-ability, bike-ability of the city, pedestrian safety. He’s interested in bringing together individuals who are concerned about modes of transportation other than cars, such as cycling, busing, and walking and actually engaging local politics to answer their concerns.

We were able to sit down and brainstorm the multiple community members who could engage. Since I have already contacted Scripps Kensington, we’ll have senior citizen representation. I could also bring in high school students from the Youth Feed in addition to current college and recent college graduates in Alhambra.

I mentioned the media aspect of the class and he seemed very excited. I told him that I am well versed in making poster graphics, social media, etc. So far, we’ve talked about me photographing urban planning workshops and putting them onto a newly designed website for the coalition. James explained the workshops to me as a call for participants to design, using Legos and a hodgepodge of toys and objects, what their ideal city would look like. After constructing simple maps of the city, participants speak about why they built in a certain way and what they’d like to see be built in their city. Finally, the entire group works together and incorporates their best ideas into a cohesive map. These workshops are designed to engage residents and understand what they think a city should look like in terms of buildings and public space.

We also brainstormed workshop ideas at the Civic Library with adult residents and then at the high schools to engage youth. With these urban planning workshops, we’ll be able to gather information about what residents are looking forward to and what they’re not looking forward to being built in the city.

After meeting with the Scripps residents, I honestly didn’t know how else I could help solve the problem of pedestrian safety. A simple mapping of where they think are the most dangerous parts of the city seem useless since they are not too well versed in the entire city. However, after meeting with James, I feel as though I can really work with him on making a real difference in my hometown. Because he understands not only the policy side of creating social change in governments and communities, but also whether or not a solution is technically possible, that I’m confident that by working with him we can make some serious improvements in Alhambra.

James has organized a meeting with residents he has gathered next Thursday night. I will be attending.

It’s time to start working and I really hope that after the meeting on Thursday, I’ll be working on producing media to support the effort.