Internet and the 2008 Election

Internet and the 2008 Election

During the 2008 election about 74% of internet users went online to take part in or get news and information about the 2008 campaign. This represents about 55% of the adult population and markes the first time that the Pew Internet and American Life Project has found more than half of the voting population used the internet to connect to the political process of an election. In 2004, the Pew Research Center found that only 37% of the adult population used the internet during the presidential election cycle. 

Six in ten internet users went online for news or information about politics in 2008 which shows the growth of the importance of the internet compared to other news sources. The overall political news audience has more than doubled since the 2000 elections. Because of this, the internet has taken on a much larger and more central role within the media environment and political campaigning. 26% of adults get most of their election news from the internet, 28% from newspapers, and the majority from the T.V. Moreover, for those under the age of 50, the internet is even more important. According to the Pew Research Center, politically active internet users are moving away from news sites with no point of view to sites that match their own political views. One third of online political users say that they get their information from sites that share their point of view. In 2004, 22% of online political users aged 18-24 said most of the sites they visit shared their vies compared to 43% in 2008. 

Nowadays, politically interested internet users have access to an enormous amount of political content online, along with new tools for filtering highly targeted political commentary. Users are actively seeking out information that confirms their beliefs and political views. 

Barack Obama's campaign took advantage in the increased internet users by using platforms like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter for free advertising. Mr. Obama used the Internet to organize his supporters in a way that in the past would have required many volunteers and paid organizers as well as a lot more money. Obama intensely engaged in online political activism leading to Obama supporters using social media and technology more. 49% of Obama voters shared text messages related to the campaign compared to 29% of McCain voters. 

Young Americans are the most engaged in the online political process but involvement in online politics in something that all generations take part in. Technology allowed Americans to navigate the voting process and share their experiences with a community. 

History of Motion Pictures

History of Motion Pictures 

While there were many inventions of cameras before, dating all the way back to the Edison comapny successfuly demonstrating Kinetoscope, French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere are often credited with inventing the first modern motion picture camera. The Lumiere's camera was different from others because it was a portable motion picture camera, a film processing unit, and a projector called the Cinematographe all in one device. The Cinemotographe was hand-cranked and weighed less than 20 pounds. This largely affected the types of films that were being made.

The Cinematographe made motion pictures extremely popular. Some historians have gone as far as to say that the Lumiere's invention gave birth to the motion picture era. In 1895, Lumiere and his brother demonstrated photographic moving pictures on a screen for a paying audience of more than just one person. They showed ten 50-second films which were mainly documentary views or "actualities" shot outdoors on location. Before the Cinematographe, Edison films were featuring material such as circus acts that could be taken into a small studio to perform before the camera. With both of these types of films they were only composed of a single unedited shot emphasizing lifelike movement.

In the United States the Kinetoscope had reached its limit by 1895 and Edison bought the righs to a state-of-the-art projector that was developed by Thomas Armat and began selling and manufacturing it as his own invention known at the Edison Vitascope. During this time, emphasis was placed on the projection device itself and films achieved popularity in vaudeville attractions. These vaudeville houses headlined the names of the machines instead of the names of the films.

In 1902, Georges Melies produced a 30-scene narrative that was nearly 14 minutes long and was the first film to achieve international distribution. It established fiction film as a mainstream product. This started the evolution of more sophisticated narrative and editing techniques. For example, Edwin S. Porter, projectionist and engineer who joined the Edison Company in 1900 began progressing rapidly into trick films and short narratives based on political cartoons and contemporary events.

David Wark Griffith known as D.W Griffith produced hundreds of one-reel films in the period from 1908-1912. However, Griffith and others in the industry wanted to move beyond the simple formula but industry owners were resistant. The dissidents left the east and found themselves near Los Algeles where they could experiment with longer films, subsequently, D.W Griffith froduced the first successful full-length feature film, the Birth of a Nation. Despite the intense racism of the film, it was significant in the way that is made movies a middle class medium and demonstrated the popularity of movies.

Zines

What makes a zine is the fact that they are small-circulation, self published, and often inexpensive or free short magazines. Arguably the most important aspect of a zine is that the publication and public audience will identify it as one. Many people who produce zines say that the community who reads/views the zine is just as important as the product and that is what separates a zine from other publications like comics, literary journals, websites and other forms of publications.

The first zines can be traced to back to the 1930s when they were made by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago. It was originally called The Comet and it started a continuous trend of science and science fiction relation zines. One notable science fiction zine started in 1943 and was known as the Fantasy Commentator and ran, not continuously, until 2004. One of the pieces in Fantasy Commentator advanced to become Sam Moskowitz's book on the history of the science fiction fandom called The Immortal Storm. Since the 1930s there has been a clear connection between zines and science fiction. This was ultimately reflected in the World Science Fiction Convention when the Hugo award for Best Fanzine was given out in 1955 and is still awarded today. The range of the zine has widened to include practically anything today. 

The production of zines experienced a great boost during the '70s when technological innovations made it easier to create zines. For example, the rise of copy shops allowed zine-makers to produce their work more effectively because it was faster and cheaper. Before this, zines had to be produced using mimeographs which push ink through a stencil in order to make multiple prints but it took too long for large-scale production. 

During the '70s and into the '80s the main hub of the zine culture shifted from science fiction to the punk scene concentrated in LA and New York. Punk zines had a grungier, more DIY aesthetic that reflected current events or the subjects being covered. Popular punk zines like Sniffin' Glue covered punk bands like The Clash, The Ramones, and Joy Division and even featured interviews with artists such as Lou Reed. 

When the punk started to gain popularity many popular zines shut down. However, in the 1990s, zines began to flourish once again thanks to the "riot grrrl scene". This was an alternative to past male-driven punk revolutions that encouraged women and girls to start their own band or make their own zine, anything to get their voices heard. By 1993, 40,000 zines were being published in the United States with many of them being devoted the "riot grrl" music and politics.

Today, zines have become more diverse than ever. With the rise of the internet, the cost of producing a zine is next to nothing. In addition online zines have become popular, elimination the use of paper as well as providing an easier platform for collaboration on zines. Nonetheless, zines are still sold in person at zine fairs and online through Etsy. 

Throughout history, zines have gone through predominant themes of science fiction, punk music, and the "riot grrrl movement" but there have always been zines on a variety of subjects. Today, artists are exploring the concept of feeling at home, feminism, humor, the environment, animals, and even a zine on zine culture. The possibilities are endless.