Eportfolio 3

Artifact #8: Health Online
http://gibbsm.blogspot.com/2011/04/artifact-8-health-online.html

Artifact #9: Spirit of Sharing
http://gibbsm.blogspot.com/2011/04/artifact-9-spirit-of-sharing.html

Artifact #10: Out There in the Dark, All Alone
http://gibbsm.blogspot.com/2011/04/artifact-10.html

Artifact #10: Out There in the Dark, All Alone

The article I chose is Out There in the Dark, All Alone, written by Manohla Dargis.  This article describes how much movie watching has changed through the decades.  Not long ago, going to the movies was a social experience.  It was the only way one could see new films because after they weren't in theaters anymore; they were gone--either disposed of or put to sit on a shelf somewhere.  Back in the 40s, a viewer would only have one option: to go to the theaters and see the movie before it was gone.  Now days, people don't have to go to the movie theaters just to watch a movie.  Viewers can now rent movies, use Netflix, watch from their laptops, or even portable DVD players.  People today don't have to deal with the inconvinience of going out to a theater and finding a movie that is showing that they hopefully will like.  Now, we can watch movies wherever we want, whenever we want.

To define terms used in the article:
Nickelodeons--Movie theater in the 40s that charged only 5 cents for admission to a movie.
Cinema--From the Greek word kinema, referring to motion and emotion; the art of making movies/films
Modernity--Newness

I would have to say that I would rather stay at home to watch a movie, for several reasons.  First off, I can't stay up for a movie to save my life unless someone keeps telling me to stay awake, so I suppose I'd rather just be in the comfort of a house where I could just continue sleeping after the movie is over.  Secondly, going to the movies is very expensive.  I understand how going to the movies is fun and can be a social experience, but with how expensive they have gotten it is just too much.  One could easily spend $20 at a movie after buying one ticket and a soda.  It is a lot less expensive to watch a movie with friends at home, providing your own snacks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/movies/the-24-hour-movie-and-digital-technology.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&emc=eta1

Artifact #9: The Spirit of Sharing

The article, The Spirit of Sharing, brought up many important points when discussing how art museums have been and should be affected by the social shift towards technology.  First, Vogel reports how much museum websites have changed over the years.  These sites have gone from being completely informative--stating the hours, various exhibitions, directions, and admission prices--to becoming more and more interactive, even to the point that one can watch a 28-foot tepee being built in the museum.  She discusses how it is great that people can communicate on the website about things they view at the museum.  Often people bring their hand held devices when visiting the museum which allows for interactivity between visitors both physically at the museum and online.  However, it was also stated how museums do not want to get too caught up in fads.   This is because fads often go out of style and they want to keep the essence of the museum alive, keeping the history and value very much present for years to come.

I think these museum websites are very cool because it allows for people to take in more information and be more involved in the museum itself.  Bernstein stated that, "We want to engage with our community."  The community can be involved by telling their honest opinion in order to keep the museum running strongly and smoothly.  If they don’t like something, they can tell the people in charge, and they will try and fix it.  The involvement factor also comes into play in other various ways.  For example, people can share things that they like or found interesting on social media sites to get other people to see the art.  This must be a good way for the art museums to make art known to people that don't appreciate it very much.  For someone who is not around it or doesn’t appreciate it, maybe they will see it on Facebook and it could strike an interest.

Artifact #8: Health Online

While viewing this artifact, I was amazed with how far technology has come to implement health online.  While WebMD is one of the biggest online health resources, there have been many more websites created that are much more interactive.  There is an app consumers can download from Mental Workout, which helps with psychological problems if someone doesn't have an appointment set up with a therapist or if it is not business hours.  They also have a meditation app which is the biggest selling app right now.  The next thing they talked about was social networks.  There is a website called patientslikeme.com which helps connect people that are suffering from the same diseases.  Patients can talk about which medications they are on and their side effects, which helps keep everything in perspective and helps patients feel like they're not alone.  Lastly, they discussed a new idea of health gaming.  There is a game for children cancer patients called Remission.  Remission involves nanobots that are shooting kemo therapy into the cancer cells.  All of these recent inventions will continue to make health online a bigger and better thing.

What I found most interesting about this artifact was the game, Remission.  I thought this was such an amazing idea because it puts the idea of battling cancer into something a little kid can understand.  They start to understand how they are fighting the cancer and helps their mental state too.  It makes their mind stronger, which helps them actually fight their cancer in real life.  Its great how much of an impact your mental state can make in your recover, and its wonderful that they can make a game like this for the kid cancer patients.