Crazytown

Social Media: NOT a Guilty Pleasure

By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

What is it about social media that attracts and delights us?  That hooks us into returning to our feeds and streams for nourishment?

Dear New York Times....

We are disappointed.  

We look to you for thoughtful, concise, well-researched event reporting.  You are not just our local news, you are the world’s source of information, and a trusted civilizing force.

As such, we needed help and insight to process Friday’s tragic events, and you plastered this disturbing, salacious & controversial picture (WARNING -- click at your own risk) on your homepage.

Did you crowd-source this image? In fact.. you did. The original photographer stuck his hand out the window to take a picture without an eye behind the camera; he even thinks the picture is too gory.

Where was the journalistic integrity in sharing this horrific iPhone photo? We are missing the point....

What did we learn from seeing this?  How did this editorial representation inform the larger community about this terrible crime?  

Or was its front-and-center placement just a ploy for more page views?  More web traffic?  More retweets?  Longer comment threads?  

Leave that to Gawker and Buzzfeed.  

Do better.

karmeck360  from the minds & phones (mindPhones?) of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
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Hey, I just met you... and this is CRAZY!

(created by Susan Ruth)

THE INTERNET IS FOREVER...so let’s VOGUE

 By Lindsay Meck // karmeck360

 

More than twenty years ago, Shaun Sperling was just another 

awkward Torah student from a Chicago suburb. Six days ago, Gawker made him an internet superstar with “Watch this Bar Mitzvah Boy Vogue Like a Man

.”

More than a million views and one Jimmy Kimmel interview later, Shaun Sperling himself, now a lawyer in Chicago, is surprised by the epic attention garnered by his leaked home video.

BUT HE’S COOL WITH IT!

MARS: I WANT TO GO TO THERE

LIFE ON MARS?  INTO IT!  By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

What superhumans might we discover on Mars?
Photo credit: @JMEDesign15, mARTian Director

What better way to nurse our #OlympicsWithdrawal than to widen our focus beyond competing countries to neighboring planets!

WE LANDED ON MARS LAST WEEK!

NASA’s Curiosity, the unmanned space rover, touched down on the Gale Crater (Mars’ equiv of the Meatpacking District) last week and has started sending pics home.  

HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

Well, McKayla Maroney is not impressed...

Our friend @KyleMWarren (playwright) lovingly put it:

“We've managed to shoot a car-sized vehicle not only into space, but to a planet 35 million miles away. And then we've managed to delicately drop this vehicle onto the surface. And it still functions. I can't even toss someone my iPhone without breaking it.”

#perspective

Our pal @DGMusic (composer) added this sage observation:

(I know you’re probably thinking I need to charge my phone?)

A huge event happened not just for our world, but for all worlds.  Thanks to social media, we are experiencing it in more forms than ever before.  Think about what this could mean for life. Could we be seeing on our smartphones what Earth will look like in 2 million years? Ahhh. Are we looking at a new land to colonize? Ahhh. I bet Mars is where Tupac is chillin......

Pretty soon the rich are going to start vacationing on Mars.....that Gale Crater looks like it is BUMPING!

WAYS TO FOLLOW MARS:
Mars Rover personal TWITTER
Mars Rover SARCASTIC twitter
Curiosity camera
and MORE
   

THIS WEEK IN GIF

Victoria Beckham --- does. not. care

Earth?  Mars?  Always Spice World

karmeck360  from the mindPhones of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
EMAIL HIM/HER |  FOLLOW MORGAN | FOLLOW LINDSAY | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

THE COMING OUT PARTY - Olympics 2012

By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

Animated files are winning big at 2012 Olympics.

BIG

When it comes to capturing the agony and ecstasy of the Summer Olympics, no social media is doing it better than the animated GIF. 

In a few quick frames, GIFs accomplish more than:

• VIDEOS - Between NBC’s scheduling delays and Ryan Seacrest’s heart-to-heart interviews, you could be waiting hours to wade through for highlights.  

(Seacrest promised the US Gymnastics Team that he’d introduce them to Bieber)

• TWITTER - Except for score reporting, sports aren’t text-based.  Unless you want to talk about Gabby Douglass’ hair or Ryan Lochte’s teeth, you want replays.  Plus in the time it takes to tweet 140 characters, Usain Bolt has already finished his race and won gold.  

(Newest internet meme: Bolt-ing)

So these silly, shareable, storytelling files are bridging the gap between image and video in a dynamic, albeit low-resolution way.  

Here are #karmeck360’s Top Five Favorite Olympic GIFs:

1. Diving. Tough stuff. Great bodies. Great expressions. 

 

2.  Michael Phelps’ mom -- Awkwardly caught celebrating too soon? That's ok.... Phelps does have 22 OLYMPIC MEDALS

3. McKayla Maroney. Jaw Dropping Judge. #youmustbejoking  

4. Roger Federer’s Collar Pop........

 

5.  Does the boat come with? But really... who cares about the boat...

 

And now...

In honor of all things viral and #ofthenow...

a new WEEKLY segment:

Yesterday is HISTORY...
Tomorrow is a MYSTERY...
But Today is a GIF! 

Getting. Things. Done

karmeck360  from the mindPhones of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
EMAIL HIM/HER |  FOLLOW MORGAN | FOLLOW LINDSAY | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

MORGAN JAMES' TWEETS MEETS RYAN LOCHTE'S TEETH

By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

Like our fellow CrazyTownies Gregory, Ryan, and Rachel, we also have something to say about Broadway actress Morgan James and the Tweet Heard Round Midtown West. 

For "The Woods are Just Trees..the Tweets are Just Words" post, click here to visit our karmeck360 site.

If you are sick of this subject, scroll down for pics of Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Because.... WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF HIM..............

AND HIS RETAINER FULL OF DIAMONDS!

AHHH!!  Accessorizing his Olympic 400 M IM gold
with stars and stripes grill...

 

Making his mark in Rome in 2009...style icon...

Grill also functions as a sparkly can opener...

Gold medal?  Or Hanukkah gelt?  You decide.

Newest Twilight cast member?  Team Ryan!

THOSE.............. eyes .........

The teeth are nice.... but aren't we all more curious about the area DOWN UNDER?

 

AND NOW.... THIS WEEK IN ADORABLE PUPPIES

A live PuppyCam. Say no more

karmeck360  from the mindPhones of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
EMAIL HIM/HER |  FOLLOW MORGAN | FOLLOW LINDSAY | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

 

THE PERFECT POP SONG, Part II

By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

Let’s continue the discussion from last week [Part I]

Another conversation has spawned from this image [above]: Does today’s perfect pop song require multiple collaborators? OR is this just semantics and a bi-product of a changing industry where EVERYONE wants a piece of the pie?

Did you know this rule:  

ANYONE who is in the room during the creation of a song is considered a potential ‘Co-writer?’

Some people fight this case more than others. They want their 1% or 2% royalty.

Let’s just say that you’re dating superstar Drake. And he dumps you. And you leave him a nasty voicemail. And he samples your message in a song. And you’re not credited. You can sue. And you may have a case.

You’re like... “WHAT? that’s not true!”  It’s true. HAPPENED.

You’re the coffee boy working for The Smeezingtons (yes.. that’s the weird group name responsible for some very recognizable hits) and you walk in while they’re writing “It Will Rain” and you are asked your opinion.. you give it.. it is used. HELLOOOOOO writer.

But think about it: Come Together by The Beatles is credited to McCartney/Lennon. I can only imagine camp Ringo is kicking himself for not fighting for his royalties.

It used to be clear who wrote what.  Many band members in the golden years didn’t fight for their percentages the way that they fight for them now.  For the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger (for the most part) contributed words; Keith Richards, the guitar parts. But as pop’s genres have mutated with the introduction of technology, the traditional definition of a song — a lyric set to melody over chord changes — has also transformed.  With today’s songs featuring elements besides lyric and vocal melody (riffs, bass lines, synth, dubstep, etc), songwriting credit is an ever expanding list...

We have to give up the search for the “perfect pop song” AND give up saying that “music is dying.” It’s all changing. The industry is changing. It’s our job as creators to keep exploring... even in a crowded room...

AND NOW...THIS WEEK IN ADORABLE PUPPIES!

#wanttohugyouandsqueezeyouandbeyourbestfriendahhh  (via BuzzFeed)

 

karmeck360  from the mindPhones of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
EMAIL HIM/HER |  FOLLOW MORGAN | FOLLOW LINDSAY | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

THE PERFECT POP SONG? WHAT?

 By Morgan & Lindsay // karmeck360

So the NYTimes is letting you build a pop song. Move over Build-A-Bear... Build-A-Hit is a HIT!  Point “Verse,” click “Hook”, choose “B section.” Play the perfect track.  

But is this reducing pop music to a Cut & Paste job?  Or IS IT a cut & paste job?  Mixed and manufactured by rich producers and top-line writers?

Is the media killing everything that is beautiful about listening to and creating music?

TGIFRIDAY THE 13TH

FEELING SUPERSTITIOUS?  
by Lindsay // karmeck360 

It’s Friday the 13th...ooooh

Here’s something supernatural from the interwebs and the always awesome IMOGEN HEAP:

Singing Salt Shapes

 

 

karmeck360  from the minds & phones (mindPhones?) of Morgan Karr & Lindsay Meck 
http://karmeck360.wordpress.com
EMAIL HIM/HER |  FOLLOW MORGAN | FOLLOW LINDSAY | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR