Vanlife

A girl called Delphia in a study In a bright and happy bedroom, Delphia, a primary school girl is sprinkled small fragments of bio-material into a petri dish. She watched the tiny fractals, made intelligent by a Wi-Fi connection, autonomously self-organize into various new tiny species of gadgets.  The box revealed the toy was one of those Occupy Internet-of-Things starter colonies that parents routinely provided their children. The kits were routinely used to teach ethics in … Read More

My recent experiences with gamification. 1) Connecting with the Community I started collaborating and gamifying the experience early on the #alm201 hashtag by introducing myself via video and then continued to contribute and respond to other students’ efforts. I responded to the layered quests Adam (our unit coordinator) set, and by liking, commenting, awarding gifs, follows and comments to the other students in the group I was rewarding and encouraging them. Together we built a gamified … Read More

The role celebrities play in promoting cosmopolitan values over communitarian tribalism was highlighted in the recent presidential inauguration of Donald Trump which was shunned by many A-list celebrities. This was contrasted with the widespread support for anti-Trump rallies like Alec Baldwin’s. Trump’s communitarian, tribal and divisive America first campaign strategy which was an affront to outsiders didn’t vibe well with many celebrities cosmopolitan sensibilities. This othering of outsiders struck an empathetic chord with those celebrities whose … Read More

This is my undergraduate video and exegesis attempt at understanding celebrity culture and authenticity. Also, see the follow-up article The Democratising Potential of Celebrity and Cosmopolitan Solidarity My video (below) opens with scenes from the French dystopian short film Logorama (2009) which is a critique on “the loss of real authenticity” in a world which is dominated by self-branded, celebrity-styled individuals. Banet-Weiser (2012 p. 3) describes Logarama reflecting ‘a world where brands are everywhere, even culture … Read More

The Wanderlust of #Vanlife (2015) examines the travelling and blogging movement established by Foster Huntington, who quit a Manhattan corporate job to travel full time in Volkswagen. Huntington says, “I felt like I was kind of pissing away my 20’s doing that” and changed to a more authentic way of making a living, documenting his travels on social media. The documentary examines the phenomenon of Huntington and others becoming social media blogging, and Instagram sensations with, … Read More

Question:  You make some interesting points, though I do find myself finding a great deal of beautiful serendipity in media-making too… Thanks also to Adam Brown for sharing these ideas on Serendipity: Answer:  Sure. A great insight you have presented to explore. Let’s think of serendipity as those happy accidents that seem to happen by chance.  And if there is a way we can enhance serendipity which will help us connect the dots across disciplines and … Read More

Ideology and the #Vanlife Movement   Episode 2 of the Vanlife Culture Series     The Wanderlust of #Vanlife (2015) examines the travelling and blogging movement established by Foster Huntington, who quit a Manhattan corporate job to travel full time in Volkswagen. Huntington says, “I felt like I was kind of pissing away my 20’s doing that” and changed to a more authentic way of making a living, documenting his travels on social media. The documentary … Read More

This is Episode 1. in the Van life Culture series. Where we put the lens on the van life travelling and blogging movement established by Foster Huntington, who famously quit a Manhattan corporate job to travel, and blog full time in Volkswagen. 4 minutes 45 seconds + music. Reflecting on the Podcasting Process in 600 Words Topic: If you have followed my blog and social media channels, you know by now about my interest in van … Read More