This week’s reading “prescribed” 5 minds that we need to navigate the future workplace. They include the disciplinary, synthesizing, creating, respectful and ethical mind. Definitely one that I’m trying to work out right now is the disciplinary mind because how do you know what to focus on or to be your craft? I’ve always thought I would never be able to fit into just one box/discipline/job. I think he is saying that we should master or specialize in something to be able to have a competitive advantage. However what able been a multi-disciplinary mind? I feel that our generation is moving towards the “jack of all trades” type rather than being “masters” of just one. Also being across disciplines would help with cultivating a synthesizing mind which his the ability to integrate ideas from various fields and spheres into a whole. Also with the emergence of the “portfolio career” people are more equipped with a diverse set of skills.

This video sums up his 5 minds for the future:

This week’s reading was a game of pace telling us to slow down in our technology heavy lives. Our research paper topic is narrowing down more but I asked a question to my group yesterday which was “Can we still have a high level of engagement without technology existing in the environment?”. I immediately glanced at the several laptops and phones that were placed on the tables or within eye sight around the room. An insight that I pulled out of the reading was that “neither the smartphone nor even the sheer volume of e-mail traffic drives the speed of work” or our lifestyles. The reading argues that we reach for other devices to relieve the stress and pressure that the devices MAGNIFY and thus it already exists.

Also, I always wondered which was leading the way, technology or us. Adams argues that we are co-creating it together. That technology exists as a mirror of us and society.

This is an interesting TED talk that explores what jobs we will be losing due to technology.

Cal Newport starts off with differentiating between two different approaches to thinking about work: the craftsman mindset and the passion mindset. Newport defines a craftsman mindset as a focus on what value you’re producing in your job as opposed to a passion mindset which is a focus on what value your job offers you. Newport argues that the craftsman mindset is the foundation for creating work you love.

I think the reading positions the two mindsets to be on opposite ends of the spectrum and not exclusive of one another however I think its possible to combine them both. For me I think focusing on what you can offer through your craft is following what you are good at or what your are interested in which can grow into passion. This is in line with his theory. He writes that you should just focus on creating meaningful work. My interpretation is that if you are in passion mindset you are too focuses on if this is the ‘right’ work you should be doing but if you shift your focus on how can I make this great then you naturally be cultivating a “passion”.

However on the last page he writes that your why is not as important as the how. However doesn’t your why drive how you do your work and your end goal? What drives you when you are facing struggles with your craft or your art? I think the why and the how are interconnected so it isn’t about shifting from why to how but more finding how they inform each other.

Elizabeth Gilbert offers a ‘softer’ approach to creativity and that is to follow your curiosity. It may lead to your ‘passion’ or not but you will be doing something you are interested in.

“Do content farms and freelancer sites exploit writers and erode the working standards of the writing profession? Or do they provide a previously non-existent opportunity for amateurs to get paid?”

This question stuck with me throughout the reading. I found this reading not as well structured as the others have been a little more dated. I would say that the answer to that question would be yes to both.

This is a more recent example of writers being exploited by a media company. Tracey Spicer spoke out about allegedly writers at the Guardian to write a 1,000-word column on women’s financial empowerment for ANZ for $140, which would come to 14 cents per word. She later goes on to state that many media companies trade writers their work for exposure and low pay. However she says that “the problem is it demeans the role, the task, and the job of being a writer”. Thus it would most likely produce lower quality writing. Also is the transition from freelancer to full time worker a leap? I wonder how many writers or even media creatives are actively choosing to work freelance or that is just a more feasible option when you are starting out?

John V. Pavlik (2015) Transformation: Examining the Implications of Emerging Technology for Journalism, Media and Society. Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications. 

This paper examines and proposes how the changes in technological advances particularly how they are becoming more ubiquitous and low cost is shaping the future of journalism and the media news landscape mainly through four key areas: participation, working method, content and organizational structures. The paper goes into details about certain technological advances such as mobiles, AI, drones etc. Since we are focusing on how it is changing the actual content and/or storytelling itself the paper highlights that ‘interactivity, immersiveness and three-dimensionality are among the ways storytelling is changing’ also that ‘Video games and other media forms are increasingly finding online, community-based usage’ (pg 12). This paper provides broad overall background about emerging technology that is influencing overall media which could be useful in pinpointing a more narrow focus for our research paper.

Janet Balis (2015) 3 Strategic Questions the Media Industry’s Future Depends on. Harvard Business Review, <https://hbr.org/2015/10/3-strategic-questions-the-media-industrys-future-depends-on>. 

In this article Balis outlines three questions that all consider balance in our current and future media industry.

• What is the right balance between humans and technology across the full media and advertising ecosystem?
• How do we maximize our creativity as an industry while integrating data-driven approaches?
• When and how do we shift our businesses from legacy operating models to ones that better reflect the future?

The article discusses more marketing and distribution in the industry as opposed to storytelling. However marketing nowadays is very story focused as stated in the article ‘ storytelling is the means by which we connect messages to audiences in resonant, meaningful ways’ and this applies to marketing, advertising and news journalism. This article highlights how technology is changing distribution to becoming more personalized and targeted. This may not transform how we are telling stories as much but to who, how and when we tell the right stories to the right audiences.

One of the most aspects of this week’s reading was the statement that despite globalization of media and content local tastes are still attractive and even more successful in some cases.

Much of the E&M industry is growing more global, but cultures and tastes in content remain steadfastly local.

Even Netflix which is an increasing global streaming service says that the future is locally produced content. Content is not only being shaped by forces of globalization but also by localization. It is interesting when global companies want to launch or extend their brand somewhere else they have to think through a lot of decisions about market entry in terms of not just directly distributing content but finding ways to integrate local characteristics, cultures and taste.

An recent example could be the launch of VICELAND that is partnering with SBS to deliver their international content to Australia. Another article wrote that it will be replacing SBS 2, ““The new channel will be owned and operated by SBS, leveraging the distinctive creativity and experience of both VICE and SBS creative teams”. It will be interesting how this play out and how they will integrate local content into the already known VICELAND productions. Also, surprising the managing director of VICE Australia said “This is a unique partnership that will help catapult Vice further into the consciousness of young Australians”. However, as far as I know VICE is already quite popular amongst young Australia.

Also another issue to consider with international content is that local content and mainly the industry still thrive for our own economic purposes.

Klaus Schwab states that the force behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution and thus all major developments and technologies in our generational future will take advantage of the widespread power of digitization and information technology. Schwab organises the interconnected megatrends into physical, digital and biological. Alongside describing the future innovations and technologies, Schwab also analyses and warns us about the potential risks associated with the technologies becoming over consuming of our work lives, individual selves and on broader governmental and national levels. Broadly, he warns to be well informed and mindful to not let technology strip us of our basic needs and human spirit for connection, compassion, self-reflection (time for ourselves) and belonging.

MIT clinical psychologist Sherry Turkle, coined this term “spiral of silence” when what individuals consume become very narrow and polarised according to their own viewpoints, political and social beliefs. Michel Martin, a journalist with NPR also talks about this in the context of journalism where more and more people are choosing to read niche/boutique blogs, newspapers etc. and they are able to select their bubble and not come out of it. Martin argues that there is an issue with the decline of the big newspaper and there is no gathering place for all us to come together. Growing up already in the decline of what is defined nowadays as traditional media (newspapers) I wonder if there was ever a place/median where everyone could come together? I thought niche/boutique media grew out of minority voices being drowned out by the majority or the norm. Also, with so many individual voices to be heard how can one place cater for it all? Perhaps on a less ambitious note, Martin describes that a huge part of her radio/podcast journalism work is bringing people together who would normally not meet. One place for everyone to come together seems idealist however striving to broaden people’s views and perspectives is always important.

There was a question that Rachel mentioned near the beginning of the studio about whether we had been noticing more to do with place and space and whether the concepts had seeped into our daily lives. I would say yes. I have learned to ‘notice’ and ‘see’ more and more the concepts of memorialization, place, space, memory etc. Even making the occasional joke of whether something is a place or space.

Throughout the course the concept that I was drawn to was the connection between memory and place and even memorialization. The Paul Gough lecture was fascinating as it talked about memorialization and even the negative sides of it which it not something I have explored a lot or though about. The lecture connected to one of my favorite readings this semester that was Shelley Hornstein’s Losing Site (2011). It explored if a memory could still be recovered if the place had disappeared. She wrote that when you thinking of a museum as well you don’t think of the painting inside but you get snapshot of the monument itself. Tying into that was the power of photography and our integral it is in recalling memory. These concepts of memory, photography and memorialization helped shaped my final project. I tried to almost pay tribute to Jennie Baine’s life through my work of curating past photos, objects, archives that relate to her combined with the presence of the place. Also to connect place and memory in the sense that the people’s first thought of the court place wouldn’t just consist of Ned Kelly and Squizzy Taylor but also of another story.

It was summarized in the final Tim Cresswell (2015) Reading, Place: An Introduction. “The very materiality of a place means that memory is not abandoned to the vagaries of mental processes and is instead inscribed in the landscape – as public memory”. It was interesting how Ned Kelly and various other stories had become part of the public memory and others had been forgotten or faded away. My project was a revival of what had faded away but also even a reminder that there are many stories within one building just waiting to be found.

While rereading it I reconnected with a previous concept of the “creative touristic intervention of curating place”. I am about to head off on a long trip overseas and itt was at first a bizarre concept that tourists, foreigners’ or people not native to the place could influence the cultural identity. I had this concept that identity belonged as an internal view but forgot to consider the external forces at play as well. We as tourists also curate through the sightseeing as we chose which places have cultural significance or hold importance to that place or personal significance to us to go visit them.

One of the challenges was learning to guide my own project without having as many weekly deadlines. Taking more ownership for my own learning. Before this class, I already thought I was a pretty independent learner and took initiative to get things done however it was different having to set my own standards for what I wanted to complete each week and having a very broad area of interest to explore was hard to narrow down as well. Compared to my other classes there are more regular set reading and tasks to complete however in the studio way I think there is a guideline but also a lot of room to go the path you want. However, this is also how it will be more in the industry (or so I assume), needing to meet individual deadlines and then greater shared deadlines when collaborating.

The studio was a new learning structure to me. I think that my creative practice needs more of an emphasis on pre-production. Also I recently went to an ad shoot through RMIT and they emphasized this as well. Having a shot list and exactly what you need to do written down. For them working with a bigger budget time is money. I love the spontaneity of filmmaking as well however I think it is aspect that I would like to build up as you don’t always have that freedom in time, especially with restrictions to building access like this time round.

I think a telling moment about my creative practice was in my editing stage where I hit a few roadblocks creatively. The repetitious and consuming nature of editing can leave you mentally blocked sometimes. Being able to have other people to offer a different perspective throughout the creative practice was a huge part of helping me complete the project. This media course emphasizes the need for feedback and critique amongst peers and then reworking based on that. I will continue to use that in my future creative practices.

I found that this studio “Ghosts of RMIT” informed me a lot about my own creative practice and parts that I want to improve. While it also delving into a new area of learning about place and space. This was definitely the most investigative class I’ve had in terms of focus on theories. I’m excited to see what other studios are next to further my learning.

Cresswell, Tim 2015, Place: An Introduction, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, USA.

Hornstein, Shelley 2011, Losing Site Architecture, Memory and Place, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England, UK.