Emma Morris Essay

Student Number g07m1257
Word Count 1800

When the first computers when engineered and-for want of a better word- invented in the 1930's and 40's to help the code breakers at places like Bletchely Park no one knew the extent to which they would develop and change and become a mode of communication and expression. The first computer known as the Colossus which took up an entire room, few thought that they would have evolved the way they did and become such an integral part of the world's daily life. The computer started out life as a way to break codes and save lives no where was it imagined that the computer, along with the Internet would it become a major tool in communication. How ever it was not until the 1970's when what we now call the Internet was first developed. The Internet that we recognise today started out as a networking system that was only able to function on a mainframe model and confined to local communications in one specific area, "Before the wide spread of inter networking that led to the Internet, most communication networks were limited by their nature to only allow communications between the stations on the local network and the prevalent computer networking method was based on the central mainframe computer model." How ever exploration, ingenuity and experimentation with gateways lead to the innovation that was Web 1.0 which is the forefather of web 2.0; the Internet we all know and love. The static private version of Web 1.0 was revolutionised with the advent of web 2.0.

What is web 2.0 and why is it different to web 1.0? Terry Flew, in his 3rd Edition of New Media described what he believed to characterize the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0:
"move from personal websites to blogs and blog site aggregation, from publishing to participation, from web content as the outcome of large up-front investment to an ongoing and interactive process, and from content management systems to links based on tagging (folksonomy)".
The shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 can be seen as a result of technological refinements, which included such adaptations as "broadband, improved browsers, and Ajax, to the rise of Flash application platforms and the mass development of widgetization, such as Flickr and YouTube badges" Where web 1.0 was just a simple tool regarding the retrieving and saving of information web 2.0 is much more than that, it is a way of making the web more personalised and imparting some of your personality onto the information and applications that are out there. The term "Web 2.0" was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999. In her article "Fragmented Future," she writes[5]
The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in essentially static screenfuls, is only an embryo of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop The Web will be understood not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens."
How does the Web 2.0 aid an artist living and working in the 21st century? What does the total freedom and access to the information highway mean to the art world. With the total freedom of access to information the Internet has become ones own personalised advertising agency and P.R company. How? With the revolution and trend of the blog-or rather web log, an online "diary" or journal. The main question one needs to ask oneself, is "Why Blog?" according to the site "Microbiologybytes.com" blogging is a way and a place to think and reflect, play with technology, collaborate with others, be thought provoking and irreverent and slightly dangerous-like the blog artheat.net here was a blog that turned the conservative and somewhat traditional art world upside down and brought the power to the people. The blog is all about ideas and communication. What better way for an artist to get his or her work out into the ether and beyond than with a blog. The "blogs" that are going to be discussed today are Africancolours: a blog that deals with the art community on the African continent, Art News Blog: an international art blog and finally Art South Africa: a local blog that concerns itself with South African artists. This essay will deal with the relevance that each blog has to its community of artists, it shall examine how the blogs differ in style and information and how this is linked to the relevance of each blog to the information that it is supplying to the Internet public.
The blog "Art South Africa" is more of a website which deals with local South African art from around the country. The site deals with the usual website stuff such as advertisements and links to sister sites. The format of the blog/ site reminds one of a masthead and contents page of a magazine. This blog/site deals with art and artists who are "homegrown" and it has a very strong tie with the local artists. It has a very formal feeling, the primary colours featured on the site are predominantly black, white and red-which reminds one of that old newspaper joke. And that is what this blog is. A newspaper, or a journal which highlight artistic endeavours, it does not really give a young artist who is confined to a small town much scope to get their work out into the ether.But, and this is interesting there is a link to the magazines facebook page where one would be able to upload images, by way of photographs and pictures and things onto that by way of disseminating ones artwork out into the sub consciousness of the general public. The lay out of the blog is bog-or rather blog standard and is very user friendly with links and scroll down bars. It's not so much image driven as more text orientated, where as the international blog Art News Blog has a more image orientated feel as soon as the page open one is greeted with the image of a giant T-bone steak and a collection of food related images. The South African blog favours links to images and thumbnails-the artwork aspect is more subtle than the other sites. This blog is based in Cape Town as will therefore be more centred around the Cape Town art scene, but with Kalula and Onetime travel is an option. The basic feel of this blog is a contemporary established place-not Euroccentric at all it embraces the "South African" art spirit but is not chaotic in its creativity.
The second site that shall be examined in this essay is the international blog "Art News Blog" this is a more traditional blog in the sense that it reads like a journal entry, with personal touches, but also imparts information and reviews, dates of exhibitions as well as features on various artist's. This site is produced from the Blogging site: "blogspot.com". It is a very visually orientated site, immediately once that page has loaded one is given a selection of food paintings with quirky little comments such as "Potatoes are boring I don't care how they are cooked" next to an image of a painting of potatoes. The comments by the images adds to the relaxed tone of the blog, it is easy going and fun. Not as formal as the South African blog, "Art South Africa" this blog has a more personal connection with the viewer, that is not to say that the South African site was not user friendly-it was. This Blog just seems less formal, more fun and artsy. It just appears more appealing, there are video links to youtube, really making use of the web2.0 applications, where as the South African blog just transfers information, it does not help on create or play with technology. The artists that the blog deal with belong to the international art community, there are artists from Australia and Dallas featured on the blog, along with interviews etc. Giving a heightened sense of the international community. Although the actual features of the blog are fun and web 2.0 orientated the actual colour and lay out of the blog is somewhat bland and white. Which serves to highlight the art showcased on the site. As opposed to the African blog African Colours, the blog reflects the spirit of the canon of the artists and is not merely functional and used to disseminate information. The spirit of art seems to come through the African colours blog.
The third and final blog being discussed in this essay is the art blog based in Kenya, African colours and is a self professed guide to African art and artists. It features artists from all over Africa, Southern Africa included. As opposed to both other blogs this one is full of bright colours and images-almost as if it is embracing the joy and spirit of belonging to the African continent and community. This blog features an extensive range of artists and works, with links to portfolio's and exhibitions. The author of this blog in deeply involved and commit ed to the African art scene. The medium showcased on this blog belong to the wide range of mediums available to the artist, with sculptures and painting, photographs and installations being included. The one important feature that this blog has is a guide as to how to get ones work onto the blog, how to be included as an artist in the showcase. Which as a Young South African artist it would be an important thing to do.
So far this is the blog that makes the most of web2.0, it has the most fun with Internet applications and aspiring artists. It has a sense of fun and joie de vivre.

On the whole the Internet revolution that has lead us to this point, where as artitst's we are able to get ourselves out there with relative ease is far from over. The journey of the Internet has almost paralleled the journey of the computer.Like the Colossus at Bletchely Park, the interconnecting networking systems were confined to one concrete place but now the Internet covers the the length and breadth of the world enabling the information to be played with and not just received. The blog and Internet itself has gone through a remarkable change, it has gone from being available only on a computer, confined to a desk; to a laptop which can be carried anywhere. But now one can access blogs anywhere and everywhere including on ones cellphone. And the blog format has been streamlined, take for example twitter, the on the go anywhere blog. A mere one line to let the world know what you are doing and how you are feeling, and people can upload pictures and videos and receive SMS notifications. The possibilities are endless. The information is certainly no longer static. It can be uploaded any where and downloaded every where.