A platform for promotion

what an mission to put this up online. the one problem i have with the internet is you have to be invited onto a blog like this and trying to find the person responsible for that took a few days to track down. none the less rather late then never i suppose.

Web 2.0 has revolutionized the way in which we, as the digital generation, communicate today and it is hard to escape. The internet, created by Sir Berners-Lee, has developed in a way in which we can send messages almost with in a split second and can share information without much hassle. In just over decade the world’s knowledge is just a click of a button away, figuratively speaking. In these up and coming times people are adapting to the ways of faster communication and ways of promoting themselves. Most people that frequent the internet would be familiar with social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and most instant messaging programs, all of which are available due to Web 2.0 and all of which have changed the way in which we communicate. More time is now spent looking at a screen talking to people then actually talking to the person face to face. Despite the repercussions it holds for personal relationships and social skills these communication tools can be greatly beneficial as the bridge between countries is getting increasingly smaller and as said knowledge is more accessible to more people. In relation to the art world, the World Wide Web can be a major asset and be used to an artist’s advantage. Some artists even use the web as their canvas to their art works and purely by the amount of views that their site has received have become known for their works.

The topic which I find interesting and I wish to address in this essay/blog is that artists can now use the internet as a tool for promoting themselves and their works. They can expose themselves to the world at a low or no cost at all. Not only can they promote them selves via the web pages but can also find other sites that are looking to promote and broadcast up and coming artists. For an artist that wants to discover what the market would be for their works, this could be a very exciting prospect. There is a huge scope for individuals, which are unsure of how to start and build a name in the art world, by using the tools given by Web 2.0. By just creating a website or setting up a blog page, any one from around the world that comes across the web site will be exposed to that artists work. By looking at three different blogs from around the world, namely South African, African and international blogs respectively, I wish to explore and discuss the different ways in Web 2.0, and mainly the use of blogging could be used to promote or encourage the promotion of local artists.

The ways in which people blog is not necessarily dependent on to their location in the world but rather the reason for the blog. When looking at the ways in which people promote their local artists around the world depends on what aspect of promotion they are trying to achieve. A blog which wanted to raise awareness to a certain artist would post pictures and detailed information about the person in question whereas an organisation which is looking for local artists to promote would approach the blog in a different way which I will address a little later. It would be a major assumption to say that an American, for example would blog in a different way to a South African, although some people do blog in different formats and styles, but isn’t that personal preference and style? What would that have to do with where you live around the world..

Firstly I will look at the South African blog, Brand South Africa Blog. It deals with the promotion of a hat/helmet known as the Makaraba which is common in South African sports supporters’ attire. The main contributing factor of the blog is a YouTube clip taken from Business News 2010 CNBC which explains the whole concept and creation process of the supporter’s helmet. These helmets are constructed from normal everyday construction helmets and are transformed into, what some might view as works of art, which could be worn and later kept as a collector’s item. Each one is hand crafted and unique and originally decorated in the fashion of the different soccer teams, now branching into the national market and incorporating different sports, teams and countries. This blog aims to bring awareness to this product due to the up and coming 2010 Fifa World Cup held in South Africa. The blog also provides a slide show with images, of individuals wearing this product, from Flicka, a site devoted to the upload of people’s photographs. Links are also supplied so that one could follow Brand SA on Twitter (a networking blog). By logging onto this blog one would also be able to make and access the comments written about the product and the general hype about the impending 2010 celebrations.

The African blog that I have chosen to look at and discuss, African Art Online Blog, promotes the local artist in a different light to that of the South African. It addresses not only one but a few artists from around Africa, many of which have traveled over seas and done independent exhibitions with great success. This blog highlights the artists and back rounds with a few images of their works. Links to these artists’ main pages are given too making an interested viewer go and look at their work more in depth. Each of the blogs for each artist is written by the managing director of the web site and organisation behind the blog, Tania Bale. The featured artists are updated every month so that new talent is exposed to the viewers of the blog. One browsing through the page can also search for other topics relating to African craft and issues according to the categories which might interest them more then the featured few.

And finally the last of the blogs which I looked at is an individual’s blog from Lexington, Blueline, which appeals to local artists to display their arts and crafts at the Boomslang Carnival, local to the area. The writing of the blog is very colloquial and is written as if talking to a friend. The main point of the blog is to invite artists from the area to apply to showcase their works at the carnival without any cost, the main point is to display their works to the public and hope to make a name for themselves in the process. The intention is purely to promote talented artist despite the alleged “brain drain” that Lexington is apparently experiencing and to prove that there are still talented people within the community. Although the blog does not appeal or apply to anyone out side of Lexington the blog is still there for the world to see. To be able to share the knowledge to the greater playground of what the web has now become. The blog does not contain any special additions of links, videos or slideshows but it is what a standard blog would appear to be, just someone speaking out to the public about what is going on around them. Promoting and raising awareness of artists could be this easy, someone just letting artists know where there is a platform to expose themselves to the general public.

Comparing all three blogs above shows the different approaches to which one could go about promoting artists on the web, or even the different types of formats for blogs. In the case of the international blog it wouldn’t be necessary to add links to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and such sites as the focus is more on the up and coming artist in the community unlike the South African blog which consisted mainly of links, video clips and photos from other sites. In the South African blog this was the appropriate approach in relation to the market in which the product is directed. Its positive attributes would be that one wouldn’t have to read the article but rather just watch a 5 minute clip which explained the product entirely. To the lazy viewer this is ideal. These different approaches are directed to the public which would read or view them in a way which would best put across the message and appeal to the directed market. The ways in which one wants to advertise their art is now entirely up to them with great help from the internet.

Essay

Our world is an ever changing, and developing place, each day new things are discovered and become part of our daily lives. Technology is something that we have come to rely on in all its forms, from electricity in its most basic form, to all modern forms of transport. Technology has served well to make our lives that much more simple. Web 2.0 is probably one of the most innovative inventions of our time, it is dynamic, relevant, highly useful and something that today, most people have come to rely on for various reasons, from research to communication. The internet, or Web 2.0 has opened up hundreds upon thousands of doors that previously were difficult if not impossible to access. In the larger sense it is what connects the world today, and allows it to be referred to as a global village, where everyone and everything is connected. The internet first came about as a means of communication, and is still such, in many forms, from e-mail to facebook to blogging. The last of which shall be discussed and examples of an African, a South African and an international blog will be compared and analysed. Looking at the style of the writing, the aesthetics of the actual blog and the general similarities and differences between these three very different blogs. Blogging involves a process of posting up writings, from stories, to experiences, to memories to essays on the internet, the public is then open to comment on all the writings, giving their opinion as well as encouragement and criticism. A blog can be seen as an online discussion that absolutely anyone can take part in, a truly free-for-all, where freedom of speech is the main component. The three blogs that I have chosen to look at are all art blogs, generally discussing, introducing, and giving recognition to artists from Africa, South Africa and Internationally respectively. Blogs are a way of communications, a way to broadcast or share oneself, or as they are commonly referred to as online diaries. Just as I am now blogging about other available blogs!

The first blog that I will be looking at is entitled African Painters, which gives write ups about several artists from all over Africa, including South Africa, conversationally it discusses their lives and works giving informative blurbs about them in a way that is approachable. It includes artists worth their salts, artists of interest. Its own abstract of the blog is as follows:
Here is a blog about contemporary art on and off the continent of Africa. To push forward the concept of African cultural development I have created this blog but more importantly than that it's a place where we can blow-off steam and discuss the impossible task of defining a continent.

This blog archives back to May 2007, beginning with seven entries, in other words seven artists were first looked at. The blog is in no way narrow minded; it covers artists from all over Africa, in all the art genres, from drawing to sculpture, as well as including a look at fashion on the African continent. Designers as well as artists are given a chance to showcase their work on this blog. The works chosen to put on this blog are both unique and distinctly African, showcasing our distinctive African Heritage. “African Painters” the pseudonym that the writer of this blog has adopted , discusses, in a very approachable style the chosen artists work, talking about style, history, inspiration, medium, as well as making use of appropriate and interesting quotes to give each discussion that much more substance. The blog even looks at our own Jane Alexander, one of South Africa’s most prominent artists, a forerunner really. Artists from as far up as Egypt are given recognition as well, making this blog very cosmopolitan in terms of the African continent.

The next blog that I will be looking at is entitled Arcy Art Original Oil Paintings, originally a look at the work of Rudi Carstens, it has now branched out to look at the work of artists from all around South Africa. It describes itself as: Information on South African art and artist as well as the original oil paintings of South African artist Rudi Carstens. A very simple straight forward blog, that showcases the original artworks of South Africans, and gives large recognition to Carstens. The blog was last updated in 2008, which is a whole year more up-to-date than the African Painters Blog. However this in no way discredits either of these blogs. The blog began in January 2007, and has been frequently updated until September 2008. The blog provides background information, as well as discussing the artists works, their commissions, who they have painted for, as well as the conventional; style, medium and so on. The blog covers art genres from religious painting to wildlife painting, giving the reader a complete coverage, making one feel as though one has gained something of great significance, culturally, from reading the blog. Although all the posts are rather brief, they are thorough in their coverage of the essentials. There are also fewer posts on this particular blog as compared with the African Painters Blog. Again as in the African blog, the writer goes by the pseudonym, of the title of the blog, in this case Arcy Art Original Oil Paintings is the author. By keeping this blog brief and to the point, and by discussing artists that readers would find interesting this author has created a small jem.

The last blog that I chose to look at, an international blog, entitled Contemporary International Artists and Art Works, takes a broad look at artists from all over the globe, giving blurbs, like all of the above about these artists, basically discussing contemporary art in our world today. This blog’s archives date back as far as late 2006, and it is the only one of the three that I have chosen that is up to date, as in September 2009, meaning that all the work shown and discussed is relevant in todays day and age, and is still widely accessible. The blog showcases art work from as far abroad as India, as well as the traditional west and also Eastern Europe. The work shown and written about is of a completely unique nature, aptly falling into and characterizing the contemporary genre. Some of the work is the type where one has to look that much deeper in order to find the desired meaning, or not even the desired meaning, just a meaning that would satisfy the reader, however this is this blogs most wonderful point, and it is in this that I have found it to be the favorite of my chosen three blogs. The works are so different that one cannot help but appreciate them, the more one reads and sees the work featured on this blog, the more one wishes to see, and to carry on. The fact that it is so long and extensive is in no way daunting, as it might be for the African blog I discussed. If one appreciates art in its truest form, one cannot help but read on. I would say that the best part of this blog is the amount of Eastern work it shows. In South Africa, we rarely see such art, being that we are mostly exposed to Western art, along with our own South African art as well as African art. Learning about art, or anything really from the East is a refreshing new outlook on the way we see the world, as generally the West has given us certain preconceived ideas about the East, by mystecising it and attaching certain prejudices to it that we have come to accept as the truth, even though these ideas are so far removed from what the East actually is. (Edward Said’s theory on Orientalism).

All of the above three blogs showcase their wares in the best possible way they, as the authors know how. Each of them show contemporary art of all styles, and all genres within contemporary art. Blogging in itself, as can be gathered from the above is a wonderful way of getting ones work, as the artist, out into the open, letting the world see ones work, and along with the writing shows the public how exactly to appreciate the work for what it is. Blogging is an amazing way to shares oneself as well as ones passion for the world, as well as other things and people, i.e. artists and art. It has in essence opened up a whole new world for the modern artist, shedding new light on art that was never there before. Artists and art appreciators alike can now share their work and passion for one of the greatest achievements of mankind, from the beginning of time, to this very day. With blogging, the art world now seems infinite.

Soap Boxes and African punters.

In today’s technologically advanced world, putting one’s art and opinions up onto the World Wide Web seems to be a very simple endeavour. If, however, you are one of those unfortunates who are challenged in the area of technology, it is a bit daunting. ‘Blogging’ may be a tool used for many of years now, but to some, it’s as foreign as another country. I fall into the latter category and to be honest, I have paid more or less no attention to the world of blogs. I have never been a fan of technology and would rather have a discussion with some-one face-to-face, than sit in front of a computer for hours- getting a headache. This essay will therefore be my exploration into the ‘blogging’ sphere, using three different blogs as my test-subjects. The South African example is ‘Kelly Berold Photography’, the African one is ‘African Painters’ and the international blog is ‘New Art’. All three blogs deal with art within the countries they originate from. Only the South African one is familiar to me. The other two, I literally had to Google. That’s going to show how little I know about blogging. Incidentally, I’ve decided to write this essay in a more informal and, mostly, in the first person. As a blog ‘newbie’, I personally definitely relate better when the author appears to be speaking to me, not at me. I am going with the general blog aesthetic.

Kelly Berold is actually a friend of mine. This is partly why I chose to explore her blog. She is a UCT film and media graduate and has started her own blog as a platform for her work as well as to advertise her services in the photography and media industry. She has posted quite a few of her photos onto the blog and has given a brief and personalised statement about each different ‘project’. The tone of her blog is informal and colloquial, which is refreshing as a few other blogs that I have perused, have left me bewildered and lost at times with the amount of pretentious art ‘lingo’ being slung around a small and insignificant corner of the cyber world. Berold is not one of the contemporary art heavy-weights (yet), which probably contributes to her unassuming approach to her blog. Her site has colourful text and her photos incorporate lots of colour. It is fun and quirky- reminiscent of Cape Town’s hidden secrets. The talented little jewels-in-the-making, the students that will take on the world. Kelly’s blog is relatively new so she has not made many posts, however, she has still managed to showcase her vast range of talents as well as a professional veneer.
The ‘African Painters’ blog is big. When I say big, I mean there are a lot of posts. There is also a big variety of topics. They all stick to one central theme- Africa. There are mini-biographies on various artists such as Ingrid Mwangi and Eria Sane Nsubuga; ‘New Talent’ biographies on Kossi Ankude, Krisito Assangni and Anagossi Gratien; and quite a few posts reserved for synopses for a host of Alex La Guma’s books: “A Walk in the Night”, “Time of the Butcherbird”, and “In the Fog of the Season's End’. The range of topics is glorious. From Diaspora to African fashion design, it is all pretty much covered. No-one can leave out the subject of politics when it comes to a previously colonised country, and this blog does not disprove that opinion. Representations of ‘blackness’ and ‘Islam’s black slaves’ are just two examples. This blog is definitely more formal and there is a lot of descriptions and art analysis. It is a huge African blog that deals with the age old question, ‘But what does it MEAN?’. To some, that is perfectly acceptable. They have no problem being told what to think. I personally feel that one should make one’s mind up for oneself.

The ‘African Painters’ blog in no way shares the light-hearted feeling that one experiences when looking at the ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ blog. It is all very serious and not really about the promotion of people’s art. ‘African Painters’ is more about promoting other people’s opinions on artworks that they themselves did not make. There is almost a ‘hero-worship’ feeling to it- the bloggers sitting behind their PCs, firing word-bullets with their witty and intensely intellectual statements. There are quotations and articles attached to the posts on the ‘African Painters’ blog, whereas ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ does not have either. The former deals with a whole host of artists and issues, whilst the latter deals with only one person. Kelly’s blog was written by herself as were all the posts. The ‘African Painters’ blog has posts from various and different people.
Both blogs deal with art in different ways and have shown me what is out there in terms of locally as well as in the greater part of Africa. My exploration so far has enhanced my respect for blogs and people who go through the time and effort to set them up. It really is a great way to promote yourself (as in the case of ‘Kelly Berold Photography’) or to learn about new artists (‘African Painters’), as well as expressing your opinion to people other than your long-suffering friends, who have undoubtedly heard it all before.

The international blog, entitled ‘New Art’ is (as far as I can tell) a blog started by a Polish blogger called ‘vvoi’. It deals with mostly Polish art, as well as architecture, exhibitions, music and politics. It is written in the first person and is quite informal. There is an impressive post about Maurizio Cattelan versus Francesca Woodman. A mini expose about copying or ‘referencing’ other people’s artworks for your own. Beautifully clear and interesting photos have been put up to accompany various texts as well as to show the reader a bit about art that we might not know already. Mostly, the blog is focussed on ‘vvoi’s’ opinions and rants. The blog has been running since the year 2000 and is definitely the ‘oldest’ blog I have looked at. There are plenty of posts and comments- mainly from friends or acquaintances of the blogger.
This is an excellent example of what blogging can do. It can not only be a forum for discussion of contentious issues, but it can be used for social networking as well. One’s work or totally random thoughts can be read by others. The result of which is endlessly exciting: job opportunities, etc. It shows how an individual amongst billions of other people, can be heard- can be given a platform. An anonymous and become known.

‘New Art’ offers exactly what it says: art. Any form of creative thinking. In this way, it is the same as the other two blogs discussed previously. It differs in that it is not formal and ‘stiff’ like the ‘African Painters’ blog. It is, in the term of the colloquial, ‘chilled’. It does, however, discuss work that (to my mind) is not focussed on that much- Eastern European and African. Both sectors are really upping the ante as far as exposure and talent is concerned, and blogs like these certainly help with this regard. It also differs from ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ as it is not focussed on a certain individual- nor is it the author’s intention to promote his own work. It’s more a discussion board, which Kelly’s blog is not. It is a well-organised blog and quite easy to access- which, let’s face it, is the most intimidating part of joining the cyber-world. There is nothing worse than sitting in front of a blog and thinking, ‘what is going on here?!’.

My exploration into the scary world of blogs has come to an end. I have read and researched three different blogs- one South African, one African and one international- thus satisfying my essay instructions as well as attempting to conquer my fears of technology. All three these blogs are different in their own ways, but the most prominent difference is the tone used in them, respectively. Going from personal and colloquial, to almost militant in the promotion of African art and the ‘de-colonising issue’, to the laid-back atmosphere of Eastern Europe (who have just cause to lament the fate of their countries, but do not do so).
I do not know if this experiment of mine has changed the way I feel about blogs. On the one hand, it is an amazing tool that can and should be utilized to the fullest extent by those of us who are too poor to hold exhibitions or do not have the connections. And then there are those of us who are studying in the middle of nowhere in the Eastern Cape. On the other, it opens you up to, at times, quite nasty and unnecessary criticism from people you do not know. Also, if you are just too lazy, blogging will not make your life any easier.
To me, blogging is the cyber-age’s answer to standing on a soapbox in Hyde Park, straining to be heard over the jeers of the people whose brains you are trying to infiltrate with your own propaganda.

Liesl Brenzel AHV3
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Newspapers and blogging

The lecture series You are the Power: The Impact of Web 2.0 couldn’t have come at a better time for me. As a journalism and an art history student and just after this lecture series ended, Highway Africa, one of the biggest journalism conferences in Africa, happened in Grahamstown. The theme for this year’s conference was “Reporting Africa 2010: Development and Democracy” and the key focus was on information and communication technologies (ICTs). Therefore an interesting parallel was drawn between my two subjects: their future and how the Web can help to advance them.

Because of the parallel that was drawn between these two subjects, I decided to focus my essay on newspapers and how blogging can work to enhance them and allow them to reach a bigger audience. For both subjects, blogging allows readers/followers to critically engage with the content being presented to them and with each other. They create new platforms on which to view work and readers can comment on other people’s blogs or create their own platform on which to express their views. Blogs make use of the Web technology known as Web 2.0. This refers to web based on communities that allows its viewers to interact with one another and change the content that is found on the website. In other words, people can own and control the data/media that is on the site.

While the internet is proving to be a threat to the traditional print media, it is helping the art world to grow and become more accessible to the general public rather than keeping it as an elitist subject. The print world has had to adopt New Media into its vocabulary because of the dying nature of print and blogs are one key component to doing this. Nearly all newspapers now days have a blogging outlet for its readers. This means that readers can comment on the daily articles, contribute to the newspaper or read what is going on electronically and thus, you don’t have to be situated in the same area as a newspaper that you would like to read just as you no longer have to have access to a specific gallery if you would like to see a specific work of art.

I chose well known South African, African and international newspapers that have blogging sections to them, namely South Africa’s The Mail & Guardian, Kenya’s The Standard and The USA’s The New York Times. I thought that it would be interesting to see how different countries/continents handled the same concept of blogging and how successful/unsuccessful I find each of their blogs by examining their content, contributors and the user-friendliness of the blogs.

In my opinion, The Mail and Guardian blog – Thought Leader – is extremely successful. The website is easy to navigate and there is a lot of content on it. Thought Leader makes use of opinion and analysis by M&G writers, contributors and by anyone who has interesting, intellectual things to say. Anyone can become a blogger on this site however, people are screened therefore one cannot automatically become one. The site is screened by the M&G editorial team, therefore all of the content is of an extremely high standard. Well known people from the media and other walks of life are bloggers for M&G. Some of these names include Rhodes’ own Guy Berger, head of the School of Journalism, the artist Anthea Buys and politician Patricia de Lille.

Thought Leader breaks its content down well for the reader. There are tabs for the days featured posts, most read and comments. One can also view the different blog entries through specific searches like looking at the most popular entries, the contributors from A-Z, subjects from A-Z or by subject (art, media, sport etc.). While the tone of writing on these blogs is academic, it is not over the readers head and therefore almost anyone can read and enjoy the entries. As there are so many contributors (at least 100), readers can find at least one if not more bloggers that they can identify with or who’s ideas they like or wish to keep track of.

Kenya’s newspaper The Standard has a page that you can visit that has blogs on it, however I feel that it needs a bit more work until it is up to the same standard as Thought Leader. The Standard is not very user friendly at all. Once you have clicked on the ‘blog’ tab at the top of the website, you reach a page that only has five links on it. There are only four regular contributors to the blog, three work for the newspaper namely Rose Nzioka, Kipkirui K'Telwa and Stephen Ndegwa, and the final blog is the Editor's Choice.

The blogs are not broken down into topics or any other sorting mechanism besides who wrote them. One cannot view previous blog entries unless you click on the person’ name and a list of their previous blogs pops up on the side. While most blogs have a little blurb about the person writing it, The Standard’s blog does not. Beyond telling the reader what the person’s position is within the newspaper, there is no more information. While this extra information is not crucial, it is nice for readers to try and connect or find some common interest with the writer themselves.

With all of these criticisms being noted, one must compliment them on the excellent quality and high standard of the blog entries. While they mostly deal with content from the newspaper, they are thought provoking, interesting and they challenge the reader. They are not simply comments on the stories but analysis and intellectual opinions. Although the blog is not very user-friendly, once you get used to it the content makes up for it.

I was expecting great things from The New York Times blog however I was sold short. While there are a lot of different beats covered (arts beat, at war, media decoder…), they are seemingly jumbled and it is hard to search through them for an article that you are interested in because they aren’t listed in any particular order like with Thought Leader. However, under each section are a number of different articles written by multiple authors. These are interesting because they’re all varying lengths and there are often a few that cover the same topic by different contributors which allows for different opinions and analysis. This means that one doesn’t have to trawl through countless blogs to find a few that are on the same topic, they can simply click on the topic they’re after and there will be different views presented to them.

Each blogger does not necessarily write a new entry every day however there are always at least a couple of new entries on varying topics. The New York Times blog has an extremely wide base of topics, some to do with news content and others that are just for fun. The second critique that I have of the blog is if you click on the wrong article that isn’t linked to the blog then it will take you to another section of the website for example, World news. When you click on ‘blog’ on the home page, a new window or tab does not open up but the homepage changes to the blog page. This shows that the blogs are not a separate website as with thought leader but are simply an extension of the site. They do not have their own identity that they can stand on such as a quirkly little name or a catch phrase.

Overall, I feel that blogs really are an excellent way to integrate the readers into news content that is produced, keeping them focuses and keen to read more and thus helping to keep the newspaper industry alive. I expected the African (Kenyan) blog to be slightly behind in terms of technology compared to South Africa and the United States however, I did not expect for the South African site to out strip the American one in terms of user-friendliness and the look and feel of the site. I’m not sure if I’m being biased because I know some of the contributors of Thought Leader or because I’m being patriotic but I really feel that it was the best site if you’re looking for open discussions around news content and more. Web 2.0 has already helped the internet and applications advance by such an extent that I can only wait with baited breath so what is next on the agenda. However, social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter are really helping for journalists to become ‘digital journalists,’ thus reaching wider audiences. Blogs are one of the best ways to reach and keep people hooked on journalism as they are interactive and anyone can participate with them.

Essay

It seems a rather logical contradictory to post my essay on a blog in which I have already divulged myself of reading almost every single one of my fellow classmates’ essays. But nonetheless, it also seems silly to me to lose my DP this far in the game. So, I will make use of my true devotion to the age of information and quotation and sap all the gathered information into a culmination of my ‘oh so unique’ essay. And then revel in the pleasure of the fact that I cannot be punished for an academic fault in a non-academia field. Namely, the blog.
Oh the joys of knowledge.

Critically discussing three blogs spanning across an entire globe, and in turn relating each to a common characteristic, will be the attempt of this essay. And how wonderfully close lie the themes of a Western blog to that of the ‘African’ blog. An African blog, (not complete without the popular African theme of the Big 5) discussing the ever dying children of their country, wooden pots and curios for sale with limited, if any connectivity to the web seems so banal and unimportant when I could be reading the Western bloggers interest in how some self indulgent celebrity just bought their 4th mansion in the Hampton’s. The same celebrity who advocates giving and helping the less fortunate by buying the wooden pots and curios. I suppose it is important to note that this complete generalization and nihilistic claim has absolutely no substance as I haven’t actually ever read such and such in any blog. But I am almost certain that if I looked, I could find the ever concerned blogger spending all day writing about how said celebrity should be doing something about poverty in this or that African country.
That’s a lovely Mac laptop you’re typing on concerned blogger.

The nihilism herein is not intended to criticise the act of blogging or the moral values and ideals of the bloggers. In actual fact, blogging spaces must certainly be commended for the ability of having created a practically free public domain in which -amongst others- strictly religious fools (I mean folks; Freudian slip for academic purposes) and atheists alike can create anything they please and then battle it out anonymously on the commentary. It definitely serves for entertainment and occasionally, enlightenment. I suppose that to some it may just come across as an easy way of having your say without any physical confrontation, and for others that is exactly its attraction.

Amongst its other various perks, it can include the creation of alternate identities. This brings us to our first website entitled ‘Second Life’. I’m not sure if this could be a South African, African or international blogging site as it could be considered as all three. I’m not sure if it could be considered a blogging space at all, but let’s appropriate and explore for the ongoing prospect of gaining knowledge.
Second Life is a virtual world in which one could literally create a second life or parallel universe. It is accessible to anyone and free of charge (except for the fees Rhodes pays- but it’s on appearance not a physical dent in my pocket, so hey.) It works much the same way in which a blog does. One creates a profile, (fictitious or real) and as evolution goes, it differs from the traditional writing blog in that it enables one to interact virtually with other users across the globe. It is currently the largest user-created 3D virtual community imagined and designed by its residents. Each person, depending on their geographical location, can create their part of the world which allows other people to visit it. So if (in my opinion) I literally create Grahamstown, South Africa, Africa as a tiny bubble in the sky, until someone with a different opinion and same location extends or changes that, everyone in the virtual community will experience it as destination: Grahamstown, tiny bubble in the sky. Besides for that fallacy, much the same as all blogs, the life you create and follow on Second Life could be completely fictitious or anonymous and as extravagant as you please. Think Sims on steroids. For further information on Second Life: Second Life Info

The second blogging space could pass as my international blog. It is another appropriated blogging space that does not fall completely within the confines of the traditional writing blog. It does involve text (mostly) but is orientated towards creating a more ‘personal’ space. The website is called ‘Postsecret’ and involves individuals physically posting postcards with their secrets on them to the editor of the blog, Frank Warren. Frank then picks the top secrets and posts them on the website every Sunday. The fascinating attraction about this website is that people can create and divulge any secret about themselves or others to the public in a creative manner. It is set up as this immaculate ‘personal’ space created just for you. You know- the one where the whole world can read your secret. Right. I suppose the morality of such a ‘blog’ is another matter for another time. But it certainly holds for a brilliantly interesting blog space. People can comment on each postcard, again, much the same as the traditional written blog. For further information on Postsecret: Postsecret blogspot

The third and last blog I have chosen is a South African written blog by a very opinionated lady. Laurian Clemence’s blog is entitled Mushy Peas on Toast and is an account of her ‘true’ everyday day-to-day. The blog has won many awards (yes, there are awards for blogging) of which these include: best new blog, most humorous blog, most original writing, 2nd place in SA blog-off etc etc. I believe that the reason she has won so many awards and why her blog is so successful is not her wonderfully sickening pink background (which I’m almost certain was a joke on her behalf) or her ‘pansy-ing’ around with boring topics. She makes observations of experiences she or friends have had and posts these on her blog. Relatively simple one might think. But I suppose the real success lies in her brutal honesty. Oh- and probably her down right potty mouth. Nonetheless, it is a brilliant read.

The common characteristic I have tried to highlight with this analysis is that all blogs have the potential to hold a secretive quality. They utilise mystery and illusion, perception and creation, alternate identities or universes and the expression thereof.
The relative theme noted in all the above mentioned blogs is also the potential for anonymity and the seeming authorship we have over our ‘creation’: our alternate life in Second Life, our endless creativity in Postsecret, and a true expression of ourselves in the everyday traditional blog such as Laurian Clemence’s devil-may-care one.
As much as these are subject to different ideas again, of morality, blogging is also seen as process of self-reflexivity, exercising desires and the ability to choose to stay anonymous throughout this whole process.
In conclusion, I’d say that blogging with web 2.0 is probably ranked up there as one of the best forms of expression around and it is certainly the most interactive, information sharing tool around.
And it’s free.
Who doesn’t love a bargain?

g07c2484

kinda was hoping to add these with my submitted "essay"

student number:g07s5350

Web 2.0 is a form of networking allowing one to receive and distribute information within a certain network for example facebook and youtube. It has drastically affected the dissemination of information on the internet making it easier to find what you are looking for. This essay will discuss the ways in which blogging, which is a form of social networking, can be used as a tool to promote and market visual artists. By comparing three blogs, one international one African and one South African, which either focus on or reference in some way the Johannesburg based art group Avant Car Guard, I will explore ways in which the persona of the art group is marketed.

Avant Car Guard is comprised of three young men Zander Blom, Michael McGarry and Jan-Henri Booyens who joined their art making forces in 2006.They have worked in various art mediums together including photography, performance, painting, video and installation. The first time I heard about the trio was last year in a Blunt magazine-the only thing I can remember was being interested and slightly disheartened by their explanation for their name; there being no currency for the label Avant-Garde in today’s society. Since 2006 they have had many exhibitions in Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as exhibiting in New York and Berlin. In July they had a solo exhibition at the Brodie/Stevenson art gallery in Johannesburg. Within only three years of art making they are now being called the "Holy trinity of the local art scene" with their light-hearted, satirical stance and a knack for mocking the art world. I think their rebellious brand of art as well as their fashionable ‘indie’ persona and their use of marketing it, via blogs, appeals to the younger market. Many critics have stated their lack of faith in the group progressing “It always seemed that Avant Car Guards flippant and irreverent brand of art had a sell-by-date. It is expected for young peripheral artists to challenge the pretentions of the art world they are yet to be embraced by” With the title of their recent exhibition being “Scuse us while we kiss the sky (as in, we’ve hit the ceiling)” it seems they are aware of their ephemeral position, but with their striking, garish new use of aesthetic seen in their paintings their work seems to tell otherwise, suggesting that the threesome might just have a few more tricks up their sleeve.

CHANGETHETHOUGHT is an international blog I will be looking at. It began in 2002 as a portfolio for young American designer Christopher Cox. Since then it has expanded into a resource giving other artists and designers from around the world the opportunity to add and share information on anything arty or of interest (prophecies of alien contact in Alabama or new recipes for cooking a batch of methamphetamine for example of just a few). The Avant Car Guard blog begins with two brightly coloured images, The Bitch who saw tomorrow and Because you’re worth it; paintings exhibited at their recent exhibition. The brief description of the artists and their medium below the images sounded vaguely familiar, upon revisiting the art group’s website via a link given I realised it was a direct quote from their website. This brings me to my first observation upon visiting vast amounts of blogs on the art group. Plagiarism is easy and rampant especially in an environment where sharing is encouraged, there seems to be no structure that protects the ownership of text or images. This could be potentially harmful to an artist. Only later did I discover that Christopher Cox was the master mind behind the Obama advertisement campaign that flooded the media during and after the presidential elections in 2008, considering this I realized the site is probably quite popular and frequently visited, also further assisting the advertisement of the art group. At the end of the blog there is the option to ‘share + bookmark’ the page, I didn’t know what this was at first but with a little exploring I found this option gives the reader the opportunity to pass on the information to anyone one of a range of ‘bookmarking sites’ including ‘stumbleupon’ and ‘digg’ where the information could be disseminated among a different network of art hungry individuals. At the end of the page there is a space for one to leave a comment and share ones thoughts and opinions on the artwork.

The second blog is called 54BEATS which is dedicated to bringing unity to African youth. It is an open space for African writers, journalists and artists to share and locate news concerning politics, economics, arts and culture. The website encourages freedom of speech, expression and activism. In comparison to the last blog this site focuses on communicating up and coming news to the members. The blog on Avant Car Guard is basically an advertisement for the exhibition they had in April at the What-if-the-World gallery in Cape Town, it gives a short description of the exhibition, two images of their work from the exhibition and a photo of the artists. This brings me to my second observation of how blogs can be used to create and promote an artist’s persona- When talking about a persona I am acknowledging that any artist working in the public sphere intentionally or unintentionally creates a personality that can be very helpful to the audience in relating to or orientating themselves around the artist. In Avant car Guarde’s case they are conscious of their group having a ‘punk sensibility’ as described in an interview with Robert Sloon. This punk persona is portrayed through their photograph displayed in the blog, through their posture, clothing and setting. Through this photo one can’t help but think that these guys are “hardcore”. There is also a link given to the Gallery’s website for the reader to find out further information about the exhibition. At the bottom of the page is a space to post comments and start discussions related to the blog.

The South African blog I will be discussing is Avant car Guard’s own blog. They have a myspace page, but the blog that I want to focus on and which I find most interesting is their photoblog. It is frequently updated compared to their myspace blog and I’m guessing it is the most popular being the only blog advertised on their website. Basically the blog is one long strip of photographs arranged in chronological order. To the right of the photos is an archive bar giving the viewer the opportunity to select an exhibition title or month.It gives the viewer the privilege of stepping into their world by being able to view the creation process’ of their art works, the set up of their work in the gallery space, the exhibitions and shows, the after parties and documentation of their travels. This blog best promotes their persona because it is created and updated by the artists themselves. They have control over how they want to be perceived through these images, which is in keeping to their punk sensibility. In a recent interview with Robert Sloon Avant car Guard expressed their views on how they see themselves.

Michael Mcgarry: I don’t think it’s that strategic, we wanted to make things that were very authored and confuse the issue further.

Zander Blom: I think 80% of that was “Fuck lets try this!” a big part of its trying new stuff.

Jan-Henri Booyens: Someone gets an idea and we execute it. Someone says “hey lets build a raft”, then we build a raft.

ZB:It’s a thing of hanging out, getting drunk and coming up with ideas. It’s not sitting down and this is our fucking manifesto, this is what we work with this is our brand.

Avant Car Guard Is a lifestyle an attitude and the photographs on this blog I think do the best promoting for the art group by holding to and displaying their ethos.