Author Archives: Tyler Krueger

Week 13: Process Post

I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone by, it feels like just yesterday we were sitting in class soaking up the last of the September sun. Over the course of these past thirteen weeks, I’ve built my own personal public domain, inviting readers from all over the internet to my little corner. I feel more open and honest than I’ve ever felt online. As a product of generation Y, I’ve spent the vast majority of my young life on the internet, posting, commenting and sharing bits and pieces of myself. Being able to write creatively has given me a space to share who I really am without my face painted and my hair curled. From one of the readings this week, Van Dijck (2013), paid reference to Erving Goffman who presented the ‘front stage’ and ‘back stage’ self. Essentially, who you are on the front of the stage is who you are in front of the audience- on your best behaviour and who you are on the back stage is who you are when no audience is present. Before I started blogging, my front stage self was primarily the face I used online but it’s not who I am every day. In order to stay true to who I really am, I needed to share my back stage self as well and building this blog has not only given me a space to do so but also encouraged me to present my backstage self on my other social platforms.

It’s always been a dream of mine to create, to share with the world my own discoveries, and to inspire those who were just like me. As I got older, this dream seemed to get farther and farther out of my reach. I have always wanted to do Youtube videos, since I was eight years old I knew that I wanted to be a face in front of a camera talking to a world-wide audience. I knew I had something to say, something to share. When we’re young, we’re encouraged to let our wildest dreams soar, but as we age we get discouraged by the judgements from others and let our dreams fade. I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet so many beautiful and brave people in the local creative industry who have inspired me to live out my wildest dreams. I started my YouTube channel shortly after I created this domain and I’ve promised myself to never let that dream of mine die. I know it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I don’t want to waste another minute not creating or doing what I love. In order to get good at something, one needs to stay true to their craft. Jesse Thorn (2012), wrote an incredibly strong article of the twelve steps to 1000% no fail success. The article gave way to methods to keep one on track with their goals and to never stop dreaming. I don’t worry about my future in the creative industry because I believe in my what I do and know that with a strong work ethic I can achieve exactly where I want to be, and I want to inspire others to do the same.

You shouldn’t be asking yourself if your dreams are crazy. You should be asking yourself if you dreams are crazy enough.

References

Thorn, J. (2012). Transform Review: Jesse Thorn. Retrieved from https://transom.org/2012/jesse-thorn-make-your-thing/

Van Dijck, J. (2013). ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn. Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 199-215. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443712468605

Just the Beginning

It’s been a whirlwind of a semester! As I spend more time at SFU, they seem to get shorter and shorter. I remember in my very first class here- which happened to be CMNS 110, Daniel Ahadi said that “it would be Christmas in mere minutes,” and he was right. 

From start to finish, this blog has been a space for me to express how I feel inside and out as I continue to venture farther and farther into Vancouver’s creative industry. I’ve participated in fourteen shoots, created three major Youtube videos, and walked in a local fashion show. In these past thirteen weeks I haven’t thought much about what I’ve been doing as it’s been a regular routine since July. Although I’ve slowed down rapidly since the weather hasn’t been as permitting, I still feel fully engulfed in the creative industry. With that being said, I was able to open up about some of my personal struggles I’ve faced while trying to break into the industry. This platform gave me an open space to talk about how I feel well beyond a photo. When I first started this blog, I didn’t consider myself a model but now I feel like I’ve definitely earned that title. Even though it was never something I wanted to do, I’m out here every other week standing in front of a camera. I am so incredibly thankful for all the wonderful, creative people I’ve met along the way who have pushed me to create content beyond my wildest dreams. As I’ve gotten older, there definitely have been times where I’ve questioned if being a content creative is where I want to invest the rest of my life. There are times when I’ve asked myself if this dream is just a dream. And there are also times where I’ve pushed all those doubtful feelings aside and just done what I’ve always done best, which is to entertain. 

@778co
@lostportrait
@arjayneyra

For a solid couple of weeks, I struggled to pump out content. Especially during the peak season of papers and unpredictable weather, my creative gears have been getting quite locked up. As you may have noticed, I added another menu option to my site. As I started building up a digital portfolio, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was absolutely insane and completely gratifying to see how many different things I’ve been so lucky to be apart of. Not only have I had the pleasure of working with different brands and companies as a model, but I’ve been able to meet and make connections with those on the team who have inspired me to keep creating and do what I love. Sometimes it’s hard to see the impact you’ve made until you finally take a step back to enjoy all you’ve done. 

I understand that yes there are times I push too hard, and there are times when I prioritize my creative life before other important parts of my life, but I’m still learning. Since day one, if I wanted something in life- and I wanted it bad enough, I knew that no matter what it was, I would go to the ends of the Earth to go get it. No matter how much I’ve always wanted to create, I’ve had my doubts- mostly because I wonder if it’s a stable career path, if I’m getting too old, and if I’m relevant enough…The only thing standing in front of me and my creative life is and always will be myself. It’s a personal problem, but what can I say? The first step is admitting. I’ve seen an exponential amount of growth within myself and that has been mirrored in the content I’ve made.

I know I’ve always worried about graduating SFU with all but a piece of paper in my hand- but I know for a fact, that if I actually want this life for myself as much as I say I do- when I walk by the AQ pond and stare down at my reflection, I’ll have far more to my name than just that piece of paper. Most people would think that graduating university would be the end of a chapter, but for me, it’ll just be the beginning.

Week 12: Process Post

I haven’t received many comments on my domain as of yet, but I’m definitely one to take a peep at what people are saying about my online presence on my other social platforms. In all honesty, in the entire span of time I’ve spent having an online social presence (about 13 years now), I’ve only ever received one or two negative comments- both of which came from my own brother. 

I have a very creative presence online through both mediums of photos and video, which has allowed my followers to take in what I do and judge it on a daily basis. I believe that if I were to receive more negative feedback on my creative works I wouldn’t be hurt. We put ourselves online to be noticed, by leaving our profiles public we are openly inviting strangers to judge us. In that sense, I don’t think it would be fair to get mad at someone who leaves a nasty comment on my page because there are always going to be people who want to throw in their ten cents. I believe that a lot of this online harassment that was brought up in the readings is largely due to anonymity, which lets people hide behind their keyboard and troll others as they wish (Konnikova, 2013). I believe that by removing comment sections is allowing the trolls to win, it’s basically saying that you care so much about what they say that you don’t want anybody to say anything at all. To reference Jon Ronson’s Ted Talk (2015) about Justine Sacco, it’s true that the online world being a negative space, but it can also be a very positive space that promotes growth in small communities. We cannot control what others say about what we do or how they voice their opinions, but you also have a choice in staying online or offline.

As a creative, not everyone understands what I do, or why I do it, but I stand by my own work whether there be negative comments or not. If you know who you are and believe in your own work, these comments shouldn’t affect the content you post. However, for the purposes of this process post, I have written up one community guideline to follow on my domain. 

House Rule:

  1. Anything flies. Negative comments, positive comments, it’s all fair game.

I understand that my guideline is not much of a rule, but in my personal opinion, I believe that people should be free to their personal opinions whether it be on my domain or not. I keep all my social media accounts public which leaves them open for like-minded creatives to comment which has nearly always filled my inbox with positive feedback. If I’m going to put myself online, I am 100% ready to face any backlash that comes from what I do because I’m openly asking others to comment on my work. Art is subjective, free to interpret, free to troll, I believe in what I do and I wouldn’t stop creating over a nasty comment or two.

References

Konnikova, M. (2017, June 19). The Psychology of Online Comments. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments


Ronson, Jon. (2015). “When Online Shaming Spirals Out of Control.” https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_ronson_what_happens_when_online_shaming_spirals_out_of_control?language=en

Vancouver International Fashion Gala

This week I had the pleasure to walk in the Vancouver International Fashion Gala (VIFG) on Saturday night. The theme of the night was Renaissance, which focused on the change in art in culture in Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. 

About a month ago, I applied for the casting call for the fashion show but unfortunately, I got sick the night before and couldn’t make it. I’m not going to lie, although I was sick, I was also extremely nervous to walk in front of a panel of judges since the last time I went to a casting call I didn’t make the cut. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to receive an email a few days later from the head coordinator of the event asking for my measurements and just like that, I was in the show. At this point, I couldn’t turn down the offer and this wasn’t an opportunity I wanted to leave in my inbox.

The event was held at the Vancouver Club, near Coal Harbour. I showed up for call time at 1:00 pm and walked into a room of complete chaos. Since this event is run solely by volunteer work, there were people running around everywhere. But to be quite honest, I thought it was absolutely amazing. The amount of real emotion you saw from people made the entire experience feel like the real deal. 

My designer, Helene Hawthorn was unable to attend the show, so me and a group of three other girls got fitted last. Despite that, it was such a surreal experience to have someone personally fit me into my garment. After, I got my makeup professionally done for the first time. I’m so used to doing everything myself that I felt extremely special when I had others doing it for me. Halfway through makeup I was told that it was time for my section to head to the ballroom for the practice walk. 

This was the most daunting part of the entire night, I was told that we’d be walking toe to heel which is different than most runways as you are putting the majority of your weight in your toes. Due to the theme, we were supposed to pace ourselves as if we were walking down a wedding aisle as it gave the audience enough time to look at our entire ensemble. The runway was in the shape of a ‘U’ which makes your overall duration on stage much longer than an average catwalk. I only got one chance to practice down the runway, and in that moment wobbling all over the place I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. Although there was much self doubt, I knew that I had come much too far in the day to back out because of my raging nerves.

After I finished the practice walk, I went back upstairs to get my hair done. The team wove a large five pound crown into my hair and any finished the final fitting for my garment. The doors opened at 7:00 pm but we didn’t go on stage until half past. My section opened the show, and as we were lining up behind the stage, a wave of anxiety washed over me. It was as if everything I had been working up to in my career came up to this one point in time. 

Runway is extremely daunting being well below the average height. I was the shortest model to walk that night besides the child of the production manager. After I was all dressed up, I felt like I belonged right beside all the other models. The minute I walked on stage, I took a deep breath and let my vision focus on one single point. From there I began walking and I wasn’t anxious or scared, I felt like I was completely in my element. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have any high resolution photos taken from the event just yet, but I’ve included a couple of photos for you to get an idea of what I was wearing for the night. 

Lastly, I was lucky enough to have Gary Mo (@yuen.wm) as my special guest. I’ve written many blog posts about Gary, and I was very happy to have him there supporting me. 

After nearly a semester worth of blog posts, I’m beyond excited to be able to share this moment not only with those from VIFG, but with you. I’ve been apart of many different things in the creative industry, but never a full-scale fashion show and I really do feel as if it tested all my strengths and weaknesses. I still have one more post for next week, so to almost come full-circle, I am beyond thankful to Nina Pak for asking me to join the show. This was one of the most telling moments for myself as I was allowed to do something that I’d normally not be allowed to do because of my height. It was an incredible night and I hope to be walking in more runways in the near future.

Essay #2

When I walked into this class, I was beyond excited because I knew publishing was something I had always wanted to do. I already had an extremely active presence on the online realm, but after looking back at these thirteen weeks only now do I realize how little my presence was online. Before I get into my experience as an online publisher, I want to share a little story with all of you.

I’ve told bits and pieces of this story throughout both my weekly process posts and blog posts but I don’t think even I fully understand the impact of what this blog has had on me until now. Ever since I was eight years old, I knew I wanted to live a part of my life online. I would sit on YouTube for hours on end shamelessly watching people all over the internet who were living these fun, creative lives. At the tender age of eight I knew it was always something I wanted to do in the future, but it would have to wait several years. This was my very first mistake in creating content because content doesn’t wait for the most ideal time to be created. Creativity comes and goes, and that’s exactly what happened as I got older. It’s unfortunate to say but as children grow into young adults they lose that carefree attitude, we go from “nothing will ever hurt me,” to “why is the whole world against me?” in a very short period of time. The entire time I was in high school I was struggling to find out who I was and who I wanted to be.

Within my last few years of high school I began working out quite a lot, I hopped onto an application called, Blogilates which was developed by YouTube sensation, Casey Ho. I was accepted into a community of people who were just like myself. We were all sharing our stories as we were trying to reach our desired fitness goals. At first, I was hesitant to share parts of myself but I realized that nobody knew who I was so I’d be okay with sharing parts of my fitness journey as well (Suler, 2004). Over the course of a few months, I was regularly featured on the hot topics page and soon accumulated over 800 followers. It was an amazing feeling to have an online profile that was used for helping others, I would be answering hundreds of messages everyday about my fitness routines and how to stay motivated. With all the positive feedback, I eventually made an Instagram account that was specifically about my fitness journey, and that’s where I began fitness modelling. Three years down the road I would’ve never imagined that I would be working in Vancouver’s modelling industry. Around the same time when I created my fitness Instagram, I had also created a finsta account which is essentially an account that I created to share my daily life with my closest friends. Before I knew it, my entire high school followed that account, liking my daily posts. Through that, I created bonds with everyone in school and eventually it had landed me a slot at both president and valedictorian. I had always wanted to inspire and help others. I believe that this goal has always remained the same, from this specific moment in time until now.

Fast forward to my first couple years of university.. Things took a dramatic change, I was at a new school, going from 150 kids to over 35,000 kids, I was in a new city and I had never felt more alone in my life. I clutched onto my finsta like it was the only thing I had because at the time, it felt like it was the only real part of my old life that I could control. Somewhere between the ages of 8 and 18, I had lost the desire to create. I stopped working out and let university consume my every being, I fell into a cycle that I didn’t know if I could ever drag myself out of. I’ve never had depressing feelings and for the first time I felt depressed. However, I still knew I wanted to create, so much so that I invested in a DSLR camera in December of 2017. Only within these last few months have I actually picked the thing up and used it for what I had initially intended for. As I’ve mentioned before, I had never considered myself a model, I started fitness modelling to promote my fitstagram and to motivate my followers. It wasn’t until my second year of university when I started posting more on my main Instagram account (@tyler.krueger) and creatives started reaching out to shoot. Since then, I’ve developed my user base primarily on Instagram as it encourages people to have a voice and tell their personal stories through their words and their pictures. Not only does Instagram lead access to over 800 million active users, but it’s also used as a primary business tool (Norman, 2019). At the time, I didn’t think much of it because it was never a goal of mine to take still snapshots forever. Looking at it now, I don’t think that if I had spent so much time in front of a camera meeting people all over the city, I wouldn’t be able to get online and start my YouTube channel. Through modelling, I have found it within myself to let my creative outlet soar. Although it might have not ever been an end goal of mine, I have gained back that confidence within myself to stop caring about what other people think and just live the life that my eight year old self always wanted me to live, and now I’m doing that each and every day of my life.

To come full circle, the creation of this blog has helped me in so many different ways. I’ve been able to come out and tell so many of my truths on this platform which I never felt like I was able to do before. I feel as if this blog is just another part of my online presence and I intend to continue to expand it, or as the very least start telling my truths on Instagram rather than having my photos speak for myself. Much like the point Chittenden (2010) made, my blog has allowed for my inner self to flourish. I never want to feel like I have to show off my front stage self again, my backstage self is who I really am and this blog has given me a platform to openly speak about that (Van Dijck, 2013). After looking through my Google Analytics, I was surprised that much of my traffic came from those who were on desktops. I thought that the majority of people accessing my site would be those on mobile devices. 

My publication not only embodies who I am, but it also shows parts of who I’ve been in the past, and who I will become in the future. I’ve created my publication to be a complete reflection of who I am as a person through the use of colours, photos and layout. Over the course of twelve weeks, my blog went from a blank canvas to a beautifully painted moment in my life that is ever evolving. Although my blog is about freelance modelling in Vancouver, I believe my blog is also about showing people that they two can live their dreams as they wish. The public I’ve imagined for my blog are those from all creative fields, whether it be models, photographers, videographers, or creatives alike. We all come from a like-minded place that is not only supportive but extremely accepting of who and what we do.

I cannot wait for what’s next for myself. I have so many new projects on the go every day, sometimes I don’t know how to contain my little creative mind. This platform has inspired me to continue telling my stories and sharing them with the world. I have been given all the tools from this course to continue self publishing which I will use for years to come and many more. I never want to fall into a non-creative hole every again, I feel more myself than I ever have and no photo can ever capture that.

References

Chittenden, T. (2010). “Digital dressing up: modelling female teen identity in the discursive spaces of the fashion blogosphere.” Journal of Youth Studies. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676260903520902

Norman, S. (2019). “Social Media: Expanding or Narrowing Our View?” Personal Collection of Suzanne Norman. Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.

Suler, J. (2004). “The Online Disinhibition Effect.” Available from: Cyberpsychology & behavior 7.3 (2004): 321-326. http://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/disinhibit.html

Van Dijck, J. (2013). ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn. Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 199-215. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443712468605

Hopeful

As of late, creating has become seemingly harder and harder to do on a weekly basis. Both the Vancouver weather forecast and the final rush of the semester have both contributed to this creative roadblock. This week I was booked for a shoot with an aspiring young photographer, who currently goes to Langara College. We had plans to shoot a street/cityscape look, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t permitting for us to proceed. However, we rescheduled and I hope to be writing about that shoot in the next week or two. To fill this week’s post, I will be touching on some issues I’ve experienced that have also contributed to my partial creative hiatus.

In my last post, I mentioned that I left my personal life in the dust as I went on to pursue my creative one. This all ties into my inability to balance my own life. However, I specifically want to touch on how all aspects of my life differ from my personal one. 

I’m have a type A personality, almost to a T. I’m aggressive, competitive, achievement-oriented, constantly stressed and completely work obsessed. Since I started writing this blog post, I’ve been mentally urging myself to finish faster so I can start working on a presentation for another class. It’s completely sick. To be completely honest, it’s as if I’m constantly fighting with myself about time management when I’ve been ahead of my workload since this semester started. I’m stressed when there’s work to be done, and I’m even more stressed when there isn’t work to be done. I’ve mentioned before that I’m the kind of person who requires a weekly schedule or else my life spirals (and we don’t want that). I was so worried about losing my weekly schedule, that I debated about taking another year of university just to keep myself in line. When I write all of this, I sound so unbelievably anal, but I assure you I’m not that anal and I can be fun. 

I remember last April I asked my amazing friend, Gary Mo (@yuen.wm) if I should “full send” on my creative life. I was nearing the end of my six course semester, and I felt like I was finally ready to pursue a creative personality online- at this time I had only participated in a handful of shoots. He reminded me that I was unbelievably young and asked me, “what’s the worst that could happen?” With Gary’s blessing, I dipped my toes into the creative industry, but it wasn’t until July that I decided to completely “full send” and immerse myself with other creatives. Luckily, hard work and determination paid off which has allowed me to continue pursuing this goal well into the fall. Since then, I’ve been jumping head first ever since. 

Sometimes I wish I had more of a carefree personality, and told myself “yes” more often. For example: I recently had course selections and the morning of, the internet went out throughout the entire SFU residences. I ran out the door after a hasty shower and cried on the floor of West Mall Center. I’m not someone who cries regularly or ever, so when it happened over something as little as a failed wifi connection, I knew I had been pushing myself to my absolute limit. My course cart was filled with another six classes, and believe me, even in that moment, I had no problem saying yes to my decision. I’ve never once doubted my ability to succeed in school, and the only reason for that is because I put everything and anything behind my education. However, I know for a fact, that much like my meltdown in WMC, that I’m going to go into Spring semester head strong and then somewhere around week six it’ll take a toll on me and I’ll push myself beyond relief to finish. This is the kind of “yes” I wish I didn’t use which leads me to ask myself why can’t I say yes to anything in relation to my personal life?

I’ve spent far too much time asking myself this question and pondering the answer. I’ve come to many conclusions, but I believe that I’ve spent the majority of my life in a rush. I’m in a rush to live. In my mind, living is finishing school, but then what? I’ve been rushing through university so fast that I’m going to walk by the AQ pond, look down and stare at my reflection asking myself if I’m ready to enter the real world. In reality, living isn’t about always being in a rush, it’s about making mistakes, making memories and having stories to tell. By always being in a rush to start “living my life” I will have completely missed the mark before I graduate. 

Basically, I want to see myself pressing the “full send” button on my personal life more often. I’ve never allowed myself to because I’ve exerted all my time and energy on both my education and my creative works. So much so that it consumes me to the point where there are times when I’m not even enjoying what I’m doing anymore which is why I’ve experienced my recent creative hiatus. My “full send” example is one that has spoken to be since a very young age and it’s important because it ties into my final point. 

I remember watching Halloweentown as a kid, which is about two different worlds that collide. One world is the real world and the other is the universe that Halloweentown resides in which is full of monsters and magic. The main character, Marnie discovers that she’s a witch and runs off to Halloweentown to pursue her studies. There, she meets her grandmother, Aggie who is also a witch and teaches her the ropes. Specifically, there was a scene where Aggie buys Marnie her first broom and Marnie asks how to fly it. Aggie turns to her and says, “All you have to do is want something, and then let yourself have it!”

A friend mentioned to me the other day that if I didn’t properly balance out my life, it would take a toll on my creative presence (it already has). If I lose interest in what I’m doing, then so will others, and neither of which are my goals. My problem is that no matter what I choose to do in life, I will do it until it’s done but there is an entire life to be lived outside one’s goals, or at least I like to believe there is. I don’t pursue my personal life because I feel as if I don’t have any control over it, and that’s because I don’t make enough time to focus on it. No matter how successful I ever become, I’m always going to crave more from life than just that. Sure, my creative life can be absolutely popping off but if you have no one to share that with, then does that really matter? It’s important to work towards a goal, but to what extent? It’s not worth achieving that goal if you lose yourself within that. So within the next couple of weeks, I’m going to make it a point to take more time and focus on myself which will keep my creative gears oiled. All I have to do is jump.

A/N: I’ve included several pictures from last week’s trip to Hope, because I’m also very hopeful that everything is going to work itself out.

Week 11: Process Post

With the rise of social media, transmedia storytelling has come into play over the last decade or so. Transmedia storytelling is the telling of a single story or story experience across multiple platforms, using all kinds of different formats to get the message across. In my first year of university, I took Jody Baker’s CMNS 220 class which analyzed and deconstructed the societal and cultural meaning behind television. We covered an entire module related to transmedia storytelling as large movie productions use this method as a way to build up suspense before a major release. Specifically, Baker (2018) used the example of an interactive game released during the Hunger Games Trilogy for fans to tap into an immersive world that surrounded themselves in the alternate universe with Katniss, Gale and Peeta.

Transmedia storytelling is a way to get everyday users and hardcore fans alike to get involved in these immersive worlds. To touch on this week’s reading about Pokemon being a form of transmedia storytelling, the show has not only lead to the popular card game but also many other games which allow users to log on and catch their own Pokemon much like main character Ash (Kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com, 2013). In other words, these franchise tap into niche culture or what Renninger (2015) calls, “counterpublics,” which essentially is a smaller public sphere.

For myself and my online publication, I would want to create an application that allows readers to get information first hand- before it even gets released onto my blog. I would want to give my niche audience a special kind of treatment for their love and support dropping my newest shoot photos to them as they use my app. If my blog and YouTube channel were to ever take off and I saw a need to integrate transmedia onto my site, I would focus on linking YouTube Red content onto my page which allows for my most invested subscribers to have access to exclusive content. I would want to show my appreciation for my audience as a content creator by producing more content, either in the form of photos or videos.

References

Baker, J. (2018) “Transmedia Storytelling.” Personal Collection of Jody Baker. Simon Fraser University, British Columbia.

Kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com. (2013). “Pokemon as transmedia storytelling. https://kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/pokemon-as-transmedia-storytelling/

Renninger, B. J. (2015). “Where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind” : Networked counterpublics in a polymedia environment. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1513–1529. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530095

Week 10: Process Post

As of November 2019, the world population clocks in at a whopping 7.7 billion (Worldometers, 2019). Although the population continues to rapidly increase, people are finding that the world is actually becoming a smaller place by means of the internet and social interaction. Globalization is not only reshaping the world, but it is also constraining it. I’ve always looked at globalization from a positive point of view as we are able to communicate with those around the globe in seconds, allowing us to spread emergency messages and protect those in other countries before disaster strikes. However, globalization of media can also negatively impact the world which leads us to look at the global picture.

The global picture increases both the positive and negative impacts of the web. It’s easy to look at positive things especially when we live in a core country where technology flourishes, but there is a price to pay with any and every service in society. According to an article about Facebook’s Internet.org, Mark Zuckerberg launched to bring internet to people who can’t access or afford it (Elgan, 2015). This turned out not to be the case. Internet.org was neither a non profit or organization, it was a business development group within Facebook that was created to increase Facebook users and revenue. Another example, is Google trying to work on a method to get into China’s search market. From a business standpoint, Google wants to become the leading search engine in China so that Android will also become the leading mobile app seller in the country. With a population of 1.4 billion, Google sees a massive consumer culture that they wish to capitalize on, however, China is still not on board (Fung, 2018).

Although globalization is changing communication techniques each and every day, there are large companies that wish to take advantage of these numbers in hope to increase their own. This ties into net neutrality, and questions if the net we use is a safe place for users to surf as they please. I personally think that globalization has lead to massive corporations to take advantage of users by using their data trails and selling them to other companies by means of the deep web, which is anything a search engine cannot find, and the dark web which is a portion of the deep web that has been hidden intentionally (Brightplanet, 2014). As the world becomes more connected by trying to link people together at a click of a button, it is also becoming a scheme to back users into a corner by using their digital footprints against them.

References

Brightplanet.com. March 27, 2014. “Clearing up Confusion – Deep Web vs Dark Web” http://www.brightplanet.com/2014/03/clearing-confusion-deep-web-vs-dark-web/.

Elgan, M. (2016, February 15). The surprising truth about Facebook’s Internet.org. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com/article/3032646/the-surprising-truth-about-facebooks-internetorg.html#tk.rss_all

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Reflections

I can’t believe that another semester has nearly blown by. It’s insane how fast time goes by when you’re drowning in school work. I wasn’t sure if I was going to share this on my blog, but while I was taking a slight hiatus from my creative life, I was brought great news on several fronts. About a week ago, I was contacted by Numa Models which is a modelling network primarily based in Canada. After speaking with one of their head models on a facetime call, I will now be working with the network in the near future for commercial work. On Monday, I was informed that I was published in not one but four different publications all set to come out within the next couple of weeks. I’ve never been published before, and I owe much of it to my two team members (@jeniegg & @yaboystephan). Lastly, I was contacted to walk in an International Fashion Show based in Vancouver that is set to take place on the 22nd of this month. 

These last couple of weeks have been filled with a crazy amount of good news. I can’t believe that everything I’ve worked towards has been noticed by the right people. It is such a rewarding feeling to know that other people stand by my work. Now, I wasn’t sure if I should share all of this on here because I honestly don’t really like talking about my accomplishments. I never want to come across as someone who is bragging about what they do. As much as I like to share photos and videos of my life, I take my personal life into consideration especially the more immersed in the public eye, I become. I’m mentioned in several blog posts that I lack the ability to properly balance my life and I think that it’s affected the way I create. I used to think that if I pushed myself to constantly create, I would be happy. Although my creative life has been flourishing, I left my personal life in the dust. I like being in control, and my personal life is something that I’ve felt that I never had control of, so instead of trying to work on that, I continue to walk away from that problem by pushing more work onto my plate. I am truly in every which way possibly, a workaholic. And believe me, it’s beginning to catch up with me.

Although I don’t particularly love talking about myself, I think it’s important to reflect on yourself to see how far you’ve come. In order to keep moving forward and pushing the bar higher and higher, you need to reflect on who you were in the past. 

Last semester I took Jody Baker’s CMNS 323W class on advertising. The final project was to create an ad for a product of our choosing (fake or real). This was supposed to be a group project but I decided to fly solo as I wanted to shoot my ad back in Tofino. Although the project was due in April, I started filming during reading break as it was the only time I could go back to the island. I not only acted and rapped in the ad, but I also filmed and edited the entire production. When April rolled around, we were instructed to go to the front of the class and talk about our video. I was so incredibly proud of my production, but in the heat of the moment I didn’t feel like I could back up my video. I remember leaving the room, and I don’t think I have ever been more disappointed in myself in my entire life. If you don’t stand by your own work, then why would anyone else? At the time, I didn’t believe I was in the same league as the other students as I was a second year taking a third year class. Although I made a major oopsie that day, I realized that I had a lot of growing to do on a creative front.

On Thursday morning, I went to David Murphy’s CMNS 226 class on digital media communication techniques. We were screening our 60 second video profiles, and this time I didn’t run away. I sat down with the rest of the students and watched as I was the centre of attention for an entire minute. I don’t think I have ever been that proud of myself in my life. It wasn’t necessarily about the content I produced, but it was more about being able to stand by the work I created and back it up in front of a room full of people. I have been filming clips for this project since mid October. This project shows exactly how far I’ve come as a creative and I’m unbelievably happy to be able to share this with everyone. It’s hard to be vulnerable, and tell your truths to people you don’t know but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. I’ve been completely immersed within the creative industry since July, and since then I’ve met so many amazing creative minds who have pushed me to continue to create and encouraged me to be myself. This project reminded me how much I love to create and lead me back into weekly shoots.

This week, I shot on three different occasions in three completely different areas.

On Monday I woke up at 5:30 am to catch the first bus off the Burnaby campus. I slowly but surely made my way to Richmond to shoot duos with Nicolas Scott (@nicolasscott_) and Jenie GG (@jeniegg). Nicolas and I met through an event company we both work for called, 20one Events (@20one_events). We shot at Iona Beach in autumn wear for a magazine submission. 

After class on Thursday, I rushed off the mountain and headed to an Industrial loft near BC Place. I shot with a large group of creatives and was able to meet several new photographers and a new model! I had a great time at this shoot, but unfortunately due to the large group of people, I won’t be getting back photos for a while.

Lastly, on Saturday I went to Hope with my friend Gary Mo (@yuen.wm). We decided to spontaneously chose a place in BC that the two of us hadn’t been before and shoot there. We shot both photos and videos, and I must say I feel most in my element when I’m vlogging. I’m hoping to transition my audience on Instagram to YouTube within the next couple of years.

I’m glad I took some time off for myself since it encouraged to take a break, and take a breath. As much as I love the creative industry, it has the tendency to sweep you off your feet. My break allowed me to reconsider what I want to do creatively and reflect on what I’ve accomplished in such little time. It’s important to take a step back and praise yourself sometimes, hard work almost always pays off.