11/11/11

So although this blog is about media convergence theres no reason we cannot use it as a platform for other things that have a tedious link with it.
Theres a lot of chatter on twitter today and excitement about it being 11/11/11 and that's all well and good. However in such a society where we are all constantly changing and looking forward we sometimes forget to look back. what it has been good to see this year is that Armistice day is taking a for front in the social media platform and really giving respect to the soldiers past and present that it deserves. As im writing this blog entry #ArmisticeDay is the top trend on twitter and various groups i am a member of on facebook are sending out remembrance messages to masses of followers. This really shows the beauty of new media technologies and media convergence allowing something that began years ago at the end of the first world war and through the ability to produce the media as we have first by print, then radio, then tv and now across many different mobile and static platforms that are still growing people who may have seen the symbol of the poppy and may not have known quite what it was all about are now being educated through modern mediums.

Multi platform media institutions are also owed alot by the FA (football Association) earlier this week FIFA announced that it would not be allowing the English football team to wear a poppy on its shirt during the match against Spain tomorrow. As a result of the ability to have news so fast and on demand uproar spread across not only the sporting community but politicians and even royalty, because as a result of social media they could see how much it had angered the general public causing Prince William himself to write a letter to FIFA appealing against their decision, which has been subsequently over turned.

The final thing  I would like to mention on this little rant links back to the lecture we had this Thursday with Yuwei on remixes, this is a great remix i have stumbled across today on a favourite site of mine on www.break.com
It is a monologue from a Charlie Chaplin film released in 1940 called The Great Dictator a film where a Jewish Barber (Chaplin) is mistaken for Adolf Hitler. Now your probably wondering why im even mentioning this apart from the tedious war based link to Armistice Day. The reason is i feel this remix shows that although there are many extremely funny remixes (which will undoubtedly be posted through future posts on this blog) this piece shows how even old pieces of writing, film and audio can still be relevant in the modern day (if not more relevant now) and if by keeping them alive by someone on the internet taking footage and audio and mixing it together can keep gems like this in the public memory and make people think, then our convergent media culture maybe isn't quite as bad as some would like to make it out to be.

http://www.break.com/index/one-of-the-greatest-speeches-ever-made-2218472