Reflection & Proposal

REFLECTION:

Experience with this project/working as a group/collective towards one idea has been an interesting endeavour. I think that logistically, we struggled to find our purpose, but we did get that all straightened out pretty fast. The benefit of working in a group is definitely that you get to bounce ideas around and see what does or does not feel like an effective approach.

One key feature I realized was the importance of the multi-modal approach, or simply, the mix of content. During the Rhetorical Analysis portion of the project, I noticed that even as I was scrolling through this other/similar Facebook group, when many posts are the same type and offer no variety, boredom sets in. It’s not fun to look at, and does not catch as much attention as it should. In contrast, the method of mixing content and offering different pieces of media like videos, articles, cartoons, memes, events, etc. make for a more pleasant and (probably more) effective experience.

I think that our main goal would be to have people talking about our issue more passionately. Most people are aware (at least to some degree) about privacy issues, but I know at least some people on my friends list stick to the “Nothing to hide, Nothing to fear” mentality when it comes to privacy. Millennials (as much as I hate the term) are the ones who are most familiar with technology and I think it’s sort of our civic duty to ensure that the web exists for the public good.

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PROPOSAL: Gaming for Civic Good?

For my proposal, I really like the idea of incorporating game theory into useful social engagement. One very big piece of the puzzle that is missing is the separation of gaming/fun down-time and engaging with issues online. So from purely a speculative point of view, I think it would be very interesting if a game were able to bring people together for the sake of activism, or some civic pursuit. There are plenty of models out there that use game theory to help the player/user learn, and even reflecting on my own childhood, some of the best and earliest computer memories involved educational games. They really were helpful – and I think that in a similar fashion to how we have remixed memes/other content, we could manipulate the gaming world in a way that is beneficial, but not exhausting or difficult to engage with.

Especially given the context of net neutrality or online privacy, I bet a creative mind could come up with a captivating story to help move along a message. One example could be of a dystopian future, where the gamer would see the (exaggerated) effects of mass surveillance and squelching of public discourse on the web. BUT – I think it would be important not to come off as too preachy or too political. Similar to our experiment with running this Facebook group, you would want a mix of different content and different gameplay. Jumping back to the RO/RW content, it might also be interesting to “remix” a game and also provide useful/engaging material..

As a side note, educational games have been something I’ve thought about wanting to get involved with. I’m a comp. science major anyway, and I do have some experience with game creation… Just a mental note for myself!