sienna-says-stuff

[sienna-says-stuff]

I need this list now that the semester is over! my goal for the break is to gain back some German that I’ve lost since VCE and hopefully learn to paint with watercolours! Happy holidays everyone xxx

Sienna, signing off :)

things to learn during the holidays

music

read music

play the guitar

play the piano

play the ukelele

play the drums

play a new instrument

play a duet

sing all the lyrics to a song

the entire discography of an artist

compose your own tune

write your own lyrics

arts

doodle

using watercolour

using charcoal pencils

using new mediums

sketch people or portraits

sketch nature

sketch buildings

calligraphy

origami

photography

animation

stop motion

make your own zine

start an art journal

start a bullet journal

start a scrapbook

technology

editing photos

editing videos

making gifs

making gfx

make an interactive website

graphic design basics

programming basics

coding basics

HTML basics

use python

use excel

use photoshop

knowledge

a new language

sign language

expand your vocab for a language you already know

read up about a subject you’re passionate about

your family ancestry

your country’s history

another country’s history

your culture and traditions

another culture and its traditions

all the flags of the world

all the capitals of the world

basic psychology

creative writing

sports

swim

ride a bicycle

rollerskate

rollerblade

skateboard

acrobatics

self-defence

play a new sport

play a new position in a game 

dance

an entire choreography piece

choreograph your own dance

a new dance genre

food

brew your own coffee

brew your own tea

latte art

plating methods

blend your own juice

make a smoothie bowl

mix your own drinks (pls be legal sweeties)

baking

cake icing

cook a simple meal

cook an extravagant meal

a new cooking method

fry the perfect egg

pancake art

misc

public speaking

typing fast

reading fast

negotiating

sewing

braiding

do your own makeup

fashion styles

hairstyles

gardening

flower arrangements

card trick

magic trick

throwing cards

juggling

recognise constellations

[sienna-says-stuff]

Oh $#*%! It’s Censorship in China!

We’re here to talk media so, naturally, we’ve gotta talk China. 

Let’s get statistical

China is home to 911 million active social media users; that’s more than half of their population! Globally the average percent of the population who actively engage with social media is 45%, China is 53%. 

It’s also estimated that collectively China spent $499 billion (yes billion!!) on “E-commerce”. That’s some serious online shopping, folks. 

“But doesn’t China block Facebook?”, I hear you ask. Yes they do. The “Great Fire-Wall of China” is the Government’s ban of popular Western sites including:

Instagram

Twitter

Google

Facebook

Snapchat

Pinterest

And I thought the Wall was just to keep something else out...

“Soooooo what do they even do online?” you wonder. “All those sites you listed above ARE social media?!”.

WELL NEWSFLASH

China doesn’t give a @*&# about Facebook! They’ve got their own sites and they 👏 are 👏 thriving 👏

Let’s look at the most famous one

WeChat

Dubbed “the Facebook of China”, WeChat has on average 620 million active users every day. Primarily a messaging app, it also offers the in-platform mini-games, online shopping and ‘mini programs’ that allow the Chinese to make restaurant bookings, call a cab, pay bills and transfer money. WeChat is pretty much what we know as Facebook, Uber, Pinterest, TripAdvisor and more all mixed into one. 

Tencent in 2011 mixing all the best bits of Western Social media to create WeChat

So what do young people in China think?

Think about how much young people here love their social media. Would you be p*ssed if suddenly you couldn’t access all these sites? Probably yes. But that’s because you’re used to them. You know and like them. But young people in China? Most of them have never known a world with Facebook and they. don’t. care. They’re quite happy with their own Chinese social media. They don’t need Facebook and Instagram to connect with their friends, because all the people they know are on the same platforms as them (i.e. WeChat). 

So there’s no need to feel sorry for China. We can scroll through Facebook to our heart’s content and China can use WeChat to do pretty much anything. 

Sienna, signing off :)

[sienna-says-stuff]

life is disappointing in the strangest of ways

to be honest, i expected piracy in the future to involve a lot more airships and a lot less illegally downloaded music

[sienna-says-stuff]

[sienna-says-stuff]

[sienna-says-stuff]

So “free play” still has rules?

Playing is a natural part of any animal species including us humans. Kids need to play freely for many reasons; it’s part of their social and emotional development, they learn how to share and interact with others, it prepares them to learn at school and they can imitate life to learn new skills and experience new emotions. 

But adults don’t play right? We’re too old for make believe?

We make believe all the time but through video games! Johan Huizinga told us that play is just any activity other than your day to day life that’s not quite as serious as your regular routine but still completely immerses you. Sounds like a video game to me!

You might be thinking, “well I don’t play shoot ‘em up, pew pew you’re dead, Call of Duty, Halo war games, I’m not a gamer”. But video games are so much more than that. Do you play Wii bowling?

Do you mourn the death of Club Penguin? 

Do you like to play a cheeky Snapchat minigame?

If you said yes to any of these, congrats! You’re a gamer!!

But the communities that exist simultaneously with these games, they have unspoken rules and requirements. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that make up a social gaming community. 

Playing is not mandatory

Unlike work, school and study, you’re free to play the games when you want and for as long as you like. 

The future is uncertain

How a gaming community will evolve is unpredictable

They’re ‘unproductive’

Although you are generating social exchanges, the community does not generate wealth or new elements

The rules are new rules

The rules of the real world disappear but a bunch of new ones to suit the gaming world are introduced

It’s make believe!

Gaming communities provide a second reality to escape to 

Social gaming allows us to get lost in a new world, connect with others and have fun. As I mentioned before, it’s not all a bunch of nerds yelling abuse into their headsets from their mum’s house. There are different types of social games!

Agon

Competitive games that you need to practice before you get good. Lots of gameplay will make you a pro. Think war games like Halo, Call of Duty, even Fortnite requires some skill to win.

Alea

Chance games where winning is sheer luck rather than skill and practice. Think gambling games (see my Prezi for more on these!) like Blackjack or dice games. 

Mimicry

Simulation games where you can become a different character and escape yourself. Think the Sims, Nintendogs and Papa’s Pizzeria

Ilinx

This one is weird. These games are created to make you disoriented through physical vertigo. Basically the games use speed and spinning to gove you an adrenaline rush. It’s pretty much trippin’ on video games. Think Need for Speed or Super Hexagon.

So next time you play a game, any game, think about the community attached to it. Are there unwritten rules to follow? Does the game fit into one of the above categories? 

Sienna, signing off :)

[sienna-says-stuff]

When social games like the sims give you the possibility to recreate your life but make it better and you still get rejected 😂

[sienna-says-stuff]

Sharing is Caring: Viral Public Health Campaigns (ft. my amazing sister!)

Did 2014 you film yourself tipping a bucket of freezing cold water over your head because a friend challenged you to? Good for you!! Remember what it was for? ALS, a neuro-degenerative disease similar to but not the same as MS, slowly takes away one’s motor function and can ultimately paralyse you. Before 2014, pretty much no one had heard of it but, after the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, it was recognised worldwide. In fact, because of the Ice Bucket Challenge, $115 million was donated to support patients and fund research. 

Now for Americans, this challenge was a great way to cool down in Summer but us Aussies were in the middle of Winter. I think that actually made it even more popular here because it was more of a challenge! Take a look at cringe 14 year old me (*shudder*) giving it a go...

As you can see, my doing this video was a result of being challenged and I too challenged three more people. This “network effect” meant that the challenge continued to circulate around social networks. If people didn’t accept the challenge, film and post it, it would look like they didn’t care and no one wants a bad rep on their socials. The ALS challenge also benefited from celebs getting involved as the challenge was broadcast to their huge amounts of followers, plus the celebs have the cash 😎

But the Ice Bucket Challenge isn’t the only one of it’s type. Let’s talk about World’s Greatest Shave. Every year they challenge Aussies to “Be Brave and Shave!” in support of Leukaemia. You’re encouraged to colour, cut or shave the hair on your head or wax other places...

The Greatest Shave is a tradition at my high school. The past 4 male school captains have trade their luscious locks for buzz cuts and there’s a big assembly every year for it where the whole school  to watch. For a few years we even had a raffle to win the chance to wax the footy team’s legs! This public health campaign creates a physical community of support but to get the donations flowing, we rely on social media.

My sister Bianca before and after shaving her head and donating the hair

This year, my sister Bianca stepped up and completely shaved her head. She was sick of her long hair getting in the way and wanted to raise funds as a close family friend was suffering from Leukaemia. She registered in the school’s team online and BOOM she had a link to share with all her friends. She posted it on Facebook and Instagram, urging her friends to donate, even if it was just ten bucks. She sent the link via instant message to family members and soon enough she had flown past her initial goal of $560 to almost $1000!

I shared the post too which tapped into an even broader network as we have different friends. 

I love that we have these tools available to us so that we can share the great work being done to help cure cancer. Bianca has already done the shave (and LOVES her new hair) so you can’t donate specifically to her, but please donate to the World’s Greatest Shave or take part yourself!

Sienna, signing off :)

[sienna-says-stuff]

She looks like she’s about to start singing Be Our Guest

Katy Perry - MET Gala 2019

[sienna-says-stuff]

me on my way to steal your man

LADY GAGA Met Gala 2019, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

[sienna-says-stuff]

imagine playing freddie mercury, LEARNING NOTHING and dressing this boring at the #metgala

RAMI MALEK Met Gala 2019, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

[sienna-says-stuff]

A (crowd) source of good

Once Upon A Time, I was a Girl Guide. Blonde hair in pigtails, big blue eyes, blue sash and skirt lugging around a donation tin far too heavy for a six year old to carry. Door knocking for the Good Friday Appeal, my troupe raised loads of cash for sick kids by using the Cute Factor™️. Now, as a far less cute adult, I don’t need door knocking to raise funds for charity. I can use the internet for crowd sourcing.

Of course it’s not only about raising money. It can be as simple as collecting information. Crowd sourcing at it’s most basic, as written in Crowd Sourcing for Dummies (a book I definitely need), is a person (the crowd sourcer) putting a request to a group of people (the crowd) via a platform of communication (a crowd site). Technically, a chic posting a poll in Melbourne Gal Pals is crowd sourcing. 

The internet and social media provide quick ways to reach out for help in times of crisis. Not even two days after the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire, $1 billion was pledged via sites like Friends of Notre Dame and GoFundMe. Last month, I reblogged a twitter thread where Sri Lankans were urged to donate blood to help the victims of the Easter bombing and within hours the blood bank were overflowing. It’s always great to see people working together for the better. 

I think an interesting form of crowd sourcing is Facebook’s Safety Check feature. People can mark themselves as safe in an emergency which gives relatives and friend peace of mind. By using the internet, telecommunications are free for the emergency services to use. The Crisis Response section also allows users to ask for or offer help in times of crisis and becomes a central resource point. This affordance of Facebook connects communities when they need it most. 

I really hope that companies and platforms continue to cultivate reliable ways to reach out to others in times of need so that we can all play our part in making a better world. 

Sienna, signing off :)

[sienna-says-stuff]

Creative communication is like a kitchen knife – you can use it to prepare a beautiful, delicious meal. Or you can use it to stab your wife'.

Former Greenpeace Campaign Director

[sienna-says-stuff]

me in every lecture

[sienna-says-stuff]

Trolling: “It's as simple as knowing how to piss people off.”

I’m sorry. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna bring this back and it will be stuck in your head for 7 billion hours. Remember this guy?

This meme comes from Russian opera singer Edward Khill’s 1960s hit “I am Glad, cause I’m Finally Returning Back Home” whose “lyrical genius” (???) has been immortalised as a kind of bait and switch video on social media and messaging networks, like Rickrolling someone. 

Unfortunately, most trolling isn’t this lighthearted fun between friends. According to the internet’s most trusted source, Urban Dictionary, a true troll is someone on a forum, newsroom or social networking site “who posts a deliberately provocative message...with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument”. Trolls want a reaction from you and Maria Escartin knows what motivates them. (The quote in my heading is also from her research!)

Personal Amusement

The typical “u mad bro?” to piss you off even more will bring yet another smile to the troll’s face. Watching you get madder and madder is like Christmas to them. 

Online Anonymity

Trolls feel that social media allows them to separate themselves from their true identity to speak and behave in a way that is not acceptable in face to face communication. 

Showing Off 

Troll communities exist as hubs for trolls to share explicit and inappropriate content as well as a place to boast about their trolling achievements. If a troll gets you riled up, chances are you could end up as the butt of a joke on an anonymous forum like 4chan, a site labelled the “bogeyman of the internet”.

The Power Trip

When other people agree with you, you feel great. You are the queen. And if it means making fun of someone else to be popular, so be it. Trolls “feed on acknowledgement” which leads into some advice...

How to Deal with a Troll

If you think you’re being trolled, you’ve got a few options. Read the situation; who is involved? Is your response going to make you look like the good guy? Keep it civil and put your own well being first. Now that that’s sorted, choose your plan of attack

Correct their mistakes

Like honestly, the amount of people who don’t know the difference between your and you’re or their/they’re/there is RIDICULOUS. Call 👏 them 👏 out 👏

Ignore them

Respond with facts

If you’re a uni student like me, you know how to use (and cite) reliable sources. So use them!

Diffuse the situation with humour

Make fun of them back but avoid politically incorrect insults or you’ll be roasted by the entire internet AS WELL as the troll.

And if worse comes to worst...

BLOCK THEM

Sienna, signing off :)

[sienna-says-stuff]

If my shoulders are “distracting” in class, how will boys go outside in the real world??? Dress codes aren’t just a issue in the US where students get ‘free’ dress. Schools here in Australia with uniform policies constantly prioritise what students look like over their education. At my high school, you could get a detention for any of the following:

your skirt not touching your knee

not tying your hair back

wearing nail polish

wearing any jewellery except small studded earrings

wearing noticeable makeup

not wearing your blazer to and from school  

Now imagine what could happen if all the energy wasted on telling kids what they can and can’t wear was put to better use?

…