Alternative+Campus+Tour

http://approaches2mediastudies-m-lipton-w2010.wikispaces.com/Alternative+Campus+Tour+Podcast [] @http://is.gd/bhSPQ (WHICH TODAY HAS NEARLY __4000__ VIEWS!) sorry can’t help it…
 * Wikipage:**
 * Facebook group:**
 * Emily’s condensed link to the very own Google Map:**

I saw Abby and Mimi’s //Alternative Campus Tour// idea on the Wikispaces pages of our class and thought it was a very cool concept of opening up funny, creative ways of introducing our common study space with more personal stories of our university experiences. The idea bolsters an interpersonal share of collectives in our sometimes systematized, individualized and separated entities in university as we are caught up with examinations and benchmark evaluations of our abilities.
 * Initial Interest:**

However, I was hesitant to join at first because even though I was in my second year at Guelph University, I felt like I still did not know our campus that well. Moreover, and more importantly, this made me realize that the whole underlying, creative idea behind Abby and Mimi’s project was in bringing together stories of everyone, without a scope of discrimination. I also realized that I had been too immersed in marks, papers and university deadlines instead of really exploring the community around me, thus this encouraged me to brave it out and experiment with the kind of contributions I could input for the project.

I went to our first a group meeting at the Cornerstone Café and met with Abby and Mimi. It was the first stage of the project. It was an enjoyable time as our thoughts, ideas were spoken in frictional inspirations, adapted, evolved and eventually written down. I was even confronted with my own falling-behind on the advancement of social media tools and online technology when Abby started talking about how so many are already using a popular social/gaming site called Second Life – simply a virtual reality to earn tangible money. It was like an online version of Sims, except the virtual //goods// there were valued by many, its influence and usage have been spread wide enough that companies, people were receiving //real// profits from the //goods// and the //Second Life money// on the site. Because of the amount of people who were involved with the online gaming site, it had created enough attention and influence for companies to invest, or others who were even willing to exchange real money for the virtual money or //properties// on the social gaming site.
 * First Meeting:**

Unfortunately, I missed the second meeting at Mimi, Rachel, Abby, etc.’s house near Farmer’s Market AND the one in the Bullring. This is irreversibly regrettable when I listened to their Youtube video that had been recorded together in the Bullring. I could not stop laughing at what they had shared in the video because I was relating to so much of my own experiences to their keen advices for a //successful// trip to the Bullring.
 * Second, Third Meetings & the Map:**

Still, I received an email from Emily inviting those who couldn’t make it to the meetings to freely edit the map. It is with this amazing attitude that I think, we’ve had a successful outcome for our project. It is the underlying attitude my group mates had – openness to difference and the diversity of contribution from everyone to the project. We also have an ongoing contribution and a Facebook group, which by now, has 42 members including our media studies professor (Mark Lipton!)! It’s great to have support from our very own professor! Harhar… (in brackets, in case harhar isn’t allowed for the portfolio.. haha)

The Google Map concept of allowing anyone with a Google account and personal story to share about Guelph, or the university takes the core characteristic of open social media participation into heart. It is an open invitation for everyone with diverse talent, it is an online conversation of remix that generates trust automatically as each person contributes and awaits for another input of constructive feedback. Although I really wish Google Map can also incorporate the concept of commenting for each personal story that is shared on the map, because many times I simply desire to write serial hahas.. to the amazing, hilarious kind of personal stories people have put in on the map.