Everytime I tell someone that I'm in a blogging class, their first reaction is, "Oh cool. Wait. What!?!?" But I'm sure they wouldn't think it's so weird in comparison to the Internet Famous class offered at Parsons in New York City.I guess I'm almost speechless as to why it's even a class, though I can see how the concept is good. According to the website, "Internet Famous Class is dedicated to learning how to spread your work to the widest possible audience online."
I like that idea. Learning how to use the internet as a way to self-publish is great. But that's where the good idea stops and the "wtf?" factor comes in.
"Our Famotron software measures the online attention economy — view counts, blog links, social media activity, followers and their influence — and awards students their final letter grade... Sites like Digg, del.icio.us, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Technorati, Alexa, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter and many more will be mined for data relevant to the amount of attention a student is receiving... This raw data is calculated into a “Famo Index Score” that will be mapped onto the Parsons Graduate Grade Scale Description, and each student given a grade from an A to an F."
So what does this lead me to believe? Apparently, being like Tila Tequila is desirable. Also, acting like an idiot for the internet now requires a college education.
The best comment comes from EleanorRigby at Gawker:
Next, MTV and The Learning Annex should join forces to create a series of classes including:
-Reality show scriptwriting
-So you're from an upper-middle class town in California and want to be famous for being utterly boring...here's what to do
-From the Real World house to cardboard box: What went wrong
-Casting your reality show: From mundane blond lead to bitchy underminer
-Mario Lopez: Is American television truly utilizing this gem in enough hosting spots?
-"Music" television: A historiography
No comments:
Post a Comment