mesk
@meesk.bsky.social
TV, media industries, algorithmic brand culture, videographic criticism. Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Media Studies, Lewis & Clark College. She/her.
The scent of free fan labor is in the air as Disney+ announces fan-made content will be featured on its mobile apps. Is the promise of exposure the only payment? (This is just the latest in many examples of Hollywood "helping" fandom.) www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
Disney+ Partners With TikTok to Host Fan-Created Content
The platforms will also jointly run the Disney Creator Ambassador Program, giving select creators increased visibility
thewrap.com
LOL, Google updating its tracking of all searches (expanding it to saving all media you may share through e.g. visual image search), and simultaneously stating they'll apply "robust" privacy protections (and of course also use what you share to train their AI models). At least you can turn it off.
For a sneak peek at what we'll be presenting at Immersive Technologies in Practice, check out the archive of the project: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/45db...
EAR Forest: TerraBytes
an installation by RHMS 360
storymaps.arcgis.com
On June 17, two former students and I are presenting an immersive woodland sound installation on the materiality of digital media at this symposium! You can attend in person or remotely. www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brooke...
Immersive Technologies in Practice: virtual storytelling in global research - Oxford Brookes University
A one-day international symposium exploring immersive technologies across the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
brookes.ac.uk
I'm migrating to a new laptop, and this means finally facing all the open tabs across two browsers. (I already reorganized the entire file structure of my laptop, which I hadn't done in two laptops...)
I'm in my second line of the day (for the NW Marine Artworks Open Studios), but at least this time, I have a ticket and will definitely get in.
No Criterion Closet for me today, and I don't know if I want to brave the weekend crowds. You'd probably have to be in line by 8am at the latest to get in. At least I got a voucher for a film screening at PAM's Tomorrow Theater.
I clearly underestimated Portland's desire for the Criterion Closer because I'm in the standby line an hour before it starts. I should have trusted my SDCC instincts and gotten here at least two hours early.
I have exited the grading cave only to enter a string of post-semester retreats and workshops (sigh). Fortunately also have fun social things lined up: the mobile Criterion Closet will be in town, Memorial Day picnic with friends, and lots of D&D.
Still in the grading cave, but I've bookmarked this site as a teaching tool for my digital media classes: sinceyouarrived.world/taken
taken.
A web page that tells you what your browser gave away the moment you arrived. No login, no form, no permission. Most pages do this. None of them tell you.
sinceyouarrived.world
Peaking my head out of the grading cave to share that Prime Video is hosting a YA-focused "immersive" fan con in L.A. this June. During the pandemic lockdown, several companies staged their own (virtual) fan cons rather than participating in e.g. San Diego Comic-Con. Curious to see this resurface.
I don't recall ever having gotten a tote bag at SCMS, so I brought this Console-ing Passions tote from 2014. #scms26
melisser3, Fatherland Edition@melisser3.bsky.social · 4mo agookay #scms26 peeps let's see the totes you brought in response to the @scmstudies.bsky.social "swag remix" call
Finally, a great convo between @meesk.bsky.social and @drtvlotz.bsky.social on how those of us raised in the era of “mass media” (and trained on it as media scholars) need to revise and adapt our approaches and theories to media as it actually is today. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
Ep. 82: After Mass Media with Melanie Kohnen and Amanda Lotz
Podcast Episode · Aca-Media · February 19 · 44m
podcasts.apple.com
I meant to take a brief hiatus during winter break, and oops, it turned into something slightly longer. But I'm back just in time for SCMS! (I'm presenting on the invisible labor of marketers and non-union actors in brand activations on Thursday afternoon.)
Last day of classes is in the books. The last few weeks are always simultaneously endless and fly by. I think I found strategies for productive and enjoyable classes after Thanksgiving? (Mostly structured in-class project work and open-ended big picture conversations)
What an excellent group of scholars and topics! I'm excited to dive in.
Jennifer Hessler@jenmhessler.bsky.social · 8mo agoMine and Elliot Montpellier's special issue on Big Data Audiences is out in Convergence There are great articles by David Hesmondhalgh, Ramon Lobato, Lee McGuigan, Rebecca Saunders, Anna Liu et al., Johan Søltoft et al., and more journals.sagepub.com/toc/CON/curr...
Yesterday it occured to me that it was time for SCMS notifications, and the acceptance notice appeared in my inbox a few minutes ago. See you in Chicago for "Creative Labor in the Shadow of Hollywood Hype: Marketers, Non-Union-Actors, and the Struggle for Recognition." 🎉 #SCMS26
This was such an excellent conversation! Big thanks to the SCMS Media Industries SIG for organizing it.
Swapnil Rai@swapnilrai.bsky.social · 9mo agoJoin us for this event tomorrow. Register to receive a zoom link!
Emerging from my little hiatus to say that I have perhaps never been this excited about an issue of @jcmsjournal.bsky.social, i.e. the special issue of "Is it Media?" All of these articles are 100% my jam.
My friend Laura is urgently seeking a new home for two sweet kitties in/near Charleston, SC. If you have any leads or could share her post, I'd really appreciate it.
Laura 🦄 🏳️🌈@chaneen.bsky.social · 11mo agoI added their Home To Home profiles at the bottom of the thread! More info about my parents' two cats that need to find a home ASAP. Also, some more pics!
Speaking of Critical Role, I saw a panel with Liam and Sam at Rose City Comic-Con yesterday, but the true highlight of the day was an actual play set in Val'Ruvina, the setting of TPK Brewing's Leyfarer campaign (in which I play). Tons of lore drops and our GMs were amazing as beloved NPCs.
This is the perfect convergence of my research and personal interests, and I can't go! I'll be in NYC the next weekend for NYCC, and I really wish this ran longer. I'm sure there will be tons of social media posts, but that's no substitution for going in person.
Critical Role@criticalrole.bsky.social · 11mo agoSENDING SPELL INCOMING 🗣️ 🍭 Jester (Laura Bailey) has big news about our LIVE show at Radio City Music Hall in NYC - we're conjuring up a pop-up shop to celebrate the wedding of the century - more details coming SEPTEMBER 3RD! ✨ FJORD & JESTER'S WEDDING INFO ⬇️ https://bit.ly/45SRDxa
I'm surprised (in a good way) to discover that the majority of students in my intro class have not only heard of the WGA/SAG strikes of 2023, but could also say generally what they were about. Also, a surprising number of them have recently watched Brokeback Mountain (because of TikTok).
Critical Role revealed details about Campaign 4 this morning, and I am stoked! I love the expanded cast, and while I didn't like the split party as much in C3, I think it will work well here (and I understand that it makes production a lot easier). Is it Thursday October 2 yet??
Oh, but it gets worse: apparently, a task force has been hard at work to develop gems like an "outcomes curator" where you can ask AI to make sure your syllabus is in good shape, and a "productivity assistant" to "schedule my work effectively each day." 🙄
mesk@meesk.bsky.social · 12mo agoOur library website now prominently links to an "AI" "research assistant" and I want to scream into the void about it. It is so upsetting to see the library, of all places, cave like that (granted, the institution may have forced their hand). Ugh.
Our library website now prominently links to an "AI" "research assistant" and I want to scream into the void about it. It is so upsetting to see the library, of all places, cave like that (granted, the institution may have forced their hand). Ugh.
This morning, observant Critical Role fans discovered the password-protected critrole.com/Unseal/ and a few hours later, managed to guess the password to reveal a 20-second audio snippet introducing a new setting along with this Thursday's date. Maybe we will get a little trailer for Campaign 4?
Protected: Unseal | Critical Role
critrole.com
mesk@meesk.bsky.social · 12mo agoOver the course of the day, Beacon (CR's subscription platform) sent out mobile notifications with another cryptic phrase and a link to the discord channel. The plot thickens. Hundreds of messages in the CR discord trying to crack this puzzle. (Is this what the Lost ARG was like in 2006?)
Related to the CR puzzle, Dropout also had an ARG embedded in this season of Game Changer that ultimately leads to a page where 100k people need to enter a secret word to unlock the bonus episode for this season. I did my part. (More on this: www.argn.com/2025/08/its_...)
Over the course of the day, Beacon (CR's subscription platform) sent out mobile notifications with another cryptic phrase and a link to the discord channel. The plot thickens. Hundreds of messages in the CR discord trying to crack this puzzle. (Is this what the Lost ARG was like in 2006?)
mesk@meesk.bsky.social · 12mo agoYesterday's Critical Role newsletter included a picture of random letters arranged in a square, a new channel appeared CR's discord that only accepts commands, and people commenting on CR's latest Instagram post got DMs w/ cryptic phrases. I'm very curious to see where this leads.
