Reading Discussions Essay Sample

The Cultural Work of Microwork

This article’s primary focus is on Amazon’s newest division called Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT). This new business concept uses crowdsourcing as microwork systems for getting things done. Instead of using computer technology to handle tasks, human beings are used to handle tasks that computers cannot handle. In a nutshell, “Mechanical Turk allows clients to farm out the kinds of menial clickwork that we all wish computers could do, but can’t” (Irani, 2013). It works by connecting employees called requestors with workers to carry out tasks. Requestors posts tasks called Human Intelligence Tasks (HIT) and the price they will pay for tasks. Workers can review the list of tasks available and can even request to work with a particular company. They bid on tasks they are interested in. Requestors can see data about a given worker such as how much time elapsed between being assigned a task and time of completion, exams they have passed, and the quality of their work. AMT bridges the gap between what humans can do and what computers cannot, giving the artificial intelligence (AI) of computers a boost.

The Politics of Ambivalence in Brand Culture

In this article, the phenomenon known as street art is examined. Street art is a form of graffiti that can be found on walls, murals, trains, and fence posts. It is “anything that is painted, stenciled, stickered, or pasted on public space” (Banet-Weiser, 2012). It is controversial and political in nature and can be about anything that gives a voice so as to critique, criticize, or poke fun at. Street art has met with its own level of success and branding that has brought attention to the artists who create it, sometimes anonymously, and given them a level of celebrity much like that of A-list celebrities and the like. It has been recognized as a cultural art, whose artists came from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Street art makes a statement that infiltrates a public area and cannot be ignored. What was borne out of graffiti in the late 1970s has evolved into a fledging business for starving artists who promote themselves openly, taking creatively genius to a whole new level.
In the latter article, branding creativity is seen in a whole new light. It may seem unethical or unprofessional to cover public areas with art that can make such strong and controversial statements. However, it is a reminder of how far we have come as a society and that freedom of speech has never been more apparent. We are living in a time where one’s voice can be heard in a myriad of ways. Opinions are high and encouraged with the social demographics and diversity of ethnicities and race within our culture. Add to that the landscape of political correctness and there is the workings of a new form of branding and self-promotion. It is also a time where being ingenious in one’s creativity can be quite a lucrative business, proving that there is no limit to the possibilities born out of one’s imagination.

References

Banet-Wisner, Sarah. The Politics of Ambivalence in Brand Culture. New York: New York University Press, 2012. Print.
Irani, Lilly. “The Cultural Work of Microwork” New Media and Society 0(0) (2013): 1-21. Print.