Annotated Contact List

Annotated Contact List

My first topic is about the relationship between online interaction and whether it is changing our ability to interact with real human beings in the real world. In other words, whether we are humanizing or dehumanizing each other through online interaction. My second topic is about whether our ability to change and filter our selfies is making us dehumanize ourselves.

Homies:

1. Mom: Sometimes I think she gets tired of me telling her about random school topics but she listens anyway. I want to ask her how she feels communicating via online/even text has changed since she was in high school. Has it made it easier for her to talk to people or harder for her physically? Has there been any instances where what she was trying to say didn't transfer through text? My mom takes selfies and has found new ways to filter and take better selfies. Do you feel like your selfies are a true representation of who you are? What do you think selfies say about other people?
2. Boyfriend: He'll listen to anything I say. Has it gotten easier for you to interact with others and for others to interact with you? What do you think of girls/boys that post selfies or filter their pictures? He's not one to take selfies, so I would want to ask him what he thinks when he does take a selfie and what he thinks when other people take selfies. I would want to ask him if people's selfies seem to reflect something different than who they really are. This would be a casual conversation on the phone and he would give me his honest opinion. 
3. Good friend, Sia: We always talk about online and digital media issues. How do you think online interaction has affected our ability to communicate with each other? Even with your topic of living in the moment vs. living in your phone---how has that affected the way we communicate with each other? Valued our relationships overseas? Or devalued the relationship across the dinner table? 
4. Good friend, Kei: She likes to take a lot of selfies and understands the struggle of finding the right filter. I would ask: why do you like filtering pictures? Do you think that maintains the real value of the picture? enhances it? or degrades it? She is a communications major so she might be able to tell me which professors here would know about online communications. 
5. Cousin, Brit: She is very familiar with selfies and the selfie culture. What do you think your selfies say about you? What does this person's selfie say about them? 

Peers:

1. Girl in Shakespeare class, Rachel: We are taking Shakespeare together and she is also an English major who would be familiar with Renaissance culture and literature. Is there anything in Literature you think reflect an emphasis on the importance of relationships and physical communication?
2. Kurt: He's also writing about a topic involving the real vs. digital world topic. How much of the digital world effects our real world?
3. Ahna: she's talking about public image and having the right to be public or private, but I would ask whether or not she feels that going private has an effect on how that person is portrayed. Do you think trying to have the perfect image forces us to use filters and feel the need to photoshop? 

Experts:

1. Dr. Danette Paul: she is my Digital Culture professor and has a good understanding of current digital media and culture. I would probably want to ask her a similar question that I asked my mom, that is, how has your methods of communication changed over your life time? Does the way of communicating now make it easier to talk to others or more difficult? How? 
2.  Dr. Richard Duerden: he is my Shakespeare professor and was also my Contemporary Theory professor. He would have a good understanding of how the Renaissance period focused on communication and the language sent to each other. I would also want to talk to him about how the Renaissance culture (even Shakespeare through his plays) understood the power of language and physical contact with the other. He would also have some good ideas about how the self-image is such an important part of Renaissance and court culture

Enthusiasts:

1. Photographer, Tiffany: How do you filter/edit your photos? Is it to enhance the value of the picture? To enhance the value of the moment? To capture the essence of something? Do you ever feel like editing a picture degrades the picture? Is there something special about raw photos? 
2. Mary Chapman: she's a librarian for popular culture at the HBLL. I already asked her about online interaction/dating but I didn't get a chance to ask her about the selfie culture and she might know more about that. 
3. Quinn Galbraith: when I asked Mary Chapman for information she directed me to the Family Sciences research guide and Quinn Galbraith is the librarian for the Family Sciences. He would probably be able to help me find resources regarding the online interaction topic.
4. Some professors that I might get into contact with from my friends who are communication majors.