Pennsylvania State University



The Digital Biker

[pic]

Gerald M. Santoro

Information Sciences and Technology

Penn State University

Presented at the 2008 National Conference of the

Popular Culture Association – American Culture Association

San Francisco, California

Introduction

Digital media and Internet-based technologies have converged to a degree that makes professional-quality multimedia production accessible to today’s motorcyclist. Social networking services allow motorcyclists to publish photographs, sounds and video to preserve and share their riding experiences. Planning for rides can be done using powerful whole-world mapping services with optional links to real-time data and global-positioning systems can be used to monitor the ride. Coordination of these plans can utilize e-mail, blogs and wikis. Laptops and public wireless hotspots can be used to check in with home, check real-time weather radar, and send back pictures and video.

All this has emerged during the past 10 years. The explosion in the number of personal computers and Internet-connected devices has resulted in a major evolution in the nature and use of the World Wide Web. What began as a client-server approach to scientific data publication and evolved into a combination entertainment/information/commerce application has now emerged as a powerful tool for social networking, community development and individual expression.

As a result, the tech-savvy motorcyclist now has available an array of leading-edge communication and information technologies to plan, execute, record and relive the sights and sounds of the motorcycling experience. Welcome to the age of the Digital Biker.

Web 2.0 – The Social Web

Web 2.0 (1) is the name given to a trend in the nature of Web-based technologies that is considered to represent a ‘second generation’ in the evolution of the World Wide Web. Some of the technologies include cascading style sheets (CSS), extended Markup Language (XML), and Asynchronous Javascript And XML (AJAX) (2). All of these technologies have the goal of making Web-based services more accessible to the non-technical computer user. Indeed, some technical skill is still required but the amount and complexity has been greatly reduced.

One significant result of this has been a literal explosion in the number and size of free social networking (3) services. Services such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn have expanded at an alarming rate. MySpace alone grew, in less than 2 years, into one of the hottest applications on the Web, with 22 million users (by 2005) and more page views than Google. (4) The amazing thing about this is that these services provide no content of their own. They simply provide a way for users to publish their own content and connect to content of other users in an ever-expanding human (social) network. In a sense it is the incarnation of Andy Warhol’s prediction that “Everybody will be famous for 15 minutes” but with ‘minutes’ perhaps replaced by ‘megabytes.’ This outlet for personal expression has a counterpart in the tens of millions of page views that represent our voyeuristic curiosity about each other.

But that is only the beginning. Specialty hosting services for video (such as )

and photographs (such as ) allow digital media to be shared as in the social networking model. Shared digital media and personal information can be ‘mashed’ into powerful multimedia life journals that chronicle a person’s life experiences.

Enter the motorcyclist. At the very heart of motorcycling is the experience. Those of us who love wrestling with the wind and feeling the scenery know that it is the experience, most of all, that drives us. The experience is so powerful, so joyful, that it is almost impossible to really explain to the non-rider. Other aspects of motorcycling, the camaraderie, the bikes, the rallys, are great but they really all are simply part of the unique and personally profound experience of motorcycling.

So what do we do when we live in places that do not have an all-year riding season? The traditional answer has been that we store the bike to keep it safe, then spend months over maps and photographs remembering the rides of the past and dreaming of those to come. Many of us also keep in touch with our fellow motorcyclists through clubs and organizations – typically face-to-face but increasingly through email or bulletin-boards such as the old UUCP Newsgroup rec.motorcycle.

The social Web is gradually changing this. Using Youtube and Google Video, motorcyclists have published thousangs videos that record the sights and sounds of rallys, bike shows, bight nights and group and individual ride. Video composition and editing, once solely the domain of the film industry, can now be done with user-friendly software that comes free on every Windows (WMM) and Macintosh (iMovie) home computer. Inexpensive digital cameras and even many cell phones can now record high-resolution video as a standard feature.

Training and skill development is an issue with any technology, and the social Web is having an impact here as well. Many tutorial videos and Web sites have been developed to share production tips and to help other users develop their production skills. As an example, the Atomic Learning Web site (5) has 63 free video-based tutorials focusing on various tasks in Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker 2.0. Another example is the set of WMM tutorial videos developed by users and freely available on Youtube (6).

Weblogs (blogs), bulletin-boards, and motorcycle-related Web sites – allow coordination of efforts important to motorcyclists such as improving state, federal and local motorcycle laws, planning for rallies spreading awareness of new cycles and products, and more. However, the old (1990’s) method for sharing relied extensively on text, and perhaps a few pictures that had been scanned from photographs – or on static Web sites that require the author to become adept at HTML or another authoring language.

The social Web has changed this also. New publishing technologies (AJAX, CSS, etc.) have lead to the development of user-friendly Web authoring and hosting sites such as Weebly (). Weebly, developed by 3 of my students at Penn State, is a very user-friendly service for Web page creation that has been listed as one of Time Magazine’s “50 Best Web Sites of 2007.” (7) It allows a user, with little computer experience and no programming experience, to create professional-quality Web pages incorporating multimedia and advanced functionality such as news feeds (RSS) and more.

The effect of this has been to put the means of Web publishing into the hands of the end user by making it more accessible in terms of skill level and cost. Much like a form of cyber-mulch, this has resulted in the sprouting of thousands of personal Web sites containing digital representations of their specific motorcycling experiences. One excellent example is the Motorcycle Misadventures Web site maintained by writer and motorcyclist Carla King (8). This is primary a Web log (blog) that provides news and commentary for the motorcycling community. Readers can contribute ideas or information and thus partake in a growing community.

Examples and Resources

A good friend once told me that the thing he loved about motorcycling was that he could spend all day with good friends and never have to speak a word. In that spirit, rather than analyzing this evolving phenomenon to death I’d like to point you to examples and resources to get into this yourself.

As a prerequisite, you have to have a fairly current computer (Windows XP or later, Mac OSX or later) and an internet connection – preferably broadband. If you do not have these things or know how to use them you can pretty much grab any kid (maybe a daughter/son, neice/nephew, grandchild, etc.) and hire them as a tutor. They can show you how to use a Web browser and generally guide you through any of these sites.

Don’t be afraid to learn – this is an adventure. You have to be like a kid yourself and play with it.

Digital Recording Devices

You may already have a digital camera capable of video, audio and still images and not even know it. I’ve met a few motorcyclists who had video-capable digital cameras but only thought they could do stills. If you don’t have a camera, best places to check are discount electronics stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City. Do your homework first – which can often be done on the Web.

Obvious features to consider are portability, battery life, resolution of the images, and ease of use. But also look at the issues of capture and video format. Capture is the process of moving the video (or images) to your computer. Two popular ways to do this are through removable memory cards and wire-based interfaces. Removable media cards come in many sizes – but be sure your computer can read them. You may need to spend an extra $20 on a multi-card media reader that you plug into a USB port on the computer. Wire-based interfaces involve running a cable (usually supplied with the camera) from the camera to either a USB or Firewire port on your computer. Either way, you want to be sure that you can move the shots to your computer for editing. This may be a challenge the first time you do it but then becomes routine – again remember that ultimate source of assistance – your friendly neighborhood kid.

Camera Resources

|Digital Camera Reviews and News | |

|Digital Camera Resource Page | |

|Digital Camera HQ | |

|On-Line Library of Digital Photography | |

|Digital Video Camcorders Review | |

|Consumer Reports | |

Basics of Video Editing

Video editing is one of those skills that is scary at first but then becomes so much fun that you begin to apply it everywhere. Those of us who study information technologies refer to it as an ‘enabler’ – because it enables the user to greater diversity of communication.

At a top level, all digital videos follow the same approach. A variety of media objects (video clips, images, sounds, music, etc.) are arranged on a number of timelines (video timeline, music timeline, etc.) and then augmented with text labels (title, credits, etc.),

Voiceover, transitions between objects and special effects. The result is then compiled by the editing program into a single video. The format of the resulting video can vary according to the editing program options and the desires of the user. Common formats are Quicktime and MPEG.

Tutorial Resources

|Digital Video Tutorial |

| |htm |

|Digital Producer Magazine |

| |htm |

|About Desktop Video | |

|Windows Movie Maker Tutorial | |

|How to Edit Digital Video With WMM | |

|iMovie Tutorials | |

|Univ. of Vermont iMovie Tutorial | |

Publishing

One issue in publishing of digital video is the musical accompaniment. Copyright law prohibits users from simply copying their favorite rock or country song for use as background – although publishers such as Warner Music Group are considering allowing use in Youtube videos. Three approaches I have used, that appear to be in accordance with Copyright law, are to either (a) use music in the public domain, (b) make the music myself, or (c) use music released online through the Creative Commons (8) license.

Although the list of recorded music in the public domain is small, it does include some very interesting old blues, country and Appalacian songs. A great source for these and other formats is the Internet Archive at .

If you play your own music, and you are playing a cover of a published song, play it safe by stating that this is an interpretive performance. Interpretations are generally allowed under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ‘Fair Use’ provision. It is also important that you not stand to make any revenue from the video. Of course, if you play music you have written there is no problem at all for you own the copyright.

Creative Commons is a license where an artist specifically allows certain uses of their work – typically requiring that they be stated as author. Hundreds of musicians have released work in the creative commons at this writing. A Google search will help you to locate them.

Once you have created your content, you will want to share it with others. There are many ways to do this, so I will only mention a few simple approaches. One such approach is to use a free Weblog as a starting point. A Weblog is essentially a Web page that you use as a journal. You would periodically make entries that could include text, pictures or video, and hyperlinks. Weblogs are great for keeping a chronicle of extended trips or whole riding seasons, and can be developed by groups as well as by individuals. Many Weblog services offer free accounts – others can have a charge for additional Web space and other features.

Weblog Examples

|Motorcycle Misadventures Weblog by writer Carla | |

|King | |

|Piglet Paper | |

|Road Show | |

|The Biker Web Biker Blog | |

|Hogbiker | |

|Rippin-Kitten | |

|List of Motorcycle Blogs | |

Online photo album and video sites allow the user to publish copies of their pictures and videos in away that can be organized, hyperlinked and shared with others worldwide. For many digital bikers, the winter months are when we go back to the shots and images of the previous riding season to finally do the editing and publishing. Why do this during the riding season – we are too busy riding!

Photo Albums and Videos

|Centre Line Riders Renovo Ride | |

|Motorcycle Trip Photos | |

|Flickr – Motorcycle Photos | |

|Harley-Davidson FLSTCI overview | |

|Motofemina – A Real Woman’s Motorcycle Series | |

|Motorcycle Tank Cam | |

|Big Sur Rides | |

|Long Lonesome Highway | |

Ride Videos by Moondog Media Experience

|Boalsburg to Bellefonte | |

|Hazen 2006 | |

|Route 445 ride through mountains | |

|2006 OBX ride -1 | |

|2006 OBX ride – 2 | |

|Thunder in the Valley 2006 | |

|Thrills in the Hille 2006 | |

|Centre Line Riders Toy Run 2007 | |

|CRL Bike Show 2007 | |

|Motorcycle Tank Art | |

|Bike Night at Pa Roadhouse | |

|Bike Night at Quaker Steak & Lube | |

|Ride to Woolrich – Oct 2007 | |

|7-Oct-2007 ride to Phillipsburg | |

|Sproul Forest Ride Oct-2007 | |

|OBX-2008 ride | |

Outcomes

The primary outcome from this merger of digital media and motorcycling has been an expansion in the number of motorcyclists worldwide. Indeed, the online videos, blogs and photo albums serve not only to remind riders of the fun they had but to encourage non-riders to join in. Whether one comes to motorcycling for the sport, the adventure, the utility or the lifestyle – experiencing the sights and sounds, even virtually, and seeing the many smiling faces, can lead one to make the first step of a 10,000 mile life journey.

Another outcome is in the form of public relations. It greatly surprised me to discover that motorcyclists are still treated as second-class citizens in some areas. A few municipalities have passed laws (parking, noise, etc.) aimed at motorcyclists, reflecting a general misunderstanding and fear. Of course this is not helped by the image of the one-percenter as portrayed in television and movies, but that is also changing thanks to current shows like American Chopper. The wide availability of videos, photo albums and Weblogs devoted to motorcycling – written by people like you and me – can educate the general public that motorcycling is as mainstream as any activity could possibly be. Women, men and kids from every culture on the planet enjoy riding the 2-wheeled beast and see in each other a camaraderie that transcends demographics.

There is also a preservation of history in this collection of personal accounts and experiences. Motorcycling as we know it today cannot last. The internal combustion engine will eventually be replaced by an engine friendlier to the environment. Despite the efforts of motorcycle rights organizations, the current freedoms enjoyed by motorcyclists will certainly be limited 20, 30 or 50 years hence. So the collection of multimedia represent the sights and sounds of history in the making. Perhaps if we remember we will not be so quick to lose the things we have?

Conclusion

The social Web is having an effect on many aspects of human life. Digital communication and multimedia have become mainstream and now reach billions of people worldwide. People are establishing online identities and joining global communities of interest. The merger of the social Web with the motorcycling community has just begun and has rewarded many participants with a means to even more fully enjoy the experience of riding. One day, not too far in the future, we may don a special helmet, close our eyes, and totally relive all of the memories and sensations of a ride or rally, in the mid of winter, from the warm comfort of our homes.

References

(1) Web 2.0 (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2008, from

(2) Wallace, David (December 19, 2006). Retrieved February 27, 2008 from

(3) Social Network Service (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2008 from

(4) Rosenbush, Steve (July 19, 2005). News Corps Place in MySpace. Business Week. Retrieved February 27, 2008 from



(5) Atomic Learning Web site at

(6) Youtube search

(7) Time Magazine Online – 50 Best Web Sites 2007. (n.d.) Retrieved February 27, 2008 from

(8) King, Carla (n.d.). Motorcycle Misadventures. Retrieved February 27, 2008 from

(9) Creative Commons (n.d.)

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