TED talk-- Reena

Amanda Palmer makes some interesting points in her TED talk, the art of asking. I feel like she really stands out as a musician. Her thoughts and actions really show her passion for music. A lot of artists care more about the money. When her first major record label turned her down, she did not give up. Amanda really cleared up the difference between certain questions people might ask in regards to making money off of music. I totally agree with her as to there actually being an art to asking. Some people are afraid to even ask questions. My mother always taught me to not be afraid to ask questions, but sometimes I let my shyness get the best of me. Another interesting part of Amanda’s TED talk was when she went through different situations of her connections with her fans. A lot of people have a celebrity that he or she favors. Nine times out of ten, that person will never meet his or her favorite celebrity. Well, at least not without spending a lot of money or winning some chance by the luck of Lucky himself. Amanda Palmer makes it much easier to actually meet her, not to say one will, but that her fans have a much higher chance of meeting her rather than some other hot shot out there. It just makes her that much more special as not only an artist, but also a person. She also understands what it means to start from the bottom and work your way to the top. She was kind of witty; she had a nice sense of humor, I liked it. Her talk could very much inspire others, especially those who aspire to become an artist. She teaches a valuable lesson that everybody could take with them in one sense or another. Aside from the point, her eyebrows were um…. different.

Missional Living.

I'll be quite honest and say that I have mixed thoughts about that entire TED talk. The majority of the things that I enjoyed were that the speaker brought up some very unique points, not all of them were on point, but she did bring up some things I found very interesting. I personally thought she was kinda creepy. I could handle the fact that she worked as a human statue in order to make a living and such, but the stripping and some other aspects of the video really did creep me out. I will say that she did make a good point about asking somebody for something instead of demanding payment for it. I likened this to my own life and how I live my life as a follower of Christ. She stated that it is important to foster a relationship instead of wanting money and attention. As a Christian, I am called to go out and witness to non believers about the Gospel and the love of Christ. If I invite somebody to church with me, we don't normally do much together, they say no, and I ignore them from then on, what does that say about me? I believe that it is important to practice the mindset of "missional living." Similar to what Ms. Palmer was referring to, this is a way of living life that doesn't make a person a project or a number. This concept is about building relationships with all kinds of people, those who share in my faith and those who don't, those who live how I do and those who live differently. Instead of just beating them over the head with the Bible, it is important to get to know the person, genuinely invest time into their lives and care for them. Whether they accept my invitation to come to church with me or not doesn't mean I change how I interact with them. In fact, if they said no it should make me want to be with them more, to gain their respect and trust and to continue to witness to them. This idea of missional living is about being "in the world, but not of the world." I can be friends with people that don't share my same opinions and hang out with them but it doesn't mean I have to do the things they do that I feel are wrong. They will respect me more if I stand by my values and are still friends with them than if I just don't hang out with them because we see things differently.

Alexis Brierley Ted Talk

In Amanda Palmer’s Ted Talk, I expected her to be some kind of professor or instructor and talk about how you should persuade someone or how to make them agree with whatever question your asking, whether it be asking for money or a favor or some kind of service. Instead, I was moved by her incredible story. I found it to be very inspiring and motivating. Although I’ve never been to where she performed, I did travel to france and found it to be a very similar scene. I did not expect to see as many street performers painting, dancing, playing music, or being statues as I found there to be. There was constant movement of people moving and creating in a way that I know I would not have the guts to do. The best part, though, is that many of these artists were actually amazingly talented, much like the speaker in this Ted Talk. One of the most influential parts of her speech is when she talked about her personal experience of asking people for things. She became very good at “the art of asking” because she shared her talents in return for the things people gave. I think that it is remarkable she gave away her music for free and that people would come back and give her money for her talents. She is obviously good at talking to people and able to make a connection through her songs singing voice that leads for this kind of relationship. The idea that people will willingly pay for the music instead of it being forced on them in order to hear it is actually really sentimental. Music is a big part of people’s lives and I think, because of that, these people were willing to show Amanda that they appreciated her work and her music. 

The Art of Asking- John Perrow

After the first thirty seconds of this TED Talk, I had absolutely no idea what Amanda Palmer was going to speak about for 14 minutes. In this video, Amanda shows her positive attitude towards others. She also emphasizes on reaching out to others for help or to ask them questions. She began an art of asking people to help her with her music so that she could become more successful. Engaging in conversations with random and lonely people became one of her hobbies because it made them feel not so lonely. By asking other for help, other performers would help introduce her music to the public and then join her on stage to perform. She also uses Twitter as a means of communications to ask people for help, and she was very successful by her fans. Her viewpoint on communicating with others is quite different from most people we see or talk to in today’s society. Most people try not to ask for help and try to do everything by themselves. Amanda sees asking as an “art,” not a way of begging for things. “Couch surfing” is not a common practice today as it used to be many years ago. Not many people today would give up their own beds for a random person to crash at their homes. This video is very interesting to the audience because it shows them what it is like to be a street performer trying to make their way up to the Top 40 hits. Amanda wants people to realize that performing is her way of life, and is a way of life for many others as well. Hopefully the people who have watched this video have a better understanding of musicians such as Amanda who strive to make a living while connecting with their fans.

Logan Smith - The Art of Asking

In Amanda Palmer’s TED talk, I was skeptical. When I first saw her eyebrows, honestly, I was like, what in the world is she going to talk about? I expected a step by step process on the language to use, or how we should emphasize certain aspects of what we are asking for, but no. Oh boy was I wrong! She was profound. She was likeable. She knew what she was talking about. I loved seeing the connection from someone who stands on the streets making a living by standing on a box to a musician who loves what she does and needs support to keep doing that. It was genius almost to emphasize that correlation, because it changed my mind about street performers. When I went to New Orleans over Spring Break, I didn’t expect to see as many different people painting and singing and playing instruments and fortune telling and magicians as I did. However, all of them were impeccably good at what they did, just like Amanda Palmer. It became her norm to ask people for things – but instead of coming across as someone who was just mooching, she shared herself, which is just as valuable – if not more – than letting someone crash on your couch or floor. As for the music issue, I think it’s cool that people would come up to her and give her money for her music after they’ve already listened to it and made the CD. It takes someone who is very transparent and connected with their audience to get that kind of respect, especially in the world we live in today. I know good and well if someone came up to Taylor Swift and tried to do that, she would refuse the ten dollars. Granted, Amanda Palmer isn’t Taylor Swift, however the idea of letting people pay for music rather than forcing them into it is really a beautiful idea – especially when you want to emphasize one of Amanda’s points: musicians used to just be regular people who lived among the crowd, not ostracized celebrities.  There is a website called NoiseTrade, where artists can post free EPs or full-length albums or samplers. You can download the albums for free, but you can also leave ‘tips’ for the artist. It’s super cool to see that implemented in more ways than just Amanda Palmer! 

Art of Asking

When I first started watching this video I thought it was going to be very weird. I did not see where she was going with it in the beginning and was a little skeptical. But once she starting going on about how much people helped her just by her asking, it really interested me. You don’t realize how kind people are until people like Amanda Palmer remind you. Her way of life is fascinating and she seems like such an amazing person. I have seen several street statue performers and always wonder why someone would like doing that. It is really cool to be able to hear her side of that job and their point of view. It is unbelievable how many fans she has that have helped her. The fact that her music is free and she was so successful with it shows that people respond well when it comes to asking. They are not forced and makes them like the person asking more. It doesn’t make them vulnerable but shows that they are ok with relying on others. Amanda proves her point in such a creative way and is really inspiring. After watching this video I went on YouTube and searched some of her music. Her music is something very different than to what I listen to. The people that do though, love her. Just reading the comments you can tell she inspires so many. Amanda feeds off her fans just the way they feed off her. She speaks of trust and how important it is. In this time and day it is hard to be able to trust complete strangers but she greatly benefits from it. Amanda teaches a really good lesson and is someone that everyone could learn from. I ended up enjoying her lecture a lot and think she is such a cool person.

TED Talk -Katelynn Gulya

When I watched Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk for the first time one of the first things I saw as how long it was -14 minutes. I thought that seemed pretty long but once I began watching it did not seem long at all. Amanda had a very interesting way of sharing her beliefs with the audience and based on the reaction of the crowd it seemed to be a positive and successful response. I thought it was interesting the way she approached her topic by leading it along with her own personal story. It seemed a little odd some of the things that she said she had done but I can see how it had shaped her own personal opinions through her experiences. When the TED Talk started it with her standing on crate holding a flower and a shawl I was really confused and it made me think she was little bit weird too. I was actually surprised when she finally got around to saying her main point. I figured it would be something a little more relevant than asking people to pay money for music. I actually thought the way she was discussing things was kind of rude. In the way she was telling her stories she discussed how she asked herself multiple times if accepting a free place to stay, food, and other help from people was “fair”.  Later she said that she thought it was fair. To me it did not seem like she was at all grateful only because of the fact that she continually took help from other people with only her music in return. Its okay to get help from others sometimes but she said that she did take help a lot. I interpreted her taking help so often as Palmer being lazy in that she did not want to pay for her own food or a place to stay and that she was completely dependent on other people for their help. I was not really a fan of her TED Talk.