Blogs

Blogging is an increasingly important function of the internet. There are millions of blogs that range from topics related to celebrity gossip to political activism. People use blogs for multiple purposes and therefore blogging on the internet is becoming part of our public sphere. Blogs are a great way for people to connect with eah other over certain topics of interest. This video can be used to explain how news has evolved in the twenty-first centruy with the use of blogging:



I think that blogs have expanded the realm of news in a positive direction. Previously there were only a limited topics in news politics, sports, economy, etc. because there was a limited amount of space. Newspapers, radio and television news shows only had so much time to devote to each story. However, the internet opened an unlimited amount of space to share news, and with this increase, new topics emerged. Now people can blog about mulitple issues, particularly issues that are interesting or valuable to them. If people are focusing on topics that are of interest to them they will be more likely to engage n news. Some say that the 21st centruy lacks activism , however blogs are a geat way for people to come together and discuss issues, even if it is virtually. Blogs allow people from all around the world to discuss issues and share their opinions. I believe that this is one of the greatest features of blogging.
However, some people who can't afford the internet are left out of this public sphere. Because they don't have the means to blog they are excluded from these discussion or ideas. Therefore I believe that the "community internet" that is mentioned in the "Future of the Internet" Free Press article is an exceptional idea. This way the internet is free to all citizens within these communities and will give more people accesss to the public sphere. It is true that public internet may be slower and less reliable, but it is still a good source of information for those people who can't afford any internet at all.

Facebook

Facebook is a social network that has become an integrated into many peoples daily lives. Most people using Facebook check it more than once a day, and each Facebook visit may last from 5 minutes to 2 hours. Facebook creates a vitural world of connections, one of its greatest featues is the ability to keep in contact with people no matter where there are in the world. You can find childhood friends, talk with distance relatives, and stay in touch friends in college. The latter is the reason I personally created my Facebook. I had a lot of friends in high school who were a year older than me, so when they left for college, I wanted an easy way to talk to them while they were away. I have had my Facebook for two years now and it has become a regular part of my social life. The Facebook terminalogy like writing on "walls," "tagging photos," "poking peope," etc have become common in everyday conversation inside and outside of the network. People have become accustomed to Facebook and features it provides as away of maintaining an identity and sharing it with those around you. To those who haven't experienced Facebook many of the features may seem odd, and even to current users, some features seem unnecessary:



One of the most interesting capabilities of Facebook is how people can "lurk" on other peoples lives. Basically this means you have insight to a lot of persons information and personal life through Facebook. You can see their school, age, relationship status, who they are friends, etc. But other parts of peoples lives are broadcasted through social networks you can learn about what they did last night from wall posts, posted pictures, and statuses. From an outside perspective this may seem odd, that you can learn all about someones real life from a webpage, but without Facebook I think our generation would be at a great loss of communication.
According to Peter Schwartz's article, he believes kids will "burn out" on Facebook. I disagree. I think that Facebook is such a valuable social networking system that I can't imagine people getting bored and deactivating their Facebooks. It is possible that a new social networking system will arise on the internet, something that may replace Facebook, just as it replaced MySpace. However, I think that social networking sites are a vital part of our lives today and will remain necessary for our future.

Ipods

Technology is continually advancing, and each new improvement has an effect on our lives. The invention of the radio connected people from all across the country by allowing them to hear about news simultaneously. But even though the speed and immediacy of the radio was beneficial, it is also speculated as a cause for a decrease in news consumption. Along with the invention of the radio came suburbia. Instead of people reading the newspaper on the train to work, commuters would drive in their cars and listen to the radio. The radio has the ability to provide people with news, but mostly, especially in the younger generations, the radio is used to listen to music. People would use radio stations to personalize the music they listened to and the limited amount of news they received on their way to work. Technological advancements have always had an influence on our lives, and recently it seems as though each new technology has led to an increase of individuation in society. People personalize their media whether its by listening to a select amount of songs on their iPod or only receiving their news from certain blogs. There are pros and cons to the occurring individuation, and I believe that the best way to maintain a healthy relation with the technology we use is to use everything in balance.
I think that personalization of technology is a benefit to people because it allows them to express themselves while making life more convenient. The iPod, or more specifically the iPhone, is a perfect example of how technology allows people to personalize their lives.



This commercial demonstrates how the iPhone allows people to bring all different parts of their world together into one, small piece of technology. A person can have their music, movies, photos, and contacts all in one place. Because of this all iPhones are different just like all people are different. The iPhone is essentially wrapping up some of the most important interests in a person's life into a single device. I think that this is phenomenal because it allows people to express themselves by displaying their photos and music which are things that people often identify themselves with. But it is also convenient because it allows people to watch movies on their cell phone that they can use to call someone over 3,000 miles away.

Personalization of technology does have some negative influences on individuals and society as a whole. Because people can individualize their technology to cater to their specific interests, they may be closed off to new information and ideas. I think that people may become to absorbed in their own technology that they might not notice things that are happening around them. If someone receives all their news from one source they may have a biased perception on issues or may be closed off to the importance of different issues. The personalization of technology is also consuming, which may explain why people text other people constantly instead of talking to the people around them. One of my greatest concerns is that the personalization of technology will lead to close minded people that lack the social interaction that is necessary for a functioning society.

Therefore, I believe that personalization in technology must be used in moderation. It is impossible to halt technological improvements, but it is possible to use personalized technology in balance with other sources of media that promote a sense of social integration, such as newspapers, television news, etc. Personalized news is a good tool to filter out some information, but it is also important to tune into other mediums so that we can receive a well-rounded idea of what is happening in the world outside of our iPhone.

The Web

The world wide web is extrordinary in its ability to provide people with access and opportunities that were never available before. One of the greatest features of the internet, as discussed in the articles, was it's ability to serve as a public sphere. A public sphere is a forum that allows an exchange of ideas and opinions between people in an effort to promote democracy. A public sphere must meet the following criteria: it must be a space for mediated discourse, must allow for new, previoulsy excluded, discussants, must be political in nature, and the ideas shared in the public sphere must be judged on merit and not on the authors status. While I believe that the internet has the potential to transform into a public sphere, I agree with the author Papacharissi, that the web can be more accurately defined as a public space. A public space serves as a place that is available for political deliberation, but is not limited to just that.
The internet has proven to be a great source of political information in the past, and has also been a space that allows for political discussion. Many activist groups have websites and blogs that range from the Green party to Gay Rights protesters. These placs allow people who may live on opposite sides of the country to be connected. Also, certain blogs have published information in the past, such as the Drudge Report that uncovered the Monica Lewinsky scandal, that has lead to political reform. I think that the internet has proven to be a great tool in politics today and is a convinent way for people to share their opinions and be involved.
Youtube.com is an especially important phenomena regarding the internet. Youtube alone has contributed to the way the web can be political in nature. Much of the news footage that has been aired previously on news shows has also been posted on Youtube. This allows people who may have missed important streaming live videos of events or speeches to watch the clips on Youtube. For instance, Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech has been viewed almost 6 million times on Youtube.


Many may speculate that the exchange of political ideas or information online may result in "socially filtered" news. I personally think that even though the internet provides news in a new medium it is still valuable to people around the world. The interent allows news to be updated immediately and accessed easily which are great improvements. The internet may be used for many purposes, which are not all political in nature, but I believe that if the web contintues to develop it will become a great forum for political discussion and exchange of ideas.

News Agenda Setting

Agenda setting is a vital strategy that fuels the media. Agenda setting provides news sources with information to broadcast to the audience, however the issues that are made most important in the news may not be the ones that are most effective for the public. I believe that the largest problems with agenda setting stem from the the policy and corporate agendas. These two sources of information are the least concerend with the publics best interest, as shown in this video below.



Policy agendas are a way for the governemnt to feed the public information it wants the people to know through media sources. These agenda can be a form of propaganda trying to sawy the public opinion one way or another. Corporate agendas are even more slanted toward the public because it often consists of advertisements for large corporations. Instead of delivering the audience important information, coporation agendas try to market a product or service within the news.
I believe that media and public agendas are the most valuable to the audience. The media tries to relay information or stories to the public that are commonly reported on in order to give the public a well-rounded view of current affairs. It is hard for the media's agenda to remain completely uneffected by the persausions of the government and other corporations, as to what should be the most important topics. I believe that a way for the media to create the most accurate and thorough coverage is to "multiple perspectives" as as Herbert Gans discussed in one of the articles. If journalists adapted a method of mulitple perspectives agenda setting may become more objective and be healthier for our democracy.
Lastly, public policy is an important issue in agenda setting because the public is receiving the messages sent by the media. Personally, I don't know how much of an effect agenda setting truly has on the public. I believe that the media has a limited effect and that audiences tend to seek out information that is of interest to them. Agenda setting may have a greater effect on the public regarding some issues over others. For instance, issues that directly effect the public like unemployment, gas prices, etc. are already important to the public, so the media's agenda setting won't make these issues more or less important. However, agenda setting could have a greater effect on issues that the public may not experience directly such as foreign affairs. Because people are less familiar with these issues the media, corporations, and government have more leverage in swaying the publics opinion.

MTV

MTV began as Music Television but has turned into something much different. MTV is a cable television show that targets a teenage audience but serves as a grand commercial media source. According to the article from http://www.media-studies.ca/articles/pr.htm, MTV has fallen victim to the tactics of public relations by "routinely mapping out pre-arranged occurrences that are projected to look and sound like impromptu truths." MTV performs "market research" by interviewing teenagers on the current trends and fads they follow. However the teenagers are viewed as a customer. MTV doesn't have to give teenagers exactly what they want, instead they listen to the young so they know how to feed them information.
MTV started out persuading the music tastes of teenagers through the music videos and guest appearances of pop-stars, but I think that some of MTV's featured shows has gone to far. Shows like Spring Break portraying the half dressed girls and belligerent boys that depict the essence of "cool" for the younger generations. And although the footage may be entertaining is MTV benefiting the greater good of society by advertising that type of behavior? I believe that advertisers and PR firms need to be more cautious when targeting a younger audience. Teenage audiences are one of the most vulnerable demographics. The way certain advertisements on MTV are framed may affect the way the message is perceived by the audience. For instance, this commercial for "safe sex" was sponsored and aired on MTV:



The commerical is to persuade the teenage audience to use condoms when having sex, but the ad itself says much more. To teenagers this advertisement may speak more about the common one-night stand in college than about having safe sex. The way advertisements are created can have a large impact on the audience, and therefore, stations like MTV need to take more social responsibility for what is aired.

Magazines

Sex sells. In the 21st century sex is used as an appeal to audiences and infultrates many of our media sources. Feminism has been a growing force since the 1900's when the suffragists were working to gain the right to vote, but are the values of feminism still needed today? Some would argue that feminism is needed more than ever. In magazines and other media sources women are portrayed as what many consider to be "the ideal" image which is almost impossible to achieve. People criticize the media industry for featuring women that are too thin, too airbrushed, etc. Our soiciety has become fed up with the image of "perfection" but how would the audinece respond if magazines only feautured "average" women? Women today speak out against the image of beauty that is protrayed in our society today, however, I believe that subconsciously it is what women are choosing to read about. Magazines with beautiful women on the cover continue to sell regardless of their idealistic images. I think that women read the magazines with health, fitness, beauty, and sex tips because they are aiming to improve their lives. Also, magazines feauture stories to help women strive to better themselves and instill confidence. There are articles that cover women who have battled diseases, been rape victims, used self-defense to save their lives. I think that people focus too much on what they consider the negative aspects of magazines that force an ideal image of women on the audience, and they don't necessarily think about the positive aspects of magazines within the articles. Certain magazines cater to certain interests, however I do believe that there are media outlets that are trying to help women improve their lives. This cover of Women's Health magazine provided by www.site.pangaya.com balances both sides of the spectrum.
The woman featured on the cover, Kate French, is a beaurtiful, fit woman. She is dressed in bikini bottoms and is most likely airbrushed but she doesn't look abnormally skinny. Also the slogan of Women's Health is "You & Improved" which shows how this magazine is trying to help women strive to improve their lifestyle. The featured stories on the cover talk about "Slimming Styles for Your Shape," addressing the afact that not every women looks the same, nor should she. I think that the issue of feminism does have an importance in the media. I also feel that people should not just focus on the negative aspects of how women are portrayed in the media but should regard the strides that the media industry is making as well.

Text Messages

Over the years communications have changed drastically. With each new invention the way we interact with each other is altered. Communications have travelled by oral speech, print, radio and television broadcasts, Internet blogs, and now with cell phones we have mobile communication wherever we go. But even the way use the cell phone to communicate has changed in the past decade. Originally parents used to worry about their teenagers going over their minutes each month as they would talk endlessly with their friends on the phone. But now there is another feature that has not only parents worried about the monthly bill, but society as a whole concerned: texting. Text messaging is a convenient and practical way to send messages on cell phones in a "text." Like any medium of communication, texting has it's pros and cons. Texting can be useful to send short messages of information. For instance if I need a phone number or address it is easier to have someone send me a text so I don't have to write it down. Also texting is convenient when I need to communicate with someone but I'm not in a setting where I can have a conversation. However, I do think that in the past couple of years the use of texting has gone out of control. People don't use texting only when it is necessary, they have made it a way of life.
There are many features of texting that have negatively impacted the way people interact and behave in society. The use of "text talk" such as LOL, OMG, TTYL, and many more have infiltrated both oral and written speech. Like the article from USA Today stated people will say "LOL" in a conversation instead of actually laughing out loud which is what the acronym implies. This youtube video shows an entire conversation that a child has with her mother in complete text-terminology.



This abbreviated form of communication makes conversation seem superficial and insincere. Also, it is speculated that the generation who have grown up with text messaging may be less equipped with the professional skills necessary in college and future careers. People need to know how to network and converse through speech and not through text. When a boss asks an employee for an idea in the workplace, he or she can't say "BRB" and think about it before they respond. I think that texting has been a weakness in our communicating skills, and those who rely to heavily upon it, may have more difficulty in professions later in life.

Video Games

The violence in video games has become a controversial topic in the last decade. People are concerned that the level of violence in video games have negative effects on the children and teenagers who play them, and ultimately results in aggressive behavior. Although there is a general concern and possible correlation between the extreme violence in video games and the negative influence on children, there is no concrete evidence to prove the effects. Violent video games may be unhealthy for children to play while they are in the stages of maturing, however, is it any different than the other extreme violence displayed in movies or on television? Our media today is enveloped in an age of technology and special effects that advanced video games from the old fashioned Mario Kart to the real life animations of Halo. Video games are part of the entertainment industry, and even though they contain violence they have a rating for ages just as movies do. I don't think that violent video games should be banned, however I believe that violent video games should be used responsibly.
I believe that there are many video games that should not be used by children of a young age because of the amount of violence used in them. As kids are growing up they don't need to pretend that they are shooting prostitutes or throwing knives at police officers. Video games for children should be limited to more innocent games such as car racing, Mario Kart, educational games, etc. However, it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their child is playing appropriate games. The children who the public fears will act out in the same aggression in real life as they see on the video game is probably also the child that lacks discipline at home. A parent needs to teach their children right from wrong; what actions are meant for the video game and what actions are acceptable in everyday life. I think that parental supervision is a necessary factor with children's use of video games.
Also I beleive that the companies producing these video games owe a leve of responsibility to the public. One positive step in this direction would be the use of ratings on video games. This alerts the public to know whether it is "E" for everyone, or "M" for mature. Advertising for violent video games should also try to aim their commercials at the right audience. For instance this trailer for Halo 3 that was eventually rated "M" for mature is clearly advertising toward little children:


Commercials such as this make younger children want to play a video game that may be too violent for them. Video games have become an important part of entertainment in the 21st century, and I am not completely opposed to the violence in them. As long as the video game companies and parents take responsibility in making sure that children are playing games that are age appropriate, I am less concerned about the violence used in the games.

Instant Message/emotes

We encounter countless amounts of signs everyday. Many some sings that we have grown so accustomed to we may not even realize how important they are to our daily life, for instance that a red hexagon means stop or that the color green means go. Other signs or symbols may vary in their meaning and others may have meanings that are more difficult to interpret. The following video helped explain to me the different forms of signs and symbols and how they are used in everyday life:





Semiotics, the science of signs and sign systems, is important to analyze the way we communicate and how the forms of communication impact the way the message is perceived. The use of signs and symbols allows us also to communicate between people of different languages or cultures. For instance Pierce's "icon" or "index" signs can communicate meaning through language barriers. Icon signs, something objective or preexistent with respect to interpretation, like the "cross" will most likely be interpreted around the world as to represent Christianity, Jesus, etc. Also, index signs, signs that carry the meaning within them, like the example that smoke means fire, is something that can read despite differences in language or culture. Therefore, some signs carry a universal meaning. However, other signs such as "symbols" according to Pierce of the "signifier" according to Saussure, can be more intricate in their meaning. Symbols are signs that have physical relation between the sign and the meaning. Symbols include texts and ideologies. The example shows in the youtube clip that the color red can be used to represent a variety of things: love, anger, danger, etc. The interpretation of symbols may vary based on culture or current mood of the interpreter. Symbols are also complex in that they relate to words. The letters C-A-R refer to a car in the English language, just as C-O-C-H-E refer to a car in Spanish. In this context symbols may be less helpful in translating meaning across different culture or language barriers.

Instant messaging is a perfect example of how semiotics works in a modern context. When instant messaging smilies are used to express emotions. I believe that this type of sign would be considered an "icon" because universally this smiley =) would be used to indicate someone is happy, whereas this smiley =( would indicate that someone is sad. However the instant messaging slang makes, or a string of letters that represent a certain meaning, makes understanding IM conversations much more difficult. The letters "OK" might obviously represent the word "okay" but it might not be as obvious that the letters "JK" stand for "just kidding." Other IM slangs such as "LOL" can have more than one meaning like "laugh out loud" or "lots of love." Instant messaging complicates the use of symbols so that even people of the same language or culture have a difficult time interpreting messages, and turns it into slang, something that varies by generation. Signs and symbols are an important part of communicating but it is important to remember who the receiver will be before using them to send messages.

E-mail

E-mail post

The Medium of Conversation Shapes the Message

Communication is a process that has evolved over the ages, being shaped by the way it is used and the people who use it. Communication can be traced back to the prehistoric ages when cave drawings were used to articulate messages, and was then followed by the development of language, writing, and so forth. The process of communicating has continued throughout the centuries and with each new technological invention the forms of communication are altered.
Today we are able to transfer and access information faster than ever before with the use of cell phones, computers, etc. But with each new improvement there is a fear that the foundation of communication, conversation, will become a lost art. There is a sacred value in talking that other forms severely lack. Face-to-face communication allows one to see the person they are talking to, view their body language, and judge their facial expressions. These observations make conversation more personal and prevent small miscommunications that could be misleading when communicating through other sources of technology.
In the 21st we have access to many forms of communication, but just because new technologies are being invented doesn’t mean the old ones die out. As it is discussed by Sebond Dordrecht in the article “Is Conversation Becoming a Lost Art?” there are situations when sending an e-mail becomes more practical than writing a letter because of it's expediance. A person may not always be able to have a face-to-face conversation with a loved one because of distance, and therefore, a phone call is the next best option. As Dordrecht states “conversation goes on. It is simply the method and the medium that changes” and therefore new technologies shouldn’t be seen as an obstacle to the art of conversation.
In the well known novel Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Marshall McLuhan became famous for the coined phrase “the media is the message,” which explains that the medium used to communicate, whether it is a photograph, e-mail, or television clip, effects the way the message is perceived. It is necessary that the form of communication used reflects the tone or purpose of the message. For instance, sending a text message to ask what time you are meeting someone for coffee isn’t the same as sending a text message telling someone that their grandmother died. Certain forms of communication are clearly less personal than others, and it is important not to be caught up in methods that are convenient while ignoring sensitivity when conveying a message.
The key is to use the tools of communication appropriately, in which case new technologies can be seen as progress not a hindrance on conversation. Conversation is a form of communication, and will continue to exist as a means of transferring information and creating relations with one another. Although the forms of conversation may alter through the decades, it is by no means a lost art, only an evolving process.