Final : THEME 3

It is evident in this day and age that all forms of technology that have ‘gone digital’ have been manipulated and altered by their given audiences and users. Three types of ‘old’ media, (specifically books, film, and radio), have been forced to adapt to new digital media forms and have thus changed because of it. First and foremost, books are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With new technologies such as the Kindle and Ipad, actual books with paper pages are becoming obsolete. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fu1DS1tlT8 ) Now, if you own either one of these gadgets, you can download entire novels, textbooks, and even dictionaries all paper free and within a matter of minutes. Reading is quickly becoming words illuminated by a backlight instead of words formed by ink on a page. These specific electronics are a result of the public desire for efficiency. Everything needs to be more compact and lightweight now more than ever. Another media that has undergone digital transformations is film. Originally, movies did not contain color and could only be viewed on reels by using projectors. Over time, they could be distributed on bulky VHS tapes, then flat DVD disks, and most recently on even smaller Blu-Ray disks. Current movies, however, are drastically different. They are in color and can be distributed digitally over the internet. Advances have also been made which allow movies, such as the most recently famous Avatar, to be viewed in 3-D. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uajir6hCwj4 ) These movies are designed to enhance and somewhat distort our interpretations of depth and perception. Cameras are used to capture the same image from two different angles and special projection equipment and glasses are used to enhance the illusion of depth. Colors seem more vibrant and instead of only being seen as something flat on a screen, you can now feel as if you are in the movie yourself, surrounded by the characters. I’m personally skeptical about 3-D entertainment only because consumers are not going to want to view everything in 3-D; there are instances where sometimes the basic method of viewing films is more appropriate. Not to say that 3-D entertainment and movies will die out, just that not all films will be viewed in 3-D. A third technology that has been altered by its audience is radio. Originally, radio was strictly used as a source of information regarding current events. Around the 1930’s, it began doubling as a source of entertainment for farmwives. Radio soap operas became popular and kept isolated farm and house wives amused throughout their days. A couple of decades later, it was still a source of entertainment, but the main focus was now on music. The radio was local and personal to the area in which it was based. Music could be heard in wide variety as well. Over time, however, the music started to become more mainstreamed and all the stations began to seem identical. Currently, the radio has become extremely commercialized. Some stations play more commercials than they do music. It has become less of an entertainment source and more of a business technology. Out of the three technologies, radio seems like it will die out soon. With the development of Ipods and MP3 players along with digital and downloadable music, the radio is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Hardly anyone listens to it anymore, preferring to download their favorite songs so that they are available instantly.

Final : THEME 5

An interesting competitive relationship currently forming is the one between the popular social networking site Facebook and the also popular search engine Google. Both seem to be in a race to see who will dominate the public’s activities on the internet. On one hand, we have Facebook. A privately owned social networking site developed within the last decade or so. Its target audience is youths, mostly teenagers, and it can be used to communicate and connect with friends and people all around the world. It is used to hold conversations and share personal experiences, pictures, videos and even audio material. Information is targeted to be shared amongst friends on Facebook. There are groups on the site designed to be used by and connect people who share a specific interest. In this sense, the amount of information and the extent of the information to be found on Facebook is limited. It is not a search engine, it holds information posted by others. If a significant amount of Facebook users are not interested in something you find intriguing, chances are you will not find Facebook to be a big help in learning more about the subject. Google’s sole purpose, on the other hand, is to serve as a search engine. If you need information on just about any topic imaginable, Google is where you should go. It hosts and develops internet-based services and products and it stays in business because of the profits from the numerous advertisements it contains. There is not a link provided by Google that does not have one if not numerous advertisements surrounding the main information. Google provides links to sites that are government-supported as well as pages that have been made by average people. In addition to all of these abilities, Google recently disclosed information stating that it is about to launch a module in Gmail that will allow users to update statuses and share them with friends. Basically, it will be doing everything Facebook can do, and then some. (http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/02/google_vs_facebook_and_twitter.html ) For this reason, I personally feel that Google, if it has not already done so, will emerge as dominant. While Facebook makes use of our personal interests and information to connect us to others and help us find information through methods such as suggestion apps, Google doesn’t find our personal interests relevant when helping us find the information that we need. It provides us with a search box, and produces thousands and thousands of helpful and related results in less than 10 seconds. The latter seems like the best and more appealing strategy of finding information. It’s quick, precise, and to the point; exactly what we need and want due to our cravings for instant and easy results.

Final : THEME 4

According to Marshall McLuhan’s Medium Theory, the impact a certain media will have on the public is determined by the manner in which individuals interact and communicate with one another as well as how the mass media interacts with individuals. It does not matter what the actual information is or what the point is, the manner by which you receive information is what matters. Different means of receiving points will determine how it affects us. Varying technologies and methods of transmitting information allow us to receive and interpret content in different ways. Facebook and Twitter, for example, have completely changed the manner in which people all over the world communicate with each other. Using these social networks, people on different continents can have instantaneous contact and information sharing is now faster than ever. Now people can be aware of what friends or family are doing at practically any point in the day if they have a twitter. These social networking sites have revolutionized the way we communicate with each other and also how individuals interact with each other. Most people now would much rather contact someone through Facebook or Twitter than actually call one another or meet up. It is also seen more and more often that we begin to take on the qualities of the "intellectual technologies" we use. Again referring to Twitter and Facebook, they allow us to communicate with people instantaneously. Immediate results are viewed and people all over the world find it convenient and are hooked. As mentioned in the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, this need for immediate results is spilling over into other activities we perform. ( http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/ ) Some people, such as the writer in this article, feel that their minds and thought processes are indeed changing. In regards to reading, the author finds himself impatient with lengthy articles or books when previously, he would not have a hard time sitting and reading the information. His attention span is shorter and he gets fidgety after a certain amount of time is devoted to reading a piece. His concentration level has decreased and reading more than two or three pages has become a struggle. For this inability to focus and read for long, the author blames the internet. He mentions that obtaining information that before could only be learned by reading lengthy books is now so much easier; all you have to do is Google it and your results are summarized and ready for you in a matter of seconds. It’s completely understandable how our thought processes are changing; they are diminishing our concentration span, our patience to learn something and our ability to put effort into obtaining new information.

Final : THEME 2

Throughout all aspects of relationships, electronic media can be observed as minimizing the effects and our perceptions of certain aspects of life such as distance, time, and location. Regarding location, for example, media shortens our perception of it. We can instantaneously communicate with and see, through video chat for example, with people that may be on a different continent. Video chat also shortens the amount of time it takes to share events with others in different locations around the world. Communication is made instantaneous. An example of this can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_uiWGdwpw . One area of Meyrowitz’s theory concerning relationships enabled by electronic media states that media helps people understand the concept of the para-social relationship. A para-social relationship is one sided, in which one party knows a great deal about the other, but this knowledge is not mutual. They are mostly observed between celebrities and their fans or an otherwise broad audience. It is safe to say that the first type if media that allowed these relationships to develop was the radio. Para-social relationships were viewed in women during the 1930’s. In most cases, housewives and farm women, isolated all day and left at home to complete housework and chores, developed para-social relationships with characters in the daily radio soap operas they listened to. Usually working long hours alone and every day, soap operas and their characters provided companionship to these women. This was the case for the 1930’s Kansas farm wife, Mary Dyck. She treated the radio as if it was her church or spiritual center, her entertainment, and most of all, her companion. Mary was practically cut off from the rest of the world due to her children moving away, the death of her son, and her husband abandoning her to go on alcoholic endeavors. The radio served as her lifeline and her only connection to the world. The para-social relationship occurring between Mary and her soap opera characters can be viewed as parallel to the connection fans feel to celebrities. After the radio, television became an enabler for the formation of para-social relationships. Gossip shows such as TMZ and E! News are on daily, always giving the public the ‘scoop’ on famous people and what is going on in their lives. You can rely on these types of television programs to update you immediately on what celebrities are wearing to red carpet events or if Angelina Jolie decides to adopt another child. Currently, the media that is the most enabling for para-social relationsips to form is the internet. This type of relationship has been enhanced by social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. On both of these sites, users are able to follow or add anyone they want, including famous individuals. On Twitter, for example, if you choose to follow a celebrity, you are constantly viewing their tweets at all times throughout the day. It is completely understandable how Twitter and Facebook could enable the formation of para-social relationships. Constantly being reminded of what a certain person is doing all the time can make some people feel as if they have a special relationship with that individual. You can be knowledgeable of what your favorite celebrity is doing practically every minute of the day. An example of this would be Lil’ Wayne’s twitter page, of which I personally am a follower: http://twitter.com/liltunechi . All of these different types of medias are enabling us to form para-social relationships with people we have never met before and, in this sense, increase our ambient awareness in a somewhat negative way. The scary part is, as media develops, it allows us to get more in depth and personal information regarding someone else’s life.

Use of Genre Conventions in "The Simpsons"

According to Jason Mittell, television shows such as The Simpsons are popular embodiments of postmodernism. Clearly, genre impacts The Simpsons regarding issues such as assumptions about target audiences, genre parody, and codes of realism. This show specifically makes use of and manipulates the conventions of traditional genres to draw a larger audience.

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom featuring and telling the man endeavors of working-class family. It is a satire and also a parody, and is set in a town called Springfield. The Simpsons are meant to serve as cartoon representations of a typical American family, but as can be seen from viewing a single episode, they’re a little different. The family’s structure is that of a normal household: there is a father and mother, an adolescent boy and girl, and a baby. The show is also set in what could be a normal suburb anywhere in the United States. Many critics, however, have given the program mixed reviews. Some say it represents the dark side of other family shows such as the Brady Bunch, while others still say The Simpsons are a more realistic representation of an average family. They deal with ‘outlandish dilemmas’ every week. One critic even mentioned that the “slightly skewed perspective of The Simpsons makes them a far more human and believable family” than other overly responsible and perfect television families such as the Huxtables. It is this believable and more realistic interpretation of a typical family is what has drawn and kept large audiences watching The Simpsons. Things go wrong in the show and every week the family is solving a different problem. Many episodes show and examine the relationships and bonds existing within the family, also relating to a typical familial unit. Another reason The Simpsons draws and keeps such a large viewing audience is due to the fact that it is categorized as both a cartoon and a sitcom. It appeals to more people because both older and younger individuals can relate to it and understand it. Appealing to twice the audience size than that of most either cartoons or sitcoms, The Simpsons has been airing since 1989 and has done extremely well. Another reason it has prospered is due to the fact that the show relates to popular and modern culture. Often, the show will mention current events and politics, meanwhile poking fun at them. Significant figures from the entertainment industry, various political figures, and even religious references have all had their time on the program. This also helps the show appeal to a larger audience.

Although The Simpsons does not feature a straight-laced, perfect family, it differs from other cartoons in many ways. The clip of Donald Duck that was viewed in class, for example, has numerous visible differences. The Donald Duck cartoon featured extremely exaggerated and impossible situations for the characters to deal with. In this particular episode, Donald and his nephews engage in a snowball warfare. Exaggerated actions and ideas could be spotted throughout the cartoon. Donald built an ice battleship in minutes and proceeded to fire flaming arrows at his three adolescent nephews. This would never ever happen in real life and this type of inflated scenario limits, to an extent, the type and size of audience viewing the show. In comparison to The Simpsons, the Donald Duck cartoon is too much and includes too many instances where the audience could say “that would never happen in real life.” The Simpsons, however, while remaining amusing and at times slightly embellished with the events taking place, feature more realistic scenarios. This variation in how the shows have been presented makes a difference when it comes to appealing to larger amounts of viewers.

I Was Forced to Give in to the Twitter Hype

Since the second day of class, I have been the owner of a Twitter account. This may be hard to believe because ever since October, my friends have been trying to convince me to open an account. Out of 5 of us, I was the last one without a Twitter. This media class is the only reason i would ever even consider getting one. I could not figure out what attracted so many people to this particular social site. What was so interesting about knowing exactly what your friends were doing every 10 seconds? I didn't even think I had the energy to update a status that often; plus, I already have a facebook and was more than content with it. A Twitter is required for this class, however, so I had no choice. The first day, I could not bring myself to like it even after following some people and personalizing my page. A couple days later, after following more of my friends and having more of them follow me, it began to interest me a little bit. Today, with a steady number of followers and tweets, the site has somewhat grown on me. I can definately see what David Carr was talking about when he mentioned Twitter's enduring attraction. It's extremely easy to use, and tweeting could very easily get out of hand and become addicting. Some people hold conversations through tweets, so this could lead to an individual feeling the need to check their Twitter constantly; this way, they never miss an update. I don't update it religiously like some individuals, but I'll add my thoughts or random song quotes at times throughout the day. It's just another way to stay constantly connected with people, whether or not they are physically close to you. It's not so bad I guess, but I still prefer my facebook account.

Digital Nation !

Ugh so this Sunday was my first without TV. That meant no Keeping Up With the Kardashians :( Honestly, this week being deprived of television wasn't that bad. At first, I really did not know how I would get through it without cheating. I normally watch TV all the time, I even fall asleep to it. Since I couldn't constantly have it on, however, I realized that I actually got a ton of school work done early for once. I didn't stay up late writing my papers after my shows were over. Procrastination is my middle name, but I was actually so much more relieved after getting everything out of the way. I'll definitely be cutting back on my TV hours Monday-Thursday at least. On another note, in media class we watched this super long video titled 'Digital Nation'. All I can say is WOW. The video shows how people are affected by technology, especially video games! One part showed a young boy who was actually sent, by his mother, to a camp-like place in order to treat his video game obsession. He played for hours everyday, and when asked if the break from games had helped, he replied that it just made him miss it. Another part of the video focused on multi player virtual games such as World of Warcraft. Surprisingly, most of the World of Warcraft players were adults! They were just as obsessed with the game as any teenager would be. It was sad actually, to see that full grown people would indulge in a fantasy world so intensely. Some players actually found significant others through the game, which was kind of cute, but also kind of sad. Instead of meeting with people in person, these players interact through the game, using their avatars as representations of themselves. I'm not going to lie, I can't live without my blackberry; it's always on and I even sleep with it right under my pillow so I can easily answer texts at all hours. Even though I love my blackberry, I could never ever see myself being extremely addicted to a video game. A cyber world just does not compare to the real thing.

First Day Without TV

Technically, this is my third day without tv, but it's the first time I'm blogging about it. Yesterday was tuesday and if you have any type of life whatsoever, you'd know that tuesdays are BGC nights. BGC stands for Bad Girls Club and if you didn't know that, just close my blog now please and thank you. I didn't think this sacrafice over very well obviously because for the first time this season, I couldn't watch BGC :( It was extremely tempting considering that everyone in my room was counting down the minutes until BGC came on. I had to leave and actually study in the lounge for an hour. The only other thing I think will pose a problem is Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It was the only other show I would watch religiously every week. This kind of really sucks now that I think about it. :(