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New Media, young audiences and discourses of attention: from Seasame Street to ‘snack culture’

In this article Michael Z. Newman gives an analysis of how certain generations attention spans is directly connected to what shows they grew up watching specifically the television program Sesame Street. It is important to think about how media has the power to stunt cognitive functioning in American culture.

The first main point of the article analyzes Sesame Street in depth. Looking at how the program is broken up into segments and how this breaks up the show into pieces. This was so that children watching the show could focus on Sesame Street and not look at the distractions that could come up during the show.

The second main point of this article is to look at media today and how well it holds our attention. Newman looked at programs that targeted the generation of children who grew up with Sesame Street. In conclusion, the article gave a few explanations that explain the ‘short attention span’ and though it may be connected to media, it is just a theory.

Collective behavior in YouTube: a case study of ‘Bus Uncle’ online videos

I found this article interesting because it discusses how one video can become a an important cultural event. Videos posted on YouTube are public domain and with the hundreds of videos posted on YouTube a day it is no wonder it creates a pattern in which we can study and learn from.

YouTube is used for personal and professional reasons and the article points out how YouTube lives off letting its users ‘broadcast yourself’. Viral videos get millions of hits in a short amount of time and have many spinoff videos that people will watch because of the attention they draw.

The article concludes that YouTube as a public space lets people have their lives exhibited shared and commented on. I find it interesting that ‘Bus Uncle’ set up people to respond with more videos it really emphasizes how much time people spend communicating using videos on YouTube. Of course there is also the comment section that people can communicate through too.

Thanksgiving Travel: Done Right

For students traveling this Thanksgiving, here are some tips to make your trip more enjoyable and easier.

Whether you are flying by plane, taking the train or driving to your destination the key is to have something to occupy your mind.

Traveling is always physically draining but mentally it can seem like a drag that lasts far longer than reality.

If traveling by plane I suggest bringing along your favorite book to enjoy reading while waiting in the terminal in case your flight is delayed.

Thanksgiving week is known to be one of the craziest weeks to travel in the United States.

Movies like “Home for the Holidays” depict how difficult traveling on Thanksgiving can be.

Since prices for plane tickets have risen as the cost of fuel has, many have decided to travel alternatively by train this Thanksgiving.

Though not the smoothest means of travel, train rides are quite enjoyable.

On my first train ride I spoke with my neighbor for the majority of the trip which distracted me from how long the train ride lasted.

On the train you can easily start a conversation with fellow riders and you may end up learning a lot about them and yourself as you travel.

In my opinion, time spent riding in a car seems longer than it is.

If you do not have the option of knocking out in the backseat of the car, its probably a good idea to bring enough music to last one and half trips.

Music can keep you awake if you sing along as well as keep your mind occupied.

Its important in car rides to be able to focus on driving (if you are the driver) and keeping the driver awake (if you are the passenger).

Whatever way you travel this Thanksgiving just remember its worth the time and energy you put into planning how to get home.

Social Media Aggregation come to Occupy Wall Street

http://news.yahoo.com/social-media-aggregation-comes-occupy-wall-street-204006749.html;_ylt=Aja4PpA2x2e8YMhEDF2803d5Hrd_;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4bW1yNjllBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBUZWNoU0YgU29jaWFsTWVkaWFTU0YEcGtnAzZiMDMxZjJmLTM5ZjEtMzdhMi1hZDU2LTcwMWRhOWNkNDViMgRwb3MDOARzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgM1ODk3N2Y4MC0wN2VlLTExZTEtOWY3Ny1kODQyODE0YzU3NGI-;_ylg=X3oDMTF2cjIwNjg1BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAN0ZWNofHNvY2lhbCBtZWRpYQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

The World-Wide Web

My favorite quote from the article, “The World-Wide Web”, summed up this article quite well. “The Web does not yet meet its design goal as being a pool of knowledge that is as easy to update as to read.” The article has two main ideas to tell us what a W3 is and to tell us how the web is every growing and adapting.

Before I had never heard of the term W3 but the article defines it as several things including boundless information world where all items have a reference by which they can be retrieved, an address system, a network protocol, a markup language, and a body of data. The article explains these definition more in depth.

The second main point of the article was to discuss the development of W3 that are recent. As well as the future of W3 in technology. It points out how there is developments in technology that influence W3.

A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma

The article “A Virtual Death And a Real Dilemma: Identity, Trust, and Community in Cyberspace” discusses online blogging and how one person’s actions can influence a community. As I read the article I did not think that bloggers could form a sense of community online. Their means of communication connects them to one another through what they share on the blogosphere. The deception of Debbie Swenson made many people think about how much they trusted what they read on the Internet. For years I have heard from librarians to always have “dependable and reliable” sources because the Internet can lie.

The article touches base with how identity is shaped in a virtual community and it causes a true dilemma. It was interesting reading the reactions of those who found out that Kaycee Swanson didn’t exist and that her story was a hoax. The reality of her story made the community fall apart because it did not know how to communicate their feelings and the confusion they faced. If I were in the same situation where I felt my trust was betrayed I do not know how I would react.

"The Rise and Inglorious Fall of Myspace"

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_27/b4235053917570.htm

On businessweek.com they had an article by Felix Gilette discussing how Myspace rose and fell. The article was the featured cover story in June but the article is still relevant now because of how it influenced social media. Myspace had millions of users logged on and networking. Now there is significantly fewer Myspace users despite the company’s effort to compete against Facebook and other social networking sites.

I found this article to be very informing about the business side of social networking web sites. It explained how News Corp. spent $580 million purchasing Myspace and put it on sale for $100 million. That is the loss costs the company faced when Myspace’s popularity fell. The article also discussed the millions of dollars spent on advertising on the website. I remember when I was getting more into Facebook and less into Myspace when I noticed that Myspace began to bombard users with ads on the home page and the personal pages. I thought this was a good lesson on how fads come and go especially in today’s culture where popularity of something only lasts so long.

"Blogging: self presentation and privacy"

The article, “Blogging: self presentation and privacy” by Karen McCullagh discussed blogs and its place in our social lives on the Internet. It pointed out how much privacy blogs give bloggers and how the data they share is not very ‘private’.

One of the main ideas of the article that I read about discussed how bloggers should control the privacy settings of the blogs. It gave multiple suggestions including being careful about what personal information you share that can distinguish your online life to your personal life. More suggestions included blocking IP addresses and using privacy filters to further conceal who you are on your blog.

A second main idea the article had discussed identity bloggers have on blogs. Bloggers can have multiple blog with different identities. This is an option for bloggers because of how easy it is to set up a blog on line. The audience of blogs also have the freedom to follow blogs without letting bloggers know their identity. It give blog users freedom to say what they are thinking or feeling.

The End of Books

In the article, “The End of Books”, Robert Coover discusses how books, print media, and the traditional novel are all losing its value. I found it interesting how it discussed how in the past a novel was “the epic of the middle-class world”. It is true though that the end of print media is becoming less popular in comparison to media available through technology on our phones or laptops.

I learned more about what “hypertext” is and the history of how it influences technology. I didn’t know that the term was created before there could be hypertext in reality. I learned that hypertext was discussed in many novels before we used it everyday. A quote I found interesting was “Hypertext reader and writer are said to become co-learners or co-writers, as it were fellow-travelers in the mapping and remapping of textual components, not all of which are provided by what used to be called the author.”

"Smart is the New Sexy"

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/27/tech/social-media/newspapers-smart-sexy-campaign/index.html

I found that this article caught my eye because of its interesting title. It made me want to know what newspapers are doing to say that ‘smart is the new sexy’. Newspapers are using social media to get attention from younger readers that turn to electronic sources to get their news. The Newspaper Association of America is hoping to promote the value newspaper have through social media and digital outlets.

The campaign uses the word “sexy” to appeal to people without promoting sex. The advertising campaign is promoting newspapers to a younger generation because by using social media they are hoping to increase newspaper readership. They are also encouraging newspaper readers to submit videos on YouTube and Facebook that explain a readers favorite thing about newspapers. This campaign is allowing newspapers to embrace the main cause for the decrease of newspaper subscriptions.

This new approach for the newspapers can make newspaper readership increase if people follow through. The mind of readers has to believe that “smart is the new sexy.”

Technomedia

Dynabook: Personal Dynamic Media

This article had a lot of interesting information about what a personal notebook can do for an individual. I found that it was informative on how such a device would can affect an individual and how we would communicate based on using a 'dynabook'. For things we do everyday it would be able to do for us. This idea is applied to us today through ipads and netbooks and tablets.

This article really pointed how technology could impact an individuals life. There are so many parts of one object that can be shaped and designed to make our lives easier. I do not personally own a tablet or an ipad but I feel that these are sources that help us communicate even more quickly. If a person didn’t have their laptops, smart phones or computers they could use a portable notebook to communicate.

I found it useful to learn from page 393 that “the interactions of humans with their media have been primarily nonconversational and passive...”. Media like books, magazines, and newspapers where you read the information and got the message and didn’t really have to convey a message back immediately after reading it. Text messaging, social media, email are types of communication where instant response is practically mandatory.

Facebook Turning Purple for LGBT Spirit Day: How to Change your Profile Picture

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/19/facebook-turning-purple-for-spirit-day_n_1020086.html?view=print&comm_ref=false

For years, LGBT activists have been in the news fighting for their rights. They have a history of using social media to raise awareness and break down barriers set by society. On October 20 Facebook will be showing its support to the LGBT community by changing its best known blue hue to purple. They have partered with GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, to show their support for Spirit Day. GLAAD is encouraging users of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. to change their profile pictures where they are wearing purple showing that they support LGBT activists. Other companies will be doing similar things to show their support. For example, AT&T will be lighting up their headquarters purple and Yahoo! employees will be dressing in purple to work.

Social media is important for this cause because it is the fastest most efficient way of getting information out to people. Working with the social media companies like GLAAD is doing with Facebook is a good step. They will be able to reach millions this way because Facebook users will wonder why Facebook is purple instead of the usual blue.

From Computer Power and Human Reason

The first main idea from the article, “From Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation”, is about how humanity is now closely related to the computer era through our cognitive and emotional functions. It was understanding that computers are imitating man processes performing tasks man used to do with out the aid of technology specifically communication. The article didn’t really discuss how much technology does affect our communication but how we rely on technology to communicate.

The second main idea I found in the article focuses on how a computer can be therapy for a person. I didn’t understand the importance of this at first so I read it a few times to get a better understanding. Some believed that Eliza could be a form of psychotherapy but it was blown out of proportion according to Weizenbaum. He believed that it would not be the same as a real-life experience. No matter how “private” it may seem to have a computer doctor.

Second Life

This article about second life is about gender in virtual worlds. It explores how you pick the gender you want to be in Second Life and that shapes how you act in the game. I found it interesting that in second life its all about “the breasts, the legs and the pectorals”. How your body looks and what you are wearing determines how much attention you will get when you are in second life.

Its interesting that in second life the stereotypes of what beautiful stays true. the girl with a filled out waist, smaller breasts said the following: “I felt like such a loser. In a virtual world!” There is still a need to ‘fit in’ in the virtual world of second life which is very disheartening. I always thought second life is a place for no judgement but there obviously is the need of approval similar to the one we may need in reality.

“Using Twitter to track people’s moods”

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/29/health/la-he-twitter-mood-20110930
This article from the Los Angeles times describes the analysis of two years work of tweets. It concluded that people start the day being happy and get grumpier as the day goes on. They analyzed a couple million people’s Twitter accounts. They analyzed multiple points about users “tweets”. A lot of the conclusions the study found involved emotions and particular things tweets were about. My favorite finding was that Twitter users prefer bacon over sausage. The analysis looked at emotions and activities and when they “tweeted” about it. I find that this article was informative about how people use their twitters tos hare how they feel at a certain time during the day. I think the analysis is kind of limited because we do not the location of where the tweets come from. They did learn that the season does affect people’s moods because of how short or how long the day is. I find that this study is very informative for those using Twitter because it made me think of how I used my Twitter and what my “tweets” say about me.

"The Technology and the Society"

In the article “The Technology and the Society” writer Raymond Williams looks into the history of the television and the affects it has had on society. It goes in depth about how the television was created and its first uses before it become a mass media. The article describes “accident” of television’s invention. I found it informative to learn the stages of how television grew to what it is today. Also, the article focused on informing us about the history of broadcasting because it goes hand in hand with the development of television.

I think the article wanted the reader to understand why new technology can have major impact on society. By examining what came before television we see the changes society went through. The new abilities that the technology gave to society had major impacts on how people acted on a day to day basis. Whether it was listening to the radio listening for news about the war and ten years later sitting in front of a television watching public broadcast shows.

“Just Like Me Only Better”

This article discusses MUVEs, Multi-User Virtual Environments, and how players design their avatars. Each player chooses the details of an avatar and no one has a say in it, a user imagines the height, body proportions, hair, skin, and eye color. I found the six reasons teenagers made their avatars the way the are not surprising. Teenagers make their avatars with characteristics they wish they had, they like, or just to look different. In second life, you can be who you want to be so a teenager would use it as a place to be someone they are not in real life.

This article made me think about the song “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The song talks about creating a world that is your own and no one can change it for you. Second life is a lot like that I think because as a player you are the world’s creator.

VLOG: Google+

Self-Representation

In this chapter on self-representation, the writer discusses how the media is controlled by the community. The community has the right to say how they feel about everything and anything through various media.

One of the main ideas for this chapter was how we organize media so that it is “democratic media”. Community media will play a role in documenting what we are doing, “peace building and overcoming negative assumptions to do with gender and race”. Self-expression about everything is possible, by participating we are expressing ourselves, ideas, creativity or politics.

The second main idea of this chapter I found was in this quote:

“There is a relationship between our social, political, and cultural landscapes and our ability to engage with media at different levels and though multiple means.”

I thought this was important because this is what media is today. We use it for social, political, and cultural means. Media like magazines and newspapers are more for political and cultural means sharing information on a daily, weekly or monthly basis through print media. While television, radio, and Internet do the same electronically.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

As a young adult, I am one of the many who are being described in the article, “Explaining Why Young Adults Use MySpace and Facebook Through Uses and Gratifications Theory.” There are many ideas in the article that I knew before reading it. What I was interested in learning from the article was how much of an extent social networking websites has influenced a generation.

Face to face communication allowed gratification but social network sties give instant gratification to its users. The immediate connection with others is a new concept. It instantly fulfills the needs and wants of users. Using social network sites users fulfill the need for entertainment, information, surveillance, diversion, and social utility needs.

I found it most useful to learn the five themes that explained why individuals use social network sites:

1 efficient communication
2 convenient communication
3 curiosity about others
4 popularity
5 relationship formation and reinforcement

These five things embody what today’s youth focus on. Our need to communicate quickly and to know what people are doing or saying or if they are noticing what you do are what today's young adults think about when using social network sites.

"Being American" on Facebook

http://news.yahoo.com/being-american-facebook-generation-opportunity-platform-millennials-surges-154906744.html

The full title of the article, "'Being American' on Facebook, A Generation Opportunity Planform for Millennials, Surges to Over One Million Fans." The article discusses how the grassroots organization, Generation Opportunity, uses Facebook to communicate to over a million fans. Generation opportunity is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that hopes to engage young adults in hopes of creating a better tomorrow.

Their "Being American" Facebook page focuses on targeting 18-29 year old adults. On this Facebook page they focus on issues that affect young adults like youth unemployment and economic opportunity. Because many young adults are unemployed Generation Opportunity uses Facebook to connect those who want to find a solution to unemployment and economic slum.

I believe many organizations today use Facebook to get more supporters. I admire that Generation Opportunity has had a successful campaign on Facebook. Many organizations can only hope that they can reach a million fans. More and more grassroot organizations and community groups use social media to create awareness in the community.

The Medium Is the Message

There are many interesting and important ideas discussed in “The Medium is the Message”. I think the first is that our new technology does not affect the message. It does however change the scale or pace or pattern of how it is introduced into human affairs. I thought this was important because we hear news faster than ever before because we have easier access to it. I think that its important to compare how in the early 1900s the only source of news was a newspaper or word of mouth.

Second, I think that the idea that media are extensions of ourselves is an interesting point. We put our personal energies to surrond ourselves with media to be aware of media and to experience each form of media available to us: radio, television, and Internet. On a personal level we definitely use media to send our opinions out to the world through blogs or our social networking sites. People are caring more about their personal web pages more than what is happening in the community or around the world. It is probably why today’s generation is the “Me” generation. They care little about the bigger picture and more materialistic compared to previous generations.

Antecedents and Consequences of Online Social Networking Behavior: The Case of Facebook

This article focused on Facebook and the affects that social networking sites have on a person's behavior. It focused on the size of a user's social network, a person's anxiety, self-esteem, and body image. The article discusses how social networking sites used for professional or personal reasons is significantly different from real life social networks of friends or families.

The article concludes that online social networking has no relation with a person's behavior. Online social networks had more influence on the size of one's network rather than one's behavior. One's self-esteem does affect whether or not your social network has more strangers than friends.

I found it interesting that women have larger online social networks because they spend more time communicating with the people they network with. This made me realize how much time I do spend on social networking websites versus spending time with people real time. I also found that this is because women have more friend requests and get “poked” more often than men.

"Google will rock you: 'Doodle' celebrates Queen's late frontman"

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/09/05/google.doodle.mercury/index.html?hpt=te_bn6

This article is about one of Google’s many faces. Every once in a while Google changes its main page view. The article discusses how this last Monday, Google was designed to honor the memory of Queens frontman everywhere except the United States where Labor Day was being celebrated.

I found it interesting that though the US did not have it on their main page, Google honored the band’s influence on music. The band had a strong fan base all over the world which is why I believe Google chose to honor the band with their main page. The last few years Google has started to make their home page an informing place not just to search the internet.

My favorite one was the “guitar Google”. The main page allowed users to pluck a string and create music. It lead to videos like this one, that plays the theme song to Rugrats, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSA0NtfYIB4.

Google’s home pages have a history of discussion and buzz. Google honors various holidays or important dates that impact our culture. I think that this is a unique way to honor important dates.

Quality of Online Social Relationships

The main ideas in the article, “Quality of Online Social Relationships”, revolve around interpersonal communication on the Internet. By comparing the online relationships of bankers’ to college students’ online communications.

The study focused on people’s social relationships on the Internet looking at how they have communicated over time and what they were communicating about. First through email, bankers would rely information about work while students used email the same way they would use a phone or how they would do homework. The study also explained the amount of communication non-internet and internet users conducted in a month.

The research concludes that online use is not primarily social based. I know that my Internet use is about half social communicating on websites like Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr. And half on non-social communication either for school or work. Of course there are certain periods of time where I will be using the Internet solely for social reasons. During the summer I can spend hours watching television online and reading websites like mylifeisaverage.com or tumblr.com.

Man Computer Symbiosis

The article "Man-Computer Symbiosis" describes in detail the symbiotic relationship man kind has with computers. The article begins by explaining what symbiosis is, a close union between two dissimilar organisms. It explains how the though process of man develops and is communicated differently from computing machines.

My favorite quote from the article points out that man made machines are built by man to assist man. "There was only one kind of organism-man-and the rest was there only to help him." The article really emphasizes how any computer man uses cannot think like man.

I found it interesting that we rely on computers to solve our problems when fifty years ago this was not the case. Computers are now used for many uses which is why the relationship between man and computers has become symbiotic.

Also, that the article allows gives a specific definition of computer, “a wide class of calculating, data-processing, and information-storage-and-retrieval machines.” Pointing out that these machines capabilities are increasing.

When the article compares the capabilities between men and computers it really focuses attention on the through process man has compared to computers. The differences are speed, memory, memory organization, language, and input/output equipment.

Media Article: Yahoo Rumored to Buy New York Times! Wait, What?

In the article on Techland.com, the rumour that Yahoo is buying New York Times is discussed. It explains how on one website the rumour started. Because of how low New York Times stock has hit. This sort of purchase may or may not benefit the companies. Many companies have needed to merge in order to stay a float. By merging the stock’s of both companies would increase because combined they would have more power to communicate with people. It could give them the edge they need to compete against strong players like Google, Facebook, and AOL who are all dominant in the communication world. I am an avid Yahoo user so I am curious if such a merge would affect my Yahoo life or it would just be a business strategy that the common user would not realize hands have exchanged behind the scenes. If this rumor does become true we will have to see how Yahoo will use it to their advantage.

"The Written Word"

There are a few main points in “The Written Word: From Printing to the Internet” that are important to remember. The article begins by telling us how communication is intimate with face to face between a number of people. Communication has a long history, the article describes each type of written communication that has developed over time: papyrus, newspapers, and magazines. The chapter also goes into detail about how written communication has expanded since people have become accustomed to email and the Internet. Another important point that is made in the chapter is how much skill and thought goes into what written communication is today because of the differences in how much effort was probably put into words in the past. The number of people able to communicate through written word has increased since the cost of communicating become so low. The chapter really emphasizes how technology has affected written communication.

"Be Who You Want To Be"

In the article, "Be Who You Want To Be: The Philosophy of Facebook & the Construction of Identity", the concepts of personal identity and social identity are described. The article define what social identity has become because of social networking sites like Facebook. Facebook allows people to have “online and offline identities”. Facebook allows people to communicate how they feel or who they are through their photos, statuses, and “likes.”

I found it interesting that the article described the “stereotypes” Facebook has created. Facebook allows you to provide information about your age, sex, race, etc. But the photos and likes you have can easily describe who you are as a person. If you’re single lady, your profile pictures are more likely to be of you having fun. A married man may have a photo with his wife and kids. These were two examples given in the article.

I think the article points out how knowing who is using Facebook and why makes Facebook a beneficial source of information. Facebook is used to promote who you are and what you believe in and to interact with those who may share those views.

About Me!

Hello!

My alias name is Catalina because I love Catalina Island off the coast of Long Beach, CA where I am originally from. I am a third year at SJSU and my major is Advertising with a minor in Anthropology. I love to dance and take pictures both of which are my hobbies. My favorite season is summer and though its coming to an end I look forward to what this semester lies in store for me. I am very goal orientated and family orientated. I am a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fraternity and Akbayan, SJSU's Filipino American Organization. I love to meet new people and go to new places. This is my second communications class, I previously took Critical Decision making online. I hope to learn more of how to effectively use media to communicate. I have always liked media which is why I became an Advertising major.