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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.

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