What I Thought...

After reading Bauerlein's book for my final project, it almost made me scared--of my generation.

While it was very enlightening, Bauerlein tends to rant about our generation. He's got some good research in that book--he looks at studies of kids' vocabulary, study habits, television-watching habits, test scores--but he jumps to conclusions too quickly.

He starts out the book with stories of kids who are over-achievers--they loose sleep at night because they want to succeed, or their parents want them to succeed. For the rest of the book, he ignores these kinds of people and talks about the kids who spent most of their time watching television and wasting time on the internet.

The young generation of Americans is sleeping through a time when they have the access to the most information. They are modern-day "Rip Van Winkles."

I disagree with Bauerlein. True, most kids don't read as many books as previous generations, but that does not make them dumber. They are merely exposed to a different kind of media through which they obtain information. Frankly, I think that because the internet is so new, people just don't quite what to do with it. Older folks are afraid of it, young kids don't know how to use it in a way that would help them make the most of their education.

Great book--lousy conclusion.

A word on online classes

I really enjoyed our last two online classes. It was kind of fun in the first one to see the flurry of the conversation going (and comprising three different topics). It was confusing in parts only because there were so many people replying at the same time. By the time I'd have my response typed out, they'd already be on the next topic.

I think out of the two, I liked the one on the discussion board the best. It felt slow (and I almost forgot to go back), but I felt I had more time to think about my responses.

I once attended an online conference where I could "listen" to speakers give their lectures. If anyone in the session wanted to ask a question, they would put an exclamation point ! and wait for the moderator to call on them. At the conference, they also had forums where speakers could give their presentations (like our last online class).

Technology is cool, but nothing beats the traditional classroom.

What kind of reader are you?

Do you..

1) look online for all of your daily news and loathe traditional newspapers

2) love opening a printed copy of the Tribune, no matter how abbreviated or lousy the news is

3)wish there was a compromise between the internet and newspapers


When you were a kid...

1) you read like, a million books a year

2) you liked reading, but only a few books now and then

3) you only read the books that your friends read and the ones you HAD to read

4) you hate reading. Always did, always will.

The Downward Decline of the Newspaper

I was almost surprised by the decline of the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, but then again, I'm not surprised. With the rise of the internet, readership of these papers is going down. In our online class yesterday, we discussed where the public will be able to get their news and if that news could be reliable.

Personally, I don't think that professional journalism will never completely disappear. More and more professional journalists might start their own blogs, but the journalistic style of writing and reporting will never completely disappear. Professor Macek mentioned yesterday that journalism might turn into a hobby, but I disagree. There will always be people who want professional news, online or otherwise. However, I think that journalists will get paid less money and that news posted on the internet will be less reliable than printed news. I was just discussing with a friend today on entries in the online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. My friend looked up an entry about a famous composer in the print edition (which contained a comprehensive overview of the composer's life, music teachers, repertoire, etc.) Later, my friend looked up that same entry online and found that the online edition contained massive errors about the composer (that he had webbed hands and physical features that made it easier for him to be a virtuoso...not!)

I know I'd rather have a print edition of a newspaper than have to go online to find news. But I'd rather have quality news than no news at all!

Transmedia...in odd places

In class, when we were talking about transmedia, it mostly had to do with storytelling - like how the story behind The Matrix was constructed. Other forms of media, like magazines and newspapers have also resorted to using the internet to promote their readership. My mother recently got her favorite cooking magazine, Taste of Home, in the mail. She keeps telling me over and over that she wants to cancel her subscription because she hates the new format that TOH has been using. As I was flipping through the current issue, I saw a few articles that normally would have included a recipe on the same page. Instead of printing the recipe in the magazine, TOH instructs its readers to go online to search for it (which is very annoying, especially if the ingredients don't look so appetizing!)

On their website, they have cooking videos, a very nice search engine, and a community that is formed around the magazine (had I known about this sooner, I would have wanted to conduct my ethnography on it). Also, this magazine (in order to appease its readers for raising the price of a subscription) keeps sending us these how-to-cook DVDs. While its a clever way to use transmedia, it is also costly. Perhaps newpapers aren't the only ones in trouble financially...

DSO - Darth Vader Symphony Orchestra

Since we've been talking a lot about fan 'film fiction' in relation to Star Wars, I thought I'd post this video...

Yep, it's Lego orchestra! Some fans have too much time on their hands...

The Law of Polarization

Today in class we discussed the law of polarization. Although I can see where this theory can be sometimes right, I don't think it can be applied to every situation as in the case of the pro-life movement (which was one example someone gave to illustrate the law of polarization.)

Now I'm not saying that there has not ever been an extreme radical 'pro-life' activist who genuinely wants to kill people - there have been a few, but these people ARE NOT PRO-LIFE!!!!

An excerpt from a handbook from the Pro-life Action League states that

Despite some highly publicized cases, violence perptrated by by babortion
opponents is extremly rare. The few individuals who have bombed abortion
facilities were not part of the mainstream pro-life movement, and in some
cases have even admitted they were more motivated by a desire for fame than
concern for the plight of unborn children.

Here is a very good article by Joe Scheidler. Click here to read.

And here's another article about the President's new terrorism dictionary where pro-life activists and veterans are placed on the same level as terrorists. It's just ridiculous!!!!!

The pro-life movement is founded on peaceful protests. Having been to numerous protests myself, I can say that the more pro-lifers join together, the more peaceful they become.

OK, rant over. The point is, the more certain groups discuss things does not mean that they will turn to violence in order to get their opinions across. Rather, they will double their peaceful efforts to make a statement and get excited about common interests.

LambdaMOO!

Last class we all took a trip to LambdaMOO - an extensive mansion and grounds all contained on the internet and made up entirely of text. It was kind of interesting to read the descriptions of the different rooms. Later that day I went back to LambdaMOO to give my sister a tour (she ended up getting lost, swallowed by a giant who spit her out down a tunnel.) Anyway, I got a chance to meet a couple of members on LambdaMOO (I actually thought that they were permanent fixtures in the room until they spoke to me).

What is interesting about LambdaMOO is that people get so caught up in their imaginary personalities that they let their real lives slide. (One example would be Stewart in this article) All in all, relationships formed on these MUDS (multi-user dungeons) ususally boil down to nothing and the people who participate are left with less than they started with. all the time they could have spent cultivating real life relationships was spent in accumulating fake ones in a world that does not even exist. It's food for thought.

Harps, Harpists, and You-tube

We will probably talk more about You-Tube later in the course, but I just wanted to say a few words about one of my favorite websites.

IT'S SO AWESOME!!!!!!

By accessing you-tube, I have music, videos, movies, and anything else you can think of at the touch of a button. I find it to be one of the most useful sites on the web. Right now I'm listening to a professional harpist play "La Source." Not one of those chinsy homemade videos, but a professional one. While all of the videos are not top quality, it very handy when you need free music on-demand. I primarily use you-tube to look up songs that I'm learning to play or something that I'm curious about.

Check out La Source!

Another one of my favorite you-tube videos. Since I'm planning to do my on-line ethnography on a harpist forum, I'll probably be posting some other harp stuff.

Identity

Our class discussion about identity was very interesting. I can see why there was such an explosion of groups, and forums, and social networking site on the internet. People who feel that they want to be someone other than who they are have an easier time changing their identity in an internet chat room than they would in real life.

For me anyway, making a unique identity for myself has always been, well, slightly difficult. Since I have a twin who looks and thinks and acts exactly like me, people always get us confused (even friends who have known us for years). Its not like I would ever want to be different than my sister, but people tend to think of the two of us as a single unit, which is annoying.

Even though we are so similar, we have distinct identities and personalities. (we actually don't even look that similar anymore.) It still is amazing how many people confuse us. (yes, my twin sister goes to school here too. you've probably already mistaken her for me without even realizing it.)

I could fill the rest of this post with stories on how fun it is to be a twin, but I will get back to my original topic -

The internet is just another way to leave the stress of our real-life behind us and become the person we've always idolized.

Friends and Facebook

I'm relatively new to Facebook. When I first joined, it was actually kind of scary - I don't think I have ever managed to make that many friends in a matter minutes! I soon discovered that friends on Facebook have a different personality than they do in public. People who are quiet and introspective tend to write outrageous statuses - weird. Friends on Facebook, even if I know them personally, seem rather superficial. You really can't have those heart to heart chats over a cup of tea (I know you can try, but its not as much fun). Nevertheless, I still think Facebook is a good way to connect with people you haven't seen in ages and to keep in touch with friends. Technology is cool!

A few months ago I came across this video that I thought you might enjoy...

...if I can figure out how to post it...

Internet: The Curse of a College Education?

I would have to disagree with Mark Bauerlin. This is definitely NOT the dumbest generation (although there are some people out there who are trying very hard to make sure that it becomes just that.) True, computers may have carved the path that leads outside of traditional teaching/learning methods, but just because something is new and different, is that reason to disregard its potential?

We may not be the smartest generation ever, but that does not mean that we are any less competent to face the world than any other generation before us. Using internet effectively is yet another thing that must be added to the college student's plethora of skills. While not every student uses this new technology to further knowledge, the internet has given everyone a chance to access knowledge like no generation ever before.

What kind of TV watcher are you?

In Chapter 2, Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television, Jenkins classifies three kinds of TV viewers. Which one are you and why?

1) Zapper - a person who sits on the couch with one finger poised threateningly over the channel button on the remote ready to switch stations every two seconds. A zapper almost never watches an entire show.

2) Casual - a person who is willing to watch a whole show - if it's interesting or impressive enough. A casual watches TV to kill time, to relieve boredom, etc. but is not usually a die hard fan of any particular show. Casuals are more likely to do other things - like talk to friends - while watching TV.

3) Loyal - a person who picks out their favorite show and watches it loyally each week. If they have to miss a show for whatever reason, they will record it and watch it later.

Google Mania

Before class yesterday, I didn't realize that Google was that big. (ok, I thought it was maybe half the size, but I never realized that it was international.) Yesterday I used Google about 15 times. Normally, I use it even more to find websites that I have forgotten the URL to, and to find random movies on You-Tube. It was fascinating to see the number of people "Googling" North Central's website throughout the school year.

One of the readings we had for Friday was about freedom of expression and creativity on the internet. My question is, since Google ranks all the pages that it indexes, how can all pages be treated equally? Even on other search engines, Amazon pays money to be on the first page, and since no one really goes beyond the first page anyway, people are more likely to click on anything that seems relevant on their first page of results.

Freedom of expression? Sure, but if your page ranks at the bottom of the list, no one is ever likely to see what you've done (unless you do something to change your rank.)

What would I do without the internet?

Last class we talked about the beginnings of the internet and email. What is kind of fascinating about the creation of the internet is that it is all somewhat recent (like the creation of Amazon.com and Google)

I can remember the first time I sent an email. I was replying to one a friend sent me (and hardly knowing what you do with an email to be honest). I used angel stationary that one of my friends had accidentally gotten the angels to flap their wings on.

Since then, it's amazing how much I've come to depend on the internet (and computers). Encyclopedias and paper journal articles are becoming rarer and rarer when I go to do research for a paper (although, since I'm an English major, I like to say that I won't read anything unless a tree died to make it). I almost never go into bookstores, and a lot of the books that I do read are purchased online at Amazon.

So what would I do without the internet? My life would be barely functional. Sure, I could go without it for short periods of time, and gain time to do things that I never seem to have time for - like practicing my harp. (yes, I play a 47-string, 7-pedal, ebony, concert-grand, pedal-harp). But for the most part, it would be like going back to card catalogues (search engines are so cool!).

The internet has been the gateway to knowledge and the way that people share creative ideas, customs, and opinions. Where would we be without it?

Cell Phones and Jenkins

After reading the introduction to Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture:Where Old and New Media Collide I can tell that I'm going to be learning a lot in this course! Jenkins talks about convergence in media that no one seems to notice anymore - like cell phones. Cell phones, Jenkins notes in his introduction, are no longer for just making phone calls. On today's phones you have movies, music, games, and Internet access all at the touch of a few buttons. While Jenkins finds these phone options frustrating, it's food for thought. The extra 'frills' on phones these days are ridiculous! (I mean, you can do just about anything but wash the dishes from your phone!) We are all getting used to instant access to everything that sometimes we forget about the world around us. When was the last time you were annoyed at the slowness of your Internet connection, or when that stop light was just a few seconds too long?

I can't wait to read the rest of Jenkins' book. He's sure to have some insights into this media crazy culture of ours.

A Well-Crafted Blogger

Megan Reardon is a well-rounded individual. In her interview, she mentions her love for crafts and doing things with her hands. She created her blog, not so much for other people, but as a way to remember things - like the lip balm recipes she taped to the front of her refrigerator. She is not particularly boastful, although she enjoys the attention that her blog receives. She likes to think of herself as an ordinary person with a blog that has useful things on it - like how to make a pumpkin party favor, when to cut lavender, and her very own cupcake designs. She blogs because she enjoys it and has found blogging a good way to meet other online users (who, Megan says in relief, are a lot kinder and weirder than most people allow themselves to be in public).
Megan's blog, Not Martha, shows that a blog can be about anything. In a very practical way, Megan reminds me of Martha Stewart (although she hints at quite the opposite in her blog title.) Megan's crafts and tidbits are meant to be actually used, (whereas the 'other Martha' generally makes crafts that are appealing to the eye and not so much for wear and tear.) She doesn't spend a lot of time posting, but her results are fabulous (check out her blog and you'll see what I mean.) Not only is she good with her hands, but her creativity sparks her blog into something extra special. Her recipe for success is a good one - practicality, creativity, and just a pinch of down-to-earth realism.

Welcome!

Welcome to Mary's Media Blog! I will be using this blog to discuss topics related to media, for the class IMS/SPC 260, Introduction to New Media.