Media Jamss: A Blog to be Remembered

My perceptions of blogging have altered immensely over the course of this semester. I entered the blogging thread in a state of hesitance. I might go as far as to label it pure terror. I was cautious to begin blogging, largely due to the stigma surrounding the very act of blogging itself. I remember feeling as though blogging held a spot on my personal taboo list. In the back of my mind, I continually affirmed and reaffirmed the fact that this was necessary for class. The first post was definitely a challenge. I remember staring at the computer screen,  still struggling to fathom the fact that I had committed the un-thinkable. I had finally logged into a blogging platform.  I had no idea what Bloggr was, but I was sure that I was on my way to becoming the very person I was so critical of: the overly-emotional diarist. That wasn’t even the end of my worries.  From there, I questioned my own take on blogging. How do I set my tone? How do I want to portray myself? How might other bloggers categorize my writing style? It goes without saying that if it were not for New Media: The Interplay of Text and Image, I may have been to afraid to begin blogging at all.

Placing students in blogging groups was a great format for the bogging forums. I feel as though Media Jamss was a group of like-minded students, most of which were at the same blogging level as I was. Surprisingly, easing into the conversation was effortless and rewarding. Looking back upon this semester’s posts, I cannot even imagine completing the blog portion of the course via an independent blog forum. Sydney, Allie, Mckenna, and Jordan’s input on our blogging thread provided support, a variety of opinions, and examples of formats for blogging styles. I really did feel as though our group had formed an online community through which we were able to express exactly what we thought, in words uninhibited by dry, academic writing tone. We commented upon each other’s thoughts, and learned immensely from one another along the way. Media Jamss became a safety blanket under which I was able to overcome my prior blog anxiety and misconceptions on blogging. No blog can survive without writers and readers, and as the semester progressed, I began to see that Media Jamss would not have been so successful without the constant exchange of information exercised by its users.

In terms of future blog posts, I am not sure as to whether I will continue blogging upon the completion of this course. Though I would be interested in blogging about personal interests outside of a class setting, I am quite honestly afraid of blogging without my safety blanket. Writing for a larger public still seems a bit unnerving, but I am positive that the necessity to blog for my career will arise in the future. In class today, Mckenna made a valid point: While blogging may not have been the best learning tool for students, it was an experience she was glad to have encountered, primarily because of its future implications. If anything is to be learned from this course, it is that New Media has infiltrated a variety of aspects of our everyday lives, and it will continue to expand. Ten years from now, blogging may be taken to an entirely new level, a form of communication that will become a vital tool for all disciplines, careers, and companies. It is at that point that I will look back upon this forum today, thankful that I was able to experience blogging within such an exceptional platform.

And so, here’s to you Media Jamss—Thanks for a great semester and most definitely the best blogging experience I will ever encounter.

Signing off,

~Sheena

All Good Things Must Come to An End

Looking back through my previous blog posts, I can honestly say the way I blog has been changed forever, and for the better. When I first started out, I didn't quite understand the concept of 'interactivity' or why it has such a significant influence on the creation of successful blog posts. Compared to my first blog post-EVER, "Can Our Blogs Really Express Who We Are?" I'd say my perception of blogging has drastically been affected. I never thought that I, myself, could ever be an academic blogger, let alone that there even were academic bloggers in the blogosphere. To tell you the truth, I used to think blogging was irrelevant, and that its sole purpose was to spark discussions by people on the Internet who wanted to evade personal contact and face-to-face interactions. 

However, thanks to our New Media and Writing course, I've learned a great deal on what it means to create an interactive writing outlet, i've learned how to hyperlink and connect my work to other reputable sources, I've learned how to share my thoughts and relay them in a manner that is organized and concise, and I've learned how to develop a certain tone and incorporate that tone throughout each of my blog posts as well as so much more to it. I've learned how invigorating it is when you publish your own blog post, and how it feels to contribute to a conversation knowing there are others who are reading and absorbing what you're saying. 

To me, composing a blog post is very different from traditional writing. Looking back again at my first blog post, I’d say my overall tone and expression through these posts have changed. In the beginning, I treated blogging like an essay: formal and in a sense, robotic. Blogging, in my opinion still has the potential to be formal, but in a tone and a structure that is quite different than those that traditional media outlets require. Blogging has changed my notion of writing in the sense that I feel as if I’ve learned an innovative way of expressing myself. In the past, from what I can remember, the only way I knew how to write was through a medium of essays and e-mails—never blogging. To know that I can publish a post and express myself through the blogosphere has given me great confidence in knowing that I can successfully utilize other outlets of writing, and not just forms of traditional writing.

When looking at myself as a blogger, I’d say that I am still exploring the field, in the sense that although I’ve had a great deal of practice thanks to “MEDIA JAMSS,” I feel there is still a lot more for me to learn. When I make my blog posts, I try to make them thoughtful, by incorporating my own ideas as well as providing my stance on the current topics. In the future, I hope to continue my role as a blogger--following other's blogs as well as writing my own. I am not sure how or when, but I definitely want to keep blogging. I think that in the future, I will be able to incorporate the skills I have learned from this class as well as shape my blogger identity. 

Side note-- I can't believe our class is over, and I just wanted to say how much I learned from you guys. Thank you for making my first blogging experience so memorable!

NYWICI-New York Women In Communications, Inc: The Matrix Awards 2011

I hadn’t missed a New Media class yet, however, this past Monday I was unable to attend class because I was in New York for the weekend. While I was home, I attended a very special awards ceremony that my Mom was being honored at, The New York Women In Communication's Matrix Awards.

The Honorees and Their Presenters

NYWICI is the premier organization for communications professions in the New York metropolitan area. The organization’s mission looks to empower women throughout all communications outlets and encourage them to reach their utmost potential. NYWICI does this by promoting women’s professional growth and helps inspire them to share their successes and achieve greatness in the rapidly changing world of communications.

This “rapidly changing world of communications’ which they discussed during the ceremony relates a great deal to our New Media class. A main point that each of the honorees shared in on, my Mom included, was that of the escalating digitized aspects of the way we communicate, the way learn, and the way we each individually express ourselves. Learning about each of the 2011 Matrix Award Winners, Cindi Berger- Chairman and CEO of PMKBNC, a public relations and marketing firm that handles clients such as Mariah Carey, Barbara Walters, Rosie O’ Donnell, Jessica Simpson, American Express, Audi, etc., Gwen Ifill—Senior Correspondent for “The PBS NewsHour,” Robin Koval—Presidnet of the Kaplan Thaler Group, Idina Menzel—Tony Award winning actress and performer (best known for her role as 'Alfaba,' in the hit broadway show, Wicked, Abbe Raven—CEO of A&E Television Networks, Sheryl Sandberg—Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and Gina Sanders—CEO of the Fairchild Fashion Group (FFG), we saw why each of the women were recognized as “WOMEN WHO CHANGE THE WORLD.”

Cindi Berger and Rosie O' Donnell at The Matrix Awards

What I learned from attending this event and what I found most interesting was how each of these women had such different perspectives as to how the media and entertainment have evolved since they first started out in the business. 20 years ago, there was no such thing as Twitter, or Facebook, or Youtube, and today, these are some of the biggest news and media outlets of our generation. Hearing Sheryl Sandberg’s story and learning about her contributions taught the audience a great deal about how much women have influenced our new media generation and how it is changing and going to continue changing our future.  

The How and the Why

I never was a blogger before I took this class. A few times I had ventured to try and put my semi-creative writing skills to task by entering some vain entries in a diary-esque format, but it had never been substantive. My thoughts were rambling and not nearly as funny as they sounded in my head, in my own voice. There was no direction, and my interest waned. So then I am given the assignment of becoming a semi-regular blogger. Well, my initial thoughts toward the project were negative; I had developed stereotypes that bloggers were, by their nature, self-involved and therefore useless. Since learning more about the nature of blogs, I have seen this stereotype disproved thanks to my enlightenment at the words of Andrew Sullivan, as well as the more than capable fingertips of my fellow bloggers (Sydney, Sheena, Allie, and Mckenna). I now see blogging as a viable form of communication between people who run the gamut of intelligence from the barely grammatical to the virtuosic. Now I feel as though I have a basic understanding of the two major foundations for effective blogging; I now understand the how and the why.

The How:

How can I be an effective blogger on par with Andrew Sullivan? Well, you probably can’t– Sullivan has innate ability as a writer – but you can at least become a passing conversationalist, and that is what makes for a basic blogger. What we look for in our bloggers are people who are not as authoritative as the news anchor but also not as ignorant as the general populace. The blogger creates a colloquial middleman between the people in the know and the people in the “I don’t know.” In short, a good blogger can become a good blogger by reaching the level of intelligence of a friend that is smarter than you. Because a blogger’s best friend is balance, balance between intelligence and a conversational tone. So if you plan on venturing into the unrewarding world of blogging, make sure you put up a safeguard of colloquialism because it will help you two fold: people will understand you, and people will be less likely to assail you for being wrong if you broach topics in a fashion not unlike a colleague starting up a conversation at work. Don’t talk down to your audience, talk with them.

The why:

So why do we need bloggers? Well, unfortunately our generations are becoming lazier and lazier. Who has time to read an entire article on Cnn.com these days!?! We all do of course, but we choose not to, because hulu just uploaded a clip from glee that we have just got to watch. So the blogger cuts it down into bite-size need to know bits that the pressed for time can easily digest. But more important than what a blogger offers, is what a blogger represents. Go to blogspot, or tumblr, or any other blog start up site, you are always just clicks away from becoming a blogger. The successful bloggers in the blogsopshere were just like you or me at one time. They all wanted to say something but they had no soapbox to stand on, enter the world of blogs. In a technological world where your voice is stifled by the multitudinous screams of tweets and statuses, a blog offers you a quiet space where you, the blogger, can talk to your heart’s desire. And here’s the best part: against all odds, people will listen, and they’ll talk back.

Will I continue blogging? At this point in my life, no, not enough time. But I now see the value of blogging as more than just verbal masturbation on the Internet. With blogging we can be funny, we can be outspoken, we can have compromising political views. So long as you don’t sound like an idiot doing it, you will come across as someone who is just looking to have an intelligent conversation, and hopefully someone will engage you.

Final Reflections on Blogging

Before taking this course, I automatically assumed most blogs on the internet were fairly free-from, run by one person ranting about some current event or daily activity that ticks them off. Basically, I never even considered the fact that a blog could be academic. And then when we started to blog as a group, my opinion began to change. However, it wasn't until we actually evaluated different blogs like the political philosophy blog Public Reason that I truly grasped the concept of an academic blog. These kinds of blogs are highly structured with full citations and relevant quotes, some even required membership in the community to leave comments. Not at all what I had envisioned a blog to be at the beginning of the term. And as we began work on our own blogs, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I have no prior experience in blogging and wasn't very accustomed to all the ins and outs of the blogosphere. Sure I check blogs fairly often, specifically music blogs like The Hype Machine, but I had never really given much thought about what a blog consists of. Writing, images, videos, music - all these things could be incorporated into a single post. And that's one of the main things I've learned about blogging through Media Jamss. Looking back on my initial posts, my writing style was tense and structured, each word carefully chosen as if I was writing a research paper for one of my classes. No images and certainly no videos. Writing blog posts for the class almost stressed me out and took me at least an hour I'm embarrassed to say. But as the semester progressed and we began looking at and evaluating other blogs, I became more comfortable writing posts of my own. I noticed my writing style was more of a stream of consciousness and included images and links to other sites and blogs. And while our blogs were deemed academic, I rarely felt like I was doing an assignment for class with a rigid structure for our writing style. The weekly posts were a way for us to tell others in Media Jamss and who ever else was looking at our blog what we deemed important or interesting or entertaining in the media today. It definitely broadened my knowledge about media and the blogosphere as a whole, as I'm sure it did for others.

Since taking this course and blogging multiple times a week, I'm definitely more appreciative of other blogs out there on the internet. There's a lot of hard work that goes into maintaining a blog, especially the more complex and high-tech ones. I have a lot of respect for bloggers that dedicate large portions of their day to upload pictures and write text, even if they don't know who's checking their blogs, if anyone. It's amazing that many have made a career out of blogging, such as Perez Hilton who has become a household name. The fact that a no one like Mario Armando Lavandeira (Perez's real name) can become such a fixture in the entertainment world in a matter of months shows the vast opportunity that the internet and new media provides us with.

One other thing I've realized now that I've gotten the hang of blogging is that now I'm far more inclined to follow other blogs. Like I said earlier, I follow some music blogs but now I'm expanding not only my music sphere, but also am on the lookout for fashion, entertainment, and news blogs. I find myself checking the New York Times Media Decoder Blog on a regular basis and going to the Daily Beast or Huffington Post for news. I can say now that blogging not only through Media Jamss but also on the whole has been increasingly beneficial for me and can only become more advantageous from here on out. I expect that I'll need to know about blogging for future jobs, since I want to enter into the marketing/PR field, and having this previous knowledge will only help.

Huffington Post Founder a Slave Driver?

That's what many of the site's bloggers are saying about Huffington Post founder, Arianna Huffington. In a lawsuit filed today, over 9,000 writers are suing the site for $105 million for their uncompensated blogging. In response to the lawsuit, the Huffington Post issued this statement:

Ms. Huffington’s spokesman, Mario Ruiz, said the suit was without merit and disputed the claim that the bloggers deserve compensation. “As we’ve said before, our bloggers use our platform — as well as other unpaid group blogs across the Web — to connect and help their work be seen by as many people as possible,” Mr. Ruiz said. “It’s the same reason people go on TV shows: to promote their views and ideas.”

This controversy raises concerns about whether or not blogging should be compensated. And as we reach the end of the term and have our final reflections on blogging, I wonder what my peers at Media Jamss think of this. Should blogging for sites like the Huffington Post and other news organizations be a paid career? Or should bloggers simply blog just to get their ideas out there and have no monetary incentive? Thoughts?

Blogging

Unlike other people in our New Media class, I have had a bit of experience blogging before this course. I’m not going to say that I was a master blogger or that I had more experience than Perez Hilton, but my extracurricular activities throughout my four years of college eventually led to blogging. So, when I found out that we were going to be blogging in this class, I was excited! I thought that it would be sort of like second-nature to me. Although I knew a little bit about the techniques of blogging and how to insert images and other visuals, I never took part in an academic blog. I blogged about fashion and art and different cultural things that I had an extreme interest in. This type of blogging was about to be different.

How have your perceptions of blogging changed since the semester’s beginning?

Since the beginning of the semester, my perceptions of blogging have changed drastically. In addition to being more aware of different blogs across the globe because we were assigned to look at them, I think that I’m more aware of the impact that blogging can have in the classroom. I always thought of blogging as an online form of print journalism. Over the semester, however, I realized that blogging could be used in an academic setting. After we had gotten into our blogging groups, we came up with a  tagline that represented what we wanted to blog about. Every week, we were required to write a post that had to do with our chosen topic. Required. That’s not a word that I would have directly related to blogging. I used to think that blogging was optional, something that should be done on your own time. But, of course, when a class requires you to blog, you’ll do whatever you have to do to succeed in the class. In summary, I’ve learned that academic blogging and blogging for a class can be incredibly beneficial. 

In my other courses this semester, I was handing in written assignments on a weekly basis, which really bored me to tears. It came to a point where I actually looked forward to my blog posts because it allowed me to do something different. Additionally, I find it beneficial for students our age to know how to blog and use new media. We’re well-rounded when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, but I don’t think that a lot of courses teach us about blogging. I think that knowing how to blog could be important in a work setting. I’ve realized that blogging doesn’t just have to be something you do on your own, it can also be something that a class really implements into its syllabus. I would recommend the use of blogs in any classroom that focuses on writing.

How do you find the process of composing a blog post different from traditional writing. How has blogging changed your notion of writing?

I think that composing a blog post is really different from traditional writing for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it really allows a writer to develop a tone that they can fully develop as they continue to blog. I think that developing a blog tone is important because it gives you an identity that can be recognized. The problem with blogging and computer mediated communication is that we can't necessarily visually see someone, so a tone helps develop someone's identity.

Performancing.com has a really good post that they published a couple years ago that discusses the differences between writing and blogging. I think that one of the paragraphs stands out more than others and it does a good job highlighting what I think is the main difference between blogging and traditional writing:

Blogging involves more than writing. Blogging involves interaction, being part of the community, and having your blog serve as your online identity and persona. When you blog, you don’t just write a 500-word essay and publish it on a static page. You open up that essay to the world for critique right there and then. You let people talk back to you on your comment threads and on other blogs. You respond, and you talk back.

When I think of the main differences between blogging and traditional writing, I immediately think of one word: interactivity. Traditional writing does allow for interactivity in a way. Thinking back to the traditional papers I’ve written, my teachers can “interact” with me by writing on the paper and verbally expressing their opinions to me. But, the interactions are much different than what blogging allows. Blogging allows for interactivity within a community and through comments. I feel that the interactions I’ve had with my peers through Media Jamss have helped me define what blogging really means.

In addition, blogging allows for visuals like videos and images within the actual writing. I can’t remember the last time I’ve included graphic images in an academic paper. Blog posts are typically strengthened when images and hyperlinks are used. That’s part of the interactivity—linking other sites and providing images that make the post more visually stimulating. Some of my favorite posts on Media Jamss have been the ones where visual composition has been present.

How do you perceive yourself as a blogger?

At this point, I consider myself a blogger who can definitely improve and learn more about the blogging world. I feel that I understand the basics of blogging pretty well: how to insert media, how to develop a tone of voice, how to interact with others within the same community. But, at the same time, I feel that I’ve worked closely with the “easy” blog websites. There are more difficult and challenging blogging platforms that may be worth checking out.  I think that there’s a lot more to learn and to know about blogging. In addition, one thing that I have realized is how many blogs there are out there. I think that I could familiarize myself with more of them to improve my own blogging skills!

What other blogging adventures would you like to have in the future?

If I weren’t a graduating senior (ugh), I would say that I’d like my classes in the future to use blogging. But, because I am, I hope to use blogging and things that I’ve learned about blogging in a workplace. Because I’m interested in media, it’s likely that I will use blogging in my day-to-day work life. In addition to my professional life, I hope to use blogging in my personal life. I’ve blogged for websites, but I’ve never had my own blog and I hope to have one in the near future. It’s only natural to have thoughts throughout the day and what better place to express them than in a blog.

Photo Credit

this is nice

It's nice to see an authoritative figure like Sullivan get emotional like this. So often we look to internet figures as distant, stolid, or robotic. Here is truth and emotion from the robot that is the Atlantic's most popular blogger. Congrats Andrew.

so this jumped out at me

Well I am a jew...and I think i am funny. In short the article talks about how odd it is that jews have become so inseperable from humor and the study of comedy. You can't go too far in a study of stand up comedy, theatrical comedy, artistic comedy, or literary comedy without first coming across the names of a few jewish men and women. Bob Mankoff, the author of this article as well as close to one thousand cartoons for The New Yorker, says that jewish humor stems from jewish inquisitiveness. By the nature of our theology, we are geared towards asking questions. If christianity is founded on faith, Judaism is founded on the pursuit of knowledge (not a qualitative statement, simply the way I see it, both have their pluses and minuses).

I as a jew, love to know everything, and I think that there is something in the Jewish culture that does encourage such omniscience. Considering we have been opressed for thousands upon thousands of years, it is something bordering solace to say that we know just a wee bit more than our opressors. It is our education and wit that has kept the Jews going through all of their strife. If you are not allowed to laugh at yourself, you are left alone with your misery, and lord knows the Jews have enough misery to share. So humor and intellect cover up what we'd prefer to not dwell on.

The Frozen Four Final: Twitter and Facebook

While watching the hockey final game tonight, I couldn't help but notice the role of social media in regards to rooting on teams and expressing emotions about the game. As Michigan and Minnesota Duluth entered overtime, I naturally refreshed my Twitter Mobile application to see what new tweets had surfaced in the past, er, 45 minutes. I was shocked to see that multiple friends of mine had tweeted about the overtime. Some examples were: Overtime.. LETS GO BLUE and Headed into overtime.#goblue. After the loss, a couple tweets said: It was a good game Michigan :( and At least our hockey team doesn't have dumb haircuts...


For the sake of comparison, I logged into my Facebook to see how status updates were used during the Michigan hockey game and there were similarities: f*** Minnesota, I'm upset right now, couldve definitely had 4 better years of Michigan athletics, Sad today, proud forever. Forever Go Blue!


I'm not going to lie. I had a status update that was rooting for Michigan's hockey team. Hey, I'm a proud Wolverine! But, I got to thinking as I saw the other updates: Why do we feel the need to express our opinions on our social media sites? Do you think that these features give people the opportunity to voice things that they may not have the opportunity to say out loud?


Photo credit

Who is DJ Spooky?

DJ Spooky. Paul D. Miller. That subliminal kid. All monikers the club deejay turned film maker goes by. As a deejay on the club scene, Spooky got the hang of remixing music and sound and then decided to take it one step further by adding visual components. For this, he is now known as a multimedia performer and has even tried his hand at film. The DJ lectured (and spun) for a packed house at the East Liberty Theatre this Thursday night, explaining what exactly he does both verbally and musically.


During his first act of the night, he performed on stage with three violinists and one cellist, mixing their live orchestra music with his own hip-hop and electronic beats. He accompanied this musical piece with video and image projected onscreen behind him. He described his style of music as a technique called layering, which refers to incorporating different sounds and beats to form one single piece by mixing them all together. He not only used turntables in his performance but also the new software he created for Apple (available on the iTunes store) called the DJ Mixer app or DJ Spooky app, which he used on his iPad. While his style of music is similar to other mash-up and mix artists, I found his technique much more innovative. He not only used pre-recorded sounds and songs like other similar artists but also incorporated live music from the orchestra, which not many deejays these days do.
He then went into a discussion about the various audio and visual projects he's created, specifically his most famous, "Rebirth of a Nation," a remix of D. W. Griffith's 1915 film "The Birth of a Nation." In his remix, DJ Spooky addresses the racist beliefs and stereotypes of African Americans that "The Birth of a Nation" displays. DJ Spooky describes his intentions for his remix in an interview with NPR.

"In a certain sense what I'm doing is portraying the film as he intended it," DJ Spooky says of his remix. "This is a film glorifying a horrible situation. And I think a modern sensibility is something where people will look at this and go like 'Oh, I can't believe this, I don't relate to it, I don't think this is right, what does he mean?' So it's not letting him off the hook so much as presenting the film and actually having it fall in on itself."

Here's a clip from his original work, which is over an hour and a half long.

Viewers saw images of famous figures from the Civil Rights Movement, such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcom X, but also those less known. He incorporated videos and still images from protests that showed the pain and tumult during that time, all while interjecting parts of "The Birth of a Nation." It's incredible to see how compelling a piece can be with both visual and audio components tied together and I'm curious to see what else DJ Spooky will come up with in the future.

Paul D. Miller aka "DJ Spooky"

Paul D. Miller aka 'DJ Spooky' performed and spoke today at the University of Michigan's State Street theatre on April, 7, 2011. DJ Spooky is a composer, a writer, and a prominent multi-media artist who uses various samples and creates remixes to compose innovative pieces of music and art. He stresses how 'sampling,' editing, and remixing, genres like 'hip-hop' have now become legitimate methods of writing and expression. Thanks to DJs and other composers like DJ Spooky, hip-hop can be used as a beneficial tool to learning academically by way of a beat.

Photo By Sydney Berger

DJ Spooky says that sampling, "is like a form of art that is inherited from a lot of issues from a collage." This combined with various elements of technology, allows us to capture every moment of expression. He uses these elements and incorporates them into a new kind of language--a language that plays with hip-hop and uses the idea of the 'cut-up' technique.' He went on to talk about this concept throughout his lecture--the notion of using stop motion photography and sampling and how each are used to create seamless sequences that tell parts of stories.

Essentially, what DJ Spooky does, and what he showed us today was how he re-edit's clips and creates an innovative sense of "word play." He uses sampling as a way to modernly navigate new terrain, by way of digital literacy, by recreating an original landscape into something that is novel and unique. This is evident in many aspects of new media; the way we listen and view music in our society is constantly evolving and DJ Spooky is bolstering this movement.

Photo By Richard Avedon

My favorite part of DJ Spooky's lecture was when he played an excerpt of his "Rebirth of a Nation." This was his first large-scale multimedia performance piece, which has already played all over the world (even for President Obama). He took clips from D.W. Griffith's, "The Birth of a Nation" and incorporated samples of music that he created himself from various sources, and ultimately came up with his masterpiece, "The Rebirth of a Nation." He reiterated the idea that "history is always about revisions and edits." And thanks to seeing his innovative work, we learn that this is definitely true (especially within many aspects of new media).

Do YOU Know About the Royal Wedding?

I'd say it's pretty hard not to be aware of the fact that Kate Middleton and Prince William are about to tie the knot! There has been constant coverage, literally everywhere--BBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, CNN, AOL, and more.

Each of these stations' headlines are all buzzing about the royal wedding. "3 Reasons Why You Should Care About the Royal Wedding," "Will Royal Wedding Be the Ultimate Reality Show?" (you get the picture). There are so many constant updates regarding these festivities, and the wedding hasn't even happened yet! Even though the wedding is less than a month away, I think the media is focusing too much of its' attention on this wedding. In my opinion, there are many more important events and matters that should be covered, instead of every last detail of Catherine Middleton and Prince William's Wedding. To me, I truly believe that this wedding is getting too much attention in America. Yes, I understand it is a royal wedding and those don't occur often, but I think we should just be focusing on the actual wedding itself when it happens (and not everything leading up to it--keep that private and focus on issues that are more important going on in our world).

Museums Take On Social Media

When I think of museums, the first word that comes to mind is old. Old buildings, old paintings, and for the most part, an older crowd. So when I came across an article from the New York Times titled Museums Pursue Engagement with Social Media, my initial reaction was confusion. For some reason, it never occurred to me that museums would have Facebook and Twitter pages with employees hired for the sole purpose of updating them. It just seemed strange to believe that something I had always viewed as old in every sense of the word was now embracing new media and the hip and ever changing aspects associated with it.

While museums have long strived to be welcoming places as well as havens of learning, social media is turning them into virtual community centers. On Facebook or Twitter or almost any museum Web site, everyone has a voice, and a vote. Curators and online visitors can communicate, learning from one another. As visitors bring their hand-held devices to visits, the potential for interactivity only intensifies. 

Museum websites are also offering images of all the pieces in a collection as well as video and audio.  Users can take their own pictures or videos while they're at museums and upload these onto the various social media site for others to see. And while the incorporation of social media and more high-tech websites is important for users, I wonder if it takes away from the overall museum experience. So I pose this question to Media Jamss: will the presence of Facebook and Twitter entice the public to come to museums or would they rather view pieces and videos from the comfort of their own homes? In an age completely reliant on speed and excessive information, will people be satisfied with seeing an instant pixelated version of a piece of famous art or will they take the time to venture out to museums to see the real deal?

Social Media and Movies

Another shout-out to the Huffington Post is in order. An article posted a few days ago discussed the role of social media in regards to films. Zuckerberg recently announced that Facebook will begin offering users movies on-demand. Just one more thing that Facebook can now do.

One of the key advantages of online social media is the ability to build communities around niche interests. Movies now achieve cult-status much faster, and to a deeper degree, among consumers as a result. In response, companies such as AMC can seize the opportunity to forge new business models by listening to social traffic, crunching the data and moving beyond merely exhibiting movies to staging unique movie events.

What would this mean for movie theaters, particularly independent films?

It could be a shot in the arm for independent film; Studios would increase their platform, price points and range of film product; Theaters could off-set falling attendance for major releases by attracting sizable, calculated and quantifiable niche audiences (derived from rich online data) -- and consumers could ultimately refresh the community experience of movie-going by supporting theaters that play an active and relevant role in their social network lives.

I personally love going to the movies... but... I also love Facebook. I'm curious as to what everyone's thoughts are about watching movies on Facebook? And, more importantly, what would this mean for the empire that has become Facebook?

Fox News Targets Hispanic Americans

Coming from California, immigration, specifically from Mexico is always a hot topic in the news. So it comes as no surprise that the data from the 2010 census shows continued growth among the population of Latino Americans in the US. But what's interesting about the census is Fox News' reaction to these numbers.

Two units of the News Corporation, Fox International Channels and Fox Global Networks, plan to announce on Monday morning that they are forming a division to be called Fox Hispanic Media. Fox Hispanic Media will be composed of two existing cable channels and a new one. The existing channels are Fox Deportes, formerly known as Fox Sports en Español, and Utilísima, a channel aimed at women that offers shows on subjects like cooking, parenting, beauty and home improvement. 

Clearly, Fox is seeking to gain viewers in a growing segment of the population by creating this division, but how effectively they will do so and retain these viewers is yet to be determined. Despite this, Fox's expansion shows that media is constantly adapting for users and making their experience easier and more enjoyable. A similar change happened on Facebook when the company began to offer the site in different languages, now reaching around 60 and counting to target a broader demographic. Referencing Media Jamss mission statement, changes likes these are some of the benefits resulting from media outlets because they are increasingly becoming more and more inclusive, which is a core benefit of new media.

Facebook is not immune

Lest we forget

Myspace used to be the end all and be all social networking site. It was the alpha and the omega when it came to staying connected. It was the chicken and....you get the point: it was important. Walk up to me 6 years ago and tell me myspace will become irrelevant within the decade and I'd surely scoff. But something is only immune untill the next best thing approaches. We all have our gripes with Facebook, how long is it before these gripes turn into alternatives?

Tweeting the Revolution Speaker

I received this email from my Communication Studies Director this morning and felt it was really relevant to class. I just wanted to share it with Media Jamss in case anyone was interested in attending.

Apparently boring=Interesting....who knew?

So it seems as though the entire news industry is not dead yet. According to this article, no matter how bad the newspaper world is, people will always want to read about corruption and the goings on around congress. I find this to be a bit surprising, considering that watching C-Span coverage of a bill's vote is similar to the amount of excitement generated by watching someone do the dishes. Now I hope I'm reading this wrong, but it seems as though not only are businesses willing to invest more money into the muckracking of the hill, but people are willing to pay exorbitant amounts to get in depth coverage into congress. The huffpost article reports.

Bloomberg, already a big player on the Hill, has added 150 staffers for the launch of Bloomberg Government, a trove of news, policy data and wonk intel that costs subscribers $5,700 a year.

I'm sorry...what?! 5,700 dollars a year for a subscription to bloomberg government. Someone please explain that sentence to me, because it so far beyond my levels of comprehension.

I am all for a transparent government, but at some point I think that 24 hour coverage of congressional hearings is superfluous and unnecessary. There is real news out there that deserves the amount of attention that capitol hill is mysteriously receiving. Explanations anyone?

Acronyms Now Added to Oxford English Dictionary

I knew that teens had started incorporating abbreviations and emoticons in their school writing as a result of various mediums such as texting and instant messaging, but now it would seem that the Oxford English Dictionary is embracing this. The online dictionary is adding "OMG," "LOL," and "FYI" to their database, which comes after the site added "bloggable" and "sexting." This is an effort on their part to keep up with the vastly expanding electronic communications age, claiming that these three terms "are quicker to type than the full forms and are useful in the digital arena when there's a character limit." While I think it makes sense that Oxford would add these terms since they're so prominent in our society, I don't necessary think they are terms that should be in an online dictionary. This may further perpetuate young people's use of these terms in their school writing, rather than proper English. Since this slang style of writing is appearing a lot in writing, it's necessary that students be taught the difference between the two. Perhaps if teachers and even parents made this distinction acronyms and emoticons wouldn't appear as much in writing.

A Harmless Video or an Insulting Video?

Not sure if any of you are familiar with the "Pursuit of Jappiness" video made by three students at The University of Michigan, but I thought it was worthy of discussion. We've discussed in class how the media, mostly Youtube and Facebook, are outlets that people resort to--especially young adults and teenagers to achieve overnight fame or success. I think the boys who worked exceptionally hard on this video, who tried to depict what 'jewish' life or 'Greek Life' is like at the University of Michigan, may have taken their joke a bit too far.

Coming from someone who is Jewish and a member of Greek Life, I do find the video entertaining, but also quite offensive. I am surprised because it seems that these guys worked so hard on this video, but for what? What if some of the over 300,000 views this video has garnered isn't from a Jewish member of Greek Life at the University of Michigan or someone from a similar University? Do viewers actually understand the humor and seemingly innocuous jokes that these guys are trying to tell? I really don't know, but what I do hope is that this video does not haunt them in the future. Although it may be funny now, when applying for jobs and such, is a video like this really going to hurt them in the long run?

The question I am trying to answer is, how far is too far on 'youtube.com?' This site enables us to show the world our creative sides. However, what if our creativity is undermined or deemed inappropriate? Even worse, what if your hard work isn't valued the way you feel it should?

See how they responded to some of these questions.

NCAA Bracket: An Example of New Media?

As I sit at home feeling a bit under the weather (listening to all of my roommates get ready for their big night out), I can't seem to bring my eyes away from my NCAA bracket. And then it dawned on me-- why have brackets not been discussed on Media Jamss yet? I think that a college basketball bracket is the perfect example of new media: it's updated in realtime, it allows users to interact with one another, it combines digital text with audio and visual, it creates participation, and it's incredibly active. In fact, there have been multiple occasions when I don't feel like fighting a roommate for the television and I choose to watch the game live on my computer through the website that hosts my bracket (CBS). I will say that this is the first year I've had a bracket and it won't be the last. Given, this is easy for me to say because I'm currently in first place-- I don't mean to boast. Regardless, I felt the need to share my feelings on the NCAA bracket-- an example of new media that I feel goes unnoticed.

And, if you're bored (or feeling a little ill), I highly recommend watching President Obama fill out his NCAA bracket on ESPN last year. It's incredibly entertaining.

Elizabeth Taylor Photo Essay

As people around the globe remain saddened by Elizabeth Taylor's decease, Time Magazine has put together a wonderful photo essay that I wanted to share, especially because we are in the process of creating our own photo essays.

The essay is titled, "Elizabeth Taylor Through the Lens of Hollywood Photo Legend Bob Willoughby." Willoughby, a famed photographer, took dozens of candid shots of Elizabeth Taylor over the years. The photos range from Willoughby taking a photo of Taylor being photographed by another photographer (a very interesting shot) at the tender age of 19 to candid shots on the set of Raintree County.

Enjoy!

Taylor, Willoughby and Eva Marie Saint on the set of Raintree County.

Photo Credit

Have You Stumbled Upon, StumbleUpon.com?

I've browsed through the website Stumble Upon, but never really got myself hooked. I wouldn't have called this site a social networking site until now. Apparently, statistics show that more than 14 million people use this information service to flip through various pages of the web 'almost as if they're channel surfing on a television that anticipates their preferences.' What you tend to 'stumble upon' most often, and continue to browse through, will determine which direction the site takes you in.

There are approximately 500,000 new members signing up for this site every month. And according to the Zeta Interactive, it is the ninth most popular social media site on the Internet. Similar to how other major social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter were acquired by sponsors, eBay acquired StumbleUpon for about 75 million dollars, but then many of their original investors who backed them initially, pulled out and then the site became worth only 29 million dollars.

Basically, this is just a fun, interactive website that allows its users to connect to other websites and find new information. If you are looking to find something new and addicting, you should stumble onto this site!

Why Women Rule The Internet

Tech Crunch had an interesting article out today that discussed women's use of the Internet. Turns out that when it comes to social networking websites and shopping websites, women tend to use them far more frequently than men.

Comscore, Nielsen, MediaMetrix and Quantcast studies all show women are the driving force of the most important net trend of the decade, the social web. Comscore says women are the majority of users of social networking sites and spend 30% more time on these sites than men; mobile social network usage is 55% female according to Nielsen.

And the following quote probably won't surprise you because it's exactly what we have discussed in class:

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, has talked about how women are not only the majority of its users, but drive 62% of activity in terms of messages, updates and comments, and 71% of the daily fan activity.  Women have 8% more Facebook friends on average than men, and spend more time on the site.  According to an early Facebook team member, women played a key role in the early days by adopting three core activities—posting to walls, adding photos and joining groups—at a much higher rate than males. 

From what we learned and discussed in class, why do you think that women "rule" social networking websites? 

New York Times Online Making Users Pay For Their News

Some of the main reasons that many have switched from print to online versions of newspapers are convenience, accessibility, and of course, that it's (mostly) free. Almost all news organizations have online sites that you can peruse, clicking carelessly on any articles that interest you without having to pay. But now, the New York Times, which previously allowed online users to do just that, is imposing restrictions. This excerpt from an article in the Times gives a general overview:

Beginning March 28, visitors to NYTimes.com will be able to read 20 articles a month without paying, a limit that company executives said was intended to draw in subscription revenue from the most loyal readers while not driving away the casual visitors who make up the vast majority of the site’s traffic. Once readers click on their 21st article, they will have the option of buying one of three digital news packages.

While I wouldn't say I'm a "loyal reader" of the New York Times, the online newspaper is the homepage on my laptop. I use the site to catch up on the latest news and usually click on at least one article that interests me each day. In theory, this would amount to around 30 articles a month. But now that the New York Times would make me pay a subscription fee ranging from $195 to $455 per year to casually glance over a selection of articles, I would much rather find my news elsewhere. After I reach that 20 article a month limit, I'm definitely going to look at the Washington Post or some news blogs. I would never even think to pay for news that I could easily find on some other online news site. But the fact that the New York Times, one of the most reputable news organizations in the country, is transitioning towards online subscriptions makes me worry. Will other news organizations impose the same restrictions on users, making them pay fees to get their daily news? What do you think of all of this?

this is scary

So our mission statement is to show the benefits and drawbacks of new media. I don't think there is a better example of a drawback than this video interview with unintentional internet phenom Rebecca Black. I will not try to avoid the fact that I made fun of her, I did. But this video is startling. How viciously people can tear people apart on the internet, just because its easy and there is ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY.

She seems like a nice enough girl who can sing decently well...and people want her to cut herself and die?! I just don't understand.

Is Your Text Making A Difference?

We've already discussed this on our blog, but I recently received this email via change.org and felt the need to share. I actually donated $10 to Red Cross via text messaging last night... and now I'm not certain that the money will get to Japan in time.

Here's a copy/paste of the email:

Dear Alexandra,
As devastating events hit Japan -- earthquake, tsunami, and now a possible nuclear catastrophe -- millions of us have sought to help, often by donating money to urgent relief efforts.

But if you donate via text message, your donations may take up to 90 days to get to the aid organizations that urgently need the money.

That's because mobile service providers like AT&T and Verizon have chosen not to release the donation money right away. Instead, the donations will only be transferred after the end of your next billing cycle, a process that can take up to three months. Tell the phone companies to stop delaying donations.
After the earthquake in Haiti, Change.org activists joined with activists around the world to ask phone companies to provide donations to the Red Cross immediately –– and the phone companies came through. So why are they delaying donations now?

Masaya Uchino, a Japanese-American law student in San Francisco, has started a petition on Change.org to ask AT&T, Verizon, and other major phone service providers not to delay much needed donations from reaching the organizations doing relief work in Japan.

Please join Masaya and other Change.org members in asking the phone companies to stop delaying donations to Japan:
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-delay-on-donations-to-japan-2?alert_id=YXcTCsunOA_HkQCJTiSFK&me=aa

Thanks for taking action,
- Weldon and the Change.org team

As more people text money to help the relief in Japan, we need to ask ourselves whether or not the money is actually getting to where it needs to be in a timely fashion. Although I think it's amazing that we can now donate money with just a click of our phone, is it really making a difference?

amazing

stop what you're doing and watch this, even if you already have.

Interesting Video About Texting While Driving

I saw this a while ago on Dr. Phil and wanted to share.

A Fatal Text

What we have feared has become reality. Technology has officially allowed us to put our lives at risk.  A single text, a brief glance, a turn of the wheel, and we have endangered the lives of everyone on the road, including ourselves. Two days ago, Detroit News came out with the article Crash death tests Michigan texting law. It details the first Michigan fatal driving-while-texting case, in which Jerry Joseph is now being convicted of texting while driving and causing the death of Irene Paquin, and the injury of her husband Paul Paquin. However, the charges for the manslaughter will only amount to a misdemeanor and $1000 fine. According to the law, Joseph wasn't engaging in reckless driving, and so no real charges could be brought against him. But it still doesn't make it okay. It seems unfair that a death was cause by one text message, and albeit an unintentional accident, the damage that has been done is devastating. 

This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I feel as though texting while driving is equivalent to drinking while driving. We enter a trance, completed distracted by our surroundings and only attentive to what is on that screen. The cell phone is our dark passenger, and we oftentimes give into its powers. Try as we might, there is simply no way to give one's full attention to the road while texting. I know this from experience. 

Although I am not proud of it, I think it's important to relay this information as a precaution to all those who have/are texting while driving. Last year, I made the mistake of texting while driving, while on an icy highway. A friend asked what time I was getting into town, and rather than calling or simply waiting to pull off at the next exit, I decided I could text her back quickly without losing focus on the road. I can't remember much of what happened next, but I do remember looking up the next moment, realizing I had lost control of the wheel, swerving into the concrete median, and spinning around in multiple 360's until I finally skidded to a halt facing oncoming traffic. The airbags popped and I felt the burn of the plastic on my chin. Disoriented and panicked, I remember flicking on my flashers and desperately hoping that I had not caused any damage to anyone. It all happened so fast: I couldn't remember if I had come into contact with another car. Luckily, a truck pulled in front of the stopped cars, blocking the flow of traffic so as to prevent anyone from hitting me. It was all a blur, but after realizing what had just happened, I was immediately overcome with shame. Fortunately, no one was hurt and although my car was completely damaged, I still feel as though that moment in my life was one I will regret the most. If anything had happened, I could have completely changed the lives of innocent people, for the worse. This article iterates a similar scenario. 

The most frightening aspect of these stories is that they can literally happen to anyone. You don't even need to be texting while driving to be severely injured or possibly killed by such an accident. All it takes is a cell phone and a lapse in judgment on the drivers part. And it happens frequently. Anyone with a cell phone is potentially an unsafe driver. Although texting while driving is banned in Michigan, it still does not prevent drivers from using their cell phones. We have advanced digital communication, but with it, we must also face the repercussions. So please, stay safe, don't text and drive, and don't let other do so as well. 

Insights on Texting: Response to McKenna's Post

McKenna, What a powerful post. It seems that you got to the core of many issues discussed in Alone Together, and in connecting them to real-life situations, further solidified the resounding messages that come from the reading. I agree with your point about phone calls-- you stated "I saw our phone calls as the most sincere way to contact her and stay connected." This brings up an interesting point. Can it be determined that vocal communication is indicative of the strength of a human relationship? 

There are some people on my contact list that I would never think to call. Think of those times when you've "butt dialed" some one you haven't seen in a long time. A return call consists of bewilderment and embarrassment, i.e. confusion as to why you called (who calls these days anyway?) and humiliation on your part for accidentally contacting someone you only maintain a text-based relationship with. It is an awkward situation, to be sure, but should it need to be? A phone call is something I only reserve for close friends and family members. Why is it so taboo these days to call someone whom you haven't spoken to in a year, just to see how they are doing? Quite simply, it's just weird. Oftentimes, we take the easier route and resort to texting instead. Its informal, fast, and emotion can be controlled. We don't need to worry about how our voice sounds over the phone, or how nervous we are in trying to carry on a conversation. I find that the people I most feel comfortable around are the ones that I make phone calls to.  

Its almost comical how the age of the cell phone has developed. For some strange reason, I have a habit of memorizing numbers directly upon seeing them. It only takes a few glances to remember phone numbers. Give me the name of any close friend/family member of mine, and I will recite their number in a heartbeat. Oddly, I associate people with their digits as an automatic, inherent means of remembering phone numbers. Sure, it's a great party trick (and also slightly disturbing), but I am now just beginning to realize that perhaps this skill is indicative of something larger at hand. If I can recite your number with the mere mention of your name, you are one person I will, and have made a phone call to (and text as well). Yet, if I am unable to remember to your digits, then you are someone I will probably only text. It is amazing how digital communication shapes the way we interact with others. The question is, is it for the better or the worse?

I'll leave you with this image...