Hmmmmmm so I should probably write something, eh?
I would like to say that I do not appreciate the fact that my psych professor automatically assumes that everyone in the class believes that we evolved from monkeys, or apes, or whatever. Should I say something to her about it, or just let it go?
And I think I might try to minor in philosophy.
So anyway...in Media Life class we're talking about how "the internet doesn't forget" as Seth Godin says, whoever he is. And we're talking about multiple versions of ourselves. Like, how I present myself on Facebook is not the same self I show on YouTube or on this blog. Actually using myself as an example is a bad idea...
Yeah, so think about the different ways you portray yourself to others on different social networking sites. Is one version of yourself really the "true" you? Are some versions more accurate than others? It's hard to portray personality through words and pictures. Sure, the internet can tell you facts about people, but knowing stuff about people doesn't really mean you know them. Of course, I bet you already knew that.
I really have nothing to say...
...so thanks for reading, and comment if you can think of something to say.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The interweb
We haven't really talked about anything in class that's all the interesting to blog about...haha.
So what we've been talking about is how our media use is moving from just passive consumption, to actively participating in media production.
For instance, instead of just watching a movie, we now make our own and post it to YouTube.
Instead of just reading websites, we create our own.
Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, and a lot of other media content would not exist without us. We are the driving force behind it.
Without us, there is no Facebook. Sad day.
And in a way, we're screwing over the internet industry. We can do all this stuff for free, and the website/internet people are losing money like crazy. (except I think Google is doing pretty well.)
We took a poll in another of my media classes, and out of all of us (maybe 120 people?) only 1 or 2 people said that they would pay money to use Facebook. Would you? Like $5 a month? I wouldn't. We're so used to having all this stuff available to us for free, so why would we ever think that paying for it would be acceptable?
One thing, though. TV used to be free. If you had those rabbit ears, you could watch whatever you wanted. Back then they thought that paying for TV was crazy and they'd never do it. Now we pay for TV. Are websites eventually going to turn into that? I sure hope not.
So here's my question to you:
If they did start charging to use your favorite social networking sites, how much a month would you pay to use them, or would you just ditch it?
So what we've been talking about is how our media use is moving from just passive consumption, to actively participating in media production.
For instance, instead of just watching a movie, we now make our own and post it to YouTube.
Instead of just reading websites, we create our own.
Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, and a lot of other media content would not exist without us. We are the driving force behind it.
Without us, there is no Facebook. Sad day.
And in a way, we're screwing over the internet industry. We can do all this stuff for free, and the website/internet people are losing money like crazy. (except I think Google is doing pretty well.)
We took a poll in another of my media classes, and out of all of us (maybe 120 people?) only 1 or 2 people said that they would pay money to use Facebook. Would you? Like $5 a month? I wouldn't. We're so used to having all this stuff available to us for free, so why would we ever think that paying for it would be acceptable?
One thing, though. TV used to be free. If you had those rabbit ears, you could watch whatever you wanted. Back then they thought that paying for TV was crazy and they'd never do it. Now we pay for TV. Are websites eventually going to turn into that? I sure hope not.
So here's my question to you:
If they did start charging to use your favorite social networking sites, how much a month would you pay to use them, or would you just ditch it?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
You Can't Change The World.
Hey kids.
I'm actually not sure what I'm supposed to write...I still need to talk to the prof about it...
But anyway, let's just give it a go and hope I'm doing it right...
On the very first day of class, we (all 400+ of us) filled out a survey about our media use and whatnot. One of the questions was "Do you think you can change the world?" I put yes, along with 88% of my class. So in class on Tuesday (or Thursday?) the prof told us that we can't change the world. That's right. Can't.
Not the thing you'd expect to hear.
That of course made me mad, at least a little. We all want to think we have an impact on the world. Or else why would we do anything at all, right?
The prof's point was...um...?
Oh yeah. I remember.
The point was this: our generation grew up with computers, where we can constantly edit life. We write an essay, decide to take out a sentence or a paragraph, and all we have to do is press delete. We make a YouTube video and edit out the parts we don't want. We can cut and copy and paste and delete and add and who knows what else. We can change whatever we want, whenever we want. And so, since we have this mindset with computers, it translates over to our real life. It's so easy to change the digital world, that we think we can change the real world.
An interesting argument, eh?
So, with that being said, do you still think you can change the real world?
I think we can. Maybe we won't reach the entire world. Maybe not everyone will be changed. But what we say and do can and does impact people, even if it's just one person in a small way. Add up all the people we've impacted in our lives, and yes, I'd say that's a change in the world.
Ok ok just one more thing. In discussion yesterday we were talking about pros and cons of the internet. I think what's funny about the internet is that we can pick and choose our reality. Nothing on the internet is really real...obviously. Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and MySpace and whatever else you kids have these days are just edited versions of yourself. It's a false reality. You can lie, (mis)represent yourself, and fake it so easily over the internet. You show only the side of you that you want people to see. It's your edited self. The way you wish you were.
I love the internet as much as the next person, but when it takes over face to face conversation...I think there's something wrong.
So...that is all, I suppose.
Any thoughts about any of this?
I'm actually not sure what I'm supposed to write...I still need to talk to the prof about it...
But anyway, let's just give it a go and hope I'm doing it right...
On the very first day of class, we (all 400+ of us) filled out a survey about our media use and whatnot. One of the questions was "Do you think you can change the world?" I put yes, along with 88% of my class. So in class on Tuesday (or Thursday?) the prof told us that we can't change the world. That's right. Can't.
Not the thing you'd expect to hear.
That of course made me mad, at least a little. We all want to think we have an impact on the world. Or else why would we do anything at all, right?
The prof's point was...um...?
Oh yeah. I remember.
The point was this: our generation grew up with computers, where we can constantly edit life. We write an essay, decide to take out a sentence or a paragraph, and all we have to do is press delete. We make a YouTube video and edit out the parts we don't want. We can cut and copy and paste and delete and add and who knows what else. We can change whatever we want, whenever we want. And so, since we have this mindset with computers, it translates over to our real life. It's so easy to change the digital world, that we think we can change the real world.
An interesting argument, eh?
So, with that being said, do you still think you can change the real world?
I think we can. Maybe we won't reach the entire world. Maybe not everyone will be changed. But what we say and do can and does impact people, even if it's just one person in a small way. Add up all the people we've impacted in our lives, and yes, I'd say that's a change in the world.
Ok ok just one more thing. In discussion yesterday we were talking about pros and cons of the internet. I think what's funny about the internet is that we can pick and choose our reality. Nothing on the internet is really real...obviously. Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and MySpace and whatever else you kids have these days are just edited versions of yourself. It's a false reality. You can lie, (mis)represent yourself, and fake it so easily over the internet. You show only the side of you that you want people to see. It's your edited self. The way you wish you were.
I love the internet as much as the next person, but when it takes over face to face conversation...I think there's something wrong.
So...that is all, I suppose.
Any thoughts about any of this?
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