Blogs

        Blogs have an interesting place in societies media, but I think people would argue over how important they are or are not.  I think that blogs like this one that are simply periodic posts about my opinion on things do not have much impact.  I think that it could have more of an impact if it were perhaps instructional or comical.  Still though, being what it is I think this kind of blog has little importance or influence in todays' society.

        That said there are other forms of blogs.  For instance micro-blogging.  Take Twitter for example.  Although there may be comparatively lacking user numbers, or returning users for Twitter in comparison to other social medias I still think it is important.  I think it has a place in society that people in general to some extent understand.  I know that many people care about what happens on Twitter and that alone gives it importance.  I think a good example of this is after the tsunami/earthquake earlier this year, comedian Gilbert Gottfried tweeted some offensive humor concerning the natural disaster.  This caused him to be fired from his position as the voice of the Aflac duck as they may have reflected poorly on the company.  Another example of an impact this micro-blogging tool can have concerning the same disaster was a situation with Microsoft saying they would donate $1 for every retweet up to $100k.  This was perceived by many as exploitation of the crisis, and Microsoft apologized via Twitter.

        The last type of blog I am going to talk about are video blogs.  Video blogs are easily my favorite kind of blog.  In my opinion competes the most with traditional media more so than any other blogging format, at least for me.  This is mostly in the case of traditional news outlets as opposed to video blog news.  I have to say that I enjoy news blogs much more than traditional news outlets.  I think this may be a result of the sheer quantity of video blogs out there and that creates a situation where if you look hard enough you can probably find a blog fairly tailored to your own interests.  My favorite news video blog is The Philip Defranco Show.  His blog might not be for everyone, but I think it's fairly good… Just Sayin...

Microsoft's (Bing's) tweet and apology tweet

Privacy

        The issue of privacy comes up fairly frequently when it comes to communication technologies.  For me I break the issue into two different groups.  On one hand there is privacy protection from things such as identity theft, credit card information being stolen, etc.  That I believe is a fairly big issue and should be a concern.  I think a good way to protect oneself from those type of things are to be "media literate" enough to know who/what websites one should trust. 

        The other type of privacy protection issue I think deals with everything one does being tracked.  For example Google saving every search you make, or Facebook saving everything you've ever posted.  To be honest I am not at all concerned.  I do have set privacy settings for my Facebook profile that are fairly straightforward and all Facebook users should be familiar with.  That said, those settings are, for the most part, a precaution to cut down on unwanted comments (i.e. taking away comment abilities for some groups).  I firmly believe that I will always be marketed to as long as I use communication technologies and because of that I have no problem with being tracked.  I would rather see advertisements relevant to me than about things I am not interested in.  I have no problem whatsoever with Apple or Verizon or anyone other company knowing where I go on a day to day basis via tracking my cellphone, I'm not hiding anything.  In fact I usually post my location to Foursquare wherever I go so that not only faceless companies and data miners, but also my actual friends, know where I am.  I don't think it is a big deal at all that "Big Brother", Google, Apple, or anyone was is watching us.  There are those who feel like its an invasion of privacy.  However, I think that we choose to use technology of our own free will, in exchange for others keeping track of our information.  No one is forcing anyone to have a Facebook profile… Just Sayin...

Facebook privacy settings, fairly straightforward, and practically walks you through how to customize your settings

Video Games

        I love video games.  I have grown up playing video games, all kinds of them.  Throughout my childhood and even to this day video games play a fairly consistent part in my life as far as entertainment goes.

        I think that a lot of people choose to make much more out of video games than they deserve.  That is to say that I do not think that video games are skewing societies' or the youth of society's mindset on things like violence any more than anything else.  To some extent I think that anything one does habitually will affect them, but I think video games are a mere contributing factor.  I do however think that video games play a role in todays culture as a predominate entertainment medium.  Not only are they extremely profitable, but are an integral part in some subcultures today.  I feel that video games are almost expected to be part of one's life.  Maybe not to the extent of having a cellphone, or television, or even a Facebook profile, but still some familiarity is to be expected in younger generations especially. For example I personally have been in situations where video games were an easy topic of discussion amongst people she didn't know each other well. I think that some people have this idea that people who play video games play all the time or too much.  In reality I think that people in respective age groups spend about the same amount of time on entertainment media regardless of if they're music listeners or video gamers.  I don't think that this idea of children just zoning out and only playing video games is accurate either.  I mean when I was a child I played video games, but I also played outside and did other things I would say more often.  All in all I think video games are great, but as with most of my hobbies during the school year, take a backseat to studying and homework, not to mention actual work.  Still though when I have time to bust out the 360 and play my favourite game (Halo: Reach) I could easily give anyone I know a run for their money… Just Sayin...

Screen shot of me getting a kill in a Halo: Reach Team Slayer match

Computers

        The earliest memories I have of using a home computer is playing video games.  The games I remember playing are Tank Wars (which was played using a pc running MS-DOS) and also POD a racing game.  I remember having dial-up and getting angry if someone used the phone while I was using the computer because it disconnected the internet.  I definitely remember becoming comfortable and familiar with computers fairly quickly and being the go-to person for pc troubles in the house. 

        One of my main memories of PC use was for a high school chemistry class.  I had handwritten my lab book for the entire school year only to find out the day before it was due that handwritten lab books wouldn't be accepted.  So i stayed up all night typing out my lab book and after (I think) six hours a warning popped up in Microsoft Word telling me I should take a break from typing and looking at the screen.  I had never before, or again, seen an in program warning that I've been using the program too long.

        Computers are a huge part of my life.  I would say between work, school, social networking, etc I am on my computer easily six hours a day if not more in the ballpark of ten hours.  A big part of my work experience has to do with media production.  Mostly in the form of video editing and production, but also some web design amongst other things.  All in all I have to say that I am honestly not sure what my life would be like without computers because of how much they have been a part of my life thus far.  I think that I use computers more than any other form of communication technology, because it can pretty much complete the function of almost any other communication technology… Just Sayin...

Tank Wars opening screenshot. One of my first favourite PC games, and still fun to play

Tech Updates

        I think that the fear of new media in today's middle aged and up society is ridiculous.  I do not understand the issues they bring up, or rather why they're issues.  For instance cellphones knowing where you are and/or posting your location to Foursquare.  I do not see how that is an issue and it doesn't bother me at all, but some people freak out about it.  It almost makes me wonder what are people of those generations hiding?  Also, when it comes to people posting their every move on Facebook or Twitter, again, what is the issue? If it is annoying block that person.  We post for the people who want to know if you're not interested then don't read it.

        I do see how adapting to new technology is difficult sometimes.  My personal theory is pretty similar to Mr. Wilson's.  I think that if you keep up with technological advancement you will be able to handle it.  However, once you attempt to skip a generation or generations of technology you will run into problems.  For example my father played arcade games when he was younger.  He then played things like Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 (or one of its' competitors), NES and SNES.  Then he more or less stopped so that now, generations of games later, in the 360, PS3, Wii era he can't play modern games.  I believe it is because of a gaming generation gap.  In contrast he owns and is completely comfortable using an iPhone 4.  I think this is because he had a cellphone for pretty much all of the major (consumer) cellphone generations.

        Now I am not saying one has to be on board with technology, though I personally certainly think you should be.  That said, if you do want to be a heavy user of technology or at least to keep the option open I feel you have to stay trained more or less by being familiar with each new generation of technology and/or media communication.  I will say though that if you want to use modern technology and comm tech "being too old" is not a valid excuse in my opinion.  Even though I have a grandfather who has possibly never used a computer, I say age is no excuse because both of my grandmothers, one grandfather, and my great-grandmother all actively use Facebook… Just Saying...

An Atari 2600

Home Video

        Home video has been around for a while, from tape recorded weddings to children's birthdays.  That said I feel that home video has changed through the years, in a lot of ways, but with one main change in particular.  To me the biggest change is in the way we can and do share our videos.  Home video technology seems to be used increasingly more and more every year and I think it is only going to become more prominent in our culture. 

        Personally I use amateur video production in some way almost everyday most often in the form of news video blogs on YouTube such as the Philip DeFranco Show, friends uploading videos to Facebook, and also for work.  I have some bias for the importance of home video because of my personal experience using inexpensive equipment to help create over 7 hours of video content logging well over 300 hours of video editing over the past few summers.  Aside from that I currently work for U of L's Student Government Association as a member of the Communications team which deals heavily with generating video content.

        I think that home video is heading towards a point where it is commonplace to have a basic familiarity with producing a video yourself for essentially anyone.  However, as someone who's source of income comes from this type of thing I have to say that there are and will be drastic quality differences.  For example I would say that almost any of my peers could (given ample time) post a video to Facebook.  In some cases this could even be done from a cellphone, but the quality would be fairly low.  An edited video even would take more effort, but with how people share video online and depending on the content of a video, the expected quality can be very low.  In fact, outside of content someone was paid to make, the expectations of in general "home video" situation can be met by the majority of people I would say.  To go beyond that, more sophisticated video content is becoming more of a realistic goal now than ever before.  With advances in video equipment (things as simple as the Flip video camera) I think that there will be a continuing rise in "home movie" content.  That's not to mention the changes regarding editing software, for example the newest version of the editing program Final Cut is $300, much more attainable than the last version which was $1,000 along with the increasing trend of "over-sharing" and "technology literacy" in general.  All in all I have to say that any Communications major as well as any person who wants to be connected with society should be familiar with "home video" content… Just Sayin…

This is a screen shot of the second newest of Final Cut

Digital Audio

        Digital music makes up somewhere around 95% of the music that I listen to.  Currently I usually listen to music from my computer or cellphone.  I used to use an iPod for the majority of my music listening, but after starting to use an iPhone it didn't seem necessary to carry them both around.  I listen to music less often now than I did in high school mostly just because of a busier schedule.  I usually listen to music while I walk to school, or when I'm cleaning.  Really I listen to music almost anytime I am doing something doesn't involve using my computer for something else or actively talking to someone.  I also listen to music whenever I am in my car.  However, in the car, I usually listen to CDs of playlists I made and burned using iTunes.

        Other than music, I often listen to Podcasts.  Podcasts are basically an internet radio show that is usually downloaded on iTtunes for free.  Most of these shows are just audio, but some are videos as well.  My favorite podcast is a comedy advice show called My Brother My Brother and Me (or MBMBaM).  I also enjoy a podcast called Diggnation, which is, for lack of a better term, nerd news or tech news.  I sometimes download a podcast and burn it onto a CD if it is just audio, but I also put them on my iPhone or just play them from my computer as well.

        I think that digital audio has taken an immense hold on its place in todays society, especially within my generation.  I think part of the reason is the ease of obtaining digital music.  You can download digital media instantly and from your home rather than having to go to a store.  That, along with integration with devices such as MP3 players and cellphones is part of why I think digital music is so popular.  I personally listen to digital media everyday and have over 4000 songs in my iTunes library totaling in excess of 250 hours of digital audio.  That's not even within top five largest iTunes libraries out of my friends... Just Sayin...

The bottom of my iTunes music library (does not include Podcasts)