Googlezon

Googlezon is a crazy though, although a possibility. If you were able to put the google grid together with amazons ability to custom taylor everything to each individual users needs, it would be amazing. You would be able to store all everything online, so no matter where you are you would have access to it. Also, if you need to share someone else file, instead of having to call them, and get them to e-mail it to you, you get just go on their grid and get it. This would put file sharing at a all time high. Eventually I think there would be a group that would come together, and try and mass together a huge library of all different kinds of media. And if you were able to join this group, you would have all the information you would ever need. This would completely change the way we live life, almost all research would be done on googlezon. There would be almost no need for libraries, for every book would be on googlezon. It would almost be like you were connected with everyone all the time. The only thing more shocking than googlezon is EPIC. If EPIC were to ever be created we would never have to think for our selves again. And if we continue on this track, we will stop thinking, and have computers run our lives. It will almost be like the movie “The Matrix,” but without Keanu.

Multi-Media

When looking for two forms of multi media, I immediately thought of a good web based example right away. I play a bunch of online poker, and that is a great example. You are able to do three things at the same time. You are able to play a game, which is poker of course. You are able to play at any time of any day. They play constant music, so while you are playing you can listen to music, so you don’t have to worry about that. And you are able to talk to people. Sometimes I won’t even play, I will just sit in a lobby and talk to people. Some of which are my friends from home, and some people who I met online who are just giving me poker tips. Another great example of multi media is my Iriver. This is the best thing I have ever gotten. I use it primarily for mp3’s. It has a twenty gig. Hard drive, so I can hold all the music I want on it. It also has the radio, so I don’t have to worry about carrying a second device around with me if I want to listen to the radio. It also allows me to record my voice onto it. This helps he a lot, for when I get a good idea and don’t have anything to write it on, I always have my IRiver player, so I can just record it there. And finally, my IRiver has a color screen, so I am able to bring pictures with me everywhere. This way, where ever I go, I always have pictures of friends and family with me. This effects society greatly, because now people only need to carry around one device with them, instead of three or four.

Digital Truth

Why is digital truth important? For the same reason that we have been taught since kindergarten, telling the truth is good, and lying is bad. When you get rid of digital truth, then you will never know if what you are watching in the media is real or not. A photographer could take pictures, and change it any way he would like to make it seem better, or to just straight up lie. The possibilities are endless with what you can do with a photograph with today’s technology. You can change any picture in any way you would like. And if photographers start telling to many digital lies, then he will loose his credibility as a source. Digital truth is most important when it comes to the news. If people start manipulating the news, a lot of bad can come from it. You could even start a war, as was shown in the movie “Wag the Dog.” Digital truth is something that is very important, and is becoming more important as we become more technologically advanced.

Camera Phone's

How has this technology used in the creation and/or dissemination of media? How would you use the media/technology in your own projects? When hearing these two questions it made me think of camera phones. All this does is put two good ideas together to make a better one. How many times have you heard someone say “I wish I had my camera?” And everybody always has there phone with them, so finally someone got the great idea to put the two together, so you would always have a camera with you. This has aloud people to catch a lot more shocking moments on camera, for before people would not have a camera on hand when random crazy stuff happens. But now that cell phones have cameras, people are able to catch almost everything on camera. Putting a camera on the phone, also allows you to send pictures to your friends wherever you are. Now you can share a funny moment with someone anywhere in the world. And now that we can put pictures on phones we don’t have to be able to read phone numbers. You can now just put a picture of your friend in the phone, and when they call you see the picture instead of reading the number. When thinking about our project we realized that we would need pictures of people in Africa living there everyday life. This got me thinking that if we could get a picture of two of people in Africa on a cell phone, than that would do two things at the same time. First, you would probably get pictures of people in a more modernized society, for they would have to be fairly modern to have cell phones. And also it would show that people in Africa use cell phones just like you and me here in the United States of America.

OutFoxed

I was shocked when watching “Outfoxed.” I must have been living in a hole, I never knew that Fox news network was a conservative station. I always believed them when they said that they covered the news fair. But after watching this movie, I know that they heavily favor the republicans. The part that shocked me the most was when they were counting down to President Bush’s re-election, and not a countdown to a fair election. I don’t understand how someone can do that and then say they don’t favor one side. I think that if you are going to be showing the news, you should be a neutral source, or at least be honest about which side you are on. Fox News Network uses all kinds of loopholes to say whatever they want. Their most famous line is “some say,” if you put that before something, than you can say anything. This doesn’t mean that it is a fact, someone just said it at one point in time. So if a reporter hears someone say that George W. Bush is the best president of all time, then they can legally go on the air and say, “some say that George W. Bush is the best president of all time.” I don’t think that a news company should be able to do that, especially one that is “fair and balanced.” The one part that I hated more than any is how they would just cut people off. If you are trying to display the news, especially “fair and balanced” news, then you must let everyone give their opinion, but whenever someone goes on Fox News Network, with a liberal view, they don’t let them speak. They will even cut the microphone. I don’t understand how this is fair and balanced. When a corporation effects the media in this way, it is bad. When the news casters are being told to bend the truth in order to say what a corporation wants, then the news has lost all its power. How can you ever believe something from Fox News Network, when you know that almost everything they say is based on lies. Also, if you were to believe all the propaganda that Fox News Network puts out, then everyone would hate the republicans, and love George W. Bush. Maybe that is the reason he got re-elected. The one thing I know for sure is we can not allow this to keep happening. Someone has to put an end to bias news.

"Will and Grace"

“Will and Grace” is a very popular show on television, that deals greatly with the issue of sexual orientation. The show is about two gay men, Will, who you wouldn’t be able to tell he is gay unless he tell you, and his friend who is completely flamboyant, and a straight woman, who are all friends. The two men are openly gay, and constantly make comments pointing out just how gay they are. This shows that not every gay person is flamboyant, and they are regular people. One episode that I can never forget was the one when it was Will’s job to turn a man gay. He tried every trick in the book, gave him new clothes, and watch lifetime, but he still wouldn’t be gay. I think this episode was doing a spoof on what some gay people go through in real like when people try and turn them straight. The man in the end realizes that no matter how much he wants to be gay, he is straight. Like many gay people have come to the realization that you not gay by choice, and there is nothing wrong with that. I think this show does a good job of displaying this by showing two successful gay men, who are openly gay, and proud of it. I think this show is the way it is because being gay was always being depicted as bad until recently. This show is one of the many that encourage gay people to be themselves, and also points out that just because someone is gay, don’t mean there is something wrong with them. This show does a good job of dealing with such a controversial topic as sexual orientation. They are able to do it without offending anyone, and still make you laugh. I have only seen the show a couple of times, but every time they have covered a controversial topic, dealing with sexual orientation.

Tabloid Media

I was walking through Shaws supermarket the other day when I saw an issue of “Us Weekly,” and of course Nick and Jessica were all over the front page. It showed a picture of Nick looking guilty, with Jessica looking upset, and had a caption next to them “Is it over?” I couldn’t help myself, I had to find out, so I opened the magazine and began to read. When I got to the article it was mostly about other things, having nothing to do with her relationship with Nick. Then finally at the end she mentioned that they are still together. I was upset, when looking at the cover I believed the entire article would be about their relationship, and I thought they would at least be split up, or why else would they put it on the cover. Then I realized it was to get me to read it. This is a great example of Tabloid media, doing whatever it has to, to get you interested. It will be a long time again before I pick up a tabloid magazine.
Another good example of Tabloid media would be one of my favorite television shows. “Maximum Exposure” is a great show where they show real life footage of people in insane circumstances. And to make sure you keep watching, they give you a little taste before the show starts. They show you a short clip of the best video, and they show you just until the crazy part is about to happen, when they cut it off, and say that it will be on at some point during the show. That is then the only video you are thinking about the entire show. And they know this, so they make sure to save it for last, making sure that you have to watch the entire show to see the one video. And to make matters worse, they always make it seem like something really bad is about to happen, but when they show the video, it is always a lot tamer than you would expect. Like this one I saw the other night, they show you a guy jumping off a roof on his bike, into a pool. When they show you the first clip, you see him jumping off, and about to hit the side of the pool. But when they show you the clip later, he lands in the pool without a problem, and they were just showing you a camera angle that makes it seem as if he was about to crash.

Super Size Me

This was not the first time i watched the movie "Super Size Me," by Morgan Spurlock, so i was not that shocked. This time though, i focused a lot more on the advertisement part, rather than the effects of the diet. There were many parts that still shocked me the second time around. The most shocking part of the movie is when they show how many McDonald’s restaurants there are in Manhattan. I find it shocking that there are that many people eating McDonald’s that it is profitable to have that many restaurants in that small of an area. I was also shocked with how they try and get little kids to get addicted to their food at a young age, by showing a clown. I was even more shocked to find out that he has become so popular that they have made a movie about him. I also never realized how addictive fast food is. Morgan would actually have withdrawals until he ate McDonald’s. You can see the effects that advertisement has on children when they show the group of kids singing a song about fast food restaurants. When I saw that I began to wonder if maybe one of the fast food restaurants paid someone to create that song to sing to children. I wouldn’t put it past the advertisement companies. You also see the effects when they show the children the pictures. They knew who Ronald McDonald was, and now who the president was. It is no wonder that most of the USA is overweight, we have been trained our entire lives to like fast food. People need to step back and take a good look at what they are eating, and who is telling us what to eat. Just because it is a clown selling you a hamburger, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. The advertisement companies need to start advertising the true facts about the food, and not just try and find ways to get people hooked on their food. But that will never happen, there is no money in that. Morgan Spurlock does a great job at showing the negative effects that fast food companies are having on us as individuals, and as an entire people.

"The Ad and The Ego" and "Consuming Images"

When watching “The Ad and The Ego,” and “Consuming Images,” I found them to be very similar. The main idea that both of the movies had was that they were both anti propaganda, and are not happy with commercials and advertisement. Both movies tried to show the down sides of advertisement. “The Ad and The Ego” tried to show more how you pay attention to advertisement, even when you think you are not, while “Consuming Images” showed how images in advertisement are changed to make you think that it is more perfect.
“The Ad and The Ego” was a lot more focused on how advertisement affects us, while “Consuming Images” showed us how the pictures affect us. There are a lot of subliminal messages in advertisement; “The Ad and The Ego” did a good job of showing how advertisement uses those subliminal messages to get us to do what they want. “Consuming Images” showed how they would change pictures, making people think that they are supposed to look, and feel how the person in the picture is shown. This is all very bad for our society. Subliminal messages make people want things that they normally wouldn’t, and changing pictures to make them more perfect makes everybody feel worse about themselves. And when everybody feels worse about themselves, they are forced to go buy the product that will make them perfect. Something needs to change in advertisement, because if they keep on putting in subliminal messages, and doctoring pictures, everybody is going to be self conscious, buying a bunch of expensive products that do nothing.
“The Ad and The Ego” and “Consuming Images,” were very educational videos that shoed a lot about advertisement. They showed a lot of the same stuff, but in different ways, and allowed me to look at advertisement in a new light. I now know that even if I don’t think I am paying attention to advertisement, it is still affecting me. I also know that when I look at a picture of a person in a magazine, that if they look perfect, it has probably been changed to look that way. I feel a lot better about myself after watching those videos, because I realize now how much advertisement has been affecting me, and now I know not to look at the people in the pictures as perfect, but as normal people like you and me.

Advertisment Movie

The movie we watched in class was very interesting. I always thought that if i wasn't paying attention, then i was consuming the advertisment. Boy was i wrong, it was exactly what they wanted me to be doing. I was intaking everything. After watching this i now change the channel, or do something else to make sure i don't pay attention to the advertisment. The only thing that i did not like about the movie was that it was anti-propaganda propaganda. It was saying how bad all of the advertisment was, but at the same time they were using the same tricks to get you to not watch advertisment. They should try and find a different way of doing this so that their point would be more valid. The part that i liked about the movie the most was the cancer billboard. This was a great way of showing how bad ciggarett advertisment is, while giving a good message twords children. I just wish that the people who did it would do it leaglly, that way it would have a much bigger impact, and mabey would be able to stay around for a while and actually make a difference.

Observation Log # 4

Location : Bedroom
Time : 8:00 am
Duration of exposure : 5 min
Type of Media : Internet
Activity : E-Mail
Notes : Junk mail is really starting to get to me. I had 3 different junk mail this morning when i woke up, it is starting to be ubsurd, i wish there was some way that i could end junk mail and make a lot of peoples lives a lot better.

Location : Bathroom
Time : 8:30 am
Duration of exposure : 2 min.
Type of Media : Advertisment
Activity : Brushing my teeth
Notes : THERE IS EVEN ADVERTISMENT ON MY TOOTHPASTE!!

Location : Outside
Time : 9:00 am
Duration of exposure : 1 min.
Type of Media : Flyer
Activity : walking to school
Notes : I have no problem with most advertisment, but when people start putting trash on my car that i never wanted it starts to make me angry.

Observation Log #3

Location : Bedroom
Time : 8:00 am
Duration of exposure : 5 min.
Type of Media : Internet
Activity : E-mail
Notes : I logged on to my E-mail, and i had an e-mail from Newburry comics. They were trying to give me information on a new CD that was coming out. This is one of the worst types of advertisment, Junk mail. I get them way to much.

Location : Bedroom
Time : 8:15 am
Duration of exposure : 15 min.
Type of Media : Commercial
Activity : Watching Televisiono
Notes : There are way to many commercials, when i was channel surfing for 15 min before i had to leave for class I was only able to see commercials, and it made me very upset and angry

Location : Car
Time : 9:00 am
Duration of exposure : 20 min
Type of Media : Commercials (again)
Activity : Listening to Howard Stern
Notes : When i first put on the radio i listened to Howard for five minuits, then the commercial started. I knew i would be doing this log on Commercials, so i payed attention to how long it lasted, i was shocked when the commercial lasted for 8 min. That is almost more commercial than show.

note: This observation log was a way for me to blow off some steam about commercials... i hate them so much.

Observation Log #2

Location : Bedroom
Time : 7:45 am
Duration of exposure : 10 min.
Type of Media : Internet
Activity : E-Mail
Notes : When i first signed on to my E-Mail i noticed i had two E-Mail's from people who i didn't know. I then later realized that they were both advertisments for Newburry Comics.


Location : South Point Dr. (outside)
Time : 8:15 am
Duration of Exposure : 30 Seconds
Type of Media : Advertisement on a taxi
Activity : Walking to school
Notes : This taxi was the coolest taxi i have ever seen. It didn't just have a normal advertisment, instead of just picture, they had small televisions ontop of the cab, i was in such shock about the TV that i didn't even pay attention to what the advertisment was about.


Location : Red Line (T)
Time : 2:00 pm
Duration of Exposure : 15 Seconds
Type of Media : ??
Activity : Riding the T
Notes : As i was riding the T i looked out the window, and while in the subway i looked on the wall, and there was a series of lit up pictures on the wall, so as the train drove by it made it seem like a movie. It was a little game, it showed a quick glimps of something and then it said "Do you know what you just saw? if so go to www.whatdidyoujustsee.com and enter to win" I thought this was an interesting way to try and make your T ride more enjoyable


Location : Downtown Crossing
Time : 3:00 pm
Duration of exposure : 5 min
Type of Media : Billboard
Activity : Walking around downtown
Notes : The billboard was for the parramount theater, normally i don't notice many billboards, but this one had a lot of flashing lights, and it seemed to grab my attention.