What I've hopefully learned

Among the other concentrations in Mass Communications, public relations is easily the one that requires the least amount of computer savvy. However, in an increasingly digital world, I know that at least some experience will be expected of my from my future employers, and so I'm glad that as of now I would be able to say that I have some (even if it is base) experience with more software than internet explorer or solitaire.

More practically, as a media user, I'm not sure how much my experience in this class will affect me. I don't intend to do much more than I do now online, but that's only because my interests are, for the most part, outside of the field of electronics. That's not to say that sometime in the future I might find something that excites my interest, which is very possible considering all the crazy stuff coming out (I really need to check out those Amazon kindles).

Overall it was a good experience, as I may have to create an online resume in the future or something like that, I'll be able to draw upon the information I've taken away from this class. But perhaps the most critical, important, and key piece of information I've taken away from it all is that when in trouble or doubt, whenever the computer refuses to do what you tell it: call Dr. Cooke or Brian.

My First Video (well...for my website)

The video I'm making for my website (well, really it's already been made, so I suppose I should be talking in the past tense) is going to be in the same vein as the rest of my website: tongue-in-cheek, irreverent humor. The format for the video is supposed to mirror a basic two person interview. This is mainly because I hate having to do group projects, and documentaries and interviews are really the only two formats that you can do by yourself (especially if the interview is with an imaginary/dead person).

I interviewed a picture of David Hume that is supposed to represent my idea of David Hume, poorly voiced over by me. You know, that old thing. I picked Hume because he genuinely is my favorite philosopher, and he fits in well with the nerdiness of the site, because nobody will really know him other than the nerds. The content of the interview is drivel. It may be one of the least informative videos out there, even among humor videos. So the purpose of the video would be an attempt at humor; the vision...the vision was nearly nonexistant.

Current tv

I browsed current tv with the intention of finding something with substance. I thought maybe I would check out the political section, maybe some topical news pods. You know, something informative, and well presented. You know, something that deserves to be watched. But then I saw it: Texting Your Way to Love. At initially seeing the title, I was disgusted. And how could you not be at seeing the words "text" and "love" put together? I don't even like seeing them seperately. So I read the blurb at the bottom of the screen, and behold, it was good. It wasn't praising texting, but rather mocking it through satire, which I don't think can be done enough. And so while the pod I found might not be informative, important, or appropriate...it's pretty hilarious.

Also, the pod is the creation of SuperNews, or something like that, and it seems like he/she/they create new videos pretty regularly. And if they stick with the satirical comedy, I say keep them coming. Then again, I may never watch another one again, because I may forget about it by tonight.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

To at least an extent, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is correct; traditional copyright laws are outdated. That being said, I don't believe I agree with anything else that is said by John Parry Barlow, at least based upon this article. Whether my disagreement is logical or idealistic, I'm not sure. I don't believe artists should just throw in the towel and start putting up all of their work on the internet as he suggests. And while David Nimmer's solution doesn't seem too much better, it at least seems to still offer an opportunity for writers/musicians to make a living off of their art. 

There seems to be a lack of optimism towards the future of book chains and artists, but I don't know if that's valid or not. I think we're still far off from everyone walking around with amazon kindles, or the like.

"Big World: Clear Channel"

Section 4-4 in the textbook is about the monopolization of music by clear channel communications. The section says that clear channel reaches 70% of America, and holds a tight grip on what artist gets played, and how often they're played. It goes on to say that this has begun to effect not only mainstream artists, but also local bands and bars that hosts performances. 

The "podcasting phenomenon" allows local artists and DJs a piece of the media on which they can still put out their own music without feeling as though they've sold out, or that they aren't in control of their own careers. Music from independent artists can now reach a nationwide audience, without the expense of following clear channel's rules.  And just as a testament to this phenomenon, there are now independent record labels and artists everywhere.

Podcasts

For my website I'm going to create an educational podcast. The reoccurring theme will be literature, so I'll have plenty of material to work with. Since the site is dedicated to becoming a book snob it will have humor in it, but not to the point of becoming slap-stick, or anything like that.  The following ideas could constitute five separate podcasts:

1) An introduction to "Becoming a Book Snob" with a shortlist of novels that any self-respecting aficionado of literature should be familiar with.

2) A guide to literary allusions commonly found in pop culture: because everyone should be able to tritely regurgitate Greek mythology in making metaphors so as to appear clever, despite how lacking or inappropriate that metaphor may be.

3) An episode dedicated to surveying important literary movements, in case you ever need to know the difference between the romantics and the transcendentalists.

4) A guide to the greatest writers from countries that aren't America. Just try telling someone that the best writer ever was Mark Twain. Now tell them that it was Proust, Chekhov, or Voltaire. See the difference in reaction? The former makes you a light reader, the latter choices make you a smug intellectual.

5) An in depth look at the characters from greatest novel ever written: Les Misérables. Without containing spoilers, of course.

Strength and Weakness of the Web

I believe that most of the greatest strengths and the greatest weaknesses of the web both stem from the same causes; these causes being ease of use, dehumanization, privacy, and likely others that I cannot currently think of. The internet's strengths are obviously that it's open to everyone, and gives everyone equal say, but at the expense of the human element.

To illustrate this, just think of how much easier it is to express your opinions to someone via e-mail compared to in person. You're allowed more time to think and put your thoughts into organization, but isn't it often the case that you find yourself saying things you would never say in person. This is where dehumanization's involved. Without the person your speaking to being present, you are less inclined to consider their feelings and response.

The chapter on remediation in the textbook makes me a bit more optimistic. If it's true (which I think the author's correct) that new media is always established upon and with other media, you have to sort of re-examine the art of the different types of media that have led to the present. Using the above example again, perhaps the art of e-mail, on a long enough time scale, will cause the art of letter writing to be studied and developed again, a skill I think has been long lost. And of course the internet is much more than e-mail, but the same idea can be applied to most or all of its features.

To try and summarize, I think the internet will fit in wonderfully with other media if people have a sort of renassaince in the field of communication (as Bolter and Grusin assert), and re-learn what it means to speak effectively and creatively. And just to put it out there, I think this would happen a lot more quickly if everyone stopped using emoticons, yes?

Good website, bad website

Based just upon their content, visual appeal, and navagability, here is an example of a good website and a bad website.



The Good:

Metacritic. When I'm trying to decide if I want to spend 7 something to watch a movie or wait for it to come out on dvd, metacritic is a trusted companion. The purpose of the site is to compile reviews on various types of media, and give an average of the scores. Other sites do the same thing, but this one's my favorite for a reason I know not what. It may be because of the easy on the eyes blue background or something (nice segue into visual appeal, right). As for navagability, I think the site excells. Despite how much content it contains, it's never overwhelming, and it's always pretty easy to find what you're looking for. My only problem is that the search engine requires that you basically type the title of the movie you're looking for perfectly or you won't recieve results.



The Bad:

Moir. Really, who can forget the headache/vomit inducing site that is moir. I really have no idea what the website's for, but does it really matter? You don't go to moir for information, you go for the fantasia-esque light show that occurs when rolling over the links. I guess it scores points for navagability in that it does have links. But I don't think there is any subject matter or content that you could put on the site to justify the design.

"Epic" Media

After watching the fictional future of the Epic movie and Michael Wesch's Web 2.0, the only thing I'm worried about is that I'll never really be able to imitate Chris McCandless and Henry David Thoreau.

Ignoring the bizarre omnipotent god sort of thing going on in the epic movie, I don't think there was anything spectacular or out of the ordinary in either. It's evident that technology is going to make media increasingly personalized and easier to obtain, which is primarily what I got out of them. The battles over becoming the next leader in news is what I'm most interested in. While I don't think that network news will ever get booted off the throne, or that the NY Times will get surpassed by any other written source, they'll definitely lose some viewers/subscribers, and have find new and more creative ways to relay information. But they've got so much revenue and popularity that I don't think any other source poses a serious threat.

As for the mergers between Amazon, Google, Ebay, Microsoft, etc., that were speculated about, I know I'm ignorant about how the corporate world works, and so I can't say if any of it is realistic or not. I just know that merging companies means the combining of ideas and products, and who wouldn't like the technological equivalent to the swiss army knife?

But really...if there's a day when you can't go out into nature without being found then I think we really need to rethink this whole technology thing.

Podcast

Here's a link to a podcast that I enjoy: Real Time with Bill Maher.
Bill's show is on HBO every Friday night, but if you don't have HBO, you can get the show for free on i-Tunes. If you're not familiar with Bill, he's a political comedian/pundit, and every week he'll debate with three guests, and usually have an interview via satallite. Bill himself is very liberal socially and economically (though, oddly, I believe he's registered as an independet), but his guests usually come from different sides of the political spectrum, sometimes resulting in heated exchanges. Good stuff if you enjoy watching people bicker over politics. And as a disclaimer, if you are a person who is easily offended by, let's say, jokes about religion, then you may not want to watch. If you like jokes about religion, then check out information about Bill's upcoming documentary Religulous. And no, I'm not being paid by Bill for these plugs.

Multimedia Website

The idea for my website, I warn you, is extremely nerdy, but hear me out...I'm going to make my own book club; however, I'm not going to make it serious by any means. It'll essentially just be an outlet for me to try and introduce whoever goes there to some actual literature. No romance, or graphic novels, or any of that. And I guess I'll have to try to keep from being snobbish as well.



As far as design goes, the website'll be composed of browns, oranges, yellows, and colors typically associated with dusty old tomes, and fireside reading. For graphics I'll likely make a slideshow of writers' pictures. I'll try to make the site funny, but no promises. For my content I'll have recommended reading, maybe some short author biographies, links like this, contact information, etc. I'll have to brainstorm about what the podcast and videos will be, but I have some rough ideas.

Also, until the creation of the site really begins, you can treat your eyes to this, my current site. Yes I know my designated homepage isn't actually the homepage. This is a learning process.

Public Relations?

When people hear that a student is dedicating four years and a future career to public relations, the following questions usually come up: what is it, and why are you studying it? While no student should let this discourage them, a PR student can not help but feel a bit of indignation. Of course we could have gone to medical or law school, and we could feel the admiration of others when we say that we save and preserve lives; but we should not view ourselves as unimportant. On the contrary PR represents, I believe, a necessary piece of life in an industrial nation, a source of mediation between public and private interests, and as an opportunity for those who need representation.

Of course, others might have a different view of PR. One that labels its practitioners as spin doctors and hacks, liars and deceivers. While it is true that many abuse the position to get false information into the public, that does not reflect what the goals of public relations are. The goal today is to put everyone on level ground. To offer an ear to the public and a voice to the organization or individual. There are some recent PR cases that the majority of the public would be familiar with.

For example, when the Exxon Valdez tanker is mentioned, people know immediately of the disaster, and associate with the incident criticism and a lack of action on the part of Exxon. While there is nothing that could have made up for the disaster, a quick response on the part of Exxon’s PR team could have helped the public understand what went wrong and why, instead of giving the company a bad name due to a lack of press information. But when PR is used to the extent of its capabilities, bad situations can be contained. When Odwalla Foods produced unpasteurized juice which caused an E. Coli outbreak, the PR response was quick and effective. Press releases were delivered, recalls were made, the company acknowledged its mistake and offered their apologies. The effects incident were kept to a minimum. While the stigma of the incident may still remain in the minds of some of the public towards the company, Odwalla is still running.

Public relations is not all associated with big corporations either. It can be a valuable forum for the populace and the individual. Grassroots efforts have been able to thrive in the past, giving a smaller community the ability to voice their beliefs. This is true also in politics. While many consider lobbyist to be a detriment to democracy (which is a valid argument in some cases), PR can be a tool for getting important issues into the mainstream.

Public Relations has several pros and cons. It can be scorned for its misleading nature, and praised for its ability to empower. However, there are good and bad aspects in all professions, and I will personally take a view towards optimism. I think that I can become an integral and important factor in either politics or industry, marketing or crisis management, whatever I feel myself pulled towards. A democratic nation is founded on the principal that every member in that country will have an equal say in its decisions, and serving in public relations will allow me an opportunity to see that more people will get their equal say. That is what I believe the importance of public relations.

Daily Kos

This may not be for the right-wingers, but I've found an extremely popular, and higly liberal, political blog. The DailyKos claims to get 600,000 visits daily, and has an impressive track record in politics. Researching the site (and no, not just on wikipedia), I found that the DailyKos has been involved in fundraising in several campaigns, and that in the past, the site hasn't only been a place for virtually anonymous sources to write their opinions. Names like Jimmy Carter (yes, that one), Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Edwards, and, before the presidential race, Barack Obama have all contributed to the site.
To me, the DialyKos represents a change in politics; instead of waiting until elections to have a voice, or just listening to pundits, there are places like this that you can use to debate, discuss, and vent about politics in a way that actually makes an impact. And that latter quality is the one I think is the most important. The Kos isn't a place for the quacks to congregate, it has people who are genuinely intellegent, leading to the aforementioned political figures to want to join in on the discussion. And while the site has an obvious, and even self-proclaimed bias, I think it represents a step forward in politics.
Also, Bill O’Reilly has stated that reading left-wing sources like the DailyKos is devil worship...and really, as if I needed another reason to go to the site, now I can do it to spite O'Reilly.

New Media Developments

The thirty predictions that Frances Cairncross makes regarding new media trends seem to have a common theme of giving people an opportunity to share their ideas regardless of their nationality, education, age, or occupation...basically all of those socioeconomic status factors. For better or worse, these three stick out:

1. Improved Connections: While improving network connections doesn't seem as progressive or dynamic in comparison to some of the other predictions, having Internet access would be a huge step forward towards industrialization for some still underdeveloped nations. And also, it would be nice to send e-mails home when I'm in rural Khumjung, Nepal this summer (feel free to ask about it).
2. Rebalance of Political Power: This is the reason why I put "for better or worse" before making this list. While the emergence of the Internet has the potential for giving people more access to news, discussion, and alternative views, which is always a positive in making political decisions, there is also the bad. Of course, there will always be 'smear campaigns,' and spinning, but we now have to also put up with mass e-mails filled with outright libel, and with no way of finding out the source of them. No, Obama is not an extremist Muslim, and no McCain did not "rat out" his fellow soldiers during his time as a POW. The problem is that I highly doubt that the people willing to believe these e-mails are going to go research the candidates. On the up side, the people who believe these e-mails probably won't know how to use a computer.
3. Less Need for Immigration and Emigration: No, I'm not a xenophobe. I love the melting pot that is America, but if Cairncross is right, then I think it would be terrific if foreigners could receive good wages and educations from their native homes. I can imagine that it's never nice to grow up thinking that you must move away to become successful. I guess I could say I'm kind of familiar with the feeling, living in Moss Bluff. Believe me, you're not getting rich there.