My Media Agenda Planner

I find that more and more, even without knowing it, I have become one with my technology. Even without knowing it, I check my phone constantly. I realize only later, that I must have checked my phone 300 times throughout the day. It is amazing to me how much my technology has become a routine for me. Moreover, how much my technology has integrated itself in my daily routine. I've noticed the first thing I do each day is check my phone. I start to brew some coffee, and check my laptop while the coffee brews. I've now checked Facebook, twitter, my email, texts, and the news on two different types of technology in the course of twenty minutes. Why? Well because its become routine of me to do so. Much like a smoking addiction, if I don't check my phone I begin to become worrisome. I begin to question why this has happened? I can answer honestly that its my own fault, but my environment has played a significant role in my choice. If I was to walk out into a hallway of McMicken and look both ways, how many people would I see using technology? Whether its my friends, family, strangers, or the media, technology is ever present in our lives. The environment around me has certainly influenced my devotion to my technology. I've noticed how much the use of technology keeps me connected to my friends or family. (For better or for worse.) The ability to get a hold of my wife or brother or best friend with a simple text and hear a reply is wonderful. Its truly a wonderful thing to be able to be connected to those you want to be connected to so easily. But I often miss having a deep conversation with my family. Texts seem so informal and impersonal to me. What makes me laugh is the commitment I have to technology and the social networks. If I don't have timely reply on Twitter, I get questioned whether or not everything is alright with me. If I don't comment on someone's picture on Facebook right away, I'm assumed to be a social pariah and not friendly anymore. These are the problems that I have to deal with it. These are not real problems. They are the dilemmas created by my commitment and reliance on technology.

Google God 2.0

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm looking at the revolutionary world of Google and analyzing how it affects people's view of and relationships to God. I'm using Marshall Mcluhan's 4 Laws of Media to see how Google is transforming this area of our lives. Google started out as just a search engine, but now has moved to being part of just about anything you do daily on a computer. Whether you're sending an email, checking your calendar, writing a document, watching a video, or browsing the internet, you can do it with Google. This is a heart-warming advertisement for Google Chrome, showing just a bit (and it really is only a small portion) of what Google can do:

 

 In Marshall Mcluhan's laws of media, there are two positive effects of media (what it enhances and retrieves) and two negative effects (what it obsolesces and reverses). I'll start with the good stuff for this post, and move on to the other two effects in the next post.

Google enhances many things, which is why it has had so much success. Since I'm looking at the spiritual side of things, it's obvious that Google has provided a great way of sharing things about God with other people. The search engine itself provides access to thousand of webpages that could be useful. Previously, you had to look through thick Bible concordances and dictionaries to find information on certain subjects dealing with God, but now you can search for anything and find it. Google may direct you to a website like Bible Gateway which has many resources and over 75 translations of the Bible. It may also link to a blog, like Desiring God, which comes out of the ministry of John Piper. 

Then there's the sharing aspect of Christianity that is enhances. Social media like Google+ allow people to share thoughts about God and new resources with each other. You can use Gmail to share an encouraging story, or YouTube to make and share a video. I've watched countless sermons on YouTube that would not have been available without this technology. Other video sites that Google might direct you to like GodVine are centered around inspirational and encouraging videos related to God. So basically Google's many facets give me the ability to go to any church, without actually going there. I'm sure many people have heard the gospel through YouTube, so all in all, it enhances the ability to talk about God with more people and gain access to a limitless supply of information.

I think Google retrieves a sense of community that has been slowly waning as technology has increased. Even though this community is not face to face (which I'll address in the next blog post), Google is all about sharing. Instead of just going to websites, looking at them, and feeling alone, we post pictures, videos, and share stories on social networks. So if I want to discuss something about God, but I'm not involved in a Bible study, I can post a question online and see other people's opinions about it. I can research it with the click of a button. I can get the thoughts of respected pastors and theologians. It's like we're one big community now. Back in the day we might discuss things with our close friends and see the pastor in town for spiritual questions, but that was in danger of being lost with the early stages of the internet, where you just interacted with a computer. Now, we're back to interaction with humans, but as we'll see next time, the other 2 laws of media do not leave us with as much optimism as the first two.

Text Messaging Gone Wrong-

Text messaging has become a world renowned revolution that many people have made their main source of communication. For example, today I called my doctors personal line to reschedule an appointment, and instead of getting a call back I received a text message saying what days she was available. Not only are people using it for pleasure, but now for business as well. My question to text messaging gurus is when has it affected you negatively in your communication skills?

Most "texters" have most likely received a text message like the one above. A lot of times texting, messages can get lost from sender to receiver....but why? Text messaging does not have any way to show emotion, so funny texts can be received as being mean or crossing the line. Or sarcastic texts can be taken as a serious comment. I am sure that every person reading this has gotten into either a fight over text messaging that has gotten them nowhere or has been extremely confused by what someone was trying to say over a text. This is one way that texting creates confusing and hurts our communication skills, because it isn’t always an accurate depiction of what someone is trying to say.

Another way Texting can harm our communication skills is by the constant hiding behind a text that a lot of people do now. "Hiding behind a text" just means that people have a fear of talking face to face or on the phone so they do all their communicating through text messaging. Behavior like this can cause someone to have very low self-confidence when it comes to interacting in a social setting. Making people interact with each other is the only way to help them break down the fear of social contact. Now that text messaging doesn't force people to call or talk face to face anymore it hurts people's interpersonal communication skills. Face to face contact with someone should not be an intimidating thing. I have learned now with interviewing for jobs that the more I talk to people that make me uncomfortable face to face, the better I get at it. Who’s to say what is going to happen to communication skills if even our doctors are now texting us? Text messaging needs to be limited in how often we use it and not the only means of communication. That is when it starts to affect us negatively.

Communication Technology in the Business World

Smartphones have revolutionized how the business world operates.  They have made all forms of communication faster, more efficient and essentially made our world smaller and accessible by everyone. There was a slower time when business was done face to face, and businesses were primarily based from one country concentrating on one market. However with ever evolving technology, business opportunities have broadened and grown. They are now able to operate from any country and market their products to any other country.            It was in the late 90’s that this became a true capability with public access to the Internet growing and everyone beginning to buy a computer. But the cell phone was still limited. At this time it was unique to have a car phone, which had one capability, calls. Cell phone companies of the time poured funding into research and development knowing that eventually the cell phone would become the way of the future. They worked and worked and eventually, in 1999 the introduction of the Blackberry 850 changed our opinion on what a phone should be able to do. It was the first phone with email capability.  This began to shrink the world even further. Cell phones took off in the business world and it wasn’t long until every businessman/woman had a blackberry with email capability. The cell phone evolved exponentially over the next decade, and the product has coined the term “Smartphone.” Our phones of today contain our entire lives in them; they provide us with email, which seems like a required function like calling. But now they provide us with access to Internet browsing, text messaging, social networking, music, a camera (picture and video), a personal flashlight, our agenda’s for day-to-day operations synced to your computer automatically, and an application or the ability to download an application for just about anything.  The Smartphone has created so many positives for our personal and business lives, but they have also brought us many negatives. They are a cool media that affect our space and time.

Smartphones have made our space much smaller, we can access anyone and anything at the touch of our fingers and in many cases we can even have face-to-face conversation through our phone. It takes just seconds to connect to someone on the other side of the world and have a conversation and conduct your business. We no longer need access to a computer to go about our business or even be in range of wireless networking because new Smartphones provide that as long as we have coverage.  They affect our time because the expectation that communication is instant has become universal. When texts are sent they are expected to be answered in hours, when emails are sent they are expected to be answered in days. This changes how we must operate and creates self-reliance on our Smartphone. It means that people cannot go about their daily routine without their Smartphone in their pocket. Life flies by us everyday and we barely notice anymore because our technology speed has also changed our sense of time. The days feel shorter and the world feels smaller. Personally I wish I could return to a time without Smartphones and without all this technology, then I really think about it and I am grateful for all of the technology in 2012. Sometimes its just nice to check out.

Superhuman Contact Lenses

Innovega is a company located in Bellevue WA; their goal is to develop display technology using eye wear and contact lenses that enhances human vision allowing the user to simultaneously access digital media while remaining fully engaged in their normal everyday activities. Innovega's technologies will allow us to view virtual and augmented reality the same way we view our real world. This innovative technology will give us the opportunity to personalize, coordinate, and blend our virtual world with our real world.

The latest invention developed by Innovega is the iOptik contact lenses. These contact lenses look similar to regular contact lenses; except these little contacts contain a display screen that is located directly above the pupil of the eye. The actual contact contains many different filters that allows you to choose exactly what you want to see at any given time. The setup of the lens looks something like this:

The iOptik contact lenses allow us to view things that are near and far at the same time, so two different images can be viewed whiled our normal vision only allows us to view one single image at a time. The potential use of these contacts have been extensively considered by the Pentagon for military use. Steve Willey, CEO and Director of Innovega, says, "The dual focusing system could improve the awareness of soldiers in the field. The military could use it for simulation and training, covert ops, etc." The general population could use the dual focusing system to enjoy immersive games and have 3-D television all through these contact lenses. 

This new form of technology would change everything about the social world around us. Now, instead of seeing things how they actually are, we will see an enhanced version of everything. This will disable us from being in the moment, because we will constantly be viewing two things at once. With smart phones, iPads, and laptops, it already seems impossible to keep us in the moment, and these are items we can actually put away when need be. Eye contacts on the other hand are considered part of your self, which means they are on you everywhere you go. I do believe it would be of great use to the military but not for everyday use. The military could use these contact lenses as part of their gear when going into the field, this would allow them to be more aware of their surroundings. Being aware of your surroundings as a soldier is much useful than viewing a television screen and watching the birds at the same times. Innovega suggests that these lenses will allow us to prioritize our lives, but in reality we will be less tuned into what is going on. We will be constantly trying to do a minimum of two things at one time, making us less concentrated on one or the other. Before introducing iOptik contact lenses to the world, Innovega should consider who will in the end benefit from them and who will not. 

To read more about about the iOptik contact lenses you can view the attachments below:

Innovega Website: http://innovega-inc.com/

Mashable Article: http://mashable.com/2012/04/13/contact-lenses/

TechSilver Article: http://www.techsliver.com/ioptik-showcases-contact-lenses-that-give-you-superhuman-vision/

Are we truly anonymous online?

After our discussion in class on Tuesday I was intrigued by the points made about being anonymous online. I continued to wonder, are we truly anonymous online?
Anonymous according to the dictionary  is defined by;
1.without any name acknowledged, as that of author, contributor, or the like: an anonymous letter to the editor; an anonymous donation. 2.of unknown name; whose name is withheld: an anonymous author. 3.lacking individuality, unique character, or distinction: an endless row of drab, anonymous houses.
Does the Internet allow us to fulfill this definition and truly be anonymous?  While sites like 4Chan allow us to post anonymous comments, videos, and ideas the website still require an email to sign-in which links the poster to the post. While others who read the post will not see that information and we are not acknowledged for our post, there is still that invisible link between us and what we post online. Other 'anonymous' sites like juicy campus which allows anonymous posting, also require an email to post. Without even signing into the site my gmail account had already been connected to juicy campus. Because my gmail account has information like my name, along with what school I go to, sites like 4Chan and juicy campus have that information behind the scenes. Other anonymous sites that have the same concept as 4Chan include AutoAdmit, 2channel and futaba. Again these sites have some linkage between post and poster behind the scenes. These sites also have time and date stamps of the post which also create a connection between the post and the person posting.     
Other sides use anonymity for other reasons. www.suicideanonymous.net is a suicide prevention site that allows you to download a 'little black book' which is an anonymous collection of others stories of struggle. These posting are completely anonymous and have no link to who posted them.  www.aacincinnati.org is an alcoholics anonymous site that allows you to participate in anonymous online chat rooms instead of going to a physical meeting. In the blog you create a username that appears when you participate in the discussion but you are never required to give your name or other information.     
 With all this assess the internet allows us to have and the ability to easily share information on websites we cant help but share our anonymity making us no longer anonymous In a recent article by Mary Long (  http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/hacker-brags-on-twitter_b21136 ) she shared that 'anonymous' hacker  John Borell bragged about hacking on twitter and was caught and prosecuted. Even while the anonymous hacker group does not identify their members they still post claims to things the have done. While the hacking they do is illegal, some say its watchdog affect have positively  influenced the correction in America. The groups full mission is outlined in the following YouTube video, and without anonymity the group could not fulfill its purpose.   
 With regards to media ecology anonymous posting is changing the media environment. Whether anonymous posting is positive or negative it blurs boundary lines. It give users the ability to express ideas and thoughts that they wouldn't if there name was attached to it. Anonymous posting also eliminated filters and invites feedback. In some instances anonymous posting can invite pollutants and threats.     
When allowing anonymous posting on the Internet we invite the good along with the bad. As for being truly anonymous on the internet that depends on your definition of anonymous and whether or not you believe the behind the scene connection you have to your posts still qualifies as being anonymous.     

Children Growing Up Toooooo Fast

Is it me or does it seem that Media is help to cause the early maturation of children ? An example, MTV's 16 and Pregnant. This shows purpose I think would be to expose the struggle teen parent's have with have children too young, but media glorifies these teens and they have become celebrities. Can shows like this provide children with the false belief that acting like these teens will allow them to reach celebrity status? Some questions raised when considering how much children are exposed to. Using Media Ecology, we can see how media can alter the young minds. Most know that this glorification of these teens is clearly for entertainment and exploiting "teen dramas" but for those who aren't mature enough to realize this, sees exactly opposite. 

This blog is to investigate that media exposure can be harmful to children and early teens. We are quick to blame parents when a teen or child acts out, but I think we can also blame media. Yes, I agree parents should take extra concern nowadays with their children, but parents can't be constantly hovering over their children. Think about what you can be exposed to the media, at school, on your phone, television, the insurmountable internet, magazines, and friends. The amount of information children and teens are exposed to seem limitless. With new technologies and several mediums it seems like we cannot censor all the harmful exposure from children.


Let's look at the stats that proves how exposure and media are changing 8-18 year olds.

Over the past five years, there has been a huge increase in ownership among 8- to 18-year-olds: from 39% to 66% for cell phones, and from 18% to 76% for iPods and other MP3 players.
Most of these recent iPods and MP3 players connect to the Internet and have multiple capabilities. 

But the many new ways to watch TV–on the Internet, cell phones, and iPods–actually led to an increase in total TV consumption from 3:51 to 4:29 per day, including :24 of online viewing, :16 on iPods and other MP3 players, and :15 on cell phones

Top online activities include social networking (:22 a day), playing games (:17), and visiting video sites such as YouTube (:15).  Three-quarters (74%) of all 7^th-12^th graders say they have a profile on a social networking site.

Studies done by Kaiser Family Foundation... Daily Media Use Among Children

So exposure is everywhere which causes a flux for today's parents to stop negative exposure. Another exposure I believe that needs more consideration is music. Do we want our children to idolize some popular artists? This video seems harmless but we have to understand these children idolize this artist:

  (Nicki Minaj is a very popular scandalous, provocative, promiscuous  artist.) 

Yes they are singing the censored version, how long until they find that they have explicit versions? Seems like the cutest thing, but look up the lyrics to this song, Super Bass Lyrics Of course they don't know what this means yet, but do you let them sing this song knowing the real version and the content that is in the song?
When these little girls are a more mature and learn what exactly the meaning of the words of the song, the parent has allowed their child to allow this activity of  provocative and foul language music.


Lastly, to prove that media has a major influence on children and young adults look at the attempt to live out what they are seeing in major cinema. 

This helps show that some children aren't able to decide what is right and wrong. Yes this movie is rated R in censorship, but who would think that those able to 
watch this movie would reenact this helter-skelter movie. My point being this, I don't advocate censoring everything, most media is to entertain, but how do we censor what media is safe for children and young adults.