Chapters 2&3

1.      The internet originated with a goal to build a new media network, initially described as an information superhighway with the main purpose being to share information. The government’s role started in the 1960’s. The US Defense Department researchers developed the forerunner of today’s Internet as a way for military and academic researchers as various locations to share access to computers. Soon after that, the researchers developed e-mail. It was originally as primary tool for universities, government research labs, and corporations involved in computer software and other high-tech products to exchange email and to post information.

2.      Search engines such a google offer a more automated route to finding content by allowing users to enter key words or queries to locate related Web pages. Google became a major success because it introduced a new algorithm that mathematically ranked a pages “popularity” on the bases on how many other pages linked to it. Google made Voice Search and mobile apps to allow a person to use it on their smartphone.

3.       Social media has been proven to be an effective tool for democracy, and for undermining repressive regimes that thrive on serving up propaganda and hiding their atrocities from view. People have used social media to aid political repression by protestors. People can make hundreds of twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and Facebook posts to persuade people. A current example are the “Anonymous” hackers of the internet., who are known for their politically and socially motivated internet vigilantism.

4.       It seems to me that Google has the greatest tendency for evil, despite their motto. I think this because of the amount of branching and buying of other companies. The description in the book gives me the impression that they are not just competing, but actually trying to take over all whole digital corporations. The least evil seems to be Amazon. This is because beside from Zappos, the company seems to be working somewhat independently and only trying to compete against the other companies with technology such as the Kindle.

5.       Moving from the print-oriented industrial age, the digitally based information age have affected individuals, communities, and nations positively and negatively. The individual and communities benefits from the Sematic Web by making our lives easier by having meaningful categories in one place, such as family, friends, and calendar. The nation benefits by being able to broadcast and get information to its people in a quick and easy manner, which is what people want.  All three groups are negatively impacted in the area of security, making it more of a challenge to keep personal information private. Examples of this are government surveillance and online fraud. A large reason this is negative because cross the line of what is appropriate, and post things that should not be online.

6.       I grew up with two older brothers, so of course video games were nothing strange to me. The only two types of games I played a lot were racing and shooting games, which we played a lot in our house. I don’t actually think they defined my childhood at all! I think the strongest memory I have was my dad telling me that guns were just for games, and that they should not be used to hurt anyone/anything. To this day I still enjoy shooting games with friends and my brothers, but I can honestly say I have never, nor will I ever use a gun for evil.

7.       In chapter 3, I was surprised to learn that video game making started way back in the 1880’s, starting with the penny arcade. But modern gaming didn’t actually emerge online until 1999. Also, the three leading genres played are action, shooter, and sports games. I had the assumption that most games people played nowadays were racing games. Also, children/family entertainment was a close fourth, which I found interesting because I thought parents didn’t want their kids playing video games.

8.    Video games have affected society by becoming a permanent place in culture, being a subject of social concern.  Three main reasons video games play such a large role in society is because they are intertwined with media culture, are strong in advertisement, and may cause addictions and other concerns. For the individual, they can be good, but for society video games tend to be bad. Children and teens in masses are exposed to violence and misogyny at an early age. Also, people tend to become so obsessive with their games, becoming so bad that it can jeopardize many areas of their life such as school, social and family relations, and even psychological well- being. An example of game companies being aware of this are Halo and Call of Duty. They make money from long term engagement like selling expansion packs that people ‘must’ b

Mass Communication, A Critical Approach ch.1

There were many key technological breakthroughs that accompanied the transition to the print and electronic era. The first big invention was the moveable metallic type and the printing press, which helped to lead into the modern print era. This was significant because for the first time, starting in Europe, publications were able to spread rapidly and inexpensive to everyone, not just the wealthy. Because of this, books became the first mass-produced product allowing culture to spread, changed political outreaches, nationalism, and individualism. With the invention of the telegraph, the electronic era developed. The telegraph helped by making media messages instantaneous, making news a valuable product, making it easier to coordinate commercial and military operations, and lastly it led to future technological developments like the radio, fax machine, and cell phone. The arrival of the television changed daily life and changing the relationship to media and culture.

Today, the newer and emerging forms of media seem to threaten status quo values, as opposed to looking at history. Audiences actively affirm, interpret, refashion, or reject messages and stories that flow through various media channels. This can be somewhat based off diverse factors such as gender, age, education level, ethnicity, as well as occupation. Recently new shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians and Jersey Shore are giving people the ideas of what the new status quo is and how they ‘should’ be acting. When television was first emerging, reality shows didn’t exist. People were shown the ‘normal’ status quos, and not threatening the

The five steps in the critical process are description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. Description is paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study. Analysis is discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage. Interpretation is asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about ones findings. Evaluation means arriving at a judgment about weather something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages. Lastly, engagement is taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question or media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment. Interpretation is the most difficult because it demands an answer to the “so what?” question.

The critical process is so important because to be able to become literate about media involves striking a balance between developing knowledgeable interpretations and judgments and being able to appreciate the distinctive variety of cultural products and processes. It also gives us a way to develop an informed critical perspective. Becoming media literate allow us to participate in a debate as media culture as a force for both democracy and consumerism. 

About me!

Hi!

My name is Alissa Watts, and I am from a small town on the East coast of Massachusetts called Duxbury. My major is biology, but I have not quite decided what I want to do with my degree yet. There are too many options! On a regular basis I visit Pinterest, forever 21, google, MTV, and of course, the black board website. My favorite social media platforms are Pinterest and twitter! Modern Family is one of my favorite shows because it never fails to make me laugh and I like all the actors. I am interested in media culture because it is all around us and used for many different reasons and often influences use, in good and bad ways. I like to watch Boston Bruins games, work out, read, hang out with friends, and sail in the summer. Over Winter break I discovered a restaurant in Boston called Max Brenner and it has become my favorite because it specializes in chocolate desserts, and it is the best chocolate I have had!