Google

Google is a name that pretty much everyone in America knows.  Anyone with a computer has used this site and it is no question why Google is one of the most recognized and powerful name in the world.  Many people use google everyday.  I had absolutely no idea that Facebook was becoming a competitor of Google.   I just never thought of the two sites in the same category.  Google is a search engine and Facebook is a site where we make personal connections with other humans.  Well….thats what it was when it first came out in 2004.

 

I remember registering for facebook freshman year of high school.  It is absolutely amazing how it has changed and blown up.  Even both my parents sometimes write on my wall or comment on a photo.  There weren’t any adds along the sides of the site and there weren’t multiple pages to go to because the only page that was your was a profile page.  Now we have a home page displaying other people’s activites on facebook.  It astounds me how much the site has blown up in just the past few years.   After realizing this, it is no surprise why Google would be intimidated by the great boom facebook has had all over the world-Kind of like apple products where it seems that every product has an “i” before it these days.  We don’t know where facebook is going to go, but it is definitely going somewhere and its power is a little frightening just because our dependency on the internet is really taking a giant leap.

 

It was good that the group decided that Facebook will always be the more social and personal relationship oriented site, whereas Google just needs to focus on their web traffic.  Facebook really hasn’t gotten to the point where one will search for some information on a research paper topic.  However…it is just a matter of time.  I think that google will be in trouble in the next few years though the group did a good job explaining how google has done some new things to hold on to it’s infamous name.

Media regulation

I believe that it would be very difficult for the US government to exercise prior restraint of the media because there is no fine line between what is considered a national security interest and what is not.  The government could step too far in protecting some type of innocent media because they will be able to define a national security interest themselves.  If they pass a law that enforces more media protection, many websites and blog posts could be blocked due to the massive amount of paranoia that arose from 911.  If we ever encounter another terrorist instance soon, the government will become even more strict on blocking media and it may eventually be so regulated that many innocent posts and sites will be blocked without consideration.

It is a bad idea to protect certain information because it takes away more freedom and goes against Amendment #1.  I believe people should be able to know everything about this country and media filtering doesn’t go along with this principle.  If this media was not protected from us and distributed to the public by wikileaks, many people will become scarred by the gruesome videos of the US killing Iraq civilians.  This creates some negative energy in the American’s mind and view of themselves.  Patriotism could be fractured in some of these disturbing videos.  It is very disrupting, but Americans should have access to anything because it is a cruel world out there.  Many people go through their life not living in reality and realizing this about our world.  The proposal to protect more media might just be masking a continuing suppression.

 

blog#3 the office

The office is one of my favorite shows that I currently watch.  It is about a small paper company that takes place in Pennsylvania.  This idea of filming an office may sound somewhat boring, but it is anything but.  The writers do such an amazing job creating the office scene, not as a workplace, but a place where we can see the interactions of each individual character.  Any Office fan knows each character and their specific tendencies and interactions with one another.  Each episode thoroughly exaggerates what each character is about.  While watching this show, extreme awkwardness is making you laugh every second.

There is the boss, Michael Scott, who one could say is the main character of the show.  He is portrayed as a boss who puts fun before anything and views himself as a very high power in the office and often offends his coworkers because he always speaks what is on his mind.  He is a boss anyone would love to have because he allows Christmas parties, costume contests, happy hour, secretary’s day, murder mysteries and a number of different unprofessional activities and holidays.  However the people in the office get rather annoyed with him because he is very arrogant and shows a massive amount of ignorance.

One subtext that I can think of is that throughout the show, Michael battles many troubles with women and often feels alone.  In a few episodes he is so desperate that he asks everyone in the office to write down one name and their phone number so that he can call them and go out on dates.  In another episode, Pam sets Michael up with one of her friends and the date doesn’t work out because of Michaels over exaggerated sense of being ‘cool.’  I would say that a subtext in this show is that if you hold any of these qualities Michael has; arrogance, lack of work ethic, stubbornness, and childlike behavior, you will be old and alone.

Another man in the show named Jim is the character in which most viewers can relate to.  There is often a shot of him staring blankly into the camera after Michael or Dwight has done something ridiculous.  This is Jim’s famous expression of showing “They are crazy” without any words.  Jim is a character that is needed in this show because he is someone the viewers can relate with.

There is typically no music in any of the episodes, however the theme song has become quite famous and has even been remixed in a couple of songs.  Everyone knows the tune of the song and immediately thinks of the office because it is such a well-known show today.

Something that I love about the filming of the office is the “objective point of view” that is added into the show.  The characters act as if there are no cameras around (one exception, when Jim does his look at the camera) and then it will cut to a little interview of a character in one of the office rooms talking about another character or interaction with another character.  It is not an interview where you hear someone asking them questions, but rather an interview where we just hear the answer from the character.  It is an interesting way to film because you can learn everyone’s inside thoughts though they may not be portrayed in the original scene.  This way of filming reminds me of the movie Best in Show.

 

Blog 2, Media Diary

Friday:

11:00-Woke up, checked facebook

11:30-1-Watched tv shows online

1-2- texted friend to eat lunch with me and met up with them

2-2:30- come home check facebook, 5 new notifications

2:30-3-watch another tv show on hulu

3-5-Long nap, also confirming my plans for my friend’s surprise birthday via text

5-6-woke up and texted friend to go eat dinner at nelson

6:00-texted friend to Play squash in the gym

7-made sure that plans were set for the surprise party via text

7:30-bed- texting people until 9 when my phone died.   It was sad and I felt lost

 

Saturday:

12:40-woke up feeling shitty.  Plugged my phone in. Got many texts from the night before as well as some from this morning from a friend so we could eat together.

12:45: went on facebook, 3 new notifications on my status

2:00-checked facebook again and watched some more shows online, nip/tuck, curb your enthusiasm

3:00- facebook, FB chatted a lot hearing about peoples’ friday nights. Figured out plans to go to Christys sports

5:00 Phone is acting up…it has been really messed up lately, so I swich my sim card into another phone.

6:00-sit on stumbleupon.com for a while, while also sitting on fb chat and also listening to grooveshark.com.

8:00-Figuring out Saturday night’s plans via text.  Go to friends apt in Nelson.

10:00- leaving the ‘pregame’ to go to a house party, realize that my phone is stuck in friend’s room.  Too far along to go back.  I get annoyed because I feel unsafe without a phone.

10-bedtime at 3- I use friend’s phones to text some people about whats going on that night or ask some friends to text a certain someone to ask what they are doing.  It was very annoying not knowing myself and having to go through other people.  Friends also received texts asking if they were with me.

 

Sunday

12-woke up.  Still no phone.  The room i left phone in is locked and the people went to Keystone. Go on facebook.

12-1 facebook chat with people. see how their night went, talked to friend about getting food at nelson.

2-ate and decided to go to the mall with my friend.

4-borrowed her phone so I could call my parents

5-went to Christys sports again and needed to use their phone to talk to my parents about finally getting me my christmas present.

Whole day-feeling pretty lost without a cell phone, but I was with my best friend all day so it wasnt bad

6:45-ask friend to text friend about when theya re comign back from keystone so I can get my phone.

7-finally recieve phone, 14 text messages and 8 missed calls from the night before.

8:00-Watch desperate housewives.

9:00-come home and talk to the man friend on the phone

11:00-check facebook, fb chat a little, and go to bed.

 

In this exercise, there was no possible way for me to record each text and fb conversation because it is just too much.  It comes so naturally to me to text and go on facebook anytime I come back to my computer that it is hard to put it into my mind that I am supposed to record this. However, this general outline still represents just how much time my life is devoted to the many forms of media out there.  When my phone had died and I left it in someone’s room for a whole night, I felt lost and actually told friends to keep track of me and stay with me because I was scared to not be able to get in touch with anyone.  I also figured that the friends who kept track of me and stayed by my side the whole night would have everyone’s numbers that I would need.   I also felt there was a safety issue without my phone.  Denver can be a scary place and I have heard many stories that are frightening to me.  I wouldn’t know what to do if i was in trouble and didn’t have a phone.

Most of the media in my life is dedicated to personal interactions.  This new technological age is fostering these personal interactions through  texting and FB chat.  However, it is also discouraging personal interactions in some areas.  For example, in some fast food restaurants now they have you order from a touch screen.  Same thing with the airport, where you do not need to have any personal interactions at all because you can get your boarding pass through a machine or online.

The instances where I used the media as entertainment was for the show desperate housewives on the television and then some shows I watched online.  I also use stumbleupon.com because that site is very interesting!  I don’t have too much going on in my life in college.  I have way more free time which is why I am always going on FB chat to talk to friends and wasting time on stumbleupon.com (although I have learned a TON from this site).  In high school, I went to a boarding school where they had us doing something every moment of the day.  I probably only got to check my facebook twice a day in high school because teachers don’t like computers in class (because they know what kids will use them for) and I wasn’t in my room much.  We were required to play sports everyday, were given much more homework, had longer class days, was really pushed  to become apart of different clubs and associations, and we even had sit down dinner together as a school and required chapel.   it was a LOT and the amount of hours I spend on media each day has tripled.