So, I recently created an account on Facebook, about three months ago (I'm a little behind, I know) and one of the things that I noticed is that the social networking sites all seem to be converging to some extent. Some of my friends have links to MySpace pages on their profiles, while others post status updates on Facebook via Twitter accounts. Maybe I am just not up to speed yet, but do most people use all of these sites in conjunction with one another? I am just now getting used to keeping up with my Facebook page, so I can't imagine keeping track of three different social networking venues.
While I'm on the topic of Facebook, another thing that I have noticed recently is the fact that things I search for on Google just happen to appear in advertisements on my Facebook account the next day. I remember reading something in my Media Literacy class about the ways that activity online stores information that allows advertisements to be displayed that are tailored to people's individual interests and have noticed this ocassionally in the past, but it seems like such advertisements have been popping up more and more these days. Has anyone else picked up on this?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
C.S.I. Miami & Other Crime Dramas...
Okay, so I have never been one to watch crime dramas, until recently that is. A few months ago, I started watching Flashpoint, mainly because it came on after one of the shows that I usually watch anyway. One of the things that caught my attention with this show was that it seemed to be set up in such a way that the events taking place were occuring in real time, rather than covering a number of days in a one hour episode. I think shows like this are appealing because they almost make the situations seem more realistic by going through situations point by point and by showing situations where the "good guys" don't always win in the end, which is not usually the case in television anymore.
Then this past week, after watching C.S.I. Miami for class, I found myself sucked in yet again. Of course the show isn't a great representation of reality, it seems to be more about the entertainment value, but it really grabbed my attention. The story within a story format of the show was kind of interesting and the characters, although some of them came across as being a bit cheesy, had an interesting dynamic that made the show that much more entertaining. I know I am quite a few seasons behind at this point, but I might have to try to catch a few more episodes in the future...
Then this past week, after watching C.S.I. Miami for class, I found myself sucked in yet again. Of course the show isn't a great representation of reality, it seems to be more about the entertainment value, but it really grabbed my attention. The story within a story format of the show was kind of interesting and the characters, although some of them came across as being a bit cheesy, had an interesting dynamic that made the show that much more entertaining. I know I am quite a few seasons behind at this point, but I might have to try to catch a few more episodes in the future...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Interpreting Media...
So, chapter one of the textbook, appropriately titled "Interpreting Media" was pretty interesting for the most part. I have had some background in things like content analysis and semiotics from past communications courses, but I'll admit that I didn't remember as much about these things as I probably should have, so the explanations in the text turned out to be quite helpful.
One of the things that I thought was interesting in this chapter was the section on codes and social nature of signs, particularly the part that discussed the debate over different ways of wording things in the media ("terrorists" vs. "resistance movement", "massive job losses" vs. "slimming down the work force"). I had never really given much thought to the effect that wording things a certain way in the media could potentially have on the viewers receiving such information. The concept of "anchoring" as an attempt to limit different interpretations of chosen words got me thinking about how important it actually is to pay attention to the mixed messages that can come from the wording of a statement, depending on the way each individual person chooses to read into certain messages.
Anyway, I personally found the chapter as a whole to be really informative, but the areas that discussed interpretation and meaning that can come from wording in the media was what really seemed to catch my attention, so I just thought I would mention it briefly...
One of the things that I thought was interesting in this chapter was the section on codes and social nature of signs, particularly the part that discussed the debate over different ways of wording things in the media ("terrorists" vs. "resistance movement", "massive job losses" vs. "slimming down the work force"). I had never really given much thought to the effect that wording things a certain way in the media could potentially have on the viewers receiving such information. The concept of "anchoring" as an attempt to limit different interpretations of chosen words got me thinking about how important it actually is to pay attention to the mixed messages that can come from the wording of a statement, depending on the way each individual person chooses to read into certain messages.
Anyway, I personally found the chapter as a whole to be really informative, but the areas that discussed interpretation and meaning that can come from wording in the media was what really seemed to catch my attention, so I just thought I would mention it briefly...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Outfoxed...
Last week's screening, Outfoxed, was probably one of the most interesting documentaries that I have seen so far. Granted, I have never been a big Fox News viewer so aside from the names of some of the on-air personalities, I didn't really know much about the network's programming to begin with. However, this particular documentary made me more aware of some of the subtle (and some not so subtle) ways that the media or more specifically, FOX NEWS, is capable of convincing broad audiences that their views are the right views. Not only that, but also making people feel as though they are getting "fair and balanced" news coverage, when in fact, they are essentially being told that voicing an opinion or believing something that might be a little different than the image the network wants to project is unacceptable.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't completely shocked by the ways that people with more liberal views were basically verbally attacked for expressing any kind of opposition to the conservative opinions of the network's hosts (Bill O'Reilly for example) or were, in some cases, completely cut from the program. How can it be justified that in this day and age, people are urged not to think for themselves or share their opinions simply because they might not fit into the beliefs of a select few. There doesn't seem to be anything "fair and balanced" about it, if you ask me...
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't completely shocked by the ways that people with more liberal views were basically verbally attacked for expressing any kind of opposition to the conservative opinions of the network's hosts (Bill O'Reilly for example) or were, in some cases, completely cut from the program. How can it be justified that in this day and age, people are urged not to think for themselves or share their opinions simply because they might not fit into the beliefs of a select few. There doesn't seem to be anything "fair and balanced" about it, if you ask me...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Television Commercials and Crime...
Okay, so this is probably a strange thing to blog about as my first entry of the semester, but yesterday afternoon my house was broken into while I was visiting my grandmother. Normally I wouldn't think twice about discussing this in a class focused on the media, but when the police were here filling out the reports, one of the officers said something that really caught my attention. He mentioned that since the recession, there have been a ton of cases where people have been stealing gold jewelry from homes because of the fast cash opportunities they see on things like the Cash 4 Gold commercials.
I thought that this was interesting because in my senior seminar class, I am actually writing my final paper on the effects of a certain genre of television on viewers beliefs and behaviors, so to hear from a police officer that they are seeing connections between a media outlet and criminal activity really got me thinking. Once the issue of the commercials promoting quick money making was mentioned, I started tying in what was said to the material for this course and the ways that meaning behind words or signs in the media can take on various meanings and possibly effect people in different ways. Anyway, I just thought the link between the commercials and local crime was worth mentioning as a real world example of how the media impacts its audience.
Oh, another thing that got me thinking about this class was that as the officer was dusting for fingerprints, he looked at me and said, "now you're gonna get to see what real crime scene investigation is all about. This isn't like what you see on C.S.I.", and proceeded to explain the process of identifying fingerprints, which was really interesting, but that I also found to be a little funny considering that the screening for the upcoming week consists of episodes of C.S.I. Miami. Well, the screenings this week should be even more interesting now...
I thought that this was interesting because in my senior seminar class, I am actually writing my final paper on the effects of a certain genre of television on viewers beliefs and behaviors, so to hear from a police officer that they are seeing connections between a media outlet and criminal activity really got me thinking. Once the issue of the commercials promoting quick money making was mentioned, I started tying in what was said to the material for this course and the ways that meaning behind words or signs in the media can take on various meanings and possibly effect people in different ways. Anyway, I just thought the link between the commercials and local crime was worth mentioning as a real world example of how the media impacts its audience.
Oh, another thing that got me thinking about this class was that as the officer was dusting for fingerprints, he looked at me and said, "now you're gonna get to see what real crime scene investigation is all about. This isn't like what you see on C.S.I.", and proceeded to explain the process of identifying fingerprints, which was really interesting, but that I also found to be a little funny considering that the screening for the upcoming week consists of episodes of C.S.I. Miami. Well, the screenings this week should be even more interesting now...
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