Technology and Media Changing Throughout the Years

          Technology has been rapidly changing throughout the years. Companies like CBS  started out using media such as the radio during the 1920s and started using other forms of technology when times were changing . By the 1950s the television was invented and CBS created a television channel to reach an audience. However as people start stating their opinions through news pieces and create television shows with different type of storylines, people loose their sense of sense. In other words they don't follow the bear of their own drum and agree with everyone else within that point of view. Neil Postman is an American author, media theorist and culture critic who believes that technologies such as television discourage critical thinking. By using the concept called technological determinism, Postman believes that technology itself is an inate characteristic, which is the driving force for social change.
          Jason Gross is a freelance web designer, who is focused on creating clean and user friendly websites. He posts articles about tehnology and media in SMASHING Magazine. SMASHING Magazine is a website and blog offers resources and advice to web developers and web designers. On July 4, 2011 Gross posted an article called The Medium is the Message.  The aricle starts off by mentioning about how we communicate with one another and how it defines who we actually are, which makes us unique individuals in our culture. This is shown through a wide variety of channels that has evolved media over the century from print to radio to television to the Internet. Each one of these channels or medias has its own unique charactistics, just like the people who use them.
        Just like Neil Postman, Marshall McLuhan ws a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar. Before he died, McLuhan was a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory, in addition to being one of the practical applications in the advertising and television industries. As McLuhan introduced a number of observations about the impact of news forms of media and technology. An expression McLuhan came up with "the medium is the messge" has an impact in mass media. The phrase sums up a much deeper communication theory, which means that the medium we choose to communicate with has as much, if not more, the value of the messahe itself.
        I agree with both Neil Postman's point of view as well as Marshall McLuhan's point of view because both men believe that media has drastically changed over the years. They both state that people use these types of media not only to entertain themselves but makes their opinions change as well. While we in a socially use media to communicate on a social level, people also use media to persuade peoples opinions, which make them unable to make their own decisions. It may not be fair, but the fact is media is present in our society and it's not going away any time soon. So we might as well get use to it!

Wanna read Jason Gross' article?

The Rise of the Internet

According to McChesney’s “Will the Internet Set Us Free?” the rise of the Internet will not diminish the power of commercial mass media. McChesney does state, that the "Internet is crucial to the global integration of the economy and many see it as extraordinary social implications for global culture and poltics as well." In other words McChesney states that the internet helps throughout many subject in our society. He mentions that the United States  For myself, the Internet is a tool where I can do a number of things. It allows me to connect with old friends on facebook. Plus I can do some shopping when I'm unable to go stores that aren't nearby or use amazon. When I need to do research I can use GOOGLE to get search results or find where some place is by GOOGLE maps. I can read news stories and celebrity gossip online through websites such nytimes.com, bostonglobe,com, time magazine, or E! news. Or I can read some blog posts that can have political aspects or for entertainment (ie Perez Hilton). In addition if I missed a recent episode of one my favorite TV shows, I can watch it online I can search for it on sidereel or look it up on Hulu's free video watching site xfinity. Nonetheless if I want to watch something amusing or figure out how to do something I can always go on youtube. However if I don't feel like doing none of the above, I can find free games to play online ranging in a number of categories. The truth is the Internet is like an department store for entertainment, where you can find a plethora of things

Copywriting and History

Throughout history copyrighting has changed drastically. Copyright can be defined as the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether the media used is printed, audio, video, etc,. However between 1790 amd 1978 the average copyright term was 32 years, but due to legal changes very little has entered the public domain since 1928. Nonetheless since 1960 copyright has been extended 11 times by Congress. With the emergence of the mass media industry meant institutional protection for much of our culture. However many acts have been created to extend copyright protection such as the Sonny Bonno Copy Term Extension Act of 1998 also known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. The Act extended terms to life of the author plus 70 years and for works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication. In addition the Digital Millenium Copy Right Act (DMCRA) made it a crime to circumvent any technical measure that controls access to copyrighted digitial work. It also prohibits creations and distributions of technologies that can bypass copy protection measures and sharing information about them. In a recent article from the New York Times titled, "Stop the Great Firewall of America"  talks about how the Protect IP Act protects American intellectual property. The article talks about recent laws about copyright and how infringement of how creative works through the Internet are justifiable. While people are allowed to express thair freedom of speech through the first amendment of the constitution,  creativity and expression it is not only hard to express, but even harder to protect becuase of restrictions and limitiations. Even though it may not be fair the copyright policy has changed over time because of how media has changed in our society.

New Media and the Cold War

As the United States battled with the Soviet Union during the Cold War period, both countries created the context for the development of the computer and internet technology. Even though the government did not interfere with free market and free trade, it created low taxes for corporations. However the rise of the surplus created to give away different class differences, some people worked and some people did not. Some forms of capitalism emerged on the margins of feudalism
such as finance capital and merchant capital, which along the printing press and the nation-state. Emergence of industrial capitalism during the 19th century in Europe and in the United States helped evolved telecommunication networks. But as the 19th century continued the development of new technologies helped maximize profits, minimize the risks, and minimized the cost of production.

While decades past the United States and the Soviet Union were still battling one another in the Cold War, but by the end of President Ronald Regan's term the Cold War came to an end. Ronald Regan was elected in 1980, he had more than 7% of the popular vote and won the electoral vote 489 to 49. Nonetheless, while serving in office Regan he passed on economic policy which instiuted the idea about cutting taxes and and social services. In addition Regan created a social policy where he allied himself with Christian Fundamentalists who were against abortion, drugs, and homosexuality. However Regan dealt with Cold War anxieties, but intervened millitary in Central America and the Middle East.

The new economy started during the 1990s and was intended to increase productivity and lower employment. The new economy wanted to replace old technologies with new technologies. However there were myths about the new economy during the 1990s. There were two ideas generally associated with  the new economy. The first idea states that the new economy is contended to consume a new technological revolution. However the second idea suggests that it is often suggested that the new economy has attenuated if not eliminate the business cycle. The relationship between the internet and productivity is that the internet is a distraction and is a cheap system that experise systems are servicing. When developing the internet institutions that played a key role were millitary, government, research centers, universities, and private corporations. However three key areas that were developed in order to start the internet were microeconomics, computers, and telecomminications. With the help of Tim Berners Lee the world wide web (www) was invented, but Berners-Lee never made a dime of the world wide web because he never pattoned it.

Floyd Norris a reporter for the New York Times, wrote an artice called, "How Telecom became a Blackhole," disscusses how telcom technologies in different countries are under pressure to cancel a similar offering of its wireless unit. How to become a blackhole However Charles Clough of Clough Capital, a money management firm, stated that weaker firms are failing "Piece by piece, they are starting to default up the chain," While large companies sold equipment and have some customers who can't pay, while others are trying to raise cash by selling used equipment that they can't afford to keep. In the end, Norris is optimisitic that there will be hope and the economic shakedown will be shoet.  

The Internet and Journalism

Over the years, there has been significant debate about the role of the internet in both harming and helping journalism. Journalism today is more than just different from what it was in the past. Today's society is much more dependent on online communication becuase of lightening speed technology journalistic practices have become hasty and superficial. Since society wants information in milliseconds after an event has occurred or an important decision has been made, our desire to recieve news immediately has prevented journalists from digging deeper into sabout tories and from establishing essential personal connections with sources. However the future of newspapers has come into question in recent years. The industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices, slumping ad sales, the loss of much classified advertising and precipitous drops in circulation, but will the industry ever be able to recover?  In recent years the number of newspapers slated for closure, bankruptcy or severe cutbacks has increased. This has occurred especially in the United States, where the industry has shed a fifth of its journalists since 2001. Even the revenue has plunged and the competition of the internet media has squeezed older print publishers. However since the beginning of 2009, the United States has seen a number of major metropolitan newspapers go out of business. Some newspapers that have closed are The Rocky Mountain News. While some newspapers have started using the internet to publish their articles, so readers can still get their news on a free media. An article from The Economist titled, "Who killed the newspaper?" talks about when journalism was at its peak and how for the most part newspapers have lost to the internet. The article also talks about how advertising is following readers out the door and how employment in the journalism industry has declined 18% between 1990 and 2004, making it a hard business for recent graduate students to become employed in. A youtube video I found  titled Internet Journalism talks about how the internet has changed the way people communicate with one another and the impact its had on journalism. Soon newspapers will become completely obsolete and will be ancient history because everything will be digital and online.

New Media and Pornography

While times are changing new media has assisted in the proliferation of pornography, with strong social consequences. Nonetheless, many people claim that pornography should be protected by the First Amendment. Other people argue that since women are willing to participate in pornography, then it's automatically their choice. But what if women didn't have a choice? What if she started prostituting at a young age and couldn't change their career path? Even though were in an economic crisis the pornography has not suffered. If people are willing to pay  to watch other people to have sex with one another why should we object? It's not like their sitting on a park bench jerking off in public, most people do it in the privacy of their own bedrooms.
A court case that deals with the issue that pornography should be protected under the first amendment is ABA v. Hudnut. The 1985 court case challenged the Anti-pornography Civil Right Ordinance, which was enacted in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis enacted an ordinance defining "pornography," as material that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement. Pornography" under the ordinance can be defined as a graphic sexually and explicit subordination of women, whether in pictures or in words, also can include one or more of the following:

1. Women are presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped;
2. Women are presented as sexual objects who can be tied up, cut up, mutilated, bruised, physically hurt, or as dismembered/truncated/fragmented/severed into body parts
3. Women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury abasement, torture or they can be displayed as filthy, inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes any these conditions sexual;
4. Women presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation
5. Women are presented as being penetrated by objects or animals
6. Women are presented as sexual objects for domination, conquest, violation, exploitation, possession. However women can also be presented through postures, positions of servility, submission or display

Nonetheless this statute provides that the use of children, men, transsexuals, can substitute women in This case was first heard by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. However petitioners appealed the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Nonetheless one person involved in the case, Judge Easterbrook held that the ordinance's definition and prohibition of pornography was unconstitutional. The ordinance didn't refer to the prurient interest, which is required in the obscenity statutes by the Supreme Court's ruling in the case Miller v. California.  Which states that the state law must clear and specific in describing the sexual conduct covered by the obscenity legislation. In the end the court ruled that the ordinance that defined pornography through the reference of portraying women and for that the court held it unconstitutional because the first amendment means that government has no power to restrict the freedom of expression due to the messages or ideas.  
In my opinion we should not judge people because what they do for a living is wrong. In a bad economy people will do anything to make a buck, so they can put food on the table and a roof over their heads. It's similar to the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover because you never know what's inside." While what they may be doing is against your morals and beliefs, a good amount of it is acting, which many people forget to realize. And while other people are struggling to make a living the porn industry is one of the few industries during this economic rough patch that has not been effected. Maybe we should be applauding them because these people are able to make a living during this economic rough patch. But the truth is some people don't like porn and other people love porn.

Facebook and Marketing: Should they be punished for their actions?

Ever wonder how Facebook gets its advertisers? And when you look at your newsfeed you see how detailed the advertisements are to your common interests? While you may enjoy some of the advertisements on your newsfeed, is it worth your privacy Facebook being hacked? It's not right for advertisers to pay money for your Facebook profile.  But should they be punished for selling your information? It's just a business deal for them.
During the past ten years social networking sites have become increasingly more popular on the internet. Social networking sites like Facebook have accelerated the commodification of audience or user labor. However we the user do not realize how we are used for labor purposes. What we the do not realize is that when click on something we"like" it sends a message to the company which will show more adds on the side of our facebook wall.  In the end, all a person's profile is to facebook is only a representation of of you so they sell information to advertisers, so those advertisers can advertise to that profile. Nonetheless is it fair for this social networking site to allow advertisers to market their products through someone's profile?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. In my opinion it's an extreme invasion of privacy, we usually use this site to communicate with people, not buy random products that we won't end up using. According to an article from FORBES magazine calls What Facebook's FTC Privacy Settlement Means to Marketers, clearly says, "Facebook “deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.” Even though we think our information is privae it's actually public, however were not celeberties or public officals, so why should facebook be allowed to share our information with advertisers and marketers?
Even though social networking sites allow shy and quiet people to spread their wings and become more social within a technological society, it allows these individuals to become empowered. But should these people be allowed the empowerment? While people should understand that marketers and advertisers help facebook stay a float, do they have to take it to the next level and invade a facebook user's privacy? Next we'll here that a facebook user is suing facebook and the marketer/advertiser for going into debt and filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. It's just like McDonald's being blamed for the obesity epidemic in America, Does facebook really want to be blamed for debt for American civilians?

Can social media impact social movements?

Wow! I realized I haven't updated this blog in over year. Time sure does fly I must say. But a lot has happened over the past year; some good and some bad. One good thing: I graduated SUNY Oneonta with a degree with a Bachelors in communications and a minor in public relations. But one bad thing: trying to find a job in this economy has not been easy.
But lately I've been addicted to the HBO TV hit show called The Newsroom. One episode did remind me of a blog post I wrote for my new media class regarding social media and social movements. It was the fifth episode of the first season. The action begins on February 10, 2011, while News Night is covering unrest in Egypt following President Mubarak’s refusal to resign.
This episode reminds me that in our society there are many ways for people to communicate with one another. The truth is social networking sites have become a much more popular way for people to communicate with another. The use of these social networking websites has increased as well over the past decade. People not only used social networking websites to communicate with one another, they can connect to network professionally, and to spread awareness and news for social movements. One example is if social networking sites being used in social movements is in Egypt when a revolution broke out. The country was able to gather their support for what they believed in on Facebook. They rallied together online for support to make their point. Time Magazine published an article January 24, 2011 titled "Is Egypt About to Have a Facebook Revolution?." The article talks about a campaign of non-violence and civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labor strikes discusses how several Facebook groups were created. This resulted with the Egyptian government shuingt down internet access for most of the country. While this was done to cripple one of the main organizational tools, it impeded the flow of news and people. This showed how one whole country could unify through new media, Egypt was able to show the entire world that new media such as Facebook is able to connect and unify people in different places.