Google Glasses?

For the additional extra credit I watched s short film by CNN about a possible new product, facial recognition application. Google has invented software that you can point at objects or now even people that can identify you with name, number and other personal information. As I watched the short clip, I was thinking about how creepy it would be if someone could simply snap a picture of me and immediately know my number, social pages and other information. I could see this being a potential problem for safety and privacy purposes. But I think it is a fantastic idea when they talk about how you can snap a shot of say, the golden gate bridge and find out information about it. Historical information would be easily accessible and people could become a lot more cultured. This also brings up problems in employment. What about tour guides? If you have a cell phone that can describe every landmark in NYC, what is the point in paying someone to tell you? This technology could do a lot of good if it is regulated properly and used appropriately.


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2011/04/17/nr.holmes.armstrong.google.cnn?hpt=T2

Celebrity Problems Our Fault?

Another good point that the text book makes, is that can we be accused for celebrities hard times? The pressure that we put ion celebrity role models to look good, act perfect, never get in trouble is absolutely unrealistic. Miley Cyrus for example has been put in the spotlight for all of her teen years. When growing up you are bound to make some mistakes but because she is in the spotlight her mistakes are magnified by a thousand. I’m sure that made her feel like she was being controlled and not allowed to do anything further pushing her to do what she wants. Britney Spears is a similar example, was it the media who put so much pressure on here and never allowed her to have privacy? Media has many negative effects and with new paparazzi habits of chasing people, blocking celebrities in their cars and stocking their families, it seems to be getting worse.

Media's Portrayal of Women

Sadly, in this day and age women are not on a completely equal paying field with men. We are still joked around with about “only good at cooking and cleaning” or not being as smart. But where are these ideas put into young men’s heads? The media. When teenagers grow up watching music videos of trashy women exploiting themselves around rappers or not treating their bodies with respect it makes it seem like all women are like that. Another problem is men constantly comparing women to the “perfect” women in movies or online. They don’t realize that those women have all types of professional hair stylists, make-up artist, fake tans, and personal trainers to make them look beautiful. They are not average women in this world. Their job is to look beautiful. It is impossible to be put on a pedestal next to these women. Things continuously seem to get better, but we all need to help in order for gender and racial discrimination to end.

Infringing on the 1st amendment?

I was completely astonished at the Supreme Court ruling of what can be regulated by the FCC. I feel that our rights to freedom are what the united states were founded off and to regulate what people can and cannot say on the radio, TV, etc. is absolutely ridiculous and is against out constitution. If you don’t want to hear certain cuss words than don’t watch shows that have them in it. I’m sure most stations would beep the words out anyway because they don’t want to offend consumers so it wouldn’t even be that big of a problem. The FCC should not be allowed to regulate what can be broadcast on television. Most cable stations have their own morals and wouldn’t produce obscene material anyway. There would be a natural regulation on what was appropriate to say at certain times. For instance, Disney channel would not put nudity or swear words in their shows because they would lose their strong reputation they uphold with parents. The government should never tell us what not to say.

Marc Lloyd: Diversity Master

The speaker we had yesterday was Mark Lloyd the Chief Diversity Officer at the Federal Communications Commission. His speech in the HUB auditorium on Tuesday was centered around the main concerns with broadband and what his job as Diversity Officer really entails. He made an interesting point that diversity is not only race but its what distinguishes you from each other: geographically, religiously, politically. Most people only establish the word diversity with African American and Caucasians but in reality it is anything that makes us different from one another. His 2 main concerns with broadcast media were also interesting to hear coming from someone of such importance in the FCC. His speech made me realize how important it is to allow access to broadband to everyone because it is a Social and Economic necessity. The 2020 goal to provide 1 GB to every community and doing it affordably seems like a difficult goal to achieve but with Obamas support (which is strong right now) I believe it can be done.

Comcast- NBCU?

Learning about the current Comcast- NBCU merger was my favorite topic of the week. Combing the largest cable operator (the former) and one of the largest production companies (the latter) creates a pretty big power house. There are many concerns that “the merger will limit communications choices and drive up costs to consumers” (Hamill). But the conditions and regulations set should keep the new Comcast in check. Due to the merge Comcast committed to expand local news, broaden Spanish-speaking programs and offer Internet access to schools and libraries (Hamill). I believe the merger was a good decision so far and should continue to be as long as we keep and eye on their power.

I’m exited to we what we have in store for after spring break!

Hamill, Kristen. "Comcast-NBC Merger Approved by FCC - Jan. 18, 2011." Business, Financial, Personal Finance News - CNNMoney.com. 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

Broadcast/Cable/Satellite... So confusing!

This week’s topic of broadcast/cable/satellite systems was a tough one but also very interesting. It was cool learning about something that we use on a daily basis. In fact, I had two different conversations about how service was provided to TVs around the country, after classes this week and it felt so cool that I knew everything about it! The most confusing concept to grasp was how they work together, who owns what, and what ads they sell. To sum it up, broadcast systems work with local stations to distribute national content while cable has an agreement with cable system operators and satellite providers to distribute the national content. As for where they create revenue, Broadcast networks and stations get almost all their revenue from ads while cable networks and systems get it from advertising and subscription fees. So confusing!

the long tail...

Reading about the “long tail” theory was also interesting but I also thought very logical. The hits (the top 20% of inventory) cover about 80% of sales while the rest obscure content only accounts for 20% of sales. This makes sense but is quickly being fixed by online shopping. For instance, in my COMM 150 class we watched Bollywood film that my friends and I loved so much that we wanted to buy it but we couldn’t find it anywhere. We went to your usual blockbuster, best buy, but couldn’t find what we wanted. Of course once we went on amazon, BOOM there it was. Selling unique things online allows for a larger customer database and not losing shelf space, since most online items are stored in warehouses.

(Media and Information Economics, Jackson, 9 February 2011)

Landline telephones make the most revenue. Really?

I was shocked when Professor Jackson informed us this Tuesday that the top U.S. telecommunication that brings in the most revenue is the landline telephone industry. The class estimate for top revenue was Broadcast TV but I ranked the mobile phone industry as number one. Ironically the class put landline phones last when in reality it is first. Once Professor Jackson explained that business’s all use landlines and in most cases multiple of them, it made a little more sense. I also thought that video games would be higher than the film industry on the spectrum because of its growing popularity among teens and young adults. But of course I was wrong again because it’s 8th on the list. All telecommunication industries are quickly growing because of the continuing demand for these mediums.

(Media and Information Economics, Jackson, 9 February 2011)

3D TV? No Way!

I was absolutely amazed when I read the reading “How 3D TV’s Work”. I guess I never really thought about how quickly technology is moving. I remember going to Disneyland when I was little and wearing anaglyph glasses to watch, It’s a Bug’s Life. It weird to think that you can trick your brain into thinking the flat image you see is coming out at you. Now days it’s movies like Avatar that really blow me away. My dad and I went to see it in IMAX the day it came out , and we sure did love it! Although it was a fantastic movie, we both came out with a headache. My dad and I being naïve thought it was the loud music, but now I know it is more likely that our headaches were caused by the polarized lenses we were wearing. Because each eye sees one set of images your brain has to focus harder.
As for 3D TV, I’m not so sure if I would enjoy it as much. I love treating myself to a good 3D movie every once in a while but I can’t imagine watching all my TV shows with people’s hands popping out at me. For now, I love my HDTV which is close enough to a perfect picture for me!