Where is the Problem...

        I understand that as a country we're meant to remain neutral when it comes to international issues that arise, but I also feel as though that caused Americans to become more self-centered resulting in a massive individualistic society...

        Though I see how the corporations backing this not-for-profit organization can be misleading, taking away from our own issues that arise in our backyard. I don't believe they should be criticized for still raising some type of awareness, that's benefiting other cultures in need. Raising awareness about any sort of political, socioeconomic, global issue comes with a double edged sword. Though we talk about the issues in America with our gov't we fail to see that there are many countries still suffering from dictatorships. Though we are focusing on Japan aid and their lack of resources we take away from the need to help the homeless right around the corner from our place of business.

           This article for me I feel as though was a waste of a read, we're focusing on the companies that are apart of the organization, and their marketing strategies instead of the actual good that comes from it. Is it really exploitation if someone other than the company is being benefited from their strategies. Isn't the spending of money for advertisements to promote the "causes", hiring of more employees to help run the organization more efficiently, and causing global aid the complete opposite of exploitation?

            If we are really going to discuss media and exploitation, why not discuss PETA and their ads that exploit women in many of their commercials? The way in which they choose to reach their audience is a common strategy used that we have been used to for years now. Why raise hell now? Shouldn't we applaud the organizations for better use of their finances and product to promote the well being of humanity?

My views on Dean not being present in class...

Who would've imagined Professor Dean not being in class today would actually be productive... I did! I maybe alone on this one but I honestly would prefer that everyone in a blue moon a professor would not show up to class and allow the students to govern and teach themselves.

I've never publicly expressed my views one class, well at lease not publicly were Professor Dean could have a say so, but I will now. I'm not a student who has a strong background in political science, as well as technology, and being in class I feel as though I'm listening to a bunch of computers talk, using terminology that I have never come across or words only used in theory in which I still have no understanding of no matter how late I stay up reading, or how many times I read the same piece of material, or how many notes I take in class. When Professor Dean is in class I feel as though she strikes fear into those who do not have some type of background in or understanding of this course. Many classes I tend to just get lost in translation to the point where I want to give up. Luckily, there are many of students in the class where I draw my knowledge from, to be even more honest I'd say majority of my classmates are the reason I have any understanding of what's going on in this class. I understand as a professor she cannot give us the answers to all the questions, and she also cannot guide us through the process it takes to figure the answer out; sometimes we must do it ourselves.  Be real though readers, does anyone else believe she's taking advantage of this though? Does every assignment given need to be so vague? Is it too much to ask to ask to get some form of clarification of these assignments?

Not all is bad with Professor Dean I must say. Allowing us to work together as a class helps solve many of these problems I'm having here. Being in a setting where there are students who have much experience in such a course helps build a bridge between what the professor is talking about and what I am getting out of it. I give much praise to my classmates for dumbing down some of the text, notes, lectures, assignments so that a few of use can grow within the subject, as well as catch up to the speed of the course. My grades may not show that I have a grasp of this course but I must say, I leave each group interaction with my classmates with a completely new outlook of what's going on in DN as well as the world we live in. The fear I mentioned that comes about when Professor Dean enters the room isn't the same when it's just the students. We are not patronized for not clearly asking a question or even cut off for not making sense, instead we are guided to better word what we are trying to say, or given different ways to make the same point. I find it interesting, how she promotes competition within the classroom but I sense more ally work happening.  I don't know, like I said this may just be me but it's how I see class, and how I feel about it. Nothing against Professor Dean as a individual or even a Professor, I just have a different outlook on the way class is taught and ran. Who knows maybe it's just my duty to catch up, now matter how fast the pace everyone else is moving.

Today's class!

What a better way to strike fear into the masses by not showing up for class as the instructor. With no knowledge of  the where abouts of Jodi Dean, the class wonders if at any moment she will burst through the door to check in on us, or if this is some crazy experiment she's trying on the class. What better way to emphasize Andrejavic's chapter 6, as a class we fear over the slim possibilities of something happening, yet there is enough fear to get us to do exactly what you want. Using fear to steer the masses... (Brian's way of comparing this course to the chapters- not exact words) ...

Today's Class Dialogue:

      
·         Fear being used as a marketing strategy to steer masses into a capitalist agenda and self surveillance.

·         Gov’t tricks us into giving up our privacy; ease the minds to get information.

·         Not recognizing the real source of terrorism

·         Gnutella vs Napster  ( Gov’t highlights only certain news {providing half ass information on terrorism only to help ease the mind of the public, such as the urgency of finding Osama Bin Laden as if his capture will put an end to Al  Qaeda  

·         We do not use the technology we have to are fullest potential instead of information gathering that may help the political state of the country

·         Technology is being used by politicians to get an edge on voters

·         People would no longer be engaged in the political process due to the availability of politicians being able to have a message directed towards each individual instead of the mass so now the mass has collective knowledge of the politicians’ intentions/ campaign…

Blogging and trying to hold a class dialogue was not happening for me, but taking notes and transfering topics of discussion in the class room seemed to be more realistic. I feel class discussion could've ran more smoothly if we weren't required to blog while talking, since some members of class were blogging only and some were actually talking which made it much more difficult than normal.

 I find it intriguing to be discussing government surveillance and big brother in a classroom setting when this is a topic of discussion in my neighborhood amongst store owners, drug dealers, preachers, and so on, yet no one really seems to take it seriously because it’s made out to be a theory when in all actuality this is happening.  I feel like this could be a topic of discussion, why the public only sees government surveillance as a thing of the future and not the present? 

Sorry for the repost i forgot to add who was in class today...i dont know everyones name in our class but what I can say is if anyone posted about class today was in class because they recieved the information on what was needed from us.

Terranova Chapter 5

• Is it true that people are being brainwashed by the media?
• As individuals are we being subject to think that images in the media tell the 100% of the truth of whats going on in the World?
• Have we become desensitized to the evil in the world because of mass media?
• Or in general do we just not care?
• From Terranova: Is our problem really that media propaganda is used to cover up the truth?
• Or is it that the Truth is not covered up any more because what is important is not to shield people from the truth but to have an effective strategy that is able to capture  and hold together a certain type of intensity?

            After reading chapter 5 of Terranova, it seemed to be the only chapter that I understood, the only chapter that I felt had real substance to it. I realized for years I did not care about the news, what was going on in other countries, the wars the US have found ourselves in, ad etc, but as Terranova mentions, the internet is changing a lot of that. I've been so used to seeing the same kind of shows on the air,  either real conservative right-winged republicans, or extremely liberal democrats fighting, slandering, and failing to come to some type of mutual agreement. Only being told what they think we want/need to hear, instead of the whole story. As an audience of the mass media, I believe I'm just as fed up as Terranova, and tired of being told what to think. How to feel. Where my allegiance should ally. I just want to know what is really going on in the world.

              I feel the internet has done this for a lot of people and is continuing to do so. Though you'll still find those liberals and conservatives on the web, as a participant in this World Wide Web, we have more power/control to dictate what it is we want to entertain us, or what we want to be informed about. Though it is never guaranteed that the info we receive is 100% accurate , it still acts as a mediator between the mass media conglomerates and their audiences.

You're not a Gadget "Why it Matters"

Jaron Lanier,  throughout "You're Not A Gadget" has not only brought to light the good things of the new technology that is  continuously  advancing, but also the disadvantages of this "simpler" way of life. The birth of the internet brought along the birth of a generation of schemers, as Jaron mentions later in the reading.  The way humans live their life in this day in age, at least a majority of the world, runs through the World Wide Web. Due to the World Wide Web, people are given more ways than one to draw up a their own get-rich-quick-scheme. As a musician and artist, it has become easier to access mass media and create and distribute ones own art. When it comes to matters of actually succeeding in this field, that is not as easy. My problem with the World Wide Web and music is that it "makes" art look easier than it really is. The way that we use the internet today, would cause the founders of such theories to turn in their graves. After reading Jaron Lanier thoughts on why it matters that we as people do certain things as we did before such technology was invented, I have a few suggestions myself as to why people in Urban areas should have a concern to what the internet is doing to that culture. 

My issue with the internet came with the disruption of education. As an elementary student I remember the times we were required to attend computer lab to practice our spelling, typing, and ways to sneak to play Oregon Trails and Solitaire. As we aged so did technology and the things we can do with it. By time I was a freshman in High school we were sneaking to network on MySpace, or laugh at video from youtube. In my Syracuse public education system we weren't taught how to form expand our mind beyond what the screen showed/told us to do but to give into what it was saying. We used Microsoft office every class, but what is that really teaching us? What is that preparing us for in the future? My generation has enough typing skills from texting, AOL instant messenger, MySpace, and Facebook. Having a computer lab in the public education system I feel is more detrimental to the growth and maturity of the students than helpful. If the teaching strategy changed maybe things would be different, maybe if the history behind the internet and mass media if brought up in early education maybe the use of the internet would be different today. Maybe today's "artist" would not be subject to putting up senseless videos on youtube, and actual works of art instead of posting something that took you the same time to create as it takes to view it. ( Lanier, 21)

The fact that nothing takes time anymore due to the vast technology of today, the lack of face to face communication,  it's as if we are the gadgets themselves. We are locked-in as people. I do not believe that the internet should be subject to those who only are educated in the field of mass communication, science, etc, but that we watch how the ignorance of our children has made matters worse when it comes to the use of this unstable new technology we call the internet. Most students now-a-days believe in this fantasy that they just need the right break because of the way the internet works, and how many success stories come from it. Never realizing that many more people fail than succeed, back-up plans are still necessary such as some form of education.

My First Blog

Hello (DigiNet) class,  and other followers,
                                                                Sorry for the late start to blogging I have had thr roughest week when it comes to technology. My HP laptop, which I've only had for a year, has been overheating in the middle of me doing work or browsing the web. As of Thursday January 27, 2011 my laptop overheated in my third attempt to start blogging, as well as Friday January 28, 2011 I was told that I would be required to take a leave of absence for the Spring '11 semester. Luckily as of February 1, 2011, 4:00pm I was told that I had been granted the permission to continue my studies here at the colleges, so I am here to inform you that I am now officially a blogger and apart of the class blog. Let's get this thing rolling!! More blogs are to come soon tonight.

Passion

By: Ace Drama

As I lay here head on my pillow, eyes on the ceiling

I only saw you

Saw the night right by the fireside,

Were you were on my lap, locked into each other’s eyes

At that moment

Pain became pleasure, pleasure became ecstasy,

Though I lay alone in this room, I still can feel your head lying next to me

Sad how you aren’t present yet you still leave me breathless

Like those nights, I voluntarily held myself captive between your essences.

Moans echo in my ear

Sweat slides down my chest

Kisses on my neck

All the way down to you know where

Yet these dreams haunt me just because you’re not here

Why must these images torture me?

It’s hard being an artist when your masterpiece is with you in the sheets

Don’t call me freaky when I’m in it

Because I bet you’ll scream Da Vinci when I’m finished

From the rise of the climate, to the rise of your climax

I told you I’m going head first so you might want to times that,

By 4 by 5 by 6

But it doesn’t matter, for when I grab those hips

Getting to work out with those dips

All I can see is you biting those lips

Damn this is a nightmare

Thinking about you in just your t-shirt and underwear

Love how you keep me wondering what’s under there

Cut the music on, dancing to our slow jamz

Tonight no role play, time to throw out the program

Dancing on me, and I’m dancing in you

Winding, twirking, everything you like, tonight’s all for you

Just lay back and let daddy be the puppet master

No lie you might not feel your legs the morning after

It’s cool, just call into work tell them you need a day off

And don’t worry I’ll pay you, I’m today’s boss

If you don’t mind being paid under the table

Cause I don’t mind stopping dinner giving it to you under the table

You know I’d be more than glad too, you can say willing and able

Working my way down, starting from you navel

Making it to the counter top,

Where I give you that counter top

To paint you a little picture 69 is what we’re calling that

Before we share the goods, we don’t mind tasting, or testing

Never been stingy, no problem sharing my father’s blessings

Bed is for the ordinary, we have moved beyond that

Extraordinary, is what you call it when it’s from the back

Every moment when we’re together it’s amazing

The part of the night where you lay on my chest is my favorite

I love it when we are together, I love sharing this feeling

Too bad this is all in my head and I’m still staring at this ceiling