After all is said and done

I just submitted the final drafts of the papers, and wow I'm just filled with so many emotions right now. 


One, relieved that it is all out of my hands and finally done. 
Two, lost at where this entire semester went. 


Is it just me, or did this semester go by entirely too fast? Nevertheless, I have learned so much, specifically throughout the course of this particular class. Not really knowing what to expect coming into class due to a last minute change in my schedule, I am quite glad and slightly surprised with the success I had in this class. I will never forget the eye opening moments, the thought promoting class discussions, and some of the most intriguing and informative videos I have ever seen!!!!  


Even this whole blog idea,I was kind of apprehensive in the beginning, but after a while it actually turned out to be a good outlet source for me at times. 


There isn't one week that went by that I didn't learn something and share with family and friends. This class was a true inspiration and a reminder of student, and writer I strive to continue to be. 


For the last time. Signing off, 


Jasmine

Nannies & Language

Nannies

Found this article through another class discussion, find it interesting that this day in time we have shifted to the normal I want someone I feel comfortable with leaving my children with to now certain language requirements being a must to get a nanny position. 


I think just like any other profession, knowing more than one language gives you a leg up on your competition, so nannying wouldn't be an exception. I'm a nanny and when I look for various positions, a lot of people require a certain language for their nanny-to-be. Some are even specific on what language they want. This sometimes turns out to be the downfall point for me when I find a job that is very appealing to my desires, and I get to the language part, and I don't qualify.

However, I do understand the importance it would be to parents who wish to have their child continue on the journey of their language acquisition. Just a thought though, does the nanny that knows more languages than me automatically makes her more qualified to fulfill the other nanny-like duties? I can't imagine someone saying, "My nanny is horrible at watching my kids, but hey, at least she speaks Spanish!"

MediaCOLOGY

Here is my first draft of my Mediacology paper, I really enjoyed doing this paper, I felt like I gained a lot of perspective on a part of my artifact that I would have never discovered without the construction of this paper. From the research to this draft, I have a different outlook on my general thesis as a whole. I also love building off the McLuhan's laws of media, which I find myself more and more doing for other forms of media and technology!  

Jasmine Evans

December 7^th 2010

Facebook: Evolving One “Friend” At a Time

            Every now and then there is some form of advancement in technology that comes along to make a great impact on society. In the early part of 2004, the social site, Facebook, did just that. Now known as a national phenomenon, Facebook effects our environment daily through the use of its 500 million users. It has become more than your typical social site where people look to connect with friends; people consider Facebook the key to some of life’s most valued relations, attributes, and forms of communication and connectedness. Though Facebook started off as something to connect college students in a minimal controlled environment, it has evolved into so much more, with limited boundaries. Therefore, it can be argued that the evolution of Facebook over the past six years has made an extensive impact on the world by playing a key role in human affairs, interactions, all while becoming an essential source of communication.

            In order for certain ideas about Facebook’s impact on society to be validated in a sense, applicable observations have to be made. Making observations can be a vital key to the discovery of powerful theories. Marshall McLuhan was constantly challenged to provide a scientific basis for his media observations. Coming to grips with this challenge, he reviewed Understanding Media, with the intention of making observations, and with that McLuhan’s of Media commenced. McLuhan concluded that four things happen to all media and human artifacts. The phenomenon is inescapable and can be applied universally amongst all media forms. Enhance, reverse, retrieve, and obsolesce are four categories that McLuhan believed even though some results may take years to make themselves apparent, he still insisted that these things all happened simultaneously. (Constantineau 1996) Since these four laws can be applied universally to any means of technology or media, Facebook is not exempt from being dissected precisely in each category.

            The first law is enhance, which means any social phenomenon where the tool extends something about the human experience. In other words how does the new technology improve or enhance something from the original form? If you ask anyone of their opinion on what Facebook enhances for them personally, different answers would emerge. (Constantineau 1996)  However, most would agree that Facebook enhances our means of communication. Society is no longer limited to phone calls and letters to keep-in-touch with friends and loved ones. Facebook makes interactions and maintaining various relationships more accessible with the click of a button. This is evident in the fact that many people no longer exchange email addresses or phone numbers, they simply turn to Facebook to find and connect with other people. (Kirkpatrick 2010) Even in the midst of enhancing the human experience, there is still room for an adverse effect.

            McCulan’s next law is the law of reverse. This basically means that the new form will reverse what were the original characteristics. Taking the initial intent of the media, and looking to see what has gone off in dismay to slap us in the face, is the main goal when trying to see how the new form has gone through its reverse course. Looking at Facebook, it can be argued that though its’ original purpose was to bring people closer by establishing and sustaining connectedness, it reverses the idea of sincerity in relationships, while driving us a part. There’s not a desire to make time to see someone you haven’t seen in a while because now with Facebook, you do “see” them every day. We stop calling people because that eventually becomes a hassle compared to logging on and posting “hello” on someone’s page.

            On the other side of the spectrum from the law of reverse, is the law of retrieve. This law shows how the new media form brings back something that was lost. The positive side of Facebook is probably most evident through this law. Over time people lose contact with old friends and distant relatives, but Facebook retrieves this and enables us to do so habitually. Social networking can enrich lives for those separated by bringing people together despite the physical separation. (Lecky-Thompson 2009) Some believe if it wasn’t for Facebook they wouldn’t talk or keep up with certain people in their life, so in theory it somehow brings back the awareness of the importance of relationships in our lives. Facebook is committed to continue to change our notion of community, both at the neighborhood level and the planetary one. This may help us move back toward a kind of intimacy that the ever-quickening pace of modern life has taken us away from. (Kirkpatrick 2010)

            We can enhance a new media form, reverse original characteristics, and retrieve something that was lost; it is only natural to understand why there is room to lose elements as well. This is seen in McLuhan’s law of obsolesce. In this law it is examined what was pushed aside or obsolesced by the new media. (Constantineau 1996) Unfortunately, even with the positive aspects of Facebook, we can’t ignore the negativity it brings while looking at everything we lose as a result of this popular invention. Face to face interactions is often completely thrown out the window once someone becomes addicted to his multi-ways to interact with people via the social site. Not only can you post directly on someone’s page, you can send a personal one-on-one message, an instant message, even tag someone in your own message. Having so many options often overshadows the basic appeal of one-on-one time with someone.

            The appeal of Facebook didn’t just spring overnight. Facebook has evolved over the years. It empowers users to change the world by posting links, connecting with other influencers, sharing stories, and donating and buying products. Facebook was able to shift their own power status by allowing a wide range of people who can become a member. (Reagan 2009) Facebook was initially started for college students only, but now in more recent times even middle-aged to senior citizens can say they have a Facebook. One of the most popular audiences that Facebook attracts today still remains at large to the adolescents, teen and young adults market. It is now estimated that about sixty to seventy percent of seventh graders have a Facebook account, with a number even higher in eighth graders. The evolution of Facebook is highly due to the fact of this audience holding a lot of power. (Fodeman 2009)

            Through the use of advertising directly on the site, Facebook is able to reach audiences from all walks of life every second one spends on the site. It is now noted that Facebook is the most targetable medium in history. Marketers wish to display their ads to the people who are most likely to respond. Before Facebook was created, advertisers had to hire services to strenuously and affluently follow user’s digital footprints among their usage of the internet. They were tempting to unveil user’s age, sex, and interests by the websites they visited and what they essentially clicked on. On the flip side, Facebook users are forthcoming with accurate data about themselves, and because of this it is argued that Facebook has the richest data set by a long run. Facebook tracks all information posted from an individual and collectively in a database, and in return uses it to associate the advertisements to showcase. (Kirkpatrick 2010) Facebook recognizes that it bears invaluable information about its users on Facebook profiles. Furthermore it knows that users are apprehensive about making their personal information public. So as the company continues to evolve over the years, they have changed its privacy rules to allow more user information to the public. (Thompson 2010) It is mind bending to think of the power Facebook has in connection with the world of advertising; even more intriguing that the people play a tremendous role in the growth of Facebook and its essential appeal, and not even realize it.

            Perhaps people don’t realize their indirect and direct contributions toward the evolution of Facebook because they are too busy doing the one thing Facebook was meant to do, converse with friends. When taking a closer look at Facebook’s mission statement, which says “[Our] mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected,” one maybe should take it with extreme literal intent. (www.facebook.com) The growth of Facebook is directly in correlation to the growth of its people, investors, advertisers, etc., all with the same goal to extend the online experience to its maximum capabilities. Though the CEO of Facebook still sees his site as a work in progress, most of the people who use it would agree that the site itself, as well as its place on the internet, has jumped hurdles over previous technological advances over the years. (Kirkpatrick 2010) Facebook, though greatly popular in its own right, has to stand the test against another top site, in order to validate its presumed evolution of technology.

            The future of Facebook is highly linked to where it stands currently against Google, a controversial competition that has sparked as Facebook continues to evolve. The two popular sites battle for online market share, mindshare, executives and engineers. Facebook has become second behind Google as the number two internet company worldwide in terms of users. Where Facebook wins the battle over Google and all other sites is in the total time their users spend there. The more time spent on a website has to eventually equate to the possibility of expanding its evolution and impact on society as a whole. Also, the closer Facebook gets to achieving its’ vision of providing a universal identity system for everyone on the Internet, we could possibly see in the future Facebook attaining more data about citizens than even the governments possess. Even though certain critics have predicted Facebook was at risk of losing its appeal since its debut, Facebook has a shown an inimitable durability. It has maintained its appeal and evolved gracefully over the years because of the collective allegiance of its users from any class, age, or nationality. By the early 2010 Facebook operated on seventy five languages, so it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine it growing from there on that aspect as well. (Kirkpatrick 2010) The potential growth of Facebook will forever be pushed to its limits because of the creator’s initial visions.

            Ultimately, the inventor of Facebook dream is to empower the individual. According to his beliefs, the most vital thing that Facebook can do is give people tools that allow them to efficiently communicate more and prosper in a world in which progressively more information surrounds us all no matter what we do. It is important to note that the overall contributions of Facebook’s users create a global accumulation of ideas and feelings. Some have gone as far as to predict it could evolve toward a kind of crude global brain. This thought exists because once all personal data is exclusive to one place; it can be examined by sophisticated software in order to learn new things about cumulative sentiment or ideas. Therefore, Facebook could very well be the future link to universal connectivity, for it aspires to construct a directory for the entire human race, by creating a direct pathway between any two individuals. (Kirkpatrick 2010) In the end, it can be argued that the progression of Facebook over the past six years has made an extensive impact on the world by playing a key role in human affairs, interactions, all while becoming an essential source of communication. As long as people keep signing on daily, the evolution of Facebook will forever continue, one “friend” at a time.

Works Cited

Constantineau, Wayne. “McLuhan's Laws of Media” McLuhan Studies. 1996.

            20 November 2010. < http://www.horton.ednet.ns.ca/staff/scottbennett/media/> 

Fodeman, Doug and Marje Monroe. “The Impact of Facebook on Our Students”

National Association of Independent Schools. 12 January 2009. 20 November

2010. <http://www.nais.org/resources/article.cfm?ItemNumber=151505>

Kirkpatrick, David. The Facebook Effect.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010.

Lecky-Thompson. “FaceBook: Good or Bad for Communication. Looking at Effect of

            FaceBook on Face to Face Communication Skills.” Suite 101. 30 May 2009.

            20 November 2010.

            <http://www.suite101.com/content/facebook-good-or-bad-for-communication-a121387>

Reagan, Gillian. “The Evolution of Facebook’s Mission Statement.” The New York

            Observer: Media Mob. 13 July 2009. 20 November 2010.

            < http://www.observer.com/2009/media/evolution-facebooks-mission-statement>

Thompson, Derek. “The Evolution of Facebook’s Privacy Rules.” The Atlantic. 7 May 2010.

            20 November 2010.

< http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/05/the-evolution-of-facebooks-privacy-rules/56398/>

A new perspective on video games

After the lectures on video games, I feel like I look at them totally different now. Of course at the stereotypical "girl" I rarely play in the first place. (I do have an original Super Nintendo console and it is still awesome to me) Im still not completely oblivious to the popular controversial games over the past decade. It was just an eye opener during the presentations to the class how controversial these games really are.  I started to wonder if video games do play  more of an influence on people than the typical saying that they promote violence. After class I started thinking video games in a way prompt various perceptions and conceptions on world issues, nationalities, groups, places, things, etc. Who knew something that was supposed to be pure entertainment, could somehow shape the reflections of one's thoughts..... I wonder what Im getting when I play Donkey Kong.....

McLuhan's Laws

I really enjoyed learning about McLuhan's Laws of Media in class and I decided to start dissecting Facebook in each law for the next paper:

The first law is enhance, which means any social phenomenon where the tool extends something about the human experience. In other words how does the new technology improve or enhance something from the original form? 

Facebook enhances our means of communication. Society is no longer limited to phone calls and letters to keep-in-touch with friends and loved ones. Facebook makes interactions and maintaining various relationships more accessible with the click of a button. 

             

The next law is the law of reverse. This basically means that the new form will reverse what were the original characteristics. Taking the initial intent of the media, and looking to see what has gone off in dismay to slap us in the face, is the main goal when trying to see how the new form has gone through its reverse course. 

Looking at Facebook, it can be argued that though its’ original purpose was to bring people closer by establishing and sustaining connectedness, it reverses the idea of sincerity in relationships, while driving us a part. There’s not a desire to make time to see someone you haven’t seen in a while because now with Facebook, you do “see” them every day. We stop calling people because that eventually becomes a hassle compared to logging on and posting “hello” on someone’s page.

The law of retrieve is next. This law shows how the new media

form brings back something that was lost. 

The positive side of Facebook is probably most evident through this law. Over time people lose contact with old friends and distant relatives, but Facebook retrieves this and enables us to do so habitually. Some believe if it wasn’t for Facebook they wouldn't talk or keep up with certain people in their life, so in theory it somehow brings back the awareness of the importance of relationships in our lives. 

            

The last of McLuhan’s law is obsolesce. In this law it is examined what was pushed aside or obsolesced by the new media. 

Face to face interactions is often completely thrown out the window once someone becomes addicted to his multi-ways to interact with people via the social site. Not only can you post directly on someone’s page, you can send a personal one-on-one message, an instant message, even tag someone in your own message. Having so many options often overshadows the basic appeal of one-on-one time with someone.