The reason why I chose to do my activist project on The Covenant House is because I think it is one of the biggest problem in Canada and I witness this daily. The Covenant House is Canada's largest shelter for homeless youths. Homeless itself is a big enough problem but homeless youths is even worst and it totally breaks my heart when I see this. Toronto downtown is full of homeless people on the streets and I see them daily on my way to Much Music. The covenant house opens a lot of opportunity for the homeless in Toronto. The Covenant house is more than just a place to stay, they provide 24/7 crisis care and have the widest range of services under one roof, including education, conselling, health care and employment assistance. With these kind of opportunity, it can change a life on the street to being successful. Kids on the street can be dreadful because there are limited knowledge and skills about life and without support can lead to a dangerous future. I support The Covenant House 100% because no body deserve to live on the streets and to be able to provide support can change the world into a better place. In the future, I will take my time off to volunteer in the shelter. People need to understand that homelessness is not an option, people who are struggling through this have many problems with family, friends or school.
Work Cited:
http://www.covenanthouse.on.ca/Public/Default.aspx?I=120&n=Mission%2fVision
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
My Culture Life...Social Networking.
Majority of the population has two lives. One is the real life and the other is life in media, such as gaming, social networking etc. With high-tech technologies today at our fingertips convinces us to participate in another world, by "world" I mean into another system. I experienced the changes in myself when I came in contact with my computer. Growing up in Brazil and Paraguay, I had no access to internet or cable so, this forces me to go out and explore. Making new friends from my street and playing sports outside was pretty much my life, obviously, it does not include technologies. After I immigrated to Canada, I was educated on many advanced technologies and the functions of all the systems in front of me. My obvious reaction was "Wow, this is so cool!" shortly after, I was hooked.
My main participatory culture is the social networking. I am not in favour of the gaming culture although I do own Nintendo DS and wants to own a Wii but I was never addicted like other gamers. Maybe because I get bored easily, or because I never win.
I personally just different social networking websites for different viewers and I will run down the examples shortly. Social networking is what I am all about right now because I am the type of person who is curious on what others are doing in their life.
MSN is what I use to connect with all my close friends from high school and work. I only talk to certain people on MSN and they are consider the closest to me.
Then there is Facebook, which I have over 1,000 friends on. Not everybody I "befriended" on facebook are actually my friends because I have not met some of them. I put them in the "acquaintances" category. People may be wondering why I accept people I do not know on facebook and allow them to access my personal pictures and information. My answer is I take pictures for a reason, and that is to share it with as many people as I can. Facebook also has events that can inform me on what is happening in my city so it is very useful part of my life right now. And did I mention all the applications facebook has? One of the popular facebook application is "Farmville". This application forces a user to check back frequently because they need to "harvest the crops" daily and if fail to do so will result in dead plants. I feel that Facebook is very intelligent by setting applications like this to attract more users to using Facebook.
Lastly, there is Twitter. I am not ashamed to admit that I do have a Twitter even though I am not an important public figure. People who follows me on twitter are consider "strangers/friends/acquaintances/idols" or just anybody. I don't restrict anyone from viewing my tweets because what I post is what I want to share to the world even though, some posts are quite useless and irrelevant. I follow many celebrities on Twitter and it keeps me updated on their CD release date, Music videos, concerts and contests. Twitter made a lot of people feel closer to somebody because if their 'tweet' is powerful, it can grasp the audience into their life.
“The media environment, which consists of language, numbers, images, holograms, and all of the other symbols, techniques, and machinery that make us what we are" (Postman 1). Basically, I am all over the social networking websites and without it now, I do not know what I will do with my life at this moment. Back then, I would have no problem but I am now trapped in the social networking that I cannot get out of.
Work Cited:
"The Humanism of Media Ecology :: MEA Proceedings." The Media Ecology Association. Web. 23 Nov. 2009..
My main participatory culture is the social networking. I am not in favour of the gaming culture although I do own Nintendo DS and wants to own a Wii but I was never addicted like other gamers. Maybe because I get bored easily, or because I never win.
I personally just different social networking websites for different viewers and I will run down the examples shortly. Social networking is what I am all about right now because I am the type of person who is curious on what others are doing in their life.
MSN is what I use to connect with all my close friends from high school and work. I only talk to certain people on MSN and they are consider the closest to me.
Then there is Facebook, which I have over 1,000 friends on. Not everybody I "befriended" on facebook are actually my friends because I have not met some of them. I put them in the "acquaintances" category. People may be wondering why I accept people I do not know on facebook and allow them to access my personal pictures and information. My answer is I take pictures for a reason, and that is to share it with as many people as I can. Facebook also has events that can inform me on what is happening in my city so it is very useful part of my life right now. And did I mention all the applications facebook has? One of the popular facebook application is "Farmville". This application forces a user to check back frequently because they need to "harvest the crops" daily and if fail to do so will result in dead plants. I feel that Facebook is very intelligent by setting applications like this to attract more users to using Facebook.
Lastly, there is Twitter. I am not ashamed to admit that I do have a Twitter even though I am not an important public figure. People who follows me on twitter are consider "strangers/friends/acquaintances/idols" or just anybody. I don't restrict anyone from viewing my tweets because what I post is what I want to share to the world even though, some posts are quite useless and irrelevant. I follow many celebrities on Twitter and it keeps me updated on their CD release date, Music videos, concerts and contests. Twitter made a lot of people feel closer to somebody because if their 'tweet' is powerful, it can grasp the audience into their life.
“The media environment, which consists of language, numbers, images, holograms, and all of the other symbols, techniques, and machinery that make us what we are" (Postman 1). Basically, I am all over the social networking websites and without it now, I do not know what I will do with my life at this moment. Back then, I would have no problem but I am now trapped in the social networking that I cannot get out of.
Work Cited:
"The Humanism of Media Ecology :: MEA Proceedings." The Media Ecology Association. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
Culture Jamming
Culture Jamming, in another words, all up in your face. What forms the culture? I believe it's the media. Media is every where, on the subway, on your milk carton and even in your mail. the purpose of advertising a product or service is to get caught into you. Sometimes there are way too many ads at once that a person is confuse on what to believe in. Most advertising are simple and get the point across in limited times. The reason for this is to catch the audience attention into the culture. One can't deny that we live in the culture jamming because without it, we would not know which product to buy or how our life style is. Culture Jamming can be both positive and negative. Positive because it can shape ones life into the right direction in life, an example would be a University or College ad that convince students to stay in school It can be negative because at times, people will fall into the media and forget about reality. An example for negative effect can be model ads that result in eating disorder in order to live up to the model standards. People should not get culture jamming in their head but do not avoid it because some may shape a positive life in the future.
Buy Nothing Day...Is it Possible?
Buy Nothing Day really interest me into this blog. Does the title really means what it means? Is it possible? For me, depending on how a person sees it and what their meaning of "buying means". On this day, I would have to struggle to refrain myself from buying anything. My problem is, I tend to buy many unnecessary products that i don't NEED but WANT. This day brings an awareness to over-consumption and makes one realize how much they buy that don't necessary need. There is a huge difference between 'need' and 'want. A brief explanation of this is 'want' is something you wish to have to fulfill your day but you don't need it to survive. E.g. Cellphone, ipod, designer clothes etc. 'Need' is something you require to live and it is necessary to have in ones life. E.g. Water, Food, Shelter.
Some people may debate what is consider 'buying'. Even if I do not buy any product or food that day doesn't mean I am not consuming anything. The electricity and hydro water requires money but you do not pay for it daily, the bill comes in once a month. Now, is that consider buying? I think it is because everything a human use requires some sorts of fee.
"When a new concept is introduced to our lives, we can either choose to accept it or turn it away" (McLuhan 1). Marshal's statement is very true because it is very difficult for humans to suddenly change their life around by being aware of what they buy, it takes time to get use to the whole process. Most people find it difficult to accept it at first so, the first thing that triggers their mind is to turn it away by avoiding it.
The saying 'nothing is free' can be quite true on this part. Humans are constantly using facilities that requires money but on this day, we can control ourselves for over-consuming on the things we 'want'.
Work Cited:
Marshall McLuhan, “The Playboy interview”
.
Some people may debate what is consider 'buying'. Even if I do not buy any product or food that day doesn't mean I am not consuming anything. The electricity and hydro water requires money but you do not pay for it daily, the bill comes in once a month. Now, is that consider buying? I think it is because everything a human use requires some sorts of fee.
"When a new concept is introduced to our lives, we can either choose to accept it or turn it away" (McLuhan 1). Marshal's statement is very true because it is very difficult for humans to suddenly change their life around by being aware of what they buy, it takes time to get use to the whole process. Most people find it difficult to accept it at first so, the first thing that triggers their mind is to turn it away by avoiding it.
The saying 'nothing is free' can be quite true on this part. Humans are constantly using facilities that requires money but on this day, we can control ourselves for over-consuming on the things we 'want'.
Work Cited:
Marshall McLuhan, “The Playboy interview”
Net Neutrality...taking over?
Let's be honest, Net Neutrality is not a word you hear everyday on the street. In fact, not many people knows what it means (they will after reading my blog), including myself, until now. Net Neutrality is a strong word in the worldwide web base because it affects many people and their freedom of access.
Net Neutrality is a principle that the internet should be free and kept open to internet users. This means that there should not be any interference or restrictions from service providers to access websites or use certain applications.
This issue is a hot topic today because it is the recession time where money is priority. When setting up for a home internet connection, one must get Internet Service Provider (ISP)in order to access the web. Internet users pays for ISP monthly to use the internet. Now, it does not make sense to pay additional fees to visit certain websites. The problem is, a small portion of their customers are clogging up the internet line by occupying majority of its bandwidth, which slows the rest of the users' connection. An example of this would be Skype, where people can connect with each other without using telephone and this stirs up competition with Phone companies. Maybe this explain the reason why this is happening. But it still doesn't make much sense to me as a frequent internet user.
Websites are owned by individuals, no body owns every website on the net, so this allows the website owner to have freedom over their information. Although, there are sites that are free of charge such as Google, YouTube, Facebook etc. but most websites now requires fees which defeat the purpose of internet. ISP is becoming more useless because it does not include certain websites due to the bandwidth.
Some websites are country specific content. MTV is a great example for this senario. I often miss television shows such as The Hills, SNL, Gossip Girls etc. due to my busy schedules with work, film and school so to my understanding, I could catch up on all these shows on the internet during my free time. Little did I know, I was wrong because MTV only allows Americans to view their videos and people who live outside that boarder cannot watch the videos on their website. This boggles my mind because my Saturday night plan was ruined since my original plan was to catch up on an episode of Gossip Girls. This is unfair to viewers because it restricts to who can or cannot watch it when we're all equal; I don't feel like Americans are any better then Canadians, to be honest so why do we get such crappy treatment?
On the other hand, there are websites with options such as Rapidshare, Mediafire, Limewire etc. I listed these as an example because they are the programs I use very often. When I say options, it means we get to choose if we want to pay for the program or use it for free but with restrictions. Limewire PRO is a paid program which runs much faster and more efficient then the free version, which majority of us have. I do not know anybody who pays for Limewire PRO because I do not think it is worth it unless your a DJ and wants to download music instantly. Limewire basic works the same with a slower speed but if your ISP connection is high, it works fairly the same so why pay?
Internet is where majority people learn and gain information from and by adding fees will be a terrible idea. If this continues to expand, there will be less users on the internet and website hostess will no longer update since there are no visitors. If I were to own a website, I would look at the other point of view before considering charging users on my website. Another thing is, information and awareness will not get their word across because most people rather use their money on something else rather then on visiting a website, Right? Smarten up people! Don't let the world wide web die down.
Work Cited:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/07/02/f-net-neutrality-faq.html
Net Neutrality is a principle that the internet should be free and kept open to internet users. This means that there should not be any interference or restrictions from service providers to access websites or use certain applications.
This issue is a hot topic today because it is the recession time where money is priority. When setting up for a home internet connection, one must get Internet Service Provider (ISP)in order to access the web. Internet users pays for ISP monthly to use the internet. Now, it does not make sense to pay additional fees to visit certain websites. The problem is, a small portion of their customers are clogging up the internet line by occupying majority of its bandwidth, which slows the rest of the users' connection. An example of this would be Skype, where people can connect with each other without using telephone and this stirs up competition with Phone companies. Maybe this explain the reason why this is happening. But it still doesn't make much sense to me as a frequent internet user.
Websites are owned by individuals, no body owns every website on the net, so this allows the website owner to have freedom over their information. Although, there are sites that are free of charge such as Google, YouTube, Facebook etc. but most websites now requires fees which defeat the purpose of internet. ISP is becoming more useless because it does not include certain websites due to the bandwidth.
Some websites are country specific content. MTV is a great example for this senario. I often miss television shows such as The Hills, SNL, Gossip Girls etc. due to my busy schedules with work, film and school so to my understanding, I could catch up on all these shows on the internet during my free time. Little did I know, I was wrong because MTV only allows Americans to view their videos and people who live outside that boarder cannot watch the videos on their website. This boggles my mind because my Saturday night plan was ruined since my original plan was to catch up on an episode of Gossip Girls. This is unfair to viewers because it restricts to who can or cannot watch it when we're all equal; I don't feel like Americans are any better then Canadians, to be honest so why do we get such crappy treatment?
On the other hand, there are websites with options such as Rapidshare, Mediafire, Limewire etc. I listed these as an example because they are the programs I use very often. When I say options, it means we get to choose if we want to pay for the program or use it for free but with restrictions. Limewire PRO is a paid program which runs much faster and more efficient then the free version, which majority of us have. I do not know anybody who pays for Limewire PRO because I do not think it is worth it unless your a DJ and wants to download music instantly. Limewire basic works the same with a slower speed but if your ISP connection is high, it works fairly the same so why pay?
Internet is where majority people learn and gain information from and by adding fees will be a terrible idea. If this continues to expand, there will be less users on the internet and website hostess will no longer update since there are no visitors. If I were to own a website, I would look at the other point of view before considering charging users on my website. Another thing is, information and awareness will not get their word across because most people rather use their money on something else rather then on visiting a website, Right? Smarten up people! Don't let the world wide web die down.
Work Cited:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/07/02/f-net-neutrality-faq.html
Media Hegemonies....Do you Own it?
Let's talk Disney here. We all know Disney is a big theme park located in Orlando, Florida and in other places now as well but that's the main one. Besides Disney being an amusement park, it is also a huge television corporation that is called "The Walt Disney company". By going through the list, it shocked me on how much I didn't know about this company. Just to name a few, The Walt Disney owns ABC Network, ESPN, Hollywood pictures and etc. They even own ABC radio which I had no idea until I went through the list. The point is, this company owns variety of stations and it is incredible on how much one can own.
You might be wondering why I chose Disney in the first place because there are other big corporations as well such as Warners Bros. As a "teenie" I am, I want to educate myself more on something that interest me and something that affects me rather then doing it because I have to. I have been a background actor on the hit Disney movie "Camp Rock 2" and by being part of a Disney production really opened up my mind on this topic. What many people don't realize is that big corporation wants to own everything and this is why they are filthy rich. Everything you eat, everything you wear, everything you watch are all interconnected to a big corporation. Although, it is an advantage to the big corporations for owning so many productions but it is unfair to other companies. Companies that are trying to succeed is at a disadvantage when big corporations owns it all. This does not give new companies a chance to learn and develop. Now to end this off, Do you own it? Think about! It's Media Hegemonies.
You might be wondering why I chose Disney in the first place because there are other big corporations as well such as Warners Bros. As a "teenie" I am, I want to educate myself more on something that interest me and something that affects me rather then doing it because I have to. I have been a background actor on the hit Disney movie "Camp Rock 2" and by being part of a Disney production really opened up my mind on this topic. What many people don't realize is that big corporation wants to own everything and this is why they are filthy rich. Everything you eat, everything you wear, everything you watch are all interconnected to a big corporation. Although, it is an advantage to the big corporations for owning so many productions but it is unfair to other companies. Companies that are trying to succeed is at a disadvantage when big corporations owns it all. This does not give new companies a chance to learn and develop. Now to end this off, Do you own it? Think about! It's Media Hegemonies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
