Facebooker Generation

This weekend I was home for a concert and was limited to internet access. I am on Facebook and Twitter on 24/7. I've decided to focus this week's blog on Facebook. It has had both positive and negative affects on me personally. On the positive side, I've been able to connect with many old friends and family members back in Puerto Rico. I've also been able to keep most of my social life organized with uploading pictures, videos and keeping up to date with statuses and posts. It allows me to network with new people whether they are friends of friends or random people that Facebook suggests. I can also share my experiences, which enables me work on my auto-biography indirectly. On the other hand, the negative aspects of Facebook are that I am susceptible to predators out there disguising themselves and posing as a virtual-threat. Even though we are America and we have "freedom of speech" and we can do whatever we want, we tend to post many things that are both personal and controversial. I always fear that "Big Brother" is out there monitoring everything we say and do on Facebook as well as other social medias because once we post something we sell our information to unknown 3rd parties that pay and maintain the site. Facebook has some disturbing things about how our society views privacy, how we manage our personal information and how we are adjusting to technology. The real problem that I see this online generation facing is the challenge of dealing with real world interaction with people. What are your thoughts?

My Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/migvazquez

My Digital Newspaper

It seems funny how Apple and other tech companies evolve over time. A few years ago it was a race to see who could combine lots of media into one succinct product. The desktop computer was bulky and unable to be carried around, so the laptop was introduced for convenience and portability. The phone was not smart and hard to use, it was just an addition to your newspaper, radio, and television… then the iPhone was introduced changing the way we communicate. These two mediums allowed us to pack more into less.

Looking at the iPad, personally, I feel that we are starting to pack less into more. Meaning, that the iPad serves as a great benefit; consequently, I’m still tied to use my laptop and cell phone for other media. Instead of creating a product that would marry the phone and computer into one easy and handy to use device, eliminating the use of two products, Apple created a third device that enhanced our lives but still kept the laptop and the phone in the picture. If I need to print I need to use my laptop, if I need to call or text I need to use my phone and if I want to conveniently read a book, newspaper or magazine I use my iPad. 

Before I had my iPad

Even with the hindrance in these Apple products, the iPad has truly impacted my life in an excellent manner. I’ve become more of an avid reader than what I used to be. Catching up on USA Today or browsing through the NPR news headlines have been just some of the many eReader apps that I now use. Before the iPad I wouldn’t even check the news because I was always on-the-go. The only remedy was my iPhone or laptop. My iPhone’s screen was too small so I would become frustrated and my using my laptop was a hassle because if there was no internet connection I wouldn’t be able to go online. The newspaper was a hassle because I wanted international news, not just local, so ordering the Boston Globe or The Hartford Courant wasn’t much help.

After I had my iPad... perfect

The iPad has also the function of bridging my personal life to the public world. Not only can I feed myself the news, I can also transfer my thoughts and opinions through the comments section on the news. This allows me to be more of an interactive news analyzer rather than just a news reader. I no longer have to wait until tomorrow to get the next newspaper and see what happened yesterday. I can instantaneously refresh my news apps on my iPad and get current content that was released 33 seconds ago. The iPad, as an extension of man, has been my extension to news. It is my newspaper. 

Extend, Transform and Bridge

Everything in our lives has a message; in essence, everything is supposed to be a medium where a message derives from. I argue that not everything is a medium. If media are all the things we have around us, in essence, there are no media then what is the point to even study it.

I do agree that everything in the social world has a message, however, the impact the message has on the reader suggests whether something can be categorized as a medium or not. For example, the tray bin sitting on my desk is a medium, it allows for papers to be stored, which in turn is a medium for writing, which has another layer of medium for thoughts, which has yet another layer of medium for emotions. Another example is the Blackberry. One layer of medium is the BBM, the next layer is text, which is another layer of medium for writing, then thoughts and finally a last layer for emotions. I can go on and on with many examples and suggest that everything is a medium; nonetheless, there needs to be a limit on whether we consider something a medium.

My definition of media are everything that is an extension of man that influence and transform the way we live. Looking at the two examples I use, both agree with the first half of the definition as they are extensions of man that allow us to do things differently; yet, they are different in the level of influence in our lives. The tray bin has little influence as to how I live my life; it helps me organize and keep order, it only changes how I do something. On the other hand, the Blackberry influences the way I do things, it transform my life; it not only helps me organize and keep order, it provides me with entertainment, education, exploration, communication, literature and a number of other things. The level of influence from each source differs, making it more realistic to say that a Blackberry is a medium and a tray bin is not.

Another important point about media are the connections it has with the rest of the world. One concept that Croteau and Hoynes mention in their book is that in today’s world, media often acts “as the bridge between people’s private lives and their relation to the public world” (18). Taking this into consideration, a tray bin is not a bridge between my private life and the world, whereas a Blackberry is. It is important to keep this in mind when thinking of what defines media because there are many things that can close a gap or create a bridge in our personal lives. Conversely, something that only impacts our personal lives should not be considered media. Being able to connect to the world through a medium that is an extension of us and has transformed our lives is media. 

Generally speaking, in today’s society, media has been categorized as the press, internet, broadcast, publishing, and other mediums through the use of technology. While some media historians might suggest that everything is a medium. I suggest that in order for something to be categorized as media, it needs to agree with three specific determinants. If it lacks one, it cannot be considered media. That is why my definition states that media are the extensions of man, which we are transformed and able to bridge the gaps between our personal lives and the rest of the world.