Fashion Blog (Size=Tiny)

McLuhan

When I started to read the provided text on McLuhan I was having a hard time wrapping my head around his ideas and philosophies. They are very different from anything I have ever heard before related to media studies. But once I started to understand the basic ideas behind his theories I found the text to present some really interesting ways to look at media from a communication perspective and found excerpts that related very well to the media medium I selected in the beginning of the semester, Comcast On Demand.


A phrase that sums up Mcluhan's perspective is "the medium is the message". It is saying that the form of communication, as opposed to the actual content, is the most important factor to consider when observing the effects media has on a person. This to me was a very foreign concept. In class we discussed many other theories that related to the content of the media, how we reacted to it, and how it effected us. Even though one might not agree with everything each of the theories teaches, it's a little easier to be able to understand content effecting us because this is familiar idea to us and is talked about often in main-stream media. Some of the ideas in the theories we discussed previously seem almost a product of common-sense. They are easy for the average person to understand. After watching some of the movie clips, I realized I wasn't the only person that found McLuhan's ideas to be foreign. Mcluhan was a very misunderstood man. Many people laughed at him and his ideas and the media of his time actually convinced the masses that they would not understand McLuhan. Once you really look at things from his perspective, you can see that he made some very interesting points. And you can understand why many followed his theory in thinking even after his death.

The idea of "multitasking" is mentioned in the text. With Comcast On Demand you can watch or hear previews for movies and T.V. shows while reviewing other lists of programs. These previews can engage and distract you, so you will continue looking until you find exactly what you want. Joseph Urgo argues that, in the technological environment of today, human consciousness becomes "chronically distracted to the point that distraction is it's chief characteristic". The thought that we go out of our way to be distracted is bizarre but when you really think about it, it's so true.

In Jack Lule's research, he referred to the "expectation of immediacy that new technologies encourage". Comcast On Demand was developed specifically for instant gratification. Viewers no longer have to wait to see the specific movies or programs they want to watch, they can choose to watch them whenever they want to. Some networks, like Showtime, even post new episodes of popular shows before they premiere on T.V. The text explains that when you take Mcluhan's famous phrase, "The medium is the message" and change one letter, the phrase is transformed into "The medium is the massage", as if the media is "massaging" our minds. This metaphor is saying that "media manipulates how we perceive ourselves, others, society, and the world". On a whole we are a "I want it NOW" society and Comcast On Demand provides an outlet to satisfy that feeling of urgency.

Socializing on the internet from the workplace

Is surfing the web, writing and reading personal e-mails and instant messaging effecting today's workforce? Many would agree there is far too much of the workday spent engulfed in websites or social conversation online. It has become such a problem that many companies have blocked certain websites like MySpace, Facebook, and AOL. But that does little to stop the technology savvy "Generation Y", who can quickly navigate through their personal blackberries and iphones to check these sites compulsively if they so choose.  I believe that if these minutes used for personal web surfing and chatting were used instead for actual work, managers would be astonished at the way their productivity would increase.

In order to test this theory two groups of employees would be observed for a given amount of time, say a week. Group 1 would have access to all websites, even if usually blocked. They would be watched carefully. Time on these websites would be logged and hidden cameras could even observe how often they used their personal phones. There would be a manager on duty, but he/she would stay in his/her office in order to allow Group 1 to surf and socialize as freely as possible. They would proceed with their usual workday given the same amount of work as usual and after a week, results would show how much time was spent "productively working" and how much time was spent otherwise. 

Group 2 would be blocked from all websites except anything needed for their daily work. They would be asked to check all personal items upon entrance in a secure designated area away for their workspace. They would be under the watchful eye of an involved manager who would make him/herself present throughout the workday.  Group 2 would be observed in the same way as Group 1. The speed in finishing work would be documented and results of this study could verify whether the usage of personal websites, e-mails, and instant messaging is effecting the productivity of a given workforce.

Media Image

I was not able to get the picture posted that I found but I'll do my best to describe it. It is a picture taken September 17,2008 in Yemen which is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. That day the U.S. embassy in Yemen was attacked by terrorists. According to Time Magazine "in a coordinated attack, militants assaulted the front gate of the embassy with machine gun fire, rocket propelled grenades and two suicide car bombs, killing 17 people, including one American. A U.S. state department spokesman said the assault had "all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda attack;" the next day, security officials in Yemen arrested 25 people suspected of having links to the terrorist network."

This photo depicted a tall building with a huge cloud of dark smoke hanging over it and around it. As you looked at the ground below you see cars driving and civilians walking around like nothing had happened. I don't know exactly when the picture was taken. It could've been many hours after the attack. But to me, it appears the smoke is still very think and it seems that the people of Yemen are used to this kind of activity. If this sort of thing happened in the U.S, I couldn't imagine any civilian let anywhere near the site of the attack. In the U.S. the smokey building would be surrounded by uniformed and armed military. It's scary to think that anywhere in the world there are places that this is normal.

Media Medium

I thought about this and I had a little trouble trying to think of "the medium that has changed my life the most". I'm not a very high-tech girl. I still listen to the radio and CD's in my car while most people my age have ipods for every aspect of their life; one for the car, one for the gym, one for work. And while everyone else is buying the newest blackberry I'm trying to find the phone that I can drop the most without destroying it. So after returning from a long day of school and work I engaged in my normal routine of sitting down in front of the T.V. and immediately, before even looking to see what time it was and what was on at that moment, I hit the "0" button.
And that's when I realized it. The medium that has changed my life the most is Comcast On Demand. This button takes me to a seemingly endless library of movies, TV series, new casts, documentaries, and music. And it was at this moment that I realized it's not only a love I have for this medium, it's a bit of an addiction.
On my day off, especially if I've been out late the night before and I slip into vegetation mode, I can sit with my handy dandy TV clicker and jump from watching the newest movies that just came out on DVD to my favorite episodes of Entourage and Sex and the City (back to back) to watching Food Network's Tyler Florence teach me how to make the ultimate lamb chops .
I could go on and on about all On Demand has to offer but what needs to be said is how it's changed my life . What's it's done that's amazing is to help me step outside of my normal comfort zone of likes and dislikes and I've realized there's thing's I'm interested in that I didn't even know I would be. For example, I never would've guessed I would enjoy Discovery Channels documentaries on glaciers and volcanoes. But once I watched, I wanted to learn more, and so I did. It even prompted me to search the internet to find additional information, I'd say the only downfall is that sometimes I find myself in my pajamas all day on the couch feeling nothing but blissful relaxation. But really is that bad? Everyone deserves some down time!