BBM

Black Berry Messaging! To many a revolution in communication the fact that you can connect to such large amounts of people anywhere and anytime for almost charge in money is just fascinating. Although many have raised the question of how exposed and connected to other people do you have to be? The idea that you are connected to everyone 24 hours 7days a week is just massive and tiring. Although the counter claim is you choose to be that connected to people plus it is useful in a number of ways and is for almost no fee. Almost everyone you see has a BB and is using it to the full extent. From BBMing which is the new verb for using BBM to using the internet everywhere. The BlackBerry has created a competition that will be tough to beat. Especially with it becoming the new teen trend that every teen has to own one in order to connect to their peers and be always up to date. Many parents and doctors are afraid of the dangers of this on our children. From the dangers of always having your eyes stuck to a screen to the fear that human will lose all communication because of this. Effective communication is becoming less and less part of our daily lives we no longer feel the need to see the person face to face but send them a bunch of words on a screen that are cold and have no meaning. A I'm sorry as a text message no longer has the same effect as a sincere apology to the face of the person. People are now avoiding conflict or facing up to things by simply texting the other person I'm sorry or I quit rather than owning up to them. Communication between people should be reestablished yes the BlackBerries are useful but they should not take the place of daily face to face communication

Is media really progressing?

The ways that information can be quickly delivered have increased rapidly in the last couple of decades. From newspapers and magazines all the way to Facebook and BBM, are different technologies that have been added to the mass media. The question here is if this rapid progress is in fact progress. Is information being easily transmitted to a large number of humans really achieve the goal of media or help it? From my point of view it doesn't. The fact that information is being transmitted faster doesn't mean that it's efficient or correct. So much information is being passed on the internet and on the thousands of TV channels that people's main concern is not what type of information they're receiving or if it is correct. Their main concern is how fast it gets there. Yes, that might be important but how can you trust now that any piece of information that is being passed on to you is correct or valid. The internet is open to anyone to write any information they would like and so many people see that information that it becomes so easy for false information to be passed along. So many stereotypes and false accusations are arising because of people not making sure that the information that is being passed is correct. An example of that is the large rumor that came out when Michael Jackson died that he had converted to Islam before dying and that he had started creating his Islamic album before he was killed. Three huge assumptions were made one that he was killed two that he became Muslim three that he began recording Islamic albums. They even showed a video of his first Islamic song leading the people to believe that it was actually true. Although the video that showed the song didn't show Michael Jackson's face but people assumed it was him and believed it. Whether this is true no one actually knows. It just shows how false information can easily be passed along online..

Obama Obama

Many people seem to consider music mere entertainment. A tool that people can use for relaxation or for entertainment but nothing more. People have lost track of the main objective of music as a way of expression. Now that it has turned into an industry that doesn't mean that it does not have a message and aims. It started out with the drinking gorge and slaves using a song to describe their escape route. Then the hip-hop industry that was used as a way of expression for blacks, Latinos and even whites on their daily issues. To them it's a form of art. It still is to the present day. Yes, some music might be fully commercial yet there are still a lot that are a way of expression of one's feelings. An example of that is the song Obama by Lil Wayne and others… (lyrics below) it shows how artists and singers have a say in day to day issues. That through their songs they are sending messages to all the millions of teens who are listening to their songs. It is only through these artists that some teens could be influenced to hate or like things and an example of that is the president Obama election. Even though these teens didn't have a say in the elections yet they were all listening to the song and going "Obama, Obama, Obama". This can be counted as a point for Obama in knowing how to use the media and get it on his side and use it effectively. This also shows the importance in music and media in general in influencing public opinions.

 

Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama

Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"

Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!

Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!

Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!

So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----

Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!

Filtered Media

When you watch news cast you tend to believe everything it says unless you have a strong reason not to. Yet have you ever thought of how bias or untruthful that news cast can be? It isn't just what you watch on a news cast, it is basically all types of media. Most tend to be filtered, censored or have carefully chosen words that lead you to believe something other than what is really there. Even media that claims to be 'free' and truthful is to some extent censored. The reporting on events that happen outside the US are heavily censored even through the word usage of the reporters giving the American citizen an altered view of what is there. So that when the US fights a war it is actually two, one of which is fought on the war front and the second is a PR campaign to convince Americans that what is being done is in face correct so that when a poll is taken most Americans are in fact in favor of the war. The biggest example is the war on Iraq and Afghanistan, it took quite a while for some Americans to understand the implications of both wars and begin protesting against them. Personally, I believe that it is harder for any country to filter the media than actually fight the war its self. Yet when the media is actually on your side you can be assured that winning the war is easy. Please watch these videos they will really clarify my words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwFGYyGcYFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCL6WdnuNp4

Egypt vs. Algeria

I bet most of us can remember the Egypt and Algeria match in 2009 in the qualifications for the World Cup 2010. This match should have been like any other, important but yet still between two closely related countries. So why did it end up being a political crisis? Many blame the media for what happened then and still is to our present day. Before the match Egypt had to win Algeria with at least two goals in order to have a chance at qualifying. It started out with both countries' media placing a lot of emphasis on the importance of the match. Then a couple days before the match the Algerian team's bus was said to be thrown with rocks while the players were moving from the airport to the hotel. On the other hand the Egyptian police denied that any thing happened. The Algerian players showed up at the match with bandages wrapped around their head emphasizing what happened. Then came in again the role of the media when the Algerian newspapers started exploiting news that Algerians were being killed in Egypt for no apparent reason. Although none of that happened the numbers kept on increasing everyday with numbers between 1 and 20 killed Algerians. This lead to Algerians being hostile to Egyptians living in Algeria breaking into their homes and crashing their cars. Although nothing had happened in Egypt the Algerian media lead the Algerians to believe that something did releasing their outrage on Egyptians living in Algeria. The matter did not stop thus far the Egyptian government called on the Egyptian ambassador to return to Egypt for consulting. Egyptian media through newspapers, TV channels and Facebook were exchanging videos of Algerians burning and stepping on the Egyptian flag. When the Egyptians won the Algerians in the African World Cup some Egyptians spread pictures of hate and insult to the Algerians leading the same problem to rise again. This comes to show how both media's irresponsible behavior of spreading false information or exaggerating information lead to a major crisis between two countries that have a lot more in common and in history to be simply broken because of a soccer match.