Blog #7: COMM 303

As a kid, I grew up playing all the video game systems there were basically. I had a younger brother so he would always ask for the systems for his birthday or Christmas. My mom would make sure we didn't spend all of our time playing video games and that we got our homework done and played outside. People today can spend most of their time playing video games and not get any exercise. This causes people to become lazy and possibly obese. They have tried to make games that get you to stand up and be active such as the Wii and Kinect for Xbox.

I'm one of those people that find myself playing video games for hours. I usually stick to Nintendo 64, Wii, or The Sims 3. Video games has never been a huge distraction for me though to where I choose to play games than do my homework. For others, it causes them to fall behind in class because they need to play it all the time. Society has changed a lot towards video games since Sega first came out back in the day. They are making systems with better games and better graphics making it more enjoyable to play. People will have to learn to cut back on time to play and focus on things that are more important in life. 

At this rate, people will continue to buy video games and play them while escaping themselves from the real world. Video games will just become more technical and fun to play so they will become more addicting. Video games has a while before they stop being made and stop being played. 

Blog #6: COMM 303

 I remember when my family first got a computer. I was about 6 or 7 years old and it was a Gateway desktop that they put in our study room. I was so excited we finally had a computer but I wasn't allowed to get on it very much since I was young and didn't know how to use it that well. When I was turning 13, my parents bought me an HP laptop for my birthday. I basically just used it for the internet and to chat with my friends on AIM. One time I tried to turn it on to use it but it wouldn't at all. I didn't know what was wrong with it so my mother and I went to Best Buy to try to get it fixed and they said there was a virus on it that caused it to shut down. It would've cost $1,000 to fix so my mom didn't even bother. I eventually got another laptop when I was older though since my parents thought I would be more responsible. 

I remember this experience so well because it was the first time I ever had a laptop and I wanted one for so long and my parents trusted me enough to be able to own my own laptop. That, however, didn't go as well as we thought it would. Now, I make sure I take care of all my electronics I own; laptop, phone, ipod, ipad. The internet has made a huge impact on my life because you can depend on it for so much. If you have a question about anything and need the answer, the internet is always there to provide you with an answer. It helps me get all my school work done quicker, without it, we'd all have to look into books and that could take a while. The use of the internet is much like the concept of Use and Gratification. You usually get what you need when you use the internet and it helps people out a lot in their everyday lives. It helps pay bills and make graphs and even the use of social networks to see how others in your life are doing.

Blog #5: COMM 303

After reading the article, I can sort of understand what Daniel Wilson is saying. When he is discussing how people are saying technology is difficult nowadays, I can relate to that. Even though I am big on Apple's new technologies, I still don't understand all of it. When the iPad first came out, I didn't get it because I thought it was going to be a waste of money since it was a larger version of the iPhone. Eventually, I figured it would be pretty handy and felt like I had to have the newest version of the technology so I got the iPad 2. Newer technology only seems difficult but it really isn't.

My parents are never up to date with the newest technology. We still have a house phone because my mom doesn't feel like its necessary to have her cell phone on her all the time. Wilson talks about the radio, the telephone, and Facebook and how "each of them scared the heck out of an older generation". My parents talk to me all the time how they think it's stupid to have a Facebook because it just causes drama by everyone putting everything out there. I agree with her on that but she didn't grow up with a social network such as Facebook or Twitter so she doesn't completely understand it. 

I agree with Wilson on the article about technology basically turning into robots and becoming complicated. However, I will always be that person that feels like they have to be up to date on all the newer technologies. I feel like since we have grown up learning and getting the new technologies that we'll stay up to date with them and not feel confused when we are older. There may be a point when we are older and realize we don't need this stuff and may stop buying them but until then, I think we will continue to keep up with technology.

Blog #4: Comm 303

People record things for certain reasons. Mainly, to be able to keep an important memory they can play back on. These devices are important because people can show others something funny that has happened or something important such as, your childhood. Its good to be able to look back on childhood memories. If we weren't able to record certain events, then we could lose memories that we want to keep. 

I don't think people generally know how to make proper videos. I think they make them just to make them for laughs later. Like myself, most of the videos on my iPhone are pointless videos that I don't really need. It's just there to laugh at later with my friends later and it's basically wasting space in my phone. A good way to make a video is with an actual video camera and is properly handled. The things that would be recorded would be for important reasons specifically. 

I consider video recording a kind of literacy because you can learn things from certain videos. On YouTube, there are many videos people put up that teach you how to do things. You can basically type in "How To.." on YouTube and find what you need to find to learn something. I don't think a communication major needs to learn how to shoot and edit a video because not all communication departments require you to know that. Some forms of jobs with communication could be in front of the video and you don't have to worry about how to work the camera and how to cut and edit it. There is usually someone else with a different major that needs to know that kind of stuff.

Home video helps out with the expansion of communication because it helps us learn about other cultures. If people weren't able to travel to other countries and record interviews with people or what their culture is like, then we wouldn't be able to learn about it. We could learn about it through writing but not actually be able to see what it's like.

Blog #3: Comm 303

        The theory I will be using for this blog is the Social Learning Theory. The Social Learning Theory is based on how people learn by watching others and observing their behaviors. When we are watching television, we are observing what they do and can mimic what they have show, such as, a cooking show. People watch others prepare meals to be able to learn how to make it for themselves. People may also do that when others are fighting or hurting each other which shows there may be a negative side to television. However, television doesn't actually teach you how to hurt someone, young ones are easier to view and react. It also works by people using work out videos and video games like with the Wii and Xbox Kinect since they are moving to your movements because you have to mimic what they're doing.

I think in the future, there will be more things on television in which people can mimic that will be easier to understand. Technology keeps growing and will keep going to try to make people's lives easier. The future holds a lot for television to where it could be a good thing to watch it instead of reading books. More people can learn if they are able to see it, at least for me it is. To try and learn a recipe, for me, I need to have a picture to be able to see what it should look like. Its easier for me to be able to see a meal being cooked instead of reading instructions. Television may end up being a projector screen where it comes out, so that way it would be the perfect way to imitate since its right there. People want to learn things if it comes easy to them, thats why I think television will be able to help us out in the future.

Blog #2 - Communication 303

I usually listen to my music on an iPod or my iPhone. I also listen to it on my Macbook. I've been listening to music on an iPod ever since the iPod mini's came out. I found that they were much more convenient to use instead of a portable CD player. A portable CD player, you have to change CD's to find the type of music you want to listen to. I even listen to my iPod in my car instead of the radio because I have an auxiliary input in my car where I can plug in my iPod.

I listen to music basically all the time. I listen to it when I'm driving, working out, walking to class, studying and doing homework, and even when I sleep. I listen to music because it prevents there from being silence. I don't like it when I'm in a room or when I am driving and its completely quite. I need there to be some type of sound going on and music what I like to listen to the most. Music helps me work out when I listen to up beat music because it helps keep me going. I enjoy listening to music because it usually puts me in a good mood because it helps me escape the world sometimes and puts me in my own space as what Simun says about "private spaces".

Sometimes I don't just listen to music. On my Pandora radio, I have a radio where you can listen to stand up comedy. I like to listen to those when I feel like I need a laugh. I also like to listen to audio tapes sometimes when I'm reading a book. Since I am taking French this semester, for homework we have to listen to people carry on a conversation in French so we can try to understand what they are saying and learn how they are speaking. 

Comm 303: Blog Assignment #1

        When it comes to communication technology, I am usually the person that is always interested in anything new that comes out. Mainly when it comes to Apple products. I own almost all of the Apple products because I am very interested in them. When the iPad came out, I thought it was kind of pointless so I didn't worry about getting it. I would hear what people thought about them and they said they loved them so when I heard the iPad 2 was coming out, I figured I would get it. I decided to wait in line at the Apple store in the mall for it. I waited in line for almost 5 hours, the news was there and interviewed the people in front of me. I thought that would be the last time I did that, but I'm probably going to be waiting in line when the iPhone 5 comes out.

I think that newer communication technology plays a big part in my life along with many other people. My cell phone and laptop help me communicate with my friends, family, or professors. An iPad helps me when I take it to classes since its lighter and I don't have to carry my laptop in my backpack all the time. My iPod, of course, lets me listen to my music whenever I want. Without the newer technology, people would have less communication to the world and those around them.

I never listen to the radio anymore because I usually find my music on iTunes. The only type of radio I listen to is Pandora but its on my phone and I can customize the type of music I listen to. My parents still listen to the radio while they are driving since they don't really use their iPods or iTunes. My parents are never up to date on the new technologies that are released. My friends are the same as me when it comes to radio, they only listen to Pandora for the most part. 

In one point in time, radio was the only way to communicate to one another. There were no phones or computers to be able to talk to other people. It started off with just AM radio but then FM radio came along. They both receive the same type of radio waves but AM radio has more static to it. People now a days don't listen to the radio as much as they used to just because there are other ways to listen to music now. For the future, I believe radio will stay around for a while since people do still listen to it a lot. I think it will still be a way of communication in the next 20 years. Eventually, new technology will be invented where there will be no need for radio at all. They won't even be in cars anymore. There will be other technologies besides iPod's and radio that music can be played from.