Thursday, March 29, 2007

Newspaper print > My fingertips


There are many ways to display information to the public in today’s society. There is television, newspapers, radio, the internet and much more. Two forms of media that I will be exploring in this blog are newspapers and the internet. Many people would perceive the two to be very similar (and there are indeed similarities), but there are actually quite a few differences. A current event that has received significant media attention is the battle over Iraq spending. I read about this topic in the newspaper, USA Today, and on the web at www.TIME.com.

The first noticeable difference between the two media is that newspapers are obviously made of paper. I have not picked up a newspaper and read it in years. This assignment has reminded me of why that is. When searching for an article to write about I immediately became frustrated with how annoying it was to look through a huge mass of bulky, awkward papers. Not only that but I soon found that dirty, dark, ink creeping up on my fingertips. That has been a pet peeve of mine ever since I was a child. Even though I already love the function of the internet, I now have a new found appreciation for it in that it allows for easy, convenient deliverance of information. Now that the obvious differences are set aside, I can compare the actual articles at hand.

To help give you an idea of what the articles are about, they basically talk about the clash of ideas between the President and the Democrats regarding troop withdrawal and spending for the war. After reading the USA Today article, I noticed they presented a number of facts and quotes. The author of the article pretty much told us ‘how it was’. Regarding the online article, they also presented its audience with facts and quotes but as I was reading the article, I felt like I was a reading a blog too. The author raised questions and referenced inside jokes to loyal readers, such as, “Could be case for Law & Order......Okay, deal, we still stop making Law & Order jokes from now on whenever we mention.....possible presidential candidate Fred Thompson” (TIME.com). This kind of writing helps readers to connect with the author, as well as TIME.com. People will want to come back to the website more often.

There was also a lot of hyperlinking on the TIME article. Newspapers can’t reference to other sources like that. When it comes to images, USA Today actually had some whereas the TIME article had none. The newspaper had a color image on the front page (initially captured my attention) and a black and white photo by the actual article. Now, while we all know that the internet article could have just as easily had images by its side, it’s interesting to wonder why it did not. Perhaps there is no need for an image because articles online are not trying to attract the attention of others. When it comes to the internet, people generally decide what information they want to look up. As for a newspaper, newspaper companies want to capture other peoples’ attention so they can buy the paper. What better way to catch my eye than a flashy image?

Journalists have an abundance of tools at their disposal in which to display their information. One of the most popular tools in their ‘toolkit’ would be the world wide web as stated by Dan Gillmor. “The Web, as it grew up in the 1990s, was a powerful publishing system that journalists of all kinds used to great effect, and still do” (Gillmor 27). It is often a personal preference for people to decide which media they use to receive new information, but I would say a large majority of them use the internet. Its ease of use and accessibility to everyone is very appealing and it is very interesting to see the evolution of the internet coincide with the demanding needs of journalists all over the world.

References

Gillmor, Dan. (2004). We the media: Grassroots Journalism By the People, For the People. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/wemedia/book/.

Yeomans, Matthew. (2007). Bush Challenges Democratic Credibility on Iraq. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from http://time-blog.com/theag/2007/03/bush_challenges_democratic_cre.html.

Jackson, David. (2007). USA Today: Bush, Dems trade barbs over bills. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from USA Today.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Internet and Politics

Politics are a crucial part of life and they affect the lives of everybody in the world. There are different types of political parties and beliefs, but perhaps what is most interesting is, how people involve themselves with politics as history progresses. Now that we are in an age where the internet is an integral part of life, people have incorporated politics into its ever-growing web. There is a plethora of information regarding politics online. People involve themselves with the political system now in many ways…be it blogs, forums or online chats. Communication technologies such as these enable people to share their thoughts with the rest of the world. Those who never thought much of politics or had any care about them are finding themselves surrounded by it once they log on to the internet. When a person logs onto a website like youtube.com, political videos can often be seen in the most popular videos of the day section. Furthermore, when they click on that video, they will see a barrage of comments discussing the political topic at hand. These comments can be, and often are offensive and controversial to others. The point of these comments however, is to allow people to engage in politics. It is easier now than ever before because the internet is so accessible to everyone.

The following is an example of how people express their thoughts (in this case, political) through blogging. Michael Rebmann is a graduate from Erie Community College and he has recently set up a blog by the name of North Buffalo Journal and Review. Its URL is http://nbjr.speakupwny.com/. He is a citizen blogger, interested in Paralegal Studies. He started his blog about politics and life on March 3rd, 2007 because, after posting comments on other peoples’ blogs for some time, he decided he wanted one of his own (http://nbjr.speakupwny.com/about_me/). His rank on technorati is 47,636. After skimming through Rebmann’s blog, one could tell that he is very opinionated about specific political issues. He has strong support for 2008 presidential candidate, Ron Paul and he cares about the local conditions in Buffalo, New York. He takes full advantage of the blogs’ features and he has many links to sites that he thinks other people may find interesting. It is all organized in a nice, coherent manner and this makes things easy for other bloggers to read and participate in. Since Rebmann has only recently made a new blog, he does not have a huge following of bloggers yet. However, as time passes by and more people link to his blog, his online reputation will go up and consequently attract more readers. Once this occurs he can further engage in political discussion in this particular online community.

A common question that people ask today is “how are blogs affecting local politics?” I would have to say that blogs are affecting local politics tremendously. It is so easy to write an article online and advertise it to the masses. Look how easy it was for me to find Michael Rebmann’s article online and learn about his political beliefs. He is trying to educate others about Congressman Ron Paul and encourage them to vote for him in the next presidential election. The same can apply for local politicians. Alinta Thornton states, “One of the most distinctive features of the Internet as a medium is its interactivity” (Thornton 37). One could argue that people are as interactive online as they are in real life. This increased interaction encourages others to share their beliefs. When people learn about other people’s opinions they can either agree or disagree with them. In the political world an agreement could mean another vote for a potential candidate.

Politics and the internet today essentially go hand in hand. The amount of information shared and the interaction among people online is almost overwhelming. However, it is a step closer towards educating the world about other’s beliefs and ideas. In this particular case, the interaction increases political involvement and consequently affects the way in which people live their lives.

References

Rebmann, Michael. (2007). North Buffalo Journal and Review. Retrieved March 24, 2007, from http://nbjr.speakupwny.com/.

Thornton, Alinta. (October, 2002). Does Internet Create Democracy. Retrieved March 24, 2007, from http://www.zip.com.au/~athornto/thesis_2002_alinta_thornton.doc.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

WOW. What an online community...

World of Warcraft is perhaps the world’s largest online, gaming community ever. It has grown rapidly over the years and its ‘population’ is even the size of small countries, like Denmark. World of Warcraft or WOW as commonly phrased is completely dependent on the internet. Without an internet connection, you cannot play the game, or in other words, you cannot become a part of that online community. This is one reason in particular why this online community differs from an offline community. When it comes to the internet, different rules and methods of communication come into play. Anonymous users cause players to be cautious of whom they interact and trade items with. Security is a major concern for players. WOW is an extremely time consuming game, and players do not want their precious accounts hacked into. Finally, communication. Since people cannot physically see who you are and how you behave, it is your responsibility to portray yourself in a way that will improve your reputation to others. People will trust you this way and find you to be a valuable asset in the game.

I am a member of the World of Warcraft community because I interact online with other people from around the world, but more importantly and personally, I am a member of a guild with my close friends from home. According to Wikipedia a guild is, a group of players who regularly play together in a particular (or various different) multiplayer games. These range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. Internet communication technology allows us to talk with one another and carry on our goals. It also strengthens our social ties within the group.

When my friends and I talk online we basically use AIM and the chat provided to us by the game itself. AIM is used primarily to make plans and designate a time when our guild should meet. It is fast, easy and convenient for us to use. Once we are all logged into WOW, we use the chat functions that naturally are designed with the game. Just like AIM, we have all grown accustomed to this function and we use it as though it were second nature. As discussed in my last blog, we all use pseudonyms to distinguish ourselves. Pseudonyms are especially important in online communities because they give others a sense of who we are, or how we want others to think we are. Jan Fernback and Brad Thompson state, “The structural process that is associated with community is communication. Without communication there can be no action to organize social relations. The intimate nature of this relationship is best illustrated in the words community and communications.” To sum this up, community and communication go hand in hand. My guild would not function if I was not able to organize times for my friends and I to meet and carry out its necessary functions. It is only when our meetings and activities are successful that our social friendships can grow. If we do not have a mutual agreement to complete a task then our social relationships and guild will not grow. A comparative example would be a company trying to expand. In order for that company to grow and be prosperous everyone in it must work together and communicate their thoughts and ideas. If there are people that are not being heard or are not contributing to the company, the company’s desire to expand will fail because there is a discrepancy between communication and completing the desired action.

Online communities vary from offline communities because of the different host of rules that accompany the internet. The people you interact with are people you will most likely never see in your life. However, through the use of Internet communication technology, it is important to build an online reputation that is positive so that other people in the online community can regard you as a trustworthy source. This helps to contribute to a positive online experience.

References

Guild. (2007, March 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:08, March 18, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guild&oldid=115256474

Fernback, J and Brad Thompson. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html