Convergence

According to the author, convergence is how the media is circulating in our culture. Media is not only t.v. and the internet, it is also print and radio. It has become one device essentially, where you can access all of these in one location. You are able to distribute content quickly and across multiple platforms. "In the world of media convergence, every important story gets told, every brand gets sold, and every consumer gets courted across multiple media platforms." The internet is now a two way form of communication and people are able to share their thoughts and ideas freely with anyone who wants to read it.

Creative engagement is sharing ones idea with others and engaging with them, whether it is from an interactive website or a blog that might be devoted to fans of a certain t.v. series. As Jenkins mentioned, many people were able to discover the winner of Survivor or where it was going to take place by looking at past locations and contacting a variety of different people such as travel agents. It takes a lot of dedication and involvement for these people. My mind goes to tumblr because many tumblr blogs are devoted to fans of t.v. series. There are .gifs of the show and spoilers almost minutes after the scene and episode air. TV isn't just staying on the television anymore. People can now participate while watching a t.v. show live by using the hashtags and posting them to twitter. Just recently The Walking Dead fans got angry with the show for posting spoilers on its own Facebook page  before the episode aired. I also think of Reddit and how quickly a topic can get shared and by people doing AMAs and sharing what they know and answering questions right in the forum. People are participating in forum and answering or asking questions and are actively involved. People can also give others "gold" for posts or questions so it's another way of participants engaging with one another.

Illegal Downloading

Downloading music for free has been a problem for a long time. I am guilty of this, though since Pandora and Spotify, I have found myself downloading music less and less frequently since I can  I think that it would be very hard for the government to completely ban illegal downloading. If people want something bad enough they are going to continue to do so. Stealing in stores is illegal, but people still get away with it. I think there might be a couple options that the government could do if they want to stop this issue or prevent it from getting worse.

First they could show the consumer the effects of illegally downloading music. Many people think that if they just download one song then it doesn't hurt anyone. But if they were to show an interactive map that showed how many songs were illegally downloaded it might stop some people.

Second they could actually enforce the laws and fine people who are caught downloading music. I know that ASU internet can sometimes notify you that they detect fraudulent activity on your computer.

Third, I think they need to get rid of all of the sites that have music where you can download it for free. Which I think would be almost impossible, because when one website is taken off two more can be added in its place.

Overall stoping illegal downloads is going to be very difficult because people have been so accustomed to it and there haven't really been consequences for it. I think it comes down to an individuals perspective and if they feel bad about it.

Privacy

In today's world nothing is private anymore. In less that two minuets you can google someone and you can generally find out where they are, what they're doing, and what they look like. Being able to personalize our Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites might come at a cost. Facebook has always updated their terms and privacy agreements but does anyone really read them? I always just scroll to the bottom and click accept. Yes it's my fault when I don't understand what I'm agreeing to but shouldn't the company want to put those terms in words that make it easier for people to understand. Yet everyone has their own view on the word privacy and it might not seem like a big deal when they like something on Facebook.

I'm more likely to give a website that I am familiar with my information than one I'm not. If the website doesn't look professional or credible I am more hesitant to fill out any forms on the website. I'll also be more likely to give a website my information if a friend has also used the website. For me this mostly deals with any online shopping I do. Many clothing companies that offer good prices are over seas in Japan, Australia, or the UK. Being they are so far away I am always really hesitant to put any of my bank information into their billing process unless I know it is a secured site, so it helps when I know a friend has bought something from them and hasn't had any problems.

Privacy has also been an issue with the rise in use of the technology on your phone. I recently found out in one of my classes just how much your iPhone tracks you if you have your location services turned on.  You can look now by going into your settings, click on privacy, location services, scroll down to System Services, then Frequent Locations. Here is where your iPhone can see all of the places you frequent and when you click on them it even tells you the time. I turned mine off just because it freaked me out and I had no idea it tracked me that thoroughly. So obviously the personalization of our online life is coming at a price but we have come immune to it.

Are you changing anything about your privacy setting now that you're starting to apply for jobs?

New Media and The Effects on Education

Huffington Post just released an article about a new app that has come out for Apple and Windows products, though an android version will be released soon. It is called PhotoMath and is a free app that solves math equations for you. All you need is to take a picture of the problem and it solves it and gives step by step instructions on how it got to the answer.

This sounds awesome, right? I bet you're thinking, "Why didn't they have this when I was in school?" But here lies the problem. With media changing and making these new apps the education process is changing as well. We are becoming fully relient on our computers to do our school work. When we were in elementary and middle school, we were taking basic typing lessons and majority of us did not have cell phones, let alone smart phones. Now kids that age already know how to type, can use a smartphone or tablet better than some adults, and even have one of their own. Though this app is meant to help kids who are stuck with a problem, kids are just going to use it to get the answer and move to the next question to get their homework done faster.

Eventually kids might not even be able to do basic math problems anymore. Though it is neat to see how much software has changed and everything it can do, we need to be able to do this ourselves as well.

Hope you enjoy the article and my thoughts!
Emily Moedl

Sarnoff's Law and Information Retrieval

One of the laws that I agree with is Sarnoff's Law. Sarnoff's law says that the value of the network increases linearly with the number of people on it. This can be traditional broadcasting such as TV and radio networks. The reason that I chose this law is because you can see this on TV for special programing. This is why TV networks can charge so much to air a commercial during high traffic programming such as the Superbowl or the Olympics. According to USAToday the cost of a 30 second commercial could easily rise to $3 million next year. Since the number of viewers is increasing the value of the network is also increasing. Even Facebook advertising is increasing due to the CPC (cost per click) or the CPM (Cost per mille, or thousand views). If you want to advertise using CPM you can place a bid on how much you are willing to pay per thousand views in a distinct region. Since Facebook is becoming one of the easiest and top forms of communication the value of Facebook is also going up.

In five years from now I think there is going to be an easier way to streamline all of the information we are receiving. We can already post one update and link it to our other accounts but I think eventually there will be a "dashboard" where you can view each of your social media platforms together and combine them. Information is already easily accessible but I think 5 years from now in schools, there won't be a need for text books as frequently. With the rise of tablets and e-readers I think many teachers will opt to view the textbook online. Though five years doesn't seem like a long time I think that a lot can change in networks due to the rise of communication on the internet.

Why We Blog

There are many different reasons why we blog. We can blog to inform, connect with other people who share our same interests, or to document our life. Many people use blogging as a means of communication and to keep in touch with people. Like social media sites blogging allows you to state your own opinions, but it takes away the instant feedback that you might receive when you post a status on Facebook. As a blogger you are taking an active role in analyzing and posting information. Even if you are writing a blog about your personal life or a food blog you are actively choosing what you post. You are informing others of what you are doing or issues that are important to you. 

I think one if the most popular forms of blogging is to document your life or documenting something that is important to you. Blogging important events allows for family and loved ones to stay connected to you through those times even if they are far away from you. As the article says it can almost be called a 'be-log' because you're documenting your being. The reading is always done by choice and is never forced it becomes more voluntary than intrusive. I think blogging has also taken over for journaling or even scrap booking. I know a lot of people hat have traveled for education purposes or even just for fun that have used blogs to document their trip. It allows you to reach more people than just sending it in an email and also can be used to remember the important moments in your life. 

Blogs have gotten a lot bigger and more influential since the article was written. They have become a business and are used now in classrooms settings and work environments. It is a great way to market a product and to connect to people like never before. You can form connections from around the world with people who share a common interest with you.

Here's the article if you want to check it out. 

First Video Post

Because who doesn't like watching a tiny hamster eating a tiny burrito.