Net Neutrality--Last Blog

For my final blog I decided that I would right about Net Neutrality. My opinion is that we have worked very hard to get the internet where it is at and to have the freedom to go where we want and chose what we want online. The internet gives all internet users a voice. There are so many aspiring artists, poets, etc that are trying to make a mark on this world and the internet is portal for them to show their work.

One time in my online class where we are learning about web 2.0 and how it has changed the internet one of my classmates mentioned that there is a site where aspiring photographers could post their photos and sell them to the public. Not only are some of the amateur photos better than professional photos, but they are also much cheaper at one to five dollars per photo. It also gives the photographer a chance to show their photos publicly at no cost. Getting your work out there can be costly and time consuming, so this is a great way for someone who does not have a lot of money to advertise their work. Also there are many others who are passionate about photography and want to share what they are passionate about with others and are not necessarily looking to make it big.

There was also another comment made about a video game website, where the viewer can create their own games. Once again this is great for someone who is looking to be creative or share their passion or for someone who is looking to be a professional game programmer. My fellow classmate also mentioned that if the site likes your game, then they will publicly air it for anyone to play. This would be very fulfilling for someone that spent much time creating a game and knowing the other people enjoy what they have created.

I think that we should continue to fight for net neutrality because if we don’t we will loose our freedom with the internet, something that we have worked so hard to have.

The Difference Between what News Channels Broadcast and what is Published in the Newspaper

To be honest I have to admit that I am not an avid watcher of the news and I rarely take time to read a newspaper. However, I think that the sometimes the news that is broadcasted on TV is broken down and information may be left out because of the time frame that it is given. With the newspaper I feel that they have more freedom to write about more issues just because they are allotted more space.

As part of today’s society I believe that we have the right to be informed of all issues and not only the issues that are deemed of importance by the media. So many issues exist in today’s world that the only way that we can be informed about those issues is through the media and we rely on them.

In my search for an article in the newspaper that has not been aired on the news, I found an article entitled “ Trio of dedicated workers are Niagara County's victim advocates” by Rick Phfeiffer, in the Lockport Union Sun and Journal. This article was of importance to me because it mentioned workers from the Victim Assistance Unit for the Niagara County Sheriffs Department and what they do for victims in my community. Personally never hearing about the department I was surprised to hear that this program is one of 195 such programs across New York funded by the states Crime Victims board. They are able to guide a victim through the criminal justice system, one of which the victims know little or nothing about. According to Cathy Schmitt, a domestic violence person she refers to the workers as “her angels and bodyguards.

I think that this would be an issue that should be emphasized in the news because there are not only victims in my community, but several others across the state who are not only struggling because they have been a victim of some crime, but because they know nothing about the criminal justice system. I know that if I was ever a victim of a crime I would not even know how I would go about getting a lawyer. I feel that more people would get a chance to see this in the news and with this information they could contact a victim assistance program in there area.
There are many government and state programs out there to help assist our society and I feel that many people are not aware of them because they have not heard of them before. With the medias help I believe that people will stay informed and search out help with this information if ever needed.

If Interested the article was found in the Lockport Sun and Journal under the crime section and can also be located online through it’s internet edition.

Assignment 11

I feel that a great amount of our knowledge comes from the media. For example, there are many things that are happening in this world that we cannot personally experience like the war in Iraq or political campaigns. So, we rely on the media to gain information on these topics.

I believe that the three most important problems facing America are America’s ignorance towards the media, the way that the media can create stereotypes, and how the media creates images of a perfect person that does not exist.

I believe that most of today’s society is unaware of the persuasiveness in the media. I know that I was this way for sometime before taking Principles of Persuasions last semester. It is a scary thought when you realize that the media is using so many techniques on the consumer that a class can be taught about them. I feel that it is always important to have this knowledge because even if we buy into their persuasions we do it by conscious choice aware of the techniques that are being used. For example, there is always a new M&M commercial being aired on TV trying to persuade consumers to buy M&MS. Well aware of their techniques I decide to buy M&Ms anyways because I love how they taste. However, these types of persuasion are used in our everyday lives and are used when we are about to make big purchases, such as buying a car. Buying a car is a big commitment and this would be a good time to be aware of the persuasive techniques that the dealer may be using on you.

I feel that the media can also create stereotypes. Many of the us watch the news on a daily basis and notice that the same types of people are creating the same crimes. But, the truth
is that just because a person looks a certain way does not mean that they are a trouble maker. I
remember at one point in time people with tattoos were considered bad news and today almost everyone has one. Something that was looked down on in the past is now a big thing with the younger generation. Although I do not believe that the media is consciously creating these stereotypes, I believe that what they are broadcasting leads people to create their own stereotypes. One of the most popular sayings is that you cannot judge a book by its cover and it is the truth.

I believe that the media also tends to portray the ideal image of a person in today’s society. Today the media portrays the ideal person as thin. Whether you are watching TV, driving down the street and see a billboard, or just looking through a magazine, it is almost guaranteed that you will see an ad for weight loss. And, although I know that diabetes is a growing concern with overweight Americans today, just because you are not extremely thin does not mean that you are overweight and unhealthy. And I know that adults are aware that this is just how the media is, but younger people of our generation believe that they need to look a certain way to be accepted by society. For example, a woman at work mentioned t hat one day her nine year old daughter was getting ready for school and told her that she could not wear a certain pair of pants because they made her butt look big. This is sad because at the age of nine I remember my only care was to have fun and I feel that at this age you should not have to worry about impressing others.

As a society we rely on the media, but I think that it is our job to notice the negative effects that the media can cause and keep these effects in mind.

Email Usage

For this assignment I thought that it would be great to survey some of my fellow associates at work. Many of them are older and have been out of school for sometime, so I thought that they would be good to sample to survey. Also, I know that they all use e-mail frequently.

I work for in Customer Service and it is difficult to communicate with others sometimes because of the fact that we are always on the phone. Even when you do get a breather it is hard to catch who you want to speak to when they are not with a customer, so we found that the best way to communicate with each other is via e-mail.

So, yesterday while I was at work I asked a few people what they thought about their e-mail use at work and also while they were at home. For the most part they used their e-mail mostly at work. When I asked them why they thought that they used it more at work, they responded that this has been their main form of communication while at work and at home they have more choices on how they choose to communicate with someone. I than began to ask them the questions that professor ___ suggested, such as how many e-mails do they consider important and how does this form of communication simplify their lives? The answers differed depending on if they were reading their emails at home or the emails that we receive at work. While using their home email, they all agreed that about 90 percent of their email is junk mail and about 10 percent of email that is received is of importance. Many brought up the fact that they receive monthly invoices online instead of receiving paper bills and they are also notified when there payment had been received. I could understand why this was such a convenience to them just because I also am notified via email about some bills, such as my car insurance, which is deducted out of my checking account each month. I receive an email a few weeks prior to the due date letting me know when the payment will be deducted and once that payment has been taken out I receive a confirmation for that payment. As for at work, their answers where very different due to the fact that we only receive mail from people within the company, so unless it was sent to the wrong person by mistake, it will be an important e-mail.

As for simplifying their lives they had mixed emotions depending on where they were using their email. At work there main concern was being able to get in touch with someone quickly without having to leave their seats and having email available to them allows them to do this. At home they also generally agreed that it could simplify their lives due to the fact that they can check their email on a regular basis for updates on their bills or easily get in touch with someone who they know but lives in a different state. With their busy schedules they feel that emailing would be much more helpful then trying to catch them when they are not busy by phone. However, they did mention that they would prefer to call that person if they could rather than email. They also mentioned that sometimes it is just better to hear someone’s voice.

When I asked them what the trade off was for using email, they all answered that the main thing is losing out in hearing their voice or even seeing their emotions when speaking to someone in person. For example, at work my manager works during the day and does not get a chance to really see or talk to the part timers that can in later at night. One woman that I surveyed said that the only way that she can communicate with him is via email and that she would prefer to speak with him in person about some things. She mentioned that an email could be misunderstood and also she does not like the fact that the only way to communicate with him is via email.

I believe that everyone’s opinions will vary due to how much they use emailing, the nature of the email, and who they speaking with. The truth is many adults like my grandparents do not even know what email is, so I am sure that if I surveyed them, they would rather communicate over the phone or by person. It really depends on the demographic.