Sophy

Media Log Journal. Entry #1 "My Experiences with Media"  I was casually on Twitter when the announcement about Steve Jobs began to ta ke over my entire timeline about two weeks ago. Honestly, I don't watch the news very often so it was quite shocking to find out about this tragedy through Twitter. Everyone I was following was tweeting about Steve Jobs and expressing their condolences through tweets. The iPhone4s was released around the death of Steve Jobs, and therefore became an even bigger deal than it already is. I find it interesting how Twitter is becoming the source of breaking news globally and locally due to its trending topics. I set my trending topics to global and therefore can see what is trending around the world, all in one place. It's very convenient for me to go on Twitter on my phone and iTouch, so I can always have access to it. The idea of convenience and ease of this social network have probably attracted more and more people to start using it. This topic reminded me of our class discussions in class on how media //shapes// us. Nowadays, technology is advancing everyday and is greatly impacting us on the way. Personally I go on Facebook or Twitter every single day and when I do not have access to it, I think about them. It's somewhat scary how some aspect of social networking is always on the back of my mind, and I guess it shapes me in that way.

Peep Culture Media Journal Entry #2

 After w  atching the documentary //Peep Culture,// many topics pondered my mind. I could relate to some aspects of the video such as broadcasting my thoughts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. According to an Austrailian University study, "people who blogged and used social networks felt less anxious, stressed and depressed and more satisfied with their friendships". I can honestly say that I agree with the results of this study due to my own personal experiences. Whenever I'm feeling out of the ordinary, whether I'm having a bad or good day, I tweet about it. It helps me unleash some inner feelings about the situation, especially while I'm on one of my rants. Afterwards, I feel as if a small weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I'm not hurting  anyone either. It's pleasant how tweeting is not particularly directed towards anyone, the tweeter tweets what they want and whoever is interested in whatever they're tweeting about can respond if they want to. Sometimes it's like asking an open-ended question, and getting a spontaneous response from someone who is following you. Social networks can be very positive if its uses are not abused, such as putting someone down and causing a fight to occur.  However, I believe that the positives of social networks overpower the negatives. They bring people together and create closer bonds between certain friendships, especially long distance ones. Having the ability to communicate and take a peek into the life of your friend living in England is a pretty darn cool thing. Especially now that Facebook has enabled video-calling; it basically has everything other social networks offer, with even more. I particularly like this feature because one of my best friends moved to Texas, and now Facebook is how we keep up with each other. It's possible to find out similar interests amongst people you know or do not know, such as favourite artists and movies, and it's fairly simple too. Sometimes it feels as if my privacy is being invaded, BUT that can be **controlled**. I think as long as the person is aware of who can see and access their information, and knows how to control it to their liking, there should not be an invasion of privacy. Some people decide to share a lot more than others (e.g. Malloregh in //Peep Culture)//.People just have to be smart about what they choose to share with their peers.  In conclusion, I'm glad that social networks exist and I would not want to have it any other way.

Media Journal entry #3 "Pop culture" One of the first tasks assigned to us in Media Studies class was to create a list of everything we noticed around us that had to do with pop culture. It was entitled "A day in the life of a pop culture consumer". Pop culture ranges from the music we listen to on the radio, to fashion trends we read about in magazines, and everything else in the media; therefore my list was quite extensive. Before this assignment I never really paid attention to how much the aspects of pop culture affect our daily lives. While on the look out, I noticed how repetitive certain trends were. For example, I thought I was saying hi to a friend of mine with a purple Jansport bag and brown boots, when it was actually another girl wearing the exact same thing. It goes to show how trends these days are literally shared and copied by everyone. Another thing I noticed was that in every single class I could catch someone texting on their phones (okay, I'm guilty here too). This observation lead to another controversial discussion of blackberry phones vs iPhones. Almost every single day this topic is brought up, and there are always people ready to argue about which side they support. Whatever is 'in' or trending will be mimicked by millions of people worldwide. That's how huge of an impact it has pop culture consumers. Pop culture is a huge phenomena that is and always will be part of our lives.

<span style="color: #1023e5; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Media Journal entry #4 <span style="color: #1023e5; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">"Celebrity" <span style="color: #010923; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nowadays, a 'celebrity' is a very broad term. Originally there were actors, singers, comedians, etc. but in present days, celebrities can range from youtubers to reality tv stars. Personally, I think that some of these 'celebrities' are famous for all the wrong reasons. Especially the people on the hit tv reality show, Jersey Shore. I thought celebrities were people who had talents that ordinary people don't usually have, and they would be special because they possessed those qualities. I find it ridiculous how easily reality TV show stars end up famous for literally making a fool of themselves on television. It kind of destroys the illusion that celebrities are 'sacred' and that not everyone can become one. Now it's even possible to become famous by posting videos on YouTube and getting lots of hits/views. People are craving so much attention that they are willing to do almost anything just to get noticed, and we (the viewers) are feeding them what they desire. I have watched many episodes of Jersey Shore, not because it's a good show but because it's so damn stupid that it's almost funny. Children these days who look up to the stars of today should probably think twice about their career goals because becoming a celebrity nowadays is not what the same as it was in the past. Instead of working hard and pursuing a career to demonstrate one's talents; stars such as the ones on Jersey Shore are literally getting drunk and famous at the same time. This is what our society has become...

<span style="color: #010923; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #01228e; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 23px;">Media Journal Entry #5 <span style="color: #01228e; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Open entry on Media: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It seems like everywhere I go, I'm seeing the same ads everywhere. One tabloid ad in particular are the ones about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and how Jennifer Aniston is determined to ruin their marriage. Especially when I'm waiting in line at the grocery store, I always see the front page covers of People or Ok! Magazine featuring news about this love triangle. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt divorced in 2005; you would think that by now things would've died down? Not even close. Magazines come up with the silliest stories to try and sell more copies; but who is really buying these lies, especially when they've been used a million times already? It seems like writers are trying to find the tiniest bits of drama to write about, and I enjoy reading their attempts to keep the audience interested. Here's what came up on a gossip site: Can’t get enough of Jen & Brad’s drama? Brad Pitt Publicly Disses Jen In ‘Parade’ Magazine! __ What’s Up With Brad’s LBD Obsession? Jen & Angie: Copy-Cat Dressing! __ Jen Copies Angie’s Style! ^I find this hilarious. Maybe people are purchasing these magazines for some light laughter because I can't think of any other reason to buy them. Especially when it's possible to find the latest news about celebrities that you actually want to know about on Twitter! Simply follow the celebrities you're interested in, and you can hear the news straight from them. Therefore there are less lies from magazine editors, and more celebrity news.