THE END?

The videos we watched in class last week really made me realize that THIS IS THE END!!!
of RADIO
of TELEVISION
of PRINT!
Well, maybe things arent all that dramatic...yet. But the more I think about it, the more I tend to believe the things that were discussed in the videos. I mean, as a "twenty-something" (ok just twenty) year old student I:
1. Get any news about the world either from my iGoogle homepage, people's facebook statuses, the Western Gazette, or flipping through the TV channels around 5pm.
2. Listen to the radio only when in my car and my iPod is either a) at home or b) out of batteries.
and
3. Watch the majority of television online (I tend to forget when my favourite shows are on) or casually for 15 minutes as i'm eating a meal.

So it's clearly been established that I am not contributing to the last strings holding up these industries. Almost everything I do no is online!

I think this is probably the case because it's just so convenient. I wake up, there's my laptop beside my bed. Open it up, and with a click of a button I can get anything I would get from Radio, TV, or News all in once place, and all at one time! I can be much more selective as well. I dont have to sit through Soap Operas or Celine Dion to wait for my favourite thing to come on.

Even though I tend to consider the suffering of these three to be quite a considerble loss, I really have no place in saying it, i'm the reason they are suffering how they are. It's because of my generation, the twenty-somethings that have embrased the power of Web 2.0 and the technologies that go along with it. And it doesnt even end at what I use on a daily basis. There's still podcasts, satellite radio, DVRs, WebMagazines and Newspapers, all contributing to this loss in their own way. I think it's time for us to embrace this change, not try to fight against it. What's wrong with change? Obama digs it...

Youtube

As one of the most popular sites on the web, it would come as no surprise to me if youtube is one of the sites you have in your bookmark bar. It's a site that allows users to upload, watch, comment on, and rate videos of all sorts. You can find anything from music and home to how-to and commercial videos on the site and with thousands of new ones being uploaded every day you're sure to have a source of constant entertainment.

What is so astonishing about youtube is it's growth since being established. In his video (coincidentally posted on youtube and sitting at just over 1 millions hits) entitled "An anthropological introduction to YouTube", Dr. Michael Wesch discusses the growth of youtube and it's effects on people's every day lives both on and offline.



Here we see how by the creation of simple home videos (as in the case of "Charlie Bit My Finger" or "Numa Numa") can begin with what is likely a simple joke, and end in youtube fame. Users who upload these types of videos can have their lives changed just if, by chance, their video becomes a new youtube hit. When traffic is circulating through their videos, users can be approached by the site to begin posting advertising on their page. This begins to generate revenue on a 'per hit' basis. When you're looking at over 85 million hits, this can create quite the profit.

For many users, youtube has become more than just a place for them to share video footage. For those uploading videos with high traffic, it is a place where they can make some extra cash. For others it has become a place where they can establish and form relationships, express opinions they may feel ashamed to within thier own community, or simply be themselves and avoid any scruitiny they may face from their peers. A true example of the aspect of community behind Web 2.0, youtube allows users from all over the world to connect, discuss, debate, and perform to what is one of the largest and most diverse audiences in the world.

Take 2 friends of mine as an example of the potential youtube has. They made what I believe was the first ever remix of "Charlie bit my finger again". 4 and a half million hits later, Jon and Hayden have gone from bored sitting in their living room to youtube sensations. And all because of 2 little kids playing around across an ocean.

TECHNORATI.com

Technorati.com is a website that is basically the blogging headquarters of the Internet. It's homepage features the snippits of the most blogged about things on the web including topics surrounding anything from politics to sports, food and entertainment.
One of my favourite parts about Technorati is it's list of the 100 most popular blogs on the web. This gives you an excellent starting point to start browsing from if you're new to the whole blogging thing. What's excellent is that no matter where your interest lies, there is sure to be a blog in this list for you, and from there who knows what amazingness you will discover!

Technorati also deconstructs the blogging world from a "numbers" point of veiw. In "The State of the Live Web, April 2007", the blogs of the web are looked at from every potential angle, from number of posts, to language, and even daily posting volume. One of the blogging aspects discussed in this article is the use of tagging in blogs. You may notice that I tag my blogs based on their content. For example, this blog is tagged as "Assignment" because it's for class as well as "Lovin" because I think the website is helpful. Other posts include tags such as "Snowboarding" or "Music" and even "Friends" if the blog I am writing about is one that belongs to a friend of mine. This makes searching for things you may be interested whithin my blog much easier.

Youtube uses Tags to help you search for videos!

Today a common trend in blogging is revolving around the tag, and as Technorati's study has discovered, more and more blogs and websites are including tags to aid in navigating their sites. I think tags are an excellent tool on the web. They not only allow the poster to give the reader a one word summery of sorts, but they help find relevant alternative sources containing similar information. Tags also give websites like Technorati the ability to group things with similar content. Technorati.com's analysis of tags shows that as blogging continues to become more popular (as it's results show it already has), tags will also increase, helping you find the information or entertainment you need!

Watch Full Documentaries Blog

For our first assignment, we were told to write about a documentary called "OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism". To stick with my apparent "theme", I decided to find a blog relevant to this topic. Alas; the WATCH FULL DOCUMENTARIES BLOG! (Horrible name, but I'll give it a chance..)Although most of the posts were done in 2007, this blog has a lot of good, unique documentaries all in one easy location. Some of the videos have been removed, but for the most part each documentary is still available. One of the documentaries it features is Outfoxed: a film that critiques the Fox News Network and the policies of it's CEO, Rupert Murdoch. OutFoxed brings to light the harsh reality of the bias and contradictory nature of the channel's newscasts.

To me, the worst issue addressed in this documentary was the blatant misinformation Fox distributes. With slogans such as "Fair and Balanced" or "We Report, You Decide", viewers are left to believe that what they are watching is not only true, but a fair depiction of a news story. It is scary to me to think that this is actually almost the opposite of what is the case. Ex-employees interviewed in the documentary even admitted that Fox had lost almost all journalistic elements and had been reduced to sheer commentary.

After watching this film, viewers should be more aware of the bias that exists within mainstream media. Perhaps films like these will reveal to the public the possibilities that lie within journalism through blogging. Surely if companies with money to spend can't make their news 'fair and balanced', this is our last hope.

Trailer: