Live8

“Live 8 was, and remains a brilliant moment but what is more important is the brilliant movement of which it was a part. This gives the poorest of the poor real political muscle for the first time.

It is this movement of church people and trade unionists, soccer moms and student activists, that will carry the spirit of Live 8 on.  It is this movement, not rock stars, that will make it untenable in the future to break promises to the most vulnerable people on this planet.

That was always why we put on the concerts.”

Bono

Live 8 was a series of benefit concerts held on July 2, 2005, to help make poverty history.  At 10 different venues, 1250 musicians participated in the Global Call for Action Against Poverty campaign. The G8 (group of governments from eight nations including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) G8 leaders promised to double their 2004 relief funds to poor regions from U.S$25 billion to U.S$50 billion by the year of 2010.  The G8 leaders met shorty after the concert and promised a list of additional actions:

• AIDS drugs to all those who need them, and care for all AIDS orphans

• debt cancellation for 38 countries, with 18 benefiting this year

• Free, quality primary education and basic healthcare for all children.

• AIDS drugs for all who need them, and care for all AIDS orphans.

• Treatment and bed nets to halve deaths from malaria.

• Vaccinations to eradicate polio.

The Live 8 event was and is still important to me because I know that people don’t think about how fortunate we are to have the luxuries we do.  Our government makes it possible to maintain a very stable country for its citizens, whereas the nations over seas don’t even come close to that.  Almost one in five adults have AIDS in South Africa, and approximately 57% of Africans live below the poverty line.  Live 8 made it possible for people to think more about poverty in the developing countries and regions.  30 million people came together to promise those underprivileged that there still is hope.

  

"Live 8 - Making promises happen." Live 8. 2005. 26 Nov. 2008 <http://www.live8live.com/en/privacypolicy.shtml>.

"Poverty in South Africa: Extent of access to food and income." HSRC. Nov. 2006. 26 Nov. 2008 <http://www.hsrc.ac.za/hsrc_review_article-47.phtml>.

"The scale of South Africa’s AIDS crisis." Avert. Nov. 2008. 26 Nov. 2008 <http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm>.

The Language of a New Era

Participate -take part : thousands participated in a nationwide strike.

Culture -the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively : 20th century popular culture.

Participatory culture is all around us, you can make it as broad as you want, or as narrow as you want.  Lets get narrow.

Henry Jenkins said “Media convergence fosters a new participatory folk culture by giving average people the tools to archive, annotate, appropriate and recirculate content.” (Jenkins, 2001) 

MSN messenger is probably the most well known, most used participatory culture.  I personally think MSN is the coolest thing, I was one of those kids who was never allowed to get an email account until absolutely necessary, so I appreciate MSN for its luxuries in a way the average teenager doesn’t.  

My involvement in this specific participatory culture consists of strictly communicating.  I can say whatever I want, to whoever is on my contact list, whenever I want.  MSN is used to play games between people, there is nothing better then a good competitive game of chess and you don’t have to worry about lacking any playing pieces.  MSN is used to see people, even if they are say...in Holland.  MSN is used to chat, gossip, love, hate, save, and satisfy. 

The language of a new era is built around participation.  Network neutrality is making it possible for people to participate easy and free, and wherever there is internet.  Take advantage of this and engage in our world. 

Jam.

“Culture jamming is an intriguing form of political communication that has emerged in response to the commercial isolation of public life.” (Center for Communication and Civic Engagement)  

I have mixed feelings toward the world of Culture Jamming.  I would prefer to call them spoof ads, advertisements that have been altered or created to mock a message, political or not.  Some spoof ads are completely unnecessary and ignorant, and why people think they have the right to express certain opinions is beyond me.  For example:

However, I chose to analyze a spoof ad, or “Culture Jam” that actually has a meaningful message about reality.  This altered Nike ad states:

“You’re running because you want that raise, to be all you can be.  But it’s not easy when you work sixty hours a week making sneakers in an Indonesian factory and your friends disappear when they ask for a raise.  So think globally before you decide it’s so cool to wear Nike.”

To me, this is an effective Culture Jam.  It is bringing forth a concern that everyone is aware of - the brutal labour across seas.  When I read the message on the fake Nike ad, I can picture the factory in Indonesia.  I can see the intense age range of workers, and their troubled expressions.  According to me, this is a negative, but positive message.  Negative because the subject at hand is a delicate issue, and deals with horrible circumstances that cannot be changed.  Positive because it raises awareness.  After a North American citizen such as myself reads this ad, maybe they will think about this message when they go shopping next, when they pick up something that says “Made in Indonesia” or, “Made in China” or wherever else.  Maybe they will see the same image as I see, and change their outlook on why they purchase what they do.  

Is it so cool to wear Nike?  Did you think about this issue before you read this message?  Is it so cool to support a horrific matter?  Think about the meaningful Culture Jams, and why they are out there.  People are screaming for attention, screaming for your attention.  Do what’s actually so cool and give your attention to what matters.  

Bennett, Lance. "Culture Jamming and Meme-based Communication." Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. 23 Nov. 2008 <http://ccce.com.washington.edu/projects/culturejamming.html>.

English, Ron. "Billboards." PROPAGANDA The Art and Crimes of Ron English. 2008. 23 Nov. 2008 <http://www.popaganda.com/billboards/index9.shtml>.

"Spoof Ads." Adbusters. 23 Nov. 2008 <http://www.adbusters.org/node/677>.

But Nothing

Realize.

Stop.   

Take a minute to think.

Think about what you do, to contribute to the issue of over consumption.   

Your role is bigger than you think, when you spend money, you are reducing the world’s resources.  Could you have done without that shirt?  Or how about that key chain?  What about that high tech hockey stick?  Stop and think about how you can make a difference, and how you can start a trend.  Perhaps you could turn it into a game, which one of your friends can go the longest without buying anything? 

Rethink.

Take that negative attitude and turn it upside down and inside out.  Buy your groceries a day before and fill up your phone cards in advance because you can do this.  You can go a day without buying anything and help our planet.  You LIVE here, your CHILDREN will live here.  You can make a difference.

Reduce.  

Statistics show that in 2007, 65,965,489 Americans shopped ‘til they dropped’ (“Buy Nothing Day 2008”, Jess Confer).  I can’t imagine what the statistics show for the entire planet regarding daily shoppers.  Buy Nothing Day is an internationally applied act that is intended to reduce our compulsive decisions to purchase goods, in hopes to conserve the earth’s precious resources.     

Reality.

We as human beings are addicted to spending money, I mean.... we earn it to spend it right?  Statistics show that the number of shoppers are increasing each year.  In Canada, internet shopping alone increased 61% from 2005 to 2007.  In Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture, he compares Walt Disney’s fame from his creation of Mickey Mouse to modern technology.  He said Disney wasn’t sure if his plans for Mickey would work, which can be compared to the development of the internet (Free Culture, page 22).  Personally, I think this theory can be applied to anything.  Once something is introduced to our society, it will develop until it crashes.  Spending money will only happen until we cannot anymore, or until our resources run out.  Lets prevent that from happening and buy nothing on November 28th.  

Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. New York: Penguin Group, 2004. 21-23.

McKeown, Larry. "E-commerce: Shopping on the Internet." Statistics Canada, The Daily. 17 Nov. 2008. 22 Nov. 2008 <http://www.statcan.ca/daily/english/081117/d081117a.htm>.

Freedom Thieves

"We will not reclaim a free culture by individual action alone.  It will also take important reforms of laws.  We have a long way to go before the politicians will listen to these ideas and implement these reforms.  But that also means that we have time to build awareness around the changes we need.” (Lessig, 2005)

Allow me to translate: FREEDOM THIEVES. 

I believe that the world is turning into a very jealous place.  Jealous of each other, that is.  Money is just like that piece of meat all the hyenas drool and kill each other for.  We are drooling for money, and people are doing whatever it takes to get it.  Companies like  Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner are in a battle against themselves and each other to consume every penny in whatever way possible, so they keep taking more and more from the public.  

If it wasn’t for net neutrality, people would not have the freedom of using the internet like they do now.  There would be access to Google, YouTube, Facebook...

Hotmail

Adbusters

Myspace

TheStar.com

Yahoo

Skype

...you get the point.

These major media companies are trying to regulate our internet by charging us for simply accessing websites.  I don’t think you are thinking about that properly.  NO INTERNET?  Our Internet Service Providers could potentially become our internet gatekeepers, that doesn’t sound very democratic to me.  

“GOALS.  It’s best to avoid standing directly between a competitive jerk and his goals”

Wrong answer.  Get in their way, fight for what we want, what we really cannot live without.  

Coca Coca Cola!

Although Coca-Cola is not a major media company at first thought, the company’s influence on the media, and its sponsors forcefully push it into a media class.  Coca-Cola is universally known to be one of the most famous beverage companies, with a net income sitting at $5,981,000 and operating in over 200 countries.  Coca-Cola owns 13 brands with sales over $1 billion, and markets more than 2800 products including sparkling and still beverages, waters, juices, teas, coffees, sports drinks and energy drinks.  Coca-Cola owns four of the world’s top five sparkling beverages, which are Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta.  Just in case this is not enough information, you should know that if all the Coca-Cola ever produced were in 8 ounce bottles laid end to end, they would reach to the moon and back 1,677 times.  

Coca-Cola is considered a major media company because of it’s obvious influence on the surrounding media.  As soon as a polar bear is seen anywhere, the public automatically thinks of Coke because of their famous commercials infested with polar bears.  Coca-Cola is also part of the media because of who they sponsor, take the Olympics for instance.  Coke is responsible for turning their famous drink into an icon, used all around the world.  Say for example, if Coke sponsors a rock concert, and written in bold on the stage is “COCA-COLA”, the viewers no longer think of Coke as a drink at the time, they think of it as a sign at a concert, an icon.  

Cross media ownership comes with one very defined implication; narrow vision. Robert W. McChesney once said that “the largest media firms have some of the same major shareholders, own pieces of one another or have interlocking boards of directors.” If one company owns multiple smaller companies, where is the diversity?  Don’t get me wrong, Coke is doing an exceptional job at keeping up with the consumers and providing without failure, but one company running the show means one vision running the show.  Coca-Cola’s opinions and messages trickle through all their brands and make this one big Coke world.  

"Coca Cola Canada." 2008. 26 Nov. 2008 <http://www.cocacola.ca/our_company.htm>.

McChesney, Robert W. "The New Global Media:It's a Small World of Big Conglomerates." 1999. 25 Nov. 2008 <http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/29/053.html>.

Wallechinsky, David. "Businesses in the World Coca-Cola Company." Trivia Library. 1981. 25 Nov. 2008 <http://www.trivia-library.com/b/businesses-in-the-world-coca-cola-company.htm>.

Fake News; Wake Up Call.

The act of fake news is taking democracy to the next level. It is allowing the public to contribute to what we hear about, what we talk about.  It allows ordinary people to sarcastically mimic events within the news, and gives them the freedom of criticizing sardonically. 

Originally I thought: what good is this doing?  How is this important?  Why should ordinary people have the right to mimic the news; which is supposed to be a source of accurate information for the public’s well being.  According to me, well....it’s not.   It’s not important for all the obvious reasons. Why should we fill our minds with inaccurate facts and make fun of people who are making an effort to make a difference, or distribute information concerning events to the public eye?  Why should Tina Fey be used to mimic the opinions and beliefs of Sarah Palin?  For fun?  Think about it, WHY is this necessary?  

However, despite all the overpowering negative effects of fake news, maybe we need too look at the underlying positives.  Maybe it is necessary, after all, to make fun of, and emphasize some of the stupid things people say.  Maybe we need that wake up call.  

Fake news is important because sometimes, people need to look at the news in a sarcastic manner.  Politics possess endless unnecessary dramatics.  Overanalyzed situations and exaggerated debates need the ironic attention to show the public that the issues we are spending so much time on, may not even be worth it.   

Sources:

Finkelstein, Brian, Mike Leffingwell, Joe O'Brien, and John Reynolds. "ABout FNN247." FNN247. .

Extension of my Hand

Speaking of extensions of the body....I think I will take it upon myself to create my own saying.  My cell phone is the extension of my hand. 

Marshall McLuhan once said that "The wheel...is an extension of the foot. The book is an extension of the eye... Clothing, an extension of the skin...Electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system"1.  This exaggeration was used to explain how media devices are simply an extension of a man’s body, we are expanding on our senses.  My cell phone is an extension of my senses, and I have unintentionally morphed its purpose into the guilty function that it currently possesses. 

My cell phone gives shape to my daily routine because it is involved in almost every activity I take part in.  For example, the alarm clock within the phone wakes me up in the morning, it gives me the option of asking what my friends are doing for lunch without even having to use my voice box.  It gives me access to my family, located two hours away, without having to pay a cent.  My cell phone counts the days down for major due dates, the Pacman and Brick Breaker keep me occupied in the boring lectures.  It EVEN tells me what time it is in Tokyo just in case I for some reason need to be aware of that.  

The impact my cell phone has on mediating my behaviour and/or environment is large.    My cell phone has become a necessity in my daily routine, and I am not proud to announce that.  What would I do if I didn’t have one? How did my parents grow up without them? My environment is constantly being mediated because I constantly have my phone within reach.  My behaviour is mediated because I depend on my phone.  If I for some reason forgot it, or lost it, my uneasiness would show through my behaviour. 

Believe me, I am not proud of the role I have given my cell phone, but in this fast paced, mediated world, I do not stand out as a result.       

1."McLuhan Hypothesis." McLuhan. 2008. 7 Oct. 2008 .

The Diffusion of Innovation

What if you had an idea...that you thought should be shared with the rest of the world around you?  Something that you thought was worthy of passing on to the surrounding social system.  You are one of a billion fish in a sea, how would the waters remain fresh, and the depths stay exciting if you nor the rest of the fish shared your ideas?  Our world needs people to encourage others to share their ideas.  This topic was examined, and turned into a theory called the Diffusion of Innovation theory.  Let me elaborate: 

Diffusion: to spread out or become transmitted especially by contact 1

Innovation: 1 : the introduction of something new

        2 : a new idea, method, or device 2

 

Therefore, according to Everett Rogers, combining these terms creates the definition of the Diffusion of Innovation theory: the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system 3

 

In my eyes, this definition means the process in which an idea is passed through a certain type of media, over time reaching the members of a social system. Following the research I did on the Diffusion of Innovation, I immediately thought of my personal favourite movie; Pay it Forward.  The film is about an project assigned to a seventh grade Social Studies class about saving the world.  One student in particular; Trevor McKinney, decides to take the project to an extreme, and perfectly exemplifies the Diffusion of Innovation theory.  The following clip visualizes his idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgq8nDBcufo&feature=related

(www.youtube.com)

Trevor is encouraged by his teacher to share his idea, and put it into action. His idea is passed to the social system around him over a period of time and is rejected, accepted and questioned.  However, the point is that he shared the idea. It is possible for one idea to become popular, and then spread as far as the whole world.  Scott McCloud states in his Understanding Comics that “in the last century or two, as Western cultural influences swept the east, so too have Eastern and African ideas of fragmentation and rhythm swept the west” 4.  Therefore, trends originate from ideas, which are distributed without limits.  

In my everyday media practices, the Diffusion of Innovation theory is probably applied more than I am even aware of.  As a student, I am consuming ideas almost constantly.  For example, my professors introduce projects and assignments that force me to come up with ideas that I could quite possibly share with the social system around me someday.  Outside of class, during a session in front of the television or computer, anything that I see can spark an idea in my head. 

Go ahead, share your ideas.  Lets keep this world fresh.  

¹ "diffuse." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.

Merriam-Webster Online. 7 October 2008
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diffuse>

 ² "innovation." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.

Merriam-Webster Online. 7 October 2008
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation>

³Rogers, Everett. "Diffusion of Innovations." 2005. 4 Oct. 2008 <http://www.stanford.edu/class/symbsys205/diffusion%20of%20innovations.htm>.

⁴McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. HarperCollins. 82-82.

Scrutinizing Advertisements

“Pick an advertisement and analyze it”.  I wonder if Ian thought about how far we can take this?  I mean....ANY advertisement?  Our world is basically MADE of advertisements.  

However, as I surfed through old magazines I found that locating a potential ad was harder than I thought for two reasons.  The first being that every time I attempted to look through a magazine, I found myself reading the articles rather than actually staying on task.  The second being that finding an advertisement worthy of analyzing is surprisingly not as easy as it sounds.  I eventually came to the conclusion that I could certainly choose an elaborate, unique ad that I could pick apart and analyze like crazy.    However, I decided to pick the most boring, simple advertisement and discuss it instead.  

I chose to analyze the “Intimately Beckham” perfume and cologne advertisement.  It is simply a large black and white photo of Victoria and David Beckham, with their fragrances in the bottom right corner:

http://evilbeetgossip.film.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/posh_becks_perfume.jpg

Ok so now for the analyzing.  

The first thing I think about when I see this advertisement is “Wow, look how cute they are!” I don’t think about their fragrances, and it certainly does not draw my attention to the product so that I will purchase it.  I think about the power and intensity that the black and white photo possesses.  I think about how beautiful the people in the picture are.   I do not think about what the fragrances would smell like on me, and to be honest I don’t even think about what the fragrances smell like at all.  

To me, this product seems to be representing the power and beauty of the Beckham couple. It screams at me that if I buy this fragrance, I will magically look and smell like Victoria Beckham.  If an individual of the opposite sex happened to simultaneously wear the cologne at the same time as I wore the perfume, would we be drawn together by a supernatural force and beautifully embrace like Victoria and David?  Is this harming the minds of the young individuals who are looking at this advertisement?  Is this advertisement advertising the Beckham fragrances or is it advertising the Beckham couple? 

 I chose to analyze this advertisement because it is simply an image.  This image is stunning and proves to the world how exquisite Victoria and David are.  This  photograph does not prove to the world how amazing their fragrances are.  All of this power, and information is coming from within an image.  This image forces young girls to believe they should look like Victoria Beckham, they should have a boyfriend or one day a husband that looks like David Beckham.  The sensuality and tastefulness of this image has the power to persuade people into buying their product so they can unrealistically compare themselves to celebrities.  

  

In conclusion, my analysis for this advertisement does not include many positive points because I believe that the company is advertising in the wrong way.  I found this advertisement on Google, but it originates from the following web page:

http://evilbeetgossip.film.com/category/david-beckham/

Mass Media...?

I think it is very daring to ask one hundred fresh young minds, what Mass Media means to us.  Our minds buzz with answers to this question, and I believe that not one of them is wrong.  We are media students.  We are the future and prominently represent what will happen to our society and our culture because of the obscure power we have. Our personal opinions concerning Mass Media are compelling, and correct in their own way.  The definitions one would find when researching the term Mass Media include so many particular things, however..... the less obvious, but more accurate answer is that WE are mass media.  

After listening to lectures, reading relevant books, articles and online definitions, I gathered that Mass Media is any channel that distributes media to individuals, mass populations or to the whole world.  Channels such as the internet, newspapers, television programs, and magazines.  After reading several similar definitions, it occurred to me that the channels that carry the information and media to the public are very specific examples.  I think the most appropriate definition for Mass Media is simply us as individuals.  WE are the mass media.  Who writes the articles in the newspapers?  We do.  Who comes up with the stories on the news?  We do.  We are the channel that distributes the media to the public.  So now lets think about the question How do I understand the term Mass Media?  I understand the term Mass Media as a very broad, and powerful term.  To me, the example that best describes the definitions I read about is we, the people.  

Right now I’m thinking about the Media Autobiographies.  I listened to one hundred people perfectly exemplify the definition of Mass Media.  Every single one of them expressed some sort of media to the content listeners.  Every single one of them contributed to the flow of information dedicated to the audience.    

Are we taking this privilege for granted? 

The Ecology of Media

Vehicles, cell phones, radio and computers.   Palm Pilots, cameras, heavy machinery and portable music devices.  All kinds of different technology surround us, but I look at one kind in particular because of its obvious domination and complexity.  

Internet.

In the early 1960s, it was a shared dream between a group of scientists to be able to somehow connect computer systems, to have them communicate to one another and share a common network.

 Eventually the dream was achieved.   Internet was produced, allowing anyone and everyone to obtain access to the World Wide Web and other internet features. 1

As a conscientious internet user, I can see how it affects my life, along with many other lives.  I can see how it impacts our culture and society because of the topics people talk about and the things people get pleasure out of. To me, the internet is a type of technology that became popular so fast that it replaced and took over what ever system people used before. It became so convenient and easy to use that EVERYONE started to use it. I think Marshall McLuhan nailed it in the ‘Playboy Interview’, he said that “In the past, the effects of media were experienced more gradually, allowing the individual and society to absorb and cushion their impact to some degree."2 However, when internet was introduced, it didn't follow that pattern. People’s adaptation to the internet was so accelerated compared to other types, like a computer or cell phone.  The impact that the internet had on our culture can be argued as either good or bad.  Good because it connects us with the rest of the universe.  It gives any ordinary person like you or I access to whatever we want to see or participate in; daily news, Blue Jays tickets, weather on the other side of the world, pornography, etcetera.  Bad because people take this privilege, this benefit to an extreme level.  We have the power to fake our identities, to stock people, to look up information that may or may not be any of our business.  We can break the law on the internet, steal people’s work on the internet and the list goes on.  People make what they want out of the internet,what do you make of it?

The internet’s intended purpose was to give individuals anywhere in the world with a computer, the opportunity to connect themselves to a network of other computers.  To share information, and to make their lives that much easier.   However, the internet’s actual function is different.  It is taken advantage of, manipulated and cheated. Along with all the powers the internet gives us, we have the power to respect it.  We have the power to choose what we want to do with it.  

 

1. "1960s-1990s-the Internet." Imagining the Internet. Aug. 2005. Elon University. 30 Sept. 2008 <http://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1960.xhtml>.

2. "The Playboy Interview; Marshall McLuhan." Next Nature. Mar. 1969. 30 Sept. 2008 <http://www.nextnature.net/?p=1025>.

Blogging? Me?

How do I feel about joining the world of blogging? My feelings conflict with one another.
Vulnerable. My thoughts have suddenly been thrusted out into the world before me, for all eyes to see. What I have said, and will say, can be criticized, accepted or rejected by the public eye whether I like it or not.
Confident. I am a young adult in an era that is ruled by young adults. My role as a public figure is backed up by my personal opinions and statements that will be posted within this blog. I am confident that I am a distinct reflection of my background and upbringing. It is my responsibility to represent myself in the public sphere, to represent what I believe in, and I am confident that I will consistently communicate these responsibilities to the public if need be.

My role in the public sphere is to be me, and to show the world what I am capable of. My role is to complete my daily tasks, and be satisfied with what I have accomplished in the long run. The world is mine, the world is yours, the world is ours. Bless it with your role.