My Media Diet

Monday:  today is my long school day so I have about 2 hours of a break to do reading and school work.  Today I spent my entire break on my computer to do readings for classes and also check my email.  When I got home at around 6, I watched some TV for maybe an hour or so and then I had to get started on my psychology paper that was due Wednesday.  I usually always have the TV on, whether I’m directly watching it or it’s on in the background. 

Tuesday:  I got home at about 4 from school today.  I turned on the TV when I got home and watched a few shows and then I started writing my paper.  Today I was on the computer from about 6 pm to 1 am.  This is extremely unusual for me because I am not a big computer person at all.  I usually have to use it for my research project with looking up and writing stuff up for it and I have to check my email frequently to stay in contact with my Professor, but other than that I would much rather be watching TV than surfing the internet. 

Wednesday:  today I had my 2 hour break again during school.  I also spent it on the computer doing readings and work for my classes.  Today I was pretty exhausted from writing my paper and school so I spent the night catching up on recorded shows and watching the Wednesday night line-up of my shows. 

Thursday:  today I got home at about 1 so I watched TV for a little bit and then decided to start doing some work on the computer until the Sharks game came on, but I was also watching TV while I was on the computer, as usual.  I did school stuff on the computer, on and off, until about 10.

Friday:  Friday mornings I have arrupe for a couple hours where I have to use the computer.  After I have one class and then I usually get home at 1.  Depending on how tired I am, I’ll either go to the gym or watch TV for a bit.  Friday’s are usually the days when I have time to do work for my project so I’ll use the computer for a couple of hours. 

Saturday:  Since it’s the weekend before finals week, there is a lot of school work to catch up on before my finals.  Today I spent pretty much the whole afternoon writing papers and reading for exams.  I took breaks a lot because I cant stand to be on the computer for long periods of time.  Usually my weekends are spent outside the house or watching TV, I mostly don’t even go on the computer unless I need to check email.

Sunday:  Today was also spent writing and reading.  Monday is my busiest day in terms of having stuff due, so today was pretty packed with being on the computer and doing work.  Normally, I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time using the computer. 

            I’m definitely aware that I probably have a slight TV addiction but it’s still weird to see it written out that I watch TV every day of my week.  I guess its better that I don’t spend all my time watching sitcoms and cartoons (although I love my cartoons), I also like watching educational shows and documentaries where I can learn something from them.  

            It’s also a little crazy to see how much time I have to spend on the computer just for classes and my project.  I think the more that I have to spend on it for school; the less I want to use it for fun purposes, especially when I don’t really like spending lots of time on it to begin with.  I don’t even think I went on the computer once during Thanksgiving break.  Practically all my reading and assignments are online, not to mention papers that have to be done on the computer. 

            I remember when I was in high school when I wouldn’t be at home much because I had work or I choose to spend it with my friends.  Now, I feel like I have so many school obligations that I have to do that all my time is spent at home on the computer or watching TV to de-stress from school. 

Limewire Shutdown

          So I’ll admit that I download music, like most other people who also see the absurdity in paying almost $2 for a song, albeit not very often.  But the very fact that they took away my freedom to download songs, via Limewire, makes me want to do it even more now.  I just can’t understand the justification behind the decision to shutdown Limewire, and here’s why:    

            I was reading an article about the situation and it said that the US judge who made the decision said that the record companies "have suffered – and will continue to suffer – irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works.”  The record companies are suffering? Really? Later the article said, “The RIAA said LimeWire has cost the music industry hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.  According RIAA figures, US recorded music sales fell to $7.7bn in 2009 from $14.5bn in 1999. The rise to prominence of peer-to-peer filesharing networks is singled out as a primary factor for this decline by the RIAA.” 

            Ok, so let’s assume that over $7 billion is not enough for the RIAA.  The individual artists must be even worse off if the RIAA claims to be “suffering” right?  Below is a list of the top 10 earning bands of 2010, according to Forbes:

1.  U2: $130 million

2.  AC/DC: $114 million

3.  Beyonce: $87 million

4.  Bruce Springsteen: $70 million

5.  Britney Spears: $64 million

6.  Jay-Z: $63 million

7.  Lady Gaga: $62 million

8.  Madonna: $58 million

9.  Kenny Chesney: $50 million

10.  Black Eyed Peas (tie): $48 million

       Coldplay (tie): $48 million

I’m not sure about you, or these artists, but I think they’re doing just fine.  I'm assuming that a majority of this money comes from endorsements and touring but these artists are still making a big chunk of change.  Coldplay hasn’t even put out a new album since 2008 and they are still tied for #10.  Even Britney Spears with all her drama and craziness has managed to be #5.  This tells me that people are willing to pay big bucks to see them perform and not to hear the live songs, which is obviously true in Britney’s case since she lip syncs anyway. 

I applaud bands like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead who put their music online so anyone can have it.  They obviously understand that making music is not just about making the most money.  They allow their fans to be interactive with their music which in turn makes the fans have a deeper connection with the band. 

We spent a lot of time talking about remix culture in class and most of us thought that it was an important part of creativity and innovation in today’s culture.  I think everyone agreed that remixing takes a lot of talent and ingenuity, especially after seeing the remix manifesto movie.  The people who are apart of the remix culture are not only very creative but they are also taking a big risk by sharing their art and making it available to everyone.  As we talked about in class on Monday, remixing allows more people to experience different genres that they may otherwise not have even thought or heard about.

Forbes article:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/16/u2-lady-gaga-ac-dc-business-entertainment-top-earning-musicians.html

Limewire Shutdown article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/27/limewire-shut-down

Technology and Social Interaction

          For one of my other sociology classes this quarter, we had to write a paper that looked at online dating and we were asked to look at some popular dating sites and view profiles of their members.  I went to match.com because it was the only legitimate dating site that I could think of that didn’t make you fill out a huge personality questionnaire to see the profiles.  Anyway, I was kind of surprised to find there are a ton of young people subscribed to be on it and that a lot of them seemed to be using the site as a way to meet people that they could just hang out with.  Many said that they had just moved to the bay area and wanted someone who could show them around.   

            I think being able to connect with people is an important part of our lives.  Sometimes an online community is that method of connection for someone, for whatever reason.  The eHarmony website said that it is responsible for 5% of new marriages in the U.S.  Whether that statistic is true or not, I have no idea but, if it is true, it goes to show that people are able to make lasting and meaningful connections online. 

            I guess technology has made it easier to stay in touch with people without having to actually see them face to face.  I know for me personally, it’s so much easier to text someone than to call them or meet up with them.  That way I can be doing other things while talking to them.  I still love hanging out with my friends and actually getting to do stuff with them but it’s getting harder to find time in our schedules where we are free at the same time.  It also makes it so much easier to stay in contact with people who have moved away for college or work or whatever since I am finding it increasingly harder to stay connected with people when we’re all going in different directions. 

            Maybe technology is not a good or bad thing, maybe it’s just different.  When I’m busy with my life and don’t really have time to hang out with friends, it makes me feel better to be able to talk with them over text and stay somewhat connected in each other’s lives.  It also helps people connect with each other who may be looking for a certain community to belong to.  For example, in class we learned about fan and slash fiction and we read a story that was posted in an online fan fiction website.  Without these types of communities, the people who write these stories would probably not be able to express themselves, possibly from the fear of being judged by people around them.  For them, online communities provide a safe outlet for them to post what they want and have it viewed by others who are interested in what they are doing.  However, it may be best to take online communities with a grain of salt because we don’t really know who we are talking to and what their intentions are.

Social Networking and Privacy

           Social networking has completely taken over society in the past few years.  From Facebook to Twitter, we are constantly connected to each other in one way or another.  The only really social/networking thing that I do is texting.  I actually would rather text people than talk on the phone.  Although it may be more impersonal, I find it to be easier and more efficient.  I can talk to multiple people at once and I can also multi-task while I talk to people.  I usually always have my phone on me but the times that I don’t have it right next to me, I find myself constantly checking to see if I have gotten a text from someone.  I guess in some ways texting is just as addictive as being a part of a social networking site. 

            I think social networking is a great way to keep in contact with people that you may otherwise not be able to.  Although I think sites like facebook are a great way to keep in contact with people, I think it can be harmful when people become obsessed with it or use it to do harm to others.  Lately in the media, we have heard the numerous stories of cyber bullying through such sites like Facebook that have had such detrimental effects.  This form of bullying is so harmful because it is with the person even with they are at home, away from the face-to-face interaction with the bully.  Essentially, it is always with them no matter where they go.  Cyber bullying is also out there for anyone to read.  It takes bullying away from being personal to being very public with an audience.

            In my first blog, I briefly talked about companies who intentionally hack into websites in order to track conversations to get information about their consumer habits.  Although the internet can be a great place for people to connect with others and it can be someplace for people to feel like they have a sense of community, it also means that you have to be willing to give up a certain amount of freedom and privacy. 

            I guess I don’t really worry about privacy issues that much when it comes to my information since I don’t use social networking sites.  I also don’t tend to share personal information over text unless it is someone that I trust and even then it is never super personal.  Now that I am aware of all the ways our information can be tracked, it is constantly in the back of my mind whenever I go onto any sort of website.  I keep wondering if I’m being tracked and if someone is using my searches for their benefit.  But is there really anything we can do about it? I don’t know if it’s possible to have complete privacy on the internet especially now with government laws like the Patriot Act.  According to laws like this, it is actually in our best interests that people aren’t able to be completely anonymous on the internet, but where do we draw the line?

           

Newest Facebook Privacy Issue

           Recently, the Wall Street Journal called Facebook out for having apps that are transmitting personal information, of its users and possibly their friends, to third party agencies.  According to the Wall Street Journal article, titled “Facebook Privacy Breach,” this happens even if a user has set up all the possible security settings available.  Personally not being a member of Facebook, or any other social networking site, I wanted to look into this more and see how Facebook is transmitting this information.

            The article says that apps are types of software that allow users to play games or share interests with each other, and the most popular apps on Facebook are guilty of giving out information to various advertising agencies.  Many apps are not directly made by Facebook but by outside software developers, and they transmit a user’s “Facebook ID” whenever various applications are used.  The Facebook ID is a number given to every Facebook user and it allows people to look people up through that individualized ID and see personal information. 

            The apps are able to transmit information through a “referer.”  The article explains that a referer is a commonality on the Web and it works by passing the information of the previous page viewed when a user clicks on a link.  This information is added onto and carried over every time a user clicks another link and it, therefore, provides a history of the searches that a user is involved with.  The problem with referers is that they allow agencies to connect the search history with the Facebook ID, which is not anonymous. 

            After reading the article by the Wall Street Journal, I read some of the comments posted because I was curious to see how people felt about the issue of privacy on Facebook.  To my surprise, most of the people who commented were not at all surprised at what Facebook has been sharing.  Some even commented that information sharing is everywhere and that it is nearly impossible to escape the fact that our personal information can be shared even offline. 

            One post commented on another Wall Street Journal article from October 12, 2010, titled “‘Scrapers’ Dig Deep for Data on Web,” which talked about the breaching of a website called PatientsLikeMe.com where people post about their personal stories and emotional disorders, such as depression.  In the article, the Wall Street Journal says that a media-research company, Nielsen Co., pretended to be a member of the website but was actually copying every message that was posted on the website in order to obtain private information to share with their major drug making clients to get consumer insight about their products.  The article goes on to talk about many different companies that are using data on the internet to advertise or to reveal information about people.  The article also identifies another company, PeekYou LLC, that is able to match people’s real names with pseudonyms that people use on blogs or on other social networking sites. 

            Even though Facebook has a bad reputation for protecting its user’s privacy, it’s just one of the many ways that agencies are able to obtain our personal information from the internet.  I think Facebook gets a lot of heat for privacy issues because no other site, social networking or otherwise, has 500 million users at its fingertips.  Fortunately or unfortunately, it probably will fall onto the users to make sure they are taking all the necessary precautions to keep their information safe, although apparently even this may not be enough. 

Below are the links for the two articles:

“Facebook Privacy Breach” (Oct. 18, 2010)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0

 “‘Scrapers’ Dig Deep for Data on Web” (Oct. 12, 2010)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870335850457554438128811