I am neither Johnny Depp, nor a professional baseball player. I am a common, middle class citizen who loves music, movies and computer applications. The only thing I love more than those three things is not paying for them. Is it my fault, or has the trend of on-line users pushed me in that direction?
Ever since the invention of Napster, music was a large target for illegal downloading. Since then, there have been many other free on-line peer-to-peer music sharing such as Kazaa and others. Post shutting down of Napster at the hands of a band you may have heard of, Metallica, there has been a a tug of war between bands, their production companies and the middle class Joe schmoes who have found a way to still enjoy their favorite jams at no cost to themselves. I found a pretty funny video on You Tube about the Metallica-Napster lawsuit. Peer-to-peer file sharing has sparked CMC between total strangers, and not all musicians think that free music is such a bad idea.
Though Metallica made a big stink, there is another ban who has recently given their CD away for free digitally from their site. Radiohead offered their most recent CD "In Rainbows" for free from their website. They took donations from fans, but the CD itself was free to the public, and they actually made more money than if they went through conventional terms with a Record Company. This was in response to the recent difference between the money made by Record Labels and what is in turn passed on to the Band itself from digital sales. Just like the Writers Strike, managing firms who sell creativity by individuals didn't have a set percentage of digital sales in their contracts because, simply it didn't exist whenever the contracts were written.
In conclusion, I don't "condone or participate" in such activities, but i know of people who do. People who "Steal" their music. People who illegally download movies and burn them onto DVD's from sites such as The Pirate Bay. I know of people who download applications for computers, such Adobe Photoshop, because of their outrageously overpriced merchandise. I even know a person who can modify their X-Box's so you never have to pay or another game. I don't view it as stealing. Aside from the computer applications, it's the nature of the beast. If people want something bad enough they are going to find a way to do it. Nobody refers to Bill Gates as a thief since he stole windows from working on an Apple Computer, but the 19 year old kid who found a way to share music to the world via his hard drive is. All he did was keep $13.99 out of the pockets of greedy Hollywood companies who need a new Benz. I dunno if it's just me, but it seems that ingenuity has been lost between the dollars. As it relates to class, this is CMC at it's best state. You are sharing something as intimate as music with complete strangers, and it doesn't cost you anything. They say the best things in life are free. I say it's a little bit better when you get it for free in spite of greedy millionaires.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Harassment 21st century style
With increased integration of the internet and CMC into the lives of millions of peoples ranging to nearly any age, harassment has become a very scary reality in the World Wide Web. Though, when I was growing up harassment was childish and often behind people’s backs, the internet allows a person to hide behind their mainframe. With this in mind, it makes harassment on the internet very simple and un-personable to many people.
I remember in class when a topic was brought up about the girl who was literally harassed to death by a mother who disliked her via the internet. The neighbor mother who is almost 50 years old tricked the 13 year old neighbor girl into believing she was a cute 16 year old boy interested in the girl romantically. Essentially the woman built the young girl up and then tore her apart after gaining both her trust and even love. The mother and her attorney denied any wrong doing and the mother even said "She thought it was funny." A sick statement from a person who you would hope is aged much further past childish torment.
This sparked me to research a little bit into the new aged on-line harassment ways. I came across an organization named WHO@ (Working to Halt Online Abuse) this organization is a volunteer based staff aimed to help fight online harassment through education and empowerment of victims. I found a statistics page that said WHO@ receives between 50-75 cases a week about on-line harassment. That statistic blew my mind, especially thinking that I'm sure there are at least a few worthy of being compared to the case stated above. Makes you wonder what has happened to people in today’s day and age.
I would hope that I would never be a victim or related to a victim of online harassment. Any harassment is never a good thing, but the ability for the harasser to hide makes it possible for much of the statements said to be much more demeaning and hurtful. And what’s scarier than a 50 year old woman picking on an immature and less experienced teen. The age gap, in my eyes, is the scariest mental terrorism. The intellect doesn’t even compare between the two and it would be much easier for the harasser to convince the victim of committing unspeakable crimes.
I have never been an advocate for parental controls for items such as the V-Chip or internet protection programs, but this may have started to sway me a bit. I personally looked at my usage of the internet and T.V. growing up much like real life. Sometimes you come across material that is way above your age bracket, but that’s how you learn. I would never allow even the possibility of such internet catastrophes upon my children, assuming one day I will have some. I guess it comes with the territory and maturity of growing up, but maybe one day I will too be an advocate.
I remember in class when a topic was brought up about the girl who was literally harassed to death by a mother who disliked her via the internet. The neighbor mother who is almost 50 years old tricked the 13 year old neighbor girl into believing she was a cute 16 year old boy interested in the girl romantically. Essentially the woman built the young girl up and then tore her apart after gaining both her trust and even love. The mother and her attorney denied any wrong doing and the mother even said "She thought it was funny." A sick statement from a person who you would hope is aged much further past childish torment.
This sparked me to research a little bit into the new aged on-line harassment ways. I came across an organization named WHO@ (Working to Halt Online Abuse) this organization is a volunteer based staff aimed to help fight online harassment through education and empowerment of victims. I found a statistics page that said WHO@ receives between 50-75 cases a week about on-line harassment. That statistic blew my mind, especially thinking that I'm sure there are at least a few worthy of being compared to the case stated above. Makes you wonder what has happened to people in today’s day and age.
I would hope that I would never be a victim or related to a victim of online harassment. Any harassment is never a good thing, but the ability for the harasser to hide makes it possible for much of the statements said to be much more demeaning and hurtful. And what’s scarier than a 50 year old woman picking on an immature and less experienced teen. The age gap, in my eyes, is the scariest mental terrorism. The intellect doesn’t even compare between the two and it would be much easier for the harasser to convince the victim of committing unspeakable crimes.
I have never been an advocate for parental controls for items such as the V-Chip or internet protection programs, but this may have started to sway me a bit. I personally looked at my usage of the internet and T.V. growing up much like real life. Sometimes you come across material that is way above your age bracket, but that’s how you learn. I would never allow even the possibility of such internet catastrophes upon my children, assuming one day I will have some. I guess it comes with the territory and maturity of growing up, but maybe one day I will too be an advocate.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sports and Media
One of the most important things in my life is sports, and especially Pittsburgh sports. Whether it's watching the Steelers or the Penguins (or sometimes the pirates, shhh) there is nothing i enjoy more than sports. Especially football, and this is my favorite season, football season. As i was sitting around watching the Colts come from behind and beat the Minnesota Vikings, it got me thinking about this class.
When you turn my television on, you can usually bet that ESPN will come up. Sportscenter, Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, I love to watch "Experts" discuss, argue, and spread information about athletes and teams. With how far we have come on the Internet, cell phones, computers, T.V.'s and broadcasts, it makes consuming this information easier and quicker.
Which got me thinking about the data plan that Verizon has, ESPN MVP. Keeps people on the go in the know about scores, stats and updates in the sports world. Now, i have thought about getting it, but for some reason, i just cant seem to reason enough with myself to spend fifteen bucks a month on it. Either way, it's an ingenious invention to help lure sports fans to certain cell phone companies. Even sprint has made a partnership with the NFL and created NFL Mobile. It just shows how important professional sports is to many people, that they have become a marketing group.
How it relates to the class is how addicted we have become to our electronic conveniences. There is no need, outside of sports agents and other officials in sports, for a person to have full access to sports information at 4 in the morning while they're laying on their couch in their underwear watching some crappy made-for-T.V. movie. Personally, I've heard it isnt even that good to begin with, but i wouldnt personally know untill i finally one day break down and buy it. It's still not as bad as the mother arguing with her six year old daughter's cell phone, but it just seems a little over the top to me. I just hope in a few years, it will become cheap enough for me to afford...
When you turn my television on, you can usually bet that ESPN will come up. Sportscenter, Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, I love to watch "Experts" discuss, argue, and spread information about athletes and teams. With how far we have come on the Internet, cell phones, computers, T.V.'s and broadcasts, it makes consuming this information easier and quicker.
Which got me thinking about the data plan that Verizon has, ESPN MVP. Keeps people on the go in the know about scores, stats and updates in the sports world. Now, i have thought about getting it, but for some reason, i just cant seem to reason enough with myself to spend fifteen bucks a month on it. Either way, it's an ingenious invention to help lure sports fans to certain cell phone companies. Even sprint has made a partnership with the NFL and created NFL Mobile. It just shows how important professional sports is to many people, that they have become a marketing group.
How it relates to the class is how addicted we have become to our electronic conveniences. There is no need, outside of sports agents and other officials in sports, for a person to have full access to sports information at 4 in the morning while they're laying on their couch in their underwear watching some crappy made-for-T.V. movie. Personally, I've heard it isnt even that good to begin with, but i wouldnt personally know untill i finally one day break down and buy it. It's still not as bad as the mother arguing with her six year old daughter's cell phone, but it just seems a little over the top to me. I just hope in a few years, it will become cheap enough for me to afford...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Buffy's Unrealistic Reality
Well, I had never seen Buffy The Vampire slayer before last Wednesday in my Electronic Comm class, and it was a little different. The episode we saw was about an evil monster from hundreds of years ago who was scanned into a computer book database. He used his evil Jedi mind tricks to lure an unsuspecting high school girl (from American Pie) to fall in love with him in a plan that would ultimately, I'm sure, turn into global domination. He posed as a boy named Malcolm and she had no idea who he was, yadda yadda yadda
Relevance to the real world, it could happen. Meeting people on-line who are not actually who they say they are, is a very feared reality. With on-line dating sweeping the nation, it could happen to anyone who is looking fill an empty heart. On-line dating is a joke...or is it?
Just like in the show, in today's world so many people are reaching for love on sites like E-Harmony and others, it makes you think? I live my life one day at a time and with the motto you never know whats going to happen. True love could be found on an on-line database, but how would you ever know if you don't leap. I just cant imagine putting something as involved and consuming as love in the hands of Al Gore (inventor of the Internet...right). Never would I count out the possibility that true love could exist through an Ethernet cable but love is more than typing a couple of words to someone.
Love is the touch, feel, smell, and look as well as some construed thoughts, and although that all does come eventually, I'm sure, i need the 3D effect. I could never imagine falling in love via my computer monitor.
In relevance to the class, the episode shows how computer based communication can be as evil as it is good. And although i do love my Internet just as much as the next fellow or gal, i need more than a pre-chosen picture of someones good side and a personal profile they spent hours on to make it sound tempting to shoppers.
Relevance to the real world, it could happen. Meeting people on-line who are not actually who they say they are, is a very feared reality. With on-line dating sweeping the nation, it could happen to anyone who is looking fill an empty heart. On-line dating is a joke...or is it?
Just like in the show, in today's world so many people are reaching for love on sites like E-Harmony and others, it makes you think? I live my life one day at a time and with the motto you never know whats going to happen. True love could be found on an on-line database, but how would you ever know if you don't leap. I just cant imagine putting something as involved and consuming as love in the hands of Al Gore (inventor of the Internet...right). Never would I count out the possibility that true love could exist through an Ethernet cable but love is more than typing a couple of words to someone.
Love is the touch, feel, smell, and look as well as some construed thoughts, and although that all does come eventually, I'm sure, i need the 3D effect. I could never imagine falling in love via my computer monitor.
In relevance to the class, the episode shows how computer based communication can be as evil as it is good. And although i do love my Internet just as much as the next fellow or gal, i need more than a pre-chosen picture of someones good side and a personal profile they spent hours on to make it sound tempting to shoppers.
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