The Biggest Issue You Have Never Heard of

I have chosen to join the fight to help stop net neutrality from being taken away. I chose this issue not only because I believe in free speech and use the Internet everyday, but because it is an issue very closely related to my future career: Journalism.
Not only is independent journalism almost totally reliant on the Internet to survive, but it is also becoming more and more the place for mainstream journalism. Big mainstream media companies keep putting more and more money into their online stories and web pages, until on day it will phase out print all together. But for something so important to journalism they seem to be ignoring one of its major issues: net neutrality. The issue has hardly gotten any media attention; it is like the issue doesn’t exist. I myself would not have know about it if someone had not directed me to one of the independent websites commitment to stopping the ending of net neutrality.
I am going to use both my own personal voice to tell people about this issue such as my own blogs and independent publications. On top of that I am going to use my any professional pull I can to get stories about this published in mainstream media outlets. I believe that is the largest problem facing this issue, not enough awareness and that can be rectified by independent blogging as well as finally getting mainstream news coverage. If people were aware of this issue I am sure the will be as outraged as I am and want to do something about it.

A Sneaky Culture

I collect sneakers. I realize to most this seems like a strange hobby for a man, however I assure you it is a big thing now among hip young urbanites. Finding rare Nikes and Jordan, along with some other less known brands has become an interesting subculture and good marketing fueled it all.
Sneaker culture is like another participatory culture, there are forms where people trade gossip about upcoming shoes, show off their collections and even try and sell them. There are blog setup with news and rumors about upcoming shoe releases, and the lot. However the interesting thing about this participatory culture is its close ties to one of the largest corporations in its field and idolizes over consumption. We have all been sold on the shoes as being cool we do not care about the politics of that little swoosh.
The real ironic thing is that these are the same youth that clam to care about causes and will only wear cloths made by lesser-known liberal companies that contain political messages akin to that of the 60’s. So they make you believe you care about these causes, meanwhile you are working against these ideals by over consuming and supporting Nike.
These type of people (including me unfortunately) clam to care about social issues and a disgusted that wealth is so unevenly distributed, meanwhile they are wearing $400 jeans, a $300 jacket, a $75 tee shirt and to top it all off $500 shoes they bought from another collector that paid half of that. It is a great real world example of ironic hypocrisy and of the power of PR. It is a grim future that when the youth culture is no longer based on an ideal or way of thinking, but on a brand. Are we that cheap? Are we that foolish? It seems like it.

Attention Jam

This culture jam was found along San Diego County freeways. Its political stand about the oppression of the third world all in the name of a skewed patriotism and paranoid American Dream of the better off is one that is rarely discussed and often ignored. These types of in your face culture jams really help to bring media forgotten issues back to public attention.
There are also a lot of stereotypes used in order to prove get it’s message across: that not all immigrants are poor leaches trying to sneak into America and steal jobs, just like how Americans are not all intolerant capitalist pigs. I think things like this are of great use to people on the fence about these issues, it shows them the way others view them and makes them ask why and attempt to see it from the other side’s point of view. This type of culture jamming inspires people to learn and better themselves in a way that will stick in there mind long enough to actually have an impact.

Works Cited
Flickr. Sniggle. 25 Nov. 2008 ..

Big Ideals and Blogs

November 25 was buy nothing day, a global event in order to raise awareness about over consumption and I thought this was such a great idea. I was not only going to participate, I was going to get my friends to participate as well. However when the day rolled around I was completely unaware and probably bought just as much as any other day. That is the problem with events like these, they seem great but what do they really do? Create awareness, perhaps a bit, but not as much as they could if people actually participated. I am sure I am not the only one who was intrigued by the idea and wanted to do good but did not for one reason or another. The same thing happened with the panic buy carrots day that was planned on Facebook. There was a huge response to the group and it even got media coverage. However when I checked the group a couple of days after the event most people posted their disappointment at missing it. You see we are a generation of big ideals and blogs. It seems that much of our revolution is simply talking and when finally someone decides to do something we all stand up and cheer, but can make it out on the day of. We have the planning part down, we now need to actually start doing. And not just doing, but actively promoting the events and start really stand up for what we clam to believe in.

Works Cited
"Buy nothing day." Adbusters. Adbusters. 26 Nov. 2008 .
Valentine, Freya. "On May 15th 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy CARROTS." Facebook. 15 May 2008. Facebook. 26 Nov. 2008 .

Nothing Neutral About it

The struggle for net neutrality will set the tone for the next century as either one of free expression and progressive thinking, or one of cooperate dominance and public ignorance.
If you are not yet aware there is a certain amount of freedom of information built right into the internet as a medium, in that no matter what the content, ownership or political affiliation a website has, the speed to connect to the website and ease of access to it is the same as all the others. Simply put: the internet gives you the freedom to go where ever you want and see any information you wish with the same level of service.
However there are those who wish to take that freedom away, to strip the internet of its current role as an inexpensive medium for independent and not for profit organization, as well as everyday citizens, and turn it into another sponsor controlled one way medium like TV and Radio.
The telephone companies and ISPs are the ones pushing for this by implementing a two tier system on the internet, in which websites with money would be able to buy a faster connection to their sites and one that could not would have slower service.
The consequences if this where to happen are clear: the Internet would no longer be available to everyone the way it is now and would become another one-way medium owned by corporations like all of the other major media outlets.
Groups like the Council of Canadians are getting people to write Industry Minister Jim Prentice and put pressure on governments to stop this from happening.
The Internet is the base for most of the independent art and expression of ideas in our modern North American culture. It has become central in our free speech and we can’t let them take that way from us.

Media Spiders

The majority of modern media companies are owned by the six largest media conglomerates – and by majority I mean somewhere upwards from 80%. Those six conglomerates are as follows: Time Warner, General Electric, Comcast, National Amusements, News Corporation and The Walt Disney Company. Their holding are staggering as can be seen from the “Media Family Tree posted below.


Fig 1: Media Family Tree (Advertising Ages)
This is staggering, if we focus on just The Walt Disney Company we can see they holdings include, but re not limited to: *
ABC Television, Buena Vista Distribution, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Buena Vista Music Group, ESPN, SOAP net, Lifetime, Disney Channel, A&E Television Networks, ABC Family, Radio Disney, ABC Radio, Walt Disney Studio Entertainment, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Consumer Products, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Lyric Street Records, Hollywood Records, The Baby Einstein Company Hyperion Books. This is just the tip of the iceberg as many of these are media companies with many holdings of there own.
So what does it all mean? Why should I care? Well the reality of this is basically that almost all of mainstream media on television, radio and in print is controlled by a handful of people. This means that all of our news and all of the views we are presented are controlled by that same handful of people. It means that the views and values of those handful of people are going to be better represented and anything they do not agree with, will not appear in the media they control – which as I stated before is the large majority of today’s media. It is such obvious tyranny that if more people were aware of it I am sure it would be a hot topic. However this is they type of information that can hurt the very people who control the distribution of such information in the mainstream media. This is in fact the first example of the problem with giving so few people so much power. The fact that not many people know this means it has already become a problem.

Works Cited
Endicott, Craig. "100 Leading Media Companies Report; Revenue Hits $268 Billion." Advertising Age. 02 Oct. 2006. Advertising Age. 18 Nov. 2008 .
Kaufman, Ron. "Big Media 2007: For The Love of Money." Trun off Your TV. 2 June 2007. 18 Nov. 2008 .

Stewart to the Throne

The popularity of shows like the Daily Show and The Colbert Report is sad and even more distressing is the fact that the majority of youth get the majority of the other news from programs like it. That said, they have to be some of my favorite shows and I must put myself into that large group of youths who watch if for news instead of one of the big network news programs. Now this may seem very hypocritical to most and really is at this point. However I don’t believe you will think so when I tell you why I think it is sad: because The Daily Show provides more relevant no bias stories than the big news outfits.
It is not like today’s youth are foolish, they have not been taken in by these comedians simply because they are funny – which I must say they truly are. Today’s youth have started getting there news from these shows because they are doing a better job of analyzing the stories and there implicates through comedy than the other news shows. It is a sad state for journalism, politics and the world.
The real problem here is that the news corporations refuse to recognize what the real role of these shows are because it is the same role they have been failing to fill: the role of watchdog. Just as true news reporting is supposed to be the fourth estate – keeping the politicians in check and letting people know when they step over a line – the news parodies are a watch dog of the news corporations, making sure they do there jobs.
However instead of recognizing this and seeing the validity of their criticisms the big news outfits simply file John Stewart and everyone like him under the category of silly dalliance, not worthy to question the judgment of the all powerful newsmen. However I don’t think they will think the same of them when everyone starts going to them for news and leave them without jobs. It will happen if they continue to fail to hold up the values of true journalism, and we will all sit at home and enjoy silly puns and try to forget our horrid social state.

Cell phone half life

About 2 years ago I got my first cell phone. I was happy and excited because now, finally I would be able to join in with my friends in the world of instant and continuous connectivity. I exchanged numbers with my friends and was always kept up to date and whatever was going on. However soon after this honeymoon period with my phone set in the realization of what it was actually doing. The phone was my portal to my social life. It mediated where I was and when I would be going there. When I had it with me I always felt like at any moment I could get a text message and then I would be off to another party. However this did not last, I found I was simply chitchatting with people on my phone instead of going to hangout with them. Not only that, but people expected me to be at their beck and call because I had my cell phone; it became and expectation that I would answer no matter where I was. I was no longer the one they were trying to get in touch with; they wanted to get in touch with my phone. The phrase: “I sent you a text message” became the common excuse for not being informed and a series of daily messages consisting of basically the same format and questions became as sorry excuse for a relationship. This was amplified when text messaging became the preferred means of communication by my employer. Suddenly my phone mediated my entire life and I was perilous to do anything about it. I was finally rescued from this stated of phone tag friendships and orders accompanied by emoticons when I came to university. In residence I was finally able to have face to face real conversations with people when I wanted to talk to them and my phone is now collecting dust on my desk.

The Story of Stuff

I saw this a few months ago and thought it was great; I hope you do to.

"New" Heat

Perceived obsolescence is a technique used by marketers in order to make you think you need their product, when in fact you do not. This definition makes it sound a little shadier than it really is, allow me to elaborate. A good example to illustrate is cell phones. As you know each year we see at least a few new cell phone deigns being released, and they often have minor and trivial “upgrades” from their predecessors. Yet people still buy them, even if their last phone still works fine. This is a textbook case of perceived obsolesce. Now we are all guilty or committing a purchase for no other reason than perceived obsolescence at one time or another, I myself have four very fresh pairs of basketball shoes at home – one for each season over the past four years – that only had one thing wrong with them that made me think I needed to replace them: they were last seasons shoes. Why is this is such an effective marketing technique? Well that sound easy right: because people want to be cool and, if the marketing company does there job right, that is exactly what they make you think you will be if you have their product and vice-versa. But let me put forth a question you may not have asked yourself before: why do people want to be cool? It seems like a question that needs no answer, however it is one we must if we want to understand why it is so seemingly easy for marketers to make use believe we need their product when we have a perfectly good one at home. It is the human need to be loved and accepted, cliché I know but none the less true, and what is being cool if not being loved and accepted by everyone. Yes, advertisers are praying upon our want and need for love, picking apart our self-esteem so we will buy their product. We as a society are being bullied by ourselves and don’t even realize it, while they profit form our tortured self-perpetuating state. It seems like an unfixable problem, one that stems form the very core of human nature and is reinforced by our society to a degree that only a massive change in thinking by all would even begin to correct. If you have ever had an in-depth philosophical conversation about the world’s problems you know they can all be fixed on paper, but not without change human nature. However you can win little battles, if you remember to say to yourself: “do I really need this?” and every once and a while you may just listen. Making a little difference is always enough, because without it there can never be any change.

Bombarding the Ego

Much of modern advertising is meant to instill a feeling of perceived obsolescence in the viewer. The most popular way to do this when marketing to men ages 18-35 is by perpetuating stereotypes of the role of men and women that are many decades outdated. This is illustrated in a Durex condom advertisement I found offensive on many levels. The ad is as follows:

Picture from: random-good-stuff.com

Lets start with the most obvious way this ad flaunts its political incorrectness: the issue of Women’s rights. The way this woman is portrayed, she is nothing more than a mouth. She has no identity; she is simply a sexual object that can be abused in the pursuit of male pleasure. In fact it seems as though Durex is encouraging it: they are implying that since you are a “real” man with your large “appendage” you have the right to. That brings me to my next point: they are playing on male inadequacy. They are telling men that if they are not in need of their product – i.e. they don’t have a ten-inch penis – they have less worth as a person. What this ad is basically trying to tell me as a man is that I need to abuse women with my “manly powers” or else I am not worthy of being called a man. What they are also telling me, thought this ad, is that I might attain that image if I buy their product. That is not the most disturbing part about this ad however: the most disturbing part is that we consider this message, as a society, acceptable. We allow ads like this to run all the time, in every aspect of the media we take in, without any comment other that: ‘that’s funny”. Not only that, but bringing up the negative messages in this ad is considered taboo. That somehow it is okay because t is meant as a joke. We are meant to passively sit back while we are bombarded with cleverly hidden prejudice. This is brainwashing, plan and simply. It desensitizes you to blatant bigotry, continually pushing the envelope further and further, until the day when they can run an ad that say: your cock will put her in her place, if you are a real man and real men buy Durex.” and when that day comes I will buy a boat, find a deserted island and weep for the potential the human race once showed. Think I am being to extreme? I am only sending my message on the same level as Durex and other advertisers. There is one difference: I am appealing to your reason, not your ego. Yes, your reason, and your ability to think critically about the world you are in. Everyone needs to start using his or hers in regards to media so we might finally do away with the stereotypical thinking. In fact that is one of they ways in which scientists define secant life: the awareness of their place in the world and their ability to adapt to it. What do you say: are you a secant human or an ameba.

Work cited
random-good-stuff.com/2007/07/23/durex-xxl-condoms/, Durex XXL Condoms, Chris Mendes, July 23rd, 2007, October 4, 2008

Carrying a Torch for Media

The first thing I think of when I hear the term mass media is uncool, then uninspired and sellout. Why do these word come to mind? It is most likely because I have very great appreciation for things that are “underground”. In the world of media underground anything mass-produced get no respect and everything is limited or hard to find. However, I feel this may be a little short sighted when looking at the term mass media. I seem to be far more focused on the mass part than the media: which is unquestionably the more important aspect, or at least should be. I am now thinking that if the media is good, it really has no bearing on my appreciation of it whether or not everyone in the entire world has the same access as me. A good example is the most recent Batman movie: I personally loved it and I had not see it until it was one of the highest grossing films ever. You see I believe I simply look for quality and originality in the media I enjoy. So my focus on things outside the main stream is not any kind of snobbery: that is simply where the most original ideas are. Now lets think about my original definition for a moment because although I decided it was not adequate, it maybe nonetheless true. When we examine much of current media on a deeper level we find it hollow of meaning or that the meaning is in fact appalling. In other words it has no relevant substance that makes us reflect on our environment or ourselves (or at least that is not its intention). This is not because the people producing this media are necessarily so uninspired or bigoted; on the contrary they are in fact very intelligent. The problem is in the question “how do we make something everyone is going to like?” because how do we know what people like? By what they have liked in the past or what we assume they like. When you take that question and answer it that way all you will end up with are generalizations and clichés. Perhaps a better answer would be to make something really good and let those who can appreciate it do so. Unfortunately this is not the best business model and that is what main stream mass media is: a business. However there is hope, as Walter Benjamin Said in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: ”Thus, the distinction between author and public is about to lose its basic character. The difference becomes merely functional; it may vary from case to case. At any moment the reader is ready to turn into a writer.” (Benjamin, 9) This has been amplified by a million since Benjamin wrote it. As you all know everyone with an Internet connection can write for a mass audience. The most immediate example of this is what you are currently reading. These writings, movies, songs etc. that are posted by independent artist, who only wish to make their art and have people see it, is so much more genuine and the only thing the viewer must decide on is if it is good or not. The only way you are going to have a massive audience see your work is if it is good enough for people to talk about it and show their friends. This means the only currency in this world is creativity and insight. Perhaps that is a model we should all adopt.

Work Cited

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1935. October 1, 2008

A Sea of Flames

I have chosen to do an analysis on social networking sites. Now, many may not consider this a technology in the same vein as television or Internet. However I believe it’s influence has the same effect, although admittedly not on the same scale, but they both change or, perhaps more accurately, created a culture. Social networking site such as Myspace, and, more so Facebook, have taken over the Internet. Facebook has more than 100 million people using it around the world. It has also taken over many Teenagers social lives and, in my experience, consumes double-digit hours a week. Clicking on friends and strangers pages and feeling connected but really being more alone than ever. The problem is not the technology itself; it is how it is misused. Many people on Facebook (mostly teenagers and college students) use it as the focus of their relationships with some people. They post on their walls and send messages instead of spending time with them and feel close, but they are not. What Facebook and other social networking site like it are for is relationship boosters and acquaintance counting. What I mean by this is that Facebook is good medium for people who already know each other well to keep in touch and co-ordinate plans; that is all it is, a medium. However, many people us it as much more, make friends online that they don’t really know in real life and building a relationship with that through the technology. The fact is nothing compares to real life face to face contact when it comes to getting to know people and having someone really know you. Everyone wants to have 1000 friends, but that is impossible and if you aspire to this you will find yourself more alone than ever. Think about this, they have population caps on high schools so teens can feel like they have some identity; that cap is a few thousand. Facebook has more than 100 million users. Being afloat on the sea of social networking can drown you.

Work Cited
“Our first 100 million”, The Facebook Blog, 26 August 2008. 28 September 2008

The First Spark

Why is this new? Why is it that I never thought of doing this before? It makes so much sense to me now: blogging. What a good way to get out my frustrations, what a good way to practice my writing without the constraints of the high school establishment and what a safe way to do it. I think back on all the times that I created an uncomfortable situation or burdened someone with my problems and how I wanted to shoot myself for not having the proper outlet. Now I find that it has been here all along, its accessibility and ease of use taunting me. Well no longer, I am poised to strike with all that I have concealed in my mind for all this time. These ideas have been pent up too long and now they have a way to spring forth into existence. I tremble with the anticipation of these words, for none can know their full impact, not even me. But in that uncertainty is fear. What if this is all simply whispering to the shadows? What if these words are not good enough? Maybe this was the wrong time to discover this, now when the chips are down. These words mean more to me then themselves: they carry with them my dreams and all the work of the past 18 years. What if these words become the echo of effort to failure? However, perhaps all I ever needed was an echo to talk to. All I know is I am pent up and I am ready to be set ablaze.