Copyright

I believe that current copyright laws protect media producers while also encouraging freedom of the press and other individuals to continue to create content for our consumption. We talked in class about how we are now becoming more of a content consuming society rather than one that creates such content. But to create content, we must first be inspired by what we see and experience. Therefore, in order to keep those lines of communication open and enable the exchange of new ideas and theories, we must carefully examine copyright and its protections and limitations.

For instance, making a book or thesis paper available to the masses online for no charge is a way to get the content into hands of others to promote discussion and further development of ideas. But nowhere in that instance is the content not subject to copyright law. My point being, that copyrights protect these creators, inventors, philosophers, etc. And without such protection and ability for these creators to protect their work as well as profit from it, it stops the cycle of production and inspiration.

Current copyright laws enable creators to profit from their original ideas and ensure that their work is protected. In my opinion, this very rarely limits other creators from producing original works themselves.  

Critical Thinking & New Technology

After reading the Critical Thinking & New Technology document, I believe that the Communications Department at Shepherd University is successfully trying to incorporate our every day usage of a variety of technologies into the classroom. From marketing and advertising to graphic design and video and radio production, Shepherd has always covered the basics, but now more than ever I think that teaching website building skills and how to blog and use other forms of social media like LinkedIn and Twitter to network is also a big part of our curriculum. Critical Thinking is also expected of all students, especially those of us who are communication majors. I have seen this through the assignment of projects, which incorporate the use of new technologies like sound editing and web design as well as blogging that all comm students are required to do in almost all classes throughout the department. Even the newly added class rooms and offices at our own university are yet another reminder that the world of communications is always advancing and quickly growing, resulting in constant and new advancements in the classroom to prepare us and keep up with this competitive job market. 

Cyberspace: A Culture

After reading "Why Cyberculture?" in A Media Studies Reader, I have come to understand how expansive not only the term cyberspace is, but also the ideas and theories behind it which make up the online community we are; a Cyberculture. We all play a role in what Cyberculture is today, whether its just casually surfing the web and using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, or imputing data and creating websites, or downloading the apps on all of our smart devices. I agree with article on how many of us relate the term cyberspace to have a more nostalgic meaning, but it also leads me to wonder why that is? Cyberspace still essentially exists today, but perhaps we now think of it in a different way, relating that old term to the turning point in technology and online usage by more and more people. Today we all seem to be more technology-literate, having access to computers and software at a much younger age than generations before us. So perhaps it is now not such a far away, somewhat foreign concept to the majority of our population, because children today are living in a time where they were never without such technologies, where as people my grandparents age, for example, lived in a world before computers, cable, color television, even the space program! I believe in this particular case, that technology and our advancement into a Cyberculture is all in the eye of the beholder...or the mind of the reader.

http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/cyber/images/cyberspace_crop380w.jpg

Risks of Reporting

The CNN video “Latest Battlefield in Mexico’s Drug War: Social Media” is about drug cartels and individuals associated with drug trafficking that are allegedly murdering those who speak out against them through social media sites (in this specific case, public and supposedly anonymous blogs and websites). After watching this my first impression was that we as American citizens are lucky that we have laws such as the 1^st and 14^th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution that protect individuals who wish to speak their mind about any issue or voice their opinions. And even though murders and drug-related violence does happen in our country, it is not as prominent or as large of an issue as it is for those who live in countries like Mexico.

I believe that as communications majors and people writing blogs, we all have to be held accountable for what we say and post on the Internet, and also understand that anything on the web is public and available to everyone. However, our freedom of speech really only goes so far once we start making defamatory statements which may possibly be false, or lashing out against individuals or companies with actual malice. This particular video is obviously an extreme case in which someone or some group sought out revenge over something that was posted on the web. But when working in the communication field whether it be as a reporter, blogger, journalist or other media-related career, you need to be aware of the risk when writing about others especially in such a controversial context. 

"SCOTT TALKS"

After watching the Ted Talks video of Scott McCloud’s presentation about his theories on graphic novels and comics, I have a greater understanding and appreciation for the art form. It gave me a new way of looking at these novelists and creators of narrative, and showed me that it takes much more to be a great writer in today’s world than say twenty or even fifty years ago. With new technologies and web design development, writers of comics must adapt to these changes. As Internet users we now expect all information to be just a click of an app away, with all different types of publications now moving to online subscriptions and having apps to access their information while on the go. As a result, comics and graphic novels must also follow suit if they wish to still be as appealing to this new media-hungry audience.

A slide from Scott McCloud's lecture describing the four principals of comics and story telling.

McCloud explains how he and his colleagues must now use this online and digital forum to display their work. I thought one of the most interesting things that he mentions in his lecture, however, was that with comics and graphic novels you have to communicate and stimulate all five senses through only one; visual. But now that this digital revolution has come about, graphic novelists have a little more help. You see you can add motion and sounds to online-based comics and further entertain your audience by more effectively capturing their attention.

A slide from Scott McCloud's lecture depicting the usage of words, sounds, and pictures to enhance meaning.

I also really related to the fundamental theme or idea of enabling your readers to draw their own conclusions or fill in the gaps when moving from one panel to the next within a graphic novel. I never really thought about that concept and how when creating a comic, you’re really leaving quite a bit up to a reader’s interpretation of the action and series of events by how you set up a “scene” and what about of detail or information you provide your audience with. These are all things I tried to take into account when creating my own graphic novel. 

Comic Across Communications

I am currently working on creating a graphic novel for my COMM 203 course. We’re using Comic Life software and are allowed to make the graphic novel about anything we choose, providing that it shows our ability to create a plot, have a clear story line, develop characters and have them go through different experiences, having rising action, a climax, and then a resolution.

I think that this is an excellent assignment to have towards the beginning of this course because it allows us to be creative and still have free range over most of the content of our project. I have used Comic Life in the past to create a graphic novel for a previous communications class, which I really enjoyed. I believe that having this very open (some may call vague) assignment allows students to become comfortable with their own ideas and creative abilities, and explore a side of communications that they may not have encountered before.

Creating a narrative is something that we will all more than likely have to do at some point in our professional careers. All fields of communications deal with narratives, whether it’s a career in reporting, broadcasting, media or public relations, producing, designing video games, and many others. Our job is to become communications specialists and through our chosen careers educate, inform, entertain, and communicate information across different forms of media to our viewers and readers. 

The Web v. The Internet

In the August 17, 2010 Wired article, “The Web Is Dead. Long Live The Internet,” Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff accurately predict our ever-increasing use of the Internet in the form of apps on smart phones and other devices. I have to admit while reading the article it basically outlined my daily use of the Internet. Being an iPhone user myself, I suppose I never fully realized how the use of web browsers has slowly faded out of our every day use. Apps have now made finding exactly what we want even easier; having direct access to any website, publication, or utility immediately our fingertips. And even though all of these smart phones and other mobile computing devices were available to us when this article was written, their popularity and ever-growing use has turned into something of a phenomenon.

The way I use the Internet has changed immensely ever since I switched from my old BlackBerry to the iPhone4. I have found that the easily accessible apps and simplicity of navigating the iPhone have increased my what was before minimal web use to using the interned constantly throughout the day. I also use my Google Reader to read all of the blogs that I follow and I now access my favorite news publications through my phone too. Without even thinking about it, so many of us are making the transition from web to internet at a rapid pace. 

NEW SEMESTER EXPECTATIONS

I am a junior at Shepherd University majoring in mass communication and media studies with a minor in journalism, and this is my first blog post for my COMM 203 Communications & New Media course. From this class I expect to better develop my blogging and writing skills by discussing the topics, projects I am working on in class as well as completing assignments here on my blog. Over the course of this semester I hope to learn how to extensively use many different types of communication software in our Mac Lab in addition to further understanding of the science of semiotics and using it not only in the field of communications but also within my everyday life.

The Shepherd University Department of Communication is constantly growing and expanding, and as a result communication courses are evolving into something I believe is preparing us for our future jobs and careers. I have now taken several communications courses here and find that they incorporate skills and teachings from all parts of the field of communication. Weather you’re a student looking to go into web or game design, blogging, print media, broadcasting, reporting, film or any kind of editing, the skills you will need to have upon entering your desired career will have been covered in a comm class here at Shepherd.

I personally want to do something within the field of public relations after I graduate and through my required internship through the communications department, I was able to spend this past summer working for and alongside the CEO and founder of Platinum PR, a local PR firm which specializes in strategic marketing and advertising as well as event planning for their clients. Many skills that I am acquiring through my communications courses prepared me for my internship and I am constantly learning more and more about different strategies of marketing through social media sites, blogs, and developing advertising campaigns and pitching ideas to potential clients.

I am looking forward to this semester and this class in particular among my other comm classes to direct me on the right path and fully prepare me for my future career goals. 

"Back To You In The Studio..."

Being a Communications major can mean many things; it’s anything but black and white. And that’s because today, the world of multimedia is so expansive. A degree in communications can mean you’re working towards a career that could be almost anything. It’s the enabling factor in landing the job in many different fields: journalism, advertising, public relations, television and radio, film, photography, and even being a part of the recording industry too.


I personally have always wanted to be a journalist and discover and uncover all the breaking news. But because of the ever changing technology and the expanding world of mass media, I also have discovered my passion for television and broadcast journalism as well.  But politics have always been a passion of mine too. And for those reasons, that’s why I decided to take on the daunting task of having a double major in New Media/Communications and Political Science. (Did I mention my minor in Journalism too?)

But in all seriousness, these degrees will help me to become the journalist that I’ve always strived to be as well as hopefully obtaining the career of my dreams. Journalism is the basis of the communications field and has been around for years and years with people reporting for newspapers, etc. TV news programs like World News Tonight, 60 minutes, and shows on CNN are the most interesting ways, I believe, to deliver the news and stories people want to know about, but also by doing it in a faster and more personal way than that of print or web journalism, as well as being a more serious type of newscast.

My ultimate goal is to have one of the most coveted positions in the field of journalism and television; to be a news anchor or possibly a senior correspondent for a news network in Washington D.C. and be the person who brings all the breaking news and pressing issues into the homes of viewers. In my opinion, news changes lives, it’s essentially history before we know that it will become history, it’s something that will never go away, and will always be in demand. And I just can’t wait to have a hand in it all. 

What It Means To Be A "Sorority Girl"

Paying for your friends? Organized drinking? Dumb, ditsy, alcoholics?

These are common misconceptions I frequently hear when I first tell people that I am in a sorority. But that's not the case whatsoever. Being a member of a sorority is a privilege, and honor, something to be proud of. It is like every little girl’s dream; being a part of some kind of girls-only, secret society, with no boys allowed.

I am currently an active member of a social sorority on my university’s campus, one of which I have had my heart set on joining since the moment I arrived at my school. What can I say; being a sorority girl has always been a dream of mine since I was younger and would hear my older cousins talk about their sisters and seeing them wearing these funny letters on their shirts. Little did I know that someday I’d have a set of those “funny looking letters” of my own, and cherish them so dearly.

The initial attraction, I guess, was probably my desire to be feminine and girly. In high school I never had many female friends, and when I came home for winter break and announced to the few that I did have that I was joining a sorority, they laughed and thought the idea of me getting along and becoming “sisters” with forty-some girls was apparently hilarious. But I suppose what intrigued me most was that because I am an only child, I have always had a longing to have sibling, and by joining a sorority I would be instantly gaining numerous sisters!

Being a member of the Greek community is like nothing I’ve ever experience within any other group or organization I’ve been a part of. The sense of comradery and community that we all share, fraternities and sororities alike, is a bond that goes much deeper than friendship.  Being a Greek and a “sorority girl” is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me and knowing that my legacy as well as that of my chapter and all my sisters will live on is an indescribable feeling. Which is why being a “sorority girl” is much more than being a young, pretty, and popular college girl.