Pictures

I usually love looking a pictures because they can tell so many stories. The emotions, the setting, the people- it all provides details into that snapshot of a memory. Unfortunately, after seeing picture after picture of sloppy, crazy teenagers that pop up on my Facebook newsfeed I have lost the excitement. Pictures on Facebook tell stories, but the story is shaped by the user. He or she can upload certain photos from an event, yet leave out others. Thus your interpretation and ability to create an accurate story based on the photos is impaired. One example of this is a girl I used to know. Her Facebook photos always show her with a smile from ear to ear. Her moods always seem so light. I didn't know for sure if that's what she was like because she always kept to herself. I believed her to be a cheerful, giddy person until I found out that the reason she'd missed school for two weeks straight was because she was severely depressed. She was attending a clinic to aid her with her illness. There's no way anyone could tell she suffered from depression through the many photos that showed a smile that could light up a room. Ever since this happened I have always been weary about judging someone based on the pictures they chose to upload onto Facebook. Facebook can either be a place to break out of your shell and show your true self, or it can serve as an extension of the mask you wear in public everyday.

Blogging in China

Internet censorship in China is among the most strict in the world. The Chinese government requires that websites employ people who monitor and delete content that is questionable. Despite this, China has over three hundred million internet users. Of those users, seventy million blog. Imagine blogging while knowing that every word you type will be monitored by someone employed to do so. That alone would prevent me from blogging. I feel as though Americans would never allow the government to enact legislation that censors everything uploaded to the internet. First of all, creating a firewall as intricate as China's would be extremely hard. Americans tend to be more objective as well. There was uproar after the passing of the Patriot Act following the terrorist attacks of September 11. I don't think censorship of the internet in America would go over well at all. This is not to say it was a smooth transition in China. Google closed it's internet search service in March 2010. They would do so until it's search engine was no longer filtered. The Chinese government did not give into their demand and said that companies doing business in the country must follow the law. Google attempted to get around the law by directing Chinese users to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong. This only further angered Chinese officials. Weeks later, Google created the option for users in China to chose whether to use an uncensored version or not. It would be interesting to see the reaction of Americans if the government were to create a firewall that censored everything put on the internet. I believe it would be a disaster!

Callie Crossley

I went to see Jen's interview with Callie Crossley this evening and I really enjoyed it. I'm undeclared, so I went in with an open mind, however I never really considered majoring in media studies. I can't say I came out of the interview wanting to go into media but previous to the show I didn't know all that went into working in a media field. I also wasn't aware of all the changes that the media field is going through during this century. I've always wondered how widespread use of technology and internet are changing fields such as journalism and media. I found her conversation about newspapers very interesting. She said that newspapers will always be around, the form however that they are presented in will change. I totally agree with the statement. I began to wonder how the change in publication will then affect the material being read. She brought up a great point about cover stories. The newspaper publishers are working especially hard on finding ways to draw attention to the "cover" stories without having a cover to display them on. This is is a great point. When I go on New York Times online, there's not a bolded headline jumping out at me. There's simply a bunch of links to news stories. I have no way of knowing which are the more important stories versus the less significant ones. I believe a good solution to the problem would be to highlight the important stories on the home page of the site. The lesser stories should not be seen until viewers begin clicking subtitles and other pages. I think this will lead to greater emphasis of the big and important stories. Overall, a career in media as Callie Crossley portrayed it is a lot more difficulty than I imagined it to be! I give her so much credit for all of the success she has attained over the years. She has definitely gained my respect.

The Little Things in Life

When I think of a millionaire I think of someone like Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Someone who is very intelligent, went through much schooling, and became very successful. Today was a gorgeous day in Newington, Connecticut, my home town. My dad took my two best friends and me apple picking. It was so much fun climbing the trees, seeing all the little kids around. I honestly felt like I was a kid again. My dad then told my friends and I that the family who owned the apple farm also owns the majority of the land in the town. This includes the apple farm, pumpkin patch, two golf courses, and a corn maze. He went on to tell us that he knows someone who works for Lyman's Orchard and they informed him that this business is a twenty million dollar business! I was shocked. When you think of wealth the owner's of a tree farm don't usually come to mind. The family has been in the business for over three hundred years, however, which explains the wealth and prestige. They provide families with such joy by simply taking advantage of nature. I was surrounded by delicious apples, beautiful leaves, and amazing people. It was one of the best days I've had in a while. It once again taught me to take advantage of the little things in life.

Facebook

I really enjoyed the Facebook stalking assignment! I spend a lot of time "stalking" my good friends on Facebook but I don't really pay attention to other people. You can learn so much if you have access to their wall, pictures, and information. For the assignment I stalked this kid that was my older cousin's boyfriend back when I was probably eight years old. I adored him. He always played sports with me and included me even though I was so much younger than him. It was cool to see where he is in life now that ten years or so have passed! I definitely agree that Facebook is a panopticon, however as users we have the ability to chose what goes onto our profile. That's different from say a security camera as a panopticon. You can't pick and chose what it records. I wonder if this aspect of it prevents it from being considered a panopticon. It's funny how some people put their entire lives on Facebook whereas others barely put anything on. I am friends with one of my cousins. She has a blackberry and uses Facebook on it. She's literally always on facebook! It's funny to me because I barely update my statuses but she's always updating hers. Facebook is so entertaining, especially stalking people!

Panopticons All Around

My mom is a teacher at an elementary school a town over from where I live. She works in the pre-school wing of the school. She was talking to a friend of hers and I overheard her mention the cameras that are outside of her classroom. This isn't too different than the high school I went to or any other school for that matter. There is a big difference however. The cameras in the hallways of her school are monitored not only by the principle but by the principle of the high school as well. The security at the high school can receive the feed coming from all of the elementary and middle schools in the town. I'm assuming this is for safety purposes because the town in which she works is "rough". This is like a double panopticon. It's as if there's a tower in the center of a prison, and another tower in the center of the tower. The guy in the lower tower watches over the prisoners while the guy in the upper tower watches over him. It's pretty crazy how that works. My mom definitely has no chance of knowing when someone could possibly be watching her. It's amazing how far people will go to promote change!

Car Rides

So I'm home for the first weekend since going to college! It's awesome. My dad picked me up Thursday night because I have no classes on Fridays. During our ride back to Connecticut, he was telling me about his new Blackberry he was given through work. It was funny because I had just explained to him what I had been learning in my classes, including panopticons in English. He had never heard of panopticism before and he was intrigued. He went on to explain that a co worker of his turned the GPS off of his phone because their bosses could track wherever they were at any point in time. My dad asked him to do the same for his phone because he definitely didn't want people tracking him. I then explained to him that this was a perfect example of the panopticons I was previously informing him of. He agreed when I said that panopticons would make me paranoid. He also drives a company car and informed me that his company is going to start putting tracking devices in the company cars once their leases are up. This way they can verify where the workers are at all times. I personally find this very disturbing. They shouldn't have to monitor their workers' every move. I understand the convenience it may provide but a company should trust the people they hire as employees. I went on to wonder if they have to let the leasers know that there has been a tracking device installed on the car. It may be in fine print in a contract they sign and the driver may have no idea. I'm just glad my dad has knowledge of this change! It's amazing how many panopticons are in the world that I never realized before reading Foucault's Panopticism.

Rainy Days

It's very rainy and miserable out and I totally understand how days are ruined when it rains. All day I've felt lethargic and I just want to lay in my bed under my covers. That led me to think about how I would feel if I didn't have a bed I could lay in. It really puts things in perspective. Hurricane Katrina was not just rain, it was a five category storm. If I had to evacuate my house without knowing if it was going to survive I would be terrified. I could not imagine losing all of my belongings. I would be lost without a place to retreat to. I can't even begin to imagine the emotions one must feel when finding out that the one place you feel most comfortable in is destroyed. Not to mention everything you've acquired over the years is gone as well. Starting over is difficult for everyone especially when all of your friends and neighbors are starting over as well. I definitely take even little things, like my bed and covers, for granted.