Facebook and the Future of Digital Media

   Facebook has become one of the biggest websites the internet has to offer. It has shaped and defined what social media is all about. Who would have imagined that when it was first created in 2005, that it would be this popular 10 years later? Facebook currently has 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million active users and 757 million daily users (Protalinski, 2014). When you see those numbers, they are mind blowing, as it just goes to show the powerful force that Facebook has become. You can literally have an entire continent filled with just Facebook users. Facebook is great because it has amazing features that you can use. You have the news feed which basically shows you what everybody is doing, you can message people and more importantly you can create group pages for special events. One good example is last year it was my 21st birthday, so my friends decided to take me out to the bar. They created a Facebook page explaining where the party was going to be held, and the invites of people who were coming. I had a great time, and Facebook was a big part of that because it brought and connected everyone together. One thing you have to be wary about is be careful who you add as friends because people are not always who they seem to be. Be careful when you are talking to strangers on Facebook because there have been a lot of instances where people have gotten hurt. In class, we had an interesting discussion about Facebook an the policy settings. Many people did not know that you can make your page private, and who can view it and who can't. I think it was important information to know because now we can use Facebook better and less people have access to our personal information. Facebook is also a great tool for meeting new people, as I have meet a lot of my friends this way. I talked to them in the beginning to find out who they are what they liked, and then eventually I meet them in person. It was great because when I saw them in person, I already knew a lot about the person and it would not have been possible without Facebook. My only concern is just be careful of how you use Facebook and try not put out a lot of information about yourself.

    During our last class day, we discussed Digital Media and what the future may hold. We talked about Netflix, Amazon and Google. More and more people are turning to Netflix and Amazon to watch their shows and movies. Who could blame them? Cable is becoming more expensive as the days go by. My friend Lauren told me, "My family pays over $200 dollars a month for Comcast." When she told me that my jaw dropped because that is an insane amount of money to pay month after month. I had Dish for a while, but it became very expensive so we stopped carrying it. Now, I mainly use my laptop to stream my events to the TV using the HDMI cable. It's such a cheaper alternative, and it saves you a lot of money. The future of digital media is interesting because we don't know what's going to happen. I personally think that streaming will be the way to go in the near future, as more and more shows are going to go online. TV will take a hit, but not a huge hit, as now you are starting to see more and more smarts TV's come out. Netflix will stay the same, but I think they will charge a higher fee, as the supply and demand grows. It will be another way for the to make more money. HBO will also become big, and eventually they will have their own app, where people can watch their favorite TV shows and movies. Media is changing and it's only a matter of time before everything becomes all digital. I am also hoping that in the near future, they come out with Sports flix, where you can watch as many sports as you want for a reasonable fee. That would be amazing because I such a huge sports fan.

    In conclusion, Facebook has become really big, and I expect it to grow within the next dew years or so. It's not going to fade anytime soon, so people better start getting used to it. It's a great tool for meeting people and finding out what your friends are doing. Like I said before, you can have an entire continent just filled with Facebook users, as that is just insane when you think about it. I love using Facebook, as I use it almost everyday. The only thing I would tell people is to fix their private settings so that people don't have access to their personal private information. As far as the future of Digital Media goes, it's very difficult to tell what is going to happen. We can only speculate and predict what is going to happen. I do think that everything will be online streaming, and TV's are going to evolve. Netflix, Amazon, Google and HBO will continue to rule the digital markets. I also think more people are going to start cutting the cord on their cable bill, and start using other cheaper alternatives. Our world is changing, as more things are going digital, and within the next 20 to 30 years, I expect everything to be all digital.

                                                           Reference

    1. Protalinski, Emil. "Facebook passes 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million mobile users, and 757 million daily users." TNW. N.p., 29 Jan 2014. Web. 11 Dec 2014. <http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2014/01/29/facebook-passes-1-23-billion-monthly-active-users-945-million-mobile-users-757-million-daily-users/>.

                                     

Online Dating and Online Shopping

    Online dating has become a huge cultural phenomenon that just keeps growing day by day. More and more people are meeting online than ever before. The internet has become a huge medium for couples to meet. Sites like Match.com, eHarmony, Zoosk have become extremely popular. Match.com already has 54 million users, and it will continue to grow. It's funny because back in the day people meet face-to-face, as there was no digital world. Now though, meeting people has become very easy and more reliable. However, please be very careful of who you meet online because there are a lot of fake people out there. This is online, and you can never be sure of who you are talking to, because you are communicating through a computer screen and not face-to-face. Personally speaking, I have never tried online dating, but I am thinking of doing so soon. It might be very interesting because you might never know of who you are going to meet. my main concern though is that it's online and you can never be sure of who is talking to you behind that computer screen. Its like the movie we saw in Comm Theory last year; Catfish, where the dude thought he was talking to a hot girl, and it ended up being somebody else. It's sad because people will manipulate you online and tell you all the good things, only for you to eventually find out that its not true. If people want to meet online, I have no problem with that, but just be careful because people will try to fool you, as trolls are everywhere on the internet. However, I would actually like to try this online dating experience, and see where it might take me.

    Another topic that we discussed in class was online shopping. Online shopping is becoming another phenomenon that is shaping the world of shopping. For people, shopping online has become a norm, as there are sites like eBay, Amazon, Walmart and etc. Online shopping has become huge business, as companies make billions of dollars. Just alone this past holiday shopping, Black Friday online sales were up at 2.4 billion dollars (Halkias, 2014). Online shopping is starting to replace traditional shopping of where people physically go to the store and buy what they need. Now, they can get what they need with one click of a button. Online shopping can also be a much cheaper alternative, as in this tough economy people are trying to save money however they can. One good example is, when I bought my laptop over the summer, I was looking for an HDMI Cable. For people that don't know what that is, it's a set of cables that help link the laptop to the television. I don't have cable, so I mainly rely on my laptop to watch all the big games and shows. I was going to try and buy it on BestBuy, but they had it for $25, whereas Amazon had it for $5. Obviously, I bought it on Amazon as it saved me a lot of money. I also buy school books online through Amazon, because buying them at the bookstore is too expensive. The prices they charge are ridiculous, and it just makes more sense to buy them online.

   Another pro of going online is you can open up your own business. Say I wanted to open up a designer shirt business, I can just easily do it online. I can create my own website, and not pay anything. I can run it from home, and then depending on how big it grows, I can expand and start hiring people. I don't have to open up a physical store which will take time to build, and then pay money for property to the city. Here it's better, cheaper and easier. The one problem that I have is now you are starting to see these physical stores go out of business because they just can't compete anymore. You then start to see people loose their jobs, and communities loosing their business. With more people shopping online, few people are physically coming to the stores. They say that Amazon could very well replace Bestbuy in the near future. I really do not want to see that happen, because so many jobs would be lost, and it will be a huge blow for people that liked buying electronics. I have bought so many things from Bestbuy that I currently use in my house, and it will be a big blow if they were to bow out. I know that there are other alternatives to buying electronics, but seeing Bestbuy go would be a little too much.

   In conclusion, I would say online shopping and dating have become very big, that will continue to grow and expand for some time. More and more people now are starting to date online, and it's becoming a big part of our culture. I would like to try online dating, but some problems are you can never be sure of who you are talking to because you can see the other person. Whereas, if you are face-to-face it's a complete different story. If you are talking to someone online just be careful because that person might not be who they say they are. As far as online shopping goes, that is also becoming a huge part of our culture, as more people are starting to shop online. It's easier, more convenient and cheaper. You can buy anything you ant with one click of a button, and honesty speaking you cannot make it more easier than that. You can start your own business online and make money through sales and sponsors. The only problem with online shopping is that it's taking away from the physical stores that people go to shop. Many stores are going out of business and people are starting to loose their jobs. It's become cheaper for people to shop online that physically going to the store. I hate seeing people loose their jobs because it's a problem for the community and it raises the unemployment rate. Online shopping is great, and I sometimes even use it, I just wish it was not taking away from the physical stores that we shop at. Going back to online dating, I will try online dating and maybe I can find the woman of my dreams.

                                                    Reference

   1. Halkias, Maria. "Holiday weekend sales slide, but online shopping scores big." The Dallas Morning News. N.p., 30 Nov 2014. Web. 11 Dec 2014. <http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20141130-holiday-weekend-sales-slide-but-online-shopping-scores-big.ece>.

Net Neutrality: Pros, Cons and the Future

    Net Neutrality is one of the most fundamental principals of having a free and open internet. So, let's first start out by what is Net Neutrality? Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applicants regardless of the source, and without favoring particular products or websites. This term was coined by Columbia law professor Tim Wu in 2003. Basically in simpler words, it's free and open internet where people can access public information freely. It's very important to have open and free internet because it leads to competition and enables investments and innovation. Also, consumers make their own choices and the services they want to use. Recently though we are in danger of loosing the free internet because of cable companies who want to monopolize it and make more money off it.

    So who is in favor of Net Neutrality? The big companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Microsoft, Vonage and Skype are all fighting hard to keep the internet open and free. So essentially, it's anyone and any business not involved with the cable companies. If Net Neutrality was to vanish, then the open internet as we know it will cease to exist. There would be no competition and Cable/Phone companies will win the ability to charge internet content providers and individuals and extra fee for delivering content. Cable companies can actually slow down, degrade or even block the content of any website that does not pay it's fees. That means that small business and innovators that rely on the internet to reach consumers could be priced out of the marketplace entirely. That is why people and corporations that are for net neutrality are fighting very hard to keep the internet open and free.

    So who is against Net Neutrality? Basically, all the major cable and telephone companies who provide 94% of the broadband internet access. They are spending millions of dollars lobbying congress to eliminate net neutrality. For example, Comcast had already spent 14.5 million dollars in lobbying last year. The only other company that has spent more money in lobbying is defense contractor Northrop Grumman. These cable companies have Washington in the back of their pockets to an almost unbelievable degree. They want a closed internet where the carrier of service providers has control over applicants,content and the media.

   The FCC, which stands for  Federal Communications Commission, is an independent agency of the U.S that regulates Internet, TV, Radio, and Cable in all 50 states. They are doing the best they can to keep the internet free, but the pressure of lobbying is catching up to them. The bad thing is President Obama, recently hired Tom Wheeler to be the chairman of the FCC. He was a former lobbyist for the cable companies, and now is in charge of the FCC. That is a very bad decision because it makes it more clear that having a closed internet is coming soon. However, Mr. Wheeler stated that "What I want is what you want, an open internet that does not affect your business" (Fung). It's still very early to tell though in which direction the FCC might go, but for everyone sake, I hope the keep the internet free and open.

   In conclusion, net neutrality is a very difficult and complex issue to understand. You have a lot of companies for and against net neutrality. I think in my opinion, it's very important to keep the internet free and open because it allows for more innovation and discretion. People are free to look up what they want, and not limited. If cable companies were to take over, then it would be a money game, and if you do not pay the fee that they charge, then you might get blocked out. The internet needs to stay open and free, as that would benefit a lot of people, and recently more than 5 million open letters were written to the FCC, asking for an open internet. I think people pay enough for internet as it is, and if the cable companies were to take over, it would get even worse. In the end, I feel the people should decide whether to have a free internet and not the cable companies.

                                                        Reference:

   1. Fung, Brian. "Obama’s call for an open Internet puts him at odds with regulators." The Washington Post. N.p., 11 Nov 2014. Web. 11 Dec 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/11/11/the-fcc-weighs-breaking-with-obama-over-the-future-of-the-internet/>.

Video Games, YouTube and Aaron Swartz

   Several weeks ago, Kevin and Adam gave an amazing presentation on video games. They discussed the history of video games, the first game consoles that came out, and the influence of Japanese culture into American culture. Looking back at that presentation it reminded me of my childhood memories. Growing up, I played a lot of video games, and at one point during the weekend I would play for six to seven hours straight. My five favorite games were FIFA Soccer 2002, Gran Turismo 2, Driver 2, Medal of Honor: Frontline and Sonic. I remember when my parents bought me a PlayStation 1 console, and I was so happy and ecstatic. I would sit there on my living room playing video games from mornings until evenings. This happened mostly on the weekends when I did not have school. Now, during the presentation, Adam and Kevin brought up an interesting question, do violent games make people more violent? For me personally, I would say no because I know my right from wrong. Back in the good old days, me and my brother loved shooter games, especially Medal of Honor. We would play shooter games a lot, but it did not make us violent though, and we did not shoot people in real life. My parents instilled good values in me, and they taught me how to have good morals. People that blame video games for violent outburst are using it as an excuse. They need to take accountability for their own actions. A video game is just a video game, and by that it's meant for entertainment and passing time, not for imitating in real life. I admit that some video games are very violent, and children should not have access to them, unless if given parental consent. For me it's up to the responsibility of the parent to monitor what their child is doing.

    Last week, Angela and Alex gave an awesome presentation on YouTube, and how big it has become. Growing up we did not have YouTube, nor any of the big social media sites. I now think  just how big of an impact YouTube has had on my generation. Before YouTube came out it was very difficult to upload video's on the Internet. I remember having very slow AOL Internet where it took you 15 minutes just to get on the web. If it took you that long to get on the Internet, then I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to upload videos. Now though, anybody can upload anything they want, and some people have even become famous because of YouTube. It's a great platform to use for anybody that is trying to send a video in hopes of it going viral. Some of the big celebrity's like Justin Bieber have gotten their fame through YouTube. Justin Biber was a nobody before Usher found him on YouTube. He gave him a music contract, and that enabled him to become the big icon that he is today. It's also a good source to find free music. Every day I go on YouTube and listen to music. It's my number 1 source for finding music video's. My favorite artist's that I listen too the most are Eminem and 2pac. Thanks to YouTube I can view their music anytime I want, and see if Eminem has anymore new music video's coming out. In all it's a great platform to use, and if you want to broadcast your self, there is no better way to do it then YouTube.

    On Thursday, we saw a documentary video about Aaron Swartz who was an absolute genius when it come to computers. Looking at his childhood home video tapes, I was amazed by how smart this kid was. When computers came out he was able to install programs at such a young age, and that fascinated me. When I was his age I could barely read and write and this kid was already light years ahead out of everyone in his age group. It seemed to me growing up, Aaron's goal was to have a free and open internet for everyone to see. He made sure of that by speaking at political events and creating Reddit, where people can go and look for free information on subjects they choose. He also helped launch the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to learn about the effects of online activism. Unfortunately we did not get to see the entire documentary, as we plan on finishing it at a later time. I was very curious to see what happened when I went home because I could not wait, and it did not have a happy ending. I don't want to spill it for anyone in the class that is looking forward to seeing the rest of the documentary, but long story short, Aaron took his own life because people in the government saw him as a threat. He challenged them because according to Aaron, "everyone should have access to open internet," and sadly that led to his fate. I hope the people that are responsible are punished, but I have a feeling that wont happen, mainly because of secrecy.     

  

The Future of Television and The Power of Shared Economies

   About a week ago in class, we discussed television, and how the future of TV could look like in 10, 20, 30 years from now. I love watching TV, especially big sporting events such as World Cup, NBA Finals and the Super Bowl. I also like watching my favorite sitcom shows such as Seinfeld and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Television though has changed throughout the years, and the technology is helping it improve. When I was growing up, I did not have Smart TV's, 50 inch Plasma HDTV's, or Led TV's with 1080 picture. I had a thirteen inch television, with bunny rabbit antenna ears, and that is how we watched all the local channels. Innovation in technology has changed all that, and TV's now are just out of this world. If you have a smart TV, you can instantly watch whatever you like with one click of a button. You have access to the internet, and your choices of what you want to see have expanded. There are now specific channels for people that are interested in what they like. For example, if you like basketball, there is NBA TV, if you like golf, there is the Golf Channel, and for cooking lovers, there is the Cooking Channel. Television is changing and evolving, and there is news that a 4K Ultra HDTV is coming, where you can actually feel that you are in the show that you are watching. I think the new technology is going to be beyond our comprehension, and it will continue to get better. As far as the future goes, some people say that TV is going to fade away, and the internet is going to take over. I don't think television is going to fade, because there is always going to be a market for it. I just think it's going to change in terms of design, and more things are going to be live streamed. I always have a ritual where I go home and turn on the TV, and see what is on. My dad always watches the news, and television plays a big part in his life, just as much as mines. When the World Cup was on this past summer in Brazil, my family watched all the games on TV, and it helped bring us together. It was great to watch the games with my dad and brother, and we had a great time.

    Earlier in the week, we talked about shared economies, which is the socio-economic system built around the sharing of human and physical resources. People rent cars, beds, boats and other assets directly from each other, coordinated via internet. Peer-to-peer rental market is worth 26 billion dollars. One of the examples that we talked about is Uber, which is a ride sharing service. For me, that would be great, because say if I am going to the club, and I don't want to drive and neither do my friends, we can just get somebody to drive us too and back. I think that kind of service is extremely beneficial and depending on who you get, it could be cheap as well. Another example is when you rent your house off to tourist and people that need a place for a period of time. I would not do that because of trust issues, and sometimes you may not know what you are getting into.In that kind of situation I would rely on customer feed backs and satisfaction reviews. Even then, I would much rather get a hotel, rather than go into someone else's house. As good as shared economies seems, one problem that arises is other business are loosing money. With Uber, the taxi companies are complaining because Uber is stealing all of their customers. They are loosing money, and in Seattle Uber is banned, because the taxi companies complained. For renting off the house, the hotels are the ones that lose money because customers don't want to go there anymore, because they have found other cheaper alternatives. If that is the case then hotels will go out of business and many people will loose their jobs. Thanks to the digital age, these things can be done in an instant. Personally, sharing economies works for me because I rent my books from Amazon, rather than buy them from the bookstore. It saves me a ton of money, and I am sure that other students do that as well. People now and days are strapped for cash because of a poor economy, and many people just don't have the money to buy things as they once did. Sharing economies could be a better option and alternative for people looking to get cheaper things.

    Since we have been talking a lot about Facebook and Twitter, I want to discuss two stories that have been trending in the media for the past week. 1st I want to talk about the Ray Rice scandal, and the power that social media played. Ray Rice was accused of assaulting his fiancee in February, and the NFL initially suspended him 2 games in April. Recently though a video surfaced of him, knocking out his fiancee in an elevator and dragging her out like she is garbage. Since the video came out, the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract, and Rice is furthermore suspended from playing in any NFL games this year. When the news broke out, Twitter exploded with many people posting that Roger Godel, who is the commissioner of the NFL, to be fired for his handling of the situation. There were also postings made by women who had been in abusive relationships, with the hash tag, why they stayed. It more of a power movement, and it was all thanks to social media, specifically Twitter and Facebook. The other case is of a gay couple that were physically assaulted by a group of cowards in Philadelphia. One of the victims was beat up so bad that they had to shut his mouth. They were beat because they were gay, which is utterly disgusting. In the beginning  police had very few leads, but luckily a video surfaced online that showed the group responsible for the assault. Immediately, people began posting and sharing the video online through Twitter and Facebook. It exploded like a firestorm, and one of the people responsible was identified, and he happened to be a football coach at a local archdiocese high school. He was fired and now could very well be facing criminal charges. This was all done thanks to Twitter and Facebook, and everyone who helped share the video. Social media was able to bring an entire community of people together. I think in situations like these having social media is beneficial not only for people trying to get information, but also for the police because it gives them another tool to help catch the perpetrators and bring them to justice.