Falk Blog Post #8

     EM Forester was portraying how technology is going to ruin everyone’s lives in the future. He portrays a world where human life can no longer breathe the oxygen air, so they live in their own little “cell” where anything they desire is readily available.  People are trained to only desire certain things and to enjoy only the act of sharing ideas with other people, because they are given all the basic needs and they have been living that way for quite some time that they’ve become accustomed to it.  Forester is responding to the issue that humans rely on technology so much, that the more it grows and develops, the less reliant humans will be.  The Machine makes life easy, but it destroyed face to face interaction, the desire to travel, and people are only allowed to share ideas and nothing else.  The TV show called Futurama, shows the future as being all high tech, and that humans live with aliens, robots, monster, etc. and can do practically anything they want to.  The show portrays a good future, one where people live happily, get along with any creature, and still will have jobs just the learning the always be up to date.  

     The similarity between EM Forester’s “The Machine Stops” and Futurama is both show the future as being so high tech, that people can get whatever they want, and both r able to visit outside the realm they r in.  People in the Machine are allowed to visit the surface of the Earth with a special permit and a breathing apparatus, and people/creatures in Futurama are allowed to visit Space or virtually any planet.  The difference between the two is that Furturama shows how the future is a happy place, where people are happy about all the new forms of technology.  “The Machine Stops” has a sad ending, where the machine breaks down and kills every person living in the machine. 

Falk In Class Writing #7

 Grand Theft Auto games are more than just entertainment, they are a training method to learn how to kill.  Beck points out reasons why the game should not be distributed to people, because of the violence.  He shows that anyone could play the game and then make it into a reality, and all they need to do is play the game to learn the skills. 

     Beck tells about the features of the game, like beating up hookers, stealing cars, beating up police officers, running over pedestrians, buy hookers, and can basically beat or kill anyone they’d like to. He argues on the fact that it used to take a special training to learn how to do some of the stuff in the game, but now all someone needs to know is in Grand Theft Auto.  He is shocked on how many parents allow their children to play it, because of all the many violent actions that can easily take over someone’s life.

     Beck seemed to be stating his opinion mainly, because he was making a general statement on how people who play this game would turn into killers.  He always kept saying that it was only guys who played the game, which by far is not true.  Many girls are playing violent video games nowadays, so that shows how Beck isn’t too informed on facts about the game.  Beck could have made his argument more convincing if he used true facts, that were about percentage of kids who turn the game into reality, or what age rage most likely plays this game, etc.  He also put a lot of emphasis on the fact that in the game the person playing a game can make their character buy a hooker, have sex with her, and then kill or beat her right afterwards.  The main point of the game is not that, but it is an aspect that Beck knew would get parents to realize how violent and horrible or a game Grand Theft auto is.   

Falk In Class Writing #6

Part 1     

     Music on ITunes used to be only 99 cents a few years ago, but now it has gone up to $1.29 for just one song.  There are many different sites for people to download music for free, which is illegal.  Most either do music piracy or have done it, because to pay $1.29 a song is just too much.  It is really easy to download music illegally, because there are different sites someone could use and there isn’t any kind of block on these sites.  My opinion is that music piracy is alright, because I used to do it just because I didn’t have the money to buy songs I wanted to listen to.  People shouldn’t have to pay that much just so they can listen to a song.  I don’t do it anymore because I found an application that is only $10 a month to download and listen to any song I want at any time.

Part 2

     I read the How to Save the Music Business by Paul McGuinness.  The author tried to explain to readers that music piracy is becoming unbelievably popular and it has started to ruin the music industry.  Artists work hard to make their music, so they want something for their hard work and it wouldn’t be right for them just to allow anyone to download their music.  The music industries also provide many jobs, and as music piracy increases, more jobs are lost.  The author is against music piracy, and is doing what he can to get more people aware of how bad it can be.  The author states that from 2006-2009 “music industry revenues dropped from $25 billion to $16 billion.”  The author described his fix to the music piracy problem, and described it as the music company would be included in a broadband bill that way a whole family could download whatever kind of music.     

Falk In Class-Writing #5

      Carmen likes to listen to music by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and The Saltine Project.  She loves Harry Potter and likes to read the books as well as watch the movies.  Her two favorite television shows are Make It or Break It and Friends.  Carmen doesn’t give too much information about herself, just a few things to complete her profile.  Her roommate attacked her Facebook page by posting random wall posts, and just stating random things.  She doesn’t give much information about herself on Facebook, and most of the comments from her friends are just about how they want her to go back home. 

     The ads I generally get on the side of Facebook have to deal with horses, snowboards or some genre of music.  The horse ads are websites that sell all kinds of tack, and I tend to always get this kind of ad.  It has a picture of a horse jumping or running free, which always catches my eye.  The snowboard ads are usually trying to get me to sign up for an online raffle to win a free snowboard trip or a free snowboard.  The shopping ads that are sometimes presented have a picture of some cute outfit, and it tries to get people to click on the link to go online shopping.  The ads don’t have anything to do about what Carmen likes, but more aimed towards what I like.  Facebook does this, because they know that if they show ads favor the viewer then there would be more of a chance that the viewer would click on the ads.    

Falk Blog Post #5

MySpace used to one of the most popular websites in the country, until Facebook came along and took over.  In Christine Rosen’s Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, she mainly focused MySpace and her article wasn’t really old.  It came out in 2007, and already is outdated because now everyone who is anyone has one.  Christine states that having “friends” on MySpace are different than having “friends” in real life.  She has a point, because most people just add random people or someone they just met, just so they will have more friends on Facebook/MySpace.  It has started to turn into a competition, which gives people and incentive to try and meet people in real life so they can have more Facebook/MySpace friends.

     Christine argues that people who a lot of time on Facebook than they do hanging out with people, tend to be less socialable.  This can be true for some people, but it is not completely true because many people know how to be comfortable around people even when they talk to people on Facebook/MySpace all the time.  The competitiveness has increased ever since people have been making more of an emphasis of having the most friends.  It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to have that competition, because it makes people want to go out to meet new people so they could add them on Facebook/MySpace.  Some people even add random people on the internet, and it has gotten people into dangerous situations, but even when people do random adding they eventually try to meet the person in real life.  Facebook/MySpace isn’t really making people less socialable because it is the person’s own choice to be shy or outgoing.  It just is a fun thing to go onto and keep in contact with friends and family. 

     

Falk Blog Post #4

http://www.youtube.com/user/KiaMotorsAmerica?v=4zJWA3Vo6TU&feature=pyv&cid=sem&ppc=y

     I chose the new KIA commercial that is trying to sell the KIA Soul.  This commercial starts off with a video game background of aliens and robots shooting each other, so it looks that it is a commercial for a new game.  The hamsters then drive up in their KIA Soul and start shuffling to the popular song, Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.  They get the two sides to stop fighting, and then everyone starts shuffling together.  The song makes me want to just start dancing whenever I hear it, because it is one of my favorite songs.  The only text is at the end when it says “2012 SOUL a new way to roll”, “$ Starting under $14k” and of course they had to add their name at the end, “KIA”.  The opening really caught my eye, because I thought it was for a new video game and I was interested to see what one is coming out now, but was shocked when it turned to hamsters driving and shuffling.   KIA knew that people love the song and that most people will watch a commercial if it has anything to do with a shooting game, so they used both to create a viral video. 

     KIA tries to grab the attention of viewers by adding catchy songs, and an opener that is appealing to the audience’s age range.  The opener gets the attention of people, because most probably thought it was a new video game that was coming out, so it hooked people to stay and find out what is was about.  Once the hamsters rolled up in the KIA Soul they knew people were going to know it wasn’t for a video game, so they made hamsters shuffle to Party Rock Anthem.  The rhetoric they use is based just on image and sounds alone to keep viewers hooked and entertained throughout the whole commercial.  The commercial uses the desire to dance and play video games, because the song they use makes anyone want to dance no matter the age.   

     The audience for the KIA commercial would be basically anyone that can drive, but it is probably most intended for the younger generation of new drivers.  The video game resemblance shows that the audience they wanted to get “hooked” first are the guys, and then the music gets the rest of the other people to watch.    The commercial assumes that the audience knows that shuffling is the dance that is meant for the song Party Rock Anthem, because that’s how all the hamsters and the other things are dancing.  The audience might think that if they buy this car, they’d be able to shuffle just like they are in the commercial.  They might also assume that other people who just look up to them now that they have this “awesome” new car.  The commercial really doesn’t have much to do with the car, because it never tells or shows any information about it, except for the name and price.  The commercial just is a really entertaining, and it gets people to watch.  The commercial is both on the T.V. and YouTube, but it is most effective on YouTube.  YouTube is viewed by various people, and anyone can find this commercial so it doesn’t have to be aimed for a certain type of people.  YouTube is the most effective form of advertising as long as you can get it to go viral, which means it is mass sent to people and becomes extremely popular or extremely hated. 

In Class Writing 4 Falk

The main picture changes occasionally, but each one shows a different aspect of VT life.  The background is a nice picture of people walking on a bright sunny day.  It gives off a welcoming and warm feeling, making a good first impression.  The information boxes are blue, green, maroon and orange. Maroon and orange are the school colors, so that’s obvious why those two colors were chosen, and blue and green look good together mixed in with the maroon and orange.  The site is easily navigable and it has major topic boxes that if you click on it, more boxes will be available to click on that pertains to that main topic.  If you can’t find what you are looking for then you can type it in in the search engine box.  

Falk Blog Post #3

     Snowboarding is something I love to do in the winter; you could call my winter passion.  I try to go as much as possible, especially since it’s only available for a few months of the year.  I typed in snowboarding to Google and the first three websites that appeared were Burton snowboards, Wikipedia and a Transworld snowboarding.  Burton Snowboards is one of my favorite websites, because they make the best snowboarding gear.  My board is a Burton Snowboard and I love it.  Their website sells all types of gear, from boards, to jackets, to gloves.  It also has information about the burton snowboard team, and just random facts.  Wikipedia tells basically everything about snowboarding, because anyone can add to that website.  It talks about different styles of snowboarding, how to snowboard, safety tips, a known competition, and just random facts.  Transworld Snowboarding isn’t a shopping website but more of an informational site.  It has a how to section for tricks, a gear guide, resorts section and videos.  The websites are similar to each other in which they all contain the basic information about snowboarding, and they give you tips on what to look for when buying gear. 

     I asked my roommate to Google search snowboarding as well, and she got the exact same top three sites.  I was shocked, because I Google snowboarding stuff a lot, like to buy new gear, and she said she maybe has Google searched snowboarding once before.  At the same time, I’m not surprised because all three websites are the major websites.  Wikipedia is always in the top three no matter what is being searched, Burton Snowboards is the top snowboarding company and Transworld snowboarding contain a lot of major information. 

     The individualized search engine that Google has created has its good and bad sides.  I like it because it makes it so someone isn’t going through a lot of random websites that really have nothing to do with the topic that is being searched.  It also recommends websites that are like the ones I already go to, so sometimes I end of finding some pretty awesome websites.  I don’t like it at the same time, because personalized search is limited.  A useful website could be left out of the results because it wasn’t related to any site I have visited before.  The internet is a space for free knowledge and exchange of ideas most of the time, but there are sites that charge money just to be a member.  It can be hard to trust the internet, because you never know what is true and what is fake.  In the whole picture, I think the individualized search engine is a good thing, because it reflects on what you like to go to on the internet, and give good suggestions.  

In Class Writing 3 Falk

What images and text are present in the ad?

     The image of a guy and girl having lunch wearing the same uniform, which means they work together.  The text is saying how women have proved that they can work the same jobs men can, and do it effectively.

What is the purpose? What in the text makes you believe that?

     The purpose is to show that women now can work same jobs as men, because they have proved themselves worthy of doing that.  The text says “we never figured you could do a man-sized job!” which means that America didn’t believe that women could work the same jobs as men because they jobs were more dangerous and required more skill and physical strength that women’s jobs.

Who do you believe is the audience? How do you know?

     The audience would be both men and women, because it gives women the confidence to go out and apply for these jobs, and it tells men that women can do it just as well as they can.

Who do you believe is the creator? Why?

     The government or an owner of a huge factory/company wrote the ad, because they wanted to get the point across that women can work a “man’s” job.  To help ease the transition of having women work in factories, and to also give women confidence.       

What are the rhetorical appeals?

     The creator used Pathos to get his/her point across, because the picture is of a man and a woman on their lunch break working at the same factory.  The use of language also helped show how women can succeed in the factory workspace.

What is the cultural context and assumptions?

     It tries to support women and their choice to work in factories, and it seemed like before this ad men never thought that woman could work in factories.  Men didn’t like the fact of women working, but the ad helped settle a little tension. 

Falk Blog Post #2

      We live in a world that is basically run on digital technology, and there is no way to escape it.  High school teachers are starting to use computers more in class.  This is a slow transition because many teachers/deans are hesitant on the fact that students can become very distracted when dealing with computers.  College is very different on that aspect, in the fact that students basically use their laptops for virtually anything from writing notes all the way to ordering food sometimes.  I personally love using my computer to take notes or do homework and yes I do get distracted, but that’s the whole learning experience. 

     Nicholas Carr tries to argue his point on how the internet has made it so he can read in depth and find anything intriguing for a certain amount of time. I agree with him on how the internet is distracting, and how it has made it so people can find the answer to basically anything.  I feel like he is just trying to find something to blame for his own problem.  Internet does not make people less willing to read, that is based on the person’s own ability and will to read and learn. 

     High schools are starting to make changes to adapt into this “digital world” but they are still hesitant, so they are doing it gradually.  If I was in charge of how schools were run, I would have it so most high schools allow students to use laptops.  The distractions are something to worry about, but a student needs to learn how to deal with it by pass and fail before college.  It would help a student learn how to manage their time and figure out how to control the urge to get distracted when work has to be done.  Teachers should focus more on teaching kids at a young age to type, and keep re-enforcing it as they get older because then they’d be able to type correctly.  I personally do not like SOLs, because they are a waste of time and students don’t remember too much after the test is over with.  Teachers mainly teach what is going to be on the SOL, and it doesn’t prepare students for college at all.  They should be teaching the main classes of course, but it might be good to go at a different way.  I personally think teachers should allow students bring their laptops and work on them in class, because they would learn that if they get distracted then they wouldn’t do so well in the class.  It is all about the learning experience, because most students learn by messing up once or multiple times.  It is called live and learn, which is what life is really all about.

    

Falk Blog Post 1

     Junior year of high school, students form the all the Virginia Beach Public Schools had an opportunity to apply to go to a specialized class at a technology school.  I got accepted and attended this engineering class for my Junior and Senior year of high school, but I still went to my regular high school for my basic classes for half the school day.  Attending this class was a major technology upgrade, because it had different types of machines and various computer programs that I had never heard of before.  One program we used frequently was called Inventor, and at first it was one of the most confusing things I had ever seen before.  You could create various shapes and objects, all which you had to start from scratch and actually create them yourself.  I remember the first day we started using it, I was so dumbfounded and thought I would never be able to figure out how it works.  It had so many different functions, options and icons that I just stared at the program for a very long time.  I am usually pretty good with technology and could quickly figure out how to make things work, even if I have never really seen it in my life, but this program was more complex than I thought.  After a couple weeks of using it, I was finally able to figure it out for the most part, but every time for the next two years that I used it, I figured out new things about how it works or how to create new designs.  This whole class opened my eyes to all types of high quality technology that I would not have been exposed too if I never took the class.

     Claire Couillard wrote about how she was growing up when the early forms of new high tech technology started emerging.  She stated the fact that she was able to figure out new technology by trial and error, which is how I had to figure out Inventor.  Most of the time my trial and error consisted of me just messing around, and wondering what does this button do kind of thing.  The difference between our stories though, is the fact that she had her family and friends go to her for help, where I went to my friends for help. 

     Being digital literate is now considered to be its own language, and like any language, it might come easy to some people but to others it would be extremely difficult.  A person that would be digital literate would be someone that knows how some of the buttons and icons work if you would press them, and people who read a computer program.  There are different levels of digital literacy, and most people know the basics of how to use a computer.  A digital native is someone who has grown up with all these new forms of digital technology, and when something new comes out it usually wouldn’t take too long to figure it out.  Mainly the younger generations are digital natives, but the people who didn’t grow up with the new digital technology are starting to try and learn how these new things work.

     The most effective evidence to prove the age range of people who are digital natives would be to conduct a survey.  It wouldn’t be too accurate, unless you surveyed everyone in the entire world.  Internet would also be a good source of evidence.  I am a digital native, because I’ve grown up in the time when all this new digital technology started appearing, my mom on the other hand did not, but she is digital literate because she is trying to learn how to do most of her work on her laptop.  Since she didn’t grow up with all these new digital things, it is difficult for her to figure out what to do so she always had to come to me for help.  To me, the best kind of evidence is the kind that comes from past experience because it then would sound more real and it would be easier to explain, then going off of some random website you found. 

In Class Writing 2 Falk

A) A peer via Text
  If I wanted to try and get one of my friends to join a social media site, like Facebook, I would be using the pathos writing style by over emphasizing how much fun it is and that is can be quite addicting at times. I would also say how it is a great way to keep in touch with people, especially since so many people have a Facebook now a days.  If you or one of your friends ever lose or break your phone, then you could easily go on Facebook and message people your new number or your friends could tell you that they don't have their phone so that you aren't texting them wondering why they weren't responding. I would tell them that it is great way to pass the time when you are bored and have nothing to do.

B) A professor in a face to face conversation
  If I wanted to try and convince one of my professors to join a social media site, i would be using the logos style and my main emphasis would be to tell them how it is a great way to get in contact with their students. If they ever needed to get a message out to the whole class, instead of just one person, then they could easily just create a group of his students so that they would all get the same message at the same time.

C) A parent or family member by email
   If I wanted to try and get one of my parents to join a social media site, I would be using the logos style again and explain to them how it would be easier to keep in touch with me, and they could easily look at pictures I upload of what is going on in my life. I would also explain how they could easily web cam with me on Facebook, and they could easily web cam with anyone as long as the other person has a cam and is their friend on Facebook.  I would tell them how they can find some of their old high school/college friends, if they have a Facebook, and could be updated about what their friends and family members are doing.
 

In Class Writing 1 Falk

How do you use technology on a given day?

• I use my phone as my alarm clock in the mornings, to check facebook, keep in touch with friends and as a GPS 
• I use my laptop to also keep in touch with people, to check homework, write homework, check email and to edit photos.

How do you define technology?

• Something that helps improve everyday life by being quicker and more efficient. 
• I think of it as being something electric or battery powered. 

How does technology impact how you think, read or write?

• I use texting talk, and I am starting to find myself not using correct spelling or grammar in papers that I write for school. 
• Some things now read out loud, so it is getting difficult for me to pronounce fancy words and to spell some words correctly. 

What does it mean to be digital?

• We use the new technology and don't refer to the "old" ways of doing things. 
• Most things are done on computers, or used by phones

What does it mean to be a digital native?

• Someone who is used to any digital technology, and has grown up with all the new technology

What does it mean to be a digital immigrant?

• Someone who didn't grow up with all the new technology.