Web 2.0 and YOU!: Thank You for Being a Friend

Technology is all about leisure. Ease of access, ease of use- it's sole purpose is to make our lives easier. Literacy, and its many formats, is not excluded from this ideal. It makes reading simpler, writing simpler, watching simpler. From e-readers to emails, e-books to blogs, reading material is being placed right under our noses. Even its prices influence us to buy these devices; e-books are typically much cheaper than the average paperback. They also take up much less room- but are only really worth the investment if the cost of the average number of books you buy is much more than the cost of the e-reader. In this way it both influences you to read on these devices, while setting you up for possible financial doom. As well, online articles and blogs sometimes provide more information than your local newspaper. Interesting facts and information that you would have otherwise never came across is available to many all throughout the interweb. Other forms of literacy, such as the aforementioned 'video', is a completely unique and, in recent years, solely digital movement. What was once only seen in cinemas and on your television, is now available all throughout the internet, displaying advertisements and how-to's for everyone. Technology's effect on literacy is most definitely a profound and ever-changing one.

As technology advances, our own connection with it adapts to its *flux* of information. We approach it differently, and use it in new ways. With online chatrooms, we can create new identities while talking to strangers. On gaming sites, we can roleplay and make ourselves into new creatures. With Facebook and Twitter ruling the online world, all of our information, our day-to-day lives, are available for perusal. We're forced to become private, unsure of the intentions of others. Even now, corporations and other workplaces require employees to give them the passwords to whichever social networking sites they use. In fact, a Canadian teen was recently fired from his job at GameStop as they did a routine check and discovered a picture of him "planking" (that Tumblr fad that took the world by storm a few months ago) on stands filled with video games. With blogs and vlogs, and other forms of self-expression, we find ourselves invested in the lives of others, muddling our values and our wants and needs. With the unprecedented boost of technology between the time of my birth and now, my generation has become that with the most self-photographs. It's the truth; it has given us a discreet way of "bettering ourselves" through makeup and ettitquete videos, or of posting photos of ourselves that have been edited by Picnik (which has actually waved goodbye to users). It allows us to become self-indulgent, shows us how to become diligent, keeps us connected with people worldwide, and provides others with a way to monitor us.  Giving our profiles a two checks to make sure we sound approachable, without telling too much of who we are has become important. It has infiltrated our lives, and makes us more careful of who we say we are. Online, at least. 



Does not belong to me!



Sad to say that this is my last post pertaining to Ms. Powell's class. I've actually had more fun on here than I thought I would! I was afraid it would be a little too self-indulgent, but halfway through I realized that I didn;t write these posts with the wish that others would read it (other than you, Powell, ma'am), and since I'm just writing these for myself, I might as well write what I mean. In the lengthy, wordy, over-punctuated ways I tend to use. Thank you Ms.! :)

p.s. I may or may not write another post in the future. If that bothers any of yous who are possible reading my blog (I know you're out there- I'm watching my pageviews y'all!), unfollow me now. They might not be as profound as my current posts, haha. Fair warning!

p.p.s I thought I'd link to this title's namesake. To listen to this adorably crappy sappy song, click here.

Beauty - Is It Really in the Eye of the Beholder?: I'm so Beautiful, I'm Gonna be a Supermodel!

 *Some esplainin': Today's title are lyrics from the song Supermodel, from the movie Clueless. Fitting, no?

The media is a complicated creature, with it's wily ways of deception (I sense a rhyme coming on...), projecting images of perfection. Their level of physical perfection makes us want to emulate their looks, while not acknowledging that behind each beautiful celebrity is a team of makeup artists, Photoshop, and a whole lot of time. Part of the selling point for actors, actresses, musicians and the like is the way they look. They have to spend a lot of time and money on keeping up their appearance, which often times average citizens just don't have at their disposable. It would hardly be fair for us to compare ourselves to those whose main job consists of keeping up their good looks. The companies around the world know this, and exploit the idolization we hold for these people. They drown us in advertisements in an effort to make us buy the products that gave these stars their beauty. They shove useless information down our throats, and now we have grown to gobble it up; buying into their their paid programming and purchasing their new products. We have fallen victim to the media's thirst for money.

Regarding commercials, and billboards, and radio ads, and magazine ads, and newspaper ads, and any other possible type of advertisement possible (product placements becoming more popular), I really have become desensitized towards it all. They have become a regular addition to everyday life. If one seems particularly interesting, I'll bring it up, or show interest in purchasing their product. If their catchy jingle gets stuck in my head, I will sing it. If it makes me laugh, I'll show it to others. It is possible that I am buying into their propaganda of sorts by participating in such activities- after all, they are all the kinds of promotion that these advertisers want us to do. But I'd also like to think that being aware of how I act puts me a step ahead of them. If only. I know that the way I act is a direct result of all of the advertisements I'm surrounded by, but I also like to think that me knowing that I am participating in it gives me more power over the "control" it has over me. This makes me feel less affected by the images around me, as I give conscious thought into why I sing that song, or what caused me to think of it in the first place.

Retouched photo of a girl in a beauty pageant

I believe that doses of a harsher reality are needed to reduce the number of young men and women who are effected negatively by media. They need to know the truth; as the much overused adage goes, no one is perfect. They must come to terms with and accept their own imperfections- it is what gives them that inherently unique quality we all have. It is what keeps us from becoming the same through our mutual unique qualities. They also have to learn that others have just as many imperfections. Teaching these young people to accept their "flaws", which really should not be viewed in such a negative light to begin with, is the most that can be done.

 If I saw a magazine with a model that was not subject to a complete makeover, I would be shocked, to say the least. Society has some weird, severely made-up image of beauty, and so countering that ideal by being natural comes as a shock. While disappointing, it is a truth which we have to face; the natural  has become unnatural. I don't believe that society would necessarily become a more natural environment, but I do believe that many people would agree that natural is more simple, a fact which appeals to everyone. I cannot imagine that society as whole would unanimously stop dolling up their models, or not promote the sale of cosmetics. Yet, it does not go unnoticed when actors or actresses appear in magazines with a fresh face that's a clear of make up, for a change. While it is blatantly a self-plug of sorts, used to stress how similar celebrities are to "regular people", it still is something that people comment on, and speak about with others. And while society and culture does put such a huge pressure on the young men and women of today, frankly, they shouldn't. The need to beautify, should not come from the necessity of fitting in, or some other drivel. It should come from a passion for beautification, or the need to express yourself, or even for it's simple joy. We should want to change for ourselves, because of ourselves. Not due to others. So, society should definitely change and become a accepting place for people of all shapes, sizes, skin colours, and any other definitive factor. The fact of the matter is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 For the sake of itself, I'm redirecting you to a video of a model wearing a year's worth of makeup, in one day. Click here.

Texting In Social Situations: Ping Me Baby, One More Time!

Coming from a girl who is currently sans-cell in a tech dominated world, texting in social situations is a really big annoyance. Usually it's tolerable, since most people aren't huddled over their Crackberry 24/7, but there are many people who don't understand that their texting can be a bother.Text in public all you want, just not when you're attention should be otherwise occupied by the living, breathing person in front of you frowning at your lack of attention. My advice: Know when to text, and when not to.

When you pull someone aside to have a conversation, or are mid-explanation of something increrdibly important, the last thing you want is to be interrupted by a small, hand-held device. I think that people believe that texting is much easier and faster than calling, and just assume that it is okay  to whip out your phone and send back a quick response to the last text you received. In reality, it isn't. These quick responses usually end in replies, and these replies create conversations that interrupt the one we're having person to person, face to face. Wanting to make conversation with people is okay. Wanting to make conversation with multiple people at a time isn't. You wouldn't talk to me and the person next to you at the same time, so what makes texting any different?

Mellat's Texting Etiquette:

1. Place your ring on vibrate. Trust me when I say no one wants to listen to you live "la vida loca" as you reply to your texts.
2. Be discreet. I'm sure what your buddy Brian told you was funny, but you don't need to laugh that loud.
3. No need to flaunt your texts. This ties into the one above: Yes, I'm sure Brian's joke was top-notch, but no that doesn't necessarily mean I want to know how it went.
4. Those "PING!" options on the Blackberry? A lot louder than your average vibration.
5. I'm not going to third-wheel in a conversation I'm not part of. Don't start a conversation you're not going to continue. Prada or nada, baby.

Ms. Powell, I know I'm supposed to be done, but while my opinionated juices are flowing let me say that I really don't have anything against this texting business. It may be a smidge irritating, with a smattering of annoyance, but it really isn't as bad as I made it out to be.Texting is like any other form of communication, just one where the boundaries aren't so obvious.