(recap lesson) Media Influence

how Digital convergence

Technology; Cameras, Video cameras

Everywhere we go we are being watched, filmed, photographed; from speed and security cameras to home video and personal photographs. Today's world is all about technology that revolves around being recorded.

On something as simple as a phone, you have: a camera, video recorder, voice recorder and video chat. All of which allow you to record yourself and/or others in one way or another.

There is ongoing debate about whether CCTV is a good or bad thing in society. Some argue that it helps keep the streets safe, where as other say it is an invasion of privacy.

I think that although it is uncomfortable knowing that almost everywhere you go you are being viewed or recorded on camera, they have been put in place for good reasons. I do believe that they help to protect people and additionally help catch those doing wrong, breaking the law ect.

Other points:

Above are bullet point lists of positives and negatives I created to clearly show the good and bad points of having CCTV cameras. There are clearly more positives than negatives as CCTV helps to make society a safer place. With the threat of being caught on camera less people are likely to do something against the law as there is always the chance they can be caught and have video evidence held against them.

Books Vs. Electronics

How did books lead present technology and how do they compare t what we have now?


Since the beginning of time mediums as means of mass communications in the media have developed. A medium being anything from newspaper, television, radio ect. The original medium used was the book. Going from the book to electronically run devices is a massive jump.

Books have a clear structure, a beginning, middle and end, is it because the internet is a new advanced way that has no controlled path the lead to its success. 

It makes you wonder what other miracle media will be brought forth in the future, wowing the younger generation of today who will then by that time, be the grandparents of the children of the future.

The kindle vs. the book

Although this video is a little bizzare it has deeper meaning, the book is being phased out, not because it is useless but because something 'better' and electronic has been made. The media advertise the kindle as the a great new invention, especially for loves of book however in my opinion is is also a way for the creator of a basic and over exaggerated invention to get praise and gain money from the public. The book is being pushed out to make way for new electonic devices.

Search Engines

How do search engines work and how have they developed?

I find it so annoying when I'm quickly trying to search up a simple term, word or something of interest and the search engine brings up something completely different, for example typing the word 'mobile information' into Google, you get loats of different electronic devices, I simply asked for a mobile but I now have to myself search through useless and unnecessary information, just to find one web page of what I want.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/search-engine.htm

The link about takes you to a page that fully explains how search engines works and why we use them. This article explains that a search engine such as Google holds millions if not billions of pages, all with their own separate links. When a specific word is entered into the search engine the program is filtered and the site finds and suggests users with the best or most popular pages.
  
Search engine results are mostly based on what the public have entered into the search engine the most, almost like a popularity contest. if a website is often looked for more that another this site will appear high up in the list of search results. Some companies pay the creators of certain search engines so that their website appears first in the selection of websites that has offered to internet browsers.


An example of this can be seen if you type 'homer' into a web search engine such as Google.

Homer is a famous ancient Greek poet; his work had an enormous influence on the history of literature. however when searched under Google images there are 23 images of  'Homer Simpson' a children’s cartoon character before the actual historical 'Homer' from 850BC!

What a time waster. Some people may see it as a small problem, however it can cause a great inconvenience if in a rush and trying to find a piece of information quickly, additionally some may say that it is a great disrespect that a cartoon comes before a influential man that help evolve linguistics.

 When thinking of unreliable search engines, the 'Bing' advert comes to mind:

These adverts comically shows how annoying it is to be looking for a particular thing in a search engine and come up with something else that has no real relation to it. It could be a simple as a similar spelling and you receive on your screen a load of information that you didn’t want. Carew says, in 'Teaching our children' that 'reliable information is key...', 1990, it's true, getting the correct information when using it for academic purposes is very important, so it is 'key' that information is expressed to the public in the best way possible.