An Economic Shift

From reading "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson, I feel that "hits" in the media and entertainment industry are going to be around regardless.  There is always going to be something that is generally liked by a large population, but the influence "hits" have over the population has shifted. Now that we as consumers have access to virtually anything that caters to our unique likes and interests, we can wander from the mainstream and find "niches". For example, in the excerpt Anderson explained how a CD store will only stock a record that sells a certain number of copies per month to cover costs and still make a profit. It would only make sense to stock CD's that are the most popular with a broad clientele. In contrast, take an online music database that makes profit from user subscriptions and allows users unlimited access to a variety of different types of music that aren't "hits". This unlimited access versus a generalized "one-size fits all" access as described in the excerpt has caused a great economic shift. It's a rarity to find a movie rental store anymore because Redbox and Netflix have revolutionized the rental industry. "Hits" are always going to be popular because there are always going to be things that the general population likes, but they won't be as influencial. The new concept of options and unlimited access is on the rise.

2013 Direct TV Compilation

Anthropological Intro to Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TPAO-lZ4_hU

New Media Landscape

New media has given communication a whole new aspect. I can interact with millions of people around the world by recording a video in my room all alone on my webcam. With this new found self power I can become any person/personality that I wish with no outside restraints.  I can do retake after retake until I'm satisfied with my cast. I can edit how I look and how I sound to my liking with certain software. New media has made it easier to display personal talent to the entertainment business through singing, dancing, acting, etc. The world is smaller now because an incident videotaped in South Carolina can be uploaded and seen around the world in minutes.

Google Stupid?

This article was very accurate in stating facts on how the mind changes within each advancement of text; from thinking to writing, writing to typing, now typing to texting. Our minds have slowly changed in how precise and abrupt we expect to retain information. Google only takes pressure off of our minds to think critically through the power of buttons and screens. I don't know if stupid is what Google is making us but I know it is certainly forcing us to change what we're thinking about. For example, reading an article online is probably susceptible to have pop up, links, and advertisements that could very well distract a reader from their targeted material. On the other hand, a book has nothing but the word on its page which forces the reader to either read or make a conscience effort to put the book down. Google is making us something mentally lazy.

A Screen Point of View

This article made several interesting points on the rapid uprising of screen usage today. Its a wave amongst that is only going to grow in popularity. I have opinions about the screen era being both used for good and bad reasons. I think screen have not only shrunk the world but it has given people a more tangible platform to share ideas good, bad, or ugly. While those who have hidden talents can now be exposed much easier the screen also allow those less enlightened or not as talented to be put on screen just as easy. Kelly believes that small sites such as Youtube, iMovie, and Flickr is where the action lies for the genesis of screen literacy.

Kelly sees that screen are being implemented at almost every angle of life which forces us to become screen literate. Screen manufacturing for TV's, cell phones, computers, tablets, remotes, and many other devices are now thriving unlike anytime before. Both book and movie production loses it's once renowned unique quality all due to the versatility to the screen.

My Digital Generation

I wasn't quite able to get a high speed laptop for this assignment to access the requested website from Dr. Nichols. However, I do remember the some of the lyrics from the video we watched in class on Wednesday. The song by Arcade Fire took me back to when I was a little kid, before my cell phones, TV's, laptops, and my PS3. It made my remember when all I had was my yellow Tonka truck and my pet turtle. If I had wanted  a good time it would probably take place outside of my house either with my cousins or the next door neighbors kids. In 2014, that seems like a distant dream, a fantasy. Being apart of the digital generation is all I know now. My phone has become my second brain, eyes, and mouth. From what I can tell the technology will only improve as the years go by forcing my future kids to adapt to the digital generation as well.