Blog 4

1. Provide a quick over view or summary of the readings

2. Clearly Identify what you feel are 3 key ideas in the readings

3. Support your summary and/or key points with three specific references to the readings

The article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” makes the argument that consumers are changing the way they consume media because of the Internet’s influence. “But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 2008.) Carr makes the point that the way that we consume the Internet has caused convergence of other mediums. Other mediums have adapted to stay relevant and competitive with the Internet. In some cases this means that they have to reorganize how they provide information. “As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media have to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets,” (Carr 2008.) This point is furthered through the pod cast “Making the Case – Why Podcasting Matter to Your Organization” the author says that pod casts are the perfect medium to blanket your current and potential constituents with information (made possible through the Internet.) By using pod casts in conjunction with traditional marketing forms, such as press releases, radio, TV and print consumers will have more opportunities to access the information. Through pod casts the information becomes very flexible, portable, easy to archive, all possible with low overhead and production costs. Just as in the article by Carr, Cangialosi explains that the medium influences the way that people consume and how information is delivered.
The article “Can Blogs Revolutionize Progressive Politics” just like pod casts are made possible through the Internet. Blogs are highly accessible and furthered by other forms of mediums. The combination of the Internet and the convergence of other mediums result in collective intelligence through bloging. A difference between the other mediums in the other articles is that blogging is a more elite form of convergence. Many people can access blogs, but not all individuals are welcome to participate in highly visible way. “While A-list bloggers repeatedly deny receiving any special treatment, the reality is that both the media and political establishment pay disproportionate attention to their views, often treating them as representative of the entire progressive blogosphere,” (Chaudhry 2006.)

4. Identify the most difficult or challenging concept for you from this week’s readings. Saying “I don’t know” or “nothing was difficult” is not an adequate response.

I am new to pod casting. I found it a little difficult for the purpose of this assignment to really delve into the information. I took notes while listening and liked the fact that I could rewind and play again. Just like the Google article talked about, it was hard for me to really contemplate and reflect because of the medium because of its form. I understand that the purpose of the pod cast is that it is portable and flexible and can add a different quality to the information by class. It illustrates what we are taking about in class and we are able to experience it first hand.

5. Provide 2 or 3 discussion questions for us to talk about in class
1) In what ways have you noticed other mediums changing to be more “Internet”
like?
2) How can blogging become less elite? Is there a way that the medium can become more inclusive or will it only become more open when elite bloggers become more inclusive?
3) Have you noticed the influences of other mediums affecting the way we think? Isn’t it true that TV had the same affect on us?


6. Discuss how this week’s readings might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world.” Here too, saying "I don't know" or "it does not apply" is not an adequate response.

I found the idea of the Internet changing and influencing the way we think so interesting. I also thought the way that other mediums have changed their formats or adapted new behaviors to compete or be more “Internet like” fascinating. I had not really paid attention to this point previously, but I see it now. I think this might be a great paper topic for me.