So, blackboard is down, and I have no way of obtaining the prompt for this blog. I just remember reading over it earlier today and having a few ideas. Maybe if I was a better student and made a hard copy of all the ‘important stuff’ I wouldn’t find myself in this situation. Blackboard isn’t supposed to be up and running till 10 am on Sunday, if it even works then, so here goes my blog about what I THINK IT SHOULD BE ABOUT!!!
Comparing the Huffington Post and Hot Air, my 2 blogs of choice, to The New York Times. I guess the most basic comparison we can make between these 3 different sources of information is just that… they all are capable of supplying a group or person with information about something. Each person, depending on their interests and purpose in reading the source, go to the site or pick up the paper (or go to the paper’s site, haha) to acquire information. Which brings me to another way to compare these 3 sources, the type of media used to get their stuff out there
Being that the Huffington Post and Hot Air are blogs, the only way to view their material is through the internet. Although the New York Times was primarily a print based source of news, through the use of internet and technology, this news is now more easily accessible to viewers all over the world thanks to the internet and the creation of the New York Time’s website.
Also, the information that each source displays and the content of the pages differ through all 3. While the New York Times covers most topics on a wide variety of things, the Huffington Post and Hot Air are more specific with their news and broadcasts over the blogs. All 3 sources have something to do with politics and issues of the such, however, Huffington Post has information relating to celebrities, comedy, books, and even specific cities in America.
I am glad that I chose the blogs I did and also have the opportunity to read the New York Times. I think that each will enhance the others in some way or another and I should be able to have a variety of knowledge that I obtain through the different sources.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
3 minutes left... so this was all about evolving.?.
Yelp, evolution and evolving. The world of blogging as discussed in Sullivan’s article, and that little sphere of Jarvis is all about how something has evolved and changed and fits into the world today.
When a blogger blogs about what is happening in the world, they have to be getting their information from somewhere, right? So it is like what Jarvis is saying about the influence of other things on our news in his sphere. We have the media who portray the information to us in one way, then when that information is blogged about, subtle changes in the information can make slight variations in the factuality and validity of it. Which after being read by fellow bloggers, can provoke even more change after they decide to blog about it, or talk about it… you see where I am going with this?
Today we are people who rely on many sources to obtain news and information, whether from friends, family, newspapers, TV, internet, or some other way, we are always capable of finding new information about something. In Jarvis’ little sphere, (sorry I refer to his work as ‘little’, it just personally adds some humor), he is trying to show how the way we used to be and the way we are now with news has changed drastically as far as how we become aware of things. It used to be just straightforward ‘here is the new’. Now, however, it is not so straightforward. We instead have all this extra stuff that can be added in there through different means, such as blogging.
I can definitely relate to the little sphere. I am not one to rely solely on any one news broadcast to obtain knowledge about the world… not saying that that source would be completely factual and have no opinions lying within it anyhow. It is simply entertaining to have other means of gaining information, and makes it interesting to view things from other’s opinions. I like being able to have different choices.
When a blogger blogs about what is happening in the world, they have to be getting their information from somewhere, right? So it is like what Jarvis is saying about the influence of other things on our news in his sphere. We have the media who portray the information to us in one way, then when that information is blogged about, subtle changes in the information can make slight variations in the factuality and validity of it. Which after being read by fellow bloggers, can provoke even more change after they decide to blog about it, or talk about it… you see where I am going with this?
Today we are people who rely on many sources to obtain news and information, whether from friends, family, newspapers, TV, internet, or some other way, we are always capable of finding new information about something. In Jarvis’ little sphere, (sorry I refer to his work as ‘little’, it just personally adds some humor), he is trying to show how the way we used to be and the way we are now with news has changed drastically as far as how we become aware of things. It used to be just straightforward ‘here is the new’. Now, however, it is not so straightforward. We instead have all this extra stuff that can be added in there through different means, such as blogging.
I can definitely relate to the little sphere. I am not one to rely solely on any one news broadcast to obtain knowledge about the world… not saying that that source would be completely factual and have no opinions lying within it anyhow. It is simply entertaining to have other means of gaining information, and makes it interesting to view things from other’s opinions. I like being able to have different choices.
Monday, October 26, 2009
crossing my fingers... sure hope I went down the right path.
As I read the prompt for this blog I was very happy that we were asked what parts confused us… so let me just go ahead and tell you that everything confused me. Well, the first time I read the article at least, and even after the second time I read it, I still ventured to a fellow classmate’s blog to see if the idea I had about it was on track.
Then I read the darn thing a third time. I’m still not promising any amazing thoughts, though…
Anyhow, the press sphere. An interesting concept proposed by Jeff Jarvis about how the media and press has changed the way people perceive information through the news and other news sources. Jarvis focuses on how stories can really be developed, or made, depending on a different input, rather than just the story itself. He mentions how with the addition of links and discussions online the story can take a new direction or meaning, and the idea may even be distorted.
Jarvis says that we have a desire or need that is fulfilled through the addition of all these extras when the press ‘enhances’ a story. In his diagram of the sphere some of the influences are peers, government, work, and media – just to name a few – and it is easy to see how these could influence a person into seeing something a little distorted.
I like how a fellow classmate said something about the press sensationalizing the material to really get the public interested. It is sad that in order for our society today to pay attention to basic news, it has to be all glammed up with additives. A story in the world today can’t merely survive on its own without the ‘other stuff’ that makes it interesting. It seems as if in order for a person to make their own opinion of something, or to understand something, they must have the opinion or ideas of someone or something (government, press, etc.) else.
Then I read the darn thing a third time. I’m still not promising any amazing thoughts, though…
Anyhow, the press sphere. An interesting concept proposed by Jeff Jarvis about how the media and press has changed the way people perceive information through the news and other news sources. Jarvis focuses on how stories can really be developed, or made, depending on a different input, rather than just the story itself. He mentions how with the addition of links and discussions online the story can take a new direction or meaning, and the idea may even be distorted.
Jarvis says that we have a desire or need that is fulfilled through the addition of all these extras when the press ‘enhances’ a story. In his diagram of the sphere some of the influences are peers, government, work, and media – just to name a few – and it is easy to see how these could influence a person into seeing something a little distorted.
I like how a fellow classmate said something about the press sensationalizing the material to really get the public interested. It is sad that in order for our society today to pay attention to basic news, it has to be all glammed up with additives. A story in the world today can’t merely survive on its own without the ‘other stuff’ that makes it interesting. It seems as if in order for a person to make their own opinion of something, or to understand something, they must have the opinion or ideas of someone or something (government, press, etc.) else.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
I'm a big kid now.
I really have enjoyed reading the New York Times this past week or so. Of course, as with any and every newspaper or news website there are stories and posts that interest me and stories and posts that don’t.
With The New York Times, you can find just about anything on any topic that you would like to look at, so finding something that I could sit down and read was not hard at all. So, oddly enough, while scrolling down the page, the very first thing that I clicked on to read more about was a picture of a house. The article was about what type of house a certain amount of money could buy someone in a particular place. The picture was what caught my eye, being a huge A-Frame structure that instantly made me daydream of living in it, however, I honestly liked thinking about the different aspects and value of money, like what it will buy you and not buy you depending on where you are. This really amazed me.
Of course, I had my fair share of balloon reading through The New York Times, as I am sure everyone did through some news source or another. I read on the topic of the little boy in the balloon in regards from everything to the actual event and the horror of it all, to the attention seeking parents…oh how embarrassing! This story is becoming another ‘Michal Jackson’; we are all just getting sick of hearing about it.
I also read about the war in Iraq quite often. Before, there was hardly ever a time I would focus on the war or read about it, and I barely paid attention when something came on the news broadcast on TV. But being able to pick what I wanted to read so I didn’t overwhelm myself with the information allowed me to become a little more informed about what is happening.
There were many more things I read about while reading through the material in The New York Times. The stuff that I did read had an impact on how I participate in conversations around me, which I rather liked. For instance, I was on the phone with my uncle who is in his early 30’s. He was talking about how he and his fiancé are going to build a house on their farm in stamping ground. This made me think of the article that I read about houses. I mentioned to him how I had read the article in The New York Times and then discussed how different amounts of money would buy different size houses. We talked about how interesting it is going to be to see what the same amount of money will buy here in Kentucky. I could tell he was happy to be having a conversation about something other than what homework I had to do, not to mention he was impressed with me actually reading a news paper, especially The New York Times.
Thumbs Up for The New York Times… not only do I become a more informed citizen, but you make me look good, too! :-)
With The New York Times, you can find just about anything on any topic that you would like to look at, so finding something that I could sit down and read was not hard at all. So, oddly enough, while scrolling down the page, the very first thing that I clicked on to read more about was a picture of a house. The article was about what type of house a certain amount of money could buy someone in a particular place. The picture was what caught my eye, being a huge A-Frame structure that instantly made me daydream of living in it, however, I honestly liked thinking about the different aspects and value of money, like what it will buy you and not buy you depending on where you are. This really amazed me.
Of course, I had my fair share of balloon reading through The New York Times, as I am sure everyone did through some news source or another. I read on the topic of the little boy in the balloon in regards from everything to the actual event and the horror of it all, to the attention seeking parents…oh how embarrassing! This story is becoming another ‘Michal Jackson’; we are all just getting sick of hearing about it.
I also read about the war in Iraq quite often. Before, there was hardly ever a time I would focus on the war or read about it, and I barely paid attention when something came on the news broadcast on TV. But being able to pick what I wanted to read so I didn’t overwhelm myself with the information allowed me to become a little more informed about what is happening.
There were many more things I read about while reading through the material in The New York Times. The stuff that I did read had an impact on how I participate in conversations around me, which I rather liked. For instance, I was on the phone with my uncle who is in his early 30’s. He was talking about how he and his fiancé are going to build a house on their farm in stamping ground. This made me think of the article that I read about houses. I mentioned to him how I had read the article in The New York Times and then discussed how different amounts of money would buy different size houses. We talked about how interesting it is going to be to see what the same amount of money will buy here in Kentucky. I could tell he was happy to be having a conversation about something other than what homework I had to do, not to mention he was impressed with me actually reading a news paper, especially The New York Times.
Thumbs Up for The New York Times… not only do I become a more informed citizen, but you make me look good, too! :-)
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pretty Colors...
Never realized how little politics and things of such interested me till I started, well, attempt to follow the blogs I chose. First off, the blog Hot Air.
Of course, you cannot have a blog involving politics and not mention the ‘big man’, President Obama. As expected, most posts mentioned, if not completely revolved around, Obama, but that is accredited to the fact that he is just so ‘involved’ with things. Fox News is surely getting the attention from this site, and Obama (I just giggled). There were a few separate posts about Obama and his view on Fox, along with Obama and his Obama Care plan and (still) Obama vs. Palin posts. This blog was rather easy to navigate. I really like how they pick and choose different headlines from news sources across America, which are and are not related to politics, to place in a nice little box at the top of the page. Quite interesting stuff indeed; I read about marijuana in Sacramento and the dreaded H1N1. Oh, and the audience – intended for those who are just looking for some information about the world, and politics, and issues and whatnot. It was informing, with some humor, and some videos. Well, a lot of videos…I guess I should mention that this blog is a video blog. Every post is a video with commentary, which does make it (thankfully) more interesting and easier to read than just straightforward “here is some info about healthcare”, woo.
Now on to The Huffington Post. I think I could possibly spend hours on this site, very interesting. This is a place where I can find info about politics, if I still want to know anything else after sifting through stuff on Hot Air, but also learn about world issues like charities and the homeless, view funny pictures, check out celebrities… and then there was something about men and goats J…I really don’t know. This blog has a wide variety of topics, so a wider spectrum of audience members is likely to be attracted. Surprisingly, this site had fewer adds than Hot Air, which I appreciated. –Hot Air had advertising about finding money, finding the diet that works, and finding the ‘perfect one’… bull- This was also a very *COLORFUL* site… every time I clicked on a new tab at the top of the page, the color scheme changed… WOW! This, sadly, entertained me, and I felt need to mention this in my blog. Lame, I know.
Of course, you cannot have a blog involving politics and not mention the ‘big man’, President Obama. As expected, most posts mentioned, if not completely revolved around, Obama, but that is accredited to the fact that he is just so ‘involved’ with things. Fox News is surely getting the attention from this site, and Obama (I just giggled). There were a few separate posts about Obama and his view on Fox, along with Obama and his Obama Care plan and (still) Obama vs. Palin posts. This blog was rather easy to navigate. I really like how they pick and choose different headlines from news sources across America, which are and are not related to politics, to place in a nice little box at the top of the page. Quite interesting stuff indeed; I read about marijuana in Sacramento and the dreaded H1N1. Oh, and the audience – intended for those who are just looking for some information about the world, and politics, and issues and whatnot. It was informing, with some humor, and some videos. Well, a lot of videos…I guess I should mention that this blog is a video blog. Every post is a video with commentary, which does make it (thankfully) more interesting and easier to read than just straightforward “here is some info about healthcare”, woo.
Now on to The Huffington Post. I think I could possibly spend hours on this site, very interesting. This is a place where I can find info about politics, if I still want to know anything else after sifting through stuff on Hot Air, but also learn about world issues like charities and the homeless, view funny pictures, check out celebrities… and then there was something about men and goats J…I really don’t know. This blog has a wide variety of topics, so a wider spectrum of audience members is likely to be attracted. Surprisingly, this site had fewer adds than Hot Air, which I appreciated. –Hot Air had advertising about finding money, finding the diet that works, and finding the ‘perfect one’… bull- This was also a very *COLORFUL* site… every time I clicked on a new tab at the top of the page, the color scheme changed… WOW! This, sadly, entertained me, and I felt need to mention this in my blog. Lame, I know.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I finally decided.
I will be following The Huffington Post, Hot Air, and Bitten - a blog about what else, FOOD!
I chose these blogs simpy because they seemed interesting and I personally did not want to get too much in to politics and things of the such, although Hot Air does have a big political influence. The Huffington Post seemed interesting with the news about celebrities and I did not lose interest of the site within a few minutes like I did many others.
I chose Bitten because of my personal interest, as I am sure of everyone's personal interest, haha, with food. The first blog I noticed was a recipe, however, the more posts I read I realized that the discussion did in fact grow to different things, not just how to make something. I hope it is entertaining,
I chose these blogs simpy because they seemed interesting and I personally did not want to get too much in to politics and things of the such, although Hot Air does have a big political influence. The Huffington Post seemed interesting with the news about celebrities and I did not lose interest of the site within a few minutes like I did many others.
I chose Bitten because of my personal interest, as I am sure of everyone's personal interest, haha, with food. The first blog I noticed was a recipe, however, the more posts I read I realized that the discussion did in fact grow to different things, not just how to make something. I hope it is entertaining,
Monday, October 19, 2009
let us compare...
After reading through a few blogs of my classmates, I realized that I had forgotten a few different sources of which I obtained information and kept ‘in the know’ with the world. But lucky for me I can mention those in this blog because those other sources are similar to those of others as well.
Like in Megan Floyd’s blog, English 105-07 (http://meaganfloyd.blogspot.com/), she mentioned how she watched CNN and for 3 weeks it had nothing but Michael Jackson’s death coverage. I remember how I also would skim through the channels and notice that ‘Michael Jackson’ was always headlined at the bottom on the screen. I will admit that for a while, maybe a few days, I may have actually been interested in the loss of the pop star. I wanted to know how he died, if anyone was really connected to his death, and just other information you desire when hearing of an unexpected death. However, I quickly grew sick of hearing about Mr. Jackson. So I can agree with Megan as she questions why more important news isn’t being focused on more. I remembered why I just recently stopped watching CNN regularly.
Another comparison I found between my classmates news obtaining sources and mine was in Jessica’s blog, Jessica’s Blog for English 105 (http://ranaesdayenglish105.blogspot.com/), when she describes how her boyfriend talks about things he learned from Comedy Central. I also come across new information from the people that I am around when they talk about topics or headlines in the news that I may not be aware of. This usually, if important enough, sparks an interest and leads to me to further investigate by searching for the stories online.
However, as also found in Jessica’s blog, I noticed a difference within the type of places considered to find information. Her boyfriend uses Comedy Central to learn about things in the news, and this I would honestly never have thought of. I did not realize that such a place would have the purpose of supplying people with information like that.
I’m looking forward to reading more blogs by my classmates and learning of other resources for obtaining information about the world around me. I sure need new sources other than my usually boring coverage by the local broadcasts.
Like in Megan Floyd’s blog, English 105-07 (http://meaganfloyd.blogspot.com/), she mentioned how she watched CNN and for 3 weeks it had nothing but Michael Jackson’s death coverage. I remember how I also would skim through the channels and notice that ‘Michael Jackson’ was always headlined at the bottom on the screen. I will admit that for a while, maybe a few days, I may have actually been interested in the loss of the pop star. I wanted to know how he died, if anyone was really connected to his death, and just other information you desire when hearing of an unexpected death. However, I quickly grew sick of hearing about Mr. Jackson. So I can agree with Megan as she questions why more important news isn’t being focused on more. I remembered why I just recently stopped watching CNN regularly.
Another comparison I found between my classmates news obtaining sources and mine was in Jessica’s blog, Jessica’s Blog for English 105 (http://ranaesdayenglish105.blogspot.com/), when she describes how her boyfriend talks about things he learned from Comedy Central. I also come across new information from the people that I am around when they talk about topics or headlines in the news that I may not be aware of. This usually, if important enough, sparks an interest and leads to me to further investigate by searching for the stories online.
However, as also found in Jessica’s blog, I noticed a difference within the type of places considered to find information. Her boyfriend uses Comedy Central to learn about things in the news, and this I would honestly never have thought of. I did not realize that such a place would have the purpose of supplying people with information like that.
I’m looking forward to reading more blogs by my classmates and learning of other resources for obtaining information about the world around me. I sure need new sources other than my usually boring coverage by the local broadcasts.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Well Hell, if I didn't just forget that this was due this morning!
There are many different ways that I obtain news and information about what is going on in the world around me. I use these different ways depending on where I am and the different circumstances or situations of which I am in.
Before coming to college, I would regularly watch the local news, WYMT, or read the newspaper for my town, The Appalachian News Express. These were sources that reported mainly about what was going on within my county, along with about seven or eight surrounding counties, and also big or important stories throughout the state, nation, and world that were considered ‘important’ enough to be mentioned.
Now that I am in college, and now that I am 4 hours away from home, I am unable to receive the broadcast for the news program on the television, however, I do occasionally sit down every now and then and skim through their website just to ‘catch up’ on things. Just the same as I do with the newspaper’s website… Although I do get aggravated that their sites are not always up to date, but that is besides the point…
I watch the news broadcasts for Louisville in the morning before class trying to not be so clueless about my new home, but I will admit that the only real stories or information that interest me are the ones involving weather, and for the most part the weathermen are never correct, leaving me wearing snow boots and mittens on a bright, sunny, WARM day.
Another source where I obtain some type of information regarding news that generally has nothing to do with my location is the radio. I usually listen to the satellite radio news stations to hear information and news about major cities such as New York or Chicago along with international news. I will switch over to AM/FM when I want to hear news more localized, such as weather or traffic reports.
Before coming to college, I would regularly watch the local news, WYMT, or read the newspaper for my town, The Appalachian News Express. These were sources that reported mainly about what was going on within my county, along with about seven or eight surrounding counties, and also big or important stories throughout the state, nation, and world that were considered ‘important’ enough to be mentioned.
Now that I am in college, and now that I am 4 hours away from home, I am unable to receive the broadcast for the news program on the television, however, I do occasionally sit down every now and then and skim through their website just to ‘catch up’ on things. Just the same as I do with the newspaper’s website… Although I do get aggravated that their sites are not always up to date, but that is besides the point…
I watch the news broadcasts for Louisville in the morning before class trying to not be so clueless about my new home, but I will admit that the only real stories or information that interest me are the ones involving weather, and for the most part the weathermen are never correct, leaving me wearing snow boots and mittens on a bright, sunny, WARM day.
Another source where I obtain some type of information regarding news that generally has nothing to do with my location is the radio. I usually listen to the satellite radio news stations to hear information and news about major cities such as New York or Chicago along with international news. I will switch over to AM/FM when I want to hear news more localized, such as weather or traffic reports.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
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