Intro to Electronic & Digital Communication

Video Games for Social Change

2010-11-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

We talked about video games Wednesday in class. It sparked an idea in my head about how video games are used for social change. I've seen where people make video games that are used for all kinds of different issues and problem to help raise awareness. There is a group at UTD right now developing a video game for our soldiers. It will be used as a training tool to help our soliders learn how to better interact with people in Afghanistan. There are also games that raise awareness for things like genocide, slavery, political awareness, etc.

Digital Art Piece

2010-11-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is the digital art piece that I reviewed for my blog this week. It is a piece from an abstract digital art gallery / fractal. The title of the piece is Galactic Pinwheel and the artist's name is Aeires. This is a visionary digital and fractal art piece that represents the new vibration of cosmic evolution. When I first saw this piece, it made me think of like a digital brain or eye that runs the internet or something. Another thing I thought of when I saw it was the giant eye thing from Lord of the Rings.

RFID Tags

2010-10-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

RFID tags (or Radio Frequency Identification tags) are a simple idea with great capabilities. The idea is to use the tags as icons to add apps to smart phones. In order to add the app, a company will come up with an icon and place it on their item or in a place they are advertising and all you have to do is take a picture of the icon to add it as an app on your smart phone. This is still a newer idea and hasn't been picked up on by many companies as far as the marketing and advertising side of RFID tags goes, but it has a great future. The main company that is now using RFID tags is Bud Light. They now have a comercial out advertising with the RFID tag. It is the Bud Light Playbook app for any smart phone. It has a Bud Light Icon on the side of the case of beer and all you do is snap a picture of the icon and that automatically allows you to add the Bud Light Playbook as an app on your phone.

No facebook for a week

2010-10-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

No facebook for a week. Definitely wasn't as hard as I thought. I didn't really realize how little I actually use facebook until I actually quit getting on there. The week actually flew by and after about two days I totally forgot that I wasn't getting on there because I wasn't thinking about facebook at all. It was like somebody deleted facebook out of my mind for a week. Of course when I got back on it Wednesday I hardly had any messages or notifications which made me feel SO loved. I had 3 notifications, one message and a friend request...that was it. It made me laugh because I realized that not only had I not missed being on facebook but my friends hadn't missed me being on facebook either. And now that I'm back on it on a daily basis I really don't feel any different for not having been on it for a week than I did before.

40 Minutes of Uninterrupted Reading

2010-10-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

So when I'm reading it's usually for homework. The only other thing I really read is daily blog posts and articles on dallascowboys.com. However, when I'm reading those things I usually have the TV on, or I'm on facebook or on the phone...doing something besides just reading. It kind of gets to the point where it's hard to read without some background noise or something else going on. This week on Tuesday night I spent 40 minutes reading in total silence. I read my homework for the week as well as some articles on the Cowboys and Rangers. I found out that actually it was kind of hard for me to focus on what I was reading in the total silence. I kept finding my mind wandering and felt a serious lack of focus and interest in what I was reading...even the sports stuff. It was like the lack of background noise was driving me nuts. The TV, just sitting there...off. A blank screen just staring back at me. Nothing but the reflection of the room in the pitch black screen. So it turned out to be very hard for me to focus without something else going on and I found out that I can't read in total silence.

Censorship Online

2010-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Censorship online can more often than not go over looked. Usually people can get online and say things that would be considered totally inappropriate, if not worse, in public but because it's online nobody cares. It shouldn't be this way should it? I mean, why should saying something online be any different than saying it out loud? Is it because people don't know who is actually saying it? Yeah it's just b0b123...it's not an actual person so it's ok. Well bob123 is a real person, that's ust a user name. And you have to wonder if bob123 would actually say the things he says online out loud to somebody in person. Just like there are limits to what you can and cant say in public, there should be limits to what you can and cant say online.

However, there is another kind of censorship that goes on with the internet. Things that people can and cant see are censored. Governments all over the world are screening things on the internet that should be available for all to see.

Here's the URL for a video on Internet Censorship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPAvg6CU6sI

The Blogosphere

2010-09-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

With the world turning towards a more internet based society, blogs have emerged as a key way for people to have their ideas and opinions heard. Blogs allow people anywhere to connect with people anywhere. It allows them to learn from each other by using the blogs as a new information source.

So what is this power of the Blogosphere? Well, theoretically, it is supposed to make people equal online. Give everybody the same opportunity to be heard. Make everybody equal. But does that really happen? Well unfortunately no...websites line CNN and MSNBC will still have the power over bloggers and smaller people that are trying to voice opinions and share new and information. The Blogosphere isn't exactly what it should be. It SHOULD give everybody an equal voice but it doesn't. And is there any way to fix that? Who knows? It is a difficult subject matter because it's next to impossible to be able to actually regulate people on the internet and keep everybody to an equal share of information and opinions. Plus then it might lead to something getting missed or left out. It's a hot topic right now in the media world because so many people with blogs truly feel that they have something important to say but just aren't being heard...and it's a difficult thing to fix.

Here is the URL to a website with more info on the Blogosphere: historyunfolding.blogspot.com/2009/.../life-in-blogosphere.html

Twitter and Athletes

2010-09-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

With th rise of twitter and "tweeting" it has become easier than ever to let people know exactly how you're feeling at any given moment. Along with this fact come the tweeting of many major athletes such as some of the more colorful ones like Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco who aren't afraid to tweet how they really feel. So when does tweeting get atken to far? Does there need to be a point where athletes are cut off from what they can tweet about? And if so where does that line need to be drawn?

I think that Twitter is a great way for fans to feel like they know their favorite players a little more personally, or so they feel. This is because so many athletes will say thinngs on Twitter that they wont say in a press conference or an interview. I think this is because being able to say things on the internet kind of creates a medium between themselves and reality. Or better yet, they feel like they can get away with saying alot more than they could in a press conference or an interview, and they do. But should it be that way? Or is that just what the internet and Twitter allow these athletes to do. There has been controversy in the past where athletes will tweet something that might be inappropriate that is geared towards another player or coach. I don't think that Twitter should be made to limit these players because it is just a social network. However, I do think these players, as professional athletes should hold themselves to a higher standard and restrain themselves from saying inappropriate things just because it's on Twitter.

Drew Banks

Drew Banks' Blog

2010-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm Drew Banks. I'm 21 and I'm from right here in Dallas. This is my first semester at UTD, as well as my 5th school I've been to. I bounce around alot because I play baseball. I am also going to be playing baseball for UTD.

Recently, I've spent the last month at the Dallas Cowboys training camp doing a marketing internship. The first two and a half weeks were in San Antonio and the last two and a half weeks were in Oxnard, California. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I got to do alot of really cool things and meet alot of cool people as well as got to know many of the players. Unfortunately this caused me to miss the first week of classes which has put me a little behind, but I am making up for it and trying to get caught up.

That pretty much does it for me. One last thing.....the Super Bowl is in Dallas this year...at Cowboys Stadium. SO LET'S GO COWBOYS!!!!!