Blog Post #6 - 2015

Self Stick Banishment ....

Oh selfies ... truly a household word now-a-days ... and really - one of the most popular form of photography that seems to be taking place.

According to a Samsung poll, selfies now account for a full 30% of the photos taken by people between the ages of 18 and 24.

And of course, just like everything else, things expand, growth happens and then along comes the Selfie Stick!

I was listening to the radio the other week and actually laughed out loud - because now it seems as though many places of business are actually banning the use of the selfie stick - for safety reasons!  Even Pizza Hut was so kind in making an actual safety video for the use of the selfie stick!

 
Of course - we laugh - but really - I suppose it could be an issue ...  so what do you think ...  Selfie stick - should it be banned or not???  Make sure to do a bit of a google search and get opinions and examples to support your thoughts.

Photoshop Transformations

Always amazing to see what magazines really do to make their images look good!

Click the link below to see a video where images are retouched in Photoshop.

watch-6-hours-of-pro-photoshop-retouching-in-90-seconds

Blog Post #5- 2015

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Communication 

When I say "artificial intelligence" what do you think of? Let me guess. Star Wars? iRobot? Arnold Schwarzenegger storming around in a leather jacket as the Terminator? We generally associate artificial intelligence (AI) with movies, which is why the concept seems fictional to most of us.

The reality, however, is that AI is a broad topic. It ranges from your phone’s calculator to self-driving cars to something in the future that might change the world dramatically. AI refers to all of these things, which is confusing. We use AI all the times in our daily lives, but often, we don't even realize it! In order to realize this, we need to stop thinking about AI as robots…a robot is only a container for AI. An example we all know is Siri. All of the data and software behind Siri is AI, and the woman's voice we hear is a personification of that AI. No Schwarzenegger robot involved at all!

As crazy as it is to believe, many scientists theorize that within the next 50 years we will have AI that can THINK like humans, and therefore do some of same jobs and tasks that only humans can currently do. This is both fascinating and scary to me. The more technology we have, the faster advancements in AI will happen. To put this all into perspective, if we hypothetically time travelled 10 years into the future the technological advancements we would see would be just as shocking to us as they would have been for someone travelling 100 years from the late 18th century into the 1980's. Imagine someone who has only ever travelled by horse and buggy seeing a smartphone for the first time. That's how we could feel seeing 10 years into our future. CRAZY!

Even today we see advancements happening with things like Google Glasses, and self-driving vehicles. What do you think these advancements in the world of AI will mean for us as digital communicators? How does the change the way we think about communication?

Blog Post #4 - 2015

Stereotypes or Stereo-Gripes...

Commercials annoy me.  Anyone who knows me knows that as soon as a commercial comes on I either change the channel on the TV or turn down the volume.  Commercials are annoying.

Unfortunately the other day a commercial came on and low and behold I couldn't find the remote!!!  It was buried under cushions, or hiding somewhere - and then this commercial came on:

At first I chuckled, quickly and briefly, until my husband spoke up and said "What a horrible commercial!"  I asked him why and he said he was actually insulted by many of the things being said.  

And he's right you know.   Most people would very quickly shut-down any kind of commercial like that that was directed towards woman - so why shouldn't men be just as upset when comments like that are broadcasted on public tv?

So what do you think about the ad?  Is it done in good taste - with a little humour - or is it highly offensive? Have your say by posting your own blog about stereotypes in commercials.  Be sure to find your own example to support your arguments.

Interesting what technology can do....
Check out the link below to see what happens when you take the music out of the music video and add sound effects to the mix!

Britney : Oops!

Blog Post #3 - 2015

Using social media for shaming

Lately I have noticed an increasing trend in posts that show how parents are using social media to shame their children as a form of punishment.  A mom who posted a video of her yelling and screaming at her daughter for having a Facebook account at the age of 11, another of a dad shooting his daughter's laptop with a gun and then posting the video on youtube.  

As a parent I am appalled at this kind of  behaviour and can't imagine why a parent would find this as a good way to discipline their children.  However, perhaps I am wrong, this is simply my opinion.

Now the latest isn't only a parent shaming their kids on a social platform - but everyday by giving them what they think is a creative hair cut!

From Facebook: An Atlanta barbershop gives old-man haircuts to misbehaving kids. Parents can bring in their kids who have been acting up and ask for the "Benjamin Button Special". 

Here is an article about this barber shop. Read it to get a better understanding of what this barber is doing.  

So just as the article asks - do you think this is a great idea - or - simple just the meanest thing ever?  Write a blog about your opinion - be sure to find examples to support your answer.

Blog Post #2 - 2015

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

Twitter: The Good,  The Bad and The Funny?

So the other day I was surfing the net and came across one of my favourite Jimmy Fallon bits "Mean Tweets".  I have to admit that they frequently make me laugh, but then I caught myself and started to think ... hmm.  Since when has it become ok to post insults after insults about others, in such a public forum?  I'm sure many will argue that "they are celebrities and put themselves out there for scrutiny", but I must admit that many of the insults that were read in this skit were nothing short than kind of disgusting.  And of course, celebrities are not the only victims.  I'm sure many of you have been, or know of someone, who was the target of a mean tweet, and maybe, just maybe, some of you have been the person writing that mean tweet.

Following that, I was watching Breakfast Television on the day of the snow storm, and I started hearing about the mean tweets that were directed at schools/school boards because of their decision to keep schools open.  Regardless of what people thought, may arguments were certainly not a productive way of expressing concern, cursing and saying ridiculous things to try and prove their point.  Many students were caught and got in trouble for their twitter activity.  Even following that, the reporter who was reporting on the story was the recipient of mean and bullying tweets as well!  For what? For her doing her job! Ridiculous I say!
(you can watch the video here)

What I don't understand is why?  Why do people feel compelled to write things that they would likely never ever say in person?  What could people possible get from treating others that way in such a public arena?  And more importantly - what can be done to change this growing trend?  I'm sure the creator of twitter never intended for it to be used this way.  Not to mention as well - the permanency of the internet, once posted, it will always exist ...

As the next batch of up and comers - how do you feel about this?  Do you see this as a concern? Or is it something that will just go away on its own?  Should be there laws? Should Twitter be checked/governed?  Should we just leave it as is?  You tell me ....