THE INVENTION OF A NEW MEDIUM- THE IPAD

I would like to dedicate this blog to the birth of a new medium, 'the tablet.' Apple invented the ipad earlier this year and sales have sky rocketed. The ipad has become a new medium between media producers and media audience. The invention of this product is similar to the invention of the television or the home PC. In fact building  this product is similar to building over 1000 walmarts. What I mean is that the ipad has become a better way in which manufacturers and producers of content can distribute their product to their customers. The IPAD is revolutionizing the way human beings interact with news and books. It is even influencing the way we shop. The app store has over 100,000 apps and almost every one of them are trying to sell you something. I purchased my ipad last week at 500 dollars and I already purchased a year long subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I even bought my mom a gift from AMAZON. Mind you every dollar I spend through this product apple gets a piece of it. Do you guys think the tablet industry will have a profound effect on future generations, like the TV industry had on us?

RAW IS WAR!

WWE Raw is war used to be one of my favorite video games as a teenager. This is a wrestling video game based off the tv show World wrestling entertainment. The wwe is all about rivalries and special moves. My favorite move was the "Rock Bottom" by the Rock. My friends in highschool loved 'stone cold steve austin' and 'the undertaker.' And their favorite moves were the stunner and the pile driver.  

The reason I am talking about this game is because I believe it did bring about violence within our friend circle. The article about the video game revolution http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html spoke about how kids that were exposed to violence through video games were less likely to commit crimes and showcase 'antisocial' behavior. However I disagree with that statement. I believe it is not entirely accurate. I would go further and say that it depends on the games the kids have been brought up playing.
I for one, have seen the violence from video games infiltrate my life. One of my friends and I once got into a fight about something, we argued and began punching each other in the face. We started acting like our favorite characters from the video game and when we did the characters special move, things got really ugly. My friend got stitches in his head because I gave him the rock bottom on a concrete floor.

Now I am considered a person who never fights but my most violent years were when I used to play that video game.

What do you guys think?  Do you feel that violence from certain video games transcend into the real world?

Bridging Cultures with the Sling Box

The Sling box created by sling media is one of my favorite media devices. The sling box connects to your comcast/direct tv/etc... box and also connects to the internet. Then you can go anywhere in the world and watch your tv there. So my parents sitting in India can watch American TV. Infact recently the company has even launched blackberry and iphone applications so that you can watch your tv on the go anywhere in the world.

Sling media offers tremendous potential for people from different parts of the world to tap into American tv and culture. The reason I have labeled this blog entry Bridging Cultures is mainly for this reason. I also find it interesting that the sling box is only $300 and you pay no subscription fees. Another interesting thing that struck out to me was that should this be illegal? How can tv be rebroadcast-ed without affecting someones copyrights.

Anyway to connect this to our readings this device creates more uncertainty for the media producers in terms of who their audience is. We know that media producers and advertisers do not know their audience however they know that the audience is located in America. However through this product there is a leakage in the process. Media Producers can no longer control the broadcasting of their shows, the internet can  "sling" their messages to be decoded and judged by people in other countries.

As the company grows, I feel the sling media will one day become an important tool in the future to bridge the gap between cultures.