Armed with Media

With still so much media I would like to talk about from advances and technology updates, media applications, Firefox 4, to text messaging, there is one thing that I cannot pass up talking about, something that is closely connected to me and remains to stay that way, our military. I am blessed with a Dad who serviced in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. I also have close friends in the military, at least one in every branch including National Guard and Coast Guard, a few friends who are at military schools, and a few family members serving today. After doing some "old school" research with 3 different newspapers, USA Today, Arkansas Democrat Gazette and The New York Times, I found 13 news stories which pertained to the U.S. military but not all of which were about the on going war. Thinking back to 2001 the media was covered with news stories on the attack, the start of the war on terrorism and American patriotism. Now we don't hear about the war as often, the radio has stopped playing as many songs about being patriotic, news stations have stop reporting on the war and headlines continue to read about how all troops need to come home and how the Middle East want to limit U.S. soldiers. Truth is there are still men and women in a war zone serving our county, and there are still casualties of war. The Northwest Arkansas Times from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette has a small section that states "To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices" to identify Americans killed in active military operations. "As of Thursday, 4,431 U.S. service-members and 13 Defense Department civilians had been reported killed in the Iraq War. In Afghanistan, 1,406 U.S. service-members and two Defense Department civilians had been reported killed." according to USA Today. These numbers seem to continue to grow and do not include the number of service-members who have been injured. We as Americans are blessed, but I continuously wonder how many citizens are still aware of the fact that we have the right to live in a free country and that there are men and women still serving our country to keep those of us here at home safe and protect our rights. I am amazed by the way technology and the way the media has grown. Staying in contact with loved ones in the military has become so much easier, which for me is a relief. Being able to traditionally hand write letters, e-mail/ text message (e-mails can now be sent to your phone), instant message, Facebook (with different military branch fan pages, groups and pages), and video messaging such as Skype, it is much easier to know the conditions of our military personal or loved ones. On Arkansas Democrat Gazette's Editorial Page the article headline, "It's time, Mr. President To recognize our friends in Libya- and win this war," alone makes readers wonder what the outcome of this war will be and when it should end. With at least two close friends deployed and more friends continuously being prepared for deployment, I am glad to be "in the know" about what continues to happen in news of the war and the military. The media is all around us helping us to stay connected in may different ways from what's happening in our country to international and back to what's happening right in our communities, from the newspapers, television, radio and internet we are all connected and need to stay connected.

Advertisement

Think about it advertisements are an everyday thing, even on this very blog page there is an advertisement for Google. On television, the radio, on the internet and all through the media people, businesses and products are being advertised. How important is advertisement? From little kids repeating a tune for Crayola's newest product like their colored bubbles, to campaigns and educational programs, advertisement is very important.  Although a lot of advertisement is based on demographics (such as age, gender, level of education, etc.) you are still being targeted by some ad campaign I assure you. Advertisement should be memorable, why else spend $3 million on a commercial for the Super Bowl, Doritos knows how to sell products having some of the top ranked Super Bowl commercials for the past couple of years. On camps, at the University of Arkansas right now campaigning for Associated Student Government and Residents Interhall Congress executives is underway and advertisement is everywhere. Candidates have been hanging flyers, posting yard signs, handing out sticks, talking to voters and using the internet by creating websites and utilizing Facebook. When it comes to these elections although there platform is important I feel like the most commonly known name has a higher chance of winning simply due to the fact that they advertised better and became better known. Advertisements can range from word of mouth to viral information, about programs like Straight Shot and Pomfret Hall's "Shot in the Dark" party and alcohol awareness programs to an ad about a new fitness equipment or hair product. Of course not all advertisements may be targeted to you, but next time you watch T.V., listen to the radio or are surfing the web and come across an advisement how many get your attention and are you being targeted?

Today Show

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I wake up with the Today Show and watch Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda. Sadly I do not get my fill of these fun friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of a class that starts at the same time as their exciting show. Kathie Lee's and "Hoda Woman's" topics for talks range from the latest fashion to their favorite things, health and nutrition, viral web-videos, and even to a woman who ended up going on a date with a man who turned out to be her brother; their stories and comments often make me stop and say "What the What?!?" This morning's show had highlights from Hoda at a zumba (aerobic dance-fitness) workout session. I personally love zumba since helping with a workshop on the workout at the 2009 Arkansas 4-H Teen Leader Conference. Watching Hoda dance with Beto Perez (creator of zumba) reminded me of all the fun, so much that some zumba moves return at almost every 4-H dance Arkansas 4-H'ers attend. The fun was only getting started with this topic, at the begin of their show. One of their main topics that caught my attention was "Can you tell your friends too much?" As a 18-year-old female I immediately think of my best friend and all the secrets and stories we have told. I believe that my best friend, since the 6th grade, may know me better than even I know myself, we tell each other everything, how first dates go, biggest fears and big problems. We talk so much we even have daily skype dates. We are best friends through and through where I honestly cannot think of one secret I have not told her.  Lets be honest we all know women talk, we talk to each other, we talk to men, we talk on the internet and some even talk to pets. Which topics are off limit to share with others? Talking about an important event or how a day went with a good friend is acceptable but sharing your most intimate feels and moments with everyone of your friends might be too much. I loved when of the specialist said "Facebook is not a therapy session," to re-enforce my first blog post, please stop posting everything on Facebook and social networks. You're just as discrete as your most discrete friends, so maybe it should be more important to edit your information someone and maybe some should edit more before telling everyone. This topic really got me think about what all I have shared and with whom I have shared my information (stories and secrets) with. Some things to think about before you tell too much information: How much is too much info.? How  many people do you tell? Who do you tell? and what I believe to be the mostly importantly Who are your real friends?

Baggy Pants

Arkansas has created a bill banning baggy pants from schools across the state. After hearing about this once already, the local news in Fayetteville, Channel 5 KSFM, reported on the bill being passed by the House and the Senate. This bill has gotten a lot of reactions from school districts to parents and students themselves. Personally I find this bill to be hilarious. Although I strongly agree that a person's behind hanging out of their pants in any public place is not attractive, I do not understand how this law would be put into affect. With the offenders that wear the baggy pants will it be a simple phone call to the parents of the student, suspension from school, or are we really going to try to fill the juvenile hall with these "delinquency"? As people have said 'kids like to and will rebel'. I can already think of a few friends from back home that need to start getting use to the idea of wear pants at their waist and/or a belt before the bill is passed.

Facebook Act

As a college student the most common way to stay in touch with friends, events, pages, and what can become known as "important information"  is through the social networking website of Facebook. Although there are numerous ways to connect with the world around us, through means of media, I feel like most college students choose to stay connected through the internet and most importantly through Facebook. A means to connect with people from back home, since living on campus, Facebook is a necessity in order to talk to my best friends who are now all over the world. Since launched in 2004 Facebook has continued to grow in outrageous numbers becoming one of the largest social networking sites on the internet still to date. Facebook have become so popular and accessible not only are the tweets to college students spending most of there time chatting to friends or updating their pages, but also businesses are advising, activist groups are getting their words out, pages are being made for everything from favorite hobbies to books, and even my mother, grandparents, and most of my relatives now have a Facebook account. Although the thoughts of having your mother "creep" on your every move of your social life is terrifying to some, to me it is one of the easiest way for me to know what is going on at home and on the farm. I feel like the "Mothers on Facebook Act" is a great reminder to users, which is too often forgotten, that the internet is not a private place and once posted it's open for the world to see, so if you wouldn't want your mother to see it you shouldn't post it! After all mothers do seem to know everything, and you never know when your mother could be checking in on you, even on Facebook.