20. Complete Integration

I was working on a project for my mass media class when I realized that as I am now, I could not effectively accomplish it. What was the problem? Well, we should start with what the question was. Log all of your time with the media, and separate them by the medium that you utilized for it...

I started off all bright eyed and bushy tailed. I had my pen and paper. I was ready to go. I strolled off to school... only to realize that I forgot to chronicle my i-pod listening. Oops.

Resolved to do better, I got into class. Oh, NO'S!!! I did not understand one of the terms my teacher used. Quick! Look it up online! Oops...

It did not really get better from there. As I used my computer throughout the day without even thinking about it, I grew to realize what a difficult job this was. In the wonderful world that we currently live, we come in contact with some form of the media every day. YouTube or conventional videos in class, music playing before closing in the library, or the internet for EVERYTHING ELSE litter your life. A simple cell phone can be one of the most powerful media tools right now. Unless you go out for cocoa with the Yeti, you will probably be saturated in the media.

Who knew?

19. Jeepers Creepers!

Scooby-dooby-doo, where are you?
We've got some work to do now.
Scooby-dooby doo, where are you?
We need some help from you now!

When Scooby-Doo came onto the screen, produced by Hanna-Barbera, in 1969, I doubt that anyone saw what it would become. With only TWO seasons of the original series, consisting of 25 episodes, the question became "How in the world did a show that only lasted two seasons become a phenomena that has lasted to today"(since 1998, there has been a Scooby-Doo movie released everywhere with the newest planned for this year)?

Well, I can't really say for sure why it has become what it has. After all, Huckleberry Hound or the Magilla Gorilla Show are not really common anymore. Part of it might be the brand's name though. Yogi Bear, The Flinstones, and The Smurfs are all shows that came from the Hanna-Barbera company. Even then, I think we can safely say that none of them have been as illustrious (which by the way, the new Yogi Bear and new Smurf movie... gross).

It may be the nonviolent aspect of Scooby-Doo. Parents don't mind showing this show to their children because nothing bad really ever happens. It may be that there is a formula. Kids can follow the formula easily. BUT it might be that the mystery aspect. It is always fun to try to guess whodunnit, especially when you have such goofy and fun characters.

So I guess all that is left is, "I would have gotten away with it to if it weren't for you meddling kids"

18. Etsy and the power of the market

Imagine.

You are surfing the internet, swimsuit and all. All of a sudden, you hit a wave of absolute awesomeness in your own area of interest. Intrigued and now off your board, you swim a little closer to what just might be the PROMISE LAND of the internet. Whatever it was piqued your interest, and you quietly wonder to yourself how in the world YOU CAN HAVE ONE. It is not available in your area. You simply cannot make it yourself. So what do you do, marooned on an island without the one thing you really, really want?

Obviously you turn to the great purchasing power that the internet currently represents. Is it really expensive? All you have to do is check prices and see if you are really paying the best price. It was awesome, and now it is yours!

The internet and its ability to spread information and interest across the globe touches everyone. Companies are not the only ones who have the power to sell and the internet market is ripe with possibilities. If you take Etsy for example. It only offers things that are handmade, vintage, or a supply for a craft. It does good business though. Since it is online, it does not have to rely on finding enough people that possess that interest in one small area. In this way, a business that would probably not survive in a community is thriving on the web.

The abilities that are provided to us through the internet are truly spectacular... what will come next?

17. Niching in Blogs

I was just talking about blogs, but check this out!

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-monday-buttons-and-badges.html

The ability to make money through a blog continually astonishes me. How does it make sense? But when you start to actually look into the blogging world, you see that there are thousands of people reading certain blogs. Most blogs are already very niched audiences, so the company does not have to pay to see if their investment will pan out. In fact, the ability of the sales staff to pick the most effective means to reach their audience is amazing. I would have never heard of this product if it had not been advertised on the blog, but with the abilities that the internet provides us, I not only know about it, but if I had a little more "disposable income," I would certainly be all over them.

So what is the lesson to be learned in this circumstance? The internet can be a friend to everyone. Dive in!

16. How-To Books: A Dying Art

Many things are "dying" in mass media today. Or is that only how it appears? As the accessibility and knowledge base of the internet grows, other mediums struggle to survive. Paper newspapers are dropping readers like flies, and books are not really doing any better.

So what is going to happen? A reinvention is taking place as some of the guidelines change. Kindles and e-books are becoming popular! Newspapers are found online and on such readers. But what about the actual content?

As blogs spring up discussing everything under the cosmos, how must the content of the other mediums change to compensate? This is merely speculation so bear with me! We will be using one of my favorite forms of blogs to create a basis: the DIY or how-to.

Do It Yourself blogs offer creative alternative to purchasing DIY books. Benefits of getting it off the web rather than out of a book include:
          -Color can be incorporated more easily
          -Images are more prominent (very helpful in for things that simply do NOT translate to words)
          -Ever changing. If a way is discovered that makes it easier, it can be passed on
          -Easily references to earlier lessons (instead of having to turn 20 pages to incorporate, you can open it in another window with a mere click)
          -If you need something to finish the project, you can simply check out how much things will cost before getting too invested
          -Easier to personalize (Books lend to the idea that it must be THIS way. Blogs are a little more free spirited)
          -Free!

So how will the book compensate? Actually, many bloggers are publishing their work. In a true American way, they are using both mediums to their advantage, and the books can cover things that may be missed in the blog. It may not change completely, but it will offer a new view to be certain.

For an actual example, you can check out http://www.prudentbaby.com/. One of the writers recently published her own book, Prudent Advice.

15. Disintermediation and my Ability to Craft

Crafting can be an expensive hobby. When you add up the cost of DIY books, any lessons, supplies, and THE BIG STUFF, it can be come to the grand sum of: TOO EXPENSIVE FOR WORDS. So, this little blog will be a thank you note to the internet and more specifically, blogs, for lowering the cost just enough to make it plausible.

There are blogs for everything. Blogs tell you how to beat your video games, they tell you about movies, and they can provide you with ideas that are spectacular. I used to think that blogs were the cast off remains of journalism if you couldn't get a job in the profession, you filled your time with the lesser art. 

Thankfully, I have done a 180 since then. My sister introduced me to the power of blogs, and now I follow several and (obviously) have at least one. Blogs provide a different look. They allow the people with knowledge provide their information to people who could never be able to access it otherwise. In fact, in recent years, I have gotten more ideas from blogs than from the crafting books that I flip through. 

Does this mean the illustrious How-To book is dying? Stay tuned next week to hear my own view on THAT!

14. Well, Old Boy, Let's Dance!

Love of Shakespeare makes me bring up the next point of interest: Shakespeare. Plays might not fit into mass media immediately (since they are a performing art), but when they are published into books, suddenly they can be massively distributed. Maybe not as much in Shakespeare's day, but in our own those things are everywhere, as evidenced by high school English classes.

What does Shakespeare offer the world that is not present in other works of literature? I suppose you can find all the pieces of Shakespeare in other pieces, but the language of Shakespeare stands above so much common literary language. Even Jane Austen referenced Shakespeare as her character, Miss Marianne Dashwood, quotes, “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds...”

However, brilliant though Shakespeare is, we must realize that there is good beyond his tragedies. There is a reason that the youth as a whole in America are depressed. Have you looked at one of their high school reading lists recently? Tragedies bleed onto the page, and while “To be or not to be” may be the question, there are so many other questions to ponder. Introduce the students to the comedies! Make them see the action. Shakespeare was meant to be performed, not read in stale classrooms by stale teachers. (I say this, but my own teachers were incredibly interesting and made the works intriguing, but I have heard many students express their hatred of Shakespeare for similar reasons.)

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