Reflection on how people really watch TV

So, the first reflection post will be on the article, how people really watch TV (The Economist, Dec 2010).

I can say that I use to watch TV a lot before I went off to college. Growing up, my parents were strict about me going out to hang out with friends, so I stayed inside a lot and watched TV to fight the boredom. I grew up in a family that loved to spend time together behind the screen of a TV, watching a movie on TBS or USA Network. It was a fun time. We never got into that whole DVR era because we preferred to watch our shows “live” regardless if they were live or not.

In a social aspect, I would talk about the new weekly episode of whatever trendy show is on through MySpace to my friends. Some heated discussion sessions took place because of these TV episodes. Whenever there’s a show on the History or Travel Channels about Cambodia, my mom would immediately dial my grandma’s number and tell her to tune in to watch. Not only is TV is fun to watch, it can educate you.

Today’s technology is so advanced. I watch TV less now because I can watch shows online on my laptop and I know people with smart phones capable of doing the same. I find it revolutionary that TV makers are incorporating widgets into their HDTV sets. How tube screen television sets turned into sleek and slim HDTVs that connect to the internet! And there’s even those 3D HDTVs. It’s so fascinating how future technology is getting more advanced. By creating such beautiful technology like this, I wouldn’t be surprised of a return of families getting together to watch TV together again because it’s not the same now compared to the past.

Media Diary Post 1

My media diary mainly consists of texting on my cell phone, browsing online, and playing video games. This week saw the usual pattern.

Starting at noon at Wednesday, I was logged onto the internet in COM300 going through the lecture while Kathy was lecturing us. I did browse through tech blogs and other news media websites to learn more about the new Google+. Class was over at 2pm, so of course, I had to check my phone and reply back to my text messages. It was a pretty busy day on Wednesday, so I didn’t really get involved into media that much besides for texting until later in the evening. I got back home at 7pm, turned on the Xbox 360 S and played the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for an hour. Afterwards, logged onto Netflix and got hooked into the TV series, Deadliest Warriors for 2 hours. So, around 10pm, I went to room, logged onto Facebook and chatted with some friends while listening to some music on music blogs. Called it a night after and went to bed.

Woke up late Thursday morning around 11am. How I love not having class these days. Checked my phone for texts and calls, replied back to them. Also, logged onto myUW, Yahoo!, Gmail, and Facebook. It’s interesting to see how much email I accumulate when I get too lazy to check them. Spent about 2 hours online before I jumped onto the 360 to watch an episode of the Deadliest Warrior for an hour. I’m starting to love this show! Afterwards, made a call to my manager at Hollister for about 5 minutes regarding my schedule. Texted throughout the day since I had to go workout and make some errands. Went to a friend’s around 6pm, and we watched TV for an hour. Ended the night watching Youtube videos with her.

Since I slept over at my friend’s and didn’t have my laptop on me, I woke up Friday around 10am. I had to text this guy a few times about meeting up to buy my camera lens at 1:30pm. So, I spent Friday morning watching TV and texting until noon. That’s all for my media journal so far. I just got back from seeing Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon. Loved it.

 

First In-Class Assignment

How does this change the appearance of the administration page? How does it change the appearance of the blog post?

 

The comment is now unapproved and shows up on my administration page as a new notification.

As for the blogspot, the comment is now hidden since it is unapproved.

Everyday Digital Media

Digital Media plays a big role in my life everyday. I’m always on the computer reading tech blogs, news, and social interacting with my family and friends. The internet is full of information where almost anything can searched and read about. It’s fascinating how in today’s age, everyone’s actions are influenced by digital media by its convenience or its content. Compared to reading a newspaper, we can save money by going to the online form of it and browsing whatever kind of news we are interested in instead of fussing about with going through the pages of an actual newspaper.

Also, there is the television where, even though, you don’t have the power to pick what news you want to view, the content of video is in your face. Sometimes, you can actually see the news taking place live. In the past, people use to write mail and send it off to their loved ones or peers that are living far away. Today, e-mailing is the faster way of communicating. By typing a message and clicking the send button, the receiver will get that e-mail within a few seconds compared to a few days with a regular letter in the mail.

Even more interacting occurs through social media pages such as Facebook where users browse through others’ profile pages and can send instant messages where the receiver, if online at the same time as the sender, gets the message instantly and can chat with the other person. Digital media has changed the lives of everyone. It is convenient, visually appealing, and full of information. Technology has come up so far from the technology 30 years ago.