I'm sad to say that this final post will be my farewell. I never thought I would ever create and maintain a blog in my lifetime, but doing so for this class has truly been a learning experience. I've really enjoyed thinking up topics to blog about and reading and responding to other people's posts. This style of writing put a unique spin on what traditional writing classes offer and allowed a great deal of flexibility and creativity in assignments.
This blog has been there through the good times and the bad this semester and has allowed me to further research topics that I learned about in other classes. Continuing this blog would probably be beneficial to me and my writing skills but my schedule next semester is far more hectic and time consuming than this one. I don't think I’ll have the time to blog and if I did I don’t think anyone would read it.
All in all, this has been a great semester for me and I hope it has been the same for my fellow bloggers in ENC3310. Goodbye to all and good luck in your endeavors!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Telecom Scholarship
Since the middle of the semester I have been waiting for a response regarding two applications that I submitted. One of them was an application for a Mass Communications scholarship, and the other for an internship at Bay News 9.
Today I received a letter in the mail saying that I have been selected to receive a scholarship and am invited to the annual School of Mass Communications honors and awards dinner. On April 24th I’ll find out my award amount which, depending on which scholarship I received, could be $500, $750, $1,000, or even $1,350.
A scholarship of any amount will help me greatly and look really good on a job resume. I'm so happy to have achieved one of my two main goals this semester, and I’m hoping to hear about the internship soon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.
Today I received a letter in the mail saying that I have been selected to receive a scholarship and am invited to the annual School of Mass Communications honors and awards dinner. On April 24th I’ll find out my award amount which, depending on which scholarship I received, could be $500, $750, $1,000, or even $1,350.
A scholarship of any amount will help me greatly and look really good on a job resume. I'm so happy to have achieved one of my two main goals this semester, and I’m hoping to hear about the internship soon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Television Ads on the Internet
Today it is hard to go anywhere or do anything without being exposed to advertisements. Whether you are watching television, surfing the web, or walking down the street, you are constantly being bombarded with hundreds of advertisements. You're probably used to this by now and just tune them out, but no one likes to be interrupted by ads when watching their favorite shows.
Television is moving towards the Internet, and the advertisers are following. For the people who seek out entertainment online, they probably find it hard to visit any website or view any video clip without having to see an advertisement. This is so because often times the only revenue a website receives is from advertising. Ads are what keep the websites running.
I recently visited a website called Hulu where you can watch streaming video of several full-length television shows that air on major networks like Fox and NBC. Popular shows include Family Guy, The Simpsons, House, Fringe, and Saturday Night Live. I thought this was great, no need to record programs at home. I can go on Hulu anytime I want and watch an episode of Family Guy. This is all true, but you still can’t skip out on the advertisements.
The commercial breaks come in increments similar to the ones in the television version, but all of the ads in one show are by a single company. At the beginning of the show there is a message saying how this program has been brought to you with limited commercial interruption by so and so company, then often times shows the same commercial over and over during the breaks. This is annoying, but will probably change once Hulu starts to sell more ad space.
Sites like Hulu are probably targeted towards those who use DVRs or TiVo to record programs and then watch them later. These sites are comparable to digital video recorders, but do not allow viewers to fast-forward through the ads like they are capable of doing with shows recorded on DVRs. As technology develops more ways to avoid advertisements, advertisers are coming up with more ways to keep their products constantly in your peripheral vision.
Television is moving towards the Internet, and the advertisers are following. For the people who seek out entertainment online, they probably find it hard to visit any website or view any video clip without having to see an advertisement. This is so because often times the only revenue a website receives is from advertising. Ads are what keep the websites running.
I recently visited a website called Hulu where you can watch streaming video of several full-length television shows that air on major networks like Fox and NBC. Popular shows include Family Guy, The Simpsons, House, Fringe, and Saturday Night Live. I thought this was great, no need to record programs at home. I can go on Hulu anytime I want and watch an episode of Family Guy. This is all true, but you still can’t skip out on the advertisements.
The commercial breaks come in increments similar to the ones in the television version, but all of the ads in one show are by a single company. At the beginning of the show there is a message saying how this program has been brought to you with limited commercial interruption by so and so company, then often times shows the same commercial over and over during the breaks. This is annoying, but will probably change once Hulu starts to sell more ad space.
Sites like Hulu are probably targeted towards those who use DVRs or TiVo to record programs and then watch them later. These sites are comparable to digital video recorders, but do not allow viewers to fast-forward through the ads like they are capable of doing with shows recorded on DVRs. As technology develops more ways to avoid advertisements, advertisers are coming up with more ways to keep their products constantly in your peripheral vision.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Nearing the End
The upcoming weeks are looking to be pretty hectic. I'll be completing my final project for Broadcast News, my Networking/Field experience paper, and my Final Paper for Expository Writing. These are my main concerns, but there are several other things I need to get done also.
Project 3 for broadcast news will be a "Reporter Package" where I will need to film an on-camera stand up, an interview, b-roll footage, and record a voice over. I have decided to do my story on skateboarding in Tampa. I will focus on how it is illegal to skateboard in downtown Tampa, and include footage of places in Tampa where skateboarders are welcome to skate including the Skatepark of Tampa and the "Bro Bowl" near downtown. I'll shoot video of my friends skating and get an interview from them.
The Networking paper is based on my visit to the Bay News 9 studio that I mentioned earlier in my blog. I have to write a two-page paper about my experience there and everything that I learned. This shouldn't take too long to write, I just hope I took enough notes to be able to write two pages and make it interesting. I'm supposed to be hearing back from Bay News 9 soon about an internship over the summer but no word yet.
For my final paper in Expository Writing I will be writing about Internet piracy and how it will affect the future of the recording industry. I have found a few good sources including Andrew Keen and Kevin Kelly. I will include different viewpoints on the issue and provide a background on what music piracy is, how it is done, and the different viewpoints concerning it.
I'm pretty confident about doing well this semester, and I’m glad I have everything planned out now and am not procrastinating too badly. I'm looking forward to my fall semester where I’ll be taking a class called Production and Direction. I'll actually be able to work in a studio with advanced cameras and production equipment and produce fun projects and short films.
Project 3 for broadcast news will be a "Reporter Package" where I will need to film an on-camera stand up, an interview, b-roll footage, and record a voice over. I have decided to do my story on skateboarding in Tampa. I will focus on how it is illegal to skateboard in downtown Tampa, and include footage of places in Tampa where skateboarders are welcome to skate including the Skatepark of Tampa and the "Bro Bowl" near downtown. I'll shoot video of my friends skating and get an interview from them.
The Networking paper is based on my visit to the Bay News 9 studio that I mentioned earlier in my blog. I have to write a two-page paper about my experience there and everything that I learned. This shouldn't take too long to write, I just hope I took enough notes to be able to write two pages and make it interesting. I'm supposed to be hearing back from Bay News 9 soon about an internship over the summer but no word yet.
For my final paper in Expository Writing I will be writing about Internet piracy and how it will affect the future of the recording industry. I have found a few good sources including Andrew Keen and Kevin Kelly. I will include different viewpoints on the issue and provide a background on what music piracy is, how it is done, and the different viewpoints concerning it.
I'm pretty confident about doing well this semester, and I’m glad I have everything planned out now and am not procrastinating too badly. I'm looking forward to my fall semester where I’ll be taking a class called Production and Direction. I'll actually be able to work in a studio with advanced cameras and production equipment and produce fun projects and short films.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Satellite Pirates
I recently came across an article on Digg titled "Satellite piracy costing TV industry billions." After reading the article, I scrolled down and read some of the comments. Never having used Digg before, I was surprised to see people commenting on peoples comments' comments. I couldnt even keep up with what was going on.
The article was about how over 2 million households recieve satellite TV for free using modified "Free to Air" satellite recievers. I found it interesting to see the commenters' views justifying the act of pirating satellite signals.
One user posted this comment that basically sums up my own attitude towards the issue:
Recently I learned a bit about licensing agreements in my Telecommunications class and I can understand how satellite companies could be affected by this. Licensing agreements are based on audience size, and if a large portion of the audience is pirating (assuming they would pay for the service if they couldnt pirate) the artist would lose out on money because it would appear that their work is being broadcasted to a smaller audience than it actually is.
The article was about how over 2 million households recieve satellite TV for free using modified "Free to Air" satellite recievers. I found it interesting to see the commenters' views justifying the act of pirating satellite signals.
One user posted this comment that basically sums up my own attitude towards the issue:
What a bunch of crap. Their loss is based on the idea that those that pirate would otherwise pay for the signal if they couldn't steal it? Hardly. Consider them free extra eyeballs to the advertisers.I agree that if satellite companies send out a signal that can be picked up and decoded by anyone, there will be people doing it. Just like if people upload movies and music onto the internet, there will be people downloading them just because they can and it's convenient.
The gas analogy is stupid, gas is a necessity for transportation. Satellite tv is not necessary. And, I'm driving to the gas station to get gas. I'm not getting it poured all over me.
If you don't want pirates stealing signals, then don't send the signals to the pirates. The pirates are in their own house, on their own private property. It's like blaring a radio on their front lawn, and accusing them of listening.
Why steal satellite anyways? Torrents are so much easier. ;)
Recently I learned a bit about licensing agreements in my Telecommunications class and I can understand how satellite companies could be affected by this. Licensing agreements are based on audience size, and if a large portion of the audience is pirating (assuming they would pay for the service if they couldnt pirate) the artist would lose out on money because it would appear that their work is being broadcasted to a smaller audience than it actually is.
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