Power of New Media

The internet has brought about a change in the way humans communicate with each other, especially when it comes to long distance communication. The emergence of blogs, twitter, youtube, and Facebook, among many other forms of new media, have shaped society in positive and negative ways.

The positives:

-People you dont actually know are much more approachable on-line. If someone seems to be intimidating in real life, talking to them on facebook may be the solution.

-Most new media is free if you have access to a computer and internet

-The platform for communication does not discriminate against location. If your friend from California wants to talk to you, the fact that it takes 9 hours to see you in person will not affect your ability to communicate

-Facebook is the most common example of this. It is much easier for people to get to know people through facebook, especially people of the opposite sex. Because there is a medium between conversation and human contact, people who might have a tough time meeting others may be more successful through new media.

-The lack of censorship on most new media sites will allow a less regulated flow of information. This can be good or bad depending on how truthful and powerful the bite of information is. Positive examples of this can be seen when individuals are reporting with a hands on perspective in controversial news stories. If a disaster hit a town or city with new media outlets, the public could get a real, uncensored and quick news story as it develops.

-The most important aspect of new media is the diverse viewpoints that can be found on blogs or twitter because they rely on individuals to give their take on a situation. The collective knowledge that an individual can take from new media outlets may be much more in depth than the paragraph write up in a weekly newspaper.

Google's endless quest to dominate

As I started up my new operating system, Windows 7, I noticed the sleek icons and aesthetically pleasing desktop background. I browsed through the features and started up my internet explorer. I went to the search engine toolbar and I noticed a blue "B" emblem. After further investigation I realize that Microsoft's Bing was the default search on my internet provider.


hmm.

Google will have to combat microsofts gremlin with more advertising and more upgrades to their search engine, found here.

Google will also have to fight major countries over its secrets, much like it did with China and now with Italy.

Olympic Hockey

Olympic hockey, one of the only olympic sports that showcases the best professional athletes from a variety of leagues worldwide. Many times you will see players who are teammates during the regular season go head to head as they play for their respective countries. These elite players meet at the Olympic venue with minimal corporate sponsorships and all the virtues of playing for their native country.

The olympic stadium has been draped with the Vancouver Olympics symbol instead of the usual sponsors at the Vancouver Canucks venue. The stadium is Called the Hockey Canada Place instead of the General Motors arena. The lack of corporate sponsorships at the Olympics is a very distinct move that tries to elevate the games to a higher level than pure spectacle.

These olympics have been full of high intensity games between old rivals and dominant powerhouses. Just yesterday Canada beat Russia in a blockbuster game that ended 7-3.

The U.S. has been doing great by winning all the games they have played so far, including a 5-3 upset over Canada. The interesting thing about that is, quite frankly, no one in the United States really cares. To put it into perspective, this is what the Czech Republic looked like after they won the gold in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

There would be no crowding in Washington, because winning is normal for Americans, which might take the fun out of winning. I hope we all celebrate to our fullest when we win a medal.