Time Can Only Tell

            It is interesting to me that although each of the three speakers we heard in class on Monday have declared individual topics for their dissertations, they all seem to tie in with the other.  The communication field does that a lot -- gives us individual topics and issues to think about, and yet correlates all of them together uniquely.  I believe the saying "you can't have one without the other" applies directly to the field of communication.  Not only is it multi-dimensional within itself, but it also feeds into other fields to make the areas of discussion and study more expansive.
            Adrienne Stoner, our first speaker, explained that she is researching how the dawning of new media effects the study abroad experience for students.  She argues that perhaps because of the new media platforms implemented in our daily lives, the impact of culture shock will not be as great for students studying overseas.  Ginnifer Mastarone depicted three areas of communication in which she is researching for her dissertation.  In correlation with Adrienne, I believe Ginnifer's interest in social network science is the most distinctive.  Through this research, Ginnifer seeks to understand "how social networks impact the creation, spread and life cycle of some artifact."  Adrienne suggests that new media, including social networks, will be detrimental to the overall experience of studying abroad.  Through Ginnifer's research, she suggests that social media will not only expand our personal social networks, but will also allow technology to make our lives easier.  Each of these women make completely valid and well supported statements, however, I do believe that truth overall can and will be found somewhere in the middle, after all, all things should be done in moderation according to the Golden Mean.
              Catherine Steele goes on a slightly different note from the two previously noted speakers, but does however allude to how social media and social networks will effect and shape our future as well as our interpersonal experiences.  Catherine discusses how maintaining social networks and blog sites will give us a sort of stronghold in our rapidly expanding world.  The kinds of blogs she follows are typically African American dominated and give the community a virtual barbershop, per say, as their close-knit communities are dragged apart and gentrified in an effort to further the anti-segregation and discrimination efforts.  Also through the topic of her dissertation, Catherine notes that society is on the upswing of reverting from written communication to verbal communication once again.  I do believe that this is an accurate assertion.  As technology and digital communication becomes more commonplace, the exhilaration of the typewriter and the word-processing capabilities of the computer from the 20th century are wearing out.  Over time, as these technologies grow older and older, people have been and will probably continue to be less thrilled about being able to quickly compose letters and documents, so on and so forth.
              In response to all three of these speakers, I do believe that further integration of new media into our lives is inevitable.  I agree with Adrienne that new media could hinder the full spectrum of experiences on a study abroad trip, though I do also agree with Ginnifer that new media can and will make our lives easier.  In correspondence with Ginnifer's research, I believe that new media will allow us to maintain closer relationships with the people we meet on study abroad trips.  Though at the time of the trip the use of new media could be detrimental to the overall experience, new media could possibly spread the experience and the full spectrum of learning from a study abroad trip over a longer period of time.  With the ability to keep in touch more effectively with people who live across the world from us, it is no longer a matter of meeting and developing a relationship with somebody once and never seeing them again.  This idea of greater distances between us may also give way to Catherine's idea that blogging and new media give the African American community a sort of "virtual barbershop".
              New media may be detrimental, and it may be beneficial.  The only way we will be able to tell the overall effects of these new media platforms is through time.

Computer Science Inequalities

            The communication avenue between men and women is strained by the deeply engrained double standards of gender.  Women are supposed to be able to do everything and multitask nearly 24/7, and yet they experience higher rates of discrimination not only in the workplace, but also in marriage and in extracurricular organizations.  Women's suffrage was fought for over a hundred years ago already, and yet women still suffer the effects of a highly patriarchal culture.  This patriarchal culture is prominent in mostly Western cultures.  There are a number of African cultures, in particular, that favor a matriarchal culture.  In those cultures, women are valued and are looked upon for wisdom and guidance.  As Professor Meraz noted in her lecture, women are seen as minorities in many aspects of the Internet, and other realms of societal structure.
            Focusing in on computer science and gaming design, women experience a great deal amount of discrimination even among their coworkers.  Females in the computer science field rarely have female mentors.  The demographic just is not there.  More often than not, we see that women in the computer science field focus more on the Web Design aspect of it rather than the programming aspect.  This is an even greater detriment to the advancement of women in computer science because of the inequality of pay, and the inequality of credibility in comparison with their male counterparts.
            Addressing this issue, it makes me think of the movie from a few years ago called Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs because Flint, the main character, worked all his life to invent something worthwhile and useful and yet nothing he ever created was deemed worthy by his peers, or even his own mother.  He ends up creating a machine that can change the natural weather to food weather.  Eventually the machine goes out of control and Sam, a reporter he met since the extraordinary phenomenon, knows how to fix the machine, but she risks revealing the nerdy side of herself to Flint, and the rest of the country.  Regardless of what Professor Meraz covered in her lecture, ranging from general computer science to video gaming, my mind kept wandering back to that conundrum from the movie.
           Professor Meraz notes in her lecture that this inequality of men and women in the computer science field is emphasized by the long standing patriarchal structure of Western cultures.  Although I do not disagree with this idea, I also believe that a factor in the decline of computer science degrees from the 1980s until 2008 has to do with the level of integration computers and the Internet have accomplished in a majority of people's lives.  The U.S. was a major component in the technology developments throughout the 20th century, and I believe that many countries outside the U.S. have just had the opportunity, within the last 10-12 years, to catch up with the progress we have made.  This technology gap would also contribute to the idea that much of the technology industry has been outsourced to developing countries, mostly in Asia.
            Addressing the technology gap created by the boom in computer knowledge over the course of the 20th century is a huge component of the separation of communication in the modern world.  At this point in time, the Internet is the main avenue of information for the developed world.  The developed world has an unfair advantage over the developing world because along with this communication gap comes the wealth gap.  Everything just keeps growing and accumulating and nothing is being done to stop it.  Also, there is a huge debate in how to make men and women more equal in the workplace, and in the media.   Women have fought for a long time to achieve the amount of liberties and rights that they have now.  The road is not yet at its end, and it seems that women are being barred from continuing forward.   The media, a major component of modern communication, maintains a male chauvinist view of most things.  That said, media tolerance is growing and steps are being taken to ensure a positive future for a fair and balanced media to communicate the major issues and news of the world.
           Eventually we will get it right.  Eventually no woman will ever have to give up her dream of a family in order to pursue a career, no man will ever be chastised for choosing to stay home with his children.   Eventually men will become more accepting of women into the computer science field.  This day is not here yet, but as long as the motion remains forward, that day will come sooner than later.

When I Was Your Age

             Technology changes nearly as fast as we realize there has been change at all.  Over the course of the last ten years the amount of growth in the technological world is mind boggling.  I can remember when the first iPod came out.  My mom won a 1st generation iPod while her and my dad were on a trip sponsored by his work.  Remembering that 1st generation iPod and comparing it to the current iPods, the current iPhones now make me laugh because it is a behemoth, but at the time it was the hottest trend.  Trends are funny because we are encouraged to immerse ourselves in the popular culture and to become integrated with the newest technologies.  However, as quickly as we adapt to the new technology, another trend comes to the forefront of the popular culture.
              I find all of this particularly interesting because as Professor Jones noted in his lecture, age plays a huge part in the level of integration of people in technology.  That said, when older people have children and grandchildren who are immersed in the newest technologies, they tend to find ways to adapt to the constantly changing technologies.  Looking at this idea, I can find truth in it.  My dad's mom is that way.  She is 84 years old, yet she uses a computer everyday, whether it be to check the news, email, Facebook, or to Skype her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  My grandma does not understand everything about the technological age because she thinks that everything was perfectly fine the way it was in the 20th century, but her effort to become a part of the rapidly changing Digital Age for the sake of maintaining relationships with her family means a lot to me and my cousins.
               Since I was very little, I have had a computer in my household.  My parents, particularly my dad, has been very conscious of keeping up with the technological times.  Because of my dad's consciousness to expose me and my siblings to the latest technologies, I remember the majority of the technological advancements over the course of the last 10 or 15 years.  Many people, even people in my generation, do not understand the immense amounts of change that have developed throughout our childhoods and into our teenage and young adult years.  Now we, a majority of my generation, take for granted the availability of jump drives and external hard drives and the compact size of our technological devices.  Buying something, whether it be an SD card, a micro SD card, a jump drive or an external hard drive with more than 1 GB of available space is not an expensive task.  Our millennial generation does not depend on cassette tapes, floppy disks, or CD-ROMs for music or other files.  We have started to accept "cloud" sharing and online hard drives for our files as readily as we accept that it is strange to know someone without a cell phone.
             The rate of change technology imposes on society is unbelievable.  To keep up with the Digital Age, each individual in society as well as societal structures must be ready to adapt to rapid changes. It seems that technology advances in complexity near instantaneously.  The challenges technological innovation faces and will continue to face are those mostly of fear and unfamiliarity.  This unfamiliarity will slowly fade, as it has with every other progressive idea and age of history.  The possibilities of technology are endless, and convergence will continue to make technology both more interesting and more complex as we progress further into the Digital Age.
              Our interactions and our modes of collaboration have changed noticeably throughout, particularly, the last 12 years -- since the dawning of the 2000s.  Both of these things will continue to change, and will continue to sophisticate as technology furthers.  Much of this we still struggle to fully adjust to and deal with, even within our own generation.  Communication has changed so much.  We never know if anyone is really paying attention to us, or if what we are saying or trying to convey is truly important.  The integration of cell phones into our everyday lives has made texting a constant distraction to nearly everything we do.  It is difficult for our millennial generation to separate ourselves from our technologies.  We tend to enjoy our constant contact with our friends or family on Facebook, or texting from our phones.  Companies have struggled to adapt their company rules and regulations to the rapid changes of the Digital Age.  No one really knows if it is right or wrong to be texting at work, but right now, texting in front of others, especially when you are trying to convey a positive image of yourself to people we do not know is rude.  However, we also tend to be insulted when someone tells us not to text during another conversation.  All of these changes and complexities will further themselves and will also correct themselves in the coming years.  Professor Jones reminds us that dealing and interacting with technological content is still a challenge to us.  There are still many kinks to work out in functional technology.
           Unless we are the ones who create new technology, all we have to do is decide whether or not to use it when it becomes available to us.  No one forces us to use technology, but in my opinion, it is counterproductive not to use it.  We become outlets for the advancement of technology rather than pioneers.
              The old saying "when I was your age..." will have a different meaning as the years progress in the Digital Age.   Witnessing the rate of technological change in the next 5 to 7 years will likely mirror the advancements of the whole of the 20th century.  I am excited to see where technology goes and to remember from where it came.

It's in the Words

              The rhetoric of communication, according to Professor Deirdre McCloskey has everything to do with human relations.  All science can be pointed back to the communication factors necessary for all of the s fields of science to thrive.  Without storytelling, there would be no scientific theories, and no advertisement would ever convince consumers to buy the product.  Our economy, our relationships thrive off of the persuasion necessary to effectively communicate with others.
              This idea that persuasion is the basis for communication and that communication is the basis for our society is profound-- semi-identifiable, but nonetheless, profound.  Figuring out how words work in our individual relationships is a huge part of how we communicate with others.  This fixation on words becomes our style of how we speak and relate to others.  Entrepreneurs implement words every day, and their knack of persuasiveness is commonly referred to as sweet talking.  Most people can be sweet talked into anything, as long as it comes out positively for both sides  -- the sweet talker and the sweet talkee.
                With this importance of persuasiveness and development of human relations, communication is a rapidly growing field of study.  There is always something new to learn, and there is always something new to contribute.  In the Digital Age, media convergence transforms the way we can approach the particulars of communication.  As media platforms join with each other to create new mediums of communication, the process of finding and maintaining relationships, whether personal or business-based, becomes more complicated than ever before.
                Sweet talking, as a part of communication, is in itself bullshit.  Society tricks people and convinces people of what they should and shouldn't value, whether its in the consumer world, or among interpersonal relationships.  Technology, at times, makes discerning sweet talking from sincerity difficult.  Keeping a computer screen, or a keyboard between us and the people we interact with adds another dimension to the field of communication.  As the main components of the Millennial generation, we are challenged to find ways to incorporate the increasingly complex technological future into our means of effective communication.  This must be achieved in how, when, and why we choose our words.
               No matter how technology unfolds in the future, the power of words will be eternally important to the forward functioning of society.