What a semester it’s been. Another season down, another media class to add to my transcript. And, just like any other media, journalism, and film (MJF) student here at Missouri State, I have been asked to share what I learned from my media class. Lucky for me, the answer(s) were immediate and easy. There is something to be taken from each and every course of the media genre, but MED 130 certainly stood out to me in several categories. This class broadened my knowledge and exceeded my expectations by teaching me many vital things I did not know about technology and how to use it, the impact that I eagerly strive to have on the world as an aspiring journalist, and by reassuring me that media professors are, in fact, the very best kinds of professors.
First and foremost, this course taught me about technology. I was not blessed with…
I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented young minds. The semester has just ended and I already miss teaching. Thank you, Emma, and all my MED 130 students, for an amazing few months.
For the first time in my entire collegiate career, I was genuinely sad for a semester to end, particularly one class.
I wasn’t expecting much from Media 130, I’m not going to lie. But my skepticism was rewarded. Not only did I make friends, enjoy the learning atmosphere and thoroughly enjoy each class discussion, I actually learned a lot.
Content is key.
I am not an expert on….well…anything really. But I do know my own opinions and there has to be an expert out there somewhere who agrees with me. And I am ten times more likely to be credible to my audience if I am backed by expert sources and outside voices.
Variety is important.
Not just variety in subject matter and interests, but also in mediums. Videos, personal writing, academic text, podcasts, pictures, graphs, and many other different facets of media can be applied to communicate. While on person may respond to a slightly snarky podcast with a personal flare, another might respond to a more textually dense post that exudes academia. And…
If you came looking for another article complaining about how “entitled” millennials are, let me get you a step stool for that horse you’re on. While you’re on your way down, let me tell you about the doubt your parent’s generation had in you. What? You don’t remember that time you kindly informed your parents, “you don’t get me,” as you reverently left the dinner table and headed to your room? I’m sure you even left the door open as they told you all the things you were doing wrong. I’m sure you thought to yourself, “When I have kids, I’ll misunderstand them just like my folks misunderstand me.”
Excuse me while I wipe the sarcasm from my fingers. It was pretty thick there for a while.
We get it! Your parents didn’t trust you, you don’t trust us, and we’ll probably make the same mistake with our kids. University of New Hampshire sociologist David Finkelhor refers to this as “juvenoia,” or “exaggerated anxiety about the influence of social change on children and youth.” We get it. You just want what’s best for us. Please don’t think for a second we don’t get that. Millennials are closer to their families then any other generation. If any one gets it, we do, but we also want what’s best for us.
This begs the question: Why is it that we always sell future generations short when history shows us that there is cause for optimism?
– Adam Thierer, Forbes
Education
I thought about making some grand argument here about how important education is. How it leads to economic growth, technological advances, improved health, social development, and our “progress as a nation” (John F. Kennedy). But then I realized that if you don’t already believe that education is important, we probably won’t agree on things anyway.
According to a White House study (if that’s not a reliable source…), millennials are the largest, most educated generation in history. Sure we don’t have any jobs, but it’s not like we did that. #recession
Diversity and Equality
In 2014 Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Seventeen, people! Seventeen. Malala was shot in the head for standing up for equality. This young Millennial fought back from the trauma and now her voice is louder than ever.
We have websites on how to make a difference. You actually had to get out of your pajamas to make a difference. (Look, I never said we weren’t a little lazy)
Communication
Don’t blame me that we’re addicted to media. You’re the ones that sat us in front of Power Rangers while our minds were still malleable. Can you really blame us that we want to stare at a screen all day? Okay! So maybe it’s important to put the screen down once in a while and enjoy human interaction, but that doesn’t make media consumption bad. You want to think that we have lost the ability to communicate but the reality is, communication has changed.
The world is smaller than it’s ever been. Those devices we’re always so attached to, connect us with the world. Once defined by geographical means, communities are now defined by common ideas. We’re no longer oppressed by segregation. Like minds gather and grow together. Ideas spread across the Internet so fast we call them “viral”. They can’t be stopped! They’re communicated around the world at the speed of the Internet. Boom! Change! Maybe we don’t know how to sit in an interview and look someone in the eye (yes, someone once told me that millennials don’t know how to do that. Absurd!), but I can watch Netflix, catch up on reddit, and make a video that reaches millions of people.
Will I always use that power for good? Probably not.
Social Networks
(Admittedly, this is a sub-genre of communication, but how can you not call out Social Media when discussing the ways millennials have changed the world? So just go with me on this and let’s move on.)
There’s a flood of people claiming that social networks will bring about the fall of civilization as we know it. Good! I hope it does. What are we trying to hang on to?
Unfathomable amounts of national debt
Obsolete government programs created when we still thought smoking cigarettes was good for you
College graduates that can’t get jobs
Disproportional criminal laws that lock non-violent criminals away in money-hungry private prisons
Government corruption so bad that we end up voting for the “lesser of two evils”
So yeah, we could screw it up even more then it already is. We could let the machines take over and invite Skynet to dinner. But we could also get it right. We can change the world. There will always be someone trying to take away your freedom, sell you a shitty watch, tell you a lie, abuse the innocent, or post a cute cat video.
However, as a that-glass-has-beer-in-it kind of guy, I like to believe that there will always be someone like Malala communicating her story. We don’t know how to communicate? Try telling that to Adora Svitak.
Community and Family
It might surprise you to learn that millennials value Community and Family more than your generation did. That’s right. We love our families and we’re committed to our communities. According to a study done by Walden University and Harriss Interactive, 81 percent of millennials have donated money, goods or services. When Pew Research asked a sample of millennials what their priorities were, they said being a good parent, having a successful marriage and helping others in need.
Millennials are having a positive impact on our culture, workplace and government and we should recognize them for their efforts and support them so they are able to help revive the economy and build a better world.
-Dan Schawbel, Forbes
Look, I’m not saying we’re perfect. In fact, we’re far from it. But we want the same thing that you want, a better world. Do we have all the answers? Do we know if what we’re trying will work? Will we make things worse than they are? I have no idea. We’re just dealing with the world we were given, and so far, I think we’re doing an bang up job (for those of you that don’t speak millennial, a bang up job is a good thing).
I thank my father for not clipping my wings and letting me fly.
–Malala Yousafzai
What exactly is a Millennial? You’ve probably heard the phrase thrown around to describe young people, but there’s a little bit more to it than that.
The term was coined by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations: The History of America’s Future as a reference to children born in 1982 who held a special place in the media’s eye. Media institutions paid attention to this generation because they would be in their late teens and early 20s when the new millennium hit, opening them up as prime marketing targets.
While there is not a clear dividing line between generations, the “millennial generation” is generally considered to be anyone born after the early 80s and before the early 2000s. Essentially, if you’ve spent more of your life with the Internet than without, you are considered a Millennial.
While the millennial generation is incredibly diverse, there are certain stereotypes…
A great top ten list from one of my students. I’d probably consider one of the Doctor Who villains to be on the list. Like the Weeping Angles or The Silence – both give me the chills. But I’m a huge nerd like that so pretty much anything Doctor is is good in my book.
Across the room they wait, hunkered behind their overturned desks. Glass guts lay scattered around the room, broken remnants of our chemical warfare.
“Make this easy on yourselves. Just give up,” someone shouts at us.
“We lost Jimmy on that last one,” Freddy whispers to no one in particular. “They outnumber us now. In case anyone wanted to know.”
We stare at him. He had been our leader from almost day one. He was just like us, “unique,” as our mothers would say, “slow’” according to those not required to say otherwise. There was something different about him, a strength that we all saw. He had brought us this far and now as we stare at him, his strength flickering like the lights above, we had to wonder if it had been worth it. Freddy had given up. We could see it in his eyes, a small flicker that something had changed. We had fought so hard–
“Incoming!” Billy warned. We huddle closer together as the glass bomb explodes against our concealing desk. The dancing of broken glass mixed with the searing sound of liquid chemicals combining into a noxious gas. The misty wisps of gaseous tendrils lick around the edges of our desk, like fingers of failure grasping to pull us down. Someone starts coughing. Mikey. That must have been Mikey.
Oh, God, we lost Mikey on that one. There’s no way around it. Failure is our only option…
Mr. Blakely must have seen it coming. He tried to prepare us for this. But, can we really be blamed for our misgivings? Force a bunch of hormone-fueled, post-pubescent adolescents to sit in a classroom while all their friends hang at the beach and see if they trust you to have their best interests at heart.
Anyway, you hear rumors and stories and whatnots. No one believes them. Just the ramblings of fifth-year-seniors still one year short of a diploma. Tucked away in the corner of the cafeteria – safely away from the burgeoning minds of those that still had dreams of college.
We were going to fail. We would be fifth year seniors…
Freddy had made us study. Freddy had pushed us harder than our parents ever could. He was one of us, if he could, than we could.
But now, when it really mattered, when our lives were on the line, he sits, staring at the beakers in his hands. All those nights of study and practice came down to this one moment, one final exam, and none of us could remember the final ingredient. We were going to fail Science class.
Glass explodes without warning. A rush of vaporous failure closes in on us. So few of us left, and now we listen as Billy’s cough sings his demise.
We stare at Freddy. A smile slowly stretching across his face, his eyes flicker with mischief. Beakers in hand, he plunges over the desk and onto the battlefield.
We had been wrong. He hadn’t given up. He had been scheming, plotting one last Oorah! We watch as he rushes into enemy territory, knowing he’ll never return.
He runs hard, dodging flying IED’s and screaming like a mad man the whole time. Maybe he was mad, but he was our Captain, our friend. He had gotten us here, and now, he would go down in one last blaze of glory. With one final stride, Freddy dives behind the enemy’s desk, smashing the beakers. Noxious gas mushrooming up from ground zero. There would be no survivors.
It took us a long time to get up. When we did, we just stared at Freddy’s lifeless body. He had sacrificed himself for us. We couldn’t leave him there, among the teachers. Those of us left dragged Freddy and the others that hadn’t made it out of the classroom. We made them as comfortable as we could, they’d be out for a few hours. The least we could do for their sacrifice was make them comfortable.
After that, we just waited. The teachers would wake up in a few hours. They’d probably be mad at Freddy for gassing them all. After all, we only had to get one of them to pass.
I’ve been on the radio a few times but I’ve never done a podcast before. It’s an idea I’ve thrown around with various people over the last few months. It always seems to come back to the same thing: what would the podcast be about?
Well, I still don’t have the answer to that question. I guess I just decided, it doesn’t matter. Sometimes you just need to jump in.
The water’s fine
Before I let your ears feast on this limited edition Podcast, I’d like to point out a few of the things I learned from this experiment.
If I am to have any future in Podcasts, I will need to learn to cut out the um’s!
If you don’t have anything to say…
It’s so easy to miss the “right” questions.
I am extremely profound. (Will’s words, not mine.)
A new dimension
I’ve said it before, the Internet is amazing. We all use it, and we all have a digital footprint. When I dove into mine I started to realize, my digital footprint must look a lot like yours.
Is that a good thing?
Honestly, the jury is still out. In twenty some-odd years or so maybe we can objectively discuss that question. The fact is, we are only just entering this post-privacy era.
That is what is so great about it!! Armstrong didn’t just go take a stroll on the moon. It took time, money, and a cold war to get there, and it all started with a discussion.
It may be a bit kumbaya, but this is when our discussion starts.
(he drops the microphone and walks off stage left…)
I grew up in a world without the Internet… is a confession not many Millennials can claim. I find myself fortunate to be one of those few that can. Let me expound.
I should start by giving you an idea of what the Internet means to me. It’s Awesome! There. I said it. Is your mind blown? Of course not. We all know the Internet is splendid. Unless you’re one of those jabroni’s that thinks the .com is the Devil.
That’s nonsense, I invented electricity. Ben Franklin is the Devil!
–Mama Boucher
The Internet is a game changer. It has changed the world in ways both small and exponential. Google has been verbified. “Selfie” shot its way to 2013’s Word of the Year. And YouTube made going viral a good thing.
Why yes! That is me in an awesome House Robe! #swagtastic #onlyontheinternet
When MTV still played music
I feel like the grandpa telling his grandchildren about his trip to school. In the snow. Uphill both ways.
It’s true though – MTV used to play music. Pandora was just a girl with a box. Spotify was not a word, and when I wanted to hear a song, I had to wait for the TV or Radio to play it. Or, you could always head to the record store and actually buy the album. Lucky for me, my Discman had Bass Boost. Apparently, I am all about that bass.
So where am I going with all this?
Glad you asked.
My point is, I remember a time when there was no Internet. So, when I consider the question – what does the Internet mean to me? – I do so knowing what it was like not to have it. There are not a lot of Millennials that can say the same.
I find myself in awe. Daily. The Internet is remarkable. An ever-expanding universe of content. Tiny niche solar systems spinning inside of remarkably giant galaxies of information, filled with thriving planets full of life. And the best part – all of it is connected!
The boring old Universe can’t say the same. (I’m sorry Mr. Space. I’m actually a huge nerd and I love anything to do with you, but you make it so hard to get anywhere.)
What are you doing with all those zeros and ones?
That doesn’t even scratch the surface of what I use the Internet for.
Education
Work
Entertainment
Reading
Social
Research
Writing
Directions
Reviews
Travel
Expression
Video Games
Everything!
Did I mention that the Internet is amazing? For those of you that grew up with it – that don’t know what it was like to live devoid of its majestic wonders – I honestly don’t know how we did without it. I’m not saying it’s all wonderful. In fact, there are probably a few things we lost. But this isn’t about those things. This is about what the Internet means to me.
The Internet is a part of life. It has permeated every second of the day. It has enhanced my education, my relationships, my politics, my writing, and my daily dose of ridiculousness.
Just like so many others, I sometimes find myself exploring the unknown corners of the Internet. YouTube, in particular, breeds a living mass of constantly expanding media. From PewDiePie, to Jenna Marbles, to hit and miss prank videos (pun slightly intended), YouTube is Grand Central Station for viral content.
What is “viral” content?
The debate over that has yet to be settled. The reality is, it might never be. Online content grows at such an exponential rate that any sort of definitive answer to that question seems to always be just out of reach.
But that’s an issue for another post. Let’s just say that anything over 25 million views is – by any of the definitions I’ve seen – a viral video. I think that should be such a sufficiently high bar that even the most devout of trolls wouldn’t contend.
If not what, the question then becomes: Why? Why does content go viral?
The Hole
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where –”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Just as Alice did, I decided to plunge down into the “curiouser and curiouser” hole of YouTube. Cereal in bowl, and looking for content I’d never normally watch, click after click I followed the trail of “recommended for you” to see where it would lead. Here is what I found.
Friends show their X-Factor
(Spoiler Alert: she punches her “best” friend! Say what? That’s right, girl on girl fight. Don’t get too excited though, there’s no mud in this one.)
One can only guess the reasons people do what they do, but we sure are fascinated watching them muck it all up. William Hung showed us long ago that we are fascinated by the delusional confidence of other’s realities. Maybe it’s cathartic, or maybe it’s evolution. Either way, we find a perverse pleasure in watching the self-inflicted humiliation of others.
Do not attempt
I have to admit, this is a video I would actually normally watch. The human body is such an amazing thing. I am fascinated not only by what has been accomplished, but mostly by the dream that inspired the journey to reach that moment. I think videos like this are mainly watched for the spectacle. It’s a step out the front door into a world that is totally foreign to us, yet we never have to leave the safety of our digital world. Beyond the spectacle is the inspiration – the idea that if they can do it, than so can I.
A Sumo wrestler and a hard place
Drama. We want to know who will win. Couple that with our age old desire for combat and there was no way this video wasn’t going viral. We might not kill our warriors any more but we certainly still have a coliseum.
The raven is like a writing desk
There are, of course, a multitude of reasons why content goes viral. You can find blogs and articles all over the online universe claiming they have the sure fire way to make content viral. There’s no arguing that there is a lot of truth to some of the things being preached, but in the end, we really have no idea. The Mad Hatter hadn’t the slightest idea why the raven was like a writing desk, and viral just happens. I think our best bet is to know where we’re going. Then, maybe, we’ll at least know which fork in the road to take.
Fundamentals of Media Convergence 