Media Overload: Are we "using" too much?

According to the theories of media exposure, we ultimately have the choice to choose how much media we expose ourselves to, pay attention to, give feedback to, and listen to. Uses and gratifications theory parallels social learning theory. The two together explain why we choose this media and what outcome (benefit) do we get from it in order to continue to use it? 

The year is 2010...basically everything is digital and we turn to technology to do everything for us. Have you ever tried to go a day without using technology? Unless you shack up in Antarctica or time travel back to the Stone Ages, it is impossible to serve our lives without using the media and technology.

The internet went out the other day in my house and it could not be fixed until the following day. The wave of misery and disbelief that came over my roommates and I proves how important the internet has become to all of us. What were we going to do without Facebook, Blackboard, and our online shows for a full twelve hours? I believe the internet has provided me with many luxuries I did not use three of four years ago. Mainly because I am now in college and a laptop owner, but without the internet I would be helpless. I access Blackboard for class information and emails, I keep track of my bank statements on suntrust.com, and I upload pictures and stay in touch with friends over Facebook. Also, let’s not forget “Google magic” answers all of my questions and concerns on a daily basis! Many adults say kids today are spoiled by online media services. I say we are just indulging on what is being handed to us. The opportunities that the internet gives us like online shopping, watching T.V., chatting with friends, doing homework, researching, and gaming, are all available to us to make our lives easier. Why wouldn’t we use them? Some may not go as far as me and say I married the media, but we obviously all use the media on a daily basis.

-to have & to hold

Did you know?!

I came across a VERY interesting video on youtube called Did you know? It is an awesome (kinda creepy) five minute video about what technology and media has in store for us in the future. Check in out!!

Some highlights from the video:

*1 in 8 married couples met ONLINE last year.

*In 2008, there were 31 billion searches on Google every month

*How many years did it take TV/radio/internet/ipods/facebook to reach a market audience of 50million (you'll be surprised!)

*It is estimated that a week's worth of the NYTimes contains more information than a person was likely to come acorss in a lifetime in the 18th century.

-forever & always

"Let the Community drive the content" -TFM

THEY WROTE ME BACK! I'm really excited because these people are like celebrities to me. They developed a website (much like Mark did with facebook) from nothing and let it grow and got rich off of it $$$$ kudos my friends, kudos. Below I copied and pasted our email convo.

Hey TFM,

Hoping you can answer a few questions, help a sorority girl out, and enlighten others.Greatly appreciated. =)
1. who founded tfm.com (ages, school)
2. how did you come up with the idea?
3. what were the initial steps to creating tfm.com?
4. what website programs did you use? (wordpress, godaddy?)
5. explain the process of getting everything copyrighted and terms and conditions
6. how does it work when people send you quotes? do you have a panel of expert frat dudes that decide which ones make the cut?
7. technologically speaking, on your website how do you enable boxes like facebook, twitter, comments, posts etc...
Best,
Liz
Florida State University. TSM.

They replied:

mailto:mdaywick@gmail.com%22) ; on behalf of;javascript:addSender("\"TotalFratMove.com\" <support@totalfratmove.com>")

Happy to help.
1. Due to confidentiality agreements we are not able to disclose personal information about ourselves.
2. My partner approached me with the idea for the site and I immediately new it was worth pursuing. In our experience, the satirical comedy among the Greek community is unlike any other. Many sites have attempted to capture this genre, but have failed to do it justice. Our approach is to let the community drive the content, while we moderate based on what we think is the most entertaining of the submissions.
3. Step one is to register the domain. Luckily, TotalFratMove.com was unregistered so we purchased it immediately. Step two is to determine how the site should work and what it should look like. Step three is to either be a web developer or find an all-star web developer; this is the most crucial step.
4. TFM is built on the Wordpress platform. We used Wordpress as a starting point to leverage its content publishing functionality.
5. Legalzoom.com is all you need in the beginning.
6. When someone submits a new post it is entered as a draft. Our moderator reviews all drafts and either approves or deletes the post. Once approved, the post appears on the live site.
7. Most websites like facebook and twitter offer developers various ways to interface with their websites. All of the social media links and widgets on TFM use these developer tools. Much of the core functionality is a manipulation of existing Wordpress functionality.
-TotalFratMove.com

Well I'm impressed! I especially liked the part he said about "letting the community drive the content" because in a way we are the reason the internet and media has gone so far. We are the reason some sites survive while others were just a waste of time. Facebook, twitter, and tfm all thrive because young adults like myself enjoy spending time on them. It all goes back to the uses and gratifications perspective. Our media behavior changes all the time because the gratifications we seek from the media are in a constant state of flux.

-for richer & for poorer

...But it's not all about me

Although I'd like to think the world revolved around me....the uses and gratifications theory doesn't apply to just me. It dominates thinking about media consumption behavior. The theory is based on an active audience. An example for the book:

"Interpersonal communication is one of the important gratifications that people seek from the Internet. Websites like Facebook that fulfill these expectations are thus likely to earn longer visits and repeat viewings" (Straubhaar, LaRose, Media Now).

Judging from the 5 BILLION registered facebook users, I would say fb is definitely fulfilling our expectations. "Repeat visits"? I bet the record for how many times a tween goes on a day is around 18 or  >. Since there is already a movie about the making of facebook, I wanted to find out how other popular sites got started. I emailed the contact information for TotalFratMove to find some answers. I'll let you know if they email me back. Keep your fingers crossed.

-in good times & bad.

India to the Rescue!

So apparently buying my domain name was the easiest part of building you own website. I thought since html codes are available online now this would be easy! WRONG. I can’t even figure out where to start let alone where to insert video content. A friend told me about Wordpress that uses an easier program to figure out my layout and I can mask my domain name to my wordpress user name. …..so how do I do that?!? INDIA TO THE RESCUE! 1&1 outsources internationally (at least I think it was India…that’s where my sales rep was located). He was able to override my computer screen by using NetViewer (BEST CREATION EVER- thank you internet developers) and basically do the technical work for me. I have now accepted that I would never make it in the IT world. After masking my domain name to my wordpress account, I am now messing around with different template settings. Let me know if you have any good ideas or want tips on how to create your own website.

-In sickness & in health

Website Builder

Today in class we had a guest speaker talk about his success with website building. He has now made a career out of it, (and judging by his Rolex and suit I would say it has made him well off). He continues to make websites for other businesses. Society today relies on instant gratification. So if I wanted to know information about a business I would expect nothing less than for it to have its own website.
His visit however, wasn't to encourage us to be future entrepreneurs and own our own business, but to make a website for ourselves to use as a resume. This was a broadcasting class and most students in the class are striving to be on television as a reporter, anchor, producer, or graphic designer. To get your foot in the door it is wise to develop a website showcasing your talent. A "resume reel" if you will.
Sooooo I am a proud owner of my own domain name LizSowder.com. It takes at least 24 hours to verify so I will let you know its progress in upcoming posts. I bought it through 1&1 for a monthly rate of $6.99. I am really excited about creating this! Yet another way media has influenced me to act upon this opportunity. Which reminds me of an excerpt from our Media Now textbook:

"We encounter new media that address new or different needs. Our life situation may change and with it the criteria we use to select the media. At some stages of our lives we may seek media that entertain; at other times information may be more of a priority" (Straubhaar, LaRose).

So my priority is this website. Time to get off facebook for a bit. I'll let you know how the building goes.
-For better & for worse.

Hello Web World!!

I am a senior at Florida State University. For a class we were told to make a blog...and see what happens. Lets add to the ever-expanding world that is the world wide web. I decided to blog about my relationship with technology and the media (my Uses and Gratfications). First there was the "cute crush" stage where AskJeeves and AIM were about all I used the internet for. Then the casual dating led to Myspace. Now I consider us seriously dating (meeting the parents and everything) since I practically spend more than half my day online, on the phone, or using some form of technology to enhance my media skills. We became engaged as soon as I registered for my facebook account. That is when I knew we would be together forever! The media is also helping me pursue my career as a news anchor (but more of that talk later). The wedding was beautiful, the Media vowed to always keep me updated through yahoo.com, CNNnews, facebook news feed, and twitter. Promised to keep me entertained through youtube, tfln.com, and tfm.com. 

This is my entertaining way of explaning the uses and gratifications theory. You see, the class I am writing this for is "New Communication Technologies" and we were encouraged to create a blog using material we learned in class. Our textbook says:

"To understand media impacts, we need to understand how the media work their way into our lives. The Uses and Gratifications perspective is the theory that media are actively selected to satisfy our needs. Users actively seek out media that meet their needs for new knowledge, social interaction, and diversion" (Straubhaar, LaRose, Media Now).

What better way to show how media impacts my life than by showing you the ways I use media in my everyday life! Not just for the entertainment side, but for my future career as well. It will show how I choose certain media to fulfill my needs. Here we go.....

-to have & to hold from this day forward