Heavy reliance on social media and technology in today's society could be worsening our interpersonal communication skills. Obviously, technology and social media sites allow us to communicate with more people more often, but not face to face. This lack of face to face time could lead us to lose the interpersonal skills we have learned throughout our lives. Also, communicating through technology often leads us to act differently when communicating with others. Rowena Briones, a doctoral student in the Communication department at the University of Maryland, shares her views on the matter:
Along with affecting how interpersonal communication is done, social media and technology are also influencing how communication scholars perform their research. Because there are more places where communication is taking place, such as on social media sites, researchers now have more topics to delve into, and more instances to study. Research has become easier to do, and more topics have become available thanks to technology broadening our communication world. Briones reports on this matter here:
It is no surprise that technology and social media have majorly affected interpersonal communication and the communication field in terms of research. Technology is now just as much part of society as people are, and it can act as a person itself. Future changes and advancements in media are bound to lead to more changes in communication, whether they are good or bad.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Satellite Radio May Eventually Rule the Airwaves
Since popular satellite radio stations Sirius and XM combined in 2008 to form Sirius XM, satellite radio has been growing in popularity. The higher satellite radio grows in popularity, the closer we get to predicting the answer to the question: will satellite radio ever be as widespread as AM/FM? More importantly, could satellite rise to become a threat to AM and FM stations, posing the possibility of replacing them altogether?
Many people's first argument would probably be no. Nothing could replace our standard AM/FM radio formats, just like nothing could ever replace the novel, or a daily newspaper. AM/FM are free, easily accessed in any car or home (generally), and often, at least in the case of FM, offer music, weather, traffic, and news on each channel. Satellite radio, on the other hand, has a monthly subscription fee, costs more money to have it installed in an older car or your home, and has separate channels for music and news. But, the catch with Sirius XM is the removal of annoying commercials. For some people, that alone is enough to make switching to satellite worth the price, but for many others, it is not. So, having weighed some of the pros and cons of satellite radio, the question still stands: will it ever rule the airwaves? Here, Isabela Guimaraes, who has researched satellite radio, gives her opinion on the matter.
As Guimaraes states, most new cars being made and sold today are satellite radio capable, making a monthly subscription fee the only thing keeping the new car owner from enjoying commercial free radio as they drive. If more people choose to purchase Sirius XM when they buy a new care, satellite radio will continue to increase in popularity, since almost all new cars have a satellite radio feature already installed. Also, if enough people get fed up with commercials on their radio stations, they may wind up switching to Sirius XM and tucking aside the inconvenience of having to pay for radio.
Though satellite radio is rapidly expanding and reaching more listeners, it may be awhile before it takes over the radio industry completely, if it does, as Guimaraes predicts. She herself mentioned that while she would probably start using satellite radio eventually, it is not on the top of her priorities right now.
As Sirius XM grows in popularity and acquires more listeners, the rest of us AM/FM fans may begin to hop on board until eventually satellite becomes the preferred method of streaming radio for the majority of the country. Until this happens, the two parties will remain divided- by price, by tradition, or by whatever is keeping AM/FM listeners from indulging in the commercial free world of satellite radio.
Many people's first argument would probably be no. Nothing could replace our standard AM/FM radio formats, just like nothing could ever replace the novel, or a daily newspaper. AM/FM are free, easily accessed in any car or home (generally), and often, at least in the case of FM, offer music, weather, traffic, and news on each channel. Satellite radio, on the other hand, has a monthly subscription fee, costs more money to have it installed in an older car or your home, and has separate channels for music and news. But, the catch with Sirius XM is the removal of annoying commercials. For some people, that alone is enough to make switching to satellite worth the price, but for many others, it is not. So, having weighed some of the pros and cons of satellite radio, the question still stands: will it ever rule the airwaves? Here, Isabela Guimaraes, who has researched satellite radio, gives her opinion on the matter.
As Guimaraes states, most new cars being made and sold today are satellite radio capable, making a monthly subscription fee the only thing keeping the new car owner from enjoying commercial free radio as they drive. If more people choose to purchase Sirius XM when they buy a new care, satellite radio will continue to increase in popularity, since almost all new cars have a satellite radio feature already installed. Also, if enough people get fed up with commercials on their radio stations, they may wind up switching to Sirius XM and tucking aside the inconvenience of having to pay for radio.
Though satellite radio is rapidly expanding and reaching more listeners, it may be awhile before it takes over the radio industry completely, if it does, as Guimaraes predicts. She herself mentioned that while she would probably start using satellite radio eventually, it is not on the top of her priorities right now.
As Sirius XM grows in popularity and acquires more listeners, the rest of us AM/FM fans may begin to hop on board until eventually satellite becomes the preferred method of streaming radio for the majority of the country. Until this happens, the two parties will remain divided- by price, by tradition, or by whatever is keeping AM/FM listeners from indulging in the commercial free world of satellite radio.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Will Apple Plunge Without Jobs?
A few weeks ago, Apple lost their former CEO and co-founder, their friend, and their respected co-worker, Steve Jobs. Jobs had been battling pancreatic cancer for years, and had stepped down from CEO of Apple earlier in 2011, promoting Tim Cook to fill his shoes. The world was shocked to hear of his death at the young age of 56, and Apple users and fans around the world felt the sadness of such an incredible loss to the technological world. Electrical Engineer Michael Zuzak stated that the day of Jobs' death was a sad day in the electronics industry as it lost one of its great pioneers.
He also feels that Apple could be headed downhill without Jobs working for the company. It will be interesting to see how Cook manages Apple in the next few years. I think many people are looking forward to see if the products Apple releases in the future will live up to the ideas and designs that Jobs had come up with in the past.
During the interview, Zuzak also mentioned Jobs' last words, which were, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." The Washington Post published a blog post comparing Jobs' last words to those of Thomas Edison's. The Post also mentioned that the eulogy of Jobs was released over the weekend and published in The New York Times.
He also feels that Apple could be headed downhill without Jobs working for the company. It will be interesting to see how Cook manages Apple in the next few years. I think many people are looking forward to see if the products Apple releases in the future will live up to the ideas and designs that Jobs had come up with in the past.
During the interview, Zuzak also mentioned Jobs' last words, which were, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." The Washington Post published a blog post comparing Jobs' last words to those of Thomas Edison's. The Post also mentioned that the eulogy of Jobs was released over the weekend and published in The New York Times.
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