It's a Small World After All

        The media has really made the world a smaller place. People are now "closer" to each other than they were before. Media has certainly mad the the distance between people shorter and now people can communicate and relate with each other even they are not in the same place together. Before we had snail mail, a very time consuming way of relaying messages, now we have the e-mail. With the e-mail sending messages have become instant with the only problem to address is how slow or how fast your internet connection will be. E-mail has now become less convenient also with the creation of chat clients and chat rooms or instant messaging. Instant messaging is self explanatory. Receivers get the message as soon as you send it most of the time but your internet connection might be a problem again because a slow connection might delay your messages for a few moments. Cellphones have now also become an essential part of life. With it we can send text messages even without internet and we could also call anybody, anywhere, anytime as long as there is a cell signal wherever you may be. Television have also reinvented the way people get their news. Aside from newspapers there are news channels on TV. People just turn on the TV and then they can see what is happening around and they know about it instantly. The internet is the ultimate source of connection. It connects millions of people around the world and shows no sign of slowing down (except for a few ISPs that are really bad). With the internet people can talk to each other, purchase stuff, download software, book trips, find information and much more.

          Media has really changed on how people live and people rely heavily on the media. With the whole world being connected there is this concept called the global village. Everyone practically lives next door to each other with the media and we do not need to leave the comforts of home since every body and everything is so well connected.

Filtering, Censorship, Manipulation

            Censorship is not a very big deal in media or at least I do not mind it at all. Media gets filtered all the time and I am used to that already. Maybe that is the power that media has over its audiences. The audience cannot choose what will ultimately be shown on media. In the end the audience will have to cope on what will be shown. The ones that control the media would want to avoid any controversy as possible. Sometimes though, filtering can get out of hand and audiences can get false information and beliefs from the media. With the advancements in technology these days it has become too easy and very common to manipulate the media. One example I can think is Photoshop. One can simply get pictures and edit them using Photoshop to show something unusual. One famous picture was circulating emails a few years ago. It was a picture of a rescue helicopter with someone hanging on the rope ladder. The helicopter was hovering over a body of water and there was a shark cropped in leaping out of the water straight to the man hanging on the ladder. The picture was pretty realistic so I bought it for some time and then never heard of it in the news and I saw the helicopter and the shark were two different pictures that were put together.

             With media manipulation and filtering it is difficult to address a wide audience on sensitive issues properly. There are small communities though that are aware and are trying to make others aware also. An example I can think of is the band Rage Against the Machine, a rap metal band with songs often having lyrics addressing political issues. Their songs would almost always sound like a protest backed up with a heavy metal sound. The band has faced many controversies because of their songs that question political issues such as government oppression. The band is also censored in other countries.

              Media is easily manipulated and filtered so how can we be sure if what we see and hear from the media are what they really are? Since there are no other ways to get our information anymore we rely heavily on the media to get our information, but if we think about we cannot be too sure of what we get are really true. Such as is the power of media.

Well Connected

Imagine a world without technology(modern technology). A world without computers, phones(including cellphones), cars, internet, television and whatnot. I have imagined this kind of world and I imagined a very sad me in it or at least a very bored me or both. My life has become so dependent on technology that a few days without my computer can have me getting depressed over it. I depend on my electronic gadgets very much. They are my media devices. Without them I would not know the things happening around me, to my friends, to the society. My laptop plus internet access pretty much tells the story of one whole day for me. If I have nothing better to do I just sit in front of my laptop either playing video games, surfing the web, or chatting with friends. If not my laptop I use my iPad and basically do what I do when I use my laptop. See? I am very dependent on my gadgets. Take them away and I get bored easily and become unaware of the happenings around.

I am somehow a prime example of someone using the Uses and Gratification Theory. The core proposition of the theory is "People actively seek out specific media and specific content to satisfy particular needs." This statement is very applicable to me. I have a cellphone so that I can communicate with my friends whenever I want or need to and it is loaded with songs so that when I get bored I just get my earphones and start listening to songs. I have my laptop so that I can make my papers, but my laptop has more uses than that. My laptop can also cure boredom because I have numerous video games installed in it and I just play when I am bored and when I get tired of playing I surf the internet and chat with my friends. I also have an iPad which basically has the same uses as my laptop the upside is that it is more portable. I have an Xbox when I want a real gaming console to play with. I also have guitars (both electric and acoustic ones) when sometimes I want to play some music on my own.

That is all. Time for me to get back to playing my games and chatting with my friends. :)

Membership Required

Organizational Culture Theory. Those who comprise an organization defines the organization. In basic terms this is how an organization is run by its members. The members have already their "norms and traditions" in their organization and it is their generally accepted behavior. It is like an organization would have an extra set of unwritten rules in addition to the written rules of an organization. An example of a written rule in an organization can be something like this: "Always log in when coming to work and log out when leaving" and an example of an unwritten can go like this: "Do not bring bring food that would make a lot of noise when chewed or bit."

Before college (yes I mean high school) I was almost never part of any extra-curricular activities, but now (college) there are different organizations and stuff. I never had the experience of doing any work except school work of course. This year, my sophomore year, I signed for only one organization which is my home organization ACTM. In my freshman year I had 3 orgs including ACTM, but I never did anything productive in any of them. I was just a member in all of them. I think what prompted me to lessen my extra-curricular activities is my laziness and my schedule. I never found out the "culture" of the other 2 orgs I previously joined though I still get notification e-mails from them until now. In ACTM this year I tried being active so I am now part of the finance core/team/department (I'm not sure which) and without any previous experience obviously I do not what to do in my work. From my views and experiences with the organization I can say that members are close and pretty much everybody knows each other especially the active ones. Everybody is very hardworking also although I might be an exception. Honestly I have no idea what to do so I just follow what I'm told and observe around and learn from what's happening around me.

I do not plan to stay active for long because even though I am not part of any major activities in the organization the stress of school has already been overwhelming me, but hopefully I will still stay active. I would still need to learn how ACTM fully works though and from that maybe I can probably be a proper member or active member in the future.

Tech Tech Tech... LIN-Tech????

People are too lazy nowadays!

You know how I know this? I was hungry for a BigMac and I was already. Back then if you wanted a BigMac you go to the nearest McDonald's and get one yourself. Welcome the phone and delivery just by dialing was possible. Now I'm hungry for a BigMac and I'm already on my computer.... WWW.McDelivery.com.ph FTW!!!!!! I didn't have to stand up all I did was lift 3 fingers and in 30 minutes I have my BigMac!

The problem today is people have become too complacent. Just this morning I was nearly late for my NSTP. And FINALLY! I arrived right "on time" before my jeep left. I just arrived almost 20 minutes late but still when I was still in traffic I texted my classmates to wait for me because of the heavy traffic along Katipunan.

And now... I'm here at my friend's house waiting for a party. I actually forgot to make my blog the day before but because of technology (there is wi-fi and a laptop) and I was able to make my blog in time.

Turn Shuffle Off, Put it on Repeat

Structuration - The "creation and recreation" of organizational environment through rules and regulations.


Structuration with its structure creates somehow a template. In this case a template for everyday life. Each day becomes redundant, repetitive, same as the others. A good example of a repetitive pattern of life is school. School is the same everyday unless of course for special or extreme situations that would call for breaking the pattern.

Everyday we wake up, get dressed, and go to school. In school we have schedules. The schedule never changes and we are forced to follow it and it dictates what we do in school and what class we go to. In class we get tons of work and tests so much so that sometimes when we try to remember our lessons each of the lessons in each class overlaps with each other. It makes everything much more confusing.

Ateneo specifically has its own structure of sorts. One thing that is unique to the Ateneo is the INTAC class. I never really got to know what INTAC was really for because it never really did what it was supposed to and that is introduce us to Ateneo culture. INTAC class was one thing I never looked forward to. Another Ateneo structure is the strict ID implementation. I have no problem with this because it really is for security reasons, though the guards are sometimes too annoying. They know you have an ID but they still check if it's your ID. That's not the problem though. The problem is that they sometimes take too long just to check if the face on your ID is your ID. But all these are just patterns, structures. They are all unavoidable situations and are already part of everyday life. Going to school, home work, school work, ID implementation, schedules they are all what we encounter everyday.

Though patterns are somehow a good thing also. At least we do not have to think hard of what we have to do each day. The only thing we have to think about is whether to follow the pattern or not and sometimes thinking outside the box is a great thing. It adds color to your otherwise black and white life. A little variety won't hurt and it would keep our lives more interesting and exciting.

Great Minds Think Alike...

                … or so they say. The theory of groupthink, is very intriguing that it introduces the idea of unanimity over individuality. All I can say is that this is very true. People want to do what others want to do and who can blame them? Unity means that there will be less conflict between ideas and therefore less conflict between individuals. This can also mean that work can be achieved in a shorter span of time. However, would it maximize quality as in the case wherein individual ideas be pooled together to form a better idea?

                Yes, groupthink would result in more peaceful and speedier manners of work, but what of the individual ideas? Thinking as one would only result to one goal and apply only one idea out of the many possible ideas each individual in a group could come up with. We should respect each other’s ideas and criticize if necessary. In this way higher quality outputs can be achieved because of the variety that will be achieved. There would be more color in the work put as each individual’s ideas will be from their own originality and likeness.

                Groupthink reminds me a lot of a hive mind. A hive mind is a collective consciousness where there is no individuality. Everything or everyone thinks the same as if there is really only one mind that controls them all. A hive mind reminds me of the popular video game Star Craft wherein one the races there actually have a hive mind. The race is called Zerg. They are very primitive whose only goal is to spread and destroy anything not Zerg. They always attack swiftly and in swarms or most commonly known as a Zerg rush to catch opponents of guard and outnumbered. Picture depicting a Zerg rush.

Can't see the picture clearly? Here is a link of actual gameplay footage of a Zerg Rush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfl279o_Cko

                Groupthink can be a good or a bad thing depending on the situation. When pressed on time this could be a good thing, but when quality is a must individuality is called upon and pooled together to form variety and color. :)