Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Faceb⊙⊙k

Facebook; we all have it, or most of us, and we all use it for different reasons. Some people use it to keep up with friends or family, network, or to meet people. However, do you ever wonder how many people use it to "creep?"

Creeping: The act of spying on people for a variety of reasons, for personal satisfaction or gain.

I made that definition up, but it's pretty accurate, for slang anyway. There have been studies that show when people are in relationships, or interested in someone, that their Facebook usage increases and with that their jealousy increases of their partner's Facebook.




Facebook increases curiosity of people in casual romantic relationships, or in people just interested in one another. However, the longer the relationship, and the more serious, the less likely "creeping" is to happen. People in long term relationships must feel more secure with their partner than those in just casual relationships.

I just thought it was interesting. I've fallen victim to this action, and it quite frankly sucks! I hate checking up to see what someone I like is doing, but it seems your fingers just take control and perform the action all by themselves sometimes. Liking someone is not always fun, because you think about them and wonder what they are doing, so you check up on them. I hate it! Some people don't mind, but I hate the feeling of liking someone, not being in control of it, and just really wanting to know what they are up to and what they are thinking. It's especially horrible because you can't help who you like most of the time.

Then you have the parental creeping. Parents creep on their children, yet college students want to have freedom from them. Once people are older, your parents being your friends on Facebook isn't that bad, but when you're young and making stupid mistakes, you just want to make them in peace, with no consequence.

There are all kinds of creeping, however, it is important kids, to creep responsibly. Don't overdue it, or you could be deemed a stalker. A creeper is always cooler than a stalker. I think.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Music to Our Ears

      I was just thinking, what would life be like without music and the progression of music videos? It is very rare that you run across someone who does not like music at all. Everyone has some kind of music they enjoy listening to. My question is, what is it that draws people to the kind of music they love? Is it a music video message? Is it the rhythm, the lyrics, the members of the band, or just popularity? Granted I would not be able to know the answer without research, but it is interesting.

      For instance, I love the video below for the following reasons: I can relate to the lyrics (I am a huge lyrics person), I love Tyler Glenn's voice, I love his beautiful face and his demeanor. The song is catchy, and I found a certain version of the song that is so much more passionate and personal. The mainstream version is amazing, and I really enjoy that one, but the lighter version filmed by occidental saloon is more my style. However, if I had never found this video, it might not have impacted me so much. I can see the passion in his face, and that he wrote this song and believes in it. I love that he writes his own songs and shows passion. However, some people wouldn't feel the same way.

      It is just amazing to me that there are so many genres of music, and yet they all flourish because there are so many different genres of people. Music videos, special effects, and story lines in the videos can turn people away or draw them to closer to liking the song as well. The song not only serves as a way to communicate to people, but also the video. Musicians have two mediums to really make a connection with the public with their songs, the radio and television. Of course, there are always live performances that people hope to be the same as the videos, but that is another topic in itself.

      I think music is a wonderful addition to our lives, no matter what genre people enjoy listening to. Music can talk for us when no words can be used to explain what we think or feel, and it can even make us feel something by listening or watching a video. Please just share your thoughts on which music video version you liked best, even look up the lyrics if you like, that will actually make it a better experience. I'm just interested to know how different people react to the same video shot in different ways and different versions.

-Animal By Neon Trees-

Version 1:



Version 2:



Version 3:

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Screaming Lights

      While driving down the road tonight, I was looking on both sides of it. I realized that there are so many places here I have yet to discover, and things I want to do. I love to find new places to shop, little mom and pop stores, and little companies. The problem is, everything is buried behind everything else. There are only a number of stores, restaurants, cafes, and shops that line the streets. Shopping centers are buried behind other shopping centers, and more shopping centers. There is so much cement that I cannot see it all.

      I noticed that is the big difference between a smaller town like Lubbock, Texas, and the Dallas, Texas area. Buildings and places in Lubbock are spaced out, easy to see, and mostly easy to find. Here in Dallas it is a maze of buildings and logos. I honestly, would hate to live in New York. I love media so much, but there gets a point for me where too much becomes noise and nothing but noise. I love the variety of new places here to experience, but I feel like I can't find them all on the same medium, so I have to look different places.

       For instance, is every business in the phone book yellow pages? The answer is no, trust me. After searching the entire yellow pages for a certain business, I go to the internet. Limited information is there, and definitely not much of it for mom and pop places.

      This lead me to thinking that smaller businesses need a bigger role in the social media and media worlds in general. Perhaps if they had a few tweaks to their Web site, a nicer Facebook page, more publicity somehow, that they could still compete with bigger businesses. So many small businesses do not have any kind of advertising. If someone sees Jimmy Johns, they just say, "Knock Knock, Jimmy Johns!" People know who that is, for the most part. I think businesses should invest in media, especially catchy jingles. There is nothing worse than getting a jingle in your head and it sticking there all day. However, it does stay with you when the subject arises!

       So, the bottom line about my babbling is this: I think smaller businesses should invest more in new media and social media, and there should be an easier way to figure out what all there is to do in a town with so much noise. There are so many advertisements on buildings shooting out at people when they drive by, it doesn't give the ones buried behind them much of a shot.


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Speed of New Media


       So, today I'm slightly bitter. Let me explain. Everyone might know a guy by the name of, oh, let's say Robert Pattinson? Yeah, that's right, the Twilight guy, Edward Cullen. Here is a picture to jog your memory:
      Ok, now that I've shown you and you remember, and have possibly fainted, let me tell you a fun fact. He was in Lubbock, Texas last night. I graduated from Texas Tech in December 2009, so apparently I left before celebrities like this started hanging out at the local bar called Cricket's. It is just hard to imagine he was actually there, a place I have eaten at and drank at many times. It's almost surreal.

      Media has done this to us. It has made the super speed of information through wires and satellites possible. If this had happened even in the 90s, the information would not have spread as fast. As soon as he was spotted, you better believe that people had their cell phones and cameras pulled out. Pictures were taken, videos recorded, Facebook and Twitter statuses updated. The media took hold of the information within the hour. Of course, he is just a person like anyone else, but because of his celebrity status, he can turn a rinky-dink bar into a popular place where police are called for crowd control.  Well, let's just face it, celebrities like him don't usually just travel to places like Lubbock, Texas. And if they do, they don't go out in public. However,  'ole Rob pulled a new one on the world last night. Severely upset and bitter, I wasn't a part of it. I just wish I had a friend there to text me as soon as it happened, I would have taken a red eye flight asap. Maybe I need more friends that go to bars frequently.