Auras and cyber-auras are interconnected but are not the same. An aura, as defined by Benjamin, has a unique aspect of time and space.[1] These aspects are the differences between experiencing an event and seeing it through reproduced means. Benjamin also states that the reproductions diffuse the experience and reduce the quality of the presence.[2] Such occurrences can be observed by looking at photographs, movies, or other mechanical productions.
Cyber-auras, however, encompass a greater audience, and may create a new unique experience for each viewer. On one hand, an internet video may be seen and interpreted by an individual with one perspective. This perspective can be shared among a larger population to induce a cyber-aura that continues on almost infinitely. An example of this phenomenon is the movie Paranormal Activity. Originally, the movie opened in only 13 theaters.[3] However, the online marketing campaign was revolutionary. Using media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and voting, the promotion for the movie was successful. Each person that watched the trailer obtained their own cyber-aura. This cyber-aura was then encompassed in the larger sphere of social media outlets.
The actual experience of the movie creates the mechanical aura. This mechanical aura may then be evolved into a cyber-aura by the use of internet reactions on media sites. Thus, both cyber-aura and aura are linked but are not the same. They may create a chain that is seemly infinite at a given point in time.
[1]Walter, Benjamin. Illuminations: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York: Schocken Books, 1968, p.223.
[2]Walter, Benjamin. Illuminations: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York: Schocken Books, 1968, p.221.
[3]Rosenberg, Adam. 'Paranormal Activity' To Open Nationwide After 1,000,000 Demands Are Received. MTV Movies. October 6, 2009. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/10/06/paranormal-activity-to-open-nationwide-after-1000000-demands-are-received/ . Accessed February 21, 2011. Internet.
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Communication: The Revolution Enabler
What is Communication?
Communication is what makes revolutions possible. It incorporates every single interaction that we have as a species and even with other species. Communication functions as a force "tied to a realization of the centrality of commuincation in social settings."[1]
The uprising that has occurred in the past month in Egypt is the work of communication on the internet. According to Wael Ghonim, a popular activist and Google executive, the revolution was able to happen because of the communication allowed by the use of Facebook and other social media sites. [2]
Perhaps the most important underlying idea of communication allowing revolutions to happen is that the internet is not almighty. As implied by Calderone, the driving force behind a real revolution and the overturning of a government requires manpower and communication by a show of force and numbers.[2] During the revolt in Iran, the government cracked down on protesters and the mobilization of people did not occur. Thus, even with the internet allowing mass communication, revolutions require physical communication that is not available over the internet.
[1]Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 3.
[2]Calderone, Michael. Social media plays role in Egypt some expected in Iran. Yahoo! News. February 11, 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110211/ts_yblog_thecutline/social-media-plays-role-in-egypt-some-expected-in-iran. Accessed February 12, 2011. Internet.
Communication is what makes revolutions possible. It incorporates every single interaction that we have as a species and even with other species. Communication functions as a force "tied to a realization of the centrality of commuincation in social settings."[1]
The uprising that has occurred in the past month in Egypt is the work of communication on the internet. According to Wael Ghonim, a popular activist and Google executive, the revolution was able to happen because of the communication allowed by the use of Facebook and other social media sites. [2]
Perhaps the most important underlying idea of communication allowing revolutions to happen is that the internet is not almighty. As implied by Calderone, the driving force behind a real revolution and the overturning of a government requires manpower and communication by a show of force and numbers.[2] During the revolt in Iran, the government cracked down on protesters and the mobilization of people did not occur. Thus, even with the internet allowing mass communication, revolutions require physical communication that is not available over the internet.
[1]Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 3.
[2]Calderone, Michael. Social media plays role in Egypt some expected in Iran. Yahoo! News. February 11, 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110211/ts_yblog_thecutline/social-media-plays-role-in-egypt-some-expected-in-iran. Accessed February 12, 2011. Internet.
Communication
Communication is the basic form of transferring information from one source to another. This can either be a two-way transmission where the receiver also becomes the transmitter or it can be one-way where the receiver only receives and never transmits [1]. This one-way communication is what is dangerous. In mass communication it is the few powerful organizations that control the information and it has become a one-way transmission where unfortunately, the masses act as sheep. The organizations herd the sheep of the populace into buying certain products, voting for certain politicians, as well as other manipulations as shown by Max Horkheimer in Hardt’s essay, “the media profess to adhere to the values and freedom of the individual, but they ‘fetter the individual’ to prescribed thoughts, attitudes, and buying habits instead.” [2].
What separates democracy from totalitarian rule is the participation of the public in the act of making political decisions. However, if the public is being manipulated by those in power already, there is little that separates the two. Unfortunately this seems to be the case in
The solution to this may be centered around the public mass communicating with itself. Websites with public forums where anyone may enter and state what they desire may provide a way for the public to compete with power organized groups. However, even then money can corrupt those online communities as well. It is simple for an organization to simply pay an employee to post propaganda on these websites as well, and at times bury the opposition in sheer quantity. The owners of the websites must also fight their own greed as companies may pay them to give priority to the companies propaganda. However, teaching the public to distrust mass communication and analyze data themselves is still a step in the right direction.
[1]- Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: an Essay on Mass Communication.
[2]- Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: an Essay on Mass Communication.
[3]- Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: an Essay on Mass Communication.
Communication and It's Influence
Communication involves information being transmitted from one party, referred to as the sender, to another party, known as the receiver. Communication can take on various roles throughout society, but in today’s world, more than ever, communication is helping to define how an individual should act: “Mass communication defines democracy and helps mold the social character of the modern individual as a predictable, if not anticipated, participant in the discourse of a capitalist society” (Hardt, 1). The power of mass communication on its audience is large and seems to be increasing.
The media in today’s world seems to be concerned with much more than just reporting the news, which is bothersome to many. Capitalism is at the forefront of many ideas and viewpoints that are put out in the media, which can have negative effects for all, including the media. Mass communication has taken a major hit over the years due to many people not having faith in the media: “It is a commonplace that mass communication is currently in crisis, since profits are down and public confidence in the media remains low” (Hardt, 2). Not only does the issue of trust play a major role in the crisis that is currently taking place with mass communication, but the idea of people being able to access the news from many other sources, most noticeably the internet, has also played a significant role.
While it has and will continue to be the receiver’s job in the communication process to believe what they want to believe, it is becoming more and more difficult to do so: “Since reality is always what people think it is, the reality of contemporary life emerges from an immersion in the social or cultural practices of mass communication that are tinged by commercial claims or political goals” (Hardt, 3). What seems to be the only reality concerning mass communication is that it will not go away and will continue to be of importance to the entire world in the future, which means people will just have to adjust to the way they take in the news.
Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Book.
The media in today’s world seems to be concerned with much more than just reporting the news, which is bothersome to many. Capitalism is at the forefront of many ideas and viewpoints that are put out in the media, which can have negative effects for all, including the media. Mass communication has taken a major hit over the years due to many people not having faith in the media: “It is a commonplace that mass communication is currently in crisis, since profits are down and public confidence in the media remains low” (Hardt, 2). Not only does the issue of trust play a major role in the crisis that is currently taking place with mass communication, but the idea of people being able to access the news from many other sources, most noticeably the internet, has also played a significant role.
While it has and will continue to be the receiver’s job in the communication process to believe what they want to believe, it is becoming more and more difficult to do so: “Since reality is always what people think it is, the reality of contemporary life emerges from an immersion in the social or cultural practices of mass communication that are tinged by commercial claims or political goals” (Hardt, 3). What seems to be the only reality concerning mass communication is that it will not go away and will continue to be of importance to the entire world in the future, which means people will just have to adjust to the way they take in the news.
Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Book.
What is Communication?
Communication is the dissemination of information and ideologies that take place between senders and receivers. Communication is important for keeping the world informed of current events and news. Even though communication may imply only one sender and one receiver, in a scale as large as worldly communication, such a small scope rarely exists.
In fact, the most prominent form of large scale communication is mass communication, which "desires to dominate individuals (or societies) through persuasion and manipulation"[1]. If the purpose of communication is to dominate, societies and cultures must be very careful about what information is spread. This implies that communication only benefits the senders of information. In present times, this means that only corporations or developed nations are the beneficiaries, not the people who receive (and sometimes unknowingly) the information.
Within a nation, mass communication is the most efficient way to get information across from sender to receiver. It must be kept in mind, however, that mass communication is never without a purpose or vested interest - often times these interests are hidden. For example, the "spread of American mass communication has turned into a permanent process of reinforcing the Americanization of cultures" [2]. The goal of persuasion very well exists in mass communication.
This predicament poses many obstacles and is not easy to fix. Since "good communication was the key to 'the most challenging social problem of our time - the modernizing of most of the world'" [3], and it would seem that only polluted, privatized information is being transmitted, the dangers that mass communication present will negatively impact modernization and globalization.
[1] Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 7
[2] Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 54
[3] Curran, James and Myung-Jin Park. De-Westernizing Media Studies. London: Routledge, 2000, p. 4
In fact, the most prominent form of large scale communication is mass communication, which "desires to dominate individuals (or societies) through persuasion and manipulation"[1]. If the purpose of communication is to dominate, societies and cultures must be very careful about what information is spread. This implies that communication only benefits the senders of information. In present times, this means that only corporations or developed nations are the beneficiaries, not the people who receive (and sometimes unknowingly) the information.
Within a nation, mass communication is the most efficient way to get information across from sender to receiver. It must be kept in mind, however, that mass communication is never without a purpose or vested interest - often times these interests are hidden. For example, the "spread of American mass communication has turned into a permanent process of reinforcing the Americanization of cultures" [2]. The goal of persuasion very well exists in mass communication.
This predicament poses many obstacles and is not easy to fix. Since "good communication was the key to 'the most challenging social problem of our time - the modernizing of most of the world'" [3], and it would seem that only polluted, privatized information is being transmitted, the dangers that mass communication present will negatively impact modernization and globalization.
[1] Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 7
[2] Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: An Essay on Mass Communication. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 54
[3] Curran, James and Myung-Jin Park. De-Westernizing Media Studies. London: Routledge, 2000, p. 4
Thursday, January 27, 2011
What is communication?
Communication in cyberspace involves a virtual and circular transmission of narratives between a sender and receiver.
Information on the global has been made available and has been transmitted through media institutions. A medium connects and makes accessible, in other words, mediates at least a pair of “worlds”; the outside macro-globe and the inside micro-space.[1] Information is the most distributed good within this global flow.[2]
Cyberspace challenges the basic Shannon-Weaver model of communication.[3] The roles of sender and of receiver merge; and the former audience becomes active and connects to a network.
In cyberspace, the transmission involves a circulation of unfinished texts, and the cyber communication is entirely virtual. A mutually understandable code, notably the English language as the lingua franca in cyberspace[4], forms the basis of and for communication.
[1] Lippmann, Walter: Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922. The first edition was published in 1922 in New York by Harcourt, Brace and Company. The full text is downloadable under http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6456. A GoogleBooks digitalized version is available at http://books.google.com/books?id=eLobn4WwbLUC&dq=Public+Opinion+Lippmann&hl=de&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 05 January 2011. Web.
[2] Mowlana, Hamid: Global Information and World Communication. London: Sage, 1997. Print.
[3] Shannon, Claude: A Mathematical Theory of Communication. Bell System Technical Journal 27 (July and October) 1948, pp. 379-423, 623-656, http://plan9.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf. 05 January 2011. Web.
[4] Dor, Daniel: From Englishization to Imposed Multilingualism:Globalization, the Internet, and the Political Economy of the Linguistic Code. Public Culture 16 (1), pp. 97-118. Print.
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