Video Communication

While watching the multimedia presentations I couldn’t help but think about our blog and how the videos also relate to modern communication.  Documenting by making videos is a form of communication for some people.  On facebook you can post videos of yourself on a friends wall, or in a message.  Video communication is growing in our generation and can sometimes be more expressive than having a normal conversation.  Artsy students and film majors spend their time editing videos and using photo shop to convey a message to an audience that will perfectly describe them.  Using bright colors can be interpreted as energetic or happy; whereas, blacks and grays can be interpreted as sad or depressing.  Expressing ones’ self through video and design can be therapeutic and allows others to get to know you in a different way.  While creating my multimedia video project, I chose songs from my itunes collection that I thought fit the mood of the video but was also a good representation of me.

I personally do not use videos to communicate with others or to say something about myself, but there are many people that post their videos online, onto youtube.  Youtube is a growing site where people can post whatever they want for others to see.  There are tons of home movies, music videos, funny blooper videos, sports high lights, and even some movie clips.  I look at videos on youtube when I am bored, or in need of a laugh.  We have looked at some of my favorite youtube videos in class, such as, Marcel the Shell with Shoes on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU

I find that by picking my favorite videos someone could get a sense of the kind of person I am, or at the very least, my sense of humor.  By comparing favorite videos people are able to communicate with one another and find common interests.  Throughout the summer I will most likely post youtube videos that I find funny or interesting on my friends facebook walls as means of keeping in touch with them.  Modern communication takes many forms, whether written, audio, or visual and is transitioning to being mostly all online, on computers.

- Alexa Barach

Keeping in Touch in These Last Few Weeks

As finals approach and we enter into this last week of classes facebook will be my worst enemy.  I go on facebook more times a day than I should.  Most of the time I am checking up on what’s going on on campus, and different social events that could be coming up.  Other times I sit and look at my news feed and see what all my friends have been doing.  I use facebook to communicate with others and make sure I am kept up to date on what is going on around me.  Because finals are coming up the temptation to procrastinate will be very large.  I am going to try and spend as much time as I can with my nose in the books instead of on facebook.  It is important to me to do well in my classes so that I can learn, and get good grades.  I know of some friends who have had others change their passwords on facebook so that they won’t even have the temptation of going on, and spending time looking at what others are doing. 

In addition to being tempted by facebook for means of procrastination, I find that I am tempted because I want to communicate with my friends from my hometown of Concord, MA.  I have been talking with them and finding out when everyone will be home so that we can all start to reconnect and compare our first years at college.  Because I live so far away from school I have been anticipating going home for a while and have been getting pretty excited.  My family has only been down to visit once, and I have only gone back home for major holidays.  I have been communicating with my friends and family mostly through facebook and texting.  I do talk to my mom just about everyday whether it is through facebook, texting, or actually calling one another.  I believe that especially if you live far away, it is important to keep in touch and talk to the people you care about as frequently as possible.  I have found the skype is also a very useful form of modern communication that allows me to stay in touch.

Skype is an online way of video chatting with other people.  If you have an Internet connection and a computer you can skype with anyone from any part of the world.  It is free and is a great way of staying in touch and seeing each other without actually being around one another.  Most of my friends from back home go to school in the north and I skype with them at least once a week to stay in touch.  This week has been a little stressful, trying to prepare for finals and I have depended on my friends at school and my friends at home to keep me calm and just listen to what is going on in their lives.  I have even skyped with friends at Clemson to study or ask questions about different assignments.  Skype and facebook are the new ways that people are communicating with one another without actually having to be around each other.

Old times

Summer is sneaking up on me this year. Throughout high school I always counted down the days until the summer, when I would no longer have to deal with the boringness and busy work of school. There is no doubt that I am ready to get exams over with and be out on good ol Lake Murray with friends and family, but one thing I will definitely miss is all of my new friends I have met thus far at Clemson.

If it weren’t for modern communication I wouldn’t be able to be in touch or stay in contact with any of my new friends who live in all over parts of the country. After spending everyday with these new friends it would be terrible to not be able to keep a strong relationship with any of them. College has not only taught me that modern communication, such as; Facebook, Twitter, and Skype are important but also I’ve learned to truly cherish the old fashion way of communicating that we being Americans constantly tend to forget.

I honestly have the greatest parents and grandparents in the entire world and being in college is allowed me to realize how great they really are. My grandpa and I are extremely close and even though I’m away in college and we rarely get to see each other, he continues to send me a letter in the mail every two weeks. No matter what he has to do or what is going on in his life, he has never once forgotten that special letter.  Don’t get me wrong, a good comment on my Facebook wall is nice every now and then but for some reason receiving a letter in the mail is so much more exciting. As much as I love how crucial modern communication is in our lives today, I never want the good ol fashion letters to disappear.

My mom and dad have obviously adapted to the new resources of communication that overwhelms society today but my grandparents are not exactly there yet and probably never will learn to appreciate it the way young college students do. My dad is a huge fan of blogging and tries to do it a couple of times a week, he also has a Facebook and Twitter that he tends to get on every now and then as well. I love to give him a hard time because sometimes it seems that he is texting or on the computer more than my sister and me are (which is probably not actually true, he is just easy to mess with). Even though he’s a huge fan of all of these new things, he takes the time to write my sister and me a simple letter to let us know how much he cares and is thinking about us. There’s no doubt that modern communication is a great aspect to our society but it is always great when you check your mailbox and there is a little letter from your favorite grandpa waiting for you!!

ps.. the site won't let me put a picture on this.. i'll keep trying later :)

-Kimberly Gray

Keepin The Family Close

      Contrary to most assumptions, using social networks is not just another way to talk to friends.  Many people refer to it as “conforming” or following the crowd.  What I believe a lot of people don’t realize is how much of a positive impact social networks can have in other areas, specifically family relations.  My extended family (2 sets of grandparents, great uncle and aunt, aunt and uncle, and five cousins) all live within an hours driving time from each other, everyone except my family.  They all live the Suburbs surrounding Atlanta, which is approximately 3 hours from where family resides, Greenville, Sc.  Although it is relatively close it is not exactly a day trip you’d enjoy making for a quick visit. Before I moved to Clemson I saw my family about once every two months.  Now that I don’t love at home I see them maybe once a semester (Christmas and my birthday).  Disappointing isn’t it?  You never realize how much you like keeping in touch with your family until you actually try it.  I didn’t have much of a choice but to keep in touch.  I logged on to my facebook account one day to find a plethora of new friend requests, all from my grandparents.  My cousin who spent a week with my grandparents decided it would be a magnificent idea to create facebook accounts for all of them.  At first I was terrified.  The last thing my grandparents need to see are my weekends captured on facebook.  Goodbye birthday/Christmas presents…. As the last few years have passed I have been proven wrong.  I forgot one important factor, which would be that my grandparents basically don’t know what a computer is.  I watched them venture through the world of facebook and realized I have nothing to worry about.  The only thing they know how to do is read their inbox so they think that facebook is an email service with a little picture next to it.  I still get to message them about weekly and let them know what’s going on, which they very much enjoy.  I also send them pictures that I consider appropriate and pictures of my family, which they enjoy even more.  The point of this blog is to bring attention to the way your family can be can stay close through social networks such as facebook and how many different age groups can be affected. (Not my grandma below)

Procrastination is key

It’s late on Monday night, three weeks before my freshman year at Clemson is over (I can’t believe it) and it is taking everything in me to study for the test I have tomorrow at 5 pm. By this point of the year I’m honestly just ready for summer and so over the idea of doing any kind of schoolwork. So, while I should be studying for my stat exam, I decided to instead write this blog. This is a prime example of how the internet and other sorts of technology have become so distracting in today’s society. I’ve been on my computer on facebook and twitter, I’ve been texting my friends, sending out important Emails and distracting myself on StumbleUpon all night; basically doing anything I can to avoid any students worst nightmare… studying. Modern communication is not only a great way to procrastinate when you have a huge test the next day, but it is important in everyday life. If we didn’t have these kinds of tools we would have a much harder time keeping up with old friends, talking to family members back home and being able to see what all is going on. Another thing that has become extremely popular and helpful since I’ve been in college is skype. I love talking to all of my friends from high school on the phone but being able to actually see them on the screen is so much easier and more fun. Skype is probably the most recent addition to the communication world and really helps during nights like this when I choose to chat with my best friends over doing anything that is the least bit productive. The time I spend on all of these websites could definitely be put to better use but what is college without procrastination and wasting time?  Even when there is nothing to look at on facebook or twitter people just get on it and stare at the screen, scrolling through unimportant wall posts and conversations; society has become so obsessed and dependent on these networking sites that they are almost unavoidable. The sad thing is, even when there is no computer around to get on, we now either get on our phones for facebook, twitter, and even skype on some phones. It is too easy to get distracted by all of these sites, so why study when there are so many other, more interesting and fun options? Who needs studying when you can stalk people’s pictures on facebook? Story of my life. 

-Kimberly Gray

Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj "Go Hard"

Any Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, or Travis Barker fans out there? This past weekend I went to Lil Wayne's I Am Music II Tour concert in Atlanta, which featured other big name artists such as Nicki Minaj (who I absolutely loveeee!), Rick Ross, DJ Khalad, and Travis Barker. There were also many other younger and new artists from the Young Money label such as Shanell and Lil Twist who performed as well. Even Birdman made an appearance! The concert was absolutely AMAZING and everyone who sang and performed was outstanding. Travis Barker mesmerized the audience with his drum playing, simply incredible to watch. Rick Ross captured the crowd with an old favorite called “Here I Am,” and Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj engaged the crowd through humor and animation during their show. Never was there a dull moment in the Philips Arena as each artist promoted and sold themselves to the crowd flawlessly. I could not contain my excitement, tears filling my eyes, as Nicki Minaj took the stage opening with “Roman’s Revenge.” Nicki Minaj was definitely the most animated as she acted out each of the songs she performed and even engaged the crowd by bringing someone up on stage. I wish I could describe how mind-blowing the entire concert was but you had to be there to really experience it yourself.

            After the concert, we were able to see where Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj would be conducting their after parties through their tweets on Twitter. So, yet another use for Twitter is a new way that big time starts promote their work and what they’re doing to support their fan base. Since I am a follower of Nicki Minaj on Twitter, I looked at her profile yesterday and saw the countless tweets from friends and fans. The tweets ranged from how excited they were to see her in the specific city she was performing in that night, to how her music has inspired girls and really changed their views. Some tweets were also from Nicki herself reporting something about the show just went and where she was off too. It’s pretty neat to see the views from the other side, the performer instead of the audience. Before twitter or any other social network, this would not be possible. 
By: Heather Britt

Keeping Your Friends Close - D Heard

Friends Alllllll Over the Place

I'm not one hundred percent sure on how to start these but hello, this is Daniel Heard speaking.  I grew up in various places throughout the world and I made a friend or two.  For approximately ten years I continued to make friends and subsequently lose them every few years.  When I was thirteen we moved back to the wonderful United States of America.  I restarted my process and created a new group of friends.  After about a year of U.S.A living I came across what I though was the coolest thing of all time. AIM. I made my screen name and found a couple of my buddies from previous locations.  As excited as I was it was still limiting since I had no way to search for specific people.  About two years later I received an invitation to a new social network via e-mail. I created my user name and initiated an experience that changed my life in an unusual way.  About the time my junior year rolled around I started getting friend requests from people with what I considered unusual names.  I began to investigate and came to the thrilling realization that these were acquaintances from my previous homes.  Over the years I have compiled a large group of very culturally different people who are all interconnected in unusual ways.  I have met up with a large group of these friends once a year for the last 3 years and hopefully will continue to do this for as long as possible.  It's unbelievable what different forms of modern communication can do for us.  Without it I would be missing out on people that impacted my life for 10 years.  It's allowed me to keep in touch with my upbringing and the people that made it special and I'm always thankful for it.