EOTO 2 Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping

 EOTO 2 Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping

    For this EOTO project my group was assigned to the topic of theories. My topics were agenda setting and gatekeeping. To start agenda settings is when the media focuses on a topic, the more likely to public is to see the topic as important. This mainly applies within social media, however we see it everywhere. This really shows how much power the media has over us in order to change social debate. As for my other topic of gatekeeping, which is the act of controlling and limiting the access of something. We also largely we see this social media, as well as our careers, and everyday interactions. 

    Agenda settings was first introduced by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw. This was first introduced in the 1970s. They wanted people to know “the media doesn’t tell us what to think, but it tells us what to think about.” A commonly used example referenced theater, thinking of a dark spotlight on a stage. The spotlight it self doesn't change the actors actions or lines. However it changes what we see and when we do.

    To talk more about Gatekeeping, this topic works closely with agenda setting theory. This topic relates to the process in which information is went through before it reaches the public. Editors, journalists, and people that work in public relations act primarily as gatekeepers. They decide how news is shared, framed, and delivered.

    We see these two topics of agenda setting and gatekeeping working very well together. When they do work together their influence is amplified. By selecting what information gets put out, gatekeepers then set a basis for what topics get shared with the public. An example of this would be seeing different information on how the covid vaccine is good and is looked at as a good thing. Gatekeepers will then go in and try to change peoples minds and put out negative effects on the vaccine in order to get then not to use it. Thus just shows how much the media can influence our generation these days. With the digital age being at a high right now it is important to know your sources and where your information is coming from in general. 

   Overall agenda setting and gatekeeping work hand and hand to influence our media. Sometimes it can be in a positive way but people mainly see it as a more negative thing. Making sure your sources is reliable and as least bias as possible, to insure your getting the best information possible. This is important because you don't want you opinion to get changed do to these theories. Especially when dealing with controversial topics it is important to stay true to who you are by finding good trustable news sources. Agenda setting and gatekeeping are always things to be aware of in order to better your work. 

Privacy, Online & Off

 Privacy, Online & Off 

    Throughout growing up in the age of the "digital age" the internet has always been discussed. My parents always warned me to carful of things I post, because once its out there its forever. This was never a serious thought on mind until the college application process started. I remember having to fill out different forms with my social medias. After doing this, joining a sorority, and looking for jobs I learned quickly that it was very important to watch what you post. 

    Something that always stuck with me was what my mom said to me "Once somethings typed online its out their forever" When I was in middle school I got my first phone. I remember I would always have a lot of little arguments with my friends. They would always blow up out of proportion and end up getting online. One thing I learned is that it is really easy to say what you in online. But when being face to face thoses things might not be as easy to say. Also when communicating online its hard to get the tone a person is going for. 

    Throughout the Ted Talk"Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo" they talk about comparing a tattoo to the digital footprint. Tattoos are very alike to the digital footprint. They are both permanent and visible at the same time. These digital tattoos can change they way we think of others on how we view them. Both on a personal level and a professional level it is important to keep things like this in mind. Posting pictures with alcohol, drugs, and inappropriate images might seem fun now because of the age we are at. However there are major consequences to these actions. 

    Another Ted Talk that stood out to me was "The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You" by Catherine Crump. She goes into talking about law enforcement and how they use different tracking devises to track people. She talked about examples like lisence plate readers which allows officers and law officals to know where people have been. She goes into saying how to much of this could be a good thing as well as a bad thing.

    Overall being aware of what you have posted ad what is being posted about you us super important. If you are not aware this could result in almost life changing events. You wouldn't want the reason your next job offer doesn't go through because you had something posted that they didn't like. 

EOTO 1 Com Tech Timeline

 EOTO Com Tech Timeline 

    My topic for the EOTO com tech timeline was the newspaper. The news paper, a form and publication of mass media and mass communication issued weekly or daily. Used to provide information, news, and other features to tell the public important things. The newspaper has been around for many years, although it has changed and grown over the years it is still resent to this day.

    The earliest form of newspaper can be found in in Ancient Rome. It was called the "Acta Diurna", which means daily doings. This was made by the government in order to tell the public about different information. Such as events, deaths, births, and gossip. This is also similarity seen in China, throughout the Tang dynasty. Their they used handwritten sheets to share important information with he government. 

    John Gutenburg  was known for making the first printing press. This sparked the first ideas of newspaper. Originality it was used to print bibles, however once word got around it was used to make newspapers. People from all different places were making and buy presses to make their own creations. The first known newspaper that I can date back was created in England. It was named the Oxford Gazette and the latter changed to the London Gazette. The newspaper made its way to America in 1609 and was called the "Publick Occurrences". This however only lasted on issues due to the government shutting it down.     The newspaper is till clearly a current thing to this day. There are many pros and cons of the newspaper. Some pros being it improved awareness and communication, provided credibility and analysis, as well as spread literacy and education. Also to include the benefit of local news, being able to find out what is going on around you. It also provides many opportunities. Some cons of the newspaper are creates bias, environmental impact, digital age decline, costs, less timley.

    Although the news paper is still around it isn't as popular as it used to be. Now with the digital age and social media being so popular it is less appeling. People would rather look up news or a article online the actually sit down to read a paper. Also with the use of online information it is quicker ad more timely. However the same pros and cons still come into play, bias being a big one.

    We see lots of newspapers now available on line such as, The NewYork Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. Especially for me as a college student I would rather read news sources on line rather then an actual paper. Simply because I live in a dorm and wouldn't want to make the trip to the mail center for a paper that I could just lookup online. However I think that the newspaper still applies to a certain target audience. People that grew up not having technology probably would still prefer to read the paper rather then a website. I know my grandparents still read the paper every morning. However the paper isn't for everyone these days.

    

EOTO Reflection 1

 EOTO Technology 

Telephones/Cellphones 

Through out all of the EOTO technology presentations the topic of the telephone / cellphones interested me the most. The telephone originated from Alexander Graham Bell, he discovered the basics if the telephone. From there he connected with Thomas Watson in order to make the first telephone connection. As time went on the payphone was eventually created, invented by William Grey. This was a public phone that was operated by coins. However people still wanted this new technology in their own home. Shortly after the payphone the rotary phone was created by Almon Strowger. This was phone that people could keep in there homes. As this topic evolved people wanted to find a way to have. Later on cellphones became a thing in 1972. These were very beneficial because people could take them on the go. They also didn't have to carry change as well as find a place with a phone. 

Living in the Age of AI

In the Age of AI

   Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI within recent years has become a very popular tool. Since starting at High Point every class that I have taken so far I have had to do at least one assignment about AI. In every professors syllabus their is warnings about the consequences of using AI in a negative way. Although AI can be helpful with assignments there is a right and wrong way to use it.  The use of AI has change our world. AI has been taking over our jobs and overall changing how the world works. 

    AI started in Southwest Asia as a game. Looked at as a spectacle called Alpha Go, which is a game that basically teaches itself. The machine would feed itself games, in doing this they would study and learn from these games. This outsmarted the human moves, the human brain couldn't even comprehend the calculations it made. Alpha Go gave people the idea of how big AI could and would be. China took this chance, in knowing it would change the world. They also knew in doing this that they would have an opportunity to beat the US in e-commerce. To quote the video "We will catch up to the US by 2025 and rule the world in 2030" This took me by surprise and made me a little concerned. Since it is not even 2025 yet, thinking about how much they have probably learned in this time is fascinating. A lot of this technology started around the phone and how they use it. The use of facial recognition has boomed not only for phones but for stores, paying for products, and transportation. Another thing to look into is how AI will effect out future. AI can already replace a lot of jobs that people are employed to do. For example people that work with numbers such as finance are easily being replaced with AI. Also for people like myself working under a communications field, AI is making it easier and easier to not need people to physically work. This would definitely destroy the labor force. AI would completely take out the industry workers. Workers who work in chain stores and fast food places would all loose their jobs. These people would be able to provide for their family or even make a living. 

    Overall as someone who is looking to have a career in communications and social media AI scares me. It concerns me that I won't be able to find a job due to the level AI is rapidly growing. I think that schools would need to start to integrate AI into their teaching. I think companies would start to look for people who have knowledge in this topic. Knowing how it acts, and how it works would be crucial to know. Although their are some positives to this as a college student I do find myself using AI to help me with most assignments. It makes it easier when having last minute questions you can't ask a professor. For example one of my marketing professor has a AI on blackboard. He tells us to ask it our questions before him. However this does bring the concern of how much longer will teachers even be around?