Benjamin Lindsay

[blazerfan1994]

Media Reflection #2 - How do I look at media now because of this class?

This class has been very enjoyable and has had a lasting impression on me. I will never look at the media in the same way.  The two items I will take the most from are the two films we watched, “The Mask You Live In” and “Missrepresentation”. They were both very powerful films and it is now clear to me that the media plays a huge role in the way we create our expectations on genders and sexuality. The way I look at media now has changed. I was never one to get too involved in postings on mediums like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram but now that I know how big of a presence it has and how it can set impressions on people I feel more obligated to post things I believe in. I do that in the hope that maybe some of my posts may make good impressions on others. Not because I hope to get people to see things the way I do or change what they believe in but because I want to show different sides of issues in the world today like discrimination, cyber-bullying and many other issues facing our society. I just want people to be aware of these issues so that maybe they feel more obligated to post against them as well in the hopes that we can be apart of the group that changes these issues. The films mentioned earlier are very strong examples of documents that can help people see what the does and the effects it can have on people and especially the youth. I tell people about theses films and that they should watch them so they can understand more about the issues. The films were very well made and I believe everyone should see them because they will have the same impression on others as they have had on me.

           Media is biased and I don’t like that about it so I try to get different view points on issues from different forms of media outlets and research so I can create my own impressions on different issues and this class has helped me do that. The media is the root of all problems, in my opinion showing people what they want them to see and not what is important for them to see. If you look at the election and how President elect Trump received a lot of media attention for his vulgar and immature comments, it still turned out to be a positive for him and his campaign showing that all media is good media no matter the form and that’s a problem. Not everyone is influenced by what the media says but it scares me and also angers me that so many are not allowing them to create their own impressions. I will take a lot out of this class because of what we have looked into and that has helped me make my impressions on the media and that has influenced me in a big way. I will always look at media differently and will try to help others look at it differently too so they can create their own impressions and see how big of an influence it has on our society in order for our youth to grow up in a different world. To do this we need to take what we learned from the films and topics we visited in this class and apply it to our own media use in hopes that we can change the way others look at and use different forms of media.

[blazerfan1994]

Critical Thinking #3 - Google in the next decade

Google is one of the most well known companies in the world because of their industry leading products and services but what will they be seen as or be involved in 10 years from now? Will they still just be making 90% of their revenue from advertising or will there be other things that this extremely innovative company has released or patented? This critical thinking uses the Klosterman text “But What If We’re Wrong?”, examples and opinions backed by research to answer these questions and make an educated guess on what the future holds for Google.  “We must start from the premise that – in all likelihood- we are already wrong. And not “wrong” in the sense that we are examining questions and coming to incorrect conclusions, because most of our conclusions are reasoned and coherent. The problem is with the questions themselves” (Klosterman, P. 12). 

The image above is a complete SWOT analysis of Google and can be referred to throughout this paragraph. As for the internal factors of the company, Google has a lot of strengths but would these still be considered strengths in the next decade? Yes, in my opinion. Google is an adaptive company who knows how to keep up with demands but what will be some of their additional strengths in the next few years with the increasing demand of innovative technology? In my opinion, Google is going to evolve into one of the leaders in the consumer related technology industry and will broaden its revenue generators into other services such as music and video streaming. One of the more major products I predict Google getting into is wearable technology. They are already moving into that direction with their Google Glass and Virtual Reality Goggles but suspect they will dive into the health related wristbands that can track stats and even get Google Maps involved with biking and running. These ideas are based off of some of the opportunities open to Google to expand their involvement in the industry and their ability to generate revenue. The future is impossible to predict but it does take strong educated guesses and forecasting to get even relatively close to what you believe is going to happen. Klosterman puts it best when he says, “the future is a teenage crack head making shit up as he goes along” (Klosterman, P. 42).  

Google has the resources and the ability to track and stay on top of trends and are incredibly innovative. The weaknesses and threats that are represented in the SWOT analysis can be concerning but because Google is extremely good at addressing their issues and know how to respond to problems internal and external to their company these are in no way concerning to the future of their business. As for that, some of the issues that are internal that Google has addressed and are working on include the leading search engine and the fact that they have difficulty differentiating the credibility and content of searches. Google has a very complicated algorithm that is a great system and Google says, “our goal is to get you to the answer you're looking for faster, creating a nearly seamless connection between you and the knowledge you seek. If you’re looking to deepen your understanding of how search has evolved, this video highlights some important features like universal results and quick answers” (Google.com). 

A lot of what this system can do is already incredibly innovative but I predict that 10 years from now, Google searches will be faster, more productive and able to determine the level of credibility as well as the amount of content in each search result. They are already great at being able to answer questions on the spot when it comes to common items searched like math questions and translation inquiries. 

Now, when it comes to the big things that I see Google really doing in the next decade, I can actually seeing them becoming involved and actually increasing the success of translation devices. There are already thoughts out there and after doing some research I don’t see Google having any plans to get involved with it yet but I feel that they are in the perfect position and are the type of innovative company to get into some like this. A device that can translate languages on the spot eliminating language barriers and making it the perfect product for high level business travelers and could even assist with doctors without borders and military situations in other countries. In addition to this, I see Google being one of the first to release self-driving cars. They already have plans in place for this technology but it is just a matter of determining when and how by perfecting the technology and coming up with regulations. That being said, I don’t see them releasing their own brand of cars just yet but partnering with a large automobile company (like they did with Verizon and their cellular phone) to put this technology in their vehicles to compete directly with Tesla. Brands like Ford, Lexis or Chevy. There is a lot that Google is going to do in the future and they are going to be one of the more involved companies that will release the newest technology of the next decade. But what if I were wrong?

Google Translate. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Google+translate+in+images&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS709US709&biw=1261&bih=627&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF95HD8ovQAhVJKWMKHW0ODiEQ_AUIDCgA#imgrc=z12w0Nzev6Md8M%3A

10 Projects Showing Google Has The Future Figured Out. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/famous-signatures/

Google in 10 years? Even bigger, say analysts. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2014/08/19/where-will-google-in-10-years-even-bigger-say-analysts.html

[blazerfan1994]

Critical Thinking #1: The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest entertainment and media companies in the world. Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney founded Disney in 1923. Other business segments that The Walt Disney Company is involved in various media networks including theme parks and resorts, studio entertainment, and other consumer products. Disney succeeds at so many segments with the help of their subsidiaries and affiliates which include some very well known companies such as ESPN and ABC. 

It has been a long time since Walt Disney started this entertainment and media monster and since then much has changed including what Disney has become internationally as well as those who are now in charge of making the big decisions. The current owners of The Walt Disney Company are shareholders. They are a publicly traded company and is run by a board but out of all of the shareholders, The Laurene Powell Jobs trust (run by Steve Jobs’ widow) is the largest stockholder, owning 7.27% of all shares. The board of directors is a team of 11 individuals who “hail from renowned global organizations and industries, bringing a diverse range of knowledge, perspective and experience to guide and drive long-term value to the company” (The Walt Disney Company, Board of Directors). 

The Walt Disney Company has seen its share of scandals and controversies surrounding many aspects of their business and even Walt Disney himself. Walt Disney is known for starting the company and is a main reason for a lot of its success although that is sometimes over shadowed by some controversy he still face years following his death. He has received criticism for being sexist and has a record of saying how he didn’t hire women because he preferred working with an all male staff. Although, some believe that he doesn’t deserve the backlash he receives because he was just a product of that generation where men are the dominant sex and there weren’t many women in the work place. In fact, according to the 1930 census, only 24.3% of women were in the work place. Although, not many excuse him for that because he could have been known as the guy who changed the way the work place works. Other than the controversy surrounding the founder of Disney, there are other controversies involving the company now and throughout the last decade that has stood out to many. These other issues include the fact that Disney has had a lack of diversity in their media. Many can see that the majority of Disney’s characters are white and that even includes the characters on the rides at their parks including ‘It’s A Small World.’ Many claim that the characters that, yes represent the entire world, but still featured mainly white characteristics like their eyes and other features. The discussions that have started up about this topic have not stopped even since Disney has introduced characters like Pocahontas and Tiana from ‘Princess and the Frog’. Also, recently, Disney has introduced their first same sex couple in their show ‘Good Luck Charlie’. This was only an issue for the conservative parents out there that did not appreciate that Disney introduced the couple in such a nonchalant way. They just wish that there was some warning in this situation. This is brought up only because it is important to make it clear that controversies are always going to be a problem for a lot of companies because there are always two sides to an issue. In this case, many appreciated what Disney did but not all families are as progressive as some more liberal families.

Another one of the more recent controversies facing The Walt Disney Company in Orlando is the alligator attack that killed a young boy. The incident happened in June of the summer 2016. “An alligator grabbed 2-year-old Lane as he was walking in a foot of water in a lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and dragged the boy into the water. He was found the next day not far from shore. He died from drowning and traumatic injuries, the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said.” Many have sent many messages of sympathy and support to the young boys family who have now started a foundation in his name, The Lane Thomas Foundation where they plan to make charitable donations to organizations trying to make a difference in the world. Many, including Disney are outraged by the incident and Disney has put a plan in place to make the area around the lake safer for their guests. According to this article by CNN, the boy’s family does not want to sue Disney following the incident and Disney has expressed an enormous amount of support for the family during their difficult time.

Disney is a very large media conglomerate that is partnered with or owns many other companies. These companies include LUCASFILM, ESPN, Marvel and ABC. One of the largest mergers of all time was when Disney purchased ABC. The New York Times reported about the large entertainment deal back on August 1st, 1995. The deal was worth $19 billion and during that time was the second largest corporate take over ever. The deal combined the “most profitable” network on television ABC and it’s partner program ESPN with Disney’s Hollywood film and television studios and many other Walt Disney Company features like their parks. Until the day it was reported, nothing had been leaked about the deal taking everyone by surprised when the boards of both companies approved the merger. When the two companies merged, they thought that they would grow more quickly together but after the first couple of years, that wasn’t the case. In 1997, ABC suffered its worst primetime showing in years. ABC had gone from the top television network to third place, scoring some of the worst broadcast scores in history. The Walt Disney Company and ABC quickly regained their footing when ABC featured the network broadcast of “The Lion King” that create a rare win in the weekly ratings. After presenting the merger as Disney micromanaging ABC, they had decided to reshape their plan and take a more hands off approach, which proved to be beneficial for both. Disney is still one of the largest entertainment companies in the world.