LIS 9134

On the network, new research suggests, false information can be as attention-grabbing as facts.

One of the many pressing mysteries surrounding the disappearance of flight MH370 is the question of how a plane could have been diverted without contact from any of the passengers.

“As a news network, we regard a lack of news as a worthy challenge,” the CNN chief Jeff Zucker said.

During our discussion of RFIDs (and tracking technology in general) on Monday, we mentioned how unbelievable it seems to us that a plane could just disappear, despite the fact that historically when planes, ships, people, etc disappeared and were never found it wasn't considered terribly shocking (although it was still considered tragic).

This piece raises another way in which technology and surveillance have changed the way we relate to current events: 24 hour news channels. This constant barrage of information is good for major breaking news as it's happening, but what about the times when there is no new information available about a particular news story. This is when substantial facts get watered down by "people... doing a heroic job of filling the void with rumor and hearsay.” Sometimes the information presented in these segments is accurate or necessary, sometimes it's not. Once journalists were expected to take the information about an event, sift out irrelevant information, and present a story that was a (reasonably) balanced and accurate version of events. Now, with the 24 hour news cycle) journalists are expected mainly to fill dead air.

I am Unboxing my new blue iPod touch!

After our discussion last class about the phenomenon of "unboxing" videos on YouTube I was curious to see some for myself.

I came across this video of a kid unwrapping an ipod that he got as a Christmas gift and thought I'd share a few observations: First it's interesting that in this case this is something his whole family is sharing. Even though he's doing all the talking, his dad is the cameraman, and his mom and (way less enthusiastic) brother are purposely in the shot. This video seems to occupy a weird grey area between product review and home movie of the family's Christmas celebration. It makes you wonder if they had an intended audience in mind when shooting this video (such as distant relatives or friends), or just thought it would be a fun activity to do as a family on Christmas day.

It's also interesting that the video does have an obvious instructional element. In this particular case, I'm not sure how useful that is since ipods tend to be fairly user-friendly and the features are fairly straightforward to figure out. But YouTube also contains videos of countless other products being assembled and demonstrated by users. Considering people have different ability levels and learn in different ways, instructional videos can be quite useful as a way of knowledge-sharing, particularly in instances where print instructions are not available or not accessible (for a variety of reasons) to a particular individual.

See the full gallery on thechive.com

This is kind of a creative way to pass the time while commuting. But it's also another example of how omnipresent cameras are in our modern society, and how difficult it can be for a person to not have a presence online. Even though we can't see faces, there is still a real live human behind those bits of paper who probably didn't consent to having a photo of them posted online.