Ooh Fire!: Blog #2 The Ecology of Media

Since the dawn of man, fire has been a priceless resource. There is something about its warmth and entrancing flare that seems to intrigue people of all ages. In today’s world we have a way of capturing that essence in an incredibly simple piece of technology: the lighter. Lighters affect the modern world in countless ways. Their cultural impact – although at first may not be obvious – is truly vast. Think about past and modern day rock concerts, the lighter has become a steadfast tradition for slow songs. Lighters come in all different forms, and today, are even portable advertisements. Many companies (especially those which make beer) label lighters with their brand names. Some lighters are even representative of the cannabis culture, with large marijuana leaves plastered on their surface. The lighter also ties into another mass controversy…the cigarette. Cigarettes rely almost completely, if not totally on the media for their sales. From movies to magazine adds cigarettes are found everywhere. If it weren’t for smokes, the lighter probably wouldn’t reel in half the sales that it does. When you look at lighters in this manner, they seem to be almost as evil an enterprise as the cigarette companies themselves. The thing is, lighters simply thrive off the success of other companies. Cigarettes, cannabis culture, barbeques, you name it, the lighter feeds it’s flame off the success of other major corporations. This being the case, perhaps it makes the lighter an even more ingenious technology than the inventions it depends upon. What do you think?

And so it begins: Blog # 1 Blogging and Participatory Journalism

All right, here it goes…my media blog! After much deliberation and investigation of multiple blogging sites, I eventually settled with blogger.com. There is really only one basic and perhaps somewhat pitiful reason behind my choice – simplicity. I gave livejournal.com a shot, but I felt there was a surplus in seemingly irrelevant content. Perhaps I felt this way due to my minor technological impairment, or maybe I just didn’t see the necessity in all the little bells and whistles. Whatever the case, livejournal just wasn’t for me. In fact, a few years ago I was actually a livejournal user, but I guess if anything changes over time it’s technology. I didn’t even consider using myspace. Although it may be considered a blogging site, I would view it as much more than that. Another issue regarding myspace, is that html code has always been beyond my expertise. This would limit the personalization of my blog and on a personal note; I’ve always felt myspace was another way for people to put on a front. Spending countless hours in front of the bathroom mirror taking flattering photos of one’s self has always seemed a little narcissistic to me.  So, in the end, I had to go with blogger.com because of its sheer simplicity.

The process of starting my first blog entry, honestly, was relatively painful. I experienced a slight touch of writers block and spent a fair amount of time fiddling with little details and customizations. Also, since it was my first entry I felt some mild pressure while writing. I guess I’ll just have to accustom myself to the whole world and processes of blogging.

Now, moving on to the topic of participatory journalism. I find it difficult to consider what I write and the contents of my blog as participatory journalism (although I don’t completely deny that it is). However, much of the blogging world strikes me more as rants and banter. Journalism involves research and investigation. I suppose the further I get into the blogging process, the more of a participatory journalist I will become. Until then, stay posted!