Media ownership and media conglomerates

          After doing some quick research on Media ownership and conglomerates I found that these are the largest media companies in the world:

Disney (market value: $72.8 billion)

AOL-Time Warner (market value: $90.7 billion)

Viacom (market value: $53.9 billion)

General Electric (owner of NBC, market value: $390.6 billion)

News Corporation (market value: $56.7 billion)

Yahoo! (market value: $40.1 billion)

Microsoft (market value: $306.8 billion)

Google (market value: $154.6 billion)

          When I took a more in depth look at google I came to find out that google is a part of majority of the media we use today. The good side of this is that google is steadily growing, and since google is a trusted company in my eyes, I feel comfortable using the other media associated with google. Also if you have investment in google then that could be a great thing because it will be hard for them to fall.
          On the other hand there are a few bad sides to Google being so spread out. If another company messes up or gets sued then it all comes back to google which is why google also has to spend time to approve these companies and trust them not to fail. If, somehow, these other companies did drop then it would bring google's stock lower and lower, hurting not only google employees but also the people that invest in Google.
           After doing this research I have learned many new things. I never knew that all theses companies had as many subsidiaris as they do. I didn't even know google was as big and expanded as it is. This research project has helped me learn new things about media today and it's also helped me to choose my investments wisely and to take a close look at each company before I do.

Stereotypes

         Stereotypes play a large role in our society. Whether you believe it or not, everyone stereotypes. No one really takes the time to think about it but it is amazing how many times we characterize an individual based on their social class, intelligence, clothing style, body art, hairstyle, clothing choices, body language, cars and other possessions. I remember I had a class assignment about stereotypes in high school. My group came up with a great idea. Our plan was to send me into a store on the first day dressed in baggy pants, a tank top and a skully. My other group members acted like random customers coming in one by one after I had gone into the store to monitor what the clerks were doing. After watching the tape from day 1 we noticed that the workers followed me closely watching every move I made and going back to check everything I picked up to make sure I wasn't stealing. On day 2 I dressed in church attire with glasses and a new hair cut. The workers barely looked up from their post to see what I was doing and I wasn't followed once. That experiment just went to show that there are stereotypes everywhere you go and that you are being classified by the clothes you wear and the people you are with.
Im sure many people stereotype Lil Wayne as a thug or a gangster but have no clue that this young man held a 4.0 GPA in high school and could have went to any college of his choice.
Many would look at this picture and assume he is a weight lifter. This is actually one of the most popular bishops in America.
You might look at this and think it's just a nerd sitting on top of a ragedy car. This is Bill Gates, one of the richest men on the planet.

Digital Natives

          In my own opinion, Digital native refers to the generation that was born into new technology. Wikipedia's definition of Digital Native is " a person, mainly a young person, who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts. A digital native may also be identified as a person who understands the value of digital technology and uses this to seek out opportunities for implementing it." In this case with such a high degree in the advancement of technology in modern times, every child born in or after this decade will automatically have the title Digital Native.
          The term digital immigrant overlooks the fact that many people born before the digital age were the inventors, designers, developers and first users of digital technology and in this sense could be regarded as the original 'natives'. Today's students from kindergarten through college represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. Today's average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.
          On the other hand, you have Digital Immigrants. A Digital Immigrant is an individual who was born before the existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later in their life. Therefore, majority of our parents can be classified as Digital Immigrants. This definition raises question. What exactly is the starting and ending point for a person to be classified as Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?
   

Media Literacy

          What is Media Literacy? Media Literacy enables people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and forms. I believe that in this world today it is extremely important to be media literate. There is just so much technology that runs our world that if you aren't media literate then you might just get left behind.
          As stated in our media literacy book, "Media literacy education has been an interest in the United States since the early 20th century, when high school English teachers first started film to develop students' critical thinking and communication skills. However, media literacy education is distinct from simply using media and technology in the classroom, a distinction that is exemplified by the difference between "teaching with media" and "teaching about media." With the many sites today like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace or any other social media network it is a necessity to be media literate. Even in vehicles now days the technology that is being placed in them is unbelievable. If you don't know how to operate a simple computer it will be hard for an individual to even purchase a car made in the past two or three years and they will only improve with more, faster, better technology. These are just a few of the reasons of why it is so important to become Media Literate.

Self Intro

          For my Media Literacy class, Com 103, each classmate had to create their own individual blogs and we have blogging assignments due each week. For our first blogging assignment we have to give a self introduction just to welcome ourselves into the course.
          My name is Ira George Hughley III. I am from Warner Robins, GA but I currently reside in Henry County where I graduated from Union Grove High School. My favorite colors are red, black, and white. I am obsessed with Nike. Anytime you see me I will have at least one Nike product on. It even went as far as almost getting a Nike tattoo but I didn't think that would benefit me in the business world so I didn't go through with it. I also love food and basketball. I have been playing ball since the age of 5. So far I have played every level of basketball from elementary to middle to high school and that is the reason I am here at Reinhardt University on a basketball scholarship. I did play football but I decided to continue with basketball in college. I love having fun but when its time for business then it's time for business. I am a freshman so I hope this year will end well for me.
          So this is my first time ever blogging. I've heard many great things about it and hopefully I will get the chance to experience them. I've read a little about how to blog and the many tools that come with blogging. I am excited that this is actually a class assignnment, to blog and comment on friends' blogs. This should be an interesting semester and hopefully I will become a more experienced blogger as the semester continues.