W17 Q2

I found that the meaning of symbols was interesting in the book. It talks about how a symbol in one culture can mean a different to people in another culture. I know how this could happen given that different societies shape their own form of norms and customs and It is neat to find out how they came to accept symbols for certain meanings. I remember talking about how people in different cultures take looking in the eyes as respect of disrespect or dogs in one culture is a symbol of mans best friend but to other they are just animals or food. Symbols are fun to discover and come to terms on how they formed.

W17 Q1

What I found interesting was the survey research section and how the question system is used to find information about group of people. It has been a growing trend to see questionnaires on the internet to gather polls about groups of people. Just a few days ago I went on Yahoo.com to look up the weather for the weekend and their was a poll on the previous page about who did I think was going to win the NBA playoffs. This does not gather information about who took the poll unless they ask about age, gender, location, etc., but the information gathered is more and more accurate when more people take the poll.

Chapter 11 Question 3

I have found interesting about the connection between people and newspapers. I agree that people who read are more educated and earn more money contributing to a more stable life because people are exercising their brain while resting drinking coffee or sitting on a bench. When I read I agree that I read ads, sports, finances, comics, international news, politics and every other subject making my variety of knowledge just that much greater then it was before I have read it. Reading is also considered more effective to me then watching television because you need to apply yourself to read and focus in on the different topics making whatever sense you and the writer are learning and sharing.

Week 13 Question 2

Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.

I agree that the message belongs to the person and the level they are defined as. When people on television are viewed they have a sense of identity they gives them a certain image of who they are and who they can delegate to. When I look at someone who has a cool image I make the logic of how they are engaging to the public and the viewers that define who they are. television is considered a cool medium because we make the people on television larger than life. We look to these people as figures of our life and the people that are living in our era.

Week 13 Question 1

Have you made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace? If so, how are they different from f2f relationships? If you have not formed cyber relationships, why not?

Yes, Friends exclusively for me has been a good turnout in my life. More than not they always start and only exists through cyber. My intentions have never really been more than to learn and have conversations with these people. The last cyber relationship was on Facebook poker. A place where people from all around the world can play poker and chat like a virtual room. I found someone playing poker that also is living in Buenos Aires from the states so we chatted became friends and have talked online once a week. Similar to a f2f relationship, we talk about things to know when living here and what is coming soon as far as entertainment.

Chapter 8 Question 3

I like the part in this chapter that goes into office relationships. I think we all have or known people that have dated someone from their work. Their is many reasons why people do this and companies know this and try to regulate it the best they can. Spending so much of your time at a company allows people to meet and get to know each other. This day and age meeting people at work is a great way to see if you are attracted to someone because you get to know about the person and their personality. My experience has been good and bad when dating at work. The good is that I get to know a lot about people I work with but if things don't go well then your career can be at risk.

Week 13 Question 2

2). Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

I personally have been bothered by the new era of electronics during certain times with my friends. It seems like cell phones are always going off and grabbing peoples attention throughout the day. I to have been a victim of this new phenomenon that has arrived and is consuming my attention at odd times. Answering machines have not bothered me much since it seems like people have created a formal message and since cell phones have taken over less people have been leaving messages and voice mails. I think call waiting is great because it gives me the option of answering the other line if it is important to me. It is not rude because these days we can avoid missing urgent calls by answering when we need to.