This Class

I liked how this class was pretty straight-forward in giving directions. I had never used the blogging website before but it was easy to figure out how once I read the directions. I don’t really understand, however, why we cannot use the discussion forum on blackboard. I have used that for other online classes and it just seems to be easier and work smoothly – you can see everyone’s posts (that way there is no confusion as to how many times someone posted for the week) and it is all clearly laid out in the forum. I think it would be much easier and make more sense to use blackboard for everything (assignments, posts, etc.) rather than having to go back and forth between the blogging website and blackboard to read about assignments and then post them.

What I also found to be interesting about this class is that it was my hardest one! I have had so much more work to do in this class than any of my other classes and I am a full time student! My other online classes have been pretty easy but this one does not compare to those.

Further Discussion

Another concept from the book that I feel needs further discussion is the concept of intercultural communication. America is one of the most diverse countries yet we still have so many problems accepting those different from us. Racism and discrimination have been constant problems throughout America’s history, which is kind of ridiculous considering how diverse we have become; you’d think by now we would have all learned how to get along. It is so important to become educated on the topic of intercultural communication so we can learn to be accepting of cultures different from our own. We need to respect other cultures, races, sexes, etc. – just because someone is not the same as you may be doesn’t mean they are any less of a human being.

With immigration being a growing topic of interest, it is even more important to learn and practice intercultural communication.

Interesting Concept from Class

One of the concepts in this class I have found to be most interesting is the concept of communication and the mass media. This is something we all use and often take for granted every day. As this chapter in the book discusses all forms of communication in the media such as mass communication, senders/receivers, and computer-mediated communication we can see how truly amazing this concept is. Communication and mass media is leading the way to a new era in our world. Technology advances every day and we become more and more dependent on it. The advances we have seen so far are only a glimpse of what is to come in the future. We’ve all seen those futuristic sci-fi movies but even though they are just movies, maybe they’re not too far off from what is soon to be reality. We are lucky to be part of such an innovative, advancing generation and I look forward to how our lifestyles will change with technological advances.

Interesting Concept

One thing I found interesting in Chapter 11 (although it is broad) is the whole concept of mass media. Mass media is an extremely powerful tool that almost anybody can gain access to. The three things that are unique about mass media as the book states are that it comes from profit-oriented organizations rather than a single individual, the receivers are anonymous and dispersed in time and space and this form of communication requires specialized encoding/decoding technologies (Pg. 299). Mass media can reach hundreds of millions of people anywhere in the world, which can be a scary concept to think about. The media itself is a powerful tool to change or enforce others’ opinions into what the media wants people to think. The media tells us how to act, what to think, how to dress and how to be beautiful. Although none of these ‘rules’ set by the media are accurate, they are followed by the majority and those who choose not to are looked at as outsiders

The Medium is the Message

I agree with McLuhan, I think the medium, or way in which a message is sent, is just as important as the message. Different mediums are intended to reach different audiences, which also plays a large role in the kinds of messages received. In my experiences, I tend to think elderly people listen to ‘talk radio’ channels and that is something young adults like myself would probably not participate in so the information being discussed on talk radio is intended for a specific age group. When companies look for means of advertising, I’m sure they put a great amount of thought into the medium they will use. Depending on their product, a company may feel advertising on the radio will get their point across while another company may feel a magazine ad with a visual aid is necessary for success.

Cyberspace Relationships

I do not have any friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace because I don’t really communicate with people online very much, I prefer face to face relationships. Cyberspace relationships seem like they would take a lot of time and initiative, I would have to put myself in the right situation to meet someone like a chat room but I don’t participate in anything like that. The most online communication I engage in is through Facebook, which involves talking to people I already know and I have no interest in meeting people online because they could very easily lie about who they are. There are so many stories about people preying on others through the Internet because they can be whoever they want to be and the other person has no way of knowing who they really are – it is just too dangerous. However, when I was a freshmen in high school I stumbled across some kind of San Jose Sharks fan forum or something like that and ended up talking to a girl who was my age and also a huge Sharks fan. I let my guard down with her and we both divulged personal details about our lives, I found out she went to a nearby high school and we had many other things in common. That was about eight years ago and today she is one of my very good friends! I took a risk with her by telling her about my personal life and I got lucky because she was exactly who she said she was.

Interesting Concept

I found the different ways we express conflict to be interesting because I can relate most of these ways to relationships I have with my friends. My friend Amy tends to use the ‘withdraw’ method when she senses conflict. She would rather not deal with conflict so if she senses conflict about to arise she will change the subject, leave the room and do everything she possibly can to stop a conflict from forming.

Sometimes when my friend Jenn is really angry, she will unfortunately use the ‘forcing’ method of conflict. She tends to forget that the person she is arguing with is an actual human being with feelings and says and does everything she can think of to get her point across because she feels she is right and the other person is wrong.

I think of myself as in the middle between Amy and Jenn and always try my hardest to compromise and problem solve. No matter how angry I get, I am usually good at seeing the other person’s point of view in a conflict and if it makes sense then I am more than willing to compromise. However, if you ask my friends, they may tell you a different story…..