352 - Blog #2 - The NSA & the US government has betrayed the internet. Agree or Disagree?

After reading this article, I do agree with the writer. He says the internet was built freely but some of us have been helping to surveillance it, etc. This ties in with the government, and in a way, it is appropriate that government is accounting for information concerning the privacy of it's citizens. I do understand that the government can seem manipulating and controlling in this way as well.

COMM 403 - Blog #1 - The Relevance of Media Studies through Critical Studies in Media Production and the Consumption Marketplace.

With a rather wide-ranging new category of websites and networks, social media has developed to test what our ideas and concepts of media are. Because of this, through much research, media studies has been proven to be shown in media production as well as the consumption marketplace. To dig in a little deeper into what makes media studies relevant, critical studies (The Frankfurt School) has shown this though the Marxist ideologies.

To begin, Critical Studies (theory) is a “social theory” focused on critiquing and changing society as a whole, in dissimilarity to “traditional theory” focused on only to understanding or explaining it.  The Frankfurt School was formed from pre-modern history for modern art in the early 1930's. Its purpose was built upon neo-Marxist theories and ideologies based on human liberation.  All in all, the school was made for artist who made art for others. Its design was a mixture of aesthetic and practical abilities from those select artists and Marxists intellectuals that attended. This relevance of critical theory has been shown in media production, as well as the consumption marketplace. I would describe this as imagery because we see only what we want to see and this is very noticeable in media itself.

Through the roots of critical studies, media studies has been very relevant in production and consumption marketplace. All are based upon Marxist ideologies dealing with traditional and social theories, imagery, modern art as well as human liberation. Because of these they play a part in the social media world. 

352 - Blog #1 - Introduce Yourself

In my life, I want to be someone with a purpose. Someone who has a goal, and ambition to extend her limits. I find that my major is so diverse and can lead me to many good self-interested career paths. I am hoping to go into the career path of the PR field. I would like to somewhat work into the publicity scene.

As for my self interests, I am a fan of good art, good music, and traveling. I do photography on the side. It is called Ana Lopez Photography. It is amazing for me, because when I take photo's I feel like I am expressing my self to the fullest. When I was 17 years old, I had gotten accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. It is one of the most prestigious art schools in the United States. I was rewarded with two scholarships. One solely for my artwork and the other for academic performance. Unfortunately, I would've still had to pull student loans that would put me in debt for more than 20 years. Therefore, I went to Shepherd. Shepherd though, for the past two years, has done nothing but brought me great experiences and I love being involved in the Communications Department.

Communications has opened my mind to the social side of business. I find it so interesting. When I was younger, I used to make news casts with my little brother, and best friends. We would take the family camera recorder, write a script about events, do interviews, talk to "people", and present it to close friends, family, etc with a hope they would love it. It's funny because the news cast was called "What's Up". It played off what we did well. Because of this, this is why I feel like I fit into my major so well.

On the other hand, I feel like my passion for photography and my knowledge communications will help me succeed in my life. I hope that it will bring me opportunities greater than I could ever imagine. I am staying positive, and I know that if I continue to focus on these goals and the things that I love, I will be successful.