Thursday, October 30, 2008

Social Media Syndicate Show Podcast Episode 1


This is my first podcast episode!!  It was great working with Wiltson, Christine and Shannon.  We talked about the differences between generations y and z/c.  The podcast mainly covers different social media and how generation z/c grows up online.  It really goes in tangent with the PBS movie we watched online.  We touch on various medias including YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, SMS, and Second Life.  I hope you guys enjoy our wonderful episode!


Social Media Syndicate Show-- Episode 1

Podcast Notes

:05-- Intro

:26-- Welcome

:41-- Panel Self Introductions

1:23-- The Hot Topic

1:33-- Shannon discusses generation definitions

1:58-- Shannon asks panel: "What tools do you guys consider to be important in looking at the differences between how our generation, Gen Y, and the new generation, Gen Z/c, use the Internet tools?"

2:09-- Ceci discussed YouTube

3:42-- Wiltson discusses Facebook

5:21 – Christine discusses MySpace

6:04-- Shannon weights in on Facebook and Myspace

6:22-- Wiltson responds

6:46-- Shannon discusses cell phones and SMS (text) messaging

8:16-- Wiltson weighs in on texting

8:49-- Ceci discusses Second Life

10:35-- Shannon responds

11:22-- Wiltson responds

12:09-- Closing

12:20-- Outro

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Poverty: The worst form of violence




Walking down the streets of Cameron Park, you smell the stink of rotting food, dirty water, and plumbing systems that are sub-par.  The houses look like one bedroom apartment that needs to fit 7 children, Mom, Dad, Grandma and even the dog.  You dare not walk alone at night because the crime and violence rate have skyrocketed.  The gangs, or clickas, as some call them, own the streets.  Drive one mile the other way and you are visiting a completely different neighborhood or two-story houses with beautiful cars in the drive way.  It is two completely different worlds.  That is the reality of my hometown, Brownsville, Texas.

Here in Austin, you can drive down any street and see a homeless person on the corner asking for money.  Poverty, according to the Austin Food Bank, is "...a measure of cost and deprivation rather than income and an adequate standard of living."  In fact, 15.2% of people in Travis County are living in poverty, which is actually HIGHER than the U.S. poverty rate. 36.6% of unmarried women with children live in poverty and 1 out of 5 children are poor.

So the question is why?  Why are SO many people living in poverty and sleep with hunger pains?  If the United States, alone, produces enough food to feed the entire world more than once, why do people go hungry?  If the whole United States produces so much food, I am sure that Austin produces enough food to take care of the hungry in their own turf.  We are Texans.  We pride ourselves on the bond of the cowboy, the brotherhood.  This bond protects every Texan, every color.  So we need to STAND UP! HELP OUT! Actions speak louder than words.

I have lived my life as a missionary and have helped out the poor and hungry in my hometown, Brownsville.  Eli Broad says "Brownsville is the best kept secret in America. In the face of stark poverty, Brownsville is outpacing other large urban districts nationwide because it is smartly focusing all resources on directly supporting students and teachers."  Brownsville recently 
won $1 million to go to the Brownsville Independent School District, according to chron.com, so
 congratulations Bville!

So what can we do here?  Capital Area Food Bank of Texas is a great way to start!  They take money donations or food donations and they give people living in poverty the food needed to survive.  You can even host yo
ur own food drive!  Another way is to get involved with Toys for Tots, an organization that takes donations of toys and delivers them to needy children for Christmas.  There is a lot you can do, visit Austin Food Bank for more information!

Do your part to end the most unnecessary violence in the world here in Austin.  End poverty because no one deserves it.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Two sides: KXAN vs Time Warner







I have been hearing a lot about the disputes between KXAN and Time Warner Cable that has ultimately resulted in the loss of KXAN in Time Warner's cable line up.  What a bummer!  Say goodbye to Heroes, 30 Rock, The Office, and Law and Order: SVU.  Most importantly, say goodbye to the SuperBowl!!!  Ouch.
So what happened?  If you are like me, you have heard or seen commercials that Time Warner has been advertising.  It directs you to a website to see facts about the dispute.  Time Warner says that KXAN wants to charge customers for the free signal they are receiving.  Because Time Warner really "cares" about their customers, they decided to pull the channel.

But we all know, there are always two-sides to a coin.  So, what's KXAN's story?

KXAN's general manager, Eric Lassberg,  told 
The Austinist in an interview their side of the
 story.  Lassberg states: "Our dispute is about fair and equitable treatment. Time Warner charges its cable subscribers a fee to provide KXAN-TV in its channel line-up. It also charges its cable subscribers a fee to provide cable networks, which cable subscribers may or may not watch. Time Warner shares that fee with the cable networks; however, it does not share that fee with us. In essence, it takes our signal for free and resells it for a profit."

This changes the story a bit, huh?  I think KXAN has a right to be upset, even though I am upset with the decision to pull the channel.  KXAN could have done a better job of advertising their point of view if they had commercials or a website like Time Warner did.  So, the question remains... who's side are you on?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The solution to drailing!!!

It's 3 a.m., you are in a taxi going home after a long night downtown.  It was a good night, you had a couple of drinks and you feel a little happier.  Okay, maybe a lot happier.  Once you have your Whataburger and you are at home with your friends laughing about the night, you might decide it would be a good idea to call you ex.  You know you shouldn't, but something in you has decided to take over.  Next morning, you have a nasty voicemail and apparently you said some things you might not remember.

Been there?

It's the drunk dial.  It is, for some of us, some of the biggest mistakes of our social lives.  Yet, there is another trend rapidly growing and its called "drailing".  Have you heard of it?  Well maybe you have experienced it.  Let's take the following scenario and instead of calling your ex, you opt to send an email.  That's drailing, or otherwise known as drunk e-mailing.  In class, we have talked about the fact that "e-mail is forever".  The moral of the story was that you might want to think twice before you click send to that nasty e-mail, most especially if its your boss.  Help is on its way!

According to the Associated Press, Google has just developed a new feature that is being used in G-mail that prevents drailing. "Mail Goggles" takes effect late at night and on the weekends.  Jon Perlow, the designer of the Goggles, has designed this feature to ask you to solve some simple math problems before allowing you to hit the send button.  This feature trusts that you will know these simple problems sober.  So, if you passed elementary math, Goggles will save you... from yourself!  Make sure to thank Google in the morning after you treat your hangover!


I think this is a great idea!  It is an effective to solution to a big problem.  Although it is still in its testing phase, I encourage you to try it out and leave a comment telling me about your experience and if YOU think its effective or not!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Que se oiga la gente, la Raza, MI GENTE!!




Juntos las voces de la Raza Latina se van a unir y sera UNA VOZ, UNA GENTE, UNA RAZA!
SI SE PUEDE!!

Translation: Together the voices of the Latin Race will unite and we will be ONE VOICE, ONE PEOPLE, ONE RACE! YES WE CAN!!

Yet another tool reaching out to the youth vote, except this time it is targeting Latinos.  Voto Latino is a non-profit, non- partisan, youth-driven organization that wants to reach Latino youth and educate them on the issues facing our country.  Voto Latino wants to give voices to the silent.  There is a website, blog, Facebook group and Myspace group dedicated to this organization and it is great.  They state that although there are currently 7 million registered Latino voters, over 8 million are still UNREGISTERED.
That is huge.  Latino's are not the minority anymore and we need to lift our heads and speak up.  Voto Latino is endorsed by countless celebrities including co-founder Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama, Perez Hilton,  Vida Guerra, Daddy Yankee, Cameron Diaz, John Leguizamo and Jennifer Lopez.

Dawson says that Voto Latino strives to get people registered and to serve as a reminder of when to vote and where to vote.  Voto Latino does NOT intend to sway your vote.

There have been various PSA's and a REALLY FUNNY series of short episodes featuring Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama, and Nick Zano. New episodes are to appear soon featuring Perez Hilton. Voto Latino recently won the Myspace Impact Award on September 24, 2008.  They also have their own blog with a Twitter widget reminding readers of registration deadlines.






This is a really great organization and I encourage everyone, all races, to visit the site!

Si se puede con el Voto Latino!!! 


Monday, October 6, 2008

Iphones for Obama

Can you smell what Barack is cooking?
More election news coming to you straight from the cexi blog! Technology has been a pretty big influence in this election year. If you read my previous post about the debates being on Myspace, then you would get a better understanding of that. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has done very well in keeping up with the latest social media trends like Facebook and Myspace. Terrence O'Brien from Switched.com reports Mr. Obama has just hopped on the train to one of the biggest trends these past years have seen. Can you guess?

Yep, the Iphone! Apple has provided Barack with his own application to help rally supporters and organize volunteer. It even comes with a handy dandy "Donate" button!!!


The application has an election day countdown and information about Barack Obama's platform.  Pretty neat, huh?

I think this was a very smart move by the Obama campaign because they are associating themselves with a "hip" brand, Apple, and a "hot" item, the Iphone.  It is a good way to get younger voters more interested in what the campaign is doing.  I give them four thumbs up on this marketing technique.  Very nice.  I also like how Terrence O'Brien closes his post by writing:
"The McCain campaign responded by asking: 'What's an Iphone?'"

He earns points for his LOL effect!  Good post Terrence and good campaign strategy Obama!



Wednesday, October 1, 2008

DON'T VOTE!!!!!!

EVERYBODY LISTEN UP: DON'T VOTE!


At least that is what this new YouTube video is "telling" us. Featuring countless of celebrities, including Leo DeCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jennifer Aniston, Forrest Whittaker, Sarah Silverman, will.I.am, etc. etc., this new viral video is catching a lot of attention. It is actually an AWESOME video. It does have some dirty language but the message is a positive one.

So how is DON'T VOTE, positive?


Well, they are saying don't vote if you don't care about the issues. If you do care, if you are a responsible citizen, then you SHOULD DEFINITELY VOTE. Jonah Hill and Sarah Silverman bring a lot of comedy to a very serious message. Their call to action is to send the video to 5 of their friends and it would snowball from there. This is how this video becomes viral.

We talked about viral videos in class and the effects of them. I think this video will send out a positive image to citizens everywhere!

So... DON'T VOTE... if you don't care.

But you know you should!


Check out registration places!


WARNING!!! this video contains explicit language, a positive message, and A LOT of funnies!

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