A Traveler's Opinion. (Media Meditation #3)

            When it comes down to it the feeling of driving down the highway with the top down and the speaker cranked up is not one that can be captured. It is something you must feel not see in a photo or read online. Traveling is one of the most freeing feelings and, while it has its own mass section of the social media revolution, it cannot be captured by our ever-evolving technological world. 

                                               These people re-create a cross country road trip using a form of social media.

On a beach in Spain.

            Photographers, authors and bloggers alike have all made careers of traveling and then using social media to tell of their journeys. However, I think that the true type of traveling, the soul-searching, mystifying, world seeking kind is not something that can merely be seen online. The magic of going somewhere and seeing a gorgeous sunset or rapid city life or calm waves may be moments that many photographers try to capture, and while a photo may be worth a thousand words, it cannot even begin to summarize the feeling or emotion of being there.

Dog sledding on a glacier in Alaska.

I have traveled to France and England. I have been to the Canadian Rockies and the Galapagos Islands. I have been to Alaska and Bermuda. I have been to Spain. I have memories and emotions and stories from all of these places that could never have happened if I had tried to experience the world online. For me, nothing can replace the feeling of having seen these places with my own eyes. I absolutely love reading about magical far off places and seeing photos of countries and towns I have never even heard of. But the reason I love these things is because they inspire me to go to these places and see them for myself.

Snorkeling with turtles, penguins, sea lions and sharks in the Galapagos.

Social media can be used and improved by travelers and world stories and photos. However, people can’t use social media to stay in their rooms instead of getting up and gathering these worldly experiences for themselves. The internet is no way to see the world.

The Boy Who Lived. (Media Meditation #2)

Hi, I’m Kate, and I am a Harry Potter fanatic.

Me at Harry Potter World over spring break.

I know that millions would say that they suffer from this same affliction, but my obsession may just be on a whole new level. It isn’t even a sort of love for a fictional character but more a longing to BE him. I was just another ten year old who dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween. No, not Hermione, not Ginny, Harry. Going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this spring break really made my dreams come true and brought this world from my head into reality.

It also made me think long and hard about this story, this world, that JK Rowling has created. I never really thought about how this one woman had changed an entire generation. Sure, she didn’t save lives or cure diseases but she did change the lives of millions of people. She taught an entire generation how to read. She created an entire magical world full of people out of nothing. She truly changed the world.

It also astounds me how one napkin with the makings of a story on it turned into the empire that it is today. The books went through so many shifts to keep up with society, as it became more media oriented. It went through all sorts of shifts and changes, while still maintaining the core values the books instilled. The story contained value messages that inspired an entire generation to be brave like Harry. He stayed true to his friends and his heart, even through great challenges. The words on the page have the power to truly appeal to reader’s emotions.

                                                                                 The movie trailer for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The story has gone from words to movies to a theme park. It went from words on a page to costumes and objects and real life. It has become consumerism but in a way that keeps the younger generations innocent and the older generations young. Harry Potter and JK Rowling have, and will continue to, change the world.

An ISLAND Getaway.

      Picture a tropical island. Palm Trees. Sand. Now the word “Happiness” over it. Add the words “Chocolate” and “Getaways”. Creating a magazine that people want to pick up isn’t hard when it is all about beautiful tropical island vacations. 

 

This is the cover of the March 2011 issue of Islands, taken from the internet.

 

Islands magazine, owned by Bonnier Corp., is all about “celebrating the immersive, authentic experiences unique to island escapes” and they say that they “offer the stunning photos and compelling stories that inspire island travel.” Their website presents the multimedia information to make those travels happen.

Just from looking at the first page, the magazine works several aspects of your brain, especially the Limbic. The pictures inspire content and tranquil emotions. The words on the front, affecting the Neocortex, continue to make the reader feel happy and relaxed. 

          One of the key reasons this magazine continues to be successful is their recognition of the technological shift that has been occurring in this ever changing media culture. Not only do they have a website, but they created a facebook page, a twitter account and an iPad application.They have high definition videos on their website from all over the world.

This video is from the magazine's website. It is from a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas.

          The magazine is full of beautiful people and flattery. It tells people that they deserve a vacation to these gorgeous faraway destinations. It makes them want to grab the magazine, put their feet up and relax. And you know what? It works for me. I think, just maybe, happiness does start there.

A New Beginning. (Media Meditation #1)

College is about an education. It’s about a degree. It is about the professors and the credibility and the status. At least, that is what I had been told throughout high school. AP classes, SAT practice books, extracurriculars and countless tutors prepared me for this huge next step. I applied to ten schools. Got denied by two, including my top choice (Eff you Syracuse, we would never have worked anyway). Visited the remaining eight and got attached to my safety, my faraway and tiny perfect college-town school.

Taken the very first time I visited Champlain College. Their mascot is the beaver.

I ended up choosing Champlain College on the last possible day anyone could decide. It was a decision I wasn’t immediately sure about. It was far away. Nine hours and 38 minutes by car. It was small. The size of my high school. It wasn’t well known. Not when your parents went to the Ivy Leagues and your younger brother was destined for the same. At least those were my concerns.

I decided that I was not going to let this be the wrong decision. I came to Champlain with a new attitude. I was going to try new things, I was going to make friends, be outgoing, be a leader.

I kept my promise to myself. In the first semester of college, I really put myself out there. I joined clubs. I went indoor rockclimbing. I went cliff jumping. I went to concerts. I went to Maine to go whitewater rafting. I went skiing on real snow for the first time. I joined a student planning committee and applied for a job planning activities with the school, which I got.  I went out. I tried a relationship for the first time. I got a twitter. I got a blog. I started using social media in ways I never had before. I made friends. I made connections. I made a new life.

 

This is Bo Burnham, one of the people I saw in concert after first coming to college.

It took coming to college for me to realize that everything my high school told me about college wasn’t true. Sure, college may be for an education. Some people just go for the degree. However, I think that I have already learned so much more than that. It is about learning to live on your own, in a room with three other girls.  It is about planning your time and finding the most comfortable chair in the library. It is about spending your money on ramen because the dining hall is too far and trying to keep in touch with people from back home. Ultimately, wherever you go and whatever school you choose, it isn’t about the degree or the lessons from the classroom, it is about the lessons from outside the classroom. It is about taking the tools they provide you at your college and using them when you go out in the world. In my case, it is new types of media I have never used before. It is about grabbing the world by its’ balls and creating your own life and your own story, no matter where you end up going.

The First Hello.

Hi, my name is Kate Young and I am from Olney, Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C.

Over winter break I tested out the new Skype with group calling and I was able to talk and see 6 of my college friends at once. We were able to see eachother’s houses and talk about our various breaks all together. I also got a Blackberry over break.

I screen captured this picture from Skype over break. These are some of my friends from school.

One of my favorite aspects of media culture today is the ability to keep in touch with people from all over the country. You are able to stay updated with people you love even from the other side of the world.

                                           This video shows a mans entire life purely through Facebook.

One of my least favorite parts is the fact that it has made our generation so easily distracted. All of the different pieces of technology make it hard for people to just pay attention to one.

I do not know what I want to be doing after I graduate college but I am a Marketing major and interested in advertising.