Blog Entry #3

This week I'm focusing on radio, and what factors might cause a person to listen or push them away. A motivating factor to push people towards listening to the radio is simply the cost. Radio broadcasts are completely free to anyone with an antenna. People receive free music and talk shows with numerous different stations to choose from. The value far outweighs any cost.

One inhibiting factor for radio could be it's repetitious and mainstream nature. Many stations will play the same fifty or so songs in different orders throughout the day. Also, there is about three hundred times more music that is never played on the radio than music that is played. If people want to hear anything that isn't played constantly on the radio then they will often choose a CD or MP3 player as an alternative.

As for which factor is dominant, I would definitely think that the FREE broadcasts would outweigh anything. That's why radio has been growing ever since it began, and still is today. Nothing beats free, especially something that everybody loves, like music.

Comm Tech Entry #2

This week's entry will be on the topic of digital television, and how to switch from analog to digital might affect the everyday lives of the people in our society. From my point of view, the process of transferring from analog to digital affected people more than the actual change itself. Many people had no idea what the facts were, and had no clue that they needed to purchase a digital converter box in order to utilize their analog televisions after the switch. There was a converter box coupon system in place for those who knew about it, but it wasn't well publicized for the most part. The process of switching to DTV created more confusion than necessary.

As far as the effects that DTV will have on society, I believe they will be minimal, at least in the minds of most. People will become used to the fact that everything is in 'High-Definition' and they will eventually forget that this incredible leap in technology ever happened. DTV will become the norm and society will take it for granted, crystal clear video and audio will be expected. It will simply be one among the many technologies that have stormed into society and worked everyone up, only to be had by all and thought of as nothing special (see: cell phones, CDs, televisions, microwaves, personal computers, MP3 players). It's somewhat disturbing that we rely on so many things that we take for granted, because what would we do if we somehow lost it all?

Blog Entry #1

So this week we are tasked with choosing a favorite theory from class discussions and writing a short description for why we chose it. If there is one theory that has caught my interest then it would have to be the social learning/social cognitive theory. The theory focuses on how people learn by modeling others. Behavior that is demonstrated by one person will be modeled by the observer (or not) depending on how the behavior is reinforced (negatively or positively) and whether the observer believes they can perform that behavior. What really caught my attention was the example in the textbook about video games. This is where the cognitive portion of the theory comes in. Someone can play Grand Theft Auto and steal cars, shoot cops or drive drunk, but that same person won't go out and do any of those things in real life; Self -Regulation.

So new technologies can find great success or incredible failure depending on how people see it when used by others. If someone that has a new IPhone looks like they enjoy it and have a great use for it, any observers will be more inclined to purchase or try out that product. Word of mouth can have a tremendous effect on the lifespan of a new technology.