Who's to Decide

Personally, my understanding of the term 'mass media' is wrapped in corporate control. I believe that mass media is any medium that, as the 'big businessman' would have us believe, is popular to the masses at any given moment.

Take the medium of music for example. Who decides what we listen to on the radio, or on T.V., or in movies? It sure as heck is not me. I've never had someone come knocking on my door, asking "Hey Nick, I'm from 555.5 fm, what songs would most want to hear on our station?" So who chooses? Who has the last say, because it sure is not me. What, is my opinion not fit for consideration when choosing popularized music?

To me, mass media is not the media of the masses, but the media of the corporation. It's the media's media. Not chosen by the public for the public, but chosen by the media for the public. I feel that, however influential you believe you are in moulding the media around you, the power of fluctuating media will never be within the grasp of the common man.

In my opinion, 'mass media' is solely a term coined by the media to downplay their control over the content of 'popularized' media.

Purposefully Minded yet Functionally Flawed

The internet, a marvel of modern man's ingenuity, but is it really all that it's cracked up to be? What was once a military application is now a massive network which has since spawned a monster of indigestible proportions.

It was created as form of communication, which it is still today, however it has since added in features and, because it has been set as the cornerstone of modern society, it has drastically morphed our culture. Would computers have taken off the way they did without the help of the internet? Would they have just been expensive calculators or would they still be in every home around the world, dictating many lives?

I think the internet, in its founding form, was a great idea, cultural applications have shifted; and not entirely for the better. The freedom of the internet has created a worm hole of utter crap that anyone and everyone must sift through in order to find the spec of decency that exists in the world today.

The internet has shrunk our vast sprawling planet down to a size manageable by a four year old while ever expand our ability to communicate. Essentially it has remained the same, but it's the additional features and added functionality that have been tacked to the internet which has pushed our society over the edge.

All in all, the internet is an amazing tool which, at its core, functions perfectly, but it has been allowed to spread out of control. It has pushed us to being inwardly social. We have everything at our fingertips, all without the need of human interaction. While it has furthered educational tools, it has also allowed for a broadened gap of misunderstanding.

Academic Blogging - To Contribute or not to Contribute?

How can one assess his or her contributions to the public sphere when it's so damn big? Just ask Adam Brickley who, through his incredibly successful blogging campaign influenced U.S. Presidential Candidate John McCain's pick for running mate. Mr. Brickley wrote his blogs out of his mother's basement and had an impact that will greatly affect the entire world through the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

However, on a more personal level, I have yet to fully comprehend my impact on the public sphere. That is, in part, why I feel inclined to pursue a career in journalism; in order to see my affect on the public as a member of said public. I have always been a somewhat reserved person with big thoughts and opinions and I am eager to see what others might draw from those thoughts.

That said, I have done blogging before and have found it to be a somewhat niche medium. That, in particular, is why I felt it necessary to begin with Mr. Brickley's story, because he did something I feel to be extraordinary. He harnessed the power of free thought and free speech and, through what I believe to be a relatively unexplored medium, he affected the masses. Showing me, first hand, that one person can affect millions through blogging.

I have yet to experience my role in the public sphere come to fruition and affect something or someone. However, with that being my personal goal regarding my role in the public eye, I feel that that is not the motivation behind one's contributions to the public sphere. I believe that it is the feeling of togetherness that playing a role in the world entails rather than your affect on said world that really drives the public as a whole to contribute.

I would like to thank Mr. Brickley for his hard work and I would urge you all to visit his blog at http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/