-Gather ‘Round, Lil Ones: This Here’s a Cell Phone!-

I feel that this is going to be very ironic, given that kids younger and younger are becoming much more familiar with cell phones than I was when their age, but why not give some background and explanation?  In case the kiddies don’t know, a cell phone is basically a mobile telephone: one that uses a battery pack to power it up, so that a user can take it and make calls wherever they go!  Additionally, they’re completely dependent of cellular networks, which provide the cell phones with their service.

Cell phones in today’s modern era are simply amazing: asides from making and receiving calls, cell phones are now also able to send and receive text messages, take pictures and short videos with their included camera, surf the web through data plans and Internet services-which means log onto Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, play little video games, and more depending on the type of cell phone you have.  Almost every cell phone made today includes these features, with the more advance ‘smart phones’ capable of doing more, such as downloading apps and other features through the phone.  If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m still relatively young myself (21 years old is still young) and own a cool phone (the Sprint HTC Hero), I’d be really jealous of the current generation of kids…

-Issues in Spectrum Allocation-

The spectrum of the telecommunications industry spans through a range of electromagnetic radiation frequencies, which are used in wireless communication systems: problems reside then in how they’re able to make services even better, to improve upon the system that already is in place.  This is due in large part to mobile communications using far less powerful transmitters when compared to those of broadcasters on the radio. 

Wireless communications used to be the center of the telecommunications network, carrying excess quantities of calls amongst cities instead of communicating directly from person to person: the development of microwave systems would then allow services to carry over thousands of calls simultaneously, but one problem to this was the system used directional antennas which made it impossible to extend their networks up to certain spans.  To rectify this limitation, it led to the development of fiber optic integrated systems, and soon after led to the rise of satellite technology and cell phone systems.  Even with all the advances and developments in technology and systems, they all faced the same constricting limitation of channel space.  To this very day, technicians are still trying to upgrade and develop even more communications systems, in the hopes of finally escaping those restraints. 

-Brace for Impact! The Telecom Act-

The creation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 immediately brought about changes and new developments within the industry, as the intention of the act was to let the free market rule through a great reduction in governmental regulation and restrictions: the hope was that through this deregulation, there would be a huge spark in competition and technological innovations, thus driving down consumer prices. 

However, instead of a surge in competition, what immediately happened after the act was passed was a massive movement of mergers and consolidations within the telecommunications industry.  At first this seemed bad, as the fear was that a single company could command dominance and assume a monopolistic economy in the field (the number of major media companies whittled down from 50 to just 6 within 22 years), but it ended up achieving what the act was meant to.  Phone companies were able to offer Internet and TV services, cable providers could now offer phone and Internet, and such: This led to a select few companies that would rise and battle for dominance in the market, but that was good since now special attention was given to quality and service.  Prices, more or less, were set at fair levels. 

I can give a personal example in my area of Westchester, NY: Cablevision was absolutely HORRENDOUS TV service providers, they always charged higher rates and took away channels that were a part of basic cable.  That was all on top of their atrocious customer service help; if a subscriber called Cablevision for a problem on Monday and the company said they’d be there between 1-5 that day, they’d actually show up sometime on Wednesday!  Once Verizon offered TV (in addition to their already superb phone and then-new Internet service) in our area, my family quickly jumped ship from Cablevision and signed up for Verizon FiOS to provide us with phone, Internet, and TV: I can tell you through experience, we’ve been very satisfied for years now. 

-Getting Some PR Experience! Promoting an Event on Concordia-

Believe it or not, your truly here has some experience when it comes to trying to persuade and sell people on things, especially to partake in events.  As a co-president of a club at school, it’s definitely an important job to not only plan and organize events promoting the club, but to make sure a crowd shows up for the event, and that the people who attend actually like it!  That’s the most important thing, so that not only will this encourage them and possibly others to attend more events, but it might even spur some people on to join the club as well.

As mentioned on a few previous occasions, the first step for a PR practitioner on any level is to research the target market that you’re trying to ‘sell’ something to: in my case, it’s the student body on campus.  Being one myself, I can easier understand and relate to their interests and on how to communicate with them, gathering feedback and data on possible event ideas I may have.  From there, I plan out the event that will take place: in this case, let’s use the example of setting up a game of bowling off campus.  After settling on a day, prices from the bowling alley, transportation methods, and every other aspect of the actual event, it’s time to spread the word for the event and get students to sign up.

There are quite a few techniques that can be used to promote an event such as this.  The first and perhaps widely used would be to print out and distribute fliers.  It would have a description of the event, day, price, time, colorful pictures relating to the event, etc…  Printing a massive amount and personally distributing them would be a bit excessive, so a smarter strategy would be to post them around campus, where students will certainly notice them.  Another method would to utilize the technology on hand: this can be accomplished by sending out e-mails to students about the event, and perhaps even creating a group on Facebook to generate a ‘buzz’ and sort of excitement for the event.  Lastly, I would go out and talk to students in person about the event.  Nothing can persuade and sell people more on an idea than personal interactions, where people can gauge interest, feelings of excitement, and such.  After all, you want to get people pumped and devoted to attending the event, so what better way than to tell them yourself how great it will be?  I know it'd influence my decision.

-Emulate This! The Four Models of Public Relations-

By now, people are familiar with the roles and functions that Public Relations serve organizations.  However, did you know there happens to be four distinct models of PR…?  There are indeed, according to James E. Grunig, who with over 20 years of experience in the field of public relations is essentially a PR guru and expert!  Grunig’s research has added many theories to the knowledge that already exists, theories which have improved the PR field and have allowed PR practitioners to become better able to serve both organizational and public interest.  But, without further adieu, I give to you the four models:

The first is called Press Agentry/Publicity Model, which is considered one-way communication.  It is based on using persuasion and even manipulation in order to influence the audience to the point where they act and behave as the organization wants.  The second is called Public Information Model, which is another one-way communication model.  This method uses press releases and other forms of one-way communication techniques to disperse organizational information.  Key to note, PR practitioners are referred to as the “journalist in residence” under this method.

The third model is known as the Two-Way Asymmetrical Model, and though is two-way communication, the goal is outbalanced in favor of the marketers and practitioners.  Under this method, information is sent out to the public based upon previously conducted research, with the hope that the consumer interprets the information the way the organization hopes.  Grunig also refers to it as “scientific persuasion”, and it remains as the most commonly used model today.  The last model is the Two-Way Symmetric Model, which is another two-way communication model that this time is in true balance between the organization and the public.  It involves the tasks of researching the concerns of both the organization and the public, so as to help them adapt to each other and both be mutually beneficial.  This model, as great and fair as it is, is extremely hard to find in practice, since sadly most practitioners are only concerned with the bottom line profitability of the organization they’re a part of. 

-The Keys to Being Successful! …In Public Relations, That Is-

We all know that the number one priority of any organization’s Public Relations branch is to garner good and beneficial attention for the company: But how exactly would they accomplish that?  Well, there are a few distinct steps in a continuous process that helps to achieve the mission: research, surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and searches—these are the keys to bear in mind when wanting to be a successful PR, coupled with thorough assessment of the public.  Without truly knowing the public-what their ‘about’, their interests-it’ll be extremely difficult to communicate effectively with them, and that won’t serve any purpose if the job entails for being able to reach the audience and to respond accordingly. 

The aforementioned steps all serve one common purpose: to become familiar with the public.  The entire process, in a nut shell, is all analysis and research: to find out what the public needs or wants from producers/manufacturers.  From discovering this, PR must act to satisfy that desire of the public accurately to the information they had gathered.  In the end though, it isn’t enough to just perform: from there, perhaps the most important factor is to get feedback.  PR’s must find out how the public reacted to what was given to them: was it good?  Bad?  What improvements can be made for future attempts?  These are true keys, as it isn’t enough to get the public’s attention, but a company must hold onto it and because they themselves are doing a great job with marketing and fulfilling the ‘goods’, so to speak…  You got to give the audience what they WANT, after all.

-Our Specialty! Functions of Public Relations-

Everyone at some point or another has heard the term PR, which stands for Public Relations.  To give a quick definition, Public Relations are people who try and influence behavior of the public, typically through released written statements or more effectively, through the use of public speaking.  With that said, there are numerous functions that Public Relations perform.

First, they serve as counsels for the management group within an organization, advising questions of communication with the its public, and deal with emerging issues and any problems that may arise and potentially affect the prosperity of the company.  Additionally, they provide a support chain of sorts regarding technical matters for actions taken up by management, such as placing strong emphasis on media relations, publicity, promotions, and other ways in which to garner good attention and interest from society.  In all, Public Relations seek to make their respective organization portrayed in a good light in the media’s and more importantly, the consumer’s eyes. 

-Masable.com-

Mashable.com bills itself as ‘an online guide to social media…a hub for those looking to make sense of the online realm.’  In order to make sense of what they’re trying to convey there with that statement, Masable.com is a news site founded in 2005 that specializes in delivering the latest in social and digital media: this covers entertainment, technology, business, etc.  The topics the site covers combined with its relatively easy browsing makes for Mashable to be a very good, informative, and interactive news site.

It, for example, would have articles addressing current issues or events such as recent movie premieres, world conflicts, upcoming holidays, and such and then allow for people to voice what they think on the matter by commenting on the article.  Additionally, users can link it to their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts to further share and spread the information of interest.  In all, Mashable is a very useful and easy to browse site for people of any various levels of interest for social media and technology. 

-Books: An Obsolete Medium? Yeah, Maybe for Tech Junkies…-

We all know of the great marvels and vast benefits that technology has given us, specifically certain inventions and devices.  From radio to TV, computers to smart phones, there have been plenty of ingenious innovations throughout the years.  One such technological innovation is the creation of the e-reader (and the Nook and Kindle), which in particular has reshaped the publishing industry.  A single unit is capable of storing over a thousand books worth of text and information, which led people to speculate that maybe printed books might one day vanish…

Well, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t going to happen, nor should it.  Sure, the Internet is a great way to search for and find information, and I myself use it when writing papers and essays.  But, teachers ALWAYS require their students to dust off and crack open books to not only find information, but also site it within their respective papers.  Getting back to the rise of e-readers, yes: they do store more books than most people’s book selves ever could, and yes: it’s much more cost and time efficient to reproduce and distribute books electronically.  But when it comes down to it, no technology can is quite able to capture the experience and almost culture-like way of reading out of an actual book.

First off, staring into the screen of an e-reader, much like a computer monitor, can be very strenuous on the eyes when done for extended periods of time.  Due to this, it’s not very practical or wise to read from an e-reader often…  Additionally, books and reading has evolved beyond gathering information: It has transcended to become a hobby, a way of life, niches and communities for certain people within the world; books has been thoroughly entwined into our lives.  Companies such as Barnes & Nobles and Borders have sustained communities of book lovers, who congregate at the stores’ lounge-like layout to read, relax, and enjoy themselves.  There’s a certain feeling and experience that comes from holding a book that any e-reader cannot emulate…  People who enjoy reading as a hobby have effectively made owning and reading books a lifestyle, and that is something that can’t be overtaken and replaced so easily. 

-The Positives & Negatives of Conglomerate Print Publishing-

People become accustomed to the age old saying of “that’s progress” in any business transaction, including those of mergers and acquisitions.  The big companies rise to dominate the market, while the small and weaker ones either struggle to compete, or go out of business.  This occurred in the print publishing industry during the 1960’s, as publishing houses merged and sales outlets were being consolidated.  Though big businesses are stereotypically deemed as bad for society-with some just cause to those claims, people must also realize the great positives that may arise from such conglomerates.

Positives of conglomerates in print publishing include a powerful focus on the substance (quality) of the material that is being published for the public, as well as a virtually unedited telling and account of the information published, as a reduced market competition leads to less inclined prompts for companies to make their work ‘interesting hot items.’  These two benefits alone leads to further positives for society: people are better informed and aware of what’s taking place, can make clear and well informed decisions, learn more and gather better perspectives, etc… 

Negative effects, on the other hand can occur, which include the typical cases of: loss of jobs, reduced competition, less content on certain genres being published, and the like.  When little companies are being dominated, after a while they will surely go out of business—this in itself leads to several problems.  For one, people lose their jobs, and unemployment increases altogether.  Further still, when a company goes out of business, it means there’s one less player in the market, and reduced competition could then possibly lead to higher prices for goods—absolute worst case scenario would be if a company rose to the power of a near monopoly.  When companies are acquired by others through the likes of mergers, it could lead the controlled company to be regulated by its new owner.  This effectively could kill off certain content that was published, due to the fact that the owning company deems it ‘not important’ to the whole company’s grand scheme of business.  Additionally, Freedom of Speech can very realistically be threatened, since opinions that originally have been voiced (through being printed, of course) are now being ‘silenced’ since the parent company doesn’t agree with it or feel it’s something that needs to be announced.  So like most things in life, there’s both good and bad that come from such scenarios of actions taking place. 

-Copying? Yeah Right! Copyright Issues for Print Media-

When hearing about copyright issues, most people immediately think of the music and film industries, both of which have a lot of difficulty in suppressing the illegal copying, downloading, and distributing of their work thanks to the modern age’s ever advancing technology.  But if people think those industries have it bad, it’s been an endless cycle of copyrighting problems for print media, as far back as people can imagine.

The main problem they face is that the copyrighted work—be it text, pictures, charts, etc—is continually being copied and distributed to others, even if it seems like a harmless and innocent act.  A great example is when teachers photocopy pages and material out of a textbook for the class’ students: this textbook has certainly been copyrighted, and even a small act like this is in direct violation of the laws in place for copyrighting.  Worse still though, is when individuals take the copyrighted work of others and try to pass it off as their own work, most commonly found once again in schools, as students might be prone to this activity for when they have to write research papers and other types of essays. 

Due to this rather rampant problem, much has been enacted to rectify and remedy any future issues that may arise for print media, including compensation to the original publishers to punishment to those who copy the work.  For example, plagiarism is a very serious offense in schools and the policies are always reviewed over when a teacher assigns writing work to students.  In addition to a constant review of the policies, students found plagiarizing face strict consequences, including an automatic failure of the course and potential problems to their reputation within the school system.  In addition, authors and anyone else who creates the work are entitled to royalties for the granted copying of their work for others’ use (i.e.-the teacher making class photocopies example), as well as those creators retaining the rights to their work for their life spans PLUS an additional 70 years after their passing. 

-My, How Trendy… Main Trends in Book Publishing-

The literature business is quite a massive one, filled with millions and millions of books, spanning over many various categories and types.  Because of this vast amount of goods, there are many different ways in which the industry is trending, depending upon the circumstances that the specific genre is involved with.  Take for example a history book, or any textbook a student would need any use for their classes in school.  These types of books are manufactured at extremely high amounts, due to the fact that many classes around the world have an absolute necessity for them. 

Books of fiction and other genres which pertain to mostly reading books as enjoyment, might not be given as much priority on the industrial lines, as certain amounts might very well be designated to the book due to increased costs in book manufacturing (wages, equipment, machinery, etc…).  Additionally, the rise and advancement of technology such as computers and now e-readers have further hindered the business of publishing hardcopies of books, given the cost efficiency of digitalizing a book and selling it online via means of downloading (think of what Apple’s iTunes has done to the music industry…).  Book publishing is still very much alive and thriving, but it’s quite apparent that the industry has latched onto the technological movement and planning specific strategies to maximize the benefits each technique may provide the publisher. 

-Being Safe and Secure. My Online Privacy and Security Practices-

Despite the great things computers and the Internet in particular provide society with, there are still great potential risks to being online.  Obvious cases are of course getting computer viruses and malware, which harm your computer system and data up to severe levels of corruption.  Worse cases though, are ones in which identity theft occurs: the stealing and unauthorized using of another’s Social Security, credit card, etc…  This can have a critical affect for one’s financial state, since not only are their information being used for purchases on the behalf of another, but also can hurt one’s credit rating and make the victim a risk for potential loans, investments, and the like.  On a less severe level, people’s information can be used as a means to heckle or loiter someone: Finding out a person’s residence or phone number can lead to sales calls or even pranks, perhaps worse still is possible threats or stalking behavior. 

Due to all the potential dangers that may quite possibly arise from simply using the Internet, it’s key for people to take extra and specific precaution so as to avoid any pitfalls as best as possible.  I for one don’t share any personal information online.  Facebook, for example, allows a user to post their address, phone number, etc…  I have posted my name, date of birth, e-mail address, and that is all!  People who post information further than this risk others using their personal information in some fashion against them.  Pertaining to the risks of viruses, hacking, and other types of data corruptive breakdowns, it is imperative for users to have an up-to-date and fully operating anti-virus program, such as PC-illin or Norton.  It’s not enough to install it, but to also check the conditions of the firewall and other levels of the anti-virus protection, and additionally to delete the history and cookies after one is finished being online. 

Asides from these measures, the next best thing a user can do is to avoid suspicious sites altogether.  It’s common knowledge that porn sites are LOADED with malware and viruses, not aimed at corrupting the system, but rather enabling a hacker to receive whatever information the victim, types into their computer: Including credit card numbers, Social Security, passwords, and anything else imaginable.  Building upon the notion of staying away from unknown or suspicious web sites, it’s also highly important to be wary of unknown/suspicious e-mails.  If it’s from a completely unknown user, you must take extreme caution when links or attachments are sent along, and even if an e-mail is from a very well-known friend, if it has weird writing or anything that seems ‘off’, then perhaps it’s quite possible that their account was very well hacked into and being used to spread around viruses, via the victim’s Contact List—something that actually happened recently to a friend of mine, after I received a very peculiar e-mail from him one day with strange attachments.   When it comes to online security, there’s no such thing as being ‘too safe’, because as many people can attest to, it’s much better to be ‘safe than sorry’, especially with all the different threats out there. 

-The Sum of its Parts! Major Content on the Web-

To current and future generations living in an era with computers, one thing that will always continue with us (and probably enhance in some way down the line) is the web—you know, that WWW you always type into the address bar when on the internet.  WWW, of course, stands for World Wide Web, and though many make the synonymous tie of a vast amount of information readily available, the Web pretty much contains virtually everything humans have ever known.  With that said, all of the Web’s offerings can be generally categorized into distinct Major Contents that’s on the Web.

The first content is Electronic Publishing, which as might be guessed upon from the name, is in essence any type of publication that would appear online.  This is where the notion of ‘vast information’ is typically fashioned from—publications not only include what is specifically published online, but also traditional publications which are now featured online usually via the publication’s website.  Examples include newspapers (New York Times), magazines (Time), books, and any other type of publication.

Next is Entertainment, which includes television, movies, and music.  The development and rise of sites such as YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, and the like have been huge drivers in a growing trend of users relying more and more on their computers than any other technological equipment they possess. 

Online Games is another form of content on the Web, and though it may seem like it should fall under the Entertainment tag at first, what sets it aside from other entertainment forms is the intense interactivity found in gaming.  This means that the gaming it refers to is massively multiplayer online games (or MMOG for the gamers out there), in which the player is constantly interacting with another user in some fashion.  There’s hundreds of MMOGs, and the biggest is perhaps World of Warcraft, which boasts over 12 million subscribers as reported on October 2010.

Another form of content is a Portal, which are automatically launched web pages when users log into the Web.  So basically homepages such as MSN, AOL, Yahoo!, etc which are automatically loaded upon going online are portals! 

Content that all users of the Web are familiar with is the Search Engine.  They’re those boxes people type words into, and then click the ‘search’ button to find relevant information based upon matching the key words entered into the search.  Engines include MSN’s Bing and Yahoo!, though the undisputed king is still Google. 

Communities are yet another type of content, which is a social site/media in which users can share opinions with others—albeit typically in a very informal and casual way.  These include Facebook, Myspace, chat rooms, instant messengers, and other sites (such as GameFAQS, which specializes in the gaming community).

Blogs are an interesting case, in which they can be used in different purposes.  In essence, blogs are the writings of users posted online, but the applications are numerous—to report news or top stories, to express opinions and views, as assignments in classes, etc…!

Lastly is Electronic Commerce, which as one might be able to infer, is shopping online, typically in a business to consumer basis though consumer to consumer is also widespread.  This includes sites such as Amazon and even eBay. 

-That’s a Cool Web Page! But…Why Exactly?-

Let’s face it: There’s probably millions upon millions of web pages out online, dealing with many various topics, products, etc…  Many of which are quite possibly in direct competition with one another should they deal within the same industry, so if two companies provide the same product/service and offer it online via their respective web page, what would lead a user to visit one over the other?  Better still, what would convince the user to keep returning to the particular web page?

The key, as obvious as it may sound, is to have a good web page.  Now this sounds a lot easier than it is, given the thought of what exactly would make a web page “good?”  For one, a good web page should be capable of engaging the user, so as to almost instantaneously gather their interest and attention.  So having creative, loudly colorful, and otherwise attractive features would be a great start.  Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to try and condense information on the page: Many people prefer to get to the point of something as quick as possible, rather than have to go through lines and lines of info…So the old age saying of “short, sweet, and to the point” is certainly applicable!  Asides from eye-catching visuals, it’d also be very beneficial for the site to have occasional promotions, such as free products, trips, rare meetings with high status people within the industry, and such would definitely ignite the web site visitation rate and help spur users to keep coming back.

-Who’s Highly A-Ware? Leading Makers of Computer Software and Hardware-

Software and Hardware—the essential makeup of a computer, be it PC, laptop, and anything in between.  To give a quick definition of each, hardware qualifies as the equipment themselves, being the computer monitor, keyboard, and any other physical component of a technology (in this case, computers).   Software, on the other hand, is a collection of programs and related data that provide the computer with instructions on its functions.  Like most things in life, hardware and software are businesses, both of which have dominant leaders within the industry.

The leaders in hardware technology are Dell, HP, Apple, and IBM—though the latter two are in a lesser capacity compared to their respective pioneering ways in computer technology many years ago…  Practically everyone owns a Dell or HP product, and that isn’t by accident: Both companies have developed terrific reputations in the industry thanks to their great and dependable products, in cooperation with brilliant assistance services for users. 

As for the software industry, Apple found itself on the outside looking in on yet another one of their innovations during the development of computers, though in respect to IBM, it was simply an improvement to an existing idea…  After developing their own DOS (Disk Operating System) through examination of Apple’s own system during a short lived partnership, Microsoft would quickly rise to completely dominate the software industry.  This wasn’t only because of the improvements and great benefits of Microsoft’s software, but also thanks in large part to the company making the software AUTOMATICALLY included with (and now installed onto) any purchased computer, except for an Apple computer…Yeah, kind of easy to understand why.  With that great advantage, and many offerings— Word-processing, PowerPoint, Excel, Web browsing—It’s not much of a wonder as to how Microsoft assumed such a stranglehold onto the software industry. 

-Both Providers, But of Different Services… Content Service Provider and Internet Service Provider-

Though they provide different services Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Content Service Providers (CSP) work hand in hand to make the Internet function as what it is, for lack of a better explanation.  They provide the very foundation of internet usage: How we go online, and what we do once we are online.

Internet Service Providers is just what it says: it provides Internet service.  They grant users the ability to go onto the Internet, and also provide e-mail accounts.  Such providers include Verizon (FiOS), Cablevision (Optimum), AOL, Earthlink, among other companies.  These companies lease high-speed connections from telecommunication carriers in order to give Internet access to the respective user: Verizon and Cablevision, of course, are carriers in their own right and can reap profit without paying any leasing fees—but that’s another subject altogether…

Content Service Providers then pick up after ISP’s accomplish their job of getting the user online.  CSP’s provide data which is then used to make what appears on a web page, which has a wide range from its appearance, news articles, pictures, entertainment, etc…  In essence, CSP’s make the web pages more appealing and relevant to go on to.  Of key note to point out, CSP’s isn’t exactly a business like ISP’s are: CSP’s are anything and anyone who provides the useful content, be it news corporations, paparazzi information, or even comments posted on web sites such as Facebook or Blogger by ordinary users—That means us!  In this fashion, it accomplishes the task in a very interactive manner, as well. 

-Who’s In Charge? Those Who Run the Internet-

The Internet is a great means to many things, whether it’s to search for information, to purchase goods, speak with friends, and much, much more.  The thing is, it’s such a massive and complex system which needs a governing body to control and deal with it properly.  There are four distinct groups which run the Internet, and they are the International Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Society (ISOC), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), each of which are tasked with a different assignment to help run the Internet.

ICANN is an international organization which is tasked with assigning web addresses and domain to users, as well as charge annual fees to domain owners for their privileges.  ISOC is an international membership not bound by any one government, which promotes the orderly use and further development of the Internet—the latter part falls more onto the directives of IAB, which is a sub-group within ISOC that specifically deals with decisions for policies concerning operations and the progressive development of the Internet.  Lastly, IETF is an international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and smooth operation of the Internet: Basically, they oversee any technical matters that may occur within the Internet, and work to not only rectify any problem, but also improve upon the existing infrastructure of the Internet. 

-I’m Being Targeted!? Target Markets and How Consumers’ Aspects are Being Reached-

For countless centuries now, people have been born into a world of mass consumerism, which is heavily dependent on marketing, specifically through the use of advertising.  Though not as eye-catching by today’s standards, the first ads in America were around as early as 1704 in the form of classified ads appearing in the Boston News-Letter.  It wouldn’t be until 1849 that advertising would grow into the behemoth profession that it’s now recognized as, starting with the greatest ad agent of that era, Volney B. Palmer (it was in fact Palmer himself who coined the term ‘advertising agency’ in 1849).  He originated the commission system (in which publishers paid a fee upon completion of an ad sale), sold as space, produced the ads, delivered them to publishers, and verified their placement: In essence, Palmer was responsible for all the important functions of modern ad agencies, hence him being revered as ‘the founder of the ad agency.’  From there, advertising would evolve and expand as time progressed; in 1865, Palmer began contracting with local newspapers for set amounts of space for ads.  By 1926, ads were given an unprecedented means of distributing messages across the nation through the creation of radio networks.  With the establishment of national television networks in 1948, advertising found a new medium to expand upon, and from that point on it would continue to grow into the form it has taken on today. 

An important component of the advertising profession is the ‘art’ of target Marketing—It is the process of finding out specific demographics of a particular audience, and then based upon the collected info, act on these certain characteristics or traits to effectively market an ad back to that audience.  It is perhaps the most important factor/method for advertising agencies, as it is always important to know EXACTLY who a product is in essence trying to be sold to, and not everybody has the same tastes, preferences, needs, etc…  With that explained, I, like all other people, fall into many various and distinct target markets, which naturally reflect my own interests, beliefs, characteristics, and the like.  For instance, I’m a Caucasian male between the ages of 18-25 from a middle-class family: those rather generic characteristics alone can be tied back to exact companies or products aimed towards people falling into this group, such as Aeropostal, Budweiser, etc…  Now by including more exact details about me via my interests, I’m then categorized into even more target markets.  I love the New York Yankees, I drive a Mercedes-Benz, I’m a fan of a particular anime series, I enjoy going to the movies, and so on before I end up revealing my shoe size…

Advertisers can reach and attempt to saturate my particular target markets in many forms, but the single most effective way is through the internet.  Sites like Google and Facebook are among the most efficient marketing tools, as they provide much data mining—Users post their interests on Facebook, search for things on Google, and from the inputted info, the sites relay back ads which are DIRECTLY influenced through the inputs.  I regularly see ads for Yankees merchandise, I get financing offers to purchase a new Mercedes, I’m sent ads to purchase DVD’s of my favorite shows, and the list goes on and on…  It’s amazing how ad agencies can make a lil bit of info go a long way.

-For the Good of Society! The Benefits of Advertising-

Due to the heavy presence of ads found in nearly every place imaginable, most people ignore ads and consider them to be not only an annoyance, but a severe waste of resources, such as the paper the ads are printed on.  I’ll be quite honest…at times, I think that way myself; I very rarely bother to click or take on an ad’s offer, and I find it very redundant when I walk through New York City and see the EXACT same poster placed side by side on a wall for at least 10 feet!!

Asides from that one peeve however, I truly believe that advertising does me and society as a whole much good.  For one, ads are very informative: they provide information on products, upcoming events, gatherings, opportunities, emergency notices, etc…  Secondly, ads are extremely effective at getting messages about these various informations across the masses.  This, naturally, comes in large part through the various mediums and forms ads are able to spread through.

-Ad Week-

The Ad Week website has a very extravagant and attention grabbing style to it, by taking recent news and headlines and then relating it to an aspect of advertising—ie, the movie The Social Network, which is based upon Mark Zuckerberg’s creation of Facebook, and the site’s use of small ads on the page which help to reap nice rewards.  The Ad Week site provides insightful tales of brilliant advertising strategies, stemming from strong client/agent bonds and creative ideas: something that is echoed in the site’s ‘About Us’ section.  In addition, it gives the latest in reviews, projects, and implementation designs.  Simply put, Ad Week is a true haven to both fans interested in and people involved on a business level with the world of media. 

-Advertising Age-

After browsing through the site, Advertising Age has a very ‘professional’ and business-oriented feel to it, focusing on the ideas and strategies implemented by well-known and established companies.  With that said though, by no means is it a site with just information dipped in monochromatic colors of corporate black and white: the website is very much capable of drawing the interest of even casual consumers through its illustration of pictures and other visuals of popularly known ads created.  Additionally, there’s categories to explore which then take the viewer/’web surfer’ to different websites based upon the category previously selected.  With its informational nature, Advertising Age seems to ‘suit’ the professionals who deal with media as a business—Pun intended.

-Cannes Lions-

Cannes Lions is an advertising website used for the beneficial purpose of promoting the Cannes Lions International Film Festival, which is held annually.  It’s quite an eye-catching website with many videos that also goes into detail of past festivals, winners, and events, in addition to having information on future festivals and creative projects.  To go into some more detail on the promoted event, the Cannes Lions International Film Festival is the biggest collective recognition and celebration of communications/film creativity, and greatly helps to serve as a platform for advertisers to meet and potentially work with people within the vast media industry.  The site is able to accurately promote the festival with their coverage and insights into both past and present festivals. 

-FCC Calls for 'Good Faith' in Cable Dispute-

Starting back in mid-October of this year (2010), Cablevision subscribers based in the New York area who were tuning into Fox 5 for to view the MLB Postseason, NFL games, news, etc were surprised by what would soon turn into a serious problem: the station had been blacked out.  The same issue was experienced on other stations owned by News Corporation—about three million homes serviced by Cablevision lost out on News Corp televised programs due to the two company’s feud over retransmission payments.  Since the two sides haven’t been able to come to an agreement over the price, by October 22 Washington had entered the fray in order to seek out a quick resolution. 

Both Cablevision and News Corp had tried to gain sympathy from the public since the feud started, by publically throwing dirt at each other; News Corp went as far as to say, ‘…We urge those Cablevision subscribers who want to see the World Series to switch providers or purchase an over the air antenna now’ as News Corp was convinced there would be no agreement before the start of the Fall Classic.  The behavior from both companies prompted William T. Lake, chief of the FCC’s media bureau, to remind both parties that they have a “statutory duty to engage in ‘good faith’ negations”, and that if either company believes the other is violating their duty, they should bring it to the FCC’s attention WITH supporting evidence.  In addition, the media bureau has asked both parties to submit specific details by October 25^th, outlining what each company is doing to end this prolonged blackout.

These requests from the FCC are very significant, since if they’re able to determine that one side or the other isn’t acting in ‘good faith’ towards negations, the FCC can penalize or direct the companies to negotiate in good faith, specifically designed for the good of the consumers, whom are hurt the most by the deadlock.  Michael J. Copps, one of the five FCC commissioners, has repeatedly stressed the point during this feud that ‘The FCC is a consumer protection agency, and if the Fox-Cablevision dispute proves anything, it’s that consumers are clearly not being protected…  If such talks (good faith negations) aren’t taking place, we (the FCC) should move promptly to protect consumers.’

Though progress between the sides has been severely lacking, talks are highly likely to resume with the ever increasing scrutiny coming from the FCC.  **UPDATE AFTER ARTICLE PUBLICATION: The stern warnings from the FCC spoke volumes before any action had to be taken, as Cablevision agreed to News Corp’s terms for retransmission (albeit at lower numbers than what News Corp had originally wanted in the beginning of the conflict) by the end of October.

Original Article Found at:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/f-c-c-calls-for-good-faith-in-cable-dispute/