New media is
introduced in today’s society as part of a world in the evolution of technology. In general, social media has hit us so hard
that it’s everywhere and in everyone’s life.
Specifically, one that isn’t mentioned a lot in social media is
Skype. Skype is part social media because
it is expanding throughout the world. It doesn’t have any limitation of who can use
the medium, but it’s generally used by all ages except the elderly. This might be because the elderly either
doesn’t understand or doesn’t necessarily like technology. Skype is becoming more popular as people are
able to have “face-to-face” interactions and it has the ability to bring people
closer on a different level. Regarding
Marshall MuLuhan’s quote: “The medium is the message,” this medium has the
ability to get your point across in face-to-face interaction with another
person. The overall significance of this
medium is because it’s part of social media; it allows people to connect through
the Internet. Skype is the “message” because
as it allows interactions with different people around the world but yet let’s
people communicate that is many miles away.
Skype has a wide
range of operating systems that has abled people to talk for free. The applications are on phones, the X-box
One, and laptops (both Mac and Windows products). It started in 2003 and in eight years was bought
out by Microsoft. According to their
website Macs users who download Skype is able to get free calls, low cost call
and texts to mobiles and landlines, video calls on Skype and Facebook, free
instant messages to friends, family, and colleagues, and able to send a message
you can see, hear, and feel with video messaging. Skype lets
their costumers get the most out of their use, (some have to pay for additional
services), but it makes it worth while if a person is able to see the face of a
friend, loved one, or family member.
First of all,
Skype’s “message” is able to get a crossed by the ability to have face-to-face
interaction. This allows a person to speak to love ones,
family, and friends who are hundreds to thousands miles away. I actually have a family friend who lives here
in Tucson but her husband is in the Air Force and is stationed in Turkey. They stay connected and use Skype as a source
of social media to be able to speak with each other. Also, Skype lets a person to express a
feeling or emotion. This is definitely
better than texting, instant messaging, and even calling especially when being
away from someone in long distances can take a toll. Speaking on the phone is still better than
texting or instant messaging but a person can only hear their voice, which
hinders a their sense of sight. With
Skype, people can speak with one another as if they’re in the same room and
able to communicate better without having a problem with expressing themselves
as they would in person.
Secondly, Skype
allows a person to connect on a different and deeper level of communication
with someone else either it being a friend or a loved one. This makes it more personal than other social
media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram. Skype enables to person to share opinions of
a TV show, discuss music, life situations, daily activities, local news
happening where the person is, and much more, whatever a person wants. Of course friends on
Facebook can discuss things mentioned above but on Skype it’s on a more intimate
level being able to speak face-to-face.
NOTE: I need one more analytical point of how Skype is
impacting popular culture
Overall you had strong analysis. Try to relate back to “the media is the message” a little more. What message and cultural myths are embodied in Skype?
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple points open for potential analysis:
Is Skype typically done between individuals (connecting two separate people) or between groups (connecting two separate environments)? How does Skype change privacy; has this technology created pressure to focus on appearance even within the security of our own homes? Does this advance in communication allow people to bring work home? Should the convergence of work and home environments be encouraged or limited; in what ways is the separation of work and home beneficial or harmful?
Your essay explains marvelously the advantages of having human interaction without the person being there with you. Probably focus on the demographic and the extent that Skype's potential can be seen. I like how you keep referencing back to how Skype is more advanced than any other typical social network service. Just explain further the effects that Skype has on society.
ReplyDeleteHi, Cristina! Good analysis! I agree with you that Skype is very good media. And it is a message. It is very convenient for face-to face and for video conversation. Elderly people use Skype very often. For example, I and my relatives are using the Skype for conversation. Some of them are living in Moldova and I miss them, but Skype help me. I see here in comments, Mara and alee give you very good suggestions. What would I suggest? We can use the Skype for messages, not only for talking and conversation. Just a short message can be very useful for friends and relatives. Sometimes, when I open the Skype of my friend, I can see a message that she is going to be available at 7p.m.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Tatiana
Your paper so far i think is really good. I like the choice you made because not a lot of people picked that. I really liked how you talked bout they way Skype helps people feel like the person they are talking to is not that far away by bringing them closer together. I also think that it is a very good social media in the sense that it is able to connect people and have them talk face to face without the person really being there. I think that you should expand more on how it does relate to people in the sense of privacy, the way people are trying to look when talking to someone else. I liked you paper so far and think this was a really good choice.
ReplyDeleteI like that you decided to discuss a medium of direct, synchronous communication. I think if you further develop your points, the essay will have a stronger effect. There are certain points made, such as the assertion that elderly people do not use Skype, that are more opinions and assumptions as opposed to supported observations. In addition, I think you could relate your discussion of how Skype connects friends and family with each other to the general implications as a new medium. You could discuss that Skype's ability to unite friends and family who are far away from each other reflects the application as family-oriented.
ReplyDeleteYou really explained Skype quite well and provided excellent reasons as to why it is a valuable tool for communicating with loved ones in distant lands—especially for military families. And why Skype is better than other forms of communication tools. I would point out that it’s not just the “elderly”—“all ages” that are aware and can afford or have access use this tool. Don’t forget to use the other key words, such as any myths etc. and the overall impact on popular culture. I liked that you made sure to use the key words of “new media” and “messages.” I especially liked your last paragraph on the “deeper level.” This is going to be an excellent essay once you polish it!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this essay because I absolutely love Skype, It has helped me keep connected with lots of friends. As like you said I it much better because you are able to see the person rather than just text or phone (sound.) It might balance out your essay if you pick possibly a bad trait of Skype but I can't think of one right now. Also your sentence "Speaking on the phone is still better than texting or instant messaging but a person can only hear their voice, which hinders a their sense of sight" Needs more clarity but I think you can expand on this more. Very good job on this essay so far you should do well.
ReplyDeleteGood points, and this is a good topic to be writing about too. It's funny because so many people hate on technology for bringing people out of the real world, but this is one of the few things where I don't think anyone could argue that point. I don't know if this could be relevant, or if this is even a real thing at all, but I've always had this fear that some computer hacker on the other side of the world is recording all of my Skype calls... I even have a friend that puts a piece of tape over the camera on his laptop because he had heard about people hacking into random laptops or something of that sort. I'm not sure if that could even be helpful to you at all, but maybe. It's interesting at least. You seem to be off to a good start as it is though.
ReplyDeleteI think your assessment of Skype is a good start, though a bit clinical in style. I think that perhaps your third point could be that Skype is essentially the fufillment of the whole idea of the videophone used in various sci-fi/specualtive depictions of the future, perhaps analyzing the differences between how the tech was portrayed in fiction and how people actually use it in the real world. I mean, we have the videophone, and yet we still don't have non-crappy, affordable flying cars around (To which I must say GODDAMMIT SCIENCE/ENGINEERING, WHY MUST YOU DISAPPOINT ME!), so perhaps that is an indication that we are living in the crappy cyberpunk future rather than the space-age Jetsons-y future, and I think that'd be a worthy thing to discuss.
ReplyDelete