Julie Meehan -- Engl 421

2004-03-31T20:35:00.000-08:00

these days my life consists of doing nothing except watching television, sleeping, occassionly going to class, and thats about it. I keep thinking of all the stuff I have to do, but I procrastinate because I think I have plenty of time. And today I realized that I only have four weeks to do a semesters worth of work. holy shit. and i only have 10.5 credits, i should be living the dream. I'm not even a full time student. What happened to my motivation?

2004-03-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm a little nervous today because in about 20 minutes I have to go meet with my honors English advisor, the infamous Michael Anesko. I'm less than thrilled. I have to explain to him why I late dropped my honors English course this semester. I really have no explanation except that I hated the class and I wasn't doing well in it. Should I really have to explain this to him? I haven't even explained it to my parents or even myself for that matter. I have a feeling I'm going to be put on probation within the honors college because now I don't have any honors courses this semester.

For most people that would be upsetting, but for me, it's a relief. I hate the honors college with every ounce of my being. I hate their policies, I hate their class offerings, I hate the advisors, and I've only found a few professors in my honors classes that I actually like. So kick me out if you want, I don't feel like writing a thesis anyway. This is just me venting, because I really need to remain in good standing within Schreyer's, not for my own benefit, but to keep my parents off my back. Damn I can't wait for summer!

2004-03-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

While watching TV tonight, I came across American Idol, and since I needed mindless noise in the background, I decided to watch. Big mistake. The entire show consisted of nauseating renditions of country songs. And it only got worse because of the shows incessant need to blatantly exploit the contestants to sell products. Such obvious consumer-intended propaganda. I'm no communist, but it was excessive to the point of being disturbing. It's going to be a long time before I can muster up the courage to watch American Idol again.

2004-03-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

It's official, I've finally done it - I graded another student’s brand paper. For some unknown reason, the first paper I came across on the wiki was Joanna's. Here goes...

In the intro of her paper, Joanna points out a fact that I had only abstracting thought about, but is really fundamental to understanding PSU as a brand; our reputation as a university depends on many things (students, professors, etc.) but the community may be the most important. Not just the State College community but the entire community of PSU alumni, fans, and supporters, all of which live in different areas throughout the country and the world. Our image depends on many things, not just one person or a small group of people. Although, I think it would have been a good idea to point out that certain people have more clout than others. Case in point, me vs. President Spanier. Of course what I do can either support of subvert the brand, but my influence doesn't stand a chance next to that of the almighty Spanier's pull.

Another great point Joanna makes it that parts of the University that have a lower reputation when compared to overall image of the brand, can cash in on the reputation of the entire brand. A very valid point, although I never thought about it in those terms. It would have been helpful to have a concrete example of this occurrence, or at least to elaborate on the example of engineering v. a losing football team.

Towards the end of the paper, Joanna discusses Penn State's party smart campaign and the universities efforts to counter the party-school image. It’s a good example and I see why the university created the campaign, but it would have been useful to employ prolepsis here. Think about the counter-argument. PSU tries to counter binge drinking to bolster there image as an academic university, but is the campaign effective or is it just a PR stunt to help the brand. Seriously, I don't think I could name one time I or another person referred to that campaign without making a joke about it. How many people do you know who only have four drinks when they go out? In fact, I question where the university got their statistics, because I have never met any of the people they interviewed.

Overall, I thought the paper was good. Certain parts could have been explained in more depth. Still a good paper, I give it a B.

2004-03-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Since I have been blog deficient, I haven't had a chance to explain spring break. I went on a cruise to Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumel with eleven other people. I was so excited for the trip; I practically stopped doing school work almost two weeks before we even left because I couldn't concentrate on anything other than tequila shots and the warm Mexican sun. Not the best decision I could have made - oh well. Moving on...

The beginning of the trip was okay, but on the second night and then again on the fourth night I got extremely seasick. Seasickness alone is horrible, but seasickness after countless shots of jager and too many mixed drinks takes the cake. I wanted to launch myself into the ocean rather than suffer like that. Even childbirth can't be nearly as shitty as drunken seasickness.

There are a lot of things that have the ability to piss me off, and the number one thing on my list is meathead guys. Nothing annoys me more than jerks who think they are super-hot. But apparently, if you were a guy and you wanted to go on this cruise, it was mandatory that you wear wife-beaters and crush beer cans on your forehead. No Joke.

In general, the trip (at least the parts when we were at sea) was the worst vacation I've ever had. I came back to PSU more stressed out than I had been before I left. The only good thing to come out of the vacation was my tan, and that is even starting to fade away now. Better luck next year I hope.

2004-03-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

I'll admit that I hated the online chat today; primarily because I couldn't keep up with the conversation. There seemed to be at least two or more conversations going on at any given time, and even if they were about the same topic I still couldn’t follow. I also didn't like how only a small portion of our dialogue was visible at one time. Where did the rest of the conversation go? Is it lost forever or is there a place where it can be viewed later. It was like AOL instant messenger gone wild. Perhaps if the chat had only been a few people I could have kept up with all that was being exchanged. I guess I have a simple mind because that chat was information overload, I really couldn't pay attention or keep up with everything that was being said. Please don't make us do that on a regular basis, I'll have a brain aneurysm or at the very least go blind from my screen blinking constantly.

2004-03-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

I leave for Mexico in 15 hours, forgive me if this isn't well thought out or insightful. I have a stalker and he works at uni-mart (the one near Uncle Chen's). I could avoid him by going to another store, but that would require more effort on my part and I'm not up to that. His name is Robert, I know because he wears a name tag that, I swear I wouldn't make this up, says King Robert. I feel like that name tag explains everything. My friends think it’s funny to watch him say strange things to me, and I used to think that, but now I'm a little freaked out. He always knows exactly what I want and he tries to make small talk. And that’s fine, I'm not too cool to talk to him, but he crossed the line when he went on for five minutes about how beautiful I looked in my license. Seriously, does anyone look nice on the license? I doubt it.

And, I swear that after break I'm going to revise my brand paper and then grade someone else’s.

2004-03-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

Nothing So Strange

Although the movie Nothing So Strange was entertaining and at times pretty funny, I keep thinking about the fact that it is an open source movie. Meaning that once a person has it in his possession, he can change and edit the film any way he chooses. I’m assuming that we watched the original movie and that all the elements of the movie were created by the original filmmakers. And if this is the case, what would I do to make the movie better? What scenes could be edited if not deleted? It’s difficult to answer these questions since I’ve only seen the movie once, but I’m sure that if I were to watch it again there would be parts that I would like to see done a bit differently.

I like the concept of being able to alter what other filmmakers have already done. It’s more of a collaboration among many different individuals, than it is one man’s creation that can not be changed. I wouldn’t want every movie to be open source, but it was interesting, and in this case humorous, to watch a film with no copyright and to know that anyone could easily change any portion of the film.

2004-03-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I was supposed to see the student production of the musical Ragtime for one of my classes. I had every intention of going, since the upcoming exam will have questions about the performance, but because of my own stupidity and laziness I never went. And now I have read about Ragtime on the internet, obviously not the best way to learn about the theater.

My reason for not going it pathetic. The show was at the playhouse theater near the forum, but my friends and I assumed it was at Eisenhower. When we got there, the usher gave us some strange looks but never said anything; he just took us to our seats. After about two minutes, my friend said he didn't recognize the music or the characters, but he really doesn't know anything, so I just ignored him. Then the usher can back and asked to speak with us in the hall.

The usher then proceeded to explain that we were at La Boheme, and Ragtime was at a different theater. I felt like a major ass, and the other ushers didn't help with their excessive eye rolling and audible laughter. At this point it was only 10 minutes into Ragtime and that left plenty of time to walk to north campus and see the show. But, it was a Thursday night and neither I nor my friend felt like seeing it anymore, so we drove to a party instead.

This little anecdote really sheds some light on my overall mentality. I’m tired of school. I realize that I have lost all motivation to do anything associated with my classes. I need a break from learning. I just want to graduate, but since that won't happen anytime soon, I'll have to settle for spring break. Hopefully this is just a phase and my drive to succeed will return, but I doubt it.

2004-02-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

Proposal

Although I have very little understanding of computers and the ways in which they operate, I am going to attempt to write about computer viruses for my final paper. I will discuss the history of viruses, they ways in which they work, their effects, and as of now I don't know what else. Of course none of this is set in stone and my idea may change.

2004-02-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

The amount of information available for consumption on the internet is absolutely overwhelming, so the inevitable question to ask is what do I need to know and what can I ignore? And the answer to this question is virtually impossible define, because one can't predict what information will be valuable in the future. Only in retrospect can one determine whether or not information was worthwhile or simply more useless rhetoric.

This is the dilemma I find myself in when choosing a topic for the final paper. What information is valuable to support my argument, and is that information easily understood and easily translatable for my audience? My paper must be relevent to my audience or else the answer to the question of "who cares" will be absolutely no one. I plan to spend this weekend contemplating a proposal that my audience would find interesting. Wish me luck, I think I need it.

2004-02-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

First: I need to know what a causal algorithm is before I can blog about it, so everyone will have to deal with the immense anticipation that they are undoubtedly feeling about what I have to say.

Secondly: Chappelle show was on tonight and there was a skit about the internet being a real place, similar to a shopping mall. It was great spam, free downloads, porno, etc. all together in one solid, concrete building. Classic.

And, that’s it. I have nothing more to say. Hope this constitutes a 421 blog.

2004-02-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Last night my one of my favorite shows of all time ended, leaving me with yet another television void. The series finale of Sex and the City aired last night and now I am devastated. I've watched the show religiously for the past six years and now I'll never again see my four favorite New Yorkers.

The good news is that the last episode was incredible, one of the best ones ever. I say this is good news because my old favorite show/obsession was Seinfeld and the series finale for that show was horrible. SATC on the other hand didn't let me down. Now even though my show is gone, I'm left with a feeling of peace and understanding. And all I have to do is sit back and wait for my other television obsession to develop -- the Soprano's. Because then and only then will I be happy.

2004-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

There is constantly public and commercial attention focused on the new technological advances that occur virtually every day in our society. These innovations are usually touted as improving individuals’ standard of living. But do these innovations really make life better for everyone? I contend that many innovations in fact do make menial tasks or large-scale operations easier, but what about the technological "advances" that only hinder daily life and make simple tasks much more difficult than necessary?

Obviously, I am excluding technology that leads to earth-shattering discoveries. Practically no one would argue that improvements and innovation for AIDS or cancer medication are insignificant. It is difficult to decide what constitutes technological improvements, but there is one technologically inspired process that I could live without: the self-checkout line at the supermarket.

These devices are intended to ease check out and payment, but they are the bane of my existence. I have witnessed 80 year old women in walkers master the self-checkout, but alas I, a product of the information age, can not operate the seemingly simple system. What was so terrible about the other system when high school students rang up the purchases and bagged the groceries? Nothing, the system was perfectly fine, with perhaps the minor exception that teenagers lack work ethic.

Now, if one chooses to use the self-checkout line, he has the privilege of scanning all his items and then bagging them. This is perfect for people with social anxieties because there is no human interaction. But for many people, and her I am definitely including myself, grocery shopping is horrible. A huge hassle. I want to be in and out as fast as possible, and I want to interact with other people. So until those stupid machines are easier to use, I’ll stay in the line with real people.

The same is true for other technological innovations. Until I can use them properly and efficiently, I’ll stick to the old methods.

2004-02-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

Apparently Penn State branding is effectively working, because according to a new study (whose scientific credibility is highly questionable), high school students nationwide believe that PSU (who tied with Berkley)are the number one public universities in the country. Keep in mind that we are actually 15th, there are 14 private universities on the list before PSU. I found this out from the Penn State Newswire. I could have gone to a link to learn more, but what's the point?

Does it really matter that a majority of 17 year olds think that Penn State is a good school? Perhaps it does, but by the time current high school students get to Penn State, I'll be gone (hopefully) and their love for PSU won't affect me. And more importantly, what are their decisions based on...academics? I doubt that. When I was in high school, academics were of secondary importance. I choose my schools by how pretty the campus was and/or how much alcohol the student body could consume. This is why I choose Penn State, not because some random teenager thinks it's a good school.

I have more to say on this...but I'll have to do it later. I have to go to class at the number one public university in the country.*

*doesn't it sound so much better out of context?

2004-02-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

Instead of being productive last night, my roommates and I watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Great movie. What's better than watching Johnny Depp consume every drug conceivable to man while on a work assignment? Okay, so there may be better things or at least healthier more constructive things to do, but that's beside the point. The point is that on a boring, cold Tuesday night I suggest watching this movie. There really is no value to the movie, nor any touching heartfelt moments, but who wants to watch that anyway? Certainly not me, I'd rather watch a movie strictly about drugs and drinking any day of the week. So remember, "You can turn your back on a person, but, never turn your back on a drug. Especially when it's waving a razor-sharp hunting knife in your eye."

2004-02-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

I think I have a stomach ulcer. And since I absolutely love to eat (it’s one of my favorite pastimes) this is a very bad state of affairs. I have horrible stomach pain after I ingest anything. I can only eat the blandest foods imaginable; rice cakes, celery...you get the picture. And worst of all, I can't drink coffee, which is my life support and the only thing that makes me socially competent. Without caffeine I can't function, let alone attempt to make intelligent conversation. As you can see, this isn't conducive to my learning curve because without my energy source, I can't remember anything. I'm like a zombie. So until I go to the doctor, I apologize for my anti-social behavior.

2004-02-16T15:54:00.000-08:00

It's only 7pm right now, which means three more hours until the best half and hour of my day. Every Monday through Thursday at 11pm, I religiously watch the Daily Show on Comedy Central. The show mixes the best of both worlds, it’s entertaining and at the same time informative. Why bother to read the boring articles in the newspaper (i.e. election news) when I can tune into host Jon Stewarts hilarious political updates on the segments "Indecision 2004?"

Stewart and his crew of "reporters" investigate and inform the audience on everything subject imaginable, no matter how inane the topic is. Even viewers who despise politics find the show funny; just ask my friends I force them to watch it every night. The shows humor is a refreshing break from all of the other depressing and boring news on television. This blog took me five minutes that means T-minus 2 hours and 55 minutes until my day is complete.

2004-02-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Lessig’s Use of Paradox

On page 44 of Lawrence Lessig’s article “The Future of Ideas,” he uses the trope of paradox to illustrate the fundamental differences between the internet and the telephone network built by AT&T. Lessig writes, “One network [the AT&T network] is built to keep control of innovation; the other constitutionally renounces the right to control.” Here he is focusing on how these two networks have two extremely different viewpoints on copyright laws and innovation, and yet are forced to work together.

At the creation of the internet, AT&T had a monopoly on the telephone system and refused to allow any outside interference into their business. The implications of this caused to telephone network to develop and innovate more slowly because all new ideas had to originate from, and be approved by AT&T. This means that all new innovation outside of the company would be disregarded (e.g. The Hush-a-Phone).

On the contrary, the internet is a place where new ideas and innovation can be discussed and shared among users. The internet does not have the ability to discriminate between information; therefore anything can be posted and read. This leads to better ideas and solutions because there is no censorship on what can be discussed and ultimately implemented in society.

The paradox arises because these two networks must work together since the internet needs phone lines to operate. So how are two entities with such different ideas of copyrights and control supposed to work together? The partial solution to the problem lies in the government’s decision to end AT&T’s telecommunications monopoly, which Lessig goes on to explain in his article.

2004-02-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was watching television and came across an ABC show called Extreme Makeover. The entire premise is to take regular people who are unhappy with their appearance and give them excessive amounts of plastic surgery to change their look, and occasionally almost their entire body. Last nights episode followed three people through seven weeks of painful recovery after their operations. Granted, each individual looked a great deal better after the operations, but they also looked like completely different people.

I suppose for these people, plastic surgery appealed to them as a way to boost their confidence. And I have no problem with that; my problem is that the producers of the show make this extensive surgery (brow lifts, liposuction, breast augmentation, nose jobs, chin lifts, etc.) seem routine. They never address the possibility of complications and they only touch on the pain and recovery that the patient must endure. Has our society become so shallow and superficial that expensive, painful plastic surgery is now completely acceptable and even celebrated on national television?

2004-02-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

I have a serious blog deficit and I've made a pact with myself to write more, if not for my own well-being, then for the sake of my grade. But today is not the day to write anything of value...so here is yet another mindless story.

While we were talking about the Wienermobile in class today, I remembered a story one of my previous professors told me. She had just graduated college and decided to take a job driving the Wienermobile around the country promoting hot dogs. One day she and the person she worked with did something and the entire thing caught on fire. The fire completely destroyed everything and she had to go to court and explain what had happened so that insurance would have to pay and she wouldn't. Needless to say, the Oscar Meyer Company asked to never apply for another job in their company. Who knew driving a giant wiener could be so dangerous?

2004-02-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

The Power of the PSU Brand

I say blue, you say white. . . I say Penn State, you say brand! This cheer is different from the usual fan chanting, but is it a more accurate representation of what the Pennsylvania State University truly is? With this question in mind, the argument automatically arises that Penn State is a public university and in no way can it be a type of brand. And herein lies the beauty of Penn State as a brand; the university has the luxury of name recognition and corporate pull without seeming like a capitalistic enterprise attempting to make a profit. I contend that while Penn State is not a money hungry enterprise, it is necessary to recognize that the university does have corporate interests subsisting side-by-side with its educational responsibilities.

Before discussing Penn State as a brand, I must first define what Penn State is according to the university and its policy makers. The PSU brand is representative of a public university that strives to educate its more than 83,000 students, according to fall 2003 statistics. To paraphrase university president Graham Spanier, it is also representative of research productivity, stature of faculty, and of course education of students (http://www.psu.edu/ur/GSpanier/sou/sou2002.html). In fact, the PSU brand sounds similar to virtually every university in the country. However, there must be something that distinguishes Penn State from other schools, something unique about our brand. Perhaps it is our football team or its legendary coach, Joe Paterno. Or maybe Penn State appeals to so many people because it symbolizes tradition: a tradition of excellence in education, in athletics, and of course the tradition of being upper-middle class and white. The all-powerful appeal of a Happy Valley education projects an image in which every man, woman, and child can learn, prosper, and live in a house surrounded by the ubiquitous white picket fence.

The university and its tuition-paying student body promote and support this brand, either directly or indirectly through everyday actions. For example, every Saturday afternoon in the fall, students (past and present) come together wearing their finest blue and white paraphernalia to watch the almighty football team. To everyone in the stadium and to fans watching their television sets, Penn State represents a place where the current and next generations of leaders come together to support Old State.

But to the discerning spectator, the students and team are not as visible in comparison to the Jumbotron advertising ice cold Pepsi products or the numerous other advertisements located around the stadium and even on the players themselves. These product endorsements are no accident; they are the manifestations of Penn State’s corporate and economic savvy. Penn State is a quasi-corporation, in that the university’s businesspersons (their identity remains a mystery) forge million dollar contracts with well-known companies such as Pepsi, AT&T, Nike, and most recently Napster. These business deals are executed under a veil of secrecy and hidden beneath the façade of education, despite the university’s insistence that it “continually seeks to make information about its activities and services readily accessible to citizens of the Commonwealth” (http://www.budget.psu.edu/PublicAccount/default.asp).

What causes these deals to come to fruition? It can not be for educational purposes because being forced to drink Pepsi instead of Coke does not teach anything of value. In reality, it is the PSU brand and image that are the foundation for these deals. Corporations such as Nike want to be associated with Penn State (and other large universities) because to the general public, a university is a credible establishment meant to educate its students and to explore new ideas. Therefore, by association, PSU has the potential to make Nike credible. And, perhaps more importantly, the white Nike swoosh is aesthetically pleasing on PSU’s navy blue uniforms.

In all fairness, the university should not be portrayed as simply a capitalistic machine that disregards what is in the students’ best interests. If that were the case, Penn State would alienate everyone, from students and faculty to alumni and fans. The corporate contracts are beneficial in that they bolster Penn State’s name recognition, which is tremendously helpful in the job market and elsewhere. Also, these contracts create revenue for the university that in turn is used for educational purposes.

To understand the university’s policies in relation to corporate agreements, it is necessary to understand how the PSU brand affects the PSU image. In other words, does our brand translate into favorable or unfavorable publicity, and how does that publicity influence university decisions and policies? Like any brand, Penn State must be aware of how its market consumer reacts to the product. In this scenario, the consumer is the student and the product is an education represented in the form of a diploma.

To support the product and to satisfy the rhetoric of its mission statement, the university must use the gains from these corporate agreements, financial or otherwise, to improve students’ education. This can be done by improving educational facilities, hiring distinguished faculty, and/or participating in more scientific research, to name a few. However, the university must be careful not to jeopardize its brand and credibility by allowing capitalistic ventures to overshadow education. Penn State’s entire image risks undermining if it does not adhere to its primary goal of education.

The powerful brand image that pervades this university could be subverted if the student body becomes disillusioned by the university’s quest for corporate sponsors. The entire brand image may backfire, especially if academic courses begin to scrutinize both the Penn State brand and the administration’s insistence on maintaining, if not encouraging, corporate contracts.

In discussing Penn State as a brand, I do not intend to detract from the good that the university is capable of, nor do I believe that the university is solely responsible for its branding. Alumni, current students, and fans who support the brand by buying PSU products, giving money directly to the university, and a host of other ways all perpetuate the Penn State image and brand. Branding is not inherently good or bad; rather it is the consequences that emerge from branding the university that can be either beneficial or detrimental. Regardless of whether the Penn State brand supports or subverts the university’s interests, it is important to create discourse on the issue and to acknowledge that Penn State truly is a brand.

2004-02-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

While writing my paper today, it occured to me that fraternities and sororites are a type of brand within a brand. They are a division of the PSU brand. Many alumni, and other fans, relate to frats and sororities usually because they were a member of the same organization. A member of a frat or sorority can by virtually anything with his/her greek letters on it, just as a PSU student can by anything with "Penn State" written on it. Perhaps the only difference is that anyone can wear PSU on his clothing, even if he was never a student here, without running the risk of being shot.

2004-02-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Usually, I hold Graham Spanier responsible for everything bad that happens to me on this campus. For example, when my bursar account was $650 too much, I blamed Spanier rather than myself for not returning eight library books on time. But today, everything changed. For the second time in a week there were no classes. And frankly I couldn’t be happier. A snow day on a Friday….Hallelujah! God heard my prayers. Now hopefully he can motivate me to come up with an argument for our paper.

2004-02-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Every time I turn on the news this week, I hear the same old thing: Janet Jackson flashed her breast on national television during the super bowl. This earth-shattering story has taken the spotlight away from seemingly all other news. The war, the election, and ricin found in a senator's office no longer seem important in comparison with a two second glimpse of Ms. Jackson's breast.

The FCC has started an investigation to look in to the “wardrobe malfunction.” But is that necessary? What about the violence, sex, and vulgar language that abounds on television, the internet, and even real life? Perhaps the fiasco with Ms. Jackson is meant to serve as an example for other performers, but even so aren’t there more important issues to tackle? Apparently not.

2004-02-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

I just figured out that I have not used wiki at all. I thought I was doing it all along; but alas, it was only a regular blog. So Prof. Doyle, feel free to use me as an example of what not to do.

Today is a snow day, which I feel gives me a legitimate excuse to be absolutely lazy and unproductive. I am blogging today solely for my own edification and, more importantly, because I have to. I've been sitting here for 15 mins. and still I have nothing. It would be more educational to watch a road rules/real world challenge marathon rather than to read this. Sorry...

2004-02-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

While looking over Magnatunes website (http://magnatune.com/), I saw a header that said "Internet music without the guilt." Very interesting. Magnatunes champions itself as an open music record label, which means that the user can download music and somehow, I don't know how, the record label and the artists spilt the profits. Sounds like a good idea, but that is beside the point. My concern is their slogan about guilt. I don’t feel guilty downloading music. To me it isn’t even an issue, I just do it. I’m not suggesting that just because I don’t have any moral reservations about downloading that that makes it okay or acceptable. But nevertheless, I feel no guilt.

This brings me to a related point. In Thomas Goetz’s article “The Eagle Is Grounded,” (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.02/start.html?pg=2?tw=wn_tophead_5#) he supports his argument (that the US is driving intellectual property offshore because of our increasingly severe copyright laws) by comparing the industrial age to the information age. He suggests that the older generation, the industrial age, is determined to copyright intellectual property, while those of the information age see the benefits of more lax copyright laws.

I think he brings up a good point in that as a product of the information age, I am used to freely exchanging information via the internet. The idea of copyrights seems foreign and impractical when it comes to certain aspects of the internet. For example, it is unrealistic for me to believe that I have ownership over what I post on my blog. Isn’t a blog by definition something that is meant to be shared and read by others, sometimes without giving credit to the original blogger?

I’m not suggesting that everyone plagiarize, but isn’t there a gray area or middle ground between stealing someone else’s work and copyrighting virtually everything we can get our hands on? And if we disregard copyrights, either intentionally or unintentionally, should we feel guilty? Because if that is the case, why bother using the internet at all. Wouldn’t everyone feel insanely guilty all the time?

2004-01-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Blogging on a Friday afternoon should be outlawed. By the end of the week, I am exhausted, disgusted, and frustrated by my classes all at the same time, and all I want to do is focus all of my energy on drinking and sleeping. Now say what you will, but this pattern of behavior has worked like a charm for 2 1/2 years and I count on it working until graduation.

So, now that I've made my feelings clear, I have nothing intelligent or worthwhile to say. I could blog on any number of issues, but that would require me to think and analyze on a level that I am incapable of right now. So for those of you who read this blog looking for some insight, all I can say is check back on Sunday evening. But even then, I'm not making any guarantees....it all depends how the weekend goes.

2004-01-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

I'm double blogging today, because I forgot to do it yesterday - my fault. Anyway, the only thing I can think to write about is the PSU student magazine Phroth. It has, by far, some of the funniest articles I have ever read. If you haven't gotten a copy, you should, it’s ingenious. Unless of course you are in a frat or sorority, in that case you may find it a wee-bit offensive.

I'm sure the articles wouldn't be nearly as funny if I weren't a PSU student. But the writers obviously know their audience and their school, because they focus their brand of sarcastic wit on things that most students here can appreciate. To give you just a taste, one fictitious article was entitled “Elf-like Man Attacks Tri-Delt.” Hilarious! This magazine is comic gold; a literary masterpiece for PSU students.

2004-01-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

As I was reading the university’s mission statement and attempting to relate it to my own experience at Penn State, it dawned on me that while the university does “promote human and economic development,” it also promotes corporate interests and name recognition in a number of ways. This is a public university (because it receives money from the state), but it seems as if Old State has many private interests. By that I mean, PSU seems to have no qualms whatsoever when forging new deals with multi-national corporations (e.g. Pepsi, Napster, AT&T, etc.).

Perhaps I am not giving Penn State enough credit, because on the same mission statement it also states that the university “engages in collaborative activities with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners here and abroad to disseminate and apply knowledge.” Perhaps the writers of the mission statement should emphasize the word industrial, that way it would be a better reflection of what PSU truly is. I wonder how that the multimillion dollar contract between Pepsi and PSU allows me to disseminate and apply knowledge?

After three years here, I have come to the realization that Penn State is the ultimate brand. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since after graduation name recognition is incredibly helpful especially in the job market. However, consumers, namely Penn State fans, can purchase virtually anything imaginable with the PSU name and/or logo on it. Next time you walk through the bookstore downtown take a look at all of the useless stuff people will buy simply because it has Penn State written on it. I’ve even seen Nittany Lion Cereal in SBS.

Unlike other brands, such as clothing companies, Penn State will be something that we, as graduates, will carry with us for the rest of our lives. It is inescapable. Other brands may become unfashionable and fad away, but Penn State will be with us forever. Although I have to admit, I’d rather support a brand name that gives me a quality education and hopefully the means to a fulfilling life, rather than a brand name that does essentially nothing except sell a product.

2004-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

While reading about the black vernacular for another English class, it occurred to me that the rhetoric of the web has created its own vernacular. By this I simply mean that the terms and ideas that the internet has created are primarily oral. Granted, there are places where the terms and concepts or digital rhetoric are explained, but far more often, this relatively new jargon of the internet is simply exchanged between people without any explanation or definition.

For example, words such as blog or wiki are used quite frequently but there is rarely an explanation as to what these things are. This illustrates how accustomed our culture has become to technology; most people no longer need an explanation because they are familiar with these terms through their everyday lives. However, this vernacular is by no means universal. Take for instance a non-industrialized country. To those who live there, the vernacular of the internet has no meaning, it is simply just words with no value; no relevance in daily life.

2004-01-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

While analyzing the arguments surrounding the Napster agreement with Penn State, I find myself see-sawing between two schools of thought. The first is that this agreement will finally reduce peer-to-peer file sharing on University campuses; the second, that Napster is not an adequate solution to Penn State’s needs. I see the benefits of encouraging legal music sharing and also the downfalls of our own Napster deal, which causes me to wonder if there is yet another viable solution to this problem.
The Napster agreement is touted as a free yet legal source of music downloads. Penn State students living on campus can use Napster to access limited music streams, which means that while they can not download songs, they can listen to songs on their computers whenever they want. For $1, they can download and save a song.
In theory, the agreement sounds like a great idea, a revolution for the music industry., but in practice, this solution falls short. My first grievance with the deal is that contrary to Napster president Mike Babel’s belief that the program “will meet the needs of students” (Wired.com), it will not. The agreement is a closed process, in that only students at University Park living in the dorms who own non-Macs can use it, although sometime in the near future students at branch campuses and off-campus will also have access. But for now, those who live off-campus are out of luck when it comes to the Napster deal. My second complaint is that using Napster is not technically free; rather, Penn State receives a drastically reduced subscription fee. Each student pays $10 from his $(insert here how much the entire I&T fee is for a student) information and technology fee, which I assume includes me, even though I do not use Napster. Although I have probably overlooked other flaws in this system, the breaking point is that Napster offers only 500,000 songs. This may seem like a large selection, but in the grand scheme of modern recorded music, this is a miniscule number of songs.
The only issue surrounding the topic that is no longer problematic is the University’s liability, now seemingly non-existent since the Napster deal has been initiated. As long as Penn State is paying Napster, it is not a crime for on-campus students to have access to a specific library of songs. The University has ensured that it will not be held responsible if students are caught illegally downloading music.
There are many other unanswered questions and concerns relating to the Napster deal. For instance, how do on-campus students feel about this arrangement, since it is their only option now that the university has installed a firewall and locked out alternative music sources such as Kazaa. Also, how long is Penn State contractually obligated to use Napster? If students and faculty are wholly unsatisfied with the deal, can Penn State cancel it? This deal has the potential to become another example of Penn State’s branding by large corporations such as Pepsi and AT&T. In spite of my desire to use another music downloading site, I’m forced to use Napster. This seems all too familiar, like wanting to buy a Coke and being forced to drink Pepsi. If I pay tuition and the info and tech fee, shouldn’t I be allowed to choose which site I use to download my music?
My final question: is the Napster deal a great innovation for the future of music sharing, or is the record industry banking on some unobtainable goal where everyone who downloads music actually pays for the songs? I find flaws with both of these stances and undoubtedly there is a third solution. However, the entire concept of peer-to-peer file sharing is relatively new, and I am sure that there are compromises and new ideas that will eventually surface to truly revolutionize how people listen to and purchase music. But until that day arrives, I question the arguments and solutions that surround the issue of music file sharing.

Here are my sources:

http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,61093,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/01/13/penn.state.napster.ap/

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/4873.cfm

http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5103918.html?tag=techdirt

2004-01-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

2004-01-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest, this is my first blog ever and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I didn't even know that blogs existed until last week; this class is uncovering a whole new universe for me. It's acutally quite embarrassing that I am supposed to be a product of the information age, yet I never knew about blogs or wikis or anything else associated with the internet. I don't know if this counts for one of my five mandatory blog days, I'm just trying to figure all of this out so that I can actually complete my assignments.