Week Eight: Celebrities

As those familiar with my blogs would know, I like to interpret a sports theme when discussing the many areas of Globalisation, and in this particular blog I will be discussing the similarities and differences between the celebrities of the sports world, both localised to Australia, and the superstars of the international scene.

Take LeBron James from the NBA club, The Miami Heat. He is arguably the most famous sports person in the world and earned $53 million dollars from June 2011 to June 2012. And only $13 million of that was from basketball. What can be taken from these figures is that whilst LeBron is the best at what he does, the real money is made from his celebrity profile, what he does outside basketball, and his endorsements that gain him a worldwide profile, and the big bucks.

Whilst back home in Australia, to most people, Gary Ablett Junior is a household name, and the best player in the AFL, he is virtually unknown outside the country, and carries about 1/100th of the profile that LeBron James does. The shameless world of endorsements for money and is not as prevelant in sports celebrities in Australia as it is in the United States, but in saying that, its probably because the money isnt there to support it.

The sports celebrity world seems very enticing and a great life to be apart of, and the varying scales of such celebrities carry pros and cons depending on how you view the life each individual leads.

Week Seven: Narrowcasting and Broadcasting

With all the forms of television shows, to news programs, YouTube, podcasts and Viddy clips, just to name a few, it would be easy to categorize and define the whole lot as broadcasting, as it is a way for people to share information, with a broad way of audiences, but this is not always correct.

Broadcasting is defined as "to transmit programs of signals from a radio or television station, or to make something widely known disseminate something" (Naficy, 2003).

Broadcasting is a well known term, and up until a few weeks ago, thought that it was the only term for videos and other communication pieces when they were presented to the public, but apparently not.

Narrowcasting is "to aim a program or programming at a specific, limited audience or sales market." (Naficy, 2003).

The concept of Narrowcasting is still new to me, but makes sense when dealing with messages that are not intended for everyone and nor do they interest everyone.

A current example of narrowcasting is with the Fox Footy Channel available on Foxtel in Australia, they broadcast games every week to the subscribers of the channel, but then narrowcast specific shows to limited audiences, such as 'The Club' which focused solely around the Collingwood Football Club, which would not interest other subscribers.

YouTube is an interesting example of the word "Broadcast." It features in their logo, but are the users really broadcasting themselves? I tend to think not. If for example, someone uploads a video of a Whale, only people who are interested in searching for whales will view it, so its more Narrowcasting.

Reference:
Naficy, H 2003, ‘Narrowcasting in diaspora: Middle Eastern television in Los Angeles’, The media of diaspora 2003, Routledge, London , pp. 51-62

Week Six: Twittersphere and Networked Society

As technology changes, so does the way we as a society communicate and interact with one another. And as technology becomes accepted and more used in society, the regular means of conversation that have served humanity well for so long, have become basically extinct. So with the addition of new media, is the world getting closer to a Global Village that many have predicted will someday be reached?

As the online Oxford Dictionary defines it, the Twittersphere is "postings made on the social networking site Twitter". And for those of you who need more explanation, Twitter is a social networking site where users can follow and 'tweet' each other various thoughts and happenings in their lives. Very exciting stuff.

The concept of interaction and new media has changed the way many see what was known as the public sphere. "The internet calls for a redefinition of the public sphere" (Anderson, 1999). As the ever evolving world of the internet continues to open new doors for communications, the terms and outdated lingo that once defined the public sphere and the ideal methods of communication need to evolve with it.
Anderson here is contending that the internet continues to redefine social media, and how todays world is communicating is different to that of yesteryear.

Tying into the theme of Globalisation, the new public sphere involving the internet and other new age technologies are not available world wide and are not allowed by countries such as China. So whilst the Twittersphere or Bloggasphere has changed the way many communicate and will continue to do so, the idea of a global village, where the world feels "one big emotion" (McLuhan, 1969) is not realistic as of 2012, although we are continuing to head that way.

Reference: 

Anderson, JW 1999, ‘The internet and Islam’s new interpreters’, New media in the Muslim world :the emerging public sphere 1999, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, pp. 41-56

McLuhan, M 1969, Extract from the ‘Interview with Eric Norden’, Playboy,

March, pp. 53–62, 64–6, 68, 70, 72, 74, 158.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Twittersphere

Week Five: Culture: My Contribution

 "What constitutes 'Our Nation'?" (Sun, 2002).

I am an Australian, born and bred here, as was many generations of both sides of my family before me. But just because I am Australian by heritage, does that mean I must display the cultural norms? And how do these norms affect the way we should go about our everyday lives?

The stereotypical "Australian", is one who drinks cold beer, speaks with an occa tone and cooks a mean barbie. This is not me, but I know I am still Australian.

Personally, there are a lot of traditional Australian customs that I feel I use in a part of my everyday life, such as being an active sports lover and follower, also supporting local Australian film is a passion of mine.

Last trimester, I studied Contemporary Australian Film, this was a subject that interested me greatly, as Australian film making has always been something I enjoy researching and watching. This unit explored the different areas of Australian film, from production to funding, and it was certainly different to how I thought the Australian film industry worked. There is very little glitz and glamour like we see in the bright lights of Hollywood, there is a dogged feel to it, a hard nosed underground vibe which sees the quality of movies produced often just as good, but never shown the light of day. So as I support this medium of Aussie interpretation, I feel that I am contributing to a healthy and growing culture within our nation.

Being Australian, or any nationality for that matter, cannot just be put down to a few customs and you are classified as part of that culture. There are so many aspects and elements of being Australian, and the varying influences on a  persons life make it impossible for someone to be a fully fledged Aussie, as some peoples perceptions are totally different to others.

Reference:
Sun, W 2002, ‘Fantasizing the homeland: the internet, memory, and exilic longings’, Leaving China: media, migration, and transnational imagination 2002, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, pp. 113-136