Online Presence - My Thoughts and Personal Review

Online Presence - Good or Bad?

The more technology advances, the more people have to try to the best of their abilities to advance with it. It's almost unsafe to think that without an Internet presence people are less in harm's way - in fact, in our society today, each individual should have some sort of online base. This could vary between Facebook, Blogger, Twitter and the variety of other accounts being used, but it all comes down to one thing; it's almost necessary to have an entity in social media. Of course, as with anything, there are pros and cons. Without an account in any of these forms, you are very vulnerable. An online presence solidifies the second life we live, as it seems we have two existences. Identity theft is really quite easy when the web page people view is comprised of pictures and words only, and if someone knew of another person without a Facebook account, let's say, they could easily pretend to be them. However, removing oneself from social media can also have many benefits. Numerous people make mistakes every day, thinking that what they write on the web will be private forever, when in reality it will not. An increasing number of employers base who they hire on whether the person in question is respectable, honest and doesn't commit any illegalities - and it seems that people are very honest online, so why not check their social media profiles? Some view it as too much of a chance to take to bother with them. Another huge factor is popularity, the nightmare of many, many people.

As aforementioned, a 21st century human in our society has two entities - the online and the physical. Without the internet-connected one, the real one can suffer.  The web can be a fantastic tool to connect people and to start discussions, to push ideas forward, like through blogging. Those who choose not to participate can fall victim to the exclusion from many events and conversations, because if they aren't connected they cannot see the invitation or discussion. Unfortunately many people don't bother enlightening the internet-free beings because they were simply, "not there." Let's not even mention the constant competition for getting comments and "likes" on Facebook. Now, it seems that there is a new giant, Klout, coming along to further squash those who keep to themselves online. Its principle is to give points out of one hundred to each person online - the more you have, the more so-called influence you have. The problem is, this can become just another popularity competition - and this one is based on an algorithm, not even human opinion.

                                                                 

The donation of these Klout points is based on the amount of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter, the amount of times a person posts, the response these posts generate, and more. Having a low score is often enough to spur the competitive nature in anyone, and the method to raising it can be quite simple - add more friends, post more posts. The more friends a person adds, the less online privacy they have, and depending on what information they release, the more these seemingly random people will know. Once upon a time, the village knew everything everyone was doing, but now the neighbourhood has expanded to surround the planet and the information leaks are self-induced. Obviously posting an increasing number of updates will expose even more information, and if a person isn't careful, some that could get back to their future employer, family, or others they won't want to expose it to. Employers also seem to be falling into the Klout trap as well, basing who they hire on the higher Klout score. What they seem to fail to realize is that this number is based on an algorithm, not a human opinion. Even marks at school have a human judging them, but Klout cannot take the time to do this. There could be people with very low scores doing work forming real human connections in the world, so they don't necessarily have time to spend online. It's the human connections that should be evaluated, shouldn't it? In Wired.com's article, What Your Klout Score Really Means, Sam Fiorella wasn't hired because of this. (Read article here.) Also, each score depends on the kind of activity a person is doing. Someone who "likes" a lot of pages but posts very little can have an equal Klout score to somebody who does the opposite.

What happened to our own judgement? People should not be reduced to a number by a computer, they should be evaluated in person. Just because someone posts more obnoxious posts and adds as many people as they can on their social media pages does not mean they are more competent in public relations. Such a thing can be observed through personal interaction. The trick is to keep the level of online activity consistent with the real-world activity, so that a person can establish themselves in both realms to further their chances.


My Personal Online Experience

Somehow I achieved a Klout score of 48, which was actually quite shocking, considering I think it's such a waste of energy...and resources, based on the prizes that are given out to high "achievers." I also pushed my blog out to a variety of places, so a diverse range of people could read it. I posted it on Facebook several times as well as the Blogger Facebook page, and this generated a response - in total I have had 375 pageviews from many countries. Most of them are from Canada, but I've had readers from Australia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico and the US.

Having so many different people read my blog has caused me to be more careful about what I write about. I'm a fairly private person, so only my opinions go onto the page, no facts about my life, and nothing indicating who I am. I'm not really blogging to be known. Without showing myself to my audience I could create a better opinion and I feel like I wrote the articles more bluntly than I would have otherwise. I like to be honest in my writing, and blogging is the perfect media to do so. Knowing all these other people have read what I wrote also pushed me to write well. I'd never just post something half-hearted because I wouldn't want someone who doesn't know me to think the writer of the blog doesn't care.

My personal passion is music, and so I wrote on this subject, but I also have many random thoughts that pop into my head on a, well, regular basis, so it was fun to write those down and get the full idea out. I also get angry a lot, so blogging can be a little bit of an outlet as well. I may put out the occasional blog entry from now on because of this, but only when I have time between my other priorities.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure about blogging when it was brought up in class, but I have to say I've thoroughly enjoyed this unit. Without proper exposure to technology, students cannot learn. In a classroom environment where we are taught the basics there is some guidance, and if we choose, we can stem off of this outside of school. I still think, however, that school should not just be comprised of technology. Computers aren't always reliable, and although handy, cannot beat a human. People now seem to have a dependence on technology and many are incapable of doing mental math, using a dictionary or encyclopedia, and even handwriting. These are skills that have been founded for many generations and all throughout out primary school lives, we shouldn't rid ourselves of them and start depending on computers.

Youth already have quite a good grasp on the advancements of the 21st century, and I personally think only guidance should be provided with technology, like this blogging. Computer science courses are available for those who want to go further, and I really can't say I'd ever want to write an assignment on my phone...ugh. School is all about learning, so the opportunities should be there, but nothing should impede our gathering of knowledge. The internet is a huge distraction, I can't lie about that.

The Fury of the Human Condition

Human emotion is a complicated concept - various factors contribute to the way people feel, and each human has a different prevalence of each sort of feeling. But if the sentiment that is the most apparent in the human race were to be named, what would it be? It seems that we all gravitate to anger to deal with our issues and express other emotions, and this can be detrimental to interactions.

What do we like to watch on television? Chaos. The most damage the better, as some hockey fans would say. No sport would hire enforcers to do the dirty work and take out other players if there wasn't money behind it, driving the action. Of course, this money can only come from fans and who enjoy seeing other people get hurt - and punished, as some would see it. That being said, the sport can be enjoyed by people uninterested in the violence, but if hitting were to be taken away would there still be the same fan base? This isn't about hockey, though. Think about all the reality television shows that we subject ourselves to, and what the people on them do. All we ever see of their interactions are the arguments, the bitter fights between contestants and characters. There is always someone pitted against another, or else it wouldn't be as entertaining to watch. The same applies to fictional television series. In drama, the characters have to be angry with one another, and even in comedy, some of the funniest scenes are just simply, people raging.

Funnily enough, aren't we always told, "Don't worry, be happy"? Everyone is always rhyming off some quote from a well known author essentially saying the same thing; you have to be happy, or else life isn't complete. Then we turn on our televisions to watch that one movie with the great fight scene. How are humans expected to be happy when the pressure for drama is so strong? Some people cannot exist without an ongoing fight, whether in their lives or through others'. This goes beyond catharsis and the relieving of emotions - it's as though we feel our emotions, for lack of better terminology, need to turn into a mountain from a molehill. In connection with blogging, the funniest and most direct posts have a firm background in fury. 

You never see anyone totally pleased when what they're reading praises something. There is always something wrong with someone else, something else, and that is that. It's engrained into our minds that chaos, redemption, revenge and outbursts of rage are the best way to use our energy, when we could be productive through our other emotions. The reality is, the product is never as pure as when we aren't angry. Art is fresher, more raw, music is more relatable, and our speech is much more passionate. It's not very often a speaker goes onstage to inform other of a happy-go-lucky situation is it? There is a tendency for these speeches to be about something that needs to change, and that's likely infuriating the advocate. Take Invisible Children, for example, an organization that is currently working on a campaign. They aren't saying, "the world is a good place, be happy," they're saying, "the state of the world is in disrepair and it makes us mad, so we have to help!"

Fortunately, they are attempting to help, an example of beneficial anger. Anger can be used productively if we can harness it correctly, it's not as though our very nature is going to change. People can't help this emotion overruling all the others, and since there's nothing that can be done about it, rage on, humans, rage on.

Alanis Morissette produced an amazing song, "You Oughta Know," and it's fairly obvious that she was furious when she wrote it.

Lana Del Rey's Lyric Failures.

Why is it that when you find a really lovely sounding artist with a great hook, nice harmonies and tune, you then find out that their lyrics are mind-numbingly stupid? Might I add, that isn't a word I use without being able to justify it one hundred percent. One would think that if an artist has time and energy, not to mention dedication, to create a full album, they would be at least able to write a somewhat decent string of words to attach to the melody. (Rebecca Black is exempt from all of this.) I can't even begin to describe how unnerving it is to start to hum along with the tune and then realise what I'm accompanying is actually saying, "Swimming pool, glimmering darling, wipe bikini off with my red nail polish, watch me in the swimming pool, bright blue ripples, you, sittin' sippin' on your black crystal, oh yeah." (Off to the Races)

Lana Del Rey might have a nice voice and and interesting take on pop, but no one can sing that without sounding beyond ridiculous. She seems like she's making an attempt at sounding like a high-class gangster girlfriend, but she is quite unsuccessful. In fact, she sounds more like one of those desperate women who is constantly tipsy and always seducing men in her state of intoxication..and then tripping and falling on her 6 inch stiletto heels. With all of this going through my head when I hear her, how am I meant to find the beauty in her music? It's distracting having such an image overshadowing the sounds, and the image is solidified every time she adds another "darling" into the verse! Lana, you are neither a grandmother nor from the midwest, so please refrain.

You are not a gangster. Please, stop trying so
hard to sound like one.

Sadly, it isn't just exemplified in 'Off to the Races', it's in all of her songs. Who in their right mind would say, "you're so fresh to death and sick as cancer"? She seems to find it appropriate in 'Blue Jeans'. 'Diet Mountain Dew' brings back the false gangster chick element when she asks her lover to, "Hit me and tell me you're mine, I don't know why but I like it. Scary, my god you're divine, gimme them dope and diamonds." Actually, she is a self-proclaimed gangsta Nancy Sinatra, which I must say are hard shoes to fill. Or should I say boots, as apparently Nancy's boots are made for walkin'...although Lana's haven't gotten to that stage quite yet. If I could make a prediction, I would say that Lana will never have a hit like that - but I could be wrong, she might impress me the next album, it's only her first after all. At this rate though, that's unlikely. As she's said, "money is the anthem of success," (National Anthem) another brilliant line, and as long as she's raking in the big bucks I honestly don't believe she'll feel the need to improve. Oh wait, she's already basically backed that point up! To the sweet little tune of 'Radio', she whispers, "now my life is sweet like cinnamon, like a f*cking dream I'm living in, baby loves me 'cause I'm playing on the radio." Just a note, Ms. Del Rey, cinnamon isn't sweet and if you don't have another word to fill in the time, use something other than an expletive, it doesn't really help get the point across. Oops, pardon me, there is no point to the song anyway.

If you feel like having a laugh, here are her lyrics:

http://www.elyrics.net/song/l/lana-del-rey-lyrics.html

She does have some nice tunes though, so at least give her a shot when you don't have to pay too much attention to what she is saying. I found her particularly pleasing to listen to while writing my Macbeth essay because the lyrics are the farthest degradation from Old English as possible - they don't clutter my mind.

Jack White's Blunderbuss a Big Success

With Jack White's release of his latest album, Blunderbuss, out yesterday, it can only be expected that there will be mixed reviews. The White Stripes fans will mourn the death of their beloved band, but there will also be some that can embrace the change - because there's definitely some change going on in this album. Maybe Jack parting ways with Meg brought out a different side of his music that hasn't been heard before? The product is certainly a wonderful creation.

Jack has always had this creative take on music that people can seldom achieve without sounding forced. It's almost as though the words just somehow escape from his soul and out of his mouth, forming a genre that is rooted deep in rock but borderlines punk through his searing vocals. If you recall the Blue Orchid days, you can hear his voice strained and high, seemingly as if he's being punched in the gut..but yet the result is this curious, beautiful note.

This, minus the heaving beating drum of Meg and the signature White Stripes guitars, is carried on into the new album, specifically through his first single, Love Interruption. As he sings, “I want love, to roll me over slowly, stick a knife inside me, twist it all around," his words are coated in this layer of pain and desire, something he'd been getting very, very good at for the past decade with Meg. The difference is, this time it seems even more pure and unabashed.
 Even the most guitar and drum-heavy songs on the album seem more purely concentrated and less angry, namely Sixteen Saltines. White is evidently going for a Stripes sound, but without sounding so similar to his former band that people expect only that of him. The most intense songs, like Freedom at 21, also sound Stripes-like, but there is also an original rock, Led Zeppelin intonation.

In actuality, Blunderbuss has songs that range from a twangy, western feel, to a soft blues..with an edge, of course. There are several ballad-like pieces as well, rounding out this track. (Check out Hip Poor Boy and I Guess I Should Go to Sleep.) However, there's always a harsher stroke on the guitar or heavier accent on a particular instrument all throughout the album, that keeps it tuned to his voice. 

Jack even has two bands two play with him, hand picked from the most talented musicians around. Depending on the night of his show, he chooses between his all-female band or his all-male band, to tie together his vocals for that night. Listen to Love Interruption again, and you will find Ruby Amanfu and the squad of musical women complementing him perfectly. If there's one thing this man doesn't lack, it's taste.  

However you view the Stripes, this record is one to look at in an altogether different light - it's fresh, it's inspired, and it's brilliantly done. 

Also, take a look at the RollingStone review at: 

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/blunderbuss-20120424

     

Let me clear things up, before I officially blog..

The internet and technology have sort of invaded our lives during the past decade - for some, unobtrusively, but for others, quite invasively. They're the biggest tools to finding information and connecting with others via social media, (like this particular blog...) but there are some cons that we inadvertently run into along the way. Internet lingo? Not cool. Of course everything has its own brand of language to accompany it, like math and science and law and whatnot, but does the language of technology really have to chopped in half and mashed together and served on a plate of utter crap? Because that's how far too many people write, to be blunt. Let me provide an example:

I quote: "sry cant lol i got2b home tmrw rly soon cuz i have a sht ton of hmwk to do bro"

See? That's messed up, when you think about it. Most of the words are halved, the vowels are taken out and numbers are inserted instead of the words that sound like them. It especially seems ridiculous since our keyboards are about 18 x 7 inches. We can definitely strain our fingers those extra few millimetres to reach these other excluded letter keys. So much effort, people, it's overwhelming... 

Here are a few of my favourite abbreviations and acronyms.


Pree, Aight, Thru, K

Not the most interesting examples of word slaying, but they prove the point. Pree is only 2 letters less than pretty, as is aight to alright, thru is 3 less, and K is one less letter from being OK. The effort! Gah.

2B or not 2B

So you've decided to to be contemplative? Well, why not shorten your thoughts while thinking, I mean, typing in the extra letters would take away from your time reflecting the meaning of life. Shakespeare would be so proud to see you using such fine English skills, you're on the road to becoming the next world class poet! Seriously, if you can't convey your point in full language, please abstain from taking on the world of philosophy.

ILY,  FU/4Q

Feeling sentimental? A little emotional? Well let's express that emotion in short forms! Imagine how happy your lover will be when they see you have sent them a text expressing your love to them, in only three letters! Shows commitment to the love. Of course, you'd seem so angry when you tell someone "f**k you" with FU or 4Q. 4Q...Four q...fork you.. I'd be so threatened, if I were them. Forking doesn't seem like a very nice way to go.

LOL....or loooooool or lolololol.

I admit, LOL is perfectly fine in my books if used sparingly, and if you're actually laughing somewhat. "Laugh out loud," sure. But "laugh out out out out out out loud," and "laugh out laugh out laugh out laugh out laugh out loud" sound stupid, admit it! Because that's what you're saying when you draw LOL out.

PTPOP.

Next, OMGROFLMAO (oh my god rolling on the floor laughing my arse off) can just be turned into LOL, all those extra bits almost make up for the lack of letters used in all the real words.

And of course, PTPOP...

You can't forget Pat the Pissed Off Primate! 

Anyways, there is my shortlist. The point of this whole spiel is that I promise I will never, ever, ever, ever annoy my lovely blog viewers with this horror. Unless at knifepoint, in which case I may give in.

The Fifth Element

On the scale of 1 to the Matrix, The Fifth Element probably scores around a 7 in terms of science fiction movies. The special effects aren't beautiful, and neither is the plot, but it could still pass as a decent movie. First you have to look past the clichéd themes and not-so-original saving the world concept, though. The basic idea of the film is that the world will, in simple terms, be invaded by a blob of evil every 5000 years, and that the only way to save it is to gather together four stones. These stones represent the classical elements: earth, wind, fire and water, and a mysterious fifth element has to join the equation. Sound predictable yet? Well it will when the alien guardians of these stones fall prey to another strange-looking race of extraterrestrials, leaving only the hand of the fifth element behind. The technology of this 23rd century setting then reanimates the hand into a whole being, Leeloo, who is the key to saving the planet...until she runs away. Evidently, there must be a hero that saves her, enter Korben Dallas the ex-military taxi driver. Conveniently, she falls through the roof of his cab.

The problem with science fiction movies is that they have to have a very believable plot to be enjoyable. Almost anything can be crammed into one of these films to be passed as truth, because there really isn't a limit as far as what can be done. It's fiction, right? So the writers might as well take as many crazy ideas and coincidences and put them all into one piece. Well, The Fifth Element goes a tad overboard. There aren't any thought-provoking theories and certainly no themes that create questions, only flying cars, spaceship enterprises and technology for every thinkable function. If there was ever a problem, the film creators could have written their way out of the mess because at this point, anything would seem to fit in. There are no real laws to the world of The Fifth Element. For example, when the military agents come into Korben Dallas' home for the purpose of asking him if he would go on a mission for them, and Leeloo shows up at the door, a very convenient fridge appears that happens to fit all three personnel. Moments later, when the police show up, an elevator-shower and a bed that slides into the wall are there to hide Leeloo and Cornelius. Leeloo even learns English in the space of a few hours!

Milla Jovovich does surprisingly well, however, when paired with such a plot. She presents Leeloo flawlessly as a very displaced and overwhelmed superbeing. Whereas a lot of actors could have made her seem invincible and overly powerful, Milla keeps her realistic and easy to identify with. Other than the minor discrepancy that is her unbelievably quick learning, she seems human. Of course she has to be wearing only bandages in the first scenes, (it wouldn't be a popular movie without some nudity) but this can only add to her vulnerability, and she even masters a nonexistent language and makes it sound real.

Bruce Willis also does a very good job with his role as Dallas. He comes across very well as a guy that's been in the wrong place at the wrong time and has to deal with it. His life is sinking further and further into the depths of despair, and having Leeloo fall through his car roof just adds to his frustration, until he sees who he's dealing with. Then he becomes increasingly heroic, after being chased by the police and saving her multiple times. This is a difficult role to play, but Willis does it subtly, rather than screaming, "Look at me! I'm saving the world!"

Even the bad guys deserve some respect, and Gary Oldman comes across just as despicable as he should to be Zorg. His voice can make skin crawl as he drones on and on so nonchalantly about the imminent destruction of the Earth with his awful southern accent. And let's not mention his hair cut. Greasy, asymmetrical and half plastic, the costume designers deserve some credit. Humans are naturally attracted to symmetry, so his different halves seem all the more repulsive.

It's mostly the actors that save the movie, despite the theme being "love will save the world." They seem to hold together the fraying plot by becoming their characters, believing the world they are living in. And although there is a level of predictability, not just anyone could invent a story, produce a movie and have success. There are some creative ideas, even though they are oftentimes not well presented, and in this case it can be the thought that counts. As far as sci-fi goes, The Fifth Element did pretty well. If not anything else, it's certainly memorable, and that's what's important.