Media Consumption: Clean, Simple Designs & New Technology

There are several different ways one can consume media today. Our television watching experience has become more diversified. However, one of my favorite experiences is watching movies at a drive-in. For an entire list of drive-in theaters in the United States you can check out a great site called Drive-ins and Drive-in Movies. 

Technology is expanding and shrinking at once. The more advanced the technology, the smaller in size it becomes. The best example is the smart phone.  

Now, this all relates to how we consume media because we seem to find it fascinating to watch and read everything on a screen that is the size of a tablet or smart phone. The fact that high technology has shrunk shows the need for lighter and less cumbersome designs. This is why I feel certain products have done better than others.

Simple, easy to use and user friendly designs seem to have an easier ability to sell itself than more complex designs where the product comes with a training manual that makes “War and Peace” look like a quick read, a short entertainment novel you take with you to the beach. All products seem to follow this common thread of what users want. Take the car industry where Toyota’s are one of the most popular vehicles not just because of their reliability, but because of the Toyota design. The Chicago Tribune wrote a recent article relating to Toyota's Camry 2012 design. In the article you can find words like: "edgier," "minimal," and that, "Toyota's designers got it right when they added covers to the Camry's multiple storage compartments, making it easy for the car's interior to look clean and clutter-free." The designs of most Toyota’s are simple, modern, and clean; I own a Prius and it is the one thing that I enjoy about it. To start the car, you push a button. To get to a place, you use the navigator and it takes you anywhere you need. If you are being robbed or attacked, you can push a panic button on the roof of the car and it calls the cops for you. The car let’s the cops know where you are located. I know because I accidentally pushed the button once and two cop cars showed up within minutes.

Most blue-ray players now come with Netflix, Hulu Plus and other video viewing applications which allows you to hook up your blue ray player, sign in to your Hulu plus account, Netflix, Blockbuster online, YouTube, and others. We can also go to our apple store on our iPhone’s or other smart phones, buy or download a free video application widget. In yesterday's CNN online "technology" article The 10 biggest stories of 2011 in mobile tech stated it best:  

This year's U.S. debut of Spotify -- along with new and updated mobile streaming music and video services from Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple, Netflix, Hulu and video chat/calling services like Google Plus hangouts -- are helping to fuel the demand for streaming mobile media. And behind the scenes,  technology from companies like MobiTV are helping streaming video consumers seamlessly shift their viewing experience from one device to another.

The iPhone's still do not play flash movies. When I tried accessing a video from my Amazon video library, it wouldn’t play on my iPhone because it doesn’t run flash. I tried buying or putting flash capabilities on my iPhone but it still wouldn’t play. Other than this minor annoyance, our society today has evolved into numerous methods of television and film consumption. However, I think that like some of the new blue-ray players, easy access and simple designs is what most consumers are looking for today. 

Though, just as technology has evolved so has our theater watching experience. I love drive-in theaters during the summer months and for the grueling cold winters, treating yourself to an IMAX film will not be something you regret. 

My most recent IMAX experience was "Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol," worth the $36 for 2 adults. Yes, this is expensive, but do not prejudge the "weirdo scientologist" because Tom Cruise does not disappoint in this film. From beginning until the end, the flow of the action and the film left me on the edge of my seat. 

The way we watch film, television shows today varies. We have much more ways to consume media today than we did 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. Pick your devise, venue, technology tool, it makes no difference because the theater experience is up to the audience. As long as we're viewing a captivating film, television show, web series then the tool is only a small fraction. Though I must admit, the tools are clean and simple designs.

Viral Networking and the Anti-Social

We are at the networking age where conversations no longer need to take place in person. We no longer need to face a person, but tend to do more of our conversing over messaging. Does this new technical age somehow make us socially retarded? For me, I have noticed that the more and more I perfect my social networking skills, the more I tend to forget the fundamentals of simple conversational etiquette.

Social networking sites that tend to suck us into random chat sessions that last too long are ones like Facebook and Twitter. When I first began using Twitter, I really did not know what I was doing or how to use it. But, when properly used one could carefully communicate effective messages that lead into marketing strategies for any type of entrepreneur. However, one that is not used by the younger Facebook generation is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is actually one of the most respected networking sites, in my personal opinion. Because, you must know contacts and gaining contacts are not as easy to do as it is on Twitter and Facebook. But having real business contacts is worth the hassle of the slow building process that it takes to gain a network base on LinkedIn.

Also, LinkedIn is a business profile and resume page for your future employers and people that would like to see a professional snapshot of you. While keeping up with these tools are great. Here are 10 things you can teach yourself how to become more emotionally intelligent and socially conscious. I try and practice these mantras daily, especially during stressful moments in life, such as Graduate boot camp at Newhouse.

1. Try not to live in your head, catch yourself when you find yourself wandering from the moment and try to stay present.

2. Be mindful when others are talking and catch yourself if you interrupt- practice active listening.

3. Learn to mingle with everyone and realize that relationships develop naturally. But, if two people do not fit together due to personality clashes, that is okay too.

4. Never allow yourself to get too sucked into networking where it suddenly takes the place of real friends and real human interaction.

5. Learn to not take things too personally and see yourself as valuable, even if others may not see it. You need to see it in yourself and that is the most important thing.

6. Practice moderation with all that you do. Begin with small things and suddenly, you’ll find that the big things aren’t so big at all. You may find more balance in your life this way.

7. When you are faced with a personality that really rubs you the wrong way, ask yourself why and find a way to make peace with who they are and then let the conflict go.

8. Remember all of the times you didn’t feel so acquired. Recall a time in your life where you felt confident, smooth, alive, and sure of yourself and your future. Then, practice placing yourself back in that emotional state, especially during moments where you feel unsure about things.

9. Never allow people or events in your life to effect you so much that it ruins your chances of success. Be the winner and succeed by not giving in to negative distractions. This means, that if you have to block it all out- do so and focus on your own journey.

10. Always try to eat right and get enough rest. You’ll find that when you don’t sleep that much, your tendency to say the wrong things are that much easier.

These are things I am still trying to master and will hopefully become better at over this next year. Because, networking is key and the ability to understand various personalities different than our own can make current or future projects easier to work on and allow for a more socially mature self.

Media, Technology and A.D.D.

If we look back 10 years ago, we’ll recognize that attention deficit used to be primarily an adolescent disorder. This disorder focused primarily on children as young as 5 years old, to those in their late teens. Yet, it was mostly parents with elementary school kids that reported to have the most problems.

Ritalin used to be the drug that was pumped into kids, now this medication has evolved into newer psychotropic medication such as Concerta, Dexadrine, Desoxyn, Vyvanse and more not listed here. Today, attention deficit disorder is on the rise with a whopping 4.4 million children ranging in ages from 4 to 17 have A.D.D. and at least 4 percent of adults now struggle with attention deficit. 

With such high percentages of those suffering from the illness that distracts so many children and adults, one must ask if perhaps this lack of focus stems from more than a chemical imbalance. Living in this technological age where the media is blamed for sensationalizing the news into soap-opera reality-tv; new methods of marketing media, connecting via social networking, and watching films can all be done via our smart phones.

The internet explosion and constant evolution of technology allows our mobile phones, laptops, and computers to be a virtual explorative world at our fingertips.  Today, we can check our e-mails, facebook account, twitter a message, write a short blog, log in to our bank accounts, and surf the internet all from our phones. Beyond simple texting and making a phone call- our phones are mini-laptops able to do just about anything. No wonder, we cannot stay focused? Distraction and cell phones has gotten so bad, that new laws had to make it illegal to call or text anyone while driving because people have actually gotten killed by a driver texting or making a phone call.

Technology has been the driving force to new media forming into an ambiguous amalgamation of computer technology, internet, and web-based video distribution. In the past only those with a hefty amount of money could distribute films and videos. The cost of making films, color correcting, and flat bed editing- was expensive. Now in the new digital age, almost anyone can purchase a digital camera which most come in High Definition and shoot films. Most people equally have their own computers and access to editing software. The rise of filmmakers using DSLR camera’s has become an even more cost effective approach to making films. The quality of filmmaking, media and marketing distribution has become so compact, that the ability to view media is accessible through almost any smart phone or laptop.

10 years ago, we used to value real human contact. We used to really pay attention to what people say and listen intently. Today, it is near to impossible to have a conversation with a fellow human, distracted by the technological world engulfing them. While technology has made it so that we connect to more people, communicate, market ourselves, distribute our own videos, publish our own articles via blogs or websites. Technology has made newspapers obsolete and the news streaming live through the web faster than some television stations can air it. Today, the rise of reality television has influenced how we present news to an audience who are used to sensationalism. In this technological world of wonderful opportunities for growth, and new entrepreneurs, we ought to embrace new ways we deliver and create media with moderation and balance.