VISUALIZING DATA FOR FOCUS Richard M. Cano

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Information Graphic

I think that the best way to go about creating information graphics that show people technological convergence is to shock them by showing old media being used as if it were new media. Having old media used as new media is an instant eye-catcher. In addition, this concept depicts how far digital media has come in changing old media into what it has come to be now in the present. There are many examples that can be converted into this type of information graphic. One idea that comes to mind is of a digital native swiping an old tube television and switching channels as if it were a tablet viewing video. Another idea can be a picture of an adult lounging on a sofa and texting on an old rotary phone. I believe that these images can both show technological convergence while at the same time shock its viewers into realizing how far this convergence has come.

Animated Graphic

There are various types of animated graphics, but I’d like to think of a commercial that can show how fast technological convergence is happening. I believe that a commercial will show that there is a convergence happening and that it has been happening for some time. A commercial is also something that people can relate to, and a commercial is a good way to show people that they need to buy into something. Commercials come in many forms, including comedy, popularity, shock, etc.; I think that comedy can best describe how fast technology is converging. One possibility is to show a person receiving the latest cell phone only to find out moments later that another person has just received a discount on a cell phone that about which there has been rumors. Furthermore, this sort of commercial will make people realize that there are certain products that get upgraded periodically by companies and, therefore, people will realize that convergence is not only for profit by companies but a thing that is furthering technology. I think that showing a commercial is the best way to show technological convergence through an animated graphic to get individuals to think about how fast technological convergence is happening and to get individuals to relate to such changes.

Interactive Graphic

As a web designer, I am an advocate for websites and their power in conveying information. Websites have the ability to show a concept and categorize its aspects in an organized manner. They can also include video, images, animation, and sound. I would use a website to convey a message about technological convergence and its rapid maturity. This website could possibly contain the commercial as well as some information graphic images. It could also contain an interactive timeline of some of the major events in technological convergence. Websites can be an interactive way to portray a message by using video, images, animation, and sound, especially when delivering a message about technological convergence.

VIDEO CLIP AND LEARNING CONTEXT Richard M. Cano

Technological Convergence

According to wiseGEEK, “Technological convergence is the process by which existing technologies merge into new forms that bring together different types of media and applications.” This video can be used to show how technology has changed things like communication, hardware, and entertainment. Some questions could be asked about technological convergence such as, “What are the driving forces that push technology to advance itself and converge into different forms of technology? What other technological convergence do you see on a daily basis that was not shown in the video?”

This video on technology convergence shows how technology is changing our world and advancing our capabilities. It also shows how people and organizations are changing the way they accomplish things such as advertising. There is, however, an underlying message of which we should be aware, if not wary. This video begins with this message in mind by asking “Are you ready for the future?”

This video forces a discussion about how much convergence is too much convergence. In the video, many niceties are depicted as to technological convergence to the point that the year 2025 doesn’t seem like an impossibility to have nanotechnology implanted within our blood cells. However, this may be pushing it too far. I believe that a great conversation over technological convergence would be to enlighten ourselves as to whether or not this is convergence or simply technology taking over so to speak.

wiseGEEK. What is technological convergence? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-technological-convergence.htm

Teens vs Adults and Social Media

I came across this article from my Google Alerts. donah boyd explains how teens use social media differently than adults. They rarely use linking and speak to only a handful of friends through their accounts. It also mentions her new book that I am going to purchase.

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/240184/teenagers-dont-use-social-media-to-share-links-says-microsoft-researcher/

http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/

Digital Media and Boundaries

RESEARCHABLE INTERESTS for Richard M. Cano

My research interests are both broad and specific. I would like to inquire into how media reacts in its own right. It would be interesting to see how we are changed by media. In turn, I’d like to see how media changes traditional methods of accomplishing tasks, that is, the ways that we have done things in the past. I’d also like to see how media affects communication ideology. Even another area of research is to inquire into how research methodology can be enhanced by media. These research interests have many benefits as to the inquiry of digital media.

I will make every effort to focus on how digital media is alive and grows organically like a rhizome. This concept is something that I have wanted to explore many times over, and I believe that this course gives me the perfect opportunity to do so. I have a lot of literature that has lead me to this topic, and many unanswered questions that cannot be resolved without delving into the act of actual utilization.

I will also focus my research interests on studying the fact that we have multiple identities because of social media, both online and offline. Our identities are split due to the fact that we create and maintain an online identity separate yet in conjunction to our offline identities. I plan on depicting this concept through the various digital mediums available to us (i.e. blogs, images, video, social media, etc.).

As an added interest, I’d like to show how digital media has changed traditional and even classical vocations. As a musician in a mariachi group, I’d like to depict how media has changed the way things have been accomplished for years. This is true in other areas as well, including education.

Another aspect of my research interests is the full-circle of communication (from communication with the self (i.e. the role of psychology in communication) to communication with the masses (i.e. social media)). I have a graphic that shows what I ascertain to be the warmth and coldness of media as it flows through this circle. Communication studies do not concern themselves with the psychological aspects of this circle and have only yet grasped the social media aspects.

I have often pondered as to how media would change methodology, how using social media to research areas of social media would affect academia. I have tried gaining data through a website that was in the form of a forum. I would like to explore how other types of digital media can be used to ascertain data that would be relevant in academia.

I argue that these research interests are both intriguing and justified. If digital media is alive, it lives, grows, and dies with us. As a result, we live with digital media, often times creating different identities because of it. Some traditional methods of accomplishing tasks are changed because of digital media. Both our internal and external communication is affected by the use of digital media. As a result, digital media itself might be the best way to analyze digital media in its natural habitat.

My research interests are both broad and specific. Digital media seems to lend itself to this type on inquiry. In hopes of answering some of these sectors, I will look towards digital media to fill in the gaps missing in my research endeavors.