Make A Milli…

You want your first million, take it. But how is the question on many young entrepreneurs we meet today. Let’s take facebook, Mark Zuckerberg developed this program from his dorm room at Harvard in 2004 and now he is a 26 year old hot shot. He recently donated $100 million to a school district in Newark, NJ. God knows they needed it but comon, I wish I could donate $100 million to any organization. The point is I will, one day. If you want it than GO GET IT. The only thing holding you back from doing what you want in life is yourself. You need to take your vision, smarts and determination and created an opportunity for yourself to grow, add in a little bit of luck, and your now up there with Mr. Gates.  Juliette Brindak is a name most of you do not know, but her online company MissOandFriends.com had an estimated value of $15 million when she was only 19! Juliette along with many other entrepreneurs say the same thing, once you have your idea, stick with it. If someone involved doesn’t devote their hear to the idea than it most likely wont be a success. So get up and do it, make a milli, I will….

-Scott Marsicano

What is Global Journalism Ethics

According to the Center for journalism Ethics, School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, the aim is “to develop a comprehensive set of principles and standards for the practice of journalism in an age of global news media.”
               In the early 1980, CNN opened the doors to global news broadcasting though innovations in communication. Today, digital media communication is taking it further thought text, video and images. The speed is amazing. Events and the following media impact it has around the world place in real time the global community. Geographical complexities and cultural differences are reduced and brought together for a moment by images seen on television or other technologies.A concern is how information is edited and disseminated when the viewers and listeners are literally the world population. In essence global journalism ethics it is an extension of journalism ethics in that the reporter becomes more like a global citizen responsible to the information needs of the citizens of the world. Allegiance to your country or religion will have to be put aside if global objectivity is to be achieved. The upside and goal is “a well-informed, diverse and tolerant global ‘info-sphere’ that challenges the distortions of tyrants, the abuse of human rights and the manipulation of information by special interests.”As I am writing this the world continues to rally around the recent rescue of the trapped Chilean miners and international cooperation that made it possible. How long will this continue?  Is it also possible to come up with universal values in reporting information that everyone can work with for other complex issues? And what about keeping our smaller and immediate communities healthy and informed? We really don’t have problems with lions and tigers terrorizing our neighborhoods, but I’m a little concerned with radical religious groups that prowl the world.As a world leader and proponent of human rights, America needs to be on the forefront of global news media and innovations. This is a tough assignment when some world leaders would shut down open-information flow from their people and the world to protect their agenda. Hopefully, we do not fall into that category.
-Julie Post

Why do we love the oldies?

           When I first met my roommate, it was the day before school. I was nervous I was excited and I was looking forward to a good year. He sent me a facebook message that was most likely very typical to the first conversation any guy has with his in coming roommate. The entire message was “ hey I guess were roommates, I have an xbox and a N 64”. I was pretty pumped when I read this. But what’s interesting is we play more N 64 than anything else! It amazes me that we have all this updated cool technology and we play a game system that was invented when I was eight years old. I know I am not the only one. If someone were to log onto eBay they would be able to see that old game systems and technologies are making a come back! I wonder why this is? Are people comforted by the simplicity of the past and are getting fed up with the new complex technologies of the present? I know that sometimes when I am having a long day and I get back to my room all I want to do is zone out and enjoy a nice game of “Zelda” or “Bomber man”. I am wondering what you think. Why do people enjoy playing the oldies?

-- Ross Radcliffe

In Remembrance of...

              I came across an event invitation on facebook a few days ago encouraging people to wear purple on Wednesday , October 20 in support of the recent suicides of the six homosexual boys.  Unfortunately, these young people took their own lives due to their inability to fathom the hatred that their peers displayed towards them.  The most recent suicide occurred a few weeks ago at Rutgers University, where a young man killed himself after his roommate posted a video of the guy engaging in sexual relations with another guy.  As I followed the link to the support page I saw six innocent faces of the victims who no longer have the privilege of life.  I began to skim through some of the comments that people left on the wall.  Many people left messages to comfort the victims’ families.  However, I was appalled to also find several negative comments. 

People actually had the audacity to leave cruel and nasty comments on a page that is dedicated to supporting these victims and possibly other homosexual youth who may be feeling victimized.   Immediately, my heart began to race as tears came to my eyes.  I’ve never necessarily considered myself an advocate for homosexuality, because it’s simply not my preference; however, I understand that homosexuality is an individual’s choice.  Just because you don’t share similar sexual orientations with another person does not give you the right torture and victimize others.  This includes the theme of differences in general.  People are made to be different.  We each have our own opinions and preferences, and others will not always agree with them.  Because we have the freedom to be different, should we not also respect others who have different opinions and preferences as well?

                Regardless of my different orientation, I will be wearing purple on October 20 to support victims of homosexual abuse.  Lives have been lost over people’s inability to simply acknowledge that difference will be forever present.

-Brittani Hunter

Smart Phone Data Plans

Do you own a smart phone? If so, you are aware of the high priced data and rate plans. I think it is absurd too that you have to pay $20 for unlimited texting, then on top of that $30 for unlimited data plan. I am lucky because AT&T is not even offering the unlimited data plans anymore. You now get 2 gigabytes of data usage for $25. Lastly, you have to pay for your voice minutes too. Nation 900 anytime minutes are $60. The current plan I am on is $40 for 450 minutes, that is not many minutes at all. I just think it is ridiculous with the amount of people using cell phones now that these companies still have extremely high prices. Most people’s cell phone bills are $80 to $120 a month. That’s around $1,200 a year if not more. Verizon and AT&T have the same pricing for their plans, so there is no escaping it if you switch from AT&T to Verizon or the other way around. Everyone thinks that switching to Verizon for the iPhone is going to save them money, but they have the same pricing options. I just think these companies should drop the price to make it more affordable for everyone to use. What do you think?

-Clay Chapman 

 

Microsoft has really out done their selves this time , by introducing a whole new form of entertainment. Kinect for the xbox the 360 is soon to be launched and has truly redefined how we play video games. Formally known under the code name Project Natal. Kinect works with several sensors to recognize your entire body as a controller, it takes into account everything from slight body movements, to voice recognition. Microsoft is looking to be competitive with Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus and Sony’s Playstation Move. Kinect is a seperate unit from the Xbox and will be going for around 175-190 dollars.it will also require you to buy a whole new set of video games, but I'm sure no one will mind that after they see how much fun Kinect is! Kinect brings games and entertainment to life. Kinect is simple to use and for all ages. Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect gets everyone off the couch. It will have everything from sports games, to games about raising animals, and even a new Star Wars game is on tap. Kinect is scheduled to be launched on November 4^th of 2010. Purchase of Kinect will include a bundle package with the game Kinect Adventures. 

-Jason Cuzzupe

Gap is Back!

Gap is back. One week after Gap clothing company swapped its old logo without saying a word, fans and shoppers were in outrage over their new design. Gap North American president, Marka Hansen, stated they now realize how successful their logo was for consumers. He also pointed out that he missed a chance to involve their customer base, in getting input for any new design. This is called Crowd sourcing. As a designer myself, a good business solution for your company would be crowd sourcing. This shows the consumer that the company isn’t out for the big buck. It shows their cliental that the product their investing in, has a value behind it. The reason I like this topic is because fans of Gap, in rage, swamped twitter, facebook and outside social networks on how the new logo was awful, all within the first days upon release. Gap facebook has over 700,000 fans, and they made their point clear. Ditch the new logo. To me it looks like a tech-based logo. You can see the bold-faced type and small square design; making it look futuristic almost, or technical. Which one do you like better?

-Scott Marsicano