The topics of internet surveillance and privacy are dear to my heart. Within the last few
months my parental unit left me an article about internet surveillance and the possible affect it
might have on future employment opportunities. I know not why this article was sitting idly on
the center of my desk, but I read it anyway.
The article, a few pages long, was ripped from a random periodical and left where it could not be avoided, as if to secretly tell me she’s seen pictures of me drinking various alcoholic concoctions in precarious situations on someone’s FaceSpace. More specifically, the article focused on social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com. These social networking sites themselves are not the problem. The problem is the content many users choose to upload on their personal page, even then so-called friends can add photos of you on their page without your consent. With this in mind, should it be important to employers what we do in our own free time? Why must we constantly be looking over our shoulder on and off line?
Background checks consisting of criminal records, previous employment and drug screening have become standard for most employers. It seems employers aren’t satisfied to leave it at that. Now many employers are expanding their research on prospective employees by going
to the internet.
I guess it makes some sense that our personal lives are of interest to employers, considering the current state of the economy. Cost effective hiring will be of utmost importance for companies in our failing economy. No money can be spared for those who aren’t prepared to work 24/7. And if becoming straight edge is what is required by employers then call me Minor Threat’s Ian MacKaye.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Keep it Neutral
If you are anything like the majority of Californians today, then you must be a fan of the first
amendment to the constitution: Freedom of Speech. This amendment allows Americans to say
what we want within reason. Net neutrality is very similar to our basic right of Freedom of
Speech. Net neutrality endows internet users the right to use what web sites they prefer when
they deem it necessary and without regulating processing time. Although many avid internet users may not have heard of Net neutrality before, it has been in use equally as long as the World Wide Web itself.
Recently, the issue of net neutrality has come to the attention of Congress and the FCC by lobbyist working for Fund-using-corporate-kings. Since these “f-u-c-k’s” are never satisfied with their bank roll they continue to squeeze every last dollars from our empty pockets.
If “f-u-c-k’s” such as AT&T, Comcast, Verison and Time Warner have their way with the internet we will be paying butt-loads of money in order to access the internet. Internet bills will begin to look more like your cable bills. Instead of paying one flat rate for overall access to the internet, you will have to pay by specific packages. Having access to the entire internet will no longer be a standard it would be the premium package.
When on the web, we will experience: corporate favoritism of their own search engine, automatic redirects and unregulated processing control. The latter of the three is most upsetting. Say you want to access a site you frequent on a regular basis. Upon entering the URL it takes two times as long for the site to open then it usually would. The slowing or blocking of web sites could become a reality if the site you want to access happens to be a competitor of “f-u-c-k’s”.
What does this mean for the job market? For smaller sites, like the companies we (College Students) might find entry level video production gigs could be subject to harsh internet tactics.
amendment to the constitution: Freedom of Speech. This amendment allows Americans to say
what we want within reason. Net neutrality is very similar to our basic right of Freedom of
Speech. Net neutrality endows internet users the right to use what web sites they prefer when
they deem it necessary and without regulating processing time. Although many avid internet users may not have heard of Net neutrality before, it has been in use equally as long as the World Wide Web itself.
Recently, the issue of net neutrality has come to the attention of Congress and the FCC by lobbyist working for Fund-using-corporate-kings. Since these “f-u-c-k’s” are never satisfied with their bank roll they continue to squeeze every last dollars from our empty pockets.
If “f-u-c-k’s” such as AT&T, Comcast, Verison and Time Warner have their way with the internet we will be paying butt-loads of money in order to access the internet. Internet bills will begin to look more like your cable bills. Instead of paying one flat rate for overall access to the internet, you will have to pay by specific packages. Having access to the entire internet will no longer be a standard it would be the premium package.
When on the web, we will experience: corporate favoritism of their own search engine, automatic redirects and unregulated processing control. The latter of the three is most upsetting. Say you want to access a site you frequent on a regular basis. Upon entering the URL it takes two times as long for the site to open then it usually would. The slowing or blocking of web sites could become a reality if the site you want to access happens to be a competitor of “f-u-c-k’s”.
What does this mean for the job market? For smaller sites, like the companies we (College Students) might find entry level video production gigs could be subject to harsh internet tactics.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Steal the Booty
While I began to wrap my head around the free culture movement / digital rights
management topic, it became clear we have another David vs. Goliath story on our hands. Profit margins reign supreme in our commercially driven society. Those of us who can’t and wont produce a profit will be denied certain privileges. One such privilege “allows” (not really)
internet users to “acquire” (torrent) specific software which has become some what of an
industry standard. Unfortunately, most software for example the Final Cut Studio 2 costs
somewhere in the ball park of $1,300, and that is before shipping and handling! I don’t know
about you, but this software alone almost costs as much as my computer.
Yes, these applications are astronomically expensive, but there is an even bigger issue
here, media proficiency. Many if not all media employers searching for new recruits request that you have proficiencies in: Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects, Avivd, Soundtrack, etc. This
adds a catch 22 to the mix of finding your next great gig. You know the ever elusive dream job
we all hope to find after graduating with our B.A.’s.
The choice, for myself is simple. I will no longer be your average student. I will take on
a new identity or a new title with harsh connotation. I will be a pirate! We should all climb
aboard the free culture movement vessel. As students we can not let anything stand in our way to complete our voyage into the future, our voyage towards our careers. And maybe one day down the road the title pirate might be changed to reverse consumer and we can make a whole new career option. Exactly the way hackers got their careers as reverse engineer. Maybe this is just wishful thinking.
management topic, it became clear we have another David vs. Goliath story on our hands. Profit margins reign supreme in our commercially driven society. Those of us who can’t and wont produce a profit will be denied certain privileges. One such privilege “allows” (not really)
internet users to “acquire” (torrent) specific software which has become some what of an
industry standard. Unfortunately, most software for example the Final Cut Studio 2 costs
somewhere in the ball park of $1,300, and that is before shipping and handling! I don’t know
about you, but this software alone almost costs as much as my computer.
Yes, these applications are astronomically expensive, but there is an even bigger issue
here, media proficiency. Many if not all media employers searching for new recruits request that you have proficiencies in: Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects, Avivd, Soundtrack, etc. This
adds a catch 22 to the mix of finding your next great gig. You know the ever elusive dream job
we all hope to find after graduating with our B.A.’s.
The choice, for myself is simple. I will no longer be your average student. I will take on
a new identity or a new title with harsh connotation. I will be a pirate! We should all climb
aboard the free culture movement vessel. As students we can not let anything stand in our way to complete our voyage into the future, our voyage towards our careers. And maybe one day down the road the title pirate might be changed to reverse consumer and we can make a whole new career option. Exactly the way hackers got their careers as reverse engineer. Maybe this is just wishful thinking.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Democrazy
Since the advent of the red camera, high quality video has yet to be so affordable. Of course I use the term affordable loosely. Affordable, meaning if you have a few thousand dollars to flush down the drain and can still, you know, pay rent or buy food. Everybody knows what I’m taking about, those frivolous things we can’t help but splurge on a couple days out of every month. For those of us unable to afford such equipment, we have had to download, patch and torrent our way to quality footage worthy of our re-edits.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
Re-edits bring another obstacle to the challenge of recreating new content. Larry Lessig, raised a valid point during his presentation at the 2007 TED gathering in Monterey, California. The idea consisted of copyrighted video and democracy. More specifically the use of commercially made video content re-edited to birth entirely new non-commercial content with new messages. Lessig, closed his presentation with a look into the future where he described a proposed law which would automatically remove any YouTube content made from copyrighted material.
This might not seem to be a big deal, but the reality of the situation is we are media students. As students, we look at the bigger picture. We stare into the future wondering what it has in store for us. And the grim picture Lessig foreshadows could very well thwart our ability to post our reels online. These days many employers request a resume, cover letter and a link to your reel. It is in these reels where we showcase our post production expertise to prospective employers. Without the ability to post our reels somewhere online for prospective employers to see, how will we be able to prove what we ‘ve got to offer?
We must stand up for ourselves and more importantly for the content we create or better yet re-create. Cameras, lighting equipment and locations are equally expensive as they are difficult to acquire. Why not use what footage others have created and re-edit it, it is not plagiarism. It is not stealing. We have to work with what we’ve got when we’ve got it. Let’s exercise our democratic right and continue to pursue those careers.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
Re-edits bring another obstacle to the challenge of recreating new content. Larry Lessig, raised a valid point during his presentation at the 2007 TED gathering in Monterey, California. The idea consisted of copyrighted video and democracy. More specifically the use of commercially made video content re-edited to birth entirely new non-commercial content with new messages. Lessig, closed his presentation with a look into the future where he described a proposed law which would automatically remove any YouTube content made from copyrighted material.
This might not seem to be a big deal, but the reality of the situation is we are media students. As students, we look at the bigger picture. We stare into the future wondering what it has in store for us. And the grim picture Lessig foreshadows could very well thwart our ability to post our reels online. These days many employers request a resume, cover letter and a link to your reel. It is in these reels where we showcase our post production expertise to prospective employers. Without the ability to post our reels somewhere online for prospective employers to see, how will we be able to prove what we ‘ve got to offer?
We must stand up for ourselves and more importantly for the content we create or better yet re-create. Cameras, lighting equipment and locations are equally expensive as they are difficult to acquire. Why not use what footage others have created and re-edit it, it is not plagiarism. It is not stealing. We have to work with what we’ve got when we’ve got it. Let’s exercise our democratic right and continue to pursue those careers.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Student at work
As I sit, brainstorming Blog topics on my white porcelain lazy boy. I try to picture a common ground all if not most of us share. Then, like the scent of a silent but deadly flatulence, it hits me... jobs! They often take you by surprise, and they sometimes stink.
First things first, we must decipher the difference between a job, and a career. Since we are all in upper division college courses our careers are so close we can smell them, their bouquet tickles our nostrils with anticipation. Careers are what we are going to college for. More then just a job, a career is a passion. We’ve consumed four years of knowledge, and like any good student I can’t wait to drop my tidbits of learned wisdom into the proverbial media pool.
But for now, most of us will continue to work at cafes, restaurants, retail stores, and other customer service type jobs. It is these jobs which barely cover the financial burden we call college. I personally love to hate them or hate to love them, it’s complicated...
In my Blog, I plan to deliver an open stall for all to dump their clean breaks, and their dirty deeds from current and past jobs. When looking back, I was blown away by my list of the fifteen different jobs I’ve held since age fifteen. Don’t be fooled by a list of this magnitude, I have yet to be fired. I take pride in my work, and I have strong work ethics.
I compiled a top three list of my least pleasant jobs, it goes as follows: 3) Busboy, 2) Flower delivery driver, and 1) Christmas tree lot attendant. I dare anyone in the class to beat my list. Mike Rowe’s got nothing on me!(F.Y.I. he’s the host of Dirty Jobs.)
First things first, we must decipher the difference between a job, and a career. Since we are all in upper division college courses our careers are so close we can smell them, their bouquet tickles our nostrils with anticipation. Careers are what we are going to college for. More then just a job, a career is a passion. We’ve consumed four years of knowledge, and like any good student I can’t wait to drop my tidbits of learned wisdom into the proverbial media pool.
But for now, most of us will continue to work at cafes, restaurants, retail stores, and other customer service type jobs. It is these jobs which barely cover the financial burden we call college. I personally love to hate them or hate to love them, it’s complicated...
In my Blog, I plan to deliver an open stall for all to dump their clean breaks, and their dirty deeds from current and past jobs. When looking back, I was blown away by my list of the fifteen different jobs I’ve held since age fifteen. Don’t be fooled by a list of this magnitude, I have yet to be fired. I take pride in my work, and I have strong work ethics.
I compiled a top three list of my least pleasant jobs, it goes as follows: 3) Busboy, 2) Flower delivery driver, and 1) Christmas tree lot attendant. I dare anyone in the class to beat my list. Mike Rowe’s got nothing on me!(F.Y.I. he’s the host of Dirty Jobs.)
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