Too good not to share!

haha i know that this blog is already so over, but i came across this video that i had to share!
what's more, it reminded me of what else but precious COM101
haha.



"Just got to work!"
"Sitting on my chair now!"
HAHA.

Obama used twitter for his presidency campaign and many celebrities are using Twitter for an even more "up close and personal" feel with their fans, like Ellen Degeneres, Stephen Fry and Britney Spears..yes Spears!
Twitter is another form of social networking and communication means in the WORLD WIDE web world. But like this video suggests, we may just be randomly shouting out into the darkness and it is not a true form of communication with friends.

hmm twitter. although i think it really takes another step into airing our private lives in public, i might just hitch onto this twitter wave if it hits us big. one day.
i think i may even be quite a twitter girl.
after all, just like the video suggests: I HAVE NO FRIENDS! *terror-stricken* nooooooooooooo!

Same country, different culture.

Say the phrase World Wide Web and many things would come to mind.
Blogs (like this), news, social networks, internet chat-rooms, online gaming, marketplace, job search, grocery shopping, photo-editing, Skype, meetings, the list of convenience it has brought to our lives is inexhaustible.
Yet, mention WWW and people would think "vices" as well. After all, the world wide web is free for all - people of all ages, race or religion..as long as you have a computer and internet access that is. We have long heard of the easy access to pornography, the dangers of the internet chat-room, people dying from gaming day and night without food or sleep, another endless list that comes with the boon of the internet.

However, putting good and bad aside, the internet has definitely brought globalisation to a whole new level! World Wide Web as the name suggests has almost erased all national boundaries and most importantly brought about cultural imperialism.




Just take a look at the youtube (another one of those famous www inventions!) video above. I know you must be laughing, but in your opinion, do you think such behaviour would have been laughed at generations before us? Yes, an example of cultural imperialism is as such. The kind of information that the youths are being exposed to inadvertently effects the culture of our generation today. From our lifestyles to our beliefs, we have been largely influenced especially by the West. (Think Hollywood fashion trends and how premarital sex is glorified in MTVs.) Slowly we do see the youths of today are moving away from the jaded traditions of our elders to embrace such cultures.

Then there's also the people who swoon over the Japanese culture. This would never have been encouraged in the past (especially thanks to WWII in Singapore!). The availibility of Jap anime and being able to travel around the world without having to leave our seats has just contributed to this craze. Examples of the jap culture seen in Singapore would be Cosplay, japanese fasion and a rather large number of students taking up the Japanese language, just to name a few.


Cultural Imperialism usually happens because the more countries like the US have a vast mass media market that penetrates even the WWW thus dominating the scene of the media market. Whether this phonomena is good or bad, it really depends.

Mass Media Terror

I remember on that fateful day in 2001, my house phone rang at around 11pm. We hardly ever received calls from anyone, let alone at 11pm at night. It turned out that it was my from my auntie living in New York. She had called to tell us of her encounter: She was on her way to work via the Subway when she felt prompted to drop of the train before she had reached her intended station. The next moment after alighting, she heard news of the collapse of the buildings where she worked at. She worked at the World Trade Center.

Yes, I am talking about the September 11 attacks - one of the worst known terrorist attacks in the world.

Frankly, I didn't give it much thought when I heard about the terrorist attack that night. Other than being slightly shocked and relieved that my auntie was safe, the whole idea of terrorist attacks was relatively unknown to me. I slept soundly that night. However, the next day, the newspaper fronts were splashed with the photos of the burning buildings, photos of New Yorkers in anguish. Not just one article, but countless articles giving a step-by-step account of the incident, discussions on who was the mastermind behind the attack, interviews on the victims, etc. I heard it on the radio..the sounds of the plane crashing into the steel building, hearing the screams of horror. I remember rushing home from school and plonking myself in front of the tele..I saw footage of people jumping out of the windows of the 110 floors skyscraper, the planes crashing into the North and South tower, heard the final recorded phone calls of the passengers on the plane. I learnt about the effect on the US economy and finally understood the meaning of terrorist attacks. It truly haunted me. The world declared a fight against the terrorists behind 911.

I wouldn't have known the magnitude of this event if not for the mass media, even though I had heard it first hand from my aunt. Even the aliens on Mars would have known about this world-changing event. Thus is the effect of mass media on us today, or what we would call the Agenda Setting Function.


The media raises the importance of certain issues/topics to the public by repeatedly reporting or emphasizing on on them, to fulfill their media agendas. In this case, creating the awareness against the true dangers of terrorism and rallying the world against Afganistan/Iraq. How we evaluate certain issues are also to a certain extent based on the views presented by the mass media. Do you ever recall questioning how accurate was the media's reflection of the whole September 11 attacks, or simply accepting that what the headlines on the newspapers had reported was entirely true? We have often been "primed" by the media into thinking in a certain way, especially if that is part of the media agenda (e.g. the mass media being controlled by a government).
Everyday, we are exposed to so much information from the media, each from their own sources. And it seems for majority of us, we let ourselves get steered by the media and their views. Are we victims of mass media?

Group passion

Ahh, this video brings back many good memories! (:
As I was thinking about the topic for this week's blog entry, I once again came across this favourite video of mine that triggered me to think about my good ol' band days in school. Incidentally, I think it can be rather associated with what we have learnt about Group Communications in class.

I have been in a concert band ever since my secondary school days till junior college. Not only has band incited in me a greater passion for music, it has also taught me the synergy and effectiveness of a group.

I remember joining the band at Secondary One (age of 13), not really knowing what was in store for me. Other than picking up a new skill of playing the saxophone, I would say that I have learnt much about working in a group and the roles we play in a group.

If you were from a concert band, I am sure you would have heard of this phrase "The band is as good as its weakest player." Being in the band, one of the most important qualities constantly emphasised (implicitly or explicitly) was always "teamwork". If each individual chose to be selfish and play the music with their own interpretation, or chose not to even practice their parts..the band will not be able to achieve the music the conductor has intended for the band. Ultimately, everyone in the band will suffer from the effects of this selfish individual. What I'm trying to say here is that in a group like a band, the group's needs become first priority compared to each member's individual needs. I remember there were several incidents when I did not agree with the interpretations by the conductor, or agreed with how the teachers/band leaders handled certain situations, but I still chose to follow along with them believing that it was for the good of the band. (Or maybe I was afraid to be rejected by them due to my opposing views?)

Although initially joining the band was just another CCA to us, over time we build great rapport and dependance on each other. Through the ups and downs of preparations for competitions and performances, we learnt more about the how the band functioned and how to work with each members weaknesses and strengths to perform optimally. You probably never realised, but the more you work within the group, we begin to subconciously recognise written and unwritten norms to be followed and we will gradually follow a certain pattern of communication. Along the time that we spend with one another, the band (esp among batchmates) tend to form a collective identity and will share common views and behavioural standards.

All in all, I think i enjoyed my time in the band not only because of being able to enjoy and play music with like-minded musicians, I also had fun times with my fellow band members that I have grown to love and depend on through our the many obstacles we overcame together. (:

Valentine's day special~

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there!! (whether or not you have a valentine or not haha) :D

Well, what an apt way to start the week of valentine's with a lesson on interpersonal communication! To start the ball rolling, just a little info about what is interpersonal communication: Interpersonal communication occurs when there is an established relationship with the other party (usually two parties). This kind of two-person, face-to-face communication can also be termed as "dyadic communication".

In our daily interpersonal/dyadic communication with others, you must have noticed that we react to and behave differently when interacting with different individuals. This does not mean we're schizophrenic or have split personalities; rather, we have different degrees (or stages) of relational development with each individual.
For example, you would talk about the weather with a schoolmate you bumped into on the bus, but you wouldn't be caught talking about how you had serious diarrhea over the weekend, or that your family is running into some bad financial situation (unless you're really open about such things!) to them.

The Mark Knapp's Relational Development Model draws out the various stages relationships go through. It may probably be very technical to break relationships down into such dry and predictable stages, yet often than not this model has been proven true over time.

(Just picture yourself going the steps on the left and coming down on the right.)
And yes, since Valentine's day is around the corner it would only be suitable to use a romantic relationship to exemplify the stages, right? :p
Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic..This movie has always remained one of my favorite movies of all times probably because of the love story behind it! I'm sure many of you are also familiar with the story of the Titanic lovers (:

The initiating stage came when they had the opportunity to meet on the Titanic of course, when Rose had wanted to jump off the ship and Jack managed to stop her in time.
Experimenting came next when they began spending time with each other and learning about each other through those times when Rose would steal over to the lower class deck to find Jack.
Intensifying came when Jack and Rose were seen together more often and Jack was introduced to Rose's family and friends. This is also where one of the famous Titanic scene happened

Integrating was probably one of the most memorable scenes of the movie, which is Jack drawing a nude picture of Rose and thereafter both of them running away from Rose's fiance. Of course, one could never forget the car scene which made that "hand sliding down the misted windows" scene such a hit
Bonding sadly never came for them both as they were separated before they could tie the knot.
And then their relationship was tragically (Dissolution) terminated when Jack died in the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
As you can see, relationships do not necessarily follow the Knapp's model strictly. Some may be stuck at one stage, while other flunctuate between stages. There are of course the coming apart stages that also progressively show how couples eventually become separate individuals.
Each stage signifies a different communication pattern and behaviour towards one another. Hopefully after reading this post, you may be more successful in sussing out if your valentine's day date is worth future dates. haha

Language.

First things first, please pardon the vulgar language being used in the commercial above! =x (Disclaimer: If you know me, I am not a vulgar person at all! All for the purposes of illustrating my point only!)
Thanks to my internet-savvy brother, I first viewed this commercial a few years back and was initially rather irked by the concept being used in the advertisement. While surfing the net recently, I was surprised to see it still around on YouTube (even ganering one of the highest viewer hits today!). This time around however, the commercial somehow prompted me to recognise how vital language is in our human communication today.

No one can deny that everyday we need to use language to converse our thoughts and feelings to the people around us. The spoken language is used as a medium for verbal communication with others. Even in our subconcious minds, we use language to verbalise our thoughts and aid us in storing our memories.
The spoken language or "speech" has been the dividing line between humans and animals and has given us a leg-up in communicating to one another.

And just as the commercial above has shown, although language has been useful in making communication effective, it has also created barriers among people - more commonly between groups of people (rather than individuals). How so?

There are millions of languages present in our world today - some recognised and some not so commonly used among people. In this context, language not only serves the purpose of conveying our thoughts and ideas to others, but also has created a exclusionary group of people with its unique culture and traditions. This has created a limit to human to human communication with what we call "language barriers".

Going beyond the boundaries of different languages, limits in comunication arise even within the same language, people tend to create their own set of "lingo" to set themselves apart from the crowd. Sort of like a defining trait. Just like how the younger generation today have a set of language like "LOL", "emo" and "imba" to say just a few. These expressions or words do not actually exist in the English language, but most youngsters in Singapore would be able to understand the meaning of the words if they were used along with our English language. Such "lingo" or better known as "slang", help people within the same group relate easily to one another, as well as segregate people that do not belong to the group (in this case, it may be adults/parents).

Such variations to language in addition to the vast number of languages applied by humans today have added on to additional barriers and possible miscommunications among people, as much as it has helped us communication today. What kind of roles do you think language plays in our communication and has it aided in making our human communication more effecient?

half-glass full, half-glass empty?

Half glass empty, half glass full? Such is the basic idea of perception that is commonly brought across to us.

What is perception really?

Perception is a process by which we make sense of the world around us. Most importantly, be it half-glass empty or full, perception is definitely a determining factor in how we communicate to others. Seiler and Beall defines perception as "The process of selecting, organising, and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the meaning to the communication we recieve."

I feel that one of the major influences to our perception is our cognitive schemata. This is part of the organising process of perception and is our default mental framework that each individual has developed over time.
WhenI describe to you a guy wearing glasses with black plastic frames, and a faded shirt from another era tucked into a pair of worn-out cargos you may instantly think: nerd, un-cool, geek (or at least something pops up in your mind la, haha) This would be an example of a cognitive schemata, or more specifically, personal protyping. We usually form these personal prototypes over time through our culture, environment and past experiences, and would most likely apply these assumptions if we come across simliar people/situations in future. In addition, media also reinforces these common personal prototypes through television shows and advertisements.

A personal construct also works like a personal prototype. If we knew we were talking to a lawyer, we would be more concious of how and what we speak, because one would naturally expect a lawyer to be knowledgable and eloquent. What does it mean to be a hardworking student can very from person to person, and is considered a personal construct.

Another interesting aspect of cognitive schemata is how we have certain "scripts" in our mind. For example, how a break-up should occur and the series of events it should follow. We most probably form such templates from our television dramas and even experiences from our friends and ourselves.

Such cognitive schematas enable us to predict how certain situations may be and how certain people may behave. This prediction in turn affects how we behave these situations and helps us be more confident at the same time. However, such "default settings" may limit our perception as it may cause us to see/hear things that may not have actually happened. It may also affect our communication adversely if we tend to assign personal contructs and prototypes to people we meet.
There are of course many other factors that result in us having such differentiated perceptions among individuals. This perception changes how we view things/situations/environment: thus the derivation of the half full/empty glass analogy.
So whether you view a glass as being empty, full, or wondering where your cheeseburger went...how do you think perception is important to your communication?