Telegraph vs. Telephone: A communication showdown

In our day an age, to ask someone would they give up their phone for a telegraph, they would probably give an answer like, “are you crazy?” Now go back 120 years and you’ll see how the telephone effected society on a social level, in what you lost on an identity level with letters and morse code of the telegraph, you gained a more personal atmosphere with the person on the other end of the line. Just like the telegraph it made a huge impact when it was released to the public, but the telephone was on an even bigger scale as it went worldwide in day one apposed to the telegraph which only a started in Europe at first.
The telegraph was a great device for communication, if you wanted to feel helpless about whether your message made it to the recipient. Now of course I’m not going to badger the telegraph because without it Alexander Bell wouldn’t have had the motivation to improve upon and create the telephone. I digress the telegraph was very impersonal in the fact that you had to type your message out in morse code and the receiver of course didn’t know if it was really you except for maybe how the message was presented through certain which developed an identity. Identity was a necessity in the time of the telegraph because it gave oneself a sense of privacy knowing that no one else could take that away, almost like a social security number but it couldn’t be stolen and used against you. This is what gave the telegraph an appealing look and took communication to the next level, as it was quicker and more efficient than a simple letter that could take days to receive.
What the telephone is today is not what it used to be, but nonetheless this isn’t the present, I’m talking about 1867 and the impact that this communication device had on the world as a whole. Alexander Bell was a great innovator who set his mind on improving the telegraph in ways that you wouldn’t have to deal with code, but would actually be able here the voice of who was sending you a message. Of course you might be wondering how this takes identity out of the equation and then throws in a personal concept by using this device. To understand this you must look at how when your using a telephone you are having a personal conversation between you and the other person at the end of the receiver unlike with identity which is just dealing with your signature, campus id, etc. This made the consumer feel more comfortable that whatever they were saying was just between them and the receiver. This brought forth personality, cause you can’t get personal with someone without developing one. I mean personality is always with you, but it’s different when you’re on the phone that you seem to act differently and even talk differently. The telephone helped with that because what if someone was maybe uncomfortable to talk to someone in person because hey had a shady personality, then the telephone worked in their favor that they could convey a message by just dialing a number and so forth. The telephone was to key to getting personal, but it was the person that had to develop a personality to be able to handle new freedom which would only get stronger in the years to come into the future.
The development of the telephone brought people closer together knowing tat there loved ones would be receiving their message at the second it left their mouth, then on a business perspective, it was prefect for consulting other business for trading or which product had the most sales. This brought forth new life in communication that wasn’t there before with the impersonal mechanized aspect of telling someone to send a message to their loved in this code that made you feel like drone accepting and sending messages. What the telephone couldn’t do on an identity level it made up for on the personal side, because that is what the consumer really wanted in that you can send a message to someone in the hopes that they receive, but knowing that they are there listening to every word you say makes you feel more in touch with them. Bell brought forth the new age in communication because of his need or improvement and to make things easier on the everyday consumer and he succeed. Just look at today and what has become of his invention that took identity twisted it around and produced personality.

Outside Blog: Philadelphia Eagles Player Takeo Spikes

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=13937

Media Habit: Addictive or Just Normal

Some say that America is addicted to the media, for others like myself time spent with he media is normal and why not. We need media anyway to know about current events around the world, pop culture, sports, and the list goes on. The only time you can really consider media as addictive is when a person spends all their time on just one subject of media day and night unless of course it's their job. But this isn't about the American society and media, it's about me and how and what I think about the media and the ways I use it. When I look at media to me it's like a dimension into another realm of life that's inviting you to join in whatever is happening with a particular event or person. I'm an athlete so I use the Internet a lot to look up stats and championship events. When I start reading about the event and player interviews I start to feel the exhilaration that an athlete must have had when the final whistle blew, confetti rained down, and the trophy was placed in their hands. Lately I've realized that I have to read more about media in the newspaper as most of classes including this one focus on current events to use as examples. Though not my first choice of got to have media outlet, the newspaper does put into the action of world events or drama, as I like to put it and brings it more into perspective with pictures that go with the story. I guess now I can thank my mom for introducing me to what I used to call an eyesore to this vast escape into the lives of whomever you can think of; from the local zero to the celebrated hero, urban legends to the national treasures, and so much more from International and beyond. There are so many media options to get indulged in but I must say the Internet and paper are the ones I use the most cause they're always around and I see no reason to change that. You can call it addictive, but what about it is if there wasn't media I would feel like I'm in the dark not knowing what's going on around me. In the world of today you must know what's going on or you will be lost, so I feel the media will grow in the future to even bigger outlets that could blow the internet out of the water and I see know reason why my habits should change cause there is just so much that I can get into when I use the media to fuel my drive for that exhilarating or dramatic experience.

Why I'm Here

I'm here at UMBC to be a student-athlete. I have run cross-country and track for four years and now I'm onto the next level, college. My choices came down to UMBC and George Mason for schools that I wanted to run for and of which I liked the general atmosphere. The deciding factor came down to the coaches and I ended up losing contact with the George Mason coach and it made my decision easier in choosing UMBC. Though running was a big part in my decision, academics and the all around environment of the school came into play in the end. I came to UMBC to gain a better sense of my major in Political Science and by doing so I will figure out if I want to continue this major or change to criminal justice which was my other choice.
When choosing my classes the way I got into Media Studies was actually through my mom, she told me read up on the class and I thought it would be interesting to take a class on the media so I signed up once I knew it would fit into my schedule. In the end I hope to graduate with a college degree, because like most people in life I want to have a well paying job where I feel financially stable. The reason for this is that I don't want to be held back from doing anything because I don't have the money for it, so by taking college seriously I feel I will be able to succeed at what I want to do in life.