Social Software : From friends to foes at the press of a button

Social software is all software that allows its users to share data and interact with other users. Currently the most popular forms of this social software are Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Skype, MSN, and Blogger. It involves lots of different aspects from profile site to video sharing to instant messaging programs and blogs. In the last decade he use of these sites and programs has shot up drastically. Practically everyone with a computer has used at least one of these methods

It has so greatly affected the way communication happens that entire relationships and even business organizations run through this form of technology. No one is spared, everyone is exposed to addictiveness of these sites. The purpose of social software is to connect people with each other and provide another way to share what is on your mind. However, many problems have occurred to users of these programs.


Best friends can become the worst enemies because of the power of this communication technology. This computer mediated communication has its flaws. Twitter for example is a platform that allows users to update their status very often and tell other what they are doing. This communication can be hazardous because people often assume that the post is related to them and may take offence. Recently a couple friends of mine got into an argument because one posted “irritating person near me blithering nonsense”. The other automatically assumed that he was talking about her cause she was sitting next to him in class and they got into an argument…turns out that the post had nothing to do with her and was actually referring to the person sitting in front making annoying remarks to his friend.

The other problem faced with sites like Facebook and Myspace is false communication…the creep factor. Profile sites have long been unsafe with the potential stalkers and pedophiles hunting people down using this form of communication. It makes anonymity very simple and could have dangerous repercussions. For example “Hi my name is Ashley, we went to school together back in grade 1” the start of a conversation with a person you cannot remember but are trying to. Later turns out the person is an old man running under false labels and is just trying to get to you.


That’s not all, there are still more problems associated with communicating through social software. One of these issues is an addiction, Twitter, Facebook, and even Youtube is filled with addicts as they feel the need to keep everybody updated on their life minute to minute. I have one such friend who once went clubbing with me, he was busy updating his facebook status every couple minutes to the point where it began to irritate me. His posts were along the lines of:-
“in line outside Zouk”
“still in line outside Zouk”
“have moved closer to the entrance of Zouk”
“Phuture is already full so going to enter Zouk”
“just entered Zouk”
“waiting in line to get my free drink”
“saw hot babe while waiting in line for drink”
…you get the idea…

When social software becomes your primary means of communication you lose your grip on reality and you also lose the privacy that you had as people get into the habit of just posting everything without thinking of future consequences.

Over and all social software is the latest trend for communicating one on one as well as your thoughts to the general public. It is very efficient as many people are now on it, but it must be used with caution as there are many problems associated with it.

Club Generation : House Culture

Butter Factory, Zouk, and Attica are all prominent clubs in Singapore’s nightlife scene. What do these clubs all have in common? House music is becoming a very prominen genre of music. With more and more popular artists getting involved it has become one of the latest trends. Take for example Will.I.Am, frontman for the RnB group Black Eyed Peas, him and world famous DJ Steve Aoki collaborated for a song named “I’m In The House”. Will.I.Am, under his new alias Zuper Blaqh sang to the beat that Steve Aoki spun.

House music has been around since the 80’s but became widely known in the last 3 years. With more and more artists heading to blend their lyrics to house beats this culture has taken shape and influenced music mass media in a dynamic way. Clubbers are widely exposed to this music and it changes the way people do things. For example, “shuffling” is the latest fad in clubs and is best associated with house music. The cultures involves people moving to slightly faster and more bass oriented beats.

House music culture is very interesting as it very easily incorporates other genres of music. Intercultural communication is very prominent in this manner with regards to house music as it is so easy to mix with other cultures of music. David Guetta, currently one of the world’s most popular DJs, released his album “One Love” with every one song involving tracks from other genres like R&B, rock and even pop.

Culture is said to be learned, shared, dynamic, multifaceted, and has identities that are overlapping. The culture of house music matches all of these characteristics much like the way David Guetta mixes his music. There is no definitive list of criteria that defines what House music truly is, just a string of pre-requisites: that of electronic sounds and lots of bass. Much like culture as a whole, it is constantly evolving, and the face of house music can change from year to year.

Widely distributed through the mass media in different forms, the house culture has spread to soundtracks for more than just Hollywood based movies. Even Indian music has begun to incorporate more and more traces of the house genre. One of the functions of media is to transmit culture, in this manner the radio has been of great assistance in the spreading of house music. One of the most heard songs one radio in the last few months has been David Guetta’s “Sexy Chick”.

The house culture is shaping the music industry as a whole. All forms of mass media are now heading to involve house music in any manner they can. It is a powerful tool that does not hold any specific message and allows followers to listen with no strings attached.

Ice Hockey... More than just a Game

“HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES!” The words that any Canadian would love to hear, especially over the next two days.

As you all would know, the 2010 Winter Olympics are happening on the scenic mountains of Vancouver, Canada, my city of residence for the last eleven years before moving to Singapore. Obviously I’m feeling annoyed about the fact that the Olympics are taking place in my city and I am sitting on the other side of the world where sadly the Olympic fever seems to be at the lower end.

There are many events in the winter Olympics; many dangerous sports and exhilarating proceedings. But there is one sport above the rest that brings unanimously brings all of Canada together in one shot, ice hockey. The love for this sport is felt by everyone in Canada, especially people in Vancouver as they are home to the Vancouver Canucks, a hockey team that plays in the NHL.

Hockey fever is out of control in Vancouver right now with our home teams most loved player, Roberto Luongo (goal keeper), playing the lead goal keeper for Team Canada.

Through all the emotions and fans, the players always need to have the proper mindset when they get on the ice. This is where communication becomes crucial to the sport.

Contrary to many may believe, hockey is more than doing just what the coach says, it is about you’re your own instinct and feelings as well as taking into consideration your teammates. Hockey players must share a bond on and off the ice for their team to be able to work in harmony.

“When we personal contacts, build a connection with, and establish a relationship with another individual to satisfy our social needs and realize our personal goals” (Gamble and Gamble, 2005)All players needs to have interpersonal communication with each other and with their coaches for the team to work in unison. The quantitative approach to interpersonal communication is key in team sports. Everyone needs to communicate with each other to work up strategies and come up with effective plays.

Team Canada is more than just a bunch of individuals from different cities playing together. It is “a collection of individuals who, as a result of interacting with one another over time, become interdependent, developing shared patterns of behavior and a collective identity”. They must all work together in synergy to win games and make their fans, supports, and nation proud.

This is not an easy task, there must be constant chatter between players so they all know what’s happening around them. Hockey is a fast paced and intense game where teamwork is crucial. Formatting which players are on the ice at the same time, picking plays, taking opportunities, and knowing what needs to be done is very important. When members of the group think only about themselves, then it causes problems for everybody so they all must work in harmony, in other words not everyone should be looking to score goals, they should also be looking at passing and taking control of the game.

Once there is true synergy and effective group communication amongst the team members then everything will flow smoothly.

Team Canada has now reached the semi finals where they will face Slovakia. If they win they will be matched up against the US or Finland in a battle for the gold medal.

GO CANADA GO!!

2012: A Man-Made Pandemic?

In this modern day and age, media plays a big role in our lives. We are greatly influenced by what we see on tv and in movies as well as what we hear in songs and what we read in books and newspapers. One of the most hard hitting movies I saw recently was “2012”. It sent a strong message to its viewers suggesting that we have abused the planet without giving enough back to it and now it’s going to claim everything back from us.

The movie “2012” is based on the Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21, 2012. After watching the movie I felt that it was a very powerful stimulus in telling people to respect what we have now and especially to respect the Earth and all that it has given us.

“The Mayans saw this coming thousands of years ago”, a line said by Professor West in the movie indicating that this was indeed a Mayan prediction. However the Mayans may not have been able to pinpoint the exact cause for the end of the world.

“Perception is the process selecting, organizing, and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to eh communication we receive” , stated Seller & Beall. Throughout the movie these processes took place in my mind. I was consciously selecting the bits of information that were said through dialogues or depicted through the visual effects of the movie. This was then organized into sub-categories. I was then able to interpret it in my own way. The thing that I realized as to what hit me most was a question, why is this happening? Why was the world coming to an end?

It may just be my own mindset, my cognitive schemata so to say, but the point was that in less than 2 years time this might be our reality so why will it happen? Can we prevent it?

As the movie continued more cities were laid to waste, more chaos was caused, and more lives were lost. In the movie, the man playing the president stated clearly “The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end.” Then my question soon came to form. This can all be attributed to the way we treat our planet. We take too much without giving enough back to the world

The second message that this movie delivered to me was that “is not all human life equal?” The movie shows that in an effort to save the human race only the most influential, beneficial, and wealthiest members of society should be given a chance to survive. Is this true?

These were just some thoughts that I interpreted while watching the movie. It was a movie that struck me as significant, and one that we should all learn something from. Many others have also been greatly affected by this movie, some even broke out into tears after watching it and have made a sincere effort to change. But this is not something that may be curtailed by only effort from a small group of people, everyone has to make an effort. Treat he planet the way you want to be treated and we could avoid “doomsday”!

Volkswagon Teddy Bear!!!

I came across this interesting Volkswagen advertisement. It was a very funny add because of its novelty and because it used a little boy with a teddy bear to advertise a car. This add used the 3 methods of persuasion quiet effectively, thus making it a convincing ad.

The advertisement uses pathos because it portrays a little child and a teddy bear. Both are particularly appealing to most individuals . both relate to children , something that attracts attention, it also appeals to most peoples emotional side. Most people would look at the add and go ‘aww how cute’.

There is a distinct novelty in viewing a teddy bear bigger as big as a house. This further attracts attention.

The add also uses a certain amount of logos. By portraying the traditional house in the background, with the mail box and manicured front lawn, along with the little boy, the add indicates that the car is appropriate for families. It immediately attracts the attention of anyone wishing to purchase a family car.

However one of its drawbacks is that the add does not give any real information about the car. It does not even portray an image of the whole car, thus failing to give viewers a definite idea of what the car looks like.

Ethos is used simply by portraying the brand name; Volkswagen is a well known and popular brand, something which automatically lends the ad credibility. Furthermore Volkswagens are often associated with being a ‘family car’.

All is all, this was a very interesting add.

What do you think?