the Ecology of Media : Cell Phonez ?

**ACTUAL CONVERSATION I HAD ABOUT A MONTH AGO**

SCENARIO

I walked to a nearby convenience store to buy some candy and a lottery ticket for myself and rent a movie for my mom. Of course they didn’t have the movie she wanted, and I didn’t want to come back empty handed because I’d likely just have to go back…AGAIN. And I know what you’re thinking. “WHY DON’T YOU JUST CALL HER.” Well, I would have…but unfortunately I was out of minutes. Yes, minutes. I still don’t have a plan. Anyways, I noticed a payphone nearby and decided to do something our previous generations would do in this predicament. Problem number 2 was that I only had my debit card and a quarter that I didn’t even know I had. “KICKASS! I CAN MAKE A CALL WITH THIS QUARTER!” but wait… WTF?!! 50 CENTS. 50 FUCKING CENTS. That was a sad day.

*SOME DAYS PASS*

VIKKI – Did you know that payphones cost 50 CENTS now for a local call ?!?!
FRIEND – Yeah, well, they should have to pay 50 cents because they don’t have to pay CELL PHONE BILLS!
VIKKI - …really?

Yeah, I don’t really know why I’m friends with her either. BUT regardless, I am going to take this opportunity to talk about the cell phone.
Do you remember when only the richer families owned cell phones? (And I mean one cell PER family) They became progressively more common among the middle class, especially for people in the workplace. Today it is not uncommon to see a twelve-year-old with his or her own cell phone, so what happened? Is our shift in what is considered a luxury and a necessity actually occurring as the cell phone’s technology is meanwhile advancing? A cell phone is no longer a cell phone in the current market and it is literally impossible to find a new cell phone whose only feature is calling and texting. My cell phone (which is less than two years old) isn’t “SEXY” (quoted by my conversation girl) anymore, and is also a camera, mp3 player, and probably other things. I always found it hilarious when my friends praised camera phones back when they were fresh. “OMG RLY? I CAN FILM A MINUTE-LONG VIDEO AND WATCH IT ON AN INCH BY INCH SCREEN?! OR I CAN EVEN PUT MY EXTREMELY PIXELATED, LOW QUALITY PHONE PHOTOS ON MY FACEBOOK?! Yes…you can…

Public Journalism, what ?!

Setting up a blog reminded me of a common process I experienced too frequently when I was a suburban sixteen year living in Myspace...I mean Markham. Yes, I was one of those kids. A Myspace kid. An LJ kid (LiveJournal, duh). I took pictures of myself looking puzzled with my left hand submerged into my tragedy of a hairstyle as if I were looking at something truly mesmerizing in the distance...Except I was standing in my bathroom with my other arm extended before me taking the picture. Yeah, I was one of those kids – You know the ones. I am, however, relieved to say that my old Myspace and LJ accounts have perished. I discovered activities such as playing music and creating art – Who knew such innovative hobbies were ever created?!

There are many aspects of participatory journalism that differ from the type of journalism (if you can call it that) on Myspace or LJ - At least when the journalist is a bored teenager, anyways. In my opinion, the most difficult part of creating a blog is thinking of a clever title for it. MEDIA MADNESS. It isn’t as creative as I’d like it to be, but hey, alliterations are fun, aren’t they? I actually prefer blogging as opposed to any other form of journalism because of the use of internet communication slang. LOL. OMG. O RLY? SRSLY?! LMAO. ROFLCOPTER. LOLLERSKATES!!1! Okay, so considering you were never a suburban kid growing up in the generation of internet slang, you may suffer from a sort of illiteracy. I know, it’s ridiculous. Above all, I have learned that in participatory journalism, every journalist needs a “shtick”. Though I haven’t yet established one, you will likely take note of my written tendencies surrounding the farce of the Media’s New Age in future posts. TTFN!

(www.urbandictionary.com) If helps. Trust.