Mainstream Music and Technological Communication

Interesting new music has been placed in my line of vision...make that, my line of hearing.


Mainstream media usually glorifies having the latest and greatest technology. From cars to computers to phones, the media has a way of promoting an overdose of technology. I recently came across an artist by the name of Lupe Fiasco. Fiasco often offers his CD's for free and has become very popular in mainstream music. In the song included below he goes on to describe a society that has been inundated with "i's." iPhone, iPad, and even an iGod!


Cleverly written and put together to give the listener pause to think, the song is definitely an eye opener into the idea of "Black Friday" and people waiting in long lines, all for the latest and greatest of technological communication products that are supposed to help us all relate and connect to one another on a greater global scale, all the while alienating and disconnecting us from the people closest to us.


Enjoy :)





LYRICS


[Intro]
Really? This is what you guys been doing?
Searching


[Hook 1]
Before the break there were none
And as it broke there was one
From moon to sun, it goes on and on
The winter battle was won, the summer children were born
And so the story goes on and on
Come on woman in your left beats
Those in bed with the house keys
So fair weather feels heartbreak from here to eternity
Come on woman in your own time
Far far far from the virgin pine
Rise on now from the dead leaves
Come back to me
Oh, she sings her favorite song
Left to her tears and dreams, it goes on


[Verse 1]
Standing in line for the new one
Not the black, but the blue one
And I don't even know what it do, son
Steve Jobs said that it's too fun
Fun in a bun is what I need
It's cold out here, put my arms in the sleeves
I'll probably lose my place if I leave
But I really need to pee
If I do it right here they'll see
Makes you wonder, how do snipers
Marathon bikers
Next time: diapers
They say it has all new features
Faster processors and much better speakers
Great for kids, a necessity for teachers
For work or home, a revolutionary way of being alone
I mean, should we really get a loan?
Hey what's the matter, just tell it to your phone
Cupertino heart with Chinese parts
Built by the poor, but designed by the smart
They open the door so you go
On your mark, get ready, set, buy
Imagine a world where everything starts with an I
But it still ends with a die
Probably got an app for that, you could try
Above the iClouds, right into the great wifi
Siri, can iGod really hear me?
"Does not compute -- can you repeat more clearly?"
"Woaaaaah"


[Hook 2]
A vessel in the bloodline
A thirteenth Zodiac sign
A stitch in time, it goes on and on


[Hook]


[Verse 2]
Standing in line for some new Ones
Had a bunch of blessings but I blew them
Asked Google how to use them
Sent me to a section about used guns
New runs, nuns'll scream, moms with jeans
Match their teens' jeans and genies who try to chew gum
Aw man, it's so confusing
Confusion in the bun is what I have
Good thing that God accepts cash
Maybe buy my way out his wrath
Sceptically, why am I way off this path?
Atheism's cheaper, and accepts Visa
My thoughts as I'm queing up for sneakers
Won't discriminate, getting all eight
In every color that they make
Beaverton hearts with Chinese parts
Built by the poor and designed by the smart
On your mark, get set, cop em!
Imagine a life that revolves around shopping
Conspicuous consumption
That means it serves no other function
But to show off to someone
Others who only try to show off to you -- look at your fellow loyal customers
Isn't harmony great?
Look at all these friends that marketing makes
How many fries can these arteries take?
I'll give McDonald's a little help here
I think they should expand into health care
And then you'll have all ends covered
Even make caskets, have it all umbrella'd
Can you make a corporation fear me?
"Couldn't hear your order, can you speak less clearly?"


[Hook 3]
That witch was burning the ground
Will someday come back around
From dust from to dust it goes on and on


Before daybreak there were none
And as it broke there was one
And still the story goes on and on


[Found on RapGenius.com]

Technology Shmology

I recently came across this post on the Facebook page of a friend of mine. She posted this after having numerous issues with her iPhone and I thought that it would be humerous, and interesting, to share. Often times we expect technology to make life much easier for us, but many times the opposite occurs, and we end up alienating ourselves from our friends and families.

Enjoy.
__________________________________________________

"Dear iPhone,

I just want you to understand why I feel the way I do. I have spent so much time with you since February, often forsaking conversation with my friends and associates to fiddle with you and explore your many possibilities (aka, applications). I will never forget our walks in the park, dinner and a movie, and simply relaxing at work when I should have been working.

You see, sometimes I love you, like on those rare occasions that you work perfectly and give me absolutely no problems. Then there are those long and seemingly unending days when you decide to play with my emotions and not charge, show me my voicemail, nor connect to my applications. It is during these times that I loathe you. Plain and simple, iPhone, you and I have quite the love/hate relationship. I'll tell you what; I will grant you one more opportunity to prove yourself. If you fail in this task, my dear, I'm afraid that I will have to leave you, and AT&T, for Verizon and the Motorola Droid. iPhone, my love, there will always be a place for you in my heart, and my purse. This is why I will continue to use you as an mp3 player. (You do, after all, have 8 perfectly good and usable GB's).



Periodically yours,

Sarita

SN: iPhone, you lied to me! You look NOTHING like your MySpace page! I don't think you EVER looked like your MySpace page!"

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

Laying people off is often the most difficult task  for most people to do, even in a prosperous economic climate. Unless the boss is Donald Trump, most people would cringe at the idea of having to let an employee go. If I were dealing with an employee who has been performing at a substandard level I would create time to have supervision with the employee and work on a game plan to help that employee become more productive. However, nonproductive and substandard work combined with complaints from customers and other coworkers would definitely warrant more direct  action, such as a write up or termination. These types of employees are often confrontational and quick to be on the defensive side. I would approach an employee like this very carefully, at first. I would explain the increasing issue and allow the employee an opportunity to explain his or her actions and suggest possible solutions before terminating employment. Communicating the facts would be essential, of course, and the employee could have several possible responses.

Denial

2.      Anger

3.      Apathy/Nonchalant

4.      Remorse and Concern

With the first three reactions I would likely consider termination immediately. However, if the employee were to show sincere concern for the issues being presented and seek resolution I would sit with the employee to work on a plan to increase workflow. The employee would be place on a probationary period where the work productivity would be closely monitored and checked on a weekly basis.

In responding to such an issue I believe that empathy and compassion are essential to the situation you must also consider what is in the best interest of the company or organization and the other employees and customers. While you want to attempt to understand where the employee is coming from or what he or she is going through  so that you do not unjustly terminate someone you also do not want to ignore what could become an  enormous liability and no one should want to be the weakest link on a team.

At the company I currently work at before an employee is let go the supervising manager sits down with the employee to discuss strengths and weaknesses and why the employee is having problems. If  it is determined that the employee is simply not a good match for that particular position and the employee has no other issues they are either reassigned to another department or the supervisor will help find a position with a connected organization or agency outside of the current one that would be suitable. If the issue is one of attitude and disrespect then and the employee is unwilling to change their output then they are simply let go and wished the best of luck. Most people leave the company with a simple “Thank You.”

How to communicate when there's cultural diversity

10 Commandments of intercultural communication;




I. Be aware of differing social values II. Be aware of differing status symbols and how to demonstrate them;



III. Be aware of decision making customs: not all people like to make decisions quickly and efficiently; IV. Be aware of concepts of time: not all people like to see time as money;



V. Be aware of personal space: people from different cultures have different 'comfort zones'; VI. Be aware of cultural context: people from certain cultures (called 'high-context cultures) rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. People from low-context cultures like the USA rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and implied meaning to convey meaning;



VII. Be aware of body language: learn the basic differences in the way people supplement their words with body movement; VIII. Be aware of different etiquette rules or manners: what is polite in one culture may be considered rude in another;



IX. Be aware of legal and ethical behavior;  X. Be aware of language barriers: English is the most prevalent language in international business, but it's a mistake to assume that everyone understands it.



To me number eight is one of the most important of the 10 Commandments of intercultural communication. I chose number eight because so many times our body language are manners can defend others without us knowing. I can recall when I was in the U.S. Navy and before we left the ship in Dubai we received a brief on the customs and manners of the people of Dubai. I can remember one of the customs it stood out to me was when sitting down don't sit with your legs crossed, but keep both of your feet placed on the floor. I found this to be funny, not because I cross my legs but I didn't know the reason behind it. I learned the reason behind it was because in some Muslim countries it is an insult to show the soles of your shoes to someone.

I can also recall when Pres. George H. Bush was in office. He visited Australia, while departing from the plane President Bush waived a peace sign to the people. In America it was no big deal because we've seen many presidents waived the peace sign. Unfortunately in Australia the peace sign is equivalent to what we call shooting a bird. I guess you can see the ruckus it caused in Australia and the embarrassment it caused the president. I am surprised no one briefed him on the etiquettes and manners of the people of Australia. I'm a firm believer in paying attention to detail and taking care of the little things in life. Some things may seem trivial or unimportant to us may have a greater effect on someone from a different culture.


Hahn, M. (2005). Ten Commandments of Intercultural Communication. Retrived from, http://EzineArticles.com/120247

Media Technologies

Television- It's been estimated that 238 million people watch television on a regular basis. Television is one of the oldest but most commonly used media technologies we have today. Even with the invention of the Internet, telephone, and gaming systems most people still tend to watch television or certain shows on a regularly. Television can be used by all audiences.

 
Radio- There is still a large portion of the population that listen to the radio. As much as 84.8% of the US population listens to the radio on the on a daily basis. I do have to admit listening to the radio today is not the same as it was 50 years or even 10 years ago. I don't know of anyone that listen to soap opera programs on the radio anymore. I listen to sports talk radio or one of our local sports teams broadcast on a daily basis. With the invention of XM radio people can listen to what ever genre of music or talk shows without little interruption from commercials. Radio doesn't have one defined audience.

Twitter- is a social site like Facebook that is used by millions to keep up with family and friends. It is also used for networking, too. Twitter has become very popular over the past year. When on twitter if you decide to send a message with 140 characters it is called twittering. If you decide you like to send a smaller message with family and friends is called a tweet. Twitter is another way to get your thoughts and ideas out instantly over the World Wide Web. The audience for twitter is anyone, although I believe parents should strictly monitor their kids friends and people they follow on twitter.

Facebook- Facebook is a social site that is designed for people to stay in touch with friends and network around common interests. On Facebook you have a status that you can update constantly throughout the day. You can decide who who sees your status, whether it's public or just for your friends. Facebook is organized by the city you live in, the school you attended and by workplace. There is no one target audience for Facebook but I believe kids should be closely monitored by their parents if they have a Facebook account.

How Media Views Black Family Dynamics

Media and Black Family Dynamics

Family Dynamics

Below is an article from CNN that I found interesting.  Many people have the misconception that Black Families in America are dwindling; however the statistics of marriage may not be as desperately low as many studies show. Now that there is a Black Family in leadership in America many people believe that the rate of marriage amongst Black Americans will increase. Only time will tell. As a married Black American male whose wife is a beautiful black woman I can say with surety marriage within Black communities is DEFINITELY NOT a novelty.  Read on and tell me what you think about this article.


Black first family 'changes everything'

New first family offers fresh way to look at black family, some say

Barack and Michelle Obama's chemistry inspires black women

Black family might no longer be defined by its pathologies or humor

By John Blake
CNN

(CNN) -- Jamaal Young was watching Barack Obama and his family greet an ecstatic crowd in Chicago, Illinois, on Election Night when he realized that something seemed wrong.


President Obama and his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, greet the nation.

1 of 3 Obama didn't shout at his wife, Michelle, to shut up. The first lady didn't roll her eyes and tell Obama to act like a man. No laugh track kicked in, no one danced, and no police sirens wailed in the background.

Young had tuned in to celebrate the election of the nation's first African-American president. But he realized that he was witnessing another historic first. A black family was being featured as the first family, not the "problem family" or the "funny family."

"They are not here to entertain us," says Young, a New York Press columnist. "Michelle Obama is not sitting around with her girlfriends saying, 'My man ain't no good.' You're not seeing this over -sexualized, crazy black family that, every time a Marvin Gaye song comes on, someone stands up and says, 'Oh girl, that's my jam.' "

The nation didn't just get a glimpse of its new first family when Obama and his family waved to the crowds on Inauguration Day. The Obamas are offering America a new way to look at the black family, Young and other commentators say.

America has often viewed the black family through the prism of its pathologies: single-family homes, absentee fathers, out of wedlock children, they say. Or they've turned to the black family for comic relief in television shows such as "Good Times" in the '70s or today's "House of Payne."

But a black first family changes that script, some say. A global audience will now be fed images of a highly educated, loving and photogenic black family living in the White House for the next four years -- and it can't go off the air like "The Cosby Show."

"The last time we had an image of a black family that was this positive it was "The Cosby Show," but this is the Real McCoy," says Jacqueline Moore Bowles, national president of Jack and Jill of America Inc., a predominantly black organization for youths.

A new vision of black intimacy

The new first family could inspire some of their biggest changes within the black family itself, some say

In 1965, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democratic senator from New York, warned the nation about the rise of fatherless black families. He concluded that many black families were caught in a "tangle of pathology." The pathology persists. The U.S. Census Bureau said that 69 percent of black women who gave birth in 2005 were unmarried (it was 31 percent for white mothers).

The relationship between Obama and his wife may help untangle some of that pathology, some black commentators say.

It could start with black intimacy. The American public is routinely exposed to sexually charged relationships between black men and women. "Street lit" books with titles such as "Thugs and the Women Who Love Them," and "A Project Chick" now crowd bookstores and public library shelves.

Yet the new first couple offers America an example of a black, passionate, marital relationship, says Jennifer Brea, a writer for EbonyJet.com.

"They are the most natural and accessible first couple this country has ever had," Brea says. "You see a politician give a peck on his wife's cheek after a speech and often it looks staged. When you look at them, you feel like that there's this chemistry and spark."

Several black women actually sighed as they talked about how much Obama seems to touch his wife and exchange soulful glances with her in public. They said Obama will show young black men how to treat women -- and young black women how they should be treated.

"We don't get to see black love," says Heidi Durrow, the prize-winning author of the forthcoming novel, "Low Sky Dreaming."

"But every time you see them [the Obamas] on stage, it's been super," she says. "It's an amazing image to see these dynamic, smart, progressive people just openly affectionate. I'm all for it."

Obama's apparent closeness to his wife may help untangle another pathology -- the preoccupation with skin color and "looking white," Bowles, president of Jack and Jill, says.

Bowles says some powerful black men marry women who are white or fair-skinned. Obama's decision to marry a darker-skinned woman like Michelle Obama shows black women that black can indeed be beautiful.

"Too often successful black men look for other things ... a white woman or someone who is light, bright and darn near white," Bowles says. "She [Obama] is a true sister, and she makes no bones about it."

'They're not 'Bebe's Kids' '


But what about those blacks who haven't been considered "true sisters" or "true brothers." A black first family changes that script as well, some say.

Obama's family shows that there is not one way, but many ways for someone to claim membership in the black family, some say.

Brea, the writer for EbonyJet.com, is the daughter of a white mother and a Haitian-American father. She says she felt pressure to claim one race growing up. She never quite felt like a full citizen.

Obama's biracial background and his "exotic" upbringing relieves her of that pressure. Obama will help other blacks who come from multiracial backgrounds and immigrant communities to be comfortable in their own skin, she says.

"It's changed everything," she says. "You can sort of be whatever you want in all of its complexity, and it's something to be proud of."

The Obamas' two daughters, Malia and Sasha, also offer America a new way to look at black kids, others say. Throughout Inauguration Day, the two girls stood before the cameras and waved, smiled and played to the cameras.

Durrow, the author of "Low Sky Dreaming," says it's refreshing to see well-spoken black children on television who act nothing like "Bebe's Kids," the unruly black kids from the ghetto immortalized by the late black comedian Robin Harris.

"It's wonderful for people on the world stage to see young black kids who are so poised and vivacious," Durrow says. "They're not 'Bebe's Kids.' I see them and I get the sense that they're going to be OK."

Though the new first family may seem like a novelty to some, for others they are familiar.

Barbara McKinzie, international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, says she grew up in a small town in Oklahoma surrounded by black couples and an extended family of teachers and neighbors, who were knit together like the new first family.

She didn't need to look at the Inauguration Day festivities to see a vibrant black family.

"It's not new, but it appears new," she says. "The president and his wife and children are not a novelty in the African-American community.

"It's the only family I've known in my life."