iPhone 5

     Mac vs. PC users seems to be the big technological divide of our generation. You either love Apple products, or you hate them.
     Apple released its iPhone 5 only a little over a week ago and sold over five million phones just three days after its launch, according to CBS news. People around the country waited in lines for hours just to get their hands on the newest Apple phone. There were even blogs and articles about how to survive the iPhone 5 line.
      Like any new technological product, in the first weeks after they are released, customers start to see some flaws. Apple is no exception. CNN reported on the top five complaints of the iPhone 5:
1. Scratches
2. New connector
3. Too light
4. Screen Issues
5. Leaking light
     Apple CEO Tim Cook just recently apologized for the map flaws in the new iPhone 5. But, just like the podcast posted above said- no matter what, someone is going to have a problem with the new phone. Complaints like "too light" or "new connector" have nothing to do with the quality of the phone itself, just people's preferences. The podcast played a song that Steve Jobs played when he flew back early from his vacation to make an apology for the flaws with the iPhone 4s. The lyrics are "If you don't want an iPhone 4, don't buy it. If you bought one and you don't like it, bring it back."




This song pretty much speaks for itself.
     After months of carrying around a cracked iPhone 3, I am ready for my iPhone 5 to arrive in the mail any day now. Regardless of the phone being "too light" or the "work-in-progress maps application," I'm just excited to finally have a phone that can take video and quality photos. Who knows though, maybe in a month from now I'll have my own ridiculous complaints.

"A Thousand More"

A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/training/a-thousand-more

          A Thousand More is a video I first watched in my multimedia class sophomore year, and as I was browsing through an awesome website called Media Storm I saw the link to the video again. Having forgotten what exactly the story was about, I clicked it again. Let me tell you, this video is worth all 13 minutes of your time. A good multimedia piece should inspire you and squeeze your heart, and that's exactly what this pieces does. Since I've seen the video a few times now, I decided to break it down into the components of what I think makes it such a successful piece.

Pauses

          When putting the piece together, they weren't afraid to leave in pauses. Silence is okay! The entire story is told through soundbites, which is part of what makes it so powerful. I never realized until now how intrusive having an anchor voice reading in the background can be to a piece. It really puts up a barrier to the direct line of emotion the viewer feels. The power of just having the main characters tell the story is incredible. When one of the parents started choking up, they wouldn't cut the camera right away and go to the next shot. They would let the camera sit, and let the viewer feel the emotion and pain with the parents. The pauses in the piece really allow you to become emotionally invested in their life. A key to a good multimedia piece is letting your viewers feel the emotion, and the best way to do that is through the actual character's voices and direct emotions.

Character Development

         Another reason I think this video is so strong is how they developed the main character, Philly Mayer. He is the first person we are introduced to visually and audibly. They pieced together a simple string of bites about what he wants to be when he grows up, and let that give the viewer an insight to who this little boy really is. I love that they chose this way to introduce Philly. They didn't let his disease define him. They let the story naturally unfold in a way that didn't feel rushed or out of order. After the initial introduction, they don't stop developing his character and just focus on his disease, they continue to show his every day life to let the viewer get even closer to him and experience life as if they are with the family.

Depth

          I think this goes hand and hand with character development, but you can really tell the depth the journalists went into to tell this boy's story. All the video isn't from one day, it's from multiple different visits and important events in the family's life. The still shots, pictures and videos from when Philly was younger also help tell the full story. This depth makes the viewer feel like the story is complete and there aren't pieces missing or questions unanswered.

          This video is a great example of excellent journalism. I'm really interested in doing more long-term pieces like this where I am able to tell more of an in-depth story rather than short, hard-hitting news. This video is such a great example of the power of journalism when you take the time and effort to tell a meaningful story in a powerful way.

Every True Son

      I hate to even give this article the time of day and give it more attention by writing a blog post based on it, but it really made me realize what it means to be a true fan.
      I'm not going to sit here and act like I know everything about football or that I even truly understand the significance about being a part of the SEC, but these are just my opinions and observations on what it means to support your team.
      I've spent at least an hour now reading through all the comments on the article, and people could go back and forth for hours. I've seen UGA fans criticizing Mizzou's lack of accomplishments in college football, and Mizzou fans criticizing the article in general saying that an article like this would have never been published at the best journalism school in the country. I understand fans from different schools will never see eye-to-eye on an issue like this, but sometimes I feel like people forget what really matters.
      No matter what sporting event you attend, there will ALWAYS be a handful of rude fans. It's immature to let that small section represent the entire fan base as a whole. What upset me the most about the article is his comment about what Mizzou fans wear to the games. He criticized us for showing up in our jeans and gold t-shirts, while UGA fans wore their sundresses and "Saturday best." It's a football game. Why does it matter what either team wears? If Georgia fans choose to wear sundresses, that's their choice...and if Mizzou fans choose to wear their jeans and t-shirts that their choice. Since when is fan fashion important to how well your team plays on the field? I understand that there are certain traditions and reputations that go with each conference, but why should we be expected to change our traditions overnight?
      Probably the thing that upset me the most about Saturday's game (besides the loss) was the lack of loyalty in some of the Mizzou fans. The week previous to the game, Mizzou's first SEC game was all the hype on campus. Saturday was the most beautiful day on MU's campus. Just the atmosphere before the game was so exciting, and I had a great time hanging out with friends and seeing all the UGA fans. Obviously going into the game I wanted our Tigers to win, but I understood that the game was predicted to be extremely close. Regardless of what Jeremy Dailey says, I absolutely love the M-I-Z, Z-O-U cheer. It gives me chills every time it echos throughout the stadium and makes me proud to be a part of the University of Missouri. After we started losing by one touchdown in the fourth, a lot of the people around me in Tiger's Lair started saying "Oh, the game is over" when there was at least 7 minutes left in the quarter! I know it's frustrating when it feels like your team is giving up, but I was really disappointed with how easily the fans were giving up.  You can be upset, or frustrated, or disappointed with your team, but just like we expect them to play until the clock hits 0:00, don't give up on your team before the clock hits 0:00.