Responsibilty in Media 02

http://kotaku.com/5145182/the-secret-language-of-world-of-warcraft

So, I'm honestly not sure which of the two i should comment on, the kotaku post (Kotaku being a hardcore gamer blog) or the ladies news report.  Honestly? Their both biased as hell.

Lets start with the NBC report.  First off, this isn't even news.  The lady is reporting on World of Warcraft speech (WoW) which, I'm pretty damn sure is just slang, not news.  News is like...Black President now elected, or bombs dropped on American City, Thousands dying, but the news today is gamers have a "Secret Society" where they have their own "Secret Language".  Load of crap, really, but lets move beside that point.

This article manages to skim over a couple of minor points as to what specific words mean, and what their significance is to the culture, but the piece seems to half heartedly educate where it could cover good points.  The point of the news presentation isn't news to begin with either.  It seems almost like a curious highschool girls giggle fest over an outsiders culture.  "ohh, they say kek instead of lol, ohmigawd thats so weird hahaha".  Smirth would wag his index finger.  Bad reporter, no cookie.

Moving on, we then have the opposing piece, the one written by Kotaku.  He tries to sound reasonable, but the article also skims the surface.  He makes the same points i do.  The article is not informitive, its not strong, and its shallow.  But the blog poster comments on precisley what the wow player was saying, translating the WoW speak.  I feel like he's adding flame to the fire just by translating and re-writing what the man has said.

Really, WoW speak is a way for the anti-social to put up more walls and barriers.  As a gamer, I find WoW speak to be horrid.  Whenever i'm at a dinner table and someone brings up WoW, everyone their who plays breaks into a conversation about the latest path, scrambling the conversation up with this language.  The report shouldn't be on the translation of the language, but about the community and culture, the diversity of it, and what the language does to break up average conversations.

Maybe im just too hopeful, maybe I'm just bitter of the pieces of my time that have been destroyed by the bull-crap of WoW speak.  Regardless, thiers something lost in a conversation every time someone pulls up WoW.  Its just a downer, really.

Responsibilty in Media 01

So I'm doing some responsibility in Media homework.  If you read this because your itnerested in my day/opinion, this is also vaguely related.  all of my Responsibility in Media homework will be tagged as "RIB" so you can skip anything tagged that way.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28039226/?pg=7#Tech_JerkGadgets

This is what we like to call blatant company bashing.  For those of your who don't understand whats going on, let me make it abundantly apparent:

From O. Rafael: The Game

Oh....Ah....I see what you did there!  This is one of those "News as Editorials" thing, isn't it?  If you still don't get whats going on, lemme give you the skinny in an easy A-B-C format.

Microsoft owns the computer Software industry.  In order for a computer to run, it needs what is called an "Operating System".  This is what teaches a computer how to communicate with a human.  Now, when it comes to "Operating systems" (or OS), thier are two main marketed choices: Apple, and Microsoft.

What people don't know, is that their is a third operating system.  Linux, is what is called "Open Source" software. Its a special type of software thats free for everyone to use, everyone to distribute, and its totally free.  So wheres the missing link that has me in outrage?

MSNBC is owned by microsoft.  Hence, the "MS" tacked onto "NBC".  The MS stands for "Microsoft".  The news source that comes from microsoft is flat out telling its readers that usage of Linux makes you a jerk, a loser, a douche.  This "Fuller Spectrum of News" website doesn't nuture, help or inform.  The article is essentially flat out telling you that the usage of this third party alternatives makes you an annoyance.

However they were honest enough to point out that the publication is owned by microsoft, and that they even don't like some of the commands from rich, totalitarean orginizations (Its small smite on comcast shows some humanity) but this article isn't news, its strait forward pandering.  They are insulting an alternative target, and while they do compliment it, its only to soften the blow they are setting up.  Its by no means an honest entry, and should really, really not have been published.