Linn Benton Community College Radio. Hopefully the students considering starting it will have a catchier title. The idea is a good one, and it seams plausible. There are thousands of students that attend Linn Benton and even more people in the surrounding areas.
The issue with a radio station based at Linn Benton is that it will be expected to talk about happenings on campus and other Linn Benton exclusive topics. To me, anything is possible when it comes to radio. The success is usually based exclusively on delivery. People talking on the radio station, make the radio station.
There are exceptions of course. Niche audiences are a great way to get a loyal following. One idea that appeals to myself, and many others; is a video game based program. Which is a large audience that not local nor large radio stations are appealing to. And according to NBC news this would be more of a wide audience then a niche one. They found that 70% of college students play video games; making this topic in high demand. With a little planning, students could create video game tournaments on campus (let's say every Friday), and broadcast the results on the LBCC Radio station. And making teams/competitors pay a small fee to compete and giving 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, would make the event competitive and generate some revenue to fund the LBCC Radio venture.
Now as awesome as that sounds to gamers like me, a lot of other audiences might be yawning. So another, perhaps more relatable, idea is for a comical talk show. Over the summer I would listen to the same radio station everyday on my way to work because I loved listening to the prank phone calls and "Second Date updates" they had on the morning talk show. Listeners could call in and set up their friends with prank phone calls, and other comical ventures. This could easily be applicable to a college campus. The radio show played Pop music after the talk show, leading me to believe that their target audience was teenagers and young adults; the latter is found at this very place, college.
Idea number two is good for attaining listeners, but has no plan for funding. So, another idea for funding is to find local businesses to sponsor the radio station. And to cut down on costs even further, the job opportunities at the station should be mostly volunteer or internship based.
Another idea is to host events at local "clubs" like Impulse in Corvallis. Guaranteeing to bring in more customers for the business and asking people to pay a small admission fee. Then splitting the profits with the establishment.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Who needs a University when we have Google?
Who needs a University when we have Google?
Ironically, this question is from a book that is required for a class at my.. You guessed it, University. College is where most people go in search of success. We have been told our whole lives that the order of life is K-12 schooling, then college to get a degree. Maybe a Masters if that's what you wish. Because we have been told that this is what is required to get a job, support our families, and be successful. The current educational system with all the standardized testing is built "like a factory", just pumping out students; attempting to make each one the same.
Jeff Jarvis suggests a new educational system, better fit for today's day and age. One of his many ideas is to make education more of a club and less of a class. A system where peers work together and the best students teach subjects. Peer-to-peer education. This would work like a food web of learning. Students all connected in a network, helping and critiquing each other.
Another point he brings to his readers' attention is the fact that schools make students memorize information. One of my favorite quotes by Jeff "Why are we still teaching students to memorize facts when facts are available through search?" Years ago memorization was an important tool. But now with the majority of the population owning smart phones and having any resource they want at their finger tips, a fact is just a couple clicks away. The solution? Fulfill the students' curiosity. Do research, let the students ask questions and find the answers to them.
One thing that I would like to see change in our education system is the need to declare a major. Every student that goes through a 4 year university is generally required to take 2 years of prerequisites, and 2 years or courses that pertain to your major or minor. Why can't students just take whatever courses are interesting to them? Each course would still have credit amounts, and there would still be a required amount of credits to graduate. But instead of taking the required classes, students could take any classes they choose, and get a degree. The degree would just be an "I took enough credits to graduate" certificate. Then when applying to businesses after college, instead of saying "I have a degree in Math" you could just show them the courses you have taken. Students would have a portfolio of classes that reflect their interests and skills.
One thing that I have noticed in my couple years of college is that I don't tend to take classes that won't help with my degree. In fact I don't know one student that does. Because, as we all know, college is ridiculously expensive. I do hope that the cost of college will go down, but even if it didn't, the graduation portfolio of classes would be a way for students to explore their interests and not be "wasting money". For some people it's easy. They know exactly what they want to major in; major in it, and graduate. As for the students like me, they would love to explore programs that many different majors offer. Graduation portfolio would also relieve a lot of the pressure to be set and stone in one major. I could take classes in many different fields, and use that to apply to a vast array of jobs.
Ironically, this question is from a book that is required for a class at my.. You guessed it, University. College is where most people go in search of success. We have been told our whole lives that the order of life is K-12 schooling, then college to get a degree. Maybe a Masters if that's what you wish. Because we have been told that this is what is required to get a job, support our families, and be successful. The current educational system with all the standardized testing is built "like a factory", just pumping out students; attempting to make each one the same.
Jeff Jarvis suggests a new educational system, better fit for today's day and age. One of his many ideas is to make education more of a club and less of a class. A system where peers work together and the best students teach subjects. Peer-to-peer education. This would work like a food web of learning. Students all connected in a network, helping and critiquing each other.
Another point he brings to his readers' attention is the fact that schools make students memorize information. One of my favorite quotes by Jeff "Why are we still teaching students to memorize facts when facts are available through search?" Years ago memorization was an important tool. But now with the majority of the population owning smart phones and having any resource they want at their finger tips, a fact is just a couple clicks away. The solution? Fulfill the students' curiosity. Do research, let the students ask questions and find the answers to them.
One thing that I would like to see change in our education system is the need to declare a major. Every student that goes through a 4 year university is generally required to take 2 years of prerequisites, and 2 years or courses that pertain to your major or minor. Why can't students just take whatever courses are interesting to them? Each course would still have credit amounts, and there would still be a required amount of credits to graduate. But instead of taking the required classes, students could take any classes they choose, and get a degree. The degree would just be an "I took enough credits to graduate" certificate. Then when applying to businesses after college, instead of saying "I have a degree in Math" you could just show them the courses you have taken. Students would have a portfolio of classes that reflect their interests and skills.
One thing that I have noticed in my couple years of college is that I don't tend to take classes that won't help with my degree. In fact I don't know one student that does. Because, as we all know, college is ridiculously expensive. I do hope that the cost of college will go down, but even if it didn't, the graduation portfolio of classes would be a way for students to explore their interests and not be "wasting money". For some people it's easy. They know exactly what they want to major in; major in it, and graduate. As for the students like me, they would love to explore programs that many different majors offer. Graduation portfolio would also relieve a lot of the pressure to be set and stone in one major. I could take classes in many different fields, and use that to apply to a vast array of jobs.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Crimson Peak
I recently spent half a fortune going to the movies to see the new horror film "Crimson Peak". I chose this movie because I enjoy horror movies and because, based off the trailer, it looked like it had more depth than the average horror movie.
The film was directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins. Guillermo is known for his film making career with works like "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Pacific Rim". "Crimson Peak" made over $13 million opening weekend and so far has raked in almost $70 million worldwide.
The movie takes place in the late 1800's. The protagonist is a young girl named Edith, the daughter of a successful American business man. She is an author who's editor insists on her writing romance novels. She insists on writing ghost novels after being visited by the ghost of her mother at a young age. The ghost of her mother foreshadows for us with her single phrase of: "Beware of Crimson Peak." Edith is eventually swept off her feet by a young suitor named Thomas. They get married, and then she moves to Thomas' huge house with him and his sister. And because this is a horror film, once she arrives at his home, he tells her they call this location "Crimson Peak". Edith quickly begins seeing ghosts all over the mansion, and stumbles upon clues as to what is really going on at Crimson Peak. And to avoid spoilers, I will stop here.
This movie is appealing because it isn't like your average horror film, which has it's ups and downs. The positive is that I couldn't predict the entirety of the plot like I could if I went to see another "Paranormal Activity" or any of your other average ghost film. This film might be a direct reflection of people being tired of the "Paranormal Activity" type of movies.
The downside to this movie's uniqueness is that it felt underwhelming in the fear department. Peter Debruge would agree with me in his review stating "Guillermo del Toro creates a visionary haunted house movie with vacancies where scares should be." It almost just felt like a very dark romance movie. It also was somewhat slow moving. The fact that it was slow moving is good and bad. Bad because nobody likes slow moving movies. But good because it had a reason for being slow moving. Unlike some horror movies, "Crimson Peak" actually spent time creating an interesting story line.
"Crimson Peak" had an R rating, making it targeted to adult audiences. The film kind of flopped in the box office. Although critics didn't dislike the film, but instead said it was targeted to a very specific audience; according to Capo Dispatch.
Ultimately, this movie did it's job. It kept me entertained and made me cover my eyes a few times. Unfortunately, it won't stand the test of times. This film is not one that people will be eager to go out and buy on DVD as soon as it is released, because the audience is too specific. The only reason this film will be remembered is because the ghosts in the film were created with beautiful makeup THEN enhanced by CGI. When movies tend to do it the other way around. Here is a link to some of the pictures, not safe for work. And here is a few of the pictures:
The movie takes place in the late 1800's. The protagonist is a young girl named Edith, the daughter of a successful American business man. She is an author who's editor insists on her writing romance novels. She insists on writing ghost novels after being visited by the ghost of her mother at a young age. The ghost of her mother foreshadows for us with her single phrase of: "Beware of Crimson Peak." Edith is eventually swept off her feet by a young suitor named Thomas. They get married, and then she moves to Thomas' huge house with him and his sister. And because this is a horror film, once she arrives at his home, he tells her they call this location "Crimson Peak". Edith quickly begins seeing ghosts all over the mansion, and stumbles upon clues as to what is really going on at Crimson Peak. And to avoid spoilers, I will stop here.
This movie is appealing because it isn't like your average horror film, which has it's ups and downs. The positive is that I couldn't predict the entirety of the plot like I could if I went to see another "Paranormal Activity" or any of your other average ghost film. This film might be a direct reflection of people being tired of the "Paranormal Activity" type of movies.
The downside to this movie's uniqueness is that it felt underwhelming in the fear department. Peter Debruge would agree with me in his review stating "Guillermo del Toro creates a visionary haunted house movie with vacancies where scares should be." It almost just felt like a very dark romance movie. It also was somewhat slow moving. The fact that it was slow moving is good and bad. Bad because nobody likes slow moving movies. But good because it had a reason for being slow moving. Unlike some horror movies, "Crimson Peak" actually spent time creating an interesting story line.
"Crimson Peak" had an R rating, making it targeted to adult audiences. The film kind of flopped in the box office. Although critics didn't dislike the film, but instead said it was targeted to a very specific audience; according to Capo Dispatch.
Ultimately, this movie did it's job. It kept me entertained and made me cover my eyes a few times. Unfortunately, it won't stand the test of times. This film is not one that people will be eager to go out and buy on DVD as soon as it is released, because the audience is too specific. The only reason this film will be remembered is because the ghosts in the film were created with beautiful makeup THEN enhanced by CGI. When movies tend to do it the other way around. Here is a link to some of the pictures, not safe for work. And here is a few of the pictures:
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Newspapers
To my generation newspapers seem to be a thing of the past. In fact the only one my family bothers getting anymore is the Sunday Oregonian. It is no mystery as to why people are flocking away from newspapers. News is delivered straight to all of us; whether it be social media, a blog, or reddit. There is no need to wait on the daily paper when all the news you want is one click away.
As for the future of newspapers, Jeff Jarvis has many suggestions in his book "What Would Google Do?" One of these suggestions I have already discussed a little. Distribution. You may notice that when your parents, friends, relatives, etc. post about news on social media, that it usually links to a newspapers website. This is because newspaper companies are still out there doing all the research and getting all the information we want to hear. The only problem is that we don't want to wait. So Jeff suggests working with people. He does not suggest working with other companies, but working with the public; in his words: "recruiting and mobilizing the public to report."
Another topic he dives into is the inefficiency of newspapers. With newspapers and word of mouth being the only ways of acquiring the news, they had no one to compete with; therefor, no need for maximum efficiency. But now that newspapers are competing with the world wide web, they don't have the time or money to have 3+ editors and publishers look at each story. Because on the internet, something happens, and millions of people are posting, blogging, tweeting, and doing whatever they desire to get the news out. Which, again, puts the newspapers way behind schedule.
One strategy newspapers could pursue, is focusing more on local news. Hear me out. When something big happens in the World, you hear about it. The news comes to you. But you may not see tweets and Facebook posts about smaller local stories. And small stories are still news.
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