Thesis Paragraph

Religious minorities are empowered by the use of blogs, message boards and wikis. With these tools people of marginalized religions are able to communicate with others of the same religion, with whom they would not have been able to in the first originally. Along with communication, people of marginalized religions can share and gather information about religions in which they may not have had access to in their area. With these tools many religions, new and old, are having more exposure to world then they would have without such wide spread access.



~(with hanging indents)~

Fukamizu, K. (2007). Internet use among religious followers: Religious postmodernism
in Japanese Buddhism. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/fukamizu.html

Kawabata, A., & Tamura, T. (2007). Online-religion in Japan: Websites and religious counseling from a comparative cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 12. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/kawabata.html

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HW 13; A voice to the world or business revenue. What would you say is more important?

It is my view that the impact of blogging on communication is more important then the impact it may have on businesses. This is not to say that the impact is greater on communication versus businesses. What Baker and Green say is true “..they’re going to shake up just about every business–including yours.” Blogs will and are shaking up the business world, but there not the only ones to be “shaken up” and by far are not the most important. The impact that blogging has on communication far outweighs that of business because blogging gives the community a true voice. Were as for businesses this is just another template for advertising, one of many. But, for the community/nation/world there are limited, and normally regulated, means in which to truly voice your opinion to a large group of others. By far this is a more important impact then that of businesses.

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HW 7, Well-Being of Ones Child

I strongly believe that parents should monitor the online writing of their middle-school children. It may be stated that it is good to express yourself and that children should have that right just like anyone else, which I agree, children should be able to express themselves. The problem isn’t with the expressing of ones self; it is a matter of how and what they express, and the lack of understanding the boundaries to that expression. Pre-teens, teens and even young adults need, at varying levels, supervision in the way they interact with society. Without a guiding hand, or at least by the teens perspective a watchful eye, they may get carried away with what they write about. Emily Nussbaum writes about a girl whom fits this behavior of an un-guided teen.

“a student whose confessional postings had become something of a must-read the spring before. Over the course of a monthslong breakdown, she posted graphic descriptions of cutting herself, family fights, sex. It was all documented on her web log, complete with photos and real names”

This is a prime example of why teens should be monitored. This girl, due to stresses in her life, acted out and posted information about herself and family that should not have been shared with a whole student body. Not to say that she shouldn’t have talked about what was going on, but she used the wrong outlet. Instead of getting help by posting, she was encouraged to keep posting, thus encouraging her unsteady behavior. This was no longer a girl writing to friends, but a writer entertaining an audience.
How could this be healthy in anyone’s eyes? Because what this girl was writing about was not monitored, she became boundless in her writing, during a period in which she was emotionally distraught and not thinking clearly. Due to the fact that her parents did not monitor her, they were unaware of the state that their daughter was in. This to me is an undeniable reason for parents to monitor their children. By monitoring, I don’t mean to interfere with their freedom of expression, I only mean that a parent should keep an eye out for subjects and/or out pourings of truths that may be detrimental to the well-being of ones child.

HW 4 Option2, Toshiba; Leading Innovation

I chose to look up Toshiba, an electronics company, most noted for its computers. My speculation of the brands promise was quality and customer service. When I visited the website there promise was more thorough and farsighted then I expected.


“Toshiba delivers technology and products remarkable for their innovation and artistry - contributing to a safer, more comfortable, more productive life.
We bring together the spirit of innovation with our passion and conviction to shape the future and help protect the global environment - our shared heritage.
We foster close relationships, rooted in trust and respect, with our customers, business partners and communities around the world.”

Through my experience with Toshiba I will say that yes the company follows its promise for the most part. I believe this statement is more accurate for higher technological products such as medical and business equipment. But even there lower scale products hold up to the promise of innovation and artistry.

Hw 5, Symbiosis and the Unforeseen Weakness

Kline and Burstein suggest that blogs use the media as their primary source of information thus stating that there is a symbiotic relationship between traditional and new media, which I acknowledge. But, I question Kline and Burstein’s suggestion that this is a notable reason to predict that traditional media will not fade away due to new media’s reliance on the information that traditional media supplies. It is my belief that the symbiotic relationship between these to medias is only a temporary situation. It is very much possible that new media can become more independent as it develops, thus the symbiotic relationship will become weakened and over time non-existent. This to me gives Kline and Burstein’s theory an unforeseen weakness, one not mentioned. I do not intend to completely discredit Kline and Burstein but to implore you to look at these statements and predictions and make sure you truly look at them and test them.