The Internet of Things are objects that humans are in connection with and have use of that exchange information and that are connected to the Internet. This goes beyond computers and smartphones. Initially, I thought the Internet of Things specifically meant computers of cell phones as I never heard of this term before.  IOT goes further and these Internet things are objects that collect data for various reasons like health, safety, financially and economically that will eventually help humans in the long run.  An example of some Internet of Things is the fit watch. The fit bit, the Apple watch and the Garmin watch are devices that track your information like your weight, heartbeat, steps and calories for health tracking purposes. This device is connected to the Internet collects all your data and every now and then you can update your information by updating the watch on your computer by plugging in your USB cable. These are everyday objects that are great to have to keep up with our everyday activities and living better. In the reading, As Objects Go Online the author stated, “When embedded in everyday objects, these small computers can send and receive information via the Internet so that a coffeemaker can turn on when a person gets out of bed and turn off when a cup is loaded into a dishwasher, a stoplight can communicate with roads to route cars around traffic, a building can operate more efficiently by knowing where people are and what they’re doing, and even the health of the whole planet can be monitored in real time by aggregating the data from all such devices.” (Gershenfeld, Vasseur Pg. 1) In this reading it is stating that there are good and bad things about the IOT and both are equally important. For example, the IOT should learn from the “history of the Internet” (Gershenfeld, Vasseur Pg. 2) in which I agree so that less mistakes are made and that technology will help the IOT grow and we will be able to achieve more things with this concept that will continue to help humans and also businesses.

I am thinking that more needs to happen then items like a fit watch. Technology is increasing and expanding day by day and we need more things that are efficient that can help us on a higher level. In the reading, Why Things Matter, it was stated, “The promising, exciting news around the Internet of Things cannot possibly be the “cool” factor of having my toothbrush connected to the network so that the Proctor & Gamble people knew when I was low on toothpaste.” We need “Things” that can help the war on rats in NYC as an example. My Alexa home device is cute but to me it isn’t all that helpful but it looks like it’s a step in the right direction so I am excited and hopeful. This is why I believe that connecting physical objects to the Internet is beneficial because it will help humans with things like health and safety concerns and even financially by collecting data and using it to elevate us. It would be great for one day to have a device that can track other people who have smartphones that may have a gun on them and can alert us and give us a warning that someone in the vicinity has a gun the same way how they have GPS tracking systems for cars that alert people when there is an up an coming accident or gridlock.

Digital vs. Traditional television, for sometime now we have had an overwhelming amount of subscription TV services coming out.   These services allow viewers to watch their favorite shows wherever and whenever they want. They no longer have to wait every week and sit at home at a specific time to watch their shows. According to one of the articles that we were assigned they explained that the “concept of the traditional line-up and channels goes away when people just chose their shows”. In my personal opinion i enjoy digital television more because we are a fast paced society and having our favorite shows at our finger tips. Many social media sites are coming up with their own subscription sites or free viewing sites like Facebook came out with “watch” however they use paid ads to pay for these shows. Pretty soon traditional tv would be gone.

After reviewing the articles for this week I have to say I can relate the most to the article on Forbes.com. Kevin Spacey gives a speech that seems to electrify the audience. He speaks of the control people who watch television and shows want to have over their lives. This control also lies on the control of what they watch. He goes on to speak about how if a person wants to binge a whole show in a one night it will appeal to them more than having to wait week after week to watch a show. It seems as if digital television, such as Netflix and amazon have taken over the traditional idea of what the concept of television once was.

Kevin goes on about how many pilots are made and how much money is spent to make these pilots for potential television series. It amuses me how so many can be made but less than 20 percent are usually chosen to become a series, and then after that nothing is garunteed to the show. It seems to all be so nerve-wracking. I believe it is sort of idiotic to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for shows that wont even get put on the air. Companies like Netflix just go off popularity actors, creators and writers have on previous shows and offer people a whole season at one. Although it’s a bit risky, it is obvious that Netflix has taken over the television game.

Once upon a time, television was the most entertaining thing there was. People wouldn’t complain about having to wait for a new season to come or even a new episode. Now we’ve revolutionized the television concept itself and have become impatient. People wish to see through a storyline as quickly as possible and move on to the next. Traditional television shows don’t give you that option.

Television and its’ content has definitely changed over the last decade or so. Before, we paid $100 or more in cable each month. Now, we have advanced to streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc) and it seems to be the preferred method of watching television.  As the article “The Future of TV: Digital, Traditional and Something In Between” states, viewers are now in control by being able to watch shows on any device besides a television. We also have the navigation experience and “smart” remotes such as the Roku. Digital TV is data-driven, and traditional TV benefits from that by using digital TV’s tricks. Advertising is an especially powerful tool because television is the largest market for it. It will be able to reach millions of people.

People use streaming services more than ever because it is kind of like customizing your own TV schedule. Cable television is always run on a specific schedule/air time, while streaming is on-the-go or readily available for viewing. Plus, it has different content than a regular television network. It can be more web based because you can connect to Youtube or other video-content sites.

To answer the question, I think reality television has changed the ways we view human connection because it puts people under a microscope and gives a glimpse into what their lives are like. Much of reality television is scripted, however, so it’s also almost like watching an altered reality. It can show the good, the bad and the ugly sides of people. Since it is “reality”, we automatically connect to the people on these shows whether we really believe who they are or not. It also can make us compare each other more often. We look at these reality shows full of celebrities or wannabes, and think about how their lives are compared to other, more “normal” people. It is easy to be influenced by reality shows because after all, they’re trying to be “real”.

These few articles spoke about digital TV and reality TV. In the article titled “The Messy, Confusing Future of TV? It’s Here” the author speaks about how now instead of actually watching certain TV shows, we stream it by using Netflix, Hulu or HBOgo. He also speaks about how Facebook plans on inserting a “watch” tab where you can watch video series for free. Also, Disney is ending its distribution deal with Netflix and starting its new stand-alone streaming service. Who needs cable services with all of this going on? This is why a lot of people get rid of their cable and just stick to Netflix or Hulu or just watching certain shows online. I myself barely watch TV. If I’m not on YouTube then I’m on Netflix. I usually only turn my TV on for background noise. I really feel like in a few years cable might not even be a thing or better yet not as popular. People are slowly starting to realize that there are other ways to watch their favorite shows for free or for way cheaper than what they are paying now for cable. I notice a lot of my own friends/family starting to cut back on their cable packages.

I feel like reality TV changes the way people understand human communication because, certain people look at what is going on in these reality shows and don’t actually realize that most of it is fake. Not only is most of it fake it also can be very negative. Some people are easily influenced by what they see. They see people that they like or look up to acting a certain way on these reality shows and may end up trying to act just like them.

Based on the three articles, you can see how the future of streaming services and companies such as Netflix, Hulu or even Amazon Prime are taking over. Over the years you tend to see people canceling their cable and sticking to buying products like Apple TV’s or Fire Sticks to stream their favorite shows on their TV. Some newer generation televisions have these streaming apps available already installed. It’s just the new way of television. People want to be alone to watch what they want, when they want it. That’s the problem that Cable has. Nobody can just binge watch their favorite show if they wanted unless there is a marathon going on but you still don’t even get to choose what episodes you may want to watch at the moment.

The main problem that I have with these streaming services is that as time goes on, there will be more competition between one another and us, the audience will have to pay for more different services just to watch our favorite shows or movies. For example, Disney is now parting ways with Netflix so they can start their own serivces where people can watch ESPN, live sports, Disney shows and movies. Yes, that means you won’t be able to watch your favorite marvel movies or series on Netflix in the future. It’s kind of annoying in my opinion. It’s just like the music services with Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. Everyone is trying to make their money but it kind of hurts the listeners because some companies give certain exclusives that won’t be available for people that use their competitors app. It’s a shame to see this happen with television and movies.

Everything nowaways moves very fast. Nobody likes to wait for anything. Now that we have the internet, we have a lot of information in our hands and the fact that we can get it in such an instant has us impatient with anything that’s set to come in the future. With the formula of letting the audience have control on what they watch, when they want to in genius in itself.

Joseph Singh

MCS

Jonah Brucker-Cohen

March 8,2018

Weekly Post: Digital and Reality Television

How has reality television changed the ways in which we understand human communication?

Me personally, I don’t believe in certain things. I’m a firm believer in the term, “I gotta see it to believe it.” With, I don’t 100% believe that everything on tv is true or has and real aspects about it. For example, my childhood I grew up watching Man Vs Wild which turned out to be fake after all these years. After finding that out nothing was the same. Also, after finding out about WWE not being real it had the same effect for me.

Reality tv has changed the ways in which we understand human communication in many ways like everyone wants to be a reality tv star, but don’t realize that this stuff isn’t real. Like most reality tv shows are created by producers and are acted out by people who are pretending that what the producers created is their everyday lifestyle. Furthermore, Reality television has created stereotypes. Some positive and some negative, but they can sometimes be the explanation for why certain people of different ethnicities have their beliefs.

Communication and television are kind of working hand in hand. For example, tv stations put out shows and channels, and we the viewers watch them which communicates what we do and don’t like. I feel like reality TV since it has the power to be twisted up and not be 100% true, it sorts of dictates our communication. For example, a show like the Kardashians, Say for instance Kim K gets into an accident, that would be the trending topic and topic of conversation for the next month.

There was once a time when media companies were the sole messenger and there were limited channels in which to deliver messages and content to us, the receiver.  Now there are multiple channels and multiple messengers and the audience does more with the content than just receive it.  The audience decides what content is good and worth putting out and not the other way around anymore.  The receiver of the content is a lot more powerful since reality television and the invention of streaming. A perfect example, I think, would be how many Stranger Things clones there are now.  The audience determines through tweeting, posting, and blogging, what is good on television and what isn’t and their opinions on such things have never been held in as high regard as it is now.