Day 8, July 9

Nothing particularly special about today, thus far. The students have completed the presentation of their fragments, and I played in a soccer match. As I am very bad at soccer, I was relieved very quickly. I was glad for this, as my borrowed pair of Adidas was far too small anyways. I was interviewed after the game about my impressions of Russia, and I gave several very long answers.

This is as good a time as any to write about my impressions of Russian students. On the surface, they are very similar to American students. They like to laugh and have fun; they drink too much, and laugh a lot. They are all very nice, and I enjoy speaking with them. What surprises me, however, is the way that they work compared to American students. They both are very industrious, and try to work in a creative portion of their presentation in order to win the support of the other students. However, their presentations and ideas are lacking in several key portions of any PR plan. All of their ideas were completely without budget or timetable information. Additionally, I have yet to understand why any of the students chose the events that they did. Perhaps I could write it off as being lost in translation, but I believe that they are not as focused on the specific business details as American students. However, some of their ideas were very creative, which was laudable. I have noticed a trend among American students to re-apply the same event formula in order to achieve different goals. For example, a charity dinner or golf tournament, or especially a concert at the age of the students, are all very common ideas. However, the students here conceived of wildly more creative ideas, but they did not consider how they would execute them, or how to publicize them, and their understanding of their target demographic seemed lacking. An interesting glance into the world of PR here. Furthermore, and this points to one of the reasons that I wanted to come here, Anya pointed out to me that cultural differences need to be taken into account. Although I knew this already, I suppose that I did not know how deep it ran.

This evening we had a costume party and a large closing ceremony for the program. The students dressed in costumes, and enjoyed each-others company for a final night. The ceremony consisted of many award presentations and giving of gifts to include myself. I was asked to make a hand print in concrete, though I’m not sure what they will do with it. Awards were presented to the individual winning students as well as the teams, and they all made a short speech. The MCs had small performances between the award presentations, and I was included twice! First, they acted out a scene with “me” playing poker, and later three girls and two guys sang a song to me, to the tune of “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. Very funny, and I was lucky to get a photo with them before the party. We went outside for champagne and fireworks, followed by a fairly impressive buffet spread. We tore through the food, as usual.

After the ceremony and party, the faculty had another party. I brought a bottle of wine, which was a meager but appreciated offering.

Day 7, July 8

This morning I presented my master class. I think that it went over very well, although it worked out a bit shorter than I had rehearsed. All told, I clocked in at about an hour, which was fine. It left plenty of time for questions. The students seemed interested but tired, and I got a few laughs out of the crowd in spite of having to use a translator. Anya was excellent, and there were very few misunderstandings on her part as to what I meant. We worked well as a pair, and I seem to have the timing down when it comes to making points through Anya. I received several good questions (although Tanya did not think so) regarding how Boston’s youth problem is similar to the problem in Angarsk. I think that I answered well, as I received applause, and hopefully the students were able to take away something useful from my presentation.

We walked to the neighboring village after my presentation, and I finally got some Russian cigarettes. No word yet as to whether or not they are any good, but I presume that they will be fine. We walked back, had lunch, and walked down to the boat for the tour of Lake Baikal. The lake is absolutely stunning, with a surrounding landscape unlike anything I have ever seen before. The lake is well over 500 km long, and very wide as well. It spans several different types of landscape, from one end of the lake to the other. A very nice ride. I talked with Dmitri about the untouched natural beauty of the lake, and we compared this phenomenon to the beaches of Puerto Rico and the Grand Canyon. I spoke with Tanya for a while, who is very nervous about her English. I was invited to both the Banya and the beach, but had to decline due to the fact that I have to judge more presentations at 5:30.

Luckily, I was allowed to go to the Russian Banya. It was truly a wonderful experience. It is similar to a sauna, where you sit for awhile before jumping in cold water. In this case, it was Lake Baikal, but in the winter the Russians often jump in the snow. After you do this once, you are beaten with birch tree branches before you jump in the water again. After you do this a few times, you eat and drink and talk. We sat in the warm room of the Banya with several fishes, a red pepper, and enough beer and wine to keep us occupied for a while. The Russians, especially Svetlana, are very fond of the Banya’s medicinal properties. Many Russians go to the Banya weekly, some even daily.

After the Banya, we walked back to listen to a presentation fragment and have a discussion, before we began another party. I followed the faculty around for a while, and as I don’t like to bother Dmitri very often to translate for me, I had no idea what was going on. Eventually after having drinks in different places, we arrived at a similar outdoor spot to the one that we had the night before. The party took a similar format, and I was asked to make a toast. I think it went over well; I toasted to my hosts for welcoming me into their culture so warmly, and thanked them for all of their hospitality. I spoke with Dmitri for a while, and there began a sort of ceremony where a fish was cut up. Someone asked Dmitri to explain to me what was going on, and he rambled hilariously for several minutes about how one must use paper napkins, and how the salt and pepper represented the forces of good and evil. Very funny man. I also spoke with Tanya and her friends for a while. I had promised to play the guitar a few days prior, and I had thought that the guitar left with Mr. Goldfarb. Apparently I was wrong, as a guitar was fetched and I was asked to play. Not knowing an entire song well enough to play and sing, I declined. At 2AM we began the leaving procedure, toasting na pasashok, or to the walking stick. The Russian version of one for the road. I played the guitar for a bit in my room, and went to bed around 4.

Day 6, July 7

Today, I awoke late. Too much party last night, I believe. I woke up at roughly 11, but the lecture was cancelled today because the presenter could not make it. I relaxed for much of my free time, and made acquaintances with some of the students. We talked about cultural differences between Russia and America. I was also invited to a party with the students.

Fiodr gave a very informative and entertaining lecture in the afternoon regarding the topic of “the Devil sits in the Details.” Portions of the presentation were broken up by a Russian cartoon depicting the making of a film, interspersed with Fiodr’s discussion of how little misunderstandings and last minute problems can be catastrophic for an event.

Fiodr left after his lecture, and we exchanged cards. I walked back to my cabin after this, and changed into warmer clothes. Dmitri and I walked together, and he discussed with me the longstanding tradition of Russian women taking care of men while they are drinking. This explained why many women hovered around me, feeding me various foods from around the table the previous night. I asked him some questions about culture during business parties, and concluded that my hosts drink a lot and that this is OK in Russia.

We returned for dinner and student presentations, all of which were interesting from some perspective. I was required to judge this round of presentations. Overall, I noticed a number of problems and shortcomings in the presentations. Many of the students completely ignored large portions of the requirements, and their ideas were not expounded upon enough in my opinion. I spoke out once during this, when a group stated that they wanted to publish three magazines and distribute them throughout the county. The main problem with this, as I pointed out, is that people will not just read a magazine without being told to do so by some outside source. Additionally, all of the students failed to compile a proposed budget, or in-depth timetable. Initially, I wrote this off as a difference between Russian PR practice and US PR practice, but during the break I learned that this was not the case.

In the discussion following the presentations, all of the experts were very (and rightfully) critical of the students’ presentations. I spoke out, saying that there needed to be a budget analysis, that there needed to be some sort of driving force through the event (i.e. why did the students want to do things a certain way), and finally I stated that the students needed to listen to their key publics. Their task is to plan an event that will help to convince the youth of Angarsk to stay in the city after they complete their time at university, and I gleaned that many of the students failed to appeal to native Angarskians. There were many emotional responses from the expert, and they were mostly critical. However, a problem arose when some of the experts told students to do one thing, only to be contradicted by another expert immediately thereafter. This problem was only exacerbated when it was decided that the students were not allowed to defend themselves against the criticism of the experts. Eventually Mikhail decided that it would be best if everyone just left and went to their respective parties.

I attended a party with the students, toasted to za zdrovia (sp?) or to your health and future, played (and lost) Texas Hold’em, and enjoyed some aromatic tobacco. Additionally, the students performed for me Russia’s national anthem, a very beautiful song all told. They ad-libbed the parts that they did not know. I talked with many of students, especially those that spoke English, and they seemed to take to me rather well. After this, I was taken to the party for the organizers, where Svetlana again showered me with food and blankets. I toasted to Elena as part of a game we were playing, and kept my drinking to a minimum. I talked with Tanya again, who seems very nice. We returned to the cottages by car at 3:30AM in the fog, which provided a bit of an adventure, as we could not see the road. I shared a cigarette with Dmitri as we discussed what my plans would be in terms of bringing my experience to the US, and I think someone grabbed my ass. Who knows? I went to bed at 4, and worked myself into a frenzy about waking up on time. As such, I woke up in a panic every 20 minutes or so. But I got up on time.

Day 5, July 6

Fiodr and Dmitri appeared in the early afternoon, as I wish I was able to do. I had a pretty rough morning, overall. We were given a master class by a woman named Oksana on the topic of branding, which was interesting.

The bandana party was the student event of the evening. This event required the students to use their standard issue bandanas in a creative way. The MCs provided a magic show between rounds, with tricks that were purposely bad. For instance, they took several items from Dmitri and put them in various places around the room, while declaring that these items had disappeared. They involved me at one point, asking for my mothers phone number. When I provided it, they stated that it was time for magic. Very funny, I think. They feigned a conversation with her, and it was all very amusing.

The groups all had different ideas of how to use the bandanas. One of the groups created a superhero known as bandana man, another played a game called “spin the bandana” as far as I can tell, and another made the bandanas into wigs for the balding gentlemen in the room.

Another party tonight, similar to the party last night. I had promised to play a song and sing with the guitar, but thankfully no one made me pay up on my promise. On the way to my cottage, I was stopped by my cabin mates who are here on vacation. They spoke a little English, and I had a few drinks and talked with them. They laughed that I knew a bit of Russian. I invited them to the faculty party, but they did not come with me. A friend was visiting them soon.

At the party, we had fun. I made a toast to my wonderful hosts, and I think that it may have been too short of a toast. They laughed. Svetlana served as my surrogate translator for the evening, and she is very kind. We ate some of the local fish, which was delicious. I think, however, that it may have been undercooked. Svetlana kept giving me food, and once she handed me a raw fish. I think that she may have done this again, but I was in no frame of mind to judge her fish-selecting ability. At any rate, it made both of us sick. It rained very hard this night, and I was given a poncho. Regardless, I was soaking wet, and may have ruined a pair of pants due to the dirty water coming through the ceiling.

Day 4, July 5

Well, I have arrived at Lake Baikal. The trip was good; I rode in a car with Anya and Elena Terpugova, the organizer of the event. Elena spoke mostly through me, though her English is very good. I think she is a bit nervous about trying to use it in conversation. Anya and Elena asked if I was single, and when I replied that I was, Elena said “good.” I’m not sure yet what this means. Oh well. We talked about the forum for a while, and listened to a lot of American music. At times I forgot where I was, as some of the landscape reminds me of the US. However, the roads are terrible. For the last 20 miles of the trip, there was only a dirt highway… which was an interesting experience. We stopped for lunch, and I was treated to some meatball dumplings and something that reminded me of a potato filled donut. All very good.

After we arrived, I was dropped at my cabin (which is very far away from the main campsite, a 15 minute walk downhill to the center, and a 30 minute walk uphill on the way back. Not my idea of a good time.) I surveyed my room, unpacked, and walked down to the center with Mr. Goldfarb and a man named Fiodr, who speaks very good English and smokes. We had lunch (again) at the canteen (as my hosts have been calling it, I’m not sure exactly how it translates). After lunch, Anya, Fiodr, and I hiked quite a bit to view the different vantage points to the lake. I am truly struck by the lake’s beauty; I have never seen anything quite like it. The water is pure deep blue, and the entire landscape surrounding the lake is made up of treeless hills and mountains. I am told that it is similar to the landscape in Mongolia.

We then had a master class presentation by Dmitri Petrov about a city as a chain of events, and how to adapt events to a city. Anya translated the whole speech, and I seem to have gotten used to the dynamic by now. We then had dinner; I bought some supplies, and returned for the flag-raising ceremony. Then the student teams broke into groups for icebreakers and team building exercise, and the faculty took part in a performance. I was initially invited to take part, but due to the dynamic and my lack of ability to speak Russian, I was unable to participate. The performance was an adapted version of Ivan the Fool, a popular Russian fairytale.

After the performance, I was invited to a party/barbecue. Anya seemed pretty stressed out about it, and after reassuring her that I would manage on my own, she went to bed. The party was fantastic, and the liquor flowed like water. We toasted thrice with vodka within the first 30 minutes, and Dmitri kept giving me beers. His English is very good, and we talked of travel in the United States, Russian customs, and he translated the meaning of some of the Russian folk songs being sung. The food was again, outstanding. Some sort of marinated and seasoned meat was skewered and cooked over an open flame, and there was salami and bread and eggs and pickles to consume with the vodka.

Everyone welcomed me as their own during this party. Faculty who had previously regarded me with steely skepticism now smiled warmly as we toasted to everything under the sun. I was pulled into many dances by some of the women, and sang some songs. At some point I was handed the guitar, but needless to say I could not deliver on any songs at the time. As the party began to wind down, I got to talking with a Russian woman by the name of Tanya (short for Tatiana, I think). Another man and I walked the women home, and then trekked back up the hill (probably half a mile) in the pitch black, falling into snake holes and trying to have a conversation. All told, a very good time, and I’m glad that I was invited to take part. I slept poorly, and not for very long, and woke up feeling disastrous. I met Anya for breakfast at the canteen, and then I listened to the first parts of the students’ presentations. No sign of Fiodr or Dmitri yet, I think that they are probably still asleep. I don’t blame them.

Day 3, Irkutsk - Posted 6:20 Irkutsk Time

What a day! I slept great last night (aside from the hard bed). I fell asleep at about 8PM, woke up briefly at 4AM, and then woke up finally at 7AM. Just what I needed after such an arduous trip over the previous two days.

In spite of Anya’s recommendation, I wore a blazer and slacks (and I’m glad I did). Anya met me here at 9:15, and we took a car to the main building at ISU. I was hustled around, with a glass of champagne in hand, to meet many people. I met Elena Terpugova, the main organizer of the program, who was very nice. She speaks a bit of English, and I understand that her, Anya, and I will be riding together tomorrow to Lake Baikal. On my way out to have a smoke, I was accosted by a local television station, and gave a short interview. I think it went well. I had a cigarette, returned to the inside, and was interviewed by a local paper. All went well, and I think I answered the questions fine. They were simple, along the lines of why I wanted to take part in Project Baikal, what I would be contributing, how I found the country and Irkutsk, etc. The TV interview was conducted in English, and the newspaper interview I spoke through Anya.

Speaking through a translator has been an experience in and of itself. I’ve taken too it well, I’m not sure how. The way I have found that it works, is that you look at the person talking, then look to Anya, then answer while looking at the person that you are speaking to. It works rather well, but it is hard to make a point unless you are answering a question. I met the head of the PR program at ISU, and she just talked at me for a few minutes through Anya about how glad they were to have me here, that she sends her best to Napoleon, etc. etc. What I am driving at, is that it is hard to respond to statements. Example – she says that they are glad to have me here, but I have no opportunity to say that I am glad to be here.

I was asked to say a few words at the opening ceremony. Nothing special, everyone seemed to respond well when I complimented the city. However, Anya was very nervous accompanying me on the stage. I suppose that public speaking can be nerve wracking, regardless of whether you are saying your own words or someone else’s.

Anya translated all of the proceedings to me, and at the end I was able to meet her mother. We communicated by toasting champagne (several times) and I watched her interact with Anya. I wish I had known what she said, but I’m glad to see that mothers and children have the same relationship on an international scale. She said to me that Anya could learn from my example as to how one should speak in public, and I was grateful for the compliment. Perhaps Anya was speaking too quickly? I can’t tell… all Russian is too fast for me to understand anyways.

After the ceremony, I was taken to breakfast by Anya. We went to a café, where I had tea, caviar blini, and a fish soup. It was very good… I’m enjoying Russian food thoroughly. After breakfast, we went to the Icebreaker ship here in Irkutsk, which was very impressive. We were given a private tour (for free!) by the caretaker. He spoke through Anya, and we were able to trade notes and stories about his ship and USS Constitution. He was a very nice man, and I donated some money to the (much needed) restoration of the ship.

After this, Anya and I walked around the city, chatted a bit, and went on a boat ride around the river. I drank some kvass (which is interesting, a bit like vinegar in my opinion.) Lacking anything else to do, she dropped me back here at my hotel, helped me buy some beverages for the evening, ordered me some dinner, and left. I could eat Russian food all day… for dinner I had meat/potato pancakes with a mushroom sauce, onions, pickles, and coleslaw. Delicious.

Presently I am sitting here, listening to some of Anya’s father’s music. It is Russian rock, and I like it thus far. Tomorrow we depart for Lake Baikal, a six hour trip by car. Perhaps more later, perhaps not.

Day 2, First Day in Irkutsk. Posted at 1:38 PM Irkutsk Time

Well, I have the internet right now, at least for the five hours that I purchased from the hotel. At any rate, the rest of my journey went as smoothly as humanly possible. Once I got on the plane (after a 4-5 hour delay, of course) I racked out for pretty much the whole flight. I awoke to a Russian woman waving a plastic cup in my face, which I discerned through broken conversation to be a teacup. We landed in Irkutsk in the rain, on a runway seemingly unpaved for the last 30 years. The terminal was small, and truly a taste of a simpler place. The exit terminal consisted of two rooms, constructed entirely of aluminum sheeting and particle board. The baggage carousel was a window through which the baggage handlers threw the luggage, and it landed on a small aluminum circle that rotated by powers unknown to me.

I met Anya and her stepfather (who would be driving) outside. Her English is impeccable, his nonexistent. He seemed a nice man, willing to help me with my bag, until he realized that my bag, weighing in at 35 kilos (or roughly 60+ pounds I think) and measuring larger than the average suitcase, was too large. After some wrestling to get it into his suv, we arrived at the hotel, which remains nameless to me at this point. I had some toast and jam and tea and OJ for breakfast, and then returned to my room to shower and have a cigarette. The room is alright, though Spartan. I have all I need: one bottle of coke, one miller genuine draft, one ashtray, a bed, and a bathroom. It will do nicely for the next two days.

Presently, I am waiting for Anya to return and give me a tour of the city. I am looking forward to it, she seems nice, and she is very engaging.

More later.

Update, 8:00 PM Irkutsk Time: Well, I have returned from a long day of sightseeing with Anya. She took me down to the town square, where we toured several monuments to Alexander III, some Cosmonauts, and a WWII memorial for the Russian soldiers. We also went to a museum of Russian history, which was very interesting. The native Russians remain skeptical of my non-mastery of the language, though Anya has been more than helpful thus far. I visited the gift shop in the museum, had some Russian ice cream (which was great) and then we walked and talked for awhile. I got a brief tour of ISU’s PR and advertising department building, which was nice.

We had dinner at a German/Russian restaurant, where I discovered that Anya is a teetotaler, and also a vegetarian. While this is fine, I felt a tinge of guilt at having a beer and ordering the veal and potatoes. Oh well… when in Rome, eat all of the local food. Anya has yet to let me pay for anything this trip, which is fine. Hopefully she is telling the truth when she says that the money is coming from the University’s pocket. No way to know for sure, but I am enjoying the free ride.

The hotel staff begrudgingly helped me acquire some soda for the night, and after much language barrier related confusion, I have returned to my room soda-rich. I may turn in for the night soon, as I should stock up on sleep for the week ahead. I understand that there will be much to do once we arrive at Lake Baikal.

Tomorrow holds the opening ceremony, during which I am expected to make a short speech. I’m not real worried about it, though I hope I remember to say everything that I have recorded in my head. I am still unclear as to the attire… despite Anya’s insisting that I need wear only jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t feel comfortable addressing a strange crowd in a foreign country without at least a pair of chinos on.

More on that tomorrow.

Day 1, travelling. Posted at 3:40 PM, Moscow Time

A long day, thus far, and I am only a bit closer than halfway to my final destination.

I am in Moscow presently, and I have been awake (for the most part) for about 24 hours. Not too unusual for me, but all the traveling has left me travel-weary. The flight(s) have been the usual song-and-dance… three hours to Chicago (none of which I can remember presently… apparently a very uneventful 3 hour trip. I think I watched Law + Order) followed by speed-shopping for business gifts in Chicago. I also got snapped at for asking where I could have a cigarette, and had to leave security. 10 hours on a plane after expecting to be able to have a smoke would have been too much.

Pretty long flight, all told. I was on the aisle in a row of five, and shared it only with one girl who sat at the far end of the row, and regarded me with sleepy skepticism for the majority of the trip. I kicked it off with a double feature, Be Kind, Rewind and Hitch got me through the first four hours. The next six were a mix of walking around, reading, watching the Office, and sleeping. We flew right through the night over Greenland, and it never got dark. Which was very peculiar. Greenland, unbeknownst to me, is covered in a huuuge layer of snow.

A pretty good flight, given my nap, until my pen exploded everywhere while trying to do customs paperwork. Two more pens also exploded, but less so. I’m not sure why…. The altitude, maybe? Either way, I left some unhappy flight attendants in my wake.

I have now been at Домодедово airport in Moscow for the past four hours, with about three to go. Smokers are everywhere. As soon as I got off of the plane, the smoking area consisted of several high-top tables slightly off to the side of the customs line. Pretty great. I small-talked a few people that I knew spoke English, and that sums up the last time that I have had successful human contact in Russia. Since then, I have been met with cool disregard, or extreme confusion/irritation. Getting myself checked in was hard enough, and she spoke English. I had to pay a heavy bag surcharge in some ungodly number of Rubles, which I haven’t converted in my head yet. Since then, everything has been a challenge. A lot of pointing and waving money around seems to have gotten me this far, but I’ve kept to myself at the airport. I found a nice, empty waiting area equidistant from Fantas and the smoking lounge (which, interestingly, no one stands in… they just stand around the front door of it.)

That’s all for now. Hopefully I can maintain this in Irkutsk, no word on whether or not I will be cut off from civilization yet. I suppose I will find out when I get there.

Update: I am still here. In Moscow. After being switched to five different gates, sometimes within a matter of seconds, and uncountable delays with no reason. To top off al of this, of course, no one speaks English. At least not anyone who can help me. I’m tired of the smoking lounge, although I find it interesting that no one acually goes inside the room, but rather a crowd of 20-50 people will stand near the door, smoking up the entire terminal. Which is interesting. Furthermore, it would be nice if I could inform the people meeting me at the airport, but alas, I have neither a phone nor their phone number(s). E-mail will have to suffice.

We are the World

Social networking sites have changed the way that many interact with each other in recent years. However, many users display too much personal information, and some changes to the social scene may not be for the best. Furthermore, some users spend far too much time using these sites, and have arguably lost touch with human contact. With the ability and near necessity of students at universities and now high schools to have a facebook profile in order to be accepted, almost all students have a profile. Many of these profiles disseminate massive amounts of information to the viewer as well; some intentionally and some unintentionally.

This paper examines two of the most prominent social networking sites: Facebook and MySpace, how they have affected the social communities on college and university campuses, and whether or not there are privacy concerns on these online communities, and the concern of overuse and subsequent addiction. As the researcher, I reviewed several studies already in place regarding these issues, retrieved from a database for research on social networks. The paper concludes that despite these issues, over time many of them will work themselves out. As the consequences of overuse and displaying too much information become clearer, the users of these sites will self-censor their information and possibly return to human contact.

The essay can be found here –> The Issue of Social Networking

EOTO Responses

My thoughts, regarding the EOTO projects of others. I will update this post with my responses.

Response #1: Virtually Real

Ah, Second Life. The enigmatic online game that grew into a phenomenon, and then into a subculture. Cindy Anderson writes about second life in her blog, The Write Reason. I have always been fascinated by the idea of Second Life… though I’ve never gotten into it (and I will probably keep it that way). Cindy writes about the evolution of Second Life, as well as the possibilities for entrepreneurship, marketing, and socialization that it brings with it. The Baltimore Sun writes a good article, cited by Cindy, about how people are making a living in Second Life. She cites many other interesting articles that discuss the possibilities of Second Life, including some overlooked benefits such as the opportunity for people with Autism or other different abilities to communicate easily and comfortably.

Second life is initially off-putting to many, given the fact that it allows almost anyone to portray themselves as almost anything; while maintaining a world with a system of commerce etc. that treads a shade too close to reality for comfort. However, Cindy has opened my eyes to the possibilities that Second Life offers for communication, social networking, and the establishment of online communities.

However, I will continue to politely abstain from Second Life.

Response #2: Blog Phobia

As a man who approached blogs with some trepidation, the title of this article intrigued me. Alas, upon reading it, I discovered that the phobia is not for the common man, but instead for newspapers. As I too fear for print media, I decided to read on.

This article, located on Amanda Clark’s blog, discusses the impact of blogs on print media, and the possible decline of newspapers and journalists that may result from the proliferation of blogs. Although I am not a journalist, the collapse of an entire field based on the work of some bloggers is frightening to me anyways. I appreciate blogs for what they are, but as Amanda writes, even some reporters blogs are rife with slant and opinion, which a regular article should not have. Regardless of whether or not blogs are having an impact on the industry, blogging journalists should be aware that many people are now turning to blogs for their news; and therefore the content of the blog should remain newsworthy. Amanda does express her secret desire that blogs will someday disappear, leaving only the goods ones in their wake, and I would have to agree with that.

Response #3: Internet Resources for Disaster Preparedness and Response

Marina Calabrese writes about the use of the internet in disaster response. Marina examines some past disasters, namely 9/11; a crisis during which the internet was the only communication tool still functioning. Marina writes:

“The Internet has proven to be a quick, secure, and efficient way to communicate during a crisis. While it should not replace traditional communication avenues (television, radio, telephone), the Internet has proven to be an excellent supplemental resource in the distribution and acquisition of pertinent information during a catastrophic event. Government agencies should continue to look for ways to utilize the Internet when planning for, reacting to, and in the aftermath of a disaster.”

Indeed, all of this is true. And the internet is a good tool for distributing large amounts of information quickly. But how efficient can it really be? Some concerns are addressed within the blog post, and I tend to agree with all of them; especially that connectivity could be difficult or impossible to achieve and maintain during a huge disaster or catastrophe. Another concern that I would add to the list would be whether or not those responding to the disaster would have internet access, or a computer for that matter. I think that the government and emergency response groups should seek out other ways of giving and receiving information, and not hope that the internet is the cure-all.

Response #4: Individual Privacy in an Online World

Jason Voorhees’ blog features an article about the issue of privacy in the online world (as one might glean from the title). In this article, he discusses the idea of the “digital footprint”, and how it relates to the fact that one cannot navigate anywhere on the internet without leaving behind some information. Also, he discusses how this is issue is only gaining momentum, as people are beginning to wirelessly access the internet in locations wirelessly, as well as from their phone. Both these means of accessing the internet bring with them their own potential for leaving information somewhere in the great beyond of the internet.

I feel that Jason has elucidated the fears for this topic, I completely agree with him on all these fears. My biggest fear is the idea that big brother may someday use my credit card information to monitor my purchases, or use my cell phone GPS to track my speed. I’m not particularly concerned about that, but I’m more concerned about getting a speeding ticket or having my health insurance dropped due to my chronic smoking habit. All in all, a very informative article.

Response #5: Focus on Food Labeling

Last, but not least. Marcie Barnes writes about the problems with the food labeling system, to include the lack of regulation, restriction, and requirements put in place by the government on nutrition facts. Marcie feels that nutrition facts should all be comprehensive, giving values for every vitamin, etc. Additionally, Marcie is concerned with the dated information regarding nutrition, and the disparity that exists among findings of what is healthy and what is not. Also, she worries about the growing trust in companies that should not be trusted with their deceptive labeling, and the consumer dependency on these labels.

For a solution, what does she offer? Eat organic food. That’s fine, I suppose, but color me disillusioned. In a world where food is good for you one year, bad for you the next, then good for you again (i.e. don’t eat eggs, milk gives you cancer, red wine is good/bad for you, etc. ad nauseam) I can only presume that even organic food will someday be bad for us too (I don’t know why… years of pollution have tainted the soil, and a side effect from the pesticides that were previously preventing these dangerous chemicals in the soil from damaging the food is no longer present, so organic food gives you cancer…). As for me, I’ll just keep on eating whatever’s in my freezer. Looks like chicken tonight… again.

Joking and cynical observations aside, I learned many pertinent things about nutrition labels from this article that I did not know.

To everyone else: I enjoyed reading everyone’s EOTO! Keep up the good work e-classmates, I’ve learned a lot.