Can You Compete?

Typical Friday Night?

The rapid development of technology means the new media industry is proportionately evolving and securing stable employment is becoming increasingly difficult. Research on obtaining jobs in this industry conducted by Gill (2007, 26) indicated that “the entire economy of [new media] work opportunities operates through contacts”.

Unfortunately, this confirms my fear of working in the media industry. As Hannah and Erin acknowledge in their blogs; new media networking is an around the clock job. Is that translation for sucking-up to successful media people instead of relaxing at home and watching a sitcom? This idea of ‘working after work to obtain more work’ doesn’t appeal to me.

Sure, not all networking occurs outside office hours, but the thought of constantly engaging in it overwhelms me. I wish I was a very motivated, confident, ‘good-at-small-talk’ kind of person; I would put all my eggs in one basket and pursue a career solely in the new media industry. Naturally however, I can be awkward, attempting to fill silences with rambling – a trait I don’t think would assist me professionally while attempting to gain a career contact.

While I love the new media industry and would love to make a living working in it... I love financial security and stability more. So here’s to hoping my double degree in media and communication, oddly combined with accounting enables me to dip my feet in the new media industry, but keeps the rambling at bay!

References

Event Crowd. 2010. “Event Organisers Networking Drinks and Nibbles”. Image. Accessed 28^th April, 2011. http://www.eventcrowd.com/events/event-organisers-networking 

 

Gill, Rosalind. 2007.  "Informality is the New Black". In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures

Health Information Consumption: Where is the line, online?

A strong pet hate of mine is waiting at the doctors. On average I believe my doctor is always running about 15 minutes behind. So naturally, I was thrilled when I got my iPhone; a substitute for flicking through the outdated magazines. 

An alternative to this physical task of ‘go-and-visit-the-doctor’ is the self-diagnosis option. People are now self-managing their health, some replacing their GP with the internet. As Lewis (2006, 522) discusses, health advice is evident across many media platforms including newspapers, television and particularly the internet which emphasises an individualised, ‘DIY subject’ on health.

For exercise ideas, tips on preventing illness and awareness of symptoms and simple remedies to relieve mild colds, I agree – why not use the internet? But where should we draw the line?

In my opinion, if you are considering purchasing medicine online, you have gone too far. In fact, I would draw the line at using the internet to solely treat a runny nose. Like Elisha discusses in her blog, not all medical information online is reliable. For the mildest of illnesses I believe it is important to seek professional medical advice you know you can trust – remember what happened on The Simpsons to Homer and Bart when Lisa gave them an online diagnosis for ‘leprosy’? I rest my case!

References

CBS Interactive inc. “Little Big Mom”. Accessed April 11, 2011. http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/little-big-mom/episode/1521/summary.html  

Lewis, T. 2006. “Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria?”. Media, Culture & Society 28 (4): 521-539.

ShareTV. n.d. “The Simpsons – character guide”. Image. Accessed April 11, 2011 http://sharetv.org/shows/the_simpsons/cast/bart_simpson/quotes/pg-5