Dr. Neil Alperstein gave a lecture on Tuesday evening in the 4th Floor Programming Room about imaginary social relationships between people and celebrities as part of a new series of lectures in the Communications department.  At first I wasn't looking forward to sitting through the talk due to the lack of seating and my inability to see the Prezi screen from my spot on the floor, but the information being delivered was relevant enought that it kept my interest.

Alperstein covered three basic paradoxes in his talk.  The first, the paradox of place, was defined as being in one place while thinking about another where you’d rather be.  The second, the paradox of imagination, is when society tells us not to use our imagination while obsessing over the lives of celebrities.  The third paradox, the paradox of sociality, is the dilemma of post modernity (belonging versus alienation).

One of the most interesting parts of the talk was the connection Dr. Alperstein made between new social media like Twitter and Facebook as the fuel for our parasocial interactions, or the engagement with people we don’t know such as celebrities.  Direct addresses from celebrities like Ashton Kutcher or Kim Kardashian on Twitter provide a false connection between them and general public.

I found the lecture to be very interesting, and I’m glad that I was able to attend.

- Kelsey Carper

Imaginary Social Relationships...

Discussing how celebrities are effecting our lives through social media was a very interesting topic to discuss with a young college audience. Twitter has revolutionized the media world, and has allowed for celebrities to maintain a relationship with their fans. "Maintaing relationships via social media with people who we really don't know and they have no idea who we are." It was a great way of pointing out the actual truth of our relationships, or imaginary relationships, with celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Kanye. The matter of fact is that social media is creating different attitudes and different ways of communicating within our everyday life, without most people even knowing it!

By: Addisson Simms

By Ashley Twaddell-Staff

After reading and discussing two chapters from David Gauntlett and Ross Horsley's WebStudies 2nd Edition book, I have become curious about the use of internet by the Loyola community. How do we use the Internet? For what reasons and how often? More specifically though, how does it play a role in the politics and gender roles of our small school?

In Chapter 18, titled The Internet and Democracy, there seems to be a great debate about how the internet might be used to promote democracy. Certain variables such as access, types of technologies on the web, and its use for campaigning are brought up. At Loyola, I would venture to guess that a very high percentage of students own a computer, whether it be a laptop or desktop. Even if their personal computer goes in for repairs, or a person is of the small population that doesn't own one, there are a number of labs filled with computers (anywhere from four to thirty computers per lab) in which a student can do work and have access to the internet. Not only that, but today with the rise of smart phones and smart technologies such as Ipads, internet isn't just reserved for personal apartments or labs, students can access internet on their walk to class or even off campus. WiFi technologies have allowed us to stay connected 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Needless to say, within our community, inaccessibility is rarely a problem.

So how do we address the topics of democracy and women with our use of the internet? We can first address the mass message forms on our campus via blackboard, insideloyola, and the newshound which is delivered via email. These forms allow information to be shared with the click of a button and reach almost everyone on campus. Therefore everyone has access to the events going on around campus, the issues that might be being addressed, and furthermore ways to get involved in what's going on.  Second, through the use of new blog formats such as the version the Greyhound newspaper is using, people are able to respond to articles that are in print in the current issue and not only that, but become guest writers themselves. So if there is an article they'd like to publish but that can't do so in the print edition of the paper, they can still post it to the Greyhound's website for viewers to read and comment on.

The internet, especially social media forms such as Facebook and even YouTube are becoming ways to promote ideas and programs going on around campus. Almost every club has created a Facebook page that if nothing else you can at least "like" it and follow their updates. Secondly, videos are quickly becoming a fun and creative way to promote events on campus. Take SGA's recent promotion of the Goo Goo Dolls concert feature a clip of Senior Class President Devin DiCristofaro hiding in the flower beds while singing along to the song "Iris." Things like this solicit giggles and a willingness to join in on the fun.

So how about women on campus? Almost immediately the first thing that comes to mind is the BroBible outroar that came about a couple of semesters ago. As soon as the women were being put up on the chopping block and receiving grades for their looks, drinking abilities and fake boobs, it started a commotion. A forum was started to allow students the opportunity to speak on the matter and more importantly set the tone that this type of rating system isn't something accepted at Loyola even if it is found through an off-campus site. Facebook unfortunately can be a sight for sore-eyes though when girls (and boys) alike post pictures of their evenings out where needless to say they aren't at their best. These types of images parade individuals' laptop screens on a daily basis and create the idea of a perceived majority of Loyola women going out and getting drunk even if this isn't the case.

On a more positive note, however, the internet has provided a way for women on campus to connect. Similarly to the previous argument, women might participate in online (and live) events such as Take Back the Night, Loyola for Congo Women and Breast Cancer awareness activism through something as silly as posting "I like it (post where you like to put your purse)." These types of events which are promoted online and through social media sites encourage women to support other women and respect both themselves and each other.

As a result I've come to the conclusion, that like most things, the use of the Internet at Loyola isn't so black and white, but more like the entire greyscale in between. There can be good and bad and all sorts of interpretations made up between those two extremes, but it is what we choose to participate in that defines our school and more importantly us as individuals. From here on out, I encourage you to monitor your own internet usage and gage what sort of activities you're interested in--are they beneficial to you, our school, or our society? Are you learning anything from them? Are you participating and contributing to them? These questions and their value implications are up to you on an individual basis, but as long as you are aware of them is all that matters.

If you are looking for everyday programs to use on your Mac, try open source programs. Open Source programs are posted online and users are able to add and edit them so that they are always getting better. The best site to look at for these programs is opensourcemac. This site is great for the average computer user because it brakes the programs down into categories and has a description of what each program does.

By: Brian Oristano, Staff

Read more: Free Mac Programs