Fashion meets function

Many famous brands such as Rag & Bone and Michael Kors have started a new trend in fashion: fingerless gloves; they are seen in many runway shows and stores. The reason for such product is that people stopped buying and wearing gloves because we are all so used to multitasking that we need to use our fingers and its not easy to use them with normal gloves. Guess what? One of the tasks that we do most of the time is texting! Therefore, famous designers found a solution to this problem by designing fashionable, fingerless gloves. There are many types of gloves that are adapted for special use such as Harris Tweed gloves for men that thumb flings back so they can use their guns (it was for men using guns, or workers) or there are "biker gloves" that are for motorcycle users. Now, as constant texting is part of our thanks to Blackberry, "texter gloves" are invented! Fashion is adapting to new technology because technology is changing the way we live, and we need other parts of our lives to be adapted to that. Fashion is not just appearance anymore; more functions are added to it, just like new functions are added to new technologies all the time.

Good Grades = Free Phones

An interesting experiment was initiated in Oklahoma city to middle school students: if they get good grades and read more books, the program called the Million, will be giving free phones with free minutes and texts. It is a very controversial promotion, since it is believed that spending time in the internet and phone causes children to read books; and now it is expected to motivate them. Using financial incentives to motivate people to work harder is a commonly used method; however, it is highly doubted if it will work for 6th or 7th graders. In my opinion, I don't believe will teach students the true habit of reading a book and studying hard, but it will get them somewhere. Turning the obstacle on the way of education into an opportunity for motivation is not a bad idea, because no matter what happens, phone addiction in teenagers are not going anywhere. If this program is going to enable students to balance their time on the phone and on school work, it will be success and everyone will reach their goals.

Religion meets new media

As media grows and becomes an inseparable part of our lives, it affects our religiousness as well. First of all, religions are part of media, which are targeted for the masses and to bring people together. The Kuran, the Bible and the Torah can be considered as media artifacts that convey the message of each religion. The new media emerged and became a place where people meet to discuss and debate religious issues. There are many websites that provide information on religion so in a way they started t replace the religious books because it is much easier to find what you’re looking for. Therefore, media is used to bridge communication gaps and encourage heterogeneous relations between people. Social networking sites help religious communities to get together and communicate. When a celebrity passes away many fans put up discussion boards and pages; internet also changed the way people grieve. There are many applications for phones about religion all serving different purposes. There are TV shows where people read the Bible and discuss it. So overall, media opened up new ways for religion to spread and reach its audience. 

Smirting

As I was observing what to pick as a media artifact, I realized I was always focusing on technology, ads, TV shows or movies. However, these media artifacts rarely enable people to come together on a personal basis. Drinking is often considered as a social tool; it brings people together, and is often served in places where people go to have fun and meet others.  I realized smoking has an even greater impact on communication, of course to those that smoke. Smirting is a modern term that means smoking and flirting outside public places where it is illegal to smoke outside. This is true; many smokers always say that they meet so many people when they go outside to smoke. Although, it is a very harmful habit, smoking does bring people together and make them communicate.  Smirting was first identified in New York in 2003, and articles titled “Smoking ban lights up love life” began to be published. In fact, this concept is so common that, one study showed 25% of Irish couples had a relationship that started while smoking outside.  Overall, cigarettes are a very widespread medium that allows people to communicate and it is a proof how media is not just limited to technology.