Completion of my day

While I was trying to find a medium to focus for the last time, I realize that I never thought of music as a medium while it is one of the tools I use to communicate with people and myself the most during a day. Since the times people started creating melodies, they used it as a way to entertain themselves. It probably became one of the things people enjoy a lot to have in their lives. With the new melodies, new tastes appeared, new groups were formed and music’s position in people’s lives got stronger.

For instance, different melodies attract different people. While some people like classic music, some prefer jazz. People’s preferences get them into groups in which people enjoy the same things. The concerts, events related to that music gather people and enable space for communication.

One other way of music’s use for communication is the lyrics composed for melodies.  The music inspires some people and makes them want to express their feelings. Those people compose lyrics that go well with the melodies that inspire them and show their feelings, thoughts. Other people who share the same thoughts feel that they are bonded to the composer and feel like as if they wrote the song. They either use those songs to tell people around them how they feel. So lyrics bond both the composer and the listener, and the listener and the person he or she wants to communicate with.

Clubs, restaurants, stores use music as their tool for communication as well. They gather people under a roof and prepare the best environment for their customers with the help of music. Some places are preferred just because of their music in them.

After writing about music’s communicating people, I thought how much I use it in a day. I listen to it when I wake up, when I drive, when I have free time, when I study, when I dine and when I go out. I think it’s something that completes my day and helps me to contact people.

Skype,best medium for distance.

Skype’s being one of the most popular media tools is a common fact nowadays. It opened a new window in the technology world and brought its users the opportunity to see and talk to other people whenever they want, wherever they are. While people are paying money to lines to speak on the phone, Skype offers voice calls for free.

As an international student in the United States, Skype helped me the most in my orientation period. I was skypeing with my parents at the end of each day and telling them about my day. Knowing that I could reach them any second felt me feel safer.  I also kept in touch with my friends who were studying at different corners of the world.

It was obviously not helping me only. I realized how much it is used by business man working globally. The conference talks help offices in different locations to brainstorm together and take decisions.  Sides can do both instant messaging with each other and talk with cameras. Companies even accept job interviews through Skype if their candidates are somewhere away. Skype also helps people in file transfers. Some files cannot be sent via e-mail because of their size; but Skype does not let its users face a problem like that.

I got used to living away from family with knowing the existence of Skype. I wonder how people were standing being apart from their relatives for long periods when they didn’t have the chance to see each other and share moments.

Electronic version vs. Hard Copy

I was one of the people who really enjoyed reading news on the paper. The feeling it gave when I touch and the smell were pulling me into the lives I was reading the news of. When I moved to the United States, that newspaper I was waking up for every morning was probably the biggest sacrifice I had to make. Since it was impossible to reach the paper copy of the news in Turkey every morning, I started myself getting used to the electronic copies which I can’t do without now.

Hurriyet, the most popular newspaper in Turkey, is my starting page in my computer. It gives me opportunity to start the day with my favorite columnists and offers me the most recent news that happens in my country. After I started using it for a few months, I realized that I now like the electronic copy more. In a paper copy, you cannot read the most recent news since there is a publication period before release. You can only learn about the news that happened the previous day. However, the online websites of the newspapers put the hottest news right that second and you can watch people commenting on that news too. It’s kind of a live news system.

Another thing that I like so much about the electronic version is the “related news” part. Whenever I click on a news on the website, it gives me the chance to look at the previous news on that topic as well. This way, I can see what happened before and what changed. It offers the people who are reading about that topic for the first time, the chance to get background information, which I think, is very crucial. Not everyone can track the news everyday; so electronic copies are better to enlighten people about a topic from the beginning.

The electronic versions of the newspapers are better for the companies, which give advertisements to the newspapers as well. When their ads are on the website, the reader can click on the advertisement and directly move to the company’s website.  So the company reaches the potential customer quicker. In a paper copy, readers see the advertisement only and they search about the product or the service later with their own efforts, if they remember about it. So if I were a company owner, I would prefer electronic versions of the newspapers to give advertisements to.

It’s not just newspaper that I like the electronic version of. Nowadays I watch Turkish series from a website that offers High Definition Quality. I connect the laptop to the T.V. screen and feel like I’m in my country and watch the Turkish T.V. channels. This website allows you to stop and restart whenever you want and skips the commercials which I hate. So when I visited my country last year, I realized that I got used to watching it without ads and stopping it when I need to grab something from the kitchen.

Even though many people still do not prefer electronic copies, I think it’s because they did not have to use them yet. Once they start using it, I’m sure they won’t stop since they will get used to the features that electronic versions of media tools offer.

Medium for Homeless People

I’ve always liked train stations. It gathers all kinds of people from all kinds of place, with different lives. Each person lives a different story and they use the train stations to reach another destination in their lives.

This weekend, as one of those people in the New York Penn Station, I was scared for the first time. Arriving to New York very late wasn’t something I preferred, but I had nothing else to do.

By the time I arrived, I realized another fact of train stations for the first time. They were the homes of people who are in need. They gathered all homeless people under a roof and saved them from cold. While I was walking down in the station, it appeared to me that the homeless people there even became friends. It looked like they were spending every night there, so they formed friendships. While one group was sharing a blanket, another couple in the opposite corner was arguing something.

It was really interesting to me to see how train stations gathered people. When I arrived home, I typed homeless people in Penn Station in Google, to see if people recognized that there were hundreds of lives there. The results showed me that there were foundations for homeless people which were showing consideration to the ones in the Penn Station. They placed some groups of homeless people there in some several homes for people without houses. It was the best proof of how a location attracts attention and helped to solve a social problem. I’m sure that if those people were sleeping on the streets, they wouldn’t take that much attention as the ones did in Penn Station since streets are usual places for homeless people.  For this reason, Penn Station acts as a medium.

Food, restaurants, ads were common media tools for me, but I’ve never thought of train stations. It looks like Penn station not just helps people who have money to travel to reach wherever they want, but also enables the homeless people reach their new homes.

Does it really stop people?

It is a fact that government has a big control on T.V. broadcasts. While some things are stopped from being broadcasted, some are put especially on T.V to affect people.  Turkish government is probably one of the governments that have a big influence on T.V. probably when we observe the issue worldwide. RTUK, Upper Radio and Television Institution, is working on behalf of the government and determines what can be put on the T.V. programs, and what is not appropriate to broadcast. It’s working order and rules depend on the current Democratic Party that is ruling the country.

For the past 8 years, AK Party, which is the conservative party of Turkey, is leading the country; therefore the programs we watch on the T.V changed a bit. Some of the sex scenes had been cut from the films and some popular programs are broadcasted at late so that the kids don’t watch and get affected. However nothing stays as a secret. Once they cut a scene from a film, they disrespect the efforts of many people working on that project. Producers, directors and the actors of the films spend many hours to shoot just a single scene; therefore they protest the cut of their efforts. When I put myself on their shoes, I would probably do the same and try to save my rights by raising my voice in public.

A T.V series called “Kucuk Sirlar” which means “Little Secrets” faced a problem like this. Since it targets the young people mostly, the government did not want any young person to see the sex scenes. However, their limitation was heard through the newspapers and the actors; and many people started to search for those scenes online. Some people found those cut scenes somehow and it was spread to everyone. So their limitation didn’t work; moreover it raised more attention and even people who did not watch the series found those parts and watched it. Therefore; the government did not do anything but raise more curiosity.

Same thing happened in the film Sex and the City, too. Many people were shocked when they realized that they did not actually watch 151 minutes. Again some of the sex scenes were cut and some other things that were thought as inappropriate.

In my opinion, when you stop someone to do something, that person becomes more eager to try that thing. You raise more attention to the issue from before by accepting the fact that it is not normal. I understand that some things really affect people in bad ways like torture scenes or bias information up to a point but things that are broadcasted everywhere else but not in your country should not be cut. If it is broadcasted everywhere, it means that it does not have an extreme effect that you think it does.

So I watched the “Kucuk Sirlar” online all with its scenes, am I different now from the people in Turkey?

Who are you/do you want to become?

With the coming up Halloween, I started seeing costume stores and Halloween party organizations everywhere. People are trying to decide what they will wear, where they will go and whom they are going to be with.  As a non-American student living in the United States, Halloween is probably my favorite tradition of Americans. I never see anyone sad on that day no matter what. Everybody shares the partying idea and gather in different places. Even though it’s not a religious day, people encourage each other to be happy and live the spirit with their costumes.  But how do people decide what they are going to be out of millions of characters? Do they have specific reasons while they choose their outfits?

Even though every one becomes someone different than whom he or she really is, he or she still shows part of him/herself in his or her costume. For instance, a funny guy prefers to become a baby instead of a superman or while a sexy girl chooses to be a French maid, another girl who does not like to show sexuality can be a country girl. A guy with an emperor costume and a Cleopatra girl both show that they like authority and see/want themselves as leaders. Therefore I think costume choices depend on your character. Personally, I was an M&M last year, which took so much attention since it was so cute; however most of my friends would not choose that costume since they would prefer more feminine costumes.  I really liked taking attention and people’s requests of taking pictures together. A  distant person would not like to have pictures with foreigners; therefore would not wear that costume probably.

In this sense, one’s Halloween costume act as a medium, which helps people to get an idea about that person. It gives the message of whom you like or whom you think is worth to be.

Another Halloween tradition, “Trick or Treat” is also a medium between people. Small children visit their neighbors and relatives on Halloween and get the chance to talk to them. Many grownups see those young people with this chance through this tradition.

Since I’m too old to take a Trick or Treat trip, I’ll only satisfy myself with another funny costume which I’m planning to wear this year. I’ll again draw attention and people will come and meet me. What are you going to wear? Who knows maybe your costume will bring new people to you.

Who gets the message?

People think different ways of proposing. While one of them wants to be romantic, the other can try to catch a casual moment to pop the question. Mostly, guys are expected to come with the proposal. It’s almost the same in every culture. One other thing that is universal is the diamond ring which comes with the proposal.

With no reason, every girl dreams of a diamond ring when marriage idea appears. Sometimes they don’t need to hear any word from the guys. Seeing the ring is enough to understand him which makes the ring a medium between the girl and the guy. Guys show that they are serious in their relationship and want to spend their entire life with those girls by spending both their effort and money while choosing that one ring.

How did this diamond ring idea come up in the first place? How did it become a tradition? It probably started like all other fashionable things. A guy who proposed his girlfriend did this romantic favor and it was spread among the girl’s friends. Many girls wanted to have the same romantic gift; so every guy began to get a ring first to give the girl while proposing.

I personally think that even though it really has a great view, diamond rings are bought mostly to show the community the engagement. Even though guys use it to ask their question, it is a strong medium between girls also. Girls prove that they have a male figure in their life and that guy is serious enough to give her a ring. It’s size, shape and karat matter only to girls. If it would be a medium used by guys only, nobody would care about how many karat a ring is. At this point another question becomes visible: Diamond ring is a stronger medium between whom? Guys and girls or girls and girls? I think the advertisements with a ring on a woman’s hand give the answer J