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.