Assignment to Evaluate Mediactive by Dan Gillmor - 1100 Words

Assignment to Evaluate: Mediactive by Dan Gillmor (Essay Sample) Content: NameProfessorCourseDateAssignment to Evaluate: Mediactive by Dan GillmorAs I read the book Mediactive by Dan Gillmor, I used various viewpoints to evaluate it. As a student, I wondered how this book can help me in my classroom. Mediactive tells us that we all are creators of media and discusses ways in which we do this. Gillmors main point is that we have to think critically when dealing with the media. Generally, the book is easy-to-read. Its style appeals to all. Gillmor holds that in journalism, transparency is very important. Therefore, what he seems to be bragging about at first turns out to be transparency in his practice.Mediactive is not only a book but also a forum and a website. This is what makes one to also visit the website besides reading the book to appreciate Gillmors work and vision. The most impressive thing book about this book is that it is easy to use. Gillmor conveys the complicated subject of media as it is in this century in a straightforward m anner. Although he focuses on changing journalism because of the new age, even people who are not journalists can use the book.Gillmor argues that as we go into the hyperactive age of media due to the new mobile world and the internet, we must strive to be engaged into the new forum actively. This is both for us and the future generations because we cannot be considered literate if we only consume and never create. The form taken by the creation is complex, and Gillmor tries to break it down. He gives the examples of social networks, blogging, and photography, and hyperlinks each to a site that can help the person reading as they form their own digital world. This is one of the things I find quite valuable about Mediactive, the ability it has to give the reader a place to start, a future, and a middle ground. In addition, it is constantly changing and adapting, giving the reader lots of groundwork. It is, however, worth noting that the focus of Gillmor is not on education but on jou rnalism and schools of journalism.The first chapter gives the history of the problem that the media faces today. Gillmor himself summarizes the second chapter by saying, we can no longer afford to be passive users (Gillmor, 16). Gillmor urges that we have to follow some key principles to become active. There are to be judgmental, be skeptical, be open-minded, be inquisitive, and know media technics. The chapter is, therefore, the beginning of ones journey into media foray. Chapter three has two important sections which are detecting accuracy and checking out a website. These are all easily understandable. Although the trust meter is a bit complicated. Gillmor explains it in a simple and informative manner.Gillmor, in chapter four asks what journalism is. The chapter is a starting point for one to learn how they can become mediactive. Chapter five goes on to show the bedrock on which the principles of the creation of media rest, which are accuracy, independence, thoroughness, transpa rency, and fairness. This section is greatly informative to all that read this book. Chapter six shows the various types of media that people are taking part in every day. These include the social networks, discussion groups, mail lists, blogging, visual date, micro-blogging, and podcasts. Gillmor adds tagging, content-management systems, and APIs for people who are advanced in media technology.The seventh chapter is imperative and is fit not only for journalists and students of journalism, but also for all the people who read the book. One may not want to be perceived the way they appear on the internet. It is good to understand how people show themselves and how they want others to interpret them. Therefore, Gillmor discusses the various aspects of this in respect to branding, future complications regarding public personas. Photos, and home pages. He goes on to give useful hyperlinks that can help the reader a great deal. Students in the future may be able to create and share more that we can imagine at the current age. For this reason, Gillmor, in chapter 8, discusses the start-up culture and experimentation. This is a guide for every person who wishes to take that step.Chapter 10 is both interesting and frustrating. I agree with the thoughts of Gillmor that it is important to help our young people to become mediactive people who think critically. However, this is not simple. Pedagogy changes constantly, and pedagogy requires us to keep on adjusting to the changes. Dedicated teachers, however, require the tools, money, and time to educate their students so that they can grow into critical thinkers. What I feel is important is not blaming the schools and teachers for this situation, we should instead look beyond, and Gillmor does not do this. Including Hobbs discussion on what media lite...

NYU Stern Student Interview

NYU Stern student Ben Loveland Here’s a talk with Ben Loveland who recently graduated from NYU Stern and is now working as an Associate at Credit Suisse in the Global Industrials Group for the Investment Banking Division. Thank you Ben for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us! This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. We hope to offer you a candid picture of student life, and what you should consider as you prepare your MBA application. Accepted: First, can you tell us a little about yourself – where are you from? What and where did you study as an undergraduate and when did you graduate? Ben: Im from East Setauket, NY (Long Island) and went to Villanova (PA) on a full Army ROTC scholarship. I graduated in  2005  with a political science degree and wished to pursue the JAG corps and attend law school. However, at the time I graduated and was commissioned into the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, I was diagnosed with a kidney disease that forced me to accept an honorable medical discharge. With my very short military career over, I had to find another career. I took a position with Accenture, which is an IT consulting firm, and learned a lot about working on client sites, working in teams, and meeting tight deadlines. I wasnt absolutely enthused by the product of IT, so I decided to make a switch into finance and see what a lot of my classmates were doing in NYC. I was lucky enough to get hired before the financial meltdown and started at Goldman Sachs in February of  2008  in their Credit Derivatives Middle Office. Of course, a month later Bear Stearns collapsed and Lehman went down not much later. The work was extremely fast paced, I worked with top-notch people, layoffs were almost constant, but I thrived. I joined Goldman as an Analyst, then was promoted to Technical Specialist and then Associate. After two years, however, I realized that a long-term career in Operations was not what I sought. I wanted a position that was revenue-generating, client-facing, and more macro than Sales and Trading. Investment Banking seemed to fit into my long-term career goals, and fit my personal skill set, so I set up meetings with some GS employees in IBD and quickly learned that to get into banking, especially in the midst of a financial crisis, you must be recruited out of a top business school (Analyst or Associate new hire). I decided that I needed to take the GMAT and get the ball rolling on finding a top business school. Accepted: Why did you decide to attend NYU Stern?   Ben: The first thing about Stern is that its in the city, so there are a ton  of alums around the city, especially in financial services. So I met some alums and had a very favorable impression from them on their experience at Stern and the types of recruiting that happens there. I also visited Stern and immediately thought it was the best fit for me, personality-wise. Its a top business school, with extremely smart and talented students, however, it was also a place that was collaborative internally, competitive externally. My impression before visiting was that there was no secluded campus and therefore a diluted community of commuters. This couldnt be further from the truth. I found a community that was supportive and engaged, almost tighter in the space that occupies Stern because of all the madness of the city surrounding it. I found the faculty to be top-notch, student-body to be down to earth, the career opportunities stellar, and a surprising amount of international engagement (students, faculty, travel, global learning, etc.). After visiting other schools in the area, and considering a jump to the west coast, it turned out to be a no-brainer for me. Accepted: What are some of your favorite things about living in New York City? What were some of the advantages of studying in the Big Apple?   Ben: Im very biased, but I think NYC is the best city in the world. The amount of cultural, social, and academic activities here are incredible. I thought Stern did a great job of utilizing all of the resources the city has to offer. The center of the financial world is here, so for me personally, that was a huge advantage. NYC also has some great advantages for students wanting to study strategy, entrepreneurship, brand strategy, media, etc. There are so many companies and industries here it really is amazing. Also, getting keynote speakers to address the student body is fairly simple, since a lot of executives are either based here or visit here frequently. I also think the quality of the faculty is in large part due to the awesome location, many adjunct professors can run their business and teach at Stern in their free time. Pretty impressive. Accepted: I see youre now working as an Associate at Credit Suisse. What role did NYU play in securing that position?   Ben: NYU set it up completely. I was on a pretty standard track of Investment Banking, so all of my initial meetings with banks were on campus. All of the bulge bracket banks and many mid-tier investment banks come to Stern to recruit, so the opportunities for IB are tremendous. The standard tracks (Consulting, IB, ST, Marketing) are mostly setup by NYU through their on-campus recruiting. Stern set up the corporate overview sessions, the meet and greets, and interviews, which are critical to getting a job at these places. Accepted: How has your experience in the U.S. Army contributed to your business skills?  Ã‚   Ben: Due to my abbreviated stint in the Army, I cant really speak about my huge amount of leadership experience, but I can speak of the Army training and how relevant it can be in business. I think firms like to recruit ex-military because there seems to be a lot of  critical business  qualities in military candidates: loyalty, respect, discipline, leadership, integrity. I think humility and eagerness play a large role as well. In organizations where chain of command, organization and leadership are important, such as Investment Banking, military candidates will do extremely well. Also, firms recognize their ability to handle pressure well, make quick decisions and be quantitatively strong, so ST also seems to be a good fit. For me personally, I think the military helped instill a sense of discipline and maturity that seems to be rare for students coming out of college. I think having some training grounds to practice leadership and taking command of a unit can certainly help in a workplace when a project needs a push to make a deadline or meetings that tend to end in chaos, it can certainly help to have someone who can seize control and guide a group toward a decision. Accepted: Do you have any advice for some of our applicants who will be applying to NYU Stern?   Ben: I think more than any other top program, Stern looks for candidates that have strong EQ. For future business leaders, just being smart and analytical is not enough. They have to be able to lead people, to deal with clients, shareholders, employees and on and on. Stern has a process for measuring EQ which tends to work extremely well in the classroom. Certainly by coming off as respectful, hard-working, down to earth and sociable, in addition to being smart and ambitious, it will help your case. Be prepared for the interview, although it is a friendly interview, they are looking for a candidate that has done her homework on the school and her future career plans. If a potential candidate does not appear to be ready for a job interview, it is unlikely that candidate will be prepared for on-campus interviews in the fall, so that will not reflect well. For specific advice on how to create the best application for NYU Stern, please see Lindas NYU Stern 2013 MBA Essay Tips.   Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best