So, I'm sure you've all heard about the Kony 2012 campaign by now? If not, you must be living under a rock.
For all of you that don't know, Joseph Kony is an evil dictator and head of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) in Uganda, who abducts and enslaves children, forcing them to fight, mame and murder people.
Jason Russell made a promise to his friend Jacob Acaye (who's brother was killed by the LRA), that he would help fight to stop Kony.
Jason Russell, who is the founder of Invisible Children, made a 30 minute film to help raise awareness of the brutality inflicted by this rebel group.
The video was posted on YouTube and has had over 86 million views.
The short film encourages people to spread the word and raise awareness by sharing the video on social networking sites, which they did. The video soon went viral.
Now videos like this are all well and good, or are they? Sure they raise awareness of issues like this, but do they really accomplish anything?
Sure, 86 million people + are now aware of the LRA and Joseph Kony, but has anything been done to stop him? Probably not.
Videos like this make people want to do their bit and help out, so they share the videos with friends thinking that they are somehow "helping" the situation.
Once the video has been shared, it is quite often forgotten about shortly after, making people feel like they have done their bit, when in reality, they haven't really done anything.
You can't make the world a better place by sharing videos on the net to help raise awareness while you are in the comfort of your own home, sitting behind a computer screen.
So are videos like these an example of activism, or slacktivism? I think we all know the answer to that one...
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Why I want a job working for a magazine:
So basically, the reason that I started this communications and media course is because I want a job working for a magazine.
As long as it's some type of girlie magazine, I don't care which one I work for, just as long as I do.
The reason for this is the fact that I, number one, have always loved flicking through and reading magazines, and number two, feel that if I am to be stuck working for at least the next forty-or-so years of my life, I want to be doing something that I enjoy.
All of my previous jobs haven't been jobs that I hate, but they were certainly not jobs that I enjoyed.
When I decided that I wanted to work for a magazine, I decided that I wanted a job that I could, if not look forward to, at least not mind spending the majority of my time doing each day.
When I thought of magazines, I instantly thought fun. Meeting new people, photo shoots, celebrities, product launches, free samples, that kind of thing.
Don't get me wrong, obviously I understand that it's not all glitz and glamour, and I will actually be working, and working hard, but I do actually enjoy hard work when it's something that I am interested in.
In a job I am not happy unless I am working towards a goal and learning as much as I possibly can. In all of my previous jobs, there was no room for promotion once I had learnt everything that there was to learn, and was therefore, stuck doing the same boring, mundane, repetitive tasks each day.
Another thing that I never liked about my previous jobs was the fact that I never found myself working with like-minded people. In fact, at my previous job I was only working with two other people!
Don't get me wrong, they were both nice ladies, but there was at least a twenty-year age difference between us!
Again, not that I mind working with older people, but it would have been nice to work with at least one younger person, someone that I could possibly spend a few weekends hanging out with?
For now, I am working towards my goal by putting one hundred percent effort into my communications and media course, and am hoping to get distinctions in EVERYTHING!!
I think I can do it... ;)
Lela xx
So basically, the reason that I started this communications and media course is because I want a job working for a magazine.
As long as it's some type of girlie magazine, I don't care which one I work for, just as long as I do.
The reason for this is the fact that I, number one, have always loved flicking through and reading magazines, and number two, feel that if I am to be stuck working for at least the next forty-or-so years of my life, I want to be doing something that I enjoy.
All of my previous jobs haven't been jobs that I hate, but they were certainly not jobs that I enjoyed.
When I decided that I wanted to work for a magazine, I decided that I wanted a job that I could, if not look forward to, at least not mind spending the majority of my time doing each day.
When I thought of magazines, I instantly thought fun. Meeting new people, photo shoots, celebrities, product launches, free samples, that kind of thing.
Don't get me wrong, obviously I understand that it's not all glitz and glamour, and I will actually be working, and working hard, but I do actually enjoy hard work when it's something that I am interested in.
In a job I am not happy unless I am working towards a goal and learning as much as I possibly can. In all of my previous jobs, there was no room for promotion once I had learnt everything that there was to learn, and was therefore, stuck doing the same boring, mundane, repetitive tasks each day.
Another thing that I never liked about my previous jobs was the fact that I never found myself working with like-minded people. In fact, at my previous job I was only working with two other people!
Don't get me wrong, they were both nice ladies, but there was at least a twenty-year age difference between us!
Again, not that I mind working with older people, but it would have been nice to work with at least one younger person, someone that I could possibly spend a few weekends hanging out with?
For now, I am working towards my goal by putting one hundred percent effort into my communications and media course, and am hoping to get distinctions in EVERYTHING!!
I think I can do it... ;)
Lela xx
Boycott Banks
Ever heard of Bank Transfer Day? If not, maybe you should Google it.
Bank Transfer Day was a Facebook event started by the owner of an American art gallery, Kirsten Christian, who decided that she was sick of the banks slapping fees on everything and their poor customer service.
Kirsten and her friends set a date for Bank Transfer Day, and on that date they were going to transfer their funds out of their bank accounts, and into credit unions.
As with anything to do with social media, word spread quickly and Kirsten had friends, friends of friends, and even their friends 'attending' her event Bank Transfer Day.
The event even went on to become a Facebook page so that Bank Transfer Day would become an ongoing event without time restrictions or specific dates to make the switch.
It was so effective that Bank of America cancelled a $5 debit card fee that they had planned to implement.
As a group project, my communications and media class and I are starting up an Australian version of Kirsten's Bank Transfer Day called Boycott Banks.
One of our goals is to get as much publicity and support for the cause as we can.
We want the banks to know that yes, the 'little people' do have a voice, and we're not afraid to use it. We've been biting our tongues for long enough!
Lela xx
Ever heard of Bank Transfer Day? If not, maybe you should Google it.
Bank Transfer Day was a Facebook event started by the owner of an American art gallery, Kirsten Christian, who decided that she was sick of the banks slapping fees on everything and their poor customer service.
Kirsten and her friends set a date for Bank Transfer Day, and on that date they were going to transfer their funds out of their bank accounts, and into credit unions.
As with anything to do with social media, word spread quickly and Kirsten had friends, friends of friends, and even their friends 'attending' her event Bank Transfer Day.
The event even went on to become a Facebook page so that Bank Transfer Day would become an ongoing event without time restrictions or specific dates to make the switch.
It was so effective that Bank of America cancelled a $5 debit card fee that they had planned to implement.
As a group project, my communications and media class and I are starting up an Australian version of Kirsten's Bank Transfer Day called Boycott Banks.
One of our goals is to get as much publicity and support for the cause as we can.
We want the banks to know that yes, the 'little people' do have a voice, and we're not afraid to use it. We've been biting our tongues for long enough!
Lela xx
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
So, one of our assignments for TAFE included attending a council meeting, and reporting on one of the issues that was brought up.
I have been so tired lately with TAFE, homework and life in general that going to a council meeting was one of the last things that I wanted to do.
The council meeting was at 7pm, which made things a little hard as well. On Wednesdays we finish TAFE early so it was a little inconvenient knowing at 2pm that we still weren't done for the day, even though we'd left TAFE.
After spending a few hours doing homework, I thought I'd better head over to the council chambers. When I left the house it was miserable and raining, and I hate driving in the rain.
Once I got to the council chambers I walked to what I thought was the front door, and saw a sign saying that their hours were between 8.30am - 4.30pm. Luckily I decided to walk down the street a little, because I realised that there was another entrance.
When I got inside, I noticed that almost half of my TAFE class was there. Everyone looked just as thrilled as I was to be there.
When we got inside, we were no more excited. Most of the issues brought up were neighbour complaints regarding development and complaints about certain roads.
Most of the class were there for probably less than half an hour, but another girl and I wanted to stay to try and get a slightly more interesting story.
The only remotely interesting story that came up was a debate regarding funds to build up the city of Blacktown similar to the CBD.
Certain councillors are trying to convince state government to fund building up the Blacktown area by giving large companies incentives to bring their business to the Western suburbs.
Their argument there is that the majority of the workforce are from the Western suburbs, and people are sick of having to travel all the way to the city for work each day.
Another councillor debated that even if the large companies did bring their business to Western Sydney, they would still have similar issues regarding public transport, as many of Western Sydney's industrial areas have no train stations, and bus services don't run frequently enough, late, or early enough for people to be able to get to work on time.
One councillor's argument against this, was regarding the city of Blacktown itself. He says that Western Sydney is a rough area, and most people are afraid to be out in Blacktown CBD past 6pm. He even went as far as saying that the only way that they would be able to entice large companies to Western Sydney would be if the entire city of Blacktown was demolished by an earthquake or fire and they were able to build Blacktown CBD from scratch.
Lela xx
I have been so tired lately with TAFE, homework and life in general that going to a council meeting was one of the last things that I wanted to do.
The council meeting was at 7pm, which made things a little hard as well. On Wednesdays we finish TAFE early so it was a little inconvenient knowing at 2pm that we still weren't done for the day, even though we'd left TAFE.
After spending a few hours doing homework, I thought I'd better head over to the council chambers. When I left the house it was miserable and raining, and I hate driving in the rain.
Once I got to the council chambers I walked to what I thought was the front door, and saw a sign saying that their hours were between 8.30am - 4.30pm. Luckily I decided to walk down the street a little, because I realised that there was another entrance.
When I got inside, I noticed that almost half of my TAFE class was there. Everyone looked just as thrilled as I was to be there.
When we got inside, we were no more excited. Most of the issues brought up were neighbour complaints regarding development and complaints about certain roads.
Most of the class were there for probably less than half an hour, but another girl and I wanted to stay to try and get a slightly more interesting story.
The only remotely interesting story that came up was a debate regarding funds to build up the city of Blacktown similar to the CBD.
Certain councillors are trying to convince state government to fund building up the Blacktown area by giving large companies incentives to bring their business to the Western suburbs.
Their argument there is that the majority of the workforce are from the Western suburbs, and people are sick of having to travel all the way to the city for work each day.
Another councillor debated that even if the large companies did bring their business to Western Sydney, they would still have similar issues regarding public transport, as many of Western Sydney's industrial areas have no train stations, and bus services don't run frequently enough, late, or early enough for people to be able to get to work on time.
One councillor's argument against this, was regarding the city of Blacktown itself. He says that Western Sydney is a rough area, and most people are afraid to be out in Blacktown CBD past 6pm. He even went as far as saying that the only way that they would be able to entice large companies to Western Sydney would be if the entire city of Blacktown was demolished by an earthquake or fire and they were able to build Blacktown CBD from scratch.
Lela xx
Hey, I'm Lela and I'm currently studying communications and media at TAFE.
My ultimate goal is to score myself a magazine job, so I quit my day job and enrolled here at TAFE.
This is my first class-related blog.
I have had a lot of fun here so far, and have learnt so much already. It is quite a bit of work, but I know that in the end it will be well worth it.
We are only a couple of weeks into our studies and we have been given plenty of assignments and homework to keep us busy.
They tend to get us to do a lot of things here to push us out of our comfort zones. There's lots of talking in front of the class, presentations to be done and last week we even shot a video. It can be a little intimidating at times, but I know that the more that we do things like that, the easier it will become. It will help too when the class gets to know each other a little better and things aren't so awkward any more.
I'm not usually the shy type, but for some reason I'm not quite myself in this class yet. I'm not worried though, I know that it won't be long until my true personality comes through, so I'm looking forward to becoming my usual, confident self.
I am hoping that by the end of this course, I will have more skills then I need to land my dream job.
I have work experience with Girlfriend magazine in September, which I am really looking forward to. I am planning on impressing them so much during my week of work experience, that they will hopefully offer me a job. If not, I will study at uni until I can get where I want to be.
Lela xx
My ultimate goal is to score myself a magazine job, so I quit my day job and enrolled here at TAFE.
This is my first class-related blog.
I have had a lot of fun here so far, and have learnt so much already. It is quite a bit of work, but I know that in the end it will be well worth it.
We are only a couple of weeks into our studies and we have been given plenty of assignments and homework to keep us busy.
They tend to get us to do a lot of things here to push us out of our comfort zones. There's lots of talking in front of the class, presentations to be done and last week we even shot a video. It can be a little intimidating at times, but I know that the more that we do things like that, the easier it will become. It will help too when the class gets to know each other a little better and things aren't so awkward any more.
I'm not usually the shy type, but for some reason I'm not quite myself in this class yet. I'm not worried though, I know that it won't be long until my true personality comes through, so I'm looking forward to becoming my usual, confident self.
I am hoping that by the end of this course, I will have more skills then I need to land my dream job.
I have work experience with Girlfriend magazine in September, which I am really looking forward to. I am planning on impressing them so much during my week of work experience, that they will hopefully offer me a job. If not, I will study at uni until I can get where I want to be.
Lela xx
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