Scratch That, Read This

Ever read some comic books back in the day or even still? Have you ever wondered why there are huge fan bases obsessed with comics of action heroes or manga? You'd think they would just prefer watching cartoons, right?
Well they actually aren't the same! Part of our class, COMM 146, readings, we recently read a good few chapters from Scott McCloud's "Making Comics"!
Basically, the whole book is comic form! Scott uses creative and imaginative ways to express the significant features in comics, such as the gutters (spaces between the panels in the strip)...
This book soaks the reader into the mind of a comic book artist... Check out this genius writer!
Guarantee: you will never look at comics the same.

So Social with the Media

Did you tweet that? Do you read his status? Lets reblog this! Omg, LIKE!

We all engage through social media, whether you know it or not. Some people, such as Facebook or Twitter addicts, can not stay away from it, without checking their smartphone every 3 minutes. Surprisingly enough, there are still always people out there who just don't like the concept of easier
Points have been made that privacy is lost and all the facebook-ing and twittering makes us as people more concerned about issues

For example, if there was a big disaster that was all over the news or an important cause, you commonly see many posts wishing the best for these cases....but debates have come across whether social media interferes among the serious issues. Social media can make someone more aware of an issue and post/tweet/write about it and spread the news. On the other hand, social media can make one feel like they are participating and helping with the issue by their post/tweet/write and not make the effort to contribute further.

Check out this video that shows you how to "Harness the True Power of Social Media"!

Now, I will conclude the best way for today's post which is to ask you to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @UCSD30thComm!

Communications Major..... Career Promising?

In our COMM 146 discussion, we go through deep discussions about classic, academic theories, the works of our UCSD Communications professors, and even current issues today. One issue is that students and others from different occupations tend to think that majoring in Communications is "easy",  "can't be taken seriously", and "a joke". As Communications students, we don't feel much better hearing these comments and feeling the pressure. Our class read an article, "Who Needs the Humanities at 'Start-Up U'?", from the Stanford Magazine, and it focuses on the reality of students competing over and choosing majors such as Computer Science, Engineering, Economics, Biology, and those over the studies of humanities and social sciences. Simply because...they are more profitable.
Even such a prestigious university like Stanford surely struggles the balance of interests among their students and attempts to find solutions for students to feel more comfortable in studying classes they are interested in and not those to just obtain a high salary in the future.

But there is a reason why we are all still here as Comm majors.... WE find it useful and very interesting.  It may be true that the Communications major does not directly to a specific field or certain career path, and its even truer that we can apply our studies to almost everything!
There has also been points brought up of how we do not learn practical skills, such as knowing how to write a press release, working a camera, or basic public speaking. We learn different theories though and gain intuition on special subjects, global/social issues, and these practices allow us to perceive the situations and things around the world differently, which will definitely boost our tactic when out in the "real world". Personally, I have found it easier to pick up on doing different tasks when at an internship or job. Thus, we can not exactly say we learn valuable skills, but we sure have gained a valuable mindset.

Of course, even looking through our alumni database and what they are involved in now, many are working in occupations that aren't even related to marketing, public relations, media, and the more expected areas of communications. Still, many students are interested in the marketing/ social media aspect, and they must feel proud because those jobs aren't easy! Apparently, "PR manager is the 5th-most-stressful job in America"....yup, you read it!

We do not always learn about the "how" about things work, but we expertise in "why".

MLK Parade

Happy long weekend!
Martin Luther King day is tomorrow! Of course, our caring, active university, UC San Diego, will participate in a special MLK Parade today. Come check it out and join other students or stop by the parade! A nice beautiful day off from work and school dedicated to celebrate one of history's greatest markings.

Lets Connect the Pieces.

Montage. A simple word that is too important to dismiss as part of a film. Because the film would not be a film without it.

Wikipedia definition: "Montage pron.: /mɒnˈtɑːʒ/ is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information."

As we watch a movie, the story is told not only by plot itself, but by us the viewer who makes the connections with intended shots, which are part of the montage. Images and shots are juxtaposed within  space and time to connect the story. An example from the Russian filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein, is the shot of a widow grieving at a grave and someone on the side making positive comments of hope of other partners she can have. She still continues to cry, which a viewer can figure out that the person dead was a man/partner who she really loved and loved her. We also connect that the observer is providing sympathy for her, because the loss of a loved one is very tragic. It smashes two pieces/meanings into one.

Based on Eisenstein's words..... the success of montage is expressing the whole...and not the sum of its parts. 

Another day in class....

Happy Monday!
In our special class, "Remembering Communications", we not only engage in deep discussions, plan out tasks and projects as a team, share our ideas and learnings, but we also have guests visiting and wanting to help out and advise us for our UCSD 30th Communications Anniversary!
Today, Jason Karavidas, UCSD class 2007, stopped by today to share with his work at the UCSD Alumni Discovery Initiative, where he works with a group of students to outreach, reconnect, and learn more about our school's alumni. He has let us brainstorm with new ideas of outreach and emphasized the importance of keeping in touch.
It was interesting to even think of the perspective of the alumni or a particular anybody we would like reach to and invite to our anniversary event.
What would capture your attention and motivate you to attend an anniversary event of UCSD's Communications? What's so significant about it and what is your relation to the department?
Ideas ideas.....

Here is Jason Karavidas '07 and Gina Kim '09, who avidly is part of our COMM 146 team. In the background is Professor Michael Cole being goofy!

A New Year....The 30th Year

Greetings from after the holidays!
Hope you all have had a fun, warm Christmas and New Years! We notice that what people can't keep away from is Social Media. People are putting effort to keep in touch with each other, and we love that! We hope to keep in touch with all who appreciate Communications, UC San Diego, and all who have contributed or studied from our department.
Its 2013, which define the completion of 30 years for the UC San Diego's Communication department. It'll be a very exciting anniversary to approach in June!
Though we are still some months away, we are hard working and actively planning for a special, unforgettable two day event! Some special features we can give away....is some honorary alumni involved, special panel with Kelly Gates, and speakers who have contributed priceless theories and teaching structures.
We are still running through more suggestions before things are finalized! So feel free to ask more questions, write comments, or directly contact us through ucsd30thcomm@gmail.com!