Blaming Social Networks
Are social networks to blame for declining music sales? Some musicians like Billy Brag seem to think so, even though some say that the judgment of musicians like Billy Brag is clouded by the motive to make money, as opposed to logical argumentation. I think that most experts agree that the decline of music sales is associated with the fact that music can be reproduced at zero cost. It seems it is economics that drives this phenomena, not social networks. Social networks are merely a tool that can be used for good or bad. We have to also take into account young artists who now have a way to break into the mainstream without getting a label to promote them. That is because they can distribute their music very easily through social networks.
Games and Laughter
Is playing games often associated with laughter? Measuring how often people laugh while playing games would be an interesting study to conduct. There are many games that are filled with humor, but it seems that the majority of games are action oriented. Actually, most people when they think of games, they might think of games filled with violence. However, it does not mean all games are like this. For example, Sam&Max and Jack Keane are the examples of games that are fun to play and are filled with humor. Even the recent bestseller, namely Grand Theft Auto IV, contains many jokes and parodies of cultural symbols, even though the game generally is focused on action. Let us hope that there will be more games in the future that will make us laugh.
Cell Phones
I am sure that almost every reader of this blog either has a mobile phone, or had one at some point of his life. It is not easy to decide which cell phone to buy if you look at the variety of features they offer. In this post, I am not going to discuss the cost of mobile phones or various calling plans they offer. I am going to focus on what features they have. Knowing what features you want your cell phone to have will make your choice a lot easier.
Every mobile phone these days has a function that allows sending and receiving SMS messages. Some of them allow MMS to be sent, record your voice, make a video, a picture, or even can connect to the Internet. The more features a phone has, the more expensive it will be. It is definitely up to you to decide what features you need and for which features you are willing to pay. For example, if you travel a lot, you will enjoy a cell phone thanks to which you will be able to connect to the Internet. On the other hand, if you are a stay-at-home mom, you will probably just need a simple mobile phone to stay in touch with your family members.