I have violated Disney's online MANNER

I have recently started to play and even pay for an online disney game called "Disney Fairies". I can make friend with other fairies there and in fact the game encourages us to, we can earn a badge for making more friends.

There is a instant message function in the game. Some days ago, when I was playing the game, a fairy there greeted me and started to chat with me. I have made friends there before that but I haven't really have a dialogue with them. However, I always wonder how old the person I am talk to is. But then, I have found that many of the words I have typed become "..." in the speech bubble. And the fairy I was talking to started to ask me, "Why aren't you in cool?" I couldn't figure out what she maens. Then she told me, "They don't allow you to say the real thing. So don't try it. We use other words here." I have found that, "school", "homework" and even numbers (like "two")are prohibited words there. To make it short, I can just say I was really glad to know the girl and I would very much love to talk to her in skype or any other platform which we don't have to use secret codes.

The day after that, another girl came to me. Very quickly, we used secret codes to share our account name on facebook. We had a great time chatting in facebook then. However, the next day I woke up, I got an email from Disney Fairies which told me I am a bad guy who has violated their online rules and manner. My account would be suspended for 72 hours as a "reminder". Further violation of the house rule may lead to account suspension and termination. And here are the rules which included in the "term of use" which everyone of us tends to tick and skip reading it:

We are concerned about your safety online, so exchanging personal information through Disney's community of web sites is not permitted. This includes information like your name, age, e-mail address, school name, phone number, or city of residence. In addition, any discussion of Web addresses or social networking Web sites where personal information is or can be posted or exchanged are not allowed...to learn more about online safety and manners. Understand that this 72-hour hold serves as a reminder to promote a safer, more pleasant online experience for all Guests.

Please note that the email started with quoting the dialogue between my friend and I which violates the rule. They have "specialist" in checking our conversation...

I totally understand some underage girl could be exposed to some really bad guys there. However, not only girls play the game, lady and man too. I think this experience worths our attention esp. on how Disney define what is suitable for kids to talk about in the game (like "homework") and how Disney imagine what its customers are.

[IHT]U.S. entertainment increases worldwide appeal, even if U.S. image doesn't

I've found an article on iht which is very much relevant to our course.
The link below will lead you to the original article.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/01/technology/soft.php

NEW YORK: Shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, a delegation of high-level media executives, including the heads of all the major studios, met several times with White House officials, including at least once with President George W. Bush's former top strategist, Karl Rove, to discuss ways that the entertainment industry could play a part in improving the image of the United States overseas.

One of the central ideas was using "soft power" by spreading U.S. television and movies to foreign audiences, especially in the Muslim world, to help sway public opinion.

There were few tangible results from the meetings - lesser ways of supporting the war on terrorism like public service announcements and packages of free DVDs sent to U.S. soldiers.
But since then, the media companies have gotten what they wanted, even if the White House has not. In the past eight years, American pop culture, already popular, has boomed around the globe, though opinions of the United States itself have soured.

The television program "CSI" is more popular in France than in the United States. Hollywood movies routinely sell far more tickets overseas than at home. A Russian remake of the TV show "Married With Children" has been so popular that Sony, the producer of the show, has hired back the original writers to produce new scripts for Russia.

Even in the Muslim world, American pop culture has spread.

But so far, cultural popularity has not translated into new friends. The latest data from the Pew Global Attitudes Project, released in June, showed that the image of the United States remained negative in the 24 countries in which Pew conducted surveys (although in 10 of those the favorability rating of the United States had edged up slightly).

Joseph Nye Jr., the Harvard professor who coined the phrase "soft power" in 1989 to refer to the ways beyond military muscle that the United States influenced the world, said that "what's interesting about the last eight years is that polls show a decline in American attractiveness."

He added: "But then you ask the follow-up questions and you see that American culture remains attractive, that American values remain attractive. Which is the opposite of what the president has said - that they hate us for who we are and what we believe in."

Jeffrey Schlesinger, the head of international television at Warner Bros., had a simpler explanation for the popularity of U.S. entertainment: "Batman is Batman, regardless of if Bush is in the White House or not," he said.

And Batman will still be Batman with Barack Obama in the White House. The issue of the image of the United States abroad was a campaign platform for the president-elect, who said in a foreign policy speech in April, "We all know that these are not the best of times for America's reputation in the world."

With the curtain closing on the Bush presidency, pollsters are left to wonder about the long-term effects. Steven Kull, the director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, said that before the election, his data suggested a slight improvement after a long decline. "It's turned a corner, but it's not anywhere near positive territory," he said.

Kull said he had been surprised to find that in pre-election polling, fewer than half of those polled in 22 foreign countries - 46 percent - said relations between the United States and the world would improve under a President Obama.

"It's not just about not being Bush, and that there will be a clean slate," Kull said. "There were all these underlying issues that were amplified during the Bush era, and they are not simply going to go back in the trunk."

Bryce Zabel, a television producer who was chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the time and a participant in the 2001 meetings with the White House, argued then that the United States needed to regard itself like a consumer brand.

"Products like Coca-Cola are far more effectively branded around the globe than the United States itself," he wrote in a memo that was circulated around Hollywood. "The American entertainment and communications industry has the technological and creative expertise to improve relations between our country and the rest of the world."

Hilary Rosen, the former chairwoman of the Recording Industry Association of America, who was present at the post-9/11 meetings, said that Rove and other White House officials were looking for the kind of support Hollywood gave the United States during World War II.
"They wanted the music industry, the movie industry, the TV industry to produce propaganda," she said. "Rove was putting a lot of pressure on us."

For Hollywood, a much more important development was happening globally, as rising standards of living around the world resulted in more money spent on entertainment. Big, comfortable multiplexes being erected in countries like Russia and Mexico were helping draw moviegoers.

In 2003, the domestic box office brought in $9.2 billion for U.S. studios, and foreign countries generated $10.9 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In 2007, domestic revenue was $9.6 billion, while international rose to more than $17 billion.

The growth overseas has surprised even some U.S. media executives. "It was something that, two or three years ago, was thought to have gone into a slower growth position," Jeffrey Bewkes, chief executive of Time Warner, said to a gathering of investors in June about the international appeal of U.S. television. "And then it came roaring back over the last couple of years."

The foreign interest in U.S. entertainment has been particularly pronounced in television. In many countries, particularly in Europe, U.S. television shows, once relegated to late night, are being shown in prime time.

According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the executive branch of the European Union, the number of hours of U.S. programming on major European networks in 2000 was about 214,000. In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, that figure had grown by nearly 50,000 hours, to more than 266,000 hours.

"Let's say, at the beginning of the decade, more or less all over Europe you saw on the big channels almost no U.S. series on prime time," says Gerhard Zeiler, chief executive of RTL Group, the largest European television broadcaster. "Now, all over Europe you have a lot of American series in prime time."

"Increasingly a lot of that money is coming from television," said Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner Brothers. "The demand for American-produced television shows is stronger than it has ever been."

U.S. culture is blossoming even in the Middle East, where polls consistently show starkly negative views of the United States. Viacom started MTV Arabia last fall and introduced Nickelodeon Arabia in July on satellite services - endeavors that entail lessons in cultural sensitivity.

Much of American programming is beamed to Middle Eastern audiences from two satellite channels, MBC2 and MBC4, owned by the Saudi-financed Middle East Broadcasting Center. In prime time recently on MBC4 was "8 Simple Rules," the ABC sitcom that starred the late John Ritter, and the gossip shows "The Insider" and "Inside Edition." Oprah Winfrey's show is also popular.

Amahl Bishara, an assistant professor of anthropology at Tufts University who recently spent two years in the West Bank studying the media there, said she had noticed that MBC2, which carries U.S. movies, was particularly popular.

"There's an acute understanding of the difference between the U.S. government and the American people," she said. "And they look at U.S. entertainment as just that, entertainment."

Pheonix TV

I remember that when I was small, I always watched the Phoenix TV. (Because it was available in my old home) I felt it was quite boring at that time, since it was full o f news and information. However, recently I feel quite interested in one of its show called 魯豫有約， it is a talk show. The host will interview many kinds of people including pop stars and professional people. It will give much background information instead of only presenting it in an entertaining way. After I visited the station, I realize that their target audiences are who have high education.

My vision has been widened on that day. It makes me know that producing news report is a complicated process. They have to search and buy some information of the news from other media company. Also, the lady who talks to us helps us know more about the situation in China. For myself, I think that the method of collecting news and the operation of the station is a phenomenon of globalization since the news is transferred with high flexibility but the content of it still mainly focus on Asia. Actually, it seems to be popular in China but not in Hong Kong.

Anyway, it was an interesting experience to look in the studio and was funny to take photo

The Phoenix TV

I am so happy having the chance to visit the Phoenix TV. As a mainland student, I feel more familiar with the Phoenix TV. It has a large impact on many people, since in the mainland, the news and discussions are limited to some extent.

The time for questioning is not so long as I expected,since they are too busy. Although their life are so busy,they are very enthusiasim and friendly, showing us all the Phoenix things.

The Phoenix is designed for Chinese people in mainland and all over the world.So sometimes it is consered by the government. How about the Hong Kong local media?I am still wondering whether news and media corporations in Hong Kong is totally not afraid of the government? And as lots of Hong Kong people do not watch TV,how do local Hong Kong station make profits? Also, I want to know whether people from abroad will keep watching CNN, maybe I should ask Mark .I found the limits that a station have concerning of the audiences may also one feature for itself.

Comparing different media corporations, we may find a globalization phenomenon. Is it really meaningful for all media to be more and more globalized , rather than localized?
Many questions need to be thinking.
The last thing but also important is :Thank you, Lisa ,for preparing this visit and the members of the Phoenix TV who are so friendly and helpful.

On visiting Phoenix TV

Watching fashion programme in Phoenix Chinese TV, not my usual choice, during writing this article. It is impossible to imagine that all these programmes are produced in those tiny studios. When the PR manager said that they earn about 1.2billion last year, that AMAZED me. I had that perceptions that Phoenix has a huge base of audience, but turn out they have like 2 hundred million in China. Later I realize they do not need a huge base of audiences. They just need the right audiences, the audiences who is willing to spent, appear to be intellectuals, so business will place advertisement in the channel.

Apple Daily and Phoenix TV
There is not enough time to ask them questions. It is really funny that the InfoNews Channel I am watching is in traditional Chinese subtitles, instead of the simplified one. When the anchor is summing up the editorials of the day in the morning news programme, the Apple Daily's (pro-democracy paper, paper sell really well just like the NYTimes, but the context is like the Mirror ) editorial is always missing. But when during the visit to our last stop -- the library, I saw a stack of Apple Daily's newspaper stand there. Oh, I thought they ignored the paper entirely, but turn out not to be true. I wanted to ask a silly question , why are the papers here but they are never used in the channel. That give me some insight of where they are setting the station in Hong Kong, at least they can read democratic paper which are forbidden in China.

Political Correctness
Comparing to CCTV news, Phoenix is more appealing to me. CCTV news is so unbelievably formal (the clothes, the PTH, etc), always politically correct. Phoenix is more vivid and seem a little open-minded. Yet, that is just a packing. They would not address Ma Ying Jiu as President of Taiwan, but the Leader of Taiwan. They introduce a lot about Taiwan to Chinese audience in "pro-unification with China" perspectives. What the editor said in the meeting room does disappoint me. They will delete a commentary made by guest because of the "government officials" dislike it. Why would I be surprise? They are communist after all, to conform is communist 101. Freedom of speech is practicing in Hong Kong, but not in China after all.

Patriotic?
Anyway, comparing to TVB or ATV news (the only two free TV channels in Hong Kong, TVB get 90% of the HK audiences.), Phoenix has a more wide and global perspectives. That is the greatness of Phoenix. TVB or ATV seldom cover news in Middle East or Africa (Unless the Prime Minister place a visit there). Phoenix has reporters all over the world, including Tehran. A patriot can be very cosmopolitan person!

This trip is definitely an eye-opener. And I think.... they need a new PR manager.. (the current one is great, but Phoenix deserves better.. don't you think?)

Observations in Zhaokang Light Rail station

Last Friday, Jenny and I had observation about how people use mobile phones in Zhaokang Light Rail station. As Jenny mentioned, a women and asecondary female student used their phones to make appointments. They both talked about their future plans that people would not waste any time while waiting the trains.

There was an interesting phenomenon, while I walked towards two ladies talking in the phones, they both walked away. However, I just pretended to watch the line map. I didn’t know that it was whether a kind of privatizing the public space. Their voices were soft and walked around in the station. They expected others not listening to them. Moreover, a teenage girl phoned to a boy asking where was him. She asked him to be faster that she and her friends had already reached the destination. In the conversation, she had passed the phone to different people to talk with the boy. After a few minutes, the boy appeared opposite the station where the girls stood but they still talked in the phone. When girls watched the boy crossing the road, they asked him to walk faster in the phone. It seemed that the phone connect them from different space to the same space.

Apart from using the phone to communicate, one young girls used her phone to play games and her friend was looking at her and discussed with her. Besides, some adults also played the games in the phone while waiting the train. And people were very keen on sending messages that they typed very fast and put their phones in the pockets. Then they soon took the phones and sent the other messages again.

From the above observation, I think that mobile phone is closely related to time that everyone uses their phone to increase the speed of events and save their time.

Cell phone that keep us busy

Sorry that I missed the action research on Friday. I was suffering from diarrhea that day. But I did my research over the past week.

Connection amongst strangers
I was on the minibus from Jordon to Gold Coast. A guy sat in front of me and he kept talking on the mobile phone with her girlfriend. When the mini bus got around Siu Lam, he did not know where he was. So he kept asking where was her girlfriend and told her what he saw(I saw many trees, just over the bridge, i saw the BBQ sign...) And a very friendly middle age women offered help and told him you were in Siu Lam and the next stop would be Gold Coast. The mini bus driver overheard too and asked "where is your girlfriend? How is she look like? Is she going to get on this bus? This bus is not going to Yuen Long!(The destination of the bus was intended to go to Yuen Long)" When the bus got to Gold Coast and her girlfriend got on the bus and the driver told them, I could take you both to the mini bus stop that you could get bus to Yuen Long. The most amazing thing is that the guy did not ask for help, but everyone helped because we can hear clearly what he was talking about. The connection between Hongkongers started and ended in that journey.

The 3G window shopping
I was waiting for my friend in Time square, a huge plasma TV was over my head. I witnessed how the woman use her 3G moblie phone. She was so concetrated on the screen and wear the hand-free earphone, talking loudly over the phone, as if there was nobody but herself. "Wow.. really? That is so pretty! Yes, let's buy this one." Yes, she was doing a real virtual window shopping with her friend. I am amazed. She did not move arround, she just stood there and talk and talk and talk over 15 minutes. I was forced to overheard her whole conversation! As a 3G user myself, I do admit that sometime I talk to people via 3G. But it could not last long, the reception is not that good. Appoxiamtely for 3 -5 minutes just to find out where the person is (people do lie about where they are, very often...). It is impossible to move arround when you are talking and looking via the phone.

Confession...
I am not a peeking tom. But I did take picture of someone who I find funny. A little boy was playing with the pole in the train. He dance by using the pole. I could not resist to use my phone to take picture of him, and he did not know that.

寄件者 Silly stuff

Mobile phone today cannot just be a mobile phone that could only receive and dial a call. It has to be packed with functionssss. Games, Walkman, GPRS system, camera, Internet connection, messaging, visual calling and many more in the future. When Camera married mobile phone, make every little thing become important. You could take picture whatever you want and the memory of that moment being enlarge. That moment might not be that important if you did not film it. But with the picture, you enlarge every little details of that experience. Mobile phone become our necessity, not only because the connection with people, but the additional functions that it contained. You can kill time by surfing the web using your cell, it can give you direction with the GPRS system, you have to check the email every five minutes to see if the client has confirmed the meeting or not.......

The connection between you and the phone is much more important than the connection between you and people arround you.