My Opinions on New Media & Society (Megan Gray)

This was an interesting blog topic this week, as it provided such a new perspective to walk around campus and think about the forms of media that are in the spaces we occupy on a daily basis without even knowing it.  Different forms of media were present in each area passed through, sometimes expected, sometimes not.  The area I chose to explore further was the locker room of the Cornell Women’s Lacrosse team.  Obviously, as part of the program, this is an area that is of great importance since members of the team are in this space on a daily basis.  It was also surprising to me, the forms of media that are present in a space that seems completely unaffected by information technology.

Many times, when people are entering the locker room space, they do so with their iPod headphones stuck in their ears or while on the phone with someone.  Most members of the team possess Blackberry’s or some other type of smart-phone or iPod.  Another interesting fact was that the space is also equipped with wireless Internet.  Why someone thought that a locker room space in a random spot in a hockey rink needed to be connected to the Internet is beyond me, but that’s the intriguing aspect of new media in today’s world.  People find a reason to have a connection to the world on a large basis in any space that they find.  While many individuals would think that this Internet connection would go unused since the locker room is typically thought of as a place to change clothes for practice, I was amazed at how frequently it is actually taken advantage of.

While entering the locker room today before the start of practice, I saw not one, but two team members sitting on the floor of the room doing work on their laptops.  Instead of staying in the library or other “normal” work space, the girls decided that they could get some last minute email in or look up something quickly before the start of practice.  The convenience of having the Internet available everywhere is not something that was noticeable by the girls, but here they were on the Internet in a locker room, 10 minutes before they set off on the field for two hours of drills.  And as soon as practice ends, one of the first things you will see probably 85% of the team do is to drop their sticks and whip out the Blackberry’s to check for missed calls, text messages, and emails.

People today may not even realize how much they are connected to the other people and information.  A few years ago, it would have been an outrageous thing to have wireless Internet connection in a Women’s Lacrosse locker room.  But with today’s ever-expanding information technological world, it seems completely acceptable for WiFi connection to exist in an athletic locker room.  Even with a group of 26 other women in this space, each person feels like they need to be connection to other people and information because that is how society today operates.  And now, through technology, everyone knows a little bit more about the inner-workings of the Cornell Women’s Lacrosse locker room.

Rated: from 2 votes

Fenton argues the ups and downs of news published through the various pathways of new media.  While technology has greatly advanced the speed at which news stories can reach people all over the world, it has also decreased the credibility of the sources of these breaking stories.  Since new media routes highly rely on communal participation, anyone, anywhere, and at any time, can publish a “news” story on the web.  Consumers must now spend their time filtering through various websites to find the “real” story.

I believe that our generation is definitely more connected to news than in past times.  Since most people have some form of a smartphone, whether it be the iPhone or a Blackberry, most people can get some sort of news application downloaded directly on their phone.  With this technology people are carrying around breaking news stories right in their pocket!  With that said, I find that most people only pay attention to the stories they want to hear.  I’m not big into politics so I tend to bypass any story relevant to that subject, but I might be more likely to pay attention to what’s going on in the health care field or a breaking sports story.  With the overwhelming amount of news that reaches a singly person on any given day, it would be impossible to be connected to every event happening that we hear about.

Since past generations were only exposed to a limited number of news stories throughout the day, they may have felt like they were more connected to the events going on in the world.  Only a few breaking stories reached these audiences so when asked about a particular news story, individuals would most likely have heard at least something about it.  Now-a-days, there is so much media infiltrating our society every minute that individuals may not have heard the latest breaking news story.  It’s like the paradox of choice-since there are so many news companies and stories to choose to listen to, people are less likely to make a decision; so people are more likely to stick to one company/story that they feel comfortable with or turn themselves off from as much news as possible.

While new media has allowed people to be constantly connected to the latest happenings of the world, I believe that it is up to the consumer to choose how connected they are to the news in this day and age.  So there is a conflicting opinion of whether or not our generation is more or less involved in current events, but that is the freedom and paradox of new media technology.

Rated: from 1 votes

The website I chose to explore was the Democratic Party website.  The home page of the website was a highlighted banner stating, “Congress passes historic health reform.”  At the bottom of the home page were links to 3 different blogs and also a collection of tabs for various websites such as YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.  Along the top were tabs for different areas that the democratic national party is involved with.

This website, http://www.democrats.org/, definitely plays host to social networking through new media.  The blogs linked to the website are summaries of news articles written on various topics with some opinions of the writer strewn in with the quotes.  I found that there were no responses linked to any of these blogs though, which limits the way people can voice their responses to the various pieces presented.  In this way, information is presented to the public without receiving any feedback initially.  The users must use the other links posted on the website in order to voice their opinions to various news releases and activities.  Clicking on the Facebook link posted on the Home Page of this site takes the user directly to the Democratic Party’s official Facebook page, where they can find even more information on activities happening within the organization and people can post their thoughts to the page’s “wall.”  This is the most freely expressive way that Democrats use new media through their website for people to allow their opinions to be heard by other members.

Also found on the website are links to news articles, videos, and places where internet-users can sign up to volunteer, register to vote, and get involved with other activities of the Democratic National Party.  This is a quick way that people can check in on the schedule of activities of the political party and tap into news releases.  To me, this is extremely beneficial to the general public and will only continue to play a larger role in the future of politics.  Most people have access to the internet and it is easier for people to see what is going on when they only need to visit one website to receive so much information.  Consumers can choose whether they would just like to read about the happenings of the political party or whether they would like to input their thoughts onto the social networking sites to further their experience.  In this way, people feel more involved in their government and its future actions because they can interact with the information presented, something they did not have the opportunity to do previously.  New media will continue to play a larger role in closing the gap between the actions/thoughts of the general public and politicians in the future.

Rated: from 6 votes

The main idea of communication through new media is collaboration. People are constantly working together to come up with new ideas and products. Doing things individually requires a much slower process of creating an object and getting it out into the world. By working on ideas collaboratively, things can develop at a much faster pace while receiving more input from a variety of sources. Using the internet as a mass medium allows consumers to participate as creators, distributors, and consumers of information. In his article, “World Wide Mush,” Jaron Lanier describes this online information society best when he states, “There’s no escaping collectivism in our online world. If you search about most any topic online, for instance, you will likely be directed first to Wikipedia, a collective effort.” (Lanier, 2010) Anyone can create content and post it on the internet, the beginnings of produsage. The four basic principles of Bruns’ produsage concept best describe the dimensions of new media collectivism: Open Participation, Communal Evaluation; Fluid Heteracy, Ad Hoc Meritocracy; Unfinished Artifacts, Continuing Process; Common Property, Individual Reward. By following these key principles, consumers shift into becoming more active users in the online community.
The most important principle of produsage is Open Participation, Communal Evaluation. Without this element, the collective efforts of the information “community” would not exist. By creating a medium that allows users to collaborate together to share new ideas and information, all users who have access to that medium must be allowed to participate. Otherwise, a top-down hierarchical system would still exist and there would ultimately be no consumer influence in the process. “Produsage, in other words, is based on a principle of inclusivity, not exclusivity.” (Bruns, 24) Collaboration allows for more content to be generated and people will be able to have equal access to this information, providing they take part in the online community. By using new media techniques, new information and ideas can be available on a global scale. Putting information into a system where it can be viewed globally allows for impact all over the world. A piece of information posted in the United States may be of major importance to someone in Africa would have never received this information if it wasn’t for the development of technology and equal access to the media. The person located in Africa may give their input to the piece of information and critique the product, which allows the person in the United States to further develop their product and make it better. This global collaboration allows the world to grow together and may prevent one society from fully taking over the power and ideas of another.

Rated: from 1 votes

After reading the World Summit Document on Information Society, it seems as though the biggest obstacle to achieve on the document’s list is aspiration B.19, “We are resolute in our quest to ensure that everyone can benefit from the opportunities that ICTs can offer.  We agree that to meet these challenges all stakeholders should work together to: improve access to information and communication infrastructure and technologies as well as to information and knowledge; build capacity; increase confidence and security in the use of ICTs; create an enabling environment at all levels; develop and widen ICT applications; foster and respect cultural diversity; recognize the role of the media; address the ethical dimensions of the Information Society; and encourage international and regional cooperation.  We agree that these are the key principles for building an inclusive Information Society.”  Basically, Information Society should benefit all members of society.  This should allow people to develop further, while improving information access, communication, and technological advancement among many societies, and upholding ethical principles.  I believe that all people should have equal opportunity to take part in the development of Information Society.

The biggest obstacle to achieving the global Information Society that this document aspires to are catering to each and every society’s individual needs equally.  I think it is important to try not to favor one society more than another.  In order to develop globally, each member must feel as equally important in this process.  This is an extremely tough thing to accomplish, but if careful planning is done and certain steps are made, it can be achieved and the world can benefit from a united global Information Society.

Rated: from 2 votes

The reading by Turow brings up some very insightful points concerning advertising and new media.  In today’s society it is not sufficient enough to create an ad to reach a large number of people.  Marketing companies are looking for ways to tailor specific advertisements to certain population subgroups and are using new media outlets to channel these ads.  Advertisements are plastered everywhere around us and still new outlets are being tested.  The new challenge in the 21st century is to catch the customer’s attention even when they have the ability to use ad-skipping technology.

Customer surveillance is a controversial topic brought up by Turow.  Advertisement companies are using surveillance-based customization techniques to promote new products to the public.  Some people are not in favor of this type of marketing scheme.  I see their points about the invasion of privacy, but I also think that this technique is extremely useful and positive.  I like having certain advertisements tailored to my wants and needs, as long as these ads are an accurate reflection of my needs.  For me, it is much easier to only pay attention and receive advertisements from companies that I would want to receive products from.  I don’t have to waste my time looking at marketing campaigns from products/services that I would never use.  Plus, the fact that point-of-sale systems can track purchases and use this history to provide special offers and coupons isn’t such a bad thing either.  Everyone loves to feel like they are receiving special treatment, especially when it involves free or discounted merchandise.

The advertisement companies decide which products enter the mainstream entertainment industry, thus shaping consumers wants and “needs”.  This is part of Turow’s argument as to why it is not just the evolution of new technology that has changed marketing campaigns, but the “construction” of the consumer.  By tracking individual’s likes and dislikes, marketers tailor customer’s views and ultimately what becomes popular in today’s society.  Consumers provide the raw information of what they want or do not want in their products, and it is up to the advertising companies to use this information to create ads that will give consumers what they want, without wasting time marketing to other population subgroups.  This 21st century advertising style has become extremely beneficial and consumer friendly, and I believe individualize marketing campaigns will keep growing as long as ad-supported media outlets continue to exist.

Rated: from 6 votes

If people really want to know what you’re doing, they’d ask.  Twitter is just another way for people to procrastinate.

Rated: from 3 votes

Twitter is a social networking site that basically takes everything a person would say in text messages and posts it on the internet.  That is pretty much how the company started when it was founded in 2006.  Jack Dorsey was looking for a new way to communicate with people, but in the convenience of the short-scripted text messages.  Everyone has access to the internet, many of us through our phones anyway.  I think that Twitter is a way for everyday people to feel somewhat important.  If they see that they have people “following” them then why not post their thoughts and schedule to their twitter account?  People also use Twitter as a way to follow their favorite celebrities.  Twitter has verified accounts to celebrities so that people can know that it is “truly” the celebrity they want to know about, even if in actuality it is just the personal assistant of said celebrity.

The list of popular topics currently on the Twitter website includes Justin Bieber, Tiger Woods, and Shaun White.  For the most part I can see why these are popular topics.  With the Olympics currently being held in Vancouver, that is all a lot of people are talking about these days.  Tiger Woods hasn’t left the media spotlight for the past couple months, so it only makes sense that he should be one of the most popular topics on Twitter.  Not really sure where Justin Bieber comes into play, except that his teenie bopper fans might have nothing else to do than talk about their “future boyfriend” all day.

The most popular Twitter topic right now was actually a political topic, tweeting about Senator John Barrasso.  This is most likely stemming from the proposed health care plan for the United States.  From looking at the Twitter website, people are not agreeing with Barrasso and are frustrated with his actions.  If Twitter became even more predominant force in United States political topics then people would more likely be influenced by the thoughts of other people and what the majority of people say on Twitter than forming their own opinions about the candidates.  If people were to go against what the majority of people are saying on Twitter, then they might get ganged up on by other tweeters.  On the other hand, this could spark a population to stand up for what they believe in and get more people involved in their ideas.  According to Wikipedia, “Twitter use increased by 43 percent on the day of the United States’ 2008 election.”  If Twitter continues to grow at the pace it has been, then I think it’s only safe to say that it will become a bigger part of the election campaigning process.

The 140 character limit is a unique factor to Twitter that makes it appealing to many people.  I like the idea of having to consolidate thoughts to this short space.  Everything people do these days is done in a consolidated, convenient way, and this is exactly the format Twitter has implemented.  It’s like an executive summary, people only want to read the main points of a topic.  If it takes people longer than 20 seconds to read something, their mind gets bored and they have already moved on to a new thought.  As the world continues to develop face-paced communication methods, I think Twitter will continue to be in the mix.

Rated: from 2 votes

While reading Lanier’s article, “World Wide Mush,” the thought struck me as to why people shouldn’t be allowed to use the internet as an outlet for their hobbies.  Lanier argues that the internet is becoming so bogged down with people’s opinions and collaborations that not many things of importance are viewed anymore.   Who is to say that the pictures people post on Facebook or the definitions posted on Wikipedia aren’t of as much importance as something that is broadcast on CNN?  Lanier says that he wants youth to grow up as “fierce individuals.”  If people are consistently working in committees and thinking as one specific unit, how will individuals ever develop?  Humans have more passions in life than just making money, and they should be able to express their opinions and thoughts to anyone they’d like without having to worry about receiving credit for it.

The two major roots of the internet, communication and contribution, discussed in Fake’s article are the major components to the idea of produsage discusses in the Bruns reading.  As people are no longer seen as separate producers and consumers, the collaboration methods described by Fake come heavily into play.  People are constantly developing their own ideas and use the internet as a means to get their ideas out there and receive feedback.  This is where contribution and communication come into play.  Using Wikipedia as an example, say a person creates a post that they then post to the Wikipedia website.  This information may be extremely useful to another person, who first acts as a consumer since they are receiving the information.  This person may have another viewpoint on the subject and then makes a contribution to the work done by the previous person.  In this way, the second individual is a prodo-user since they both contributed and received information.  This exchange is seen numerous times in a single day all over the world and many of the new innovations and ideas would not exist today without produsage.

If people did everything just to receive money or credit, then this world would have never developed into what it is today.  It is the little people that influenced the biggest company names in today’s world; so who has the right to say that they are causing the internet to turn into mush?

Rated: from 4 votes

Basically everyone I know has an iPod these days.  You can’t walk anywhere on campus without seeing at least one person with headphones in their ears, blissfully zoned out from the world around them.  This inspired me to do a bit more research on Apple, Inc.

As many people know, Apple, Inc. is well known for their line of Mac computers and accessories, iPods, iPhones, software, and Apple TV.  What you may not be aware of is that Apple is also responsible for producing a variety of software and computer items for the film, TV, and audio industry as well.  Some of these professional products include the Final Cut Studio- a line of professional audio and film-industry software products, and Logic Studio-a collection of audio tools.  Apple has also always allowed for sales of third-party Mac-compatible accessories in Apple Stores since the very beginning.  Companies such as Nikon, Canon, Microsoft, and Adobe all carry products or software in Apple retail stores throughout the world.

Apple, Inc. had annual sales of $42.91 billion in 2009, mostly due to practices of vertical integration of its products.  Apple develops the software that is then pre-installed on all the hardware that is sold by the company.  Consumers are able to pick and chose what programs they want installed on their MacBooks at the time they order the product.  By doing this, Apple controls all aspects of the production of their product lines and does not need to rely on outside resources for the manufacturing of their retail items.

The Apple, Inc. company is always pushing the boundaries of new media, most recently with the release of its new product, the iPad.  Similar to the iPhone, the iPad is a way for people to connect with social networking sites and other media applications anywhere at anytime.  The portable touchscreen device is another way for Americans to stay updated with events in society in a convenient way.

Apple’s slogan from 1997-2002 was, “Think Different,” and while this slogan is retired today, it still has a strong connection with the way that consumers view the company and its products.  Apple, Inc is constantly pushing the boundaries of the definition of new media, and time will only tell with what new products they can come up with next.

Rated: from 6 votes