READING

I found it to be surpising at first that users of the circuit city web site were posting blogs that were directed to help circuit city smooth out their web page, then I realized that most of the people are avid computer geeks. So this is great and all, but does not work for most webpages. Most of the time if I have dificulties with online services I simply disconnect,. This idea is simmular to what we talked about in lab. So this leeds us to declare that all companies with web bases services should improve their online communication capabilites. the ability for a business to interact with the customer in such an informal way is a surefire way to get true customer feedback. Sure the traditional letter of complaint works from time to time, but using te web(being so acessable and fast) to vent your frustration towards a product or a company is groundbreaking and outright effective. Yes, companies need to get on this track nad pay more attention to what teh customer had to day. Yes, companies need to improve their online communication abilties to be able to recieve and allow all the feedback.

Assignment 2

The title of the Wikipedia page is Podcast. The URL page  can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast. This article discusses the mechanics of podcasting, receiving and using podcast and gives other uses for podcast. The articles original date is October 26 20004 and there are over 500 contributors to this particular article. The reason I chose this article is because if the power of podcasting, being that it is so accessible and simple to create and receive podcast. Upon review of the resources that were provided on the page, I found the article to be creditable enough to use as a resource, but taking a closer look in the discussion page I found the article to be controversial in content that has been removed and added. It seems a man by the name Adam Curry had anonymously edited the podcasting entry on Wikipedia to remove credits from other people and to inflate his role in its creation. Another editor to the Wikipedia podcast page had complained about getting his content removed. He had explained to have found a spectacular way of listening to podcast, but later removed for no reason to be explained.The artilce that I found using proquest was “Podcasting 101,” written in the magazine Strings. This article is very up to date and explains the mechanics of podcasting and its uses, similar to the Wiki article. I found this article to be less creditable than the Wiki article, not only because this article only contained one author, but the content was not as informative on the subject of the mechanics and uses of podcasts. I found the use of multaple authors with the abiltiy to edit, delete and control the content that is published to be much more creditable. References: Podcast, (2008) In Wikipedia: The Free Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Podcast Charles Laux. Strings. San Anselmo: Mar 2008. Vol. 22, Iss. 8; pg. 26, 3 pgs, retrieved from Proquest Database on feb 15. 

Post Presentation reflection

I had to present my slideshow to the whole class, so it was harder to get feedback directly. I presented a study that claimed that new media such as online news may be fragmenting the audiences and specializing thier webpages to focus on only specific topics that particular demographic may want to hear. Even though there was little research done in this area, I found it intersting. I cant say that I exactly agree with what was said, but I  was simply testing this idea to the class to see how they felt about it. The majority of the feedback that I recieved from the class was mostly in disagreement with the idea of online media being the seeds of fragmetaion. I think If I had presented all the hard data that was presented in the original document I would have been more convincing, but I only had 5 minuted to get my point across. Overall I thought my presentaion went as planned even though I seemed to get some raised eyebrows from most of the class.

Technology and society

Media technology has came a long way since the telegraph and has become much more accessible to the public too. Since the beginning of the telegraph era, where public information could now be printed and distributed widely, information was not very easy to come by. You had to search it out by hand, in the library, etc. Now since the invention of the Internet, information has become so much more accessible to the public. Society inherently has the need to share information, but some times that information comes with a price tag. Because of this basic human instinct to share information, when it becomes more free and accessible, that technology will begin to take off. I believe that we are now entering this time period where legitimate information is becoming free to share, (when properly cited) and less professional people are gaining more credit than ever.

Online Segregation

The Seeds of Audience Fragmentation:

Specialization in the Use of Online

News Sites

Abstract: Contemporary normative concerns that the Internet might fragment nationalaudiences and polities are based on suggestions that the mediumis particularly conducive to specialized use. However, relatively littlequantitative research has explicitly examined this contention. Thisstudy evaluates outlet specialization within the context of online newsreading. Analyses of news viewing by a nationally representative panelof Internet users reveal that the user demographic profiles of news sitesare individually distinct. More important, the topics that readers viewvary by the sites they access. In sum, the provision of news over the

Internet exhibits ample signs of outlet specialization.

Bibliography:  

Tewksbury, David (2005) ‘The Seeds of Audience Fragmentation:

Specialization in the Use of Online News Sites’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic

retrieved feb, 8 2008 from proquest database

Media, 49:3, 332 – 348

To link to this article: DOI: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4903_5

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem4903_5

link to my slidehow

Blogging Technology

What are the implications of blogging technology on established media?

The implications of blogging on much more established and mainstream media are small piece to a larger puzzle, but potentially threatening in the future of media. Because news establishments such as CNN are broadcasted on television they have more credibility in today’s world, although it is true they were much more creditable ten or so years ago. This may be a downward spiral of major news corps passing the upward blogland on the way down to the depths of media darkness. Needless to say blogging technology has come a long way and gain some tremendous momentum on its way up. I think that as long as Television is around, major media groups will hang in for a while, but by a thread. It is incredible how much money big media has and how little money it takes to create blogging technology and still have a devastating effect like big media. Until the public no longer is interested in television and radio large media corperation  will have remain on-top in the media world.

1. As television becomes less popular in the future, what will be its counterpart?

2. why is it that the public still remains to trust the news even though it is a for profit entity?

3. How in ten years will blogging technologies produce the same effect as a news channel would on the television?

LAB QUESTION

How do you feel this new-age market could expand on from music and movies to other goods? Goods produced from companies like Nike or Pepsi for example.

Interesting question here, mega cooperation such as COKE and PEPSI usually find all avenues to exploit. I was very surprised to find Nike entering the surf and skate world, successfully to. I think with the music business you’ll begin to see big corporations sponsoring big music events, buying rights to certain songs and eventually offering a free downloadable song with each purchase of their product. I’m sure that all this is already been thought of and already in progress. Music like anything is exploitable, so why would big corporations not want to dip their hands in the hot pot?

class 5 lab

comment on Lisa blog page

Open source software movement

The article written by Chris Anderson was right on point. It was written in  2004, a lot has changed in the shared music and video world. As I write this I am listing to a new website called Pandora Radio. Pandora is Internet radio that plays music only you prefer and also provided you with information on that artist and a source to buy that track or album. Most of the music that I dig is some of the most obscure music and would never have found it otherwise. To answer the question why should communication scholars study the open source software movement is because the idea is so far from the mainstream and contradicts the norms of marketing? We are so used to be swamped with mainstream media everywhere we go. Most of us, like me, if we had a choice would rather not subscribe to this torture. This out-pour of obscure content is also giving the musicians that otherwise had limits on the amount of audience they could reach a chance to be heard. The mainstream misconception and reality is exposed and people are starting to gain access to other non traditional forms of media.

Questions

1. will the availability of alternative media eventually get exploited and turn mainstream?
2. Will the amount of media entertainment available online eventually wipe out movie theaters and box office hits?
3. If the open source software movements continues on the track it is on, how will all the software be shared in the future with artistic rights in mind?

Assignment 1

Get your free education online, it will only cost you a computer. It is no surprise anymore that the majority of teens use social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook to express their emotions and feeling of being young. Though, being such a new online phenomena, some may wonder if this kind of socializing is healthy for adolescence growing up. This is why I chose this topic, because I often wonder what the effects of virtual interaction and socializing can have on the youth of today. What ever happen to good all one on ones? Myspace sites made visible the social awkwardness of adolescents and the basic conflicts of growing up.  55% of all online Americans youths age 12-17 have created profiles at social networking sites, a study found in January 2007 survey by Pew Charitable Trust. Studies now show that more than half of users are over 35 years of age, such as most of the 2008 primary presidential candidates. Safety measures have been taken to prevent any users from any inappropriate behavior, such as users have to be accepted as a friend to share their URL and there are numerous ways to report bad behavior. Some adults agree that middle school classrooms are a great setting to guide teens in understanding online safety practices and engaging in healthy online content. But most schools block these sites with the amounting parental and legal concerns making it difficult to teach teens important online safety issues. Parents encouraging online social networking are looking towards other options such as Whyville and Ning, sites that are monitored and censored daily. Most parents believe that creating meaningful content on the web will help move more responsibly into the larger spaces of our digital world.

The rapidly expanding arena of online social networking may be a safe haven for adolescence to ask some serious questions, information they would otherwise never ask in person. “Does anyone know how to cut deep without letting it sting or bleed too much?” this was an excerpt taken from an online study that monitored otherwise unmonitored chat rooms and also took notes of chat rooms that the participants knew was monitored. An answer \sprang up rather quickly, “I use box cutter blades, you have to pull the skin really tight and press the blade down really hard.” This conversation is becoming more and more common on the internet, with people seeking all kinds of advice they would never consult a person for in fear of rejections or embarrassment. The internet offers a place to go online and give your best attempt to be someone your not, but recent studies show that teens are actually confronting their own identities. Surprisingly, bloggers routinely disclose personal information, such as home address, age, sex, about themselves than previously been suggested, almost like online counseling. This leeds into the question if teens are better off with access to computers in schools? Studies have shown that children with access to computers over time show improvements in reading skills. This presents a problem because the children that need it the most, in lower income schools, have less access to those who do not need access to computers.

  Both these summaries of two different aspects of online social networking may seem different at first, but actually ask the same very important question. Both articles cover the same general topics, that teens are dominating these social networks and using them as a spring board to get the answers to some tough questions. Studies do show that teens are becoming more honest and facing their own realities when using myspace or facebook. The ultimate question is if the outcome of this is going to be a mess or not? It is too if the first stages to really tell what this may all lead to, but both have seem to express that there is high hope for monitored online social networks and this can help teens grow in a sense. The first article “The Myspace Culture,” I thought covered some interesting points, specially that teens creating meaningful content on the web with advance them in these tech based times, but it did not cover the realty that there are so many options and websites to browse and create content, this trend is not slowing either. How will parents regulate their children from visiting these websites when they are accessing computes elsewhere? The second article was interesting, I had no idea there were so many self help websites available to teens and the issues being discussed were somewhat surprising. Teens need some sort of outlet to express their feelings and emotions, but I think some censoring or monitoring should be in place, after all you would never let your child roam the street at night alone.

   

 Hayes, Sandy. “The Myspace Culture: Voices from the middle.” Urbana (Dec 2007) Vol. 15, Iss 2; pg. 59, 2 pgs

Bower, Bruce. “Growing Up Online: Young people jump headfirst into the interment world.”Science News (2006)

For “the Myspace Culture” article I used Proquest data base.

For “Growing up online,” I used JSTOR database