QUESTION 3 [45marks]
Essay Title: To what extent do new media technologies make people more creative? (Audience question, not institution.)
MY NMT CASE STUDY IS BLOGGING AND THE DEMOCRATISATION OF JOURNALISM.
New media technologies (NMTs) are seen to pave the way for new products, trends and possibilities for the future. Some say that this will make people more creative, the technology allowing them to put their ideas into action. Others say that it will cause people to much lazier; relying on technology to do all the hard work for them.
One NMT is Blogging, a technology which allows people to have their own space online where they can post text, videos, images and other forms of media and have it viewed publicly.
One way that this could make a User more creative is that they are given the chance to say whatever they want to say and fill their Blog with whatever they would like to show the public. This is a great opportunity and many have taken it upon themselves to post blogs covering every topic or subject that could ever be thought about. This is definite creativity that was never possible before as the only way to achieve this in the past was to have a radio show, be a hired Journalist or be on the television...and even then your views would be censored or filtered if they didn't fit in with the views of the company you were working for.
On the other hand you could say that this creativity will cause laziness in others: instead of actively searching for information in the real world and experiencing things for themselves, they are glued to their computers and other ports of access to the Internet finding things out from other people, depending on other sources of information for their knowledge. This will be detrimental to the creativity of these people as they will become reliant on others and will become content with other people's contributions.
The technology of Blogging is taken further into making people more creative and interactive as many use their blogs to write news stories or comment on news from around the world. This democratisation of journalism promotes creativity as it is not just the big businesses and tabloid papers who are searching for the new stories and new things to write about: it’s the every day blogger searching for their next post too. To become popular and to write a frequently read blog, the blogger needs new and interesting stories and information in order to keep the reader interested.
Blogging has a lack of censorship; many host sites that allow Users to create blogs will have little in the way of rules for content. Myspace does not allow the use of pornographic images but otherwise does not filter the large amount of information that appears on their site. To protect themselves they disassociate themselves with any of the individual views expressed by users of the site which basically grants users the permission to write whatever they want, even if it may hurt another person. Although this allows for creativity as Users are unrestrained, it is a common fear that young people and children using the sites could be put at risk as although there is no age limit for using the site, there is some content which may not be suitable for a young audience.
Another fear is that children are being targeted by paedophiles on Internet networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook and Bebo: the three biggest online networking sites created. People are definitely getting creative by pretending to be people they are not in order to take advantage of others, a practise which parents rightly worry over and children may not fully understand the implications of. Creativity is often put to good use with new technology and ideas emerging all the time, but it can be used very wrongly too. Paedophilia is not the only problem as Phishers (hacking in order to gain access to Users information such as log in details and passwords.), Hackers and Fraudsters are finding more and more ways to carry out illegal actions as they become more and more creative with the technology they are using.
After studying Blogging and the democratisation of Journalism, I think that this NMT advances creativity as it does not curb further ideas, but instead helps those without the technical knowledge show their own creativity in a technological world.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Sunday, 27 April 2008
ISSUES: Illegal activity? increased spending? harm children?
Blogging creates some issues for society as well as being an enjoyable and creative hobby.
Some of the content written about is untrue or poorly researched and as the blogs go unchecked, no one points out the errors. This could mean that readers understand the blog content to be true when it is in fact not. This could cause problems if the blog is of a serious nature and could hurt people for instance if the blog reported on "news stories" and posted stories that were untrue or incorrectly detailed.
Another issue is that it promotes the constant use of the computer. There are people who spend their lives indoors, always on the computer! This is a very unhealthy and anti-social way to live.
(On the other hand it could be argued that this is in fact a VERY social way to live, as some of the most commonly viewed sites on the Internet involve social networking and blogging where communicating with others from around the world is the point of the excercise.)
My third issue with blogging is that of its unsuitability in terms of young people and children who may read or see something that is not suitable for their age group as blogging is not restricted or censored in any way and many do not contain warnings about their content. Also, through networking sites, children and young people may be targeted by paedophiles posing themselves as someone they are not. There is no proof on the internet that the person you are talking to is really who they say they are and so children may be taken advantage of.
blogging does not cost money and so does not increase spending (unless a person is on dial up/pay as you go internet and therefore may begin to use the internet more often, costing more money.) and is not illegal.
Some of the content written about is untrue or poorly researched and as the blogs go unchecked, no one points out the errors. This could mean that readers understand the blog content to be true when it is in fact not. This could cause problems if the blog is of a serious nature and could hurt people for instance if the blog reported on "news stories" and posted stories that were untrue or incorrectly detailed.
Another issue is that it promotes the constant use of the computer. There are people who spend their lives indoors, always on the computer! This is a very unhealthy and anti-social way to live.
(On the other hand it could be argued that this is in fact a VERY social way to live, as some of the most commonly viewed sites on the Internet involve social networking and blogging where communicating with others from around the world is the point of the excercise.)
My third issue with blogging is that of its unsuitability in terms of young people and children who may read or see something that is not suitable for their age group as blogging is not restricted or censored in any way and many do not contain warnings about their content. Also, through networking sites, children and young people may be targeted by paedophiles posing themselves as someone they are not. There is no proof on the internet that the person you are talking to is really who they say they are and so children may be taken advantage of.
blogging does not cost money and so does not increase spending (unless a person is on dial up/pay as you go internet and therefore may begin to use the internet more often, costing more money.) and is not illegal.
AUDIENCE: How is this technology consumed?
This technology is consumed in many ways. All you need is the internet and this can be accessed through many makes of computer, mobile phone, PDA and even MP3 players such as the ipod Touch.
It is consumed in great amounts too:
There are few credible estimates about the number of online blogs (one enthusiast tracks offline - ie dead - blogs here) or their growth. Many figures are contradictory or merely self-serving.Wired News noted claims that in January 2002 alone some 41,000 people created new blogs using Blogger and that there were now more than 500,000. In August 2002 another source claimed that Blogger had 350,000 users, with converts supposedly "creating a new weblog every 40 seconds, or more than 60,000 a month". By early 2006 that had risen to around 160,000 per month (albeit with many splogs), subsequently declining to 100,000 per month.In September 2002 the New York Times reported that LiveJournal had signed up 690,000 users since 1998 and was currently gaining another 1,100 bloggers per day. It is unclear whether all 690,000 were (and still are) maintaining their personal pages and, if so, how frequently. In the same month the Times claimed that Brazil was the "second-largest Blogger-using country" after the US, with up to 13% of the 750,000 Blogger users.In June 2003 Blogcount estimated that there were between 2.4 million to 2.9 million active blogs. As a point of reference that is around 10% of the number of dot-com registrations (although most blogs do not have unique domain names). Blogcount attributed over 1.6 million active users to the three largest centrally hosted services. PointBlog.com noted in June 2003 that a WHOIS registry database search identified over 10,000 'com', 'org', 'net', info', 'biz' and 'us' domains with "blog" in the name. The US National Institute for Technology & Liberal Education (NITL) BlogCensus at that time identified 655,631 'blogs', with a substantial margin of error and a note that around 30% were 'inactive'. An October 2003 report by Perseus Development on The Blogging Iceberg claimed that
Based on the rapid growth rate demonstrated by the leading services, Perseus expects the number of hosted blogs created to exceed five million by the end of 2003 and to exceed ten million by the end of 2004.
It is consumed in great amounts too:
There are few credible estimates about the number of online blogs (one enthusiast tracks offline - ie dead - blogs here) or their growth. Many figures are contradictory or merely self-serving.Wired News noted claims that in January 2002 alone some 41,000 people created new blogs using Blogger and that there were now more than 500,000. In August 2002 another source claimed that Blogger had 350,000 users, with converts supposedly "creating a new weblog every 40 seconds, or more than 60,000 a month". By early 2006 that had risen to around 160,000 per month (albeit with many splogs), subsequently declining to 100,000 per month.In September 2002 the New York Times reported that LiveJournal had signed up 690,000 users since 1998 and was currently gaining another 1,100 bloggers per day. It is unclear whether all 690,000 were (and still are) maintaining their personal pages and, if so, how frequently. In the same month the Times claimed that Brazil was the "second-largest Blogger-using country" after the US, with up to 13% of the 750,000 Blogger users.In June 2003 Blogcount estimated that there were between 2.4 million to 2.9 million active blogs. As a point of reference that is around 10% of the number of dot-com registrations (although most blogs do not have unique domain names). Blogcount attributed over 1.6 million active users to the three largest centrally hosted services. PointBlog.com noted in June 2003 that a WHOIS registry database search identified over 10,000 'com', 'org', 'net', info', 'biz' and 'us' domains with "blog" in the name. The US National Institute for Technology & Liberal Education (NITL) BlogCensus at that time identified 655,631 'blogs', with a substantial margin of error and a note that around 30% were 'inactive'. An October 2003 report by Perseus Development on The Blogging Iceberg claimed that
Based on the rapid growth rate demonstrated by the leading services, Perseus expects the number of hosted blogs created to exceed five million by the end of 2003 and to exceed ten million by the end of 2004.
AUDIENCE: What are audiences NOT doing so they can spend more time interacting with new media technologies?
http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/787852/Regionals-put-faith-online-print-circulations-decline/
this article explains and shows statistics for the decline in newspaper circulation as people are turning to the internet and free newspapers for their information instead of buying as was once the most popular way.
NMT's are meaning that many newspapers are severely loosing readers. Many are trying to rebrand and recreate themselves to curb the decline and many such as the guardian have created a more interactive website which allows readers to read the news online and find out information from there rather than turning to other places.
this article explains and shows statistics for the decline in newspaper circulation as people are turning to the internet and free newspapers for their information instead of buying as was once the most popular way.
NMT's are meaning that many newspapers are severely loosing readers. Many are trying to rebrand and recreate themselves to curb the decline and many such as the guardian have created a more interactive website which allows readers to read the news online and find out information from there rather than turning to other places.
AUDIENCE: What are audiences doing with their new media technologies
Blogging is used for many different reasons, but a main theme is telling the world what you know. Being able to write whatever you want and having these views completely accessible to the general public is the ultimate in having your voice heard. And this power is attractive to the opinionated, the open-minded and the previously silenced of today.
The Internet largely depends on other peoples knowledge and input as otherwise networking sites, search engines, interactive encyclopedias...etc.etc. would be empty.
The Internet largely depends on other peoples knowledge and input as otherwise networking sites, search engines, interactive encyclopedias...etc.etc. would be empty.
AUDIENCE: Now and Then
In both of the world wars information was censored in order to stop important data getting into the wrong hands and to keep up morale in the public. Often photographs and news was circulated that portrayed a completley different story to what was really going on. Pictures of bomb-wrecked homes and the dead were not allowed to be shown, replaced with pictures of apparent victory over the enemy and smiling faces. Since the public had few ways to find out what was going on, they had to trust that what they were being told was true. Even letters from soldiers were censored; information about the true horrors of war having been removed and even replaced with lies about how they were having a good time!
Today, if we were to be placed in the same situation, technological advances and the democratisation of journalism (everyone having an equal chance to have their say and, in a sense, become a journalist.) would mean censorship would be ineffective.
If discussion boards exist for trivial topics, its clear that many millions of blogs, chat room topics and discussion boards would spring up over new information and advances in the war. The entire public would know where the fighting was taking place, the people involved, who was winning, the damage done, the names of the dead...The government would have no way of controlling the spread of information.
Today, if we were to be placed in the same situation, technological advances and the democratisation of journalism (everyone having an equal chance to have their say and, in a sense, become a journalist.) would mean censorship would be ineffective.
If discussion boards exist for trivial topics, its clear that many millions of blogs, chat room topics and discussion boards would spring up over new information and advances in the war. The entire public would know where the fighting was taking place, the people involved, who was winning, the damage done, the names of the dead...The government would have no way of controlling the spread of information.
AUDIENCE: How are traditional experiences of the media changing?
If you were to ask a Grandparent, or even a parent, what their experiences of media technologies were when they were our age they would most likely say Newspapers, Magazines, Books...Radio, Vinyl Records and maybe a Television with four channels. Most would also claim that they had a perfectly good source of information from these technologies.
If you wanted to know the The News you would listen to the Radio, watch the News at 10 or 6 or read a daily newspaper where hired and paid Journalists would report the stories that were said to be relevant to the reader: war, disaster, politics and business. It was the definite fourth estate, reporting on nothing except the other three.
Since the creation of the Internet and, possibly even more importantly, web 2.0 (the ability to interact with and add ones own knowledge to a site) for a modern day person who wishes to know the days news there is a realm of ways of going about it. Similarly to the past, you could indeed pick up a newspaper or listen to the radio but this is very linear media as the User is dictated to as and when they can find information: the News on the radio is only on every couple of hours. This way of finding the news may also not be accurate or as up-to-date as you'd hope; the articles have often been written a day or so before and so will not have details on THAT DAYS events.
In the past we would have to give up our search and wait for the next news announcement or be content with waiting till the following days newspaper but today society is rocketing forward at an astonishing pace: no one has the time to wait!
Impatience has paved the way creatively for new technology. This generation of people will be very much accustomed to knowing everything as soon as anyone else does. A bomb goes off in a distant town, on the other side of the world? within minutes there will be reports, photographs and videos plastered over the Internet for the entire public to see. RSS links allow the news to be fed directly to you with texts and updates on your mobile, whilst sites on the Internet offer email updates so that you are constantly kept "in the loop".
This global village effect means that nothing is secret anymore: if you know about it, chances are definite that people the other side of the planet will also know about it. Now thats something to tell your Grandad.
If you wanted to know the The News you would listen to the Radio, watch the News at 10 or 6 or read a daily newspaper where hired and paid Journalists would report the stories that were said to be relevant to the reader: war, disaster, politics and business. It was the definite fourth estate, reporting on nothing except the other three.
Since the creation of the Internet and, possibly even more importantly, web 2.0 (the ability to interact with and add ones own knowledge to a site) for a modern day person who wishes to know the days news there is a realm of ways of going about it. Similarly to the past, you could indeed pick up a newspaper or listen to the radio but this is very linear media as the User is dictated to as and when they can find information: the News on the radio is only on every couple of hours. This way of finding the news may also not be accurate or as up-to-date as you'd hope; the articles have often been written a day or so before and so will not have details on THAT DAYS events.
In the past we would have to give up our search and wait for the next news announcement or be content with waiting till the following days newspaper but today society is rocketing forward at an astonishing pace: no one has the time to wait!
Impatience has paved the way creatively for new technology. This generation of people will be very much accustomed to knowing everything as soon as anyone else does. A bomb goes off in a distant town, on the other side of the world? within minutes there will be reports, photographs and videos plastered over the Internet for the entire public to see. RSS links allow the news to be fed directly to you with texts and updates on your mobile, whilst sites on the Internet offer email updates so that you are constantly kept "in the loop".
This global village effect means that nothing is secret anymore: if you know about it, chances are definite that people the other side of the planet will also know about it. Now thats something to tell your Grandad.
AUDIENCE: New technology...Active or Lazy?
The modern audience is far more active in their knowledge than past generations. If we don't know the answer to something, it is an immidiate response to look it up (google.com, wikipedia.com and others all contribute to this "ask, search, know" trend.).
There are two ways of looking at this approach: less or more LAZY.
We could be said to be more active: not satisfied with the unknown, we search and discover the things we want to know, opening our eyes to new things all the time seeing as the internet allows us to have the world at our fingertips.
We could be said to be less active: sitting in front of a computer or fiddling with mobile phones in order to find things out rather than experiencing and learning things for ourselves as others did. Sites such as www.toptipsforgirls.com use this approach as a point of attraction for their users, saying that their website offers a host of tips given by women in order to save you from having to find them yourself.
"Top Tips For Girls harnesses the awesome power of pooled resources; it's like being in the bathroom at a party with millions of women, all of whom want to give you advice."
I personally think its a bit of both, with Blogging allowing people to make millions from their armchairs (Advertisers will pay a large amount to advertise on a popular blog.) and the wealth of information readily available encouraging the world to be disatisfied with ignorance and persistantly challenging the extents of knowledge in the world.
There are two ways of looking at this approach: less or more LAZY.
We could be said to be more active: not satisfied with the unknown, we search and discover the things we want to know, opening our eyes to new things all the time seeing as the internet allows us to have the world at our fingertips.
We could be said to be less active: sitting in front of a computer or fiddling with mobile phones in order to find things out rather than experiencing and learning things for ourselves as others did. Sites such as www.toptipsforgirls.com use this approach as a point of attraction for their users, saying that their website offers a host of tips given by women in order to save you from having to find them yourself.
"Top Tips For Girls harnesses the awesome power of pooled resources; it's like being in the bathroom at a party with millions of women, all of whom want to give you advice."
I personally think its a bit of both, with Blogging allowing people to make millions from their armchairs (Advertisers will pay a large amount to advertise on a popular blog.) and the wealth of information readily available encouraging the world to be disatisfied with ignorance and persistantly challenging the extents of knowledge in the world.
Friday, 25 April 2008
BLOG EXAMPLE: POSTSECRET
http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/ (http://www.postsecret.com/) is an ongoing art project created by Frank Warren where people from all over the world are invited to send in their secrets on the back of a homemade postcard. At first it was a small project: postcards with the instructions and address were left in public places inviting people to take part but it soon grew into a world wide epidemic, with people sending in postcards covered in secrets ranging from the light and comic, to the dark and serious. PostSecret is now in its fourth year of running and the blog, where roughly 20 new secrets are posted every sunday, has been running since 2005. The project is so big, it even has its own range of books:
- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives
-My Secret: A PostSecret Book
-The Secret Lives Of Men And Women: A PostSecret Book
-A Lifetime Of Secrets: A PostSecret Book
Each of these books contains almost 300 pages: each one a different, full colour postcard showing a secret that someone sent to Frank.
Many blogs allow users to post comments and from June 24, to July 3rd 2007 PostSecret readers were also allowed to post comme
nts on secrets or even post their own secrets. Although many of the comments were of praise for those who had shared their secrets, many felt that it was not right that the secrets, for which the point was that by being on the site they were not judged, were being "commented" on by others in an often abusive way: one that was not characteristic of the project. This lead to the comments option being disabled in favour of comments being emailed to Frank directly with him sometimes choosing relevant or supportive comments to be posted alongside postcards.
In October 2007, the PostSecret community was launched (http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/) which was an unrelated site where PostSecret readers could discuss the weeks secrets and post their own. Although there are still people who think this affects the anonymity of the project, the community is generally seen to be a positive place where more than 10,000 users have registered to take part in discussions.
In the past, this project may have been possible, but would not have taken off in the way that it has as there would be no public outlet for the thousands of Postcards that are sent in every day. The project was originally designed for an art exhibition in New York in 2004, but has carried on due to its popularity and its ability to be viewed easily all over the planet. Every week the new secrets posted on the site inspire others to send in their own. The only two rules are that the secrets must be true and must never have been spoken before.
"When I give PostSecret presentations at college campuses, my hope is that people I have never met will be inspired to change their lives through the secrets and stories being shared. Not long ago, at one of my talks, it was my life that was changed, and the secret that inspired me came from a stranger in the front row.
I began my presentation by handing out blank postcards to everyone in the auditorium. I invited each person to anonymously write down a secret on a card and then pass it on. For the next hour, the postcards circulated and were read silently multiple times. At the end of my talk, I asked if anyone would like to stand and read the secret they were holding at that moment. A man in the front row stood up and haltingly read:
I wish I could apologize to my younger brother for the way I treated him growing up.He sat down and exchanged a long look with the young man next to him. After more volunteers read aloud some of the other secrets that had been passed around, I collected all the cards. The man in the front row handed me the postcard he had read from, and the two men walked out together.
His postcard was blank.
I have witnessed many times how the courage of sharing a secret can be contagious. When I realized that the man had been pretending to read someone else’s secret and that the person he had left with was likely his brother, I was inspired.
Growing up, I was not an ideal older brother. As an adult, I have wished for an opportunity to apologize for some of my actions but did not want to open old wounds. I have not shared this secret with my brother . . . until now."
-Frank Warren
- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives
-My Secret: A PostSecret Book
-The Secret Lives Of Men And Women: A PostSecret Book
-A Lifetime Of Secrets: A PostSecret Book
Each of these books contains almost 300 pages: each one a different, full colour postcard showing a secret that someone sent to Frank.
Many blogs allow users to post comments and from June 24, to July 3rd 2007 PostSecret readers were also allowed to post comme
nts on secrets or even post their own secrets. Although many of the comments were of praise for those who had shared their secrets, many felt that it was not right that the secrets, for which the point was that by being on the site they were not judged, were being "commented" on by others in an often abusive way: one that was not characteristic of the project. This lead to the comments option being disabled in favour of comments being emailed to Frank directly with him sometimes choosing relevant or supportive comments to be posted alongside postcards.In October 2007, the PostSecret community was launched (http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/) which was an unrelated site where PostSecret readers could discuss the weeks secrets and post their own. Although there are still people who think this affects the anonymity of the project, the community is generally seen to be a positive place where more than 10,000 users have registered to take part in discussions.
In the past, this project may have been possible, but would not have taken off in the way that it has as there would be no public outlet for the thousands of Postcards that are sent in every day. The project was originally designed for an art exhibition in New York in 2004, but has carried on due to its popularity and its ability to be viewed easily all over the planet. Every week the new secrets posted on the site inspire others to send in their own. The only two rules are that the secrets must be true and must never have been spoken before.
"When I give PostSecret presentations at college campuses, my hope is that people I have never met will be inspired to change their lives through the secrets and stories being shared. Not long ago, at one of my talks, it was my life that was changed, and the secret that inspired me came from a stranger in the front row.
I began my presentation by handing out blank postcards to everyone in the auditorium. I invited each person to anonymously write down a secret on a card and then pass it on. For the next hour, the postcards circulated and were read silently multiple times. At the end of my talk, I asked if anyone would like to stand and read the secret they were holding at that moment. A man in the front row stood up and haltingly read:
I wish I could apologize to my younger brother for the way I treated him growing up.He sat down and exchanged a long look with the young man next to him. After more volunteers read aloud some of the other secrets that had been passed around, I collected all the cards. The man in the front row handed me the postcard he had read from, and the two men walked out together.
His postcard was blank.
I have witnessed many times how the courage of sharing a secret can be contagious. When I realized that the man had been pretending to read someone else’s secret and that the person he had left with was likely his brother, I was inspired.
Growing up, I was not an ideal older brother. As an adult, I have wished for an opportunity to apologize for some of my actions but did not want to open old wounds. I have not shared this secret with my brother . . . until now."
-Frank Warren
TECHNOLOGY: who has been responsible for developing it?
Blogging began with a slow start as it was limited to those who knew how to create their own websites allowing them to write blogs. In 1999 blog creating became more popular as the first host sites which created a pre-made structure for the user were created.
OpenDiary launched in October 1998 and was not only one of the first host sites, but was the first site which allowed other users to leave comments on people's blogs. This opened up new types of blogging as people began to blog more for the benefit of others such as stating their views in order for people to comment on them. In school the comment button on Blogger is used by mrs Johnson to leave comments on our homework :]
Livejournal and Blogger.com, amongst others, began soon after.
Blogging is a technology which the user develops: a structure is presented by the host site and the user then adds text or other medias in order to create their own personal piece. So in effect, it is constantly being developed with new blogs being written and new topics being covered every day.
OpenDiary launched in October 1998 and was not only one of the first host sites, but was the first site which allowed other users to leave comments on people's blogs. This opened up new types of blogging as people began to blog more for the benefit of others such as stating their views in order for people to comment on them. In school the comment button on Blogger is used by mrs Johnson to leave comments on our homework :]
Livejournal and Blogger.com, amongst others, began soon after.
Blogging is a technology which the user develops: a structure is presented by the host site and the user then adds text or other medias in order to create their own personal piece. So in effect, it is constantly being developed with new blogs being written and new topics being covered every day.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
TECHNOLOGY: New or Old media?
The technology for Blogging has been around since the early 1990's as people began creating bulletin boards (a kind of virtual pin board where people could have discussions). Soon after Online Diaries became more popular with people recording their personal lives on their own sites on the internet and mostly naming themselves Diarists, Journalists or Journalers. Justin Hall is recognised as one of the earliest bloggers as he began in 1994 although the term Weblog was not coined until 1997.
Therefore, blogging is a relatively new media and is not an old media undergoing radical transformation but rather is still growing.
Therefore, blogging is a relatively new media and is not an old media undergoing radical transformation but rather is still growing.
TECHNOLOGY: Hot/Cold media? Push/Pull technology?
Blogging is a Cold media as it requires a large amount of participation from the user in order for anything to be written. The reader is presented with, effectively, a blank canvas and it is up to the user to create the content.
In terms of whether it is a Push or Pull technology, I think blogging is both as hosting sites advertise themselves across the internet in order to attract users and so is a Push technology, but also depend on the publicity and popularity of their users blogs in order to attract users.
In terms of whether it is a Push or Pull technology, I think blogging is both as hosting sites advertise themselves across the internet in order to attract users and so is a Push technology, but also depend on the publicity and popularity of their users blogs in order to attract users.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
TECHNOLOGY: Who provides it? Cost?
Blogging can be done in a number of different ways. In the beginning bloggers had to have the skills to make their own website in order to be able to write their blogs but now, partly due to the development of Web 2.0, wannabe bloggers who are limited by their technological skills can use hosting sites such as blogger.com which provides the structure and technical stuff of a blog without the blogger needing to do more than log in and type.
Most of these host websites cost nothing to sign up for and to use as they get their money through advertising on the website and often on your blog.
Most of these host websites cost nothing to sign up for and to use as they get their money through advertising on the website and often on your blog.
TECHNOLOGY: Marketing Blogs
Blogging is open to anyone and everyone, from whatever age, race or gender. All you need is access to the internet (and the ability to type!).
Search engines like Google and Ask Jeeves all include blogs in their results so a blog can easily be found online and similarly blogs can easily be created as speciality sites, such as this one, make it easy for a blogger to get started straight away for free.
Having the ability to not only log your personal opinions and talk about the things that interest you, but to have them heard by anyone willing to read them is a very attractive opportunity to people these days when the status of celebrity and the desire to be famous is rife in society. Bloggers such as Perez Hilton (http://perezhilton.com/) have reached this status, or a similar status with their blogs. Perez Hilton in particular blogs about gossip and rumours in the world of celebrity and often appears in magazines and on radio and television, discussing this "news" as he is seen as a reliable source of information.
Search engines like Google and Ask Jeeves all include blogs in their results so a blog can easily be found online and similarly blogs can easily be created as speciality sites, such as this one, make it easy for a blogger to get started straight away for free.
Having the ability to not only log your personal opinions and talk about the things that interest you, but to have them heard by anyone willing to read them is a very attractive opportunity to people these days when the status of celebrity and the desire to be famous is rife in society. Bloggers such as Perez Hilton (http://perezhilton.com/) have reached this status, or a similar status with their blogs. Perez Hilton in particular blogs about gossip and rumours in the world of celebrity and often appears in magazines and on radio and television, discussing this "news" as he is seen as a reliable source of information.
TECHNOLOGY: Genres of blogging?
As previously mentioned, there are many different types of blogs ranging from the professional and official, to the personal and casual. Here are some of the types and ways they can be grouped:
PERSONAL BLOGGING
This type of blogging is the most common and also the traditional genre of blog. Personal Blogs can take on a diary like structure; with entries detailing the events and encounters of a blogger's life or can just be an open discussion of the blogger's personal thoughts and opinions. In some cases it becomes a way of keeping in touch with family and friends. For example, my uncle keeps a blog so that the people he knows can keep informed about my cousins, Ciara and Finn as they live in Ireland- a long way away from anyone else in the family!
CORPORATE BLOGS
A blog can be totally private or only open to selected readers making it ideal to post information that only a group of people need access to. For example a business might post a blog about targets or updates that only its employees can have access to. Corporate blogs can also be external as they may involve PR, Branding or Marketing and be used as a way of publicising the business.
MEDIA TYPE
Blogs can be separated into media types such as a Vlog (a blog of videos), a Sketchblog (a blog of sketches and drawings) and a Photoblog (a blog of photos). A blog which contains a mixture of these is often referred to as a Tumblelog and you can also find an Artlog: a blog containing art from different bloggers, used as a way of publicising and sharing art.
DEVICE
Blogs can also be separated into groups depending on the device used to write them. For instance if a blog was written using the internet on a mobile phone it is referred to as a Moblog.
GENRE
Blogs can be separated into genre too seeing as there are literally thousands of blogs around. Blogs go into categories such as Fashion blogs, Political blogs, Hobby blogs and Legal blogs (often called Blawgs). There is also a type of blog designed soley for people to spam, although it is uncommon. This is called a Splog.
PERSONAL BLOGGING
This type of blogging is the most common and also the traditional genre of blog. Personal Blogs can take on a diary like structure; with entries detailing the events and encounters of a blogger's life or can just be an open discussion of the blogger's personal thoughts and opinions. In some cases it becomes a way of keeping in touch with family and friends. For example, my uncle keeps a blog so that the people he knows can keep informed about my cousins, Ciara and Finn as they live in Ireland- a long way away from anyone else in the family!
CORPORATE BLOGS
A blog can be totally private or only open to selected readers making it ideal to post information that only a group of people need access to. For example a business might post a blog about targets or updates that only its employees can have access to. Corporate blogs can also be external as they may involve PR, Branding or Marketing and be used as a way of publicising the business.
MEDIA TYPE
Blogs can be separated into media types such as a Vlog (a blog of videos), a Sketchblog (a blog of sketches and drawings) and a Photoblog (a blog of photos). A blog which contains a mixture of these is often referred to as a Tumblelog and you can also find an Artlog: a blog containing art from different bloggers, used as a way of publicising and sharing art.
DEVICE
Blogs can also be separated into groups depending on the device used to write them. For instance if a blog was written using the internet on a mobile phone it is referred to as a Moblog.
GENRE
Blogs can be separated into genre too seeing as there are literally thousands of blogs around. Blogs go into categories such as Fashion blogs, Political blogs, Hobby blogs and Legal blogs (often called Blawgs). There is also a type of blog designed soley for people to spam, although it is uncommon. This is called a Splog.
TECHNOLOGY: What is it?
'Weblog' is both a noun and a verb (the term was created by Jorn Barger in 1997) and is a new technology which is currently sweeping the world. Commonly shortened to 'Blogging' (The word 'blog' originating from Peter Merholz who separated the word 'weblog' on his own blog into "we blog" in 1999), this new phenomenon uses internet web sites such as www.blogger.com to allow users to type whatever they want and save it on their own 'Blog', also allowing others to read what they have written and often leave comments.
People all over the world regularly post entries on their own blogs and entries can range from political views to homework assignments to personal diaries. Anything can be blogged and nothing is regulated so there are many different types of blogs out there and all sorts of different views.
Some blogs have become very popular, with more people reading the updates all the time. An example is a blog written by the chinese actress Xu Jinglei. The page has had over 50 million views and has been rated the most popular by Technorati (a site developed to track blogs)
People all over the world regularly post entries on their own blogs and entries can range from political views to homework assignments to personal diaries. Anything can be blogged and nothing is regulated so there are many different types of blogs out there and all sorts of different views.
Some blogs have become very popular, with more people reading the updates all the time. An example is a blog written by the chinese actress Xu Jinglei. The page has had over 50 million views and has been rated the most popular by Technorati (a site developed to track blogs)
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Case Study: Article
This post is a summary and evaluation of this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/internet.web20
Recently, using the internet as a forum for discussion and social networking has become very popular and more people become regular users of sites that allow them to communicate with people all over the world every day.
This article dicusses an example of the WE THINK theory which is where people from all over the world collaborate their creativity and intelligence in order to make sense of, in this example, a puzzle set out by a gaming advertisement.
Over four months 600,000 people began joining groups, setting up blogs and creating bulletin boards in order to solve the puzzle that was originally started by a website being written on an advert for the new "Halo" game.
a series of tests involving public phone boxes and being able to be in the right place and answer the right questions at the right time was incredibly completed perfectly. without the use of the bulletin boards, blogs and websites the people who cracked the puzzle would not have been able to do so, or even known there was anyone else in the world who was trying to solve the riddles. The accuracy with which the tests were completed was made possible by the technology used to talk to each other. The world is no longer a big place...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/internet.web20
Recently, using the internet as a forum for discussion and social networking has become very popular and more people become regular users of sites that allow them to communicate with people all over the world every day.
This article dicusses an example of the WE THINK theory which is where people from all over the world collaborate their creativity and intelligence in order to make sense of, in this example, a puzzle set out by a gaming advertisement.
Over four months 600,000 people began joining groups, setting up blogs and creating bulletin boards in order to solve the puzzle that was originally started by a website being written on an advert for the new "Halo" game.
a series of tests involving public phone boxes and being able to be in the right place and answer the right questions at the right time was incredibly completed perfectly. without the use of the bulletin boards, blogs and websites the people who cracked the puzzle would not have been able to do so, or even known there was anyone else in the world who was trying to solve the riddles. The accuracy with which the tests were completed was made possible by the technology used to talk to each other. The world is no longer a big place...
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Chosen Area For Case Study
For my case study i have chosen to study
"Blogging and democratisation of Journalism."
I have chosen this area as i am very interested in journalism and blogging and think this is an area that i will enjoy researching.
I read an article on blogging recently (http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2007/03/whats_a_blog_1.html) which discussed the way most blogs are written, the attitude many 'bloggers' have towards their writing and whether this is democratising journalism. According to the writer, David Cox, "The democratisation of journalism will require more than immediacy, spontaneity and a breathless sense of fun."
"Blogging and democratisation of Journalism."
I have chosen this area as i am very interested in journalism and blogging and think this is an area that i will enjoy researching.
I read an article on blogging recently (http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2007/03/whats_a_blog_1.html) which discussed the way most blogs are written, the attitude many 'bloggers' have towards their writing and whether this is democratising journalism. According to the writer, David Cox, "The democratisation of journalism will require more than immediacy, spontaneity and a breathless sense of fun."
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