Blog Assignment 6

        Henry Jenkins (2006) writes that convergence is “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want” (p. 3-4). He states that this term can be used to describe technological, industrial, and social changes; convergence represents a shift in culture, due to consumers being encouraged to find new information and establish connections between pieces of scattered media content (Jenkins, 2006, p. 4). The distribution of online content, a key element of convergence, requires active participation on behalf of consumers (Bailey, 2007, p. 2). Jenkin (2006) emphasizes the importance of being an active online participant when he asserts that producers who fail to accept this new participatory culture will find themselves at a great disadvantage in more ways than one (p. 34).
Creative engagement stems from users actively participating in the online culture. New media technologies have, according to Jenkins (2006), “enabled consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate, and recirculate media content in powerful new ways” (p. 25). Using current examples, such as Harry Potter and American Idol, Jenkins illustrates how consumers, or fans, establish virtual communities where they are free to share their knowledge and collaborate with other fans. In these groups, fans engage in participation when they “collaboratively produce knowledge regarding a branded artifact, generate grassroots versions of it, and follow multiple versions of the brand across multiple media, whether corporate or grassroots” (Meehan, 2007, p. 602). In short, fans are accomplishing a great deal and doing so for the product they support.
         Jenkins believes that if these fan communities and media institutions begin interacting more, it may launch the formation of micromarkets, which would profit both parties. Micromarkets could diversify commercial culture an even ultimately democratize various types of media (Meehan, 2007, p. 602). If the power differences were lessened between the two, good things could come out of it. Jenkins expands on that notion by discussing how, if media institutions were given less control, they would have to readily accept ordinary users’ contributions, which could “result in more creative media products” (Bailey, 2007, p. 2). Essentially, if fans were able to actively engage in the collaborative process with media establishments, the results would include exceptional products and a happier, more diverse online community.

References

Bailey, V. (2007). [Review of the book Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide]. LOEX Quarterly. 34(3), 2-3. Retrieved from http://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/vol34/iss3/

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

Meehan, E. R. (2007). [Review of the books Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide and How to think about information]. Journal of Communication 57(3), 602-604. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.2007.57.issue-3/issuetoc

Blog Assignment 5

            The media and government have had to deal with online illegal activity ever since the Internet was created. Due to the fact that this issue is not going away any time soon, we must think about what we can do to reduce, if not completely eliminate, this activity. I propose three ideas to help with this issue. The first is to reduce the cost of whichever type of media is being downloaded. Many people think songs, albums, movies, etc. cost too much money. If the price of these items were reduced, more people might be willing to purchase them instead of illegally downloading them for free.

            My second suggestion is to charge users a monthly fee to have access to these websites that provide illegal downloads. Some sort of agreement would have to be made between the organization that sells the music, movies, etc. and the website that usually provides illegal downloadable material, though, so that the original provider of the media would receive an agreeable amount of money. This way, people would still be able to use the once illegal downloading websites they have always used, but be able to do so now in a legal manner.

            My third and final solution is to create an incentive program to encourage online consumers to purchase the material from its original source. This could be implemented by celebrating users who do purchase materials legally by providing them with the opportunity to win a reward or gift. Users who legally download or purchase material would be entered into a drawing to receive anything from a new Ipod to a gift card to a paid vacation in an exotic destination. Online users would be able to choose which drawing they would be most interested in. I think this would motivate people to buy materials legally if they knew there was a chance they could win an impressive prize. 

Blog Assignment 4

        The article, Privacy-Enhanced Personalization, written by Alfred Kobsa, explains how both web users and vendors value personalized content, but how certain issues make it difficult to please both parties. There are many perceived privacy threats to users, including unsolicited marketing, price discrimination, unauthorized access to accounts, and government surveillance. Around the turn of the century, it was decided that in order for there to be a balance between privacy and personalization, there would have to be some sort of trade-off between them; with an increase of personalization, there would require a decrease of privacy and vice versa. But now the interdisciplinary field of privacy-enhanced personalization strives for the best possible personalization within privacy boundaries.
        One privacy theory states that privacy-related behaviors result from a cost-benefit analysis, where potential risks of disclosing personal information are weighed against potential benefits. Different factors, such as age, education, and income, have been shown to affect the degree of this privacy concern. As far as disclosing information goes, users will provide certain information (demographics, lifestyle, hobbies, etc.) without hesitation, but will not willingly give other information, such as credit card details, social security numbers, and financial or contact information. Web users believe they should have the right to know how their personal information is being used and be able to have a certain amount of control over it; this is why trust is very important between user and website. Five elements result in a website having trust: 1) positive past experience, 2) design and operation of website, 3) reputation of website operator, 4) presence of a privacy statement, and 5) presence of a privacy seal.
        Many privacy laws and guidelines have been created to deal with this privacy issue online. Users have embraced pseudonymous user models as well as principles of fair information practices. Another approach is personalizing systems so that users’ data is located on the client side instead of the server side. Other techniques have been proposed to help protect the privacy of users of collaborative-filtering based recommender systems. Although no “silver bullet” exists at this time regarding this issue of privacy, many small enhancements are now available to test out on users.
        This article is very perplexing. I had never thought very deeply about online privacy before reading this. I now know that it is difficult on both the user and the vendor to find a middle ground on privacy issues. Hopefully there will be a solution to this problem in the near future so that both users and vendors can benefit from it. My question, which we briefly touched on in class, is whether the age of online users has an impact on how much information they are willing to give away. I would be interested to see if teenagers, nowadays, will give information more readily than, say, college-aged people.

Blog Assignment 3

After reading Cristina-Georgiana Voicu’s article, “The Impact of New Communication Technologies in the Social and Journalistic Environment,” I was able to connect many ideas presented in the article to what we have discussed in class. The article explains how new communication technologies are influencing society, especially in relation to democracy and politics. Voicu writes about how we are now in a society “that has become dependent on highly complex electronic information and communication networks,” which we have thoroughly examined in class. She goes on to write that many different types of changes – such as institutional and ideological/value changes – in addition to the presence of technological and economic systems, create this said society. All of these different factors come together to create an entirely new society.

This article also provides different paradigms used to expound social transformations in our information society. These are helpful in understanding the various viewpoints on these technological and social shifts. In addition to talking about more general concepts, such as explaining what changes led to the creation of our current society, Voicu also addresses more specific issues, including how new communication technologies can cause political issues. She goes into how these technologies increase the ability of individuals to express themselves in public, but also limit their participation in political communication; this fragments public space into “partial spheres” that have no relation to one another.

What this fragmentation does is create passivity in citizens, causing dominant elites to take over, which then increases the already present asymmetry in public space. Voicu goes into detail about current debates about the Internet, how new practices in communication are affecting democracy, and the pros and cons of the Internet regarding the political realm. She concludes the article by stating that those who are involved in political and media scenes will be able to diversity interactions with voters using the Internet, reinforcing the point that the Internet is the ultimate possessor of power. This article is a great one to read to get a basic understanding of the general ideas of new media technology before applying those concepts to a real life situation that applies to us all – political matters.

           

Voicu, C. (2013). The Impact of New Communication Technologies in the Social and Journalistic Environment, Scientific Bulletin of the Politehnica University of Timisoara. 12(1/2), 5-16.

Blog Assignment 2

            Out of the three network laws we discussed in class – Sarnoff’s Law, Metcalfe's Law, and Reed’s Law – I would say that I agree with Sarnoff’s Law the most. I state this because I think it is the most basic law and that it is not making too large of a statement. It makes sense that the value of a network would increase linearly as the number of people on it rises. If a lot of people are watching television station or listening to a radio station, that television/radio station's value is going to increase. It is very understandable and to-the-point. The other two laws are fine, but have more critiques. I know there are critiques for Sarnoff’s Law as well, but I believe it has fewer than the others because it is a more conservative statement. More people are going to agree with a law that makes the most sense, is the most accurate in its findings, and produces the least critiques; I believe Sarnoff’s Law fits this description. And although it may not be the most applicable nowadays, I do still think it is the most coherent.

            Five years from now, I think that people will be getting their information largely from the Internet. Books, newspapers, and other printed materials will still be around, but I do not think they will be utilized as often. Information that is on a computer, tablet, or smartphone will probably be the most-accessed information. And when we are using these devices, we are usually on either the Internet or on applications. Television will most likely continue to be popular, but I am guessing that more people will access it via their computers. We seem to be heading in a direction that is leading us away from printed materials and towards online materials. Although that is sad to me (I love printed materials, such as books), the future seems to be full of more computers, tablets, smartphones, and other such devices.

Blog Assignment 1

The article, “Why We Blog,” sought out to answer the question: Why do people blog? Through conducting interviews with various bloggers, they found out more about the blog sphere and those who contributed to it. An immediate observation was that bloggers varied in how often they posted (once a day verses once a month), the blog’s content (some wrote about personal matters where others wrote about pressing issues), and ethics. But one thing they all had in common was using their blogs as a mode of self-expression. The researchers discovered five major motivations for blogging: “documenting one’s life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt emotions; articulating ideas through writing; and forming and maintaining community forums” (Nardi et al., 2004, p. 43).

Some of the reasons bloggers use blogs over other channels of communication is that blogs are less intrusive. Reading blogs is completely voluntary, unlike some other forms of communication, where responding is mandatory. Blogs are also less formal and more authentic; the reader is able to hear the voice of the blogger more easily. Bloggers also find that they can incorporate many different types of information into one location; they can combine news, popular trends, scholarly sources, and their own experience into their blog.

The bloggers also talked of the therapeutic value of expressing themselves. These people were able to explore their feelings through their writing without any restrictions. They were able to choose what they wrote about, which was very freeing for them. Being able to write about any topic of their choosing lead some bloggers to challenge themselves to become a better or more versatile writer. By using writing to think, bloggers were able to use their audience to their advantage by asking for feedback. The community feel in the blog world allows many bloggers to feel connected to others: those they know and those who are strangers. Conversing with others online also gives people more time to gather their thoughts and understand the situation before responding.

             I thought this article was very interesting. As a blogger, myself, I was intrigued to hear what other bloggers thought about blogging. I found that I agreed with all the conclusions of the study. I believe blogs are very useful tools in this age of technology. They bring a more personal aspect to the online world and give people the option to express themselves through writing. Anyone can create a blog and I think that is very empowering!

Reference:

Nardi, B. A., Schiano, D. J., Gumbrecht, M., and Swartz, L. (2004). Why we blog. Communications of the ACM, 47.

Sara Bareilles' Cover of "Chandelier"