February 2010
16 posts
The Virtual Revolution
Great series by Alecks Krotoski outlining the development and influence of the New Media. The whole series is on iPlayer - if you get a chance you should watch episode one which deals with the rise of Web 2.0, UGC etc - great revision guide!
Even more useful is episode two which deals with the influence of the new media on politics:
“With contributions from Al Gore, Martha Lane Fox, Stephen Fry and Bill Gates, Aleks explores how interactive, unmediated sites like Twitter and YouTube have encouraged direct action and politicised young people in unprecedented numbers.
Yet, at the same time, the Web’s openness enables hardline states to spy and censor, and extremists to threaten with networks of hate and crippling cyber attacks.”
It’s really good stuff, and would be quite useful for this week’s homework:
“How do you think the new media will influence the forthcoming election?”
BBC vs Commercial News: the fight continues! →
news.bbc.co.uk
The NPA (Newspaper Publishers’ Association) is calling to block the BBC launching apps for the iPhone, and later Android and other mobile operating systems, claiming it will “muscle into a nascent market and trample over the aspirations of commercial news providers”. The BBC says it will go ahead anyway. First paywalls, now this - another example of clashing models of institutions. BBC tries to launch free news app, commercial news screams “No fair!”
Despite the fact that you can already get The Independent and Daily Telegraph apps for free, and pay £2.29 for the Guardian app. Seems pretty fair to me?
“
Why does Buzz even exist? Is it because Google wants to make my life better in some way? No. Buzz exists because Google feels threatened by Twitter and Facebook and wants to kill them. Google has become what Microsoft used to be—the Borg, the company that gobbles up ideas from smaller rivals and cranks out lame imitations in an attempt to put the little guys out of business.
That is the biggest problem with Buzz—it was invented not for us but for Google. So now, because Google feels threatened, we have yet another thing to learn, which won’t be easy because Google is basically a world where nerd engineers get turned loose in a Montessori preschool, and they have no idea about user interface design and, frankly, they don’t care.
” —Google Buzz? More Like Buzz Kill - Techtonic Shifts Blog - Newsweek.com (via kvasir)
Wow…harsh…but probably accurate given the idea that Google is threatened by social networking and Google Wave didn’t really take off…But, having said that, they can design user interfaces. Their search page is still pretty perfect.
Disaster
I forgot my phone today. I don’t know what to do with myself. I think I may cry.
Facebook is the new Google →
guardian.co.uk
Interesting article from the Guardian’s technology editor, Charles Arthur - ties in social networking, news paywalls, Rupert Murdoch’s attack on Google, and Google’s own Super Bowl TV ad. All into one story - which implies that Google is on the wane. Can this be possible?
“You’re dealing with children. They need to be terrified. It’s like mother’s milk to them.”
—Sue Sylvester, from Glee. Oh, how we laughed.
Boring Work Update for Year 13 Media Students
Pay attention, Year 13 Media Students:
This is where we should be with MEST3 New Media work so far…
1. New Media and the Music Industry
How has new technology changed audience behaviour? (due last week)
Referring to four Guardian articles.
2. New Media and the News
What are the advantages and disadvantages of paywall models vs free online news provision? (due this week as a table or as an essay if you’d prefer)
Referring to this New York Times article and this Guardian article plus the Alan Rusbridger Interview on video.
3. New Technology: the launch of the iPad
Textual analysis of the iPad webpage and launch video. Question:
Why has Apple designed the webpage and video the way that it has?
Due next week.
Diana Vickers - better than Ellie Goulding?
Just heard Diana Vickers’ new single on the radio. She sounds exactly like Ellie Goulding. Only (am I allowed to say this?) …a little bit better.
