Final post

The thing I find most interesting about this module is in fact how all of the individual subjects link together. It is this that made the module as a whole so intriguing.

This is especially evident when we look at a topic such as ‘the transformation of the news’ (week 4) as this can be linked with many of the other topics. For example, we can link it to ‘Convergence and media industries’ (week 3) as the news is something that is particularly affected by the convergence of different online platforms. For example, most of our news now comes from apps on our phones; not many people actually go out and buy newspapers anymore. By looking at convergence the week before when we looked at the transformation of the news it enabled students to look at a larger picture, not just as the news as a separate thing.

Furthermore, even the very first topic of ‘The internet then and now’ links with a verity of other topics in the module, which, in turn allow us to have a more rounded understanding of how society combines elements of each topic in ever day life.

This can be seen in ‘the networked self and ideas of community’ (week 5) in which we looked at how the Internet is transforming our communities and our sense of self, which gave an overall view of what effect the new network society is having on our general lives.

All in all, the topics fluidity with one another is what made the module so interesting; although the separate topics are interesting individually, when we link them with other topics we can see what effect they truly have

 

Amazon Prime

I have decided to discuss Amazon prime, in a similar way to Netflix, Amazon prime has a subscription fee which allows you to access a verity of online content.  Amazon’s fee is annual and stands at £79.

Amazon’s website states that “prime members can watch thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video, listen ad-free to hundreds of hand-built playlists and access over a million songs with Prime Music. Safely store an unlimited amount of photos or get 30 minute early access to Lightning Deals and of course enjoy unlimited One-Day Delivery on millions of items.”

Although £79 may seem drastic for Amazon prime, in reality if you are someone that regularly orders from Amazon, watches films and listens to music it may work out cheaper than subscribing to to likes of Netflix and Spotify, as well as paying for delivery every time you order from Amazon.

If Amazon Prime was shared under a creative commons license it would result in a drastic change in the way the company works; they may not be able to continue to fund the way it currently runs. For example, it would be hard to continue to have a wide selection of current films at a high quality.

it could be suggested that one negative of the likes of Amazon Prime and Netflix charging subscription fees is that it may encourage people to illegally download or stream films and music; why pay when you can get it for free? Although it could also be argued that when services like Amazon prime exist whereby you get access to a massive scale of content people may be less likely to illegally download and stream films and music.

Online Visiblity

For someone in my age range, I feel as if I have an average amount of information about me online, there is nothing particularly shocking or dramatic that anyone could find but there still are things out there.

For example, on instagram my account is set to private, meaning people have to request to follow me; not anyone can look at what I post, however this may be slightly redundant considering that when people request to follow me I accept almost all of them. One thing that comes to mind with instagram in particular when discussing online visibility is the geo tags that are often attached to pictures, meaning that you can see exactly were a certain photo was uploaded from. This is one of the more scary sides of online visibility.

Most of my visibility online comes from twitter; this is the only form of social media I have that anyone can follow me on, or look at what I am saying without following me. This is because my Twitter account is somewhat filtered as I know potential future employers may look at what I am tweeting, and as a journalism student, twitter is a great way to share news stories and network.

When talking about online visibility there are often may negative connotations, but being very visible online is not always a negative. Big companies, for example want a large online presence. With this in mind, I think online visibility is something that people should think more about because you can control a lot of it.

YouTube as an online community

YouTube is well known for its positive online community; especially among young teenagers. There is a myriad of YouTube personalities that you can subscribe to in order to watch their videos on a regular basis.

I think YouTube is an example of a positive community due to the fact that the people that subscribe to one person’s videos will normally also subscribe to the same other people’s videos too. For example, subscribers who watch ‘Zoella’ will also watch her boyfriend’s YouTube, as well as her best friend’s, hey boyfriend’s friends and their girlfriends. The list goes on.

This gives YouTube a huge sense of community because it is as if you know this whole group of friends, and thanks to ‘vlogs’ you can see what they do on their day-to-day life too.

Furthermore, the people who do watch these videos are able to communicate with one another on the comments of these videos and also on other forms of social media. Some of the fans also arrange ‘meet-ups’ whereby a group of fans from the same area will get together and bond over the YouTuber’s they love.

However, there are certain limitations to this online community, one being that it can seem extremely one-sided; with one person posting videos and the ‘fans’ expressing their love for this person. Indeed, these fans may argue they benefit from this community because they can get ideas from the YouTube stars when they post the likes of reviews and hauls.

 

 

 

 

Buzzfeed community

Buzzfeed is well known for its on-line site, as well as its app and various youtube channels that all generate a great deal of traffic.  Many of its posts usually revolve around popular culture. From listicles and quizzes to the rare, more serious story.

However as well as this, there is also a section of Buzzfeed that is largely run by a form of audience participation. That is the Buzzfeed community site. On this site, avid readers are free to create any content they please. Although not all posts make it onto the site, as they are then later reviewed by editors, a great section of the more witty and relatable posts do.                                                                                                                                                                                   If you have read anything on Buzzfeed before, the chances are you have read one of the posts from a Buzzfeed reader, or ‘buzz-feeder’ as they are also  known as. Their posts are normally the ones you see on social media, and are normally witty listicles that appeal to a teenagers and twenty-somethings that focus of a range of topics from the kardashians to cheesecake.

Not only is having a Buzzfeed community whereby people can contribute as they please a very smart way for Buzzfeed as a company to generate a huge part of their content for little or no cost. But these posts are also some of the most funny and relatable posts out there. Perhaps this is because readers are interested in what everyday people post, as it is often more down to earth than what a someone who works for Buzzfeed may have to say.

 

Convergence in the film industry

One type of convergence that stands out to me is the cross media convergence in the film industry. This fusion across various media platforms makes the distinction between different types of media and different media industries increasingly dubious.

Thanks to sites like YouTube, Netflix, and Lovefilm, people can watch the film they want, when they want, and for either a very low price, or completely free. Audiences now flock in their millions to the online world because they are now given the chance to decide when they want to watch something, and most importantly, they can do it in the comfort of their own home. An easy way to prove that this is true is just seeing how successful these websites are.

The online world isn’t limited simply to exhibition though, it plays a huge role in marketing campaigns. There are hundreds of channels on YouTube that upload film trailers, and that is free marketing! Many people use YouTube as a source for film trailers, so if you get your film trailer uploaded to YouTube, it will easily spread to a large audience; it can be shred to other sites with just one click.

Social Media, the second portion of the online world, has also had a dramatic effect on the film industry. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are literally covered in adverts for films, and there are even free ways for film companies to get their film to a larger audience.

Growth in technological convergence has had a largely positive impact on the film industry. Anybody, small budget or big budget, can run a successful marketing campaign for little or no money because of this merging of different media platforms.

Online Resources

There are many great online resources that may be very useful for students on this module. One I found that may be useful is this BBC editor’s blog whereby editors from across the BBC share their thoughts and dilemmas. The general public can also contribute by adding comments which gives the blog a more understandable quality to it. – Which I think would be helpful because you not only get a professional editors opinion on a topic but also a myriad of comments from everyday people who come up with ideas and solutions to issues that industry professionals may not have. Although not all of the blog posts on the site are relevant to this module, a great deal of them are and offer interesting views on many subject areas.

The particular page I have linked to, entitled ‘how has social media changed the way newsrooms work?’ I found especially interesting, not only because, as a journalism students it is interesting to see how media developments affect my chosen profession. But this page is broken down into different sections, with graphs and bullet points making it especially easy to understand. Which may not be the case, if a similar topic was discussed in an academic book for example.

Furthermore, the specific blog post I have linked to relates particularly well to week four’s lecture on ‘The transformation of News’ as well as week eight’s lecture on ‘Regulation and social media’.

 

The History of the Internet

One thing I find particularly interesting about the history of the internet is the transition from it being mainly for breaking codes in the military, to being part of everyone’s everyday lives. You could even suggest that it is somewhat surprising that it took as long as it did for this transition to be made; now the idea of the World Wide Web ‘for everyone’ seems so normal that the original idea of a similar thing only being used by a few military professionals seems absurd.

Such changes happened so rapidly that it is hard to believe that less than 70 years ago the internet was non-existent.

Indeed – when these changes came into play, certain counter-cultures emerged who were in many ways part of a virtual community. These people viewed the internet as leading to a more complete and authentic self.

I find it particularly interesting how in such a short space of time the internet went from Alan Turing cracking the Enigma Code to a series of counter cultures who used the internet as almost a form of expression and a pathway to getting your voice heard. – In the same way we utilize social media today.

I think the changes the internet has undergone are perhaps most clear in this quote:

“Governments of the Industrial world, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”

– John Perry Barlow