Ten Media Revolutions
Free advertising by consumers
In today’s world advertisers no longer have to spend as much
money on advertising products as they
have in the past because of the internet. Social media websites encourage
interactions with other users and the sharing of ideas and creativity on
platform that they provide. This exposure can be invaluable to advertisers
looking to promote their products. The sharing of content about a product or
company generates hype while presenting the popularity of the item as a grassroots
campaign, the user is unaware that the advertiser planned that social media users
would in fact advertise their product for them. This can be extremely successful
or can go very badly by generating negative publicity that the advertiser had
not planned for (i.e. #myNYPD).
“Teams of writers and artists- many of whom regard ads as a commercial art form- make up the nerve center of the advertising business. The creative department outlines the sketches for print and online ads and then develops the words and graphics. . . for digital media, the creative team may develop Web sites, interactive tools, flash games, downloads, and viral marketing- short videos or other content that (marketers hope) quickly gains widespread attention as users share it with friends online, or by word of mouth.” (Campbell, 394)
“Companies and organizations also buy traditional paid advertisements on social media sites. A major objective of their paid media is to get earner media, or to convince online consumers to promote products on their own. . . social media are helping advertisers use such personal endorsements to further their own products and marketing messages- basically, letting consumers do the work for them.” (Campbell, 398)
Convergence
We have moved from the age of emergence to an age of
convergence. As we move forward in technological developments, we are able to
do more and more with increasingly smaller devices. Prior to this movement of
convergence, TV shows, newspapers, internet, books, and music all had to be
accessed from separate sources. Today, we are able to use one small, sleek
device to do all of these things. No matter where you are or what time it is,
you have access to unlimited amounts of entertainment with a smartphone,
tablet, or iPad.
“The ability to access many different forms of media in one place is also changing the ways we engage with and consume media. In the past, we read newspapers in print, watched TV on out televisions, and played video games on a console. Today, we are able to do all of those things on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, making it easy- and very tempting- to multitask.” (Campbell, 13)
“Today, media consumption is mobile and flexible; we don’t have to miss out on media content just because we weren't home in time to catch a show, didn't find the book in the bookstore, or forgot to buy the newspaper yesterday. Increasingly, we demand access to our media when we want it, where we want it, and in multiple formats.” (Campbell, 59)
Niche groups
Marketing to the general population was once the norm, but
as we have progressed, this practice is no longer economically feasible. News
sources that once unbiasedly presented facts and stories now often take stances
on what they report, appealing to those who support their stance. In the early
days of television, programs were family friendly and avoided controversial
topics. In the present day, we are able to access so many different media and
content at any given time, because of this news sources, TV shows, apps, and
countless other forms of entertainment choose to target a specific audience.
Said audience will likely remain loyal to what they are seeking out. People
have vastly different interests, if there is someone seeking to produce
something for a niche audience there will be people interested in what
is being advertised.
“The earliest type of market research, demographics, mainly studied and documented audience members’ age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, education, and income. Today, demographic data are much more specific. They make it possible to locate consumers in particular geographic regions- usually by zip code. This enables advertisers and product companies to target ethnic neighborhoods or affluent suburbs for direct mail, point-of-purchase store displays, or specialized magazine and newspaper interests.” (Campbell, 392)
“The old ‘mass audience’ has morphed into smaller niche audiences who embrace particular hobbies, storytelling and politics. News media outlets that hope to survive no longer appeal to mass audiences but interest groups . . . partisanship has become good business.” (Campbell, 490)
Surveillance
An individual’s internet use is not as private as they would
like to think it is. Cookies are used to trace what website you are viewing,
how often you visit them, and when. Advertisers use the information that they receive
about you from you internet activity and use it to more accurately advertise
products that they feel you will be likely to buy. In order to have such
extensive access to information and the internet, we must give up some of our
privacy.
“The digital turn has made mass media so easy to access, we forget that the price is often turning over information about ourselves. Data mining cashes in on our personal information, often without our clear consent.” (Campbell, 379)
“Smartphones offer effective targeting to individuals, as does internet advertising, but they also offer advertisers the bonus of tailoring ads according to either a specific geographic location( e.g., a restaurant ad goes to someone in close proximity), or the user demographic, since wireless providers already have that information.” (Campbell, 397)
Change in the way we receive news
Prior to television and radio, newspapers were the main
source of news for the population. In today’s world we are able to receive a
constant flow of new information. We do not have to wait for tomorrow’s or next
week’s issue to receive new information. With internet access via smartphones
and tablets we have access to infinite amounts of news sources at any place or
any time we want to receive news, we must only wait until the next webpage
loads. Today our news is not only in print but it is dynamic, it includes
pictures, audio files, and videos.
“First, rather than subscribing to a traditional paper, many readers no begin their day on their iPads, smartphones, or computers scanning a wide variety of news Web sites, including those of print papers, cable news channels, newsmagazines, bloggers, and online-only news organizations. Such sources are increasingly taking over the roles of more traditional forms of news, helping to set the nation’s cultural, social, and political agendas. One of the biggest changes is the online news has sped up the news cycle to keep a constant stream of information and has challenged traditional news services to keep up.” (Campbell, 290)
“To enhance the online reports, which do not have the time or space constraints of television or print, newspaper reporters increasingly are required to provide video or audio for their stories. This might allow readers and viewers to see full interviews rather than just selected print quotes in the paper or short sound bites on the TV report.” (Campbell, 506)
Democracy
To function as a democratic society, the people of that
society must be informed. Journalism and access to information is absolutely
integral for the population to make informed decisions for themselves. Social
Media has helped to organize riots and demonstrations against oppressive governments,
specifically the Arab Spring.
“Social media tools have put unprecedented power in our hands to produce and distribute our own media . . . social media have also proven to be an effective tool for democracy, and for the undermining of repressive regimes that thrive on serving up propaganda and hiding their atrocities from view.” (Campbell, 54)
“The flexible and decentralized nature of the Internet and social media is in large part what makes them such powerful tools for subverting control.” (Campbell, 55)
Reality construction
We must constantly ask ourselves, “what are the stories that
are not being told?” We live in a world where media shapes our reality. In our
instantaneous society, if we don’t have access to some information or don’t have
knowledge of an event, in our reality it doesn't exist. Companies or
individuals may have hidden agendas or are hiding something from the public,
this is why we must continually seek out the truth.
“Media stories put events into context, helping us to better understand both our daily lives and the larger world.” (Campbell, 15)
“Many newspaper reporters became dissatisfied with the simplistic and convention style of newspaper journalism and turned to magazines, where they were able to write at greater length and in greater depth about broader issues.” (Campbell, 321)
Integration of technology into daily life
Technology has become integral to our society. Technology is
found everywhere- in businesses, schools, universities, factories, and the list
goes on. All of the things that we do today with technology, someone in the
past did the exact same thing without the assistance of a device or the
internet. Professors and teachers engage their students with PowerPoints to
display their notes and doctors use new technology to help their patients in
ways they could have never done before. Advertisers portray new gadgets as if
they are just a part of life and as if their product will immensely enhance your
life experience.
“Many phones and PDAs operate as de facto handheld consoles, and many home consoles serve as comprehensive entertainment centers. Thus gaming has become an everyday form of entertainment rather than the niche pursuit of hard-core enthusiasts.” (Campbell, 88)
“Computers or tablet touchscreens such as an iPad can host e-books with embedded video, hyperlinks, and dynamic content, enabling, for example, a professor to reorganize, add, or delete content of an e-textbook to tailor it to the needs of a specific class.” (Campbell, 362)
Value messages
Businesses and organizations often promote their products by
relating to a cause that they feel will be looked fondly upon by the general
public or their target demographic. This works well as consumers begin to
associate them with a positive image and will likely then but their product.
This can also backfire if a company has a bad PR incident or some consumers are
offended by the cause that a company chooses to align themselves with. I myself
have been influenced by this. As a consumer I have not eaten at Chick-fil-A
because of dietary reasons, but after a superior in their company condemned gay
rights I would never choose to go there. I remember after this incident the
company tried to salvage their image but to this day that’s all I can remember
when I think of the company.
“This type of advertising exemplifies the association principle, a persuasive technique used in most consumer adds that associates a product with a positive cultural value or image even if it has little connection to the product . . . in trying ‘to convince us that there’s an innate relationship between a brand name and an attitude,’ advertising may associate products with nationalism, happy families, success at school or work, natural scenery, freedom, or humor.” (Campbell, 400)
“Although the First Amendment protects an individual’s right to hold controversial views, network executives either sympathized with the anticommunist movement or feared losing ad revenue. At any rate, the networks did not stand up to the communist witch hunters . . . by the early 1950s the TV networks were asking actors and other workers to sign loyalty oaths denouncing communism.” (Campbell, 565)
Reliance on social media to construct identities
In the age of convergence, social media is extremely accessible.
People have adapted social media into their daily lives. Facebook now dictates
whether your friendship or relationship with someone is legitimate. If you are
not “friends” that you are not really friends with that person. In growing up
with social media I have frequently found that people believe that if they are
friends with someone on Facebook or following them on Tumblr, Twitter, or
Instagram then that somehow is a conformation of their friendship in real life,
even if in actuality they know very little about one another.
“Blogs have become part of the information and opinion culture of the Web, giving regular people and citizen reporters a forum for their ideas and views.” (Campbell, 53)
“The most visible examples of social media are social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, LiveJournal, Hi5, Bebo, Orkut, LinkedIn, and Google+. On these sites, users can create, share ideas, and interact with friends.” (Campbell, 54)
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