New technology and new media are
shifting the way people get information, share information and connect with
each other. Information is dispersed more readily and across greater distances
than it has been in the past and information is accessed more quickly and with
more connectivity than we have seen before. In this world of ever increasing
technological innovation, these four new technologies are some of what is
influencing the way we access and share information in our new media landscape.
Apps – The smart phone, the
tablet, and new computers are now built around being able to download and
access the app. According to BusinessWeek, Apple’s App Store users spent more
than $10 billion dollars in 2013. (Brustein, 2014) Google Play offers apps for
Android devices and the newest version of Windows has apps that can be
downloaded that put information at your fingertips and on your home screen.
Apps are a new media technology that
gives the user access to everything from games to specific news headlines.
Reviewing the current “most popular” apps in the Apple Store one can download
entertainment apps, education, social networking, photography based, lifestyle,
business or food & drink. Apps can be focused for gamers, kids or
professionals and offer a chance to get information, share information,
organize information or even teach.
The audience for apps ranges in
demographic since there are so many to choose from. My personal phone has NPR
and Newsstand while my sister’s dings with coupons available at nearby
retailers wherever she is driving and has kids’ games. My mom accesses weather
and Zillow information while some of my friends have constant access to sports
scores and their friend’s exercise routines. I watched recently as a friend of
mine took, edited and posted a photo that got thousands of likes and yesterday
at breakfast I downloaded an app that allowed my 3-year-old nephew to draw pictures
from my touch screen so he was entertained at the restaurant.
If you have a smartphone or tablet, or
access to Apple or Window’s operating systems, you are probably using apps as
your basis for gathering and sharing information. A quick review of your media
habits may reveal that you have moved further from using a web browser for
information and focus mainly on accessing the right app.
Podcasting – From listening to
professional orators speak in the town square to advancing technology in
recording, new media is allowing more people to record and share interviews and
information with the world.
Podcasting is an easy-to-do, easy-to-use
form of new media and good podcasts are as wildly popular as good television
shows. Subscription services allow users to automatically download podcasts and
hear the latest from their favorite personalities while some media companies
are using podcasting to facilitate ongoing access to timed programing. For
example, I automatically download Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me from
NPR to listen to if I miss the live version on Saturday afternoon.
Podcasting was originally focused on
tech information or recordings of comedians. These two niches produced a
specific audience for podcasts, but that is changing as self-produced media
grows in popularity. According to Forbes, podcast listener demographics used to
be male dominated, but there is a growth in content directed toward females.
(Wolf, 2014) This growth is attributed to a growing information base that has
branched out of tech and comedy and is inviting more and more listeners into
the recorded world.
Instead of just having access to tech or
comedy podcasts, one can listen to any number of interesting things via
podcast. Sports commentators can get their start with a podcast, like Men in in
Blazers who are now a part of the ESPN team, but started with a simple,
two-person podcast. Radio shows have moved on to podcasts and one can download
several podcasts all based on the same information in order to get an overview
of a topic or learn something more deeply. Recently, I had a client need me to
write about 3D printing, so I downloaded several podcasts on the subject to get
caught up with what it was, where it was going, and understand some of the
technical terms that would be included in what I wrote for them. Shortly after
those articles were written I was asked to do interviews that would be shared
over podcast. I was able to make calls, record the interviews and submit them
for minor editing before they were produced.
My personal step into podcasting
illustrates how easy of a new media technology it is to navigate. Anyone who
has something they want to share or say can record themselves with a simple
device and place their recording for people to find and listen to at their own
convenience. As a business owner, this technology has helped me find
information, listen to other business owners, find inspiration, and feel part
of a virtual community even though I work from home.
Blogging – If you would have told
Sandra Dee that her personal journal would be made public for anyone to find
and read at any time day or night, she would have been aghast. Today, millions
of people air their thoughts, struggles, advice, experiences and more through
personal blogs.
In 1993 there were only 23 blogs in
existence. Today, there are over 1.5 billion. A new blog is created every half
second. (Dupont, 2012) The typical reader of blogs internationally is around
the median age 38 years old and the average gender distinction is 45% female,
55% male readers. (Royal Pingdom, 2013)
Blogs have become a way of personalizing
information for businesses and helping them develop approachability and
connections with clients that would visit their website. Instead of impersonal
information, a business can share their insight, experiences or knowledge with
a short, regularly published blog that can attract new clients, help people
find their website or develop authority on a topic.
In addition to business blogs, many
people have personal blogs. I have two blogs (not including this version
developing during my capstone course at Ashford University). One connected to
my online writing portfolio that I direct potential new clients to and one that
is for personal writings, thoughts and questions about life. These two blogs
have vastly different style, but serve as an access point for connecting with
people.
One of the interesting media
developments facilitated through blogging is the rise in personal account
journalism. One can discover someone that has personally experienced a trauma,
a historically significant event or any other situation. This person may not be
on the news, but their account can give insight, help connect people, give
details that were missed by media, and share on a deeper level than some news stories.
I love coming across blogs from people that have chosen to reveal more about
their life than one can get on the news.
The Newspaper – After three new
media examples, I can’t not mention the newspaper, my personal favorite of all
media.
From early printing to yellow journalism
and sensationalism, to struggling through the changing media landscape and
developing new ways to communicate news and even through dealing with
accusations of bias and irrelevancy, the newspaper and the fourth estate of Journalism
are still my top media crushes.
Accessible now in print, online, through
apps, and even with alerts sent directly to your mobile phone, the news is more
readily available then ever before, but the format and content, the topics and
trends all filter back to the decisions made by newspaper moguls that were
trying to make a profit and supply information. If you haven’t watched the
documentary Page One: Inside the New York Times, I highly recommend
it.
According to The Principles of Journalism, the news should be truthful, relevant and accessible to all people and
the more the news is broadcast across new wires of communication, the more I believe
it is reaching its goal. The question is, are we, as a society, receiving the
information we need to? There is an argument that the news is not providing
unbiased information that helps society function, be involved politically, or
make important decisions. Currently, most people ascribe to a specific source
of news trusting the anchors and commentators because they are in more in line
with personal beliefs. I believe this is dangerous. Finding only those that
will say what you want to hear limits knowledge.
References
Brustein, J. (2014, January 07). Apple
Users Spent $10 Billion on Apps in 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2014, from
Bloomberg Business Review:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-07/apple-users-spent-10-billion-on-apps-in-2013
Dupont, A. (2012, May 31). Interesting
Facts About Blogs. Retrieved September 11, 2014, from Admin Solutions:
http://www.adminesolutions.com/blog/interesting-facts-about-blogs/#.VBHsY2RdVqs
Royal Pingdom. (2013, March 1). Blog
Readership Demographics - Investigating the World's Top Blogs. Retrieved
September 11, 2014, from Royal Pingdom:
http://royal.pingdom.com/2013/03/01/blog-readership-demographics-2013/
Wolf, M. (2014, January 3). 4
Predictions About Podcasting for 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014, from
Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelwolf/2014/01/03/4-predictions-about-podcasting-for-2014/
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