Final Project

Technology is completely re-sculpting the way in which consumers receive news.

You are sitting at home, on the couch, after a hard days work and are ready to hear about what happened in the world today. But, instead of hearing about the murder-suicide of the Kansas City Chiefs player your local news station is sharing a segment on the newly crowned high school spelling bee champion, which is less than thrillin. You shut off the TV, take out your smart phone, open one app, and before you know it you learn about that horrible incident with the Chiefs player faster then you can spell s-e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n.

Technology has provided people with the ability to choose what they want to consume, in regards to receiving news, rather then simply just being provided with news. 

For example, when an individual sits down in front of the TV, listening to the news, as referred to above, this individual has no control over what he or she is consuming. At the same time, what is being broadcasted may not even be a topic of interest to certain audience members. Now, with smart phones, the audience no longer sits in idle waiting to be given news because news can be received virtually anywhere. Instead, smart phones are providing individuals with multiple sources to consume from. “People are now selecting…what they want to watch.” Says Mara Schiavocampo, a digital correspondent for NBC Nightly News, “so you also have more engaged viewers.” With the ability to choose what is being consumed audience members are much more engaged with what they are viewing because, obviously, this is what they wanted to view or they would have not selected that specific piece in the first place. 

 “People are consuming so much video and so much audio,” Says Walt Mossberg, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, “sucking down tremendous amounts of data, 40 to 50 times normal, on this device.”

From Mossberg it is easy to see that the use of these devices has significantly increased in the last few years. Constantly having this “hand held computer”(Mossberg) at our disposal has, not only changed the way in which news is consumed, but has made us even more connected to each other through various social media sources. Watch the full interview between Mossberg and Schiavocampo here

Social Media provides a new kind of interaction between consumers.

Social Media, and more specifically Twitter, are completely changing the way individuals are receiving their information. It seems that within seconds of an event occurring there will be some sort of news on Twitter for the public to access. What makes this process even more immediate is that everything can be done directly from a smart phone. Now, more then ever, people are able to communicate on certain issues at a mass level.

Interactions between users that social media networks provide to the general public seem to producing an audience that is much more informed.

Elia Powers, a professor at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, explains this further by stating, “The audience that exists now has a better means of communicating with others. People are now talking to different people and learning about different perspectives…people are more informed and more able to find other people who have similar interests.”

Elia Powers explains how audiences are better informed through social media

To clarify, essentially, the interaction that takes place, through social media networks, causes an individual to become better educated on a specific topic, from learning the viewpoints and opinions of other users, which they otherwise never would have ascertained. For example, if an important event occurs, most of the time, this specific event will start to “trend” on Twitter. Twitter users are able to click on this trend and are immediately exposed to website links, opinions, and general information provided by other users about a specific occurrence.

Social Media has provided news organizations with the ability to gather a greater audience.

With this sudden change the audience is provided with much more participation when it comes to events, such as sports, award shows, ECT. It would seem that with this newfound participation that the number of audience members would grow. And according to Elia Powers this is exactly the case. Powers states, “News organizations use social media now, not only to find new audiences, but also to promote their existing content to existing audiences. So you can both extend your brand and also give people the same content in another form.”

Technology and social media are affecting us in ways we may or may not realize. In today’s day and age we are provided with the tools to consume massive amounts of information in extremely efficient ways, amazingly on a tools that are not bigger then the size of a hand. It is interesting to think that in the near future fathers will no longer be stereotyped in the morning by reading a news paper at the kitchen table, but rather, checking their iPhone.

Closing this post is an interview between myself and Scot Pollins, a Business major at the University of Maryland, Scot’s question was tailored more towards whether or not he thinks that social media is producing a larger audience in professional sports.

listen to ‘Scott's answer to Final question’ on Audioboo

Final Audio Boo

listen to ‘Scott's answer to Final question’ on Audioboo

Question Post

Social Media Has Changed The Business Model of Journalism, How do Journalists Make Money, Today?

How has Social Media changed the Revenue Model of Sports Journalism?

It is no secret that the news media is shifting away from media used in the past; Newspapers, Magazines, Ect. Now, Twitter and other social media seem to be the dominant source of relaying news. My question is, with print predominantly going out of fashion, how has the revenue model changed for news stations. My question stems from the previous business model that was instilled for quite some time, where the money came from advertisers. Essentially journalists wrote stories in order to gather a mass audience. The higher amount of readers, in other words the higher average of daily readers, the more advertisers would be willing to pay.

Instead of paying for print, people use free technology

Many charts show the decline of print, and the outlook does not seem positive for the future. In the end it makes sense, why would people pay for printed journalism when they can get the same exact news from the Internet or from twitter. Technology is offering a cheaper and more efficient way receive news. My question is, with this entirely new free media accessible to the mass public, how are news organizations making money? I understand that it is possible to advertise online, there are many loopholes in that kind of advertising that I will not discuss in this post, but advertising online one is never guaranteed money like they would have been advertising in a printed source. The next issue stems from twitter. From my knowledge this is one of the most influential news medias in the country, to this day. However, there seems to be no way, in which the journalist is directly benefitted, meaning receiving compensation for the work he/she has done.

Qik - scot by dmmclane

Test Question 2

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Test question 1

listen to ‘Test question 1’ on Audioboo

Mobile Divide is Dwindling

Kevin Guidry brings into spectrum a very interesting topic by stating that there is a digital divide between the many different cultures in America. Digital divide can be classified as not owning a computer or having access to the Internet.

 Based on the information provided Guidry would not have been inaccurate to assume that a digital divide would be a problem in the future, however this is based off of old facts. Though it may not seem as old, being as most of the information that Guidry calls upon was cited in roughly 2009, a lot has changed within the past three years

Smart phones are more advanced then ever

Not only are these devices use to make phone calls, but they can also receive emails, browse the web, and download apps; all which can be done with relative ease.

Based upon the research done by the Pew Research Center it is easy to see that within the past four years the use of Internet on mobile devices has been on the rise. From 2009 to 2012 the percentage of adults that use devices in order to browse the web has increased by 28%.

This is where I have to disagree with Guidry the there will be a mobile divide, based upon his definition. Based on the definition stated above, this clearly shows that use of mobile devices to access the Internet is on a rise and on a decline. The problem with owning computers will no longer be an issue either; desktops will become obsolete in the next ten years if not five.

Now, with smart phones almost anyone is able to access the internet with their phone even if they do not have a computer

Based on more research by the Pew Research Center, Blacks and Hispanics, which were stated specifically as the cultures that would be hit the hardest by the mobile divide, have gone up 20% in the last four years when it came to using their mobile devices to access the internet.

I personally think that there will no longer be a digital divide. The reasons for this is because portable devices are soon going to take the place a big bulky computers; who knows maybe in 10 years laptops will be considered a bulky nuisance! Not only are these devices more convenient to use they are also much more affordable.

Affordability will play the biggest factor in the future of digital divide

In the past computers were extremely expensive, and on top of the price of computers issue Internet bills had to be paid every month, which were pricey as well. Now, price is no longer an issue. When an individual buys a device they are not simply just buying a device for one purpose, they are buying a device that combines many different components into one easily usable, convenient, and efficient device.

Essentially a mobile divide is a thing of the past and before anyone knows it we will all be connected through our mobile device. 

Bollywood: A Theatrical and Musical Spectacle

Bollywood, no you did not misread this word for Hollywood, yes Bollywood. Dating as far back as 1899, Bollywood is the Indian equivalent of American Hollywood, and is second in the film production market only to that of Hollywood. Bollywood first originated in Bombay, which is now currenctly Mumbai, and this is where the name Bollywood originated.  

The business model for a typical Bollywood production is split up into three phases, Production, distribution, and exhibition. Production itself is also split into three different levels; there is pre-shooting, the actual shooting and post shooting. Pre-shooting consists of, obviously, everything that needs to take place in order for a successful movie to be made. So this is the time when final ideas will be gathered to make sure that an interesting movie is being made that will actually gather an audience. This is also the time when a marketing strategy will be made in order to properly advertise and budget for the movie.

Next the actual filming of the movie will occur. Besides filming there are other tedious aspects that need to be completed. One aspect of filming that most people take for granted and don’t understand how much time is spent in the production of movies is erecting a set. Especially curtailing to a Bollywood film very elaborate sets will take place, especially during the very essential dance scene, which the staple of every Bollywood film. When shooting at a specific location production teams do not simply just set up their equipment and start filming, permits must be acquired, which is another process of filming, before any kind of filming may take place. Though the first two phases are important the last phase is one of the most important phases

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wdw64aHYXA

The last phase of production is postproduction. Contradictory to common believe the most work is done during the postproduction of a film. The first part of postproduction is editing. During editing essentially a film editor takes new footage, which is just a reel a pictures, and combines them in order to make an efficient reel so the movie is the appropriate amount of time. Next comes audio and dubbing. Dubbing is extremely important for Bollywood films because most of the actors are not able to sing in the musical aspect of the movie. So what happens during this stage is that a professional singer will sing a song and then it will be dubbed over what has already been filmed. What is interesting about this is that the audience realizes that the actors are not able to sing so the singer and actors are both respected in their own way and their own rights. Negative cutting is what follows next and this when extra scenes are cut out of the film. Last steps can be combined, and they are Printing, publicity, and distribution.

Within the last steps of the Bollywood business model distribution comes after the production phase. For a Bollywood film distribution mostly stays in within the domestic area. However, there are some cases in which films have made it out of India and in most cases these films only go to the UK. The last phase is exhibition; this phase consists of making the movie available to the public, most frequently being the use of DVD’s.

1975 seemed to be the golden age of for Bollywood. Three of the most influential movies were created during this time period. The first movie is Shaloy, as time magazine calls it, “There's a complex revenge plot and lots of nifty action scenes in Ramesh Sippy's curry western, but its heart lies with the two outlaw heroes. Maybe the burliest male love story ever made.” The second movie created during the Bollywood golden age was Deewar, which is about a man who rises to the top of what seemed to be an Indian gang; there was very compelling acting. The last movie that was a part of the golden age of Bollywood was Aandhi. It was very striking that this movie became so popular because it strayed away from the common model for a Bollywood film. Aandhi consisted of a mature romance along with including very strong political aspects, which were unheard of for this time.

            It seems that the most influence by Americans on Bollywood comes from the business model. Essentially the business models are the exact same. This may certainly have to do with that this particular business model generates the most success. 

Cell Phone Tracking: Not as Bad as it Seems

             Within the past five years the use of cell phone trackers has grown exponentially by law enforcement throughout the United States. Almost all phones, especially phones created in previous years, give the ability for cell phone carriers to give away information, whether it be text messages, voicemails, or even current locations. Chances are if your phone has ever asked you if they may “use” your current location you can be tracked with relative ease. This has become a very hot topic for debate throughout the United States. Many believe that law enforcement having the ability to keep tabs on individuals is a huge invasion of privacy and is illegal. Unfortunately, the people who think this are the people who are misinformed about the topic or simply just want to believe that the government does not have their best interest at hand. Hopefully after reading this blog you will be well informed and will realize that in this particular situation the pros outweigh the cons immensely.

            Nine times out the ten the first complaint an individual will say, after hearing that law enforcement has the ability to keep track of cell phones, is “that sounds like an invasion of personal privacy that cant be legal”. However, what they do not realize is police officers and F.B.I agents are not sitting at their desk with coffee and doughnuts watching people in their homes going about their everyday lives, in fact that would be way too expensive even if an officer wanted to do that… As Eric Litchblau states, “AT&T, for one, said it collected $8.3 million last year compared with $2.8 million in 2007, and other carriers reported similar increases in billings.” In other words law enforcement is not going to use this resource unless it is deemed necessary otherwise a huge loss of money could be seen. What is deemed necessary is using this resource on crime. Peter Modafferi states, in Eric Litchblau’s article “Wireless Firms are Flooded by Requests to Aid Surveillance”, that at every crime scene there is some sort of mobile device, and that is exactly what this tracking system will be used on, crime. It seems irrational to hinder a law enforcement officer of the tools necessary to properly convict a criminal especially one of the most efficient ways of doing so.

            The bottom line here is that this technology has the ability to save lives, many lives. In essence if you are a law-abiding citizen you will never even come into contact with this specific situation. Even if an individual was to be tapped, just as in if someone’s home was to be searched, a warrant is still a legal necessity. Furthermore, anyone convicted by the use of this phone tapping will have a court case where everything will be reviewed. I just want to close out this blog with a quote from Mayor Betsy Price as she states, “this is an excellent technology that will help save lives.”