Tuesday, April 26, 2011

New Media what? Oh NEW media!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , at 9:03 AM

Is new media the only media?
Seeing as to how our new generation flips a webpage faster than an actual newspaper page, it might seem a valid argument. 


Still, how valid is it really? After all, newspapers and CNN have been around a lot longer than TheStarOnline hasn't it?


Well, according to Jason Shultz of Marketing, Interactive , more and more companies are spending on ads or internet videos. In addition, many sites provide interactive services. Spending on these sites will grow 389 percent, to $12.2 billion, in the next three years.(Shultz,2008)

With the internet being so easily accessed now, this isn't surprising. At the touch of a finger, smart phones are connected to the internet, wherever you are. Provided of course, you have a connection.


Twitter, is another phenomenon,  a series of short messages called "tweets" are sent back and forth like a conversation. Just like in Facebook you can tag your friends using the "@". 

This diagram is a perfect example of how we are influenced by social media. 
Personally, I do find this to be true. No matter where I go, I'm surrounded by social networking.
Foursquare, Facebook, Blogger, Emails and Twitter are right in my hand.

So, is new media taking over? Definitely. 
Will it replace traditional media? Don't think so.



Now, we know for sure new media is taking over. Or at least, making a big splash right now. McNair states that journalists, journalism and traditional media will not experience any form of death, because they are needed on so many social, political and cultural levels worldwide. (McNair, 2009) 


According to Adam Ostrow, old media still triumphs over new media, in 2008, the highest rated media outlet was ABC news network. The survey was run over a 3 year period. With that said, media consumption habits are quickly changing. New media is however performing better than other.(Ostrow, 2009)

  • Blogs are now used by 24% of Internet users, up from 13% in 2006
  • Social networks are now used by 26% of Internet users, up from 17% in 2006
  • Videocasts are now used by 11% of Internet users, up from 6% in 2006


Slower growers include:
  • Business news sites: flat at 8%
  • RSS feeds: growing from 5-7%
  • Podcast: growing from 5-7% 

 The above chart shows the decline and rise of media usage in 2006, 2007 and 2008. 

Now in my opinion, I believe that even with the rapid progress shown by new media, I believe that it has actually caused traditional media to improve and progress even further, as with sites like TheStarOnline, ABC, CNN, and Al-Jazeera, all have stepped it up and created websites with breaking news. Shorter than the actual news pieces but every bit as informative. Besides that some traditional media outlets have even created app's for smart phones and you can access the sites quicker. Some even have tweets you can subscribe to, thus creating a immediate response from the receiver of the tweet. Instant and at your fingertips.
A good example is BREAKING NEWS & BBC NEWS. Both are twitter links. Click! 

On the side of bloggers, we can definitely agree that they have an upper hand when it comes to speed. They can publish an article much quicker than a news publication. According to findings by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, barely 12 % of Internet users find blogs a trustworthy news source. (Walden, 2007). To make sure they keep up, bloggers have started to adopt a higher standard of journalism. 

At this point in time, it does seem that new media is taking over the world. And I for one am pleased at the speed we can get information today. We live in a fast paced world and we do have a demand to meet. With that said, I do feel that somehow, traditional media won't be phased out just yet. We all enjoy flipping a page and reading news off a paper. Plus it doesn't hurt the eyes.
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REFERENCES.


Is New Media Taking Over?. 2011. Is New Media Taking Over?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://videos.webpronews.com/2007/10/17/is-new-media-taking-over/. [Accessed 26 April 2011].


Stats: Old Media’s Decline, New Media’s Ascent. 2011. Stats: Old Media’s Decline, New Media’s Ascent. [ONLINE] Available at: http://mashable.com/2009/01/29/stats-old-media-decline/. [Accessed 26 April 2011]




Is New Media Taking Over?. 2011. Is New Media Taking Over?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://videos.webpronews.com/2007/10/17/is-new-media-taking-over/. [Accessed 26 April 2011].


Traditional Media vs. New Media – Times they are a changin’…quickly - Blog Center - Share - Versant . 2011. Traditional Media vs. New Media – Times they are a changin’…quickly - Blog Center - Share - Versant . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.versantsolutions.com/share/blogs/?id=2147483820. [Accessed 26 April 2011].


MediaShift . Distinction Between Bloggers, Journalists Blurring More Than Ever | PBS. 2011. MediaShift . Distinction Between Bloggers, Journalists Blurring More Than Ever | PBS. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/02/distinction-between-bloggers-journalists-blurring-more-than-ever059.html. [Accessed 26 April 2011].


McNair, B 2009, ‘Journalism in the 21st century: evolution, not extinction,’ Journalism, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 347-349.


Glaser, M 2008, ‘Distinction Between Bloggers, Journalists Blurring More Than Ever,’ online, retrieved 26 April 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/02/distinction-between-bloggers-journalists-blurring-more-than-ever059.html


Walden, R 2007, ‘The Blogger as Journalist: Codes of Ethics in the World of Blogging,’ online, retrieved 26 April 2011, from http://web-journalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_blogger_as_journalist
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Monday, April 25, 2011

c. Blogging communities and Methods to build them.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , at 7:52 AM



THE QUESTION:
c. Explain briefly types of blogging communities & methods to build blogging communities. Then, discuss the structure of  one blogging community in brief, eg. Global Voices.

MY ANSWER: 

All bloggers are part of an online community which is a group of people who interact with each other via the Internet. (Tuomi, 2001)
In Malaysia, we have www.lowyat.com.my, its a popular site for people to find just about anything. You can research about your iphone, computers, cars and chat with dealers. You can even buy clothes and books from lowyat. Its extremely that you cannot find something on lowyat.

Also take into account SPILL a website purely for movie bloggers. As for other blogging communities, we have Nuffnang and Advertlets, the 2 biggest blog advertising communities in Malaysia.

Globally, there are sites such as MyBlogLog and Technorati. Both are sites in which can convene.


Nuffnang
Advertlets

--

How does one build a blog community?

  • Have a website that is relevant to a specific field in blogging. (Rowse, 2009)


Take for example SPILL, it common denominator is the topic of movies. Movie buffs and movie bloggers can convene on Spill and comment, discuss and even debate movies.

  • Start with comments. (Rowse, 2009)


People love having opinions, so ask them what they think. Make them feel important and let them have a say. It brings the reader into the topic and makes them a part of the group. Ask questions in your post and interact with your readers. 

  • Make sure you have a "Join As Member" option. (Rowse, 2009)
Once a reader joins, make sure they have constant updates. This way, they won't lose interest and will instead become a long term reader or member. Loyalty from readers is crucial.



  • Be a part of the community yourself. (Rowse, 2009)
Get involved, join in to what the readers are doing. Don't play God and just tell them what they should do, take an active role in the blogging world as a whole. 

  • Reader centred post. (Rowse, 2009)
Have post that speak to the reader, when they read it; it should feel as if someone is speaking to them. This creates a sort of intimacy with the reader, usually this is lost through mediums of mass media. Have a interactive manner of blogging. Ask questions and expect some answers.

One example of a Malaysian blogging community thats been buzzing alot lately is Churp Churp.



Churp Churp can schedule post, tweets and even provide bloggers with jobs. This platform brings bloggers together by providing direction to bloggers through "assignments" or jobs. And through tweets, bloggers can contact each other even easier, quicker and more efficiently. 


REFERENCES


  1. Schwartz, B 2007, "Building Your Blog Community," online, retrieved 25 April 2011, from http://searchengineland.com/building-your-blog-community-10556
  2. Tuomi, I 2001, "Internet, Innovation and Open Source: Actors in the Network,"First Monday, Vol. 6, No. 1, retrieved 25 April 2011, from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/824
  3. Rowse, D 2009, "8 Tips for Building Community on Your Blog," online, retrieved 25 April 2011, from http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/02/28/8-tips-for-building-community-on-your-blog/
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Sunday, April 24, 2011

b. Classification of blogs & opinion about the most appropriate classification approach

Labels: , , , , , , , , at 10:50 PM


There are a few ways to classify blogs (searchwindevelop.com), for today; I'll explain some of the most basic forms.
   
In the previous post, I've set out a few examples. Lets use them alright?
  • Personal Blog
 a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies) "postings on a blog are usually in chronological order" - (2011:princeton.edu.)


Chuckei blogs about her life and happenings.

www.chuckei.com



  • Gossip blog
Perez blogs about Hollywoods latest news. 
Also known as a Celeblog Celeblog – A blog written about or by a celebrity. Usually focuses on news, gossip and often contains embarrassing or revealing paparazzi photos.
(2011:webdesignseo.com)
http://perezhilton.com/

  • Art blog
Consisting of art works from the blogger/artist.

www.deviantart.com


  • General Blog
A blog about everything and anything. (


www.theblogabouteverything.com


  • Photo Blog
A blog who's primary content is photos (webdesignseo.com)


http://www.cgzoom.com/


  • Political blog 
A blog that focuses on politics and may or may not influence the public(2010: The Guardian: Al Franken)




http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/

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Personal Opinion

From a blogger's standpoint, I find that there are 3 main ways to classify blog. First there's the personal blog, second the general or everything blog and thirdly there are the genre specific blogs. If one was to tag all blogs to a specific label, there would be no end. 

Under personal blogs, there's nothing much to explain, just people blogging about their lives and sharing it for the web world. 

With general or everything blogs, they blog about the universe. Literally! Well anything and everything under the sun, is blogged about. There is no specific genre and possibly no specific direction. These are bloggers who just want to talk about everything. Or should I say blog about,... well... everything.

And finally, with genre specific blogs, there are countless possibilities! You can blog about movies, you can blog about food or fishing or games or anything you want. And the list goes on and on and on... Well it can go on forever in fact. Mainly because we find new things everyday, hence there are more topics to blog about.

That's my personal opinion on the matter though, what's your?

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References

  1. What is blog (weblog) ? - Definition from Whatis.com. 2011. What is blog (weblog) ? - Definition from Whatis.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/definition/blog. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  2. Web Design, Seo, Blog Marketing Tips » Blogging Definitions: Types of Blogs – Part 1. 2011. Web Design, Seo, Blog Marketing Tips » Blogging Definitions: Types of Blogs – Part 1. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.webdesignseo.com/blog-marketing/blogging-definitions-types-of-blogs.php. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  3. cgzoom » latest . 2011. cgzoom » latest . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.cgzoom.com/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  4. Celebrity gossip juicy celebrity rumors Hollywood gossip blog from Perez Hilton. 2011. Celebrity gossip juicy celebrity rumors Hollywood gossip blog from Perez Hilton. [ONLINE] Available at: http://perezhilton.com/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  5. ♥ www.chuckei.com. 2011. ♥ www.chuckei.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://chuckei.com/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  6. Che Det. 2011. Che Det. [ONLINE] Available at: http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  7. WordNet Search - 3.0. 2011. WordNet Search - 3.0. [ONLINE] Available at:http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=blog. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
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a. Blogs as current phenomenon & benefits of blogging to the community

Labels: , , , , , , at 10:49 PM

Hello readers, so....


WHAT'S A BLOG?
Well, the term blog comes from a combination of the word; web and log. (Websters;2004)
It can be defined as a website or type of website. The act of creating an article on the blog is called blogging.

WHAT IS BLOGGING?
A blog can be defined as a personal online dairy, a space of the internet that one uses to jot down their thoughts. It can be personal, general or have a specific genre. As long as its substance is viable, its a blog!

WHO BLOGS?
This is a subjective matter, to be frank, EVERYONE blogs! Regardless of age, gender or interest, anyone who has access to the internet and a blogging platform can blog.

Here are a few examples of blog platforms and examples of a personal blog, a general one and a genre specific blog. 



  1. Personal blog -http://www.chuckei.com/
  2. General blog - http://theblogabouteverything.com/
  3. Genre Specific Blog - Photo blog : http://www.cgzoom.com/archives/292

WHY DO PEOPLE BLOG?
The question of why people blog has been asked many times, and sometimes its not a question of why they do blog but rather why don't they blog? You can equivilate a  blog to a diary. Why people use them is up to the user's self.

Sometimes it is to get a say in the world, others it is to share with the public. Who know's really? Why do you blog?

As for this blog, its a work blog from uni, so I guess you can say it is a genre-specific blog and I'm blogging because its required. *major lol there* but hey, it does make sense now doesn't it?

SHOULD YOU BLOG?
If you have something you wanna shout out to the world, I say go ahead! Why shouldn't you blog anyways? The internet has limitless space and besides its free! All you need is an internet connection and a computer. Heck, if your handphone is compatible, you can even blog from there. Go ahead, try it out.

WHAT ARE THE PRO'S & CON'S OF BLOGGING?
Well with everything out there, of course you'll have the pro's and the con's.

One of the biggest pro's I'd say it that you will be joining a huge community. And if your substance is good, you may just reach a wide readership and become famous. Don't laugh, it could happen! And by joining such a huge community, you'll surely gain friends.

Blogging is limitless, as a person who blogs myself, I've encountered people from all over the world popping by to say hi. It's a really touching experience. And a very good example of globalization. You'll find that the world is a small place after all.

Now, with everything that is good, there is always the bad.
More often than not, I end up blog hopping (jumping from one site to another by clicking on the links) and somewhere on the bandwagon, there's some raving lunatic blogging about nonsense, its highly common and to top it off they will post inappropriate material up. Some even leave their addresses and phone numbers up.


Hey, an email is perfectly fine, but your home address and personal number? A tad too much information. With the internet having things like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, we should all step it up a notch and be careful of what we post up.You could end up having some stalkers come after you.

Note of advice? Keep anything personal off something that's extremely public. Even if your blog is password protected or limited to certain networks, you can't control who reads it. Be smart about that.

Happy blogging!

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References


  1. Blog - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2011. Blog - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blog. [Accessed 25 April 2011]
  2. . 2011. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.bileta.ac.uk/Document%20Library/1/Let%20a%20Hundred%20Flowers%20Bloom%20-%20A%20Malaysian%20Case%20Study%20on%20Blogging%20Towards%20a%20Democractic%20Culture.pdf. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  3. The Blogging Phenomenon: An Overview and Theoretical Consideration. 2011. The Blogging Phenomenon: An Overview and Theoretical Consideration. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ajy.net/jmb/blogphenomenon.htm. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
  4. What is a Blog?. 2011. What is a Blog?. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/. [Accessed 25 April 2011].
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Friday, April 1, 2011

What's a good presentation?

Labels: , , , at 10:07 PM


What makes a good presentation?

A good presentation must have valid information. According to MacKenzie(1994) (taken from Putnis, Peter & Petelin, Roslyn 1996, ‘Writing to communicate,’ in Professional communication.pg20) many writers do not take into account the design on a document and the writers do not take into account the verbal content. Thus, Mackenzie(1994) emphasises on taking into account both content and design.

As Shriver stated in (Dynamics in document design : creating texts for readers, Chapter 6, pg3) most experienced document designers have developed skills primarily in either writing for designing. Rarely is the case that they are apt in both. So what is a good design? Firstly, in slide layout, there should always be a title and read from left to right and top to bottom for good continuation (Seeing The Text, Stephen A.Bernhardt, p72).

For example, the slide below shows 2forms of explaining Global Warming. The arrow shows how one can pick out important points from a text heavy article.


In the below slide, from the presentation Seeing the Text by Stephen A.Bernhardt. We can see a few good points in design. For one, the text colour and slide background are in contra, therefore; all information can be seen clearly and understood easily. Also stated on (http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm)

And although Shriver has stated that visual aids can be a hindrance, in this case, the visual aid reinforces the information and gives it credibility. It will strengthen the hypothesis that are consistent. (Shriver, Dynamics in document design : creating texts for readers, Chapter 6,p9) As seen in the below slide, both text and visual reinforce each other. 


According to (http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm) a good presentation must avoid using fancy fonts. It should be simple and easy to read. And also large enough to be read.  Eg, the slide below.

Lastly, a good presentation must stay focused! By the end of your presentation, your audience should remember your main points and purpose. (https://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178 )

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References

Putnis, Peter & Petelin, Roslyn 1996, ‘Writing to communicate,’ in Professional communication.

Bernhardt, Stephen A, 1986, ‘Seeing The Text,’ in College Composition and Communication, vol. 37, no. 1, p. 66 –78.

Schriver, K.A. 1997, Chapter 6, Dynamics in document design.

Reep, Diana C. 2006, ‘Chp 4: Principles of Document Design,’in Technical Writing, 6th ed., Pearson Edu, Inc., New York, p.173-190.

Walsh, M. 2006,” ‘Textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts,” Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, p.24-37.

Zane L Marquez (2010) How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4313178 [Online]. Online: EzineArticles.com. Retrieved from:https://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178[Accessed 2nd April 2011].

Wendy Russell (-) 10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations - Create Effective and Successful Business Presentations [Online]. Online: About.com Guide. Retrieved from:http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm [Accessed 2nd April 2011].



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