So, picture this... all of us walk into the lecture, trying to battle for a decent seat, and then to our surprise, we find big yellow envelopes at the end of our tables. 'Do not open' we are instructed. Ah, of course with that, every part of your body just wants to rip it open out of pure curiosity. What could it be? Assessment- please, please no! My tummy rumbles- food perhaps?! Something fun to do- sure why not! Anything remotely good would be great! But we have to wait to be instructed by the lecturer to open it... THE SUSPENSE...
Anyways this lecture was all about the media (No surprises there) BUT it is all about the transition and progress media has made. Media proves that its a dog eat dog world out there, and to be the best (journalist) you have to constantly be up to date with what people want, what's happening, what's new and what people are after.
Old Media: So first of all we discussed the old media. This media is traditional, I suppose more aimed for your grandparents who don't have a clue what or how to function a computer, mobile or the latest technology. Though we probably have interacted with this old media plenty of times in our lives. I'm talking about newspapers, magazines, radio, television and so on. Pretty basic stuff. It's easy and uncomplicated to handle and understand. It's mass communication, targeting large groups, of all ages!
That then takes us to..
Web 1.0: This would be the information web. Very advertisement friendly, little interaction, it is one sided, if companies and business' want to reach out to you, this is how it's done. The main focus is companies. You would be more than familiar with this type of media platform.
Web 2.0: This is what they call 'new media', or the 'social web'. You should know this web better than anything, as most of us spend 3 quarters of our lives using it. This includes all the social networks, Facebook, twitter, MSN, tumblr and so on.. you get the picture. It is very focused on the social groups and it is very interactive. You can talk to people all over the world, or in the next room, its genius. The older generations probably laugh at how involved we get in Web 2.0, it's our connection to everyone. Find out the latest gossip, relationships, talk to people you haven't in years, find out parties, events everything, your social calendar is pretty much dictated by social networks, if you aren't apart of it, then you are alienating yourself from society. Sad, but true, thats what makes it so effective. We are the producers!
(Image from bobafamily)
Web 3.0: This is a whole new type of media platform. It is known as the 'Semantic Web'. It is largely individual focused as it makes sense of the information you provide with it. With the information you give, it suggests new information that it has predicted will be relevant to you and your life. It is full of multi-layered questions. In its basic form, when you type in google, and misspell a word, immediately it writes 'Did you mean..." It is predicting for you. It is also very present when using smart phones such as an iPhone. The new latest phase 'iPhone 4s' is special because of the character 'Siri' who can help answer anything from "What's the weather like today', "What does my day look like", "Call my wife" and it will automatically find the answers for you and know exactly what/who you are talking about. It's scary but it is extremely useful and helpful.
But what does this mean for new under Web 3.0? The lecturer suggests that it will be extremely individualised. 'Hyperlocalisation' was the word used to describe that if it's all about us, then we have the choice which news we view and hear about. If it's all about us, why would we need to know about the rest of the world, when we can just find out about whats happening around us, whats relevant to us, and what specifically impacts me. But while this might have many pro's, it also means that there will be a increase in lack of world knowledge and events, and that is terribly self-absorbed.
It has now come to that exciting part of the lecture when we hear the words 'You may now open those big yellow envelopes'.. As I was on the end of the row it was my pleasure to open it, however I felt the pressure of 4 pairs of eyes eagerly and curiously watching me as I do it. EEK! Turns out they were 5 bags of jelly beans! YIPEE! I needed a sugar kick and this was perfect, plus I had forgotten how tasty jellybeans are! I could hear the excited joys of the rest of the class. "Eat a couple, then pass the bags back" We were devastated, we had just been giving this glorious treat and now we had to hand them back! WHAT! To be honest I grabbed about 3 out of the bag because I had only had 1. Luckily, the lecturer was kidding and he said we can eat them all. :) The point of such was to prove that we as humans are easily lead to believe that we are entitled to certain things. Such as those jellybeans, and immediately we had felt hard done by when someone tried to take them away. The point of this little exercise was to show to us that more and more people are believing that they are entitled to the news. This means a possible decline for the media you have to pay for, newspapers, magazines etc, where is the sense in buying it, when you can go online and read all the latest news for free. Like I said before, it's a dog eat dog world, and lets be honest, if we can get it cheaper, or for free, we generally do!
ANYWAYS, that's enough for me, for now, talk to you soon! :)
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