Joost

Joost is an internet television distribution system. Joost is a way of watching TV over the internet through peer to peer networking. You need an invitation from a current user to try out the Beta Version. Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping. You get great internet features too, such as search, chat and instant messaging, built right into the program - so you find shows quickly and talk to your friends while you watch. You can watch whatever you want, whenever you like and as often as you want. Joost is completely free, and works with most modern PCs and Intel Mac-based computers with a broadband connection.

Social Networks and Blogging 3.0

Wink can help you find people on social networks who have similar interests to you. It searches over 400 million profiles to help you locate new and old friends or make connections with people on social networks. Wink offers the Web's largest free people search engine to help you find the people you are looking for. You can even search for people in our directory to conduct research before a job interview or business meeting. It is the world's largest people search engine. You can find people by name and get their phone number, address, Websites, photos, work, school, and much more.

Twitter is a social networking site and microblogging service which allows you to answer the question 'what are you doing?' by sending short messages or 'tweets' to your friends or followers. It has many uses for both personal and business use. It's a great way to keep in touch with your friends and quickly broadcast information about where you are and what you're up to. It can be used to broadcast your latest news and blog posts, interact with others and enable easy group communication.
Twitter rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with over 300 million users as of 2011 and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day. It is sometimes described as the SMS of the internet.

What is Swicki and what has it got to do with Web 3.0?

Swicki is a collaborative social search engine produced by the company Eurekster. Swicki is based on social networking and relies on interest groups. You can join a community that matches your interest or rate a particular resource listed. Swicki is advertised as a social browser which allows users to create specific searches on topics, while permitting total control over the overall search results.
Community built search portals like Swicki and natural language search sites like Powerset will be quite useful to enhance your reader’s search experience. It allows to build specific searches to your own interests and that of your community and also get constant updated results from your web page or blog. Swickis scan all the data indexed in Yahoo Search, plus all additional sources you specify.

Web 3.0

Many theorists can not agree upon the name, the definition or the existence of web 3.0.
Just as 'dot com' is the term for the first era of the web, and 'web 2.0' the second, there will be a new term that bubbles up at the right time to describe the next era. Richard MacManus, ReadWriteWeb. He is saying that the web is constantly improving and almost becoming a new feature and therefore the name of it changes to suit its change. As Eric Schmidt,CEO of google says 'Web 2.0 is a marketing term, and i think youve just invented Web 3.0'. These two theorists do believe in the existence of web 3.0 and believe that there will be times where it the name will continue to change as soon as a new era comes about. Sonja Hyde-Moyer, SHM Product stated how we should start web 4.0 as now there has been a web 2.0 and web 3.0, there is no stopping them, so therefore a new one might aswell be created. It is becoming a joke to her.

Apple - iOS 5, a major example of the way media is developing!

Independence for all iOS devices.

With iOS 5, you no longer need a computer to own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Activate and set up your device wirelessly, right out of the box. Download free iOS software updates directly on your device. Do more with your apps — like editing your photos or adding new email folders — on your device, without the need for a Mac or PC. And back up and restore your device automatically using iCloud.

Previously, a computer would of been needed to be able to set up or download images for example onto a new iPhone, but this new feature from Apple, this can now be done directly from the iPhone. 

The song which will be used in our music video

How TV has Responded to the Online Age

-The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) began regular TV broadcasts in 1936 for just a few hours every evening. Many years ago one of the very first newsreaders was interviewed about the early days. The Six O'Clock News lasted 45 minutes. After a radio-style reading of the day's news, they showed newsreel that had been recently received, which often meant going back some days if the film had been flown in from another continent. The newsreader had to recapitulate the events and the background. It was all very different from now, but progress was remarkably rapid.Another thing has changed. In the late 1930s a television set was very expensive and well beyond the means of most people.

-By the early 1970s though, color sets had become standard, and the completion of total color casting was achieved when the last of the daytime programs converted to color and joined with primetime in the first all-color season in 1972.

-Color broadcasting in Europe was not standardized on the PAL format until the 1960s, and broadcasts did not start until 1967. By this point many of the technical problems in the early sets had been worked out, and the spread of color sets in Europe was fairly rapid.

-HD (high definition) TV was also a dramatic change to the way that we watch TV. It meant that audiences could watch TV in a much better quality and enjoy it to its full potential.

-Television today has changed dramatically since it was first developed and broadcasted. Thousands of programs are broadcasted daily worldwide and we can now record, pause and even rewind live television. There are also many websites such as 4oD, BBC iPlayer and itv Player where we can watch any missed TV online. This has also lead to a major decline in the viewing of adverts and people can now skip adverts instead of waiting for their program to come back on the TV. Mobile phone apps can also be downloaded where TV can be watched anytime and anywhere from the click of a button. 

This is an example of an online website in which audiences can catch up with missed TV programs they can watch it anytime and anywhere from a mobile phone or a computer. 

Newspapers in the Online Age

Section B of our exam is based under the title 'Media in the Online Age'. we must include emphasis on the historical, contemporary and the future of media forms. 


The Guardian: Case Study Example
- In 1995 the Guardian did not have a website or any sort of web presence but were starting to think that they should and it could also be a way in which will make them more money. 
- Their main business was print media. They would circulate about £400,000 daily.
- There was a large one way communication from a large media institution to a mass audience.


Today, The Guardian does not just offer print media, it offers a large range of different media platforms to its audience, with a few examples being print, video, blogs and social networking.


2011
The Guardian Website:
- 36 million unique users per month
- It is number 1 in the world for user interaction


New Media: Blogging
This was a new phenomena for journalists as they traditionally had a one way relationship with readers, but blogging meant that audiences could give feedback and comment their opinions. 


An example of a live blog is on the Sport Blog of The Guardian Newspaper. 

Martin Johnson resigns as England manager – as it happened.

His blog gave updates from minute to minute and people were updating comments sharing their opinions about the story. 

Podcasting is another new media. This is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. 

Use of social media: 

Articles, etc. have links to all major social networking sites to encourage quick sharing. 

Here is an example:

Here, it shows the share box, this is where articles can be transferred to many different social networking sites making it highly accessible to many users.

User Interaction

The Guardian are inviting user comments and interaction in order to reach and engage with an audience. 

The Guardian have particularly dedicated and regular users of their specialized pages. e.g. The culture page which users visit regularly, they are more regular contributors and they can talk to each other. 

User interaction could be the reason to why website hits are going up and newspaper circulation figures are gradually declining. People like the idea that they can put forward their opinions and can talk to other users and this is a major institution in media which can increase in size. 

The future of Media?

- All journalists to have devices such as mobile phone cameras which can take and send videos to a weblink which they can access within minutes of uploading at the Guardian office.

- Guardian Smartphone App has moved to monthly subscription from a one off payment. This could lead to more subscription services and more incentives for people to download this app. It also considers what they are doing and what they could be doing to make their products and services 'better than free' as Kevin Kelly would put it. 

- More convergence with other media/media services?

Clay Shirkey would suggest that this is what is happening. For example, different media coming closer together. 

How do people in the UK use online sources to search for holidays?

The Internet is commonly used for communicating with friends and family, playing games or interacting with others. However, there has been an increase in the number of holidays that are being booked online. This could be due to the fact that many people don’t have the time to go out to a travel agent, or simply because they can look around and find better deals on the web.

Statistics show that women are the main people that are the ones booking family holidays online. Therefore, this is very important to market researchers as they need to be able to target this section of the population. Therefore many online travel websites and adverts on the TV show many deals coming up to school holidays. This could be as it will attract more women to their sites and make them want too book a holiday as their children would be off school and it is the perfect time for them to go away.

It is also proven that it is the majority of older people who stay offline and tend to book their holidays through a travel agent. This could be because they haven’t grown up with the technology we have today such as computers and the Internet. Therefore, it is women in the age categories of 20-35 who are booking holidays online more commonly.

Many travel websites have Facebook and Twitter pages and so they can be followed or liked by large audiences and this also draws the viewers attention to their sites and encourages them to look around and find deals. Social networking sites are a good way of increasing the target audience and it gives them a broader range of ages who can be attracted to their deals and offers. 

Analyse Shirkys Theory of Media Development and Audience Transformation

The importance of technology today is that it is has a big impact in the media and in everyone’s day to day life’s.  Media is social and worldwide and therefore people can take it for granted. Every medium is right next door to every other medium, meaning that everything updated or posted online is just a small part of everything else that is online worldwide and it is all part of a big institution.

Near enough everyone in the world has access to a smartphone or computer and therefore audiences can now be producers and not just consumers. For example, from a click of a button a phone can also become a radio or a web page can be opened.

The transformation of audiences today is that they have become or have the chance to be citizen reporters, where the audience becomes a ‘reporter’ and can report events as and when they are happening. For example the earthquake in China was reported on Twitter by a citizen before the BBC had the chance to post anything online. The government learnt about the earthquake and heard and saw exactly what was happening through videos and pictures which were posted online by a citizen, who was in the middle of the event. Within a day, donation sites were set up and people were instantly donating money. This is a major impact which shows how Michael Wesch’s 2.0 theory has changed the way in which we communicate. However, sometimes when a major event happens, there can be so many people posting online that it is produced at a speed where there is no way to filter it. This could lead to services such as Twitter being shut down due to an overload of information.

Clay Shirky stated that there are four main periods which changed media. The first was print. The second is two way communications which firstly was introduced as text and secondly as voice. The third was recorded media which started as photos, then sound and then music. The fourth was radio and TV.

Current media practices mean that audiences can talk back online and communicate with others in a way that we wasn’t able to do so before. Ideas are not just posted on a social network site, but comments and conversations can take place in a way where anyone can talk to anyone. Opinions are put forward and people are no longer disconnected. Networks have grown to an extent in which they are massive and they just continue to grow.

Barack Obama had a site which was named the Organization for America. This was one of the fastest growing groups and went on to become the largest. There was many opinions posted and put across from the viewing audience and many disagreed with his opinion but they went on to support him as he didn’t just shut them off. He understood them and took note of their ideas and opinions and the audience seemed to go on to also support him and his views.

Michael Wesch Web 2.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLBBD467647B030386
A YouTube link explaining Michael Weschs Theory Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us.

Who is Michael Wesch?

Michael Wesch is an associate professor of cultural anthropology and media ecologist who explores the effects of new media on human interaction, society and culture. He was dubbed “the explainer” by Wired magazine.

What is he famous for?

Wesch is famous for making a short video “Web 2.0... The machine is US/ing us” which was released on YouTube on Jan 31, 2007. It quickly became the most popular video in the blogsphere and has been viewed over 11 million times. His videos have been translated into 15 different languages meaning that this video has spread worldwide. Weschs videos are part of his broader efforts to pursue the possibilities of digital media to extend and transform the way ethnographies are presented.

Wesch has won several major awards for his work, including a Wired magazine Rave award, the John Culkin award for outstanding praxis in media ecology, and he was recently named an emerging explorer by National Geographic. He also won several teaching awards.

What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 is a name given to the internet which explains how the web has been extended and developed into a ‘social web’ where the users are in fact the web.  Therefore it is collaboration on the World Wide Web. Opinions are posted worldwide through blogging and wiki. Websites or web pages can now be easily created as you no longer have to know the HTML codes. The web is now an interactive institution where anyone can participate in commenting on other peoples work and putting across their point of view. The web has been named a collaborative medium, which is a place where we [could] all meet and read and write.

An advantage of Web 2.0 is that it makes everyone’s day to day like easier as near enough everything they need is on a computer which is nowadays widely available to everyone. However, a disadvantage would be that it can be very distracting and we could also end up relying on the internet to much. 




Here is an image showing how Web 2.0 is changing the way in which we communicate:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgresq=web+2.0&um=1&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=766&tbm=isch&tbnid=8TUNUhXWJ67PHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.catehuston.com/blog/2009/10/29/how-web-2-0-is-changing-the-way-we-communicate/&docid=nMadjzMNiJ2

How has it impacted on how we relate to others?

Web 2.0 has impacted majorly on the way in which we relate to others. Many people now use the web to communicate with friends and family through social networking sites, and pictures and videos can be uploaded to show others about their life and what they have been up to.

Now that smart phones have such a major impact in everyone’s day to day lifes, email is now commonly used instead of a phone call or text message as it is a cheaper and more convenient way of communication. 

Why is this significant for media studies?

This is significant for media studies as it shows us how media institutions can change rapidly over a short period of time. It also shows us that we need to keep up to date in the way in which media is moving forward and we need to keep people interested and involved within the certain media platforms.

How has Web2.0 impacted on a media institution or media form of your choice?

Web 2.0 has had a major impact on newspapers. People can now view newspapers online for free in a more convenient way. Smart phones also offer apps in which can be downloaded which are updated daily for people to read the paper when and where ever they want.

Newspapers have not yet started to shut down in large numbers, but it is only a matter of time. Jobs are already disappearing for those working in the newspaper industry and according to the Newspaper Association of America , the number of people employed in the industry fell by 18% between 1990 and 2004. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a day. The worldwide recession of 2008, combined with the rapid growth of web-based alternatives, caused a serious decline in advertising.

Many newspaper companies are also trying to attract younger readers by shifting the mix of their stories towards entertainment, lifestyle and subjects that may seem more relevant to people's daily lives than international affairs and politics. This is a way in which they are encouraging people to still purchase newspapers as they are worried that the newspaper industry will one day die out. 

Apple is a 'digital vampire', says Pete Townshend

I find this article from the guardian very interesting as Pete Townshend is explaining how he thinks that illegal downloading is  wrong and that if someone thinks that they can download something in which he created for free then it is against human morality and social justice. He stated that iTunes is a 'fantastic piece of software' but only offered distribution to the singers and bands whos work it sold. He claimed that he dont think it is fair that the majority of artists are not being supported by this company. He did however say how he thought that Steven Jobs was one of the 'coolest guys on the planet' but in an interview in the past he claimed that he 'wanted to cut his balls off' as he didnt agree to his work ethic and how he went about it. 

Townshend made a very fair point by saying that the people who download his music for free, may aswell steal his sons bike whilst they are at it. This point is making his frustration clear that people are commiting acts against the law, but are in fact getting away with it. 

He wants this to change and put forward ideas in which could improve Apple as a company. One example is the idea of a place on iTunes where artists could share their music like a radio station. This is a way in which other artists could be supported and helped with marketing, copyright and distribution.

We Media

We media looks at how audiences are shaping the future of news and information. We are at the beginning of the golden age of journalism but it is not journalism how we know it. The future of media is predicted that by 2021, citizens will produce 50% of the news peer to peer . However, mainstream news media have yet to meaningfully adopt or experiment with these new forms. 

We media is the convergence of the audiences wants, desires and need to engage intersecting with media, technology, information and the I want it now mentality.

The world is moving in the direction where the audience is determining the information agenda and participation is changing the habits of how, when, where and why information is obtained, sent, and consumed.