unit 3 exam

Tuesday 12 May 2015

New Index

41) Freedom campaigners warn against EU ministers pushing for 2-speed internet - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story.html

42) A digital public space is Britain’s missing national institution - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_6.html

43) Lesbian app Dattch re-brands as HER after raising $1 million - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_19.html

44) Twitter puts trillions of tweets up for sale to data miners - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_20.html

45) Twitter 'could be vital tool in general election' - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_53.html

46) Cash Transfer For Facebook Messenger - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_41.html

47) Apple iTunes And App Stores In Global Crash - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_7.html

48) Microsoft To Ditch Internet Explorer Brand - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ndm-story_32.html

49) Tinder hits back at research claiming 42% of its users have partners - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/ndm-story.html

50) Google admits mistakes with news outlets as it announces new partnership - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/google-admits-mistakes-with-news.html

51) Verizon to buy AOL in $4.4bn deal - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/ndm-story_12.html

52) Google shuts off Map Maker after urinating robot ruins it for everybody - http://v-sahota.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/ndm-story_86.html

NDM Story

Google shuts off Map Maker after urinating robot ruins it for everybody
Company announces prank has forced it to ‘take a pause’ as it makes changes to how it approves edits made by users

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/12/google-shuts-off-map-maker-urinating-robot-

Google has shut down its Map Maker service after a series of embarrassing oversights allowed vandalism – the most notorious example being an image of a Google Android robot urinating on the Apple logo.

The company said it had been moderating all user-generated edits to try to prevent such pranks, but found it impossible to keep up.

Visitors to the Google site were directed on Monday to a forum post that explained the site would be unavailable for editing until a solution could be found.

NDM Story

Verizon to buy AOL in $4.4bn deal
All-cash deal will give Verizon access to Huffington Post and MovieFone
AOL chief executive: ‘AOL is back … Let’s mobilize’

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/12/verizon-to-buy-aol-44bn-deal

US telecoms giant Verizon announced on Tuesday it is buying AOL in a deal that will see one of the world’s biggest mobile players takeover the one-time king of the internet for $4.4bn.

Verizon, the US’s largest mobile player, said it was making the move to strengthen its position in mobile video and advertising. The all-cash offer will give Verizon access to AOL’s advertising technology and content businesses such as Huffington Post, MovieFone and TechCrunch.

When completed the acquisition will end AOL’s independence six years after the company was split off from media conglomerate Time Warner. The company has long been seen as a takeover target and had previously been rumoured to be in merger talks with Yahoo.

Friday 8 May 2015

NDM story

Google admits mistakes with news outlets as it announces new partnershipThe Digital News Initiative is likely to be seen as an attempt for Google to improve its image after recently being accused of anti-competitive behaviour

Google is to admit to making mistakes in working with news organisations as it announces a new digital partnership with eight European publishers.

The Digital News Initiative is likely to be seen as an attempt by the company to improve its image after being accused of distorting internet search results and acting anti-competitively by European regulators two weeks ago.

The European Union is investigating whether Google has abused its 90% market share in search to illegally promote its other products and services. News is not directly affected by this investigation. However, publishers have complained for years about the impact of Google’s use of their content.

NDM Story

Tinder hits back at research claiming 42% of its users have partnersDating app says it’s not rife with married flirters: ‘simple logic should reveal that it’s essentially impossible for any of these claims to be accurate’

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/08/tinder-hits-back-research-users-partners-married

Dating app Tinder has rejected research that estimated that 42% of its users are either married or in a relationship.

A spokesman told the Guardian that the figures by GlobalWebIndex strongly contradicted its own internal numbers, and criticised the methodology of the survey.

“The results of this tiny, 681 person study in the UK is a totally inaccurate depiction of Tinder’s user base – this firm is making guesses without having any access to real data on our millions of users worldwide,” said the spokesperson.

Section B - Exam practice

The world first heard about the death of Michael Jackson from the online gossip website TMZ.

How has new and digital media change the ways in which information reaches audiences and what are the implications? (48 marks)

In this essay I will be looking at how new and digital media has changed the ways in which audiences receive their news and the effects that the both the audiences and institutions have faced.

One problem that both the large institutions and audiences face is pay walls. Institutions such as the ‘Times’ and ‘The Sun’, are two large news institutions that have pay walls, both institutions have faced problems and have had success. As news institutions have put up pay walls, the number of customers that they had has fallen, as now audiences can access news from other sources, for example other news institutions or social media websites e.g. Twitter. Audiences are now using social media sites such as Twitter as a shorthand to accessing news, Twitter allows the audience to gain all the news they need in one place, and has also allowed large institutions such as 'The Guardian' to post stories. The fact that there are official news institutions posting stories on Twitter validates the stories.

The fact that news can be accessed through so many different platforms and how audiences can almost get news instantly, has changed how we as an audience value news, there is an immediacy for news, audiences want there news to be fast, therefore being able to get news on social media has fulfilled this need. in addition due to the development in new and digital media, audiences can gain access to news faster than they would have done, this is because they can access news on line, this can be done from anywhere as long as the audience have a internet connection. This means that audiences have more and faster access to news, whereas before they would have had to wait for news on TV or read a news paper. This also means that the news may be delayed as the news wouldn't be immediate, unless it was a breaking story, furthermore the news institutions would have focused their news on specific elements e.g. the local area. However now we can get news from all over the world in one place.

There is also a higher percentage of audience members that can provide us with news, e.g. through user generated content. Audiences now have the power to capture video footage of anything that happens and are able to upload it on to the internet, where it then goes viral and audiences get the news they want. This has caused issues for news institution, as the audiences are providing one another with news, which means that the audience receive the news before news institutions are able to show it. This can mean that news institution look for alternative views on stories so that they have something to publish.

The new and digital development has had a huge effect on a range of different aspects, for example feminist. Feminist never had a lot of power before the 21 st century, it was hard for them to open up and share their problems. However forth wave of feminist has allowed them more freedom and has allowed feminist to share problems that they have had and it has created a change. For example the 'Everyday sexism' campaign is an on line page where men and women can share any problems that they have faced due to sexism. This has allowed men and women to stand up and talk about issues that they have. However there are also other negative issues that come along with this, for example as anyone is able to post comments on the page, a lot of anti feminist share rude comments, which can cause the people with problems to become scared and not talk about their problems again. There are also a range of threats that are posted against feminist, which can cause them to become afraid.

The fact that audiences have more power has also changed the way in which they receive and interpret news. Gerbner suggested that messages don't just flow through the audience, and that there is actually another step where audiences can process news and discuss their ideas. This has been put into effect as audience now are questioning news and its values, as they now have the power to question the news and what is being shown through posting comments on line and on social media sites. For example, there is a story that has been published on The Guardian, of the interview between Russel Brand and Ed Miliband. On The Guardian website there are over 1445 comments made by the audience. This shows that audiences are in fact processing the news they gain.

The change in new and digital media has also allowed the audience to gain more power over elite groups e.g. the police. A prime example of this was with the Lee Rigby case, Lee Rigby was passing by when a police officer pushed him to the ground, which then later caused his death. The whole incident was caught on camera by a pedestrian, which was then put up on You Tube, the video later went viral. Due to the video the police officer was sacked from his job, whereas if there was no video evidence then no action would've been taken as they are part of the elite groups. However due to the development in new and digital media the audience/society have more power.

The Marxist view on this would be that the audience still rely on large institutions to get their news and validate what they see, which means that they will always be in power and that they will always be the elite. However the pluralist view would be that the audience have power through the internet as we have more freedom as we can now comment on issues or debates that we do or do not agree on and we can openly say our opinions, which we couldn't do before the developments in new and digital media. Furthermore the news institutions provide the audience with news that we want, which is why the audience stay interested in the news.

Overall I believe that has allowed audiences to get news faster and more conveniently, as they can access it through their smartphones, tablets, and other devices connected to the internet. This allowed audiences to gain more access to news and also have more freedom. Furthermore it has given audiences power to some extent as they have more access to news, and they are able to post comments on issues and debates that they may not agree with, however the internet will always be dominated by the bourgeoisie as they are the elite, and they own the large institutions that are used by the audience.

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Mest 3 - Independent case study

My Independent case study

The basics

My chosen case study is Video games and consoles, and I will be focusing on X-Box one and how it links in with the impact on new and digital media. They use subscriptions to generate a lot of there profits, which initially shows that they put up a pay wall. This is similar to news as news industries now have on-line subscriptions, which means that if the audience want to consume their news, they need to pay a subscription fee. This shows that the news industry is using pay walls to generate higher profits.

X-Box one also generate profits from the on-line content that they have, for example with games like Call of duty and Halo, they on-line map packs and add ones that need to be purchased by the consumer in order for them to use the content. And as gaming has developed over the years, the demand for games and more interactivity is growing thus audiences are willing to pay these fees for more content. ...

Have you received approval for this case study from your teacher?

Yes

Research and answer the following tasks on your MEST3 exam blog:

Audience

1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?

New and digital media changed the audience of my chosen industry as consumers of games and games consoles now want a lot more, for example the ability to play games on the move, whenever and where ever they want. This has been done through the PSP, however the release of the PS3 took a vast amount of PSP users off and brought them back to PS3. However seeing that they amount of people that use the PSP has dropped, they released a new updated, high tec version of the PSP called the PS Vita. This was a portable device that could be connected to a PS3 and PS4, it could be used a console in itself, or as a controller when connected to a Play Station console. It was made to feel similar to a PS4, with a slim sleek look and the aesthetics similar to a PS4 controller.

This shows that the audience are always looking for something new and innovative, and when something new is released the old is almost forgotten. Gaming is going to be taken to a whole new level in the future. Sony has released a new type of gaming experience under the codename 'Project Morpheus' this is a head mounted 360 degree virtual reality device, it will allow users to put the headset on and let them be in the game itself.

2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?

Audiences now want new innovative gaming experiences, with a more realistic feel to the games that they play. Whereas before it was simply about the gaming experience. Now audiences don't just want to play games, they want to be involved in what they do and how they consume media.

3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?

The amount of people that used to play games and the amount of people that play games now has changed drastically over the years, there are approximately half a billion people world wide that play computer and video games.

4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.)

Now with almost everything connected to the internet, users can access almost everything from their consoles, they can watch movies, play games, down load games, watch t.v and so much more.

5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)

The negative changes in new and digital media is that because consoles are connected to the internet and a vast amount of gaming content is on line, there can be a range of problems that occur e.g. having a bad internet connection can ruin a whole game, and there are a lot of hackers that have hacked X Box and Play station, and they can shut down the connection whenever they want, and it had been done many times in the past.

6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media?

The changes in new and digital media mean that the quality of gaming is much higher now, most consoles that are now out on the market are HD (high definition) and the quality of the moving image on the screen is close to perfect. This allows the audiences to gain a higher level of pleasure when gaming.

7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.

Males and females
15 - 35
Middle class

Institution

1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?
2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study?

3) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions produce texts?

The texts that are now produced are different now to how they were produced, as games that are now produced are much more life like. For example GTA 5 heists, the game play is now more realistic in terms of how the game is played. The cars look more real, and the player can now play in first person view.

4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product?

As a vast amount of the population are connected to the internet, and have smart phones, and social media sites such as twitter have a high activity rate. Institutions are using this to their advantage, for example when the new X Box one was going to be released there were images of the console that were shown on line. This allows the audience to see what is being released thus making it more likely for them to purchase the product.

5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry?

New and digital media can be a threat to my chosen industry, as there are now a range of other forms of entertainment that audiences have easy and free access too, for example downloading games on smart phones, furthermore developments in other consoles such as Play Station, are also a huge threat to X Box as they are the two biggest competitors in the gaming industry, and Play Station are always looking for new ways to satisfy their audience. For example PS are now looking to release a visual reality system, a head piece through which the gamer feels as if they are in the game.

6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated?

As games are more realistic the content of the games are more gory (in violent or horror games) thus most games are regulated at 18, which means that it will mostly be an older audience that is purchasing the games.

UGC

1)What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study?

UGC - Giant bomb

- Star Citizen
- Volume
-Shadowrun: Hong KONG

2) How has UGC changed things for audiences or institutions in your chosen case study?

UGC has not had any major impact on my industry, as the games that are made by gamers, or made in general, don't match the standard that games on the PS3/4 or XBox. Therefore UGC hasn't changed a lot in my chosen industry.

Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study?

The Marxist point of view on games could be both negative and positive, as in most video the narrative follows a theme of bring the ruling class down, however in actual fact games and games consoles bring in thousands to millions each and everyday, for example GTA 5 made more than $500 million dollars in its first week of sales worldwide. Thus games and games consoles keep the ruling class powerful, as the revenue from these games go to them. And as games are now becoming more enhanced and appeal to their audience on a higher level due to new and digital media, the revenue from that games that may be being released could be much higher.

2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry?

Capitalist would find that games support the Capitalist views, as in games the narrative is usually that your player must bring the ruling class in the game down. For Example in Need For Speed, you must bring the higher drivers down, and become the best. As the best drivers show the view of the ruling class as they are powerful, and your character showing the role of an ordinary person, Capitalists would agree with video games.

3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study?

There is hegemony in my chosen industry, as gaming itself has power over people. The institution that provide the consoles and games, also have power over their audience as they are giving them what they want, thus controlling what they play and intake.

Globalisation

1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study?

X Box is a console that can be bought worldwide, and through the use of the internet it allows people all over the world to connect and become one.

2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why?

I think that globalisation has had a positive impact on my chosen industry, as it has allowed gamers from all over the world to come together on a platform that they enjoy and understand.

However the fact that people can now stay at home and play games with people across the world or even in their local area, it means that socialization between people will cut down, as they can stay at home and play with their friends, thus there would be no need for them to go out to meet them.

3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world)

Social media

1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products?

Yes, a lot of games and game console producers use social networks to promote their products. For example when a new game or console is released, there will always be trailers that can be found on You Tube. This allows the audience a teaser of what is to come, thus increasing the likely hood of them buying the game or console.

2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences.

Before X Box one was released, they made a Facebook page, With information about the console e.g. the design, new features etc. This was done as a teaser to its audience, as it would give them an idea of what they would be purchasing.

3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study?

I believe that social media is a opportunity for my chosen industry, as it allows the institutions to market their products, and a vast amount of gamers are online, they will see this content. Therefore its an opportunity for the business to almost sell their products to the audience.

Statistics

1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study? For example, in news, the UK newspaper industry sold more than 12m copies a day in 2001 but in 2014 it was below 7m.

PlayStation 4 has surpassed 20.2 million systems sold worldwide, while Microsoft's numbers for the end of last year indicate 10 million Xbox One consoles have shipped to stores.

Xbox (2001) - 24 Million units sold
Xbox 360 (2005) - 84 Million units sold
Xbox one (2013) - 10 Million units sold

Play station (1994) - 102.49 million
PS 2 (2000) - >155 Million units sold
Play Station Portable (2004) - 82 million
PS 3 (2006) - >82.7 million
PS 4 (2013) - 20.2 million

2) What impact have the statistics you have found had on institutions in your chosen industry?
3) What has the impact been for audiences?

Theories

1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media theories and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Note: these can be ANY of the theories we have learned over the whole of Year 12 and 13.

Hypodermic syringe model

Blumber and Katz - Personal identity

Todorov - Equilibrium

Issues/debates

1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media issues/debates and explain how they are relevant to your case study.

Wider examples and secondary texts

1) What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study?