Wednesday, May 28, 2014

New Media

   


 Media has become an important asset in our daily lives. Everyone from your grandmother to the youngest member of your family is now involved with media in some shape or form. The greatest thing about our technological advancements is that now we can have any information at the snap of our fingers.

 New media platforms are used by a source of news these days. Everyone in the field of media is utilizing social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube. Traditional News stations use many different platforms to connect with their audience. Twitter is utilized to keep the audience up to date with immediate coverage of on going stories. Instagram can be used to show the "behind the scenes" shots to intrigue the everyday Joe. Facebook is more of a "comfort zone"...I say this because Facebook is not only filled with the tech savvy type, but it covers a wide variety of people. Even people not familiar with social media. On Facebook, people can see and get to know the people bringing their news. Also the audience can be kept up to date with immediate coverage. Now when it comes to advertising...new media is a dream. Just the thought to possibly reach millions of people all over the world just with one ad, seemed fiction not to long ago. Now this is a reality. Ad's can be placed just about anywhere. The best place you'd think to put an ad is a place that is most visited. Yes, big cities are great but how much money do you actually spend to get possibly a couple million to see your ad? For example let's use one of the busiest places in the world.... Times Square, New York City, New York. The cheapest billboard on the building hosting the "New Year's Ball" is $1.1 million a year, and your ad will probably be seen by more than 100 million people. Expensive right? Well according to Facebook's advertising page there are over a billion people on the website. So in theory it is possible to reach the same amount of people as in Times Square for a fraction of the cost. Also, Times Square isn't able to be visited just by a click.  The web is so accessible it has made some advertising companies not even mess with traditional advertising anymore.  New media as also has been incredibly helpful and incredibly hurtful when it comes to public relations. Many people have lost their job due to their actions over social media, but social media has also offered the opportunity of personal issues to be dealt with. Now it is possible to send a negative review through twitter or Facebook and get a personal response apologizing from the company or the restaurant. Also media has such a wide audience, now companies can address a public issue on their social media pages, and it be seen by more people than traditional ways. One of the greatest things about media now is the personal factor. Now it possible to have direct contact with your idol via Twitter. In the olden times a few years ago you would have to set up an interview with a person's agent or something, but now it is possible to have contact with that individual just with the push of a button. This opens the door for fan's and notoriety. Some people have strictly relied on media to reach their goals in life, and succeeded. Like I said, our technology has not only elevated what we are capable of doing, but it has also elevated who we can do it with. Now some people do not even have to go to an office and work, because of what they can do with their smartphone or just the Internet in general. Broadcasting professionals can connect so well with their target market just through the following of social media, it is fascinating.

 Now understanding how new media controls are future you will need to know a few terms. First lets start with a common term today... Web 2.0... Web 2.0 is a term referring to web based communities and  hosted services, for example social media sites as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, also it refers to  blogs or other communities online. So what is a blog? A blog is similar to an online diary.  Now I'm sure you have heard of the website Wikipedia. Now Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, but lets take the first part of that and understand what "Wiki" means...wiki refers to a collaboration of different authors on a webpage.  This is how most websites function. I have referred to the term "social media" already so what is? Social media is different types of media that allow people to interact with one another. So how are you going to keep the number of views your ad has on the Internet? CPM, or Cost Per Thousand impressions. This is a formula used to understand how much it will cost to reach 1,000 impressions. PPC is another term very simlar to CPM but PPC means Pay Per Click..  this is what you'd want if you were running an ad. Every time your ad may be clicked.. you will receive a payment. Cool huh? Since we are talking about social media, lets break down some common terms. On twitter a trending topic would be started by using a hashtag (#) then your topic.  This is an amazing tool to connect with other around the world with the same interest as you. For example #NHL15bergeron currently is a top trending topic saying Patrice Bergeron deserves the NHL15 game cover. If you follow the link you will see something unique... companies actually using this hash tag to advertise their product. Mention's is another term from twitter, it basically mean's people are engaging you.  Direct message, well that’s pretty self explanatory, but it means someone sends you a private message. Facebook has a few different terms like wall post for example. A wall post is a post that someone sends to you, but everyone can see it, it is not private. Now you're probably wondering what a "wall" is..well one Facebook your wall is what everyone see's when they venture on to your profile. It includes status updates photo's other post from friends, new interactions and even your bio.

   What is something everyone need's in life?.... besides toilet paper.... that’s right! Tools! Tools are what make our life easier, and with advancements in technology we might just need to tools to know how fulfill our dream online. There are many different Website or app's to aid us in our day-to-day life. So lets start with one that will keep your creative juices flowing. Pinterest. Pinterest is an app and a website which is fully digital billboard. Different articles, recipes, DIY projects and many more different varieties of things. Pinterest can give you information, Help build your reputation and even help bring out your inner artist. Objects are pinned for later and are able to be categorized by your choosing. Yes...this site is made for you! One of the coolest things about Pinterest is that it is all possible to share over social media. So say you got a new workout plan you want to share with the guys, it is all possible at the click of a button. Another great tool is Storify, what Storify is...is a curation tool which allows you to bundle social media content. So say you just watched game 3 of the Western Conference finals in the 2014 Stanley cup finals. You can Live tweet and interact with millions then later go back and make a virtual scrapbook, but not only of your words.... anyone’s words! This is an amazing tool to have especially if you are a student needing to gather information in a hurry. The Next program I’d like to talk about is Linkedin. LinkedIn is a professional social media connection app. What it does is connect people on a professional level. Believe it or not, LinkedIn can be an amazing asset to your job search. Let’s say you are working on a documentary, and you find a person through social media. Later you can add this person and get their connections with that person's connections. So basically what you are doing is adding stepping-stones to your career, which who doesn't want that? Zanran is another great tool, what Zanran is..Is a search engine for statistic's and data. This is great for anyone who needs that information, like advertising agencies and student's. Zanran does not focus on the text but actually finds numerical data such as statistics or graphs. Shazam is another amazing tool we have. What Shazam is... is a program that listens to a piece of music you provided and it will tell you the artist and name of the song. Now I know we have all had that moment when we hear a song on the radio and love it but the Dj never tells you what it is. With Shazam that problem is no more. Now updating your music library will be painless. But it doesn't only focus on music, it now can understand TV and tell you the show name! So now your surroundings can be identified just at the hold of a button.

   We live in a fast evolving society. Technology is growing and growing more rapidly by the hour. Now we surround ourselves with media, but it has its pro's and con's. Some of the Pro's are that our knowledge can increase incredibly fast; life experiences can be shared with people all over the globe. We can connect as a human race, no matter our location. The fear to find food, is not longer a big deal because of the accessibly we have due to our new media. Now I'm not saying this is true everywhere in the world but for the majority it is true. But like any great thing there are negative sides to this. The biggest fear that strikes me is..are we investing too much? Now most of our lives revolve around media, the constant fear of not knowing what is going on at that exact moment strikes deep in most people. Do we even remember of a time when people did not learn about certain big events until days or even weeks later? Think about World War 2... Newspapers were primarily our source of information, and print is not immediate. Another huge con is the loss of retained knowledge. Yes, there is a positive side to having all the information you could want instantly, but how much do you actually take in and remember? I looked it up in an instant so what’s not saying I’ll forget it in an instant. Now through the advancements in technology like Google and the Internet, why remember it if i just can Google it again? I mean it is that easy right? But what shall we do when technology fails us? What will we do when the Internet does not exist? There is a lot more people that have no clue on how the Internet works than people that do...So personally that'd be a great skill to learn, cause if the Internet goes down... I could restart my own brand of Internet and make unbelievable amounts of money. Social media is a pivotal part in our current world. The chances of getting job are much higher, and some jobs only consist of monitoring social media. It is truly incredible what we have accomplished in the last few decades, like I said..." Something that seemed Science Fiction" but it is all a reality now in the year 2014. What will happen next? I mean people are already able to connect with others across the globe as if they were in the same room. Maybe the Holographic image? An idea that has been toyed with for years.. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it already exists. Rapper 2 Pac Shakur was reincarnated at the live music festival "Coachella" in the year 2012. Yeah, that’s right 2 years ago. Real life 3D image acting just as the Rapper/Actor would of performed. And this is how it works. New media is important because it is actually our future. With a new day comes new advancements, and in our modern times.... we sculpt our lives around new media.

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