Everyday New Media

Where do we use new media?

New media has become incorporated into our everyday lives. Many people would find it challenging to go all day let alone one week without technology. Technology has all the answers. If you’re bored you turn to it, stuck on homework, it’s a great help, even if you want to socialise, you can, online.

I created this diagram/image t show just how much we use technology on a daily basis. We take for granted the fact that technology is so widely available to us.

'When we think about the future, we may reveal more about how we understand the present than make reliable predictions about what will happen. Thinking about the future can be enabling, offering us images and hopes worth working for'. New media is so widely available to us because of the urge we had to own the latest gadget. Curran's 'Power without responsibility (sixth edition) 1998, explains that.

People make predictions about the future; hopes are high and so when creators of technology mange to make something that appeals to people and seem like it will be revolutionary/ a new thing for the future people automatically want it. This is the reason that technology is so wide spread and that it is used every day.

New media/ technology is also portrayed almost as a fashion statement, having the newest phone, loudest headphones, cutest phone case ect. all comes down to peoples’ wants, no jus in term of using the product, but also visually.

Eldridge in 'The mass media, Power in Modern Britain states that 'societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic, I believe that if all technology was taken away from a developed society such as the UK, there would be uproar as well as a moral panic. People wouldn't be able to function normally and would feel they were at a loss.

Kitzenger says, 'The way in which people use the media and incorporate soap opera plots, media stories, or slogans from advertisements into their everyday lives can strengthen rther than weaken (Kitzenger1997: Britain's Media) . Looking at peoples devotion to soap operas on television is a simplistic way of showing just how attached people are to even a simple technology that was created in the early 19 hundreds.

If people attachment to TV soaps are so strong now, peoples attachments to something like the internet in a short 20 years’ time could be 10 times worse.

brazil and india.. fake microsoft

How do less developed countries get online?

The scene is much like any other modern office: an open-plan work space crammed with desks, telephones and computers.
But there's one big difference. The word 'Microsoft' is nowhere in sight.
Instead, computers here now use the Linux operating system. It has many similar functions to Microsoft's Windows - but unlike Windows, it is available for free.
Increasingly, Brazil's government ministries and state-run enterprises are abandoning Windows in favour of 'open-source' or 'free' software, like Linux.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4602325.stm


Countries such as
brazil , russia and  india
are currently behind when it comes to the the inernet and getting online.
People in the UK take the internet for granted as they can surf the web when ever they feel to, people even have access to the internet on their mobile phones. Some people in Brazil have to walk two hour just to get to a point in their country that has a low level signal and a generator for the form of the internet to work. It makes you think, would people in countries such as England and Amercia walk to hours everyday in order to use the internet.

Indian and Brazilian government have chosen to instead of using internet such as 'internet explorer' but instead to use Linux, this should save the countrymoney, enabling them to use the money on something more beneficial.

This chose has benefited these countries greatly, the cost is lower, more people can use it becasue they can afford to, it is described as the countries own resources, it shows that they have some freedowm and don't want to be completely influenced by the technlogy that other countries have  unless it is going to benefit them. The Brazilian's government are spending their money wisely.

People in the Uk take the internet for granted, its alomst as thought they don't realise how far it has got them.
For many a university level education would not have been possible with out the internet, or it would have been alot harder, everone would have to rely on books, and there just arn't enough in a niversity environment to give to everyone.

Game and its Development

How have games changed over the years?


'Game'Definition :
.An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime. A competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules
. An organized athletic program or contestd. A period of competition or challenge

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/game)

Games are one of the oldest forms of entertainment. Dating all the way back to the 19 hundred the basic video game way brought out, the original Super Mario in 1985.

Since then games have changed, becoming more advanced in aim. They have become a lot more technical and require a lot more brain power. A game such as flux for example...

Fluxx is a game that alows you as the player to change the rules, it is one of the most advanced card games. It involves a numerous amount of cards that each have their own purpose.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=fluxx

Cheating:    cheating is possible in the game fluxx just as it is in most other games. A way to cheat in fluxx is, like any other card game, to hide the cards you think will be useful in later in the game orto look at the cards of the person next to you, althoguht this however doesnt always work.

People choose to cheat in games as they feel that they have beaten their opponent even if they havent in a matter of speaking actually won.

Fluzz is a game I have chose to look at as it is not like other games, it is advanced, however not in terms of graphics or annimation but in terms of it outlook and basic overall rules.

Hitchem 1997: Gamers World says '...addicited, youth continue to play'... many people, particuarly young people as they are more easilyinfluenced can get addited to games, especially video games.

(recap lesson) Media Influence

how Digital convergence

Technology; Cameras, Video cameras

Everywhere we go we are being watched, filmed, photographed; from speed and security cameras to home video and personal photographs. Today's world is all about technology that revolves around being recorded.

On something as simple as a phone, you have: a camera, video recorder, voice recorder and video chat. All of which allow you to record yourself and/or others in one way or another.

There is ongoing debate about whether CCTV is a good or bad thing in society. Some argue that it helps keep the streets safe, where as other say it is an invasion of privacy.

I think that although it is uncomfortable knowing that almost everywhere you go you are being viewed or recorded on camera, they have been put in place for good reasons. I do believe that they help to protect people and additionally help catch those doing wrong, breaking the law ect.

Other points:

Above are bullet point lists of positives and negatives I created to clearly show the good and bad points of having CCTV cameras. There are clearly more positives than negatives as CCTV helps to make society a safer place. With the threat of being caught on camera less people are likely to do something against the law as there is always the chance they can be caught and have video evidence held against them.

Books Vs. Electronics

How did books lead present technology and how do they compare t what we have now?


Since the beginning of time mediums as means of mass communications in the media have developed. A medium being anything from newspaper, television, radio ect. The original medium used was the book. Going from the book to electronically run devices is a massive jump.

Books have a clear structure, a beginning, middle and end, is it because the internet is a new advanced way that has no controlled path the lead to its success. 

It makes you wonder what other miracle media will be brought forth in the future, wowing the younger generation of today who will then by that time, be the grandparents of the children of the future.

The kindle vs. the book

Although this video is a little bizzare it has deeper meaning, the book is being phased out, not because it is useless but because something 'better' and electronic has been made. The media advertise the kindle as the a great new invention, especially for loves of book however in my opinion is is also a way for the creator of a basic and over exaggerated invention to get praise and gain money from the public. The book is being pushed out to make way for new electonic devices.

Search Engines

How do search engines work and how have they developed?

I find it so annoying when I'm quickly trying to search up a simple term, word or something of interest and the search engine brings up something completely different, for example typing the word 'mobile information' into Google, you get loats of different electronic devices, I simply asked for a mobile but I now have to myself search through useless and unnecessary information, just to find one web page of what I want.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/search-engine.htm

The link about takes you to a page that fully explains how search engines works and why we use them. This article explains that a search engine such as Google holds millions if not billions of pages, all with their own separate links. When a specific word is entered into the search engine the program is filtered and the site finds and suggests users with the best or most popular pages.
  
Search engine results are mostly based on what the public have entered into the search engine the most, almost like a popularity contest. if a website is often looked for more that another this site will appear high up in the list of search results. Some companies pay the creators of certain search engines so that their website appears first in the selection of websites that has offered to internet browsers.


An example of this can be seen if you type 'homer' into a web search engine such as Google.

Homer is a famous ancient Greek poet; his work had an enormous influence on the history of literature. however when searched under Google images there are 23 images of  'Homer Simpson' a children’s cartoon character before the actual historical 'Homer' from 850BC!

What a time waster. Some people may see it as a small problem, however it can cause a great inconvenience if in a rush and trying to find a piece of information quickly, additionally some may say that it is a great disrespect that a cartoon comes before a influential man that help evolve linguistics.

 When thinking of unreliable search engines, the 'Bing' advert comes to mind:

These adverts comically shows how annoying it is to be looking for a particular thing in a search engine and come up with something else that has no real relation to it. It could be a simple as a similar spelling and you receive on your screen a load of information that you didn’t want. Carew says, in 'Teaching our children' that 'reliable information is key...', 1990, it's true, getting the correct information when using it for academic purposes is very important, so it is 'key' that information is expressed to the public in the best way possible.