New Media Unaviodable?

Even those who decided to not take up work in the new media field would soon realize just how important an understanding of new media is. New media is the future! It is evident that everyone is getting on the new media band wagon. As Leong (2011) said new media is a tool that is less expensive and uses smaller machines compared to industrial labour of the past which used big, expensive machinery.  So it is no wonder companies are taking advantage of new media and its efficent and convenient ways.

It may even be the case as we learnt in our last tutorial that in the future a job interview might well be conducted online using Skype. A more extreme example of the internet being used as the future of jobs comes from Zittrain (2009). He talks about the internet as a way of finding employees from all over the world. Zittrain's example of using a website to find the perfect person to create the cover of his book highlights how influential and respected the internet is becoming as a tool for work.

New media is the future and one that most will not be able to escape in the workplace.

                                                    

Cyber people

(Source:http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://pronetusa.com/SEO-Website-Marketing-Business-Internet-Promotion-Online-Advertising/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Fotolia_)

Reference List:

 Leong. Susan(2011)‘KCB206 New Media: Internet the Self and Beyond: Week 7 lecture notes.” Accessed May 2^nd 2011 http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

Zittrain. Jonathan (2009) “Minds for sale.” Podcast (Lecture, November 16^th). Accessed April 29^th 2011 http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_74007_1%26url%3D

A HEALTHY DOSE OF CYBERCHONDRIACS

The internet is a great source of information, if you’re looking for something you will find it on the internet.  In fact today we can so easily gain information through the internet on health and well being. Information that usually we would only get from a certified medical practitioner. We no longer need a doctor to answer our medical questions. As fellow student Wanda (2011) stated ‘new media is integrating itself into our lives... in the form of medical information.’ The danger with this however is what some are calling a cyberchondriac. Cyberchondriacs are the hypochondriacs of the internet age. They are people who obsessively hunt for information about their health using the internet (Lewis, 2006, p.525). The problem is the information on the internet is not always reliable (Lewis, 2006, p. 526). The internet has no gatekeeper and no regulatory body.  Thus, these cyberchondriacs might be feed a misdiagnosis.

                                                       (Online doctor)

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/o/online_doctor.asp

However, even certified, credible doctors can get it wrong sometimes. The readings this week reminded me about my friends recent visit to the doctors where his doctor ‘googled’ his symptoms!!  It seems like everyone is going to the internet to educate themselves, even those you think wouldn’t need to.

Reference List

Wanda (2011)‘Online Doctors’. Right Now Media, 10^th of April. Accessed on the 11^th of April 2011. http://rightnowmedia.blogspot.com/

Lewis (2006) ‘Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchodria.’ Media, Culture & Society. Sage Publishing. Accessed on the 9^th of April 2011. http://mcs.sagepub.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/content/28/4/521.full.pdf+html

Media is today's culture

This week’s readings focused on the idea that media, particularly new media, has become part of today’s culture. Deuze (2011) argues that media is so ubiquitous that it’s invisible. As fellow student Sarah (2011) said media is like an ocean and we have jumped straight in. Bell (2006) explores this idea with a case study on mobile phones in Asia. How they are used from more than just communicating but can also say a lot about where you sit on the social ladder.

What I took from both articles is that people by nature love to communicate with each other. They feel the need to share their identity and personality.  Today people do this through social networking sites and blogs and they can even personalize their mobile phones. I think this has always been the case as in the past people used talk back radio and letters to the editor to share their thoughts, opinion and lives with a mass audience. New media just allows us to share ourselves on multiple platforms, ones that are easier and more convenient than ever. So yes I think the media has become part of our culture but I think the need to connect, brand and narrate ourselves is inherent in each individual.  

References

Bell, Genevieve. 2006. ‘The Age of Thumb: A Cultural Reading of Mobile Technologies from Asia.” Knowledge, Technology, Policy  Vol 19. pp. 41-57

Deuze, Mark. 2011. ‘Media Life.”  Media, Culture & Society. Sage Publishing. pp 137- 147

Sarah 2011. “Just keep swimming”. New Media a six part saga. Accessed on the 4^th of March 2011 on http://sarahsnewmediablog.blogspot.com/

Internet = Freedom of Speech?

The notion that new media propels democracy as discussed in ‘The Political Power of Social Media’ by Clay Shriky (2011) is definitely a statement I agree with. New medias such as the internet more specifically social -networking sites have given people a platform to express themselves and practice the all important democratic right of 'Freedom of speech’ and of 'Freedom of ideas'. As outlined in Jai‘s blog ‘New Media Native’ (2011), governments are losing power as people are using new media to bring about change. As Shriky (2011) points out the United States of America have promoted internet freedom however, many have speculated the U.S.A are responsible for attempting to bring down WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in order to stop the website from releasing more classified documents over the internet (Clayton 2010). Is it unethical for a democratic government to not share all information with its people?

                                                             Egyptian Protester 2011

You cannot deny that new media is making the barrier between the people and the government more transparent than ever. Personally, I think this a great thing because all too often people forget that a democratic government is suppose to serve the people; as put by Abraham Lincoln ‘of the people, by the people and for the people (America.gov 2008).  

Reference list

- Clayton, Darnell. ‘Us government going after WikiLeaks.’ Last modified Novemeber 30^th 2010. http://www.blogherald.com/2010/11/30/us-government-going-after-wikileaks/

- Shriky. C. 2011. “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology; the public sphere and political change” Foreign Affairs, Vol 90 Issue 1: p.28-41

-What is democracy? Last modified on 3^rd of May 2008.http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2008/May/20080619223145eaifas0.5311657.html

- Morton, Jai. ‘Power to the People’ Last modified March 26^th 2011. http://jailouisemedia.blogspot.com/

Entertainment & The Internet

Thanks to the internet it is no longer the case that people have to go to the cinemas to see a movie or a music store to find new music. The internet allows for all these things and more to be done online. Even though having everything in one place, such as the internet, is convenient and often free to access at a click of a button, it does, as the Steven Levy reading points out, take the thrill out of such activities.

In my opinion this is very true, as the Levy explains finding, for example, an underground band is so easier to do through the internet that soon enough the band becomes mainstream and thus no longer ‘cool’. As much as I agree with this statement I couldn’t help but to think of how the internet has really fast tracked globalization. With the internet, people can acquire movies, television shows, music, news etc. from the other side of the globe.

This is in my view one of the best things to come out of the internet. It has broken down the barriers of time and space. I can’t deny that I love having the ability to be entertained by something I wouldn’t ordinarily find in Australian mediums. 

References:

Levy, S. (2006). The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 21-41

Singh, M. (2008).  Bollywood's Viral Video in Time International (Canada Edition), Vol. 171, Issue 14 . Available online at: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1713342,00.html

The Glass Bedroom

Along with 500 million people in the world (Facebook, 2011) I am a Facebook user and until this week I have never really thought much in terms of the ‘glass bedroom’, where through social networking sites we can conduct private things in a public space and often have an invisible audience on watch. This week’s readings have prompted me to ask, why are we so comfortable with this arrangement?

In the years that I have had my Facebook account I’ve had a number of 'friend requests from people I have never met. Why would someone add a complete stranger to view their personal information, conversations and thoughts? Perhaps, they use these sites to create new connections OR to appear more impressive by having a lot of ‘friends’ (even though in the real world we wouldn’t be considered friends at all). We all know that sharing too much publicly can come back to bite us. I think it is important to be cautious of what you share and choose your audience wisely.  

I have a number of people that I’m friends with on Facebook but in reality are acquaintances.  I suppose I am comfortable with them viewing my page because I have control on what I put on. I simply don’t display anything I don’t want to share.

References:

Donath, J. and boyd, d. (2004). Public displays of connection.   BT Technology Journal , volume 22 (4): 71-82. 

Facebook (2011)  Facebook: Press Room. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Pearson, E. (2009).     All the World Wide Web's a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks . First Monday, volume 14, Number 3.