Web 2.0- Participation or Hegemony?

Web 2.0- Participation or Hegemony?

• Web 2.0 is a medium that allows audiences to become producers of media texts

• Blogs allow audiences can use to produce, and share, their own work.

• We no longer have to rely upon professional organisations to act as gatekeepers.

• 'dumbing down' of audiences

The Political: Ian Tomlinson

• One of the best examples of the 'political' impact of amateur video posted on the web was the death of Ian Tomlinson 

• The reality is that Twitter is an information-distribution network, not that different from the telephone or email or text messaging, except that it is real-time and massively distributed

• The internet has given the people a potentially powerful tool to communicate with each other, and so to challenge their rulers

• In their research into YouTube, Jean Burgess and Joshua Green (2009) found that 42% of the sample they analysed comprised of extracts from ‘traditional media’; and most of those had been uploaded by ‘users’

•  the clips were uploaded by fans rather than the traditional media companies themselves.

• Tube allows users to create their own ‘channels’

• What appears to be happening is that YouTube is now used more frequently as a commercial network for promotional and catch-up purposes

Co-opting the amateur

• Youtubers may create entertaining forms of media but they wouldn't be given the same status as celebrities created by traditional media

THE TRIVIAL: ZOO VISITS AND LAUGHING BABIES

Graeme Turner (2004) argues:

Even when ordinary people become celebrities through their own creative efforts, there is no necessary transfer of media power: they remain within the system of celebrity native to, and controlled by, the mass media. (Burgess and Green 2009: 23)

  Who’s got the power?

•  The audience – no longer have to rely upon the token ‘access’ traditional media offered us, such as newspapers
• Audiences can now easily produce texts themselves

Question

Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are audiences empowered by these development

New and digital media has evolved drastically over the past decade, which has enabled many platforms for people to express their views. These people are now both powerful and ordinary people. Examples of these different platforms are Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. I will be focusing on the extent audience have been empowered due to these developments.

One of the greatest benefits of the developments to new and digital media is the level playing field being introduced in society. This is because in the past it was usually the wealthy and more powerful people who's voice mainly counted. However, due to social networking and blogs being extremely popular has empowered ordinary people who wouldn't usually be heard in the past. Many examples of these changes is the rise in UGC. This allows ordinary people to tell their news story which they have found. This is more empowering to them as gatekeepers are now less reliant on. Therefore, mediated texts to manipulate viewers are far less. 

Secondly, new and digital media now has a huge impact on politics. In the 2012 US election both Obama and Mitt Romney made it their priority to get social media users attention by creating blogs and twitter pages. They now understand that they need to keep up with technology in order to keep peoples attention in society. Blogs also now allow people to express their views without any fear. It isn't just well educated journalists who produce texts for audiences today. Anyone with a computer and internet now has the ability to reach out to the world and express their views. This is the power audiences have now gained from the development on technology. 

Virtual Revolution Notes

Virtual Revolution Notes

• Paypal founder: Peter Thiel, 1990's- 'New world currency'
• Paypal allows ordinary people to transfer money
• Facebook- 350 million users, equivalent to 3rd greatest population if it was a country

Negatives

• Islamist use it to give out messages 
• Through propaganda 
• 'web acts as a virtual portable homeland
• web allows them to live in their own world
• cyber balkanization- reinforce their extremist
• web can be devisive 

Estonia 2007

• Most wired country in Europe
• Cyber attack to bring down Estonia institutions 
• Cyber warriors bombard networks with requests (Denial of Service)
• Banks, businesses and governments webs were shut down
• cyber war- no one knows who's attacking
• Person responsible claims it was 'Cyber Self-defense'
• Ross Anderson- 'Its a danger as we become more connected'

1/4 of planet connected

• Stephen Fry: Social Networking could help bring down a regime
• Web: 'Incredible opportunity & Incredible Responsibility'

Weekly Media News Story: 7

Phillip Schofield to continue This Morning after list mistake

After his list blunder This Morning got legal complaints from Lord Alpine.

However, The ITV directors decided to stick with their long serving presenter.

I believe this was the right choice because of they decided to fire him it would've brought a lot of negative publicity to the show. This emphasises the importance of being professional throughout a whole show on tv because the smallest mistake could be very costly.

Newsnight Scandal

Newsnight Scandal Summary

• The newsnight scandal has to be one of the biggest scandals of the past decade.
• It began when Newsnight had enough evidence to break the Jimmy Saville incident but had a slot to have a tribute act for him
• This was very controversial as they decided to opt out of revealing anything as they believed that their reputation would be damaged. 
• With Newsnight already being in a bad state they decided to do the foolish thing to accuse Lord Alpine of child abuse, using tweets as evidence.
• These accusations were obviously wrong and has had a drastic effect on Newsnights programme
• It is now being considered as to whether the show should be cancelled or not.  

Letter to Rupert Murdoch

Letter to Rupert Murdoch 

Dear Mr Murdoch 

As you may be aware of, technology is constantly changing and this has lead to consumers being able to consume their news regularly for free on the net. This is due to many platforms of news being made available due to the rise of digital media. It has come to my attention that you are considering charging for your online content, which is what I will be discussing throughout this letter.

From my understanding I believe that you once said, "The world is changing and newspapers have to adapt". I don't agree that by charging for your online content isn't the right way of adapting because it will only decrease the demand for your services. The Internet has now become a place where users are given the ability to experience news through many ways for free. These include news sites, twitter    feeds and podcasts. The you shouldn't charge for news as I believe it takes away the little power users now have in media. Also, users have now become so used to having free news online that you would only be losing your existing customers to your competitors. 

As you said newspapers should adapt and I believe a way of adapting by developing a very innovative and unique source of news which would be worth paying for. I know it's easier said than done but at least your customers would feel they are getting value for their money. Also, as you own a billion dollar conglomerate, by charging for news wouldn't have a massive impact on the revenue you are already making.

By having a paid subscription for your content would just be a way o big institutions colonising the net and would just put off audiences from subscribing and eventually just lead to to other free news outlets online.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you take into considerations of the implications of charging for the online news.

Yours sincerely

Ahmed 

Weekly Media News Story: 6

Lord Alpine Wrongly Accused of  Pedophilia on Twitter

• Twitter was full of tweets of people claiming that Lord Alpine was a child abuser without any adequate evidence 
• and now action is being considered against a "very long list" of Twitter users who wrongly named the former Tory politician, thought to include comedian Alan Davies and the Commons Speaker's wife Sally Bercow.