New Media is the Truth!

New Media gives consumers so much more control! We control what information we experience AND how we experience that information. Some forms of new media are podcasting, weblogs, streamming and more.

Podcasting is a method of distributing audio and video files over the Internet using RSS, or “really simple syndication” feeds. With them, consumers can choose a feed, and choose when and where they want to watch or listen to a program. The audio or video files are delivered to the consumer’s computer, where they can be played directly. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, “Podcasting takes its name from Apple's popular IPod line of products, but it isn't limited only to IPod owners and listeners” (Entrepreneur, ¶ 1). What makes a podcast different from other types of new media on the internet is that folks can solicit subscriptions from listeners, so that when new podcasts are created, it can automatically be sent, or fed, to the consumer’s computer or mobile device. Podcasts are designed for audiences who want to hear or view their content at the time they choose to, not the time a media company chooses for them to. According to Phil Wilson, of the Association for Downloadable Media, podcasts are a good way to reach traditionally “unreachable” consumers.

Weblogs, also called blogs, are simply personal websites that use a dated log format. Authors Cameron, Wilcox, Reber and Shin (2008), describe them as “an online diary or personal log of thoughts published on a web page” (p. 285). A weblog is exactly what it sounds like: a log that is published to the Web. The log entries are usually informal, short, posted daily. Weblogs are very, very popular, and very commonplace. They are no longer just for programmer nerds, either! A weblog authors can be anyone from a Stanford law professor, to a stay at home mom. Who is reading weblogs? It was once assumed that only young people were the ones perusing them 24 hours a day, but that is actually not the case at all. Most folks who read blogs are male, and over 30! Blog audiences are consumers looking for news/gossip/information that they can not find elsewhere.

Streaming is another very popular media technology. It is the delivery of media content over the Internet using data compression. This process allows the user to start playing the media as it downloads. Streamed content is for consumers who want to view or listen to content in real time, via their computer. For example, someone in California, sitting at their desk at work, can listen to a radio show airing in Milwaukee, via streamed audio over their computer! Radio stations and television stations have been able to share their shows with consumers all over the world via their streamed broadcast. Traditional signals no longer limit who can hear or see what is being broadcast.

Finally, social media also is a huge component of new media. It consists of channels set up to form online communities. Social media, in layman’s terms, is simply various forms of user generated content and the collection of websites and applications that enables people to interact and share information online. It allows “users to communicate and spread information widely and instantly” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 332). Social media is for consumers and/or businesses looking to interact or “talk” to each other via the Internet.

Media Technology and Communication

Technology has had a tremendous impact on media today. Working in broadcast media for well over a decade, I’ve watched how “new media” has emerged, and changed forever the way consumers and the media interact with each other. New media is interactive and Internet driven. With it, companies and consumers can communicate quickly and easily through cell phones, computers and more! According to author Sarah Trenholm, these new forms of media have “not only changed what information we experience,” but they’ve also changed “how we experience that information” (2008, p. 332).

Sarah states that there are six characteristics that will distinguish new media technologies. One characteristic is that they “employ digital technology” (p. 337). A second characteristic is they make it easy to combine many different kinds of information in a single format. A third is “time and space will no longer act as barriers” to information consumers want (p. 336). A fourth characteristic is media consumers can communicate anytime, anywhere. Fifth, new media allow greater levels of interactivity than ever before. Finally, the sixth characteristic of new media technologies is “consumers have more choose over what they see and hear, because media gatekeepers no longer have as much control over media content” (p. 337). Some of these new media platforms that media companies and consumers are interacting through include podcasts, weblogs, streaming, and more!

Communication Gone Wrong!

I think we can all agree that Twitter is a pretty interesting form of communication when used properly. However, people really need to realize that some things are best left untweeted! Blogger Joe Long wrote about this after running across some unbelievably questionable tweets. Below is a snippet from his blog. You can read Joe's entire post at http://blog.networksolutions.com/2009/5-stories-twittering-gone-bad/. Twitter allows others to stay connected to us, and follow what we do throughout the day. But just because we CAN tweet exactly what we're doing, doesn't necessarily mean we should!

When tweeting goes very wrong…

Twitter + Child’s Funeral = Bad Idea: Back in September, a Rocky Mountain News reporter, Berny Morson, used Twitter to provide live event coverage of a child’s funeral. (Example tweet: “coffin lowered into ground“) Needless to say, it did not go over so well. Part of the problem was that it’s hard to convey solemnity, especially in real-time, using 140 characters (or less) of text. Another problem is that funerals generally don’t get a play-by-play treatment, especially when done in a style more suited to, say, a basketball game. Lastly, even in a best-case scenario of respect, solemnity, dignity, and respecting the privacy of the grieving family, I can’t really find any value in the real-time tweeting a funeral.

Communication is power!

Most of today’s influential people reached their level of success by their ability to influence and to persuade, two skills of communication. Ghandi, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Barack Obama are examples of those who, through their natural ability to communicate, amassed tremendous followings, and moved millions to act. Understanding communication theories and principles like interpersonal communication and organizational communication can make anyone a more responsible communicator and a more desirable employee professionally.

Let's talk about communication...

Communication is defined as, “the transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, etc by the use of symbols, words, pictures, figures, graphs, etc” (Berelson & Steiner, 1964, p. 254). We begin communicating the moment we are born, conveying messages through crying. Thereafter, throughout life, our growth, our progress, and our development depend on forms of communication -- either communicating to or receiving communication from others. Having good communication skills is a powerful tool. Because we live, work and play in complex communication environments, the ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important traits any individual can possess. Most of today’s influential people reached their level of success by their ability to influence and to persuade, two skills of communication. The better the communication skills of an individual, the more successful he or she is likely to be.