Case Study Research and Ideas

1. Has new and digital media had an impact upon ownership and control of the media institution(s) involved in your case study area?  Explain in detail any impact and what exactly has changed.

New and digital media has had an impact upon ownership and control of the media institutions due to audiences constantly being involved in new technology. By them using Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. This has an impact on ownership and control of media institutions because they are using these sites as a way of making audiences aware of things such as news through the use of Social Networking as they are allowing audiences to have a freedom of speech and voicing their opinions. due to the development of new technology it is influencing the ownership of media institutions because they feel in order to get people interested they have to use new technology such as apps for Iphone and Ipad users.


Social Networking is seen as a Global Village whereby people come together in order to share information with each other allowing them to communicate with each other constantly.


"Alone Together." Turkle


Charlie Brooker- 'People exaggerate their opinions – I know I’m “performing” my reactions if I tweet on something like the Eurovision Song Contest – so what’s developed is the culture of the easily outraged'

http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/883428-charlie-brooker-black-mirror-deals-with-the-mob-rule-mentality-of-twitter

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/06/monday-note-facebook-nerds?INTCMP=SRCH Facebook article- "Speaking of which, in 2011, the company's revenue was $3.7bn, with a tidy $1bn profit and $3.8bn in cash" – to which they'll be adding at least $5bn in the upcoming IPO. This is a nicely profitable company. 

2. What impact has there been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/ texts involved in your case study?  How does it differ from what went before?  Consider (SHEP)

The impact in which there has been in the way audiences now consume Facebook, Twitter, Iphone and Ipad are because they use these products to communicate their opinions to each other. These products are being used to create news stories and get points across to others, this is seen a citizen journalism whereby audiences are now becoming the producers and consumers of news and voicing their own opinions and sharing them with the world. This differs from what went before because audiences didnt have as much freedom in terms of creating and generating stories i nwhich we hear and see through the use of new technology. furthermore the way in which audiences now consume these media products differed from before because technology hasnt been as advanced as it today. This influences how audiences now involve themselves with society due to them finding new ways in which they can communicate with each other and share things so easily with them. 


Sherry Turkle- "The Internet was a post-modern playhouse, allowing individuals to engage in unbridled expression.""The Internet was a post-modern playhouse, allowing individuals to engage in unbridled expression."


Global Village- making it easier to pass messages around, making the world become a single village where people can easily contact eachother.


Mark Zuckerberg: letter to investors- "Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission – to make the world more open and connected." http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/06/monday-note-facebook-nerds?INTCMP=SRCH

"All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values." McLuhan

3. What impact has there been on how the media institution now has to produce the texts and the way in which the texts/ products are distributed and exhibited?  This should involve a detailed textual analysis of at least 3 texts to demonstrate the point.

The impact in which media institutions now have to produce the texts and the way in which texts/ products are distributed and exhibited is that there has been a great impact because they feel they have to produce products in which allow audiences to have the freedom to influence what goes on around us. The first text that I will analyse is Charlie Brooker's small series Black Mirror. This shows how new technology playes a vital role and influences everyday situations, also how it has changed the way in which audiences percieve things. 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-mirror 

Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror looks at new technology in 3 different ways for example the first episode consisted of the Prime Minister and the Royal Princess. The use of Social Networking and how it has an influence in serious situations. The use of Facebook and Twitter played a vital role in this programme becuase they were used in order to spread video's of the Prime Minister and news about him and what he had to do to get the princess back. The second episode consisted of a group of people stuck in a virtual world where they had to be famous for something in order to upgrade to a better lifestyle. They had to create points through sitting on a cycling machine every day in order to earn more points. This shows how New Technology will impact the way we live in the future as people will become these characters stuck in a virtual world rather than reality.

This programme shows how there is an impact on how media institutions have to produce texts in order to show audiences the truth about what could happen in the future as Social Networking and new technology influences the way we think.

The second text that i have analysed is the Social Networking site Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/

This website has an influence on how media institutions produce texts and products because it allows audiences to communicate, share and influence the way in which situations are seen, an example of this was the London Riots. Social Networking influenced the way the problem happened as 'youngsters were using this site in order to create groups informing people to meet up and loot. This has an impact on how media institutions produce texts and products because they have to take into consideration what could happen if something as serious as the Londond Riots were to happen how it would influence people's movements and behavour. This shows how new Technology and Social Working work together in order to influence audiences as they create too many opinions and views. This makes media institutions re-consider how they get things such as news across to audiences in  a way where it doesnt influence them as much as they do.

"Social networks are beginning to have a bigger role in building community and catalysing neighbourhood co-operation and social action."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/community-action-blog/2011/dec/08/facebook-social-media-community-development

Facebook’s Zuckerberg: “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity”- This is doing what he says in terms of using the question "what is on your mind" to allow you to tell others what is on your mind

Research about New technology and the impact on society

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iReY3W9ZkLU&feature=related - This video looks at how the social media including Social Networking have an impact on society

• 700,000 more people will join Facebook.
• its total users in the U.S alone is 127,000,000.
• 65 million users have access to Facebook through their smart phones.
• 300,000 people join twitter sending more than 44,481 tweets per minute and 64 million tweets per day.
• Youtube is the 4th most visited site in the world and 2nd largest search engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs&feature=endscreen

• Facebook has added over 200 million users in less than a year.
• Ipod applications downloads hit 1 billion in 9 months.
• If Facebook were a country it would be the worlds 3rd largest.
• 50% of the mobile internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/02/facebook-100bn-stock-market-flotation -
"Facebook expected to be valued at $100bn in stock market flotation"

Mark Zuckerberg, the site's 27-year-old founder, hopes investors will accept firm will one day be worth 27 times current revenue"

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/55-interesting-social-media-infographics/





4. Is the size of the audience any different now than before the impact of new and digital media (or has the pattern of usage changed)? E.G. consider for the impact of new and digital media on TV broadcasting the change in audience ratings for programmes as a consequence of the deregulation of TV.  (Prior to deregulation audience figures could be 20m+ for Eastenders etc to a situation today where, due to the massive number of channels now available, audiences are vastly reduced and fragmented).


The size of audience is different now than before due to the development in new technology and the amount of usage in which audiences use these products. The way in which the development in new technology has changed is because there is more of a demand for products such as smart phones. This has resulted in audiences using social networking sites more as they have frequent access to these sites, also the use of new technology such as the IPhone and the IPad, are constantly being used because they offer people with apps in which they can use on a day to day basis. 


5.Who are the primary target audience now and has this changed?  Who was it before and how do you know? 


The primary target audience target audience for Facebook are mainly young females and young males between the ages of 18-30, this is because this generation have mainly been brought up around technology and are therefore used to using these sites as an everyday priority. 


http://4.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Facebooks-500-million-infographics.jpg





6. How have the audience responded to the changes?  Is there more customer choice?  Is there evidence of a more pluralistic model?  What evidence do you have to support this?

Audiences have responded to the changes because they tend to use more smartphones such as iPhones. As a result of this Facebook is one of the most viewed sites.http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2012/01/yearbook2011-final.jpg








At the beginning of 2011 it ha 585 users and by the end of 2011 it ha 800+ this shows how audiences have responded to the change in technology. The primary audience for Facebook are people of all ages as Mark Zuckerberg wants all people to join together and communicate using one site. However mainly young people use this Social Networking site because these sites are associated with todays younger generation.

Twitters primary audience doesn't have a specific age group as it is also aimed at all age groups, this is because twitter is a site in which all age groups can use to communicate with each other.

7. What concerns/ considerations are there (if any) for the media institutions involved in your case study as a result of the impact of new and digital media? (e.g. deskilling or multi-skilling of the workforce/ decline in workforce etc)

The media institutions involved in my case study are Facebook, Twitter, Ipad and Iphone. The Concerns that there are, are due to audiences becoming increasingly involved with the way in which they are now part of new and digital media, for example as they have greater access to these services as a result of this media institutions such as Facebook and Twitter have to increase workforce in order to keep up with demands. Furthermore as audiences are becoming more involved with these services and products they are becoming more socially aware of whats going around them in terms of finding out news via these sites through what others have said. This links in with Citizen Journalism where audiences are now taking over the job roles of professional journalists. this is because they are using their phones as a way of spreading the news or creating it at the time of the incident occuring.


http://www.cre8ivecommando.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/infographic-facebook-statistics.jpg

8. What are the political and social implications of the new technologies and the methods of their consumption?  E.g. moral panics etc?

The political and social implications of new technologies is that due to a high demand an an increase in the amount of people that use products such as Iphones, Ipads etc to have access to sites such as Facebook and Twitter, audiences tend to create more problems as they have implications such as people losing their jobs as more citizens are controlling and having an influence in how news is heard or seen. As a result of this institutions that produce these products have to keep up with changing times and have to adapt new technology to fit the needs of audiences, this means more money being spent also creating social barriers between people as they are becoming more anti-social, this is because audience that use Facebook would rather talk to their friend via the internet as it is more convenient and quicker to send someone a message rather that going to talk to them face-to-face. 

However new technology could have a good impact on the implications of social and political media as it has shaped higher education of audiences as predicted, this is because audiences turn to the internet as a way of being educated through other peoples news feeds and would rather join pages. By joining blogs etc and voicing opinions and sharing stories is educating people more as it is said that there will be more online libraries in which people will be able to have access to books wherever they are whenever. http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2011/aug/03/academic-research-digital-online-technology 

9. Consider the effects so far, and possible effects in the future, on media institutions involved in your case study (media production).

The effects of which can influence the future are things such as more development of new technology, and creating more ways in which allow audiences to interact with news and the way they socialize. The effects so far of audiences and new technology is the way in which they have now become the producers as well as being the consumers. The future effects could be that Facebook and Twitter might combine together as audiences seem to use both, they may want to have both sites incorporated into one, this would be an effect because it means that these sites are developing and adapting to the way in which audiences use social networking and how they are increasing the use in new technology. This would have an impact on institutions because it means that there would be more of a decline in newspapers due to the result of more people using products such as the Ipad and Iphone where they can access newspapers via downloading apps on their apple products. Furthermore the growth in technology and institutions such as Social Networking sites as they are changing the way people connect with each other for example audiences are becoming more anti-social, however they are expressing and voicing their opinions more as a result of this they are becoming more spoken in the sense that they feel they can be heard by people more by producing a "status" of Posting on peoples walls on Facebook on how they feel about something. 


There are more moral panics on young people in the sense that they seem to be getting more involved in crime as a result of creating groups via Facebook or posting Tweets. Also moral panics over technology is that audiences have more access to things such as pornography etc, this is because there is so much freedom in the sense that audiences can get themselves involved with institutions so much for example they can interact with the internet more through the use of Smart phones and products such as the Ipad.  


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-565207/Modern-technology-changing-way-brains-work-says-neuroscientist.html This article talks about how technology is changing the way our brains work. The neuroscientist suggests that modern technology is changing our brains as a result of this people are communicating in the sense that there is less face-to-face interaction and more anti-social conversations occurring as a result of using Social Networking. This is an affect for the future as this would become worse due to people communicating through these institutions as its more convenient and easier. she suggested that "our modern brains are also having to adapt to other 21st century intrusions" I believe this is true because audiences are becoming more active in the sense that they are getting involved with technology more, however they are also becoming passive in the sense that they are being controlled by big institutions in the way they are having access to news etc. 

10. What issues may there be regarding media effects and /or regulation/ censorship as a result of changes due to new and digital media?

Some of the issue's that there may be in terms of media effects, regulation and censorship as a result of changes due to new and digital media are that due to censorship Facebook have been censoring images more however they have been censoring images that don't need to be censored. This could be seen as Facebook watching it's users giving it the effect of "Big brother is watching you" due to Facebook's users having too many opinions Facebook are censoring some things that people post this is because there seems to be a rise in 'citizen journalism' or also known as 'Facebook journalism' this gives users the chance to voice more opinions and post stories to everyone. http://socialtimes.com/facebook-censorship-is-big-brother-watching-you_b58970 

However you could also argue that there isn't enough censorship, this is because there is so much freedom, users use this to their advantage because it gives them the opportunity to create groups and pages in which people have an influence in by posting comments and providing other people with posts in which people can get involved with. An example of which this was used in a negative way was during the London Riots. This was negative because young people were using this Social Networking site to their advantage because they were using it as a way of communicating where groups of people were going to be also getting more people involved. This links in to how the media has affects on young people, the reasons for this is because today's generation of youth's have been brought up around technology and haven't expected anything less however they expect more from technology in terms of offering them more options in which allow them to communicate with each other and having more access via their smart phones etc. 

11. Are there any cross-cultural factors and /or effects of globalisation involved in the impact of new technology on your case study?  E.g. the internet has been said to be ‘globalising culture’ through its promotion of the English language.

The cross-cultural factors that impact new technology within  my case study, the texts being Facebook, Twitter and Ipads. An example of an impact would be other Social Networking sites being more appealing than others for example Facebook may have more users than Twitter therefore as a result of this users tend to use both in order to get the best of everything, for example the functions and features in which they all offer. 

Facebook has become global people coming together to share information with each other on a wider scale. The reasons for this are because these Social Networking sites offer people with the chance to voice their opinions, audiences have changed and adapted to this in order to use these features to their advantage, this is because they can provide others with their thoughts allowing them to have more freedom of speech. As a result of this the internet has become a "Global Village" the way in which audiences are communicating and coming together as one in the sense that they are providing each other with information, this is more common now than it has been before due to more technology being developed, enhanced and adapted. 

However the global village is occurring in countries in which are developed, this is because developed countries have the money to keep up with changing times and they way in which technology is a key part of everyone's day to day life. 

12. Consider theoretical perspectives in relation to the impact of new/ digital media in your case study.  E.g. Representation of certain groups as a result of changes, Marxism & Hegemony, Liberal Pluralism, colonialism, audience theories etc.