Looking into media’s crystal ball, what’s in store for the future?

I have been looking at all different types of media over the last 12 weeks, from Twitter to Politics to Second Life, the world is constantly changing with new media on a daily basis.

People’s lives have changed thanks to ‘Media’, we are able to buy new media, which is better, bigger and faster, then ever before, it’s really incredible.

Looking into the future I see media being ‘Mobiles’, we consume so much of our one or even two or three mobile phones. From internet, social networking sites, text messaging, phone calling, games, television, movies and so much more, this is all found on our one mobile device which is being update by different companies yearly e.g. Apple I’ Phone. We are now looking at our mobile phones on an uncountable basis instead of our laptops, putting more effort in uploading apps, writing emails and more of our phone device then our laptop itself.

I think Mobiles will become smaller in size, bigger in gigabytes, keys and touch screens in one with more and more unbelievable features then we have ever seen before!

I also think media will be faster within the future, more and more people will be connected through social networking sites, or online communities people will hear about natural disasters faster, being informed faster and responding faster.

I think the world will follow media wherever it may go, buying the latest crazes and replacing old media with new new media whether its lining up for days for an i-Pad or the latest MP3 people will do what it takes to have the best of the media world. The future will seen media grow within the years to come, I see media expanding through the mobile, which will come apart of everyone’s lives more than it does today!

I want to say thankyou to the people that tuned into my blog every week, I will hopefully see or hear about you in the future of media :) 

How will you live your second life?

When you reach your second life what do you want to come back as? A teacher? A stripper? A crook? A shop owner? A bird or some kind of animal? Well now it’s possible with virtual worlds entering our screens such as Second Life. However is this right or wrong?

Firstly let me explain what Second Life is:

Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab which was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs called Viewers enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another

Second Life is being used by thousands of people, making avatars of what they would want them to look like in their second life, slimmer, taller, choosing their sex, blonde hair instead of red all these things affect people mentally and emotionally as they are now able to be the ‘perfect’ person living their new lives through their avatar.

However as much fun that is brought to these users I still believe there are negative aspects that come out of it, firstly peoples health although it makes people feel better by changing anything about them it can also be very time consuming, pulling people away from their actual lives, secondly there is a privacy issue, people being able to have sexual relationships with other users, buying body parts in order to have sex with another avatar, I believe this is an extremely bad influence on the younger generation, users satisfying themselves through a virtual world I don’t think is correct, that is if its even satisfying in the first place! No one could pay me all the money in the world to take my clothes off so why would people want to be associated with this over a screen, not to mention stealing cars, boats or anything you can basically get your hands on.

I personally would not use Second Life due to the lack of time I have to uni, work and socialising with friends and family through face to face contact, However I do understand peoples reasons why they enjoy being apart of a virtual community as it’s each to their own.

Now …with people making money off Second Life as their actual job in real life I find this hard to believe. Sitting in front of your computer screen selling formal dresses at $2.50 for other avatars, or selling land for avatar users to build houses how can this possibly bring in a decent income than earning $60,000 a year working in a office? Sorry… I am still not convinced!

Second life may sound cool, exciting maybe even the key to peoples negative thoughts on their bodies etc, but I still come to the conclusion that we cannot possibly live our lives happily and truthfully through virtual communities unlike the world we actually live in today.

http://secondlife.com/

'People are not living their lives around mobiles, mobiles are living it around them'

There is no escaping for girlfriends, boyfriends, mums, dads, children or even employer’s with people now living their lives around their mobile phone. Parents are able to find out where their children are on any day at any time, girlfriends are able to track their partners, and there are more interactive games, apps etc then ever before!…but are mobile phones going to become the new dominant screen of the 21^st century? 

I hate to say it but I do believe yes, mobile phones are now apart of our everyday lives, we interact with them on an uncountable basis whether it’s for work or pure pleasure we tend to turn to our mobile phone during needy times.  The mobile phone world has grown so much since I was a child, what ever happened to the Brick? The massive phone with the tiny tiny screen and a HUGE antenna? They never became faulty, would never freeze, and you could drop it as many times as you wanted and it would remain perfectly fine. Now we are faced with choosing out of hundreds of different types of phones, from small to large to touch screen to buttons, to flip-top to slide… we spend so long picking out our new phone its ridiculous!

Yes this is the ugly looking Brick phone

Kids at the age of 5 are now utilising mobile phones, do they even need a phone? Probably not but it’s a great excuse for attached mums to contact them every 5 seconds of the day making sure they are ok, or did they like there lunch or do they want to be picked up or the major question ARE YOU HOME FOR DINNER?... seriously why not just put them on a leash instead?

What ever happened to 5-year-old kids playing with Barbie dolls or eating worms in the back yard?   So yes mobiles are taking over lives whether we like it or not, we are not living our lives around mobiles, mobiles are living it around us!.

With the new craze I-phone 4 people now have access to email, sms, calling, facebook, twitter, heyTEL!, A MILLION applications and many many more which is all compacted into one touch screen phone. People lined up for days camping out the front of Apple stores to be one of the first to purchase this new technology, now I find this a bit extreme as I personally just waited a few weeks later to walk into the store and buy it but each to their own! This phone has changed peoples lives, it have made peoples decision easier when walking into their phone store to chose what their next phone will be!

Peoples phones are now taken everywhere with them even the toilet! People including myself feel quite naked without them and worried when we accidently leave it at home ( I hope that’s just not me :S ) as they are no longer connected to friends and family through sms, facebook etc.  Phones could almost be called someone’s child, baby, or best friend, as its not who we are to not live without them!

This person is defiantly attached to their mobile not to mention using hands free wisely! 

http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2CUS%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ti%2CNone%2C22%29Cheap+Mobile+Phones+To%3AAnd%3AFQE%3D%28pu%2CNone%2C12%29OfficialSpin%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&searchId=R1&currentPosition=1&userGroupName=swinburne1&docId=A239226301&docType=IAC

No way…Politicians using social media?

Politicians using social media for campaigning sounded a bit funny years ago, but today it is a vital tool for getting more people involved, not to mention targeting the younger generation to be more involved with politics and voting.

There are many ways in which a politician can use social media to campaign during elections etc, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flicker, Blogs, Websites are just a few! These have influenced many people to vote for politicians due to their use of social media and connecting to an audience….  And NO I’m not speaking about Pauline Pants Down (Pauline Hanson) little YouTube clip that I saw when I was under the age of 10 made back in the day of Dinosaurs as a mockery of her, I think it made people run away with their tail in between their legs scared! Good try Pauline! 

   

I am not really into politics itself but while elections were carried out I saw a few campaigns by politicians with the use of social media that I always remember even till today.

Kevin 07 Campaign & My-Barack-Obama

These campaigns used social media to their advantage; by using it effectively they were able to pull many voters towards their campaign. 

BARACK OBAMA THE FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA PRESIDENT

http://www.barackobama.com/im-in-splash-2

Barack Obama is the first "Social Media President" in history.  He's the first one to understand and harness the power of sharing and communicating through social media platforms to not only get out his message, but to energize a group of Americans into action.

Barack Obama used mybarackobama.com, Flicker, Obama’s blog, You-Tube (yes we can), Twitter and Facebook to bring towards his campaigning everyday, not only directing it towards his voters but towards generation Y, as they use their social media platforms daily he was able to connect with this generation in understanding the way in which they utilise technology.

All his Tweeting, Face-booking and YouTubing paid off when he was announced Americans first African American President.  

KEVIN 07

Kevin Rudd started ‘Kevin 07’ in 2007 during election campaigning. This was a popular campaign that many people remember and recognise.

After attracting more than 10,000 friends on his MySpace account and almost 5,000 on Facebook, the Labor leader has now launched his own Kevin07 site www.kevin07.com. The Kevin Rudd website encourages people to send in their own videos sharing their views on why they plan to vote for Kevin Rudd, and to have their say on Labor policies.

Both campaigns were very popular and these are only two campaigns using social media out of hundreds! I do believe that Barack Obama’s campaign is the most well known out of all campaigns and he has seen the most success through the contribution of younger audiences.


www.kevin07.com
http://www.barackobama.com/im-in-splash-2

You + Me = Can all be ‘PRODUCERS’ of information!

Pull down those boundaries (or run into them) between producers and you as a consumer, there is no longer a wall between producers and consumers it is now seen as an equal right and anyone can do it… you could be possibly doing it now just like myself!

First lets get straight what produsage really is, basically…. It is everyone that changes or manipulates media to produce a new product e.g. YouTube, Wikipedia etc. We (as in anyone) out there in the world that has access to the internet can be a producer, simply by adding a YouTube clip, writing content on Wikipedia or even adding content to other peoples topics. With Wikipedia you are able to write absolutely anything (with reason) about any topic you basically wish … Exciting I think, But is it all real?
Here is an example of produsage with Pepsi Max:

Any one can contribute to being a producer of produsage!  And quite frankly why would you want to be the consumer when you can be the producer by simply manipulating or changing a Youtube clip.... But by adding content to YouTube and becoming a producer does this make you a celebrity?… I personally reckon NO for most people.. but defiantly for this Britney lover who has attracted so much publicity over the world and has not even been thanked by Britney Spears herself HOW RUDE OF HER… What could she possibly be doing with all her time….

So by posting video clips, writing content and changing the product it makes you a producer instead of that boring term Consumer, who wants to be a consumer these days when you can be a producer instead and have your name written all over the title of your chosen YouTube clip, whether you fell off your bike, got a blood nose or wanted to tell the world to leave Britney alone its all done by everyday people at home with a phone that has a video recorder… I encourage everyone to get out there record or manipulate videos clips or paste content on Wikipedia what ever floats your boat really and turn yourself from a consumer to a producer….. Sounds better I reckon. ( We need to remember when changing someones original content into produsage we need to respect their rights and be cautious about their feelings). 

Now realistically, even though you are running off now manipulating someones else's original content such as George Bushes speech to be a producer of produsage we cannot ignore that we are still consumers in a little way, as we do consumer other peoples media or produsage. And if we didn’t well lets face it, it would be quite frankly boring! If you don't know how to be funny or you forgot how to be funny I have attached a clip below for your reference, it may be helpful in attracting consumers to your new version of a YouTube clip.

Enjoy being Producers of Produsage!

http://produsage.org/

Wikileaks is… the new Sherlock Holmes!

Wikileaks is… the new Sherlock Holmes!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I now introduce Julian Assange as the new Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Sharing his magic dust with Julian

  

Sherlock Holmes a famous fictional detective, who had the ability to take nearly any disguise and use his famous and rare skills to solve the most difficult cases, now he wipes his magic dust onto Julian Assange.

Sherlock Holmes

Julian Assange

Although I see Julian as an almost very paranoid man, I see braveness, honesty and curiosity behind his magic key of opening secrets. A very smart man that has been a successful hacker since the age of 14 knows his well…. stuff! He is prepared to fight his battles against government along side with his key findings, which have been handed over by whistler blowers. NOW personally I understand that the information they are given will potentially bring down government onto their hooves BUT, really putting yourself on the line for information that they consider important is that really worth lets say… YOUR LIFE?

Since I was little my mum always told me to never tell lies, and to never tattletale on anyone, well in this situation we have the government e.g. US telling the lies and Wikileaks tattletaleing on them. Which one would you defend?... I take Wikileaks side; I would rather be the one tattletaleing then lying in the first place.

American Government

Wikileaks brings out the secrets that are hidden away from society, it tells us the truth that others wont, it gives it to us basically right in the face whether its graphic, sad, horrible, wrong it will give it to us however the truth is. Honesty is a winner for me, being honest and upfront about an issue will always be more powerful than secrets hid behind many lies. 

Julian Assange is someone I don’t look down on, his someone I trust and personally believe his doing us as a nation a favor as some governments are to gutless to do it themselves. I will support Wikileaks and Julian Assange, as I believe we deserve to know the truth, we all live on this Earth, we share equal rights so why should we be denied information that could potentially change the world? You can have your own opinion about Wikileaks and be left in the dark by governments not giving you vital information, but mine will remain supporting Julian (the secret teller) and Wikileaks for many times to come!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/wikileaks

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/07/26/just-who-is-julian-assange-the-man-behind-wikileaks/

“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be”.

"If you want government to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal. If you want government to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative. If you want government to intervene everywhere, you’re a moderate. If you don’t want government to intervene anywhere, you’re an extremist."

 (Joseph Sobran) 

American Nazi Party Flag

What is extremism, and who are extremist groups I here you say? …. I was asking the same questions three weeks ago until I started researching my assignment. Throughout my 19 years of living in this wide world of the web I have never heard or seen the words that form groups such as ‘Hammer Head Skin Nation’, ‘Stormfront’ and ‘National Alliance’, these are extremist groups from across the world, that have been around for many many MANY years.

One can be extreme in many ways!

Extremism is the real enemy of our times, and it is the enemy of all people. Throughout history there have been many extremist philosophies, religions, and styles of governance. White extremist groups are driven by things like; racial purity, anti Semitism, political hegemony, anti liberal and anti government, which are usually violent and un-welcomed.

Southern Cross Hammer Skins Home Page

Extremist groups utilise the Internet to send out messages and to recruit new members into their groups. They use social media platforms such as Facebook, Blogs, Myspace  Youtube and even video games to recruit new members due the fact that there are millions of users logging onto these sites daily, with having links on webpage’s etc groups such as the National Alliance is linked to basically every white extremist group and or organization on the internet today. The Southern Cross Hammerskin heads are the australian arm of the Hammerskins, they follow the 14 words which are "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." AKA "the 14 words". It is scary to know that we have this group in australia carry out their polices of the 14 words. The skin head started in the 1960's which had heavy British mod and Jamaican rude boy influences, they eventually the  spread across the world.. and yes into our very own country Australia.

 

 They are able to reach out to international audiences, large amounts of people and also the younger generation (generation Y). Yes it’s a great way for these hate groups to recruit more members! As I mentioned before white extremist groups have even made video games to purchase online... you know people are really struggling when a graphic video called "Ethnic cleansing" is made, the title speaks for itself, forward and to the point!

Ethnics Cleansing Video Game to Purchase
 But what about our younger generations innocence?.... Should we really be involving younger teenagers full of hormones and testosterone into a world wide web of violence? Unfortunately I don’t think we can wrap our younger generation in cotton wool to protect them from nasty and hate-full things on the Internet posted by extremists groups, as everything is now accessible on our computer even if there is a block on a site there is always another way around it.

Ku Klux Klan 

People are involved with groups everyday across the globe i.e. associations, organisations, such as sporting events, schools groups, reading clubs etc. These are things that we do in our personal time for self satisfaction, they are usually non associated with intended violence or hate against others, as our sporting groups, school groups etc are usually all multicultural… are extremist groups the same? NO … hate groups such as the Skin Heads and KKK (Ku Klux Klan) pick on homosexuals, Asians, and are anti-black towards anyone that is not of the same European race as them, basically extremist groups such as the skin heads are just pure racist!. 

 Reference: LSM208 Week 6 Lecture slides

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/neonazism1.html

Wright,M (2008) Technology & terrorism: how the internet facilitates radicalization, The Forensic Examiner, Winter .Ebscohost viewed 26 March 2011