After analyzing and following-through countless issues in publication and design ranging from copyright issues to cultural insensitivity, my awareness as a responsible blogger and document designer has grown by leaps and bounds. I have learned to adopt a more context- and audience-centric approach towards document designing as proposed by Putnis & Petelin (1996); I have learned that cultural and situation context play an influencial role in the meaning-making process as suggested by Walsh (2006); I have also gained more knowledge on copyright laws and defamation lawsuits which will help me be more sensitive if I ever become an editor.
The whole semester learning design principles in this course has allowed me to see things differently in my everyday life. YouTube, which before this assignment was just another entertainment tool I took for granted, is now a bona-fide political campaign vehicle as proven by Barack Obama's successful U.S. presidential campaign. When I look upon text in magazines and books, I will automatically scan for the information value as well as determine the balance, sequence, and proportion of the page layout and the logic behind it. My perspective on new media and blogs especially has been taken to a whole new dimension with the knowledge I have gained from these assignments and extra readings.
References:
Putnis, P, & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Music Industry Goes Digital
Major record companies may have finally come up with a solution to the growing threat of piracy and illegal file-sharing.
Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone-maker, has launched a Comes with Music brand mobile phone which allows users who have bought the phone to download songs from Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner Music to the handset or a personal computer (Sabbagh 2008).
The catch?
Well, there is no catch as long as you pay for the mobile phone which includes this revolutionary service. Singapore was the first country in Asia with Nokia's Comes with Music, and the Finnish company's flagship N97 model which was recently launch retails for S$1,228 with the service (Nokia 2009).
Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone-maker, has launched a Comes with Music brand mobile phone which allows users who have bought the phone to download songs from Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner Music to the handset or a personal computer (Sabbagh 2008).
The catch?
Well, there is no catch as long as you pay for the mobile phone which includes this revolutionary service. Singapore was the first country in Asia with Nokia's Comes with Music, and the Finnish company's flagship N97 model which was recently launch retails for S$1,228 with the service (Nokia 2009).
"You'll be able to download any song you want on to the handset or one personal computer for the first 12 months, and keep all of them forever," said Jo Harlow, a vice-president of Nokia.
This development comes hot on the heels of research data from Nielsen Soundscan which showed that albums sales in America dropped for the seventh time in eight years (CNN Money 2009). As the CD format's profit-making function to the recording industry has been on the wane since the turn of the century when downloading and file-sharing emerged on the internet, the ailing recording industry has turned to a new form of selling music - digital music retailing, proving that form follows function (Bear 2009).
Why do people still do it?
As I have mentioned before in an earlier post, copyright infringement and illegal downloading is nothing new, but why do people still do it?
Some people would say that music labels are overcharging for CDs, so downloading and file-sharing are ways to claim justice. Robin Hood was and always will be considered a hero, but does that make stealing right?
Would you want people who disapprove of your business to steal from you?
Take this into consideration: downloading illegally is not different from walking out from a Tower Records store without paying for a Coldplay record.
References:
Bear, JH 2009, Form and function in document design, About.com, viewed 27 May 2009, http://desktoppub.about.com/od/graphicdesign/a/formfunction.htm.
Bear, JH 2009, Form and function in document design, About.com, viewed 27 May 2009, http://desktoppub.about.com/od/graphicdesign/a/formfunction.htm.
Sabbagh, D 2008, Nokia offers unlimited music for one-off fee, Australian IT, viewed 12 June 2009, http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24440421-15306,00.html.
CNN Money.com 2009, Sour note: Music sales down in 2008, viewed 12 June 2009, http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/01/news/companies/music.reut/index.htm.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
'The Last Supper' The Last Straw for Christians?
Indonesia's Tempo magazine suffered a backlash when its February issue cover depicted former president Suharto and his children in a composition mimicking Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper" (ABC News 2008).
Christians in Indonesia, who comprise nearly 9% of the entire population (Petitt 2008), were outraged by the portrayal of Suharto, who replaced Jesus Christ at the center of the portrait, and his three sons and daughters, who replaced the apostles at the margins (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996).
While Tempo chief editor Toriq Hadad apologized to the Christian community and claimed that the cover was inspired by the painting instead of the biblical event, Christians would see the cover in a blasphemous context.
Putnis & Petelin (1996, p. 224) state that a document designer ‘will face a constant array of writing tasks that will rely on your sensitivity to your purpose, your readers and your context’; therefore, identifying the three elements of audience, context, and purpose should be the main aim of the document designer.
The editors at Tempo magazine obviously did not take the religious and cultural context into consideration. Walsh (2006) believes that understanding the cultural and social context contributes significantly to giving meaning to a particular text. Christian readers would first and foremost ask the question after seeing the controversial cover due to their knowledge of the Last Supper in relation to the Holy Bible: is Suharto being compared to the Son of God Jesus Christ?
The issue took another turn when The Alliance of Christian Students and Youth (AMPK) announced their intentions to sue the magazine whom they claim was in 'violation of Article 156 of the Criminal Code on public defamation, hostility and hatred against certain communities, including religious groups' (The Jakarta Post 2008). I believe that Tempo made a huge error of judgment, and the editors were not sensitive towards the religious and cultural context of the satirical cover picture, but the matter should have been done and dusted after an apology was printed in the magazine.
References:
ABC News 2008, Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Supper Suharto cover, viewed 8 June 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/06/2156269.htm.
Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images: the grammar of visual design, 2nd edn, Routledge, New York.
Putnis, P, & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.
Petitt, KA 2008, Educating Indonesia's Christians, Cook International, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.cookinternational.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=32048.
The Jakarta Post 2008, Christians sue 'Tempo' for blasphemy, viewed 9 June 2009, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/02/09/christians-sue-039tempo039-blasphemy.html.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
The "Tempo" magazine cover (top) and the Leonard da Vince masterpiece
(Source: www.indonesiamatters.com)
(Source: www.indonesiamatters.com)
Christians in Indonesia, who comprise nearly 9% of the entire population (Petitt 2008), were outraged by the portrayal of Suharto, who replaced Jesus Christ at the center of the portrait, and his three sons and daughters, who replaced the apostles at the margins (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996).
While Tempo chief editor Toriq Hadad apologized to the Christian community and claimed that the cover was inspired by the painting instead of the biblical event, Christians would see the cover in a blasphemous context.
Putnis & Petelin (1996, p. 224) state that a document designer ‘will face a constant array of writing tasks that will rely on your sensitivity to your purpose, your readers and your context’; therefore, identifying the three elements of audience, context, and purpose should be the main aim of the document designer.
The editors at Tempo magazine obviously did not take the religious and cultural context into consideration. Walsh (2006) believes that understanding the cultural and social context contributes significantly to giving meaning to a particular text. Christian readers would first and foremost ask the question after seeing the controversial cover due to their knowledge of the Last Supper in relation to the Holy Bible: is Suharto being compared to the Son of God Jesus Christ?
The issue took another turn when The Alliance of Christian Students and Youth (AMPK) announced their intentions to sue the magazine whom they claim was in 'violation of Article 156 of the Criminal Code on public defamation, hostility and hatred against certain communities, including religious groups' (The Jakarta Post 2008). I believe that Tempo made a huge error of judgment, and the editors were not sensitive towards the religious and cultural context of the satirical cover picture, but the matter should have been done and dusted after an apology was printed in the magazine.
References:
ABC News 2008, Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Supper Suharto cover, viewed 8 June 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/06/2156269.htm.
Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images: the grammar of visual design, 2nd edn, Routledge, New York.
Putnis, P, & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.
Petitt, KA 2008, Educating Indonesia's Christians, Cook International, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.cookinternational.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=32048.
The Jakarta Post 2008, Christians sue 'Tempo' for blasphemy, viewed 9 June 2009, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/02/09/christians-sue-039tempo039-blasphemy.html.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Slight Case of Intellectual Property Theft
Dominick (2007, p. 360) states that copyright 'protects an author against unfair appropriation of his or her work'. Copyright infringement was the basis in which British author J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame won the court case against a fan who was trying to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia (CBS News 2008).
Steven Vander Ark, who runs the immensely popular Harry Potter Lexicon website , and the publishing company RDR Books were forced to shelf the idea of publishing 'Harry Potter Lexicon'.
Basic copyright laws can be traced back to English common law, and it encompasses 'literary, dramatic, and musical works, as well as motion pictures, television programs, and sound recordings' (Dominick 2007, p. 360), so Rowling's phenomenal 'Harry Potter' saga is protected by copyright laws.
Fair use or not?
The Harry Potter battle: Rowling the author versus Vander Ark the pretender to the crown
(Source: The New Yorker)
However, RDR Books argued that 'Harry Potter Lexicon' was fair use, which means that copies of a protected document can be made for references, research, teachings, and criticisms legitimately without fault. The factors taken into consideration when determining fair use are the purpose of use for either profit or education, the amount reproduced in proportion to the copyrighted work as a whole, and the impact of the use on the potential market value of the copyrighted work (Dominick 2007).
Aspden (2008) points to intellectual property expert Hillel Parness, who commented that the fact that RDR books were planning to sell 'Harry Potter Lexicon' for commercial profit only strengthened Rowling and Warner Brothers' case. Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio which brought the best-selling novels to the big-screen, has racked in nearly US$ 4.5 billion on the 'Harry Potter' film franchise alone. Rowling also added that 'Harry Potter Lexicon' would undermine her own efforts of producing a Harry Potter-inspired encyclopedia for fans in the future.
New media has created controversy in terms of copyright law in recent times, as evident in the famous recording industry versus Napster case back in 1999. While the file-sharing service argued that sharing songs for personal use constituted to fair use, but the recording industry was adamant that Napster was facilitating illegal piracy.
In the case of Rowling versus RDR Books, I believe that Judge Robert Patterson made the right call in the end. The idea of a boy wizard in a cool and exciting alternative world may not be new, Charlie Bone can be a shining example, but the expression of Harry Potter and the Wizarding world of J.K. Rowling is the British author's intellectual property until she or copyright laws say otherwise.
References:
Aspden, R 2008, Rowling in court over Harry Potter Lexicon, Guardian UK, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/14/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling.
CBS News 2008,"Harry Potter" Author Wins Copyright Claim, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/entertainment/printable4426302.shtml.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Steven Vander Ark, who runs the immensely popular Harry Potter Lexicon website , and the publishing company RDR Books were forced to shelf the idea of publishing 'Harry Potter Lexicon'.
Basic copyright laws can be traced back to English common law, and it encompasses 'literary, dramatic, and musical works, as well as motion pictures, television programs, and sound recordings' (Dominick 2007, p. 360), so Rowling's phenomenal 'Harry Potter' saga is protected by copyright laws.
Fair use or not?
The Harry Potter battle: Rowling the author versus Vander Ark the pretender to the crown(Source: The New Yorker)
However, RDR Books argued that 'Harry Potter Lexicon' was fair use, which means that copies of a protected document can be made for references, research, teachings, and criticisms legitimately without fault. The factors taken into consideration when determining fair use are the purpose of use for either profit or education, the amount reproduced in proportion to the copyrighted work as a whole, and the impact of the use on the potential market value of the copyrighted work (Dominick 2007).
Aspden (2008) points to intellectual property expert Hillel Parness, who commented that the fact that RDR books were planning to sell 'Harry Potter Lexicon' for commercial profit only strengthened Rowling and Warner Brothers' case. Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio which brought the best-selling novels to the big-screen, has racked in nearly US$ 4.5 billion on the 'Harry Potter' film franchise alone. Rowling also added that 'Harry Potter Lexicon' would undermine her own efforts of producing a Harry Potter-inspired encyclopedia for fans in the future.
New media has created controversy in terms of copyright law in recent times, as evident in the famous recording industry versus Napster case back in 1999. While the file-sharing service argued that sharing songs for personal use constituted to fair use, but the recording industry was adamant that Napster was facilitating illegal piracy.
In the case of Rowling versus RDR Books, I believe that Judge Robert Patterson made the right call in the end. The idea of a boy wizard in a cool and exciting alternative world may not be new, Charlie Bone can be a shining example, but the expression of Harry Potter and the Wizarding world of J.K. Rowling is the British author's intellectual property until she or copyright laws say otherwise.
References:
Aspden, R 2008, Rowling in court over Harry Potter Lexicon, Guardian UK, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/14/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling.
CBS News 2008,"Harry Potter" Author Wins Copyright Claim, viewed 10 June 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/entertainment/printable4426302.shtml.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Democracy 2.0 in Malaysia
Like I mentioned before in one of my previous posts, American President Barack Obama utilized new media tools such as YouTube and Facebook to boost his ultimately successful presidential campaign last year. America was not the only country to be hit by what Tapscott (2008) terms as Democracy 2.0, a new political generation powered by internet-savvy individuals; the Malaysian political landscape changed dramatically during last March's General Elections due to the ground-breaking impact of new media tools such as text messaging and the alternative media (Low 2008).
Tarrant (2008) attributed the Opposition's stunning success during the Elections to the mainstream media's support for the ruling party Barisan Nasional and lack of coverage on the Opposition parties. Disillusioned readers fled to cyberspace to find solace in alternative media, with the most popular website being Raja Petra Kamarudin's political blog, in the hopes of getting a more holistic view of the political scene.
Perhaps the greatest example of how blogs played a pertinent role in the past election was the fact that Jeff Ooi, famous for his blog 'Screenshots', won a seat in Penang for the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP). Blogs allowed politicians and potential candidates to engage and connect with the public or potential voters; this level of interactivity between the people in power and the rest of the public was unprecedented, and it was a new form of politics.
The public were yearning for a different perspective to the mainstream media, and the alternative media duly delivered on the internet. The public were tired of a lack of transparency among politicians, and the Opposition duly delivered with what Sullivan (2008) as a new brand of liberalism which is 'not a top-down, managerial variety; it’s more in line with progressive traditions of self-empowerment.' The Opposition and the alternative media were sensitive towards the audience, the context, and the purpose, choosing the internet and mobile phones, two popular technological elements in Malaysia, to wage war against the people in power (Putnis & Petelin 1996).
New media has made politics into a more interactive entity with a personal touch, and Web 2.0 and new media features have allowed political campaigns to reach a larger and wider audience. Democracy 2.0 is here to stay, and we the people are behind that change.
References:
Low, B 2008, Malaysia's digital revolution--the death knell for The Star, and the rise of the e-news portal?, CNet Asia, viewed 10 June 2009, http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/teteatech/post.htm?id=63002611.
Tarrant, B 2008, Malaysian opposition win shows power of cyberspace, Reuters Canada, http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCAKLR6139420080309?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0.
Sullivan, A 2008, Obama is master of Facebook politics, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article3997523.ece.
Tarrant (2008) attributed the Opposition's stunning success during the Elections to the mainstream media's support for the ruling party Barisan Nasional and lack of coverage on the Opposition parties. Disillusioned readers fled to cyberspace to find solace in alternative media, with the most popular website being Raja Petra Kamarudin's political blog, in the hopes of getting a more holistic view of the political scene.
Perhaps the greatest example of how blogs played a pertinent role in the past election was the fact that Jeff Ooi, famous for his blog 'Screenshots', won a seat in Penang for the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP). Blogs allowed politicians and potential candidates to engage and connect with the public or potential voters; this level of interactivity between the people in power and the rest of the public was unprecedented, and it was a new form of politics.
The public were yearning for a different perspective to the mainstream media, and the alternative media duly delivered on the internet. The public were tired of a lack of transparency among politicians, and the Opposition duly delivered with what Sullivan (2008) as a new brand of liberalism which is 'not a top-down, managerial variety; it’s more in line with progressive traditions of self-empowerment.' The Opposition and the alternative media were sensitive towards the audience, the context, and the purpose, choosing the internet and mobile phones, two popular technological elements in Malaysia, to wage war against the people in power (Putnis & Petelin 1996).
New media has made politics into a more interactive entity with a personal touch, and Web 2.0 and new media features have allowed political campaigns to reach a larger and wider audience. Democracy 2.0 is here to stay, and we the people are behind that change.
References:
Low, B 2008, Malaysia's digital revolution--the death knell for The Star, and the rise of the e-news portal?, CNet Asia, viewed 10 June 2009, http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/teteatech/post.htm?id=63002611.
Putnis, P, & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.
Tarrant, B 2008, Malaysian opposition win shows power of cyberspace, Reuters Canada, http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCAKLR6139420080309?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0.
Tapscott, D 2008, ‘The net generation and democracy: Obama, social networks, and citizen engagement' in Grown up digital, McGraw-Hill, US, pp. 243 – 268.
Sullivan, A 2008, Obama is master of Facebook politics, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article3997523.ece.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
To Change Or Not To Change? Facebook's Interface Controversy
Never change a winning formula.
Perhaps someone should have told Facebook that before the popular social networking website received a barrage of complains from some sections of the 100 million user-strong community following the full-launch of the new-look Facebook in September 2008. While the California firm believe that the new face-lift provides users with a more stream-lined, spam-resistant, and faster interface, the users think otherwise (Australian IT 2008).
It is just a case of the users being thrown into unfamiliar waters. People are extremely knowledge-driven and text-driven when interpreting a text or a document (Schriver 1996). The users who had prior knowledge and experience with the old interface of Facebook are finding it difficult to adapt to the new layout. The user, when logging on to Facebook, already has a set of expectations which are being unfulfilled by the new design.
Why the Hate?
In my opinion though, the users' backlash and criticisms, ranging from forums and hate-groups, are slightly off-base. As proven in the past when Facebook users were first skeptical of the News Feed feature, it has now become a useful and valuable part of the social networking site (McCarthy 2008).
"We don't look at this through the lens of messing with something that works," said Facebook engineer Mark Slee who added that 'we (Facebook) are focusing on innovating and making the product better." Facebook designed the revamped interface based on user feedback and the emerging trend of user-generated videos and photo albums, so they obviously took an audience-centered approach towards the interface design change.
While some users may be moaning about the changes, it only represents a faction of the millions of users worldwide, and I personally feel that the new interface is much less cluttered and clean-looking. Walsh (2006) states that we navigate through websites with mutli-directional and non-linear pathways, and Facebook new and old is still a very interactive experience.
And if you still feel strongly about Facebook's new look, there's always MySpace.
References:
Australian IT 2008, Facebook makeover leaves some devotees fuming, viewed 9 June 2009, http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24328928-15318,00.html.
McCarthy, C 2008, Facebook's getting a face-lift soon, CNet.com, viewed 9 June 2009, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9879858-36.html.
Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
Perhaps someone should have told Facebook that before the popular social networking website received a barrage of complains from some sections of the 100 million user-strong community following the full-launch of the new-look Facebook in September 2008. While the California firm believe that the new face-lift provides users with a more stream-lined, spam-resistant, and faster interface, the users think otherwise (Australian IT 2008).
It is just a case of the users being thrown into unfamiliar waters. People are extremely knowledge-driven and text-driven when interpreting a text or a document (Schriver 1996). The users who had prior knowledge and experience with the old interface of Facebook are finding it difficult to adapt to the new layout. The user, when logging on to Facebook, already has a set of expectations which are being unfulfilled by the new design.
Why the Hate?
In my opinion though, the users' backlash and criticisms, ranging from forums and hate-groups, are slightly off-base. As proven in the past when Facebook users were first skeptical of the News Feed feature, it has now become a useful and valuable part of the social networking site (McCarthy 2008).
"We don't look at this through the lens of messing with something that works," said Facebook engineer Mark Slee who added that 'we (Facebook) are focusing on innovating and making the product better." Facebook designed the revamped interface based on user feedback and the emerging trend of user-generated videos and photo albums, so they obviously took an audience-centered approach towards the interface design change.
While some users may be moaning about the changes, it only represents a faction of the millions of users worldwide, and I personally feel that the new interface is much less cluttered and clean-looking. Walsh (2006) states that we navigate through websites with mutli-directional and non-linear pathways, and Facebook new and old is still a very interactive experience.
And if you still feel strongly about Facebook's new look, there's always MySpace.
References:
Australian IT 2008, Facebook makeover leaves some devotees fuming, viewed 9 June 2009, http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24328928-15318,00.html.
McCarthy, C 2008, Facebook's getting a face-lift soon, CNet.com, viewed 9 June 2009, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9879858-36.html.
Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
Obama and the 'YouTube Elections"
Nations (n.d.) firmly believes that a firm grasp and understanding of the future trends of media and communication are huge advantages in a politician's arsenal. For Franklin D. Roosevelt, there was the radio; for John F. Kennedy, it was the television, and for Barack Obama, it was Web 2.0 tools like YouTube.
Youtube, more known for snippets of TV shows, music videos and parodies, was one of the key reasons Barack Obama won the race to become the first African-American President of the United States last year. When controversial pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright was first linked to President Obama early last year, the press had a field day as Wright's inflammatory sermons were making waves on YouTube (Schwab 2008).
It was make-or-break for Obama's campaign team, especially Chris Hughes, who as the co-founder of Facebook knew a thing or two about Web 2.0. What they did next changed the complexion of the presidential race, they turned to YouTube. Obama's campaign team responded by posting their candidate's 37-minute speech on race on YouTube, and after more than 6 million views on that video, the backlash receded.
John McCain, Obama's Republican counterpart, was brushed aside in the YouTube game and ultimately in the Elections. Obama's campaign team understood that victory would come with the youth voters, and armed with YouTube and other social networking websites which play a huge role in youths' daily lives, Obama won nearly 70 percent of the vote amongst Americans under the age of 25 during the exit polls - the highest percentage since U.S. exit polls began in 1976 (Fraser & Dutta 2008).
Obama's understanding and knowledge of his audience and new media publishing trends were monumental in him getting the message through to potential voters and garnering a groundswell of support among the American youth.
References:
Fraser, M & Dutta, S 2008, Barack Obama and the Facebook election, U.S. News, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election.html?PageNr=1.
Schwab, N 2008, In Obama-McCain Race, YouTube became a serious battleground for presidential politics, U.S. News, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/11/07/in-obama-mccain-race-youtube-became-a-serious-battleground-for-presidential-politics.html?PageNr=1.
Nations, D n.d., How Barack Obama is using Web 2.0 to run for President, About.com, viewed 1 June 2009, http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/obama-web.htm.
Youtube, more known for snippets of TV shows, music videos and parodies, was one of the key reasons Barack Obama won the race to become the first African-American President of the United States last year. When controversial pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright was first linked to President Obama early last year, the press had a field day as Wright's inflammatory sermons were making waves on YouTube (Schwab 2008).
It was make-or-break for Obama's campaign team, especially Chris Hughes, who as the co-founder of Facebook knew a thing or two about Web 2.0. What they did next changed the complexion of the presidential race, they turned to YouTube. Obama's campaign team responded by posting their candidate's 37-minute speech on race on YouTube, and after more than 6 million views on that video, the backlash receded.
John McCain, Obama's Republican counterpart, was brushed aside in the YouTube game and ultimately in the Elections. Obama's campaign team understood that victory would come with the youth voters, and armed with YouTube and other social networking websites which play a huge role in youths' daily lives, Obama won nearly 70 percent of the vote amongst Americans under the age of 25 during the exit polls - the highest percentage since U.S. exit polls began in 1976 (Fraser & Dutta 2008).
Obama's understanding and knowledge of his audience and new media publishing trends were monumental in him getting the message through to potential voters and garnering a groundswell of support among the American youth.
References:
Fraser, M & Dutta, S 2008, Barack Obama and the Facebook election, U.S. News, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election.html?PageNr=1.
Schwab, N 2008, In Obama-McCain Race, YouTube became a serious battleground for presidential politics, U.S. News, viewed 27 May 2009, http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/11/07/in-obama-mccain-race-youtube-became-a-serious-battleground-for-presidential-politics.html?PageNr=1.
Nations, D n.d., How Barack Obama is using Web 2.0 to run for President, About.com, viewed 1 June 2009, http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/obama-web.htm.
The Taxonomy of Blogs - An Analysis
Before reading Margaret Simons' insightful nine categorizations of blogs, I always divided blogs into the different topics which the blogger was discussing about. For example, I constantly visit Music for Kids who Can't Read Good for the latest on the independent music scene; thus, that blog would be naturally classified as a music blog.
But for Wordpress.com (n.d.), the types of blogs consist of personal, business, schools, non-profits, politics, military, private, sports and how-to. There are also categorizations based on content and genre, but also categorizations based on the media on which the post is published, for example video-blogs or vlogs as well as device type.
When all these bloggers with shared interests come together, a blogging community is created, but like defining the types of blogs, labeling the types of blogging communities is also proving to be extremely difficult. White (2006) notes that there are essentially three different kinds of blogging communities - the one blog-centric community, the topic-centric community, and the boundaried community. Web 2.0 tools such as RSS feeds, permalinks, tags, and comments have allowed blog readers and bloggers to connect with one another faster and easier.
An example of a one blog-centric community would be the music blog I mentioned earlier, Music for Kids who Can't Read Good. Taylor Johnston is the author of the blog, and I return to his blog every couple of days to check for updates. At the same time, I follow his Twitter account and he is my friend on Facebook; he is the central identity of the blog. Taylor determines the subject matter perspectives, and my fellow readers and I will choose to either respond or be idle. Through his comments section on every post, I get to know people from America and Europe who share the same interest in independent music and our favorite bands. We share our personal details via 'backchannels' such as Facebook, Twitter, and instant-messaging (White 2008).
With blogrolls and links, these different blogging communities form a chain which connects bloggers and readers together from across the globe, making each and everyone of us a part of this global blogging community.
References:
A Taxonomy of blogs 2008, radio program, ABC Radio National, 25 September.
White, N 2006, Blogs and community - launching a new paradigm for online community, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 7 June 2009, http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community.
Wordpress.com n.d.,Types of blogs, viewed 9 June 2009, http://en.wordpress.com/types-of-blogs/.
When all these bloggers with shared interests come together, a blogging community is created, but like defining the types of blogs, labeling the types of blogging communities is also proving to be extremely difficult. White (2006) notes that there are essentially three different kinds of blogging communities - the one blog-centric community, the topic-centric community, and the boundaried community. Web 2.0 tools such as RSS feeds, permalinks, tags, and comments have allowed blog readers and bloggers to connect with one another faster and easier.
An example of a one blog-centric community would be the music blog I mentioned earlier, Music for Kids who Can't Read Good. Taylor Johnston is the author of the blog, and I return to his blog every couple of days to check for updates. At the same time, I follow his Twitter account and he is my friend on Facebook; he is the central identity of the blog. Taylor determines the subject matter perspectives, and my fellow readers and I will choose to either respond or be idle. Through his comments section on every post, I get to know people from America and Europe who share the same interest in independent music and our favorite bands. We share our personal details via 'backchannels' such as Facebook, Twitter, and instant-messaging (White 2008).
With blogrolls and links, these different blogging communities form a chain which connects bloggers and readers together from across the globe, making each and everyone of us a part of this global blogging community.
References:
A Taxonomy of blogs 2008, radio program, ABC Radio National, 25 September.
White, N 2006, Blogs and community - launching a new paradigm for online community, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 7 June 2009, http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community.
Wordpress.com n.d.,Types of blogs, viewed 9 June 2009, http://en.wordpress.com/types-of-blogs/.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Types of Blogs
The progress and widespread use of blogs has meant that defining the types of blog is an important step towards understanding the whole conceptualization of blogging as well as the direction blogging is heading towards in the near future.
According to Margaret Simons, an author and media analyst, there are nine varying types of blogs with distinct functions and features.
Pamphleteering blogs, named after the mass publication boom following the 17th-century print explosion, are an outlet for individuals or groups to respond to facts published in the mainstream media to 'argue a case or push a cause' (Simons 2008).
Meanwhile, advocacy blogs are run by established advocacy groups or commercial organizations whose main goal is to only discuss about one particular topic (Simons 2008).
A blog which teaches readers a new skill-set is what Simons (2008) terms as Popular Mechanics blogs, named after the retro Popular Mechanics magazine which displayed medley of information and tips on how to do things. In the absence of a better title, I think that the How-To blog is a much more apt classification which is more directly understandable.
Exhibition blogs, on the other hand, are utilized by artists, writers, and creative individuals who use their blogs as outlets to reach a larger audience with their work and art.
Gatewatching blogs, meanwhile, are maintained by experts with a wide array of public knowledge who pay attention and run the rule over the perceived 'gatekeepers' of the traditional media (A Taxonomy of Blogs 2008).
On the other side of the spectrum, the Diary blogs are well, online diaries. Diary blogs are used by individuals to post photos, videos, and information of their daily lives and the latest happenings which are important to them. The audience for these blogs are usually the bloggers' friends and family.
The Digest Blogs predominantly summarize and collect aggregated information on a single topic from the mainstream media or other blogs, but they act more like a mediator to other links regarding the topic.
The Advertisement Blogs are the most business-centric in the blogs family album. The nature of Advertisement Blogs is that companies would pay established bloggers 'undisclosed kickbacks to boost their products as well as establishing their own blogs to do the same' (Simons 2008).
Last but not least, the News Blog is a phenomenon when bloggers are the ones breaking the news and attending press conferences. In Malaysia, News Blogs have yet to really gather pace as bloggers here react to news and not vice versa.
The taxonomy of blogs will continue to evolve into and be replaced by newer models with more features and other goals. Simons (2008) even believes that the word 'blog' will vanish in the next decade or so, replaced by the next big thing on the internet.
References:
A Taxonomy of blogs 2008, radio program, ABC Radio National, 25 September.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Simons, M 2008, Towards a taxonomy of blogs, Creative Economics Online, viewed 8 June 2009, http://www.creative.org.au/webboard/results.chtml?filename_num=229836.
According to Margaret Simons, an author and media analyst, there are nine varying types of blogs with distinct functions and features.
Pamphleteering blogs, named after the mass publication boom following the 17th-century print explosion, are an outlet for individuals or groups to respond to facts published in the mainstream media to 'argue a case or push a cause' (Simons 2008).
Meanwhile, advocacy blogs are run by established advocacy groups or commercial organizations whose main goal is to only discuss about one particular topic (Simons 2008).
A blog which teaches readers a new skill-set is what Simons (2008) terms as Popular Mechanics blogs, named after the retro Popular Mechanics magazine which displayed medley of information and tips on how to do things. In the absence of a better title, I think that the How-To blog is a much more apt classification which is more directly understandable.
Exhibition blogs, on the other hand, are utilized by artists, writers, and creative individuals who use their blogs as outlets to reach a larger audience with their work and art.
Gatewatching blogs, meanwhile, are maintained by experts with a wide array of public knowledge who pay attention and run the rule over the perceived 'gatekeepers' of the traditional media (A Taxonomy of Blogs 2008).
On the other side of the spectrum, the Diary blogs are well, online diaries. Diary blogs are used by individuals to post photos, videos, and information of their daily lives and the latest happenings which are important to them. The audience for these blogs are usually the bloggers' friends and family.
The Digest Blogs predominantly summarize and collect aggregated information on a single topic from the mainstream media or other blogs, but they act more like a mediator to other links regarding the topic.
The Advertisement Blogs are the most business-centric in the blogs family album. The nature of Advertisement Blogs is that companies would pay established bloggers 'undisclosed kickbacks to boost their products as well as establishing their own blogs to do the same' (Simons 2008).
Last but not least, the News Blog is a phenomenon when bloggers are the ones breaking the news and attending press conferences. In Malaysia, News Blogs have yet to really gather pace as bloggers here react to news and not vice versa.
The taxonomy of blogs will continue to evolve into and be replaced by newer models with more features and other goals. Simons (2008) even believes that the word 'blog' will vanish in the next decade or so, replaced by the next big thing on the internet.
References:
A Taxonomy of blogs 2008, radio program, ABC Radio National, 25 September.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Simons, M 2008, Towards a taxonomy of blogs, Creative Economics Online, viewed 8 June 2009, http://www.creative.org.au/webboard/results.chtml?filename_num=229836.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Blogosphere and Beyond
Blogs have become part and parcel of everyday life that people just take "web logs" for granted, without actually comprehending how powerful this web tool really is. The emergence of Web 2.0 have transformed blogs from typical journal entries about mere anythings to information sources which even threaten the foundation upon the traditional media powerhouses was built on. Dominick (2007, p. 271) believes that 'blogs are a vivid example of how the internet can make anybody a mass communicator', echoing the sentiments that Web 2.0 has allowed anybody's voice to be heard.
The topics for blogs are wide-spread, ranging from the serious subjects like news and politics to the fun subjects like entertainment and lifestyle. For the month of June 2008, 'news' was the most popular tag used by bloggers according to Technorati index data. Take Malaysia for example during last year's March General Elections, readers flocked to blogs, the perceived alternative media, to receive updates and news after being disillusioned by the mainstream media's lack of coverage on the opposition (Moten 2009). This added feature of blogs is beneficial to the readers, who now can discuss pertinent topics like politics with peers as well as receive a multi-faceted view from different sources.
Blogging has also become a money-making platform with advertisers willing to cash in on the bloggers' loyal readers and top-notch content. The interest statistic is that while U.S. bloggers, the pioneers of this whole blogging craze, earn an average of US$5,000 annually, but that is 50% less than the amount earned by Asian bloggers! Nuffnang, Asia's first and leading blog advertising community, allows world-renowned companies such as Nike, Nokia, Honda, and AirAsia to post advertisements on local blogs where the blogger receives income depending on the number of average unique visitors during the advertising campaign (Nuffnang 2009). This emerging trend of blog communities, with plenty of fun events and meet-up sessions, allows bloggers from different walks of life to actually meet up and expand their circle of friends.
With over 133 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002, the blogosphere is increasingly and expanding everyday, evidence that blogging is not just a fad, but it is here to stay.
References:
Nuffnang 2009, About us, viewed 8 June 2009, http://nuffnang.com.my/about-us.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Malaysia
Technorati 2008, State of the Blogosphere, viewed 6 June 2009, http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/.
The topics for blogs are wide-spread, ranging from the serious subjects like news and politics to the fun subjects like entertainment and lifestyle. For the month of June 2008, 'news' was the most popular tag used by bloggers according to Technorati index data. Take Malaysia for example during last year's March General Elections, readers flocked to blogs, the perceived alternative media, to receive updates and news after being disillusioned by the mainstream media's lack of coverage on the opposition (Moten 2009). This added feature of blogs is beneficial to the readers, who now can discuss pertinent topics like politics with peers as well as receive a multi-faceted view from different sources.
Blogging has also become a money-making platform with advertisers willing to cash in on the bloggers' loyal readers and top-notch content. The interest statistic is that while U.S. bloggers, the pioneers of this whole blogging craze, earn an average of US$5,000 annually, but that is 50% less than the amount earned by Asian bloggers! Nuffnang, Asia's first and leading blog advertising community, allows world-renowned companies such as Nike, Nokia, Honda, and AirAsia to post advertisements on local blogs where the blogger receives income depending on the number of average unique visitors during the advertising campaign (Nuffnang 2009). This emerging trend of blog communities, with plenty of fun events and meet-up sessions, allows bloggers from different walks of life to actually meet up and expand their circle of friends.
With over 133 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002, the blogosphere is increasingly and expanding everyday, evidence that blogging is not just a fad, but it is here to stay.
References:
Nuffnang 2009, About us, viewed 8 June 2009, http://nuffnang.com.my/about-us.
Dominick, J 2007, The dynamics of mass communication, McGraw-Hill International, New York.
Technorati 2008, State of the Blogosphere, viewed 6 June 2009, http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/.
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