Week 10 Reflections

Week 10 Reflection

Is the Internet Replacing Everything We Read?

 

Courtesy from Google Images:http://genevalunch.com/category/techmedia/

Patrick Chappatte cartoon that appeared on GenevaLunch.com in 2009 (©2013 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.)

 

 

After reading Books and other Fetish Objects I have come to the conclusion that, at least for me, it is not so much that digital content holds less value than "paper and glue;" but, rather it loses some of its actual presence/substance. By actual presence/substance I mean, if reading a Circa 896 manuscript even with its notes in the margins online is certainly not the same experience as holding the actual created object in hands.  There is a completely different dynamic and energy transpiring between reading an online book than holding the original in your hands. I think in part it has a lot to do with the sensory experience, feeling, touching, smelling and possibly even hearing as you turn the pages. These sensory sensations are lost with digital content. My son told me recently that he, who grew up in the E-Age, cannot read with out a background light. What he means is that he prefers to read his news, books, all content on an electronic device, not the paper. What does this mean, well, I think a lot of what is happening with electronic media is part of an evoling culture: the old is fasing out and the new is become digitized. So, for many young people (those under 30) getting thier news, books, any information is now being facilitated through the Net and or some sort of e-device. As part of those e-devices, cell phones seem to be topping the list. I find it interesting and bit condounding as well, when I see people in third world countries on news programs, living in abject poverty but they have their cell phones. This makes me think, that cell phones especially are becoming one of the most coveted and used e-devices on the market. I wish I had bought stock in electronics years ago! ha ha


Those sensory experiences I mentioned were once deemed valuable (or maybe they were just the norm for the times) but now, sadly in my opinion are being replaced with electronic versions of everything. For the sake of technology itself, I can attest that there are benefits to electronic publishing for the consumer, mostly speed and access being the primary ones; but again, in my opinion “There Ain't Nothing like the real thing baby!”  Any one want to hear some good R&B?? Yes? click  on this link for a little auditory treat! http://youtu.be/fg8pRCt-0N4

Of course, what is normal? Well, when I was growing up, they didn't have personal computers, so for me reading a newspaper or book was very normal. What about listening to music? How many people even buy CD's anymore? My guess is not too many, everyone downloads their selections and add to their e-collections via Itunes.  The link I posted above is actually a you tube video of a 'record' . Yes, records/vinyl was normal in its day. I am personally a fan of still putting an album on my turntable, yes even with some background stratches. It's another one of those things that gives me fuller sensory expereince; looking at the album cover, touching the vinyl album, cueing up the the needle, watching the record spin on the turn table are all parts of the sensory experience. Sure I can download the music to an Ipod or my computer, but it lacks substance for me.
 

Another thought I have about print vs. digital is from the point of view of the author. As a writer myself, there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be had by crafting my words with pen and paper. Again, this might be from my early school days when penmanship was practiced. No not a stone tablet! ha ha.   I am not sure if students even practice cursive writing today. Along with the actual writing with pen and paper one has the luxury to doodle and draw next to ones notes, I am a big doodler, it helps stimulate my brain and foster creativity. Perhaps there are actually some software programs that allow for this type of creativity. Do you know?

 
I do however; applaud those who for the sake of preservation that digitize originals lest they be lost for all time that truly is a blessing such as great ancient scrolls or famous books. What of this e-platforms and e-publishing scene through social media? Morrison from the UK in this article says that the new way for authors to get their books marketed is by devoting 20% of their time to writing and 80% marketing online. I recently approached a publisher for a children's book I had written about 5 years ago, and she basically told me the same thing: If I wanted to do the self-marketing via the internet and live appearances great; if not, it was probably not going to fly off any book stores shelves. This is sad and upsetting to me but shows me that in today’s world, we all have to wear sOOOOOOO many hats! One cannot just be a writer anymore nor are librarians just librarians, we are community center organizers, tax consultants, mental health advocates, children's specialists, digital wizard, eye vie! When's it gunna end??

  

References:

Gleick, J. (July 16, 2011). Books and other fetish objects. New York Times.

Morrison, E. (July 30, 2012). Why social media isn't the magic bullet for self-epublished authors. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/30/tweet-about-cats-just-write

 

Week 9 Reflection

Week 9 Reflections

Social Media :  Smart Phones

Smart Phones have sure come a long way since Maxwell Smart's shoe phone was on the scene. Perhaps some of you remember this?  Any way Pew Research for Global Attitudes Projects cites smart phones as primarily taking over with portable apps. Smart phones (Moerdyck, 2012) are being utilized all around the globe. The smart phone has some advantages over traditional online social media services, mobile phones don't have all the ads on them (Kno, 2010).

Some social networking companies such as Twitter are missing the boat on broadcasting  in other languages. There are according to Arno (2010) many availble tools for companies to get on the band wagon to market their services to non English speaking citizens such as Google's Global Market Finder.

To date the most popular social media sites are Facbook, Twitter and Linkedin but not all over the world. Users in Northern Europe prefer Xing over Linkedin (Arno, 2012).

Van Belleghen (2012) reports as of October of 2012, 1.5 million social networking sites are in existence and of those countries that have increased social media activity it has been a result of smart phone use.  Users of these smart phnones are using social media sites to 'brand' companies and services. Moerdyck (2012) says that "8 out of 10 internet users want to help brands." As people use social media companies have a great opportunity to gain or continue to build a customer base.

This past week I learned about a social media geographic site called Foursquare. Foursquare is fun for people to check in at thier present location and share that information with thier net work friends. But, as of 1/2103, 1 million companies are using this new application to get customers to user their services. Foursquare allows its users to share the good, the bad and the ugly about places.  But, mostly companies use it by giving incentives to thier customers for frequent check in or mention of thier business. My youtube video tutorial can be seen by clicking this link > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41hE6M009fA



References



Arno, C. (January 4, 2012). Secrets to social media success in foreign languages. Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/christian-arno/421521/secrets-social-media-success-foreign-languages 

Kno. (September 8, 2012). 2012-the end of the social media world (as we know it)? Retrieved from http://blog.kno.at/tech/2012-the-end-of-the-social-media-world-as-we-know-it/

Moerdyck, A. (October 4, 2012). 8 out of 10 U.S. Internet users want to help brands. Retrieved from http://blog.insites.eu/2012/10/04/8-out-of-10-u-s-internet-users-want-to-help-brands/

Pew Research Center. (December 20, 2011). Global digital communication: Texting, social networking popular worldwide. Pew Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/12/20/global-digital-communication-texting-social-networking-popular-worldwide/

Van Bellegham, S. (October 3, 2012). 10 striking conclusions of the study "Social media around the world 2012." Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/stevenvanbelleghem/867766/10-striking-conclusions-study-social-media-around-world-2012

 

 

Week 8: Traditional vs. Non Traditional Media

 

Traditional vs. Non Traditional Media

Week 8 Reflections

 

Borrowed from Google Images: www.cartoonstock.com -

 

 

Well, this past week I read a lot about the differences between old (traditional) media and new (virtual/social media).  Like all things, the social media has pros and cons. I think it’s safe to say that that one pro about social media is the speed at which it hits the virtual press is faster and appeals to a larger population than traditional media.  The readings this past week show that the trend for getting news via newspaper is taking a back seat to social media news flashes posted on Twitter as one example. People are tuning in and surfing a multitude of online news related information and they are doing it much faster than by picking up the paper or waiting to watch the 6 or 11 pm news to get the latest stories. According to Mitchell & Rosenstiel (March 19, 2012) social media offers a “larger pool sources” for journalists to collaborate offering a “stronger and wider connection with the community both locally and globally.­­”

                                                                                                            

Social media is giving traditional journalists a run for their money. It has been reported that journalists need to “adjust their ideology” (Mitchell & Rosenstiel, 2012) that they are the only news finders and news sharers.  Social media is affording the average Joe/Jill the opportunity to get the news out and often these breaking news stories are done with the use of cell phones complete with photos and videos.   Some journalists are in favor of using these “average Joe/Jill sources as supplemental sources others are not. On the other hand, the wide spread use of social media is a bit like journalists having a large staff working behind the scenes for them, one that they don’t have to pay!

 

The con of getting sources through the ‘average Joe/Jill’ can have some negative outcomes, aka, misinformation…or partial coverage of a story. For this reason, journalists, all the more need to get the ‘whole’ story and present it with the professional ethics they hold with no evidence of bias or favoritism.

This week I also re-visited my Delicious and Diigo Accounts., two social bookmarking tools.

I had previously obtained accounts for these two sites for a previous course.  Here is my Diigo url: Roseanne's Diigo and here is my Delicious url: Roseanne's Delicious.


As this was my second time using these two social booking marking sites, I was not totally unaware of what they offered. Both collect bookmarks; but, what differs among them is how the information is presented.  Both have the feature to add tags. Outside of the class, I don’t use either of these. I used the USF library online data base to look for articles that were related to Facebook, Social Media, and public libraries. I used the bookmark link on the left hand side of the page of the journal articles. After you click on the tool, one is able to chose where to send the bookmark to by choosing one of the many bookmarks listed. This tool made it much easier to add new bookmarks. I liked that feature.:)

References

Mitchell, A. & Rosenstiel, T. (March 19, 2012). State of the news media 2012: An annual report