The focus of lecture 2 was on web iterations and the shifts
in media with regards to the ever omnipresent internet. The phrase new media
was thrown around a lot, as was its veteran counterpart, old media. It would
appear that old media (newspapers, magazines and television) is dying, and
making way for the new media (the user driven social networks, twitter,
facebook, even news websites). The explanation of different web iterations,
what I suppose you could crudely refer to as levels of the internet, was a
topic which I was very unfamiliar with. Essentially, Web 1.0 is rather basic,
it is largely advertiser friendly and largely content based, allowing very
little interaction with its users. Web 2.0 is the social media. In this
iteration, ‘the user acts as a hybrid user/producer…virtually through the
production process’ (Axel Bruns 2005, QUT). Web 3.0 is the latest to emerge and
it referred to as the semantic web. It will allow for more specific news to be
delivered to users and has the potential for ‘hyperlocalisation’. That is to
say rather than being specific to the greater Brisbane region, you can go that
step further and have specific content delivered regarding your suburb. Here is a link, whilst being slightly old,
explains the concept pretty well: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/464-Basic-Definitions-Web-1-0-Web-2-0-Web-3-0
All this talk of new media got me thinking though. When can we
actually expect the death of old media? When will the morning ritual of reading
the arts section over breakfast become a relic of a bygone era? I concede that
I haven’t bought a newspaper in over a week, but I honestly would lament the
passing of the broadsheet. To be honest, I would even miss the tabloids for that
matter. I think my love of newspapers and magazines stems from my parents. They
have two papers delivered every morning, one local, the other a national
broadsheet. And whilst I have left home and don’t have the luxury of a paper
every day, I still appreciate being able to sit down on a Saturday afternoon
and read the Good Weekend magazine in the Sydney Morning Herald. The converse
of this though, is that it is important to keep on top of this technological revolution,
and supply information in the form the consumers want it. Business moguls have
been attempting for some time to come up with a strategy that will do exactly
that, whilst still keeping the industry afloat. News Corporation have become
one of the first newspaper publishers to introduce the ‘paywall’, a system
whereby the user must pay to access information from a specific publication. I
have to say I am not as opposed to this idea as some. Whilst I don’t believe
that all internet news should be provided at a premium, as it currently stands,
if you want a more in depth report or features, you go and buy a newspaper. This
is not dissimilar to the paywall system slowly being put in place by
publications across the internet. Apologies for the lengthy post, it is a
rather thought provoking topic. Also, here are some links I found which expand
on the issue and examine it from different perspectives.
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