Opportunities abound in social media

Over the last couple years Social Media has had dramatic influence on our lives and society. Today, a life without Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. would probably be unimaginable. Not only have we become part of social media, but more important social media has become part of us too. In this regard I found a really interesting news article on The Australian website 'Opportunities abound in social media'. The article is clearly one-sided as the interviewee is from a digital company. For an outsider this makes it really hard to also see the other side of the coin. Nevertheless, the article has a clear structure and provides good examples to support social media. I really like the interactive buttons at the top of the story where the reader can see how many people 'retweeted', 'liked' or 'shared' their opinions about the article on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. For a news item about social media this is a clear MUST.

The article is about businesses becoming more and more 'social' due to a networked economy. First and foremost most businesses strive for success. So why in the world would a successful company change their business system for social media? Simply because sooner or later these companies will be overtaken by socially 'fit' businesses that have already adapted to the next generation. With social media platforms businesses can take advantage of being more flexible and open as well as listen to their customers. Nowadays, Customer Relationship Management is a really important attribute of a company. Socially involved companies strengthen their brand image by having direct conversations with their stakeholders via those social mediums.

In week 6 of our Online and Mobile Media lecture we learned about creative nihilism and contemporary Web applications like blogs. Creative nihilism basically proposes to get rid of old structures to start something new, for example deconstructing traditional media. There is a lot of critique in the role of mainstream media creating very passive publics. So by using social media platforms and active publics one could argue that other traditional manners of communication will be zeroed out sooner or later. As the article above demonstrates new media such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging has already changed the old structure by being able to challenge and comment on messages that are out there.

Although social media is not just a temporary fashion and is here to stay, its usage has to be handled carefully. Blogs and social media platforms might be able to communicate more effectively with their target audience but those social tools also tend to create more irrelevant and pointless babble than a 'social' business might need. Therefore, traditional media and communication tools cannot be replaced one-to-one with new media tools - I believe a balanced mix of both is the key to success and therefore this news story fails to some extent.       

Online news article and references:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/opinion/opportunities-abound-in-social-media/story-e6frg99o-1226162531626 

Lovink, G. (2008). Zero comments: Blogging, the Nihilist impulse. New York: Routeledge, pp. 1-28.

Google vs. Julpan

We all know and appreciate Google, the world's largest search engine that gave us possibilities we would have never thought of 13 years ago. It is tremendous what has been achieved since then. Anything you want to know is on the World Wide Web just a click away from you.

As the online world has expanded and the media landscape has moved on, so have media and technology experts. Ever heard of 'Julpan'? Those are the people that recently signed off a multimillion-dollar deal with Twitter. I stumbled across this article 'Aussie skill at heart of Twitter's new ploy' on the SMH website and it immedately caught my attention. Why? Because Google's latest algorithm 'Orion', who was invented by the same guy Ori Allon, has now a new competitor out there, called 'Julpan'. The acquisition of Julpan by Twitter brings to life an algorithm which analyses any activities on social media sites to provide a real-time segment of search for users. People nowadays want to get the most relevant information out of their search requests online. The new search technology Julpan will enable this throughout all social web activities. A really clever idea, since Social Media is such a big hype at the moment.

The article certainly has impact on the SMH's regular readership. This is visible through the feature 'Join the conversation' on the left hand side of the story. Almost 200 people recommended this story to friends and family via Facebook and Twitter. The story has a great angle: young, dynamic people are getting together to challenge Google's algorithm. There is also linkages within the text that refer to other articles about the main character which is really great as the reader can get a greater picture of the story. Although the story doesn't include any quotes by Ori Allon, I still think that it serves its purpose as the main idea is to introduce a new algorithm to the audience. Another plus is that while the news angle is quite technology-heavy, the story itself is not elaborating on it. Instead it gets the main point across to introduce a new algorithm.        

According to Stross, Google once had a big advantage over social networks like Twitter, Facebook etc. because there was no need of personal information to accomplish Web searches. Today, Google is in a different position, also providing services like Gmail or Blogger where private information is necessary. Nevertheless, thanks to its powerful and not duplicable algorithm, Google has become its own brand with a #1 search engine that has become synonymous with the term 'Googling'. At Google the algorithm always has its final say without any human intervention.

Funny enough, Ori Allon the founder and chief executive of Julpan has worked with Google for about five years before he decided to start his own business into the algorithm. Thus, Google didn't just loose part of its technology know-how; instead they now have a comparable competitor that just starts to warm up. Both technologies 'Orion' and 'Julpan' will try and discover new and relevant content in different ways. It's only a matter of time until we will find out which algorithm really has improved our search ability on the web.           
          

Online news article and references:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/aussie-skill-at-heart-of-twitters-new-ploy-20110925-1krud.html

Stross, R. (2008). The Algorithm, in Planet Google: how one company is transforming our lives. pp. 63-88.

Breaking Bad - Is it really that mad?

You might probably think right now what on earth are these two men in their weird suits and gas masks doing out there in the middle of nowhere? They are cooking methamphetamine. Why? Because Bryan Cranston (on the right), who plays a chemistry teacher (Walter White), is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and money all of a sudden becomes a problem. That's why this groundbreaking TV show is called Breaking Bad. The following video gives you a little impression of the TV series:    

http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-guide/breaking-bad-2614742.html

Breaking Bad is not like all the other shows - it's a gripping TV drama. It invites the viewer into a different world, a world of grief, anger, remorse, and black humour. It probably sounds really depressing, but it's not at all! The show is unpredictable and really gets you to the edge of your seat. The narcotics business is not to joke with, and so Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman, on the left) Walter's business partner gets drawn deeper into the darkness together with him. The two main characters struggle to remain undiscovered coming up with unjustifiable decisions as things get more and more twisted and out of control.

For this chosen piece of news article I would like to focus a bit more on a communications theory that we probably all might have come across once and I personally think is a highly relevant subject in today's media realm. The concept is called 'Cultivation Theory' and explores the headline of this blog post. As could be expected from the above brief description of the show, Breaking Bad is a morally challenging drama. The article's headline from the SMH 'There's meth in this madness' already gives the reader a certain impression as it is really attention-grabbing. And the actor itself, Aaron Paul states it quite well in his interview:

"...I knew it was a drama but I found myself laughing at so many of the things that were happening and I wasn't sure if I should be laughing at them...you don't see this kind of stuff on television."

This is where the Cultivation Theory comes in. As today's society highly relies on information from mediated sources like TV this theory claims that people loose touch with reality. Every person views their world differently. And in some cases heavy television viewing for instance with Breaking Bad might cultivate the world as a violent place to this person. Perceptions can get really distorted. And we can easily cross the bridge to new media forms from here. Just imagine how many YouTube videos you can watch or Video games you can play that might contain violent scenes. In the end, it is up to the viewers if they can morally accept this sort of behaviour. I personally think that Breaking Bad shows us the real complexities in life with a dark but funny spin to it.   

The news item itself is well-structured and has some interactivity to provide the viewer more information, for example the video right at the beginning of the article. I really liked that they used actual quotes from the main character, Aaron Paul of the show. The only thing that is really missing in this article is a main image of the two characters. There is also not much related coverage on the left hand side which would have been quite promotional in this case to attract even more viewers and make them interested in the TV show. Overall, the article definitely makes you want to see this show and believe me it's worth it! 

         
Online news articles and references:
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/theres-meth-in-this-madness-20110928-1kvua.html

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/breaking-bad-monday-october-17-20111013-1lmf9.html

Cranny-Francis, A. (2005). Multimedia: texts and contexts. London: SAGE, pp. 27-54.

West, R. & Turner, L.H. (2010). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.