Propositions of new media

By Mbogo Tausi

 BAPRM 42611

 Eight propositions of new media;

1. New Media versus Cyberculture – Cyberculture is the various social phenomena that are associated with the Internet and network communications (blogs, online multi-player gaming), whereas New Media is concerned more with cultural objects and paradigms (digital to analog television, iPhones).
2. New Media as Computer Technology Used as a Distribution Platform – New Media are the cultural objects which use digital computer technology for distribution and exhibition. e.g. (at least for now) Internet, Web sites, computer multimedia, Blu-ray disks etc. The problem with this is that the definition must be revised every few years. The term "new media" will not be "new" anymore, as most forms of culture will be distributed through computers.
3. New Media as Digital Data Controlled by Software – The language of New Media is based on the assumption that, in fact, all cultural objects that rely on digital representation and computer-based delivery do share a number of common qualities. New media is reduced to digital data that can be manipulated by software as any other data. Now media operations can create several versions of the same object. An example is an image stored as matrix data which can be manipulated and altered according to the additional algorithms implemented, such as color inversion, gray-scaling, sharpening, rasterizing, etc.
4. New Media as the Mix Between Existing Cultural Conventions and the Conventions of Software – New Media today can be understood as the mix between older cultural conventions for data representation, access, and manipulation and newer conventions of data representation, access, and manipulation. The "old" data are representations of visual reality and human experience, and the "new" data is numerical data. The computer is kept out of the key "creative" decisions, and is delegated to the position of a technician. e.g. In film, software is used in some areas of production, in others are created using computer animation.
5. New Media as the Aesthetics that Accompanies the Early Stage of Every New Modern Media and Communication Technology – While ideological tropes indeed seem to be reappearing rather regularly, many aesthetic strategies may reappear two or three times ... In order for this approach to be truly useful it would be insufficient to simply name the strategies and tropes and to record the moments of their appearance; instead, we would have to develop a much more comprehensive analysis which would correlate the history of technology with social, political, and economical histories or the modern period.
6. New Media as Faster Execution of Algorithms Previously Executed Manually or through Other Technologies – Computers are a huge speed-up of what were previously manual techniques. e.g. calculators. Dramatically speeding up the execution makes possible previously non-existent representational technique. This also makes possible of many new forms of media art such as interactive multimedia and video games. On one level, a modern digital computer is just a faster calculator, we should not ignore its other identity: that of a cybernetic control device.
7. New Media as the Encoding of Modernist Avant-Garde; New Media as Metamedia – Manovich declares that the 1920s are more relevant to New Media than any other time period. Metamedia coincides with postmodernism in that they both rework old work rather than create new work. New media avant-garde is about new ways of accessing and manipulating information (e.g. hypermedia, databases, search engines, etc.). Meta-media is an example of how quantity can change into quality as in new media technology and manipulation techniques can recode modernist aesthetics into a very different postmodern aesthetics.
8. New Media as Parallel Articulation of Similar Ideas in Post-WWII Art and Modern Computing – Post WWII Art or "combinatorics" involves creating images by systematically changing a single parameter. This leads to the creation of remarkably similar images and spatial structures. This illustrates that algorithms, this essential part of new media, do not depend on technology, but can be executed by humans.  

Email marketing

Email marketing involves sending email messages to a list of prospects or current customers as a way to promote your products and stay in touch with your market. It is essentially the same as direct mail except that instead of sending mail through the postal service, messages are sent electronically via email. Email marketing is a way to reach consumers directly via electronic mail.

The importance of email marketing

Email marketing is important for many reasons. For example, it is important because it is highly adaptable. You can make the emails that you send to promote your business so that they suit any need that you might have. You can target many different social groups and adapt the content accordingly. Since the business world is constantly changing, you have to be able to respond quickly to any changes that the marketing experts present.

Also, another reason why this kind of marketing is important for any business and should not be ignored and forgotten is that it is very inexpensive. You can incorporate it into any kind of marketing plan that your business might have, without having any additional costs. This way, if you get anything from email marketing, you will, basically, get something for nothing. Creating profit, without spending any money, is something that every serious business will take into consideration.

Cost effectively

While many kinds of online promotion and marketing are cheap and do not require a lot of investments, email promotion is by far the cheapest of them all. All you need to do is hire someone to operate your mailing lists and you will have a full marketing campaign at your disposal. Just make sure that you hire someone who knows how to do this in an organized fashion

The possibility of reaching anyone in the world

Since the Internet knows no borders, it is clear that your email campaign can reach anyone in the world, if targeted correctly. If your business has tendencies to operate around the world, this is the perfect tool. Besides, who in the world would not like to expand their business worldwide, if they have the chance to do it? If you are using platform like Word Press, there are many Email marketing plugins out there, which  will help you to capture Emails from your readers quickly and smart ways.

The effects are easily measured

With some means of marketing, you can never be certain whether the money you have invested is paying off. However, with this kind of marketing, you can easily measure how much effect has the campaign had. There are various tools on the Internet that can help you with this. For example, you can measure the click-through rate and also see how your customers arrived to your website. This way, you can easily decide whether email marketing is paying off or not

Easy to use

It is very easy to run an email marketing campaign. It takes no real effort to run it seamlessly, and, if you carry it out well, the receivers of your emails will have no hard time checking what you have to offer. This way, it is a win-win situation for both your business and your potential customers.

   By Segesela Blandina

    BAPRM 42663

Information Age 

Information age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age) is a period in human history characterized by the shift from traditional industry that the Industrial Revolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on information computerization Digital media are any media that are encoded in a machine-readable format. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved on digital electronics devices. Computer programs and software;

Digital media is digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks. This can include text, audio, video, and graphics.  This means that news from a TV network, newspaper, magazine, etc. that is presented on a Web site or blog can fall into this category. Most digital media are based on translating analog data into digital data. The Internet began to grow when text was put onto the Internet instead of stored on papers as it was previously. Soon after text was put onto computers images followed, then came audio and video onto the Internet. Digital media has come a long way in the few short years to become as we know it today and it continues to grow.

The following are the characteristics of information age

 Digitality  include near continuous contact with other people through cell phones, near instantaneous access to information through the World Wide Web, third wave information storage (where any fragment in a text can be searched and used for categorization, such as through search engine Google), and communicating through weblogs and email. Some of the negative aspects of digitality include computer viruses, loss of anonymity and spam.

INTERACTIVITY Interactivity has become a term for a number of new media use options evolving from the rapid dissemination of internet access points, individual with the appropriate technology can now produce his or her online media and include images, text, and sound about whatever he or she chooses.

 Manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. Its main driver are digital information and communication technologies, which have resulted in an information explosion and are profoundly changing all aspects of social organization, including the economy, education, health, warfare, government and democracy. 

 Networking We all gain our knowledge by tapping into the knowledge of others. It is technology which can ease the information transfer, but it’s the people behind the technology that are doing the sharing. When you find information relevant for your work or study, note the person behind the information and follow them. Find what Linked In groups they are members of, if they have a face book page, or twitter etc and follow them and when you use well social network can help to create what we call social capital. But without being fully informed you may even be searching for the wrong information, or less relevant information for your field of study.

BY JOSHUA HELENA M

BAPRM 42571

Electronic Internet Activism and Mobilization

The new forms political activism development forms mobilization of contemporary social movements over the Internet. The adopted repertoires the movements are a combination, on the one hand, the traditional stocks, such as institutional participation, through vote, and another variety of actions, such as protests, boycotts and direct action, and other online actions.

By contemporary social movements from the appropriation of new technologies information and communication: Protest movements have traditionally relied upon activities such as street theater, public demonstrations, and direct action to challenge Authorities. The Internet has altered this dynamic by electronically Promoting the diffusion of protest ideas and tactics quickly and efficiently across national borders. The Internet may serve multiple functions for all These organizations, including email lobbying of elected Representatives, public officials, and policy elites; networking with related associations and organizations; mobilizing organizers, activists, and members using action alerts, newsletters, and e-mails; raising funds and recruiting supporters; and communicating messages to the public via the traditional news medium. (...) In short, digital technologies Facilitate the network of networks, which shouldn’t be an environment where civic society and the public sphere flourish. 

The protest actions have gained strength since the 80s either through boycotts, demonstrations, raids, and many other creative ways developed by social movement organizations (OMSs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In fact, the protest actions have become a means of political expression as fundamental as participation in political parties, voluntary associations and community organizations. The different forms of action developed by movements are the result of a cumulative historical process previously developed activities and that suited to the needs and constraints of each specific process that civil society organizations develop, whether financial constraints, organizational, political agenda, political repression level that can be subjects and technologies that may be appropriate.

Creativity is a key element in the mobilization process, as the as new constraints emerge, new forms of political action are developed, or, as new technological tools will develop, also new ways to act collectively are being articulated. Forms protest can be more easily arranged via the Internet (if part of involved have access to the network of course) but are unlikely to be replaced only by online actions. This means that there is no replacement process, but rather complementarity between the forms of protest.  Many traditional groups with a predominantly national focus have gone online to augment. Their offline strategies, by exploiting new ways to reach out to supporters and the average or put pressure on political elites. It seems clear that Internet is affecting the ways traditional group’s campaign. The net has spurred changes that allow groups to capitalize on its potential for recruitment, organizational flexibility, and efficiency. 

   By Mbogo Tausi

   BAPRM 42611

Media and Democracy

Media democracy

Media and democracy is a set of ideas advocating reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism. The stated purpose for doing so is to create a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society, and enhances democratic values. It is a liberal-democratic approach to media studies that advocates the reformation of the mass media with an emphasis on public service broadcasting and audience participation, through the use of citizen journalism and alternative media channels. A media democracy focuses on using information technologies to both empower individual citizens and promote democratic ideals through the spread of information. Additionally, the media system itself should be democratic in its own construction shying away from private ownership or intense regulation. Media democracy entails that media should be used to promote democracy as well as the conviction that media should be democratic itself media ownership concentration is not democratic and cannot serve to promote democracy and therefore must be examined critically.The concept, and a social movement promoting it, have grown as a response to the increased corporate domination of mass media and the perceived shrinking of the marketplace of ideas.

The term also refers to a modern social movement evident in countries all over the world which attempts to make mainstream media more accountable to the publics they serve and to create more democratic alternatives

The concept of a media democracy follows in response to the deregulation of broadcast markets and the concentration of mass media ownership. In their book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, authors Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky outline the propaganda model of media, which states that the private interests in control of media outlets will shape news and information before it is disseminated to the public through the use of five information filters. In this way, the construction of the mass media as a for-profit enterprise behaves in a way that runs counter to the democratic ideals of a free press.

Media democracy advocates that corporate ownership and commercial pressures influence media content, sharply limiting the range of news, opinions, and entertainment citizens receive. Consequently, they call for a more equal distribution of economic, social, cultural, and information capital, which would lead to a more informed citizenry, as well as a more enlightened, representative political discourse.

A media democracy advocates:

• Replacing the current corporate media model with one that operates democratically, rather than for profit
• Strengthening public service broadcasting
• Incorporating the use of alternative media into the larger discourse
• Increasing the role of citizen journalism
• Turning a passive audience into active participants
• Using the mass media to promote democratic ideals

The competitive structure of the mass media landscape stands in opposition to democratic ideals since the competition of the marketplace effects how stories are framed and transmitted to the public. This can hamper the ability of the democratic system to solve internal social problems as well as international conflicts in an optimal way.

Media democracy, however, is grounded in creating a mass media system that favors a diversity of voices and opinions over ownership or consolidation, in an effort to eliminate bias in coverage. This, in turn, leads to the informed public debate necessary for a democratic state. The ability to comprehend and scrutinize the connection between press and democracy is important because media has the power to tell a society’s stories and thereby influence thinking, beliefs and behavior^..The concept of "democratizing the media" has no real meaning within the terms of political discourse in Western society.

   By Segesela Blandina

    BAPRM 42663