Vs. December 20, 2008
Posted by airyrae in Merging with the Market.Tags: new media, new media vs. old media
add a comment
“All of us who professionally use the media are the shapers of society. We can vulgerize that society. We can brutalize it.
Or we can help lift it onto a higher level”
William Bernbach
In the red corner we have new media. New media is convenient, accessible, personable, easy, targeted and since it’s mostly free it puts up one heck of a fight. Pay no mind to its ‘stalker-like” qualities and questionable reporting methods. In the blue corner we have old media. Old, or traditional media, is tried, true, private, and accountable. And in the instance that it’s not accountable there is a professional somewhere who is, and oftentimes pays for it with the loss of their job. Pay no mind to the fact that you can’t get in now! It is predicted that new media, sometimes referred to as ‘people media’, will knockout old-time media and its disgraced professionals before the final round. But before you place your bets: Caveat lector (reader beware).
You can’t believe everything read, regardless of whether you’re getting your information from new or old media. However, credible information is a lot more difficult to distinguish from sponsored results or otherwise supplied by those with ulterior motives. Despite the reports of unreliability in traditional media outlets, it has been argued that old, paid-for, mediums are more reliable than the new, free media. Because professionals are paid, trained, and held accountable for their work. As a culture we expect the absolute truth from traditional media. Yet, new media isn’t held to this same high standard, with the exception of news Web sites. The new media, on the other hand, can be very useful and compelling. You can’t beat the Internet for accessing a diverse view on a wide variety of subjects. And traditional mediums just can’t compete with the ability to provide such a vast amount of information to readers.
As such, nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news. I guess ‘traditional journalists’ don’t contribute to Internet news stories so they’re more credible. Plus we all know that ‘Jo-Blow’ has no ulterior motives so his contributions to the Internet are reliable. So before you bet, its only fair that understand that the sources you are accessing online such as Google News and Yahoo News pull stories from newspapers, television, wire services and other media sources. While it’s delivered in a non-traditional form, that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t traditional journalism underneath it.
So who will you put your money on? Personally, I’m banking on both the old and the new. There is pain anytime the new threatens the old, but I think in the case of merging media the two rivals will mesh to create something that is so much more than its parts. Imagine media that is trustworthy, credible, timely, efficient, engaging, targeted, affordable, and requires the informed consent of its audience. Ultimately, both new and old mediums have their strengths and weaknesses. Instead of turning the media landscape into the next season of Survivor we should be focusing on merging the admiral aspects of each medium to create entities that equally benefit society and commerce.
E-Privacy: A Series of Unfortunate Events November 17, 2008
Posted by airyrae in Blessings and Burdens.Tags: Intelius, new media, privacy, public records
2 comments
“To each, their own”
I’d just like to vent today because my family has just had the unfortunate experience of learning that those who could potentially cause us harm can easily locate us through the use of new media. My husband works in criminal justice, and his employer just sent out an officer safety bulletin stating that a sworn officer received threats to himself and his family following an arrest. The suspect had detailed information about the officer’s family, residences and phone numbers.
These criminals used the site www.intelius.com to purchase these personal records for $2.95. This Web site gathers: name, age, address history, phone numbers, birth dates, income and family information from a variety of public sources: utility bills, court records etc. The least this Web site could do is use the information they sell to do a background check on their customers, as opposed to just offering this private information up to anyone with three dollars. While I realize that this information is public and could be ultimately compiled by anyone this Web site has taken all the grunt work out of it. At least in the good old days, criminals would have to visit the correct courthouses and dig through the public records themselves. But now, thanks to new media, criminals can pay a nominal fee and get a accurate record of my family’s life in less than a minute. And just so you know I visited this Web site and was appalled by the information it contained on my family and that anyone and their brother has such easy access to it.
I appreciate the attributes of new media and public records alike. But whoever thought is was a good idea to put these two things together on the internet and sell it to the masses is a jerk face. And I’d punch them if in the nose if it wouldn’t hurt my little arthritic hands so much. The idea that some criminal could track, harass, or even hurt our family simply because my husband was doing his job is sickening. Needless to say our information will soon be removed from this Web site. Oh and don’t worry, if someone gets ahold of your social security number they can also find out the rest of your identity through this site.
Unfortunately, this Web site operates under a don’t ask/don’t tell policy where they assume their service is OK with you unless you inform them otherwise. To have your information removed from this Web site customer service at Intelius recommends that you enter your name and state into their Web site, print off the results page, and circle the names you want removed. You may then fax or mail a written request to be removed from the site to Intelius at: 500 108 Avenue NE, Suite 1600, Bellevue, WA 98004 or fax the request to (425) 974-6194. The information will supposedly be removed within one week.
New Media Benefits All November 11, 2008
Posted by airyrae in Merging with the Market.Tags: new media, telecommuting, user-generated content
add a comment
“Change your thoughts and you change your world”
Norman Vincent Peale
US clergyman (1898 – 1993)
I’m starting to realize that new media is no better, no worse, but simply just different from traditional media. OK, maybe its better, but only if I get to keep my books, and magazines, and newspapers. While I speak as if I’m against all things new media, I do appreciate the convenience these new applications bring to my life. I would die with out online banking and the ability to search the Web to my heart’s content. I get driving directions and watch live broadcasts on my cell phone. My house is totally online: digital cable, monitored security systems, wireless internet, Xbox Live networked to our PC. And while I feel dissonant if I don’t surf the Web at least once after I get home from work, I’m still disheartened when people talk about the demise of traditional media. I want it all, but as you can see the trends are against me:
But ultimately I’ve come to realize that new media benefits us all in one way or another. Consider the following three areas:
Need I say more? Individuals are becoming more and more in control of the media. Consumers have the freedom to choose what they view and what they interact with more so today than ever before. Users are in control and not forced down any particular route.
Businesses have long been talking about marketing to a segment of one and new media is bringing us closer and closer to accomplishing this feat. New media allows us the ability to deliver as much or as little information as the user requires. New media allows marketers to focus in on more specific niches through permission based marketing and cookies.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced a temporary Internet outage at work; during which work ceases to exist and filing becomes everyone’s priority. Businesses rely on new media to both do business and promote their business. This reliance on new media has enabled more and more employees the opportunity to telecommute. Telecommuting has been shown to increase productivity because employees are better able to manage their work/life balance.
Blissful Ignorance and Rude Awakenings October 26, 2008
Posted by airyrae in New Media Effectiveness.Tags: new media, Web sites
add a comment
“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”
Will Durant
I’ve come to the realization this week that new media is just as effective as traditional media. I’ll be the first to admit that I had a predisposition towards traditional media. I was of the mind set that new media was a cheaper alternative to traditional media placements but could never serve as the principal in company’s media buy. Never being a creature of change, I’ve been reluctant to learn about the attributes that new media brings to the world of marketing. Ignorance is bliss…right? Well in all actuality, ignorance is just ignorance. Drawing conclusions about new media without knowing anything about it was simply juvenile of my part.
Blogs, in-game advertising, and Web site are all considered to be new media. You may be wondering how new media could possibly entail Web sites, since they have become almost a necessity for any business. I had trouble wrapping my head around the concept of new media, especially in regards to Web sites. So keep in mind throughout this and future discussions that the term new media is simply used to define and medium that is both digital and interactive: hence, the inclusion of Web sites.
In fact Web sites are one of the new mediums I’d like to further discuss as a result of a rude awakening I’ve had this week. In terms of new media and the market I’m definitely behind the curve. While I heavily rely on the Web sites of businesses to carry out my professional and personal tasks; I assumed that businesses targeting elderly markets need not worry so much their online presence. But as it turns out, Web sites are effective at reaching the elderly market. Internet users over the age of 60 heavily log onto Web sites to get information about health, travel, and to e-mail. While older users are definitely more cautious about their online activities they still rely on Web sites to get information that is important to them.
As such, the effectiveness of new media can be seen when considering the markets that are being targeted with individual placements. Keep in mind that there is no medium that can effectively reach everyone. But marketers are not trying to reach everyone; they’re trying to reach their customers. For example, I doubted the effectiveness of in-game advertising. In-game advertising seemed like it would be more annoying than effective. However, gamers like the in-game advertising saying it makes games more realistic and influences their purchasing decisions. This example shows that there is a tendency to doubt the effectiveness of media when we do not use the media ourselves. So keep in mind throughout our exploration that, like traditional media, the effectiveness of new media is heavily correlated to the target market.
Until next time,
Arin
