Where to captain?

So I am getting a degree.  A masters degree in Digital Media. There is a great amount of hype surrounding digital media and everyone is talking about it, but yet no one can really explain what it is.  We are entering a new medium that will encompass all other forms of communication, or are we?  Is digital media, social networking going to be our next form of communication or is this just a phase?

Well, that is hard to say and I do believe that like all things, the hype will fade.  Facebook will be a part of the past, but there will be something to replace it.  There will always be a progression of technology, even in social media.  Starting with friendster, myspace then it was facebook.  Who knows the succession of social media or communication for that matter?  I have a 2 year old niece that can work my iphone better than myself and that still surprises me.  And that apparently is the norm for children today.

Where am I going with this degree?  Well, I am gaining knowledge in its stages of progression.  And that is priceless.  There is great change and confusion in my industry but with that comes exploration and innovation. Also,  with that comes responsibility, especially for bigger companies.  Security can be breached in social media situations.  The future of a business can be tweeted away, or posted on a blog.  There is no privacy on the web, and the privacy that is available is not very secure.

I think that there can be the best of both worlds.  Maybe that is the optimist in me but social media does play an important part of marketing, and it can also hinder a company's reputation.  That is where I feel the future must lead us.  A compromise, a feeling of security for companies that need social media for marketing to the next generation.  That is why I am here.  To figure out how I am going to market to my 2 year old niece that can swoop pictures, open up apps and download new ones on a phone that I have had only a few months.  How does she know all this?  Instinct.

So, one of my goals is to get inside my two year old nieces head to see what and how they understand the new wave of technology.  I will be starting a video this week analyzing toddlers and their technology.  It will be a humorous look at our culture, and at the next generation.  Anyone have a toddler that would like to be part of this explorational video, please let me know...

Toddlers and Technology....  Where to?

The Video Journalist

Yes, our newspapers have gone digital.  Online newspapers and magazines are crowding our browser bookmarks.  But what does that mean exactly for the news articles or the journalist for that matter?  Well, first the articles will be more interactive.  More interactive means video.


Video?  But journalists are writers, not tv talent.  So, what does that mean exactly for our talented writers out there?  Will they have to put on a fancy suit, get a new hairdo and learn to talk in front of a camera.  Well, maybe not exactly but it is possible that they will have to learn to be both efficient writers, speakers and savvy on camera.  They will have to compete with TV news online that has streaming video straight from the professional camer itself.


Magazines are my favorite form of editorial, and I decided to take a look a those magazines and how they transfer online, specifically as online videos.  My three favorite magazines are The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and WIRED.  Three amazingly created magazines both in design and in content.  But can they show that same wit, creativity and experience via video?  Let's take a look...


First, The New Yorker.  Love their witty articles, but their video articles... Not so much.  Very stale in comparison to the written words, and gorgeous illustrations of the printed magazine.  There is no remanent of The New Yorker style in the videos that this is in fact the New Yorker.  The only indication is that the videos are done by the New Yorker writers and contributors themselves, which is pretty evident since they are clearly not TV talent.   They look like amateurs, and their wit doesn't at all come across the camera.  The words that once had such strength written in an article are now pretty dull in comparison on video.  The stories are still the same but they have died somewhere in translation to video.  The writers look uncomfortable talking to the camera, and for the most part do not come across with the same ambition and style.  Lastly, The New Yorker videos are seriously lacking a user interactivity with these videos.  Where are the comments, the reviews, the discussion, the sharing to other social media outlets?  No where I could see...


The New York Times Magazine and WIRED both have sophisticated videos, and plenty of user feedback and interaction.  They clearly have the professional touch, and all the equipment needed to create videos that resemble their magazines.  The only difference was that WIRED magazine videos seems to call to me more than The New York Times content.  Why? The WIRED videos have a more humanized and personal feel.  Like they are interacting with me.  The formats, the screen shots, the excess of information, and various media in the video keeps me entertained.  


My favorite video on the Music Business now.




Here is another video from New York Times Magazine, where they are also talking to the audience in a similar informative style which was very entertaining, but there is a sense of disconnection.  The engagement is not nearly as interactive.  I like the idea of making it seem like a natural setting of a conversation but the players in this video seem a little awkward.  Lastly, I think being able to embed video into any content is VERY important.  The New York Times Magazine does not have that capability.  I can only share it to social media networks or link it.

So, here is the link:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/15/technology/personaltech/1247465189108/radical-cameras.html


Overall, video is bringing a new wave of interaction to online journalism.  But what's going to happen to reading?  Are we only going to be fed information from now on?  That is for another blog...

It's a free world! Let's argue about it...

So, the long debate about the Free market.  It started with Chris Anderson's book, called "Free: The Future of Radical Price".  He states how the market is turning towards everything having the price of Free, which is an effective way of selling your product.  From that there are numerous blogs going back and forth about whether or not allowing our market world to be entirely FREE.  Just the word alone, FREE, has a great ring to it.  And that is pretty much Anderson's point.

But the real point I want to make here is the beautiful lesson about this debate between Anderson, Gladwell, Godin's and Cuban's response.  They are speaking to the masses on a completely free platform, and writing their perspective and thoughts in a format that they wish to.  How much freedom could you get?

The real argument between the Free debate crew is the fact that journalism is losing ground and fast.  There is question on how to get on board with online newspapers that are completely free and have the possibility of loosing great writers, or what's worse downgrading the quality of writing.  I completely empathize with this issue.  I don't agree in getting something for free that deserves payment.  There are so many writers, journalists, and editors that deserve to get their paycheck for the groundbreaking work they are doing.  The stories that I read everyday, that is a privilege and a service.  I empathize for this when a client expects my consultation about a project to be completely free.  I wouldn't downgrade my time by offering up my talents and ideas for free.  Especially, my time is not worth it.  We pay for everything else in our lives, why should we not pay for editorials?  It is still a service and a trade.

With that said, I know that there are numerous ways of making money online by other routes, and still being able to offer your product for free.   Anderson makes this point when countering Malcolm's opinion.  Anderson gives an example about his online dad's website that now makes a good amount of money just by ads alone.  Well, that is great for that site, but that is not always the case.  YouTube has one of the highest traffic sites and yet it is still losing money.  The viral method is working but where is the payment?  But then, would YouTube really be as popular if you had to pay for it?  Even if it was just .01 cent per upload?  Probably not.  It is the word, FREE.

Where is our Online market going?  Well, let's look at the cable company.  I don't have a tv, or cable for that matter but yet I am able to see all the shows I please at the time I please, and almost right after it being aired live on cable.  But that doesn't mean I always get it for free.  When available, I watch some shows on Hulu for free.  Then, there are times when I watch shows on megavideo.com.  This is a free service for only 72 minutes.  Then after that you can either get tricky by changing your IP address to get to watch another 72 minutes and just keep trading off.  Or you can pay for a few months worth of online tv shows and movies for about $20.  So, its cheaper than cable, and I don't have a tv so at times I will pay for it.

In the end, I think we will all pay for a service that we want.  The things that we pay for everyday that we don't need ever.  So, why not editorials?  I will continue to my paper newspaper before the online one but I imagine one day it will be paperless and I will buy online as well.

Rain Rain Rain Seattle... Class Project Topic

Well, I thought it may be fitting for a topic in Seattle to be RAIN. Especially since Drew had to emphasize to the poor new students to the area the crappy weather they will have to deal with while being at the UW.  Although, I have to say it has been a pretty gorgeous Fall.  But get ready to see and feel the affects of the dreary, cold Seattle Rain.

Rain, you may say, is a little too specific for everyone to create a project with enough diversity.  Then I started to really think about all the forms of rain, or rather the various ways we use the word Rain.  Besides the obvious rain that is the liquid precipation falling from the sky, there are numerous objects, people, and ideas that are called the word Rain.  Also, people in Seattle blame the rain for numerous things... especially our emotional behavior, and our seclusion in the winter time.  Maybe it could allow for some other emotional outbursts like singing in the rain... Or other iconic themes about Rain.

Here are a few that I found in Seattle alone:

Rain, modern infusion restaurant in Wallingford

Rain Fitness club

Rain City Yoga

Rain City Cigar

Rain City Guide

Rain as an emotion

Rain, where does it all go?

Rain, what does that word mean to you?

Then to diverge out of Seattle :

Rain, a band dedicated to the Beatles

Rain, Radio and Internet Newsletter

Rain Vodka

Response to TED conference, and Shirky

Shirky, besides being a great public speaker, has the ability to resonate and impress numerous followers and Media Experts.  The most impressive part of his presentation was its simplicity.  The simplicity to understand, follow and acknowledge the wave of the social media technology without even knowing the extent of what social media can become.

Censorship.  It is an important word and one that is discussed in most of our classes at MCDM.  There is a need to regulate, manage, and monitor the use of the internet, or at least the ability to sift through the excess.  In China, the censorship of the Internet has always been astounding to me.  I guess because I always wonder what standards the Chinese government are using since social media is a new form of communication. Who can really be the judge of this?  How can a government really censor people's opinions when there is such a broad range that falls under the rules of censoring the internet?  We as humans adapt, and develop new ways to get around restrictions.  For example, if we can't express opinions of one's government then we can express it in code that is un-traceable.  We have been trained to use abbreviations, and other vernacular to express our opinions.  So, my question is... Don't you think that there will always be a way to get around this kind of censorship?

Besides the obvious freedom of speech that censorship clearly takes away from every person using the internet.  I also have to imagine that the next step would be the censorship of 2 way communication as well. Supposedly the government is already spying on our texts and phone calls... which would be a huge waste of time if they were ever spying on myself.  So, what if censorship of the internet led to censorship of our texts, and what we say over the phone?  My god!  What would then happen to one of my favorite websites http://www.textsfromlastnight.com?  I am being extreme of course but it is my train of thought when we talk about censorship on the internet.  It trickles down to all forms of communication and it has already affected numerous newspapers where journalist are not allowed to express opinions or views in articles.

The most important part of Shirky's presentation was the fact that the people, not the government, gave the news and information first.  I just heard a segment on NPR about the same content basically stating that the government needs to get on board with social media if they want to be able to give the news before the amateurs do.  Social media should be embraced further by governments but that won't rule out the role of amateurs.  It can't. The people will always get to the news before the government does because it is us that are living through these occurrences.  Not them.  We should embrace amateurism.  As Shirky once said, "Amateurs are motivated by something other than money", which makes them more real than most professionals in my opinion.

The Masters Start

Starting my first week at the University of Washington, Masters of Communication in Digital Media program has proved a few things. First, I am not nearly engaged with the social media world as I thought. Second, I never realized how much blogging and twittering I set up for others and practically none for myself.

With that said, here is the start of me engaging in it for myself and for my masters degree in Communication. But not just any masters degree... One that has to be explained to anyone that asks what I am getting my degree in. Digital Media. What is Digital Media? Wikipedia's definition is "digital media usually refers to electronic media that work on digital codes." And it continues on with words like binary numeral system, processing machines, arbitrary sequence, digital information processing machines and so on. That would loose anyone's interest and probably confuse them even further.

Digital Media refers to any form of media or communication such as journalism, tv, phones, radio, internet, blogging, twitter, social media, podcasts, you tube, texting, instant messenger, etc... as long as it contains a digital code. Which pretty much encompasses almost all forms of media and communication today. We are getting closer to each other without having to even know one another. I can have a few hundred facebook friends and never even meet them in person if I wanted. And that is Digital Media... in a shorthand form. The new wave of Communication Technologies that are changing the way we interact everyday. And it keeps changing rapidly so in order to keep up, you have to embrace it fully.

Welcome aboard!