Lecture 2: Brand New

Isn’t it always the way that the things we learn in class actually relate to what is going on in the real world…but we will get to that eventually. Lecture 2 was all about new news, looking at how news has evolved from newspapers and television, what is now called old news, to the new news, the internet.

 ‘Back in the day’ news was there to get the message out. It was a form of mass communication aimed to target large aggregated audiences. Through newspapers, television, radio and magazines the world shared the news, but the same news. A person couldn’t choose what they were given to read or what they saw or heard. It was a great way to find out the basics, but you always had to watch the sport before you could hear the weather.

 And so we welcome the web, Web 1.0 – the information web. Web 1.0 saw the news brought to our computer, just like the ‘old news’ it was full of content plus surrounded with ads. But it didn’t really change the way we looked at news. It was still used in the same way.

But just like everything else it was upgraded. Enter Web 2.0. The world that we now know and love ‘New Media’, the social web. It was interactive, we finally got to control what we saw. Instead of sharing our news with the rest of the world, we simply shared it with our social group. This is the world we live in. With the internet you have the ability to contact social groups and let them know the news.

So let’s leave the classroom and venture into the real world. Is it really possible to share the news. Well the social web erupted with the news of KONY 2012. Now if you haven’t heard about KONY 2012 I can only assume you have been living in a cave, or don’t have Facebook. I suggest you check it out here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&sns=fb)

In an attempt to make Joseph Kony famous, or infamous, a short video by the Invisible Children Organisation went viral and travelled around the world in an effort to help bring down a ‘horrible’ person and bring justice to so many whose lives have been lost. Hundreds, thousands, millions of people got involved in this cause all because the news came straight to them. But some still ask ‘Is it real?’

 So what comes next? What is there for Web 3.0? Well it is pretty simple. The news will be for the individual. You see what you want to see. The news will suddenly have an understanding of what you want to know about and controlled through the power of technology.

 However the issue arises about, how do we pay for this? I have to admit I missed this part of the lecture. I was far to amused by the free jelly beans (#thanksdrbruceredman). The concern is that with everything being online and found at the click of the button how does the journalist and the organisations get paid for the work they have done. At what point does something free have to be paid for. And more importantly how many people will actually be willing to pay for the news.

It is a scary thought, especially for someone who is thinking of making a career in this business.

 Looking forward to Lecture 3 (what lollies are next?).

 Till Next Time…