Essay

In your view, what are the possible benefits and problems attached to the internet?

New media refers to on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, and creative participation. In this essay, I will be talking about the possible benefits and problems attached to the internet, also explaining both sides of the arguments, which will include at least three different theorists to back up my points. 

One problem attached to the internet is institutional bias. This is when institutes allow their ideas and opinions to take over and are shared with other people, so that they believe in what they believe in. One example of this is Fox News, they are known for only showing one side of stories, which impacts the audience that watches Fox News, as they will believe what is being shown to them and won’t think that there is another side to the story, as they are being manipulated into thinking that only one opinion is right.

However, one benefit attached to the internet is sharing views and ideologies. It allows people to express their opinions and feelings towards anything for example any incidents that occur. People can do this through YouTube, by commenting on videos, for example recently Beyoncé released an album without anyone knowing and she has been one of the most searched celebrities in the past few days. Her fans and other people have expressed their opinion about the album through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Another problem attached with the internet Is that their false information being posted up on loads of websites. Millions of people use the internet and they could be using it. The internet isn’t easily control, it is used on a daily basis and there are many things on the internet that are dangerous. People are lying about their identity which isn't safe for young children and cyber bullying is increasing as it is becoming easier to access the internet.

Another benefit attached to the internet is that it helps students when studying. They have access to millions of websites that can help them when studying, which will help them increase their knowledge on subjects they are studying. For example they can use bite-size, which contains information on many different subjects, they are able to learn new information, revise and then take tests to see what they have learnt. They also have access to read books online without having to go to libraries. Recently, many companies have created apps that help people revise from their phones, which is easier for people to access as they are with their phones all the time. 80% of the apps have been created by 20% of the institutions, which benefits everyone. 

Overall, I think that the internet can be positive and negative, depending on how people are using it. The problems are that wrong information is posted online, biased views are posted online, which can encourage more debates to take place, which can lead to  big issue being created. However, there are many positives such as there is more freedom for people to express their own opinions, on blogs and forums. 

Weekly NDM Story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25633199
BBC News - CES 2014: Samsung shows off its Bendable TV

Samsung has shown off the Bendable TV - an 85in (216cm) prototype that allows the curvature of its screen to be adjusted by remote control. Samsung have also released a simliar prototype, however it is a smaller version. Both companies beleive that the TV's can enhance viewing experiences and make viewers feel as if they are in the TV.

NDM

When fiction becomes fact: can we trust the internet?

A series of hoaxes have flown around the internet. But what happens when news sites report fiction as fact, delighting then disappointing their readers?

A story went viral of a man live-tweeting his interactions with a woman on the plane – was revealed to be fake. At the same time a Twitter conversation between a comedian and an American salsa brand – which appeared to result in employees being fired and had shot, sneeze-like across the internet – was confirmed as a hoax.

BuzzFeed is a lot of things. It's a gallery of grinning dogs. It's a thousand comedy lists about the 90s. It's a scrolling advert, a comic sports site, a politics blog, a moving newspaper, and its ad revenues this year are estimated to be $40m. As it stretches across our consciousness like clingfilm, its responsibilities are being called into question more and more. As a news organisation, profiting from the stories it shares, shouldn't it be verifying them before it publishes? And if this continues to happen – if it repeatedly reports on fictions as if they're fact – then won't it start to lose us, its fast-clicking readers? We don't expect every story posted by a stranger on Twitter to be true, but we do expect every story reported on by a huge media organisation to be, because that's what they're for. The point of them is to filter through the daily mess of culture and to repackage it for us in witty, bite-sized, trustworthy chunks. The more they mess up, the less we'll return.

That we see isn't always true, the internet can be edited. Television is an illusion - we believe what we see. This article talks about the issues about publishing newspaper articles, nobody verifies them before publishing, however they make profit, and a moving newspaper and it's ad revenue this year are estimated to be $40m. A story written by a reality TV producer then reported as fact by an international media company (BuzzFeed's post got almost 1.5m views) and shared frantically by those who think it's real.Also, on twitter we won't expect every story posted by a stranger to be true. However, we expect every story report by media to be true.  This is because of the authority they hold, and the power, they are able to engage audiences and can fool them into believing anything and everything is true, as audiences are fooled to believe the articles have been verified beforehand and are official, even though they may not be verified. Also, the internet is harmless, nobody gets hurt, but it affects how we engage online. We will be led to trust less and enjoy less. In the long-term it is said that our lives will become fractionally worse, but the issue lies not with the storyteller, it lies with the sites that share it. 

New and Digital Media

        What is Pareto's law?

Pareto's law is the 80-20 rule, which means that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. A common example is that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients. The Pareto principle is only related to Pareto efficiency. Pareto developed both concepts in the context of the distribution of income and wealth among the population. 

      What other industries or examples can you apply to the 80/20 rule to?
One industry that you can apply to the 80/20 rule is 

Weekly New and Digital Media Story

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/dec/09/nelsonmandela-daily-mirror

How the Daily Mirror, and my wife, got the first Mandela interview?



This article is about how Trevor McDonald's wife got the the first ever interview for the Daily Mirror, which was the first newspaper interview.  He was too delighted to publish her 'world exclusive'. In the Sunday Times, he said that his interview with Nelson Mandela was 'one of the most cherished memories of his journalistic life'. The article talks about how they got the interview, they got the interview because the Mirror's then owner (the late Robert Maxwell) had offered Mandela his plane to fly him from Johannesburg to London for the the "Free South Africa" concert at Wembley stadium. In the event, the ANC rejected the offer in the belief that there were potential security and safety risks. So he and his wife, Winnie, took a scheduled flight instead, accompanied by Noreen.

This article shows the impact Nelson Mandela had on people's lives, as Trevor McDonald said that the the interview was the most cherish memories of his journalistic life. 

Hegemony

House prices

The hegemonic view is that the houses with the highest prices are the good ones. If there are high prices, it is always shown as a good thing, especially in the media, they get positive coverage. The stories get shown by a group of people that already own homes rather than those who are hoping to buy them. However, there is very low coverage of the fact that house price and risky mortgages contributed to the major economic crash in 2008. The columns, blogs and comments show different opinions that contradict the dominant or hegemonic view, 

which is usually written by younger people.

The Royal Family

The royal family is a hegemonic view; we have accepted it in our society, as they are the ones who are in control of our country. Whenever something happens in the royal family, they are always in the headlines of all the newspapers. When the royal wedding took place, they were on every front page. This shows that everyone was interested in this topic; they wanted to know details about the wedding etc. Many people watched the wedding on TV, and some people went to Buckingham Palace to go and watch the wedding, showing that the royal family are dominating. Millions of people came from across the world to see the wedding take place. Also, when the royal baby was born, it was on majority of newspapers, which shows how much of a big issue it was. 

Top Boy

In the opening of Top Boy, there are both positive and negative portrayals of young people. In the first minute of the opening there were 4 positive portrayals of young people. The two boys were coming straight home from school and being a part of the kids that ‘hand around’ in the streets after school. Another positive aspect was when the boy rejected the money from one of the guys that was talking to them; they know not to take things from strangers. Another positive portrayal we see is when the kid stays home, as he is worried about his mum not being home. He waits for her and his friend waits with him, which shows how much he cares. Gerberns theory is linked to this as young people are watching this and can see that they should come straight home. This is a positive portrayal of young people. In the eighth minute, there are 2 negative aspects of young people, as they are seen swearing, which shows that there is a bad side to them. Overall, there are 9 positive aspects and 11 negative aspects in the opening of Top Boy.