My Reflections

Before this semester I never really knew what a Blog was and the thought of then having to create my own was rather daunting. However in putting this all together I could not believe how easy it actually was. In saying this it was also an enjoyable project and one that I also gained some valuable knowledge from. For instance it has become much more evident in seeing how our media environment has changed rapidly in so many ways and how new forms of media have become so digitalised.

I have also developed many new skills along the way. I feel I have more knowledge in the differences in print and online text and now have a better approach in implementing all the different forms of media. Aside from this I now have a better understanding of weblogs and blogging. For instance I understand the purpose and see how it can be useful. They are also a great way to get an insight into key media issues, personal areas of interest or learn about something new.

However I was limited to one thing. In regards to my media issues, two articles were collected from the Australian newspaper back in August and therefore I was difficult to create a hyperlink to the online article. I managed to find them in Newsbank through the UniSA library however there are some difficulties in accessing and opening up the page. A part from this everything else went smooth sailing and I have enjoyed this course overall.

Image source: http://www.darcynorman.net/images/electric_company_weblogs.png

Big Brands Jostle for Hottest Spots

The Australian, Tuesday, October 30 2007

This article relates to how once again the internet is being snapped up by the world’s big media and technology firms. The article goes into detail about the evolution of Facebook and the use of ‘social networking’. Microsoft just recently bought a small part of the company and Facebook believes that their business partnership with Microsoft will generate 300 million users worldwide. This will be the result from mass advertising that is going into internet websites these days. Social networks collect a whole lot of information about users and therefore acts as a target for ads. Online is a practical medium for reaching mass audiences and now it’s a part of the media mix.

These days everyone you speak to either has a Facebook or Myspace, it’s almost like an alternative for asking someone their mobile number. I actually feel left out because I don’t have one, it is the latest trend these days. Therefore once again the media has pounced on this opportunity and online advertising will increase to reach new prospects. If you don’t have one, why not sign up now and get with the times, I might actually do it myself, http://www.facebook.com/.

Image source:
http://blog.searchanyway.com/img2/facebook.jpg

Drugged Out AFL Determined to Make Messenger The Issue

The Australian, Thursday, August 23 2007

This years AFL season has been overshadowed by the high profile drug controversies and illicit drug usage. Players have by far crossed the line and the football media have pounced on this opportunity to break news on the nation’s most popular game. Media revelations sparked interest once the big story came out regarding found private medical records regarding two AFL professional footballers. The Seven network bought the medical records and made it a huge news flash. A fantastic quote that came about in the article read “it is important that how the story was done does not become the story. The important thing is that the abhorrent issue of drugs in sport is aired”. Although I think it was ethically and morally wrong for Seven network to buy the medical records from the finder, the issue is the whole drug usage by professional athletes who instead should be acting as role models to society.

I believe the main disturbing issue of drug usage is being way overlooked and the AFL committee and commissioners should stop worrying about how the media are reacting to the stories. Instead they should start worrying about their illicit drug policy, which has come across as being overly protective of players who partake in illicit drugs.

Image Source: http://coolabah.jp/AFL.jpg

Net Scores First Live Sport at Beijing 2008

The Australian, Thursday, August 9 2007

The 2008 Beijing Olympics is set to start a new trend in media in streaming the events of the games. Together with the official Olympic TV broadcaster, the Seven network and SBS, Yahoo7 will break new grounds by showing some events live and exclusive on the internet. I think this is a good way to stream events, even with two TV channels telecasting events, there are that many other events that might be playing at the same time it could all clash. With Australia also being increasing dominant and strong in majority of events it will be good to have another way to pick and choose what you want to watch.

The internet will also enable users of the website to generate into a social networking element so people can post their opinions, thoughts and favourite moments of the Olympics, much similar to blogging. The internet also allows viewers to re-enact some events, watch what they missed out on and even watch press conferences and exclusive interviews with athletes. What a great way to live up one of the world’s biggest sporting events!

Image Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Ninemsn Scores Mobile Ad Deal

The Australian, Thursday, September 6 2007

Ninemsn, Australia’s leading media company, have joined with Vodafone to sell advertising on mobile phones. This joint venture will continue to bring people closer to the information, communication tools and services which they all want. This is simply another great example of how new forms of media are becoming such a phenomenon and how they are rapidly taking over the old way of doing things. All the TV style commercials and advertisements do not incur data charges for the viewer, but it will use Vodafone’s internet server ‘Live’, as a hyperlink to click through to the mobile website. This is another clever way of how new media has the opportunity to gain market attractiveness.

I think this is a fantastic innovation, however how much of the advertising is actually going to be payed attention to. For instance will people actually take note of the advertisement? As mobiles are becoming more and more of a necessity and data packages are increasingly common with mobile phone internet, it’s simply another way the media can increase the propensity of viewers. Just as the internet is the number one source for information, mobile phones are following the footsteps and therefore the media sees this as an opportunity.

Image Source: http://funnelback.com/Customer%20Logos/ninemsn.jpg

SBS Debate: Fourth commercial network?

The Australian, Thursday, August 23 2007

This article looks at SBS becoming the fourth commercial channel for Australian television. It goes into mentioning the SBS culture being the multicultural ethnic charters, sport, longer one hour news and so on. Making SBS the fourth commercial network will see a slight change in their culture and also within the broadcast media industry. Their commercial times will also increase and we will also witness a massive increase in advertising. This will give more opportunities for advertisers to attract media attention. If this follows through then TV advertising will see an increase with a wide flux of commercials giving companies the opportunity to release their brands, products and services perhaps to immigrants as they are the majority watching this station. This could start a new target market and development of diverse products. Their remains the national priority of having a broadcaster programming non-english speaking television shows and therefore having more advertisements could also seem irrelevant and not necessary for these migrants.

Image Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/SBS.svg/457px-SBS.svg.png

Blog classifications, the phenomenon and communities

Blogs have become a very powerful form of communication. They are now used as online diaries and for professional journalism. This allows blog entries to be regularly updated and it also has the potential of reaching mass audiences, something no other form of media can attract. The impact of using blogs is huge, it attracts audiences from around the world and this surpasses onto different demographics, age and gender. This phenomenon also has the ability to attach multimedia effects, such as images, videos, links, web pages and other media related issues to create more excitement and a sense of feeling (Cyber Journalist, 2007).


Other forms of blog classifications include business blogs. This allows businesses to market or sell products and services and create public awareness for the organisation itself. This allows businesses to form communities and create strong business relationships, strengthen the brand, provide information and insights, and spread the overall culture (Corporate Blogging, 2007).

Other examples of blog classifications and communities are social groups or even support groups. For instance blogs are used as a supporting role for sick people or people who are in need of assistance. People then create online diaries to post entries about their feelings and concern. Blog communities however range from a number of different areas and purposes. They vary from international blogs for tourists, to art and culture, to religion and science and sport. (Blogarama, 2007).

Blogarama, 2007, viewed 23 October 2007, http://www.blogarama.com/

Cyber Journalist, 2007, viewed online 23 October http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/003175.php.

Corporate Blogging Info, 2007, viewed 23 October http://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/08/six-types-of-business-blogs.asp

Image Source: http://custom-writing.org/blogpics/06-Classification-Essay-Writing.jpg.

New forms of Media Publishing

Over the past two decades we have witnessed a rapid transformation into a new form of media that has changed writing and publishing. We have turned to a digitalised world that has transformed to so called ‘old media’ or traditional media through the application of technologies. For instance this computer based media fit has changed the forms of newspapers and magazines (Wikipedia, 2007). In addition to this the traditional newspapers are now able to be read online via their website along with magazines. This enables magazines to target people from all over the world in different countries. Now people are able to read international newspapers daily without any problems.

Businesses, social groups and communities now form blogs as a form of media and get what ever it is they have out there. Furthermore this has created a world network and the ‘cyber world’ connects people and information via computers. It also creates an opportunity for advertisers and marketers which seek to gain the attractiveness and advantages of the new media. The new media industry attracts many other segments such as software and video games, television and radio and of course marketing (ABC Radio National, 2007).

ABC radio National, New Media Publishing, viewed 23 October 2007 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigidea/stories/s1485827.htm

Wikipedia, 2007, New forms of Media Publishing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_(media_and_publishing)

Image Source:
http://www.zmetro.com/photos/2005/02/newspapers_022005.gif.

Designing for Print versus Designing for Online

When designing print it is important to remember the order remains linear, with the reader engaging privately. Print also involves a different time axis, with the reader moving down and across the page across columns at their own pace to focus and comprehend. When designing for print it is also essential to have a clear contrast between the background and foreground colours so it doesn't make it hard to read and interpret, consequently being more layered. Images are also essential to decrease the amount of too much white space. Essentially print is also very limited to the argument at hand and cannot create as much information or related texts to further analyse the topic so therefore covering the scope to keep the readers attention (Birkerts, 1994).

Web design takes another different form. For instance web readers don't sit their and read the whole text instead they scan the text. Therefore the design must change to accomodate the reader. The information displayed is split into multiple hyperlinked pages so the reader can pick and chose from their preference (Sun Microsystems, 2007). When designing for the web it is important to make the text scannable. Furthermore this means highlighting keywords, stand out sub-headings, one idea per paragraph and a more concise shorter word count stating the most important information.


Birkerts, S 1994, The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age, viewed 9 October 2007 http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/nn/bdbirk.htm


Sun Microsystems, 2007, Differences between paper and online documents, viewed 9 October 2007, http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/wftw1.html