"In whatever shape or form, media bring the world to our doorstep - and we bring our world into media. No one is 'outside' anymore whether by choice or necessity," says Mark Deuze, author of Media Work.
One of his arguments is that because of increased technological developments, we are now more connected than ever in work, play, and nearly every other aspect of our daily lives. And with this technological convergence, we are now living in what he calls a "participatory media culture." Deuze believes that the
I would definitely have to agree with Deuze, and to highlight this, I'd like to examine this two and a half minute clip from the news network CNN's television broadcast about the 2010 World Cup.
Immediately you'll notice that the news anchor is relying heavily on the use of a large touch screen computer. He begins using it to navigate to a page on CNN.com that is inviting viewers to participate in their "Super Fan" program. From there, they cut to a viewer created video, where a man from Denmark speaks from his own perspective about his love for soccer.
Following that, they quickly segue to a view of an application called Map Mash. Map Mash compiles tweets from specific geographic locations set by a user. They use this to find trending topics associated with the World Cup in various countries all over the world. They eve read specific tweets on air, and show a picture taken from someone's twitter account.
Deuze's argument really is undeniable. Through technological advancements, even television is interactive, today. The anchor in this particular clip acts nothing more than a mediator for all of the various forms of user generated content. And if this isn't one great big example of how participatory our media has become, then I don't know what is.
It's true, even the news is becoming interactive nowadays. My guess is because the broadcasters know that the audience enjoys interacting in the programs they are watching; that, and the fact that is probably far less expensive to post what people are tweeting about as opposed to sending out a reporter to cover a story.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how technology is literally everywhere. On our news, for example, we don't even think about how these individuals use the technology to perform the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteThinking of when I arrive at school, I use the internet to check for assignments, use the library printers to get papers ready for class, and even use power points for review instead of traditional text books.