the 4th estate

What is 'the Fourth Estate'?Is new media technology responsible for the decline in newspapers?What does it mean "maybe the Internet is already the cyberspace of the fourth estate"?

the forth estate was quoted by Edmund Burke to be the press, the other 3 estates were Parliament, religion and the court. he said that the press checked that the other 3 estates were not abusing the power that they were given. although this is not true so much lately they have still been cased where the press have revealed slanders in the government. they revealed that a member of the government had corrupt dealing with an arms dealer, the paper was taken to court but the suit was dropped and the member of government taken to prison.

i think the new media technology is responsible for the decline in the newspapers. the t.v made it accessible to get 24 hour news so there is no need for papers. this and the internet will eventually bring the downfall of the papers. all the digital media it more accessible and more up to date and can bring out the new stories instantly rather than having to wait till the next morning.

when saying that the internet is becoming the new 4th estate it really is because the inter covers all aspects of the media from the t.v to new films. the internet will cover and report on everything in out society, for this reason it has become the new fourth estate. the internet will make sure that all the other estates don't abuse there powers and this would include the papers. there are people on the internet who will look at every aspect of the papers and enteritises it for the smallest things due to the fact that it is freedom of speech and so easy to report on the internet using blogs and websites.

1. Production - how has digital technology changed the way films are shot? How has it made the process more creative? Think about on set and post-production
2. Distribution - how do we access films now? How do the films get distributed to the cinemas? How is this changing?
3. Exhibition - how do we experience films? Is the cinema experience changing? Is it under threat with home cinema technology?

production
when filming using digital technology it makes the production of the media easier after the filming has finished. It changes the way the film is shot as film reel is not needed as a hard drive can be used. This means that less space is required and the film reel doesn't have to be scanned before editing. it just saves time and less people are required to edit the film. as the film is already digitally stored it can be transfered between computers and camera making it simpler to share between editors, and being in digital form it can be edited straight after filming. the parts that need to be edited, color and lighting etc. the digital media makes it easier to edit as it doesn't have to be scanned so no color is lost or any picture quality lost.
when filming on set the cameras used will make it easier to edit film when filming, like changing colors or adding filters will allow the film to be changed without having to change after filming.

distribution
the digital technology used to make films helps in distribution. as we move on in technology there are new ways in which we watch films, the internet has revloutionised the way we watch films, as we can watch films on the internet, if the films have been filmed in digital form they are able to be uploaded straight onto the internet for the audience to watch. although this could lead to copyright and illegal distribution.
when the films are taken to the cinema's the film reel has to be taken to each cinema, where as with digital it could be sent over the internet, this would mean films would be released quicker making the film companies make more money and the audience happier. but this is changing as the film companies are always finding quicker ways to distribute the films. if the internet was used then there could always be the chance that the film could be stolen over the internet and the released using p2p servers. causing the illegal market to get the real film rather than filmed ones.
Acording to http://www.howstuffworks.com/ they say that it cost $1500 to $2000 per film reel. this means that it cost upto 6 million dollers to distribute films to 3000 cinimas across america. if it was a global relese it would cost upto 100 million dollars to distribute worldwide.

Exhibition
currently most people go to the cinema to experience a new film but that is changing as the dvd market is growing and how we can see films is also changing. as the cinema become more expensive and the film hire market grows the need for home cinema seem more appealing to the average family. the use of big tv's also mean that the cinema looses money.
i believe that the cinema is under serious threat from home cinema systems, as we get bigger and bigger television's and the surround sounds sets you can experience the same excitement from going to the cinema without leaving your house at all. the films can be offered off the internet and then watched whenever u like. it also saves alot of money. eventually there will be no need for cinema so films will have to be released straight to dvd. this will cause the film makers to loose money. and as film markets are all about money now there will be a shortage.

new media cover work

Digitally- digitally is the encoding of information, using 0 or 1. This is very similar to binary on a computer and using this means information is smaller and therefore you are able to send more information at one time.

Interactivity- this is the compressed information which is then streamed onto other computers via the internet. This can be done using either cable or the air via satellites. As it is compressed more information is able to be sent and therefore takes less band width. You are able to interact with responses which is uploading and downloading. This is a similar to web 2.0

Hypertextuality- this refers to the organisation of text, as it is not set the way it is played then you are able to shuffle the media or even just to different places in the media. Such as a DVD this allows you to skip to the middle of a film. But this allows you to also skip to other peoples media so there is no way to keep you involved with their media.

Dispersal- this is how media is shared, across a wide market which is made bigger by the digitally enhanced media.

Vitality- this is how real something is, things are represented as the user sees them. You are made to ask the question ‘what is real’ and ‘who is representing it’

Convergence- new media converging is a massive step for new media, things such as mp3 players which can view pictures and movies are all these new media converging. The key points of this is where does it goes next and how do they manage to get these gadgets so small.

Audience- how do they use the technology and how does it change the way they have used and how they view the information. This will all be affected by what means they use the media.

Regulation and control- control its use is a problem as many people abuse this and don’t stick to the regulations of it. The other question is who controls the media and who has the power to revoke privileges.

Ownership- who owns the technology and who does it make a difference. This is important as Sony may own a product but really who owns it?

Part 2

Who is Chris De Wolfe and what does he say is the future for social networking? What impact will portable hardware have on this area of technology?

Chris de wolf is the cofounder of Myspace, he believes that the future of social networking is that it will become an area for people to meet, making it easier to talk to people all around the world. He also believes that it will continue to be come more personal and more portable and more collaborative. This leads to the point that people will start using social networks when on the move and eventually most of the people using the social networks will be non-pc users. Using such things as mobiles and PDA’s.

The portable hardware used will allow users to access information and write things on their page whenever they have free time which would be when commuting. This removes the use of computers and eventually less people will be using computers to access their pages.

Who is Chad Hurley and what does he say is his company's goal? Is he a positive or negative technological determinist?

Chad Hurley is the cofounder of YouTube and his company’s goal is for people to be able to share videos with a small group of friends or the whole world. He also thinks that mobile devices such as iPods and phones will be interconnected, so people are able to download and upload videos whenever they like.

He is a positive technological determinist as he thinks that technology will help people come closer together and YouTube will help to do this. He also thinks that being connected with others around the world will bring people together and help our lives.

What does Maurice Levy say is the challenge for advertisers and what is 'liquid media' compared to 'linear media'?

Maurice levy says that the challenge for advertising is that from all the new media technologies it is even easier to advertise which means that it is a lot harder for people to get a message across due to all the other media that is also being advertised.

Linear media is fast giving way to liquid media where you can move seamlessly in and out of different settings. No more prescribed times e.g. 6 o’ clock news, it is becoming more seamless and more multitasking is taking place.

What parallels does Norvig draw between Edison inventing electricity and the development of online technology in terms of searching for information?

Peter Norvig is the director of research at Google. Peter compares the future of media technology to Edison inventing electricity because he says that you expect to electricity on demand in every room of every building you visit. The same will be able to be said for media technology in the future. Possibly having wireless internet in every room ready to be assessed by anyone, or on demand TV shows ranging from being on your TV, to your computer or even your phone.

What are the issues for the developing world? How is this evidence of a 'digital divide'?

Obviously people living in the developing world aren’t always going to be able to have free access to electricity for a start, so are not going to have the sort of access to mobile phones, computers and the internet like people living in more developed countries. This means they won’t be able to have the advantage and benefit of the vast amount of data proved by such media technologies as the internet.

Part 3

What are the social concerns of the development of the kind of technology discussed in this article? How is it changing the way we interact? What are the issues on control and censorship? Who is left behind?

There are a few main concerns about the new technology and the use of second life; one of the main things is that it takes away the need to actually interact with people face to face. This leads onto the next point of are people actually say who they are? Watching a video from YouTube on second life, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v/dN_jr6xjs90&l=276&t=OEgsToPDskLFh3_9ky7chcJtQylOo

UFO&sk=ejdm22Rg08AdskFgWeDTkwU&sourceid=ys&q=second%20life%20sky%20news

This shows about a pedophile ring inside the second life game which is illegal but who controls and regulates this type of thing. One of the main concerns is that eventually children and adults will stop going out to socialize but will spend all their time on internet worlds such as second life.

It is completly changing the way we interact with people and lets you meet and talk to anydy you like. Some may say that this is a good thing as you would meet new people but it still stops people having a real social life and interacting with people for real.

When talking about issues on control, many people think there is not enough control but the point of the game is t be able to have your own virtual world where you are able to do what you like. This will not work with people continually controlling things that you do. Also so many things are changed and adapted every day that it is hard to control what is there. So things like the video above can only be dealt with if the creators know it there.

Lots of people would be left behind eventually due to the fact that not everyone want to or is able to go on computers for a lot of the time. But whenever a new technology is brought out there will always be people left behind who are not as able to use these technologies. In most cases it would normally be the younger generation who are able to use these more than others so there will always be a social divide with the new media.

second life

this video about second life was posted on http://youtube.com/

second life is an online based mmorpg which allows users to create an avatar in which can be made to look like anything they want. although this does allow things like illegal acts as shown in the video above. there are huge advantages of having a games such as this, for one it allows users to create someone they would like to be and just chat with friends or meet new people.
the video above shows of how pedophiles use web 2.0 to abuse the internet and make these sick acts.
this brings the problem as nobody can control it as they get created without anybody knowing about them. Only the people involved.
using the cyberspace, entrepreneurs can make a living by renting or selling areas of land and properties. some also make furniture and design rooms for other users. the currency called linden dollars which has an exchange rate of 500 linden dollars to £1. if you rent a room in the center of London for example it would cost you £60 a week in sterling. designers are able to make a living from renting their houses.
due to the fact that there are no rules on the game it means that there is no limit to the game. there are even online concerts and talks which makes it and educational game. the ceo of of the design company refers to the world as the wild west and the people being pioneers ready to build.
the company linden labs who makes the game make their money by selling the land for people to build on. but the world grows by 15-20% each month. this massive growth bring in ideas for the game. this reflects when actual companies get involved and create shops on the game for avatars to buy replicas of their products. this in tern will lead users to buy real products.

the advantages of using the web 2.0 is that it lets us publish our own content with no restriction, this comes down to what is suitable which brings up the question of what is the limit of what we can post. most people say that we should be democratization which would let us do what ever we want. but then the police would still ban you if you were to look up or write about bombs, they say it is terrorism. this is going against the point of having web 2.0 because it is still limiting what we can publish, even though it is totaly independant. this is a big disadvantage of having web 2.0, we are surposed to be making our own media rather than having a controlled page.

although it will let the user have a sense of personalization on the web, they can create there own page and make themselves whoever they want. but the disadvantage is that you as a user are still limited due to the fact that it can only personalize to the way the page has been set out by the company that makes it. again limiting what can be done.
Web 2.0 will let you seek out new bands or friend which gives you a sense of interactivity, this brings people closer to people but also allows for illegal things such as file sharing, which is limited by the users.
so really the fact that web 2.0 lets you design your own web page and have a sense of control it has limits which are controlled by the company which makes the page.

web 2.0

web 2.0 is the way that users can created there own web page using free websites such as bebo or my space. these sites allow users to completly customise there page and upload pictures or music to the page. it also lets other internet users to go onto your page and leave coments or see ur pictures and music. this alows users to share and reuse things from other users. this brings comunites together from around the world.