The Globalization/Consumption of Digital Media

I would like to base my final project on a very simple article that –if read in depth and understood correctly, –publically announces the influence that digital media has on our modern world. My topic on the other hand –not the article, more like the idea behind the article –focuses on global digital media. It focuses on humanity’s horizons, expanding through digital media.

Subtopics discussed include: education, brick and mortar commerce, E-commerce, music, cinema, shared “common” culture from every corner of the globe (shared in a matter of seconds), education and the effects of the availability of education (in a global aspect) to the common man and the not-so-common man and lastly, social networking with its massive influence on digital media consumption. All of these topics relate to one another. They all contribute to the globalization of digital media. A main article I am basing my personal opinion off of can be found here: http://media. ezinemark. om/evolution-of-digital-media-an-incredible-advancement-511ee16da73. html Think globally. Even though Digital media began locally. From the television (and its mass development immediately after its invention) to the common simple radio, communication has only been moving up in the technological world. Here is an interesting fact. “The television took 13 years to reach 50 million viewers, Facebook added 100 million viewers in 9 months. ” (Hopkinson, 2009) Is this a miracle? Or just excellent progress? So, along with the development of the television, also came the development of the ever growing rapid sharing of information.

As you can see, Facebook’s growth rate is on a completely different level of expansion compared to the old days, when the Television was the “next big thing”. What changed the game for digital media? I would have to notice the advantages sprouting from an interactive interface system. Designed to be controlled by the user and their own interest, in the “Web. 1” days, interactivity was a game changer. It still is today. Back in the early 90’s, choosing what interested you online was a big deal. Users could view what they wanted, and when they wanted. Interactivity created a very personal experience.

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Today, I see interactivity focusing on convenience. Convenience seems to be the key with todays big sellers like Apple, Microsoft, Sony and more. Applications or “Apps” are always selling like wildfire. This is just me, but I made a keen observation on price free apps being in more abundance than apps that must be purchased. I wonder why that is? Where did it all start? Well, to answer this question we must ask ourselves another question. What is the purest definition of digital media? There is some debate to its actual meaning. I pulled the exact definition from the online portal for my CMST 301 class.

In the week 1, terms and concepts section, it is stated that: “The term "digital media" is often used unilaterally to describe any "online" content but ultimately includes digital transmittable text, graphics, audio, or video content. ” –UMUC Webtycho portal I will provide a similar definition, so that readers without access to UMUC’s Webtycho portal may have a quick reference to the definition. According to Microsoft. com (who hasn’t heard of Microsoft? ), this is the definition of Digital Media: “Digital media refers to audio, video, and photo content that has been encoded (digitally compressed). ”

So now that we understand just what exactly digital media is. Lets dig deeper to get a better sense of understanding, regarding the evolution of the Internet (digital media), its global influence and how a globalization of digital media will ultimately enhance an already interconnected world. The Internet was not meant to stay the same. It was meant to grow and evolve. I believe what started the dramatic change in Internet experience from the early days, was the interactivity. Like stated before, interactivity was the game changer. Take this image for example. I included this image just to remind you of where digital media came from. In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ” – Eric Hoffer “In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ” – Eric Hoffer Digital media is always changing. I see it as a way of life. If you read the quotation above, you will see what I mean. If you do not adapt to new ways of this innovative and technologically advanced world, then you will be dealing with a world that doesn’t exist.

However, of course it may exist in your own mind, making you what the young kids these days call “old school”. And there is nothing wrong with being “old school”; my parents are a bit old school themselves! And I still love them both regardless of their unwillingness to purchase an I-pad instead of a palm pilot. Yes, palm pilots are still made. Humorous. Get an Ipad, Dad. To clarify how important interactivity is to the digital media world, take a look at the graph below. I pulled this from http://www. threeminds. organic. com.

It gives us a visual of just how committed companies have become to the concept of customer interactivity. If you check out the percentages on the right side of the table graphic, you will see CAGR. CAGR is an acronym for Compound Annual Growth Rate. This is the most important aspect of this table. It sums up specifically the amount of increases in financial spending, for different branches of the Internet. Not surprisingly, Social media had the highest percentage increase of 34%. Which is why I chose to near my conclusion with social networking. Source: Forrester’s Interactive Advertising Models, 4/09 and 10/08 (US only)

With mobile marketing following behind just 7%, social media continued to have the highest increase in spending from 2009 to present, and predicted to hold the same pattern in the future (2014). However, another graph I pulled from the same website shows the growth of mobile media and browsing audiences. News, information and entertainment are also included when discussing “Mobile Phone Owners”. “Clearly, the days when parents admonished their kids to use cell phones only for emergencies are over. ” * Ben Rogers Cell phones are a huge part of the globalization of digital media. Really I see Apple as a pioneer for the cell phone.

Steve Jobs summed it up when he said “An iPod, a phone, an Internet mobile communicator… these are NOT three separate devices! And we are calling it iPhone! Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. And here it is. ” Whatever kind of phone you may have, know that these devices are stealthily taking over our lives. Cellphones, smartphones, mobile phones, and my dad still calls his smart phone a “Telephone”. For some reason this word “telephone” is beginning to sound foreign, maybe it’s just me. I only hear that word when talking to older generations. Many households these days don’t even have land line phones.

What do you think they use? You guessed it. Smart phones, pre paid cellphones and etc. It’s not even the actual phone calling from phone to phone; it’s the usage of mobile data, applications, email, music and shopping applications that cause smart phones to be more and more popular. We cannot stop the inevitable. We cannot stop the globalization of digital media, no matter what form it may be. We cannot stop the tide. Its basic knowledge to know that any form of progression towards convenience will lead to the popularity of that specific convenience, being smartphones, or whatever form of digital media you happen to be utilizing.

There is a story popular in Australia. I believe it directly relates to the subject of fighting what is inevitable. The story goes like this. A King by the name of Canut, attempted to stop an incoming ocean tide. The more educated members of his audience knew that Canute was demonstrating to his followers that neither his royal authority nor his ferocious fighting skills would ever control the power and laws of the great Mother Nature. He demonstrated that you couldn’t stop what is inevitable, what is meant to happen.

We cannot fight its growth, its much better to work with it and use it to our advantage, rather than try to remain in a “traditional” stance and continue to argue over the true meaning of education. So in all the confusion between different types of education, modern, traditional, ivy league, public, military, cultural, life lessons and etc. We must ask ourselves. What is the solid, finite definition of education? Is there one such meaning? I say no. I say this because; education is such a broad term.

To help us understand what education is, check out the definition from http://businessdictionary. com: “The wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something. Education requires instruction of some sort from an individual or composed literature. The most common forms of education result from years of schooling that incorporates studies of a variety of subjects. ” –www. businessdictionary. com Now, I recall viewing a national geographic documentary a few years back.

It discussed the different types of people with different types of intelligence. The national geographic researchers really focused on the comparison between a NASA rocket scientist and a Sherpa. You can imagine the amount of graduate/masters programs a NASA rocket scientist would have to achieve, before being employed as a rocket scientist. Could you imagine the amount of experience needed to be a certified Sherpa? A Sherpa is a member of a Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet. They are known worldwide for their skills in mountaineering.

Both the individuals were very educated in their respective environments, however if they were to switch places, they would be fall into the category of confused and lost. The ties between education and digital media are intertwined within the threads. Don’t forget that the globalization of digital media does not only include education. I am fascinated by education; this may make me lean towards research regarding education intertwined with digital media, rather than the other numerous aspects of digital media. The Internet really is as diverse as the world itself.

With that in mind, let me ask this question. Is it not understood that globally, digital media is the #1 powerhouse. Take entertainment for example. The music and movie industry both benefit (and not so much) from digital media. Of course and up to date person knows that music and movies are easily downloadable through peer to peer (P2P) programs online, such as UTorrent or Bearshare. com. There are so many examples out illegally downloading content out there, this gets more into the ethics of digital media, so lets not get to in depth with this.

That is a totally different subject in and of itself. The music industry/cinema industries have gained an innumerable amount of advertising space through digital media. Skilled programmers have created interactive tools online and offline. These programmers have actually given birth to an entirely new genre of music called “dub step” or modern “Techno” music. This is just a theory of mine, so please don’t go out of your way to prove me wrong, unless of course you feel inclined to do so. Constructive criticism is always helpful if taken the right way.

Musicians such as Adam Young, more commonly known to the electronica listeners as “Owl City”. He is a singer and songwriter. In the beginning he did not play the guitar, he was just getting into the keyboard. His instrument of choice during the early stages of his career was his computer and its digital media capabilities. He used programs such as “Garage Band” on his MacBook, which was incorporated into Apples computer devices in 2006. He used programs online, which were created for interactivity with beats and the incorporation of pieces of musical work from numerous guitarists, pianists and percussionists.

His music mainly become known at first through the social networking website known as Myspace. com. Many musicians who become well known in 2007 and after became known through social networking sites. This is just a sample from a musician which most of you probably have not heard of (if you have, I apologize for judging my audience! ) Not only did it influence the creation of an entirely new musical genre, it created a new type of television dubbed “Webisodes”. This gets more into the cinematic part of digital media, rather than music and education.

I remember seeing my first webisode. They were mini episodes composed of small time actors from the show we all know as “Scrubs”. I believed it originally aired on HBO in 2007. The webisodes were the first of many. Today the more popular show “The Walking Dead” has its own webisodes. I don’t watch them; research simply showed me they exist. Another discovery here, digital media has created its own vocabulary. I just stumbled upon one right now. The term “webisode” is not recognized on Microsoft word. It tries to correct the term to “episode”.

Here is an actual definition of the term. “A Webisode is a single push technology episode. A Webisode can be a preview or promotion of a particular TV show, music video, or other show presented from a Web site using streaming video or other techniques. Some sites are dedicated to presenting Webisodes. ” (Rouse, 2005). This is just another minute example of digital media is changing things everywhere. Throughout this class, I have really focused on the social networking aspect of digital media. I did this because I use social networking everyday. I use digital media everyday.

With that, I would like to end this research paper with a short focus on social networking, including examples of how social networking has changed the world already, and how it triumphs the consumption of digital media, ultimately resulting in the globalization of digital media. Today, almost everyone, young or old, has some type of social network account. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, serve other purposes than that of keeping in touch with loved ones. In terms of business and networking, they are being used by countless businesses, ranging from a small business to large companies such as Dell.

There has been much praise and of course, criticism for using social media. When starting a small business, Mark Schaefer, author of Tao of Twitter, suggests using Twitter to help jumpstart one’s business if they, themselves think personal networking would be beneficial for it. In his book, he dedicates an entire chapter on searching for people who are pertinent in helping one build a business. He mentioned that one could use features on Twitter, like the “Retweet” option, to assist in getting some recognition. To “retweet” something on Twitter means to merely re-share or spread something that someone else posted. Retweeting” someone else’s tweet is somewhat a compliment for them. It’s as if you are telling them that are in agreement with what they say or you’re simply telling them “Good job”. Personal note, I see this as an attempt by twitter to distinguish itself as different from Facebook, making it more unique. What Schaefer also mentioned was that one can also manage the people who follow him and what they say by arranging them in lists on Twitter. This is to organize and efficiently manage the groups that are associated with his business.

Organizing business-related groups in this fashion makes it much easier to interact with those people and network. Large companies can and have benefited from using Twitter and the like. Dell was actually among the first to use social media. Dell’s social director, Cory Edwards, stated that the key to being successful in using these networks is to be attentive towards what the customers are saying and prove to them that you are listening to their feedback. Dell uses social media to obtain feedback from their customers on the quality of their products and to get any suggestions on how to improve them.

They have been so successful in doing so that sales have increased significantly via their DellOutlet feed on Twitter. And mentioned earlier, some criticism comes along with the praises. Dell actually utilizes the criticism and uses it to their advantage. For the past few years, they have invited ten critics and ten enthusiasts to talk about the products and what they disliked and liked, respectively. Finally, after that event, Dell would do a follow-up and would inform those 20 people on how their opinions changed them. In addition to using social networks for business, it has also displayed some otential promise spreading the news in the most immediate manner. Because we live in a world where almost all of us are “glued” to our smart phones/ Iphones, it is convenient to use these devices when informing the public when tragedy strikes. For example, when the Colorado shootings occurred last summer, a 31-year-old woman logged on her Facebook to check her brother’s page. He was supposed to attend the Batman showing. She saw his status, which stated that he didn’t attend the Batman showing, giving her some relief. Many other stories, similar to this, were posted on Facebook and Twitter, but in somewhat different ways.

With Facebook, it’s mainly family and friends who view your profile (unless your profile is public or you accept anyone who sends you a friend request). With Twitter, you obtain news from loved ones and from everywhere else in the world because of “trending topics” that are displayed. In regards to the Colorado shooting, the American Red Cross also tweeted on Twitter advising people in the theater to let their loved ones know that they are safe. Social media networks are, without a doubt, the fastest and most convenient way to update family and friends in times of tragedy.

Digital media has touched so many different aspects of our lives. It shares information. It creates musicians. It creates scholars. It shares information from one side of the globe to the other. It communicates like a machine gun on burst. Much like King Canute, I recognize power when I see it. Digital media is one powerful beast. Embrace it, so we may reach our full potential, and thrive in this world of inevitable evolution thanks to digital media.

Sources Cited

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