Sep
10
Photo galleries and copyright
September 10, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
I’ve just signed up for Picasa. I’ve been a bit distrustful of Google though after the Google Chrome incident recently, so endeavoured to read their Terms of Agreement, and a similar thing has popped up, under the same Clause 11.1. Although they state that you are the owner of the copyright, they then go on to stipulate that:
By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
Isn’t this defeating the purpose of you having copyright?! The makers of Chrome ultimately removed the offending clause, yet it still remains for Picasa. Anyway, for the sake of my education, I have added a Picasa show here, although I will be hesitant to use the software in the future.
Unfortunately I can’t access Slide or SlideFlickr from work to see what they’re like. But at least with SlideFlickr you can get a Creative Commons license to protect your copyright, although according to the OJR article it is much slower than Picasa to upload your images. Nevertheless, I think copyright is an important issue, as you wouldn’t want your photos ending up on another site, especially in the wrong context.
Aug
27
Where to go with Web 2.0
August 27, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
I am just starting to use RSS feeds with Google Reader, and can understand why so many journalists use it. What a brilliant way to read all of your daily news in one place, and to keep abreast of particular topics of interest! I have added news sites and blogs that I regularly read, and I love it!
I have also just signed up to Technorati. Attempting to ‘claim’ my blog has proved a bit of an issue, but I will persist! It seems a great way to wade through the blogosphere, and I am now well aware of astroturfing. Apparently people that do this on blogs are called Floggers or Persona Bloggers. Whilst this is worrying, there is one way we can check a blog’s authenticity, via a whois search. Fisking is another term that’s emerged. An interesting blog about this is here.
Whilst usage of moblogs, podcasts and vlogs are gaining momentum, usage of other quicker, easier applications of Web 2.0 have really taken off. Twitter is one of these mediums that is changing the face of news. I am starting to make some tweets!
I’m also now using Del.icio.us, and slowly getting used to the use of tags rather than the organised filing I have on my computer. I like the idea that you can share, and access your favourites from anywhere in the world! My bookmarks are here.
Aug
24
Oh, my! News is changing!
August 24, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
With its high internet use (67% or 34.4 million people in 2007) South Korea seems a prime place for such a successful citizen journalism site to have originated, especially with the media and government controls that were in place. This is exactly why Oh Yeon Ho founded OhMyNews, with the basic premise that “every citizen is a reporter“.
It has been the catalyst for citizen journalism sites popping up everywhere, such as Panyingkul in Indonesia. An interesting article about how this originated is here.
There are so many sites out there it is impossible to keep track of them all, but some interesting examples are Center for Citizen Media, Citizen Photojournalism, Global Voices Online and You Decide 2007, an Australian site focused on the 2007 election. These are just some examples of the many different models for citizen journalism, demonstrating even further how the face of news is changing.
I think the concern here is not so much that citizen journalism threatens traditional journalism in terms of quality, but it certainly must pose a threat with relation to advertising. Despite the advertising market growing at a startling rate (see recent Australian statistics here), it is still much easier to set up a website than a print or broadcast newsroom, and therefore where will all the advertising dollars end up? Further evidence of the competition and need for excellent journalism to remain at the top of the game.
Aug
17
(Almost!) free on the Web
August 17, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
The concept of ‘free’ is one that’s been around for a while now and it can be seen around us everywhere. From free marketing samples and publication handouts such as MX at train stations, to free mobile phones (if you purchase a 24 month contract!) to the more complex arena of the internet.
With newspaper sales rapidly declining, as well as revenue from other areas such as the classifieds section due to ‘free’ websites such as the Trading Post and ebay, the potential, and necessity, of the internet for news is obvious.
Most websites that offer a free service make money from advertising. Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook offer users a free membership and access to a swathe of interactive applications to keep them coming back. Within only four years from its introduction, Facebook now has over 90 million users worldwide. An interesting article on how Facebook advertising works is here.
Facebook is interesting as it demonstrates the power of the internet, and therefore the the potential for websites, especially if they can tap into a niche or provide something new or different for users. News websites then, must aim to provide that level of newness, to keep viewer numbers up, and therefore advertising revenue.
The internet is clearly where the future of news lies. If news organisations keep up-to-date with trends and new technologies, the potential for not only maintaining but increasing revenue must be enormous.
Aug
16
Integrity of journalism in the face of citizen reporters
August 16, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
Citizen Journalism has emerged in the past few years and has completely changed the media landscape. As the article User-generated content and the changing news cycle by Stephen Quinn and Deirdre Quinn-Allan states, the 2005 London bombings and 2004 Boxing Day tsunami became landmarks in journalism’s history. In the same month of the London bombings, the BBC started a user-generated content desk. It is now a normal part of everyday life to see comments and contributions from readers, and the emergence of blogs and citizen journalism websites such as ohmynews.com have really taken off, with 40,000 citizen reporters in late 2005.
I wonder about the effect this is really having on the quality of journalism. Are news organisations now not only competing against their competitors, but against their readers as well? Most journalists are on board and producing their own blogs, but for the lay-person it must be much harder to distinguish who is a reputable reporter and who isn’t.
The Guardian stated in an article a week after the bombings that we are all reporters now. Does this mean the journalist’s role is not as important as it once was? Probably not. I agree with Martin Fletcher in the article linked above, that both forms will have their place, but ultimately ‘journalists rule’. But it is an indicator of how important it is for journalists to keep up with the technology and why courses such as Multi-Media Journalism are so important.
Aug
16
Prime Time for Emergence of Convergence
August 16, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
The concept of our society being time-poor, expecting and needing convenience, and being willing to pay for it resonates with me. I use the internet for everything. All day, every day I have The Age and The Guardian open in separate pages, for quick checking of news while something else is downloading, or to read an article here and there to take a ‘quick break’. I hire my dvds, and purchase clothes, contact lenses, skincare, haircare, books and gifts online, and I’m currently considering doing my grocery shopping online to save even more time.
Convergence then seems the necessary next step in the way we view news. With television viewing down (and the use of time-saving devices such as TiVO) and internet use continually growing, it appears that people are ready and waiting for what multi-media news can offer them. A major factor in Australia being prime for this shift can be seen in the move away from dial-up subscriptions to DSL and wireless subscriptions, which are fast enough to view media online such as video and audio. Recent statistics show that between September 2006 and December 2007 non dial-up subscribers increased by 33%, while dial-up subscribers decreased by 31%, a rather drastic change to occur within a year, and further evidence of the popularity and demand for the internet. You can see more evidence of the dramatic changes occurring with internet usage here.
It really seems the prime time for media organisations to think about how they can change the way they produce news to keep up with the demand for ways to use the new technology.
Aug
13
Finally, I’ve made it to the blogosphere!
August 13, 2008 | ALJ301 | Leave a Comment
Unfortunately, due to the move over the past few weeks from one side of the world to the other, I’m starting my first post a tad late. After a looooong flight, lengthy jetlag, stint in a Bangkok hospital followed by a week of health checks in Australia, and bombardment of relatives and friends not seen over the past year, I finally made it to my parents computer, which to my horror I discovered is one of those old dinosaurs still on dial up! In fact, I wasn’t aware this even existed anymore, but alas, I stand corrected and after a few nail-biting days of fruitless persistence, I have given up on the old dog. Have now made it down to the local library and intend to catch up over the next few days. Hope this tester post works!
