Tuesday 27 January 2015

New and Digital Media Stories

WhatsApp messenger makes move to the web

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/22/whatsapp-messenger-makes-move-to-the-web

This article is about the way in which Whatsapp is now being able to be accessed online, on computers, laptops and other platforms other than mobile phones.

- The Facebook-owned service recently announced that it had 700m monthly active users who send more than 30bn WhatsApp messages a day. It has added about 25m users a month since August 2014.

- WhatsApp’s main rivals include Facebook’s own Messenger app, which reached 500m active users in November and can be used through a web browser without a connection to the smartphone, along with Chinese messaging app WeChat, which reached 438m active users in August.

In my opinion I think this is an interesting article as it is proof of an application that I use myself, developing and changing over the years. This shows the way in which there is going to become competition for rivals, such as OOVOO, Viber.

WikiLeaks demands answers after Google hands staff emails to US government

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/25/wikileaks-google-staff-emails-us-government

This article is about the way in which it took Google almost three years in order to disclose all the information that had been leaked, of the US Government which was under a secret search warrant issued by a federal judge.

- WikiLeaks has written to Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, to protest that the search giant only revealed the warrants last month, having been served them in March 2012. In the letter, WikiLeaks says it is “astonished and disturbed” that Google waited more than two and a half years to notify its subscribers, potentially depriving them of their ability to protect their rights to “privacy, association and freedom from illegal searches”.

- The data grab is believed to be part of an ongoing criminal investigation into WikiLeaks that was launched in 2010 jointly by the US departments of Justice, Defense and State. The investigation followed WikiLeaks’ publication, initially in participation with international news organisations including the Guardian, of hundreds of thousands of US secrets that had been passed to the organisation by the army private Chelsea Manning.

- Testimony given during the prosecution of Manning indicated that at least seven “founders, owners or managers or WikiLeaks” were put under the FBI spotlight in the wake of Manning’s disclosures. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in military prison for crimes related to the leaks and is currently being held in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

- The WikiLeaks warrants cite alleged violations of the 1917 Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – the same statutes used to prosecute Manning. The data seizures were approved by a federal magistrate judge, John Anderson, who a year later issued the arrest warrant for the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

- In the first six months of 2014, Google received close to 32,000 data requests from governments, an increase of 15% compared with the second half of 2013, and two-and-a-half times more than when Google first started publishing it’s semi-annual Transparency Report, in 2009.

Monday 26 January 2015

How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people?

The way in which the language and the selection of images had created a negative representation of young people is by the way in which the mid-en-scene has been used. And conveyed them as a sort of action film & creates a sense of over exaggeration making the youths involved in the riots look really bad

Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonization of the working class?

The reason behind this is because Owen himself states that the working class has slowly become an object of fear within the media and that there is a new modernised Britain.

What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?

The survey found that 40% of articles which were focussed on youths were aimed at mainly negative achievements and violence. It also found that 71% of articles overall represented them in a negative manner.

How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?

The way in which Stanley Cohens work on Moral Panic can be linked to the coverage of the riots is because the overall coverage of the riots was constructed in the sense to create fear and panic for others.

What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots? Violent Video Games, Reality TV & Rap Music, due to their undisciplined nature.

How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?

Social media was blamed for the riots as it helped and encouraged youngers to get more and more youths involved in the movement itself. Youths used networks such as BBM, Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and others in order to organise and advertise what they were doing, and spread it.

The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots? The two step theory can be applied as those individuals with lots of followers become the opinion leaders and their followers are then those that share the ideologies and use of it to construct their own.

What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

The right wing responses to the causes of the riots was completely negative as the youths were compared to dogs and beasts who were unable to be controlled and kept on their leashes.

What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots? The left wing response is more positive and thinks more about the youths personally. They blame the society and the inequality that is caused within, one of the major problems being taking the youth centres away from them.

What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?

I believe that the riots occurred in order for the youths to make a point. The fact that their funds were cut led to adoption for a lot of them & some were occupied in doing the wrong things because of this. The government itself is to blame for not giving them the attention and funds they should as they feel like an outcast. And therefore I think the riots was an outblast which allowed them to express how they felt.

How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to? Capitalism can also be blamed for the riots as we live in a society in which it it is believed that the more and expensive possessions you have in important. For example most male youths believe it is important to have a gucci belt and it is common to see boys wearing one. Therefore when the riots rose, they saw the opportunity in which they could steal numbers of desired goods & therefore decided to exploit this.

Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?

Within the media, those that participated in the riots were unable and were not given the opportunity to voice their opinion. They began blocking sites which allowed them to & sites were monitored to make sure they didn't put anything up which changed they're representation already shown in the media. The reason for this is because the institutions had created a representation for them and with them all voicing their opinion could have made it go against it.

What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?

Personally I have a lot of sympathy for those involved in the riots as they were pressured & the media weren't doing anything good themselves by making them look bad all the time. The way in which the government acted about this, I also have sympathy for, as they are children and those that aren't getting the love and respect that most youths do. Therefore with the government not helping them, the riots was their only chance to make their point clear.

Friday 16 January 2015

New and Digital Media a Stories

The Social Media use does not increase stress study claims.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/15/social-media-use-does-not-increase-stress-study-claims

This article is based upon a study that found that the use of social networking sites were more of a relaxing thing than a stressful. As those that don't use Facebook aren't aware of what their friends are getting up to, however those that do have Facebook can keep up to date with this.

- That is the conclusion of a survey of 1,800 Americans by the Pew Research Center, which refutes the idea that social media users experience more stress due to the “fear of missing out” - seeing friends posting about exotic holidays, nights out or other events.

- The research also found that women who use Twitter, email and share digital pictures on a daily basis score 21% lower on the stress measure used in the study compared with those who did not communicate digitally.

- A woman with an average number of Facebook friends and who shares pictures online is typically aware of 29% more stressful events in the lives of their closest friends and family than non-users of technology.

- Men who make an average number of comments on Facebook posts, send text messages and use LinkedIn are typically aware of 67% more stressful events than non-users.

- The study asked participants about the extent to which they felt their lives were stressful using the well-established Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). It was conducted on both landlines and mobile phones in English and Spanish and comprised a nationally representative sample of US adults aged 18 and over.

This is quite a surprising article as previous to this was a article which completely argued this point and stated that those that use social networking sites are stressed as they see what their friends are up to and feel left out, etc.

Facebook at Work: social network unveils 'pilot' for companies

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/14/facebook-at-work-social-network-launches-pilot-for-companies

This is about the way in which people use Facebook at work but involving individual's personal profiles.

- Many companies still ban staff from accessing Facebook during office hours, but the social network is hoping to win over the corporate critics with Facebook at Work, a version of its service designed for use within companies.

- The new service launched on Wednesday as a test for “pilot partners”, whose employees will be able to download the Facebook at Work mobile application for iOS or Android devices, as well as using its website.

- It is Facebook’s move to compete with existing workplace communication and collaboration tools from big technology companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as from emerging startups like Slack.

- The executive in charge of Facebook at Work is the company’s director of engineering Lars Rasmussen, who joined Facebook in 2010 from Google, where he played a key role in the launch of its Google Maps service.

Teen robbed and then stabbed to death 'after being lured into Bronx apartment building by girl on Facebook'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2916151/Teen-stabbed-death-lured-Bronx-apartment-building-girl-Facebook.html

This article is about the way in which the young boy shown above was using it Facebook to communicate with a female. When asked to meet up, the 16 year old went to the building were he was asked to. It was there were he was found stabbed in the chest, bottled in the head and dead. His possessions were also taken. This shows how incidents can occur when using social networking sites and speaking to people you have never met.

Ricardo Romero, 16, believed he was on his way to what he thought was a meeting with a 17-year-old girl identified on Facebook as 'Chiquita Andy'
He traveled to the a Creston Ave. building in Fordham Heights where he was jumped by several men
He was stabbed in the left of his chest, hit in the head with a bottle, and had his wallet stolen as well as his telephone

Thursday 15 January 2015

News on the Tweet

1. Why are respected news brands good news for Twitter?

The reason as to why these are good news for Twitter, is because as a social networking site with a lot of users using is, one is able to access information which is verified & is therefore the user knows it is a reliable source.

2. Why in turn is Twitter good for respected news brands?

Twitter is good for respected news as it allows different connections to be created. For example, as stated, studies found that 60% of Twitter users said it allowed them to engage with newspaper brands that they would not normally ready in print format.

4. On page 24/25 of the report, the focus turns to gossip or banter. What example tweets from journalists are used to illustrate this?

A tweet from the daily mail - which was well knows, was regarding Kim Kardasian having a big bum stating 'do these onto make Kim K's bum look big?'

5. Do you think the increasing amount of gossip or banter is harming the reputation of news and journalists?

I believe that news is developing over the years & as the years go on, they are trying to adapt even more and give the readers what they want. The increasing amount of gossip and banter is what makes the news and in my opinion is the reason one is interested in the news.

6. What does the report say about trust in Twitter and journalists (look at pages 34-39)?

The report states that 45% of Twitter & 62% of those who follow a news brand say it is important that news on Twitter is verified by a respected brand & this is what helps build trust in the content.

7. Finally, do you think new and digital media developments such as Twitter have had a positive or negative impact on traditional newspapers?

I believe that the new and digital media developments such as Twitter have had a positive impact as it is being used a lot more due to the fact that it is in more demand by the industry & also allows users to do more than they could do when it was first created. ie, upload pictures.

Monday 12 January 2015

New and Digital Media Stories

1. 11/09/14: Channel 4 to replace 4OD with new online hub all 4
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html
2. 11/09/14: Microsoft 'in talks to buy Minecraft creator for $2bn'
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html
3. 11/09/14: Twitter is this 'Operating system of news'
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html
4. 18/09/14: Apple reveals 4m pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus in first 24 hours.
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html5. 18/09/14: YouTube stars and shows may be heading to your Facebook news feed
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html6. 18/09/14: Google takes down newspaper's positive story about an artist
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html7. 29/09/14: Apple will not shut down Dr Dre's Beats Music but could fold it into iTunes
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_29.html8. 29/09/14: A BENDY iPhone 6, you say? Pah, warp claims are bent out of shape: Consumer Reports
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_29.html9. 29/09/14: They used to say 'print or digital'. But do we need to choose?
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_49.html10. 29/09/14: EE agrees to buy 58 Phones 4U stores for £2.5m
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_49.html 11. 6/10/14: BBC iPlayer catch up window extended to 30 days
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories.html12. 6/10/14: Alleged iPhone 6 prototype for sale on ebay for more than $60,000 http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories.html
13. 13/10/14; Amazon Fire Phone Review
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html
14. 13/10/14: The Snappening: Thousands of kids, some as young as 10 could have nude photos posted online.
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html
15. 13/10/14: Smartphone users are busy 221 times of the day
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html
16. 13.10.14 21 Emotions we all experience when watching X factor
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html17. 20/10/14: Twitter teams up with Soundcloud and iTunes to play audio within tweetshttp://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories_48.html
18. 20/10/14: Facebook Safety Check will help tell friends youre safe during disasters
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories_48.html
19. The dizzying decline of Britain’s local newspapers: do you want the bad news, or the good news?
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.html
20 To keep its stars happy, youtube may let you pay to skip ads
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.html
21. Dropbox and Microsoft Team up, placing Office in the cloud
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.html
22. Man Jailed for Whatsapp 'Revenge Porn' after posting images of woman online
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.html
23. Changing Channels: Cost of top pay bundles rises to £100 a month
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.html
24. Media jobs website Gorkana sold to Cision in £200m deal
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014_11_01_archive.htm006C
25. Royal Mail says Amazon Delivery service will hit its UK parcels business
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
26. 'Revenge Porn' Facebook post leads to jail sentence
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
27. Google plans launch of child friendly products
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
28. Tesco joins retail stampede to social media in bid to create brand chatter
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
29. No makeup selfie: Cancer Research's lesson on benefits of quick thinking
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
30. Sun+ signs up 225,000 paying subscribers
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
31. Mail online revenues grow 41% to £62m in 2014
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
32. Twitter unveils new systmen for reporting abuse
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
33. Sony offers discounts after Christmas PlayStation Network hack
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
34. Apple faces lawsuit over storage space on iPhones and iPads
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
35. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg follows Optah by founding book club
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
36. Controversial VAT change means e-books are about to get more expensivehttp://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
37. Developers made $10bn from iOS apps in 2014http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
38. WhatsApp growth continues with 700m users sending 30bn daily messages
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
39. Life before and after Facebook
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/
41. Ebooks at night won’t help you sleep tight, US study findshttp://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

New and Digital Media Stories

Developers made $10bn from iOS apps in 2014http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/08/apple-10bn-payouts-ios-apps-2014

Apple’s App Store set new records in 2014

This article is based on the fact that iPhone and iPad users have spent near enough $55m on applications and in app purchases within only the first week of January 2015. As Apples Vice President stated "This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community".

- Apple said that billings on the App Store rose 50% in 2014, although its corresponding figures for 2013 suggest the growth in spending on iOS apps was smaller than that in 2014.

- Apple ended 2012 having paid out $7bn to iOS developers, then $15bn by the end of 2013, and now $25bn by the end of 2014. The company said that New Year’s Day 2015 was its single biggest day of App Store sales since the store launched.

- Apple added that its Apps for RED charity drive in November and December helped boost its donations to the Aids charity to $20m in the final quarter of 2014, and $100m since it started working with the organisation.

It is quite interesting as an iPhone user myself, as it shows how much money one uses on their phone and the way in which they spent such a large amount in such a short period of time.

WhatsApp growth continues with 700m users sending 30bn daily messages

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/07/whatsapp-growth-700m-users-facebook

Facebook liked WhatsApp's growth so much, it bought the company for $19bn.

This article is based upon the fact that Whatsapp, an app used for messaging has reached new milestone of 700 million monthly active users, who send nearly 30bn messages every single day. They have mentioned that it is expected that in 2015, additional features are to be added on such as voice call features, making it a rival for services such as Skype.

- WhatsApp’s rapid growth has thus continued since its acquisition by Facebook, which announced the then-$19bn deal in February 2014, before completing it at the higher price in October due to the inclusion of Facebook shares that had risen in value in the intervening months.

- WhatsApp’s last public milestone was 600 million active users in August 2014, so it has added new users at a rate of around 25 million a month since then. Previously, the app grew from 200 million active users in April 2013 to 400 million by December that year.

- WhatsApp’s main rivals include Facebook’s own Messenger app, which reached 500 million active users in November 2014, as well as Chinese messaging app WeChat, which reached 438 million active users in August that year.

In my opinion, this is a very interesting article, as it shows how much one uses whatsapp. As a whatsapp user, this shows and makes me consider how many hours I spend on my phone and how much time I waste.

Life before and after Facebook

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/03/life-before-and-after-facebook

This article is about the way in which technology has taken over kids lives and a majority of youngsters value time on their phones and laptops, in their room a lot more than time spent with their families.

This article is quite interesting as it discusses the ways in which facebook has caused problems and began causing distances between family as children and parents would be on facebook instead of talking amongst each other. As they have stated that before punishing one and sending them to their room was considered a punishment, now its not even considered that as one is happy to stay in their room alone and chill. A real house example in which one expresses the way her children are allowed to go on there phones only once all the work is done and family time is spent. As I can relate to this, I find it interesting to see that the issue is everywhere and isn't just a one person issue.

Ebooks at night wont help you sleep tight, US study finds

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/23/ebooks-affect-sleep-alertness-harvard-study

This article is based upon the fact that reading a light emitted book before bed it bad for your health. This is because US studies have shown that they effect when you sleep at night and alertness the following morning.

In my opinion, this is quite an interesting article, as it shows similar example as to why we should use a phone before bed and this has made me as a regular phone aware of what happens as a result of using my phone before bed. Therefore, encouraging me not to use it. As it shows that one is unable to wake up properly in the morning and it takes one at least ten minutes to wake up.

Monday 5 January 2015

New and Digital Media Stories