Shirky’s theory of media development and audience transformation

Clay Shirky looks at how the media landscape is evolving in the newer technologies today and its uses and users contribute to it ever expanding effect in the online age. So I watched a very insightful speech on the theory of media development and audience transformation that I make reference to build up my analysis and personal thoughts. Connection are made to the election including president Obama’s scheme to connect with citizen in untamed discussion amongst intrigued people on their thoughts of the election. In addition to the internet censorship in the Chinese government review its strategies to our renewed and advanced world of media users/consumers/producers make it difficult for the government to filter the citizen reports on the recent earthquakes in china.

According to Shirky the importance of technology and media products is very important, the internet is the first bit of media that you can have conversations and consume; every medium is next door to every other medium (on the internet). The importance of the internet is that media operators which are everyday people can now be consumers as well as producers for example this can be portrayed through social networking media you can post videos and watch videos however you have the comfort of talking and communicating to friends.

The first topic focus made in the video above is the impact in audiences and transformation of audiences. The way audiences respond to news we are nowadays given a voice through commenting boxes, to social network interaction, debate and online blogging and ammeter videos discussing or updates on new information around their world can exchanged beyond our own family and friends. But we can now not only transform from a consumer into our own media producers. We are becoming more confident and at ease of technology allows to not only inform but to connect in a massive, we are no longer limited in the revelation of online spills on world topics can branch in many different countries that bridges a connection in a massive way. We can talk and discuss with all kinds of people in around the world, the internet has grown in a big way based on the interaction and connection the internet brings in our current landscape.

Clay Shirky's work focuses on the rising usefulness of decentralized technologies such as peer-to-peer, wireless networks, social software and open-source development. New technologies are enabling new kinds of cooperative structures to flourish as a way of getting things done in business, science, the arts and elsewhere, as an alternative to centralized and institutional structures, which he sees as self-limiting. In his writings and speeches he has argued that "a group is its own worst enemy." His clients have included Nokia, the Library of Congress and the BBC.

The impact on audiences and transformation of audience is becoming clearer as time goes on and more technology starts to develop that audience is playing a major part in society, the main thing that has changed is that anyone now can be a citizen reporter the government can access news now from normal citizens not the national news broadcasters. The reasons we have this advantage now is because of social media sites where people can be connected all the time and news has the advantage of being spread rapidly. For example the Chinese government found out about the earthquake in their own country via twitter rather than having it reported by news officials, this can be beneficial because pictures and videos can be uploaded and everyone can see the reality into what really happened. This caused people to set up donation sites any money was raised straight away. This fits in with Michael Wesch’s 2.0 theory where he stated the changes in the way we communicate however when there is a new story there is an overload in the information that gets posted which causes no way of filtering the stories being posted, this could lead to big social media sites such as twitter being shut down due to the overload of information being processed.

Clay Shirky  stated  in his speech that there are four periods in the history of media when there was a major change the first being print, then two way communications which was first introduced as text then followed by voice and the third was recorded media which was firstly photos, then sound and music. Lastly the fourth was radio and TV.

Yet, another interesting theory on the crescendo that is the media landscape, taking its part in an online age. So do please leave a comment any thoughts shared in this post.

David Gauntlett’s Media Studies 2.0

The Media Studies 2.0 is an article arguing the relationships between online media, other media. creativity, and everday life in media today. Media Studies looks at the graduation from traditonal approaches into alternate observations in specific events.

The Internet is the dominating media platform today, as it has become an essential tool for research without any restrictions to information is endless. 

Many people hugely credit mainstream productions, in addition to the acknowledgement of appearances of niche products. Therefore 'The Long Tail' is continuously growing longer as more people are embracing more advanced developments. 

Conventional concerns with power and politics are reworked in recognition of these points, so that the notion of super-powerful media industries invading the minds of a relatively passive population is compelled to recognise and address the context of more widespread creation and participation.

Media Studies 2.0 is far more analytic than passive and informational. Experts seem to have more to say than the audience. An essential factor to excel in the curriculum is to be more intellectually inclined to your own opinions.  

The focus on primarily Western media is replaced with an attempt to embrace the truly international dimensions of Media Studies – including recognition not only of the processes of globalization, but also of the diverse perspectives on media and society being worked on around the world.

Media studies 2.0 has not existed without the first outline drawn from Media tudies 1.0. the curriclum looks at the traditonal approach dominating in schools, universtiy teaching and textbok teachings.

One factor is charaterised by traditional media produced by major Western broadcasters, publishers, and movie studios, accompanied (ironically) by a critical resistance to big media institutions, such as Rupert Murdoch's News International, but no particular idea about what the alternatives might be;

other characterisations are;

·         Vague recognition of the internet and new digital media, as an 'add on' to the traditional media (to be dealt with in one self-contained segment tacked on to a Media Studies teaching module, book or degree);

·         A preference for conventional research methods where most people are treated as non-expert audience 'receivers', or, if they are part of the formal media industries, as expert 'producers'.

Sennett's 'Craftsman' theory

What is The Craftsman Theory
The Craftsman is written by Richard Sennett and he is the “…prime observer of society, an American, a pragmatist who takes the nitty gritty of daily life and turns it into a disquisition on morality. His earlier books include The Fall of Public Man, The Conscience of the Eye and The Corrosion of Character. Sennett's knowledge and interests range widely over architecture, art, design, literature and the ever fluctuating social life of cities. The components of the man-made environment enthrall him. He is an enchanting writer with important things to say.”-guardian

Craft work is widely observed in his new book. There is a continuous reference to potters making mugs or Moroccan Leather grainers, I agree such people are involved, but he most resonates with the crafts of making music, cooking, the ‘desire to do things well that (he thinks)’ lives in all of us, the desire to prevail in ones work, has the possibility frustrated and damage once these urges are denied.

Sennett is a professional sociologist-philosopher and also a musician. The Guardian quotes a unique moment in the book, which was an example of “enduring, basic human impulse”. The scene verges on craft mania is a scene in a town’s concert center, and a local orchestra rehearses the string section in pure endurance and desire for perfection in their craftwork, the conductor hardly take notice of their ongoing efforts to satisfy their deeper being. In that scene so rightfully examines the ‘painstaking efforts of improvement of performance’ is a combination of drive and obsession for perfection.

Sennett views the satisfactions of physical making as a necessary part of being human. The slow ‘rhythms’ of grasping a complex and intelligible craft, we need them for enrichment and growth in connection to a craftworks material reality.