Technology’s impact on media, and culture
With so much focus on what has changed in traditional journalism since the rise of the internet, it is very easy to overlook the positive aspects of digital journalism. Janet Kolodsky, author of Practicing Convergence Journalism, believes that some journalism analysts often deliver a “chicken little” scenario when speaking about the prospects of the future of traditional journalism (2012, p. 1). Although it is true that magazine and newspaper subscriptions have declined resulting in drastically downsized newsroom staffing, there are positive aspects of digital communications.
One of the most recent good news reports came in December 2016 with announcement that The Washington Post was expected to hire 60 new reporters. An article by Fortune reminds of that the free media explosion along with decreasing revenue in print advertising has resulted in layoffs or buyouts over the past several years at various media outlets including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and Fortune’s owner, Time Inc. Therefore, the news of any potential hires represents a much welcomed and enthusiastic outlook for not only The Washington Post, but print journalism as a whole. Clearly, The Washington Post is establishing a blazingly new example of how print publications can begin to capitalize on how to function in the digital world of journalism (Darrow, 2016).
Most younger audiences prefer to obtain their news from other sources instead of from print publications and network news broadcasts. However, it doesn’t mean that there is a decline in overall news consumption. In fact, diverse news audiences’ interest in news has increased. News aggregators like Google News, Facebook and texting along with Storify, Youtube, instant messaging and Skype have contributed to an increase in news interest and consumption (Kolodsky, 2012, p. 1).
There are a number of ways that technology has impacted the methods in which communicators perform in their jobs. Technology and changes have also had an impact on the required training. Let’s take a look at six:
- Journalists’ newsroom functions have changed due to technology
- The Coveritlive app’s technological impact on journalism
- Crowdsourcing’s technological influence on journalistic research
- Society has changed how it communicates due to Facebook’s impact
- Cultural changes influenced by the internet and social media
- Social media’s impact on consumers’ shopping and buying methods
Journalists’ newsroom functions have changed due to technology
Modern journalists require a little more technological savvy than traditional print journalists. In addition to the trusted reporter’s notebook and a digital recorder, today’s journalistic responsibilities extend to multiple newsroom tasks. Perhaps as a direct result of the decreasing newsroom staff, journalists may be expected to shoot their own digital photos or video which may also require editing, photo manipulation and publishing them to the website. Having reliable and fast computer skills enables modern journalists to type and edit their stories, store notes, send emails, and file reports from virtually anywhere in the field (Harrower, 2010).
Laptops and tablets allow journalists to become mobile reporters who are flexible and ready to react to unexpected breaking news events (Harrower, 2010). Becoming adept at various software applications gives journalists a skill in processing images, completing page layout, video editing, and web design. In addition to these skills, of course, professional communicators are expected to have at least a bachelor’s degree in journalism or communication.
One of the methods for improving how journalist embrace new technologies and embrace the ever changing world of social networking may begin in the journalistic classrooms. In fact, many journalism schools are developing curricula that incorporates multi-media components. This begins teaching students how to perform as digital journalists right of out the gate. Upon their being hired into the newspaper and magazine newsrooms, students will be fully equipped to function in a variety of tasks. While there is a need to improve on how journalists function as tech savvy digital journalists, the necessity of exceptional writing skills, being ethically responsible and accurate will never change. The main improvement requires journalists, both modern and young, to understand that the foundation of good journalism as not changed – the manner in which journalism is delivered has changed (Friedman, 2012).
The Coveritlive app’s impact on journalism
Live streaming in reporting the news is not a new concept. Prior to the evolution of the internet and social media, it was customary and expected for journalist to report live from the scene of a breaking news event. The biggest difference today is that journalists do not have to have a camera crew along for the ride. All the reporter has to do is whip out their smartphone and begin carrying out their responsibilities as a journalist. However, professional journalists are competing with citizen journalists who are also equipped with a smartphone who can easily record and stream live to their social networking platforms from the same event. One of the downsides of live streaming is that it eliminates the opportunity to evaluate, reconsider or assess the journalistic value of the content they are reporting. Utilizing this technology does not afford the journalist a chance to confer with its editorial board, technical experts, or researchers (Hain, 2016).
According to journalist, Lise Lareau, one of the most notable changes in the newspaper newsroom is the digital tools that journalists must use. Modern journalists create video and file stories from their cell phones. Social media mediums such as Twitter and Facebook enable them to identify news makers and track down sources. From their desktops, journalists utilize software applications such as Coveritlive to conduct press conferences in cyberspace (n.d.).
Technology has made a major impact on methods in which journalists can report news. Modern journalists are able to join the world of liveblogging thanks to Coveritlive. This web based application allows live broadcasts and commentary from your blog. Coveritlive enables journalists to report breaking news events in real time (Needleman, 2008). Their audience can leave comments, ask questions, and send files and/or photos.
The only training or knowledge that is required to utilize Coveritlive is knowing how to set up a free Coveritlive account, add the embedded code by pasting it to your blog. Because the liveblog content is hosted and controlled by Coveritlive, you do not have to know HTML code (Needleman, 2008).
Although Coveritlive is flexible and easy to utilize. One of the methods to improve how live streaming is incorporated in the journalistic tasks is for them to educate themselves and their audience. By understanding how to determine whether or not a news source is reliable and credible, the likelihood of establishing and maintaining a journalistic code of ethics in live streamed journalism such as in Coveritlive, Facebook Live, and others. It is important to remember that embracing new technology is a choice that all journalists must make (PR Strategy, 2016). But, they must do so with responsibly without decreasing the value of their work, or compromising the integrity of good journalism.
Crowdsourcing’s technological influence on journalistic research
In 2006, Wired Magazine Contributing Editor, Jeff Howe, coined the word crowdsourcing to describe the method of combining a job or task that is traditionally performed by employees and outsourcing the job or task to a large group of unidentified people (Akagi and Linning, 2013, p. 3). Technological advances have challenged traditional journalists to explore various innovative avenues in reporting the news. Crowdsourcing is one of the newest tools journalists utilize. Crowdsourcing enables journalists to build a deeper and flexible connection with the individuals that are receiving, evaluating, and reacting to the news (Akagi and Linning, 2013).
Smartphones and other mobile devices has equipped virtually everyone with a video camera, and are able to contribute information and data during unexpected events such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. According to Akagi and Linning, crowdsourced photos and mobile videos contributed to available footage. One of the clearest photos of the suspects was provided by an iPhone (2013).
Crowdsourcing can potentially provide journalists even greater insight and information by directly receiving help from individuals who are most knowledgeable about the topic. In news breaking circumstances like the Boston Marathon bombing, crowdsourcing can help journalists learn about the events as they unfold in real time from people at the scene of the event (Vehkoo, 2013). However, there is a downside. Relying on crowdsourced information without appropriate verification can result in reporting false and potentially damaging information. The lack of accurate research and verification led to falsely identifying the bombing suspects days after the tragedy (Akagi and Linning, 2013).
There are steps that can be taken for improving how crowdsourcing is utilized. Properly trained journalists can avoid misinformation by continuing to adhere to ethical journalistic codes, and by exemplifying good journalism. Appropriate journalistic crowdsource training results in considering the quality, validity, and ownership of the content obtained by the journalist (Akagi and Linning, 2013).
Society has changed how it communicates due to Facebook’s impact
Sometimes, it is hard to remember the days when staying in touch meant stopping by for a visit, calling someone on the phone, or writing a long letter, mailing it, and then waiting for a written response to your letter is delivered to your mailbox. Each of these forms of communication was personal and conveyed warmth. When email capabilities came along, it allowed you to communicate with a larger audience, and at a much faster rate of response and engagement. Emails enabled you to contact someone at any time, and gave them the opportunity to respond at their own leisure. The era of Facebook has drastically changed the manner in which society communicates. Facebook has had a major influence on news content and advertising from corporations. Facebook is a culture change (Communication Analysis, 2016).
One of the most notable cultural changes created by Facebook is in how we share personal or special events. Rather than mailing out cutely themed invitations, or making a phone call, Facebook enables us to create an electronic invite. It is just a matter of writing a brief introduction to the event, and then clicking on the names of those you want to invite. Take a look at how to create and send an invitation to your family and friends on Facebook:
According to founder, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has created a culture that is a more open, and connected global society. Social media has changed relationships, businesses, privacy, toppled regimes, changed the news media, and the meaning of every day words (Elgot, 2015). Although there are negative aspects of how Facebook affects our lives, we now have stronger relationships, contributed to a stronger economy with greater opportunities, and a strengthened community of people reflecting upon everyone’s system or values (2015).
Facebook satisfies the need for basic human need for social connection. But, there has been some debate about if Facebook can result in the opposite effect. If your life is in a rut or not exactly where you had imagined, watching the Facebook lives of your family and friends as they get married, raise their children, get promotions or travel around the world may cause you emotional harm. Instead of elevating your well-being, Facebook can tend to undermine how you react (Gross, 2014). Of course there are positive aspects. Facebook has changed our traditional methods of communicating to allowing you to stay in the contact without having to post, like or share. Many individuals spend hours on Facebook everyday simply scrolling through the timelines reading what their family and friends are posting, sharing or liking. Without saying a single word, Facebook fulfills the need to feel connected to the outside world without physically being a part of the outside world.
While there may seem to be a need for a plan to improve our individuals communicate via social media, there are steps that can be taken to ensure that your privacy and social media communications are safe, do not cause damage to the user. It is important to control the amount of personal information that you share on Facebook. Another easy method to protect yourself is to control what strangers and see by changing the privacy settings on your Facebook account. This will ensure that your page can only be viewed by friends and is not open to the public.
Cultural changes influenced by the internet and social media
Most likely, we all experienced some form of anxiety when we took that first step into the unfamiliar world of the internet and/or social media – especially if you were born before the technological revolution. Discussing how the internet and social media has impacted culture must begin with why many of us have at one-time viewed these mediums as a negative influence on society. Cultural and social anxieties are communicated metaphorically through the internet. Those anxieties were built upon our fear of providing too much information about our private lives and families. Internet trolls, predatory hackers, pedophiles, and phishing scams seemed to be out there lurking and waiting to pounce on our vulnerable entry into that unfamiliar online world (Furedi, 2015).
Once that fear had dissipated, we easily became comfortably intertwined with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest. Social media has made a life-changing impact on how we communicate as a society. Utilizing social media has reshaped how we interact and communicate. The culture of communicating on a professional and personal level has dramatically changed over the past decade. Facebook, for example, offers a comprehensive model for the internet’s effect on social skills, and education (Lule, 2015).
The internet has also vastly changed the culture in which we used to seek employment. Gone are the days of typing resumes and cover letters and dropping them in the mail. Today’s job search usually begins with a lengthy online application, and possibly followed by the employer Googling the applicant’s name (Lule, 2015). A new digital tool named LinkedIn has also greatly impacted how potential job seekers, and employers connect. LinkedIn can assist applicants in contacting a larger number of potential employers in a shorter time frame without painstakingly uploading your resume to multiple company websites (Saltzman, 2012). In the video below, it demonstrates the ease of contacting potential employers via LinkedIn.
A plan for improving the negative influence of social media begins with recognizing the symptoms. A study conducted by Dr. Ethan Kross, founder of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan, and research by the University of Missouri, advises that there is a direct connection between heavy social media usage (specifically Facebook), and feelings of depression and envy—another major issue observed in prevalent social media use amongst youth. Dr. Kross prescribes face-to-face contact and human interaction.
It’s possible that you have been utilizing LinkedIn because you are either unhappy in your current position or you are unemployed. The prescribed antidote? Face-to-face contact and human connection. “The feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, anxiety and depression are often a result from the daily unhealthy self-comparisons people make to their peers and strangers online,” according to Dr. Kross.
Social Media’s impact on consumers’ shopping methods
Before the technology revolution, it was often said that word of mouth was the best form of advertising. Word of mouth simply meant when one friend or associate told another person about your business, products or services and so on. Is verbal word of mouth is still considered the best form of advertising in today’s world?
I believe that social media is the technological upgrade to word of mouth. After all, liking, tweeting, sharing and posting statuses about our shopping and buying options on social media is the same as word of mouth. It’s word of mouth turbo-charged with a technological boost. Spreading the word about our shopping experiences, reactions to products and services, and engaging in online conversations with our family, friends and the producers of the brand is much faster than waiting for a person-to-person meeting, or phone call. Social media allows information to flow from your Smartphone, computer, or mobile device in real-time. It’s instantaneous!
Without question, shopping has always been a social event. However, social media has enabled us to engage with large numbers of individuals without necessarily knowing them personally (Tanase, n.d.). Social media offers a win-win situation for the consumer and the company producing the product or service. When consumers engage in the online discussions in the form of comments, companies are able to receive an immediate reaction to what their brand has presented to its intended audience. Companies are able to utilize social media platforms to initiate creative and unique marketing programs with a specific outcome, for instance, to promote a new product or to simply celebrate a special event. In the case of Dunkin Donuts, National Donut Day was celebrated by utilizing Facebook Live to invite fans of Dunkin Donuts to experience a peek inside its top secret test kitchen by watching how cake donuts were made. The live video received 31,330 views, 2,450 impressions, 919 comments, and 567 shares (Liffering, 2016).
To improve upon the shopping activities of their customer base, businesses would be wise to include an social media component within their online marketing strategy if they want to benefit from the constantly changing social media technology. By taking a page from Dunkin’ Donut’s playbook, companies will position themselves to welcoming their customers as a member of their brand’s team.
Thomas-Hobbs Chronicle 