BlackBerry coming to an end

End of an era BlackBerry finally stops making phones

http://adage.com/article/digital/end-era-blackberry-finally-stops-making-phones/306074/

Its official, BlackBerry has stopped making its iconic handsets. The phone just wasn't able to keep up with its competitors in Apple and Samsung; the business is now focused on more profitable software. Chief executive has decided to help with producing software because he has worked with software in advanced work before. The business is considering entering new markets like Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria.

I believe this would be ideal for the business as they would still be in existence in other markets and they can still make profits. The decision to change market could be the right one as there aren't as many competitors in those developing countries compared to developed ones.

BBC iPlayer password

BBC denies iPlayer password plans are part of licence fee crackdown

 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/digital-media

This article comes after the announcement from the BBC becoming strict on the who is able to view the content on the iPlayer. The institution tells us the involvement of the password isn't linked to TV licence fee evaders and its for a 'more personal BBC for everyone'. This new rule will be introduced early 2017. 

• Director of BBC 'its about giving you a better BBC'
• BBC still will try to detect people using iPlayer without a licence, just not with the password system 

I believe that the BBC have implemented this system to ensure people without a licence won't be able to use the service. This seems obvious to me because their reasons for introducing the password seems odd and it has conveniently been added near the time of the 'packet sniffing'.

NDM case study: how has news changed

1.

• Two thirds of adults say they use TV for news 
• Nine in tens adults in the UK (89%)
• Decrease in percentage of people watching TV for news; 8% decrease since 2014 (75%) which was 78% in 2013
• Number of people who use the internet or apps for news remains the same since 2014 (4 in 10 - 41%)
• Newspapers are used by 3 in 10 (31%) which is decreasing 
• 1 in 10 (10%) of adults don't follow the news 
• 51% of people aged 16-24 use TV for news compared to 86% aged 55+
• Similar pattern with newspapers (21% vs 44%) and radio (23% vs 37%)
• Men more likely than women to use any of the four main platforms for news (TV, internet, newspapers and radio)
• 69% males use TV for news compared to 65% of women
• The same is true for the internet (45% vs 37%), newspaper (34% vs 27%) and radio (35% vs 29%)
• People in the AB social economic group are more likely than those in the DE social economic group of the four platforms: TV (71% vs 67%), internet (50% vs 29%), newspapers (38% vs 26%) and radio (46% vs 23%)  

2. The most popular way of viewing the news is through TV. The percentages above indicates audiences still value the news from TV although the internet is becoming another source of interest.

3. 51% of people aged 16-24 use TV for news compared to 86% aged 55+. Similar pattern with newspapers (21% vs 44%) and radio (23% vs 37%). News online through any device is considerably higher for those aged 16-24 (59%).

4. Not really because people of the A-B social economic group view the news on any of the four platforms at 71% compared to DE at 67%. So both groups still value the news and don't neglect it just because of their social status.

5. 44% of TV users said they used just one source compared with 43% of internet users, 34% for newspapers and radio was 60%. 30% use only one provider. BBC is popular amongst adults coming in at 48%.

6. Decrease in percentage of people watching TV for news; 8% decrease since 2014 (75%) which was 78% in 2013.

7. Newspapers are in decline since 2005 with only 45.4% of adults using it now compared to 72.4%. With age the reach of people reading newspapers varies: 29.3% of 15-24 year olds read the newspaper compared to 67.9% of over 65's.

8. With age the reach of people reading newspapers varies: 29.3% of 15-24 year olds read the newspaper compared to 67.9% of over 65's.

9. Daily Mail is wide;y read in the UK with around 5.5 million users compared to just over 6 million in 2014. The Sun is next with 5.2 million users compared to 5.8 million in 2014. The Sun was once the most viewed/read newspaper but the Daily Mail has taken over and this could partly be because the Daily Mail offers an online website for people to access.

10. 4 in 10 (41%) UK adults use the internet for the news. Six in ten (59%) UK adults aged 16-24 say they use the internet or apps for news compared to just under a quarter (23%) of those aged 55+.

Over half (53%) of those in the ABC1 social economic group use online sources for news, compared to a third (32%) of those in the C2DE social economic group.

11. 61% of 16 - 24 year access the news through social media compared to 26% of 55+ who use it for news.

12. 43% of users is social media sites for the their news.

13. The most popular online sites for news are: BBC (56%), Facebook (17%), Sky news (14%) and Google search engine (15%).

14. 43% of 16-24 year olds access news from social media

15. The most popular way of getting news online is through an app (39%). 28% go through a link from a friend, 27% use the URL and search for the news' websites directly and others use sources like search engines like Google.

16. The benefits for audiences from the changes made on new and digital media is that it is more convenient. This is because people are able to search for news stories or the forecast they want to know about instead of having to wait for the news on television to announce the weather for the day. Therefore, audiences can obtain information that is relevant to them and they are interested in. This is mainly because of technology and use allowing these news institutions to create their websites and apps for audiences interested in news.

17. The benefits for institutions are that more people can get involved with the news. This is because the amount of people using technology and the internet can be influenced into using those devices for the news as well as socially. Therefore, institutions are able to set up social networking accounts allowing people to interact with the institution and its audience. As a result increasing its brand image and the amount of viewers checking the news. For example, the EU Referendum was held live on Facebook live and Youtube allowing users of the social networking sites to watch the debates and also get involved.

18. The downside of audiences constantly using digital media could be that they become reliant on it. This means that although audiences feel as if they have control of what they view, institutions can tell stories without revealing too much because they know their audience may not check newspapers for example for the truth/more of the story. The hypodermic needle model could suggest audiences will be easily influenced because of the rise in use of digital media to obtain news.

19. The downside for institutions of the rise in digital media would be that they may have to be more truthful with what their audience because they would be able to use different sources online to get the full story. This means that audiences are given control in a sense because they can check a variety of news sources for many perspectives of a news story.

20. I believe the audience have benefited from the rise in digital media. This is because they are able to gain news online from many sources for free. Over the years we have seen a decrease in the amount of people using television and newspapers to get news with an 8% decrease from 2014 to 2015 - television. This correlation suggests traditional people's viewings (usually elderly) are being outweighed by younger people who could come under the bracket of mainstream. These young people would be more familiar with hand held devices and therefore would decide to collect news from social media, websites and search engines which they can access on their phones (59% 16-24 year old).

NDM baseline assessment: LR

Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are audiences empowered by this development.

1.

• The beginning was obviously the strongest part of the essay. As it went further on, there was a lack of focus on the question which made choosing examples even harder. This is why the essay sort of drifted into a business answer. 
• Using the wording from the question would have helped introduce a point and a topic. 
• Need more link to question
• Remember views and values 

2.

WWW:

• This starts really well with good question focus and the EU referendum is a great example

EBI:

• The rest of the answer is a business essay
• You need to use the wording from the question in every paragraph
• You clearly need more examples and a greater understanding of the media issues and debates
• Very little focus on the audience and institution considering the question 

New paragraph:

Developments in new/digital media means that audiences now have access to a greater variety of views and values especially in gaming. An example of this would be Grand Theft Auto which is an eighteen rated game. The views and values of players of the game could be significantly influenced because of what is witnessed in the game. The development of new and digital media has allowed gamers to have a more realistic and better experience and this is because of the high graphics. This can then influence the views and values of the people playing especially the youngsters. For example, GTA consistently represents black people as criminals and violent which could reinforce stereotypes and ideologies some people have of black people in real life. In the game players have to power to inflict pain on others which can be copied in real life and the news have reported 'copy cat crimes' suggesting GTA is changing the views and values of people as they feel as if they can take people's lives. Considering some of these people have never committed crimes before playing the game we can see the obvious correlation of playing GTA and becoming a criminal.

BBC detect people using iPlayer without a licence

BBC responds to claims about how it's going to detect people using iPlayer without a licence 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/bbc-tv-detection-vans-data-private-wi-fi-networks-iplayer-licence-a7177396.html

• TV detection vans will capture data from private Wi-Fi networks
• £145 year licence 
• Already implemented
• Packet sniffing 

I believe this is the right thing for the BBC to do as its not fair as people don't have to pay the licence and are still able to watch BBC shows. However, there is a bigger issue that the BBC can't control alone when considering streaming and this is illegal streams. Although they can detect people using BBC iPlayer without a licence, there is no way of checking if someone is watching it through an illegal stream. Therefore, this will only create bigger problems as more people will move from watching iPlayer without having a TV licence to illegal free streams. 

Mobile Giant 'THREE' to block online advertisement

Mobile giant 'THREE' to block online advertisement 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/02/18/mobile-giant-three-to-block-online-advertising/ 

• The first major European operator to banish online advertisement
• Happened in February 
• Digital publishers will be set to lose a significant amount of money

I believe this will have a huge impact on businesses that rely on online advertising obviously because millions on THREE customers will not see these advertisements. Nine million customers are based in the UK and the numbers across Europe would increase massively so we could image the losses digital publishing businesses will face. For customers they won't be disrupted by adverts constantly appearing and would reduce impulse buying because they won't have adverts telling to buy things they don't need/want. 

News case study

BBC 

The BBC broadcasts channels on television/online and exclusive shows to follow it's mission to entertain and educate its audience. The channels include: BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, BBC 5 live. The owner of the BBC is the Government.
Print - the BBC isn't known for print as it is a broadcasting service. However, the traditional newspaper audience still rely on the BBC to get up to the minute news mainly because the BBC is ancient.
Broadcast - this is where the BBC makes its money. It is slowly trying to accompany the younger generation as they have recently moved BBC three online. This was a strategic move as many youngsters don't watch television because they rely on the internet to stream movies and shows. Despite this move, they are still meeting their mission of pleasing the whole of Britain because of their objective views on news stories.
E-media - this platform is vital for the BBC to fill because most audiences regularly check the latest news on their smartphones or laptops. This is because its free and easy to access especially because of the BBC news application.

The Guardian

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper which specialises in releasing newspapers (Newspaper of the year 2014). It was founded 1821 which suggests it's a traditional paper because of its existence. 

Print - this suggests they could be publishing newspapers for many years to come as print is its icon. Its a liberal paper which means its left wing and more considerate of others

E-media - they have their website with a simple layout for anyone to use. This is important because the audience of the newspaper would be of an older generation so their technology skills would be basic.

Daily mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily conservative tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1896. 

Print - the Daily mail is a right wing newspaper which is traditional. Its audience would be traditional so would be more likely to read the newspaper.

E-media - the Daily mail has a website as its easier for pits audience to get up to date with the news. 

The Sun 

The Sun was founded in 1964 which is a conservative newspaper.

Print - the newspaper was famous for its 'page 3' as it displayed a naked woman with a background story of them every week.

E-media - it has a website and shows the strange stories on the front cover.

Daily mirror

The Daily mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper founded in 1903. It has 'sister paper' called Sunday mirror. The Daily mirror was originally for the middle class reader but now is for the working class audience.

Print - this specialises in producing newspapers.

The impact of Google

1. Google is a great way of getting information and it is a lot more easier than reading a whole newspaper to get information. This means that people can easily get information as they get what they want.

2. 'More than $40 billion, or about 60% of the ad revenue the industry generated at its peak in 2000'. This suggests that newspapers aren't making as much money as they once were.

3. From around 2006, we have seen the steepest decline in newspapers mainly because of advertising. This is definitely because of the increase in technology.

4. I believe Google is one of the reasons why newspapers are in decline because its the easiest source of getting information. 

5. I slightly agree with the comment below because audiences are able to research anything they want. This is because its free to access news on these websites so it may need to be restructured for institutions to make a profit.

Obviously, Google is not to blame. I don’t think it’s about blame. I think the Internet is incredibly poorly designed. Rather than being free, everything on it should cost something in order to compensate creators. We have a proven system for doing this through organizations like ASCAP and BMI. The principal of royalties for profiting from the content of others is well established. Google came along, and, at least in the case of Youtube, knowingly robbed content creators for years in order to build up the business. The ideal system would be one in which every click resulted in a nano-charge on your phone bill, maybe 1/1000 of a cent for a news story, for example. Sites like Google that link to other sites could also pay in very tiny increments.

I disagree with this comment because the audience have the power to get information they want for free and some of it isn't mediated. If we view this comment from an institution's perspective, then this isn't good because they can't make as much money as they could.

Sorry, you didn’t convince me. So what if they didn’t invent the Internet. They did figure out a good way to advertise on other people’s content without sharing anything with the people who did the work. They could have built a system that actually paid the content creators. They could have tossed in a microcent every time someone clicked on a search link. But no, they kept ALL of the money for themselves. And they still do it. They seem to think that Google News is a service. It’s just a leech on the hardworking reporters.

 

New and digital media

Are mobiles changing how we shop?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/12172230/Are-mobiles-changing-how-we-shop.html

This article explains how mobiles are becoming the major way of buying goods. In addition, it suggests that impulse buying is creeping its way into online shopping in general because of the way items are strategically placed just like in a store. Impulse buying is when a customer buys a good without planning to so in advance. According to Interactive Media in Retail Group, hand held devices are becoming the preferred devices to use when making online purchases. This could be because businesses are making their websites easier for mobile use. 

• 51% of sales between November and January in the UK involved the use of hand held devices rather than tradition laptops or computers.  
• More likely to use tablets over smartphones 
• Mark Felix online trade director, 'customers use mobiles for reviews and then purchase product in store' 

This article has surprised me with the facts and stats because the growing use of mobile devices is increasing. This means that people with these devices can do anything with it from writing an essay to purchasing items online. Therefore, it would make sense that businesses would try to improve buying online through mobile devices because they are constantly being used. In addition, advertising can lead to more impulsive buying because there could be products displayed on the side of the page which are on sale increasing sales.

New/digital media

Is AI getting out of control?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/08/artificial-intelligence-beauty-contest-doesnt-like-black-people

This article discusses the controversy the contest has aroused Worldwide. The artificial intelligence has offended many people of colour as it has selected a few winners of the contents who were white expect for a few Asian people and a dark skin person. The AI only considers the symmetry and wrinkles of a persons face which seems too simplistic and not fair when judging the beauty of a person. Furthermore, the article highlights the fact that computer programs are used to predict future crimes.

• 44 winners, most white, hand full Asian and only one dark skin
• Majority of contestants were white
• Earlier this year we found out that these programs were biased against black people which can lead to harsh sentencing. 

I believe we shouldn't use computer programs or artificial intelligence to determine life changing outcomes. The ideologies and beliefs of the creator of an AI could be installed in them making their predictions subjective. Leading to bias results which could harm lives. Also, it would be arduous trying to figure out whether the system is subjective as it wouldn't show emotions like a human but would show patterns in it's results similar to the beauty contest.

Are mobiles changing how we shop?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/12172230/Are-mobiles-changing-how-we-shop.html

This article explains how mobiles are becoming the major way of buying goods. In addition, it suggests that impulse buying is creeping its way into online shopping in general because of the way items are strategically placed just like in a store. Impulse buying is when a customer buys a good without planning to so in advance. According to Interactive Media in Retail Group, hand held devices are becoming the preferred devices to use when making online purchases. This could be because businesses are making their websites easier for mobile use. 

• 51% of sales between November and January in the UK involved the use of hand held devices rather than tradition laptops or computers.  
• More likely to use tablets over smartphones 
• Mark Felix online trade director, 'customers use mobiles for reviews and then purchase product in store' 

This article has surprised me with the facts and stats because the growing use of mobile devices is increasing. This means that people with these devices can do anything with it from writing an essay to purchasing items online. Therefore, it would make sense that businesses would try to improve buying online through mobile devices because they are constantly being used. In addition, advertising can lead to more impulsive buying because there could be products displayed on the side of the page which are on sale increasing sales.