Media Communications

Media Communications Richard Trombly Contact : Email : richard@trombly.com Wechat and phone: +86 13818837641

Introduction • Media in the mobile and internet era “New media is the modern day gold rush.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree,

Digital age • From wireless broadcasts to wired nations • Due to the wide number of productions, rival networks developed attempting to meet consumer tastes • There is limited number of TV station frequencies in the broadcast spectrum

Digital age • This lead to a wider adoption of cable in most countries as networks diversified and there developed news and specialty and premium content {paid} channels • Despite the cost of new customers being wired, the market demands for more content were there

Digital age • Ironically the development of digital data broadcast was developed at the same time as the internet was being widely adopted • Digital broadcasts are more precise so each of the former frequencies in broadcast can be divided 10 fold. • So even though the technology was developed it is less utilized

Digital age • Instead of wide broadcast, internet and now mobile media are the normal. • Individuals choose what they want to watch and read and listen to more and more

Digital age • Invention of flatscreen digital screens lead to digital screens that do not need digital data converted back to analog

Digital age • One important aspect of developing the digital transmission of data was the development of compression • Digital transmits drastically more data and uses less frequency and bandwidth to do it • Storage was less developed and so the computer engineers were always looking for ways to compress data

Digital age • Compression uses math formula to reduce the size of data files. {the formula taking less space than the actual data but offering the same result. • On internet or mobile media, reducing the size of files was critical for both time downloading and for the cost in the case of metered connections

Digital age There are various encoding formats . In photos you have .jpg • In video .mpeg was the standard • Newer file compression algorithms relying on faster and more powerful computers are able to both compress more and lose less information in the process

Digital age The video compression can be taken further • In a shot, often very little changes between one shot and the next. The algorithm repeats the previous frame only encoding what changed. • It skips frames and reconstructs them using motion interpretation algorithms

Digital age The origin of computing • The Digital Calculator would be cited by many people • But the chinese had the abacus thousands of years ago.

Digital age The development of the transistor allowed the development of the calculator • Using logarithms and logic gates , calculators were able to make complicated calculations based on binary inputs [0 or 1] to represent the numbers and the operations applied to them

Digital age The programmers at IBM were having trouble with errors in programming and how hard it is to find them in direct programming • They developed FORTRAN language 1957 • It operated by programming in a human-style language and then translating that into the binary code automatically in computing.

Digital age The FORTRAN programs also gave output to users in the language rather than binary information • The computer encoding and decoding emulates human communication • Alan Turing – {film - The Imitation Game}

Digital age The computer uses symbols • Much as we do • So the computer is a communication tool as much as it is a computing tool • It models human thought. • So it has inspired the quest for Artficial Intelligence • Isaac asimov – I Robot voice digital

Digital age The original computers for business used a main computer and “dummy terminals”

Digital age The personal computer • Despite the myths of steve jobs and bill gates, the computer firms of the day were not the dinosaurs they were portrayed to be • They were continually reducing the size and increasing the power of components

Digital age The key thing steve jobs did offer , he took a printing class and admired the fonts. • He asked a computer engineer about doing that on a computer , the response was “why. We have one font” and printers at the time were a 9 pin printer only able to use tractor fed computing paper. • Jobs created desktop printing

Digital age Desktop printing and other user friendly aspects like GUI graphic User Interface --- using a mouse – made computers user friendly • Microsoft took an operating system that was able to run on generic hardware so that the computer manufacturer did not monopolize software development

Digital age Original PC computers may have been little more to PC users than over glorified typewriters • But the fact that is was allowing desktop printing of documents it greatly affected information production. Decentralizing it. • Apple ads

Digital age Allowed the creation of a massive information culture. • The internet – it allowed access to pages that were stored on other computers – essentially letting any computer “broadcast” via access to files. • This turned to being able to allow remote users to see graphics and operate programs not on their computer

Digital age This goes back to the main frame computer and the dumb terminals • The internet user has the dumb terminal and uses the other computer • It has lead to thin-client computing – programs on other computers like using google docs instead of WORD

Digital age This network of computers and data storage has created a vast shared computing network we call the cloud • Cloud computing is distributed computing and data storage that can be accessed by any client computer – even mobile internet

Digital age What is convergence • We are more active consumers of media since we are less likely to receive broadcasts or go to a cinema to watch what is being presented to us but are choosing what we watch on devices

Digital age What is convergence • Technological advances • Corporate and organizational development • Cultural developments

Digital age What is convergence • Technological advances are usually cited for convergence • PDA , phone, calculator, camera , address book and digital watch with alarm, calendar, and book reader, and walkman/.mp3 player and concierge [microsoft Cortana] , stock ticker, messenger and portable computer • All on your smartphone

Digital age Smartphone killed the polaroid and snapshot camera , few film developers • There is no PDA manufacturers • Watches are only fashion pieces now. Few cheap watches since they are nearly pointless except to show “bling”

Digital age Smartphone uses the same processor as netbooks • Netbooks are just a phone processor with better input/ output and access ports for periphrials

Digital age Corporate and organizational • Media companies of all sorts from newspapers to video rental have had to change or die • Businesses have had to accommodate employee use and development of these technologies.

Digital age Cultural • Watching tv and using the computer have become hard to define boundaries since the tech and viewing lifestyle changed

Digital age The global information highway is already behind us • We have taken flight into the cloud computing • Where will this take society?

Digital age Etiquette • Never answer the phone during a meal? • Talk on the train? • Answer a text while with friends?

Digital age Work life balance • Does the technology free you up or extend your working hours • Flexibility of work

Digital age 1980s • Information age was beginning • Reagan and other conservatives in europe too • Called for more labor workers less education

Digital age This was the start of needing workers that had knowledge and flexible thinking • Less factory line work • Robots will do that • So the jobs that will remain are work that can't be done by machine – • Knowledge work or manual repair work

Digital age Uber plans self-drive cars • No workers • We need to think about resource use • Not everyone needs a traditional job

Digital age Automated technology • Brave new world

Surveys Good for determining information that groups of people can easily answer • What does a group think • What do they own • What have they done • What have they bought • What will they do/ buy • etc

Surveys Government and corporate organizations both use surveying frequently • It is done to collect and analyze data : social, political, economic, psychological , technical , cultural , etc. • Based on interviewing people for response • Needs representative samples • Requires valid sample

Surveys Descriptive • Describes the population studied such as demographics • Analytic / explanatory • Analytic surveys seek to understand why a group behaves in a certain way

Surveys Data can be useful even from a relatively small survey

Surveys Data can be gathered by • Interview ; not in depth , very structured so there is consistence of response • Or • Questionaire: self administered and can be via internet

Surveys Data is in numbers , cheap to conduct a survey , results are clear • Can easily gain lots of information or a small pointed inquiry

Surveys Respondents can easily provide wrong answers either by lying or not understanding the questions

Surveys Open ended or closed ended questions • Open ended asks for a user generated response ? Why how where ? Etc • Closed ended are multiple choice

Surveys Survey questions • Clear , not ambiguous • Short • Simple language • Ask only one input per question • Avoid bias • Do not lead the respondent • Are not offensive or embarassing

Surveys Survey questions • Ask questions respondents can answer • Logically grouped • The scales are clearly labeled and defined • Logical order • Reword important questions to test for user consistency

Surveys Survey questions Bad question: Do you think this product is nutritious and tastes great? Leading and 2 questions in one.

Media Communications