New communication technologies (NCTs) are one of the fastest growing forms of media in the 21st century. The internet is probably the most well-known example of NCT.
We are able to access information not just from other countries, but also on the go. Many things we could not do in the past, such as following foreign television dramas on the day they are aired and getting the latest global news have been made possible. Many people across the world are able to view videos on youtube, and the media makes use of this by uploading their own videos there. Many record labels or singers have their own youtube channels which garner thousands, even millions of views per video. Susan Boyle became famous in the UK for her performance on Britain's Got Talent. But it was through the media, traditional and NCTs, that she became globally known. A video of her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' had 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours!
After those widely circulated news, I'm certain Susan Boyle is now poised to enter new markets outside of the UK with the release of her first studio album.
With the popularity of NCTs, many products have been created to cater to the huge market. iTunes sells songs online to attract consumers who prefer online shopping, Amazon and eBay among others are selling products online, all of which were unthinkable in the past when NCTs were not developed yet.
With the gadgets we have now, we are able to gain access to NCTs. Gone are the days when cellular phones were only for calling, now they can do so much more. In Singapore, almost everyone you meet has a cellular phone. And 90% of these phone are likely to be able to access the internet and/or receive updates on news, weather, etc.
We have become so used to being plugged into the latest news and technologies that our perception of what is considered basic has changed drastically from when the technology first came out. It has become cheaper to get the latest gadgets with all sorts of specifications that can support various kinds of technologies.
Take for example the iPhone/iTouch. It can surf the net, keep you connected on Facebook and Twitter, access the latest global news and act as a GPS system! With such specifications, perhaps one day even newspapers would not be printed at all, but online instead.
Traditional forms of media are slowly losing their hold on the world that once used to be dependent on paper and ink. But i do not foresee a sudden decline in print media, in Singapore at least.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Boyle
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Week 7 blog entry
Of the various media messages that we receive each day, advertisements are some of the most influential. It does not matter if we are aware of the fact that we are receiving the messages, but the fact that what we do is to a certain extent influenced by these messages achieves the aim of the message.
Advertisements, the products of organisations, are produced at great expense. For example, spokespersons for advertisements can earn up to 7-figure sums depending on who is engaged to front the advertisements and for how long. Before her contract ended, Gisele Bundchen was paid $5 million a year as a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
From television commercials to billboards, advertisements make full use of all forms of mass media. For different advertisements, they use different technologies to spread their messages. Through the different media forms, they are able to emphasis on different parts of their messages. We generally choose to believe what we can see, and so television advertisements are often viewed as one of the best forms of advertisements.
Take for example fashion advertisements, there was a Gucci advertisement on Singapore television earlier this year promoting their perfume, Flora, by Gucci. If this advertisement were to be a print advertisement, it would be hard to link the flowery background with a perfume as the perfume bottle only appears in the last five seconds of the television commercial. Hence in this case a television advertisement would be able to best bring across the message.
Advertisements are also non-exclusive in nature and are aimed at the majority of the audience. Using the example of Flora by Gucci, the target audience may not just be women, but also men looking for a suitable gift for women. It was also screened frequently between 19:00 to 22:00, which is the prime time slot throughout the whole week.
However, due to the widespread reach of the mass media, it is almost impossible to personalise advertisements to recipients. There is also minimal contact between media sources and the audience, which demonstrates the linear communication model, whereby there is no feedback to the message sender.
Advertisements, the products of organisations, are produced at great expense. For example, spokespersons for advertisements can earn up to 7-figure sums depending on who is engaged to front the advertisements and for how long. Before her contract ended, Gisele Bundchen was paid $5 million a year as a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
From television commercials to billboards, advertisements make full use of all forms of mass media. For different advertisements, they use different technologies to spread their messages. Through the different media forms, they are able to emphasis on different parts of their messages. We generally choose to believe what we can see, and so television advertisements are often viewed as one of the best forms of advertisements.
Take for example fashion advertisements, there was a Gucci advertisement on Singapore television earlier this year promoting their perfume, Flora, by Gucci. If this advertisement were to be a print advertisement, it would be hard to link the flowery background with a perfume as the perfume bottle only appears in the last five seconds of the television commercial. Hence in this case a television advertisement would be able to best bring across the message.
Advertisements are also non-exclusive in nature and are aimed at the majority of the audience. Using the example of Flora by Gucci, the target audience may not just be women, but also men looking for a suitable gift for women. It was also screened frequently between 19:00 to 22:00, which is the prime time slot throughout the whole week.
However, due to the widespread reach of the mass media, it is almost impossible to personalise advertisements to recipients. There is also minimal contact between media sources and the audience, which demonstrates the linear communication model, whereby there is no feedback to the message sender.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Week 6 blog entry
Assuming that countries and states are ‘individuals’ then the United Nations (UN) is an example of a ‘group’.
Currently with 192 member states, the UN as an international body has group synergy, which enables them to do things on a much larger scale, and is able to lend support and commitment to member states. They make complex decisions about major international issues such as climate change and sanctions which requires the full, or majority, support of the group.
Full memberships to such organisations comes with time as prospective countries have to submit detailed reports and some may require time to meet all the conditions that the organisations may require. In order to join the UN, prospective members have to abide by Chapter 2, Article 4 of the UN Charter.
‘Part 1: Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
Part 2: The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.’
Members also have roles to play in the group as they can run for various committees such as the Security Council in UN. During the UN General Assembly, members can give their opinions and bring up and evaluate issues addressed then, all of which are task roles (behaviour which helps a group accomplish its tasks).
But why do countries join international organisations such as the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Health Organisation (WHO)? For the protection that the countries gain? The increase in number of trading partners? Individuals will measure the benefits from staying in a group and when they feel that there are no more benefits to them, they will withdraw from the group.
One such example is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s announcement in April 2007 that ‘he would formally pull Venezuela out of the World Bank and IMF’. However, due to ‘Venezuela’s sovereign bond contracts require IMF membership’, ‘Chavez was forced to back down from an immediate exit’. The benefits to Venezuela prevented Chavez from pulling out of the World Bank and the IMF at that point in time, reiterating the point that rewards determine the members’ allegiance to the group.
Being a part of a group can be extremely beneficial to an individual as the group can meet the individual’s needs, but it can also be a source of stress for them as there are rules and regulations that members have to follow in order to continue being a part of the group. A group also can do more things that an individual can do and on a larger scale. In the case of the UN, it has accomplished a lot of things that a country will find it hard to do without help from other countries, which in itself is another form of a group.
Credits:
http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-554206
Currently with 192 member states, the UN as an international body has group synergy, which enables them to do things on a much larger scale, and is able to lend support and commitment to member states. They make complex decisions about major international issues such as climate change and sanctions which requires the full, or majority, support of the group.
Full memberships to such organisations comes with time as prospective countries have to submit detailed reports and some may require time to meet all the conditions that the organisations may require. In order to join the UN, prospective members have to abide by Chapter 2, Article 4 of the UN Charter.
‘Part 1: Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
Part 2: The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.’
Members also have roles to play in the group as they can run for various committees such as the Security Council in UN. During the UN General Assembly, members can give their opinions and bring up and evaluate issues addressed then, all of which are task roles (behaviour which helps a group accomplish its tasks).
But why do countries join international organisations such as the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Health Organisation (WHO)? For the protection that the countries gain? The increase in number of trading partners? Individuals will measure the benefits from staying in a group and when they feel that there are no more benefits to them, they will withdraw from the group.
One such example is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s announcement in April 2007 that ‘he would formally pull Venezuela out of the World Bank and IMF’. However, due to ‘Venezuela’s sovereign bond contracts require IMF membership’, ‘Chavez was forced to back down from an immediate exit’. The benefits to Venezuela prevented Chavez from pulling out of the World Bank and the IMF at that point in time, reiterating the point that rewards determine the members’ allegiance to the group.
Being a part of a group can be extremely beneficial to an individual as the group can meet the individual’s needs, but it can also be a source of stress for them as there are rules and regulations that members have to follow in order to continue being a part of the group. A group also can do more things that an individual can do and on a larger scale. In the case of the UN, it has accomplished a lot of things that a country will find it hard to do without help from other countries, which in itself is another form of a group.
Credits:
http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-554206
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Week 5 blog entry
The article 'Former karung guni gets his girl' published in The Sunday Times on October 4, 2009, shows a real life example of interpersonal communication. We can see how interpersonal communication features in their experiences from how Mr Peter Khiew and Ms Sally Khoo met to what transpired from then to their marriage.
They met at a karaoke session and ‘hit it off instantly and began dating’. This falls under the process known as ‘Engagement’ according to DeFleur et al (2005). Reciprocity from both parties acts as a form of validation for a relationship to form. This is the first to fourth step of the Knapp Model of Relational Development (KMRD), whereby Initiating is further developed to Integrating, where a couple becomes a relational unit.
Further down the Knapp Model of Relationship Development, we have Differentiating, Circumstancing, Stagnating, Avoiding and finally Terminating. In Mr Khiew and Ms Khoo’s relationship, there was a brief period of Avoiding, whereby ‘she did not speak to him for a week’, after Mr Khiew’s sudden public proposal. This is an example of a conflict caused by differences in perception. But this conflict was functional (builds a relationship) and only brought them closer.
In the article, Mr Khiew once ‘camped out all night at the carpark below’ where Ms Khoo lived so that ‘she would feel safe’. This shows how a party identifies the other party’s short term needs, which is in this case, a sense of security, and realizes the need. His actions proved to Ms Khoo how important she is to him and that further reinforces their relationship.
And with the marriage of Mr Khiew and Ms Khoo, they have arrived at the fifth stage of Knapp Model of Relationship Development, Bonding, characterized by significant public rituals and formalization of obligation and commitment.
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Congratulations to Mr Peter Khiew and Ms Sally Khoo on their wedding.
They met at a karaoke session and ‘hit it off instantly and began dating’. This falls under the process known as ‘Engagement’ according to DeFleur et al (2005). Reciprocity from both parties acts as a form of validation for a relationship to form. This is the first to fourth step of the Knapp Model of Relational Development (KMRD), whereby Initiating is further developed to Integrating, where a couple becomes a relational unit.
Further down the Knapp Model of Relationship Development, we have Differentiating, Circumstancing, Stagnating, Avoiding and finally Terminating. In Mr Khiew and Ms Khoo’s relationship, there was a brief period of Avoiding, whereby ‘she did not speak to him for a week’, after Mr Khiew’s sudden public proposal. This is an example of a conflict caused by differences in perception. But this conflict was functional (builds a relationship) and only brought them closer.
In the article, Mr Khiew once ‘camped out all night at the carpark below’ where Ms Khoo lived so that ‘she would feel safe’. This shows how a party identifies the other party’s short term needs, which is in this case, a sense of security, and realizes the need. His actions proved to Ms Khoo how important she is to him and that further reinforces their relationship.
And with the marriage of Mr Khiew and Ms Khoo, they have arrived at the fifth stage of Knapp Model of Relationship Development, Bonding, characterized by significant public rituals and formalization of obligation and commitment.
-
Congratulations to Mr Peter Khiew and Ms Sally Khoo on their wedding.
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