Through this very exquisite and challenging learning experience of blogging, I have learnt many lessons.
The importance of knowing and analyzing the situational and cultural context before document designing.
The ethical considerations behind printings and advertising should be concentrated in order to prevent pull backs.
Change is inevitable; the emerging trends in the new media should not be neglected but embraced as opportunities for improvements towards generalization.
Research is vital for any piece of work written here.
The importance and the ethical principles to follow through citations and sourcing to prevent copyright issues and threats.
The wide windows of opportunities in the blogosphere are opened to anyone willing to accept and learn.
The different placements and layout of images and words in a document depicts different meanings.
Without going through this course, I would have never gained this handful of knowledge. This course is definitely worth taking, being both interesting and challenging at the same time.
Firstly, I would express the preference of students, be it E-textbooks or the conventional one. Then, I would provide my own opinions and thought to this matter.
Statistics have shown that though there is an increase in online modules and E-textbooks, students find it harder to accept this new trend as compared to other emerging trends like reading news through the internet.
“new and emerging usability problems are found for example the navigation overload”
“reading experience still does not exceed the reading from PC monitors”
According to Nielsen (2010) from the usability survey between the ipad and the kindle, both mediums are found to be less appealing than reading from actual books.
I truly believe that if the ipad and kindle reading experience has not improved, there will be a slower growth in the chances of people adapting to reading e-books. The trend of e-books and online module will still increase through its numerous benefits, but it all ultimately boils down to the preference of most readers. Perhaps, the old may still be the best.
Woody, W.D., Daniel , D.B., & Baker, C.A 2010, ‘E-Books or Textbooks: Students Prefer Textbooks’, Journal of Computers & Education, Vol. 55, No.1, pp. 945-848.
It is clear that audiences now prefer the easy accessibility and well detailed information at quick access provided through the internet. Different genres have different contents. The contents in online videos may exceed those of cable TV, which results in the emerging trend.
Videos online have music clips, shorter fragments, have behind the scene clips, highlights, short, quick but information filled.
Besides that, videos online promotes interactivity like voting, chatting and commenting, ticketing, on-demand downloads, and other additional information on programs unlike the conventional TV.
According to Spangler (2011), Nielsen’s report on media consumption noted that 48% of US consumers watch videos and news online however TV remains “the great American pastime”. This is seen to be true as O’Dell’s article showed PEW Internet research stating than TV is still the main source of news, followed by the internet, with newspapers coming in third.
Though TV is still King, the emerging trend of online video news used by media websites has seen a steady increase through the years. Media planners have to find the balance point in order to let both genres co-exist together, satisfying different generation’s needs.
Lastly, this shift in genre liking should be seen as an opportunity to venture further into the online video world instead of a threat to cable TV organizations.
Document designers, advertisers and media related parties have to all understand a culture in order to fulfill the demands of the audiences and prevent further provocation.
Kress & van Leeuwen (1998) explained that readers from different cultural backgrounds are perceived to read differently. In this case, people can also perceive the message of the advertisement differently, which rose to the disagreement of the community in Malaysia.
The audience may misunderstand the message because they do not understand the cultural content in the view of those celebrating Ramadan, as Walsh (2006) explained that readers have to understand the social purpose and its cultural content, to understand the real meaning behind.
Shriver (1997) notes the importance of understanding different cultures as document designers. The author states that the interpretation of the audience is highly influenced by the specific local culture in. In this case, the different races of Malaysia have different culture backgrounds, thus, perceiving the advertisement differently.
Other countries besides Malaysia are also guilty of racist advertisements.
“be mindful of public sensitivities before using potentially offensive and distasteful material, to ensure against negative results from their use.”
“be responsible in the portrayal of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, traditional values and region.”
Therefore, advertisers have to be more aware of the possible implications that come with the insensitivity shown in advertisements. Media parties have to understand the social and cultural context of the environment in to prevent pull-backs of advertisements in the future.
Clickhere to view more racist advertisements that got pulled back.
Say no to RACIST ADVERTISEMENTS!
Reference List
Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (AAAA)- Standard Code of Conducts, Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (AAAA), viewed 11 November 2011, < http://www.aaaa.org.my/association/standard_conduct.html>
Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T, 1998, Front Pages: (the critical) Analysis of Newspaper Layout, Blackwell, Oxford.
Shriver, K.A. 1997, Chapter 6 in Dynamics in Document Design, John Wiley, New York, USA.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘Textual Shift’ – Examining the Reading Process with Print, Visual and Multimodal Texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol.29, No.1, pp.24-37.
Change is inevitable for media organizations and resistance of change will only throw these unwilling organizations into the deeper end as Gen Y increases in population, so does the popularity of reading news from tablets.
Firstly, an example of print newspaper and a tablet newspaper.
“28% of American say the loss of local newspaper would cause major impact on the ability to keep up with local information.”
“30% say it would have a minor impact.”
“39% say the loss of the newspaper would have no impact”
Rosensteil &Mitchell (2011) from the Pew Research Centre’s Project for Excellence in Journalism noted a survey done showing:
“47% of Americansnow get news from local mobile devices or tablets”
“Cable news is shrinking especially in its median audience”
Local newspapers have degraded in providing information because the audiences now are demanding for correct, sufficient yet fast information. News happeningand being reported straight at the moment is new, any news a few hours later is considered old news in its media life. Newspapers take longer processing time which decreases its favorability.
As of January 2011, Internet is now second to Television when it comes to weather reports, breaking news, and traffic updates.
The younger the viewers are, the more welcoming the internet era is, which leads to more tablet viewing. Local news and information sources are mostly dominated by the internet, both reading through tablets or desktops.
According to Klein (2011) print fulfills a different need, readers want the experience of holding and flipping through pages which provides both intellectual and leisure experiences, which may not be found in digital devices.
I however, feel that digital devices provide easier accessibility. Walsh (2006) expresses the importance of how technological differences assist readers and maintains a reader’s interest. The easier accessibility to other references from hyperlinks within the tablet news, links to various other media tools increases the chances of in-depth understanding as compared to reading plainly from printed newspapers.
My Opinion
I believe that it is important to find a balance point between both print and tablet because both mediums satisfy different needs of different readers, and both mediums should be allowed to co-exist together.
Rosensteil, T & Mitchell, A 2011, The State of The News Media- An Annual Report on American Journalism, State of the Media. Org, viewed 11 November 2011, <http://stateofthemedia.org/2011/overview-2/>
Walsh, M 2006, ‘Textual Shift’- Examining the Reading Process with Print, Visual and Multimodal Texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol. 29, No.1, pp.24-37.
Shriver (cited in Whiskey Creek Document Design 2003) explains that document design is an act of combining prose, graphics, typography, to instruct, inform or persuade.
Hilligoss & Howard (2002) mentioned that in order to communicate with readers, good visual design has to match good writing and not substitute it. Visual communication affects how the readers interact with words, therefore important for writers to note.
This blog and newspaper article will be used to illustrate the differences between print-based and screen-based documents.
Morkes & Nielsen (1997) states that screen documents are more concise, precise, direct, scannable, include summaries and hyperlinks, which can be seen through the point forms used in this blog.
Print-based documents are more formal, expressive, inclusive of pictures and written in full sentences as clearly seen from the above newspaper article.
2.Design
Walsh (2006) mentioned that screen-based designs include headings, links, images, hyperlinks, which is also evident through this blog.
Unlike screen, print-based has different typography, headlines, large amount of texts (Nielsen 1999) as seen from the above newspaper article.
3.Reading Paths
According to Walsh (2006), Reading paths of screen-based text are non-linear as there are many reading paths which tend to encourage scanning. Besides that, Nielsen (1999) explains that hands move for information by clicking links on blogs, thus interaction occurs. This is true to this blog of mine, as readers can choose either to read the first post, search for other interested posts.
Walsh (2006) notes the difference with print-based reading paths, by explaining that it is non-linear and includes decoding, responding and comprehending. It also flows sequentially. This is true to the newspaper article above as people will tend to read the blog headings before reading the others.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘The “Textual Shift”: Examining the reading Process with Print, Visual and Multimodal Texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp.24-37.
Mainstream media like newspapers is deteriorating in its popularity ever since the emergence of new media publishing types like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, CNN.news, LinkedIn. Nielsen (2009) states total views of the top newspaper sites increase approximately 27% yearly and claims 20% increase of visits in career development sites. New Media is becoming a very powerful tool.
Uses
1. Enhances communication-expression of opinion, sharing of thought. Plunkett (2006) declares a 500% increase of users in YouTube within the first half of 2006.
2. Information Transmission- (CNN.com) and blogs.
3. Product & Brand Awareness
4. 3R's -Reputation, Revenue, Research - Pollard (2010)
Importance
Saighal (cited in Singh 2011) expresses the importance of media digital as a mainstream communication between businesses and customers, and is vital for innovative marketing in today's scenario.
According to Walsh (2006), Affordances are what is made possible by the modes used, in order to maximize engagement and create particular effects. For example, New Media provides the ability to “show” instead of just “telling”.
Altered Communication
New Media has altered communication in a new media ecosystem can be illustrated through the President of the United States Barack Obama’s excellent use of new media.
Obama uses Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to communicate with the citizens of America and others worldwide, giving an insight to his personal views regarding current issues and also recordings of his conferences. Besides that, he uses LinkedIn for corporate associates and blogs for readers worldwide.
Communication is no longer one way like how mainstream media was. Feedbacks from citizen’s and voices of opinion are replied to Obama through the same media. More authentic and genuine conversation occurred, serving as an insight to the citizens’ mind.
