At our first Demystifying Media seminar, Professor Damian Radcliffe introduced himself as well as the plan for the course. What was first adapted from the model of J100, Media Professions, has now received an update to tailor to the likes of juniors and seniors preparing to enter their respective industry. In an era of flash-news and sponsored content, regular connoisseurs of media have to be more critical than ever when analyzing information; Demystifying Media has conveniently scheduled lectures with industry professionals who have first-hand experience with the ever-changing landscape. Meeting with and hearing from these professionals provides the class with knowledge and perspective we could not get elsewhere.
Professor Radcliffe highlighted five major trends and disruptions that are shifting the way industry leaders think and act. To begin, Radcliffe explored the rapid growth of smartphones and the unpredictable direction they are currently taking. Apple originally introduced the first-generation iPhone back in 2007, and to say a lot has changed since would be a gross simplification. Radcliffe moved on to discuss the emergence of video and social media. Launched in 2005, YouTube now has over 1.5 billion users, and around 70% of all views are on mobile devices; in the latest quarterly report, Facebook reported mobile ad revenue accounted for 88 percent of the company’s total advertising revenue. But while some would argue that the future is here and now, others would argue that the future is here and it is unevenly distributed.
Cisco VNI Global IP Traffic Forecast, 2014-2019 reports more than 24.4 billion devices and connections will be established in 2019. It is more than exciting to see technology reach so far around the globe because the power it wields is limitless; it connects remote regions with the mainstream society and vice versa. Similar to the objective of documentary films, technology has the potential to reveal an unknown world to people. Technology’s greatest value exists in its ability to disseminate information to such a vast number of people within the blink of an eye.
Professor Radcliffe suggested our cohort get into the habit of reading articles within our industry that will also align with the material prepared for our weekly Demystifying Media sessions. In reflection, two articles I found enlightening this week came from David Shing from AdWeek and Philip Bennett and Moises Naim from Columbia Journalism Review. Shing explores the implications chatbots give us and raises the important question, “When, and how, do we ‘hand off’ the experience from the machine to the human, and vice versa?” User experiences are critical and artificial intelligence is a prime example of a technology that has yet to be greatly improved.
On the other hand, Bennett and Naim discuss the rising amount of censorship in an age of information. “In theory, new technologies make it more difficult, and ultimately impossible, for governments to control the flow of information.” This is an important point to highlight during Mark Zuckerburg’s testimony before members of Congress regarding Facebook’s data leak. Associated Press News reported Facebook makes shaky data and privacy claims. I am curious as to when information will be able to be vastly disseminated and with complete confidence it is accurate.
http://www.adweek.com/digital/what-chatbots-are-teaching-us-about-future-marketing-174309/
https://archives.cjr.org/cover_story/21st_century_censorship.php