Week 10: Internet and Journalism- the double edged sword

Babble: Experience

When the topic of Internet and Journalism came up during class, I was rather fascinated because I'd been a part of e-journalism during my internship in Polytechnic. During the 2011 General Elections, I took a break from covering stories and ran the Channel NewsAsia Twitter account.

The account was created to provide quick and precise news updates from the different locations and political parties. Although it was over two years ago, I could still remember the anxiety and the rapid tapping of fingers on my iPhone to release the news to followers. I sat in front of several TVs that streamed live reports, and it was both exhilarating and nerve wrecking at the same time to be the one to deliver the news firsthand.

Besides the tweeting, there were other instances of digital journalism as well. When I covered general news stories at TODAY, stories were published in both physical copies and online. 

It was very convenient because readers could access stories online if they missed out on that day's paper. Sometimes, if there were too many articles to fit them all in that day's newspaper, they could simply upload the soft news articles online. 

So how will the Internet shape the future of journalism?

News used to come from journalists running around with pens and papers at important events, and the most advanced machine they used was probably the typewriter. News only came out in newspapers the next day. The articles came with lengthy write ups and probably a picture or two, nothing more. 

Micro blogging

These days, news articles come in bite sized formats on micro blogging sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Readers can access articles immediately after they are uploaded. For important events or even breaking news, journalists can upload the information as they are watching the event unfold, much like the GE 2011 Twitter site.

As micro blogging sites are free and have great reach, it's no surprise that many news agencies have created their own accounts. Examples of such news agencies are Channel NewsAsia, TodayOnline, CNN, Al Jazeera etc.

Videos, videos, videos

As the Internet is readily accessible to many these days, we expect more creative content and visuals to spice things up. News outlets such as XINMSN and Straits Times' RazorTV have been created specifically for such purposes. These digital journalists attend concerts not only to write about them, but also to film and give viewers a better, more immersive experience instead of simply reading about it.

RazorTV's video content

Besides concerts, they also create and edit videos for soft news for latest happenings, interviews and features. Journalism has become more visual, more exciting, but there are also higher demands when it comes to hiring new blood for agencies. 

Citizen Journalism

Writing news now no longer belongs to the journalists and editors alone. With the rise of citizen journalism, the news are now in the hands of anyone- and I mean anyone. Citizen journalism is pretty much a grey area when it comes to pros and cons. For example, anyone out there that chances upon an event or happening can simply snap a few pictures and write on citizen journalism sites such as STOMP. However, whether such articles are worth reading or not is another question altogether. 

Although the Internet allows for all sorts of articles to be posted online without having to worry about the number of articles limited per day, it's inevitable that there are lots of unimportant or nonsensical articles that clutter up the citizen journalism news sites.

Okay... How is this any of our business

The comments, too, would spawn lots of crude language with the lack of moderation and anonymity on the viewers' part. 

Comments are also a perfect mining site if you want to point out anything that is wrong with our English curriculum

For better or worse?

Everything comes with both advantages and disadvantages. A great advantage of Internet playing a large role in journalism is the obvious reach and coverage we can get with our news. Egypt, for instance, had many members of the public reach out via outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to tell the world what their media is unable to: pictures of riots, bombings and protests plaguing the nation. 

Another advantage is that it greatly involves the public. Now, news is more interactive and two way. We can comment, share our views and tell others about our own experiences. There is also a higher demand for digital journalists proficient with the Internet and its tools, which gives the younger generation an edge. 

Disadvantages are also aplenty. Citizen journalism means that there is more clutter and less professional articles that we don't screen out. And with everything going digital and online, this means bad news for the print industry. Less people are picking up a copy of a newspaper. We are turning to apps, websites and micro blogs for our news articles. 

Magazines too are going on apps. High Cut, a popular magazine in South Korea, created iOS apps in an attempt to keep up with the trends. I personally have to admit that downloading the application to read the magazine is enthralling. The pictures come alive and move, much like the pictures in Harry Potter. Even certain parts of the articles are interactive, like the ability to scroll through to view different colors of a dress, etc.

A back issue with EXO on the High Cut iPad application

You can even access multiple back issues of the magazine, which makes it utterly convenient if you wish to read a previous issue. 

Like everything else: adapt or die

Like how mankind slowly learnt to adapt modern technology, the Internet and Journalism is just another phase where we have to begin adopting into our modern lives. Traditional jobs will evolve to require more skills, higher expectations of journalists will be put in place. It is simply another learning process for everyone. When it comes to anything related to the Internet, resistance is futile!

Week 9: Politics and the Internet

When I was younger, I had never been one for politics. I'd always found political news cumbersome, complicated and boring. To me, politics was something that real grown ups would take notice of and argue about in the newspapers or dull talk shows. It didn't concern me, and I wouldn't care for displaying my opinions about which party or president I thought fared better.

But the scene for politics have undergone a tremendous change. Politics is now easier to comprehend, more engaging and interactive. I personally feel that it all began with Barack Obama and his presidential campaign back in 2008. Now, running for president doesn't simply entail walking around different houses to shake hands or take photographs with people. The public desires a different kind of buzz, one that involves their participation. 

Obama was on several social media sites to promote his campaign. Each site caters to slightly different demographics and audiences as well as serves different purposes. His Tumblr site, for example, reaches out to the younger demographic who are more Internet-savvy than the usual Facebook-and-Twitter crowd. 

Twitter and Facebook played an incredible role in Obama's campaign. With the use of the two popular social media sites, it was estimated that Obama had won "nearly 70% of the vote among young Americans under 25 - the highest percentage since US exit polling began in 1976". In contrast, his 72-year-old opponent John McCain, who never managed to connect on Facebook in a way Obama did, never stood a chance. The numbers don't lie, either- back during the 2008 elections, Obama could count on over 112,000 tweeters, while John McCain had to contend with a paltry 4,600. (Source) The price tag for his campaign was $16 million, of which $648,000 was spent on his Facebook campaign alone.

Obama's first tweet after his 2012 elections also made history by being the most retweeted of all time (nearly 227,000 RTs). 

On YouTube, Obama made his presence known with some videos, such as speeches, or highly creative ones that break the monotony of an otherwise dry and boring description of Obama Care. I was rather impressed as the video made the healthcare plan easy to understand and fun to watch.

The White House account also uploads speeches from Obama for easy access by the public. Now, anyone is able to go online and view previous talks or conferences at their own convenience.

You might think that that's all there is to Obama's social media campaign- a site on the more recognized and famous sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. But he didn't stop there and instead continued to make his presence known on other sites such as his own website, barackobama.com and even a surprise visit to Reddit, where he answered all sorts of questions spontaneously, ranging from serious questions about funding and laws to personal ones like, "Who is your favorite basketball player?" and the recipe for the White House beer. (Source)

Reddit users were extra surprised when Obama referenced the use of his meme, Not Bad, in a message.

But then again, despite its perks and advantages over traditional media, social media also has its dangers. Comments by Republican Congressman Todd Akin went viral after he opposed abortion, claiming that the bodies of female victims of "legitimate rape" have "ways to shut the whole thing down". He later tried to mend his reputation by releasing another statement to apologize for the previous one, but as we all know- communication is unquestionably irreversible.

(Source)

While Obama's meme is famous for its Too Bad slogan, I'd say Todd Akin's personal meme should be Too Late.

With the public (especially the younger demographics) becoming increasingly well-versed with the Internet and its tools, it's a two way street when it comes to elections. In the past, it was highly one-way- people would just sit in front of the TV or radio to listen to the speeches by the candidates. There were no platforms to ask the candidates questions and no venue to voice your hard and fast opinions. Today, everything is a little more transparent than before. 

Just like how JFK was the first US president to understand television and its potential impacts on his campaign, Obama was likely the first to utilize social media on such a successful scale, and also set a benchmark for all future elections to come.

Week 8: Multimedia

Multimedia has perversely invaded our everyday life. Unless you live in a cave with no contact to the outside world, I am almost certain that you couldn't walk a kilometer without chancing upon an advertisement created by multimedia.

Multimedia includes using several types of content form together to create a new product. Such types of content include images, videos, animation and audio. These days, the end products are highly interactive as well as the audience can participate in them fully or have enhanced viewing sensations.

An example of advanced multimedia transforming a traditional viewing experience- a cinema in Paris showing Life of Pi in 4D.

The best movies to watch in 4D would be Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Or Magic Mike.

Advertisements, too, are stepping up their game. In the past, marketing communication looked pretty much like this: 

Jeez that face is creepy

Advertisements just said what they needed to say. The first TV commercial in 1941 was simply 10 seconds long, with a simple image on the screen and a voice in the background saying, "America runs on Bulova Time."

Now, America runs on Dunkin' Donuts.

Now, we have advertisements that are made in 3D, viral advertising campaigns, social media marketing... The list goes on. We've come a long way since a 10-second long sole image of a watch company's slogan with a voiceover. That Bulova advertisement cost the company all of $9- $4 for airtime and $5 for charges made by the TV station. Today, a 30-second ad spot on TV would cost over $120,000, and this number is still rising. The highest fees belong to the notorious SuperBowl ads, which cost up to $4 million this year.

***

I have seen many types of campaigns, advertisements and marketing done with multimedia over the years, and each company has its own way of utilizing different methods to get their product known to their audience. South Korea's LG Electronics, which develops products such as smartphones, television sets and tablets, has also produced some pretty impressive multimedia marketing tactics.

1) LG Mobile Phones and James Cameron's AVATAR

To promote their mobile phones, LG partnered with 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment to create a multimedia marketing campaign that was tied with James Cameron's AVATAR. 

Besides this advertisement, there was also a joint-sponsored Facebook page by LG, MTV and FOX. The page also had an application that allowed fans to pre-submit questions to the director and cast members, which they would then answer during a live talkback. 

In addition, LG had a website that featured exclusive content from AVATAR and video demonstrations of the LG eXpo's Mobile Projector.

I thought that LG did a great job with the tie-in with AVATAR. As AVATAR is renowned for its cutting-edge new technology, it looked good for LG to be associated with the movie. They used a wide variety of multimedia as well- from videos to Facebook to applications. 

2) LG's 3D TV and Girls' Generation

To market and also demonstrate LG's Cinema 3D Smart TV, LG collaborated with South Korean girl group Girls' Generation to specially create a 3D commercial to showcase the color richness and capabilities of their new TV.

I've personally seen these commercials when walking past electronic shops in shopping malls. And also staring men with looks more glazed than Krispy Kreme original donuts.

3) LG and meteors (and one very pissed off person)

To demonstrate the quality and definition of the LG Ultra HD TV, LG pulled pranks on unsuspecting job interviewees and taped everything down for a viral video campaign.

I thought this was a particularly engaging and hilarious campaign. It also put across its message very effectively- that the screens of their HD TVs were as real as the outside world.

4) LG and its 3D light show

LG brought a 3D light show to Berlin as part of its Optimus Series marketing campaign. They made the campaign extra interactive by allowing audience members to take pictures with the provided LG phones, and putting those pictures on the 3D facade.

5) LG and One Direction fans

LG also knows how to use its social media well. The LG social media marketing team held a competition on Twitter with One Direction concert tickets as prizes. To play, fans would simply have to  tweet the hashtag #LGtickethunter. As more hashtags are collected, a map would zoom in with the clue on where the first pair of concert tickets were located.

LG's multimedia marketing campaigns impressed me the most as they were the most diversified in which media they utilized- social media, 3D demonstrations, viral marketing and more.

Week 7: Anonymous

(This post is backdated. Written on November 4, 2013)

Cyber crime refers to all sorts of illegal criminal activities carried out over the Internet, such as spam, hacking, harassment, obscene or offensive content and threats. Singapore has seen various instances of individuals falling prey to cyber crime, but as of late, the news has been a flurry with the words "Anonymous", "hacking" and "The Messiah".

The Anonymous, an international network of hacktivists, have brought down a series of local websites in protest. The Messiah, a member of this initiative, recently brought down several websites, such as that of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council, the Straits Times and pop singer/ co-founder of City Harvest Church Sun Ho.



The first of the attacks occurred on Sun Ho's website, on which he announced that Ho's website had "very little security" and that it took him "less than 15 minutes to access".

In the case of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website, the Messiah hacked the site on October 28 and left the following message on the site: "I have been to various sites and seen how they take the initiative to secure their systems. You have a brain and you have money. You had a choice. Don't blame external factors (Anonymous) for this hack. - The Messiah ;)". The comment was linked to Ang Mo Kio MP Ang Hin Kee's comment on the Woodlands bus interchange incident where a man had spat and verbally attacked commuters.

In addition, the hacker had left another message of Ang "tender(ing) (his) resignation as your minister of parliament" and that "(he was) incapable and failed you".

The Anonymous hacker has been both supported and criticized. In his posts, he urged people to don black and red on November 5th, or black out their Facebook profile pictures to show support towards the initiative. When I went on my own Facebook account on the 5th, I spotted a few of my friends had blacked out profile pictures as well.

This case of hacking is considered cyber crime in Singapore, under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act. I found it interesting to read up on the potential consequences of violating the act- the maximum punishment would be a three-year jail term and a S$10,000 fine on the first conviction.

Although large scale hacking of national websites doesn't happen quite often, cyber crime among personal accounts occur more frequently. In fact, according to a report done by Norton, more than "1.4 million people in Singapore fell victim to cyber crime in the past twelve months". This has caused losses of over US$944 million.

(Source: Norton)

Mobile crimes are getting more common too. Besides theft of mobile phones, there is the occasional odd text message from scammers:

I have personally received such strange messages as well. When I first got the text, my first instinct was to delete it, knowing full well that it doesn't spell anything good. However, after doing so, I thought of my mother and texted her to make sure that she didn't open unfamiliar attachments. (My dad is a very IT-savvy engineer, so I know he would laugh if I tried educating him about cyber crime.)

So how do we educate our loved ones on prevention of cyber crime? Here are a few basics I think we can implement on our own:

1) Don't click on any form of strange emails or text messages that contain dubious links. Simply delete them! I really don't think there's any "proven scientific way to lose 20 kilos in one week", unless you cut yourself in half.

2) If you don't want it to be found, don't post it on the Internet. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and what happens on the Internet will probably stay there too.

3) Make your passwords a little more complicated instead of using easy hints such as your birthday, convenient keyboard combinations like "qwerty", "123123", "123456" or "abc123" etc. It just begs for trouble. Make sure your password contains:

1) a number,
2) a capital letter,
3) a symbol,
4) lyrics to an Adele song,
5) a hieroglyph, and
6) a recipe for tau suan.
(I'm kidding about the last three, but not the first three.)

4) On the topic of passwords: do NOT give them out. Same for your personal information such as your PIN number. If you ever meet Jack the Ripper and he asks for your Facebook password, faint first so that he'll never extract it out of you.

5) Frequently update your computer security such as firewalls and new softwares. Not being cautious with your security is like leaving your house door unlocked with a welcome banner splayed all across the front.

6) Do not connect to free or unsecured wifi connections. It is an excellent opportunity for hackers to access your computer over the Internet. Good things never come free of charge!

7) Never leave your devices unattended. Cyber thieves could engage in a myriad of activities once they get their hands on your tech- from stealing your passwords to using your credit card information. The potential damage would cost you more than just a $2,000 Macbook.


Although the saying, "Prevention is better than cure" would probably come off as cheesy and cliche, it still holds true and we should definitely take precautions for our own cyber security. 

Week 6: Videos!

When it comes to video production, it's no stranger to me. I've enjoyed video production ever since my poly days, and I am constantly trying to find new projects to film. Be it a friend's wedding, a school project, I'm always excited to come up with a video from scratch.

My most recent shoot was for my upcoming COM 125 presentation. As our presentation was about Instagram and its many merits, I thought it would be fun to film a video to complement it.

http://youtu.be/iPa3OGbZRU0

As all filmmakers would agree, the preproduction, filming and postproduction processes are all equally important in video making. Sloppy preproduction, such as failing to come up with a proper script, or being unsure of what you want to film, would lead to a bad filming day. If the shots during filming were bad, postproduction would have you tearing your hair out. Believe me, I've been there, done that.

To me, preproduction of a video is grueling and frankly tiresome. Ideas don't just pop out when you want them to. If you are working in a big team, any creative differences could also wear you out before filming even starts.

During filming, it's important to be diligent and have your brain work overtime. Situations might change and it's entirely up to you, as the director, to handle it. Things might not work out the way you expect them to. A thousand things could occur during a shoot that would make it go haywire- a flat battery, an absent or unwilling talent, locations might be unsuitable or even disallowed. Thankfully, the team of actors- my group mates- were cooperative and Janice graciously lent us her house for filming.

Postproduction is probably the part where you either hate it or thoroughly enjoy it. If the shoot went well and you have a clear picture in your head, you would love editing a video. If not... well, let's just say you'd pay to not look at the project anymore because you know it wouldn't turn out right.

The editing tool I use is Final Cut Pro. In polytechnic, we were mostly only taught the basics and had to find our way to create entertaining, informative and creative videos. To me, editing is a way you can expand on your creativity. The joy of watching your accomplished work of art afterwards is exciting.

A screenshot of what I work with

I'm very meticulous and editing is a brilliant way to bring out the OCD in me. I've lost count of the times I've practically pressed my face up to the screen to make sure each dissolve is of correct timing and placement. Being off by a few milliseconds would make the effect less pleasant to watch, hence my severe scrutinization every time.

Here's another video I made for another module (Organizational Comms) two semesters ago, entitled The Internship Effect. I cringe when I watch this because of the voiceover... Even Johnny Depp doesn't watch his own films! (It's true.)

I don't think anyone really likes to hear themselves talking, unless you're Morgan Freeman.

I love watching movies, but as of late all I've been thinking when I'm watching a movie is:

• I wonder how many takes they did.
• How many cameras did they use?
• Was that filmed on a steadicam? 
• They definitely used a crane camera for that one.
• Is that green screen? 
• How many days was principal photography?
• I wonder how long they took to finish editing that.
• How did they create the lighting? 

Annoying. I had to watch Iron Man 3 (my all time favorite superhero) and The Avengers three times each because I couldn't stop wondering this and that and how long they took to render the film. I always marvel at fantasy, fictional, or action films because I'm a sucker for them. Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, especially any Marvel film... Talk about marveling over Marvel. (Sorry.)

Anyhow, never underestimate the amount of time and effort needed to create the 2 hour film you so casually watched and forgot about. That's why I yell at someone whenever he or she tells me that Avatar "was not so good leh". I'd like to see you film and edit that.

Going forward, I hope to buy/be gifted/pirate the Adobe Creative Suite (especially Premiere Pro and After Effects- fantastic video editing software). I can only have that after I get a new computer because my laptop is nearly five years old now, and a heavyweight software like Adobe Premiere Pro will probably give it an aneurysm. Adobe Premiere Pro has been partly used to edit many famous shows, even movies like The Social Network. Unfortunately, the Adobe Creative Suite costs over a thousand US dollars.

But an aspiring filmmaker can dream... Right? :)