Intro to Digital Age

Publishing 2.0 brought up the use of brand advertising in the future for Google.  The problem for Google is that brand advertising cannot be measured like its current advertising model.  The pay-per-click model is becoming out-dated, and in order for Google to remain competitive, it will need to step up to brand advertising.  These days, however, niche markets are realizing they do not necessarily need Google in order to sell brand advertising.  In fact, Bruce Sterling wrote in an article in Wired magazine (handed out in class) that online businesses do not need to advertise.  Businesses are now directly connected to consumers and engaging in, as Sterling notes, “meaningful activities.”  Businesses are attracting consumers online with free services and charging later for special features.  With this structure, consumers try the product or service and if they like it, pass on the information to others.  Bloggers are particularly effective in this form of advertising, though users communicating with other users are equally valuable.   

Marketing still has a place on the Internet, though, and marketers have become increasingly interested in search behavior.  A recent article on searchenginewatch.com discussed the implications of understanding search behavior.  Recent studies noted that local search has taken the place of the phone book for many people.  Additionally, search is one of the first places people turn when looking for information about an automobile.  Therefore, an effective marketing strategy in the auto industry should focus on catching the online searcher’s attention and keeping it.  Understanding search behavior can give companies a major advantage over the competition.  Knowing what consumers want and how they receive the information allows marketers to more specifically target their audience.

 Google keeps a running list of what’s hot on the Internet through its site zeitgeist.  This site contains information on the patterns and trends of searchers on a weekly basis.  It is a major source of information on what people are looking for and how they are getting that information.  Google recognizes this asset in its company and uses the information to make changes and give people access to what they want.  Google news developed, as mentioned before, as a result of people wanting news from sites that were not able to handle the volume of traffic as a result of the events on September 11.  The company has also expanded into the areas of photos, mapping, e-mail, instant messaging, and more.  Google started by doing one thing and doing it well.  Now, the company has created competition for both traditional media and new, from the yellow pages to Microsoft.

According to Batelle, search is not merely the act of looking for something on the Internet.  It may have started as such, but as it continues to grow search has become a combination of media, technology, pop culture, and marketing.  It can be used to take a snapshot of culture at a specific moment in time through the use of tracking sites like Google’s zeitgeist.  It has also generated huge revenues for companies that understand and use the power of advertising with search.  Google revolutionized search based on the concept of page ranking.  Previous methods of search followed links from one page to another.  They did not emphasize the importance of backlinks.  Larry Page, co-founder of Google, developed a tool that discovered backlinks and used that information to rank sites based on the importance of sources.  Google’s success was advanced through advertisements using the Internet’s current business model. 

Batelle touched on the concept of Google News in The Search.  According to Batelle, news information has become a conversation through the use of blogs, e-mail, and various websites.  Batelle’s view is similar to Gillmor’s in that the news industry changed after the events September 11.  The Internet became a major source for news information, and Google responded with a news service that allowed users to find and read stories that were unobtainable due to traffic overload on other sites.  This event points out the tremendous asset of a search engine – the ability to capture information and produce it for anyone on demand.  I think that Google realizes this asset and is prepared to further utilize it in the future through news service and other personalized services.   

In his book The Search, Batelle argued that search will become more about understanding in the future, rather than simply finding.  I agree with this statement because of the way search engines are used in everyday life.  Batelle mentioned the implications search has for marketing in the future and the way it could affect our lives.  From local search replacing the yellow pages to TiVo replacing the television guide, search will give people the ability to personalize the information they receive.  In return, advertisers will be able to successfully reach the demographic they seek.  Search has definitely changed the American economy and business industry.  It has successfully linked media, technology, pop culture, and marketing to form a major source of information and business exchange.

The first eight chapters of Gilmor’s We The Media discussed the evolution of the “new era of journalism.”  The focus was on the American experience, particularly the change noticed after the events of September 11.  Gilmor discussed the changing popularity of newspapers, broadcasting, and the transition from big business to consolidation.  Demographic changes over time reshaped the nation and gave rise to niche markets.  The audience was given the opportunity in niche markets to participate in the media rather than be passive listeners or viewers.  The popularity of talk radio highlights this trend.  Communication has changed from a one-to-one or one-to-many medium to one that is many-to-many.  After the events of September 11, people began to receive news updates from not only the traditional forms of news like television and newspapers, but also websites, SMS via cell phones, and personal blogs.  This combining of media to create personalized news is what Gilmor describes as the “new era of journalism.”  People are now able, as he describes, to “roll” their own news.

I did not experience this new era quite the same way as Gilmor.  Not having my own computer or a cell phone equipped with SMS at the time, I relied on traditional news media for updated information after the events of September 11.  I watched television, read newspapers, and talked to people about the latest news.  Looking back, however, I can see this trend of personalizing news growing in my own information gathering practices.  It was much more gradual than Gilmor described, but now I turn to a variety of media for news information.  In the mornings, I watch local news programming.  In my car on my way to work, I listen to news on the radio.  At work, I check the websites of national and local news programs.  I felt like this practice was giving me a more personalized news experience and an opportunity to experience different perspectives.  After reading this week’s assignment about blogs, however, I realize there is a whole other world of news information on the web.   

The interviews we read from Blog!: How the Newest Media Revolution Is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture by David Kline and Dan Burstein highlighted several blog writers that have influenced this new era of journalism.   Jeff Jarvis, for example, believes, like Gilmor, that grassroots reporting has picked up since September 11.  To Jarvis, journalism has become the “citizen’s media.”  Both Gilmor and Jarvis pointed to the ease of publishing tools today as a means by which the citizen voice can be heard in today’s journalism.  Jarvis’ blog provides examples of the blurring of lines between bloggers, reporters, and politics.  In another interview from Kline and Burstein’s book, Adam Curry highlighted the value of immediacy in today’s blogging journalism.  The combining of medias today has lead to a worldwide information and communication network.  This can be seen in Rebecca MacKinnon’s website Global Voices.  This site draws attention to blogs from around the world, giving the reader an insider’s perspective on global events.  The bloggers on this site are using their voices to create change in their governments and bring light to global issues.  This site is an example of the "new era of journalism" described by Gilmor. 

I thought I knew what blogs were.  That is, until I began to read the blogs assigned this week.  I used to think blogs were simply someone’s rambling thoughts about a day in his or her life.  Now I see that blogs are powerful communication vehicles that have created change in our own country and around the world.  As my last blog entry noted, we are experiencing a new era of journalism thanks in large part to bloggers.  The citizen journalism that has been created out of this trend has highlighted the disenfranchisement of big media from the community and given a voice to the audience.  The blogs we read this week demonstrated the blurring of lines between blogging and journalism.

An interesting post on Publishing 2.0 regarding a potential social networking backlash sparked conversation based on a New York Times article.  I had heard that companies were looking for information on potential hiring candidates on websites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com, but this article confirmed it.  The post on Publishing 2.0 pointed out the potential backlash that could happen as a result.  The point was that young people will not use these social networking sites in the future because of the negative association it will have.  I disagree with this.  I think that people and the technology they use for these sites will change over time.   I think the users of these sites will become more aware of what they put up for public display.  I also think the sites will give users the opportunity to keep some things private while leaving other things available for public viewing.  I don’t see the popularity of online social networking decreasing anytime soon.  I would argue that users will find a way to keep certain things from public view, particularly the view of hiring managers.

Another site that caught my attention from this week’s reading was Rocketboom.com.  I had no idea such a site existed.  This videoblog is both entertaining and informative.  One video that interested me on this site was an interview with Robert Scoble about his announcement that he is leaving Microsoft.  The setting was informal and as the viewer, I felt I was in the room with them.  I felt involved in the conversation taking place between the interviewer, Robert Scoble, and a few other people who were in the room.  It was a clear departure from traditional journalism, but I would still call it journalism.  It is an example of the new era of journalism.

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