Distribution

In order to distribute my digital media production it is necessary to define it as a web 2.0 element. My production is a web 2.0 artifact because it is part of bigger web 2.0 production, something that you may have heard of called Facebook. It allows the user to browse different profiles constantly and watch different contents, such as images, texts and videos.

The inveracity between the users in this network is the clearest example of why Facebook is a web 2.0 artifact. Users can spread the voice of a certain topic, the power to connect users that are physically apart and help them to relate as they were closer. According to Tim O’Reilly the participation of the users in the Web 2.0 is also a main characteristic of this atmosphere. And that is one of the advantages of a Facebook page, the users can post whenever they want, whatever they want, start debates and express themselves. Another reason is due to the morality of the topic. Since people are likely to participate in “that which angers, excites, energizes, entertains, or otherwise creates an emotional response.”  (Boyd) People are likely to be interested in this topic that involves moral response and personal reflection.

I made a Facebook page that is focused on persuading people that throwing food away is an issue that needs to be reduced for. One of the reasons I chose this media is the power Facebook has to persuade and represent a person, in this case a site, as the way the author wants it and present it in this way to the audience. Another one is considering one article that mentions that organizations with Web 2.0 sites are likely to succeed (Hinchcliffe), because they engage with their audience in a more personal level due to the content that they share. This page is not an organization, but making the content available to an audience who is constantly on Facebook makes it easier to reach the intended audience.

So the big question is how can I distribute something that is already in Facebook? It may sound pretty easy, but it is not. Since my production is addressed to Michigan Tech students, especially those students who constantly eat in the different dining halls across campus, I need to have as many contacts as possible, and that is a thing I don't have due to several reasons. Considering that the number of students in Michigan Tech is around 7,000 students, and the 40% lives in the different residences and constantly eat in the dining halls, we are talking about an approximate audience of 3,000 students.

The elements I am considering to reach as many students as possible include sending constant invitations through email, an option in Facebook. I know this may turn to be annoying at some point but it is needed. Since I’m distributing a digital media artifact I would like to make the distribution in the same sphere, so I’ll have to look for other options outside of Facebook to distribute. These options include: twitter, a blog or other social network that will reach Michigan Tech Students. The constant changes are an important part of this Facebook page, and it will demand frequently updates. To keep the audience with constant innovations the site will need pictures, hyperlinks to other sites that are topic related and even videos, from my own and from YouTube.

The advantages of using social networks are that people are involved in an environment there are familiar with.  According to Knoke and Yang, users of social networks are guided by their contacts activity, which means if someone becomes interested in the page, their contacts may also be interested in this same page. In the particular case of my Facebook page, people may become aware of my page through their contacts who are already interested.

It is important to use as much as possible all the elements that web 2.0 provides, use all the content available on the World Wide Web to persuade my audience. That is the purpose of web 2.0 and that is the good use people can give to the internet. Due to the topic of my publication, people is likely to participate in this web content and get involved with it. People will eventually become part of my distribution, because their activity will involve others in the same environment.  Being able to use web 2.0 as a tool to persuade people about a certain issue is one advantage of technology, and since I’m addressed to an audience who is familiar with the use of web 2.0 as an important part of their life, the mere existence of this page make is available for everybody.

Works Cited

Boyd, Danah. Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information through Social Media. 17 November 2009. 10 December 2012.

Hinchcliffe, Dion. Does every organization need a Web 2.0 strategy? 9 August 2006. 14 December 2012.

Knoke, David and Song Yang. "Social network analysis 2nd edition." n.d. Sage Publications. 13 December 2012.

O'Reilly, Tim. What Is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software. 30 September 2009. 8 December 2012.

Wired

I remember my first videogame, it was 1994 and my father just got a new PC with double hard-drive of 32 megabytes, and that was "one of the best machines of the time" according to a computer engineer. We had this small game in which you had to do quick operations and play with colors in a time limit. Then came windows 95 and a bunch of games that me and my sister played for hours while my dad sleep before going to his work (he had nightshifts).

Was it a good choice to provide a 4 years old boy and a 7 years old girls access of computer games ? So far I can say yes, this few games helped us to develop a quick thinking in timing situations. Now I wonder what will happen to my kids with all the possibilities they will face, in matter of videogames, will it be good for them?

Videogames, whether we like or not, are becoming essential parts of urban life, because there exists great access to millions of games: consoles, devices, gadgets, applications, websites among others are the main providers of videogames. With the technological growth videogames are also expanding and evolving, becoming more and more elaborated and realistic, leaving behind other options of indoor entertainment like television, board games, movies and reading, this may sound terrible for people who grew up without videogames. The problem, from my perspective, is when videogames replace human interaction and people stop doing activities and spend more time in this virtual reality, and with this eventually come health problems related to the lack of physical activity. 

I don’t consider videogames as a bad habit, the problem may come with the addiction and the abuse of this tool, as everything in the world must be taken with measure. 

an example of web 2.0

After reading web 2.0 and discussing it class, the only thing in my mind was how this relates to the evolution on media itself, how does technology has helped us to become more and more involved in the daily process of getting new information, and how our curious human nature help us to find new knowledge every day. The clearest example that comes to my mind is journalism and how this discipline has been evolving in time, and now in the XXI century is forced to adapt to this new environment.

Considering journalism became to exist as a profession in the early XIX century with the invention of printing, it has been through a lot of changes since them. Beginning with one single piece of paper that only a few people could read, to the first newspapers in Europe, moving to the great corporative of the newspaper than began to print thousands of copies daily, magazines, radio broadcast, the dawn of a new era of with the TV and live broadcast and finally the arrival of digital media. The constant in every stage of this evolutionary process, is how journalists were looking for a way to get more in touch with their audience, make more dynamic the process of receiving the information and establish a bond with the audience and satisfy the needs of everyone.

The most notable changes have come in the last decade with the evolution of websites, the accessibility of internet through mobile devices and the digitalization of news content. In the process we came from the firsts newspapers to twitter and websites that fulfill the function of newspaper, magazines, radio stations and TV channels. The sites encourage us to keep digging in them, to look for more information that may interest us and keep us attached to this. They offer videos, columns, stories, radio shows, profile of journalists and more, this is what web 2.0 is about, the interaction of several elements to clinch the audience, to deliver information and to improve the information delivery.