Media Technology Blog Posting
Imagine a world without the
Industrial Age…there would be no transportation, no electricity or even the
concept of an Information Age that followed.
The world would have ceased to be innovative and never refine the process
to industrialize and expand manufacturing.
America prospered under the industrial revolution but always knew it
would not last forever. When the
Industrial Age ended it gave birth to the Information Age. Technological advancements brought
significant changes to the individual, businesses and the world. From its inception there were new forms of
entertainment, research, business, and communication techniques.
Electronic Media
According to Merriam-Webster
electronic media can be defined as television, computers, radio, internet or any
other medium that requires electricity or digital encoding/decoding of
information. This term can also be used
in contrast to print media. Today’s
businesses use electronic media to communicate to users all over the
world. With the increase in technology
business is conducted without delays in time differences or employee
unavailability.
Emails, reports, datasheets, music,
news and entertainment can be accessed 24/7 via both small and large
networks. Networks have been designed to
connect and interact locally or internationally. The typical communication networks go far
beyond the manager desktop thereby increasing workers’ productivity. Electronic media has produced innovative
technologies as telephone and video conferencing, cloud storage and social
networking.
In modern organizational life
participants have experience an increase in school admission, classroom
enrollment, participation, review course material, prepare and turn in
assignments and take exams. Before
electronic media education was limited to classroom participation only. Now, thanks to technological advancements
institutions of higher learner are available to every audience member willing
to embrace, invest and adopt this specialized technique.
E-learning is the most identifiable
measure of electronic media to date.
According to USNEWS, more than 6.7 million students – 32 percent of
total higher education enrollment—to at least one online course through a
university during fall 2011, up from 6.1 million students the year prior. USNEWS went on to state, Schools appear to
be responding to the demand, with 62.4 percent of colleges survey in 2012
offering fully online degree programs, compared to just 32.5 percent in 2002. Personally speaking my tenure at Ashford
University has been exciting and meaningful.
Had it not been for e-learning I would not be completing my Bachelor’s
Degree in Communications Studies.
Social Media
Social media as defined by
Merriam-Webster is any form of electronic communication (as Web sites for social
networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to
share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as
videos). Social media is a collection
of online communities interacting, content-sharing and collaborative efforts to
share information based on particular backgrounds or common interests.
Social media promotes cooperation
and coordination to develop relationships that enhance personal enjoyment and
overall satisfaction. Social media not
only encourages the exchange of information but also the expression of
friendship, respect, affection, and inclusion (Schutz, 1958). This form of communication takes into account
the unique cultural backgrounds and orientations of relational partners to meet
expectations of these partners, and encourages them to reciprocate by meeting
their needs and outlooks ultimately helping to build strong and productive
relationships (Krebs, 2011).
Computer today serve a wide range of
individual and organizational functions.
We use them for email, discussion boards, blogs, Skype, Facebook,
purchasing items through Amazon and Ebay.
Social media enhances our ability to stay in touch with family, friends,
organizations and even global issues like the economy, politics, company regulations
and even the weather. We even use this
technology to influence and meet new friends or members that have similar
interest, whether we are morally or ethically bound in collaborative efforts to
understanding how we are all valued members of this society.
Social media has created a new and acceptable
society that members are adhering to as a social norm and is being reinforced
by globally as a cultural norm complete with beliefs, values and
attitudes.
Print Media
Print media is described by Krebs
(2011) as books, memos, letters, pamphlets and newsletters. We all can surmise the written word is the
most basic form of mediated communication known to man. Before print media was invented there was
folklore, fables and all around tall-tales.
Once written communication was created, everyone was entertained and
learned to read and write. Books became
a powerful tool in communicating with the masses.
Though this form of printed
communication still exists, it can now be found in electronic form. Books, newspapers, memos, and other text based
media can be composed to meet the needs of audiences. Print media is still available in the work
place dependent upon which platform is most effective. The two platforms are internal or external and
can be found in many organizations today as a variety or low-tech and high tech
communication channels.
There are several key issues facing
organizations face today, the first is time, followed by attention,
communication capacity and message exposure (Krebs, 2011). When organizations refer to time there is a
tendency to scan rather than read documents thoroughly, possibly missing
critical information contained in an email or company document. The latter problems of attention, capacity
and exposure can be overcome by designing print media.
All written documents should be
distinctive, interesting and productive in order to captivate the intended
audiences. They need to be brief,
concise and to the point. The fundamental
theme of print media is to effectively convey messages to busy organizational
participants (Krebs, 2011).
Mobile Media
Mobile Media the latest of the
communications media networks and has taken on a powerful existence of its
own. This technology has enabled
individuals and organizations to have access to communications media like
nothing before. The mobile media
phenomenal growth used the technique of networked laptops, netbooks, tablets,
and smartphones.
During the 1990s, there was a
technological explosion that captured the world, the cellphone and the PDA
(Personal Digital Assistant). In 2004,
along came the smart phone with a QWERTY keyboard, with keys laid out in a
configuration as a standard keyboard (Bowles, 2010). This advanced technology has enabled
organizations and their participants to access websites, exchange email and
text messages and engage in organizational activities wherever they go. Individuals and organization participants can
now conduct many tasks outside of the office, beyond normal business hours, and
at virtually any time and in any place (Krebs, 2011). As
with any technological advancement there are increase concerns from both the
individual and the organizations. Every
organization or company wants to maximize their resources by maintaining a
balance between work and the employee’s personal life. With the increasing use of mobile media, work
hours have been extended changing the basic dynamic of time off to time
available.
Organizations and the individual
must learn to maximize this technology and not use it to replace personal or
face-to-face communication. So, great
care must be taken to maximize the benefits of mobile communication, while
minimizing its detriment (Krebs, 2011).
With new communications media comes challenges that we must all face. Just remember communications media is not a
substitute for interacting with peers, coworkers or family.
References
Bowles, M.D. (2010). Introduction to Computer Literacy.
Bridgepoint Education,
San
Diego, CA
Krebs, G. L. (2011). Communication
in Organizations. Bridgepoint Education,
San Diego, CA
Schutz, W. (1958). Firo: A
three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior. New York: Holt,
Rinehart,
and Winston
George Goodrums’ blog is exemplary in its layout. There is lots of open white space. He could narrow his margins some. The blogs are wide and have the appearance of being endless at first glance, which might cause an audience member not to read what George has written.
ReplyDeleteGeorge writes extremely well. His messages are clear. What George may want to include is a brief statement of purpose for his blog in a header so that a reader doesn’t have to dive right into reading his posts to see what the blog is about.
Nice job, George!
Hello George - you have a darker verison of blog. You have great deal of information which I do not have on my blog. I will try to catch up on the blog skills
ReplyDelete