Posts Tagged: advertiser needs

Overall, Anderson makes some truly interesting points on the concept of “free.” Personally, I am on the same playing field as Anderson and in our consumer driven market, free has evolved into something totally different then its “traditional” meaning. His introduction of the four cross-subsidies: direct, third party, freemium and non-monetary really made me think about the whole “buy one get one free concept.” I think in some aspects Anderson is harsh with his “sink or swim” mentality but I think that is a product of our society, survival of the fittest is nothing new!

1. Could the concept of “free” shape how people access information in the future and hinder the print journalism world?

I think after reading the chapter on Demonitization and advertising and the new media models, print journalism is definitely on the down fall. Although print journalism is suffering due to media convergence anyways but it is the advertising concepts that is hindering growth in that industry. The use of Craigslist and google is hurting the classified ad world indefinitely. As far as how people access information, I think is is shaping the amount of information people seek and it is an ongoing system of data overflow.

2. Chris Anderson talks about open source software and mentions a case study of google vs yahoo information, which brings to mind, could all of this free information lead to a decrease in respectable journalism because anybody can access information that a journalist normally utilizes to seek and broadcast?

I think Anderson’s “sink or swim” aspect of his book applies to this question. Information gathering has changed but to be a good journalist, one must find a way to seperate yourself. Free writers are not a problem (according to Anderson) but I think they are. They are taking away from other peoples contributions but if people are just accessing information, why is that ok? Yes, Wikipedia is still functional but is this concept contributing to media convergence and hurting certain markets, I think so!

3. One thing I thought was very interesting is his book was his talk about Youtube how it is “NOT a threat to television because it is full of crap,” which brings me to my question is quantity better than quality when it comes to accessing these videos or will people settle for mediocre video quality because of their fast paced need for this type of media?

I think youtube and hulu are going to be around for awhile and that is because it fits into the fast paced lives of our society. I know if I miss my favorite television show I can find it later on one of these two sites and I would agree that youtube is not hurting TV but is Hulu even though there are advertisements? Anderson makes it a point to mention what a piece of crap youtube is but is that because it is not like hulu and does not advertise or is it because video quality is really bad in some aspects. I do not necessarily think people sacrifice quantity because there is an abundant amount what they need at their beck and call but sometimes at the risk of not having ideal quality. Quality is not as imperative as time and place of content these days, in my opinion!

Chapter 11 of Applied Mass Communication Theory discusses the market structures of monopoly and monopolistic competition, as applied to the media. The chapter asserts that a competitive market remains the furthest from a true monopoly. I can’t help but wonder, when considering current social media monopolies such as Facebook, if perhaps the two market structures are actually related? After doing my panel presentation, I’ve found plenty of research supporting the idea that it’s the very presence of this monopoly that has initiated the birth of alternative social networking sites that challenge the Facebook-dominated social networking scene.

The relationship between audience needs and the advertiser is quite complex, according to Chapter 11, often times with one side favored over the other. Could the disconnect between these needs be narrowed with the growing presence of targeted advertising online? Technology allows for researchers to gather data based on your online activity, which then generates data about your assumed interests, shopping habits, etc. Do these technologies allow advertisers to more accurately pinpoint their audiences’ needs, even if the audience is unaware? Furthermore, does this strategy have a significant impact on the amount of advertiser revenue generated, since companies are more likely to advertise with the assumption that more specific audiences can be targeted?