Posts Tagged: internet

What have the big-time news and broadcast corporations done to step into the online world?  And how do you think this affects their revenue?

After asking this question earlier in the week, I’ve managed to absorb a few of the things news and broadcast corporations have done and are doing to step into the online world and continue making money.

First off, journalism isn’t dying; it’s changing. Print is fading fast, but online journalism is EVERYWHERE. The difference now, though, is that the READER can immediately respond to the WRITER. They can read an article on the screen and comment back and forth, swaying opinions and getting their two cents to be HEARD.

As this kind of feedback has become prevalent in the news world, corporations have changed their websites to allow it, and they encourage it. The back and forth conversations inspire more stories create discussions that can benefit both sides of the issue.

While the advent of producer-consumer-producer journalism helps keep stories alive, you gotta wonder how the corporation makes money when the content is free.  Well, they find ways.

Advertising is all over these websites, and a lot of it is specifically targeted to the readers of the story. Stories about sports have sporty advertisements, stories about politics have campaign links, and etc. People pay the news groups for this ad space, and the news groups keep trucking as a result.

They also make money through subscriptions. Even though print is dying, people are still paying for news. Certain websites allow the main stories to be accessed for free, but after a point, the user has to pay. Doing this often teases the user enough so that they WANT to pay for full access.  It’s brilliant, and it’s done in all kinds of websites.

So even though news seems free, the corporations are still trucking because tweak our interests and find other ways to make us pay.

Online Gaming Addiction: Is online gaming the drug of the future?

Proposal by John Hartley

This research paper will discuss and dissect one of the most prevalent Internet problems of the day. That problem is addiction to online gaming. Since the Internet was introduced, even before online gaming, signs of addiction were prevalent throughout the United States with some studies dating back into the 1990s. The following research will show how, over time, this addiction has consumed massive amounts of users, from Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games such as World of Warcraft, to smaller browser-based games like FarmVille. This research is important to the future of the Internet and society as identifying the problem before it becomes too serious means a cure can be found. Many researchers have looked at past statistics of addiction and past technology surrounding online gaming, but few have hypothesized about the future and direction these online games are going.

The researcher will show how online gaming is and has become an addiction to many through past research on the topic and will make comparisons to drug addiction statistics (most closely marijuana). A definition of “addiction” will be set, followed by an outline of how each stage of addiction can be found in gamers and how addiction effects gamers’ lives. One article of study will show “The Effect of Computer Gaming on Subsequent Time Perception” (Luthman, Bliesener, Staude-Muller), which will solidify a major effect of online gaming addiction.

Through statistics, comparisons will be drawn and will then be applied to the main statement: Online gaming is becoming the next major addiction of the future. By looking at studies dealing with endorphin release and general brain function while playing video games, the research will again show a deep comparison to drug addiction. Along with the study of endorphin release, the researcher will also call on information from the psychological and medical communities for studies on the adverse effects this condition can have on addicts. In the second half of the paper, the study will point to why online gaming has the potential to be the “drug” of choice in the future. By analyzing virtual reality platforms and accessibility with widely popular games like “FarmVille” the researcher will build his case.

Through this study, new information is expected to be found showing that there is a pattern in the online gaming culture that is leading to more addicts every year. A correlation will most likely be found between online gaming usage and drug abuse. Statistical analysis may be gathered with simple ANOVA tables, which will prove or disprove any correlation between the two. If a correlation cannot be disproved the researcher will hypothesize on the future of online gaming addiction using the studies and research already used for the backing of the study. A survey may also lend to this research, contrasting drug use and online gaming use and reasons for each.

With this research, online gaming addiction could be better understood, leading to a possible “cure” for gamers worldwide. The research also has potential to have an interactive format, which would help it spread across many mediums.