For Monday, April 6: The Internet (Read and Blog on Chapter 10)

Chapter 10:

In reading chapter 10 it was interesting to learn how the Internet as a mass medium communication vehicle is still in its infancy. Advertisers are seeking out web sites where potential consumers frequent to pitch their products and target their messages to. We are seeing a huge shift in advertisers no longer utilizing traditional media platforms as in newspapers, magazines, radio and television which are costly but rather choosing the Internet to get to their target audiences. Personally I think this is a huge arena that we’ve barely scratched the surface on and we don’t fully know the impact it can have on a business. Developing metrics to track web traffic of consumers is what CPG, consumer packaged goods companies are now looking to do. It’s a very exciting time to be involved in digital media as it’s vastly changing the landscape of how we once viewed business in a traditional setting.

The text mentions that major media companies are all trying to get a piece of the action in terms of the digital age we are currently in. Many companies are collaborating to offer services. As we continue to see a convergence of media technology via the Internet the fear is that “the Internet will lose its diversity through ownership consolidation.” My question is if it looks as though we are headed in that direction will we see government intervention in regulation to control media conglomerates from over stepping the boundaries?

A “fact” worth noting is that in the Middle East and Africa combined there are only 7.5 million Web users which is a problem if our goal as a society is access for all.

My experience with e-mailing and the Internet dates back to the mid to late ‘90s after college. I can remember sending e-mail between ’96-’98 from an old black and white Apple computer that my husband had while we were living in North Carolina. Since our e-mail account was with AOL at the time we could receive IM (instant messages) from friends while we were on-line. I vaguely recall searching for a home to buy on the Internet 10 years ago upon moving to Vermont. It was when we moved to Vermont and we acquired a lap top computer that I really began “surfing” the Web and making purchases and researching products, etc. These last 10 years seem a bit of a blur in terms when I really got sucked into the Internet. I would also say that as the Web has changed and grown I have not kept up with its potential in terms of new sites and social networking. (I have realized through this class that I want to change that in me and become more web savy.) It’s hard to imagine life without the Internet and I wonder how people of my parents’ generation can possibly go through life without utilizing it. However, growing up pre Internet wasn’t all that bad either.