Final Project

My Final Project Portfolio is available at:
http://portfolio.washington.edu/ljv42/lindsay-jeanne-vrabek/

Assignment Three: Society

Assignment Three: Society

1) The research I have selected is the field of public relations, focusing on the changes in the field as a result of Internet blogging. In addition, I will be researching the history of the field as well as the opportunities within the field. In the end, I will have produced an online portfolio which will showcase skills, capabilities, and work samples.

2) Overall, both Public Relations and blogging have had a huge impact on our society. People’s personal blogs contain everything from daily journals to political debates and opinions. Blogging gives regular people the chance to be heard, and to have their opinions and views listened to and commented on. It has opened up discussion between all kinds of different people and it has erased geography as a barrier to communication.
Blogging has also changed the field of Public Relations. According to experts blogging has made PR into a more honest profession. According to Shel Israel and Robert Scoble blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. In Israel and Scoble’s book they feature a man by the name of Mike Manuel who has identified three major trends driven by blogging. One is that blogs are democratizing the media. That is, people who are blogging are participating in the news cycle and their voices are being heard. The second trend blogs are driving is corporate transparency, trust is being withered away and if companies want to go anywhere the blogosphere causes them to have to be honest. Lastly, blogs are challenging traditional public relation practices. Blogging is completely changing the field because it gets information out so fast, both good and bad information.
All across the world blogging is causing an uproar. Various countries have even gone to great measures to try and control blogging. The ability for people all over the world to share ideas so easily and quickly carries great power within society.

3) Annotated list of URLs
1 a Naked Conversations
b Shel Israel and Robert Scoble
c This book provides information about how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. It interviews various different people in the public relations industry and asks them to go into detail about blogging. The book talks about the main effects blogging has had so far and it offers specific examples.
d I know that it provides useful and credible information because it is a book that has been cited by other well-known public relations practitioners.
e Israel, S., & Scoble, R. (2005, May 19). How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers. Naked Conversations, Retrieved May 24, 2005, from http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2005/05/chapter_7surviv.html

2 a The Internet and Public Relations: Investigating Practitioners’ Roles and
World Wide Web Use
b Lance V. Porter and Lynne M. Sallot
c This article is an analysis of a study which examined the link between the status of the public relations practitioner and his or her use of the World Wide Web.
d I know that this article provides accurate and useful information because it is a peer-reviewed article and it gathers information from real public relations practitioners.
e Porter, L. V., & Sallot, L. M. (2003, Sept 01). The internet and public relations: investigating practitioners' roles and the world wide web use. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 80. Retrieved May 13, 2005, from ProQuest Database http://proquest.umi.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/pqdweb?index=4&did=515788281&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1116036940&clientId=8991.

3 a Online Journalism Review: Iranian Bloggers Protest Government Crackdown on Reformist News Sites
b Mark Glaser
c This article talks about the Iranian judiciary arrested a few online journalists (bloggers) and how the government is trying to ban the reformist news sites. It goes into detail about how the Persian blogosphere fights back and tries to get Internet freedom using blogs.
d I know that this site provides useful and credible information because this is one of the articles we read and discussed in class. In addition, the online journalism review is a well known source.
e. Glaser, M. (2004, Sept 22). Iranian Bloggers Protest Government Crackdown on Reformist News Sites. Online Journalism Review, Retrieved Jun 02, 2005, from http://www.ojr.org/ojr/glaser/1095807595.php

4) If I was to pick another technology to research I think that I would choose Apple’s I-Pod. This is because I find it fascinating how relatively quickly the new technology caught on. I think it would be interesting to see the statistics of how many people have the I-Pod, and to learn a little bit more about the technology itself as well. I am also curious to know where they are going with the I-Pod, what advancements will be made, and what experts project the future of the I-Pod to hold. I am also interested in the downloading music issue which directly ties in with the I-Pod.

5) Over this quarter I learned so much about new media it is hard to pick out what is the most important thing. I have come to the realization that in the beginning of the quarter I was pretty much “new media clueless.” I think that maybe the most important thing I learned is more of a realization and that is that new media does not necessarily replace old media but that new media causes older media to adjust. I think that this is an important concept to realize and understand, its implications are abundant. If you think about it: the entrance of TV did not do decimate radio, online journalism has not replaced print news, cell phones have not completely replaced landlines, Cable TV is not the only TV and so on. All of the new media just shapes the old media in different ways.

Assignment 15

How do you expect VoIP to impact cable and telephone networks?
I think that VoIP has the potential to greatly affect our communication. People who communicate with people in other parts of the world will be extremely interested in this new technology. As it is right now, using your land line to talk to someone in another country is very expensive, so the idea that VoIP will make the communication free is very enticing. I think that this new technology will force long-distance companies to come out with more appealing rates and possibly benefits to their users in order to keep their customers, especially as the quality and availability of VoIP increases! This new technology will take a while to catch on though. In general, I think that people have a hard time trusting new technologies, especially when concerning vital things like communication.

Assignment 14

What is the relationship between cyberspace as a public space and accessibility standards?
If you want to consider cyberspace as a public space you have to make it accessible to everyone, which relates to the accessibility standards. The American Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local governments to keep public places furnished to accommodate effective communication with those who have disabilities. So I guess if a website is not accessible to everyone then it cannot be considered public space. I have never thought about the Internet in this way, but I guess it makes sense.

Assignment 13

How does internet technology impact political activity?
Technology has had a major impact on politics. For instance, in our recent election there was so much activity online regarding the presidential candidates. Everything from people’s personal blogs to Democratic and Republican sponsored websites helped to inform people about the candidates. Technology made the information so readily available, and there was so much of it, that people were able to find out every little bit of information about each candidate. People from all over the country were able to share their personal opinions and ideas about the election candidates.

People were able to go to sites, whether it be Democratic or Republican, and find positive information about the candidate they already supported and negative aspects of the candidate they already did not support. I think that this may have been a negative aspect, it caused people to see the issues from only one side and never open their minds up to the other side.

Extra Credit

Curbing the Commercialization of Public Space
Unfortunately, people are taking advantage of the Internet and its incredible advertising capabilities. Pages are flooded with advertisements. Its hard to view a webpage without being inundated by ads, pop-ups, banner ads…they seem to take up half the page. Programs like Google's AdSense make it very simple for people to put adds on their own pages. It is entising because the creator of the page then receives some money for the ads on their sites.

Assignment 12

What does the concept of public space in cyberspace mean to you?
In my opinion cyberspace should be treated as public space. It should be a place where people are able to share ideas and gain information for their own personal use. As a public space, everyone should have equal access to the internet and an equal opportunity to create and add information. I had no idea that there are countries that limit their citizens access to the Internet. Before reading this article I didn’t even know it was possible to “restrict” access. I understand the reasoning behind countries wanting to restrict access, but I don't think that that should be possible.

Midterm Report

I am currently working to expand/change my project to allow for scholarly sources while at the same time link it back to new media. That said, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have changed my project idea drastically from day one (when our project proposal was due) so now I am working to catch up.

I am working to find articles that I think will be useful, and scholarly. I have begun outlining my paper and making changes to it as I find different articles and therefore more information to add. As for my portfolio website...the layout of it is coming along, the challenge will be putting it on the computer! I have decided for now that I will focus more heavily upon my paper!

So, I am going to keep working, but it is coming along!