The Transition from Mass Media to Participatory Media

With the advent of the Internet, mass media as a whole has been significantly transformed. In Jill Walker Rettberg’s book, Blogging, she discusses the ways in which the introduction of the blogosphere has led to profound effects on mass media and our society’s way of communicating in general.

At one point she points out the similarities between an oral culture and a blogging culture by stating both,

“are conversational and social, they are constantly changing their and their tone tends to be less formal and closer to everyday speech than is the general tone of print writing” (Rettberg, 33).

This goes back to one of my previous blog posts, when I emphasize the importance of blogs having a conversational tone so the reader can engage in the topic of conversation with you. As a result, blogs often facilitate a response from a reader, whether it is via a comment or a reader writing a blog post in direct response to yours.

Another interesting point Rettberg brought up in her book was what she refers to as the purpose of blogs, which in her eyes is to share information and ideas. It is the most simple and straightforward way of putting it, yet I never thought of the purpose of my blog in this way.

Rettberg also brought up an extremely relevant point for my generation specifically. With the ever-growing social networks popping up on the web, including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc., it’s vital to remember everything we post in under our name can be traced back to us and have a negative impact on our image.

I came across a perfect example of this happening in reality on the Huffington Post. It is becoming so common for people to get fired over a Facebook status that at nearly every career seminar I have attended throughout my college career, one of the first tips they give us is to be extra careful about what we post on our social media sites. If we wouldn’t want our mom or grandmother to see it, it probably shouldn’t be posted.

Writing for Digital Media

In this day and age it seems as though anyone can become a blogger, manage their own website, or create an overnight YouTube sensation. The Internet has revolutionized the way we receive information with literally everything we need to know is right beneath our fingertips. Creating a website seems relatively simple, however, I never realized how much detail was necessary in order to make it successful.

In our class readings, one of the case studies discusses Google and how it has become such a roaring success over the years despite the fact that not much has changed on the site. This is a result of how simple the layout of Google’s website is, which makes it easy to maneuver for the viewer.

 

One thing I found to be quite interesting in Chapter 2 was Philip Meyer’s definition of credibility as having two key dimensions: believability and community affiliation. I couldn’t have agreed more with him considering one of the main reasons why I frequently visit a website is based on whether or not I feel a sense of community. It is very important to be able to identify with a website, which is why I continually visit websites such as fashion blogs since it’s a main interest of mine.

While creating a website might seem fairly straightforward, it requires a lot of thought and attention to detail. Not only do you have to choose the perfect headline to capture the reader’s attention, but also you have to be cautious of the layout and content. It is vital to always keep in mind you are writing for a computer screen, not a book, which can result in very different things.

What is the most important feature of a website that always catches your attention?

Also, how long does it generally take you to decide if a website is credible?