Digital technology powers future of communication

As we wrapped up the last two weeks in my Introduction to Digital Communication class at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, we discussed the future of communication, which included the following: how streaming media, such as music and video, has replaced CDs and DVDs; changes in how we access television shows and the impact of users becoming creators of digital content.

We also explored other developments in the future of communication, to include: new uses for drone technology in television, film production and the delivery of goods; and how some companies, such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft, are using virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, 3D technology and holograms to communicate.

Additionally, our class spent time speculating about trends in future communication. As a former print journalist who left the newspaper industry in 2008 during its downturn, I was particularly interested in the future of journalism. I predict news will be shaped more by technology and less by humans. In fact, in November, China announced it was using robot news anchors created by artificial intelligence, and several major newspapers are using the same technology to produce news stories.

My classmates also had other predictions about the future of communication: More consumers will use technology-mediated devices, such as Amazon’s Echo and Show, Google’s Home Hub and Facebook’s Portal; second-screen experiences will increase, where people watch TV while  using another digital device, such as a smartphone or tablet; and companies will continue leveraging Big Data — which is being applied to areas, such as crime prevention, health care and retail —  to create a customized and personalized experience for consumers.

What do you think the future holds for communication?

A most interesting advertising culture

I love ads that have a sense of humor. The Dos Equis beer commercial featuring the suave, bearded guy is one of my favorites.

Here are some of the lines from the commercial that have made me smile, even laugh out loud: “He once had an awkward moment—just to see how it feels…He lives vicariously—through himself…He can speak French—in Russian…He’s been known to cure narcolepsy—just by just by walking into a room…In a past life, he was himself…He is the most interesting man in the world.”

Perhaps you have a favorite ad, such as the talking M&Ms, Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” or the Geico Hump Day commercial. Whatever you’re drawn to, there’s an ad to appeal to every consumer.

This week in my Introduction to Digital Communication class at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, we studied advertising and commercial culture. Among other issues, we examined the history and development of advertisement, to include trends; key techniques used in consumer ads; ad industry regulation; and political advertising and how it affects democracy.

Of special interest to me, since I am a former newspaper editor, was the fact that our textbook called advertising “the economic glue that holds media industries together.” At one point, we discussed advertising trends that are blurring the line between journalism, advertising and public relations.

In fact, a recent article, “Journalists are rightly suspicious of ad tech. They also depend on it,” published by Columbia Journalism Review, explored the scarcity of study on the “political economy of advertising on news sites.” The article’s author, Elizabeth Ann Watkins, noted, “Experimentation in ad formats has blurred the once-bright dividing line between the business and editorial departments within news outlets. Ambiguity is now the rule of the day.”

Our class ended with us focusing on the future of the growing ad industry, which, according to our textbook, in 2014, totaled more than $140 billion spent in the U.S. alone. The future, says Ad Age, which covers advertising marketing, includes the prevalence of digital technology that is transforming how consumers engage with brands.

Don’t write journalism’s obituary just yet

We’ve been hearing the dire report since the early 2000s: Newspapers are dying, thanks to the rise of digital communication and more readers seeking information online.

According to an article in the Washington Post, newspapers have been on a decline for the past 24 years, with weekday print circulation toppling “from a high of nearly 60 million in 1994 to 35 million for combined print and digital circulation today.” Like a domino, advertising revenue and newsroom employment sank, too. The Post article reported that ad revenue fell “from $65 billion in 2000 to less than $19 billion in 2016, and newsroom employment decreased nearly 40 percent between 1994 and 2014.”

We examined the rise and fall of modern journalism, as well as the culture of journalism this week in my Introduction to Digital Communications class at Syracuse University, where I am a grad student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. A former newspaper editor who left the industry in 2008 after it began its steep decline, I was eager to analyze the evolution of print journalism; but I also dreaded hearing the rehash of dismal data supporting the death of newspapers and my journalism career.

While there was no hiding the truth: Traditional journalism, especially the kind I spent 20 years practicing at several newspapers and magazine, is dying. But the news is not all bad. The shifting media landscape has created new and more interesting ways for journalists to connect with audiences and forced media owners to find alternative ways to monetize news and information.

In fact, during a lighthearted class debate that pitted students against each other as we weighed the pros and cons of the digital-news eras, I was surprised to find several positive reasons to embrace online news. Here are a few pluses, some taken from my textbook Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age by Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos:

Online stories are freed from constraints of space and time. Editors no longer need to cut stories to fit around ads; neither do broadcast news directors need to fit stories in the time between commercials.

Print, TV and radio stories can continually be updated online as news changes. Readers do not have to wait for the next day’s paper or for the scheduled TV news hour to share breaking news.

The internet has made news accessible to anyone, no matter their income, education level or geographic location. That accessibility also extends to technology, since news can be consumed via smartphones, tablets and other digital devices.

Ordinary citizens can contribute to the news process. While some consider untrained “citizen journalists” a threat to traditional reporters, they can generate valuable content, such as videos and social media, and are revolutionizing how news is gathered.

Finally, the textbook authors offered this reminder of the importance of journalism, no matter how much it seems on life support: “Journalism is the only media enterprise that democracy absolutely requires — and it is the only media practice and business that is specifically mentioned and protected by the U.S. Constitution.”

The spreading internet darkness

Should Silicon Valley be held accountable for its role in “the dark evolution of internet culture”?

BuzzFeed news reporter Ryan Broderick attempts to answer that question in his article “This Is How We Radicalized the World,” as he blames the companies that own the hardware, software and social media platforms for their inability to manage the “darkness” dividing communities in the U.S. and around the world.

Broderick offers the following compelling evidence: “Roughly 70% of smartphone users have an Android phone; the remaining 30% are on Apple. There are 2 billion monthly active Facebook users, 2 billion monthly active YouTube users, and 1.5 billion monthly active WhatsApp users. And when it comes to digital media, Facebook and Google control almost 60% of the digital advertising market, with Amazon as a distant third.”

This past week in my Introduction to Digital Communication class at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, we were asked to read and respond to Broderick’s article.

From Brazil to Charlottesville, and Poland to Italy, Broderick’s article analyzes the growing use of social media and botnets to amplify far-right movements, and, in some cases, even incite violence. The journalist said he has been tracking the internet’s impact on global politics for about a decade.

Broderick’s fascination with politics and its intersection with the internet has led him across 22 countries and six continents, affording him a Forrest Gump-like perch on recent historical events.

He was on the ground in London in 2016 when 52 percent of United Kingdom citizens voted to leave the European Union, an outcome he said was shaped by social media.

Broderick was also in France in April 2017 during the volatile election season where far-right politician Marine Le Pen faced off against Emmanuel Macron. In fact, during a street protest, he said, “A shopping cart full of Molotov cocktails emerges from the crowd of anti-fascists and is rammed into the line of riot police. One of my pant legs briefly catches fire after I’m hit with a Roman candle.”

Beyond misinformation campaigns, Broderick also discussed an emerging digital divide, this one focused on information, which was also a topic of discussion in this past week’s class. Concerned with dwindling profits, many news organizations, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, have placed their content behind a paywall, where only paid subscribers can access information.

The financial inability to access that paywall, Broderick, said has created an information divide that will likely discard poor, old and young people, which according to several studies—one in the UK  and one by the Pew Research Center—has already begun.  Irresponsible memes, conspiracy theory-filled YouTube videos and fake news articles populate free digital spaces. While paid subscribers are offered balanced, well-researched articles with strong editorial oversight.

Though bleak, Broderick’s assessment of the current internet landscape presents an opportunity for change. As Silicon Valley wrestles with how to manage the growing internet darkness, a counter force of technologists needs to start spreading light.

Restricting the social in social media

Social networking sites (SNS) can be a great way to meet new people, reconnect with old friends and gather news and information.

For example, through social networking giant Facebook, two years ago, I reconnected with one of my best friends from middle school in Brooklyn, New York. She was living in Alaska and I in the Washington, D.C., area, but we still bridged the geographical divide and caught up with each other’s lives.

On business and employment SNS LinkedIn, I am part of a network of more than 600 professionals. That group includes colleagues from my former career as a journalist, fellow veterans from my military service and new co-workers I’ve met in D.C. since I transitioned from journalism to federal government public affairs.

With accounts on more than five social networking sites, I am comfortable navigating the social media landscape. This week, in my Introduction to Digital Communications Class at Syracuse University where I am a grad student, we explored the history and evolution of social media. The class included a fascinating study of the Conversation Prism, a visual map of the social media landscape by digital analyst, futurist and anthropologist Brian Solis.

While I am fascinated by the study of media communication, I am careful about what I share on social media, since it has intermingled my personal and professional lives.

Knowing that I have created a digital footprint that can affect my professional reputation, I adopted some informal rules for how I behave online. Those guidelines, which were echoed in a recent article about social media and work, include:

• Making myself aware of my company’s social media policy
• Sharing minimal information about my work or co-workers online
• Monitoring my social media accounts, to include updating my privacy settings
• Being cautious about accepting every “friend” request and
• Being thoughtful about what I “like” and reshare.

In the meantime, with my rules in place, I will continue bonding over crab dip recipes and pixie hairstyles with my new “friends” on the image-rich site Pinterest.