by Martha Ramos, Molly Shea, Lauren Teng
INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Interactive mediais communication based on a user experience in which individuals and/or groups of individuals interact with content through various media devices such as gaming consoles, mobile phones and the Internet. Examples of interactive media include video games, Facebook, QR codes and websites.
HISTORY
The Internet was the world’s first major foray into interactive media as users added and accessed information published through the World Wide Web. The growth of media content stimulated the need for any easy way to organize and access the information, and the search engine was created. As the Internet became more user friendly, participation grew and created new opportunities for the personal computer market to expand. No longer were computers confined to research institutions or businesses, but they entered the sphere of leisure driven consumerism. Major consumer demand for entertainment driven innovation like video games pushed the development of software, technology and devices to provide more exciting user experiences in which visuals on screen appeared more realistic, and the individual was given more control over content.
These elevated design standards trickled into the PC and person-to-person communication spheres as well. Email was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson as a way to allow for the Internet, what was then a government run, military communications network known as ARPANET, to communicate. As the Internet developed in the civilian sector there was a desire to create a version of email that was even more immediate. Instant message through online sources like AOL, AIM and MSN provided the immediacy of a real time conversation, funneled through technology. The act of conversing was intuitive, and the simple running chat window could be managed with ease.
This combination of usability and intuitiveness proved to a success, and these two factors are what drive interactive media to this day.
INTERACTIVE MEDIA TRIADGaming, social media and mobile media are the lucrative industries that continue to challenge the convergence of content and technology to push interactive media forward. With the fall 2011 release of the iPhone 4S, Apple claims, “You know how to use the iPhone from the first time you pick it up. That’s because the revolutionary MultiTouch interface […] was designed for your finger […] Everything you touch is easy, intuitive and fun.” As older generations learn to adapt to new technologies and developments, and younger generations are ushered into a world where technology and interactive media are omnipresent, there are new and real cultural benefits and threats that demand individuals to act and maneuver in the world in different ways than ever before.
THREATS
The proliferation of media content and on-hand, on demand accessibility of interactive devices come with a price.
Critics of interactive media blame the omnipresence of the interactive media triad for, among other things, degrading social skills, communication skills, encouraging piracy and desensitizing individuals to violence.
Piracy
On Wednesday November 30, 2011 Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt commented publiclyon the House and Senate bills backed by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America that would ask search engines like Google to “cut off websites dedicated to distributing pirated material.” Schmidt claimed The Stop Online Piracy Act (House) and Protect IP Act (Senate) not only would violate the First Amendment but would be an ineffective solution to online piracy, as violators would quickly move content form one site to another if one was essentially black listed form a search engine, or if a link was deleted. He claimed a better option would be to make the pirating more explicitly illegal and to follow the money flow to prosecute the correct culprits as opposed to asking Google to act as a checkpoint. Patrick Leahy D-VT countered saying the bills would protect intellectual property rights and therefore boost the economy and create jobs.
Video games and violence
A U.S. drone on mission for the CIA, that fell into Iranian territory late in the first week of December 2011, brought again to the surface the intersecting technology of video and computer games and military warfare devices. Drones are highly advanced, unmanned aircrafts that can perform surveillance and attack missions controlled by an operator at a remote location on land. Drone critics insist the Pentagon has worked in tandem with computer game developers to create software and develop the skills of young people, who engage in warfare games and become desensitized to the implied experience of violence occurring on the screen. U.S. military officials have ruled out “ cyber attack or electronic jamming” as cause for the incident that has potentially placed cutting edge U.S. electronic warfare technology into the hands of another nation.
Privacy
With information from addresses, credit card numbers and places of work available online through social media sites and on separate devices from cell phones to iPads, in contemporary times there is a physical identity of a person and the virtual one that exists online through these various sources. After Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s private photos were hacked through a fairly simple loophole in the social media site, early in December of 2011, it sent a wave of reminder through the online world that no one person’s content online may be truly private or inaccessible to unwanted eyes.
BENEFITS
Convergence of time and space
From letters to telegraphs, phone calls and emails, history has proven that people demand faster and better means of communicating to share information when not in proximity of each other. Skype and Apple’s Face Time extend beyond college friends keeping in touch with each other or their parents. It’s not uncommon for anyone from Oprah to CNN to communicate via the Internet driven software application: universities even present lectures in this way. Additionally, new interactive content sharing means like Fall 2011’s Applie iCloud mean that file sharing can be done via the internet, taking up less time and allowing for the transmission of more data, be it wedding photos, research conducted in various labs the world over or a student’s final paper.
Democratize information
Philosopher Gramsci made his mark discussing traditional and organic intellectuals. The former were reared in a traditional higher education system of university and then white-collar work, and their purpose in society, he claims, is to maintain the status quo. With the Internet, however, the same information is available to anyone with access to the web. Released on YouTube in the fall of 2011 the feature documentary film, Life In a Day, profiles a young Peruvian boy who makes his days shining shoes for change to help support his family. He proclaims the thing he loves in life is his laptop because with the Internet and Wikipedia he can learn about anything from religion to history. It is for this same reason that Bill and Melinda Gates have made it a goal of their foundation to put computers with Internet access in every community.
Tool for justice and journalism
FALL 2011 OVERVIEW
Social Networking
Facebook: With over 800 million users, FacebookInc. is the largest social network site worldwide. By the end of 2011, the company will reap in $4.27 billion in revenue, more than doubling last year’< /span>s revenue of $2 billion. For 2012, the projected revenue is expected to reach $5.78 billion. The end of September (2011) marked a major change in the Facebook design. This reformatting of the home page, as well as personal user profiles, helps in making the network easier to navigate and access content, thereby influencing the growth in social ecommerce. Facebook is known to hold significant influence in accordance with politics and activism. Global networking has aided the efforts of the Egyptian anti-government movement. This revolution, which spurred the overthrowing of the nations’ now ex-dictator President Hasni Mubarak, had started and spread through Facebook. News of the Egyptian movement’s success has also been facilitated by the site, and has inspired political activism in other Middle Eastern regions– such as Tunisia and Bahrain—and the Occupy Wall Street protests. The Occupy Wall Street Facebook page was created on September 19, and within just three days, it had gained a massive amount of followers. The movement’s homepage addressed its viewers with the greeting, “Newcomers today, welcome! Feel free to post. Advertise your own pages of resistance. Network until it works.”
Twitter: As of 2011, Twitterhas reached over 300 million users, 100 million of whom are deemed “ active users” and 50 million of whom log in on a dialy basis. For the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, the entire protest started on July 13 as the Twitter hashtag: #OccupyWallStreet. Political activist group, Adbusters, created the Occupy Wall Street idea through their online blog site.Although the movement gained most of its momentum through Twitter, it also has utilized social networking platforms like Facebook and Meetup to grab public attention. In mid-September, the Twitter account called the “Newyorkist” became one of the first widely-followed users to chronicle protest action in detail. By October 1st, the Occupy Wall Street movement had spread to other cities, as the efforts were promoted through similar Twitter hasthags, such as #OccupyBoston and #OccupySD.
Google+: Google Inc.’s newest social media platform, Google+, became open to public usage on September 20. According to Google CEO Larry Page, the new social media platform had already acquired 40 million users by October. On October 27th, it was announced that Google+ would now be compatible with Google Apps. The site launched “business pages,” which resemble Facebook users’ profile pages. However, spokespeople for Google have made a point to distinguish Facebook from their new social network, such that Google+ is, as New York Times journalist Paul Boutin writes, “intended for sharing with smaller, more closely aligned sets of people, rather than posting everything to everyone as is common on Facebook.”< /span>
YouTube: The Google-owned online video platform is the second most popular website. In the beginning of the month, YouTube launched its new layout to make the site easier navigate. The new design organizes the user’s subscribed channels on the lefthand side of the page in list-form. This neater layout allows individual users to easily access video content and personalize their viewing experience.
Gaming and Interactive Media
“ Your friends, your rules, your leaderboards”
SPORTS AND GAMING
NFL Madden 2012: August 30, 2011 This game enables game users to play against their friends and create a virtual community to play with and against. It also stimulates real life football as it allows players to select a season of their choice with their favorite team and player. It also creates a player of choice with own characteristics and attributes such as game talents, includes; Quarterback position, Linebacker, Wide Receiver, etc. NFL Madden 12 has become the best of Madden 2011, as it is featured to be an online game for Internet friendly users. ESPN NFL Madden
NBA 2k12: October 4, 2011 – The NBA 2K12 basketball video game now supports 3D effects on playtime, thus making the tournaments more visually realistic. The sports games are virtually a real-life TV game or television sports broadcast rather than a just a simple video game. This also, allows players to play against friends online and challenge their basketball skills as professional NBA players of the year.
ENTERTAINMENT GAMING
Kinet Central Dance Game 2: October 25, 2011- Kinet’s features have developed into more than just dance movements and traits. Its multi-player component was expanded for more players to participate in the challenge. Technologically, VoIP was installed and Voice chat became one of the most “cool” features of the game as it allows players to connect and verbally communicate with friends and or opponents during online games. Additionally, Kinet Central 2 game developed to enable dancers to have control over the game with their bodies and movement; sensors are now used instead of controllers. Content downloads is available as well, which makes it more interactive for consumers who prefer more variety in music and choreography.
Update of Temple Run: December 3, 2011- The mobile friendly game for iPhones and iPads was updated recently this fall and it surpassed the expectations of application game players. Apple Temple Run is now considered to be an addictive game for those individuals with apple products ownership. The game is highly competitive as most players have taken it serious enough to share and brag about their high scores on their social media, such as twitter. It automatically shares scores on twitter to compare opponents’ scores as it spreads the players’ need to become better and compelled to continue playing until their highest scores becomes their best score.
WAR GAMING
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: November 8, 2011- MW3 is the third game upgrade in the Warfare series games. Competition has never been more serious than how it has been since MW3 became available. It is known to have reached the entertainment record in the video game marketplace; “The best-selling first person action series of all-time returns with the epic sequel to multiple Game of the Year award winner…” The game features multi-player option and more variety in weapons. MW3 fanatics worship their challenges to destroy their friends with best weapons possible as they ally to become the best-friend- enemies throughout their gaming competition, a “life-style choice” most would call it.
iPhone 4S
On October 4, 2011 the fifth generation of iPhone, the iPhone 4s was announced and Apple stock dropped 2%. Apparent consumer apprehension at buying a next generation iPhone that looked the same but functioned differently inside did not stop thousands from lining up on October 14th to by the phone. Carrier AT&T activated over a million units alone in the first five days after the phone’s release and some predict the smart phone to sell 29.9 units during the December quarter. According to Greg Loswiak, Vice President of Apple Product Marketing in the fall 2011 video marketing campaign, the next step to improving upon the iPhone 4, number on selling smart phone in the world, was to rethink “the inside.” The latest generation of iPhone boasts a dual core A5 chip Apple claims makes the phone twice as fast, an 8 megapixel camera and improved optics system, SIRI, a digital assistant, iCloud capability and the new iOS5 mobile operating system.
Mobile Marketing: QR codes and Near Field Communication (NFC)
“Starbucks is using traditional media like print and outdoor to drive downloads of their mobile app, and the QR code is a great way for smartphone users to get it in one click,” said David Javitch, vice president of marketing at Scanbuy, the company Starbucks partnered with to facilitate their Fall 2011 ad campaign. Already part of the largest mobile payment movement in the U.S. with their Starbucks Card Mobile App, accepted in 1,020 Target and Starbucks stores, the company is at the forefront to data analysis showing that mobile marketing is where it’s at for business growth. Mobile Commerce Daily reported on a comScore study in September of 2011 that found 59% of people who look up a local business on a mobile phone visit the store location, and TechCrunch wrote that in September of 2011 that 2/3 of all Smartphone users shopped in some way on their phone. Product marketing manager for mobile ads at Google, Sonja Lee explains “ Mobile is much more an extension of your day-to-day life, with customers using mobile throughout the day and in all situations. Mobile consumers are much more ready to go and take action in the world.”
The Fall 2011 Starbucks ads boasted QR codes. These are essentially barcodes that Smartphone users can scan into their phone and be redirected to the URL embedded in the image. Media Post reported in November of 2011 that “barcode technology vendors regularly report triple-digit gains in the number of mobile users scanning codes” but added, citing a Yanky Group study, that QR code use will peak in 2012 and fall by 2015 as Near Field Communication (NFC) surpasses it as the premier form of encoded mobile communication. Near Field Communication is purported to be more user friendly, secure and capable than QR codes because instead of a mobile user employing an application to scan a bar code, he or she would hold their mobile device with embedded NFC technology in close proximity to object with an NFC tag inside of it. With roots in Radio-Frequency Identification, this form of sharing communication could direct smart phones not only to websites, but also share files, resumes, help enter multi-player games or act as a medical identification card. While the actual technology for NFC hit the market in 2002 thanks to Sony and partner NXP Semiconductors to a fairly less than notable amount of use, recent data studies predict that by 2016 mobile NFC marketing will account for nearly $300M in tag sales and 70% of mobile nonpayment marketing. In faith of these predictions, the global financial service provider Barclays announced in October of 2011 that they’d become a sponsor member of the NFC Forum and a governing seat in on the NFC Forum Board of Directors. While the Yankee Group touched on potential threats to NFC technology, it also maintained the potential for QR code fraud and misdirection loomed larger and advised marketers to see the QR code as a precursor to NFC technology it predicts will be integrated into most smart phones by 2014.
Tablets
Of the 58 million tablets sold across the globe so far in 2011, Apple has been the maker of approximately 42 million. While more inexpensive options like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet are shaping up to be, if not competitive, then friendly alternatives to the behemoth that is Apple, a handful of other tablets that were released in the Fall of 2011 met various unkind demises. The Dell Streak 5 tanked in sales late August and the company decided to discontinue the Streak 7, while Blackberry’s Playbook tablet absorbed what the NYT says was a $485 million dollar write-down, according to Research in Motion. Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman-Epps has stated that the iPad today is synonymous in the contemporary lexicon to tablet. Where the iPad succeeds and others apparently fail or have been wavering is in what it offers: from the extensive app store and iTunes that still rivals Barnes & Noble’s digital store, to the two-camera and microphone option that was a deal breaker for many Kindle Fire curious who decided the $199 price tag didn’t make up for not being able to leave audio messages or video chat with other media devices.