Micro-Blogging in Network Society

By Ling Ding

Abstracta

This article review represents the similarities and differences between traditional blogging and micro-blogging, the worldwide micro-blogging platform Twitter and China’s “Twitter” Sina Weibo. The first comparison from perspectives of content, feature and impact, reveals the development and disadvantage of micro-blogging. The new media revolution not only brings new social communication form to individual, but also changes the role of individual in the networking society. The second comparison of Twitter and Sina Weibo focuses on the differences in terms of communication technologies, function, censorship, and key field, illustrates the new concept of Twitter and the innovations of Weibo. The two successful micro-blogging platforms have their own advantages, meanwhile, they can absorb from each other to expand the influences to users. In the process of comparison, examples and statistics are provided to explain and prove arguments. The combination of viewpoints and evidence contributes to the paper completely.

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Is my iPad in my backpack?

By Maria Timmermann

Abstract

With the arrival of digital culture, how to learn and know the world has changed for children and young students. Let’s take a look into their backpacks and compare them with ten years ago. Then, maybe some of them brought video games to the school, but now is easy to find more and more gadgets and devices, competing for space and motivation against books and traditional print-based world of school materials, with two dimensional print and images.

New generations are connected before they born. But how much are the teachers and schools administrators aware of this? New media offer a completely different way to see the world. It can be used as learning tools inside and outside the classroom. Wikis and blogs, as well as computer programs are some examples of how web based applications technology bring alternatives to teach in the way students live and learn today: they´re more social than ever.

However, it is important to analyse how the construction of knowledge evolves in educational system and to discuss about the possibilities of alienation in the digital culture.

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Modern Dating Age: Functional TV Dating Shows

By Bing Li

Abstract

Over the last decade, China has gradually picked up on the reality-programming trend. Interestingly, a host of dating shows have emerged in recent years, adding to the traditional dating methods as well as the old fashioned dating online. The most watched reality show in the entire country today is named “If You Are the One”, from Jiangsu Satellite Television in Nanjing, which has become extremely popular with world-wide audiences as well.

There is no wonder that these kinds of dating shows begin to bloom in an enlightened society. Young people have little time to devote to dating game as they are so focused on making money and developing their careers at the moment in China. But this reality show, gives them the opportunity to enhance mutual understanding and find a partner within a short period of time. For the audience, this program could reflect the real trends in China’s contemporary society.

The prime-time show features a jury of 24 single women questioning male hopefuls, watching their introductory videos and deciding whether they want to take the chance to know and date the men. This has been an increasingly pervasive Reality TV format worldwide in the recent years, whereby enables young singles to experience dating by offering them a stage to project themselves and give them confidence to find a partner.

This article will be based on the latest vogue dating show “If You Are the One” in China, comparing the traditional matchmaking and the latest Internet dating sites, explore the changes that this TV format brings to our social life and the successes of the modern dating show. Why do people choose TV shows to find a partner? How do they use them and how effective are they? What are the flaws? Meanwhile, it also offers us some insights as to why this kind of TV format is hugely popular. What the future of dating games could lead to as we embrace it and our society changes.

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FanSub, idealist or pirate?

By Jingwei Lu

Abstract

This article will be about the current situation of net communication in China (mainland region), especially in terms of online TV/drama sharing associated with the specific cases study about a group of people who are called Fan Sub. In this field, three aspects will be mentioned. They are: 1) television drama censorship in china 2) intellectual property in digital publishing 3) Fan Sub

Since the internet technology brings the information highway age, citizens have been no longer simply blocked by the traditional medium and the restricted censorship set by government. Apparently they can get access to huge information as long as they are connected to the net. In this case, new issues about the intellectual property in digital publishing become controversial in relation to freedom speech, share information and creativity. Typically in mainland of China, it seems that the more restricted that regulation of internet and television drama is, the more requirement of these production by people. With the generation of Fan Sub and P2P services, both of the governance and copyright are being challenged.

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The brand building of journalist blogs

By Mercy Tong

Abstract

Journalists regard news blogs as an extension of traditional journalistic practices. This essay explores how journalists have incorporated blogging in their news output and how they maintain their authority in a digital environment. Using a case-study approach, it examines the impact of their personal weblogs and interactions. The case study will exam how the increasingly popular blog format, as adopted by journalists. It focuses on the quality of blog article, the representation of online journalism, and characters of Journalist blog’s diffusion. It suggests that by subscribing readers’ trustful J-Blogs, individuals can see more extensive news events, while journalists may create a personal brand in their professional area.

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Citizen Journalism

By Pichapen Prateepavanich

Abstract

The changeover of the political power paradigm from 2006 Coup D’état to the government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats Party in 2009, resulted in the ‘red-shirt’ demonstration movement which has matured into a powerful key political actor in ways similar to the ‘yellow-shirt’ demonstration movement between 2003 – 2006, only with a much larger size and wider scope. In addition, many critics have pointed out that social media has played a fundamental role in contributing to the significance of this movement, as people are more able to make their voices heard and representation felt. The article focuses on Citizen Journalism, one of the significant phenomenons that emerged in consequence of new media. According to Alex Burns (2008), “it is about awareness of minorities and social issues provide the character ethic and political philosophy for many Citizen Journalists... It is framed as ‘oppositional’ to traditional media.” Indeed,  has emerged from the need to seek information from alternative sources because traditional media has failed to perform its role as a public watchdog, but instead a lapdog whose motives to report on news, have been criticized for serving self interests rather than the public good. Consequently, more and more people have turned to the internet to assess, inform, and verify each other instead (Deuze 2006). Additionally, citizen journalists are those who use technological tools like 3G camera phones and digital cameras to publish information from the spot of the incident) (Shirkey 2009).

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The History of Photography and the rise of the Citizen Photographer

By Mary-Claire Monsalve

Abstract:

The digital revolution has not only contributed to the rise of citizen journalism but it has also caused a rise in citizen photography. This article will first discuss the history of photography, and photographic manipulation, it then discusses the role of professional photographers in society. The article then examines the rise in citizen photography, considering both the advantages this brings, i.e. the ability for society to view more content than ever before, as well as the pitfalls, such as photographs being used to manipulate their audience with the aid of digital manipulation.. In writing this journal article, the author has considered various articles, blogs and peer-reviewed papers. The conclusion of this article discusses why citizen photography is now an important photography practise, and illustrates examples of where it has been used to communicate a story that would otherwise not have been told. It is argued that, notwithstanding the changes citizen photography has brought to the photography industry, citizen photography will continue to grow, because society now expects and demands to see images of world events as they unfold and will keep consuming these images. This article hopes to chart the history of photography and the rise of citizen photography, as well as proving the worth of citizen photography and encourages its readers to take photographs, which are meaningful and truthful depictions of events.

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Digital Media: Can it preserve and disseminate intangible culture heritage

By Yuhang Zhou

Abstract

Cultural heritage records human beings’ intelligence and the development of civilization. Regretfully, some of them are confronting decrease, disruption, even extinction during handing down. The emergence of digital media brings fresh hope for them. With the aid of digital media, historical heritage, pictures, music, dance, language, manuscript, cultural practices could be saved. Even though it can prevent various intangible cultures from disappearing, does it mean digital media really guarantee those forms of art could pass down from generation to generation? Take Kunqu opera as case study, this article seeks to assess the importance of digitally preserving, and analyzes its high ground and drawbacks.

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