The Social Media Monsters: Usefulness of Facebook and Twitter

            Almost 72% of all U.S. internet users have Facebook accounts (http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/). Shortly after its creation in 2004, Facebook became the most prominent social media outlet.  In less than a decade’s time, Facebook has revolutionized how people, especially the young, interact and communicate on a daily basis. Studies show that nearly 50% of 18-34 year olds check their Facebook page when they wake up, some even before getting out of bed. This statistic demonstrates the growing use and importance of social media. Twitter has also become increasingly popular over the last couple of years, with about 13% of Americans using it regularly (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/twitter-pew-statistics_n_869790.html). The power of these social mediums lies in their ability to provide anyone with internet access the ability to reach a huge audience. Facebook and Twitter give people great potential to quickly transfer ideas, media, and news to a mass audience. This is extremely helpful to journalists and musicians alike.

            University of Maryland’s Sean Mussenden uses Facebook to promote his students’ work. Sean works as a full-time lecturer in the school of journalism and is director of the Merrill College's Capital News Service online bureau. Because most of his students are aspiring journalists, social media is of particular interest to Sean. He explains that the use of social media gains his students a great deal of exposure. He is able to share the students’ work with the public without paying any cost. In the past, journalism has been shared primarily by means of print. While this is still the case, online reading has taken over a fair portion of readers. For the aspiring student journalist, Facebook and Twitter provide great platforms to show work to the public. The two mass mediums reach a great deal of people and provide a huge audience for ideas to be shared. Sean recognizes Facebook as “The most important social network in the world.” He says that people want to get news where they live. He goes as far as saying that people, on the web, live mostly on sites like Facebook. Because of this, Sean feels that people want their news to arrive on Facebook.

 Sean describes that before he began using Facebook and Twitter to share their work, his students’ audience consisted of mostly University of Maryland affiliates. He explains that by the nature of social networking, the students gain a great deal more exposure. It makes their posts available to all of their friends as well as the public. Sean promotes the journalists’ work on school accounts and lets the students use their own private ones as well. Through the use of these prominent mass mediums, college journalists are able to gain far more recognition than they have in the past. Before the widespread use of social networking, journalists have been fairly limited as to how they can promote their work to the public. Online posting is far more efficient and cost-effective for the aspiring journalist than is publishing. Facebook has forever changed the way journalists are able to reach their audience. It provides a great medium for the free exchange of ideas and work. Like journalists, aspiring musicians can reap the benefits of social networking.

Jazz guitar major Jeremy Milliner explains how he has used social media to share his music. In a brief interview, Jeremy described how he uploaded music to Facebook to gain exposure. As an aspiring musician, social mediums provide a great platform for Jeremy to earn recognition for his talent. He is able to post videos to Facebook, free of charge, for all to view. In this brief audio clip, he recollects earning a “gig” because of his videos on Facebook.

listen to ‘Music and Facebook’ on Audioboo

            Though Jeremy found Facebook to be a powerful and useful tool, he did not speak as highly of mass medium Twitter. Jeremy has been a Facebook regular for over a year now but has only begun using Twitter with his Journalism 150 class. He does not expect to continue using twitter after the class. He feels that Facebook’s “status bar” is sufficient enough.

listen to ‘Jeremy m. On twitter’ on Audioboo

            Social media has revolutionized how we hear our news, communicate, and listen to music. Facebook, “The most important social network in the world,” has easily had the greatest influence. It has changed the way people interact on a daily basis. It is so influential because of how quickly and easily information is shared. Twitter has become increasingly popular but has nowhere near the following or influence that Facebook does. Sean Mussenden recognizes Twitter as useful for gaining journalistic exposure but still not as useful as Facebook. It simply does not have the following or versatility that Facebook does. Student and Musician Jeremy Milliner denounces Twitter entirely, arguing that Facebook’s status bar has the same function. 

Media day

I have 3 audio clips from an interview I had with Sean Mussenden today. One of them is too long at 2:30 but will be used for quotes and info. The other two are useful and just over 30 seconds. I will also be interviewing a classmate tomorrow for audioboo clips. I plan to screenshot Sean's facebook page that he uses for his journalism class. I will use it for my still shot to show a professional facebook account.

Clips:

The Cure to Cancer: Engineers and Light?

“Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve healthcare and diagnosis, monitoring and therapy… Prominent biomedical engineering applications include the development of biocompatible prostheses, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, common imaging equipment such as MRIs and EEGs, regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic biologicals” (Wikipedia). I sat down with UMD’s own Dr. Darayash Tata, physics professor and biomedical engineer, to hear about the research he does at the university. Dr. Tata’s research seeks to solve the same problem that many other biomedical engineers obsess over, cancer. Cancer is one of the biggest fears of American society. It is one of the few common diseases that is still terminal to this day. Though a great amount of research has been done on the disease, methods used to prevent and “cure” it are not entirely effective and can harm the body greatly. When considering curing cancer, one would typically think of a doctor in a hospital. Though biomedical engineers help cure disease as much as doctors do, their work is far different and rarely thought about. Dr. Tata seeks to cure medical problems by the engineering devices.

Dr. Tata has been researching a method of destroying cancerous tissue by the use of light.  Research has shown that photo-agent Photofrin II tends to be retained by cancerous tissue. When the body is injected with Photo II nanoparticles, all tissue tends to retain some of them for a certain period of time. Healthy tissue is able to quickly flush the particles out within 40 to 50 hours. Tumors however, do not flush the Photofrin II out for a greater period of time. Thus, the photofrin II particles remain dormant within the tumor. The nanoparticles are biologically inert without the presence of visible light. “In the presence of visible light and molecular oxygen Photo II is known to induce “dynamical killing””(Tata, 3).  The “dynamical killing” is performed through oxygen-based reactions, destroying much of the cancerous tumor. According to Dr. Tata, the largest setback inherent to this method of destroying cancer is the lack of oxygen within cancerous cells. Ultimately, the tumor is destroyed to a certain extent but is limited by the amount of oxygen available. The reactions causing the “dynamical killing” subside as soon as the tumor runs out of oxygen. It is for this reason that cancer is not widely treated with this device. Through time and research, Dr. Tata hopes to refine this method. If it can be made more efficient and cost-effective, this method could greatly help cancer patients.

Biomedical engineering is a relatively new field combining theories of biology, medicine, and engineering. Biomedical engineers can be greatly credited for the vast advances in medicine over the past couple decades. By applying what we know about biology and medicine, doctors with sound engineering backgrounds can create devices to overcome our greatest medical problems. Through his research, Dr. Tata intends to do just that: Engineer a device that will destroy cancerous tumors. 

**I could not get this video embedded http://qik.com/video/45873839

Robberies on Knox road

The College Park area has been plagued with crime for as long as any current student can remember. Criminals see students as easy targets for robberies and assaults. Though the threat of crime is felt on and off campus, few students feel the heat as much as the residents of Knox road. The “Knox Box” apartments circling Knox, Guilford, Hartwick, and Rossborough road often fall victim to robberies. Freshman Ross Cone, resident of the 4200 block of Knox Road, recounts his apartment being broken into on Saturday, October 22. Ross had his laptop, xbox, and cellphone stolen when the suspect broke in through his window. After speaking with him for some time, it became apparent that Ross’s break-in was no isolated event. He explained that the apartment above him had been recently robbed as well. Similarly, entry was forced and electronics were stolen. Though property theft threatens all of its residents, Knox road is often the scene of assaults and armed robberies on pedestrians.

A crime map (http://ucrime.com/md/university+of+maryland) of College Park shows the crime density of the area. Interestingly, most of the crime reports in the area are extremely close in proximity to the University. This supports the idea that criminals prey on college students because they are comparatively easy targets when compared to other demographics. Students are also targeted because they almost always have laptops, cell phones, TV’s, and printers. Thieves find these items the most profitable to steal. Students need to be keep all of their belongings under watch and locked away. Those venturing off Campus need to be very cautious when walking  late at night.

listen to ‘Ross cone’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Ross2’ on Audioboo

Public radio service and funding

Public radio stations are licensed by the FCC. Because the radio waves are owned by the people, the radio stations are supposed to serve the people. The FCC’s licensing operations attempt to ensure this. All licensed public radio stations are to serve the community’s needs. This idea of service justifies government funding for public radio stations. While the government is willing to help fund public radio stations, they provide only a small part of a station’s revenue. Stations generate revenue through their programming and fans. Individual benefactors and businesses contribute largely to radio stations. People are often willing to donate to their favorite radio station. Fans tuning in also hear advertisements over the air, generating the station money. As a part of the community, radio stations also host a great deal of events. Though these events often help to create money for the station, most include a fundraiser of some sort.

listen to ‘Public radio interview 2’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Public radio’ on Audioboo

Washington D.C.'s advantage in Public radio

The Washington D.C. Public radio market thrives mainly because of its geography. “As of 2008, the Washington Metropolitan Area was the 9th largest radio market in the United States with a Metro 12+ Population of 4,238,100.^{[6]  “} The D.C. area provides a great radio market for many reasons. As the previous quote states the metro population is 4,238,100 and growing.  Aside from its large local fan base, D.C. has a distinct advantage when compared to other radio markets.  D.C. stations are able to best outside markets on the national level because of their proximity to the nation’s capital city. 

            News stations thrive off of this advantage more so than any other programming type. Stations like WTOP maintain a large following in the D.C. area from locals as well as on the national level. WTOP, owned by CBS plays their own news reports. The station reports CBS national and local news at the hour and half hour. WTOP also includes local traffic and weather and sports. “ The news station thrives on its proximity to the capital city, enabling them to keep their national news most up to date. In fact, the station has earned many awards in recognition. WTOP has won multiple RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards (National), as well as a National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Major Market Station of the Year in 2010.^[13]    These awards demonstrate their national credibility as a news station. WTOP is a perfect example of a station thriving on the national level, largely due to its proximity to the D.C. area.

 WTOP also thrives locally in the D.C. area. “As of July 2009, WTOP is ranked #1 in the Arbitron ratings among radio stations in the Washington area.” Because it is primarily a news station, WTOP airs news every half hour. 103.5 broadcasts local and national news at each time. The D.C. metropolitan area was rated the 9^th largest radio market in the United States. Due to the high population density, WTOP has a larger audience locally than most radio markets.  The importance of WTOP’s local news was demonstrated in a snowfall during 2010. Snow fell for a week, with 103.5 as the only local station covering the storm all day and night. According to estimates, “WTOP had a 16.9% share of the area’s radio audience, far exceeding its weekly average of around 10%.”

Washington D.C. public radio thrives mainly due to the area’s population density and proximity to the nation’s capital.  The D.C. metropolitan area is so large and densely populated that the area’s stations cover a much broader audience than most radio markets. The public radio stations can compete on a national level specifically because of the second reason. News reporters in the area are able to break national news quicker than others because they are closer to the National Government’s headquarters. With advances in technology such as iPhones and iPads, reporters are able to broadcast nationally from sites of incidence, getting news to the public quicker than ever. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTOP-FM)

Mass media provides free news

 I do not think that online news subscriptions will ever be able to rival the amount of income generated by the tangible newspapers of the past. The advancement of technology will have an effect on the news industry very similar to its impact on the music industry. Over the past decade, technology has made music infinitely available to most American households via the internet. Anyone with internet access can download music for free in the comfort of their own homes. As a result, the music industry lost a great deal of their revenue due to a decrease of record sales. Similarly, local and national news has been offered for free via the internet for years now. Akin to the rise of Napster in the music industry, The Huffington Post has been gaining popularity. The site has offered free news since 2005. Although the news has been offered online for years now, the major newspapers have been providing the majority of it. In recent years, private sites like The Huffington Post have been rising in the industry. Since its inception in 2005, The Huffington Post has proved enough ingenuity and credibility to earn itself a great deal of readers. In February 2011, the Post was acquired by AOL for a sum of $315 million dollars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huffington_Post).  This demonstrates the ability to generate revenue by offering free news. Sites like The Huffington Post pioneer the evolution of news as we know it. Due to the popularity and availability of free news sites, people are highly unlikely to pay for an online news subscription. News companies will need to learn to generate revenue in a new way.

In the music industry, the leader of paid downloading is clearly iTunes.  Apple has been incredibly successful selling media on iTunes due to their innovation of the .mp3 player. Since its’ release, the iPod has outsold all other .mp3 players combined. The iPod’s seamless integration with iTunes has been paramount to the amount of media purchased through the site. Though iTunes has proven clearly dominant over other pay-based music sites, its’ number of downloads pales in comparison to the amount of free media downloaded by other means. I would expect the evolution of the news industry to pan out similarly. Major news players like CBS, NBC, Fox, etc. will be able to attract online subscriptions due to their stature in the industry. The number of readers paying for an online subscription, however, will be a small percentage of the total number of people reading the news.

As up and coming news outlets gain popularity and credibility, the number of paid subscriptions will drop drastically until they are non-existent. I do not think it is realistic to expect casual news readers to pay for a subscription when the news is easily available online free of charge. In a news article from CBS analyzing data from a survey about online news, the author states “Getting people to pay for news online at this point would be "like trying to force butterflies back into their cocoons,"” (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/15/business/main6299919.shtml).