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Tech Blog #4: Independent Media: Citizen’s Involvement in Journalism?

You will donate money for Obama Campaign, you will donate money for Heidi Earthquake, but would you like to donate money to journalists to cover big news?

Independent Media (IM) is rising quickly in the world in recently years. According to Indymedia, the world’s largest independent media center (www.indymedia.org), hundreds of journalists have participated in over one hundred IM organizations. In pursuit of absolute media freedom and telling truths, they are offering grassroots, non-corporate, radical and more feature coverage.

But in my opinion, freedom is not free. How those reporting costs of feature stories are covered? Only by donations? If so, how to make a priority to decide which projects would go head for interviews? As you know, there are so many projects proposed by IM journalists on their website.

Some IM post the project details about different categories and different regions including the topic background, situation and even the project plan for interviews.  By doing so, audience would have an initial idea on each project. If it interested you a lot, just click the donation button to support them. From this point, the public is now gatekeepers! They help journalists to select the news topic and the process is like the online shopping or supermarket.

It is definitely not a communication technology, but it leverages the online payment technology to create the tailor-made journalism. We cannot always expect a technology revolution or killer app. But what we can is to be as creative as scientists by transforming Internet applications to the business or lifestyle world, just like Independent Media’s operation. This kind of new operation model of journalism will bring two main impacts.

First, audience can now being involved in the journalism production process. They have rights to determine what would be covered. They are GATEKEEPERS!

Second, IM is the outcome of fierce competitions among traditional media. Traditional media always have to make a balance on press cost and quality and thereby have to give up some interesting but time-consuming or cost-consuming news stories. It also means journalists could not write what they want. But IM solves the problem! I even believe that maybe traditional media would adopt IM’s operation mode someday. As we know, due to challenges from digitalization, what traditional media can do is either to be digitalized (just like Apple Daily’s Action News) or to be tailor-made style. So IM’s model is not a bad idea.

Tech Blog #3: Sixth-Sense Technology Realizes Future

What is the digital world? It is the digitalized presentation of the real world in some special machines such as computer. Due to the invention of the computer technology, our world has been divided into tow parts: the real world and digital one. People are now used to communicate through the digital world by transforming signals from one to another. But, why cannot we break the boundary among the two worlds and combine into the only one? That is the future!

(Source From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUdDhWfpqxg)

The Sixth-Sense technology utilizes some simple equipment to realize the control between the real world and digital one which is first established by Pranav Mistry in MIT 2009. Sensors, cameras, projectors, wireless communication module, processor and some memories are employed in the Sixth-Sense technology. The sensors and cameras can pick up information from real world directly or by the finger movements. A processor then receives information from the real world and recognizes pictures by fuzzy intelligent technology. It controls the projectors to present the information from digital world at any surface such as a paper, a wall or even human skin. A mass of information is stored in the mass memory and the wireless module is employed to renew signals and communicate with each other.

Just take an example of my recent trip in Thailand. When I visited to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the beautiful palace impressed me a lot. I could use the Sixth-Sense technology to take photos just by framing the scene by our fingers. The camera and sensors then would identify the boundary of our fingers, while the processor would control the camera to take photos. Meanwhile, the camera would also transfer the scene to the fuzzy intelligent processor so as to search the venue information stored in the mass memory. Finally, information would be projected by the projector to any surface. Thus, when I was walking around the Palace, I could conveniently review the palace history information projected onto the ground. It would also be possible for me to share my instant photos with friends only if I accessed to internet with a wireless communication module. So amazing, right? So, with the Six-Sense technology, we can easily get any information about any place we go to.

Originally, the real world is interlinked with the digital world through communication equipments. However, the Six-Sense Technology liberates us from computers and makes people shuttle free between real world and digital world. It is definitely the KILLER APP if any enterprise can combine these hardware and software together and launch it with a reasonable price. By then, The Sixth-Sense Technology which could only be seen in the Sci-fi movie must be a mainstream communication technology in the next century. And now the future is coming!

Tech Blog #2" Apple Daily’s Action News - Infographic News Goes Far

In December 2009, a piece of “Action News” of the Tiger Woods’ car accident story was produced by Apple Daily Taiwan and soon got widespread international attention and soon republished by many other western media. (click here to see the news)

What is “Action News”? It is the breaking news produced by animations. It is said by Apple Daily that their Animated News Department has recruited over 160 people to product the animation videos as soon as the news happen. They aim to produce 20 videos each day, whose audience is willing to pay a small fee to watch. What’s more, cell phone users only need to scan a 2D bar code printed on the newspaper (also known as quick response (QR) code) to immediately watch the animated news clips on their mobile phones.

Some critics have questioned its accuracy and violent content, but it still cannot affect its significant meaning for infographic news, that is, GOING FROM 2D TO 3D VISUALIZATION.

For audience, the animated news will attract the younger generation who prefer graphics to words and thus may be help traditional print media to overcome the great challenge of the circulation decline. On the other hand, for the communication technology, animated news is nothing innovative but a technology integration of animation and internet, a journalism format innovation rather than technology per se.

Actually New York Times has also once produced the similar animated news to recover the bombing scenario happened in Iraq. But why it is Apple Daily rather than New York Times who first officially operates the new business? Perhaps 3G mobile phones were still not as popular at that time as today? Indeed, 3G’s wide-are wireless service can help the animation news to achieve the widespread usage issue. From this point, we can expect that it will be a new trend for breaking news, as well as a new outlet for traditional print media’s future development.

However, there is also a social debate about the animation news contents, which all focus on domestic violence, sexual abuse and murder etc. In Taiwan, some activists even made the street protest about its media social responsibility. To be honest, I was not quite surprised at the news stories. It is just another format for Apple Daily’s scandalous and salacious style of news presentation. In response, Apple Daily has set up a rating system for its animated news, which divides its news contents into two categories: restricted and unrestricted, with the restricted contents labeled with a warning against viewing by underage audience.

Meanwhile, Next Media, the owner of Apple Daily, is also exploring ways to interact with Internet users more effectively. Would we imagine if we could have an online donation through cell phones immediately after watching the animated news about Heidi earthquake?

Every new trend will meet resistance in the beginning - some will evolve and learn from the critics, while still retaining some originality. That is what I hope will happen with the animated news. Let’s wait together.

Tech Blog #1: MBT - A Technology Revolution for the Public Communication

Since Maxwell predicted the existence of electromagnetic wave in 1865, people had been studying the wireless technology for over 200 years to find more flexible, smooth and real communication. This dream came true when the movie was invented in the early 1900s. Then while integrated circuits technology made a great development in the late 1900s, the portable communication equipments were becoming smaller and smaller. By the year of 2000, scientists finally achieved to combine the three technologies above into a novel system and equipment, called Mobile Broadcast TV (MBT).

MBT makes it possible to provide the public information or entertainments at anywhere. This flexible, smooth and real communication technology gets the public to watch broadcast TV in hand and floating. Now over 10 million audience watch MBT everyday in Shanghai by cell-phone, PDA, mobile computer and mobile TV in the subway, bus and taxi. The industrial chain makes over $1 billion profit for MBT. It has become one of the most rapidly developing technologies in the 21st century. Moreover, it is definitely making a technology revolution for the public communication as the technology released the fixed TV to mobile and transformed the voice-only communication into the complex multimedia broadcast.

However, although MBT is one of the most attractive technologies at present, it still does not have a killer app partly due to two following factors.

One is the establishment difficulty of the broadcast TV system, which is the basis for MBT application. Thus, the government should allow the operators for legitimize use of the frequency, control the signal source/contents and monitor their operations. But the hardware construction is expensive and time-consuming. It needs to set up satellites, terrestrial broadcasting stations and many broadcasting towers in the city to strengthen the signal so as to get the communication smooth. Besides, the system establishment also requires contribution of the large amount of new broadcasting programs. All of these require a great powerful financial support from and administrative control by the government. The broadcasting systems require government has a powerful dominant and national power. So only few developed countries have established the MBT broadcasting system such as USA, China, Japan and EU.

Another factor is the popularization of the mobile equipment in the public. Firstly, the equipment should be cheap but still with a high quality. Only if the mobile equipment is small enough to carry around and simple enough to control by everyone, customers will be attracted to buy one. Secondly, the service fee should also be cheap enough but still with a good quality.

When both factors are mature someday, I believe the MBT will become a killer app as no one would refuse to watch TV he/she is interested at anywhere and anytime. By then, this kind of powerful multimedia communication technology will become as popular as mobile phones.

Auction Report #2: About Marketing

After posting the product Sock doll one week at ebay.com, the result is not as good as we expect. Only 6 persons visited the shop but gave few comments. 4 of them were those who had joined the initial online survey. So the status quo is as follows:

• The product is not popular at ebay.com.hk.
•  The CNY and Valentine’s Day promotion opportunity would be missed.
• BUT…
• White Day on March 14 will be another promotion point!
• Birthday gift is also a good value proposition for promotion.

Therefore, we decided to develop a marketing strategy to sell the product.

Objectives:	To sell the product by early March
Target Audience:	Who have Picses friends and are preparing a birthday gift	Who have single female friends
Products:
Value Propositions:	A cute birthday gift	A festival gift for your single friends
Strategies:	Prelaunch Increase the product awareness through a "FREE VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT FOR YOU" activity Create/participate in the ONLINE DISCUSSION about White Day or Birthday gift on Facebook or some popular forums to create a hot topic about the product
	Launching Increase product exposure by SOE Send the product eDM Post on Facebook
	Post Launch Interaction with shop visitors through online comments, emails etc.

Accordingly, relating marketing tactics will be developed as follows:

 Free Valentine’s Day Gift for YOU

1.         To send the activity eDM through both emails and Facebook messages

-       Facebook messages instead of wall posting to ensure every recipient will read the eDM

2.         Key message to be delivered in the eDM:

-         Go to visit our Sock Doll shop and comment “ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE & WHY” to win a surprising DIY gift for Valentines’ Day.

3.         Result:

-         Three participants will be selected to present the DIY MATERIAL PACKAGE of his/her favorite Sock doll

4.         To show your DIY on Facebook

-       Ask for the winner to show his/her DIY process and finished works by posting pictures on Facebook so as to get more friends to know the product.

Prelaunch about the two product

1.         To start an online discussion about White Day and birthday gift on BBS and Facebook

2.         To participate in ebay forum to promote our shop

 Launching

1.     Send another eDM through emails and Facebook messages

2.     Posting on the discussion page as a customer instead of the shop owner (Hey! I found this cute gift!)
3.     Increase the product exposure on ebay.com by adding the product category, joining the home page promotion etc.

Thai, I'm coming!

Cool! Will start my CNY trip this Sat! A little early? Maybe. Will miss one week class. That's why some classmate said I am lazy. But anyway, this trip is kind of honeymoon for me although I got married in May last year. We will go to Thai firstly and then fly to Guilin. Two weeks long, the longest for me up to now.

But trip doesn't mean relax. These days too busy to have a good sleep at night. Got up at 530am to rush for a coursework. A little crazy? Now still stay in the campus information center to rush for another two reports. Why so busy this semester? I don't know if other classmates think so.

Later will be in the lab to continue the Photoshop session. I think i am not kind of creative person although I have learned by myself three years ago just for a better cooperation with my designer colleague. The lecturer asked us to prepare some pictures for this evening. I occasionally found this one done by me two years ago. If you once went to Shanghai, you would recognize the place is Pudong. Actually, it means my husband and I are in a boat from Puxi to Pudong and will have our own home there. A little funny, right? But the dream has come true. So what's my dream now? why not paint it out for the course exercise?