Reflection

In this 3 months, I've been in touch with words such as social network, censorship, layout, design, blogs, inter-racial culture and much more. Issues in Publication and Design has expose me into the world of World Wide Web.

At first, I thought blogging is something where everyone are capable of doing it. But this few blog post proved me wrong. In order post something with supported facts, I've go through uncountable reliable and un-reliable website in the internet to search for information I need.

I've done a lot of research other than the reading provided by tutor during the process of posting different issues. These research have made me learnt more than what I should know. The process of finishing this subject - Issues in Publication and Design have been rough. I wouldn't make it through all the assignments without guidance from my tutor, Ms Jenny Heng. I thank you Ms Jenny for your patience and kindness way of teaching, thank you for being a committed lecturer.

My road of Issues in Publication and Design ends here.

Gaming & applications Issues, social media viral marketing strategies, Web 2.0 qualities

Source: http://bindapple.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/apple-iphone-app-store.jpg

Everything people do nowadays have to be fast, efficient, portable and most importantly convenient. Mobile phone in this 21^st century features a camera and also coverged with touch pad that gives the user a PDA feeling. Everything nowadays is just one touch away.

Applications a subclass of computer software that engage the potential of a computer directly to a task that the user wishes to work on (Science Daily, 2010). Applications, or also known as software are divided in to two categories, the system and applications software. System software helps and enhances the performance of the user’s computer. It helps in ways of boosting up the speed of the computer, upgrading its programs for more convenient usage and more. On the other hand, application software assists the users themselves. Applications such as MS Words, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint and much more help the user to create a work with just a few clicks and key typing in order to run activities such as publishing newspaper, presenting a electronic slides shows to clients and much more. Application software’s also refers to games. Games in computers or phones allow the user to pass time with interaction between user and the artificial intelligence (Toolbox, 2008).

Apple Corporation, who created iPod, Mac computer, iPhone, have receive 1.8 billion of downloads after since Apple’s App Store is introduced. Facebook and even movies are available for downloads as an application. Movie such as Star Trek, Bruno, Up, G-Force are offering short video clips of the movie, video trailers picture and much more in their application. This application actually helps the movie company to spread and gain audiences. Applications are and effective means by which the movie can get promotions, because consumer’s attention in this competitive media century is hard to gain, stated by Carl Howe from Yankee Group (Mendoza, 2009). Facebook application in Apple’s iPhone allow user to access to their profile and update or receive updates from their friends in just one touch from the screen. Facebook Connect – software name for iPhone’s Facebook application, allow Facebook users to share its component on Websites or within applications with their Facebook friends (Mendoza, 2009).

Application has been very efficient in our life in this modern world. With them, every thing is just a few clicks away. It saves much of our time and also enable users to deliver a productive piece of work. 

References:

• Mendoza, N 2009, Movies Apps Get Social as Studios Intergrate Facebook Connect, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/09/movie-apps-get-social-as-studios-integrate-facebook-connect252.html>
• Science Daily 2010, Application Software, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/application_software.htm>
• Toolbox 2010, Application Software, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Application_software>

Ethical Publishing, Copyright Regulations Online

Source: http://cdn.erictric.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YouTube-VS-Viacom-Large-Image.jpg

Viacom, also known as Video & Audio Communications, establishes itself as a public company from Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) on 1971 (Viacom, 2009). Viacom is now one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Viacom owned large media groups such as BET Netweords, CMT Networks, Harmonix that created the game Rock Band, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, VH1 and also Paramount Pictures Corporation (CJR, 2010).

YouTube, the current leader of online video sharing website of the entire globe. YouTube enables anyone to upload videos and share clips over the Internet. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube, people can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual (CrunchBase, 2010).

Although YouTube has countless partnership with content providers such as CBS, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and much more, but on March 2007, Viacom has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube on copyrights law. Copyright is a type of protection supplied by the laws of the United States in order to protect the creator of their original work, which includes different genre such as literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works (Copyright, 2010). With the copyrights, the creator now have special right to reproduce it works, to sell, perform or display it work in public without being afraid his work being copied or stolen (Entrepreneur, 2010).

This is not a small case for the media industry. YouTube have created a platform and helped the people to voice out through sharing videos. YouTube is the leading online video sharing websites, movie trailers, advertisement, music is being shared largely in YouTube that it actually helps the creators in terms of creating fan based and reaching their audience. But in order to “win” this lawsuit against Viacom, YouTube must remove any material violating copyright law (Arcamona, 2010). The lawsuit begin by Viacom ordering YouTube to remove over 100,000 clips from its website (CrunchBase, 2010).

This lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube has exposed a weakness in current copyright laws (Arcamona, 2010). Both Viacom and YouTube lose its viewership. YouTube loses its viewership due to the decrease of videos in the websites, while Viacom loses its viewership due to unable to reach the audience as fast as when YouTube actually creates a platform for it to inform its audience. 

References:

• Arcamona, R 2010, What the Viacom Versus YouTube Verdict Means for Copyright Law, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/07/what-the-viacom-vs-youtube-verdict-means-for-copyright-law183.html>
• Viacom 2009, About Viacom,  online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.viacom.com/aboutviacom/Pages/default.aspx>
• Viacom 2009, History, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.viacom.com/aboutviacom/Pages/history.aspx>
• CrunchBase 2010, Viacom, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/viacom>
• Columbia Journalism Review 2010, Resources: Who Owns What?, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=viacom>
• CrunchBase 2010, YouTube, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/youtube>
• Copyright 2010, Copyright Basics, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf>
• Entrepreneur 2010, Copyright, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82100.html>

Facebook Privacy, Personal Data Protection Regulation, Ethical Publishing

Source: http://www.watblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/facebook-privacy.JPG

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users (CrunchBase, 2010). Facebook was initially created with the purpose of gathering a network group for Harvard students. Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, created Facebook in February 2004. In just a few weeks, more than 30 colleges have already demanding a Facebook network (CrunchBase, 2010).

After connecting with different other profile, other people are allowed to view information on other people. After connected, private information can also be viewed. Popular applications were providing access to Facebook member’s names and their friend’s names to companies that build detailed databases on people in order to track them online (ABC News, 2010).  This can still happen even when the privacy level is set to the maximum, people are still able to view information from a profile. According study did by Emily Steel and Geofrey Fowler (2010), it is not Facebook that allows privacy breach, the application use by the subscriber that permit the access of private information on Facebook. By adding the company would introduce new technology to contain the problem identified (Steel & Fowler, 2010). The 10 most popular applications on Facebook, which include games from Zynga Game, FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker and much more, have been transmitting all this personal information about themselves and their friend’s information to unknown companies (Steel & Fowler, 2010).

Facebook has begun solving this problem since long ago. Facebook developers have set the users privacy control as tight as possible. Facebook introduce new technology to contain the violation, and will deactivate ay applications that ignore its terms. The company has already disabled thousands of applications at times for violating its policies (Steel & Fowler, 2010). Facebook engineer, Mike Vernal states that the developers did not pass the user’s information on purpose, but it happens due to the technical features of how browsers operates (ABC News, 2010).  User’s privacy was the company’s top concern and it would continue to give people more controls, stated by Randi Zuckerberg (ABC News, 2010). Users attempting to access those band applications received either an error message or were reverted to Facebook’s home screen (Steel & Fowler, 2010). 

References:

• ABC News, Facebook admits privacy breach, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/19/3042594.htm>
• Crunch Base, Facebook, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/facebook>
• Steel, E, Fowler, G 2010, Facebook in Privacy Breach, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html>

Advertising code of ethics, meaning, cultural/situational context & representation

Source: http://idryclean.net/images/ad.png

Man should not stay at home, man should work and supports the family. Woman should stay at home and raise their children, woman are weaker therefore man should do all the hard work. Man should act like a man and marry a woman, man who marries the same sex are weak. All this are sexist, it shows no respect to man, woman and even homosexual people. Smith (2010) states that sexism is a form of bias judgement based on gender. Many people uses the term to describe discrimination against women, it also effect men, transsexual, inter-sexuals, along with individuals who abstain from traditional roles and identity (Smith, 2010). Advertisements this day shows a lot bias-ness. We can see female model in computer virus advertisement, it gives an idea of woman are not intelligent enough to take care of a computer.

Sexism is not just about showing bias on gender, it also includes stereotyping the gender itself. Sexism includes attitudes which support that discrimination, such as stereotyping sex roles and generalizing an entire gender (Smith, 2010). Male with well-build body in fragrance advertisement creates a stereotype where man should look physically like the male model in order to be perfect. Female with well-curve body in bikinis advertisement creates the stereotype where woman should look like them in order to attract man. They push the traditional way of viewing the opposite sex where beauty comes form the inside. 


Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) plays a role in filtering all the advertisements before going out to the public. The ASA is the UK's independent watchdog committed to maintaining high standards in advertising for the benefits of consumers, advertisers and society at large (ASA, 2009).


In one of Kathryn Peter's article - Time to kick sexism out of advertising, she talks about sexism and uses one of WKD's 'funny' footballs advertisement. The advertisement shows a very heavy sexist issues when the husband of the family orders the woman to do house chores (Peter, 2010). She then explain about ASA's responsibility. ASA acts as the independent regulator of advertising industry in UK, they enforced rules written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) (Peter, 2010). Peter then states that all this sexist advertisements are released because the ASA are not doing their job well. Complaints are made to the ASA but they rebutted all this released advertisement are "unlikely to cause extensive and significant offense", the ASA also states that "it was intended to be a humorous representation" (Peter, 2010).


Peter states that in order to stop this sexism issue, we, as the people, holding the rights for a citizen should press complaints to the advertising company (Peter, 2010). Therefore, in my own opinion, when we're not satisfy of an advertisement, especially when it's hurtful and offensive, we should complaint. We have the power to define perceptions of what amounts to "the prevailing standards" of our society (Peter, 2010).




References:

• Smith, S 2010, What is Sexism?, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sexism.htm>
• Russell, V 2010, Racism and Sexism, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/racesex/>
• Advertising Standards Authority 2009, About ASA, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA.aspx>
• Perera, K 2010, Time to kick Sexism out of advertising, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/29/kick-sexism-out-of-advertising>