M1: Compare and Contrast Different Media Platforms and Formats For Delivering Interactive Media Products

Before I plan my own digital media product, I need to evaluate the benefits and limitations of different media platforms already out there. This will help me decide what media product to make and how to design it to make sure it is successful. 

                                            Webpages

Websites are made up of lots of webpages. We use websites for lots of different purposes. Web 1.0 lasted from 1989 to 2004, this was the beginning of websites. Webpages were static and you could not interact with them. Web 2.0 lasted from 2004 to 2012. This era of the web allowed us to interact with the website/web pages and it would interact with us. This was dynamic since we could make comments and the web became interactive.  We are currently in web 3.0, this started in 2012 and currently continues. Web 3.0 is where the web recommends products to us based on our interests and previous activity. YouTube is a great example of this since they recommend videos based on what you have watched in the past. Now that you know the history of websites, I will talk about the pros and cons of web pages.

These are the positives of web pages. Websites can be used for lots of purposes. You can see some examples above: web pages/websites can be used for social media, news, games, music, learning, buying and selling.... This is great since we can find anything we are trying to seach for. The fandom/active audience theory by Henry Jenkins in 2012 says that audiences can now create parodies, memes, fan forums based on their favourite media products or other fans to enjoy. This helps people connect with each other. Globalisation means we can talk to other people from across the globe, talk to each other and learn about cultures. Companies and influencers can distribute their products easily on a global scale. The long tail theory by Chris Anderson in 2004 shows how mass and niche media products can be promoted equally by web 3.0 and niche products can make just as much money as mass products. Niche prosumers (those who create content) like influencers can distribute their content globally to the consumers (those who watch the product.content) and earn a lot of money from this thanks to web 3.0 recommendations.

Here are some negatives of web pages. Although websites can be used for some of the good things I mentioned before, they can also be used for illegal activity. The dark web is an example of this; it is said that lots of illegal activity takes place on here. Fraud, identity fraud and scamming is much easier because of web pages/websites. Some people may post personal information on a public social media page and somone could easily create a profile of them and commit identity fraud. If you go on certain web pages, your device could be infected with viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware.... People can pray on vulnerable people and steal their money/take their bank account as well. As you can see, safety is a major flaw with web pages and criminals are always finding new ways to create an unsafe environment, create new malware to infect more devices. Data breaches are more frequent thanks to websites. For example the NHS had a data breach as someone hacked into their database using ransomware and stole personal information on patients. Web pages can also fuel addictions such as gambling. The global village theory by  theorist Marshall McLuhan states that One day we will live in a global village, technology would connect people from everywhere like we are in a global village; they don't seem far away anymore because of websites/web pages and the internet. Although this is good, this can give power to tribe mentalities. Cyberbullying, trolling, fake news and grooming are just a few examples of how people can bring hard to other using web pages. Not everyone has access to the internet although a lot of places have it. This means that some areas of the world are not connected; the internet can be expensive so it effects third world countries.

                                               Blogs

Blogger and Wordpress are examples of blogging websites. Blogs are usually created to display someone's opinion but they can also be informative; they can include text, images, videos and audio since blogs are usually on a web page for a website that can be accessed by the internet. Some famous bloggers are Noah Kagan, Matt Marshall... 

Here are some positives of blogs. There are lots of different platforms that blogs can be on:  Blogger and Wordpress are just a few examples of blogging websites. Blogger is a free blogging website by Google which makes it easy to find a platform for your blog, even if you don't have money to spend on one or your own website. The best thing about blogs is that bloggers can share their opinions and views of the world. This is brilliant since we are allowed free speech and websites have allowed us to do that. Furthermore, blogs can be informative; they can be focused around different content such as cooking, gardening etc and readers might be able to learn from these blogs. This allows bloggers to add their own tips in too. Creating a community/following is something that is great for bloggers; this helps people feel connected and this means the content will reach the audience. If bloggers are successful, they can earn a lot of money for their blogs; these bloggers can then either blog full time or use blogging as a side hustle to gain extra money.

However, gaining money is really hard to do with blogging. Many people do not read blogs anymore; vlogging is the more modern version of blogging. Blogs are beginning to become a dated concept thanks to the popularity of vlogging. Creating a brand for yourself is extremely difficult when you are only blogging. This is discouraging; if bloggers don't create a brand identity their blogs might not be found and they will be unsuccessful. Negative comments can be common on blogs, especially if they are based on contraversial topics. This can affect the mental health and the drive to create more blogs for the bloggers. They also take a lot of time to create. You have think about what topic you want to focus on, (it is hard to base your blog on an original topic) the target audience and how the blog will be written. A lot of people do not have the time to do this and they can be difficult to create.

 

                                                     Apps

 

 

Apps can be installed on lots of devices such as phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc so this means apps can be portable. Applications can have lots of uses such as shopping, playing games, music... This is efficient for the users since they can find an application for whatever purpose they need one for. Apps are usually available through the Google Play Store and Apple App Store; this is great since most of the apps are bundelled together in one place and easily distributed so users don't have to scower websites to find an app. Apps can be used for businesses to reach their target audience. Younger people are more likely to use an app by their favourite company. Apps can target different sectors of their target audience. Offline use is also another huge advantage of apps. This means that users can take their apps anywhere without internet. App Developers can create money through adverts, micro transactions and the amount of people that use it. Flappy Bird, Pokemon Go are examples of gaming apps that blew up and made lots of money for the developers. Games and social media apps in paticular allows users to tay connected with others around the world (globalisation) which means that they feel close to others who live far away (global village theory).

 On the flip side, apps need to be optimised to the device and it's program version. This is frustrating since developers will need to update the game for each device to stay on the app stores. A team of developers would need to keep the app updated to fix any bugs and keep it updated (add some new content) to stay relevant which is a struggle if there is not a production team behind the app being able to do this. Storage is a huge problem for apps since some platforms such as phones don't have as much storage as computers for example. This can make the app run slow, which therefore would cause bad user comments... They also cost a lot to make and users don't like paying for apps so the only way they would earn money is through methods I explained in the pros paragraph. They will need people to run their customer service help line so they can help users with any problems they may have with the app.

 

                                         CD/DVD/ROM

CDs, DVDs and ROMs are storage devices that we can use. They can contain music, TV shows and movies. They are still used for fans who prefer physical copies of their favourite media products. They are especially great as collectables; some may have extra content and behind the scenes as special extras that some fans may be interested in.

But now, CDs, DVDs and ROMsare old pieces of technology. Lots of people don't own a CD or DVD player anymore which makes them useless. Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney + remove the need for them. If you pay for a subscription, you can see whatever movies or TV shows they offer. Spotify and YouTube music replace music CDs since we can now listen to music on our devices without the need for a CD. Technology has also moved away from these storage hardwares; laptops now don't come with a built in CD or DVD reader. They are harder to distribute compared to online services, they cost to make and it there is a smudge on the disk or it is snapped it will not work. Now they are nearly useless to us since everything is online.

                                                 Kiosks

Kiosks can be found from fast food chains such as Mcdonald's to kiosks we can find of the street. Kiosks are usually used by businesses to either give great customer service or to help them advertise a new product. Places such as Next also use kiosks so customers can input a code and pick up their parcel. Medowhall and Doncaster town center have kiosks to help people find where they are. Kiosks can also be informative. They are great for companies and their customers because they decrease the wait time for the customer, advertise a product to them or help them out in some way. This is a useful piece of technology that we see in our day to day lives when we go out. The large screen has touch screen capability which means that those with disabilities such as visual impairment would be able to use them. For fast food companies, kisoks help them to reduce queues and still get your order to you quickly which is great for you both. Advertising on kiosks outside also also allows companies to reach a wider target audience.

 Kiosks can malfunction easily. This can distrupt service and frustrate customers, leaving the employees with more work and stress. Kiosks also take up a lot of space so it is important that you place them in the right area as not to disrupt anything. Most people ignore kiosks when they are out and they are not helpful for everything.

                                        Interactive/Smart TV

Interactive TV's are the relatively new TV technology our now. They usually have large screens and they are interactive. With smart TV's, you can watch shows on demand a lot easier. Because they can use apps, they can use BBC iPlayer and All 4 for example to let users watch their favourite TV shows on demand. This is not only great for the consumers who watch the movies/TV shows, but also the prosumers since they can make money through adverts when users watch them (this is not the case for BBC iPlayer however since it is a PSB company and uses tax money to create content for everyone). You can also play games on live TV's and surf the web. Voice activation is a perk of some smart TV's, it saves you time instead of having to tediously type every letter in with the remote. Some smart TV's allow shows/movies to be watched in 3D which is a neat feature for those who love 3D movies in paticular.

However, it is very hard to play the games or surf the web because of the TV remote; the remote is not suitable for gaming and the TV isn't the best for surfing the web. Smart TV's can also be a security risk since they pick up on personal information. Internet connectivity issues are something that can happen to smart TV's.

                               Mobile Devices/Smart Phones

 

 Smart phones are everyday devices we all use. They are blackbox devices and are the result of technological convergence (coming of technologies into one device). Smart phones are also very small so they are perfect for portable use. Because they are touch screen , they are easy for everyone to use compared to other platforms. You can get apps on your phone, call people using the microphone, play music through the speakers, read, message, find a place using the location feature.... Phones can use wifi networks when out and about which means it is free for smart phone users. 

On the other hand, smart phone screens are too small for some things. For example, some websites won't be optiised for smart phones so users cannot use some features or see the whole website properly in smart phone view. Cyberbullying is more common because of smart phones; everyone has their phone on them so they can be bullied through text messages as well or phone calls if someone has their number. Security is a huge risk with mobile devices. Since we spend most of our time on our phones, important personal information such as bank details can be stolen if the user goes onto a bad website or app that downloads a virus or spyware to take this data. Phone scams are also increasingly common. Messages from unknown numbers saying you need to pay for a parcel or scammers ringing up and saying your bank account is at risk so you need to transfer money and they ask you for your details. Vulnerable people might fall for these scams and be left out of pocket because of them. 

 

 

 

                How Do These Media Platforms Compare?

In my opinion, webpages and smart phones are the best formats for delivering media platforms which is why I will create a website for my media product. Webpages can be used for everything unlike kiosks and they don't take up a lot of storage since websites are accessed by the internet. CDs, DVDs and ROMs can only be used once; they don't have a lot of storage and USB drives replace these. Apps can also take up a lot of storage if they don't compact it. Websites can be used on lots of devices such as smart phones, Smart TVs etc. This is great since anyone can access websites through these devices if you have WIFI. Blogs, CDs, DVDs and ROMs are old technologies whereas websites and smart phones are still relevant. The only problem with websites and smartphones that most of the other platforms don't have are security and safety risks. The users will have to be vigilant and security software such as AVG will protect them against viruses. Phones are a product of technological convergance which makes them much more useful than the other platforms.

I will also evaluate the best platform being used for different purposes. I believe that websites are the best format for news. Everybody can access the news through the internet and they won't have to download an  app for android or IOS which would be off-putting for audiences who want to access the news straight away. For watching movies/TV shows, interactive TVs are the best platform when you are staying at home. This is because they have lots of streaming services installed (like Netflix, All 4) and any channels you paid for all in one place on a big screen. However, when out and about, smart phones/mobile devices are great for this. However they are much smaller screens, the apps will take up space or you would need to use mobile data if there is no WIFI. The experience is not as good either since there will be background noise from everything happening around you and the screens are so small. TVs, apps and websites are the best formats for gaming. TVs have large screens which makes it ideal for gaming since the graphics will be very detailed. Gaming consoles such as Xboxes can be linked to TVs so lots of games can be played. Gaming apps can be installed from the Google Play Store or Apple store onto a phone, computer, tablet... So this means these apps can be played on a portable device which is great. However, the apps need to be installed so this will take up some storage space on your device. Club Penguin, MovieStarPlanet, Moshi Monsters are just a few examples of gaming websites that you can/could play. Unlike apps, you don't need to install these and all you need is a device that can connect to the internet (even smart TV's can connect to the internet now).