As I spend a semester abroad at the moment, the internet is a massive support to keep in touch with my relatives and friends at home.
Several years back it wasn't that easy to keep in contact with all the people you love. Deciding to leave the home country to study or to work abroad necessarily meant to be on one's one. The only way to get on to your family or friends was to send them a letter. But it could take up to weeks until the letter actually reached them and another couple of weeks till you got their response. The telephone improved the situation as it allowed people to get in contact without time delay. Unfortunately, calling a person far away was always very expensive so that you still couldn't talk to them regularly.
The internet builds a huge effort in that regard. Due to platforms and services such as skype and blogs, you are able to immediately inform your relatives and friends at home about what you're doing and bothering. The internet for example provides you the opportunity to write a blog about your time abroad or to have a real-time-chat with the persons at home.
Me, for instance, I use to blog about my experiences at uni, with my housemates and all the persons I get to know in Bournemouth. Furthermore, I post a sample of all the pictures I take on facebook and I usually chat with my friends and my family several times a week.
To sum it up, the internet acts like an intermediator with my life at home and my life at Bournemouth.
Montag, 20. Februar 2012
Sonntag, 19. Februar 2012
What have I learned so far?
I already was into the topic since I had two similar units called 'strategic communication on the internet' and 'online PR' in Germany. But given that online communications especially on the Web 2.0 is one of my favorite fields of interests, the unit really helped me to dip in further and gain a practical as well as an international overview.
Firstly, I really appreciate the practical approach of the unit as studying in Germany always is very theoretical. That's why I was familiar with terms such as Usability or Adwords before, but I haven't had the possibility to have a shot at it. Hence, I also decided to take the Usability In-Practice-Project.
Secondly, I already have known a lot of very good and efficient interactive campaigns. But my knowledge has been limited to German campaigns so far. The unit gave me the opportunity to get to know many international, especially British examples and in that way it really enlightened me.
Firstly, I really appreciate the practical approach of the unit as studying in Germany always is very theoretical. That's why I was familiar with terms such as Usability or Adwords before, but I haven't had the possibility to have a shot at it. Hence, I also decided to take the Usability In-Practice-Project.
Secondly, I already have known a lot of very good and efficient interactive campaigns. But my knowledge has been limited to German campaigns so far. The unit gave me the opportunity to get to know many international, especially British examples and in that way it really enlightened me.
Mittwoch, 8. Februar 2012
Am I happy trading 'free' internet for loss of my privacy?
I hold the opinion, that the internet offers both advantages as well as disadvantages.
On the one hand, the internet provides the possibility to get sort of digital identity to everybody. Users are given access to publicity: Everyone is able to compile and publish contents and therefore create publicity. In that way, the users gain a digital voice: They can become visible and important for various stakeholders.
On the other hand, by acting in the manner described the users leave their digital footprint in the internet for several reasons:
1. Persistence: Contents will be saved.
2. Searchability: Contents can be found with the aid of search engines.
3. Replicability: Contents can be duplicated and often you aren't able to distinguish between the origin and the copy.
4. Hidden audiences: It's unbelievable hard to estimate the size and the structure of your audiences.
That's why the more contents about your attitudes and opinions you create the more you loses your privacy. Becoming visible in the internet means becoming transparent as well.
In my eyes, adolescent internet users are the best example for this matter of fact: There are plenty of blogs and websites where young users tend to make a note of everything- their thoughts and feelings, their problems and experiences. They use their blog as their diary and they aren't aware of the fact that everybody's capable of reading it.
That's why, in my eyes, it's vitally necessary
a) to be aware of the loss of privacy by using the internet and to improve the own media literacy
b) to have good regulations that shelter and protect the users.
In that way, the free internet not necessarily means a total loss of privacy!
On the one hand, the internet provides the possibility to get sort of digital identity to everybody. Users are given access to publicity: Everyone is able to compile and publish contents and therefore create publicity. In that way, the users gain a digital voice: They can become visible and important for various stakeholders.
On the other hand, by acting in the manner described the users leave their digital footprint in the internet for several reasons:
1. Persistence: Contents will be saved.
2. Searchability: Contents can be found with the aid of search engines.
3. Replicability: Contents can be duplicated and often you aren't able to distinguish between the origin and the copy.
4. Hidden audiences: It's unbelievable hard to estimate the size and the structure of your audiences.
That's why the more contents about your attitudes and opinions you create the more you loses your privacy. Becoming visible in the internet means becoming transparent as well.
In my eyes, adolescent internet users are the best example for this matter of fact: There are plenty of blogs and websites where young users tend to make a note of everything- their thoughts and feelings, their problems and experiences. They use their blog as their diary and they aren't aware of the fact that everybody's capable of reading it.
That's why, in my eyes, it's vitally necessary
a) to be aware of the loss of privacy by using the internet and to improve the own media literacy
b) to have good regulations that shelter and protect the users.
In that way, the free internet not necessarily means a total loss of privacy!
Montag, 6. Februar 2012
What does interactivity mean to me?
Interactivity
What comes to my mind at first when I think about interactivity is the dialogue between human beings. The expression interactivity therefore describes two-way-communication as opposed to the traditional one-way-communication.
Social Web
In my eyes, the flagship of interactivity is the social web. It enables everybody to create its own content and make it available to other users. Therefore, every user is able to reach publicity and to get in touch with other users by interacting, sharing knowledge, spinning networks.
Mass Media
That's why interactivity contradicts the functioning of the mass media: One sender (e.g. the press or the TV) wants to reach as many receivers as possible. In the present the mass media struggle to adapt to the given challenges of the Social Web.
Public Relations
So, what are the effects of interactivity on companies? Organisations have to adapt their public relations to the new needs of the targets. It's vital to grant the opportunity to give feedback and to interact with the company.
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