Advancing technology opens door for creative ways to retrieve news

The expansion of the Web allows for new technology

One-layered methods of collecting data have become a thing of the past. The digital media revolution has expanded in such a way that has enabled various sources and methods to obtain information. Current trends have shown an upgrade in all things “Web”. The recent 2.0 format is gradually being replaced with the 3.0 layout, which is essentially an extension of already existing techniques. The vast differences are seen in the technology and features associated with this new design. 3.0 allows for a faster, smoother, more effective means of gathering and sharing information. Ever-developing smart systems are enabling sites to become increasingly interactive. Sites now customize and personalize the needs and wants of the users and link different individuals with their interests. This results in an increase in the amount of data that services provide. The systems also enable users to share and update new information.

Businesses have benefited greatly from the 3.0 model and continue to use digital media as source for reaching consumers. Company information is distributed via integrated media (the web, television, and mobile devices. They can now “advertise by format” and deign campaigns that are compatible to today’s Smart technology devices (i.e. I-pads). A business’ number one priority should always be to the company in a way that is relatable to today’s consumers.

Expansion in media changes the way we view news

The 3.0 model gives way to innovative methods of viewing world news. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet, the American Life Project and the Project for Excellence in Journalism, the Internet is now a more popular source for news, versus print newspapers and the radio. That makes online news third most popular news platform overall, coming close behind only national and local television news. Trends show, however, that consumers retrieve their information through a variety of sources:

• Nearly 60% of Americans get daily news from both Internet and print sources.
• 46% obtained news from four to six media platforms per day, while only 7% get news from a single platform.
• 33% of cell phone owners access news on their portable phones.
• 28% of Internet users have a homepage personalized with news sources, and 37% have participated in news creation, commentary and dissemination.

Cellular news moves to the top of the pack:

As discussed in previous lectures, there has been a progressive increase in cell phones usage as a mass medium. The number of cell phones already exceeds the world’s population and it is predicted that the world will have 10 billion mobile devices in 2016. Cell phones are beginning to enter heavily in the news market. A new app entitled Unfold News Reader (which currently serves Androids and Tablets), uses RSS feeds to categorize and organize a user’s favorite news links. In addition, the Reader resizes text/font to best suit the viewer and favorites sites and links that they want to refer back to at a later time. It also linked directly to social networking sites and email service providers for fast and efficient ways of sharing news.

Mixed Feelings about news retrieval:

Although most readers have succumbed to the technological revolution (for only 7% of Americans get their news daily from one place), many are still wary about receiving news from various sources. They find the data to be overwhelming when not in print form. They also fear that sources other then print contain the potential for bias or inaccuracy.