The world of social media is what Paul Levinson calls New New Media. New new media has changed the way my friends and I receive news. Printed information such as news paper and magazine articles have become a thing of the past. we now seek information by way of the Internet. We talk by the way of text messages, twitter and other social media outlets. We no longer rely on the television, radio broadcast or media print for up to date information. We use our cell phones and computers to keep us informed of information about our favorite entertainers or news in general.
The days of sitting and waiting to watch a scheduled program are long gone. We used to schedule school classes and other events around a favorite television show. Now with the help of the Internet we can view these on shows on Hulu, Netflix or the shows website to stay current. We no longer have to wait on the re-runs to air to find out what we missed.
In addition to receiving news, new new media allows us to take care of our errands on line as well. You can purchase food, clothing, pets, and just about anything via the Internet. For the consumers who do not like the hassle of shopping in store you can now shop from the convenience of your home. Store websites, Amazon, Ebay and so on have become our best friends.
New new media has also allowed unknown artist to have an outlet to display there work. Artist can load their work on to Youtube and millions of people may view their work. Achieving 15 minutes of fame has become easier to achieve. Links are shared between friends and if your video is good or funny you may have a billion hits in a matter of minutes. Artists who may never have sold one record now have a chance to sell at least 1 record to someone who comes across their work. If these artist are able to obtain a true fan base, as the Blog by 1000 True Fans says then they may be able to have a comfortable life producing work. They could be just one click away from being a star.
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Yeah, “the days of sitting and waiting 2 watch a scheduled program are long gone.” I try 2 watch Pretty Little Liars every Tuesday night..but if I have a lot of homework to do or if I have to work…i can’t watch the show…but it’s no big deal…I’m like whatever…I’ll catch it online or on-demand. This type of viewing is so convenient.
Since I cut the cable cord a few years ago I watch TV exclusively on Netflix or from shows bought on iTunes or Amazon. So I am usually behind everybody else (NO SPOILERS), but on the other hand, I can watch on my own schedule, and NO COMMERCIALS. Every time I am in a hotel or at someone’s house with cable, I remember just how annoying it is to sit through 15 minutes of ads. I am definitely someone who would pay for the privilege of being ad-free. I just wish more companies (HBO, I’m looking at you) would provide alternative content streams for people like me.
I agree, this new media has given us a sense of entertainment independence. We are no longer help hostage by inconvenient viewing times or commercials. I am very interested to see where technology can take us when it comes to taking in our favorite forms of entertainment.
I have never sat down to watch the news unless I knew something I was interested in was going to be discussed. In the age group that I am in, I went from being young enough to not care about watch the news, straight into being able click a button and have all the news that I want to know, updated to me whenever I want. I really only use Facebook and Twitter to update me on matters of today, unless like I said, I know previously that something I am interested in is being broadcasted on television. I also do take a huge advantage of DVR on the select amount of live programming I watch because of inevitable conflicts with both work and school. It’s a disadvantage for the big name television companies for me to not always sit down and watch what I want live, but they will just have to adjust to the situation.
I agree that ways we watch TV have evolved. I have DirectTV AppleTV with netflix and hulu accounts because I like the fact that I can always find something entertaining to watch. I like having cable because I try to stay current and sometimes have people over to watch shows like MAD MEN and Walking Dead. I also buy some seasons on blu ray if its worth buying (Boardwalk Empire!). There are so many TV shows to watch and now it is becoming easier for anyone to watch at anytime.
I don’t think I would be able to survive without my DVR. I don’t remember what life was like before I had it but it must have been horrible! I rarely watch TV live, unless it’s for a show that I would vote for like Dancing with the Stars. Most days when I come home, I’ll watch the shows that have been recording all day while the shows that are currently on are recording and then after I’ve watched the shows that were recorded during the daytime, I’ll watch the shows that recorded at night and sometimes I’ll have to watch some of the recordings next day which then creates a giant ripple effect.
Even if I’m sitting in my living room and am available to watch a show live I always record it and start watching it about 20-30 minutes in so I can skip over most of the commercials. The only issue I have with DVR is that if the show runs over a little bit, the show doesn’t get recorded until the end which has happened to me a couple of times and really pissed me off. Hopefully one day the DVR will be able to detect when the show runs over and continue recording. Some company that has a recording device (maybe DISH?) called the Hopper that can record up to 6 shows at once, while comcast’s can only record 2 shows at a time. Because of the Hopper, a person could literally sit for hours upon end watching shows and avoiding commercials.