#amymccarthy

It is not hard to see that new media is a powerful tool. It is a part of our lives now and fits in seamlessly, none more so than the internet. I myself spend most of my day somewhat connected to the internet, whether if be on Facebook, Instagram or checking emails. But it's what goes on behind the scenes that is interesting- everything I do can turn in to data that will benefit someone. What is more important though, is what is done with all that data. Coming to conclusions and making predictions is what can make a difference. Predictive data can affect your day in every way possible, from the way you drive, shop, study, vote, watch TV and communicate (Siegel, 2013). A lot of this is to do with marketing, and how consumers are targeting differently according to predictions. Marketing is benefitting hugely from collecting online data. Companies like Netflix show recommendations by making use of data collected from consumers. This way they can suggest what a consumer should purchase next (Shaw, 2014). This form of target marketing is extremely useful and can essentially turn a much larger profit. Similarly companies predict 'mouse clicks' of online advertising. Websites generally pay per click for the advertisements they display, therefore they predict which ad you're more likely to click on (Siegel, 2013). Whenever I'm on Facebook, Google or YouTube the only advertisements that seem to show up are for companies I am actually interested in. It's like they know me really well. You would think with all of this knowledge that companies would take advantage of it. But from my experience this isn't really the case. Companies like General Pants Co, Universal etc have all implemented 'data bases' that send you promotional emails. The idea of this is that every time you make a purchase online or in-store the data base would track your purchases- learn your favourite brands or styles then send you emails accordingly. Whether or not this has actually worked is unsure, but if the program was implemented correctly it could be a huge profit generator. On the other hand, insurance companies have the capabilities to predict if someone is likely to crash a car or injure themselves (Siegel, 2013). An insurance company called Allstate predicts bodily injury liability from car crashes based on the characteristics of the insured car which saves approximately $40 million per year. Obviously there are limits to the accuracy of these predictions, Jay Leno once asked "How come you never see a headline like 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?" (Siegel, 2013). Which is right- "prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future" (Bohr, unknown) because the future IS unknown (Siegel, 2013). REFERENCE LIST: -Shaw, J. (2014, March-April). Why “Big Data ” is a Big Deal. Harvard Magazine. Retrieved from http://harvardmagazine.com/2014/03/why-big-data-is-a-big-deal -Siegel, Eric. 2013. “Introduction – The Prediction Effect.” In Predictive Analytics, 1-16. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc. -The Economist. (2012, June 26). What is Big Data? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahZGEusG13A

With the internet being available for more and more people these days it is interesting to think about what laws and regulations are actually in place to stop the theft of intellectual property and media. It's so easy these days to just go online and copy and paste someone else's work with near zero cost or download a form of media instead of purchasing it. Even now for example I could copy and paste someone else's work and slightly alter it- claiming it as my own. Obviously I wouldn't do this, but the possibility is there. What needs to be addressed is whether or not these laws are actually in place and if they are, does anybody follow them? When it comes to study the rules of assessment/ the institution where you study say that you cannot copy someone else work- but is this the same for everything else? Can people not just see someone's idea and use it as their own? See a picture on an Instagram account and post it as their own? And is this such a horrible thing? When it comes to such small issues maybe not, but it hasn't stopped their, anyone can now go online and download and artists music, a movie or tv show free of charge. It has become almost second nature, and of course this is a crime, but it obviously is still going on. The issue maybe more so comes down to monitoring these offences, the internet is such a multifaceted system that would be impossible to monitor. Not only that, but what punishment would fit and crime and would it really be worth criminalising thousands of people? The idea of a 'win win' situation is the best solution. Business models such as Netflix, spotify and iTunes are great alternatives that reduce the cost of purchasing old media, but gives the consumer the freedom of purchasing in the comfort of their own homes. This solution decriminalises online 'downloading' of media as you are doing such through a pre approved organisation that is still making the artists some money. Reference list Flew, Terry. 2014. “Fair use and the future of copyright.” Internet Law Bulletin, 17 (2): 41-43. Flew, Terry. 2014. “Ch 11: Internet Law, Policy and Governance.” In New Media. 4th ed, 178 – 197. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

•Baron, Naomi. 2008. “Ch 1: Email to Your Brain: Language in an Online and Mobile World.” In Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, 3-10. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Relative surplus value production is in no way a new concept- it is a concept however, that has been made easier for companies with the rise of new media. Relative surplus value production means that productivity is increased so that more surplus value is produced in the same time frame as before. Traditional forms of advertising (eg television, newspapers, radio etc) only allowed companies to advertise one message to every consumer at one time. Now with targeted online advertising companies can show different ads to different consumers in the same time frame -completely based on what will generate more interest depending on the consumer. Companies now have the opportunity to advertise to their consumers more than once, at the exact same time. They do this through targeted online advertising. Advertisers show several advertisements to their audience, a different advertisement for different consumer groups depending on the monitoring, assessment and comparisons of the users interests and online behaviours. Every day when I am surfing the web, checking my Facebook or watching videos on youtube I am faced with online advertisements. I had no idea to what extent these advertisements were tailored to me. Sut Jhally (1987) argued that "reorganising the watching audience in terms of demographics" is a form of relative surplus value production. Which I interpret as reorganising which consumer sees which particular advertisement will help generate sales- a concept that is of course, relative surplus value production. New media and targeted online advertising is raising efficiency for companies as they no longer have to waste time showing an advertisement to a consumer that would not be interested. In fact, the more targeted the advertisement is the better. Companies have the abilities to try their hardest to make sure the content they are advertising is going to the right people, creating more opportunity to make money, whilst also saving money on the advertisements that would not have worked. It becomes more likely that a consumer will click on an ad if they are actually interested in it, I know that is definitely the case for me. Any advertisement that does not interest me isn't even on my radar. Facebook is the perfect example of targeted online advertising for me, the social media platform already has all of my interests right there, in my 'like' pages. A Facebook profile knows your gender, age, relationship status, what movies you like and so much more! How many times I have had a friend tell me that their Facebook ads have turned to an online dating company after a break up is hilarious. Although I don't often click on online advertisements myself, due to the possibly irrational fear that my computer will get a virus from any ad, I definitely notice that all of the advertisements I see are in some ways interesting to me and change depending on what is going on in my life. They even know where I have been online shopping lately and tell me about the sales. The corporations surveillance of us, the consumer enables targeted advertising to attempt to lure us into consumption through manipulation of our desires, needs, interests and lives at that point in time. Targeted online advertising is clearly the way of the future and a complete benefit for companies who hope to increase their relative surplus production. Let's just hope that we, the consumer have the strength to resist! Reference list: Benkler, Y. 2006. The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. Yale University Press. Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.sisudoc.org/sisu/en/pdf/the_wealth_of_networks.yochai_benkler.portrait.a5.pdf Fuchs, Christian. 2014. “The Power and Political Economy of Social Media.” In Social Media: An Introduction, 97 – 125. London: Sage Publications. Amazon Mechanical Turk. 2014. “Mechanical Turk is a marketplace for work.” Accessed March 25, 2014. https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome Sauter, Theresa. 2013. “KCB206 Internet, self and beyond: Week 4 lecture notes”. Accessed March 25, 2014. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_4_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Fannouncement%3Fmethod%3Dsearch%26context%3Dcourse_entry%26course_id%3D_108110_1%26handle%3Dannouncements_entry%26mode%3Dview

Castells M (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, the Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

amymccarthy