Week 6

The One-dimensional Network Society of Manuel Castells

According to Manuel Castells chronical, the three independent processes that were present between 1960’s and 1970’s combine to form a new society. The three processes were an economic crisis, of satism and capitalism , the emergence of the new movements like feminism and environmentalism and information technology revolution. Castell argues that the IT revolution, is to some extent responsible for the fall of the soviet union. The emergence of the new social unions in responded to the crisis of the nation, civil society institutions and democracy in most parts of the world. The three processes have resulted in the new social structure.
The current methods of communication and social science widely support the network approach that is welcomed in the whole world. The approach has everything going with it in in the same direction in large scale expansion in a different type of media networks and social networks. Despite these, it is the main drawback is the formality of its methods and the substantiation of its morphology. Castell also argues that the society disintegrates the social relationships in the society and develops the culture of virtuality. This is therefore a limitation and that the social networks will remain the same because they are contextually embedded. The advancement in technology is leading the society in the direction of the one-dimensional network society. The information age global networks, the prevalence of logic dominance and the penetration in the domination are the only methods that show some differences between the belief and values. Finally, according to Castells, networks, information age, technological advancements and communication has made the society be a machine that cannot be controlled.

Week 7

In Defence of Memes

This week we talked about the term “meme’ which is an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations. Through the reading we had for this week you can see that memes are not passive and do not follow the model of biological infection. This is how we can describe media as a domino effect .It spreads like a disease world wide by people sharing it and posting again and again .

Week 5

Developments in the transmedia industry

Transmedia storytelling is giving people hopes of added integral narrative, institutional coordination, and a deeper involvement when it comes to other pieces of contemporary media elements. The hopes are brought up by the way media consumers and professionals in the industry embrace it. Video game and comic books have developed to be important in the daily consumption of television and film properties. Contemporary convergence culture has made it possible to embrace transmedia entertainment. The process in which stories has gained their route across institutions audience and production cultures have a long history. When people understand transmedia in terms of cultural exchange across different media experience makes it possible for people to recognise traditional processes and understanding the process in which media is currently being spread.
Industrialisation has made it possible for a transmedia culture to start adopting the modern ad dynamic changes in the industry by the use of wide range of media networks, producers, institutions and audiences. Entertainment helps people know more and have a greater Understanding of transmedia history implies that people should know how transmedia has made it in shifts since time in history. Comic too is critical as it in the understanding of transmedia as it helps us in knowing the developments that professionals have undergone in the industry. Transmedia provides convergence of contexts that can be used across a wide range of cultural experiences transmedia entertainment is critical intellectually as its development gives a clear picture of developments that have been achieved in the industry. A good understanding of transmedia evolution is essential as it enable people to have a better understanding of real interventions that transmedia can have in people traditional and cultural models.

Week 4

The Rise and fall Electric Telegraph

Technological advancement has led to the outdating of the electric telegraph as a means of communication. Electric telegraph transmitted signals through wires from the source to the destination that were converted into the message. Claude Chappe invented the non-electric telegraph in 1794. Later, the electric telegraph replaced the optical one. The Crude telegraph was invented in Bavira by Samuel Soemmering. In 1928, Harrison Dyar invented the first telegraph in the USA. In 1825, William Sturgeon, a British inventor, invented electromagnet which formed the foundation of electronic communication. The electromagnetic idea was later use by Joseph Henry (1797-1878) to demonstrate the possibility of distance communication.
Further developments were achieved by Samuel Morse in 1935 when he was a professor at the New York University. He proved that wires were able to transmit signals. He used current pulses to deflect an electromagnet which moved a marker to develop codes written on a piece of paper. With financial empowerment, Samuel Morse and his Associates had access to private funds which helped them to spread their line to Philadelphia and New York. As a result, small telegraph companies were developed and they started their operations in the Midwest, South, and East. Dispatching trains using telegraph began in 1851 and in the same year. Multiplexing was later developed by the Western Union in 1913. This technology could allow transmission of 8 messages, four in each direction simultaneously over a single wire. Later, teleptrinter machines and Varioplex were invented in 1925 and 1936 respectively. Later western union introduced facsimile devices and it inaugurated TELEX in 1959. The inventions by western union therefore lead to the gradual eradication of the electric telegraph.