Since we are on the topic of Mass Communication, I wish to talk about the use of new media in our environment.
According to a Channel News Asia article by Satish Cheney(click me), Singapore is moving towards the intesive use of new media for government related works. In many of our eyes, government related issues are for adults(well, these information are non exclusive and are designed to reach out to the public). They read the long and boring print which will convey to them the important informations. Now, because of the liberal use of new media, we see more exciting manners of communication from the government to the people.
Communicating to large audiences is not easy. To be able to communicate effectively to large audiences, the most important thing would be to provide a service that people need and bring their attention to it.
For example, unemployment is an issue that we all concern about. By using the new media platforms such as the popular networking site Facebook, the citizens are able to voice actively their views and concerns to the government.
The October issue of Temasek Review(click me) talks about the future of new media in Singapore. The writer brought up that in the new media scene, there are three major stakeholders, namely the Bloggers, Journalists and Readers. Indeed, in a country with people of cultures as diverse as you can possibly imagine, developing a good method for mass communication through channels such as new media is very important.
What would you do, if you are the person deciding how to disseminate information to the masses in a culturally diversed society?
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Hi...
ReplyDeleteNew media is definitely on the rise in terms of popularity as well as attention given to it. Using it to disseminate information to the public, especially the younger demographic is probably quite effective. However, I feel that the same cannot be said for feedback, as feedbacks on these new media platforms are often not taken very seriously by the government.
It is evident that the new media is indeed getting more attention, just looking at social sites that help advertise products and services. Well, of course, if the portrayal of the information is wrong in the different cultures, not only will it be ignored, the people of the country may come after the sender.
ReplyDeleteHello Chris
ReplyDeleteHmm. The government is certainly paying more attention to what is being discussed on the new media since new media is the 'in' thing now any many netizens actually post many constructive comments...It being a platform to voice out unhappiness or encouraging words and all....
Hello Charlene
ReplyDeleteHmmm, culturally, it would be tough to make sure that particular information conforms to all cultural's norms.
While the increasing importance of the new media cannot be denied, it seems foolish to assume that more traditional media has become less effective (which is what the entry seems to suggest). Perhaps it would have been better to highlight how new media is actually more effective then traditional media when the cultural diversity of Singapore is taken into account (the links between the two were not sufficiently well-drawn).
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, however, in disseminating facts, new media such as blogs will never replace traditional media such as newspapers or official news stations, precisely because of their informal nature and general (un)reliability. Perhaps a distinction can be made, however, between dissemination of news items, for instance, and advertising. Advertising carried out through new media may be much more effective than through traditional media, because of the dynamic nature and simple accessiblity of the new media. On informal platforms (new media), it might also be easier to make appeals to the emotion, either through the publishing of content which may be unsuitable for the more formal traditional media, or through using languages of solidarity (Singlish or code-switching as commonly used in informal contexts in Singapore).
Spreading the same idea across different medias may actually be an unwise decision, as different target audiences are drawn to different medias. It would be best if the media thinks about their target audiences and act accordingly, as having too much of the same idea may change it into 'noise' instead.
ReplyDeleteI think the use of new media is more efficient in disseminating important information to the public. It makes communication convenient and fast for people and opinions and feedback can be gathered in a shorter period of time. However the trustworthiness of the information can be compromised when the information that is being disseminated is conveyed through many people as it can easily get distorted and discounted.
ReplyDeleteThe new media is an attention grabber. We see it all over. Its undeniable. I guess censorship and dicretion still has to come in the play in giving certain feedback on different issues. Noting the conext, the people and their culture is imparative so as not to offend anybody.
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