Many media analysts blame the demise of newspapers on the industry’s late entry into online journalism. They argue that most newspaper owners were too set in their printing press ways and failed to realize the economic threat of the Internet.
Today, as many newspaper executives spend increasing amounts of capital on Web site development, I wonder how many of them have considered that stand-alone Web sites could soon die a similar death as ink-on-paper editions.
With so much traffic driven by social networks, the most obvious being Facebook and Twitter, it’s not hard to imagine a day when most readers rarely visit stand-alone news sites. It’s also not hard to imagine mobile devices with custom feeds that users set to receive news on selected topics. It’s truly not hard to imagine because a few tech-savvy folks already consume their news this way.
What does this mean for local newspapers that want to establish brand loyalty with readers? It could mean that the economic model for the future will rely on charging readers a few pennies per story via some sort of online accounting system. Charging a monthly subscription fee for access to a stand-alone site probably won’t interest enough consumers. And it’s difficult to understand the economic viability of online content continuing to be free for everyone.
I’m no media prophet, so I won’t predict the imminent death of dotcom journalism. But I sense its life expectancy may be decreasing.
The phrase “augmented reality” sounds like a convenient euphemism for hallucinogenic drugs, but it may best be described as putting captions on the real world.
Cell phones already seem like they are merely extensions of our hands. Augmented reality software could make some rabid users want to embed the devices surgically into their palms. In theory, augmented reality could soon alter our sensory processing of the physical world.
For teenagers who are already accustomed to non-stop texting, this could merely be the next step in a logical evolution. I supposed in its most simple uses on a cell phone, augmented reality is not much different than reading a map. I’m not ready for a 3-D reading experience that requires high-tech goggles, though.
For now, I’ll mentally compose my own biased captions as I process the physical world around me. I vaguely remember playing in bands many years ago that attempted to augment reality.
Like many other conscientious objectors/non-viewers, I believe the concept of reality television contradicts itself. If a video camera is present, most of us tend to become self-conscious, self-absorbed, self-centered and/or self-acclaimed. We become actors. Our actions aren’t real and in extreme cases we may temporarily lose touch with reality.
That certainly seems to be the case with Richard Heene. Balloon boy’s father craved the attention of 24-hour television cameras to the extreme that he seems to have sacrificed his own scientific sense and may even have jeopardized his son’s mental well being.
Heene’s attorney, David Lane, made the rounds with interviewers this week, arguing that handcuffing the Heenes in front of television cameras would be too traumatic for the children to see. Isn’t this considerably more ironic than the examples in a certain Alanis Morissette song?
I’ve even heard a few entertainment analysts suggest that Heene’s alleged hoax ultimately could be successful, and that many people eventually will be interested in a reality show that features Heene and his family. That would be repulsive, just like most of reality television.
On Saturday night I watched a local band that used backing tracks and programmed stage lighting for all songs. I know this has been common practice for many years, but I was struck at the extent to which an entity that promotes itself as a live band resembles karaoke. A drummer, bassist and single guitarist churned out ’80s anthems complete with pre-recorded rhythm and guitar tracks, synthesizer sounds and backing vocals.
This didn’t seem to bother anyone but my friends and me. I know it’s common practice for many major artists, including Bruce Springsteen during the Super Bowl halftime show. Still, on a local, small-scale level, I expect a venue that advertises live music to hire bands that are less than half synthetic.
I don’t think audiences necessarily expect a perfect rendition of a song. The problem may be that some musicians fear the limits of their own abilities. To me, the challenge and potential reward of a band is to work creatively within the limitations of the band’s instruments and members.
