Audience Consumption of New Technology - Downloading Music

Downloading music from your computer has become one of the largest internet phenomenons to date. Through active internet connections and by having a system such as ‘Limewire’ or ‘Kazaa’ installed on your computer, you can download (illegally) music from anyone else who is also using these systems. Alternatively through databases such as i-tunes, at cheap costs you can buy tracks and albums online. With fee paying systems, the music downloaded actually contributes to the current music chart when deciding song positioning, it’s not all based on what is bought in shops.

Audiences are able to get music easily and cheaply from the internet. The music transfers directly to your PC and once it is downloaded it is yours to keep. It can be played immediately and can be distributed amongst friends. It’s an alternative to going to a shop and buying a CD because the whole thing is done in the comfort of your own living room. Likewise, if you’re buying a CD from Amazon, there is still a delivery time (usually a few days) where as a download arrives straight to your computer within minutes. The downloading phenomenon has mainly affected teenagers and young adults who generally have less money to spend on things such as music and if there is a cheap or free alternative, they understandable would jump at the chance.

Unfortunately, with programs such as Limewire where downloading is free, the music creators actually lose out. Whenever you buy a CD from the shop part of the money spent goes to the producer (such as The Strokes, Jamie T or 50 Cent). However with illegal downloads there is no prophet made because people instead of buying the CD are getting the song for free. However companies such as Apple make sure the producers get money (as well as themselves) by charging people affordable prices for the music).

New Phenomenon - Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii is the latest creation by Nintendo. It's the only games console of its type, capitalising on infrared technology like no one has ever done before to create a new gaming experience for the consumer. It also has and online internet connection where owners of the console can visit webpage such as goodle or myspace and input, the whole time browsing with the wii remote. Soon there will be games available to play online but at the moment Nintendo are still testing for bugs. Farthermore you can play Nintendo Gamecube games on the Wii, with slots at the top of the console for retro controllers and memory cards. There is also a memory card slot in the front of the machine which works like a memory card. Players can take saved data to friends houses and even store pictures which can be then transferred through the internet.

This new technology provides the audience with a new gaming experience. The games are far more interactive because the wii remote follows the actions of the player. Say for instance you are playing a shooting game, by pointing the remote at the screen it can be used as a gun. In 'Excite Truck', turning the Wii remote on its side can be used as a steering wheel as you race at the wheel of a monster truck. More famously the Wii remote can be used as a variety of sporting gear in the 1st game ever produced, Wii sports. It can be either a tennis racket, a golf club, a bowling ball, a baseball bat and by attaching the nunchuck (an additional controller) it can even be used to box with. All of these things involve the consumer into the product to make the entire gaming experience more fun.

Nintendo are the only people that benefit from this product. From the main menu there are icons that link the player to either a game on an inserted disk, news updates provided from Nintendo, a weather forcast provided by Nintendo, a feedback forum where players can leave comments regarding the Wii and even an online Nintendo store where players can purchase retro games for their console through the console itself. With a credit card you can buy old games such as 'Mario Kart' for the N64 and even more ancient arcade games such as PacMan.

This technology is attempting to move gaming into the next level. It's moving away from the conventional 2D gaming and finding ways to involve the consumer more, like a 3D simularion in a sense. On release date the Wii sold out in hours and it was over 2 months before stores srated stocking them due to their high demand. This alone shows how the Wii will revolutionise gaming as we know it.

Free Choice - Chicken Run DVD

It's a widely known fact that Chicken Run is one of the greatest films known to man kind and when it was released on DVD i became hysterical. The DVD is an alternative way to view films and gives a more personal experience when seeing the film. With DVD technology you can watch a better quality film than on VHS and with the additional features you can interact with the film as well, watching extras, trailer clips, video game clips as well as the directors running commentary.

With the extra features, the audience can have a more personal experience with the film. After a regular viewing of Chicken Run, there are a range af extras to choose from. You can watch the official trailers that were screened at the time of cinema release as well as a teaser trailer which is a little bit longer. There is running directory commentary throughout the film so you can watch it with the directors explaining how they did each perticular shot and how they created the characters. Farthermore you can watch clips from every Aardman Animation production made to date, with clips from all the Wallice and Gromit films as well as very early stop/start animations done dating back to 1989. There is also a trailer for the Chicken Run play station 1 game in which scenes from the game are showed. All of these things involve the audience and they are able to interact with the fantastic film on a new level.

Through the extras, Aardman Animations are able to promote earlier work of theirs as well as selling their video game. Hopefully by informing the audience through thr running commentry of the complexity of making stop/start animation, people will go out and buy other things made by them in appreciation. The teaser trailers also hopefully will attract people to their products.

The DVD is replacing VHS. With a better quality picture and additional features, it is clearly a better advance in technology and the consumer gets more for their money and just generally enjoy the whole thing a lot more.

Convergence - PSP

The PSP is a new(ish) product produced by Sony that, as well as being primarily a games console, has alot more to offer than the PS1, PS2 and to some extent the newly released PS3. It is a portable hand held piece of machinery that is a games console and an mp3 player with additional access to the internet. It is effectivly a handheld video game computer.

This has a massive impact on audience. They now have an all in one piece of technology that is imporantly portable. Access to the internet means they can do whatever they want, be it related to gaming or otherwise. They can visit website, do online banking and even download things. Farthermore you can upgrade your PSP technology by downloading the software from the sony website. The online gaming system makes gaming more competitive and thus more fun. By playing against players worldwide tips and hints can also be shared. If your PSP doesn't have an active internet connection then with bluetooth technology you can still play against people within a reasonble distance.

Sony have made massive prophets on the PSP. As it's been marketed as a new convenient way of gaming it has attracted massive sales. The internet technology anywhere means no wires with more and more people buying, Sony are definatly smiling to themselves. Adcertising agencies have also phropheted too. In some games these companies subliminally advertise their products by paying money to Sony and the game producers. McDonalds for example have had their trademark 'M' imputted into the hit game Grand Theft Auto andit appears throughout the game.

The PSP is replacing both the old fashioned PS models (as well for other models such as Nintendo) and also computers. The convenience is definatly a factor and it can be taken anywhere anytime. Definatly a gaming revolution.

Broadcaster Sub-Section - SKY Sports

Factual Information

Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of 9 channels. Sky Sports is the dominant pay-television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1990, sometimes playing a large role in inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged the FA Premier League to break away from the Football League in 1992.
Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, and Xtra are available as a premium package on top of the basic package. These channels are also available as options on nearly every cable system in the UK and Ireland. Unlike the other channels, Sky Sports News is provided as part of the basic package and also broadcasts on Freeview.


How does it relate to audiences?

Sky sports target audience can, in its simplest form be broken down to targeting one main group; men. Although men like a wide variety of things and not just sport, it’s clear by the way they present the coverage of sport as well as the adverts sky promotes that men are the main target. The entire layout of the webpage is quite sharp and hardlined which appeals to men, accompanied by the fact that all the people on the homepage are famous sportsmen that generally men will know rather than women. Because sport is dominated by men worldwide, it isn’t a surprise that they are they target of the website. Although Sky Sports is perhaps best known for its football coverage, due to this it suffers a loss of viewers in the summer when no football is played.


How does it relate to institutions?

The main institution involved is obviously sky because it is their television channel. However, other institustions such as ‘The FA’ and ‘The Rugby League’ are involved. Farthermore, sponsors that endorse the poroduct such as the ‘Barclays Premier League’ or ‘The Heineken Cup’ prophet from the website. There are also adverts on the website such as ‘Playstation 3’, ‘Dell PC’s’ and ‘Xbox 360’ in which competitions advertise the newest technology available.
Sky are the main benifitters however and the website has many adverts and campaigns selling the new Sky + system as well as package deals for sky, not nececcarily related to sport. Obviously the likes of Sony and Dell have to pay to put their adverts on the site which gets sky more money. It’s a known fact that technology such as the Xbox appeals more to men than women so its clear that the companies have put their adverts on a mainly male visited site for a reason; so men can see them. Not to be stereotypical but the chances of seeing makeup being advertised are slim to none because the advertising companies know that they aren’t going to make any sales by putting them there.


Media texts/content

· Multiple sports, football, rugby, golf, cricket, nfl, nba, formula 1 (just to name a few)
· Games: Xbox – Brian Lara cricket 2007, PS3 – Vitrua tennis 3, Sky sports fun and games, skybet to some extent
· Video clips + highlights of all the recent sporting events from all sports, live streaming of the cricket world cup as well as hundreds of match reports and other upcoming news written by the sport teamProgrammes of all sporting types, the foorball premier league, the darts premier league, NFL (afc and nfc), rugby union/league.

VLog - Sealab

Sealab is a series that features on youtube as well as many other video data bases online. It is also aired on bravo under a creater name known as 'adult swim'. On youtube there are many episodes available and are listed in chronological order. The episodes follow a group of animated characters based on a underwater laboratory where they seem to do anything but work.

This perticular episode is one of the many episode in the sealab series in which characters in the underwater lab suffer a series of disturbing deaths at the arrival of a joy, the grief counceller.



Youtube is an online database where anyone can create an account and upload any video of their choice onto the internet for others to see. People can publicise their own cartoons and create a fan base, or can simply upload comical videos for other people to appreciate. If someone stumbles upon on of your videos and they like it, they can click another link to view other videos uploaded by the same person.

In terms on institutions youtube gains mass publicity (not to mention that over 300,000 videos are uploaded daily. Infact most institutions lose out when it comes to youtube. Because anything can be uploaded onto youtube, the most frequent things are television clips or parts of movies or entire television series. This means that they lose out on merchandise sales because people can watch their stuff for free on the internet. This is also similar with music videos. The premiership are currently fighting a battle with youtube to prevent football footage being shown on youtube because they lose out.

Independant Website - pat-ball

www.pat-ball.com is a website dedicated to the underground sport that is pat-ball. Set up by Chris Jenkins (founder of the WPBO) it is a place where fans of pat-ball can register themselves as official players of the sport and assign themselves to a team in preperation for the pat-ball championships on the 23rd June. The only technology involved is the internet and the website where players can interact with eachother to learn more about the sport.

It appeals to any lover of pat-ball. It encourages people to sign up through the log-in system and become affiliated players who can compete on an international stage later in the year. There are feedback forums where players can leave comments on rules and pitch sizes, a place where people can post their own individual scores to be updated to the league table and also a team homepage where teams can update photographs and other personal information related to their team. These profiles are available for everyone to see and it builds tension leading up to the championships. There is a featured player of the month column where selected players are asked 10 questions in relation to themselves and pat-ball.



Because pat-ball is an underground sport there aren't any institutional organisations benefitting from the website. The actual tornament itself will be relitavely small in comparison to other sporting events and the founders of the website have created it purely so lovers of pat-ball have a place to share this love and fight for the title of world pat-ball champions. There are no advers on the site promoting products from other companies.



There are a few media texts mentioned but they are all related to the same website. There are multiple links to an additional world pat-ball website and as well as an individual link to the WAPP - world associated pat-ball players where players can register to get frequent updates on the sport as well as having a say on the official rulings.

Podcast - Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is a popular and well established british comedian who is famous for not just his live acts (Politics, Animals and the more recent Fame) but also his hit sitcoms 'The Office' and 'Extras'. However, he has also released a series of podcasts which are currently Britains most downloaded podcast. A podcast is either an audio or video file where most commonly celebrities have either logged events or are talking about upcoming events. In Ricky Gervais's case however they are usually comical as he either about a subject or videos himself acting oddly. He himself has released a handful of series that are downloadable on either i-tunes or the Ricky Gervais website.

In series one, listeners were encouraged to contribute stories to the weekly 'Monkey News' feature. In series two an autograph of Karl Pilkington was up for grabs if you could solve Karl's 'clues' for his 'Rockbusters' game. In series four, Ricky offered signed goodies if listeners could answer vague questions such as "Do you want 'em?". There is also a range of videos such as series 8 where Ricky Gervais is wandering around the Extras studio, having trusted Karl Pilkington to look after his office at home. Big mistake.

It is interactive for the audience because they can either post comments on the podcasts and even write their own things to be mentioned in the next one. The podcast is made for the people so this interactivity element makes it more appealing. Ricky Gervais himself gains massivly from the podcasts. Firstly it was the first podcast that had to be paid for and because it is britatins podcast top seller he has made a large prophit from it. Farthermore it spreads the word of Ricky Gervais and builds up a loyal fan base which will help him in his career

Blog - Myspace

Myspace is an internet phenomenon where a user can create and personalise their own individual webpage on the internet. There are hundreds of things to do, from posting blogs, chatting to friends, uploading their favourite pictures and music and generally making their own page in their own self image, the myspace craze is far from over. It is ultimately a large forum where people can learn more about friends, have in depth online discussions or simply post a comment to a friend. Effectively it is an attempt to replace telephone conversations or other forms of communication between friends. Through the use of internet technology, people can fully communicate with other without leaving their homes.

Audience is all that myspace is. It is a website designed for the people. Absolutely everybody everywhere can use myspace. It isn’t just aimed at one or two social groups because once you have a myspace you can do whatever you want with it (other than upload porn – tom is strictly against porn). Because you can customise you own space however you want, you can completely personalise it to your styles. Through the search bar you can sift through other people’s myspace so find someone who has similar interests to you and you can then send them a friend request. By doing so you can then communicate with them whenever you want and with the use of internet technology they can be anywhere in the world.

Although it is mainly aimed at audiences, there is another key feature of myspace which is myspace music. This is where bands, unsigned or amateur, can create a myspace for themselves. They can then upload their own recorded tracks which other people can download when they please. This is a fantastic way to spread awareness because once you build up an armoury of friends the word of your music can spread. Artists such as Lilly Allen have made it in the big time purely based on myspace and the features it has. She recorded her own tracks and put them on myspace and within a year she was signed my a massive music record label. Other already established bands such as the strokes or RNB artists such as JME can publish their songs as well. With additional feature such as gig tours available it really is the all in one website. For bands that are clearly moving towards great success but aren’t there yet such as the maccabees, it’s a great way to get fans. Finally even if you’re a rubbish band you can still put up stuff for your friends to look at.

Online Newspaper - The Guardian Unlimited

The guardian website is effectively an online newspaper. It contains articles from hundreds of their newspapers as well as additional information that isn’t in the paper. Although it isn’t replacing the newspaper, it is an additional resource for fans of the guardian who want to learn more about specific subjects or catch up on any news that they may have missed. It’s relevant because through internet technology the guardian have been able to increase their awareness and boost sales through the website. It contrasts with the one track newspaper and offers a more interactive experience for the reader.


The whole point to a newspaper is to spread the latest news to the people so audience is the most important factor. The information bar at the top of the site has links to a variety of databases with information produced by the guardian; arts, music, film, life & style etc. This gives the reader an alternative experience, instead of sifting through a paper to find the sections they need, through a click of a button they have immediately narrowed the search down to the specific chosen area. With the site the audiences can consume the media. There are many different ways to do this. First and foremost the reader can read articles posted by journalists writing for the guardian. There is also video footage of reports done so the audience can watch rather than read. There are pod-casts available where audiences can see what the opinion of celebrity figures is on certain topics, most of all this is used in sport, e.g. Rob Curling’s thoughts on Ireland beating Bangladesh in the cricket world cup. Near the foot of the site there are a range of blogs, crosswords, sodokus and news quizzes so the audience can interact with the guardian.


The Guardian is the main institution involved in the site. The site is purely based on things relevant to the guardian newspaper and although it spreads world wide news which is relevant to everybody, it is done through the opinions of guardian journalists. There are however other advertising agencies who through the use of animated advertisement spread the word of their product, e.g. Blue SQ bet. Industries such as Tesco gain from the website because a featured article talks about Tesco’s profit of £2.5bn and this goes for any other institutions who feature in articles written and published on the site by the guardian. Currently the guardian are running a massive billboard campaign where ‘ther guardian unlimited’ is publicised everywhere around London and other main cities such as Manchester and Birmingham.


The lists of media texts on the guardian unlimited are endless. The soul purpose of the a newspaper is to spread news about everything important that is currently happening in the world. Therefore if there is a new and upcoming band such as ‘the gossip’ who have released an album, the online newspaper has information relevant to the topic. Likewise it has cinema listings, blogs, pod-casts as well as reviews of the latest films or on a television series/drama.

The Guardian unlimited is a good example of online interactivity. Instead of the news being produced on a linear format, it’s now non linear. The audience is able to interact far more easily with the news and can navigate through the website to find basically anything they want to. The websites additional features such as fun and games keep readers interested in the site and extras such as pod-casts and blogs are additional bonus so help the audience interact with the news. Ultimately the website makes the whole news experience more fun and gets people interested.

Radio Show - Capital FM - 95.8

Capital FM – 95.8

Capital FM’s website is a place where fans of the radio station can research more into upcoming shows, celebrities and music that has aired or will be aired on the show. The radio station is a single tracked form of technology wheras on the website there are masses of things to do that attract fans to the station. Obviously the main technology for a radio station is the radio but Capital have explored the technologies of the internet, using pod-casts, video clips and pictures to advertise the show.

This site attracts all types of audiences. Music taste is one of the largest ways of identifying social groups and on the Capital site the range of music information they have is astonishing. It appeals to all age groups as well with there being a type of music available for everyone. On the main page there are headlines and bulletins such as ‘AVRIL LAVIGNE’ which immediately will draw in fans of hers. From there one can read interviews with her, listen to else she has planned. There is also a live video streaming of her latest gig available. Other than Avril there featured atricles such as ‘artist of the month’ which not only publicise the artist but allow researchers to see important information about tour guides and upcoming evens that the people involved will feature in. There are also competitions featured on the home page so fans either win prizes or vote for their favourite artist to win an award.

The main institution involved is Capital FM because the whole site is there to publicise the radio station. Other people who benefit are music artists as they are being publicised and companies such as ITV2 can put up video adverts as well. The benefits it brings Capital are that people who see the web site are more likely to listen to the radio, especially when they know whats being broadcasted when to get the maximum amount of viewers. Even people who just like the look of the site will listen to the station because it is a smart and well constructed site. The site also advertises charity gigs and competitions raising the awareness of other causes.

There are thousands of named media texts on the site. There are obviosly hundreds of band, album and single related links because that is what the site specialises in; Kaiser Cheifs, Ribbie Williams, The Frey, Mika, Gwen Stefani, TaKe That, Oasis – just to name a few. It also gives a list of hot-spots in London of where to see great DJ’s and Bands live.

Programme Website - Lost

Website for - LOST

Factual Information

Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning serial drama television series that follows the lives of a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, somewhere in the South Pacific. The show is produced by ABC Television Studio (formerly Touchstone Television), Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions and airs on the ABC Network in the U.S.

Audiences
The site itself is aimed at any fan on the television series. It has an abundance of interactive features that can capture anyone who is even half interested in the show. For the cult fans there are interviews with cast and crewe, video streams of the episodes and a forum where people discuss about possible theories based on the action. For less devoted fans there are simple reviews of the show as well as detailed descriptions of what took place the previous episode.

Institutions
The main institutions involved are ABC1 who produced the show alongside Sky1 who have bought the rights to showing the episodes. ABC1 make massive prophets, not only through television rights but through additional merchandise sold such as the Lost DVD box set or t-shirts. Companies such as Apple have also paid money to advertise their products on the site using both picture and video advertisement. Lost can be distributed in a range of different ways; you can watch on the site for free, download lost content from I-tunes, buy the actual DVD series and you can even get information sent to your phone.

Relevant Media Texts
Other lost related sites are mentioned on the site, such as the lost-wiki where lost fans can help to ‘build the definitive fans guide to lost’. There are also lost forums where fans can speculate about lost and future plots and the lost magazine is availabe online. There are multiple video clips to inform fans of previous and future events and there are also videos made by the creators of the programme to give insight into their thinking.