1. Why is broadband service the key for the success of online communication? What are the social effects of broadband service? How does the broadband service make digital convergence possible?
Broadband service is the key for the success of online communication because it made the concept so much more expansive than those that have dial-up services to use their internet. Since this is a more efficient way of transferring information, more people are inclined to share information. The article said that "one trend that has been noted is that they are more likely to create and distribute media content than dial-up users, been though upload speeds are still slower than download speeds." It does allow a sense of community more than dial-up. There is also a more human connection created here, as everyone is able to send videos, images, and other content that can receive immediate feedback for the community. It also allows us to get a lot of information at once through a lot of different sources.
The beauty of using visual media is that it transcends language and cultural barriers in ways that written media is simply unable to do, allowing us to have more of an appreciation of different types of cultures and peoples. This is where media convergence comes into play, as many different types of mediums can transport the same type of media to anywhere in the world.
2. Why does the use if World Wide Web open the door of the internet communication to a much wider audience? In what ways does the web with graphical web browsers move the online communication to "acoustic world" discussed in the previous class?
The name really speaks for itself in terms of reaching a wide audience. As the internet really is the World Wide Web. Everyone can access the same information, and it can be shared instantly to anyone, and as a result, it allows people to have a united sense of allegiance to everyone, because everyone is equal on the internet. Graphical web browsers move the online communication to the "acoustic world", because each browser is a separate entity that distributes information to a mass audience, but that there is also no boundaries in a sense. The internet is a place where it is constantly expanding, and everyday is something new. The possibilities are endless, and that is how the "acoustic" aspect is still present in the online world.
3. How might telecommunication change if the government supported the development of broadband internet for everyone?
Telecommunication can change if the government supported the development of broadband internet because a lot of times when the government tries to "support" something, it mostly means that they are going to try and regulate what is being viewed and shared. This would greatly change the sense of community that the internet already has, because then the types and amount of content that can be shared would be censored and limited. It would just seem that there would be some restrictions that the community wouldn't want to have on the internet.
4. News organizations were changed by the telegraph, and a whole new business of news, that of the wire services, was created because of the telegraph. Discuss other industries that could benefit from rapid dissemination of information and how and why they would benefit from it.
Not just news organizations, but also businesses that are trying to sell new products would benefit from sending information instantly to a wide audience. There is such a benefit that companies are finally realizing, that the internet can be the best way to distribute new concepts, and receiving instant feedback. The benefits behind that speak for themselves, as the sense of community that the internet will get behind something that they believe in, and will even gives insight as to things that they like, things they dislike, and overall improvements that will make what you are trying to show better. Immediately being given information is an amazing way to have both the producer of content as well as the consumer of content to essentially be on the same playing field, and that's what keeps people interested.
5. Choose one of the common methods of online communication and think of how it could be improved in terms of facilitating communication between people, ensuring quality communication, and enabling the greatest number of users to distribute information.
Social media, in my mind, can be greatly be improved in one major way; there can be more of a filter for different types of content. For example: Facebook should have a filter on your feed almost in the form of folders. There should be a folder for your friends feed, then a separate one for fan pages that you like, and then another one for messages and chat messages. It would just be easier, at least for me so that I can see what I want to, and not see what I don't. It seems to me that the whole point of media and how we access it is determined by filtering what we do and do not want to see, and I don't really see that happening on Facebook or on other forms on social media. This would be great for people to exchange information, because then we could find exactly what to see easily, and the quality would greatly greatly be increased as a result.
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