Introduction to Online Media - Lesson 1 and 2

Online Media

• Media which is distributed using the internet. Digital technology is making things happen.

• DIGITAL CONVERGENCE

• An example of digital convergence is radio and it has been converged into podcasts which can be listened to through the internet and online.

• Another example is Youtube.

• Youtube has been made possible through the use of Broadband and fibre optic. Also made possible through the use of advancement of storage.

Vlogging

• A document of your life, like a diary.

• Microblogging - Twitter - short updates of your life.

• Vlogging is interesting as the audience for it is predominantly young people/ teenagers.

• Participatory Culture - Clay Shirky

• Vlogging and online video has become one of the biggest and most influential forms of media. Recent research shows 42% of internet users said they have watched a vlog within the last month rising to 50% for 16-24 year olds (Guardian, 2015), clearly demonstrating an ability to reach and influence vast range of audiences.

Producers sell audiences - giving the audience to a company.

• Aspirational 
• We see what we want to be

• Personal Identity/Identification
• Able to relate to people

• Unscripted Narrative
• Random topics, anything can happen, they can say what they want

• Authenticity
• Being real

• Direct mode of address
• Talking to the audience directly

• Audience interaction
• Comment on Youtube

pseudo science - Jackson Galaxy

• USP - different because he's got a weirdly shaped beard and he's bald, full sleeve arms and stretched earlobes.

Zoella

• UK based Zoella is the world's most popular beauty vlogger, with 12 million fans subscribed to her Youtube channel at this current time. Zoella, who started broadcasting fashion and beauty related videos from 2009, has over 1 billion video views, and is the 147th most subscribed channel on the website; her second channel 'MoreZoella' has over 4.8 million subscribers and over 727 million video views. She also has over 13.6 millions on Twitter and over 10.9 million on Instagram.

• A persona - an online persona is another personality.

'June Faves' - June 2016

• Intertextual knowledge - 'nala' her dogs name is taken from the Lion King. (Referential Code)

• Her facial expressions are extremely expressive and exaggerated.

• She has a neutral british accent its not posh.

• Her vocal delivery is undulating (up and down)

• She speaks like that is it keeps the audience involvement.

• Zoella doesn't sware, if she swares on her youtube account then her account would get demonitized.

• We are currently in the age of web 2.0, clean white background, simple logical layout.

• There are frequent jump cuts which is a cut from one thing to the same thing.

• Increase the level of authenticity is when 'mistakes' happen. (sitting on her leg, calling her dog).

• Her mode of address is like a children's show presenter, she's consistently happy and consistently welcoming.

• Linda Blacker Zoella - Photoshoot.

• She's very petite and childlike, the preferred reading is that were not supposed to find her sexually attractive. As heterosexual men are not the preferred audience it is actually young heterosexual women that she is targeting. Were supposed to think she is 'cute' and 'pretty' not sexualised.

• She's cultivating herself to be young approachable this is through her high pitch voice and she looks significantly younger than what she is. She has learnt how to speak in a nice and approachable way.

• She is portrayed as cute through her very large eyes, they're inviting and also her teeth are a little wonky but they're not hollywood perfect but she hasn't perfected them so she'll be more relatable although she has definitely got the money to get them fixed.

• She has strands of hair out of her bun, it makes her haircut non threatening and girlish.