Digital Media in Social Context - Essay Example

Digital media Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: ‘The way in which a message is delivered is unimportant. It is only the content of the message that matters.’ Discuss. Abstract Message can be delivered in any way. The message is important than the way of delivering it. There are various ways of delivering the message. This paper discussed the various ways of transmitting and delivering messages. Some of the ways discussed include through emails, using fax machines and using social websites such as Twitter, facebook and Skype. The factors considered in selecting a means of delivering message according to this paper include the cost of sending the message, the complexity of the media to be selected, confidentiality of the message and the nature of the message to be delivered. The advantages of social discussed in this paper include cost reduction, easier communication and reduces paperwork. However, there are also some disadvantages of social media and they include access to prohibited sites to young people and it has led to poor quality standards of education due to plagiarism. Finally, digital media have flattened the world because people can communicate with no constraints anywhere in the world. Introduction In order to explore this assignment into details, I narrow the topic media in social context into one question. The questions is the way that the message delivered unimportant? Digital media is whereby a message is delivered through digital means as opposed to analog means. Digital message delivery is aided by networking of computers or the internet. The information is stored in computers for future references than in files and folders (Benkler 2006). Many organizations have opted to digital media than analog because it is safe, faster and convenient in terms of accessing the message. Organizations which apply the digital media in their operations are better managed than those that are still intact with analog. There are many ways in which message delivery can be done on the internet or digitally. Despite the differences in the means of delivering the messages, the important concept is that the message is being delivered. However, some digital means are considered to be better than others. For example, sending an email can be preferred than fax in some instances where fax is not available (Brinkerhoff 2009). This is one of the factors which are considered when selecting a digital media to use in delivering the message. The world has been flattened by the social websites which have come up and enabled people to communicate with ease despite the long distances. For example through Twitter, people are able to chat and connect worldwide. This has been enabled because of the internet. This essay will therefore discuss the ways in which message can be delivered digitally, factors to consider when selecting a means to deliver message digitally, barriers to effective message delivery in the digital media and the advantages and disadvantages of digital media. Ways of delivering messages The society does not only exist by transmission but also by communication. Message delivery occurs when there is communication and messages are distributed in space so as to control distance and people (Ina 2013). The modern technology is seen as the most appropriate way of delivering messages. Therefore message delivery is the process of communicating to increase companionship and maintain social values. Social network on the other hand refers to informal contacts between individuals across the boundaries of organizations. In the current world, Social network refers to online communication and message delivery. The messages can be delivered online through chat rooms, use blogs, gaming sites, emails and instant messaging. Most of the young people do their communication online using the above Medias (Herbert 2005). Due to the increasing use of online communication, there have been changes in the ways messages are delivered and communicated. Most of the people who deliver messages online are the young people who seem to be obsessed by the internet. The medium through which the message is delivered is the message itself. The effects of personal and social communication are introduced by us. For example, the electric light can be a medium without a message (Marshall 2011). One of the attributes of media is that unless it can spell some words or contents it cannot be a medium. There are various ways of classifying digital Medias through which message can be delivered. There is the hot medium and the cold medium. A hot medium for delivering message is the one which there is a single message in high definition (Castells 2011). High definition can be defined as being filled with the information or data for instance a photograph. An example of a low definition is the cartoon because low information is provided. A cool medium is where there is low definition. An example of a cool medium is the telephone because little I formation is given to the listener. The main difference between the two Mediums is that hot medium has low participation while cool mediums have high participation (David 2011). A good example of a hot medium is the Radio while a cool medium is the telephone. In this regard, it can be argued that the way the message is delivered is not important but the message itself. Message can be delivered through hot medium or through cool medium but the most important thing is that the message is delivered. The content of the message is the one which is given great attention (Marshall 2011). There have been changes seen in the ways message is being delivered. For instance, with the invention of photoengraving in the 19th Century, advertisement came into a high level. Pictures and advertisement became interchangeable and has continued for along time (Marshall 2011). Pictures have become a more used way of delivering an advertisement message in newspapers and magazines. Currently, more communication done on newspapers has pictures. With the pictures and the information after the picture, information is detailed and is understood better thus digital communication has been improved (Marshall 2011). On the other hand, when movies came into being in America, the whole world changed to screens. Many people, advertisements started using actors or actress to communicate their messages (Marshall 2011). This is because whatever the actor or the actress did could be emulated by most people. In this regard, advertisements which were made on movies looked like it was a movie so that it could attract the attention of many people. Radios and Television combined their efforts and worked together to increase the message being delivered. However later, the TVs worked alone and the Radio worked on it’s on after the death of the TV inventor. Message can also be delivered through games. There are various games which communicate some hidden ideas. There are some games which act as a medium of communication in the society. For example, poker game is a game which is complex but has some attitude and values which are unspoken in the society (Marshall 2011). Poker game leads to curiosity, aggression and trickery. It is argued that women are not good players of poker because it increases their curiosity which is fatal in the game. Poker game has no kindness and it is highly individualism and so it looks like some kind of war thus games are called the sport of kings. Kings can play poker with their kingdoms to win the mandate. There are two theories explaining the game forms. They are the game theory and the information theory. Both theories are much concerned with the content of the message (Marshall 2011). According to the two theories, the factors that divert data or information are noise and deception. For the message to be delivered appropriately there has to be minimal noise and deception so that the message can be received in the right manner. Telegraphy is another medium through which message can be delivered. The wireless telegraph was given mandate when it led to arrest of Dr. Hawley who murdered his wife and migrated to UK. The ship he was using was among the few which had been installed with telegraph (Marshall 2011). The captain telegraphed Scotland Yard and they sent their inspector who arrested Hawley. Through telegraph message can be sent and received instantly. Like in this case, a message was sent confidentially that led to the arrest of Dr. Hawley. Therefore telegraph is confidential. Factors to consider in choosing digital media to use When selecting means of delivering message through social media it is important to consider some factors. The following are some of the factors considered when selecting digital media to use when delivering message. There reliability of the media is of great benefit. The digital media chosen for delivering the message should be convenient and should be trustworthy (David 2011). Some media channels cannot deliver the message in time thus the message cannot serve the intended purpose. For example, email is reliable as it delivers the message instantly unlike fax which can delay the message when the machine is busy. Message confidentiality is also considered. Some messages are very confidential. These kinds of messages require some secretive means of delivering the message (David 2011). For example email is more confidential than facebook. In this regard therefore, email can be preferred than other means like Twitter. Availability of the digital media is taken into consideration. The sender and the receiver of the message should both access the means they are using in the communication. Without accessing the means of delivering the message, there will be ineffective communication (Luisa 2008). This is because the sender and the receiver do not have a common means of communicating. For instance if the means of communication selected is through videos, both elements of communication should access video devices because messages on Twitter will only be accessed with machines which are Twitter enabled. In addition, complexity of the channel should be taken into account. Some media channels are more complicated than others (Kalathil & Boas 2003). When delivering a message therefore, it is important to understand if the receiver is conversant with the media channel used. If the receiver does not understand the media, there is need to use a digital media that he or she will understand. This will improve effectiveness in the communication process. Moreover, cost of the digital media to be used is another aspect which influences the media to use in communication. Since digital media can connect people globally, in some economies some Medias are more expensive than others (Kirk 2012). In order to ensure the message is delivered appropriately, the media should be affordable to both the receiver and the sender. This will reduce the burden on one party and the result is that there may be a breakdown in communication. Barriers to effective message delivery Despite digital media communication being the best means of delivering messages, there are some obstacles which hinder the successful delivery of the messages. Discussed below are some of the obstacles encountered when delivering messages through digital means. The first obstacle is the differences in language barriers. Different nations have different languages and ways of communicating (Kirk 2012). The sender of the message may use a language which something different to the receiver. The obvious effect of a language barrier is that the message will be received and perceived in a wrong manner. This leads to communication breakdown because the sender and the receiver of the message do not understand one another. Therefore the message will not be delivered the way it was intended. Another barrier to effective digital media communication is cultural differences. Digital media involves people communicating globally (Kirk 2012). There are so many cultures in the world and the ways people perceive things is different. For instance, people will have different approaches to ways of approaching things. This is the same way in communication. There are some differences in communication. The health people may perceive a message in a different manner from businessmen. A cultural difference is also in the form of ethnicity. Different ethnic communities communicate differently. In this regard, message delivery is hindered by the cultural differences among people. In order to improve communication and message delivery through digital means, the sender and the receiver of the message should understand the official means of communication so that they can understand one another better. Furthermore, message delivery can be influenced by the emotional expressions. Since the sender and the receiver do communicate face to face, there may be emotional responses which can ruin the relationship between the sender and the receiver (Kimberly & Thomas 2004). Due to emotional expressions, the receiver might write a bad message to the sender which can be stored. This message can be always referred to when there in another argument thus the relationship between the communicating parties will be ruined. Moreover, timing can also destruct effective communication. Effective communication will take place if there is adequate time to plan and clarify the message (Kimberly & Thomas 2004). Lack of adequate time can lead to hurried communication thus the message may not be clarified clearly. Poor timing therefore can be a barrier to effective communication using digital media. Benefits of digital media Digital media have many benefits for the people or organizations which use the digital Medias. The main benefit that has been brought by the use the use of digital media is that costs of communication have been reduced (Kimberly & Thomas 2004). These costs include the costs which are incurred when a person or an organization delivers messages manually like sending documents through the post office. Storage costs are also reduced because the information is stored in compact discs which require less attention unlike storing the information in files. Marketing functions have also been digitalized reducing the costs of transportation costs of the marketing team. Therefore, digital media have reduced the general operations costs especially in the communication sector. Digital media have different ways of viewing it unlike the physical media which is limited. Through digital media, customers can view it from computers, TVs and digital mobile phones (Bill 1999). This enables the customer to enjoy viewing the contents by using different equipments. In this effect, digital media enable people to live a comfortable life by accessing what they want through various channels and many people can be reached by the message being communicated. Another benefit is that digital media helps to eliminate and reduce manual and paper work (Cokie 2005). Digital media enables an organization or an individual to conduct many operations online thus reducing the cumbersome work of handling papers. Paper work can also reduce the rate at which customers are served unlike serving customers through digital means which is faster. Digital media further enables people to find what they want with ease (Cokie 2005). When a person or an organization wants to access some information, digital media will be of great benefit. Any information can be found on the internet thus it helps to speed up information search. Finally, maintenance of online information is easier than when an organization is using manual means. Online maintenance only requires updating the computer systems and protecting the computers against viruses. This is cheap as compared to updating information stored on files and cabins which can take relatively longer time to update (Alexander 2013). Digital Media on the other hand has some disadvantages. Below are some of the some of the disadvantages. Through digital media, all kinds of information can be accessed by all people. For instance, young people can access prohibited sites like the pornographic movies (Alexander 2013). This destroys the societal welfare and values because even the young people practice viewing restricted movies. Another disadvantage of digital media is that it has led to poor academic standards. Many nursing students Google through the internet and jus download the information without citing the author of the information (Alexander 2013). This is an offence in the academic arena and cam lead to penalties because plagiarism can be likened to taking somebody’s intellectual property without his or her consent. Students do not research thoroughly to get the data required because the internet has all the information lowering the academic standards. In addition, through the digital media channels hand written signatures cannot be signed. There are some documents which require being hand written and not the electronic signature (Alexander 2013). In these instances, the digital media channels of delivering the message are not appropriate. Therefore, online communication hinders the natural authentication which is signing the documents by hand as some people or organizations may require documents which are authenticated by hand. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the way the message is delivered is as important as the message itself. For effective communication and message delivery to take place, the way through which the message is delivered should be considered (Kimberly & Thomas 2004). There are some ways of delivering messages which cannot deliver the message as intended. For instance, delivering a message through the email to a person who cannot access the email communication cannot take place. Instead the way of delivering the message should be the one that the receiver can access and understand. In this regard, the message can be delivered appropriately. Another reason why it is important to consider the way of delivering a message is that in some cultures, some media channels are prohibited to use (Cokie 2005). For instance, some social sites are regulated in some countries and therefore if the sender sends the message through the social sites, the message may not be delivered or can be hacked by unauthorized individuals. It is therefore important to consider the media channel used so that the message can be delivered effectively. In addition, it is important to consider the media channel to use depending on the target group. Some media channels are more appropriate than others considering the receiver’s point of view (Kirk 2012). For instance, when promoting a health issue and the target group if youth, it is more appropriate to advertise the product through social Media such as facebook and Twitter because many youths can access the sites. It is important therefore to understand that the way the message is delivered is equally important as the message itself. Conclusion Digital media is whereby the message is delivered using digital Media for example, through emails. There are various ways through which message can be delivered digitally and they include email, fax and through social media. On the other hand, the factors to consider in selecting the way to deliver the message include the reliability of the channel, message confidentiality, complexity of the channel and the cost of the channel. Barriers to effective digital message delivery include language barriers, cultural barriers and poor timing on the message. The benefits of digital media include cost reduction, easier and faster communication reduces manual and paperwork and it is easier to maintain the online communication equipment. It is important to consider the way through which the message is delivered because it helps to deliver the message in the right manner. The channel of passing the message is as important as the message itself. References Alexander, S 2013, Screeners and organizing: sociomaterial practices in mediated Worlds, VINE, Vol, 43, No. 1, pp. 1-149. Bill, H 1999, Publishing and the media industries in the digital age, info, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 133–43 Castells, M 2011, Communication Power, Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, pp. 213-421 Cokie, A 2005, Digital Preservation: Will Your Files Stand the Test of Time? Library Hi-tech News, Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 22- 243. David, B 2011, Media and New Capitalism in the Digital Age: The Spirit of Networks, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 67, No. 5. pp. 748-482. Herbert, U 2005, Competition in the media sector – how long can the futures be Delayed? Info ,Vol. 7, No. pp. 196-10. Ina, F 2013, Management of Electronic and Digital Media Electronic Library, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 392-6 Kirk, H 2012, Everywhere: Comprehensive Digital Business Strategy for the Social Media Era, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp.246-96. Kimberly, C. & Thomas, W. L 2004, Media transitions: The cases of digital imagery and E-mail Information Technology & People Vol. 17, No. 3. pp. 331-21. Luisa, D. 2008, Writing and Digital Media, Online Information Review, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 1–111. Marshall, M 2011, Understanding Media, London, pp. 12-350. Read More