The Electronic & Digital Era The Communication Toolshed Home & Information Highway

The Electronic Era: Homes in America  The impact of industry’s rise was enormous: During the 1880s, 80% of Americans lived on farms but by the 1920s to 1930s people began to move to more urban areas  The telegraph led to future technological developments such as: wireless telegraphy (radio), the fax machine, and the cell phone which led to the telegraphs demise in 2006  The rise of film and radio in the 1920s were early signals of what was to come  The Information Age: Boomed in the 1950s and 1960s with the arrival of television and it’s impact on daily life

The Digital Era: Information Highway  Digital Communication: Images, texts, and sounds are converted (encoded) into electronic signals (represented as varied combinations of binary numbers) that are then reassembled (decoded) as a precise reproductions.  On the internet, various images, text, and sounds are all digitally reproduce and transmitted globally.  New Technologies, like cable TV and Internet access, have developed so quickly that the traditional leaders in communication have lost control  By 2004, bloggers, had become a key element in news  A digital reinvention of oral culture- has assumed some of the functions of the postal services

Social Media  Reinventing oral culture has been the emergence of Social Media.  The phenomenon Facebook – which now has more than 500 million users worldwide, has impacted the way we communicate to each other from long distances communication  Social Media is digital applications that allow people from all over the world to have ongoing online conversations, share stories and interests, and generate their own media content.  The internet and social media are changing the ways we consume and engage with media culture

What’s official?  Whistle blowers: Edward Snowden  He leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (collects and decoded data)  Decided on whether you agree Edward Snowden is “whistle blower” or is he doing his job as a journalist (Think about Examining Ethics) and the growth of the digital era. Write down your ideas in your notebook then discuss in groups.  Buzzfeed v. Newspaper:  Buzzfeed is an internet news media company. Founded in 2006 in New York City as a viral lab by Jonah Peretti, the company has grown into a global media and technology company providing coverage of topics like politics, DIY, animals and business.  Buzzfeed reposts new like newspapers, using the two articles about the airstrikes against ISIS compare an contrast the following: What is similar in both articles, what is different (think of terms of information) Who is clearer with the news they are reporting? Who uses more complex words? Which one do you prefer and why?