NDM Weekly - Mail Online tops 150m monthly users

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/14/mail-online-monthly-browsers-top-150m

This article focuses on the digital edition of the newspaper Daily Mail which has rapidly topped 150 million users in a month, October. The Mail Online focuses on a variety of world wide news such as TV & ShowBiz which focuses on celebrities, to current issues such as health, sport etc. Thus, this establishes that the Mail Online has become increasingly popular amongst users because it provides the spectators with a variety of issues which they can be read about. Also, majority of individuals' read the Daily Online because of TV & Showbiz to keep up-to-date with pop culture and therefore this increases the Daily Online users. 

Notably, The Daily Mail website reported 153,914,803 monthly browsers in October, up to 5.25% on the previous month which highlights the rapid increase amongst users. The article includes a statics on the monthly users amongst different newspapers which is effective in comparing which newspaper has decreased and increased amongst users. (The Data is shown in the picture below)

From the data, Mail Online is still popular amongst people as the daily average browsers are 9,606,963; whereas, The Metro has the lowest daily average browsers of 686, 735 users. The factors which may influence the amount of users could be, class, gender and occupation. For example, The Daily Mail targets class demographic of middle class individuals' usually in the age demographic early twenties and thirties. However, the newspaper includes issues for older people as well which they may be appealed in. Thus, this is more likely to be popular compared to other newspapers as The Daily Mail includes stories which would appeal to a wide demographic from young demographics to older demographics.

To conclude,  The Daily Mail online is more likely to be successful amongst other newspapers online editions because it is a world wide newspaper which covers different stories to appeal to a wide demographic. Thus, this would increase their users even more. Notably, I read the The Daily Mail more compared to other newspaper online edition for the Showbiz&TV stories because they include a wide range of issues which other newspapers do not.

NDM Summary 14/11/13

1. 15/09/13: 'Beeban Kidron' :We need to talk about teenagers and the internet.

2. 22/09/13: Plan to block payments to websites that allows children to view pornography & Sun on Sunday's Tony Parson: why I left 'dying' Daily Mirror.

3. 26/09/13: Media need to stop portraying women simply as 'touchline totty'

4. 1/10/13: Mail on Sunday in Kenya photo slip up

5. 11/10/13: BBC unlikely to debut EastEnders episodes on Iplayer before TV 

6. 17/10/13: Facebook loosens privacy restriction to allow under-18's to post globally.

7. 23/10/13: The digital subscriptions to the Times and Sunday Time stop 150,000.

8. 27/10/13: Sun apologises over 'inappropriate' Madeline McCann X Factor joke.

9. 1/11/13: Google: Policing digital content for kids does not require legislation.

10. 5/11/13: Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of the X Factor & ITV broke alcohol advertising media rules in You've Been Framed, says WatchDog 

11. 7/11/13: Printed Newspapers go out of fashion but have a legacy value

12. 16/11/13:  Adult video-on-demand website closed for failing to protect children

13. 16/11/13:  Mail Online tops 150m monthly users

Total: 13

WWW

• I frequently post the NDM articles every week which would benefit me in my class work and exams as I can use the examples to link to the exam question. Thus, this shows that I am up-to-date with the latest media issues in society. 
• The NDM articles I post on to my blog varies from 'Newspapers and Magazines', 'Digital Media' and 'Television'. This is beneficial for me because reading a variety of media areas expands my knowledge about the media industry and how the impact of news and digital media has impacted the audience.
• The quality of my research for each of the  the NDM articles are good. This is because, I have produced a  clear outline of the different debated and important information which would be useful for in for the exam.

EBI

• To highlight key information in the article such as statistic and academic people, which would benefit me when I prepare for the exam as I can refer to the information.
•  To produce a more detailed analysis of NDM articles and include other peoples' comments on the article from the comment section and to compare it to my own personal opinion.  

The Virtual Revolution Documentary (2010) Notes

This documentary focuses on how the internet has had an impact in different countries around the world. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the internet and also includes expert opinions on the topic.

Important quotes from experts.

• Sir Tim Berners - Lee, "The web is about connecting humanity".
• Founder of Apple, "The internet is like the brain".
• Stephen Fry, "Celebrate the web".
• Bill Gates, "It is how mankind communicates".
• Al Gore,"A empowering tool".
• The female journalist of the documentary, "Paradigm shifts and par with the printing press.
• Al gore refers to the internet as a "exciting" and "revolutionary prospect".
• John Perrry Barlow, "The internet was the challenge to traditional authority" (Online freedom, campaignes in society, self expression should have no limits)

Statistics/ Facts

• 35 million people in the UK use the internet everyday
• 1 billion per week is spent online.
• 5 million people in the UK use dating websites in Manchester and London.
• 40% of men watch porn.
• 18 million of people in West London read online blogs which could suggest that they are educated and more interacted.

The first half of the documentary focused on the creation of the world wide web and the revolution of the internet. The example included in the documentary was Africa to get the latest broadband. This is also known as these digital divide as it shows the difference between western countries, also referred to the digital haves/have not's. As the documentary progresses, it highlights the positives of using the internet which is giving citizens the opportunity to challenge and question authority. However, the negative of the web is that some governments use it to spy on citizens therefore there is no censorship.

The Great Levelling - Does the internet give everyone freedom?

• The web allows people to publish anything virtually.
• "Wikipidea is the most importance source of the world"
• More than 65 million people use Wikipidea every month and the fact that they can edit information shows that people have power. (Shape knowledge)
• The Well (1979) was first introduced in San Francisco. Without this, social networking would of not existed.
• Blogs, online shares show freedom of speech.
• According to society it is the most powerful change,
• Compared the industrial revolution to the internet revolution (great leveller, challenge business model, power to people/equal access voice)

Second half of the document

• Ushanidi (means witness in Swahili Kenya) shows the power of the internet in making sure that the weak and vulnerable are protected. In Kenyan this web allows people to report offences.
• The web has the power to show people's different view.
• Email was created in 1969.
• The web is a "global information network"
• 1981 Tim Berners -Lee wrote the paper, invented the internet but took a while.
• 6th August 1991 the first world wide web went live.
• Being connected around the world is empowering people.
• The web is more than an empowering tool, also shows no authority. Resist authority as there is no hierarchy on the web which would lead to radical issues. This allowed people to be very free.
• The internet is a "open source" (free) no one making profit out of it.
• Bill Gates saw potential in making softwares which differs from Tim Berbers Lee. (Microsoft - monetize the internet)
• 90% of the market is virtually a monopoly.
• 1991-2001 Napster allowed people to share music for free which was illegal.
• Music privacy - 95% of music has been unpayed.
• Chad Herley - 2005 YouTube was published and increased UGC.
• More than 1 billion hits per day.
• Aleks Krotoski, "The web is more than a reflection of society, it is inventing society" 
• Aleks Krotoski, "The web mirrors the hierarchy of the real world"
• "38 million people use Google as their search engine ... Ebay  21 million... 16 million Amazon .. 1 in 3 have a Facebook account"
• 90% of blogs are dormant"
• The web has been conolised by Gatekeepers"

UsvsTh3m

1. Test Result 
http://usvsth3m.com/post/62895994604/how-much-are-you-hated-by-the-daily-mail

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/30/daily-mail-quiz-usvsth3m-users-mirror-buzzfeed

2.Why this website is a good idea for newspapers in the digital age.

The digital age refers to digital media being the dominate source of information for the audience. This article focuses on how the company Daily Mirror published a Buzzfeed-style social content called UsvsTh3m which allows the audience to interact with the different games. The different games are based on on current news and events and also encourages audience to share their scores on social networking sites. Thus, highlighting the concept of user-generate content. 

This website is a good idea for newspapers in the digital age because there is a rapid development in technologies in society and therefore, the young demographic could more likely be intrigued in interacting with this website. This is because, news is unlikely to appeal to the young demographic but this website gives them the opportunity share their scores on social media (concept of UGC) which would entertain them as there are games about current affairs. Thus, the young demographics are being entertained as well as being informed. Additionally, this highlights that the UsvsTh3m is effective in the digital age is because it conveys how the people are empowered by the use of the internet as it gives them the opportunity to interact with the content and share information virally. Thus, it could be argued that this approach is beneficial in the digital age as people can read the newspaper as well as actively engaging with the different features on the website. For instance, 1.25million users, came from people playing and sharing the 'tongue-in-cheek' Daily Mail quiz.

3. My three ideas for the Us Vs Th3m feature are:

• To include a comment section about peoples' opinion on the website or about specific games etc.
• To include more videos clips which would be more entertaining for the audience especially for the young demographic.
• To produce a Youtube channel dedicated to UsvsTh3m which focuses on news and current affairs but making it more entertaining for the audience.

NDM - Printed newspapers go out of fashion but have a legacy value

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/05/printed-newspapers-go-out-of-fashion-but-have-a-legacy-value

This article focuses on the issue on how even though print newspaper is in decline it still has a legacy. For example, the Newsprint circulation on both sides if the Atlantic have been falling steadily over the 13 years. Thus, this highlights the decrease in print sales over the years. Notably, Britain's newspaper's has also decreased sales figures which could be because of the development in technology.



Additionally, the downward trend has decreased dramatically down from the total of 4.5 sales to just over 2m. The author's are aware that here is a decrease in print but they do not take in to account of the audience's are switching to online news. Furthermore, the article conveys that "60 years of daily paper sales trends up to 2010" , the authors stated that the "business model was undergoing a fundamental restructuring". Overall, I agree that there is a decline in newspaper as the development in technology has giving the audience the opportunity to read the news online or on their smartphones. Thus, majority of individuals would not be purchasing a newspaper anymore as they are aware they can access it online for free. 

NDM - Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of The X Factor & ITV broke alcohol advertising rules in You've Been Framed, says watchdog

Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of The X Factor

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/04/strictly-come-dancing-rachel-riley-x-factor

This article focuses on how the BBC1's show 'Strictly Come Dancing' had the highest viewers which was averaged 9.98million between 6:30pm and 8:15pm. This was the season's high peak of 11.1million. The Sunday's night results show became the first programme in the new series with an average of more than million viewers between 7pm - 8pm. This was a contrast with ITV's popular show 'The X factor' as Sunday night's show attracted 8.69 million viewers, but down 9.2 million viewers for the same results show last year. Additionally, Strictly Come Dancing has increased their audience continuously year after year which suggest that many of the audience now prefer watching BBC1's hit programme compared to X Factor.

In my opinion, the reason why Strictly Come Dancing has had more viewers each year compared to X Factor is because  of the age demographic. For instance, as Strictly Come Dancing is broadcast on BBC that has a wide demographic appealing to young and old demographics therefore they may be likely to be appealed to watch the show. Also, the contestant which appear on the show are celebrities therefore this may increase the viewers especially if they are fans of a celebrity. In contrast, XFactor more likely appeals to the young demographics and sometimes the contestants are not that appealing therefore it can get boring watching it each year.

 ITV broke alcohol advertising rules in You've Been Framed, says watchdog

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/11/itv-alcohol-advertising-youve-been-framed

This article focuses on how ITV has been caught by Watchdog by broadcasting alcohol adverts during shows which are likely to appeal to children. For example, Watchdog discovered that alcohol adverts has been shown during  You've Been Framed and therefore ITV went against the rules for long run show (known as series average test). The Advertising Standards Authority found 38 episodes of You've Been Framed which is broadcast on ITV2 and therefore they broke the rules on alcohol advertising. Under UK rules ads are banned from appearing in or around programmes targeted at or likely to appeal to under 18 viewers. Notably, the broadcaster stated that in March it decided to slightly restrict alcohol ads in the show after 8pm weekends, bank holidays and over Easter. Thus, the ASA stated that ITV2 needed to make sure it reviews series data on a regular basis.

Overall, to some extent is partially bad to broadcast alcohol adverts around shows which is targeted or likely to appeal to viewers under the age of 18 because is its very unlikely that it would influence more children to drink. However, to a great extent, alcohol adverts should not be allowed to be broadcast around children programmes as it may give the wrong message about drinking and therefore it is better to broadcast these adverts after 8pm as that is the time where mostly parents watch programmes. 

NDM Weekly - Google: policing digital content for kids does not require legislation

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/30/google-digital-content-kids-legislation

This article focuses on how more children are now using the internet on a regular basis and therefore parents need to make sure that their children are not viewing harmful content. According to the company Google, parents, filters and warnings should play  protecting their children to watch harmful content on the internet rather then legislation. Similarly, the Government is looking at this issue as part of it's communications policy strategy. This is because, there is a rapid change of technology and therefore children re more likely to use the internet. Additionally, Ofcom agree with this issue as children are in a high risk of watching harmful content online and therefore this needs to change.

Furthermore, the governments paper, Connectivity, Content and Consumers: Britain's digital platform growth states that "parents want to know that their children are safe  when they are online just as they want to know they are safe playing outside. We will act to provide  the protections and the standards that people want and expect". This is effective in showing that citizens are concerned with children safety when it comes to the internet. 

Overall, to a great extent I agree with this article as there should be filters, warning and parents should check on what their children get up to on the interest especially if they are kids because they could be in danger. For instance, there have been many headlines in the news regarding the safety of children using social networking sites and how some teenagers have been stalked, murdered and bullied online. As a result, it is the parent job to make sure that their child is safe when using the internet.