Matthew Lennon

Business and Creative Industries student in Brisbane. Passion for new media, politics and fandom.

[mdlennon]

[mdlennon]

SBS2 doing what they do best

[mdlennon]

NMP #12 - November 27

1 - Audible has commissioned its first original series, Six Degrees of Assassination (LINK) 

2 - Stephen King argues that ABC has adopted a 'me too strategy' and I couldn't disagree more. His argument is largely circular. That too be unique, the ABC needs to stay out of innovation. The argument that commercial networks tell Australia's story better than the ABC is absurd. Increasingly, networks are using cheap current affairs based programming to ensure less and less Australian content is in prime time. If it makes it to prime time, it fits into three categories. Friday or Saturday night sport, cheap factuals, sensationalist current affairs, and a bunch of stripped reality shows. That's media diversity for you! CLOSE THE ABC! (LINK)

3 - A powerful article in The Huffington Post, Please Stop Telling Me That All Lives Matter (LINK) 

4 - Twitter just became a bit more commercial, introducing promoted offers (LINK) 

5 - Joyce Baranathan argues that Serial is an important step for journalism, and that at it's core, Serial is simply an in-depth investigation searching for answers. It gives the journalist credit for research stages, and allows transparency into their processes, the bottom line is audience trust. http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/serial_sarah_koenig_journalism.php

[mdlennon]

NMP #11 - November 26

1 - How much do we rely on programmers for our television scheduling? A surprising amount...80% of television watched remains live. Social media forms part of this connection for reality television and live sport, but one wonders how far we've actually moved toward an engaged audience. (LINK)

2 - Forces are moving on the fringes for the 2016 Election, with Ready for Hillary in it's final movements as a fundraising and data mammoth. One thing is for sure. Clinton won't repeat her slow start online in the 2012 campaign. (LINK)

3 - Matthew Ingram on how corporate culture plays a major factor in determining the success of evolving media outlets. (LINK) 

4 - A loss for privacy or a win for whistleblowers? Is it in the public interest that the Prime Minister's (then Opposition Leader) daughter gets a scholarship no one else could apply for? Definitely. Was she at any time fully safe under whistleblower laws. Definitely not. (LISTEN HERE)

5 - Buzzfeed campaigning is a thing now. No no, oh please no. It's a gimmick akin to treating young voters like Sideshow Bob did...to a pack of ten year olds. (LINK)

[mdlennon]

NMP #10 - The Australian vs. ABC (Round 2,568)

Today, as you can expect, The Australian are in two minds. Whether to gloat about their involvement in ABC cuts or to revert back to complaining. They went with the second strategy.

Not surprisingly, in an “end of empire” move, Scott has sought to entrench this redirection, by presiding over a concentration of resources in Sydney and Melbourne, coupled with a headlong rush into online and mobile services. This might be the way a commercial operation responds to changing business conditions and audience tastes, but the ABC was created to be a market-failure service provider, first and foremost, offering the services other outlets can’t or won’t.

Yes, the ABC are there to provide a service. Part of that service is providing content to audiences relevant to their needs. It is ridiculous to expect that only people in rural areas have a need for the ABC. To remain relevant to the majority of their audience, the ABC needs to change. They are doing this. Online content covers 5% of their budget but a significant part of their access with the community. 

Part of the argument against the ABC is declining television ratings. This is only because their service is doing what they intended. iView has revolutionised Australian media. 

So here we see a scenario where a so called 'efficiency dividend' is being used to argue for cuts. But the Coalition and anti-ABC outlets don't care about efficiency, they just want a weaker ABC.

The creation of ABC Digital Network is a reckless development, pushing the broadcaster further into the most dynamic area of the media world. Start-ups like Mamamia and Buzzfeed, the entry of Guardian Australia and others, and expansion into apps by traditional media, among other innovations, mean there is more media competition than ever. The ABC is not there to compete against and crowd out new and existing entrants in ultra-competitive areas.

Yes, the ABC is not there to meet the needs of its audience. That's only something for major outlets to bundle up and sell five years after the audience wanted it. Right? 

Scott and his sundry surrogates — Labor, the Greens, the journalists union, even their fellow travellers on the docks — are waging a public relations war against the government, with soon-to-be redundant staff as battle fodder.

This is partly true. It is a PR war. As every funding dispute would be. But it is the government who waged war on ABC. There is no way it could have won. Cuts driven by ideology have no match for the most trusted news outlet in the nation. 

No amount of online petitions or bitchy tweets complaining about where the cuts came from will save the government from negative public opinion surrounding this issue. It was always going to fail, like the 12-months of screaming "BIAS" at every stage leading up to this would have. 

It’s lamentable, yet no surprise, that the ABC breaks so few stories; its reporters are followers, not leaders, which is scandalous given there are so many of them. Witness the implosion of the Palmer United Party. The ABC reports this breathlessly as a celebrity tabloid yarn with Jacqui Lambie at the centre of the drama. By contrast, The Australian, almost single-handedly, has reported on PUP founder and funder Clive Palmer from virtually every angle, exposing his business practices, bizarre policy positions, litigation history and questionable personal conduct.

The Australian saved their own self-congratulations to the last paragraph which is impressive. 

To be fair to The Australian, they remain, and always will be, the Jenna Maroney of Australian media. 

[mdlennon]

NMP #9 - 25 November 2014 (Morning edition)

1 - Jazz Tremlow argues that live-tweets ruin the television experience. Incorporation of Twitter into television is clearly an attempt at salvaging 'the experience' of live television (LINK)

"In the meantime, I continue to attach a strip of cardboard across the bottom of the TV screen with blu-tack, so I can continue to watch an otherwise interesting program" - one commenter already has his solution 

2 - The PR trick of burying your bad news press releases in busy times or well after hours remain true (LINK) 

3 - Amanda Meade's Weekly Beast segment featured a wonderful rebuttal to some of Hamish McClennan's complaints about the ABC

"They could start by...saving $15m on marketing because they are not required to make a profit," McClennan said

This is either a purely sarcastic or just plain ridiculous comment on advertising. Just because they're not looking to profit from ads doesn't mean they're not in the market for viewers. 

4 - University of Delaware research has found that viewers of satire programs were far more likely to hear a lot about net neutrality. Last Week Tonight topped the list with 29% of viewers knowing a lot about the topic, The Daily Show and Colbert Report were at 23 and 22% while broadcast news and Fox News viewers languished at 9 and 7% (LINK) 

If, like me, you needed to watch John Oliver's net neutrality segment one more time after reading this study, you can find it here (his brilliant call to action starts at 12.15) 

5 - The YouGov profiler gives you a wonderful procrastination hit, and shows the power of data (LINK)

For example, there is a moderate statistical significance of female Twitter users over male (z = 1.57).

There is a very strong significance in Twitter users being aged 25-39 (z = 8.52), and a strong significance for 18-24 (z = 3.73) or 40-59 (z = 2.32). Basically, this means they're not over 60 (z = -18.86). 

Twitter politics lean quite heavily to the left. They tend to listen to Calvin Harris (z = 4.30) and watch Friends (z = 3.33). 

Twitter users are online for 50+ hours per week, and strongly favour The Guardian (z = 4.16) and favour The Independent (z = 2.07). 

6 - We never thought 140 characters could represent social discussions with Twitter, and I've always had similar thoughts about Vine. But Vine isn't just a 4 second set-up and two second punch-line anymore, it is becoming a journalistic tool (LINK) 

[mdlennon]

NMP #8 - November 23

1 - Annabel Crabb on the 'fight club' opinion writers in modern journalism, in relation to Mark Latham's piece in the AFR (LINK)

2 - The widening importance of net neutrality, and a changing era for cable stations in Tech Crunch (LINK)

3 - The worrying signs towards the Facebook-effect on media outlets. Will information be reduced to reducing a headline then arguing in the comments section? (LINK)

4 - A post-Seinfeld world, and the death of the 'drop-in' (LINK)

5 - Mary McNamara evaluates the exploration and development of television in the past decade. One more element of proof that Arrested Development was about 3 years too early (LINK)

6 - Reddit AMA's should never ever be used unless 100% of people love you, as an FCC Commissioner painfully learned (LINK) 

7 - The 'freemium' model - where you can never win (LINK)

8 - Eric Shaw on the influence of newspapers on BBC's media coverage. This topic is especially relevant in Australia where News Corp and Fairfax dominate agenda-setting practices (LINK)

9 - Finally, are online comments becoming less important in a Twitter and Facebook-dominated world? Re/Code seems to think so  (LINK)

[mdlennon]

NMP #7 - November 21

Today's New Media links:

1 - As someone incredibly interested in the redefinition of fandom, I've been astonished with the rapid development of the Serial fan base. In just eight episodes, it now has an average of 1.4 million listeners per episode. It has its own fan community. It has a buzz which means its social media life extends on the realms of the show itself, at levels previously unprecedented for podcasts. http://qz.com/298820/sorry-netflix-serial-proves-that-the-best-shows-shouldnt-be-binged-on/

2 - Can hate be as strong as love? Ian Crouch looks at how Nickelback's anti-fans has kept the band going.

To be hated by an army of anxious, elitist, PItchfork-reading coastal snobs may be enough of a foundation on which to build a enduring fan base in the shrunken marketplace of the digital age. 

3 - Building a virtual army for profit. Nick Bilton looks at how fake friends pay up. 

4 - After the Supreme Court ruled Aereo's live streaming service breached copyright, the company has filed for bankruptcy after laying off most of its workforce months ago http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/21/tv-streaming-service-aereo-bankruptcy

5 - A new daily newspaper has been launched in Scotland. Bolding added for emphasis as I never expected those words would be combined again. 

6 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters are a thing now. As a sweater fan, I think I need to move to America immediately. 

7 - Why I had to turn down Band Aid by Fuse ODG points out some of the very important flaws in the delivery and lyrics of Bob Geldof's song. 

[mdlennon]

Victoria Votes 2014 - Officially Unofficial Minor Party Preview #1

A record 21 parties have signed up to contest the Victorian Election, with 11 new parties contesting this year. 

In this post I will give a brief preview into six parties: Vote 1 Local Jobs, Voluntary Euthanasia Party, Voice for The West, The Basics Rock and Roll Party, Shooters and Fishers, and Rise Up Australia

Vote 1 Local Jobs (Campaign video - recommendation...don't)

Their website starts off a tad dramatic...

"If we don't take a stand on some of these issues (employment and economic security) the way of life we enjoy will be swallowed up by taxes, lack of funding and the metropolitan drain. Country areas will die without greater support"

Most of their 8-point plan (which is a solid start, in the battleground of extended point-plans), revolves around shifting government departments and authorities to shift expenditure and departments to regional areas. Their education plan is based on improving regional funding for Universities, TAFEs and Technical Colleges and developing online education capabilities in regional areas. They want $50 million diverted from the Grand Prix to fix regional roads.   

Their agriculture policy rules out coal seam gas, free trade agreements and foreign purchasing of land. Because Straya, obviously. 

SIMPSONS DID IT: Their childcare plan involves incentives for home-based childcare, as well as greater flexibility in hours (though there is no plan on how to enact that part).

Voluntary Euthanasia Party

The Voluntary Euthanasia Party supports euthanasia...duh. It has heavy links to Philip Nitschke's Exit International. 

I approve of the South Metro Region candidates who have decided that appearing in photos with their dogs is a real vote-winner. Their campaign was launched by Derryn Hinch, and other people who didn't realise you're not meant to stand in front of a projector.

Voice for the West

Their aim is to get a vote of around 10-15%, giving them a chance to win the balance of power. They are likely to fall just short of these expectations (by 9-14%). 

Their plan is to remove as many forms of tax from Western Victoria as possible, including: 

Tax advantages for businesses

Eliminate payroll, land tax, stamp duty

Create $10,000 capital grants for unemployed and under-employed to establish businesses

Subsidies for firms who engage with a long-term underemployed or unemployed for 12 months.

SIMPSONS DID IT - These policies were clearly inspired by Homer Simpson's short-lived run as Sanitation Commissioner. 

Their transport policy includes free public transport, because the $700 million return on $100 million of 'dysfunctional' Myki costs. They believe not-for-profit community organisations able to operate taxi services, because why not amirite?

The Basics Rock and Roll (RnR) Party

The RnR party aims to be a progressive voice for rock stars, struggling single mothers and also everyone. Basically it has a broad target market to work with. RnR supports same sex marriage and support to gay and lesbian communities. It supports deducing the voting age to 17, and increasing funding for child protection and Department of Community Services. 

RnR also aims to create affordable housing and increase youth income, potentially by some form of magic beans. 

It's cultural policies include legislating requirements for Australian support-bands for international bands, and requiring 70% Australian music on Australian radio. 

Shooters and Fishers (S&F) Party

S&F believes in a multicultural society, committed to Australian values above all others. 

We believe in a fair go for all, but not at the expense of others.

S&F claim to be the only minor party delivering results for the Ron Swanson's of the world. You can always volunteer to display a S&F sign at your house if you don't want to pay for a "NO TRESPASSING" sign, too. 

S&F claim that because firearms don't obey the law around fire arms, the law doesn't work, preventing "hundreds of thousands" of Australians who use firearms safely and responsibly. 

S&F truly meet the requirements of Team Australia, in supporting coal-powered energy generation. 

Rise Up Australia Party

As the first party with an official theme song, it is a pleasure to conclude Part 1 of the Victorian Election preview with the Rise Up Australia Party. If you haven't seen it already, their two Senators have their victory dance ready.

Rise Up Australia oppose multiculturalism and foreign ownership of assets., They long for a return to McEwan-ism with by significantly increasing tariffs. 

They support equality, in terms of ending all taxpayer-funded payments on the lines of racial, ethnic, sexual preference or gender. They reject the "promotion of homosexuality as a normal practice". 

We oppose same-sex marriage, bigamy, polygamy and Centrelink funding of such and similar practices;

We believe that school curriculums, social discourse and media commentaries have been hijacked by pro-homosexual propaganda by a group that does not represent the norm but makes up less than 2% of Australia’s population

They're also not the biggest fans of feminism, either....

In total contrast, Emily’s List (Emily being an acronym for Early Money Is Like Yeast) is a feminist organisation established to get pro abortion women elected to government.

Currently all Victorians are legally protected with a cooling off period should they decide to purchase a set of encyclopaedias for example, or to change their energy provider. Unfortunately women seeking an abortion are not afforded that same legal protection. 

They believe "so called scientists" are lying to you about global warming to keep the rest of the population scared. 

[mdlennon]

NMP #6 - The future of academia, online hate-campaigns and Estimates

1 - Locked gates of knowledge

Noah Berlatsky presenting Paul Eve's argument about the importance of academic research to our lives, and the social need for access. As a humanities student, I'm certainly going to miss university access to limitless articles, and the amazing learning potential these provide.

2 - Spiral of slander  

A classic case of fear and propaganda have led to the rise of an anti-Halal campaign on social media. George Christensen of the Nationals weighed into the debate yesterday, opening with: 

"Are groceries in Australian trolleys funding a push for Sharia law, supporting jihad groups or even backing terrorist activity?" (Link)

Several Facebook pages have popped up, and threats have made their way to companies with these supplies. The new media provides areas for incredible segmentation. For every logical, reasoned argument. There is a hate site available to be used as a source by those in a desperate search to find information which matches their fears. 

3 - Estimates, ABC & Innovation

Johnathon Hutchinson argues that budget cuts to the ABC will impact the broadcasters innovation. ABC Managing Director Mark Scott outlined tonight that the Lewis Review, previously unreleased by the government found $59.1 million of potential savings, however costing $76 million to implement. Instead, a total of $254 million 'back office' cut was implemented.

Scott appeared at an Estimates hearing tonight, with Scott facing bizarre and extended lines of questioning, which at one stage descended into an argument about time allowed for questioning, and a rant about Warren Ryan's suspension by a National's MP. The media is being redefined rapidly, and the arguments that ABC need to divest from digital services are entirely contrary to audience needs, and more suited to ideological ones.  

The ABC's latest annual report is available here. 

Recommended reads

Mitchell, Bruns, Woodford and Prowd - An interactive map of the G20 on Twitter 

Statista charting the return of vinyl, which surged to over 6 million sales this year in America. Vinyl is normally associated with the inner-city alleyway Record Store, however the two largest sellers of records are Amazon and Best Buy. 

[mdlennon]

It's no Henry, Henry, let's all vote for Henry.

PS. Enjoy how much the guy on the far-left of screen hates this dance.

[mdlennon]

NMP #5 - The 21st century backflip (Comment)

Statistics on the SBS News Youtube video containing Abbott's "no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensions and no change to the GST pledge prove for interesting viewing. 

The first spike came in mid-April, when Joe Hockey began talking of the budget, culminating in a massive surge around budget night. These statistics represent a small amount of actual discussion around this pledge. Of course, after the election it has been quoted elsewhere hundreds of times, and a fake photoshop continues to do the rounds. 

The internet allows an endless suppository repository of information, which allows for a far easier demonstration of hypocrisy and contradiction. Anti-fans have a great deal of power online in sharing through their own political networks. This remains somewhat limited by the segmentation online, where people tend to follow only those they agree with. 

For Abbott, this links back to his relentless campaigning against the carbon tax. "There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead" is the quote that every Australian has heard hundreds of times. The end of that sentence, "but let me be clear, I will be putting a price on carbon and I will move to an emissions trading scheme" was one we heard much less. This proves the power of the soundbite, and the power of the political networks online. One quote in a pre-election interview undoubtedly impacted Gillard's political career, and became a signature flaw in her leadership.

One wonders whether the 24-hour news cycle will see so many political backflips that they will begin to lose some of their persuasive appeal, outside of niche forms of party politics. 

[mdlennon]

New Media & Politics #4 - Television, Net Neutrality, Cultural Ignorance and Yes Please

Hamish McLennan says the government is creating a forth free-to-air network by stealth in increasing advertising time on SBS. Clearly Channel 10 have their version of The Late Show's 'Still Number Four' ad ready and don't want lovers of advertising flocking to SBS (The Age). 

Yalda Hakim blasts the positive shift rumoured on Dateline. We see so many formulaic current affairs shows on commercial television, so it is sad to see an institution like Dateline suffers these cuts. 

Open Net: A fantastic overview of President Obama's stance on net neutrality (Foreign Policy)

The Guardian on our ignorance with Aboriginal cultures. This is something that really resonates with me. Earlier this year I worked with youth justice groups representing many indigenous youth. The latest statistics show indigenous youth are 24 times more likely to go to jail than non-indigenous youth (Stats link). I understood the statistics. I understood the need for help. Until I did a site visit to a youth detention centre and saw children as young as 10 in jail, I couldn't comprehend the true definition of inequality. 

Sarah Larson on Amy Poehler's book Yes Please. I just finished Poehler's book today and it truly turns out to be the most enthralling and just plain wonderful book possible.So much so, that I was listening to it walking to the bus from work a couple of weeks ago and I man threatened to punch me thinking I was mocking him. I'd recommend you grab the audiobook (If you've never used Audible, download it as part of a free trial) as well as the physical book. The hard copy can stand proudly beside Bossypants and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? on your bookshelf. If that hasn't convinced you already, this photo will change your mind.

[mdlennon]

NMP Blog #3 - Opinion polling and celebrity

 1 - Opinion Polling

In Australian Politics we've seen an interesting shift in the past 24 hours with increased pressure on the Abbott government coming from its own supporters. This culminates in its most ardent supporter, the definitely-not racist Andrew Bolt who today concluded Abbott's team must "change now or die". This comes from Roy Morgan and Newspoll concluding that LNP trails Labor by 10 points (FYI Essential Research still has Labor up by only four). This brings up interesting issues in terms of public opinion, and the value placed on international issues against local ones. The Gillard government was one controlled by the media. Opinion polls, and a perceived lack of legitimacy meant every poor poll led to leadership questions. The current progress of the Abbott government has defied populism in favour of ideology, and it looks like a different approach is needed. Outside of Twitter, there hasn't been much talk of any leadership challenges. If polls remain like this for too much longer, that is likely to change.

(PS. Go ahead and have a guess on how many times Bolt criticises the ABC's role in the government's poor perception (Link). 

2 - Glorified celebrities

Stacia Brown discusses our glorified perceptions of celebrities, and the difficulties in being a fan when these are destroyed. Of course this issue is brought up in relation to the Bill Cosby allegations, however it is applicable to all areas of our public and private lives. At its core, fandom is highly emotional. It goes back to Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory describes our internal discomfort when what we know and what we read are out of synch (Link)

Recommended Read

Medium - The secret lives of vinyl hoarders https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-secret-lives-of-vinyl-hoarders-fa519eee6fff 

[mdlennon]

NMP Blog #2 - ABC 7.30 skit and the definition of news (Comment)

In the past week, ABC's flagship current affairs program 7.30 has received considerable (negative) attention about a skit aired last week surrounding MH17 and 'shirt fronting'. Leigh Sales looked uncomfortable introducing it, and later confirmed she did not want the skit to air. 

Tonight on Q&A Malcolm Turnbull made the argument that people who switched to 7.30 without seeing the introduction would have been quite confused by the matter. At the end of the day, this isn't a War of the Worlds radio broadcast. The old media effects argument is a bit out of place here. And for Malcolm, and the panel itself, purely arguing that a segment isn't funny is not a legitimate form of criticism.

Humour is subjective, as one or two people have said before. This does not warrant a freight-train of anger directed at the news program. A couple of weeks ago the ABC aired a segment on Bronies, who are male My Little Fans. This is just one example of a light-hearted, human interest story. It is not necessarily in place at the 'prestigious' institution of 7.30, but it didn't lead to a barrage of anger. The argument that the segment was not funny is simply a ridiculous one. We don't scrutinise every single news segment to wonder if it is "newsy" enough, so why should one, signposted switch to comedy be such a point of interest? 

The news itself is being redefined. Take a look at the front page of the newspaper. The connotations surrounding the front page suggest it is the most essential piece of information we need to know that day. In the past couple of years this has been open to photoshop, editorials and sensationalism. Then we see satire as a valued news source. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert deliver a new form of news valued by millions of Comedy Central viewers, and online audiences. In the past few months, we've seen John Oliver deliver incredible and powerful satire, and in-depth recaps of the news through satire. 

My argument is simply this. Humour is subjective. News is subjective. The reaction to this, one skit on a television program is completely over the top. Clark and Dawe have been a 7.30 staple for years, and that doesn't seem to be an issue. As Stewart, Colbert and Oliver demonstrate, satire can deliver news in a new and accessible way. Since opinion is news, and photoshop is news, why can't satire be news?

Recommended read: 

Johnathon Swift - A Modest Proposal (because of course you have to link to this is an article about satire) 

[mdlennon]

NMP Blog #1 - Tweets, crime and data

As some of you may know, in 2015 I am applying for an Honours Project in Media and Communication. Specifically, I’m looking at political fan practices on Twitter during the Gillard government. This is an incredibly interesting area of research, and I’m really looking forward to continue learning in this field. 

I have decided to create a blog which curates interesting topics related to New Media and Politics (NMP). It'll just be two or three posts most days, focusing on new media and a couple of extra links at the end. It'll probably feature some of the interesting, but unusable finds for my thesis itself, but that's a long time away.

Enjoy!

1 - For the live tweeters

Sport and Reality TV have dominated Nielson’s first survey into Twitter ratings. The NRL Grand Final won out with an audience of nearly 229,000 people from 22,400 tweeters. This is a surprisingly low amount of unique tweeters, however the reach itself remains quite impressive. (Mumbrella) http://cdn0.mumbrella.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Screen-Shot-2014-11-17-at-11.16.56-AM.png

FYI - 3.95 million watched the NRL Grand Final itself

2 - For the crime fans

I’m a bit late to this, but Washington Post covered the ‘cultish obsession’ with radio podcast Serial. It’s obvious that we, the audience, love to follow a crime. Amateur sleuthing was at its best, then ultimately worst, with the Boston bombing manhunt.

It has all the elements of what we know of fandom. It has the emotional connection. It has the community. The potential of Serial, and podcasting in general, is incredible in terms of redefining how we see fandom. 

“Fans use the language of popular television; they talk of bingeing and addiction and fear of spoilers” - Stephanie Merry 

The internet has redefined what we know of fandom. It has not only broadened the term, but it has broadened the way we can understand it. Niche communities are becoming easier to find, with online spaces readily available to immerse and extend the world of the media. 

Recommended reads: 

CNN - How the GOP used Twitter to stretch election laws

Recommended viewing:

News 4 JAX - Florida City Council election decided by ping pong balls after race tied at 1447 votes 

[mdlennon]

New Media Blog

As part of a subject surrounding new media last semester, we kept a running blog on weekly content. As new media is something I have generally taken for granted, this gave some excellent learnings into the benefits and shortfalls of online communication.