Can you remember the last time you purchased a magazine or newspaper to find out about current events.?
Most of you probably just reach for your smart phone or hop on the computer to see what is going on in the world. Therefore, it makes me wonder if social media, is helping kill off print media. Not only is having newspapers online responsible but I feel that more and more people are getting their information through social media. Our generation is too accustomed to getting information free and instantaneous that having to go out and purchase it no longer seems like an option. For example, I found out about the tragedy in Japan through people's status' on Facebook. My grandparents and I have often have the disagreement with the fact that I do not sit and watch the news every night. My response is always if something is going I need to know about I'll find out about it. Which is true, I would say well over half the information I receive I found out through what people are saying on Social Media sites.
So with Social Media how do newspapers and magazines survive? I recently saw a commercial with Cosmopolitan promoting their new app for the iPhone and iPad, as well as, their Facebook page. I applaud them on their efforts to alter their product to appease current consumer demand. Unfortunately, I feel that that in order to survive these types of businesses have got to find alternative ways to stay relevant.
You made a good point with this post. Within the past several years, we've seen a huge decline in print media such as newspapers, magazines, etc. as more businesses go online. Overall advertisements have really boomed in the online world. If you think about it, do the billboards on the side of the road even catch your attention anymore? What about posters or flyers distributed throughout campus? I feel like overall, businesses are marketing more and more through online venues and particularly social media. Other than TV and radio, the old marketing venues like print are being taken over by online venues faster than ever. This is a really good point and illustrates to us how fast the social media phenomenon is growing! This is something we should constantly be aware about and keep watching as new trend grow.
ReplyDeleteI think that we will always have certain magazines that are purely for entertainment or easy reading, but there may come a time when most of our informative magazines and newspapers go digital. I personally enjoy reading the newspaper while it is in front of me, on paper. However, I do think that the newspaper is such I highly informative and popular reading material it will eventually become preferred to be read from some electronic device. This way it is accessible from anywhere with internet and it is immediate.
ReplyDeleteExcellant Blog! This reminds me of when I was younger, I felt guilty when I would ignore the news when my grandparents were watching it. They would tell me that I wasn't keeping up-to-date with current events. I was only a kid, and the news isn't appealing in any way to children. Social media is reaching some of these young age groups, but not completely until further in the future. The news can be boring and so monotone. I find it fun to be on Facebook socializing with my friends, and surfing the web to stay up-to-date with my information. This social media approach is beneficial to generation Y, by reaching their knowledge databases through way of past, present, and future event retreival. So, I don't have to feel guilty anymore from not literally watching the News, because I am a part of it and learning it through way of socialization.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, magazines will have their own spot of something tangible and still very aesthetically pleasing and a sense of ease-of-reading. Magazines provide information from scholars and sometimes social media can be wrong information gathered by someone with no credit whatsoever. Magazines will be here to stay since they are still appealing in their own way.
ReplyDeleteEven with the popularity of the internet and social media, I don't think print will ever completely go away. It's been proven that people remember more content when read in print form. I also think that in an academic setting, internet sites and social media will never be accepted as references. The printed journals, books, and research will still be the foundation for future research and references.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, magazines are entertaining. That's what I look at when I'm in the grocery line or getting my nails or hair done. We like to have something tangible to look at. Print media fills that need.
I never take the time, effort, or money to purchase magazines or newspapers, however, I will pick one up on occasion at my house when I go for the weekend or while I am sitting in a waiting room. Usually then I will only skim through looking for something interesting that catches my eye. I do watch the news a few times a week. It really is not a routine of mine but sometimes I will get the urge to turn the TV to CNN or watch the 10 o'clock news. Like you said, if something happens that
ReplyDeleteI need to know about it, I will find out about it. This usually happens through social media. Facebook statuses and the Yahoo homepage are the two sources that come to mind when I think about information finding me on the internet. Even with the rise of social media I believe that print media will alway be around. Its popularity has declined drastically in the past decade and will probably continue to do so, but I do not believe it will ever get to the point where it is completely obselete.
I don't even go to online newspaper sites. I literally get all my news from Twitter. I follow @BreakingNews and that keeps me informed. In addition, I check out all the top trends to keep up with what's going on.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I believe that newspaper will eventually go the way of the DoDo bird. Most newspapers have online sites with minimal charges to join, and in some cases are free. Eventually you will see that many publishing companies will struggle to make ends meet because of the ever changing technological advancing we are going through.
ReplyDeleteThis is completely true. I'm glad you brought this up. I haven't bought a magizine or looked at a traditional newpaper in the year of 2011. I admit I get all my information online or through social media (cnn-twitter is a big one). However, Newspaper and magazine companies shouldnt throw in the towel just yet... The baby boomer generation is still not ready to completely give up the traditional ways. They do need to convert to using social media to appeal to the rest of the generations because eventually, their method of distributing information to the world will be obselete.
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