New media services : ratings and recommendations websites in the travel and tourism industry

The travel and hospitality industry is one which relies especially crucially on word of mouth, both at the level of overall destinations (Australia, Queensland, Brisbane) and at the level of travellers’ individual choices of hotels, restaurants, sights during their trips. The provision of such word-of-mouth information has been revolutionised over the past decade by the rise of community-based Websites which allow their users to share information about their past and future trips and advise one another on what to do or what to avoid during their travels. Indeed, the impact of such user-generated reviews, ratings, and recommendations sites has been such that established commercial travel advisory publishers such as Lonely Planet have experienced a pronounced downturn in sales ¬– unless they have managed to develop their own ways of incorporating user feedback and contributions into their publications. This report examines the overall significance of ratings and recommendation sites to the travel industry, and explores the community, structural, and business models of a selection of relevant ratings and recommendations sites. We identify a range of approaches which are appropriate to the respective target markets and business aims of these organisations, and conclude that there remain significant opportunities for further operators especially if they aim to cater for communities which are not yet appropriately served by specific existing sites. Additionally, we also point to the increasing importance of connecting stand-alone ratings and recommendations sites with general social media spaces like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and of providing mobile interfaces which enable users to provide updates and ratings directly from the locations they happen to be visiting. In this report, we profile the following sites: * TripAdvisor, the international market leader for travel ratings and recommendations sites, with a membership of some 11 million users; * IgoUgo, the other leading site in this field, which aims to distinguish itself from the market leader by emphasising the quality of its content; * Zagat, a long-established publisher of restaurant guides which has translated its crowdsourcing model from the offline to the online world; * Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree site, which attempts to respond to the rise of these travel communities by similarly harnessing user-generated content; * Stayz, which attempts to enhance its accommodation search and booking services by incorporating ratings and reviews functionality; and * BigVillage, an Australian-based site attempting to cater for a particularly discerning niche of travellers; * Dopplr, which connects travel and social networking in a bid to pursue the lucrative market of frequent and business travellers; * Foursquare, which builds on its mobile application to generate a steady stream of ‘check-ins’ and recommendations for hospitality and other services around the world; * Suite 101, which uses a revenue-sharing model to encourage freelance writers to contribute travel writing (amongst other genres of writing); * Yelp, the global leader in general user-generated product review and recommendation services. In combination, these profiles provide an overview of current developments in the travel ratings and recommendations space (and beyond), and offer an outlook for further possibilities. While no doubt affected by the global financial downturn and the reduction in travel that it has caused, travel ratings and recommendations remain important – perhaps even more so if a reduction in disposable income has resulted in consumers becoming more critical and discerning. The aggregated word of mouth from many tens of thousands of travellers which these sites provide certainly has a substantial influence on their users. Using these sites to research travel options has now become an activity which has spread well beyond the digirati. The same is true also for many other consumer industries, especially where there is a significant variety of different products available – and so, this report may also be read as a case study whose findings are able to be translated, mutatis mutandis, to purchasing decisions from household goods through consumer electronics to automobiles.

Review of Apple iPad news applications : new media service

The launch of the Apple iPad on January 2010 has seen considerable interest from the newspaper and publishing industry in developing content and business models for the tablet PC device that can address the limits of both the print and online news and information media products. It is early days in the iPad’s evolution, and we wait to see what competitor devices will emerge in the near future. It is apparent, however, that it has become a significant “niche” product, with considerable potential for mass market expansion over the next few years, possibly at the expense of netbook sales. The scope for the iPad and tablet PCs to become a “fourth screen” for users, alongside the TV, PC and mobile phone, is in early stages of evolution. The study used five criteria to assess iPad apps: • Content: timeliness; archive; personalisation; content depth; advertisements; the use of multimedia; and the extent to which the content was in sync with the provider brand. • Useability: degree of static content; ability to control multimedia; file size; page clutter; resolution; signposts; and customisation. • Interactivity: hyperlinks; ability to contribute content or provide feedback to news items; depth of multimedia; search function; ability to use plug-ins and linking; ability to highlight, rate and/or save items; functions that may facilitate a community of users. • Transactions capabilities: ecommerce functionality; purchase and download process; user privacy and transaction security. • Openness: degree of linking to outside sources; reader contribution processes; anonymity measures; and application code ownership.

New research literacies for contemporary research into literacy and new media?

The term literacy remains highly contested and debates continue about how literacy might best be researched and to what ends. For some, literacy is simply a matter of acquiring the technical competence which enables people to read and write. Literacy research conducted from this point of view does not usually concern itself with the new media but rather focuses on how people learn to code and decode print text. For others, however, literacy is more complex and involves learning a repertoire of practices for communicating and getting things done in particular social and cultural contexts. Literacy research conducted from this sociocultural point of view accepts that the new media are central to the field because in everyday cultural practice people are using the new media to make meaning, to express themselves and to communicate and work with others. Socio-cultural approaches to literacy research have already provided rich material which has assisted educators to understand literacy practices in everyday use (e.g. Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Barton, Hamilton and Ivanic, 2000) including children’s appropriation of the media in school-based writing (Dyson, 1997). However, the changing semiotic and cultural practices associated with new media and online participation have less frequently been the object of study...

New media pathways : navigating the links between home, school and the workplace

The terms ‘literacy’ and ‘technology’ remain highly contentious within the field of education. What is meant by ‘literacy’ and the methods used to measure it vary quite markedly in educational and historical contexts across the world. Similarly, while there is a shared concern to research the potential impact of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on patterns of teaching and learning, there are major discrepancies about which aspects and uses of these technologies should be incorporated into formal learning environments and how this can be accomplished. While government policy makers tend to regard ICTs in relation to ideas of ‘smartness’, efficiency, and the ‘knowledge’ (or ‘new’) economy, educators and educational researchers promote them as offering new tools for learning and critical thinking and the development of new literacies and socio-cultural identities. This clearly has ramifications for the ways literacy is taught and conceptualised throughout the years of schooling, K-12. Outside school, meanwhile, students engage with ICTs on another level entirely, as tools for the maintenance of social networks, for leisure, and for learning and participating in the cultures of their peers. Whatever the differences in perspective, it remains the case that a society’s dominant understandings about literacy and technology will have significant implications for the development of school curriculum.

Virion : new media and the development of the discursive museum

The historical rhetoric established with the very first public art museums declared that the purpose of such institutions was to provide a space where art could be accessible to all citizens. However contrary to this aim, studies show that art museums are one of the least accessed cultural institutions in the western world. The prevailing consensus for this can be attributed to the perception that museums are elitist, irrelevant and restricted to a small and privileged group. The focus of this research project is to address the issues that lead to these perceptions, and to identify possible curatorial strategies to encourage greater access to, and participation in the visual arts. This will be done through designing and curating an open submission exhibition that utilises new media technologies to increase access and dialogue between artists and audiences. This is part of a hybrid practice-based methodology that also includes scholarly research to critically investigate a number of historical and contemporary theories concerned with public museums and approaches to curatorial practice. This research will culminate in the development of Virion, an Internet based exhibition that aims to develop a curatorial model that facilitates open and democratic participation in arts practice from a diverse public audience.

What happened to the education revolution? : new media technologies and the Australian curriculum : constraints and possibilities

This chapter investigates the place of new media in Queensland in the light of the Australian curriculum. ‘Multimodal texts’ in English are being defined as largely electronically ‘created’ and yet restricted access to digital resources at the chalkface may preclude this work from happening. The myth of the ‘digital native’ (Prensky, 2007), combined with the reality of the ‘digital divide’ coupled with technophobia amongst some quite experienced teachers, responsible for implementing the curriculum, paints a picture of constraints. These constraints are due in part to protective state bans in Queensland on social networking sites and school bans on mobile phone use. Some ‘Generation next’ will have access to digital platforms for the purpose of designing texts at home and school, and others will not. Yet without adequate Professional Development for teachers and substantially increased ICT infrastructure funding for all schools, the way new media and multimodal opportunities are interpreted at state level in the curriculum may leave much to be desired in schools. This chapter draws on research that I recently conducted on the professional development needs of beginning teachers, as well as a critical reading of the ACARA policy documents.

Grounded Media: Expanding the Scope of Ecological Art Practices Within New Media Arts Culture

‘Grounded Media’ is a form of art practice focused around the understanding that our ecological crisis is also a cultural crisis, perpetuated by our sense of separation from the material and immaterial ecologies upon which we depend. This misunderstanding of relationships manifests not only as environmental breakdown, but also in the hemorrhaging of our social fabric. ‘Grounded Media’ is consistent with an approach to media art making that I name ‘ecosophical’ and ‘praxis-led’ – which seeks through a range of strategies, to draw attention to the integrity, diversity and efficacy of the biophysical, social and electronic environments of which we are an integral part. It undertakes this through particular choices of location, interaction design,participative strategies and performative direction. This form of working emerged out of the production of two major projects, Grounded Light [8] and Shifting Intimacies [9] and is evident in a recent prototypical wearable art project called In_Step [6]. The following analysis and reflections will assist in promoting new, sustainable roles for media artists who are similarly interested in attuning their practices.

A Companion to New Media Dynamics

A Companion to New Media Dynamics presents a state-of-the-art collection of multidisciplinary readings that examine the origins, evolution, and cultural underpinnings of the media of the digital age in terms of dynamic change Presents a state-of-the-art collection of original readings relating to new media in terms of dynamic change. - Features interdisciplinary contributions encompassing the sciences, social sciences, humanities and creative arts - Addresses a wide range of issues from the ownership and regulation of new media to their form and cultural uses - Provides readers with a glimpse of new media dynamics at three levels of scale: the ‘macro’ or system level; the ‘meso’ or institutional level; and ‘micro’ or agency level

Hypercapitalism : language, new media and social perceptions of value

Using examples from contemporary policy and business discourses, and exemplary historical texts dealing with the notion of value, I put forward an argument as to why a critical scholarship that draws on media history, language analysis, philosophy and political economy is necessary to understand the dynamics of what is being called 'the global knowledge economy'. I argue that the social changes associated with new modes of value determination are closely associated with new media forms.

Why new media reforms are bad news for Australian content

Two of the government’s six media reform bills passed in the House of Representatives with multi-party support on Tuesday 19 March. While most attention and debate has focused on the regulation of the news media and ownership, the changes approved on 19 March are both significant and far-reaching.

New media and the transformation of higher education

One set of public institutions that has seen growing discussion about the transformative impact of new media technologies has been universities. The higher education sector, historically one of the more venerable and stable areas of public life, is now the subject of almost continuous speculation about whether it can continue in its current form during the 21st century. Digital media technologies are often seen as being at the forefront of such changes. It has been widely noted that moves towards a knowledge economy generates ‘skills-biased technological change’, that places a premium upon higher education qualifications, and that this earnings gap remains despite the continuing increase in the number of university graduates. As the demand for higher education continues to grow worldwide, there are new discussions about whether technologically-mediated education through new forms such as Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are broadening access to quality learning, or severing the vital connection between teacher and student seen as integral to the learning process. This paper critically appraises such debates in the context of early 21st century higher education. It will discuss ten drivers of change in higher education, many of which are related to themes discussed elsewhere in this book, such as the impact of social media, globalization, and a knowledge economy. It will also consider the issues raised in navigating such developments from the perspective of the ‘Five P’s’: practical issues; personal issues; pedagogical issues; policy issues; and philosophical issues. It also includes a critical evaluation of MOOCs from the point of view of their educational qualities. It will conclude with the observation that while universities will continue to play a significant – and perhaps growing – role in the economy, society and culture, the issues raised about what Clayton Christensen and Henry Eyring term the ‘disruptive university’ (Christensen and Eyring 2011) are nonetheless pressing ones, and that cost and policy pressures in particular are likely to generate significant institutional transformations in higher education worldwide.

The democratisation of journalism practice for a politically informed citizenry : the capacities of new media to engage citizens in public life - a case study

This research investigates the extent to which the World Wide Web and the participatory news media culture have contributed to the democratisation of journalism since 1997. It examined the different ways in which public service and commercial news media models use digital platforms to fulfil their obligations as members of the Fourth Estate. The research found that the digital environment provides news organisations with greater scope for transparency, interactivity, collaboration and social networking compared to the traditional print and broadcast platforms.

Literary prosumers : young people’s reading and writing in a new media landscape

The production of culture is today a matter of ‘user generated content’ and young people are vital participants as ‘prosumers’, i.e. both producers and consumers, of cultural products. Among other things, they are busy creating fan works (stories, pictures, films) based on already published material. Using the genre fan fiction as a point of departure, this article explores the drivers behind net communities organised around fan culture and argues that fan fiction sites can in many aspects be regarded as informal learning settings. By turning to the rhetoric principle of imitatio, the article shows how in the collective interactive processes between readers and writers such fans develop literacies and construct gendered identities.

Introducing dynamics : a new approach to "new media" [Editorial]

The term ‘‘new media’’ has been in play for decades now, and one might be forgiven for wondering how much longer digital forms and platforms can really be called ‘‘new,’’ or even what the scholarship of new media contributes to knowledge. Is it possible to say new things about new media? We think so. This Companion not only demonstrates the variety, salience, and importance of new media studies but also proposes a distinctive approach to the topic : an approach we call ‘‘new media dynamics.’’ In this view, what’s interesting about ‘‘new media’’ is not novelty as such but dynamism. Capitalism, technology, social networks, and media all evolve and change, sometimes to our delight, sometimes our dismay. This incessant process of disruption, renewal, and eventual (if often partial) replacement is now one of humanity’s central experiences. This cutting-edge collection brings together a stellar array of the world’s top researchers, cultural entrepreneurs, and emerging scholars to give the dynamics of new media their first full-length, multidisciplinary, historical, and critical treatment. Across 34 chapters, an international line-up of the very best authors reflects on the historical, technical, cultural, and political changes that underlie the emergence of new media, as existing patterns and assumptions are challenged by the forces of ‘‘creative destruction’’ and innovation, both economic and cultural. At the same time they show that familiar themes and problems carry through from ‘‘old’’media – questions of identity, sexuality, politics, relationships, and meaning.