In class Photoshop

Photoshop Final

 

 

Marshall McLuhan saw past the facts and sought to find a deeper message through the media itself and it’s effects on society. If Marshall were here today to describe iTunes as a whole (including Ping) he would look passed the obvious services it provides like it being a digital platform for music purchasing.

For my image explanation I will describe some of the effects iTunes has had on society.

Effect 1: Death to the album, and rise of the single.

The CD symbolized the honeymoon era for the recording industry, which reveled in selling complete albums to consumers at a handsome price. The artist who benefited by this arrangement was the one who saw the full-length album as an opportunity to experiment and create a cohesive musical program. The artist who lagged behind was a one-hit wonder whose album was mainly filler and didn’t carry that energy throughout the whole album.

Apple's pricing model once again lets consumers to peck around for specific songs, not albums. For record companies, iTunes' debut meant the demise of “album” artists, such as Pink Floyd and Wilco, and the rise of manufactured pop stars such as Katy Perry and Kesha. These surefire moneymakers are not built for album sales; the model in which they work best is the instant gratification of iTunes, which requires no other commitment from buyers than 99 cents and a few clicks of a mouse.

Effect 2: The rise of portable music

Portability, as opposed to the home stereo, is now an essential component of music consumption. The success of iTunes broke open the market for handheld devices, from the smart phone to Amazon’s Kindle which are all hardware featuring MP3 playback, wherever and whenever the consumer wants. This new consumer expectation gives iTunes more power than ever. With so many portable devices involved in everyone’s daily life, the Apple store is the primary place to access content.

 

Photoshop Assignment Part 1

For my project I chose the up and coming networking site by Apple named Ping. Ping’s content is revolved around music; including mini blogs, album downloads, music downloads (Mp3s files) and videos.

The content on the site is pretty restricted. You can only comment and rate and review music on the iTunes store. Thus anything outside of iTunes for example the Beatles is off limits. The content you encounter is heavily dependent on whom you follow and what they do aside from your own purchases and ratings of music.  Messaging content is very particular on Ping. You can only like specific items in iTunes, comment on other’s purchases and rate iTunes approved albums. There is no clear way to freely post anything you want for no reason. Hopefully updates in the future can loosen up the posting restrictions, which will also give the site more diverse content.

Marshal McLuhan was a great thinker that style of work can appeals to my project greatly. Marshal would of focused on the effect and method of delivery over the actual content presented through Ping. Marshall would the message and effect and societal change Ping would bring. Ping is an example of social networking becoming more of a personalized and tailored experience through music. Marshall would of also noted that music is now more of a of identification tool that people use to connect with others. 

Here are some visual representations of Ping and it's effects. 

Feel free to comment. Any input at all would be great.

New Media

Media is a never ending force that continues to become more personalized. Here are some forms of media that are up and coming. 


Digital Graffiti Wall: The Digital Graffiti Wall is an interactive, fun and inventive drawing tool where users create digital graffiti on a large wall using a modified spray paint can. Instead of paint, when the cap is pressed the can 'sprays' invisible light, which is tracked by the computer as it moves across the digital wall.  The digital pain appears wherever the can is sprayed, just like spraying on a real wall. 

GPS Advertising: This form of advertising is relatively new, and has mixed reviews. In short placement and display of certain ads will revolve around your location. For instance; you are passing by a Starbuck's and just as your in their given radius a Starbuck's ad showing their latest sale will appear on your iPhone.

Apple's Ping: The latest addition to Apple's iTunes arsenal. Ping is an all new social networking site that infuses the personalization of twitter with the smooth layout of Facebook. You can follow your favorite artist and become apart of their inner circle. Ping also lets you in on what music your favorite artist are listening to. This site has allot of potential and is geared for mass appeal because music is something we all can enjoy from rock to rap.

Impact on society: Each of these medias have their own significant impact on society. The digital graffiti wall can be interpreted as a creative component  of the green movement. The art of graffiti is usually shunned by many environmentally conscious people, because of the use of aresol cans. However with the "paint" being ultra violet light penetrating the smart board the ozone doesn't take any damage. This form of art has also started a trend of "smart art" and digital graffiti without the limitations of a smart board. This can be categorized as projection art, which is another form of earth friendly art and breaks the norm of where art can take place. 

-GPS advertising is another media that breaks the norm. However the repercussions are more intrusive than temporary light. GPS advertising can make society become more numb to the constant barrage of messages we indulge daily. This is also has positive benefits to society; in that the convenience of knowing sales around you at a buttons notice.

-Lastly Ping has the potential to become a societal changer. In 48 hours alone the site gain over one million users. The site itself is very new but I predict that Ping will result in people using Facebook, myspace and twitter less to post music. Also the sites that last the pressure from will find a niche market to cater to.