Consider theoretical perspectives in relation to the impact of new/ digital media in your case study. E.g. Representation of certain groups as a result of changes, Marxism & Hegemony, Liberal Pluralism, colonialism, audience theories etc.

Consider theoretical perspectives in relation to the impact of new/ digital media in your case study.  E.g. Representation of certain groups as a result of changes, Marxism & Hegemony, Liberal Pluralism, colonialism, audience theories etc.




The impact of new and digital media (Marxism and Hegemony)
Marxist theorists tend to emphasise the role of the mass media in the reproduction of the status quo.
The impact of new and digital media now means that, those in control e.g. the bourgeoise, who have 'hegemonic control' no longer have absolute control as they used to. In the past, when social networking sites were not developed, those who had power exploited those without power, at the expense of producing profit and serving the interest of the capitalist system. For example, certain groups such as ethnic minorities were represented by the elite, not only because they had a hegemonic function to do so, but because it was one way in which the bourgeoisie could maintain their status quo and maximise their power. However, today, the Marxist theory can be challenged. The impact of new and digital media now means that individuals can now represent themselves through social networking sites e.g. profile pictures, bibliographies and statuses, rather than being represented by the elite through what they think they know about you. We could argue that the impact of new and digital media is gradually challenging the hegemonic structure (possibly break it in the future.

Marxists view capitalist society as being one of class domination; the media are seen as part of an ideological arena in which various class views are fought out (Impact of new and digital means that we now, ourselves have ultimate control and domination because we are able to represent ourselves with the construction of the bourgeoisie), although within the context of the dominance of certain classes; ultimate control is increasingly concentrated in monopoly capital.

The impact of new and digital media (Liberal Pluralism)

Pluralists see society as a complex of competing groups and interests, none of them predominant all of the time. Media organisations are seen as bounded organisational systems, enjoying an important degree of autonomy from the state, political parties and institutionalised pressure groups. Control of the media is said to be in the hands of the elite who allow a considerable degree of flexibility to media professionals. A basic symmetry is seen to exist between media institutions and their audiences, since in McQuail's words the 'relationship is generally entered into voluntarily and on apparently equal terms'... and audiences are seen as capable of manipulating the media in an infinite variety of ways according to their prior needs and dispositions, and as having access to what Halloran calls 'the plural values of society' enabling them to 'conform, accommodate, challenge or reject'. 

However, in terms of the impact of new and digital media on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+, the Liberal Pluralist theory applies well. Social networking sites allow a flourishing of thousands of different opinions, as it permits and encourages freedom of expression and speech. For example, discussing issues, for example the death of Osama Bin Laden triggered many responses and allowed individuals to express their opinions and what they thought about it personally.

However, social networking sites also allow individuals to enjoy an important amount of happiness and freedom from the state. For example, by updating photo albums to share with their friends and family, inbox, chat messages, video phone calls and so on. This freedom allows individuals to be able to achieve the 'greatest good of the greatest happiness' and be able to express themselves.

Similarly, audiences today are seen as capable of manipulating the media in an infinite variety of ways according to their prior needs, as they have access to 'the plural values of society' which enables them to 'conform, accommodate and reject' which goes to show how audience choice has now changed in comparison to the past. This goes to show the advancement of new technologies in the 21st century.

Alternatively, control of the media is said to be in the hands of the elite who allow a considerable degree of flexibility to media professionals. In terms of social networking, we could argue that the owners of the product itself have the power to change what they believe will be beneficial, not only for their users, but for them too and what will really drive their profit. This is because, those powerful, the elite, have a central impulse which drives them in order to achieve the greatest profit, because they are motivated by the profit motive. So, although they still do consider their users, it is more about them and producing profit, rather then the users, who are the main people for their success and profits.

The impact of new and digital media (Audience theories)

* The Hyperdermic needle theory


The Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass consciouness of the audience unmediated, ie the experience, intelligence and opinion of an individual are not relevant to the reception of the text. This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. It assumes that the audience are passive and heterogenous rather than active producers. This links to how 'audiences are capable of manipulating the elite' (new and digital media)


* Uses and Gratifications - Blumer and Katz (1969)


The media offers (in terms of social networking sites)


1) Surveillance e.g. news
2) Entertainment e.g. sharing clips, images, updates and statuses.
3) Cultural transmission (cultural ideologies and values - Cultural Imperialism)
4) Social Identification e.g. sharing similar experiences as somebody else, and thus identify with them.
5) Escapism e.g. from daily routines (escape from problems, e.g. through internet, social media)


The impact of new and digital media, now means that audiences are given a variety of different options, allowing them to be able to have access to a greater variety of views and values through the developments of new technology. These new developments now mean that audience experience is enhanced as well, as their lifestyles, seeing as that over 70% of people live their lives online. Similarly, freedom of speech and freedom of expressions are another factors which have been triggered as a result of the impact of new and digital media, which means that audiences now have more choices in terms of consumption, producing and exhibiting texts e.g. UCG

Are there any cross-cultural factors and /or effects of globalisation involved in the impact of new technology on your case study?

Are there any cross-cultural factors and /or effects of globalisation involved in the impact of new technology on your case study?


Globalisation has become a growing concern when it comes to the development of new and digital media. The internet has made social networking sites such as, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accessible across the whole world (except those countries that they are banned in e.g. China). 


Social networking sites have been said to become a 'globalising culture' through its promotion of the English language. Thus, we now live in a ubiquitous 'global village' seeing as that the promotion of the English language now means, that everybody is now quickly and effectively able to communicate online without difficulties. Similarly Facebook has an option of 97 different translations, whereas Twitter has 86, compared to Google+ which has around 30+. The impact of new and digital media means that, audiences can keep up to date with everything, the the main promotion e.g. English means that more people are willing to learn the language and adapt to the changes with are offered by the developments of new technology.


However, this also links to cultural imperialism. For example, On Twitter, there are continuos 'trends' whether it be on fashion, TV shows etc, which are started by certain individuals which then becomes accessible to everybody on Twitter. This means that, certain ideologies, values and cultural views are being communicated through the social networking site, which promotes an individual's belief and ideas, thus allowing individuals to come closer together and share views. 


Theories:
Blumer and Katz (1969) users and gratifications theory.


*Because of globalisation, individuals can escape from their daily routines and exchange views with other people across the world in which they can maybe perhaps identify with.


*The globalisation culture that we live in, now means that we can interact with one another (social interaction) e.g. social networking enables us to constantly communicate, because it is instant and immediate. For example, Whitney Housten's death brought together many people on Twitter and led to discussion, which is an example of one of Blumer and Katz users and grats theory. 


*Effects theory: On social networking, people have a habit of 'copying' others e.g. their behaviour, they way they behave on the sites etc (giving different people to get to know other people's lifestyles, their view etc.


*Hyperdemic model: certain ideologies and views are injected into our brains, in order to make us think in the same way as the elite and according to their hegemonic ideologies and beliefs.

What issues may there be regarding media effects and /or regulation/ censorship as a result of changes due to new and digital media?

Facebook:

There are several issues regarding censorship and regulation as a result of the changes due to new and digital media.

Facebook has recently implemented a new policy, which bans images which show nudity and violence. It automatically censors images which expose any form of nudity e.g. nipples when breastfeeding your child. However, explicit images such as violence are also likely to be highly censored. Many have complained and argued that, Facebook is the only place in which their freedom is not restricted and their only way to enjoy a an important amount of autonomy and express their freedom, and this policy interferes infringes upon their individual rights and liberty. However, it also limits the degree of freedom of expression and choice, which challenges the pluralist model. However, we could apply the Marxist theory here. We could argue that this censorship and regulation comes from the elite, who want to interfere with our freedom. Thus, we could argue that we can never truly enjoy a high level of independence, as the elite are always, in some form or another, trying to infringe upon our freedom and restrict how we may want to represent ourselves, perhaps because they want to represent us according to what suits our society (Hegemony)

However, Facebook is also banned in countries such as China and Thailand.

The reason why it is banned in China is because, when people start to question the government, the government cracks down. Opponents are called terrorists, traitors etc. However, the state controlles the media, and if it begins to feed the masses with all sorts of stories about how the government is good and only wants to help, and that the dissidents, are a danger to the country because they question the wisdom of the government. To make this stick they have to block outside sources of information because they fear that the people will not just accept the media stories and instead decide to find out the truth for themselves.

_____________________________________________

Twitter:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16753729

Twitter to selectively 'censor' tweets by country

Twitter has announced that it now has the technology to selectively block tweets on a country by country basis. (Impact of new and digital media, means that social networking sites have up to date technology which enables them to be able to censor 'tweets' worldwide) - Media Effect

Thailand is the first country to publicly endorse Twitter's decision to allow messages to be censored 

According to the regulations, a tweet from Thailand could be blocked at the request of an individual, a company, or the government. However, while it will be invisible to users in Thailand, the tweet can still be seen by users in other countries.

"Twitter gives space to different opinions and views, and that is so important in a restricted society – it gives people a chance to speak up," he said. "But if this censorship is welcomed by Thailand, then other countries, with worse records for human rights and freedom of speech, will find that they have an ally."

_______________________________________________________________

Consider the effects so far, and possible effects in the future, on media institutions involved in your case study (media production).

Facebook:

By 2025 Facebook estimates to have around 3.8 Billion users. This shows that possible effects in the future, such as new developments in technology means, that Facebook will have more to offer e.g. serve customers, enhance experience and offer more options and choices. Historically, Facebook has faced criticism for its opaque and often convoluted privacy policies. It is stated that, although Facebook is currently the leading social networking site, it will face strong competition from other new developments. For example, Google+ at the moment is not as big and successful compared to Twitter and Facebook, but in the future, it is more likley that people will maybe lose interest in Facebook and Twitter, and thus turn to Google+ because of its new developments of features.

Twitter:

Twitter will fuse with other technologies such as GPS (Global position system) on mobile phones, so that people will find themselves communicating with others not just based on topics of interest, or personal links of some kind, but based on where they are sitting or standing right now.Twitter is very similar to Google in approach:  very simple home page with few options. Expect Twitter to concentrate first on rapid growth, before trying to work out how to make money from the service.  Expect Google to watch Twitter with huge interest.


Google+ Growth Prospects

In August 2011, Google+ already had more than 25 million users, as per the data collected by analytics firm comScore, making Google+ the fastest growing website in history.

Research trends show that the network, which was launched in late June 2011, is currently growing at a rate of one million users per day.

Do these buoyant initial reports indicate that Google+ is going to dominate the social networking sector very soon? That would be a premature conclusion to draw. When comparing the rapid initial growth of Google+ against the relatively gradual initial growth path of other social networks such as Facebook and Myspace, it must be remembered that now social networking has already come of age. Users are increasingly more willing to jump onto social networks, which should explain the rapid initial advances of Google+.

Another factor in favor of Google+ is its massive existing user base that gives it a major head start. It provides the plugged-in generation the opportunity to make a digital fresh start.

How have the audience responded to the changes? Is there more customer choice? Is there evidence of a more pluralistic model? What evidence do you have to support this?

Audience choice/response


Facebook:


Facebook apps for iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, and iPads. 


These apps give audiences more choices as they are able to access social networking whenever they want and it doesn't matter where they are. These apps allow audiences to gain greater freedom and even enjoy high levels of autonomy from the state. Audiences are allowed to 'select, accomodate and reject' whatever they want, which shows that there is a wide variety of customer choice.


The impact of new and digital media on Facebook, means that audiences can now communicate to one another, not only through messaging and writing on one's wall, but also with the new Webcam which allows audiences to speak to their friends who are online. This shows that new media has allowed us to have more of a choice.




THE LIFE OF FACEBOOK - HOW WE ENGAGE AND RESPOND








Twitter:


Again, twitter apps are available through, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, iPads


Costumer choice: On Twitter, there is a range of ways in which audiences respond to changes. For example, the photo sharing bucket e.g. Instragram allows audiences/users to share across the world etc.

Google+

Apps for:

BlackBerry

iPhone

HTC

iPad

Android

Social networking sites are examples of the 'PP' argument, which states that the media allows a flourishing of hundreds of opinions. This shows that, audiences have access to a greater variety of views and values, because the media allows us to enjoy an important degree of autonomy and freedom from the state. Thus, our freedom is not interfered with. These new developments in new technologies is simply responding to audience demands, and so that they are constantly engaged.

For example, Twitter has recently changed its layout, which suggests that they are responding to audience demands, and also so that their social networking site does not lose its audience. Similarly, Facebook has just recently introduced a 'Timeline' which allows audiences to put down their important dates and go back to the journey of when they first joined and look at the posts that they sent etc. Google+ however, allows us to record ourselves, send out videos, chat all day long, connect and search. This enables us to be able to maximise our own freedom and be able to discover new things. The way in which audiences have responded to these changes has encouraged owners to develop their social networking sites even further, and thus have more options, in order to keep up with the changing world and technology.

It's open for a wide range of political views and values. Allows new opinions to be heard. This is all part of the culture of 'instant opinion' that we live in.

Who are the primary target audience now and has this changed? Who was it before and how do you know?

Text: 
Facebook


Current target audience:
13-34 year olds


Original target audience:
18-24 year olds
________________________


Text:
Twitter


Current target audience:
18-34 year olds


Original target audience:
25-44 year olds
_______________________


Text:
Google+


Current target audience:
13+


Original target audience:
18+

Is the size of the audience any different now than before the impact of new and digital media (or has the pattern of usage changed)?

Audience (before and after the impact of new and digital media)

The audience that used social networking in the past is pretty much the same audience that use it today. It has been popular amongst 18-29 year olds since its beginning. From 2005-2006, the use of social networking sites among young adult internet users aged 19-29 jumped from 9% to 49%. Since then, users aged fewer than 30 have continued to use social networking sites compared to every other adult age group. As of May 2011, over eight in ten internet users’ ages 18-29 use social networking sites (83%) compared with seven in ten 30-34 year olds (70%), half of 50-64 year olds (51%), and a third of those aged 65 and older (33%).

However, Facebook is the only social networking sites with no generational limits. It attacts users of all ages, from Grandparents to teenagers. A recent study by Forrester found that the number of U.S. adults who use social networking sites, 96% of them are on Facebook. Which goes to show that the audience who use social networking sites has changed dramatically over the years. 98% of both the members of the Golden generation (aged 67 and up) and Gen Z’ers (aged 18-22 who use social networking sites are on Facebook. And no age group dipped below the 95% mark. Facebook beats the other social networking sites by a long-shot, too. ‘LinkedIn’ the next most popular site, claims only 28% of the U.S. adult online population. Its membership follows more of a bell curve, with the working-age population more likely to be on the site — not surprisingly, since it’s designed for networking and employment.


However, there are quite a few concerns about social networking sites. Some argue that social networking hinders real life social experiences. Though, statistics show that only 3% of users' Facebook friends have never met in person. While 89% of all Facebook friends have met in person more than once. Thus, you could argue that social networking does not really hinder life experiences.

Twitter
Twitter, the third most used social network, is most popular among younger users, and membership drops off incrementally for older audiences. 38% of Gen Z’ers, the youngest category, use Twitter — while less than half of that uses LinkedIn.


However, Pew found that Twitter usage has doubled for most age groups. Among those 25 to 34, Twitter use grew to 19% in May from 9% last November. Tweeters in the 25-44 age group increased to 14% from 8% over the same period. And looking at a wider age bracket, the number of people 30-49 who joined Twitter jumped to 14% in May from 7% in November.  When Twitter first launched, only teenagers were on it aged 17-19. However, today statistics show that twitter usage grew from 4% in 2010 to 6% in 2011 in the age category of 65 and over. 


Google+
When Google+ was first launched, the age restrictions was 18 and over only. However, this has dropped to the age of 13, as owners have realised that young adults contribute greatly to social networking sites and without them there won't be enough money being produced for their company. That is how audience pattern for Google+ has changed so far. However, with the impact of new and digital media, we are now able to access greater views and values, consisting of a variety of different choices, that allow us to prosper and develop.

CENSORSHIP - Thailand backs Twitter censorship policy!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/30/thailand-backs-twitter-censorship-policy

LINK TO CENSORSHIP WHEN WRITING ESSAY) - EXAMPLE, FOLLOWED BY CHINA. (USE QUOTES FROM WHAT IS HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW)

Thailand has become the first government to publicly endorse Twitter's controversial decision to censor messages in certain countries.

Twitter announced last week it would permit country-specific censorship of content that could violate local laws, prompting debate worldwide over freedom of speech.

In Thailand, where censorship laws are already heavily enforced, the information and communication technology minister, Jeerawan Boonperm, called Twitter's decision a "welcome development" and said the ministry already received "good co-operation" from internet companies such as Google and Facebook.

The Thai government would soon be contacting Twitter to "discuss ways in which they can collaborate", she told the Bangkok Post.

In China, the state-run Global Times also endorsed the new rules in an article on Monday: "It is impossible to have boundless freedom, even on the internet and even in countries that make freedom their main selling point," it said.

Twitter is blocked in China, but many users access the site by accessing external networks.
According to the regulations, a tweet from Thailand could be blocked at the request of an individual, a company, or the government. However, while it will be invisible to users in Thailand, the tweet can still be seen by users in other countries.

Thailand has some of the toughest censorship laws in the world, ranking it 153 out of 178 in Reporters Without Borders' 2011 Press Freedom Index. Thailand's lese-majeste regulations inhibit defamatory, insulting or threatening comments about the royal family, which are punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but under Thailand's 2007 computer crimes act prosecutors have been able to increase sentences.
Last year, a 61-year-old Thai national was jailed for 20 years for sending defamatory text messages about the monarchy, while a Thai-US citizen received a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for translating a banned biography of the king.

While the information ministry has blocked thousands of websites in recent years – mostly related to online gambling, pornography and lese-majeste cases – Monday's endorsement comes at a time of heightened tension over censorship rules.

A lese-majeste monitoring centre was opened in December and is manned 24 hours a day by staff trawling the net for offensive material. Facebook users already face potential jail time if they click "like" or "share" on any sites deemed offensive to the monarchy, while anyone sending a link, forwarding or revisiting websites with lese-majeste content also need beware, authorities have said.

Despite open and repeated calls for relaxed censorship laws, Yingluck Shinawatra last week said the monarchy should be respected and vowed to "protect the institution, not exploit it".

Thailand's endorsement on Monday could have profound ramifications across the region, said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch Thailand, while it already "adds more damage to an already worrying trend in Thailand".

"Twitter gives space to different opinions and views, and that is so important in a restricted society – it gives people a chance to speak up," he said. "But if this censorship is welcomed by Thailand, then other countries, with worse records for human rights and freedom of speech, will find that they have an ally."

"If more and more companies follow the lead of Google and Twitter, as seems quite likely, it could represent the beginning of the end of the truly global Internet,' says Techdirt"

Is it time to leave Facebook?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/05/time-to-leave-facebook-debate

“There are more than two billion global internet users...we aim to connect with them all”

Facebook has been said to be "A great way of getting the latest news developments"

Elizabeth Day, Observer writer and author of the MediaGuardian said:

"What I value the most about Facebook is the ability to keep in touch with friends, wherever in the world they may find themselves"


We think it's important that everyone who invests in Facebook understands what this mission means to us, how we make decisions and why we do the things we do. I will try to outline our approach in this letter.

At Facebook, we're inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press and the television — by simply making communication more efficient, they led to a complete transformation of many important parts of society. They gave more people a voice. They encouraged progress. They changed the way society was organized. They brought us closer together.

Today, our society has reached another tipping point. We live at a moment when the majority of people in the world have access to the internet or mobile phones — the raw tools necessary to start sharing what they're thinking, feeling and doing with whomever they want. Facebook aspires to build the services that give people the power to share and help them once again transform many of our core institutions and industries.

There is a huge need and a huge opportunity to get everyone in the world connected, to give everyone a voice and to help transform society for the future. The scale of the technology and infrastructure that must be built is unprecedented, and we believe this is the most important problem we can focus on.
We hope to strengthen how people relate to each other.

Even if our mission sounds big, it starts small — with the relationship between two people.
Personal relationships are the fundamental unit of our society. Relationships are how we discover new ideas, understand our world and ultimately derive long-term happiness.

At Facebook, we build tools to help people connect with the people they want and share what they want, and by doing this we are extending people's capacity to build and maintain relationships.

What impact has there been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/ texts involved in your case study? How does it differ from what went before? Consider (SHEP)

Facebook:

The impact of new and digital media has massively changed how audiences now consume media products. For example, in the past (historically) when social networking did not even exist, many communicated to one another through telephones and they used to hear the news/entertainment stories and so on through word of mouth/reading newspapers. However, today audiences can now consume media products through their Smartphone e.g. Facebook/Twitter apps and can now communicate constantly, not only because we live in a culture of ‘constant opinion’ but because of the immediacy of the e-media platform.

Economical factors that could impact on Facebook:

Facebook is ‘financed’ by adverting and advertising is placed on this social networking site because of the number of people using it. Most of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising. Microsoft is Facebook’s exclusive partner for serving banner advertising and therefore Facebook serves only advertisements that exist in Microsoft’s advertisement inventory.

Facebook currently has around 845 million active users worldwide (as of Feb-2012). One economic factor that had a great impact on Facebook was the recession (2009). The owners of Facebook as a result had to put up more advertisements on the social networking sit in order to generate revenue and keep up to date with their expenses.

On pages for brands and products, however, some companies have reported CTR as high as 6.49% for Wall posts. A study found that, for video advertisements on Facebook, over 40% of users who viewed the videos viewed the entire video, while the industry average was 25% for in-banner video ads

Statistics

Year 2011

Revenue: 4720

Growth: 114%

Politically:

Facebook has helped to bring about political change:

In 2011, Facebook was the catalyst, which triggered the political change in Egypt, as a video, which was posted by ‘Khaled  Said’ on Facebook became the starting point for the revolutionary movement. This video set off a mechanism, which eventually led the citizens of Egypt to set up a Facebook page that encouraged the citizens of Egypt to protest against the government. The Facebook page, which influenced the citizens of Egypt to engage with the protest, ultimately led the President ‘Hosni Mubarak’ to give away his title. Although Facebook did not directly cause the revolution in Egypt, it was still essential and constituted towards its success

Wider Context: Costa Concordia’ Italian cruise disaster

Many of the survivors of the ‘Costa Concordia’ Italian cruise disaster were actually updating their statuses on Facebook, to ask their friends and family for help, which resulted in the police investigating further into the cruise ship disaster to find survivors as they initially thought that everybody was dead. This ultimately led to 10 people’s lives being saved. This shows that impact on new and digital media on Facebook has helped people to seek immediate help when needed, and therefore based on this we could argue that social networking sites are not that dangerous after all.

GOOGLE+

‘Google introduces Google Chrome for mobile phone’ (New and digital media)

The article which was posted on the Media Guardian on the 7^th of February 2012, which by headline is called ‘Google introduces Google Chrome for mobile phone’ shows how new and digital media can change how we consume our texts.

Google is to replace the web browser in Android smartphones with a revamped version named after its Chrome desktop product, as the search giant redoubles its efforts to knock Microsoft off the top perch in the battle of the browsers.

Chrome for phone, which is faster, links to the user's desktop and allows an unlimited number of pages to remain open simultaneously, begins its public "beta" trial on Tuesday, and may move to a full launch this spring.
The upgrade reinforces Google's push to eat into Microsoft's dominance of web browsers. Since Chrome for desktop computers was launched in October 2008, Microsoft's Internet Explorer has dropped from a 67% to 37% market share, according to analysis by StatCounter.


Chrome, which has 200 million users worldwide, overtook Firefox, an independent open source browser funded by a trust, as the second most popular in December 2011 and now has a 29% market share, with Firefox at 25%.


In a move designed to tie users more closely to Google products and services, Chrome desktop users will be able to call up on their phone, at the touch of one button, the last set of web pages opened on their desktop.
The feature should be useful for those leaving the office in a hurry: look up the location of a meeting but forget to print out the map, and the phone can open the map page without having to carry out a new search. Start work on an online document at the office and continue adding to it on the move without having to spend time retrieving it.


Bookmarks saved on Chrome for desktop are also automatically available on the browser of any smartphone, tablet or laptop also using Chrome. A user's various Chrome browsers will synchronise with each other every two minutes.


Google claims Chrome is faster than many other browsers because of technology that anticipates which page a user is going to click on next so that it can start pre-loading it, and in a demonstration at Google's London headquarters on Tuesday, Chrome completed the loading of pages containing rich media such as photos and videos more quickly than Apple's Safari browser on an iPhone.


Chrome for phone will work only on the latest version 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich version of Google's Android phone operating system. The browser will only be available to Android phones during the trial period, but a Google spokesperson said it hoped eventually to release versions for all operating systems including Apple's iOS for iPhones.


Chrome will come pre-installed on Android phones as the default browser, although users will be free to select a rival such as Firefox, Dolphin and Opera. The advent of an improved browser is likely to slow the adoption on smartphones of independent alternatives, which have attracted praise in comparison with Android's current offering.


Google calls this seamless link between devices the "personal web", and it is clearly designed to ensure that it retains control of the gateways to the internet on all devices.


The development is yet another sign that Google is deploying a strategy very similar to Apple's – tying customers into the brand on whatever screen they happen to be using. Unlike Apple, Google does not manufacture hardware, and wants its software to be available on any device its users choose to buy.


Chrome's presence as an operating system on desktop computers is also negligible. But with most activities moving off the desktop and on to the internet, a suite of tools such as email, Chrome and Google Docs, plus sharing services like Google+ and YouTube, have given the company a daily visibility on Apple and Microsoft machines that no advertising spend could buy.
So much so that it no longer feels appropriate to refer to Google as a search giant. Although without search dollars, none of these market shares building but so far loss-making activities would be possible.

TWITTER:
“We came across the word ‘Twitter’ and it was just perfect. The definition was a ‘short burst of inconsequential information, and chirps from birds. And that’s exactly what the product was” Jack Dorsey (owner of twitter)

Historically, Dorsey (owner of twitter) introduced the idea of an individual using SMS service to communicate with a small group. The original name for the service was ‘twttr’. However, today ‘Twitter’ has around 300 million active users according to the statistics which were realesed in June 2011. 

Twitter

Growth

The company experienced rapid growth. It had 400,000 tweets posted per quarter in 2007. This grew to 100 million tweets posted per quarter in 2008. In February 2010, Twitter users were sending 50 million tweets per day. By March 2010, the company recorded over 70,000 registered applications. As of June 2010, about 65 million tweets were posted each day, equaling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter. As of March 2011, that was about 140 million tweets posted daily. As noted on Compete.com, Twitter moved up to the third-highest-ranking social networking site in January 2009 from its previous rank of twenty-second.

Twitter's usage spikes during prominent events. For example, a record was set during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when fans wrote 2,940 tweets per second in the thirty-second period after Japan scored against Cameroon on June 14, 2010. The record was broken again when 3,085 tweets per second were posted after the Los Angeles Lakers' victory in the 2010 NBA Finals on June 17, 2010, and then again at the close of Japan's victory over Denmark in the World Cup when users published 3,283 tweets per second. The current record was set during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final between Japan and the United States, when 7,196 tweets per second were published.^[  When American singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, Twitter servers crashed after users were updating their status to include the words "Michael Jackson" at a rate of 100,000 tweets per hour.

Twitter acquired application developer Atebits on April 11, 2010. Atebits had developed the Apple Design Award-winning Twitter client Tweetie for the Mac and iPhone. The application, now called "Twitter" and distributed free of charge, is the official Twitter client for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.^[
From September through October 2010, the company began rolling out "New Twitter", an entirely revamped edition of twitter.com. Changes included the ability to see pictures and videos without leaving Twitter itself by clicking on individual tweets which contain links to images and clips from a variety of supported websites including YouTube, Flickr, as well as a complete overhaul of the interface, which shifted links such as '@mentions' and 'Retweets' above the Twitter stream, while 'Messages' and 'Log Out' became accessible via a black bar at the very top of twitter.com. As of November 1, 2010, the company confirmed that the "New Twitter experience" had been rolled out to all users.


REVENUE SOURCES

Revenue: US$ 140 million (2010 est.)

In July 2009, some of Twitter's revenue and user growth documents were published on TechCrunch after being illegally obtained by Hacker Croll. The documents projected 2009 revenues of $400,000 in the third quarter and $4 million in the fourth quarter along with 25 million users by the end of the year. The projections for the end of 2013 were $1.54 billion in revenue, $111 million in net earnings and 1 billion users No information about how Twitter planned to achieve those numbers was published. In response, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone published a blog post suggesting the possibility of legal action against the hacker.
On April 13, 2010, Twitter announced plans to offer paid advertising for companies that would be able to purchase "promoted tweets" to appear in selective search results on the Twitter website, similar to Google Adwords' advertising model. As of April 13, Twitter announced it had already signed up a number of companies wishing to advertise including Sony Pictures, Red Bull, Best Buy, and Starbucks.
The company generated $45 million in annual revenue in 2010, after beginning sales midway through that year. The company operated at a loss through most of 2010. Revenues were forecast for $100 million to $110 million in 2011. Users' photos can generate royalty-free revenue for Twitter, with an agreement with WENN being announced in May 2011. In June 2011, Twitter announced it would offer small businesses a self serve advertising system.