Virtual Worlds and Social Media

Newspapers face challenges, and so do their readers

I am probably not your average technologically savvy college student.  I do not have a smart phone or an iPad.  I kind of enjoy the fact that I am not always connected.  Unlike many of my peers, I don’t exclusively use media applications to get my news.  I actually read a paper copy of The New York Times every morning when I am at home.  But I am not sure how much longer I will be able to get away without having the latest technology.

Today our class heard a lecture by Pernille Tranberg, head of Digital Editorial development at Berlingske Media, Denmark’s largest media publishing group.  Pernille’s lecture made it clear that the business model of the newspaper is changing.  Most people no longer subscribe to what we think of as the most highly regarded papers such as The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune.  Instead, people are looking to the web for free content published by bloggers, citizen journalists, or experts.  Or even free content provided by some of the quality newspapers.  Why pay for news when there is excess amounts available for free?  Why flip through a paper when Twitter can provide you with the same content instantaneously?

These are questions many publishing companies are struggling to answer and are therefore causing these companies to loose money, or completely alter how they provide news.  The New York Times is only allowing non-subscribers a limited amount of online content and is charging for its application.  These are two strategies I expect a lot more news companies to adopt.  Berlingske Media has created approximately twenty different free news applications.  Pernille said the only way the company can attract advertisers is to provide the application for free.

We are seeing the demise of the daily paper.  It seems that I am one of a few loyal New York Times subscribers left.  Most people have completely transitioned to online news.   I don’t know how to justify my reading of the paper.  Part of it is that I enjoy the feeling of drinking a cup of coffee every morning and flipping through the printed pages of news.  Another part of me feels that the printed news is the most reliable source.  And I also just have undying allegiance towards the newspaper I grew up reading and knowing that journalists put substantial effort and energy into.  As far as I can see, I will continue to read the newspaper as long as the newspaper exists.  The question in my mind is, how much longer before newspapers completely vanish and the whole world is forced to read online content?

 Friday, October 21st at 1:49pm

Giddens: Modernity and Self-Identity
How much control do we have over our individuality?
In Giddens’ text, Modernity and Self-identity, he states, “Modernity radically alters the nature of day-to-day social life and affects the most personal aspects of our experience” (1).  Giddens argues how in modern society, the individual experience becomes more intertwined with the global experience.  The way we define our individuality is inseparable from our culture.

Personally, the people I choose to connect with on Facebook affect my individuality.  Instead of having full control over my public identity, the people I connect with can influence that information.  Any of my friends can post a picture of me, or write on my wall.  This can positively impact my identity, or have negative consequences.  For example, I was once tagged in a photo holding a beer when I was 18 and my parents didn’t think I was nearly as cool as I did.

Furthermore, information has become more readily available.  Individuals no longer need to be famous journalist to publish a story.  I can blog about my semester studying abroad in Copenhagen and impact the choice of somebody researching study abroad programs.  Modernity’s affect on our day-to-day social life is felt in our global identities. 

Tuesday, September 27th at 10:35pm

Ida Auken: Proving Social Media is a Powerful and Personal Tool For Politicians 

Be personal and be real.  Those are the two key ideas I took away from our visit with Ida Auken at the Parliament.  Ida, (that’s right in Denmark politicians are referred to by their first names), a Danish politician and member of the Socialist Peoples Party, lectured our class on how to use social media effectively as a politician.  The point she continually reiterated was using social media to be personal.  Typically, busy politicians hire a social media specialist.  It is hard to imagine Barack Obama constructing a 140 character tweet on a daily basis.  However, Ida handles all of her social media on her own.  She writes her own Facebook posts and constantly tweets.  Ida has even used social media to help her in political debates.  Once when she was in a plenary discussion and checking her Facebook, one of her 4433 friends provided Ida with an argument.

Ida uses social networking effectively.  Her success in social media can be largely attributed to the fact that she is young and relatable.  She grew up as a Digital Native and clearly knows how to use technology to her advantage.  After all, she was just re-elected to Danish parliament. 

So, what does it mean to be an active social networker as a politician?  Ida focuses on two main forms of social networking, Facebook and Twitter.  Facebook is used as a forum to pose questions that generate discussion among her friends, invite constituents to campaign events, and post pictures from the election.  Facebook is where the older generation tends to be and allows users to comment on posts over a longer period of time.  Twitter, on the other hand, is a more instantaneous form of communication.  Tweeting is more technical and to the point, which is a good way to connect with the younger generation of voters.

As much as I have praised Ida for being personal and tactful with her social networking, I think she can still do more.  One of my suggestions is to bring more current events articles to her Facebook page.  For example, maybe every Monday posting an article from a Danish newspaper and her comments on the article.  This will help spread awareness to Danes about current issues as well as keep up with Ida’s opinions on the hottest topics.   The regularity of a post like this would help people who want to be more politically aware, but feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the Web.

Another suggestion I have for Ida is to explore how social media can reach out to a new group of supporters.  On Monday, we had a guest lecture by Alex Tholstrup, who has worked as the Head of Press at the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs.  Alex taught us that the Internet is important in a campaign for three reasons: it is where the voters are, it is the place to feel a personal relationship to the candidate, and it is cheap and effective.  Ida needs to take more advantage of Alex’s first point and try to reach out to new voters on the Internet.  A good start to this would be creating an event where people can come meet Ida in person.  Ida can ask all of her current Facebook friends to invite their friends to the event.  This will create a “word of mouth” like affect on the Internet and potentially a fresh set of fans for Ida.

Ida has done an unbelievable job using social networking in her campaign.  My only suggestions for her are to find ways to get her current constituents more involved in current events and to reach out to new potential followers.  The young and charismatic politician has done the right thing by moving further and further into the digital world.

Friday, September 23rd at 1:59pm  

Lost in Denmark
Whenever my friends come back from vacation, studying abroad, or just visiting a new place, they are always full of stories.  Stories about food they ate, people they met, places they saw.  Well, I am not a very good storyteller, probably the worst among my friends, but I will give this a shot and see where it takes me.

My first weekend in Denmark I decided to go with a friend on a self-guided walking tour of the city.  We had plans to see the Botanical Gardens, the Kings Garden, Nyhavn, and a few other destinations.  We wake up at a decent hour Saturday morning, around 10am and begin our adventure.  First stop: Botanical Gardens.  After taking a 30 minute walk, that should have been 10 minutes from where we lived, we finally arrive at the gardens.  We see all the beautiful plants, go into the green house, and shoot some photos.  We probably spend about a half hour at the gardens and then decided to head to our next destination.  We begin walking.  Walking, walking, walking, walking.  We cross a bridge.  Walking, walking, walking, walking.  We just keep going.  Two hours later, we end up on a street with probably a few dozen Shwarma and Falafel stands.  I turn to my friend and point ahead at a series of buildings that look old and that I am convinced must be near the center of Copenhagen, or some tourist attractions.  So we keep going.  After about another 30 minutes, we realize that I am wrong.  There is nothing left to do but turn around.  Both of us, feet aching, decide that we must walk back.  We are too cheap to pay for transportation.  So we turn around and start walking.  We bump into this nice couple with a baby and ask them to show us where we are on our map.  Apparently, we are no longer on the map.  We had traveled outside the city lines.  The couple points us in the correct direction and we walk back.  It probably takes us about two hours.

What did this adventure teach us?  Don't listen to me about directions.  Always bring multiple maps.  If you have walked for a long time and don't seem to be getting anywhere maybe stop and think about it.  Getting lost in a new city is okay?

Well, hopefully soon I will no longer be a tourist in Denmark, but a fellow Dane (not in the literal sense more figuratively speaking).  I mean I finally got my visa, so that should count for something.  I expect I will continue to get lost and ask strangers for directions over the next few months.  Its hard to adjust to a new place, people, and culture.  And it is especially difficult to figure out the lay of the land and get a feel for where places are when you can hardly pronounce the street names.

Wednesday, September 7th at 9:56pm

Who am I?
I am new to this whole blogging thing so I am not quite sure where to start.  I guess I will begin by giving a brief introduction to who I am.  My name is Amanda.  I am 20 years old and I am a student.  My hometown is a small village called Armonk, located in Westchester, New York.  I am a Junior at Skidmore College, a small liberal arts college in Upstate New York.  My major is Management and Business with a Sociology Minor.  I am not sure where I am planning on going with this combination.  I hope to eventually own a small business, maybe food related.  That has always been my dream, but I don't think it is that realistic.  Honestly, I just hope that when I graduate in a couple of years I can land a good job in New York City and move into a sweet apartment with some friends.

So, what do I do besides exist as a college student?  Not much.  I spent this last summer working as the Director of a Counselor in Training Program at my summer camp, Camp Na'aleh.  Camp Na'aleh is affiliated with Habonim Dror North America, a labor zionist youth movement.  Wow, that is a mouthful.  I educated 16 and 17 year olds on topics such as Israel, equality, socialism, and education.  I also ran leadership training for this group of kids.  Throughout the year, I act as a madricha (guide) to this group and am always here to discuss anything and everything going on in their lives.  I guess the point I am trying to make here is that this place that I worked at this summer means a lot to me, in fact it has meant a lot to me since 1999, when I started going to Na'aleh.

Other than that, I have a pretty wide range of interests.  I love attempting to do the New York Times crossword puzzle on a daily basis, even though I am not very good.  You will often find me sitting outside, sipping on an ice coffee, and staring blankly at a half way done crossword puzzle.  I am a huge television buff.  I love TV, especially what most people would label as dull dramas, or stupid sitcoms.  I also love games; card games, board games, word games.  You name it, I have probably played it.  Oh yeah, and I can't forget my love for food.

Currently, I am studying abroad in Copenhagen, hence the name of my blog Cozy in Copenhagen.  The purpose of this blog is for my family and friends to follow me as I explore Copenhagen and Denmark as well as other European countries.  Hope you enjoy!


Tuesday, September 6th at 7:30pm