The changing face of Digital

Communication
The past, the present and the future

Thursday, 14 January 2010

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • we are…
• purveyors of creativity,
• designers of technology,
• planners of media,
• architects of information,
• champions of usability,
• interested in digital communication

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • What we’re going to cover in the next hour or so…
• Our digital life 10 years ago!
• The catalysts for change
• Prosumerism
• Convergence
• Connectivity
• A little glimpse into the future

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • But first....
• ....some logistics

• What is this module about?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • New Media Design and technology...

• ... But what is it?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • This has been defined as:
All the components of a computer system that is able to
communicate information using more than one form of
media;
...ranging from sound and graphics to animation, and from
simple textual information to full video images.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • And why do we need to go over this?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Need to know the features and limitations of the computer
technology...
...both in terms of the current technology and - by learning to
extrapolate from its operating principles - a large part of the
future technology

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Why do we need to know about features and limitations?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Need to be able to analyse a given information problem,
determine the communication objective and devise and
implement the best strategy for reaching this objective...
...making the best use of the available resources

Multimedia computer systems are the most powerful and

verstile tool for the storage, processing and communication
of information

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 So let’s start with some basics…

What is information?
What are the most important considerations when designing
multimedia?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Information as data…
...filtered and interpreted through the knowledge base of the
recipient(s)

Information as a powerful medium…

• transform business and service processes.
• discover and develop new markets.
• retain a leadership position in a fast and ever changing world
market.
• improve your products design and manufacturing facilities.
• communicate ideas effectively and efficiently.
• manage change

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Design considerations?
• A clear understanding of the communication objective(s)
• A clear understanding of the features and limitations of the
available resources
• Taking in to account the recipients’ culture

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Back to course logistics....

Course Aims:
This module is about
• exploring the concepts, developing theories, and practice of
new media.
• How to deal with and adapt to the evolving standards,
delivery mediums, and techniques.
• Criticizing, designing, developing and delivering static and
dynamic new media systems

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 At the end of this module....

you will understand key issues and best practice for

multimedia, as well as seeing the potential and opportunities
of new media in the fields of computing, the arts and
sciences.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Learning Outcomes....

• Demonstrate an understanding of the features, strengths and

limitations of current and future digital media for interactive
communications, with text, image, audio, and the moving
image
• Identify trends in multimedia convergence and integration

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Learning Outcomes....

• Evaluate, compare, and analyse the characteristics and

constraints of new media tools
• Conceive, plan and critically evaluate audio-visual publishing
projects from ideas to completion
• Critique new media preparation, production, and distribution
systems considering the viewpoint and requirements of the
content provider, owner, and consumer, with demonstrable
literacy of the scientific method and the new media user
mindsets

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Overview of Module outline:
• New media in the context of traditional media.
• Principles, potential, and limitations of the digitization
technology
• Ethical and legal considerations: intellectual property.
• Theories and Practice about text, visual and audio media,
pre- and post-production, and distribution techniques;e.g.
DVDs, and the Internet, using traditional as well as new
media tools.
• New and old media, defining limits and potentials.
• Methodology of old and new media: content and system
development

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Assessment Scheme & Weighting 100% Coursework
• A series of individual assignments for both formative and
summative assessments
• Electronic Projects lab based vivas, disk, and online
submissions, to demonstrate the creating, editing, and
distribution of text, bitmap, vector, motion image, audio, and
distributing media and applications.
• Paper Projects to show evidence of theoretical concepts
through storyboarding, mind mapping, essay, and reports.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Computer based projects:
• Compose and assess arguments explaining the features,
potential and limitations of audio visual new media
• Plan, prepare and assemble text, audio, video and
multimedia artefacts for various applications and platforms
• Appraise & propose solutions for multimedia convergence
and integration

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Reports and/or essays:
• Evaluate the characteristics and constraints of new media
tools
• Organise, construct and manage audio-visual new media
projects from ideas to completion

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Presentation and vivas:
• Prepare, set up and manage a new media implementation
(eg. Web, radio, TV)
• Justify, recommend, and implement a complex technical
audio-visual computer system

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Recommended Textbooks:
• “Multimedia: Making it Work”, by Tay Vaughan Seventh
Edition (2007 McGraw-Hill Osborne) ISBN-13: 978-
0072264517
• "Design for New Media" by Lon Barfield, (2004 Pearson
Addison Wesley) ISBN-13: 978-0201596090
• “Developing Story Ideas” by Michael Rabiger (2005 Focal
Press) ISBN-13: 978-0240807362
• Recommended: Lievrouw & Livingstone "The Handbook of
New Media" (2006 Sage) ISBN-13: 978-1412918732

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Advertisers in the UK now spend more money per person on
digital communication than any other country, at £33m.
• Twice as much as France, Germany and Italy combined.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • At 14% of total communication spend in the UK we’ve
overtaken magazine advertising for the first time and Digital
Communication spend is more than the total spend on
outdoor, cinema, and radio advertising.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • We’ve seen Digital change exponentially in the last 10 years:
• More widespread adoption
• Advances in hardware & interfacing devices
• The volume of digital communication received

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The rise of internet technology since we started has
transformed the way we communicate with each other.
• Staying in touch with friends in other countries has switched
from hand-written letters that could take weeks to arrive to e-
mails and instant messages exchanged in nano-seconds.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • When we graduated 10 years ago we had access to the
internet via a 56k dial-up modem
• We could probably have downloaded a 2 hour movie
(approximately 800mb) in about 36 hours if the computer
didn’t crash!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Today we have broadband
• We can download an 800mb movie file in under 30 minutes.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Today we use Smartphones
• We can browse the internet using Wi-Fi
• We receive email directly to my phone
• We watch video
• We play music
• We’re constantly connected to the rest of the world!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • 10 years isn’t long in this industry!
• Have a look at this video & ask yourself… does this have the
possibility to become reality?
• http://tinyurl.com/yqqfnn
• It’s a fascinating recap of the last 10 years of the internet…
and a baffling look at what might be yet to come!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The days when a newspaper owner confined himself to the
printed word and the broadcaster was content with his tv-
screen output are long gone.
• 10 years ago television programmes were watched only on
television screens, radio shows heard only on the stereo and
telephones were just for conversation.
• These boundaries are now gone.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • “Like many of you in this room, I’m
a digital immigrant… my two
young daughters, on the other
hand, will be digital natives. They’ll
never know a world without
ubiquitous broadband internet
access…”
• “We may never become true
digital natives, but we can and
must begin to assimilate to their
culture and way of thinking.”
• Rupert Murdoch, April 2005

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Three months after he made this
statement News Corp bought
Intermix Media, the owners of
MySpace for £332.85m
• The catalyst for change was
starting.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Rupert Murdoch's empire
combines newspapers, film
production studios, television
channels, websites and much
more

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The ‘Prosumer’ has been born!
• Everybody is an advertiser now…
• We talk about products proactively…
• We choose what communication we see…
• We influence the changes we want…

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The term was first coined in 1980 by futurist Alvin Toffler in
his book The Third Wave as a blend of producer and
consumer.
• He foresaw a time when consumers would become involved
in the design and manufacture of products, so they could be
made to individual specification.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Traditional methods of e-commerce will change to adapt to
the new world.
• We’ve been using the eCommerce space for ten years now
and loved every minute of it.
• We’ve seen the first online merchants go live, the first price
comparison engine launch in the UK (Kelkoo), and research
and review sites gaining a foothold.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The industry itself has continued to grow and expand as
more web-savvy customers come along, start spending
more, and feel more confident buying all manner of more
expensive goods from clothing to cars.
• In the UK, sales are up 36% on last year and generating over
4 billion pounds per month, with apparel accounting for
nearly 15% of that. *

* Forrester Research
Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • So the question for me is: “what is the ecommerce world
going to do over the next few years and how can we take
advantage of it?”

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Social Bookmarking & Sharing of Products:
• We’ve seen examples of this at places like Kaboodle
where users clip things they’ve seen on the web and
then can share those lists and discuss them with others.
• In theory, we could offer this functionality to people who
wanted to produce shareable lists of outdoor adventure
gear, although the jury is still out on how many people
use this type of feature on a regular basis.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Virtual Dressing Rooms:
• Which is getting very Boo.com like but also makes
sense. Sites like Zafu let you tell it your size and then it
shows a 3d model of you and issues personalised
recommendations. Could work perhaps for outdoor
clothing.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 User Generated Content:
• There’s lots of research around showing how
ecommerce reviews help people make buying decisions
that translates into a conversion rate uplift - and this can
be standard reviews, product videos (hundreds on
YouTube), and even Q&A sessions.
• CrowdStorm and the ReeVoo people provide this sort of
content.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Getting the Basics Right:
• Which is probably the most important of them all, from
having the ability to contact a physical person in multiple
ways (email, skype, phone, live online chat), having a
really usable and enjoyable site, and a smooth checkout
process.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 Better Delivery Options:
• Whilst not as exciting, have a lot of future innovations
coming up which should really make this a better
experience. Night time deliveries, ability to pick-up
products from multiple drop off points and return them,
paying a membership fee each year to get exclusive
delivery options, and being able to choose times within
30 minute windows.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • For the average consumer, the phrase "Digital TV" conjures
up images of crystal clear pictures and ear-popping sound.
• In actuality, however, the new technology promises more
than just enhancements to the audio-visual experience -- it
will allow a greater and more diverse population around the
world to participate in the Internet Age.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Digital TV will do far more than show television in a digital
format.
• The term actually describes a series of interrelated
technologies that will allow television to become interactive,
so that viewers can play along with game shows, get
information from the Internet as they watch a show, or buy a
vast array of products and services online!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The implications are enormous.
• E-commerce companies will finally be able to reach
consumers who are unable or unwilling to buy a personal
computer. E-commerce will also turn the TV into an instant
procurement machine.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Talk about impulse buying. You're watching your favourite TV
channel and admire a product on the show. With a few clicks
on your TV remote, it's yours.
• A handful of digital networks, and not just the shopping
channels, are testing technology that will let TV watchers buy
without leaving their sofas.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • So-called t-commerce is expected to be available to some
cable and satellite customers within the next year.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • T-Commerce will work like ordering a cable pay-per-view or
video-on-demand (VOD) movie.
• Shoppers press a button on the remote to select an item and
toggle through such choices as size, shipping address and
payment.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • In the last 10 years analogue has made way for the
networked Digital world

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • ‘The Third Screen’ is the biggest change in Digital
Communication in the last 10 years…

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • ‘The Third Screens’ are your mini-digital devices such as a
mobile, iPod or PSP.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Users can connect online anywhere and at anytime and with
anyone.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Did you know that traditional media such as posters, POS
and DM can link people directly online via their mobile
device?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • It has brought with it many opportunities for digital
communicators to find ways to develop more engaging
relationships with audiences.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • By 2010, Londoners will be using their Third Screens on the
underground.
• Plans to install transmitters that will also allow access to
wireless internet and digital radio are already being moved
into BETA.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • By 2012 we will be able use the Third Screen to make
payments, buy products, check in, and travel, just by waving
the phone in front of sensors.
• Your Third Screen is your total convergence device.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • By 2015 4G will be widespread.
• 4G is the upcoming standard that will give you a wireless
connection at 100Mbit/s, anywhere. That' more than 30 times
faster than the best DSL connection you can get at home.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • What about these future digital communication devices?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • In the next 10 years we predict the funnel will turn & our
many networked digital devices will start to converge!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The UBIK device.
• The foldable phone, gaming device and
multimedia player will be available to
consumers as early as 2010.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The device is constructed of two shells
that double as screens both inside and
out
• It’s an interactive book…
• An interactive movie player…
• A digital radio…
• A mobile phone…
• Your wireless digital set-top box…
• Your TIVO…
• A powerful gaming device…
• It’s fully internet ready…

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Even the way you read the morning paper is about to
change.
• The recent launch of Kindle - Amazon's new palmtop reading
device will change the way we buy and view books.
• …but it’s kind of ugly & clunky… yet ...

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • By 2010 Free e-books and magazines will contain targeted,
contextual advertising…
• Authors will be hired by companies to ensure product /
advertising placement is a factor of the magazine or story
creation process!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • The next Harry Potter will be sponsored by Adidas & you’ll be
able to buy the trainers he’s wearing in the book with one
click from your Third Screen.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • So what about other marketing communications?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • By 2012 Retail signage networks will adjust promotions
based on changes in local weather conditions. Fact.
• Streets will have interactive kiosk-catalogs that are database-
driven from centralised e-commerce sites. Fact.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • Any advert will be activated by a predetermined condition
(time of day, weather… gender?) to broadcast the right
content at the right time.
• Digital communication is getting smart!

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • A billboard located at the street corner is watching you.
• A camera is embedded in the billboard and a computer
analyses the people who pass by it.
• It tells the advertiser how many people walked in front of the
screen, turned to face the ad and how long they looked at it.
• It reads your gender with an accuracy of 85%, so men and
women will each see different ads.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • In the next 10 years ads themselves are going to be
engineered to obtain information on audience, with data from
your Third Screen immediately fuelling message
customisation!
• Where traditional hoardings – flapping paper promoting
outdated products – once stood, digital adverts are now
watching you watching them.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • What do we think?
• Frightening or exciting?

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • …and how about reaching out & touching a tactile Digital
Communication??

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • To me the biggest change in Digital Communication in the
last 10 years has been peoples vision.
• Imagination has driven innovation.
• The possibilities don’t seem to have boundaries & we can
achieve all the things the science fiction authors sold to us as
dreams.

Vanessa Camilleri
2010
 • "The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that
surround him... The unreasonable man adapts surrounding
conditions to himself... All progress depends on the
unreasonable man.“
• George Bernard Shaw

Vanessa Camilleri
2010