(insert fun name) - sphere

The blogosphere has become something that is both unique and dynamic in it's ability to inform or express emotion or information. The use of magazines, books, newspapers or the news has not wavered however instead more substitutes and avenues of ways to inform ourselves have risen. Take for example the recent death of John McCarthy. An absolute tradgedy in what was a promising and young career of a Port Adelaide footballer. For a public figure, personal information can travel within two counterparts with a simple click of the button. This is quite ridiculous but also very effective. So effective in fact that the media itself refused to release the name of the player (despite the event happening half way across the world in America) because a few members of the public already had knowledge of the players death even before the family themselves.

Channels of communication extend further through such social media as Twitter and Tumblr. The fact of the matter is, it is now easier than ever to stay up to date with information (from whom you choose to receive it from) and this makes for a quite global influence.

I learnt of John McCarthy's death through twitter despite the fact that none of his relatives had any idea of the incident. This is because the telegram call (which was once perceived as the quickest way to relay information) was much, much slower than someone writing 'RIP John McCarthy' and that post being retweeted hundreds of times before it finally reached my computer screen.

Culture of mine!

An Asian background has been something that has always defined not only who I am to others but who I am to myself. It has allowed me to not only experience a very Australian lifestyle but also many other cultures as well. Being ethnic has always drawn attention (although not always good) to myself in what was a predominantly a Caucasian neighbourhood.

I could speak easily of how my mother was able to incorporate Australian culture into her way of life but even moreso, a very technological type of globalisation was achieved. 

Just the other day I purchased my mother an iPad so that she may 'Skype' with all her siblings back at home. This meant a lot to her as it allowed her to utilize media to quite literally jump across oceans and communicate with her relatives. Long gone are the days that she would have to mail off handwritten letters and wait for weeks for a response to come. Thanks to technology, the very voices and essences of her closest family may be in the exact same room as her at any time of day or night.

Are the Olympics truly a global event?

Are the Olympics truly a global event?

The Olympics are by far the most global event on the face of the planet. With that said, there is a huge gap between the Olympics and the next best thing (which is arguably the FIFA World Cup but not everyone plays/enjoys/excels at the game of Soccer).

Firstly let’s define what the Olympics are and what dictates whether or not an event is ‘global’ or not. The Olympic Games came to life as a by-product of a series of competitions that was held between representative athletes of various states around Ancient Greece.  The first games that were moderated under the IOC consisted of 14 nations, 241 athletes and 43 events. Compare it to the current Games in London where 204 nations will be participating, roughly 10,500 athletes will compete and 302 events will be held at this ‘global’ event.

Well, what makes an event ‘global’? Accessibility; the event is broadcasted to hundreds of countries via television, radio and most significantly the internet. The NBC official Olympic page itself has ‘generated 132.6 million page views’ alone. (Johnson, 2012). This shows the vast amount of people who have been able to access, view and somewhat experience the Olympic Games of 2012.

However, it does not account for every individual. Not everyone has a television or a computer. Some do not even have radios. Although not completely ‘global’ yet, the Olympics is definitely in the process of being ‘both a globalising and urbanising phenomenon.’ (Short, 2008).

References;

Johnson, G 2012, NBC reports increase in Olympics viewers, date viewed 4^th of July 2012, <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2008/08/nbc-reports-inc.html>

Short, J 2008, Globalisation, cities and the Summer Olympics, City, 26 Nov, p 321-340

Global Media Empire

My Global Media Empire

My amazing Global Media Empire (GME) will follow the mould of none other than the very successful Rupert Murdoch and his ‘massive media Octopus’ (Marquand, 2011). News Corporation immigrated seamlessly from it’s roots in Adelaide, South Australia across the Pacific Ocean to it’s current headquarters in New York City. The reason I would choose to take a similar path to News Corp is that they provide a true example of globalisation. Not only does their influence expand overseas to other continents but they maintain a strong effect on many different people and personalities.

It would resemble a big corporate building with artistic flair (similar to the design of SBS located in Federation square). Offices would be designated into separate departments within the building and will be located close to relevant workplaces (eg. Studios would be located nearby the TV, Music and Radio and Magazines).

Of course, being a realist I understand I would need to fund this operation. Major revenue would be obtained from products such as the sales of books, newspapers and magazines (both domestic and international editorials) and careful management will ideally lead to high market-share and consumer/viewer ratings. There is ‘power in expanding global markets’ (Osborne, 2009) and this is exactly why taking a company abroad will produce a better chance at stronger revenue. It’s the old schoolyard rule; the bigger you are, the more power you have.

Osborne, B 2009, Communication and Empire: Media, Markets and Globalisation, Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 34, Issue 3, p535-537

Marquand, R 2011, Rupert Murdoch: his empire under attack, a media potentate stumbles, Christian Science Monitor, 15 July, p1