Throughout the last decade new media startupshave launched built around innovative technology to extend our use of media in profound yetoftensimple ways (Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, Instagram in 2010, Snapchat in 2011, TikTok in 2017, etc.). This assignment necessitatestwo smaller writing frames. First, peruse the The New Yorker’s archive of “Annals in Technology”(http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/annals–of–technology). First, select onearticle to briefly introduce, discuss, and analyzethe technology discussed and its relationship to media.Therefore, begin your essay with at least a couple of pages synthesizing the article and providing discussion and analysis on the media and technology issues involved in the article you selected.Secondly, the article you select will serve as a springboard for introducing your own media–based technological innovationor refinementcentered on the issues discussed and problematizedin the reading. For example, you might read “Reddit and the struggle to detoxify the Internet” and discuss how an online space could function to minimize trolls and other toxic content, in a way that is different than current online discussion forums.Different articlesmight better lend themselves to this assignment(some are less media–based, i.e. do notpick the article about paper jams!), but part of thisassignment is to creatively come up with a mediainnovation to a particularlyframedtechnological discussion, which will be provided by the various articles in The New Yorker. Connectyour initialdiscussion and analysis of the articlewith your own innovationand then elaborate and expand your argument.Keep in mind that you should make a media–based argumentin your essay, since this class is a media studies course and nota business class.Therefore, write to your audience, which is me, someone in media studies and not someone with an MBA. As a result, you do not need to worry excessively about costs, venture funding, etc. at this point.While this essay should allow you to use your imagination and creativity, it can also be challenging because you still need to develop your innovationin relation to legitimate areas of concern connected to digital media and technology.
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