Paper Topic:

Do new digital media forms, especially around the internet, require new ways of thinking about audiences? If so, how?

Introduction

The world has been marked by surprising transformations that have fundamental impacts on the world economy . The fast development of IT especially the Internet , over the past decade has radically changed the global economic outlook . It allows businesses and economies to be less local and more global in keeping with long-term trends toward market liberalization and reduced trade barriers (Brynjolfsson Kahin 2000 ,

br 2 . In addition , the emergence of the Internet has permanently changed and even transformed the way of conducting life by people , providing an access to worldwide communication

and allowing people to be interconnected with each other

Media institutions produce and structure messages to attract audiences Media consumption is about consuming signs - of wealth , status , life style (Hobart 2007 ,

. 4 . These signs engage audience members and stimulate them to think about messages in certain ways . As media companies encourage citizens to interact with media , media scholars should consider the growing importance of the Internet as media to understand the ways in which people are learning to employ this important new technology . In the contemporary society , the internet technology is considered as powerful commerce and communication medium (Delone Mclean 2003 ,

. 10 . Aside from the business and economic benefits it provides , it also makes life easier and more convenient online shopping , distance education , accessible information entertainment , online booking , online banking , etc Few homes were equipped with a personal computer just 15 years ago There are currently about 460 million Internet users in Asia , 338 million in Europe , 235 million in Northern America , 116 million in Latin America , 44 million in Africa , 34 million in the Middle East , and 19 million in Oceania /Australia (Internet World Stats 2007 ,

. 1 . The usage growth rate from 2000 to 2007 is staggering : 920 .2 in the Middle East , 874 .6 in Africa , 540 .7 in Latin America , 302 .0 in Asia and the world attracted increasing attention from scholars and practitioners interested to the studying the Internet audience For more than a century , media audiences have been a concern of social critics and businesspeople . Audiences are the raison d 'etre for mass media organizations , including television , radio , print , and the Internet . As a matter of fact , it is difficult to imagine any type of media studies that is not about audiences . According to McQuail (1997 br

. 1 , it is a term that is understood by media practitioners and theorists . and it has entered into everyday usage , recognized by media users as an unambiguous of themselves . However , easy use of the term opposes many different connotations . In a period where technology is constantly evolving , the idea of an audience is less settled than at any time in the past

In this light , this tackles how new media audiences challenges and makes an impact to study audiences . I will discuss in the first part of the how people get gratification from the Internet , focusing on the fact that Internet audiences actively participate in obtaining gratification . The second part presents...

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