Friday 28 April 2006

The Better Media: Radio or Television?

Few would dispute that television, with its dual audio and visual components, is the more capable media form when compared to radio, which only offers the first of these--except, perhaps, those who had no choice between the two during the early- and mid-20th century.

But as antiquated as it may seem today, radio itself was considered a technological advancement then. Hitherto forced to obtain information and entertainment from printed materials, such as books, newspapers, and magazines, those who were introduced to the new-fangled device felt it was the ultimate achievement. Just by turning a knob, they were able to connect with the world, bringing it into their very living rooms and hearing, as opposed to reading, whatever current programming offered, from sports to music to special events.

Although television later usurped radio's capability with pictures as well as sound, it initially offered poor quality and only served to highlight its artificial representation. Radio, on the other hand, engaged the listener, transforming him into an active part of the process.

Because it only offered sound, and therefore provided no visual cues, the listener needed to augment his experience with imagination, which, paradoxically, was more vivid and authentic to him than actual pictures could have been. Unable to enjoy a program if he remained in a passive mode, he was compelled to become involved with it, concentrating on the conversation and music to picture the people and events in his mind.

Initially more realistic than those received by primitive television sets, whose screens were tiny in relation to the huge cabinets that housed their actual picture tubes, radio programs were considered more realistic and dramatic, providing what was termed "theater of the mind."

Because television had still been in its early developmental stage during the 1950s and 1960s, and usually reflected staged sets, they were limited in creativity, but radio writers faced few of these restrictions with their scripts, enabling them to occur in whatever time and place they chose. Coupled with one or more narrators and appropriate background music, those scripts led the listener through the story and its events exactly the way they were intended, enabling him to imagine them unfolding in his mind, which, in essence, became his own personal "television screen." Consequently, this human-radio interface equally earned this form of media the title "art of imagination."

Above all else, radio enabled the person to connect with others and numerous parts of the world, as if it served as a form of sensory travel. Although newspapers and periodicals brought stories and events to the reader that had already occurred, radio provided this link as they occurred, transforming him from passive to virtually active participant.

When the reporter urgently said, "Here we are on the corner of Preston and Elliot streets in front of the Third National Bank, where the robbery is unfolding right before our eyes," the listener believed that he was.

There was no limitation to the air waves' reach, whether they stretched across town or across the Atlantic. When Winston Churchill gave a speech in Buckingham Palace, for instance, the listener often felt as if he were standing there with him and imagined the gold face clock of Big Ben chiming behind his shoulder.

Radio, as perhaps the intermediary link between the printed page and the television screen, also demonstrated that there was a correlation between media technology and reader/listener/viewer involvement. Indeed, the more the former offered, the less active he became.

Devoid of any technology, newspapers and magazines only offered printed words and two-dimensional pictures, requiring full participant engagement for them to be effective. Through voices, sound, and music, radios subsequently permitted him to dispense with reading, but intensified his need for listening, connecting him with the world and honing the ability of his mind to imagine and create. Finally, television, offering both sound and images, replaced some of his sensory enhancement requirements, but reduced him to a mostly passive viewer. Additional television advancements, such as those with three- and four-dimensional capabilities, further reduced his need to access his mind's potential and created a virtual reality in which he was almost at the center of the experience.

Friday 7 April 2006

Five Advantages of Using Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is conducting a conference call using the internet to transfer audio and video data. Every single person in the conference call has to have a camera, speakers, headphones or speakers. The speakers voice is transmitted through the internet to every other participant in the conference call. These are five reasons why you should start using conferencing.

Saves time and money

In order to capture new markets it would be necessary to travel. Some of the regular travelling to other countries can be reduced by using the video conference. Though nothing can substitute travelling to other countries to visit colleagues and loyal customers, making use of video conferencing applications from time to time can help you save time and money. Video conference applications now have high definition sound and video, which provides a crisp platform to communicate. Calculate the total cost of a travel including trips from to and fro to airport, flight, stay and compare it with the price of getting a video conferencing application, you can find that you can save your business a lot of money.

Increase in Productivity

Your business might require your employees to be placed in different remote locations. With the help of video conferencing applications, they can establish a proper communication channel using which they can take better informed decisions and complete projects quicker. Being able to see a person's face is one of the advantages of conferencing applications, it would force people to focus on the conversation. In addition, their non-verbal expressions can be seen while using the video applications. Teams now interact with Instant messaging, phone and email but video conferencing applications have emerged as an affordable yet effective method of communication.

Hire Talent Easily

If you want to hire from different cities, then you would have a tough time without using video conferencing applications. Organizations that have installed video conference applications have reduced expenses and time on travelling. Hiring employees through video interview has proven to be an effective way to find the talent. Video interviews can be recorded to analyze later, moreover if the multiple people wish to interview the candidate then a video conference can setup easily. Employee retention has also increased as a result of conferencing. Employees can now login remotely from their homes to communicate with people from work. Moreover, you would be able to employ freelancers who work remotely.

Stay Competitive

Video conferencing helps bring all teams in your workforce to communicate productively and take informed decisions to hold a competitive advantage in the market. If your business gets video conferencing application then customers would be able to hold a one to one video call with your company's support team.

There are numerous companies in varied industries that use conferencing applications. Companies that manufacture parts use video conferencing to ensure that the product does not lose its accuracy while it travels through the supply chain.