Topic 5 Reflection

And just like that, the final topic is over.

Topic 5 was probably one of my favourites topics so far as there was a variety of things that could have been spoken about and I particularly enjoyed reading experiences both online and within this module of people’s experience with online materials. I really enjoyed Hayley’s post as she used Prezi to give a brief insight of what open access is and I think I will definitely consider using Prezi when doing presentations in the future.

Through reading other people’s post, I’ve learnt that using media to support your argument or the argument of others provides something different for readers.

Reading into this topic was intriguing as I went in with a bias view of being a user of free online content. However, with better understanding, I can see where it would be a disadvantage for producers. For example, researchers whose research can be time consuming and expensive may be frustrated when their content is exposed for free on the web. Despite this, I still believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and Irinie’s post touched upon this showing the economic benefits of open access.

I touched upon the music industry and I think it is a industry that is in too deep to overcome the threat of open access materials. Audiences are used to downloading music for free and has somewhat become a social phenomenon.

Conclusively, I think that as digital media continues to develop, the more we as users get used to it, the more producers of traditional media will see it as a disadvantage. Instead of seeing open access material as a threat, producers should use it to their benefit. A recent article I read predicts a different kind of future for Open Access. Read here

Comments

1. Hayley 

2. Irinie

[1] Article on future of Open Access: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/04/12/90-online-content-be-held-behind-paywalls-three-years-media-company-survey-suggests