Let’s face it. Journalism in the future will be different. The changes may be disorienting to those who are used to the old ways of doing things, but change is definitely coming. A morning routine for my father on Sunday’s was to wake up, fix himself some coffee, go outside and grab the newspaper, and read the paper front to back and share some of my mother’s stories (she was a journalist) since my sister and I had no interest in the news at the time. My mother and father would both highlight the news in the paper and answer any questions we had. In, what seemed like the next day, both my mother and father had ditched the paper and were reading the news online. That is where it is going, and it is only a matter of time before we see newspapers and magazines shutting down worldwide.

I did not realize the severity of the situation until I read an article from Techcrunch about the decline of newspapers. Duncan Riley is absolutely right when he says, “Newspapers do have a future, but as I wrote in November, we are yet to see a major consolidation of print in the United States. Declining revenues will ultimately force consolidation across print media in the United States, and many of those that fail to embrace change will be on borrowed time.”

Duncan Riley of Techcrunch says that figures show rapid decrease from 9.4% to $42 billion in 2007 compared to 2006. Regardless, print media face competition from Internet-only e-zines, which have virtually no traditional paper, printing, or distribution costs, and are better versed in new media interactivity. Because of this, they are able to serve more specialized vertical communities – a function similar to today’s special interest and trade magazines. Magazines also face the television and radio industries’ entry into the text-based medium now available through the Internet.

You can get a good sense for where journalism is headed by looking at the world of tech reporting, such as Engadget, Gizmodo, The Tech Brief :) etc… They tend to be steps ahead of the rest of the media; At least try to be anyway. Most techies have also been getting tech news from sites like Slashdot  for a while, and aggregators like Digg are used more heavily among techies than any in the rest of the news media. So there is a good chance, that today’s tech news trends are a foretaste of what’s ahead for the broader media world.

Although not too close to taking over print media, online media is very close behind. The rapid decrease of print media will heavily inpact our society and changes will be made that some of you may not like, but in a effort to “go green” and “save the world,” the changes must take place, and technology – online media – will likely follow. The offering of e-ink technology will be much more prevalent, and may take over paper. Perhaps I am think way to ahead, but it is a thought that looks more likely as time ticks away. Until then, enjoy your newspapers and magazine, and any other print media while we have it now, because you never know when we may not.

I have always been interested in Science. It is a wonderful topic and very important in the way you look at many things. Philip Bourne, professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California San Diego, wondered how science was left behind. In his hopes to brings science back a bit closer to the cutting edge by combining user-generated video content with tagging and communities he has created a wonderful educational tool – SciVee.

In the constantly evolving and changing world of science, simple and swift access to information is key. In addition to Phillip Bourne, a group of scientists who felt that scientific distribution was in need of a transition from text to multimedia have collaborated and produced SciVee, an online social network where members of the scientific community can join forces to generate and revise articles, create personal profiles, and publish their work online.

“SciVee is about the free and widespread dissemination and comprehension of science.
SciVee, created for scientists, by scientists, moves science beyond the printed word and Lecture Theater taking advantage of the internet as a communication medium where scientists’ young and old have a place and a voice.”

You can also view a video of Phillip Bourne who gives an overview of the SciVee project.

The site revolves around the site’s upload feature, which lets all users post their articles and attach them with a video to create a “SciVee.” Others, modified as necessary, and then posted publicly to the network, can then review these “SciVee” videos.

Like most video-sharing sites these days, the entire operation revolves around a Flash player that provides instant gratification. What is interesting here is that SciVee breaks it down into two categories: one for standalone videos and another for what it calls a “pubcast” which lets you link up the video to a related research paper. Viewers can watch the video in the left hand corner of the screen while the paper scrolls to match what topic the narrator is talking about. There is also a simple table of contents on the left, which lets you jump to the video and text portion at the same time. It somewhat reminds me of my Spanish class videos in which words matched with videos and vice versa.

I think pubcast is a neat way to present a scientific concept, and offers users a chance to read, or watch science with some useful resources. I am a frequent visitor to a site called ScienceDaily and they feature videos, but not as educational as SciVee if that makes since.

With several partnerships with many prolific organizations including the National Science Foundation, SciVee is quite a success in its current beta stage and I feel it is a winner, as not only an educational tool, but also a magnificent way for scientist to learn from each other and transform text to media, which is what users want these days.

Since everyone’s all a-buzz about Mixx aiming to be the new Digg I decided to check Mixx out for myself to see how much of a clone it really is. In all honesty, I really only use Digg to promote my favorite blogs. That’s what Digg was made to do and it does it well. In regards to this function, Mixx is no different aside from the fact that it takes far fewer votes to get featured on the front page. While Digg is also a social site that is meant to help users find new media, I don’t like these aspects of it at all.

This is where Mixx has picked up the slack. While I’m not as huge a fan of social networking as it would benefit me to be, Mixx’s social features strike me as a bit more inviting than Digg’s, giving users the ability to use Mixx’s features within the boundaries of private groups. Plus, the site greets you with your customized MyMixx page. This page lists the most popular, most recent, or most commented on media in each category you’ve selected as having an interest in, helping you build “your blend of the web.” Plus, Mixx allows you to search for media that is related to your area and subscribe to feeds for each category. While Bubbletop is my favorite when it comes to having a customized online experience, I’d say Mixx is handling that aspect a little better than Digg.

Ultimately, it’s difficult to say how well Mixx is going to do. I by no means think it’s going to replace Digg but it probably will continue to steal little bits of Digg’s user base at a time. One of it’s big downfalls at the moment is the fact that Digg, StumbleUpon, and Del.ici.ous are already integrated into so many sites. Is the web willing to make room for a fourth? If not, the chances of people opting to use Mixx over Digg and other services will probably decrease quite a bit. Regardless, Mixx is definitely worth watching, as its growth is bound to shake things up on the Internet at least a bit. Sign up for Mixx Beta at www.mixx.com.

Between e-mail, instant messaging, and sites like Facebook and MySpace, keeping track of multimedia files can be tough. Tubes, is a free application and might be the solution to that problem. It lets you store files in one place and share them with friends, using a simple drag-and drop-interface; a nice Web 2.0 interface.

Tubes is a new social sharing application. I got a chance to test out this neat little application and I must say I like it. It is a fine peer-to-peer file sharing application with a nice, simple interface. “Tubes” refers to shared folders, which can include photos, audio, videos and links.

To get started, you have to sign up with the usual email, username, and password. A confirmation email enables you to download and install the Tubes client software. The software works in Microsoft Windows XP with SP2, or Windows Vista, and it requires .NET. Once you are done with that, you are ready to Invite users to a Tube and they’ll automatically receive any new files that you add to that particular tube.

The program is free, but of course there is a better version, called the Premium option. The free version gives you the basic Tubes functionality, allowing just two devices to be set up, and 1GB of storage. The $4.99/month premium level adds unlimited device allowance, MS Office support, backup, and quicker support.

I like Tubes. It is neat, but there isn’t an email integration option which is something I like when sharing files. As said, it is still in beta, so perhaps they will release that option in the future.

“Timotei, Timotei, Timotei!” That quote is what comes to mind when I see the name of this site. It’s a line from one of my favorite shows, Lucky Star, and is originally from the old Timotei shampoo commercials. You can find quotes, bloopers, and more from your favorite television show at Tioti.com.

Tioti is a social media aggregator that’s dedicated to television. In other words, they gather information about shows and we, the community, edit and build upon it. Once you sign up, find, and fave your favorite programs you can find other fans, recommend your favorites, and (of course) join groups or invite your friends. You can also look up or add information about various series. If you search for a series that isn’t on Tioti, just request it in a feedback form and wait for it to be added.

I, personally, don’t care enough about even my favorite series to rely on a site like Tioti for information, but it’s a good place for TV enthusiasts. The biggest drawback to it right now is probably just the fact that the database is still so incomplete. Only the most popular shows actually are sufficiently described right now, and certain types of shows aren’t very well represented yet.

Tioti is free to join, and you don’t even have to join to start searching for shows. Plus, the website makes my eyes happy. Find your favorite programs at www.tioti.com