Media has many different uses and gratification which are stated in Blumler and Katz’s theory. These uses are:

 

• Entertainment/Diversion

• Social interaction

• Personal identity

• Information/Surveillance

 

In this task I created a collage named ‘My Media World’ with images of the media that I consume and prosume on a regular bases. Then I labelled some of the images with their main use from Blumler and Katz’s theory so that I could learn what I mainly use media for. For example I labeled the image of the Snapchat logo with entertainment and personal identity as I get enjoyment out of using the app and also when I receive images that people have posted or when I post an image myself I am adding to my personal identity as it is reaffirming who I am. This will impact me when I am producing my magazine as I can direct my magazine to fit one of the uses and gratifications in Blumler and Katz’s theory. For example I could include strong opinions about a particular topic/band so that people can gain a strong sense of personal identity. However it would also be beneficial to use as many uses and gratifications ats possible to maximise popularity and sales.

 

I learned in completing this task that media ecology is fundamental and if one aspect wasn’t present then all of the other aspects could be affected. For example I completed a mind map about how distribution affected all other areas of media ecology and I found that:

• Distribution is a huge factor and if it was not able to happen media wouldn’t reach it’s audience which would affect every aspect of media ecology
• The aspect of technology has impacted distribution as it has meant that more media can be distributed quicker than before technology was prevalent.

The Lego model that we made helped to present media ecology in a visual way. Our model depicted a coffee shop and included:

• How it got its resources (distribution)
• How the customers where affected (audience)
• And where the profit went to (money)

I will use the concept of media ecology when producing my magazine by thinking about how to get the greatest audience and how it will be distributed to them. I will also be mindful about the use of social media so I will use social media platforms to promote my magazine.

This is a collection of posters created by everyone in my class showing how a different aspect of media ecology relates to every other aspect telling us that every aspect of media ecology is fundamental and important.

Media studies interests me and I am hoping to learn many skills that I can take with me through life. I already have a basic understand of photoshop however I am hoping to gain a further understanding as well as learn:

• The different functions of a camera and how they help to create a great shot which will be very useful when creating my magazine.
• How to communicate the meaning that I want to convey through the media that I create.

I believe that media is a very important and relevant subject as I think that there are many transferable skills to learn that you could apply to others areas in life. These include:

• Communication and how to successfully convey a message
• Coping with deadlines
• Time management
• Use of IT
• Creativity