Free Mobile Applications in Mass Media Essay Sample

Mobile telephones have become a necessity in modern society. Almost every person has this gadget or has access to it. These commodities have created an accessible world with convenient communication only with the help of a simple touch of a button. A variety of aspects of human lives can be represented by the use of applications designed for mobile devices. These elements vary from the food preparation to the prescheduled appointments. Such gadgets have also affected the sphere of mass media, which has ultimately become a field in which one cannot imagine the absence of these products. Taking into consideration the findings of the study, mobile applications have substantially promoted the development of mass media, especially the spread of digital news.

The rapid spread of mobile phones and their applications is a factor that aims at simplifying human life. According to Rodrigues, Oliveira, and Vaidya, the number of mobile phone subscribers around the whole world accounted for approximately 4,6 billion individuals in 2009. It is a high level, which points to a necessity of such devices in life. The penetration of these commodities in the industrialized world constituted more than 133%. It makes mobile phones the most widely spread technologies and the most common electronic product in the world.

Mobile applications are not the exception in this case. The percentage of clients who use mobile apps on a regular basis has substantially increased. Salz argues that the number of app downloading processes breaks records each year. It might reach the level of 200 billion downloads in 2017 while, in 2013, it accounted for only 70 billion. The evidence points to the fact that mobile apps constitute over 50% of almost all digital media consumption. According to Cuadrado and Duenas, mobile app stores have revolutionized the system of mobile services. These stores are not the first attempt to implement plans at mobile content. The most famous precedent is the Japanese I-Mode, developed in 1999. However, despite the successfulness of this store, as well as many other ones, people often delete or ignore a variety of apps shortly after their downloading.

As a result, mobile companies have created a system that helps consumers to get the notifications they want. Salz claims that apps have formed a new channel to message and engage clients on their device home screens. It means that modern organizations transform their development in a way that will be suitable for their buyers. The application programming interfaces designed by such companies as Amazon, Google, and eBay, have developed well-organized Web server integration programs that are beneficial for the users of mobile phones. Some agencies create new ways that might put individuals more in control of the messages they get than previously. For example, ABC News Digital is a company that was the first to use this strategy. Such an approach has provided app users with the opportunity to personalize alerts. It means that they receive the information they want and avoid the one they do not wish to get. In order to fulfill this strategy, users may create a personalized news directory to their apps. Such applications gain attention not only among clients but also the representatives of mass media field, mainly the sphere of news.

News organizations substantially rely on Google and other firms as they need platforms and tools to reach the target audience. The rapid spread of mobile devices makes news an expensive arena. It is explained by the fact that readers use app tools and social recommendations to search for the news that interests them. It means that they ignore going directly to the homepage of a preferred news source. Such mobile applications as Flipboard provide consumers with the chance to customize their news. It allows users to avoid using multiple sources and get only necessary ones. Many persons rely on the recommendations they receive from their followers and friends in their news pages at Facebook and Twitter. The program selects only that news that is interesting to subscribers of social networking sites.

Many news channels use apps to spread information among people. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC News, CNN, The Washington Post, CBS News, as well as BBC News use news apps for disseminating data of their companies. For example, ABC News has developed an in-app message center within its already designed mobile application. It uses an email inbox that serves as a place where consumers store and find the news that interests them. Salz states that such an inbox provides clients with the opportunity to see topics they follow in an easy way. The relaunch of this app allowed reading over a million stories during the first five months of its work. Notifications may also link individuals to video files. It allows watching live streams as soon as breaking news appears. According to the report of the channel, the app has reached a 500% increase in live video streaming because of the developed notifications. The innovation provides consumers with the chance to read and watch the news while waiting for a client, traveling, as well as just having a break in the office.

Mobile phones and their applications have not only altered the way news is consumed in modern society but has also substantially changed the way it is produced and distributed. In the field where employees need to be first to break news, mobile apps have become a necessity. News channels design their app pages in a way that makes them look like an original one. According to Palser, such apps have a well-designed hierarchical prioritization of data, convenient column layout, as well as the stylish look of its front pages. For example, the mobile application developed by USA Today even imitates the zigzag edge of newsprint sheets. As there is absent the notion of pages in live format broadcasting, radio and television apps experiment with their layout. It is why almost all broadcast apps focus on the representation of multimedia. The front pages of the CBS and CNN News applications “are the most graphics-centric, composed completely of large and small thumbnail images with headlines and no other text”. Another aspect emphasized by Palser is that many apps allow consumers to gain the access to offline content. For instance, the Wall Street Journal offers its users the most extensive offline access than other digital sources. However, not all newspaper resources offer subscribers to read and watch their information for free.

Fees required for accessing news vary from one firm to another. According to Palser, organizations use two ways to charge their iPad users. Those news companies, which charge money for content, usually allows free downloading of their app but provide only a temporary free pass or partial content access. For example, the app designed by The Wall Street Journal offers free access to a variety of news stories of the day but requires a monthly subscription for gaining access to their full content. Such magazines as The Daily News and The New York Post provided users with the opportunity to subscribe for a 30-day trial period for less than $2 in 2011. After the trial expires, people should purchase a subscription for gaining access to the news again. Cramer states that The New York Times allows mobile buyers following a link, which has been shared by social networks. In this case, a person can view the story regardless of whether or not he or she is a subscriber. Cramer claims that such a strategy is “a key component to the success of the media brand’s digital presence”. According to Palser, companies intentionally offer their app to be downloaded for free as it attracts the attention of new users. Another aspect is that charging a fee at the primary stages may distract the attraction of casual testers of new mobile applications. Even those individuals who never subscribe to news broadcasting may help agencies to understand the conduct of consumers and evaluate their advertising impressions. As a result, news companies develop their mobile apps in a way that is convenient for them. Aside from attracting clients, they also reduce the level of their daily expenses.

In conclusion, an analysis of the study reveals the fact that mobile applications have substantially promoted the development of mass media industry. The spread of digital news has received increased attention from the developers of apps. Their content, look, as well as the prioritization of stories, imitate real newspapers. News channels devote much attention to the development of effective apps as they provide them with the opportunity to be the first who report the news and reaches the target audience. Mobile devices also help companies to decrease their production costs. They reduce the number of team members and cut spending on transferring broadcast equipment or maintaining satellite vans. As a result, mobile users become witnesses of more innovative and widespread use of mobility in the broadcasting process than the one they saw during previous decades.

 

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