Retrevo, the consumer electronics marketplace, released  a new Gadgetology study indicating 34% of students buying laptops are planning on purchasing small, lightweight netbooks . Another 49% are buying full-sized PC laptops. The majority of student laptop shoppers will not consider buying a Mac.

2009 marks the dawn of the netbook.

Most media students nowadays prefer to longer battery life, smaller size, and alighter laptop. 58% of them plan on spending less than $750.00. Only 18% have a budget over $1,000.00. Netbooks are affordable; some costing only $170.00. In contrast, Apple laptops start at $949.00. Having a new Apple laptop, thus, isn’t a necessity.

Let me simplify the terms at this juncture.

The idea of a netbook isn’t exactly new. Microsoft first touted the concept of a small laptop-style device with a long battery life as far back as the late 1990s. Back then it was pushing its Windows CE Professional operating system.

This was a lightweight OS that belonged to the same family of products that later become the Pocket PC and then Windows Mobile.

Netbooks are devices designed purposely for the Internet, to communicate, learn, and view information. They have in common a compact form factor of seven to ten inches, are light-weight, feature comparatively longer battery life than notebooks, and are less dependent on a battery charger during the day. They are easily portable and can be easily moved from one place to another place. They may contain more than one wireless method to connect to the Internet
Notebooks are more multiple-purpose computers in a form factor of about ten inches and up. Notebooks can create content and handle heavy multi-tasking loads with many applications running at once. They can view, create, and edit high-definition video content and run intensive programs like computer aided engineering and mathematical modeling.

Notebooks, like Netbooks, are portable, but some are becoming increasingly less so (the 17-inchers) some more so (the ultra-thins), and users of notebooks tend to pack them away in bags with all sorts of accessories before moving anywhere beyond the office or home. Although a few notebooks are able to connect to the Internet via cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, being “locked” to a carrier is not widely considered an advantage. Thus notebook users often invest in wireless modems that are external.

Interestingly, we may see netbooks that are sold by the cellular carriers themselves as a bundle of Internet service and the device. Consumers would be likely to consider an inexpensive netbook expendable and simply stop using the wireless connection when the cellular contract was up.

So netbooks are purpose-built for a limited role, while traditional notebooks are multi-purpose general tool. (Click the image from Intel to enlarge the graphicon that explains the uses of each.)

If the media students want to run basic applications and surf the web on the go, the netbook is a good solution. However, if  they want to open five windows, run virus protection and do some indexing  or high definition video editing then a notebook is better.

This means that when they’re used to view a normal web page, the whole width of the page isn’t viewable at any one time. As a result, you often have to scroll the page back and forth to read a full line of text and this can make them frustrating to use.

Thankfully, these low-resolution screens are being phased out in favour of newer displays with a higher resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The extra horizontal resolution means that most web pages fit comfortably, negating the need for excessive scrolling.

Nevertheless, you may still experience some other performance-related issues when surfing the web on a netbook, as the web is becoming more and more of a multimedia playground. A few years ago it was relatively rare to stumble across a web page with lots of animation and video content, but both are everywhere on the internet today.

Most of this multimedia content is built using Flash. Flash can be demanding in terms of processing power and we’ve certainly found that pages which are heavily reliant on Flash can slow down netbooks considerably, especially if you’re running another application alongside your browser, such as a virus scanner.

On some web pages, standard Flash content can place over a 30 per cent load on a netbook’s processor. Add in an additional load from a virus scanner and you’re looking at really sluggish performance.

Flash is increasingly used for video content too, and the BBC uses it for its iPlayer service. Depending on the video stream, BBC iPlayer can gobble up to 60 per cent of a netbook’s processor performance, leaving little headroom for handling other Windows XP tasks.

And while the Windows version of the Eee PC 1000 can play shows from iPlayer in full screen mode without any problem, we found the same model running under Linux struggled with full-screen playback, producing very jerky video that was all but unwatchable.

Still, a netbook is not the same as an ultraportable notebook.

t’s not just the size factor — after all, there are now some 12-inch netbooks just as there are 12-inch ultraportables — but a difference in specs. Hard drive speed and performance, processor speed and performance, even graphics performance are different in the two categories. That’s because ultraportables are meant to be full-fledged laptops, just small and light for users who need the petite form factor.

if you’re looking for a simple computer that does basic tasks well and fits into a small bag, you want a netbook. You’re not even thinking about a MacBook Air or a LenovoX300. If you want a small, powerful computer that will run all the same application as your desktop at the same or greater speed that you can travel with easily yet still do serious computing on, you’re looking for an ultraportable. One look at the processor and screen size of a netbook would be enough to convince the informed consumer that it’s not the right choice in that instance.

Netbook vs. Notebook is a question many media students  will be faced with in the coming year. There are instances where people would choose to get a netbook instead of something with more power and better specs due to price, the way they intend to use the laptop, and whether they have an existing laptop or desktop at home. But to say that netbooks will triumph over ultraportables or any other laptop when a consumer wants high-end or even mid-range power and capability is overstating the issue in a big way.

A proverbial media student fits this stereotype in any layman’s head- colourful clothes with a 70’s hint to it, big over-sized sun glasses and the trademark ‘jholla’. Whether the first two are there or not the last one is a must. What is a media student without that big ‘jholla’ strung across his or her shoulder? For all the stereotypes that we live with, this is by far the most constant. It’s almost like a requirement now- media student must have large hippie ‘jholla’!

But being a true blue media student and a proud owner of one too many ‘jhollas’ myself I come here not to justify it but to tell the outside world how important that bag really is. It’s not just a bag that stands for an image, it’s so much more. Why you ask? Well I am just about to tell you about the components of a media student’s bag…so that soon you will not just think of it as ‘a bag’ but as…well you’ll still think of it as a bag but you’ll at least know more about it!

To start with our bags are just like your bags albeit with a whole lot more in them because as media students we carry our world in them ‘coz you never know when the ‘big idea’ strikes. Yes that’s what we all live for…that one big idea that will change our lives and the lives of those around us. A flash of creativity sparked with just the right amount of realism and quirkiness to work in the big bad world out there that we all want to conquer! But this article isn’t about that big idea so I’ll leave this discussion for another time. As for now let’s just concentrate on the trademark bag.

Okay so components of the bag- papers! Yes we are a serious bunch. We always have papers and books ready to pen down the wonderful knowledgeable thoughts that are dispensed in our classrooms! Also because most classes end up being places for doodling. Here may I add that doodling in our world IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME! That’s creativity at its best. Who knows what masterpieces could get created as a consequence of those doodles. I mean art was never really appreciated during its time so we are assuming that like all those artists we too are just ahead of our time!

Now since we have mentioned the importance of doodling in a media students life, the next component is related to it in a way. Colours! We believe that black and white is wonderful for an autumn collection but in our lives, colours are an important aspect. You never know when you might just need them so we’re always prepared!

A camera- here we are assuming that most people might not have the patience to lug around their giant SLR’s primarily because of their size and also because… well they’re expensive you know! So relying on a good phone with a good camera, we are big time clickers! Our bags always have our phones which double up as entertainment during class and cameras when the sky is just the perfect shade of blue and capturing it with a camera is the next best thing to actually flying!

By this time you must be wondering that we live extremely different lives from you but let’s just try and correct you on that. Another constant in the media student’s bag would be some form of food. Especially when you live crazy lives and crazy hours which mean skipping most regular meals, most our sustenance comes from our bags- a bar of chocolate, some chips and sometimes when things are really bad…even some gum will do. May I add here that the reason for these crazy hours is not ‘coz we study that much or are busy creating masterpieces, it’s just because we’re out having too much fun. As for the latter, we’re busy doing that in class (remember afore mentioned doodles?).

So by the end of this article, if you’re still reading that is, is that our bags are no different from your bags. They might be a little bigger, a little more colourful but they’re all the same. We have all those unwanted but ever so important things that any average twenty something year old would have. The only difference is that well our bags have attained a cult status and so you’re reading about them!

When taking up feature writing one is faced with several options. There exist a multitude of themes on which a feature can be written. A few of these are discussed below.

Human Interest

• The ‘human interest’ feature is easily the most popular article among newspaper and magazine articles. Because, unlike a professional, unemotional, clinical and statistical news report, the human interest features focus on the human and humane aspects of our lives.
• The depiction tugs at our heart strings because of the sympathetic rendering of the more emotional aspects of any event – be it a fire, floods, stampede, riots, earthquake, or an environmental disaster like the Gulf of Mexico oil-spill.
• Usual accurate and statistical newspaper and television reports (with their 5Ws and 1H strait-jacket) tend to pack in too many facts and figures, for their human and emotional aspects to survive. Human interest stories, “side-bars”, colour stories and features help to ‘humanise’ the happening in simpler terms and put readers at the trouble spot.
• Writers of human interest stories are those who like people, who relish the inconsistencies and frailties of men and women in their reactions to the problems around them. In writing human interest stories, the tendency is to go overboard, exaggerate, make tall claims and over-write. It is important to exercise restraint; avoid over-writing, and be accurate so that your credibility is never damaged.

Lifestyle

• Features these days include Lifestyle articles, which have a huge and growing readership. In some ways, it is a symptom of the frantic, stressful lives we lead, unrelieved by comforting tidings.
• These ‘soft’ and ‘feel-good’ features are often displayed, embellished by a cartoon or illustrations. Quite often, the lighter depiction forms the basis of a ‘humorous editorial’ in a day or two.
• If anything, this colour and display proclaims that not everything has to be about the seamier side of life, such as terror, death, destruction, murder and mayhem.

The various topics possible covered by lifestyle features are:

Seasonal and Festival

• India’s cultural calendar is a cavalcade of joyous community festivals of different religious groups and linguistic groups.
• These festivals fall on specific days in the respective religious calendars and link their celebrations with a magic, seasonal flavour.
• This variety of seasonal festivals spawns a variegated array of features throughout the calendar year. The list of topics on offer to the feature writer is:

Travelogue, Tourism and Adventure feature

Travelogues and tourism

• Among the new entrants to the genre of feature writing are the ‘travelogues’, which deal with the mix of travel, tourism and the hospitality industry.
• Today we find a steadily growing number of domestic and international tourists keen to see our ancient heritage. Thus, feature writers need to provide information through sensitive writing, promotions and highlighting of the tourism venues.
• Feature writers are needed in large numbers to create a good ‘image’ a tourist destination. This is done by photo-features, collages, travelogues and re-portages.

Travel Literature

• Travel literature typically records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary.
• To be called literature the work must have a coherent narrative, or insights and value, beyond a mere logging of dates and events, such as diary or ship’s log.
• Literature that recounts adventure and conquest is often grouped under travel literature, but it also has its own genre called outdoor  literature. These genres will often overlap with no definite boundaries. This article focuses on literature that is more akin to tourism.

Types of travelogues

• Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or it may involve travel to different regions within the same country. Accounts of spaceflight may also be considered as travel literature.
• Fictional travelogues make up a large proportion of travel literature. Although it may be desirable in some contexts to distinguish fictional from non-fictional works, such distinctions have proved notoriously difficult to make in practice, as in the famous instance of the travel writings of Marco Polo or John Mandeville.
• Many “fictional” works of travel literature are based on factual journeys – Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, presumably Homer’s Odyssey– while other works, though based on imaginary and even highly fantastic journeys – Dante’s Divine Comedy ,Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels or Voltaire’s Candide Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas– nevertheless contain factual elements.

Travel journal

• A travel journal, also called road journal or travelogue, is a record made by a voyager. Generally in diary form, a travel journal contains descriptions of the traveler’s experiences, is normally written during the course of the journey, and may or may not be intended for publishing

The ‘APPLAUSE’ formula

• A good feature should suggestively have APPLAUSE formula. Prof. C. Schoenfeld had discovered the acronym for a good feature.

•           A                               Appeal

•           P                                Plain facts

•           P                                Personalities

•           L                                Logic

•           A                                Action

•           U                                Universal/ Unique

•           S                                 Significance

•           E                                 Energy/ Enthusiasm

APPLAUSE provides another approach to elusive search for the ideal feature.

In the whole wide world of intellectualism who could ever come across a more clearly and cleverly overlapping subject of study than the all encompassing subject of ‘Media Studies’! This gives rise to a string of guilty pleasures that only media students get to indulge in.

1. Being a one of its kind subject which covers, all at once, the critique of artistic styles and aesthetic forms (genres, narratives, styles etc.), the know how of the execution processes (technological as well as market study and analysis etc.), and the socio-cultural perspective of how, through which, and where it all happens (social impact, effects of culture and ideology, consumer behavior and reception etc.) media studies gives a media student the freedom to pick and choose from its vast expanse of subject matter, thereby giving birth to a string of guilty pleasures that only he and he alone can indulge in. So the first guilty pleasure would be this very vast scope of study.

2. Going by this definition of media studies, the first and foremost task of a media student would be to immerse himself or herself into the study of art and aesthetics, its history, evolution, socio-cultural implications, scope, meanings, styles, forms, and so on. The second guilty pleasure of the media student then would be the pleasure of studying, day in and day out, the various styles of art and forms of aesthetics. The guilt lies in the fact that art in itself is an unbound subject, in terms of magnitude, form and time; while the study of aesthetics he can easily extend to the psychological, sociological and even philosophical perspectives, if he so chooses. And the fact that nothing encourages fresh ideas and independent thought than witnessing art and understanding aesthetics only adds to such pleasures.

3. A corollary of the above description of media studies would then be the fact that it enjoys the freedom to draw from the realms of the social sciences and the humanities, as it brings them into its sphere of learning and relates them to subjects as vast and varied as the science of mass-communication and technology driven communication and communication induced technology. Therefore this very freedom becomes the third guilty pleasure of the media student.

4. The fourth most guilt-burdened pleasure of a media student is that he gets to study culture and society, not just with a historical perspective, but in the current one, as and when it is formed as well as how it is formed. For mass media after all is the most impactful instrument of culture formation, especially contemporary culture formation. For who can deny the impact that movie, the internet, the television and the radio etc. have on the current socio-cultural demographics of the world. In this sense, the media student gets to study ‘live’ processes, and all that goes on behind the scene as well. In a sense, he gets more close to the idea of ‘playing god’ than even the most innovative of scientists can. So, ultimately it is he who has to bear the burden of this guilty pleasure.

5. Another aspect of media studies is its impact on the geopolitical scenario. Media and communication practices first began to impact the world of politics during World War I. By the time WW-I ended the foundation of the world of mass media had been laid. And World War II set it on a growth trajectory that could never have been imagined at the time. Today the scene is such that media has acquired the status of a King maker all over the world. Thereby the fifth guilty pleasure of the media student would be his fortune to hold the power to make or break governments in the palm of his hand, figuratively speaking.

6. Surely once all these guilty pleasures have been established, a student of such a subject would not deny the guilty pleasure of over indulgence in the subject matter- the last and guiltiest of all the pleasures of a media student. Yes indeed, the media student would very often be accused of this for no other subject matter can allow indulgences of such kinds to such extensive extents. And in this regard, the media student is truly found guilty as charged- without so much as a hint of regret, if I may say so!

However, this is only my take on the subject. You, dear reader, should feel free to add to this list. You are most entitled to this freedom, for it is you who shall be taking media to the next level of elevation, upgrading, as you go, this list of guilty pleasures. I sincerely hope you enjoy your process of discovery as I have enjoyed mine!

Should there be a demarcating line between passion and a day job? Aren’t we, as apostles of the post modern age of today, learn to select and live with the choice. In other words, live the choice?

In modern times still, the choice is not much of a guarantee.  Especially in  a text book driven society like India. This all is said with financial constraints only in mind. The Indian mentality is mostly shaped by the burden of loans and  the interest itself has interest attached. The sum total is negation of wants.

Why not unburden yourself from the hangup?? Why not shake it all off and follow your passion? Why not make your passion your day job per se?

A common argument holds truth when one says that when the day job is not the passion, then there is lack of depth of commitment. Money is the main draw. Money is what acts as the trap for many to give up ones passion to pursue something half heartedly.

The equation then stands of happiness vs reality vs passion.

To follow a more optimistic line of thought, we can even say that in the pursuit of happiness, we might end up seeking out new unexplored territories or “passion projects” to explore the reality.  These little projects shape the character and bring us closer to realizing our dreams.  One step closer to making happiness a reality.

The suggestion that usually gets made is, “just get a regular job”. But I don’t want a “regular job”. These are the jobs that are usually referred to as the 40-40 club.

Forty hours a week for forty years, then retirement. Then a pat on the pack on off you go. Some may find it hard to be truly passionate about regular jobs, and without passion it’s hard for happiness to follow.

Therefore many  strongly believe that if you follow your passion then happiness does become a reality

Imagine there are 2 scenarios. In scene 1, you get to pursue your passion, but it is not so lucrative.

While you love every minute of pursuing your passion and you get so much fulfillment out of it, you find it hard to concentrate on this path when you have to face real, monetary limitations. Money to pay the bills, money to do other things you love, money to live in a sufficient manner. This is the scenario of the starving artist, if you may.

In scene 2, you remain in your lucrative job with great prospects, but you do not hold a passion for the work. You get by working from day to day by blocking out your real inner desires. The numbness you feel is drowned out by the extrinsic benefits that your job offers, such as an attractive benefits package which allows you to acquire material goods and live in luxury, prestige and awe that comes from being associated with the company, etc. However, these are temporal gratifications and you feel empty inside in the long run.

What should we do here? Both options have its own sets of pros and cons. Both options leave us unsatisfied in some manner. Scenario A lets us be fulfilled emotionally, but not in terms of material needs.

Scenario B lets us be fulfilled on the material level, but not emotionally.

The answer is: It’s not an either or situation; it’s ‘and’. There is a Scene 3 where we can meet our all our needs.

So if the scenario exists, how do we get there? How do we achieve it?

The idea is not to limit oneself.

The reason why people commonly narrow it down to between passion or money is because of what they see around them. If we are to look towards the world for outlets which meets our passion and needs, we will find sub-optimal solutions. Such as a teaching job that pays little. Non-profit organizations laden with bureaucracy and poor practices that lead to our mental atrophy. Nearly non-existent paths for passions like art and music. The bleakness of the situation is further emphasized by real life examples, such as artists who experience dwindling sales for their galleries, musicians who work hard on their music career with limited success, etc.

Don’t limit yourself by what you see in this world. And don’t limit yourself by what people around you say or think either, be it your mentors, teachers, family, friends, peers, or whoever. I’m not saying not to listen to them; but rather, not to restrict yourself based on what others tell you. You are an individual with your own unique set of needs. If you are to relegate it to the real world to provide you with the outlet to meet all your needs, you are not going to find fully satisfactory answers. The real world is only going to have opportunities that reflect others’ needs and can meet your needs in a certain manner. Your own needs can only be fully met by creating your own opportunities.

Your options are only as limited as you let them be. If you feel your passion is less than lucrative than your day job, it is because you define it to be that way. If your passion is not a viable full time career, it is because you choose it to be so. If your passion cannot meet your material needs, it is because you think it to be so.

We can start off by becoming aware of all your needs that you have. While it is common to consider just passion and money, we have needs beyond those two segments we should factor in.

There are 4 key aspects that comprise us as humans: Mind, Heart, Body, Soul. For each of these aspects, it has its own set of needs that need to be met for us to live the fullest life we desire.

Be true to yourself. Be true to what you want and who you are.  Be your life’s own architect and design your vision.

Lastly be as liberal as you can be. You should realize what are the barriers to your dream monetizing and convert barriers to key elements of success.

Success and happiness comes from self belief and wiping off of ones own inner demons- ones own mental blocks.

Take control of your life and let the passion be your platform for excellence.

A lot has been said about the professionalism and work ethics of the corporate world. For any aspirant, sitting in college, dreaming of a five figure salary and a big fifteenth floor  office- there is one image of a typical corporate life. Like it or not this picture invariably involves someone facing a few people in a conference room and making presentations. This is why making presentations and making them well becomes so very important not just in work life but right from college itself. It’s the one thing they teach you in biz school and while you’re there- you better learn it well!

1.Late for a presentation? Ouch!

The biggest most important thing while giving a presentation is being there! And more importantly being there on time. For all the skills and gloss that you might be able to sell to your audience, if you’re late, none of it will make much of a difference. So if you’re late during a presentation make sure you make a brilliant excuse once you’re there because being late you’re running a huge risk anyway!

2.Lost your data…a dog couldn’t have chewed it this time

Let’s face it, we can’t really use the ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse after the age of ten. I don’t even think it worked back then! So realizing that your data is missing is close to suicide especially, when you have a few beady eyes looking right through you, ready to dissect every word you speak. What does one do in such a scenario? – talk about everything. More often than not a person who speaks confidently is judged as someone who knows a lot so use it to your advantage and talk like you’ve never talked before! It might just work!

3.Got the stage fright!

A big problem that a lot of people- students and even professionals face is -stage fright. Everything could seem to be perfectly in place till that spotlight falls on you and all eyes are on you. The solution for this is far from difficult. Try imagining all those in front of you in a funny setting (here may I add “I leave the ‘imagining’ to your creativity”) and things won’t seem as bad. Just a small suggestion though- try not getting too carried away!

4.Too many questions!

A typical situation- you’ve prepared a brilliant presentation and you know your stuff. Come the day and you’re presenting it with confidence and clarity. The world seems perfect till that guy in the first row asks you that question. And then some more. Feel like your perfect picture is coming crashing down? Fear not because there is a solution. While the ideal situation would be to answer all those questions with the confidence of a salesman, this is not always the case. So the escape is the magical line- I’m running short on time! In order to make sure you don’t seem too rude, drop in the additional line of ‘ you can mail the questions to me and I’ll revert’. I don’t really think anyone actually gets down to answering them but then you come out of a sticky situation looking prepared and polite!

5.Hey that’s my topic!

The worst thing that can happen is to find yourself presenting on a topic that has already been done. You’re already bogged down on whether yours is going to be better than your counterparts’ presentation and all hell breaks loose. The solution for this can be to start by being a little selfish and not scream your idea from the rooftops. But if you have been smart enough to do that- fear not, there is a way out. Presentations can be a boring thing to sit through. Something to make your presentation popular and different is to make it funny. This does not mean take away from the main topic at hand, but do it with a humorous twist. It’s always a hit with the audience.

6.Ahem…Don’t know much?

It’s the day of the presentation and you just realize that you actually don’t know much about what you plan to say. It’s a genuine mistake- happens to the best of them. But the smart thing is to get out of it without coming out looking like a novice. The best thing to do in such a situation, is to throw everything out to the group for discussion. There is a double whammy you hope to achieve here- assuming the audience is of an average intelligence level they will automatically start a constructive discussion. And secondly you get brownie points for interaction. Now that’s called being smart!

7.Got a strict boss/ professor?

While fun and games and jokes can make you an instant hit with your audiences, the same cannot be said about some Professors and old school bosses. So the worst situation could be you imagining yourself to be a hit with the masses but then that glance to the boss’ face and he looks far from pleased. Oops! Time for damage control. Nothing to worry, it’s far from ruined. The best thing to do in this situation is to quote a definition or better still throw some statistics! Trust me, they all love numbers!

So while these aren’t the ideal way to make ‘Class A’ corporate presentations, I  hope you never have to use them in real life. But if by some chance you do, chill, relax and watch the magic!

The evolving face of Media is not only fascinating and encompassing but it is imperative to note that it has become an integral part of our life. Can you imagine your life without a Newspaper or without advertisements or television and films or your cell phones? It’s quite difficult to do so isn’t it? Media is dominant in every walk of life today that makes it an even more vital reason to study the emerging and fast growing sector.

A lot of people perceive media to be confined to school of Journalism as it was thought in the olden days. But it has spread across and penetrated deep into the field of advertisement, public relations, films, television, internet, radio and even our cell phones for that matter. The reach of Media is much beyond our imagination now. What is more interesting is the way these all come together to complement and enhance each other to make its expertise even more impactful. Convergence of media is what we will see in the next phase of Media evolvement.

What is convergence of Media?

• Convergence of media refers to the coming together of different fields of Media to compliment and aid each other in their smooth functioning.
• Media convergence is the merging of mass communications outlets—prints, television, radio, the Internet along with portable and interactive technologies through various digital presentation platforms.
• The industry demands multi faceted and multi skilled professionals thus overlapping of interests and job skills are quite prevalent.
• The media convergence movement developed from latest technological advancements—particularly the emergence of the Internet and the digitization of information.
• Media convergence allows mass media personnel to narrate stories and give information and entertainment using an assortment of media.
• Converged communication offers numerous instruments for giving information, permitting consumers to choose a level of interactivity while self-directing content delivery.
• Media convergence lets mass media viewers to relate with and even create mass media content.  Consumers can now monitor when, where and how they access and relate to the information of all sorts.
• Convergence journalism engages cooperation among print, broadcast and Web journalists to produce the finest account possible using a array of delivery systems to reach the widest audience.
• Students who recognize media convergence are more versatile, flexible and more employable.  Employers want to employ people who understand the inference of media convergence and can work in a congregated environment.
• People wanting to pursue a career in any aspect of mass media whether it be television reporting, public relations, print journalism, advertising, radio broadcasting or Web design need to understand how to toil in today’s rapidly transforming digital world.
• Media outlets all through the country, now rely on print, online and video partnerships and new concerted strategies that maximize resources.
• People who possess knowledge in compound media and can ‘hit-the-ground running’ have an edge over others in the industry. So for example if a broadcast journalist has to get his story faster and before other Journalists in other channels one must have his/her contacts in place to get a credible story on time thus his PR skills come into play.
• Technology changes news, the nature of it, how we get it, how we present it. Whether the task is writing for the newspaper, the television or the computer screen, the process of thinking about the news remains the same. The tools the reporter may use to collect and deliver the information will undoubtedly differ.

Professional requisites in the age of Convergence:

1. Adapt news copy for use by multiple media;

2. Shoot and edit video;

3. Work in an integrated media technology environment;

4. Adapt visual news content for multiple media;

5. Write for print;

6. Shoot still photographs;

7. Design graphics; and finally,

8. Design Web sites.

Although news managers indicated they need employees capable of doing this kind of work, most TV news stations provided no training support to help employees develop the required skills.

Today’s media setting is changing.  Consumers are accessing information and entertainment media in new ways such as Internet portal sites, mobiles, hand held devices, blogs, podcasts, instant messaging and video on demand. People who understand convergence will have a benefit despite of their meticulous areas of expertise. Learning to function in a converged media milieu is decisive to profession success in media.

In our present day world, media- broadcast and print media in particular, are considered mainly to be entities that reflect the face of the society as it exists today. However there is another aspect to this media that we can easily overlook by careless oversight. And this is the aspect in which media is an instrument that helps construct, structure, mould, and even give direction to the world we live in. Thus media is progressively forming the history of the world just as it is reflecting contemporary events. This interpretation of the function of media, however, brings forth a set of issues that arise due to the power that media has come to possess today.

So apparently, like the media of not so long ago, when the paths to world alliances and economic ties were literally inked by the media, the media of today also can be a King maker if it so chooses to be, or, can be the cause of a governments being overthrow, if it so chooses. In fact, today we do not find it difficult to imagine the sway media can have over the general public. However, as someone rightly said, “With great power, comes great responsibility”. So at the same time we must also realise that just as the media gets bigger and more powerful, it even becomes more noticeable, and therefore increasingly easy to criticise.

Sadly, though, the world of media today is one where media people have turned the profession into a money making business. The ethics and morals are long forgotten and even reputed professions like journalism have succumbed to the degradation caused by the after effects of money making scandals doing the rounds. Things have gone so bad in fact that news is not just ‘sold’ for a price to the highest bidder, but even created for him.

Even then our world has not given up on media though. And among various present day views and opinions being voiced about the changing roles of media, there are two sets of thought patterns that are more popular than others. One is the fact that no matter what liberties the media takes or whatever level of sensationalization it chooses to go to, media is still a part of the system that is good even in its worst form. The other view is that the media of the day is what the world around it wants it to be. This media industry gurus and thought leaders would like to prove by pointing out the growing TRPs of the not so moral television channels, and popularity of magazines, newspapers and tabloids that are not even pretending to be dabbling in things that are ethically inclined anymore!

These views, however, would belong to the same school of thought that believes that corruption is a necessary evil, and that natural resources are there so that man can go all out to exploit, loot and plunder, and that the place of women is inside the home kitchen. But radical as this may sound, the first and foremost job of a media student is to get such stereotypical ideas out of his or her head. For until and unless we learn to imagine the change we need, we can never be the change we want. So, what does the media need to do that it is not doing? The answer to that is simple enough. Be ‘socially responsible media’.

And why not! Social responsibility is actually a topic of hot discussion in today’s corporate world. So it might even prove to be a lucrative proposition for the media to become socially responsible. The act will certainly improve their image in the long run. So they could even make it a part of their long term strategy. And the act of being conscious and considerate of the impact they have on their audience could ultimately make them more popular than their competition as well. Besides this, the mere act of acknowledging the fact that they realise that the views and opinions they chose to voice to the general and very-very impressionable” public/audience can have a long or short term cultural or social impact would do wonders to their corporate image.

Ultimately, though, the world will wisen up to the media act of the present day. And ultimately the media also will have to answer for their actions. So, it would only be an act of common sense for the media student of today to inculcate socially responsible habits from now onwards so that once they enter the world of media they are already on the path of the future- the change that is only an outcome of present world scenario- a ‘socially responsible media’.