Media

The media sector includes traditional mass media in print, film, TV and radio, as well as the rapidly growing online and mobile mediums. Electronic games, search engines, advertising, and education services are all aspects of the media sector. End-user organisations include content developers, aggregators and distributors, advertising agencies and major vertical carriers. In practice, much of the media industry is concentrated in a few large companies: Fairfax, TEN, News and now, Telstra, all of whom are making major efforts take advantage of digital technology.

The Internet and widespread mobile phone usage has provided an opportunity for smaller companies to distribute content over channels not controlled by the big players and has had the effect of disrupting traditional market sectors and audiences for larger players. The key challenges are to develop new tools and techniques for understanding and predicting new customer segmentation, providing a consistent user-experience and brand over a diverse set of platforms, researching the economics of new media in a mobile online age, and the innovations in underlying technology to create new services in response. Other important trends are towards personalisation, interactivity and dynamic online communities.

Focus of Smart Internet innovation:

• Immersive audio solutions
• Group communication
• Advanced learning
• Digital rights management
• Adaptive Content
• Standards

Capabilities:

User-Interface Design, User-Centered Design, Disruptive Innovation Practices, User-Generated Innovation, AI, Expert Systems, Data-mining, Socio-technical interaction, DRM, Rich real-time interactive media, Cross-media technologies, Fixed and Wireless network technology, and location-based technology.

Underlying our approach is an emphasis on understanding the user (audience), recognising the rising commercial power of virtual communities, and fostering user-led innovation, combined with the skills to implement new technical solutions reflecting these understandings.

The Smart Internet Technology CRC has undertaken a number of initiatives addressing the disruptive change and new opportunities in the New Media and Education sectors.

If you are interested in exploring opportunities for engaging with the CRC for research or commercialisation contact either: