Multimedia Publishing in Finland

Marjo Mäenpää, Prague 8th May 1997

1. What is Multimedia?
2. Information superhighway
3. Internet
4. Publishers (in Finnish - sorry!)
5. Financing Andy EU
6. Education
7. Entertainment
8. Conclusions (still open)

I WHAT IS MULTIMEDIA?

picture

voice

movement

animation

text

more than the sum of its parts - metaphor, hypertext, new media

MODES OF DISTRIBUTION

hard disk

several standards of CD-Rom

Net: Internet, cableTV, ISDN, ATM tele-communication,

PLATFORMS:

multimedia newsstands

slide show

a person with a PC or MAC

multimedia interface

USE

games

education

entertainment

edutainment

business publicity

sales

simulation

communication and database management programs

books and magazines

programs for advantage

multimedia which is made to supplement traditional media.

II INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

TAKING STOCK OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

(Statistics of the Information Society 1997)

IS FINLAND ALREADY RUNNING ON THE INFORMATION

SUPERHIGHWAY?

EU:

”A society which effectively uses networks and new technology, mass-produces information- and communication products and has a sophisticated contents industry.”

Information business service (telecommunication, computing...) industry is the most business.

Audiovisual business is the most important and rapidly growing sector in the near future.

In Finland the Information society so far only encompasses the manufacture of information products and technology (communication techology, computers, consumption elecroincs...)

The value of these grew during 1991 - 1994 approximately 43,7 % per year (the growth of other products was 4,9 %).

We are driveing on the Information Superhighway with machines and tools, not with contents. Finns are crazy about technology.

III INTERNET

PROPHECY FOR THE YEAR 2001:

The value of the Internet market will grow to five million dollars by the year 2001.

By 2001 27 million Western European hauseholds will be connected the Net.

Banking will move over to use the Net.

10,5 million hoseholds will shop using the Net.

NOW:

The most rapid growth will be in Germany and Great Britain.

Over 2,9 million Western European households use the Internet.

In Finland there are over 0,5 million users of Internet (users over the age of 15, using the Internet a minimum of once a week.) Daily visitors to the Internet number 200 000.

MARKETS:

Internet advertising

Banking, financial transactions

Internet trade

Network marketin by publishers, e-mail marketing - Kustannus Oy Taifuuni

Literature on sale on the Net.

IV PUBLISHERS

KUSTANNUKSET JA MARKKINAT

Multimedian kustannukset.

CD-rom markkinat Suomessa ovat vaatimattomat, 8 miljoona markkaa.

Suomen Kustannusyhdistyksen arvio: Romppujen myynti kasvoi vuoden 1996 alkupuoliskolla vain vajaat 10 %.

Multimedian ensimmäisestä tuotantoaallosta (1995-1996) kustantajille jäi käteen miljoonien markkojen toteutuneet riskit.

Otava on arvioinut, että multimedian aiheuttamat tappiot ovat miljoonaluokkaa.

WSOY myöntää CD-Rom-tuotantojensa ongelmat.

Editan ensimmäinen kannattavuusrajan ylittänyt CD-rom, Marita Liulian Ambitious Bitch ylsi kannattavaan myyntiin vasta Ranskassa ja Australiassa

KUSTANNUSTEN UUSJAKO

Suurin yksittäinen menoerä on työn suunnittelu;

Käsikirjoitus, kuva, ääni, digitalisointi, animointi, ohjelmointi ovat pieniä puroja, joista syntyy suuri rahavirta.

Ideologisesti ja ihanteellisesti suuntautuneet rompuntekijät maksavat itse osan suunnittelukustannuksista.

Kaksi vuotta sitten aloittaneista multimedia-alan yrityksistä enää joka kymmenes on toiminnassa.

Kevennetty multimedia? Riisuttu hypermedia? Elektroninen pokkari?

VISIOT

Pienelle kielialueelle kelvollinen lokalisointi

Oikeata hypermediaa - multimediaa siellä, missä se voi näyttää oikeat kyntensä.

Nyt kannattavia aloja ovat yritysesittelyt, opetusmultmedia, lääketieteelliset sovellukset.

Tietoverkot ja verkkojen sekä hyöty- että huvikäyttö syrjäyttänevät ennen pitkää kalliin CD-Rom-tuotannon.

Pinallinen edutainment jääkin väistämättä lyhytikäiseksi.

MULTIMEDIA JA DEMOKRATIA

Underground -CD-Rom saattaa olla mahdottomuus.

Pysyvätkö independet-kustantajat markkinoilla?

Viihde verkossa vaatii suuria sponsorirahoja.

V FINANCING AND EU

EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORTS ECONOMICALLY THE PRODUCTION OF MULTIMEDIA WITH SVERAL PROGRAMMES

Towards the 5th framework programme: Scientific and technological objectives:

INFORMATION SOCIETY MEANS…

SERVICES FOR THE CITIZEN:

education and training

health and the elderly

public authorities

the environment and transport

METHODS OF WORK:

..improving the effiency of trade in goods and services...

...European business to become more fully part of the global

economy...

MULTIMEDIA CONTENTS:

The action is focused on three main lines:

electronic publishing

language technoloigies

access to information

ESSENTIAL TEHNOLOGIES AND INFRASTRUCTURES:

Hardware: ...computing, communication and network technologies, protocols and

methodologies, satellite-based services...

PROGRAMMES FOR MULTIMEDIA IN EUROPE:

LEONARDO: Vocational training

EDUCATIONAL MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMME: The programmes are encouraging the use of new technologies through innovations in education and training.

MEDIA 2:

AUDIOVISUAL AND MULTIMEDIA

The INFO2000 PROGRAMME: Call for proposals for projects to stimulate the production of high quality multimedia information content in the Information Society.

SOCRATES: Education, student exhange

TELEMATICS: Networks and telecommunication

VI EDUCATION

FREE ACCESS TO AN OPEN INTERNET

Ministry of Education: A Strategy for education and research.

All schools and public libraries will be connected to the Net

All school and university students and teachers should have free access to

educational network, national as well as international.

The Minstry of Education aims to promote the educational software and network services to pupils, students and wider audience in households via cable televsion and broadcasting company.

Educatioal material and network services are being developed and the amount of open distance learning increased.

In practice it means: Education and courses on the Net should serve a life-time learning. Schools and other establishments must be integrated with the local environment, as well with the global entity.

Educational programs will also be invailable in digital form - CD-Roms for

learning, education software and edutainment for secondary school.

Secondary Schools: School pupils ought to learn to use computers and software already in the

secondary school (age 7-12).

The goal of learning is that the student can use computers and the most common tools despite of her/his previous experience. It is also necessary that she/he gets a realistic view of how to use computers in different subjects, history, math, languages etc. (Ministery of Education).

It means the kowledge how to read and use multimedia and new media.

Lempäälän ala-aste

VII ENTERTAINMENT