David Blaine…Viral indeed
Ok so here I am contributing to the madness of viral videos. I got these from YouTube. They are totally unrelated, just thought they were funny 
PS…Sorry for any explicit language!! I don’t mean to offend anyone so if it does I’ll take them down
Turning 15 Seconds of Fame Into 15 Minutes.
In New Communication Professionals Dr. Halavais briefly discusses how ”the same technologies that lead to narrow, networked public also aggregate an ever more global audience.” Social networks, most noticeably MySpace, blogs, and YouTube is creating a whole new batch of pseudo-celebrities; the “Almost Famous Crew”.
Interestingly blogs have helped lead the way in the Web Celeb world. For example, gossip blogger, Senor Perez Hilton, became famous almost overnight. Not only is he ranked among the most popular blogs world-wide, “Perezito” he landed his very own cable show, “What Perez Sez About“, on VH1.
The combination of MySpace and YouTube has also thrusted some people into the lime light like never before. We look no further than to Ms. Tila Tequila. As of 10:07pm “The Madonna of MySpace” has collected 2,954,905 friends on the social network site. Not only is she launching a music career, she’s featured on countless magazines, and like Perez, has landed her own show on MTV titled “A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila”.
Although there are hundreds of viral videos making their rounds around the world only a few have made it as big as Amber Lee Ettinger. Amber, or better known as the ”Obama Girl” from the political viral video “I Got a Crush on Obama“, has been named the #1 hottest woman on the Internet by E! Entertainment Television. E! actually the show titled “Byte Me: 20 Hottest Women of the Web”, this past weekend. Fun fact, it’s actually not her singing!!!
While there are a ton more of examples, I picked the above to showcase the power that blogs, MySpace, and YouTube currently have. I’m not sure but I’ve got a feeling this isn’t a trend…or is it? Will there come a time when there are just too many Web Celebs?
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Convergence: Creating the Hybrid Viewer Generation
In Online vs. Tv, Murphy’s Law Rules argues that “online does not replace on TV, but it adds to the content, and can add to the experience”. Being an avid TV and Online video watcher, I couldn’t agree more. I am what you might call an hybrid. Not only will I sit down to watch a television program, I will also watch it online. The later is especially true if I happened to have missed a particular show. (Right now, I’m a little upset that I missed Britney Spear’s appearance on How I met Your Mother so you can bet that I will be watching it tomorrow Online.)
I am what Murphy’s Law Rules refers to as a “double dipper” that “surf the web while watching television for content that is not related to what they’re watching”. I’ll check e-mail, weather, blogs, pictures, my MySpace page or Youtube. Occasionally I’ll surf for my favorite shows, episodes, or pictures. I find that I’ve become adept in watching shows while conducting business Online. I’m sort of a multi-interactor. Admittedly my Internet usage is higher during commercials though.
Although in the beginning many television networks were apprehensive about making full episodes available online, I would be willing to bet that this has actually increased viewership. It may also help attract new audience members who normally would not have sat to watch a particular network or show. I’m sure that it has helped bring in more advertisment seeing as most episodes run :15 ro :30 ads before the content starts.
This convergence of media can create loyalty among its established viewers who also happen to be avid Internet users. Society loves having options and whats better than being able to watch your favorite shows online giving you the freedom to play, pause, or rewind at your leisure. You can bet that if I enjoyed a particular episode I will share the link with my friends, even with those who wouldn’t normally watch it. Why? Because my friends can decide on their own time if they like or not. If they don’t all they have to do is press stop or close the window and viola.
Filed under Response Papers | Comment (0)Did my hands get bigger or did the newspaper get smaller?
I’m happy to report it’s the later! The Hartford Courant has shrunk in size indeed. Not only is it a environmentally conscious move, but it allows for more convenient reading. If you don’t believe me to pick one up.
Interactive Advertising
AlwaysOn posted an article discussing the future of interactive adverising and how it will see an incredible growth in the coming years.
“Interactive advertising will be the fastest growing segment globally. That segment will grow from 7.4 percent today to 21 percent of the global ad market in 2012. The Internet ad spending changes are following the vast consumer migration to digital media. Conversely, print newspapers will be particularly hard hit over the forecast period, dropping to 13 percent of the global ad market in 2012 down from 21 percent today.”
While I don’t think the drop in advertisement in print media means the end of the newspaper as we know, I’m curious to know what you think.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Blogs: Man’s New Best Friend
Communication can take place through various forms. No matter what medium is utilized, the object is to effectively transmit a message to the intended recipient(s). Since some form action is usually taken by all parties involved, it is often assumed that any type of communication can then be seen as interactive.
Although many communication professionals use the terms “interactive communication” and “interactive media” interchangeably, I’m not convinced that they truly can be. As Dr. Halavais points out in New Communication Professions, there is no definitive definition for what “Interactive Communication” is. The term is thrown around by many different media sectors all who have their own take on it. While I do not pretend to have the answer, I do have my own interpretation.
I believe that Interactive Communications takes place when two or more people, or groups, actively participate in an exchange of ideas through different interactive mediums and these ideas should have a strong enough impact to have caused some change in each communicative partner. This still leaves me with two questions, what can be considered a true interactive medium and if there is a certain degree the change has to reach in order for it to be considered true interactive communications.
Viva la Revulucion!
There is no denying that we are currently entering the new “Participation Age” (Scoble and Israel, 2006, p. 53). Just in case you weren’t aware of it, there is a revolution going on and those who don’t connect soon will be left behind in the cyber dust. Although the invention of computers was certainly monumental in the technological evolution, it was the introduction of the Internet and World Wide Web that made computers all that much more significant. It changed the way the world communicated in just a few years, some would argue overnight.
Change is the one constant variable that you can always depend on. It is inevitable and it occurs in every business sector. Not surprisingly, the Internet and Web have had significant impact on almost every industry, from the media to medicine. One cannot ignore the changes that have occurred in the past few years which have caused many in the Internet community to dub it the “Web 2.0“.
Although many “conversational technologies” such as “e-mail, instant messaging, SMS, chatrooms, and the telephone” have allowed people to communicate efficiently, the introduction of open source applications, such as social networks, blogs, and wikis, are taking conversations where no man, or woman, has ever been before (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 3). In Naked Conversations, Scoble and Israel state that it is a revolution which is “transforming the way businesses communicate, not just with customers, but with their entire constituencies” (2006, p. 3). The Revolution as Scoble and Israel see it, revolves around blogging (2006, p1).
Captians Web Log, Stardate 3.22.2008: Entering the Blogosphere:
A web log, or more widely known as a blog, ”is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order” (Wikipedia, 2008). Bloggers have the freedom to express and publish their opinions on any subject and aach blog has the potential to be read by the entire global Web community. Although I did not start blogging until this course, I understood its importance. Sure, I can join a message boards or send instant messages, but I wouldn’t reach a mass audience simultaneously.
More importantly, blogs have given rise to a new generation of “journalists” or what Burns refers to as “produsers” (2006, p.3). The interesting thing about the Internet and blogs is that there is a niche for every subject. Although some blogs are “abandoned within a year”, the fact that they give everyone the freedom to express their thoughts alone is incredible.
“Bloggers, like many people, are generally suspicious of the smooth-and-refined language of official spokespeople” or “corpspeak” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 4). This is were blogs can be beneficial to a companies image or product awareness. Blogging can achieve what press releases can’t; a much more personal connection between the company and it’s consumers.
By taking part in these “Naked Conversations” you can better gage how consumers view your products or services. Most importantly, it can build trust between the company and the consumer as it did for Microsoft (Scoble & Israel, 2006, pp. 9-22). Whether it’s praise or complaints, companies should want to know what their customers are saying about them. After all, they need them in order to afford the company jet.
Follow the Leader:
It is encouraging to see that many companies are following in Microsoft’s footsteps. Media giant, The New York Times, is one company who seems to understand the benefits of open source applications. The Times have created a section dedicated to a variety blogs all focusing on different subjects. Not only can subscribers, and non-subscribers, get the news online, they now can be an active participant in cultivating stories.
Toyota Motor Company also is taking advantage of the power that the blogosphere has. They have created a blog titled “Toyota’s Open Road Blog” in which Irv Miller, Group Vice President for Toyota Motor Company USA’s Corporate Communications, uses to accomplish several things. He not only utilizes it to post information on new vehicles, products, and services, he uses it as a DIY PR campaign to clear up any misconceptions about their vehicles. Although Toyota has a well established Public Relations department, it is interesting to note that they are taking a proactive approach in “shift[ing] the focus from products to relationships” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 15).
This conversation revolution is causing some media professionals to ask if the mass media is dead. To this I answer no. Traditional media such as journalism, broadcast TV, radio, and public relations have a secure place in the communications world. Media outlets are simply evolving, not disappearing. What this revolution of open source applications is causing is a convergence of media. Media outlets are simply evolving, not disappearing. We now can see our favorite shows on our flat screens (for those that can afford them!), online, and on our iPods. Radio programs are also being streamed online. The change taking place is not in what is being reported; it is in how its being distributed.
Here is a very informative video on this subject from AlwaysOn.com.
The “referral power of the blogosphere is exploding and marketing and PR executives must embrace this reality or risk losing control of their messages” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 13). Scoble & Israel will be happy to know that there are PR executives who are aware of this revolution. One such executive is Joan Stewart. Ms. Steward runs her own blog titled “The Publicity Hound’s Blog” in which she shares tips and tricks to achieving better press.
In her post PR Types Don’t Understand How Consumers Use Media, she outlines a word-of-mouth campaign that incorporates many of the interactivities and open source applications talked about throughout the semester. Her list includes:
- A company blog.
- Posting comments at other blogs that discuss a company’s product, service, cause, issue or interest. (See “Let bloggers create publicity for you.”)
- Something as simple as a “tell a friend” box at your website.
- A contest in which consumers create a clever video of how they use your product or video, upload it to YouTube and compete for prizes.
- Encouraging customers to write a product review and post it at your website
All of these suggestions can surely increase profits and begin to build a “trust network” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 18). Talscott & Williams argue that ”only the connected will survive”. Companies that resist this “revolution” may soon suffer the consequences.
DIY PR: You can’t handle the Blog!
A much more visible group that has come to realize the impact blogs can have on brand image are celebrities. Currently there is an emerging trend for celebrities to blog and some are becoming avid bloggers. Through the use of blogs celebrities can establish that they are ”real people, not borgs” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 12). A slew of celebrities such as Kanye West, Rosie O’Donnel, Brooke Hogan, and David Beckham maintain almost weekly blogs.
For example, Brooke Hogan, more famously know as Hulk Hogan’s daughter, maintains a blog through her MySpace account. Aside the fact that her parents are going through a divorce, Mr. Hogan was involved in some controversy involving one of her friends. Ms. Hogan chose to express her feelings on this matter on her blog. Not only were her fans reading it, but the ultimate celeb blogger, Perez Hilton, posted excerpts from it on his blog. Comments were left on her page as well as Perez’s page. She reached much more than her intended fan base proving that blogs are “word of mouth on steroids” (Scoble & Israel, 2006, p. 31).
Celebrities also using their blogs as a DIY public relations campaign. Most recently Lauren Conrad, star of MTV’s The Hills, blogged about a particular article ran in US Weekly in which she felt her story was not reported accurately. She used her blog to clear the air and let her fans know her version. As with Brooke Hogan, Perez Hilton once again posted excerpts from LC’s original blog on his.
Fans seem to enjoy reading celeb blogs because as Dave Winer states, it “reveals authenticity” and can make the celebrity feel more ”real”. Isn’t this the juice that reality TV thrives on?
The Dark Side of the Source
The Internet enables us to do research, shop, pay bills, download music, watch videos, keep in touch across borders, and allows us to join groups tailored to our tastes. In Democracy and Filtering, Carl R. Sunstein argues that while the Internet is a ”wonderful development for democracy”, the Internet is “increasingly engaged in the process of personalization” (2005, p. 58). This filtering system that many of us have limits us to only our opinions unnecessarily leaving out those who don’t share our views. I know that it can be unpleasant to read opposing opinions, but I argue that we need those to contrast with what we believe in order to gain a more complete perspective.
I have had my share of “online filtering” experiences. Before I joined the MySpace community I was a part of MiGente. It’s an open social network, much like MySpace, only for those of Latino background. Although it was great to communicate those who share similar cultures, I found it a bit limiting. Granted, you don’t have to be Latino to join but its slogan, “The Power of Latinos”, may turn off some people from registering. Seeing as I have friends from all ethnic backgrounds I didn’t want to lock myself into one online community. Please don’t get me wrong, I totally understand why websites like MiGente or BlackPlanet are empowering; they give us online voice. I personally just felt the need to venture out and join something that wouldn’t give me an identity solely based on my culture or ethnicity. I think using both social networks is ultimately better than just one. Here in lies the power of the Internet. Altough many do filter out what they do not relate to, you still have endless possibilities to search for different things.
For any blogger or vlogger, the power of word of mouth can be both a blessing and a curse. Once something is on the Internet, it can be found by virtually anyone. This is especially true for celebrities. Whether it is an unflattering photo, video, or blog post, it will spread like wildfire. People may forgive, but the Internet does not let us forget. This can become a publicists nightmare. Not only can such artifacts be duplicated and posted on other blogs, much like Perez Hilton, they can also be aired on TV, radio, and even printed.
Seeing as there is an incredible amount of freedom and no set rules in the blogosphere, individuals should be more responsible in what they spread globally.
Works Cited:
Burns, Axel. (2006). Wikinews: The Next Generation of Online News? Scan Journal 3(1).
Halavais, A. (2008). New Communication Professions. Module 5.
Scoblel, R. & Israel, S. (2006). Naked Conversations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 1-62.
Steward, J. (2008). PR Types Don’t Understand How Consumers Use Media. The Publicity Hound’s Blog.
Sunstein, C. (2004). Democracy and Filtering. Communications of the ACM, 47(12), 57-59.
Filed under Response Papers | Comment (1)Oprah University: Register Now for Spring 08
As some of you may or may not know Oprah has teamed up with author Eckhart Tolle to teach from his new book, A New Earth. Every monday night for 10 weeks they will host online classes LIVE. “Students” can actively participate in this virtual classroom via message boards and web video conferencing. And yes, I am a student too.
I’ve always been a fan of Oprah but now I’m uber proud of the newest little web professor! I truly think its fantastic that Oprah has taken a giant step towards creating a truly interactive community.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (3)Virtual World, meet Tyra Banks.
As I was catching the tail end of a Tyra Banks Show episode, they ran a 5 second promo for their very own “Virtual Studio“. Much like second life, you can create your own avatar, hangout, and chat with other viewers and even show producers. Maybe this will be the new trend. Message boards and forums may soon start disappearing as virtual worlds start becoming more mainstream.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)The Dragon is laid to sleep.
Sad day in the gaming world. Gary Gygax, co-creator of the game Dungeons & Dragons, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. He is also credited in helping “start the role playing phenomenon”.
iCrime Wave
Hello all! Here is my lovely little audio post along with the article from Wired.com. Enjoy!
P.S. Please cut me some slack as this is the first audio post/podcast I’ve ever done!