Wednesday, May 9, 2012
020. Our Video Essay
Our video essay is about the effects that social media has on the sharing of images. Many photos are passed around through Twitter, Facebook, reddit, Tumblr, etc. Some of these photos end up becoming rage comics or memes and go viral. The video will take our audience through the evolution of the "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" meme.
019. Twitter to Shop?
Click here to read the article.
New media has become an increasingly valuable marketing tool for many companies. As the article mentions, about 95 million Americans are using social media to shop. It doesn't seem like a surprise these days, especially since Facebook has 800 million active users and Twitter has 140 million users. Many companies are using social media in order to keep their customers updated about promotions and new products. These updates are the hooks that draw in customers to shop. Without social media, most of the 95 million shoppers wouldn’t bother with looking into what’s new with the companies.
What’s interesting about the article is that Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide created different user profiles to categorize social media shoppers. I would probably categorize myself as the “Opportunistic Adventurer” or the “Strategic Saver.” Honestly, I use Groupon all the time. Back before Groupon, I never really did anything besides stay at home. Movie tickets and paintballing was always so expensive. Now there are always deals from places like Studio Movie Grill and paintball arenas in Forney. Social media deals have allowed me to consider doing things that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
The article mentions that using social media in the wrong can cause companies to lose followers. This is extremely true. If I’m following Sephora on Facebook, I expect posts about beauty products and deals. Posts about anything else would cause me to stop being a “fan” on Facebook.
In all honesty, I feel like this article is very credible. It’s not due to the fact that it came from The Wall Street Journal. It’s more due to the fact that the information came from Leo Burnett. This company is a well-established marketing firm that has worked with companies like the Walt Disney Company to create successful ad campaigns like “The Year of a Million Dreams” campaign. Of course Leo Burnett would know what companies need to do in order to create a successful social media campaign.
New media has become an increasingly valuable marketing tool for many companies. As the article mentions, about 95 million Americans are using social media to shop. It doesn't seem like a surprise these days, especially since Facebook has 800 million active users and Twitter has 140 million users. Many companies are using social media in order to keep their customers updated about promotions and new products. These updates are the hooks that draw in customers to shop. Without social media, most of the 95 million shoppers wouldn’t bother with looking into what’s new with the companies.
What’s interesting about the article is that Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide created different user profiles to categorize social media shoppers. I would probably categorize myself as the “Opportunistic Adventurer” or the “Strategic Saver.” Honestly, I use Groupon all the time. Back before Groupon, I never really did anything besides stay at home. Movie tickets and paintballing was always so expensive. Now there are always deals from places like Studio Movie Grill and paintball arenas in Forney. Social media deals have allowed me to consider doing things that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
The article mentions that using social media in the wrong can cause companies to lose followers. This is extremely true. If I’m following Sephora on Facebook, I expect posts about beauty products and deals. Posts about anything else would cause me to stop being a “fan” on Facebook.
In all honesty, I feel like this article is very credible. It’s not due to the fact that it came from The Wall Street Journal. It’s more due to the fact that the information came from Leo Burnett. This company is a well-established marketing firm that has worked with companies like the Walt Disney Company to create successful ad campaigns like “The Year of a Million Dreams” campaign. Of course Leo Burnett would know what companies need to do in order to create a successful social media campaign.
018. Social Media = Brain Candy?
Read the article.
Social media: the only tool in the world that can magnify mankind's already narcissistic nature. Is sharing our thoughts and experiences with the Facebook or Twitter world as self-rewarding as the study suggests? I think the answer is most likely yes. Maybe the self-rewarding feeling does not always stem from the posting itself. Maybe it stems from the amount of comments and likes that your post accumulates. If people like what you have to say, it only seems natural that you should feel good about your post.
The self-rewarding feeling could also come from the fact that you got something off your chest. Maybe you were super angry about something but was unable to tell people about it directly. Social media is a good way to get those feelings out there (unless getting those feelings out offends certain people). I know for a fact that I like to vent by going on Twitter rants about my terrible experiences. Doing that lets me feel better, and I don’t have to worry about bottled up emotions that could later lead to depression and/or anxiety.
In terms of the actual science behind the observation that divulging information is considered to be self-rewarding, parts of the experiment conducted seems a bit iffy. I mean, finding which brain regions are affected when we post online seems like a genuine piece of information. Questions arise when the researchers stated “that the test subjects would turn down money (just a few cents) to talk about someone else, in order to enjoy the more pleasurable sensation of talking about themselves.” There obviously has to be some sort of threshold where monetary rewards will outweigh the pleasurable sensations. A few cents is not a good enough incentive.
Social media: the only tool in the world that can magnify mankind's already narcissistic nature. Is sharing our thoughts and experiences with the Facebook or Twitter world as self-rewarding as the study suggests? I think the answer is most likely yes. Maybe the self-rewarding feeling does not always stem from the posting itself. Maybe it stems from the amount of comments and likes that your post accumulates. If people like what you have to say, it only seems natural that you should feel good about your post.
The self-rewarding feeling could also come from the fact that you got something off your chest. Maybe you were super angry about something but was unable to tell people about it directly. Social media is a good way to get those feelings out there (unless getting those feelings out offends certain people). I know for a fact that I like to vent by going on Twitter rants about my terrible experiences. Doing that lets me feel better, and I don’t have to worry about bottled up emotions that could later lead to depression and/or anxiety.
In terms of the actual science behind the observation that divulging information is considered to be self-rewarding, parts of the experiment conducted seems a bit iffy. I mean, finding which brain regions are affected when we post online seems like a genuine piece of information. Questions arise when the researchers stated “that the test subjects would turn down money (just a few cents) to talk about someone else, in order to enjoy the more pleasurable sensation of talking about themselves.” There obviously has to be some sort of threshold where monetary rewards will outweigh the pleasurable sensations. A few cents is not a good enough incentive.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
017. Generation YouTube
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| MysteryGuitarMan |
YouTube has become a phenomenal tool in the world of new media. Ordinary people now have the ability to put themselves out there and potentially become online celebrities. Whether or not that is a good thing is in the eye of the beholder. For several people, YouTube has changed their lives. One of the examples mentioned in the video was Michelle Phan, a makeup guru who was originally rejected by Lancome. Through her YouTube popularity, Michelle became a worldwide phenomenon who eventually became the spokesperson for Lancome. While becoming a celebrity seems like it would be super fantastic, sometimes the celebrity status can change people. Michelle’s original videos from her humble beginnings are, in my opinion, of a much better quality than her newest videos. In her newer videos, it seems like she’s trying too hard to endorse products that she may or may not actually believe in. The genuineness of Michelle is then put into question. This is one of the evils of YouTube popularity.
On the flip side, YouTube has improved the lives of those who need it most. The families that earn money through the YouTube views and Google AdSense programs now have a way to support their kids. If only all stories of reaching the YouTube celebrity status were like that.
Music on YouTube has become increasingly popular. I mentioned in my presentation that music companies are making good use of YouTube as a promotion tool. With overseas companies like SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment looking to penetrate the global music market, YouTube has become a potent tool in their promotional arsenals. Now they can get their names out into the world easily.
016. Is Facebook Sexualizing Teenage Girls?
Read the article here.
It does seem a little bit depressing to see how the pressures of society have forced young girls into feeling like they have to look perfect all the time. Many girls these days seem to build their self-esteem based on the public's opinion of their image. In terms of the sexualizing of teenage girls, the article seems to have hit that part of the issue dead on. Posting photos on Facebook does seem to be a popularity contest with the photos with more “likes” being winners. With this view in mind, I can only imagine how the girls with no “likes” feel.
I’ve seen many instances where image has become more important than a girl’s happiness. This sort of activity doesn’t just happen on Facebook these days, though. Tumblr is another site where image is everything. Instead of collecting “likes,” the girls collect “notes.” Some of the young girls I know throw out their pride and integrity in order to post pictures that sexualize their image in hopes of becoming “Tumblr famous.” I can tell from experience that girls whose images are not appreciated do fall victim to anxiety and depression.
Many parents are not aware of the affect that image can have on young girls. The pressure to be perfect can sometimes be more overwhelming than the pressure to do drugs or drink alcohol. Sometimes this concept is hard for parents to grasp because the pressure to be perfect isn’t tangible while drugs and alcohol is. It’s even harder for parents to understand how social networking sites can have this effect since such technology did not exist when the parents were their daughters’ age. The omnipresent camera lens has suddenly become the root of all evils.
It does seem a little bit depressing to see how the pressures of society have forced young girls into feeling like they have to look perfect all the time. Many girls these days seem to build their self-esteem based on the public's opinion of their image. In terms of the sexualizing of teenage girls, the article seems to have hit that part of the issue dead on. Posting photos on Facebook does seem to be a popularity contest with the photos with more “likes” being winners. With this view in mind, I can only imagine how the girls with no “likes” feel. Many parents are not aware of the affect that image can have on young girls. The pressure to be perfect can sometimes be more overwhelming than the pressure to do drugs or drink alcohol. Sometimes this concept is hard for parents to grasp because the pressure to be perfect isn’t tangible while drugs and alcohol is. It’s even harder for parents to understand how social networking sites can have this effect since such technology did not exist when the parents were their daughters’ age. The omnipresent camera lens has suddenly become the root of all evils.
015. Digital Nation
In the Frontline program “Digital Nation,” the writers talked about how new media and technology is causing the younger generation to become more reliant on their multi-tasking abilities. Everyone always has their Facebook on or their cell phone right next to them while they’re in class or writing a paper. They’re always afraid of missing some kind of “important” social interaction. But as the video says, even though multi-tasking is efficient it does not always lead to quality work. I know that I am one of the many college students plagued by that problem. Students are constantly looking for excuses to take a break from their work. I guess we’ve become more dependent on the idea of instant gratification. Write one paragraph for an essay and then reward ourselves with an hour on Tumblr. As a result, our ideas aren’t cohesive in the long run.
One of the speakers mentioned the idea that today’s generation might be (actually, he states that today’s generation is) getting dumber. It seems like an unfair observation. How does one measure intelligence? Is it based on one’s ability to learn or is it based on one’s ability to display his or her knowledge? Intelligence can’t be measured by grades either. Sure, new media is decreasing this generation’s motivation to learn. As one of the kids said, no one needs to actually read Hamlet these days. He or she can just merely use Sparknotes to find a summary of the play. Just because a student chooses to take a shorter, more efficient approach doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is dumb (although a case can be made for the boy who said that he would read Hamlet if there were 27 hours in a day).
One of the speakers mentioned the idea that today’s generation might be (actually, he states that today’s generation is) getting dumber. It seems like an unfair observation. How does one measure intelligence? Is it based on one’s ability to learn or is it based on one’s ability to display his or her knowledge? Intelligence can’t be measured by grades either. Sure, new media is decreasing this generation’s motivation to learn. As one of the kids said, no one needs to actually read Hamlet these days. He or she can just merely use Sparknotes to find a summary of the play. Just because a student chooses to take a shorter, more efficient approach doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is dumb (although a case can be made for the boy who said that he would read Hamlet if there were 27 hours in a day).
Sunday, April 29, 2012
014. Facebook
According to the article
by Zuniga and Valenzuela, about 1 in 3 Americans use Facebook. I’m
pretty sure that that number might have gone up within the last two
years. Maybe. If people aren’t using Facebook, then they’ve at least
heard about the site. Facebook has basically become omnipresent in
today’s society. In terms of MySpace and Twitter’s rankings as
couple of the world’s most accessed sites, I think that MySpace’s ranking as
dropped drastically while Twitter’s rank has gone up since 2009.
The article talks about how social networking sites have allowed for democratization and for the voices of minorities to be heard. While the numbers show that those that have a better socio-economic status rely less on SNS’s services, it does not necessarily mean that the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum is using it for political purposes. Perhaps the lower class people spend more time on social networking sites because they do not have the means to participate in other leisurely activities like going to sporting events or the movies all the time. Instead, they’re stuck on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr.
The article by Wittkower about Facebook discusses the use of social networking websites using an existential point of view. Not that I’m any sort of philosophy expert, but the question has often crossed my mind about why people use Facebook. Is it really to connect with friends? Is it to start drama? Some of my friends don’t even know half of the people in their friends list in real life yet they still keep them as “friends.” I guess Facebook is a place where you post your thoughts, feelings, and experiences and just hope that it matters to someone. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll always be there for you to revisit thanks to Facebook Timeline.
The article talks about how social networking sites have allowed for democratization and for the voices of minorities to be heard. While the numbers show that those that have a better socio-economic status rely less on SNS’s services, it does not necessarily mean that the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum is using it for political purposes. Perhaps the lower class people spend more time on social networking sites because they do not have the means to participate in other leisurely activities like going to sporting events or the movies all the time. Instead, they’re stuck on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr.
The article by Wittkower about Facebook discusses the use of social networking websites using an existential point of view. Not that I’m any sort of philosophy expert, but the question has often crossed my mind about why people use Facebook. Is it really to connect with friends? Is it to start drama? Some of my friends don’t even know half of the people in their friends list in real life yet they still keep them as “friends.” I guess Facebook is a place where you post your thoughts, feelings, and experiences and just hope that it matters to someone. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll always be there for you to revisit thanks to Facebook Timeline.
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