Completely Shocked

I have found an article that highlights almost everything we have talked about this semester: social media, conglomerates, popular culture, targeting children and it the situation could be examined from almost any of the perspectives. What is it about? The titled alone says it all: "Disney Wants Kids Under 10 to Use Their Social Network." Without even reading the article I think to myself, "is this a joke?" The title alone cause me to recall that Disney is one of the few major conglomerates, how easily kids are targeted, and the overwhleming us of social media.

The article explains that Disney recently purchased a social networking site and titled it "Togetherville." The site allows children to create an online network but parents must accept friend request. The title seems anything but fitting in my opinion. It represents the concept that social media and online identities provide a world of connected human beings as a community. I may be old fashion, possible more like Gladwell, but I think true "Togetherville" would involve children of similar interests meeting and interacting face to face. It is no secret Facebook and Twitter have the ability to cause serious drama. Will such drama impact the life of children or could it become an online, free-loving playground? The witty closing comments of the article summarize the hilarity of the situation.

Parental Failure

Last Tuesday in class we ended on the concept of parenting, and were beginning to analyze the extent to which parenting plays a role on children. I found this topic to be very interesting, because a semester back I wrote a paper on the disappearance of the middle class. You might wonder how that plays a role into the discussion of parenting, but in reality is very tightly connected. The reason being that with a harder economically sustainable middle class it forces dual income earning families in order to stay in that class. Now by having two parents working full-time you then see how parenting is affected.

It seems as though this might be a conundrum driven by society itself and in a way is. Without parents around the children absorb more and more advertising, while parents are off working and sometimes not really seeing much of it. This is where marketers got creative and designed advertisements for children. This goes along with Frank in the "Culture for Cool" where children are consumers, and we teach them to like brands and cultivate a particular style.

The bad thing is that dual income earning families is now a norm and that has become a mainstream culture. The counter culture that so readily accompanies it though is with the children. People began to see how important family was, with having to work forty hours a week each they start to value the family more now that it isn't taken for granted as much. By doing so they empower the kids and marketer's saw this phenomena and decided to take advantage of it.

I feel that once the "Child" independence counter culture came to be public it became a whole new marker area just like other counter cultures that seem to go mainstream themselves. Now on a daily basis it is easy to see the movement to a child controlled set of consumers. The power Children have on the parents is amazing and to see this market segment actually being taken advantage of is a little over the top. The bad thing to this is that children are the victims to societies pull into a different mainstream culture that was almost developed out of an economical and financial hardship through the nation.
The video attached is a commercial you might have seen illustrating the power children have. Children almost seem to be tools used for further consumption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80pNUxIczig

Counter Cultures

Our discussion on Tuesday, February 22, was really interesting. When I first read Frank’s article, frankly, I was a bit confused at which direction he was pointing. But I’m starting to see where he is coming from with ‘The Conquest of Cool.’

The different counter cultures our country has experienced remind me of trending topics on Twitter. According to Frank, counter cultures are a myth. If so, the movement of a group of people to dress or act a certain way is still noticeable. Much like trending topics, the ‘hippies’ or ‘hipsters’ are popular for a certain period of time. They cause the most discussion when people are talking about the latest style, or what is “in”. After a while, they fade out.

Our country literally does ‘buy’ into these sub-cultures. Companies sell products that help people who want to ‘stand out’ have the ability to do so. Like we said in class, though, when people try to stand out, they usually end up blending in. I have a few friends that are hipsters here at Ball State. They even shop at Goodwill to find the best hipster clothes and accessories.

One of their friends even made a ‘Hipster Starter Kit’ as a joke.
Here is a sample of their Hipster necessities they have posted online:


Even if our society is truly encouraging people to ‘feel unique’ by buying into retail, I don’t think we should think of it as a bad thing. It’s done with good intent. If anything, people are just testing out a new style. Who is to say that they will dress or act like that for the rest of their life?

Just Look Away Not an Option

Today while walking through the Atrium I saw a poster hanging in the hall between the bookstore and the ATM.

It had a woman's bottom in a bikini, standing in front of the beach, with a Andriod Scanner symbol tattooed above her left butt cheek. It said 'Go on, snap a photo, you know you want to. Send the code #### to see if you win our Spring Break Getaway contest!'

Except, it wasn't a whole women.

That would have been a little bit annoying, a women glancing over her shoulder, smirking a bit. No, the thing that made it incredibly problematic was that it was only a woman's buttocks, cut away from the rest of her body. Just a tanned, generic hip display, like some sort of store mannequin. The caption made it even worse. 'Go on, you know you want to.' I find this weird considering the majority of the us college population is now women, and i don't believe that's any different at ball state. The posters implication is either implying women aren't important enough to try and appease with this advertisement or that all women love to gawk at other women on the beach in a sexual manner and take voyeuristic photographs of them. Now that I think about it, this advertisement was insulting to men as well, assuming most of them would haver a problem being thought of as creepy perverts who dissect women with their eyes and snap photographs like stalkers just awaiting the restraining order.

I don't watch most modern movies. I don't buy beauty magazines. I avoid television aimed at adults audiences (Dexter, House, True Blood, Mad Men ). I do these things because I hate seeing women turned from vibrant, powerful, wonderfully complex individuals into mere sexual items whose conquest mark an important step along the MAN's storyline. However, I cannot avoid this kind of advertising, much of self-inflicting by women, no matter how much I withdraw from culture. The only way to truly avoid it is to never leave the house. Which sometimes sounds appealing, but I digress.

Arguing 'just Look away', or 'If you don't pay attention to it, it won't effect you' doesn't realize that one CAN withdraw from the culture as much as possible and still be deeply effected by it.

It is all invasive and inescapable. perhaps, maybe, there should be more restraint on how women can be used to sell items. We're not items. We're people. Our hips evolved this way in order to bring life into this world, not to get entires to stupid MTV Getaway Spring Break contests.

Parenting

Throughout Tuesday’s class we continued to talk about how it always comes down to parenting when dealing with children. I never jumped into the discussion in class, but I will on our blog. I can’t stress enough, and I’m sure everyone will agree with me, that parents play the biggest role in a children’s life as they grow up. As I say this, parents need to be way more strict when dealing with their children. We talked about how children nag to their parents about wanting something and then they eventually get it because the parents give in just so they would stop nagging. Parents need to teach more discipline in their children. If they continue to give in and give their children whatever they want, then these children are in for a rude awakening in life as they grow older.

Another reason why parents need to say no more often and teach their children more discipline is due to the lack of knowledge and obese children. Parents who don’t say no will cause their children to have terrible diets and will lead to obesity. I watched the film “Supersize me” last semester in my Sociology class, and the results were downright stunning. The people in the film showed random children pictures of a couple different things. One that definitely comes to mind is a picture of Jesus Christ was showed to several children and they didn’t know who it was. Shortly after that a picture of the Wendy’s logo and Ronald Mcdonald was shown and the children knew who they were immediately. Not only is this wrong, but it comes back to the lack of knowledge these children possess. Once again I feel it comes back to how parents are raising their children.

Banksy

I recently watched the documentary, “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. This was street artist Banksy's first film. I had always been amazed with his work after visiting London. He is famous all over the world but being from Bristol he is most famous and well liked over-seas. I never knew much about him until this film though. It brought new insight into just how huge street art is becoming.

Banksy is best known for his anonymity and creative graffiti. He uses stencils as well as free hands his work. The majority of his work is done through stencils these days as it is much easier and quicker. Pansy’s messages usually are anti-war, anti-establishment, or anti-capitalist. His most popular subjects are rats, apes, children, and soldiers.

His work has gotten so popular these days that people are paying thousands for an original piece. Cristina Aguilera bought two prints for $25,000 while a set of Kate Moss paintings sold in London for $50,400. His highest auction record was over $288,000. People have even removed walls from houses just to have a Banksy original.

No matter how popular Banksy gets, he will never reveal his identity. There are very few people who have seen or talked to him face-to-face. There are many theories about what his real name is as well as what he looks like. I believe that it is the anonymity that attracts people to him.

However, the Oscars do not believe in such anonymity. The British artist has been denied permission to appear in disguise at the Academy Awards where he is up for the award of best documentary. The executive director of the Academy Awards, Bruce Davis, believes that if they allow Banksy to do this it would leave room for impostors to crash the ceremony. Banksy will not be able to accept his award or even sit in the audience in disguise. Many believe that Banksy is a breath of fresh air and the decision should be overturned and I agree. He lives through being anonymous. He should have his moment if he does win and I believe he should. His work has caught the attention of everyone. I know I will be looking for it while I’m out in LA next week.

Pressures

I think the thing people forget when they push all the blame on parents is a point that one kid in our class illustrated quite well before we finished class today. He pointed out that to be a parent is very exhausting, and being a single parent who works full time is doubly difficult.

The most important thing to remember here is that it’s easy to go ‘Parents are dumb, buying fast food with their kids when they have other choices.’ However, even looking at the grocery store and buying all your meals at once and not giving into an ounce of nagging can often result in bad diets for kids. Try buying a healthy diet on a budget. Then try finding time to home cook all of it. If you go the low sodium, no additives, no preservatives route, you may be SOL. Here’s an article that addresses this common knowledge if you don’t know about it:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/a-high-price-for-healthy-food/

“Healthy eating really does cost more That’s what University of Washington researchers found when they compared the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area. Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation. The findings, reported in the current issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, may help explain why the highest rates of obesity are seen among people in lower-income groups. “

I experienced this firsthand when I got married and suddenly my personal income plummeted. I was a vegetarian Freshman and Sophmore year. Now, I’m not a nutritionist, and I found with everything else in my life it was too difficult to balance my diet without the hyper effective protein sources of meat, eggs, and fish. Most parents, too, don’t have time to sit down and make complex dietary plans for all their kids. Even if they wanted too, they might not be able to afford the diet their kids need. Add in the fact advertisers make it so kids don’t even consider healthy foods an option, it leads to the double whammy of economic and social pressure. Convenience becomes a third factor. Why do we blame the parents for acting in a natural way instead of the admittedly abstract nutritional pyramid when all immediate physical factors push the culture towards indulging in fast, unhealthy, but affordable and socially desirable foods? This is a prime example of expecting people to behave in an unnatural way, and to a certain extent blaming the individual. Of course, if they got rid of the high calorie foods, that doesn’t necessarily mean that healthier ones would fall into the budget of the single parent. No one can predict what would happen if there was legislation in nutition. My point is that with all these pressures, and even the government changing their policies to shift the blame to the individual with the new exercise orients MyPyramid system, things are a lot harder for parents than people seem to want to admit. Take time out to consider a situation where your loved ones, your media, and even your schedule were telling you to do something. Did you oppose all of them? Could you imagine doing it everyday of your life for eighteen years?

Twitter Decision!

Hey class!

After Tuesday's (Feb. 22nd) class, a couple of us decided on the hashtag topic.

(cue drumroll)... #90'skid.

We all agreed that this is something hopefully all of us will be able to relate to, and be able to find lots of things (75 tweets= an A on the project) to tweet about.

Some ideas we have are: movies, music, celebrities, fashion, family, school, anything else you can possibly think of that happened or that you experienced in the 90's.

We will have this all typed up and ready to be "tweeted" by Thursday's class!

p.s. how awesome is it that we "had" to get a twitter account for a class?

Why Twitter?

Twitter has become all the rage and, although a relatively low tweeter, I am joining in on the bandwagon. Many argue we have cell phones, texting, social networking, instant messaging, etc. so why join Twitter?

As a sort of combination of a micro-blogging (on crack) and social messaging network – it gives you the opportunity to catch up on tidbits of news quickly and place some of your own thoughts throughout the Twitter world. News briefs, advertisements of latest product, what your sister is doing on the other side of the country, a new job posting – the options go on and on.

It is an easy way to stay connected. I personally do not think I am a person who could consistently blog interesting things for people to follow but 140 characters is the perfect chance to snapshot your thoughts on various issues or scream your rage at the latest happening. You can catch up with your friends as well as give others a sense of your thoughts and what you are up to.

Twitter is also awesome for finding quick answers. Tweet a question you have and receive thoughts, answers, opinions, etc. quickly. And the more you use it and followers have the more input you can receive.

I have also recently been turned on to the fact that Twitter can help in that job hunt. As a soon to be graduate, the job search has taken over a larger portion of my life. Not only can you announce to everyone that you are searching but many companies post opportunities to Twitter.

The most common thing I use Twitter for though is catching up on the news. You have countless channels at your fingertips and several views on the same issue. Also, as a person on the go with little time to tune in – it helps to stay connected to what is going on and the important issues in the media.

The list goes on and on. I am truly just learning of all the various uses Twitter can provide but am eager to see if I cannot get the hang of it all.

Paul's "Branded for Life" Article

I just finished reading one of the articles due for tomorrow’s class, and wanted to write about my feelings about it before we discuss it all together, because my opinion could somehow change. But for now, I have to say that while I see where Paul is coming from and what he means; I honestly do not see much of a problem with the situation going on. Yes, companies are aiming their products at kids earlier and earlier, but if anything I feel like this is a smart strategy. The fact that they are going around the parents and focusing solely on the children is actually pretty brilliant if you ask me, because so many parents today will do anything to please and satisfy their kids.

I work at a daycare, and it is shocking to me how often on a daily basis I hear small children making the decisions for their family. I am talking about 2-4 year olds, which also happens to be the group that Paul says is able to begin requesting certain brand names. These parents will ask their kids for example, what they would like to have for dinner. It seems nice and normal, until the kids decide that they will be the ones making the final call. So often a tantrum breaks out because a kid is not getting what they want, and they know that if they scream long enough they are bound to make their parents crack, and they will get their way. Kids are much smarter at a younger age than we sometimes give them credit for. They pick up on how much they can get away with, if they are allowed. The fact that these companies are picking up on this routine also shows how clever they really are. So, if they want to target younger audiences, they are really right on track, and I actually give them credit for being able to notice this trend.

Amplification & Reduction

I was going over my notes, getting ready for this awesome exam I know Dr. McCauliff has prepared us for. I came across the idea of media logic. To go further, I would like to discuss the idea I thought of in class about amplification and reduction (in short the things that are shown and not shown). Jersey Shore actually sparked my idea. I realized that a lot of the popular music television stations have grew away from what they were known for which was music videos. Instead, they are now into the world of reality television (and you can't blame the stations because that is what is popular). My favorite stations: BET, MTV, and VH1 are all into the reality television genre now. MTV is by far the king (or queen for you feminist) of reality television. What ever happened to TRL, Morning Jump Start, EX-Effect etc.? I strongly believe that shows like the Real World and Road Rules started the whole epidemic with reality television. I am not trying to knock them, but there is obvious media logic with these between these television stations. They know that reality television is what viewers want to see. While, the regular music video’s and normal television shows are shown less or worst not shown at all. Maybe because I am not a fan, I would pick a Lil Wayne or Usher video over watching Snooki or Deena passed out drunk any day. I guess the idea of people embarrassing themselves is not entertaining to me, and if shows like Jersey Shore are considered reality then I’d rather live a dream life.

Sports Center...

Sports Center is really pissing me off! The only thing they have been discussing for an entire two weeks is if the St. Louis Cardinals are going to re-sign their super star first baseman, Albert Pujols or if the Denver Nuggets are finally going to trade their super star small-forward, Carmelo Anthony. This has gone as far as to making a top ten spot for both of them. One day they had a top ten plays for Anthony, showing his best plays while playing at Denver. Then they did the same thing for Pujols on another day. They also love to compare stats, especially with Pujols. Sports Center always compares his stats to the legendary baseball players before him like, Ted Williams, Mark McGuire, and even Barry Bonds. I do agree that he is an awesome player but do you have to cut the highlights from the Lakers game short to cover a story about a man who “only” wants 300,000,000$ for ten years? It may be worst with Anthony because he obviously does not want to play in Denver anymore and has expressed that he want to play on the east coast. The New Jersey Nets didn’t make things better when they took away their interest in Anthony, then the Lakers made it seem like they wanted him for a few days, and now the Knicks are the front runners (and while I type this, Denver is playing the Bucks and for the entire first half they have only talked about for the entire first quarter was. “where will Carmelo go?”). Now I am going to make use of “my job as a critic.” So to justify my opinion about this text, Sports Center just stick to highlights and leave the business to the front offices of these to great athletes, PLEASE!

Follow Me

I believe very strongly in the website, Twitter. After Twitter first came out to the public as “the next big thing in social media,” I had my doubts. A friend of mine constantly Tweeted from his phone and told me that I needed to get an account so that I could “follow” him and keep up to date with social media technology. I never understood exactly why Twitter was such a big deal. I figured there were “status updates” on Facebook, and that is basically all Twitter is; status updates. Why would I need to get a Twitter when I can let others know what I am doing on my Facebook? It took awhile, but I was finally roped into the Twitter scene. I created an account and began Tweeting and following news channels, friends, celebrities and sports teams. This was my new obsession. The creation of my new Twitter account eventually resulted in the demise of my Facebook account. I deleted Facebook for nearly half a year because I saw no point to it. Twitter was all I needed. The ability to follow celebrities, news anchors, athletes and Public Relations agents for sports teams was incredible and created this sort of parasocial relationship between me and these “people.” I am a huge fan of Twitter for several reasons but the biggest one is the glamorous “relationship” I have with fellow Twitter users as well as the website itself. It may very well be my new pop culture addiction!

Bieber Fever

Last night I had the pleasure of viewing the above video on my friends Facebook wall. It is a known fact that Justin Bieber has some of the craziest fans of any new artist recently. As we talked about in class yesterday, after what was thought to be Bieber’s award went to Esperanza Spalding, fans went crazy.

This controversy has so many people talking. People took to defacing her Wikipedia site as well as using various other outputs such as YouTube to express their emotions about the situation. Someone decided to change her middle name to “Quesadilla” as well as noting several times that nobody has ever heard of her. The Detroit Press used the phrase, “Esperanza Who?” Even NPR decided to get in on the action with a piece titled “Wait, Who is this Esperanza Spalding?”

People need to put this to rest. Even after Spalding and Bieber sat down for an interview together people still could not let it go. Bieber will get over it so stop your crying, it’s embarrassing. Popular and cliché music does not always win in the end.

The Grammy’s this year proved that music can win no matter what the fan base is. This was proven not only with Spalding’s win but with the huge win for Arcade Fire as well, a band who people have “never heard of” even though they have blown up everywhere this year. Music came through in the end for what seems like the first time in a long time, and that’s something everyone should be happy about.

The Gladwell vs. Stone debated continued

I have had trouble taking a side on this debate about Twitter. I have had a Twitter account for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. I opened my account for the main purpose of career building and developing. I plan to work in communications and event planning in the non profit world so I follow other non-profits and those in the communication field. Through the years of having my account, there have been times when I have used it for a form of activism, and I like to think and hope that what I tweet does at least in a small way make the world a little better place. With this hope, I side more with Stone but I also see the point Gladwell is trying to make.

The point of Gladwell’s article is that all the activism that has happened up to this point has been a high-risk and includes strong ties to the movement and the other people involved in the movement. Gladwell goes back to the civil-rights movement again and again to prove his points. Gladwell claims that a crucial fact about those involved with the civil-rights movement was their relationship with each other. Gladwell argues that social media like Twitter are built on weak ties. These weak ties can be a great sources for new ideas and information but not on starting activism according to Gladwell. Gladwell argues that the only way to get someone who does not really know you to do something on your behalf is by not asking too much of them.

In Biz Stone’s response to Gladwell, he points that in Gladwell’s own book he teaches how Paul Revers and this weak-tie phenomenon contributed to the success of The American Revolution. As Stone points out, Paul Revers had a broad network (all of your followers), a fast horse (speed of technology), and a catchy phrase less than 140 characters (tweet). Stone brings in several current examples of has Twitter has been used for activism and been successful. Stone ends his article with this argument “Rudimentary communication among individuals in real time allows many to move together as one - suddenly uniting everyone in a common goal. Lowering the barrier to activism doesn’t weaken humanity, it brings us together and it makes us stronger.”

As Aroll’s post said, Webster defines activism as a policy of taking direct and militant action to achieve a political or social goal; the use of direct, often confrontational action, in opposition to or in support of a cause. At first when I read that definition I thought it gave more support to Gladwell’s arguments, but the more I think about it I find myself thinking it supports both points of view. Both points of view are taking an action to achieve a political or social goal. Gladwell and Stone are just going about that action in different ways.

Each point of view has good points and ideas we as consumers need to contemplate. As I resolve this issue for myself, I am not completely taking either side. I think there is a time and place for both types of activism. Some issues may be resolved with the weak-tie method Twitter presents while there are other issues which may require more strong-ties to accomplish the goal. With using what is best for the issue which could be a combination of both views, those political or social goals will be achieved.


This post is in response to Gladwellian vs. Stone on February 13 by Aroll.

Gladwellian vs. Stone

I am personally an advocate for Gladwell’s view on activism over Stone – but I still give Stone an A for effort and believe he is on to something. Webster defines activism as: a policy of taking direct and militant action to achieve a political or social goal; the use of direct, often confrontational action, in opposition to or in support of a cause. To me this means that behind activism is passion and connection. It involves feeling so strongly about something that you are willing to make a stand for it. People who participate in activism are working to achieve real things or at least get across a strong point. It is not a random act or a single act but a lifestyle - a need within them to be fulfilled through thorough thought and strategy. These people are not scared of standing up to danger because it is for something that they are so connected to, so passionate about – danger is not an obstacle.

I believe that activism needs hierarchy and structure. Like minds must come together to form a movement – a strategic one at that. In order to get real results – one cannot aimlessly go protest and strike but must be ready to put significant thought and effort into the cause. Receiving the change so many activists strive for is not an easy feat. One must be prepared for setbacks and obstacles in their way.

I believe this the appropriate place to mention Stone’s efforts. I firmly believe that social media is a great outlet for activism and can do a lot to facilitate activists efforts. It is a great place for like minds to join together, grow in numbers, share ideas, develop plans and other things passionate activists do. I however, do not believe that social media alone will bring about the change that such people live for.

Both men have great ideas. And by pulling a few from one another – activists stand a chance to creating the change they live for.

Addiction

Recently I joined the world of Twitter for a project for this class. However, I never thought I would EVER become a Tweeter and enjoy it. I have already been sucked into the world of Facebook and recently have become addicted to StumbleUpon. But I never thought I would join the world of Twitter. It’s a new experience for me and I’m still not sure what possibilities lay ahead but time will tell. Now, I am loving StumbleUpon and the vast world of information and pictures out there for one to discover. With the perks of laughing at strange pictures and stumbling upon sites to find awesome music, there is a negative side to this use of social media. The negative side is how distractive it is since as we speak I am using StumbleUpon while watching the Grammys. I have caught myself sitting at my laptop for hours and hours stumbling through the internet. On a side not, going back to one of the first classes we had to talk about one of our addictions to social media. At the time I thought “nah, I don’t have an addiction” but that was before I tried StumbleUpon. I can now say with pride that I am addiction to social media such as StumbleUpon and NetFlix. However, I am not as obsessed with Facebook as some might think. I use Facebook to browse through pictures and to “creep” on people. Yes, I said creep on peoples’ profiles but I don’t creep on the stalker level. I just prefer to offline and look at peoples’ profiles, I don’t think that’s a crime.

The “Social Media Revolution” and Business

In light of our discussions about the power of Twitter and other social media outlets to bring about some sort of change, I’d like to share a video that sums up pretty neatly the reach and strength that social media really does have. No matter your views on the effects of social media as positive or negative, the facts and ideas in this video are pretty undeniable. It’s called Social Media Revolution (I promise it’s a fun watch – give it a look). Based on the book “Socialnomics” by Eric Qualman, SMR is targeted at companies, depicting the impact social media can have on a brand. This video happens to hit on a lot of the topics we’ve discussed in class, specifically the power of peer recommendation via social media that Brian Morrissey discusses in “The Power of Many.”

The doesn't get into this topic for a bit, but it eventually points out, among A LOT of other things, that user-generated commentary on products and services carry a lot of weight in the Internet world. Consider the following:

• 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content

• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands

• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations

• 14% of consumers trust advertisements

The video states that people care more about how their social circles rate a product than how reviews and ratings found on Google do. This concept perfectly supports Morrissey’s argument that peer recommendations often weigh more than commercial messages. SMR also stresses that successful companies should use social media to listen to their consumers before they try to sell to them. Social media is making companies more aware of their consumers and what these people want or need. The New York Times’ Eilene Zimmerman agrees in "Turning Your Company Into a Social Animal."

Social media can be a powerful tool for listening to customers and building a reputation for responsive service, says David Nour, chief executive of the Nour Group, a business development consultancy in Atlanta, and author author of “Relationship Economics.” “You get real-time feedback and can engage with customers quickly to answer questions or help them solve problems.”

As the video states: “Social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.” Business has taken note.

Grey's Anatomy believes in Twitter

Grey's Anatomy Twitter Clip (also found at bottom)

We have been talking about Twitter for the past week, and during the discussion, I became stressed about bringing in another social media device. You see, I am addicted to Facebook, and text messaging, to the point that it takes away from my academic career. When I should be writing a paper, I am updating my status, or checking out people’s photos from the weekend. However, after we had the Twitter discussion, and we read the articles Kristen provided us, I began to do some research. I found an article that said Twitter could be used for more than just gossip. In Georgia, a few months ago, Twitter was used to find a lost dog. The owner of the dog posted a picture and caption explaining that the dog was lost, and the area in which they lived. Before he knew it, the tweet had became a trending topic, and then a Hashtag. Finally, a couple days later, the owner received a tweet that revealed to him his dog had been found. I was thrilled to see that Twitter could be used for more than just a social portal. Josh Jackson’s article, “9 Cool Things To Do With Your Twitter Account” (the article we read for class) explained how book clubs could be brought together through Twitter. Ironically, one of my favorite pop culture shows, which I am heavily addicted too, is Grey’s Anatomy. Last Thursday, when I sat down to enjoy my addiction, I was bombarded with more facts about Twitter. Grey’s Anatomy shows how Twitter can be used for good, watch the clip to see how. Now, our class project is to use Twitter to do something good, or funny. I doubt we will be able to match the remarkable story that Grey’s Anatomy shares with us about Twitter, but I bet we can find something good to do with Twitter! Enjoy the Clip!

Negatives and positives of Social Media

The topic of these last few class discussions has been about social media, and the effects it has on our generation today. Those effects are both positive and negative. Social media is everywhere, whether we want to admit it or not. At least 90% of the worlds population uses some form of social media. There are many forms of social media, such as facebook, twitter, myspace, blogs, youtube, etc. Our generation is infatuated with social media sites, so many people spend so many hours of their day on social media sites, not even meaning to. I know there have been a few times when I have spent far more time on facebook and youtube than I had originally planned, and then next thing I know, the time has flown and I haven't been productive. Its a real problem.

People revolve their lives around social media sites, broadcasting their every moves and all of their moods on twitter updates and facebook status, and who can forget the relationship statuses. Telling the world things and exploring them on blogs, facebook, twitter, etc have become socially acceptable in many circles, forgetting the phrase "too much information". The thing is is people are naturally curious and like reading other peoples status updates because they want to be entertained or because they really do care. Sources have said that if facebook was a country, it would be the third largest, what do we make of that, because that is the result of everyone who partakes in using social media as a part of their everyday lives.

Social media offers an opportunity to communicate with vast majorities of people. A negative impact of social media is that it has changed the way we write. People are finding it harder to write papers, send important emails, make proper notes, etc without using acronmys and slang. Writings are getting sloppier. People should not always write in the "social" manner, they have to take time to read over their work, because they don't realize that typing acronyms and things come natural when they spend significant times of their days on social media sites.

Social media is really a phenomenon in its own, and it will continue to grow through generations, and it will develop more and more everyday, and people will always stick with those sites. But people need to realize the positive and negative impacts that social media has on their lives. When realizing, they can have a better understanding of why these sites play such big roles in their lives and they can draw the line of when to stop each day and only spend so much time on social media sites.

My addiction with....TWITTER

Hello, my name is Joshua Howard (hello Josh!), and I have an addiction to Twitter. I have abandoned Facebook (sorry Mark Zuckberg) like a car plant in Detroit. My urge to accept “friends” I do not know, chat with people I will never consider having a conversation with face-to-face, or being tagged in photos that my presence do not exist in is over. No I have a new found addiction to figuring out the latest trending topic of the day, following my new followers back, and responding back to mentions that I was apart of. Twitter has completely taken over social networking. I believe it has done so because it is a social networking site that allows you to be close to your favorite celebrities. Twitter allows you to keep up with the daily lives and thoughts of the world’s most popular athletes, rappers, singers, talk show host and any other profession you can think of. Twitter builds a definite parasocial relationship with your favorite celebrities. You follow these celebrities and become one with their lives but on the other hand these celebrities don’t follow us back and probably do not know about our existence in life. This is okay with us because we feel as long as we are following them and keeping up with their lives, and “our relationship” with them is almost considered a mutual relationship. This concludes my first entry in our “group conversation” about Twitter. Please if you have nothing to do follow me on Twitter (@_H20_).

Advertising and Recruiting within Social Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng&feature=related

After being in class Tuesday and discussing the "The Power of Many" article I realized the magnitude to which Social media encompasses. This video helps grasp the size and importance of social media and the demographics it reaches to and focuses. However in class we failed to see that not only advertisement is in social media. Yet another avenue also uses social media to better understand you and this is in the real world of recruitment for jobs and non for profit volunteer organizations.

I don't understand why it took me so long to be able to relate this and why I didn't think of this in class but in the professional world companies use social media to help recruit. Which allows them to cover a vast majority of people and to see them or they're recreated self online while not under the "microscope". This then allows them to really make a better judgement call on the person outside of the interview to make sure they are a good fit. Now you might just ask how this ties into advertising well that's a good question.

In the "The Power of Many" we talk about "mini segments" where in this video can show how difficult it might be considering Facebook is, if it were a country, would be the third largest in the world. To be able to advertise into niches would be extremely difficult and how could you really make sure your hitting the right demographic for your product. Well in Facebook's case its through the Likes and Dislikes program. Like and Dislikes have never been more influential and with recommendations playing a more important role than raw advertisement its easy to see how Facebook thrives.

What seems to have happened over night with both advertisement and recruiting is that it's not what you know it's who you know. With the vast networks of the internet combined with a social media medium, its easy to create a new type of community and demographic scaling system. It's just crazy to think that "Word of Mouth" has turned into "World of Mouth".

Facebook invading roadtrips?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUHDFafqykI

I, like one of millions on Sunday night, sat down to watch the Packers play the Steelers in Super Bowl 2011. I do enjoy a good football game, but what interests me more about the Super Bowl every year is the commercials.
One that caught my attention this year was one of the many car commercials they showed during the breaks. The Chevrolet Cruze is a new car coming out this year, and although I am not really a fan of Chevy (I prefer Fords) this commercial is very interesting. It depicts a girl and boy on their first date, and the girl leans in to kiss the boy before heading inside. Smiling and somewhat satisfied the boy climbs into his new 2011 Chevy Cruze and drives home. Alas, he cannot wait those sacred two days to call the girl and find out if the date was a success. Luckily this new car not only has OnStar to save him during an emergency, it also has a button that allows you to check Facebook right there in your car! He clicks the button and, thank goodness, his date is the first person to post a new status proclaiming that it was the Best First Date Ever. All is right in the world and the guy can drive home in peace knowing the date went as planned.
In class we talked about social media and how it seems to be taking over the world slowly, yet surely. We discussed the new smart phones and whether they are media sites or simply tools to access social media domains. I think this commercial proves that the phones, and now cars, are tools to keep us constantly attached to our Facebook (Twitter, Myspace, etc) accounts. This commercial accurately depicts today’s generation and how addicted we truly are to posting everything that is going on in our lives. The fact that this girl immediately got home after the date and had to post about it shows that she is more concerned with telling the virtual world about it rather than just enjoying the feeling of a good first date. Also, the boy could not even wait ten minutes to get home and actually use a computer to check his Facebook. He had to find out seconds after the date ended to see if she replicated his feelings.
Is this commercial accurate? Is our generation so addicted to technology that our cars now have to have verbal Facebook and Twitter while we’re driving? I personally think people spend too much time on social networking sites to begin with, I cannot imagine how the trend will grow if car systems are thrown into the mix. I enjoy my car rides with some music and maybe some conversations, but now it seems like that is a thing of the past. Along with new cars zooming onto the roads, we have a whole new meaning of the information highway. Literally it is on the highway.

Crash the Super Bowl

So one item that we discussed in class today was about social media and advertising. Our first discussion was about the Super Bowl. We talked about how doritoes and pepsi max worked together to have a commercial contest so that people could send in their own commercials about each product. The winner seen here is indeed a nice commercial. Though funny and enjoyable, From what I have seen, is not the best. It is another commercial in which we see a man who is controlled by his girlfriend/wife. He has no freedom and is indeed nothing I would like to see again. One thing people look for in super bowl commercials is for them to be a list of things. We expect funny, unique, out of the norm commercials. We like these commercials because the deviate from the everyday commercials that are blah blah blah. Maybe not the funniest but at least funnier commercials is the one my friends submitted. Okay so here is the video I am talking about today in class. Though some of the quality near the end is not the best it is what I consider a GREAT Super Bowl Commercial, or at least would have been. My friends, through the social networking site facebook, tried to promote their video. They did their best to get their video out there for their friends to see and for their friends friends to see. but ultimately they did not win. I was really discouraged by this. I feel like many other commercials were funnier than the winner. It makes me wonder, is the contest fair? Does the company have employees that vote as well as the audiences? Or is this really what people wanted to see Sunday Night? Until I know this answer, I will just have to keep analyzing media and be a critical consumer.

So I recently found out why they did not make it. Quoted from my friend "the real reason we didn't win was not because of lack of mass audience appeal. We didn't get past the round of private voting by a small panel of pepsi max judges." Which still gets me. Super Bowl commercials don't always appeal to mass audiences, Look at this super bowl. Only a few commercials were appealing to people. The rest were just normal commercials. Oh well, till next time blog.

FA: Facebook Anonymous

My name is Megan Casey, and I am proud to admit that I am no longer addicted to Facebook.

The other day in class, during out social media lecture, we were asked to raise our hand if we did not have a Facebook page. I was the only person to raise my hand. I deleted my Facebook this past October when I started searching through my “friends” and deleting over half of them. I decided that my “real friends” already know my phone number and know where I live, so if they want to get a hold of me they can. At first it was pretty difficult not having my Facebook because I felt so out of the loop. I started to realize more and more that the “loop” I used to be in was this weird made up story of who my “friends” were. The only reason I would talk to some people was because of Facebook. I never even saw them on campus or out on the weekends for the most part. It finally started to get easier when I realized that all of the drama I had ever had in the past seemed to have gone away. It is so easy for people to make up stories or twist words that are written on the Internet to make other people’s lives a living hell. I felt like all of the stress of what I should or shouldn’t say or post on Facebook finally got lifted off of my shoulders because I no longer had a Facebook to post anything on.

The funny part about it is something I never thought about until just the other day. I realized that my grades have been significantly better in the last semester without a Facebook. I’m not really sure if not having a Facebook directly correlates to my better grades, but it is interesting to think that this is the only semester I have not had one, and it’s the semester that I have received my highest grades.

I feel lucky to have beaten the “addiction” that so many struggle with every day.