These groups are only one of the ways that help shows determine how well they are doing according to the popularity embrace by their audience out there.

Dr. Strangelove posted an article from the LA Times on his blog called Elizabeth Murdoch on the Future of TV. She explains the relation between television and social networking. “We in the television business have to catch up with what our audience is doing,” she said. That means not running from social networking but embracing it as a way to drive viewers and revenue.” (Murdoch, 2010)

In addition I found a video posted on Facebook of a popular TV show called The Vampire Diaries. Below is the same video from YouTube. The shows popularity has grown quite high over the past few months and it just shows based on its number of fans on Facebook at 464,255 and rising.

The Apple iPhone - source: 2008 IFPI

Today, Dr. Strangelove started class by speaking about digit media. Digital media consist of those great devices that most can’t seem to put down, even in class at times. I’m talking about the cell phone, the iPod Touch/iPhone and that CrackBerry…I mean BlackBerry.

We are all exposed to digital media everyday. Dr. Strangelove had mentioned in class that these devices will become a primary source of our consumer socialization. According to him, the purpose of these devices is to connect us together through the internet.

In an article called, IFPI Digital Music Report 2008 – Revolution Innovation Responsibility by John Kennedy, there is one section explaining how “digital music devices have revolutionised the way consumers listen to music.” (12) In referral to Dr. Strangelove’s point about digital media connecting us together through internet, Kennedy explains the impact of the “leading portable player today”, which is the iPod. He also examines a few other brands. (12) Following this, he says, “The iPod Touch, iPhone and the new Zune player, with wi-fi functionality allowing internet browsing and music downloading on the go – are blurring the boundaries between online and mobile consumption.”(12) These wireless devices are bringing people together in one place where sharing music can be done with a simple click to download and voila!

Kennedy states, “Starbucks and Apple announced a partnership that allowed users of the iPhone and iPod Touch to download songs playing in Starbucks shops directly to their portable devices via wi-fi.” (12) Here, wi-fi equals internet and internet equals connecting to people. Starbucks and Apple offer their consumers access to internet and music in a more accessible and easy way, which then meets the needs of their consumers.

So it shows that the purpose of these devices (such as the iPhone and iPod Touch) is to lead consumers to be able to not only have access to downloadable music, but to connect consumers through the web.

This commercial truly shows how effective advertising can influence an individual or many individuals. It is a great example of how advertising a product can spread through interacting with others. With advertisement, it is always more effective when comedy is put into the mix of things. It catches the viewer’s attention and draws them in. Sometimes when the audience is reeled in through advertising, association with what they see and desire are stimulated. Popularity of a product can most times give credit to the amount of advertising it receives.

When I scanned through the book The Empire of Mind by Dr. Strangelove, I found a few pages full of information on advertisement and how it not only is absorbed by many, especially in America, but it also associates with capitalism. According to The Empire of Mind, “Advertising represents a form of corporate speech that tends toward saturation of the collective visual landscape. Advertising saturates the consumer’s visual field with the cultural products of the economic system.” (34) This relates to what I went over with advertising. The consumer’s “visual field” would be with the product ‘Bud Light’ in this particular video. (34)

Advertising plays an active role in our lives. “Quantitative studies report numbers ranging from 1500 to 3000 ads per day. Annually, children are exposed to an average of 390 hours of television commercials.” (34) Moving forward, “news, broadcasts, advertisements, and situation comedies transmit the underlying assumptions of capitalism.” (34)

It is plain to see that advertisement plays a key role in how we see the world and what choices we make in terms of what we aspire to have and achieve.

Broadcast live with blogTV.com - source: blogTV, 2010

User-generated content is rising fast these days. On one hand, there is YouTube where people of all ages can watch, create and upload videos from all over the world. Then you also have blogTV. It is a place similar to YouTube, but the online videos are all live broadcasts where individuals can speak their mind or show off their hidden talents.

According to blogTV, it was founded in June 2007. It states that it “is a new and popular web location”. It continues to say that “blogTV.com is extraordinarily easy to navigate, which means that no matter who you are or where you come from you will be able to use and enjoy all of blogTV’s features.” (blogTV, 2010) One of the features include allowing a person to view and comment live on another person’s  blogTV live broadcast.

In one of my class lectures, we took a look at an article from Screen Digest called User- Generated Video Usage Soars. It was posted on Dr. Strangelove’s blog. The article focuses on “the user-generated online video market” and how it has vastly increased since 2006. It implies that “by 2010 more than half (55%) of all the video content consumed online in the US will be user generated, representing 44 billion video streams.” (Screen Digest, 2007)

With blogTV becoming more and more popular, it is helping the user-generated online video market augment in its percentage and usage.

The Screen Digest article goes on to say that “the popularity of user- generated video online reflects what the Internet has emerged to be all about – empowering and connecting people.” (Screen Digest, 2007) This I find very true. Dr. Strangelove had mentioned in a lecture, somewhere along the lines that the “consumer side is becoming easier and we are going to become much more involved in pushing content online.” This means that the audience is going to become more active and continue to consume and be a part of the user-generated online videos.

 With the spread of online videos, advertising seems to take its place in the user-generated online video market. In the book, The Empire of Mind by Dr. Strangelove, it discusses advertising and how people have the “desire to consume”. (Strangelove, p.33) So where there is emotion (through UGOV), there comes consumerism. So this is where advertising takes benefit.

Moreover, in the years to come, I’m sure we can all expect to see more user-generated online videos soaring in ratings and as always the consumer side of things will always be present.

Children younger than 12 years old are even text messaging - photo by Jupiterimages

From what I gather, most teens today own a cell phone. I see it everyday. Sometimes it kind of takes me aback when I see a 10 year old texting on their cell phone. This generation has changed compared to when I was that age.

I cannot believe how much technology has changed over the last decade. Times are different with the use of technologies and the media contributing to it in many ways. I cannot pin-point exactly when cell phones became popular with younger teens, but I do remember when I got my very own cell phone, age 15. So I was basically entering high school. Back then, texting was not that popular amongst the teens. If someone wanted to talk to you, they would call.

The fact that many new generation cell phones are introduced every few months by various companies, the advertising has a lot to do with it. Teens are an easy target to influence when it comes to the latest technology. Celebrities also play a key factor in making a product popular. Say for instance the Jonas Brothers were advertising the Apple iPhone, many young fans would probably seek to buy the same cell phone for the fact that one of the most popular teen group establishes that it is the phone to have.

Whether we want to admit it or not, in some way or another, every one of us is influenced by advertising at one point in time. It may not be by an ad for the latest cell phone, but the media has its way of complying with the needs of its consumers.

Coming back on the point of teens and the increase of texting, I think that the advertising does a great job in promoting cell phone products. If you look at cell phones today compared to five years ago, you will find that many of the new generation cell phones have a slide out keypad that makes it easier to text. These newly developed devices are encouraging text messaging. This makes it more appealing to the younger generation. Advertising makes sure of it. The Blackberry is also a text friendly device with its small keyboard-like buttons.  

In a Neilsen article called, Under-aged Texting: Usage and Actual Cost (posted by Dr. Strangelove on his blog), it discusses that “While the 13-17 year old age bracket is already highly saturated, the last holiday season was good to the under 12 segment when it came to text messaging.” Later going on to say that, “The average text message number has increased every year, but the huge room for growth that is still remaining has been underestimated given the penchant for texting among the 17 and under segment.” (Neilsen 2010) This study was done in the Unites States, so even with that said, it shows how much the younger generation is consumed by sending text messages.

On January 27^th, 2010, I was in class listening to Dr. Strangelove’s lecture about his book, The Empire of Mind. He had referred to the “Content and Audience beyond Control” in Chapter 2. He mentioned that “Canada pays some of the highest rates for cell phones, but not the highest in cell phone use.” By this, cell phone use in the United States is much higher than Canada, since rates are much lower according to the Neilsen article.  The article also shows a chart of the rate of texting compared to age groups in the United States. From looking at the chart, the age group of 13-17 years old soars in text messaging.

To conclude, Neilsen says,

“Overall, text message usage is also expected to grow as the heavy text messaging population ages and entices the older generations to text with them in order to stay in contact with them as any parent of a teenager can probably attest to.”

The Black Eyed Peas (Grammys Inc.)

I opened my homepage browser today (which is www.people.com) and what did I see? That’s right; the 52^nd Grammys is airing this Sunday (8/7c on CBS). The large banner is hard to miss. The main title, “We’re All Fans” is what I noticed first. I was curious to see what this was all about, so I click it.

Basically, it lead me to a website called www.wereallfans.com.  It let’s you create your own “portrait showing your musical DNA” (Grammys Inc.)

Your so called “musical DNA” is composed of all these online social network posts (tweets from Twitter) and a whole lot of online videos and pictures. Most of the videos are pulled from YouTube. All the captures relate to which ever artist you choose when you go to create your portrait musical DNA.

This is how it works:

1. Upload a picture (your self-portrait or whatever you choose)
2. Pick a color scheme
3. Type in up to 20 artists you like
4. Type in your email
5. You’re done! The portrait musical DNA is sent to your email (You can then share it with friends)

The result: Your picture comes together like a bricolage. Piece by piece  from online videos, pictures and tweets your picture takes form.

Empire of Mind related to We’re All Fans website

When I refer back to my recent class lecture, I remember Dr. Strangelove saying that every minute there is 20 hours of material uploaded to YouTube.

If you think about it, all these streaming videos are making a mark. We hear and talk about them in our social lives. We hear about them through other forms of media, such as radio and television. Sometimes social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are discussed between actors on television and in films. It’s an ongoing cycle and travelling through today’s audiences. Also consider that the behaviour of the audience towards online material cannot be controlled. 

The point is, through the www.wereallfans.com website, people are exposed to a mass amount of online media and social networking. It was created to unite fans of music. In the Empire of Mind, it touches the subject of group conversation. This is exactly what relates to the Grammys website for fans. “Group conversation within internet is endowed with memory- it is often archived for future retrieval.”  It goes on to say, “Corporations have a large audience share of the visual Web, but control next to nothing within the flow of words.” (Strangelove, 89)

So it is to say that control is a huge issue on the Web and Corporations have less and less say to what fans (in this case) will come up with. The website gives fans the freedom to think and express what they feel towards what they see or hear.

You all remember the infamous “Charlie bit me” YouTube sensation, right? What about when Taylor Swift’s moment to shine was taken away by rapper Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards? And let’s not forget the so called “Balloon Boy”, who everyone thought was in the homemade flying saucer – later to find out that it was all a gimmick. 

If you search on YouTube, you will find many different versions of these clips. Some are altered and made into song collaborations, a remix of some sort or even parodies.

The first above video is a collaborated auto-tuned remix of “Charlie bit me”, Taylor Swift’s interrupted speech, “Balloon Boy” and another popular video on YouTube of a boy trying to steal a banana. The Second video is Ellen Degeneres testing out the imbedded auto tuned microphone. Then she is joined by T-Pain himself!

So, what is Auto-Tune? I conducted research on the web to find some more information on this rising popular technology. According to D.A. King,

“Auto-Tune is tone correction technology. It allows for any vocal part that doesn’t quite meet it’s mark to simply be digitally corrected, and brought to it’s proper pitch. Whether a little flat or off the mark completely, Auto-Tune remedies the situation and delivers pitch-perfection.” (Associated Content- News, 2009)

The only difference today is that some rappers like T-Pain and Lil Wayne started to incorporate this Auto-Tune technology, but with a different outlook in mind. Sam Biddle describes auto-tune and its impact on artists saying “…artists began cranking up the settings to deliberately distort their voices as an artistic ‘misuse.’ The resulting effect is a cold, robotic crooning that has become near-requisite for a chart-topping single.” (PSFK ,2009)

T-Pain has been one of the most influential rappers to make Auto-Tune so popular. I could not believe that there was an application (a.k.a. “app”) for the iPhone called “I am T-Pain”. In this app you can “become” T-Pain, not literally, but by voice. This app allows people to sound just like the entertainer. I only just discovered the popularity around this Auto-Tune technology and it’s making its way not only through music, but in amateur videos online. 

In relation to the text, Empire of Mind by Dr. Strangelove, these auto-tuned videos created mostly by amateurs who are “people who do something for the love of it” (as discussed in class) are all part of the audience that cannot be controlled. Dr. Strangelove discusses the matter of a “mash-up”, which is often seen on YouTube. Fan-made videos are created with different tools, data and elements to make one sole piece. We also discussed that YouTube leads to greater engagement in media and more involved which then brings us to the challenging notion of private property. The key aspect to look at is the fact that these viral videos cannot be removed off the internet once they are uploaded because as mentioned in class, the government and laws cannot permanently remove the content. It will always remain on the internet. People are free to create and upload these mash-up videos to be seem by thousands, sometimes millions.

Since the popularity of this Auto-Tune technology being used in online videos, it just shows that the audience has so much more control over what they choose to do with the media they receive. It’s really up to the rest of us to either like it or hate it.

The symbolic Twitter icon

Alright, so first I have to mention that I’m kind of out of the loop with the whole Twitter thing. Some time ago, I created an account on Twitter when it was this huge hype. And yes, I did become a little too addicted to the Twitter world, but that only lasted a few weeks. I somehow got back into Facebook (which I won’t get into because I could go on forever about Facebook).

As I was saying, the Twitter lingo can be confusing for a newbie. When people talk about “tweets”, “twords” and “tweeple” – what are they saying? Some of you may already know this, but to the people who have no clue, well I did some more research on this and found a very interesting blog posted by Mari Smith, title Twitter Lingo Demystified! In further explaining this whole Twitter jargon, Smith explains that

“If you’re new to Twitter , I appreciate even the word “tweet” may sound odd! It’s your 140-character “instant message” or “mini/micro-blog post” that you send out into the world… particularly to your followers (fellow Twitter members who “subscribe” to your tweets).”

Then she goes on to say that “twords” are Twitter words. For example, “deets” = details, “F2F” = face to face, “JSYK” = just do you know and “ROFL” = rolling on the floor laughing. These are just to name a few. As for “tweeple”, it means people who use Twitter.  

I also found another article called How Twitter Works by Jonathan Strickland.  According to Strickland, “when you sign up with Twitter, you can use the service to post and receive messages to a network of contacts.” (HowStuffWorks Inc., 2010)

One thing about this social network that makes it so popular is the fact that many celebrities are on board with Twitter. So many actors/actresses, singers, talk show hosts and athletes are tweeting. Some tweeters include: Ashton Kutcher, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Tom Hanks, Jim Carey, Ellen Degeneres, and Oprah!

Coming back to The Empire of Mind: Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement by Michael Strangelove, it is said that “the Internet clearly demonstrates that a great thirst exists for interaction” (4) “Yet, due to the rise of the Internet, we find that the online audience is extremely active as compulsive communicators. The audience has transformed itself from a passive state to the highly active state of content creators and distributors.” (5)

I find this very true when it comes to looking at Twitter as a form of communication and interaction especially between celebrities and their “followers”. For example, say Ellen Degeneres tweets that she’s raising awareness for a great cause and asking people to donate. People would most likely react to her message. Ellen creates the content and distributes her message to her audience, who then has the ability to reply to her message.

Twitter is really a cycle of communication and interaction through 140 characters. It may be Twitter today, but I wonder how social networking will look like in 5 or 10 years from now…

This video is about a little girl named Nina, who embarks silly, fun and creative adventures everyday. She lives in Japan with her parents, who both speak English and Japanese to her. In her earliest videos as a baby, viewers can see her progress in learning how to speak both languages. What I think is incredible is that this tiny tot can reach thousands of views every time one of her famous “Adventures of Nina” videos is posted.

So you ask – what’s so great about this little girl? Well for one, she probably doesn’t even know it yet, but she’s already reaches over 100,000 views on one of her videos. Yes, 100,000!!! In that video Nina attempts to eat “edamame”, which is a popular soybean in Japan. In the process, she has a little difficulty trying to enunciate the name of it. It’s amazing how such an innocent act like a toddler eating a vegetable can be so popular. Throughout her videos, viewers can watch Nina improve her language skills. It’s actually quite cute.

Many of her videos are edited by her parents to enhance the quality of the video which seems to be loved by many viewers.  

In relation to The Empire of Mind: Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement by Michael Strangelove (which I’ll be referring to this textbook in the future), it talks about how “a digital future is unfolding”.  “This online audience is free to produce and disseminate its own version of the world.” (11) This is exactly what many children, teens and adults are doing everyday on YouTube. As for Nina, she shows us her own little world. She’s one of many around the globe that is part of this online audience. She may not know the impact of it all, but she sure does know how to entertain.

YouTube has evolved over the past years when it first came about the internet in February 2005. It’s slogan “Broadcast Yourself” is exactly what billions of people do each day around the world in one place. YouTube has even become popular with many famous artists in providing fans with their own YouTube page, in many cases managed by their record labels. In this broadcasted YouTube video, Miss Underwood talks about her chart topping first single “Cowboy Casanova” off her 2009 album “Play On”. Her channel consists of her latest music videos and interviews.

I must also mention that YouTube is a smart way to communicate to a wide range of audiences especially for an artist if their trying to promote their newest project (a.k.a. album). It just shows that social networking has changed over the last few years and it’ll keep changing.

According to the article, Artists turn to YouTube to make money by Kristen Schweizer, the whole purpose of artists moving towards YouTube is to promote their music and to reduce the act of fans participating in illegal downloads of digital tracks. “YouTube is a conduit between artists and fans.” (Schweizer, 2009)

Here is an official message from Carrie herself!