Yes I Can!

Throughout the recent presidential race between Obama and McCain the influence of websites like Youtube became very evident. Angelo Fernando writing for ‘Communication World’ stated “During the last few months of the presidential campaign, the videos became more creative. Ordinary people came up with powerful messages rivaling those created by advertising and PR agencies.” Because Youtube allows for the mass viewing of personal content, individuals who supported a particular candidate were able to create their own videos to help their cause. The best known ads have been mash-ups of existing presidential ads, as well as new videos consisting of personal video and photographs. Youtube was also used to defame these individuals, like the video of specific McCain blunders. This type of exposure would be nearly impossible with old forms of media like television because of the cost. 

Obama established a proactive Youtube campaign, which consisted of massive exposure and creative videos including many celebrities. The video seen here is a mash-up created by Will-I-am from the Black Eyed Peas and an Obama speech. This video has been viewed more than 10 million times, and the number of posts on it exceeds the amount of viewers of some television ads. Fernando stated “Barack Obama is soon to become the first social media president of the United States, and a lot of credit should go to his campaign’s YouTube strategy.” I believe Obama made a very intelligent move by recognizing the potential of new media for gaining exposure, and exploiting it to the fullest extent. In order to remain competitive you need to adapt to recent trends in society.

Fernando, Angelo (2009).he revolution will be mashed up (and uploaded to YouTube). Communication World. 26.

Internet Protest

The Internet, and specifically websites like Youtube are slowly showing their use as a positive social tool. Youtube is able to bring mass attention to socially charged content. Individuals who were previously unaware of alternative view points now have the potential for instant access to alternative and protest material, whether it be speeches, videos or music.

In ‘New Media and Society’ it is stated “Contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs) have given rise to networked communities useful in organizing, coordinating, supporting and maintaining ‘real life’ activism.” Youtube and other Internet sites are able to raise awareness about specific subject matter, even controversial material. Individuals are also able to instantly contact one another and discuss this newly acquired subject matter. Therefore there is a sense of unity as people rally together in support of a specific view point. This can lead to both “e-activism” as well as real life protest, which can be scheduled through the Internet.

The song featured in this Youtube video is entitled ‘Franco-Unamerican’ and is featured on a recently released NOFX album. This song is about the problems related with America and more specifically the Bush administration. Lyrics include “I see no world peace ’cause of zealous armed forces, I eat no breath-mints ’cause their from de-hoofed horses, now I can’t believe; what an absolute failure, the president’s laughing ’cause we voted for Nader.” They are advocating for people not to just lie back and be subjected to the injustices of their nation, they want people to make a change, regardless of how small it is. With over 200,000 views this video, and the message behind it is reaching a large audience and potentially affecting them and their ideals.

I believe the exposure to alternative ideas as a result of the Internet and Youtube is positive. If it weren’t for the Internet most people would not be exposed to these ideals, or have a forum to discuss these view points and collectively challenge the status quo.

Biddix, Patrick Online networks of student protest: the case of the living wage campaign. New Media & Society. 10, 871-891.

Oh where oh where have the papers gone?

Lately the press has taken a large hit when it comes to revenue. Traditional print news has been under threat for quite sometime. Since the inception of the Internet and other forms of media, people have been turned off newspapers and have been getting their news elsewhere. Newspaper companies have been making the online transition due to a loss of revenue, however, they are still finding that they are losing money. The very nature of the Internet allows for many various websites to post news, unlike the newspaper industry where the news was delivered by only a handful of distributers. Online newspapers are losing advertising revenue to other websites with news content. They simply were not able to integrate and make the transition to the Internet quick enough. This is probably a result of newspaper organizations being so rooted in a print tradition, they found it hard to convert to the Internet as quickly as it developed.

This loss of control by the large print companies may spell disaster for the capitalist system as a whole. As it is stated in  Communication and Mass Media Complete “The collapse of daily print journalism will mean many things  will seriously damage the press’s ability to serve as a bulwark of democracy.” In this article there is a direct correlation drawn between the traditional press and the upholding of capitalist ideals. Media Companies are continually pumping messages into the population that convince us to buy products and willfully obey a corrupt government and system. If they continue to lose revenue to alternative news found on the Internet there could be some dire consequences.

(2009).Reasons to Believe. Communication and Mass Media Complete. 47, 4.

Personally Youtube is Personal

Youtube has become so pervasive throughout society. It is even apart of our regular vernacular, when looking for a video one might simply say “Youtube it”, much like the phrase “google it”. There are many uses for Youtube including the expression of individual ideas, and the public creation of creative projects. However, one particular use of this website is often ignored. Dr. Strangelove stated that one of the primary functions of this website is a personal function. Individuals tend to use Youtube to keep in touch with family members and friends. They send personalized messages and use short videos to keep in touch, almost as if having a face-to-face conversation with a loved one. When people think of Youtube they often don’t think of it being used for this.

When discussing Youtube as a personal tool it is also used for video documentation of  personal aspects of an individual’s life. This video features two twins playing with each other like children do, it was put on Youtube by the parents of these children. There is a lengthy series of videos of these two twins all uploaded by the same person. They have used Youtube to document important events in the children’s life, such as there first birthday. Its a great tool for family members to always be in contact with the twins. But because of the public nature of Youtube, their children are now seen by millions of people, this video alone has been viewed more than 8 million times. Although this site can be a useful tool for documenting important family moments and keeping in contact with loved ones, I believe that because of the public nature of the website some of these uses may be slightly inappropriate. Some moments should be private, and only viewed by those who you specifically intend to view them. However, this may simply be where our generation is heading, as the Internet has allowed such freedom and public expression people are becoming more and more accustomed tot he fact that millions of people could potentially view a private moment.

Internet Stars

This episode of South Park explores the idea of making money on the Internet. In order to save his brother, Kyle and the boys decide to make a Youtube video to generate some income. Their video involves Butter’s singing in a music video, which is a direct copy of a video already in circulation entitled ‘What What in the Butt’. In this short clip the boys are waiting to get their money along side many of the other Youtube sensations. Each star compares who has more hits, and how many ‘theoretical’ dollars they are worth. Although their video has been seen millions of times and they are widely recognized they are unable to make any money.

This is an exploration of the idea that while the Internet allows for the public creation of mass quantities of creative works that can be viewed by millions, it hasn’t yet developed to the point where creative content producers are able to retrieve any form of monetary value for their work. Later in the episode it is stated that there is the potential for websites like Youtube to become more like traditional media forms and use advertising revenue to offer content producers money for their creative videos in exchange for ownership. However, I feel like this is an impossible feat as its contradictory to the very public sphere nature of the Internet. In order to monetize the Internet you would have to completely alter the principles behind it and convert the internet into a hierarchical system ran by a few. In which case it would lose a lot of it’s appeal.

Restrict This!

Edward Deci recently conducted an experiment entitled “Soma Cube”. He gave two separate groups of students an identical cube. One group was offered money for every shape they created. These individuals were driven by extrinsic motivation. The other group was told just to play with the cube, and therefore were driven by intrinsic motivation. The individuals who were motivated by money stopped creating as soon as Deci left the room. The other group continued to create. The essence of this experiment was that individual’s create primarily due to their own motivations.

This is a partial explanation as to why there is such a recent increase in the trend of online amateur creativity. These amateur online works are far surpassing the creative works produced by corporations. Some may say this is a result of the larger numbers of amateurs. However, this phenomena could be a result of the institutional restrictions placed on the professional realm. Although amateurs too are also subject to institutional restrictions they are few and far between when you compare them to that in the professional world. Like in the “Soma Cube” experiment when you remove the restrictions individuals become much more creative.

David Baker states “many creatives prefer to work in such a way that is free of the restrictions of businesslike production processes.” This is because these individuals feel as if hierarchical restrictions truly restrict the creative works produced by these individuals. I believe the unrestricted nature of the Internet is a definite explanation as to why there is such a huge influx in the amount of amateur creative material online. However, this is not the only explanation. The easy accessibility of the Internet could also be used to explain the amount of creative works. 

Baker, David. “Bringing More Process to Creativity.”Communication Arts 50(2009): 28-30.

How’d she get in that blender anyhow?

In order for a company to survive it is absolutely crucial to create a brand that resignates amongst consumers. According to Media Week “Companies will survive by creating brand identities for their goods, services, and corporate images which convince consumers they make a positive difference in consumers’ lives, not merely offer something desirable.” The corporation’s ability to create a positive brand and control meaning  production will determine the success of their product. Since the inception of the Internet and the creation of a public sphere the corporate ability to maintain a postive brand image is beginning to erode. Companies lose an average of 22 percent of potential sales due to trademark infringement and counterfeiting, according to the International Trademark Association. It is now difficult to maintain one’s intellectual property throughout the Internet.

This defamation of a corporate brand can be seen through prevalent Internet images of Mattel’s Barbie. Barbie is an icon of the capitalist system, represantitive of what evryone wants, the American dream. To reiterate Dr. Strangelove writing in the Empire of Mind, Barbie is crucial in our economic system in that she represents the objectification of the female gender and programs the youth into consumption machines. Barbie is used as a branding device, lending her name to a wide variety of products.

Matell recently began a legal campaign against online artists who misrepresented Barbie. Withing traditional media Matell would be able to successfully eliminate the reproduction of negative images of Barbie. However, Matell often failed to remove the images from the Internet, and even if she was removed from a particular website she would appear somewhere else. B.L. Ochman writing for What’s Next Online states; “the stories will fade from newspapers and TV in a few days, but bad publicity will be in search engines forever. Score for Mattel’s image? Zero.” This is in regards to a Utah artist Thomas Forsythe’s use of Barbie dolls in photographs depicting the Mattel toy naked and being assaulted by kitchen appliances. The court’s stated the artist’s work was an expression of free speech. I believe Matell’s attempts to hault the steady loss over the production meaning and youth consumption patterns is not only failing but also tarnishing the image of the company who is now seen as a Big Brother figure attempting to eliminate free expression.

 “Last Brands Left Standing.” Media Week 19(2009): 2.

 

Ochman, B.L.. “MATTEL PR SCORE IS ZERO IN LAWSUIT AGAINST ARTIST.” What’s Next Online? January 7, 2004 8 Mar 2009 <http://www.whatsnextonline.com/wno/newsletter92.cfm#>.

New Media and Gender

According to Dr. Strangelove there is a stark difference between the ways in which men and women utilize the Internet and new technology. Men are said to use these technologies as a way of achieving power and status. To my best understanding this means that men will attempt to implement new technologies including the Internet to further their own interests. From my own personal observations men’s own interests are primarily financial. They use Blackberry’s to organize their life and business in an attempt to achieve further financial success. These Blackberry’s are also used as a status symbol indicating that this individual is well-off. Women would use similar cell phone technology in order to contact friends and family.

Deborah Fallows writing for the PEW Internet and American Life Project writes “Men like the internet for the experieces it offers, while women like it for the human connections it promotes.” According to this research women are enthusiastic communicators when using the Internet, using e-mail and social networking much more frequently then men. Men use the Internet to preform on-line transactions, using the internet as a tool of commerce. Thus proving Dr. Strangelove’s point of women using the Internet for social purposes, where men use it for power and status.

Fallows, Deborah (2005, December 28). PEW Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved March 6, 2009, from How Women and men Use the Internet Web site: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Women_and_Men_online.pdf

 

Don’t Tread On Us Youtube!

In order for the capitalist system to continue there is a requirement for the ownership of culture and production to be in the hands of a few. Therefore within a capitalist society there is the necessity for control of all private property and intellectual property, this is done primarily through strict copyright law. However, the Internet is changing the nature of certain industries. Since the inception of the Internet there has been mass violation of property and copyright law. When something challenges the status quo it is the nature of the capitalist system to take corrective action and return it to the norm. Therefore, it is only natural for a corporation to attempt to draw the pirating of it’s material to an end. This can be exemplified through the use of copyrighted material on Youtube.

According to Claudine Beaumont writing in Telegraph online magazine, Youtube and Warner Music Group failed to reach an agreement over royalty payments. Youtube videos containing copyrighted music is in the process of being muted. For now the majority of the music muted are those owned by Warner.  ” A spokesperson for YouTube said the muting of videos was an automated process. Content providers, such as record labels, provide reference files and samples of the songs or other content they do not want appearing on the site on an unauthorised basis. YouTube then uses a sophisticated system to analyse clips uploaded to the site, and identify those videos that contain content which matches the reference files, and which could constitute copyright infringement.” I like many individuals recognize that this is an inevitable part of living in a capitalist system. However, I still feel Youtube to be at fault as their site like many others is based upon individual expression and freedom, and this is one step towards taking the internet out of the hands of the people.