Be Careful What You Tweet!

Breaking News! Twitter Scandal! Twitter Scandal! Twitter Scandal! Obviously I am extremely interested in the entertainment industry, and I have recently sprung a fascination for Twitter. Well there was a story today that angered me and made me laugh because of the sheer stupidity. Remember my post about reputation management? Well if you don't, I discussed how everything that you post stays on the Internet forever. Don't believe me?  You should because with today's technology even if you posted something 10 minutes ago and deleted it, there's a chance that millions of people have already seen it or even screen captured it. When you post something that could affect you personally, it may damage your reputation. However, the girl in this story not only damaged her reputation, but her future career plans and an episode of a television show. Without further ado, it is time to reveal the story that has made a lot of people quite furious.

It all started when an extra on Fox's hit show "Glee", Nicole Crowther, was doing a Q&A via Twitter. She apparently revealed numerous spoilers during her Q&A. However, one of the biggest spoilers happened when someone asked her about the upcoming prom episode, and she unfortunately revealed who the prom king and queen were going to be. That was one of the biggest mistakes she could have ever made. Before she knew it, the media had gotten a hold of the information. One of the co-creators of "Glee", Brad Falchuk, was furious and took to Twitter.  He said in his tweet, "hope you’re qualified to do something besides work in entertainment…Who are you to spoil something talented people have spent months to create?” It may seem cool that you have all of this information about the show that the average person doesn't know, but one of the main rules when working on set is that you don't reveal information about what you saw or heard until after it has aired.

Crowther later went on to delete the incriminating posts and apologize to Falchuk for her mistakes. Honestly, I don't think she realizes how stupid that was. I'm not a "Glee" fan, but I would be upset if somebody ruined a whole episode for me. Also, there are tons of people who worked on the episode that are upset because what may have been a magical surprise is ruined. Remember, it's okay to share your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, & blogs, but be careful because what you post may come back to bite you in the ___.  I would post a particular word, but I don't want it to haunt me later. :-)

Glee Scandal Yahoo
The Hollywood Reporter

Coachella Streaming Live!

My night is made. I just stayed up until 3 in the morning to watch one of my favorite artists, Kanye West,  perform live on the Coachella stage. Coachella is an annual music festival in Palm Springs, California that attracts all types of music enthusiasts. There is something for everyone to enjoy at this festival because of the diverse artists. Because of the expenses that come with this festival, obviously everyone can't afford to attend it. Luckily, Wrigley's 5 Gum came to the rescue by partnering with YouTube to present live sets from Coachella for FREE! Let's just say that the future is here.

So I began to watch the sets and realized that technology has taken us so far. Who knew that someone would be able to watch a live concert from Palm Springs, California in a college apartment in Waleska, Georgia. Not me. However, what I want to highlight is how new new media helped this to be an interactive experience. Of course the fact that YouTube has the technology to do this is amazing, but the way that they used other new new media platforms to connect people was even cooler. While watching Kanye West perform live, there were live Twitter feeds underneath the streaming video. This provided instant feedback from people all around the world.

So what's next? Only time will tell. I hope that people see how new new media is changing the world. For those who missed the live performances, YouTube will be archiving some of the sets for viewing. The quality of the video was superb, and the performances were excellent. Please visit the links below for more information.

Coachella YouTube Channel
CNET-Coachella
Mashable-Coachella

Diary of Facebook

For those who didn't see the 30-minute MTV special, "Diary of Facebook," it provided an inside look into the inner workings of the Facebook offices. "The Social Network," which was not a completely accurate story, showed the world how Facebook was created and the legal drama that came along with it. This particular MTV special about Facebook was refreshing because it showed not only how Facebook comes up with some of their ideas, but also how they have impacted many of their users. I don't want to give away too much of the special. Therefore, I am providing the link so that you can form your own opinion about it.

Diary of Facebook

Personal Branding: Reconnecting

New media are not dead, but new new media have definitely taken a precedence in terms of ways that people communicate with each other. I've said it before, and I will say it again. Today's society want things fast, but more importantly, they want things almost instantly. Think about the way our society works. We go to the ATM to get cash almost INSTANTLY. We use Netflix to watch movies almost INSTANTLY. We go to fast food establishments to get food almost INSTANTLY. Why? Because we are such a fast-paced society that doesn't have any time to waste. However, one thing that we should all take the time to do is brand ourselves online. In the past I have talked about the debate going on in regards to the purpose of new new media applications. Well, I have a new argument that shows exactly how new new media can help in ways that new media might not be able to.

HTC Inspire 4G

With technology and new new media steadily getting more and more advanced, you can't deny that people are more connected now more than ever. If someone writes on my Facebook wall, mentions me in a Twitter post, or comments on my blog, it all comes almost instantly to my phone as a notification. This allows people from all over the world to connect with each other on the go. It also allows you to reconnect with people that you don't necessarily want to call or text, but rather want more informal communication. So, I would like to share a story about how Facebook helped me to feel more confident about life after graduation.

For those who don't know, I successfully completed an internship this summer in Los Angeles with a high-profile production company. After leaving on extremely good terms, I expressed to them that I would be returning the next summer to live their permanently. They threw me a going away party and told me to make sure that I called them as soon as I got back. Once I returned to school, I began to get busy with the many tasks of the semester. However, I still tried to keep in contact with my co-workers in Los Angeles. At first I would call every once in a while, but I felt like I was keeping them away from their busy schedules. Then I tried e-mail, and although that can be sent and received almost instantly, e-mail can get buried easily under numerous other e-mails. Finally, I kept in contact via Facebook. Whether it was writing on their wall, commenting on their status, or liking one of their photos, I did whatever I could to make sure that I was not forgotten. Even though I did all of this, there was still no sign that they still felt the same way about me as they did when I left. Well, the other day I posted a video on my wall and my former boss in Los Angeles commented!

So I basically used social media to reconnect with my boss and get confirmation that they want me to work for them on the ESPYS again! I'm telling you, social media are your friends. It's a way to keep up with people you care about, share thoughts and ideas about what's important to you, and reconnect with those that are far away. Personal Branding is good way for others to keep up with you and see what you are accomplishing. Employers enjoy a good resume, but they also enjoy potential employees who show that they are doing positive things in life. So what do you think? I think that personal branding can definitely work in your favor. Try it out!

Social Media Meets Westboro

Rage has filled my heart over the past couple of days because of the way that the Westboro Baptist Church spreads their agenda. Have you heard of Westboro Baptist Church? Basically, Westboro is a church based out of Kansas that has hate filled in their heart. Most of the members of the church are related, and they all follow their leader, Fred Phelps. Long story short, they protests at military funerals, gay events, political functions, etc. However, their message is so extreme and judgemental that I don't understand how they think that condemning people to hell is positive in God's eyes.

Recently, Spc. Gary L. Nelson III, a 20-year old Woodstock native, was laid to rest. Although this was a sad time for family and friends, worse news came even later. The Westboro Baptist Church had made it known that they would be protesting the funeral. Because I have been in Georgia all of my life, I know how seriously Georgia citizens take their faith and religious morals. Disturbing a funeral in any way is already disrespectful, but for Westboro to interrupt a funeral with hate signs and messages is pure evil.

I had not heard anything about this prior to Wednesday of last week. One day while on Facebook I began to notice some of my friends Facebook statuses talking about a local soldier whose funeral was going to be invaded by the Westboro Baptist Church. There was a Facebook group created called "Operation Block Westboro," and many people spread the word via Twitter. We've talked about the social media revolution in  Egypt, but it was cool to see how social media affected a local cause. People soon began to show their support via social media. Thankfully, on the day of the funeral there were hundreds of supporters, and city officials ready to stop Westboro from spreading their hate.

So what was the result of the Operation Block Westboro vs. Westboro Baptist Church? Let's just say that Westboro did not show up at the funeral. Could it be because of the large number of supporters that were made aware of the situation via social media? It could be, but we don't know what actually stopped Westboro from showing up. Nevertheless, although all of this news was spreading rapidly through new new media (blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.), I still did not see an official news report until yesterday on WSB-TV. It did not mention the fact that Westboro was supposed to show, but rather just showed the supporters. However, an article published in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution clearly expressed how social media may have been the reason why Westboro was a no-show.

Article in AJC talking about Spc. Gary L. Nelson III

Residual Culture

Yes! Chapter 3 in Jenkins was such a pleasure to read because it's something that I have been thinking about for a while now. In our communication classes, we often talk about how easy it is to access things from the past thanks to the internet. For example, in the earlier days, the moment you saw an event or something at an event, heard something on the radio, or even watched something on television, that was it. However, with new new media, everything is readily available. Once something has been seen or heard then it is forever going to be available for the public to use. One of the interesting things that Jenkins talks about is how corporations have tried for so long to be in control of the circulation of goods. Jenkins says, "In both uses, residual refers to the economic value generated through the after-life of material objects and media performances. Objects and texts are never fully emptied of value—whether exchange, use, symbolic, or sentimental. These multiple meanings of residual suggest that these materials' ongoing sentimental and symbolic interest may still generate profit long after their initial exchange and use-value has vanished from our memories" (Jenkins, 42). Basically, today's technology has made it even easier to bring value to things from the past. 

There are many examples of Residual Culture that Jenkins presented in this chapter. However, the section on wrestling is what stood out to me. He discussed how wrestling fans were responsible for the humongous wrestling industry that we know of today. With the help of newer technology, wrestling fans from different regions were able to see how different wrestling was across the country. Fans began to compare tapes from different regions, meet other fans, have discussions, and make complaints. This meant that promoters were put in a tough situation if one region had better quality shows than another. This lead to the merging of two of the largest regions, and created the wrestling we know of today. Instead of wrestling just fading into the background as just a fad, fans helped to turn it into a supersport.

In this class, we have discussed how new new media has taken control from the corporations and put it back in the hands of the consumers. In other words, the relationship between the consumer and seller has changed dramatically over the years. Before it seems as if products were just offered to the consumer without any of their input. Now, the consumer is the driving force in terms of what motivates the creation of new products, revision of old products, and the return of forgotten products. Jenkins, in continuation of the last quote, says, " Media producers have historically acted as if they needed to protect their franchise from the rough handling of their fans, seeing them as potentially depreciating the value of their intellectual property by changing its meaning in popular perception. Yet, our exploration of the residual here suggests the opposite—that fans appreciate media properties, both in the sense that they like them and also that they thus make them a site of emotional investments" (Jenkins, 42).  Media producers don't have control over the consumers anymore, and there is not really anything they can do about it. There's still laws and restrictions that attempt to stop the fans from having power, but there is no stopping the consumer these days. For example, Jenkins talks about how fans have created a modern platform where they can play old video games from older platforms on modern devices. Marketers are finally realizing that there is value in the retro, now they just need to listen to the consumers and fans. 

Consumer Change

Generational Gap

What's really going on? I honestly can't explain it, but some people from previous generations refuse to accept the benefits of Web 2.0. For example, over the summer while in the car with one of my parents friends, she began to blatantly criticize the use of Web 2.0. All she did was talk about the negative reports that she had heard about Facebook & Twitter. However, you can't judge a book or movie just by what the critics say.

While we were really slow at work the other day, I took the time to add to an unfinished blog post on my personal blog. While I was writing, one of my co-workers brought up social media, but he was even more critical than my parents friend. This guy is maybe in his late 30s, but he was completely against Web 2.0. So I saw this as the perfect opportunity to defend it based on what we have been discussing in our Capstone class. FAIL! He would not listen to any point that I tried to make. I tried to explain to him about personal branding and how businesses are moving online, but he completely disagreed. Below I will list some of his main issues with Web 2.0, and then I will share my response for each one.

#1- Blogging

He was completely against blogging because he didn't see the need to share all of your information with the public. Why should I allow a stranger from a random place in the world in my life? That was basically his philosophy. I began to explain to him that my blog originated because of my interest in keeping people updated about my internship experience in Los Angeles, and that it turned into a motivational/inspirational blog that encourages people to reach for their dreams. He said that if he wanted to write a diary or journal he would just buy one.

#2 - Facebook/Twitter

His main reason for not using Facebook/Twitter was because it sounded like he just didn't care about what other people were doing. However, he also didn't see why he needed to share his information with people he rarely talks to anymore. He says everybody has about 4-6 close friends, and those friends are the only ones that he needs to tell about his life. I personally see it as another way to network. Also, it can help you reconnect with people from your past and people you just met. For example, Facebook is one of the only ways that I keep in touch with the people I worked with this summer. Of course I could still e-mail them, but e-mail is not what it used to be. I tried so hard to convince him that there were many benefits to social media, but he just wouldn't listen.

#3 Personal Branding

This topic hit a nerve because he basically said that personal branding was stupid. Since this is the trend I am following, "How we use Web 2.0 to brand ourselves online," I was ready to let him know exactly how I felt. Even though I explained to him that in this generation employers are now moving online and learning about people before they even hire them, he wouldn't change his mind. He told me that personal branding is perfect for the industry that I am planning on entering, but not for the average person. Then one of my other co-workers jumped in to defend his claim. I am still a little upset about this defeat.

Anyway, I didn't win the debate, but I will not let it be over. I need some good thoughts to take back to work so that I can convince him that Web 2.0 is not going anywhere and he needs to hop aboard before he gets left behind. Help me guys! I really want to win this debate. I know I can win because there are many points that could really make him think. Check out this article below that talks about someone else who became frustrated with the generational gap.


The Generation Gap