Posts Tagged ‘media’
En préparation de l’évènement Unethical web event qui prendra place le 15 Septembre 2001, Simon Gouth, marketing professionnel pour Redfront considère de quelle façon, les faux profiles créés en ligne on une répercussion qui ne ce limite pas seulement au fait de remplir la boite de courrier indésirables des utilisateurs.
Journalism is filled with ideas. Many of them ‘bold’. Some of them ‘great’. A few might even be ‘good’. But rarely are any ‘innovative’. There is a preconceived idea in many media companies that the future is what you follow, i.e. ‘we will do that when our competitor does that as well’.
Bots! Twitter bots to be precise. Mention a certain keyword and Shakespeare or Tyler Durden, All-The-Cheeses or Bot Marley will have something to say in response. In doing so they take something away from the personal interaction of Twitter.
With more than 583 million members including 60% of US Internet users you could be forgiven for thinking that Facebook didn’t have much further to go before it achieved complete global domination. In Japan it’s a very different story, evidence of a chasm between Eastern and Western sensibilities. Rachel Pictor explores the issue which was reported this month in The New York Times.
We have reached a point with social media and web technology that allows the creative industries to design immersive and interactive experiences for the audience.
The Old Spice YouTube ad’s were a great example of interactive advertising where the participants can solicit a personal response from the advertiser. Whilst more sophisticated story telling can be achieved by giving the audience the ‘directors chair’ letting them select shots, angles and deciding how the plays out.
These interactive experiences do take many forms and Tony Wright, a digital marketing and social media executive, takes a look at a number of recent examples which have caught his attention.
Tony is a big enthusiast and advocate of social media and the first to drown colleagues with case studies at the slight hint of a raised eyebrow as to the potential and power of online debate, discussion and across the board creativity.
You can find out more about Tony by following his blog.
Over the last 12 months, much has been hyped about the further emergence of HD television and Hollywood’s new obsession with 3D. Amongst all of this visual advancement, one gem that deserves to shine far brighter than it has done is that of ‘interactive’ video, one that offers a participatory experience with its audience.
It might be some time before the latest cinema blockbuster drags choose your own adventure books onto the big screen, but increasingly, we’re seeing great attempts at letting an audience member determine the visual that’s presented to them. From government campaigns to tackle gun crime to simple online video quizzes and promotional tools from the music industry, the viewer’s moving further away from the front row, into the projection room or further still, into the director’s chair.
Lots of typical content consumers wont be interested in being so hands on with the material they’re served and some would argue that it’s a video producer’s job, not an audience member, to provide something that deserves attention, though with a great idea, considered execution and ‘insert more ‘think outside of the box‘ jive here’ the finished product can serve up a fresh, engaging and involving experience that a simple start/stop button set up can’t touch.
Here’s just a few of the interesting ways video’s been getting used throughout the past couple of months -
Arcade Fire music video
A collaboration between producer Chris Milk and Google’s Chrome browser, the band’s video for ‘The Wilderness Downtown’ takes a visitors childhood postcode and uses HTML5 to explode a storm of nostalgia across the computer screen, complete with layered maps from Google Street View and an interactive ‘write to the old you’ segment.
Artist reality TV streams
Always a genre to push the boundaries not only of traditional music structure but promotion, several prominent rappers in the world of Grime have been taking to UStream.TV to interact with live chat rooms of fans as they wander their houses, talking about rival artists, forthcoming releases and even making new material before the viewers’ eyes. Number one selling artist Wiley answers questions whilst squatting flies in his living room and searching his fridge for snacks.
‘What’d you do?’ story-boarding
Increasing popular with ad agencies tasked with getting government campaigns noticed by the younger generations they target, series’ of video clips are being uploaded to Youtube with a narrative running through them, strung together by clip overlays that instruct viewers to go down particular routes.
Video quizzes
And when it’s Friday afternoon, you don’t feel like rap music or learning not to stab people, there’s always the digitalised office quiz.
Fan filmed movies
Taking inspiration from Beastie Boys’ ‘I Fuckin’ Shot This’ a group of Radiohead fans from around the world grouped up in Prague to each record a concert by the band from multiple angles. The footage was then glued together to provide one of the most up front and personal concert films you’re likely to find, far surpassing the intimacy that any officially approved film could offer. The beauty of this one is, it’s free to download in multiple formats and has been given approval by the band itself.
If you fancy yourself as a movie maker, be sure to check out the Digital Revolutions ‘How Digital Technology Changed My Life‘ competition which has a top prize of £5,000 for professionals and £10,000 for amateurs.
Ironically the first Old Spice fragrance was originally designed for women and was only introduced for men in 1937, yet the fragrance has been a prominent male American brand for over 70 years.
Dominated by a nautical theme of sailing ships, clippers and more recently yachts the brand classic buoy shaped design has been a staple product with many famous actors including Bruce Campbell, Neil Patrick Harris and more recently Isaiah Mustafa endorsing it.
And if you are young enough to remember, the original 1970′s Old Spice TV ads featured a surfer risking life and limb to manoeuvre through the wake of huge waves, a glamorous and seductive woman waiting for him back on shore and the thundering voices from “O Fortuna” by Carl Orff.
However, all that changed with the recent social media rebranding campaign that generated over 40 million video views and over 1.4 billion impressions.
Wieden+Kennedy recently released a case study of the recent Old Spice social media campaign, calling it “the fastest-growing and most popular interactive campaign in history”
Actor Isaiah Mustafa stars in the video as character ‘Old Spice man’, recording and putting out over 200 videos (so far) featuring answers to questions received via social networking channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Digg.
This is a great example of combining traditional TV production methods and realtime social media technologies with a very creative team, one that managed to write nearly 200 ads in 48 hours creating incredibly funny and personalised content.
Questions to Old Spice man came from the general public and well known web personalities including Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres, Guy Kawasaki and Digg Founder Kevin Rose.
This is will undoubtedly become a referenced case study for how a brands can use social media effectively to engage with fans in entertaining, innovative and realtime way.
Whether this will be a case study that demonstrated real commercial returns is another question; Ad Week reported sales of Old Spice body wash had declined by 7% over the past year.
On the other hand the Wieden+Kennedy are naturally claiming success with a sales increase of 107% within the last month, as to whether this is sustainable that has yet to be seen.
However, if you still yearn to be that surfer with the 70′s lifestyle and side burns you can still experience this on You Tube
Paul Adams, a senior user experience researcher at Google created an extremely rich and insightful presentation looking at the challenges that real-life social networks bring to web design.
When it comes to reflecting our real life social networks into what could be considered rudimentary online networks, there is a real design challenge in terms representing how your friends, colleagues and associates inter-relate to each other.
Social technologies such as Facebook and Twitter have a homogenised view of friendship; they group everyone together. This typically doesn’t reflect how real friendships are nurtured and naturally creates communication challenges.
For example, not everyone will want to know on a daily basis about your fondness of cats, or wants to know about your regular eating habits.
So next time before you tag your photo’s on Facebook, Flickr or send that Tweet consider who will actually see it and do they need to?
Just as the Internet gives businesses the opportunity to speak directly with their customers and staff, the net allows politicians to talk to their constituencies without going through the mass media gatekeepers that have controlled political communications for most of the last century.
However there are risks with this as the Internet increases accountability and magnifies gaffes; a mistake in a remote electorate that may not have been even noticed by the press corps ten years ago can today be the lead story on the evening news thanks to an audience member with a mobile phone.
Communicating on the Internet is more than just a website, a Facebook page, YouTube channel or a Twitter account.
This article uses the word “Internet” rather than “social media” or “social networking” deliberately — while every social platform and online communication channel brings its own unique set of circumstances, there are common themes all these platforms possess;
1. You’ve put it in writing
As soon as a tweet, blog post or email is sent or published, it is in writing against your name. Nothing is deniable. So if you wouldn’t put something in a letter, don’t put it on the Internet.
2. Everything you do online is permanent
You can delete an email, tweet or blog post after sending it but there will always be a copy somewhere. Nothing on the net is ever completely deleted. So think before pressing send.
3. All online comment is publishing
Prior to the Internet, publishing involved owning or hiring a printing press, radio station or television studio. Today anyone with a £300 computer or mobile phone is a publisher. Every time you press “submit” you are publishing a comment with all the same potential consequences as writing an article or campaign flier.
4. Off line rules apply online
Many people on the net have the idea rules don’t apply online. Those people are wrong, defamation and electoral rules apply online as much as they do offline. What’s more, the Internet magnifies errors and dishonesty. Even if you haven’t strictly broken the rules, you still may find an ethical lapse could sink your campaign.
The difference when you do it online is that the record is permanent and available world wide, that’s why it’s called the World Wide Web.
5. The net makes copying easy
In a digital world, all content is endlessly reproducible, so your material can be copied, altered and distributed easily. This was a lesson learned by a few London lawyers ten years ago. Learn from their mistakes and use it to your advantage.
6. Nothing is off the record
Everything you write on the Internet is on the record; an offhand Twitter comment is just as official as a press conference or media release. So keep the smart comments off line. If you’re going to be rude about someone, don’t put it in writing on the net even if the message is supposed to be private.
7. Online private and public domains are blurred
While there are private channels on the Internet, the boundaries between them are not always clear. For instance a Facebook group can be seen by anyone who is a member, so postings in that group can be passed on from there.
It’s also easy to make mistakes; a private Twitter message could go public if you hit the wrong key. There’s no shortage of horror stories where people have been included on email messages that were never intended for them.
8. Be transparent and consistent
As a research tool, the Internet gives media, the voters and your opponents the opportunity to quickly verify every statement you make. If you are going say the pound collapsed when your opponents were in government, check this really did happen. If your party promises a can of baked beans in every household then details of The National Baked Bean Access Program have to be online.
9. The Internet loves a vacuum
Should you leave questions unanswered, or if you make an empty promise with no supporting information, then you’ll find no shortage of people on the net willing to fill the blanks for you. Leaving people guessing is the quickest way to get an issue spinning out of control.
10. Be careful of delegating
It’s tempting to give the job of social media expert to the youngest staffer or volunteer in the office, however you are responsible for everything written. So if you delegate, think carefully. Blaming an over enthusiastic intern or contractor is rarely a good look even if it is true.
A good example of this was Hugh Jackman’s Sydney Opera Center gaffe which was clearly a Tweet from someone who wasn’t Australian. While for Hugh it was a minor embarrassment, a similar mistake could derail a political campaign or career.
11. Think before you tweet
The best measure for posting on the internet is never to say anything you’d be embarrassed to explain to your mother. In a political context, don’t say anything you’d be uncomfortable justifying to your party leader, whip or the host of a radio talk back program.
12. Engage with your audience
You need to be adding value, while mediums like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are quite effective for getting out prepared material, that isn’t using those channels to their full potential. The word “social” in “social media” indicates how they have become communities where people exchange views and participate. Your Facebook pages and Twitter streams should be engaging voters and acting as a rallying point for supporters. Think of them as a virtual 24/7 town hall meeting.
13. The net is a big playground
The Internet is a perfect democracy. Everyone who chooses to participate has a voice.
This means the informed, engaged and intelligent have an equal voice with the ignorant, deranged and obsessed. While it is important to listen to what the lunatic fringe have to say, you don’t have to engage with them.
14. You are judged by your company
Be careful of joining online groups or being too closely associated with individuals who may be an embarrassment. Facebook is particularly bad for this as you’ll get many offers to join groups. Resist most of the invitations as even the funny ones could backfire.
15. Play nice
On the net, you should never get into a fight. The classic Dilbert cartoon strip once said “don’t argue with an idiot, they just drag you down to their level where they beat you with their logic.”
The Internet is the greatest invention for idiots, giving them a forum to exercise their ideas and find like minded fools. Don’t join, argue or engage with them, you’ll only encourage them.
16. Don’t get clever
One thing the Internet doesn’t do very well is humour, sarcasm and irony. So be very careful with the smart comments as what would be a funny off-hand line at a press conference or walk around could be totally misinterpreted online.
Another problem is context which is easily lost on the net; be careful with statements that could be taken poorly by those not aware of the surrounding circumstances. This is particularly true with Twitter where it can be difficult for bystanders to understand the entire online exchange.
17. The web is worldwide
There’s no such thing as an intimate chat online. Everything you do could be passed on. You may only have a thousand Facebook friends or Twitter followers but if each of them has a similar following, that’s an immediate audience of a million people. Treat each tweet, post or update as if it is going out on the Morning Show or 7.30 report.
Similarly, some political organisers think the web is best for rallying the troops. That’s a dangerous idea as many teenagers have discovered when a horde of gatecrashers have turned up to their Facebook advertised parties. Your political opponents are probably taking as much interest in your posts as your supporters.
18. Don’t deceive
The New Yorker once said “on the Internet no-one knows you’re a dog”. So it’s tempting to set up anonymous accounts and webpages to discredit your opponent or derail their campaigns.
In reality, your posts in dog food forums will probably give you away and all but the most sophisticated hoaxer will leave clues in their digital footprint. Even if you cover your tracks, being mischievous can bring you unstuck.
You need to also keep your volunteers and staff aware of this; by all means let them engage, promote and defend your positions but make it clear that underhand and childish stunts will hurt more than help.
The digital natives will tell you old media is dying and only the Internet matters while older journos will mutter darkly into their beers about the net being a passing fad. Both are wrong.
Mainstream media and the Internet increasingly rely on each other as sources and distribution channels. Tools like Twitter help journalists find sources and spread stories while the news papers and TV shows provide material for Twitter and Facebook users.
Where the Internet works particularly well is enhancing the “traditional’ channels of community meetings, media appearances, fliers and articles. What you can’t say in a 15 second TV ad or 500 word article can be expanded on and enhanced online because you aren’t subject to other peoples’ restrictions and guidelines.
20. Experiment and learn
In a risk adverse world it’s easy to ask why you should bother with the Internet as most voters are still getting their information through mass media and advertising spending is still largely used for broadcast ads.
The reason you need to be on the Internet is because your constituency is moving online and the broadcast journalists are online. You need to be listening to them and to understand how issues are developing and how these channels are being used.
As these tools develop, they are going to become more powerful. The politician who ignores them today and misunderstands how the medium works could find themselves being remembered in the same way Richard Nixon was in 1960.
Our society is increasingly using the Internet to debate and develop new ideas. If you hope to be part of those ideas, you need to be part of the debate.
You can read more about Paul Wallbank at http://paulwallbank.com/
Over the past six weeks media140 has been fortunate to have access to Valerio Veo, Head of SBS News and Current Affairs Online as he covered the World Cup in South Africa.
Filing a number of posts with media140, Valerio has captured some of his thoughts from the games as he reported on the ground with a plethora of real time technology, gadgets and applications.
However, as the World Cup comes to a close we take a different look behind the smiles, the characters, the noise of the vuvuzela’s and spirit of the first World Cup as Valerio leaves us with a brief piece looking at it’s impact and lasting legacy
After a couple of weeks of balmy winter sunshine, the rain has set back in over Cape Town, just like it did when I first arrived almost six weeks ago.
It seems a perfect book-end to my time here in South Africa … the crowds are disappearing, the barriers coming down and the ‘sad cow’ cry of the vuvuzela is waning from the streets.
So what will remain after the World Cup party packs up for another four years? FIFA President Sepp Blatter visited the SBS studios for a chat two days ago and expressed vindication at the apparent risky decision to award Africa it’s first World Cup.
He pointed to education and health programs being instigated across Africa as one of the lasting legacies of this tournament – but speaking to normal Capetonians, there is a far deeper legacy and paramount shift in the way this country perceives itself.
South Africans feel this event is vindication that this fledgling democracy can mix it with the world’s best and host the biggest sporting event without fear.
Speaking to some of our crew at a wrap dinner a couple of nights ago – they say the World Cup has proven to the government and the authorities that they can tackle the issues holding them back, that crime and poverty can be overcome, that they alone have the power to continue building this nation in a positive way.
Locals admit its far safer to travel around South Africa now than before the World Cup, (‘where did all these police come from’, one told me) but that its proof that the streets can be safe, and that the police should lock up criminal elements regardless of their skin colour.
The same goes for infrastructure – Capetonians are amazed at how smoothly everything has run and how easily the city coped with the hordes of tourists and football fans that descended on the city over the course of the last month.
Poverty and employment continue to be the greatest challenge, but with the South African economy weathering the global economic crisis and investments booming here, small yet significant steps are being taken to continue the rise of South Africa.
Most important is the titanic shift in thinking from the very soul of this country, that the World Cup is not so much an end point, but a starting point for South Africa to prove itself as a dynamic, significant and relatively safe nation that deserved its starring role on this global stage.
Ke nako – can you feel it? It is here…
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