Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Discussion Questions

Today many TV shows and advertisements try to look amateurish or "homegrown" to emulate what is often seen on the Web. Do you think professional production values will continue to drop, or do you think amateur user-generated content will get better over time? WHY??

We live in the “You Tube” generation; that is to say that we are in the middle of an era in which an average person can make a video and have it seen by thousands of people. Advertisers in order to sell their ware wish to relate to the public as much as possible, so it is logical to assume that they would try to craft their advertisements to the media quality they are used to on You Tube or other such sites. However, I believe that in the end it is the idea of the advertisements or even television shows that govern things like production values. If the core concept for television spot calls for high production values than the creators will attempt to cater to that idea as much as possible, on the other hand if the idea calls for an amateurish feel to it like videos that could be found on You Tube than creators will cater to that to. However, some videos on You Tube although were not made by huge media companies but by a small team of people or even on person can have great production values if the concept calls for it. The idea governs the concept. 

Videos:

In this video CBS correspondents discuss the best and worst ads of  Super Bowl 2011. They talk about how the idea governs the content.

This video was not made by a special effects studio, but one person. The creator had an interesting idea that required good special affects. This so called amateurish video could rival some high production television shows.
What social media sites do you find yourself using the most, and why? In your opinion why is Facebook so much more successful than MySpace, and do you think Facebook is "here to stay" for the long term.

The social media site that I use the most is Face Book. Face Book has become my main social media site is because most of my friends use Face book; it has become the main platform in which I can communicate with my friends. I believe that Face Book has become more popular than sites like MySpace is because Face book offers more options than MySpace. In Face Book people are better able to craft their desired online identity. Face Book is easier to navigate with its cleaner layout, and it features games such as "Farmville." In the end Face Book is more versatile than MySpace. 

Why is transparency such an important concept in the Social Media world? Is it MORE or LESS important in the offline world? Why?

Transparency is such an important concept in the social media world because when people follow a particular blogger or a You Tuber there is a certain amount of trust that is involved in the   relationship. If for instance a blogger was reviewing a certain product such as a video game than fans of the blogger would expect the blogger to be as honest as possible; if the blogger was flown to Florida all expenses paid in order to see the game early, than the blogger is expected to reveal that fact. Followers of certain game reviewers expect as much honesty as possible. Some game reviewers understand the dynamics of the social capital they have built up with their fans so much that reviewers on sites like Bitmob deliberately do not take all expenses paid trips to California or other places to preview games earlier because it might hurt their credibility; despite the fact that not previewing the game might hurt the site as not many people might visit it.
In the offline world I believe that transparency is just as important, if not more so than it is in the online world. As citizens of a free and democratic nation we want our government to be as transparent as possible. People like to know what goes on behind the scenes when our leaders make decisions that affect all of our lives. The need for transparency also goes for our news source. People depend on places like CNN, MSNBC, or even Fox to be honest an as open as possible on how they gather the news.

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