Social networking has become the craze of the day. Some of the features that make networking site like Orkut a favourite and “must access” website for most people today are:
· Getting connected easily with anyone and everyone- a stranger/ friend/ ally/ collaborator far and wide by way of scraps
· Posting and sharing photos and videos
· Joining communities that provide a forum/ platform/ set of tools for people to have private, semiprivate, or public gatherings on the site regardless of geography or time.
I remember how all of a sudden I got this email invitation from my buddy in June 2006, to join Orkut and how I was wondering in my head about what this Orkut could be all about. Around that time, I had heard a little about it so I thought of exploring further ahead and no sooner I found myself as a member since having a gmail account gave me easy access to membership in Orkut.
Once I entered this planet, I was asked to create a profile that can evince information varying from “my hometown” to “things I learned from my past relationship”. So it’s entirely left to the sole discretion of the user as to how much of information to provide. Orkut organizes the profile information of any user in 3 broad categories: Social, Professional & Personal.
I also remember during my second day the number of friends in my list was 10 and within the first week of joining Orkut the number increased to 30. It’s been two years or so and my present number of friends is 300 (includes only people I know; again Orkut has made classifications in this category- haven’t met, acquaintance, friend, good friend, best friend). On the same context, there are people who have such huge number of friends on their list as they include anyone and everyone they fancy or who fancies them. I myself receive an average of 2 requests almost on a daily basis from strangers with one-liners such as, “Can I make friends with you? or You are cute, please by my friend.” I find such requests nonsensical and immediately discard them. There are cases when a person wants to extend a rapport built from a one-day meeting to a longer association, they choose forums like Orkut/ Facebook to add that new friend of theirs and thereby stay in touch.
It is commonly warned about posting pictures in Orkut especially for girls, as there can be misuse of pictures by other users. However this hasn’t stopped me from posting my pictures as lately, Orkut has enhanced its privacy settings such that only the user’s friends (those in the user’s list) can access the photos, scraps and videos. And if at any point if one has been targeted with abusive and vulgur expressions either in scraps or communities, Orkut provides for “Report abuse” option. If such request is given by a large number of users, the profile of the ‘user in crime’ will be deleted from Orkut by Google. Talking about communities, existing ones can migrate online and flourish in an interactive environment (church youth group, alumni organizations), providing a virtual home for groups interested in sharing, organizing and communicating information valuable to cultivating vibrant communities
Just like Orkut, Facebook too has become my “daily must open” website along with my email sites and I spend at least half an hour on each of these sites exclusively. I joined Facebook very recently; probably less than a year, again by way of invitation, but unlike Orkut this doesn’t need any specific email id- anyone with any email id can join. And I enjoy it much better than Orkut. Simply because of the USP of Facebook- the variety of applications that are test based. People can add applications like “What is the color of your heart? or Which sign you should date? or which fruit are you?” Simple questions that entice you to add such application which further makes you do a test and then send this application to (a minimum of) 15 friends, only by doing so it enables you to check your results. Unique, pretty nice, introspective and engaging- few keywords I would attribute to Facebook.
These networking sites have made a big difference to my life, rather my social life as it has expanded my circle of friends and helped me get connected to a vast number of people-new and old, my existing classmates, my school and college friends- people I had no idea whether and how I would get in touch with them- Orkut and Facebook brought them all under one umbrella for me.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
sucked into the world of social networking?
Although Orkut was my very first taste of ‘social networking’ online, today it I neglect it as I chose something else over it, something else called Facebook. Although both these social networking groups have similar features and functions, one of the main reasons why I prefer Facebook over Orkut is because only people who I choose to network with have access to my profile. Although initially Orkut did have me hooked onto its novelty I was soon put off by the million strangers who checked out my profile and made strange remarks. (Would you want to make frandships with me/I think you are beautiful/I like your photos and I want to meet you, superb name etc etc).
Social networking groups such as these have helped me get in touch with several people who I have known, met and lost touch with over the years. It makes it more convenient for me to get in touch and also stay in touch with people from all over the world. As one can upload photographs (as much as 60 in each album) and also check other peoples’ photo albums it makes it easier to keep track of the events in the lives of people who belong to your social groups. ‘Scraps’, which are brief messages can be sent across quickly at a greater ease than e-mails, proving to be more convenient.
My observations of late are that using these websites have become a new past time, almost like a new hobby. People spend hours online editing their profiles, making it look more appealing and checking out other people’s profiles too. It’s become a rage of sorts. It’s possible to keep track of other people’s lives through their profiles, if they are active on that website by checking their ‘scraps’ (which is openly accessible) and looking through their photo albums. I know friends of mine who know what is happening in my life only by following my Facebook profile, whether it’s good or bad is only a matter of perception. Personally, I think it’s largely become a form of entertainment and I openly admit that I’m party to it and that it helps me kill time mindlessly. But well, all said and done, one could say it’s just another form of expression. Another way of creating an identity for yourself and having the choice to re-create it over and over again.
Orkut also has the concept of forming communities which provides a platform for like-minded people to interact with each other and discuss any issue under the sun. Communities can be created easily and discussions happen within them, enabling people to discuss freely, debate, learn, spread information and just exchange information cutting across boundaries, thereby expanding their ideas and perceptions.
Although it does serve all the purposes that have been mentioned above and maybe many more, there have been several complaints against these kinds of networking websites. Some such complaints have been against acts such as the creation of hate-communities which propagated violence and hate, the creation of false identities, uploading obscene photos, obscene scraps and comments.
Websites such as these have been useful for me to get in touch with people I’ve not stayed in touch with otherwise and also to upload photographs which others want a copy of. Like most other new technology or service these social networking websites have their benefits as well as their flaws. These social networking websites which have several of us wrapped around their novelty would eventually be replaced by something else once our current fancies fade away, it’s only a matter of time.
Social networking groups such as these have helped me get in touch with several people who I have known, met and lost touch with over the years. It makes it more convenient for me to get in touch and also stay in touch with people from all over the world. As one can upload photographs (as much as 60 in each album) and also check other peoples’ photo albums it makes it easier to keep track of the events in the lives of people who belong to your social groups. ‘Scraps’, which are brief messages can be sent across quickly at a greater ease than e-mails, proving to be more convenient.
My observations of late are that using these websites have become a new past time, almost like a new hobby. People spend hours online editing their profiles, making it look more appealing and checking out other people’s profiles too. It’s become a rage of sorts. It’s possible to keep track of other people’s lives through their profiles, if they are active on that website by checking their ‘scraps’ (which is openly accessible) and looking through their photo albums. I know friends of mine who know what is happening in my life only by following my Facebook profile, whether it’s good or bad is only a matter of perception. Personally, I think it’s largely become a form of entertainment and I openly admit that I’m party to it and that it helps me kill time mindlessly. But well, all said and done, one could say it’s just another form of expression. Another way of creating an identity for yourself and having the choice to re-create it over and over again.
Orkut also has the concept of forming communities which provides a platform for like-minded people to interact with each other and discuss any issue under the sun. Communities can be created easily and discussions happen within them, enabling people to discuss freely, debate, learn, spread information and just exchange information cutting across boundaries, thereby expanding their ideas and perceptions.
Although it does serve all the purposes that have been mentioned above and maybe many more, there have been several complaints against these kinds of networking websites. Some such complaints have been against acts such as the creation of hate-communities which propagated violence and hate, the creation of false identities, uploading obscene photos, obscene scraps and comments.
Websites such as these have been useful for me to get in touch with people I’ve not stayed in touch with otherwise and also to upload photographs which others want a copy of. Like most other new technology or service these social networking websites have their benefits as well as their flaws. These social networking websites which have several of us wrapped around their novelty would eventually be replaced by something else once our current fancies fade away, it’s only a matter of time.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
social networking
Social networking has become a fad and is catching up at a scorching pace. Everybody is hooked on to one or more social networking sites. It has become a sort of “in” thing to be part of one of these sites. Through these sites it is very convenient to find classmates dating back to your kindergarten days or present working colleagues or classmates.
Of the many social networking sites that are there the ones that I frequent would be “facebook aka FB” and “orkut”. Initially when these social networking sites started gaining popularity among my friends circle I was the last one to join it. I wasn’t that hooked on to the internet so once everybody was way into the whole social networking fever I joined the then famous “hi5” which has completely become obsolete. I have even forgotten my password and user id. But then from there on I have been completely hooked on to these sites. It took me a while to get the hang of “orkut” and even more to get the hang of “FB”. In fact when everybody moved on from “orkut” to “FB” because it was a lot more private, I was just beginning to enjoy “orkut” but then everybody I knew stopped using “orkut” and was more hooked on to “FB” so I had to move on. It was difficult in the beginning. I couldn’t understand a think on “FB” but once I got a hang of it I just can’t stay without checking my “FB” account every two days.
I spend an average of 5 hours sometimes when I am on FB. Time just flies. On both these websites I basically just mail friends, upload my recent pictures and keep in touch with long lost friends. It is total time pass because I get to meet some of my school friends who I haven’t seen after class 10. Sometimes I get to see friends whom I haven’t seen in years because of change of city and profession. I dint really make new friends through these websites because I have more than enough but it is really very addictive. Nowadays when we friends or family go out, I take my camera along just to take picture so that I can put them on FB and share them with my friends and family. Even when we friends go out we want to take nice pictures so in can be put on FB.
The best think about FB is that there are these applications that u can send to friends or receive from them and some of them are totally worth the time spent on it. There are applications like “what colour is your heart” “what kind of a mom will you be” and “what does your birthday say about you”. You can also create your own application and post it so that it can be used by FB users.
In FB I get comments made on my photos and messages written on my wall. It is extremely private where I can choose to allow friends that I accept to view only my partial profile or my full profile. Friends whom I am not close to but have sent me a friend request can only see my partial profile which is a good option the FB gives. Even though I have friends who are in the same place but don’t get the time to talk to them, FB helps me that. With the digital world everybody is hooked on to the internet and everybody I know is on FB so I just send him or her “a poke” which FB offers. By just poking someone it says that “hi. ‘m still around”.
But these sites have their cons too, especially where sharing private info and photos are concerned. If hacked it can be copied and morphed and god alone knows what else can be done with the info that is posted in our profile. As of now I am totally hooked on to FB and I think its great but boredom is a very basic human tendency and I may also get bored of “Facebook”.
Of the many social networking sites that are there the ones that I frequent would be “facebook aka FB” and “orkut”. Initially when these social networking sites started gaining popularity among my friends circle I was the last one to join it. I wasn’t that hooked on to the internet so once everybody was way into the whole social networking fever I joined the then famous “hi5” which has completely become obsolete. I have even forgotten my password and user id. But then from there on I have been completely hooked on to these sites. It took me a while to get the hang of “orkut” and even more to get the hang of “FB”. In fact when everybody moved on from “orkut” to “FB” because it was a lot more private, I was just beginning to enjoy “orkut” but then everybody I knew stopped using “orkut” and was more hooked on to “FB” so I had to move on. It was difficult in the beginning. I couldn’t understand a think on “FB” but once I got a hang of it I just can’t stay without checking my “FB” account every two days.
I spend an average of 5 hours sometimes when I am on FB. Time just flies. On both these websites I basically just mail friends, upload my recent pictures and keep in touch with long lost friends. It is total time pass because I get to meet some of my school friends who I haven’t seen after class 10. Sometimes I get to see friends whom I haven’t seen in years because of change of city and profession. I dint really make new friends through these websites because I have more than enough but it is really very addictive. Nowadays when we friends or family go out, I take my camera along just to take picture so that I can put them on FB and share them with my friends and family. Even when we friends go out we want to take nice pictures so in can be put on FB.
The best think about FB is that there are these applications that u can send to friends or receive from them and some of them are totally worth the time spent on it. There are applications like “what colour is your heart” “what kind of a mom will you be” and “what does your birthday say about you”. You can also create your own application and post it so that it can be used by FB users.
In FB I get comments made on my photos and messages written on my wall. It is extremely private where I can choose to allow friends that I accept to view only my partial profile or my full profile. Friends whom I am not close to but have sent me a friend request can only see my partial profile which is a good option the FB gives. Even though I have friends who are in the same place but don’t get the time to talk to them, FB helps me that. With the digital world everybody is hooked on to the internet and everybody I know is on FB so I just send him or her “a poke” which FB offers. By just poking someone it says that “hi. ‘m still around”.
But these sites have their cons too, especially where sharing private info and photos are concerned. If hacked it can be copied and morphed and god alone knows what else can be done with the info that is posted in our profile. As of now I am totally hooked on to FB and I think its great but boredom is a very basic human tendency and I may also get bored of “Facebook”.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My experience with Social Networking
I jumped onto the social networking bandwagon a couple of years ago with a site called Orkut. It was the coolest thing to be on Orkut at the time and for most people it still is. Most of us in this part of the world had absolutely no clue about social networking till then. A friend sent me an invite and the next thing I knew I was spending a lot of time on this site. It took me some time to get my way around Orkut because I had done nothing like it ever before. A lot of my friends were already on the network. So all I had to do was to find them.
Orkut is an online community that helps the user maintain existing relationships and establish new ones with people one has never met before. Orkut has five new Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu which makes it accessible to a lot more people than it otherwise would. A user first puts together a profile that contains social, professional and personal details that he/she wishes to share. Photos and videos can be added to make the profile interesting. Messages can be sent and received. “Scrapping” is a popular form of offline and online communication. Yet another feature is ‘Google talk’ which basically is an instant messaging (chat) service.
One can give testimonials to friends which is a great way to let them know how much they mean to you. Orkut also allows you to rate your friends as being trustworthy, cool and sexy. Further, each member can become fans of any of the friends on their list.
Apart from all of this one can create and join a wide range of communities that serve as platforms for sharing information and opinions. This makes it easy to find people who share your hobbies and interests. A couple of my friends have found love and established business contacts as well. Activities on these communities could range from discussions and organizing events to conducting polls. On Orkut there are communities for just about anything.
The most important thing that I do on Orkut that I do not have an opportunity to do otherwise is reconnecting with friends I have lost touch with over the years. I don’t think I would have gotten in touch with them ever. Orkut has been a blessing that way. I look forward to chatting with friends from school and graduate college. I haven’t really made any new friends as I am very skeptical about the authenticity of profiles and the person at the other end. Friends are strictly those that I know in real life.
A lot of people I know are addicted to social networking. They are online all the time and have little time to build relationships in the real world which I think is a dangerous thing. This is extremely unhealthy because social networking can only augment what you have for real. One cannot substitute the other.
Then there is the issue of security and privacy. Just about anyone can visit your profile making the information posted therein open to misuse which is not the case in Facebook. Accounts are hacked for personal information. The photos of girls are being morphed and are used in pornographic material. Content is not well-regulated which has led to the existence of unacceptable content on the network. This is why I haven’t uploaded any photos and I have no intention of doing so in the future.
As far as my personal involvement is concerned, I would say that the enthusiasm has waned from what it initially was. On most days my usage of Orkut is limited to ten minutes. This time is used to check my scrapbook and reply to any scrap that might have been left for me. On weekends I spend about an hour.
In conclusion I would like to say that social networking is here to stay. It has made life easier and is a great way to keep in touch with friends. It has its pros and cons just like any other medium of communication would. All that matters is for all of us to take the good and forget the bad.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Orkut, helps keep in touch
One of the most commonly used social networking sites today is Orkut and I joined the community two years back, just before I joined Manipal Institute of Communication. The reason behind my joining Orkut was not to find out about the college from the students who were already on the network; however that is one of the advantages of Orkut. The main reason why I joined Orkut was to get in touch with my school friends. There are so many communities on Orkut, ranging from religious to fun and games. One of the biggest advantages of Orkut is that we can get in touch with our long lost friends.
Being born and brought up in Lucknow (north India) my entire education up till my graduation was done there. Then I moved to Mangalore and lost contact with a lot of my childhood friends. As soon as I had joined Orkut I became part of the community which had been developed by the other ex – students of my school and college who like me had lost touch with a lot of their own friends. This is one of the most amazing facilities provided by Orkut.
Besides providing the opportunity of helping friends who have not been in touch with each other in many years, Orkut also provides people the facility to share pictures and communicate through scraps. I use Orkut to keep in touch with all those friends of mine whom I had grown up with and to keep them updated with pictures and scraps to tell them how life down south has been for me. And they in turn share the pictures of all the things that they do. Another facility offered and which is avidly used by many including me is to write testimonials for the people who have made a mark in our lives. I have written testimonials for all of those friends of mine whom I had to leave when I moved out of Lucknow and have received testimonials in turn. Writing a testimonial for a friend makes that person feel very special. It is an opportunity to tell the other person in words what actually he/she means to us. In our everyday lives we forget to tell our friends how much they mean to us and Orkut through the facility of testimonials has provided us with the opportunity to convey our feelings about our friends.
One of the biggest advantages of Orkut and one of the main reasons is that it is extremely user friendly and also one of the main reasons why Orkut is such a hit with the youth as well as the older people in the country. Despite the fact that Facebook provides a lot more applications as compared to Orkut, it is still not as popular as the latter because it is not as user friendly. On great disadvantage of Orkut is the fact that it gives no privacy for ones personal profile. Just anyone can visit my profile and take the pictures which I have stored on my Orkut album. There have been many cases where false profiles have been created for girls by vengeful men who morph the face of these women on the bodies of nudes.
Orkut is basically a networking site which addicts people to it by the number of interactive facilities provided by it, and it was no different for me. In the first few weeks after creating an Orkut account for myself, I would spend hours together on the net just wasting my time. But this addiction wares off and communicating reduces to just getting in touch and keeping old friends informed and nothing else. There have been times when I did not check my account for weeks at an end. Orkut, like many other forms of entertainment which the new media provides for us, is a means to keep us occupied.
Being born and brought up in Lucknow (north India) my entire education up till my graduation was done there. Then I moved to Mangalore and lost contact with a lot of my childhood friends. As soon as I had joined Orkut I became part of the community which had been developed by the other ex – students of my school and college who like me had lost touch with a lot of their own friends. This is one of the most amazing facilities provided by Orkut.
Besides providing the opportunity of helping friends who have not been in touch with each other in many years, Orkut also provides people the facility to share pictures and communicate through scraps. I use Orkut to keep in touch with all those friends of mine whom I had grown up with and to keep them updated with pictures and scraps to tell them how life down south has been for me. And they in turn share the pictures of all the things that they do. Another facility offered and which is avidly used by many including me is to write testimonials for the people who have made a mark in our lives. I have written testimonials for all of those friends of mine whom I had to leave when I moved out of Lucknow and have received testimonials in turn. Writing a testimonial for a friend makes that person feel very special. It is an opportunity to tell the other person in words what actually he/she means to us. In our everyday lives we forget to tell our friends how much they mean to us and Orkut through the facility of testimonials has provided us with the opportunity to convey our feelings about our friends.
One of the biggest advantages of Orkut and one of the main reasons is that it is extremely user friendly and also one of the main reasons why Orkut is such a hit with the youth as well as the older people in the country. Despite the fact that Facebook provides a lot more applications as compared to Orkut, it is still not as popular as the latter because it is not as user friendly. On great disadvantage of Orkut is the fact that it gives no privacy for ones personal profile. Just anyone can visit my profile and take the pictures which I have stored on my Orkut album. There have been many cases where false profiles have been created for girls by vengeful men who morph the face of these women on the bodies of nudes.
Orkut is basically a networking site which addicts people to it by the number of interactive facilities provided by it, and it was no different for me. In the first few weeks after creating an Orkut account for myself, I would spend hours together on the net just wasting my time. But this addiction wares off and communicating reduces to just getting in touch and keeping old friends informed and nothing else. There have been times when I did not check my account for weeks at an end. Orkut, like many other forms of entertainment which the new media provides for us, is a means to keep us occupied.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
“I am on Orkut, therefore I am.”
Social networking caught up with me just about two years ago. I started off with a site called ‘hi5’ and also had an account at ‘batchmates’. But I hardly visited them and almost never did anything on them. They were drab and uninteresting. Then I figured about Orkut through a friend of mine who sent me an invite to join the website.
This website allows its members to put up a detailed profile of theirs’ with descriptions about self, interests, passions, professional and personal details. One can also add pictures to their albums and make them open for public viewing. Interestingly, friends can give personalised testimonials, rate them as being hot or cool, lovable or not or even be a fan of someone. Apart from all this, one can send mails and short messages [scraps] on Orkut.
Apart from this there are social forums, called as communities, on this website. Anybody could start a community and post threads of messages that will be responded to by other members of the community. There are communities of schools, colleges, fan clubs, hate clubs, common interests like books, films, art, photography and the like. There is a community for almost everything possible and there are discussions that happen there all the time.
I predominantly use Orkut to get in touch with friends that I would otherwise not make an attempt to call or get in touch with. Friends and acquaintances are on my friends list so that I do not have to search anywhere else to contact them. Orkut gives me a forum that acts like an address book, which in itself is a place where I can also meet them. Apart from that, I upload pictures every time I click any. This acts as a way in which I tell all my friends what I have been up to.
During my early days on planet Orkut, I would be an active participant in a lot of discussions that happen on these communities. Arguments, discussions, opinions and tantrums would go on, on these threads. Yet after a while, I gradually lost interest and I hardly participate.
I have even considered withdrawing my Orkut account for reasons of privacy invasion, getting vulgar mails and messages from people I didn’t know, fear of photographs being morphed etc. But I never really made up my mind to do so because I had a lot of contacts through Orkut, who I would never be able to contact otherwise.
At this stage, I bumped into another social networking site called ‘facebook,’ which happened to be a complete new world. Though it has the same mails, scraps, communities and photo albums in its portfolio, it had an absolutely different feel and look to it. This site had a lot of other applications that enabled us to do a lot more than just social networking. Sending gifts to friends, inviting them to play games, comparing them to celebrities or even virtual buying and selling of people happens on this website. That apart, one unique thing about this site, that I enjoy is that it hosts a lot of games. One can play games such as scrabble, sudoku, snooker and possible any game that one can think of. I solve a lot of jigsaw puzzles on this site and sometimes even challenge friends to do better.
Though community discussions for me, are very limited here, I check out all the applications that I am invited to use. Applications ranging from ‘who has the biggest brain?’ to ‘how hot are you?’ offer a wide range of things that one can do on this site.
As I use these two websites for absolutely different purposes, I happen to maintain an account in both, though my friends list on both the websites have almost the same set of people. I spend around 15-20 minutes a day on these websites, though it used to be a lot more in the early days of learning about social networking.
I haven’t made any friend on facebook, yet I have a few people I got to know through Orkut. One such friend was someone who was also a part of a fan club that I belonged to. A couple of others were seniors from my school, who I didn’t know then.
Having said all this, it is also worth mention that these sites hardly offer anything that we could not otherwise. It only makes the whole procedure a lot easier. The excitement of being a part of these forums has died down for me and now it is just an everyday ritual, most of the times there is nothing to even look out for.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Cell phone use in India
“Connecting people” the tag line of mobile handset manufacturing giant Nokia goes; “Express Yourself” reads the tagline of Airtel, India’s largest mobile service provider. Indians seem to believe in this and making the most of it, as evidenced by the statistics that show that India is all set to overtake US to become the world's second largest mobile market by May this year. (indiatimes.com/Business/)
As we talk about the world being increasingly connected, the mobile phone is not the only thing that comes to ones mind; the Internet is another invention that has invaded our lives and homes in the last decade. “According to IAMAI, a trade association representing the online industry, Indians go online for a number of activities including e-mail, Instant Messaging, job and matrimonial search among others.” In spite of such varied usage statistics show only 3.7% of the Indian population using the internet.(http://www.internetworldstats.com)
The most obvious reason for this is the affordability, while mobile phones come for as cheap Rs. 799 you still have to shell out a minimum of Rs. 5000 for a PC. Further the use of internet would require the working knowledge of a computer; on the other hand, the mobile phone in its basic use is a mere extension of our landlines which we have been using for decades now.
The biggest advantage pointed out by Ahonen(2007), something I fiercely second is that “It(the mobile phone) is the first truly personal mass media”. This is probably something young Indians appreciate more than anything ,coming from households where you are usually sharing your computer with at least one other person, the privacy that the mobile offers is readily welcomed.
Singularly the most imperative use of a phone for most youngsters is messaging or SMS as it is commonly referred to, often surpassing the facility of being able to make calls. The mobile service providers realize this too there by making hard to resist offers like 3000 messages free and slashing down the rates of national and international messaging. Another reason why the mobile has become such an integral part of our lives is that even the most basic phones take care of our every need with features like the calculator, the calendar, the dictionary, the alarm clock, your favorite games, right down to a torch! ( This one, especially made for the Indian customer)
Another particularly useful feature in a mobile phone is for photos and videos be taken and uploaded making it nearly impossible to think of a phone that does not offer this feature. Even websites like Facebook realize this and give the users an option of uploading photos taken with the mobile phone.
Today most phones come with a music player. I myself have stopped using my iPod because of the inbuilt MP3 player and the FM radio facility my phone provides. In many ways I think the comparison between the internet and the mobile phone is not a comparison between two equals. Today with handsets like Nokia now providing features like Google search and other such facilities, the mobile is providing all that the Internet can and a whole lot more.
Thus according to me Indians in many ways exemplify what as Tony Ahonen rightly pointed out in 2007 “The mobile as the 7th mass media. It is not the dumb little brother of the internet. It is inherently superior to the internet. Mobile is as dominant to the internet, as TV is to radio.”(http://communities-dominate.blogs.com).
As we talk about the world being increasingly connected, the mobile phone is not the only thing that comes to ones mind; the Internet is another invention that has invaded our lives and homes in the last decade. “According to IAMAI, a trade association representing the online industry, Indians go online for a number of activities including e-mail, Instant Messaging, job and matrimonial search among others.” In spite of such varied usage statistics show only 3.7% of the Indian population using the internet.(http://www.internetworldstats.com)
The most obvious reason for this is the affordability, while mobile phones come for as cheap Rs. 799 you still have to shell out a minimum of Rs. 5000 for a PC. Further the use of internet would require the working knowledge of a computer; on the other hand, the mobile phone in its basic use is a mere extension of our landlines which we have been using for decades now.
The biggest advantage pointed out by Ahonen(2007), something I fiercely second is that “It(the mobile phone) is the first truly personal mass media”. This is probably something young Indians appreciate more than anything ,coming from households where you are usually sharing your computer with at least one other person, the privacy that the mobile offers is readily welcomed.
Singularly the most imperative use of a phone for most youngsters is messaging or SMS as it is commonly referred to, often surpassing the facility of being able to make calls. The mobile service providers realize this too there by making hard to resist offers like 3000 messages free and slashing down the rates of national and international messaging. Another reason why the mobile has become such an integral part of our lives is that even the most basic phones take care of our every need with features like the calculator, the calendar, the dictionary, the alarm clock, your favorite games, right down to a torch! ( This one, especially made for the Indian customer)
Another particularly useful feature in a mobile phone is for photos and videos be taken and uploaded making it nearly impossible to think of a phone that does not offer this feature. Even websites like Facebook realize this and give the users an option of uploading photos taken with the mobile phone.
Today most phones come with a music player. I myself have stopped using my iPod because of the inbuilt MP3 player and the FM radio facility my phone provides. In many ways I think the comparison between the internet and the mobile phone is not a comparison between two equals. Today with handsets like Nokia now providing features like Google search and other such facilities, the mobile is providing all that the Internet can and a whole lot more.
Thus according to me Indians in many ways exemplify what as Tony Ahonen rightly pointed out in 2007 “The mobile as the 7th mass media. It is not the dumb little brother of the internet. It is inherently superior to the internet. Mobile is as dominant to the internet, as TV is to radio.”(http://communities-dominate.blogs.com).
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Cell Phone Use in India
About 70 percent of India's 1.1 billion population i.e. 770 million people, still live in villages and rural areas (census 2001). The Internet is still to evolve as a basic necessity for all individuals. It’s more confined to businesses and other official use across the country. Moreover the Internet is predominantly used in the urban regions of the country. The Internet, even though it has been available in India for more than two decades is still considered as a tool of the urban citizen. Cell phones have penetrated almost every Indian village. There are innumerable marketing strategies developed by different companies to woo the villagers to have cell phones at an affordable cost. Chaiwala, Paanwaala, rickshaw puller and even a farmer can be seen with a cell phone.
People living in villages still don’t know what the Internet is. The use of the Internet in rural areas has been confined to providing services to farmers in villages. The main reason for the growth in cell phones and not in the Internet is the electricity problems that affect the country. The populous states like U.P, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are underdeveloped and most of the people staying in these and other similar states have no access to electricity; a basic requirement to run the device to use the Internet. The villages which have been studded with the electric poles have hardly any regular and continuous supply of electricity. The daily average supply of electricity may not add up to more than two to three hours a day. These all contribute to slow growth of Internet. The purchasing capacity of rural Indians is not so high so that they can afford a personal computer. And above all to use Internet, one has to be a computer literate, at least one should have basic skills needed, but the prevalent illiteracy makes people handicapped to use the Internet. Investment in a cell phone is negligible when compared to investing in a PC. A cell phone can be brought for as little as $ 25 whereas a PC will cost a minimum of $ 500. When one buys a cell phone one is already equipped to make and receive phone calls. A Sim card is available for as little as $ 2.5. On the other hand, investment in the Internet can go up to sky high rates.
Internet is everything to me: a teacher, a guide, a postman, an entertainer, a singer and above all a good servant. When I am logged in, I find myself at the center of the world from where I can see almost everything. I can get most of my problems solved and questions answered and have a feeling of satisfaction, even if the feeling is pseudo. It’s to me a coffee house where everybody meets and discusses freely at their convenience without being physically present at the place. If only Habermas were alive he certainly would have recommended Internet to everyone, perhaps. So when I login, I am immediately connected with my friends staying in different parts of the world; and without Internet it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise - thanks to numerous social sites and web sites that provide all these services free of cost. On Internet I have lots of choices and innumerable free material for my utmost needs. Taking the Internet from me would be like putting me in a well and making me understand that I am no more than a frog in a well! And certainly I will be cut off from my friends and rest of the world. I meet many friends on the net everyday, I talk to them, I find everyday some new sites and enjoy them.
Mobile phone is needed but I can manage without it. If something is so important then I can just walk for 2 minutes and make an important call. And if somebody needs to contact me I have the landline. I just don’t like cell phone that much and I also know that others will hardly find it normal. It’s abnormal not to have a cell phone today. It mostly irritates me with so many stupid value added services. It’s more useful for the people whose jobs demand communication and networking with others. But I do use a cell phone and the send SMSes to my friends: Rohan, do v hav clas 2morw. Hey, ver u goin 4 dinner…and so on. I don’t listen to music and don’t sends mms, because these facilities are not available in my phone and certainly don’t need it now, but sometimes I play games on my cell phone. The second most used among services by me is an alarm which I use almost everyday and sometimes many times a day. I hardly use a calculator.
If the mobile phone is taken away from me I can manage with my landline. But, I certainly can’t afford to lose the Internet connection. If it’s taken away then I would feel like a frog in a well incessantly jumping to come out of it to meet others and to know the world better.
People living in villages still don’t know what the Internet is. The use of the Internet in rural areas has been confined to providing services to farmers in villages. The main reason for the growth in cell phones and not in the Internet is the electricity problems that affect the country. The populous states like U.P, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are underdeveloped and most of the people staying in these and other similar states have no access to electricity; a basic requirement to run the device to use the Internet. The villages which have been studded with the electric poles have hardly any regular and continuous supply of electricity. The daily average supply of electricity may not add up to more than two to three hours a day. These all contribute to slow growth of Internet. The purchasing capacity of rural Indians is not so high so that they can afford a personal computer. And above all to use Internet, one has to be a computer literate, at least one should have basic skills needed, but the prevalent illiteracy makes people handicapped to use the Internet. Investment in a cell phone is negligible when compared to investing in a PC. A cell phone can be brought for as little as $ 25 whereas a PC will cost a minimum of $ 500. When one buys a cell phone one is already equipped to make and receive phone calls. A Sim card is available for as little as $ 2.5. On the other hand, investment in the Internet can go up to sky high rates.
Internet is everything to me: a teacher, a guide, a postman, an entertainer, a singer and above all a good servant. When I am logged in, I find myself at the center of the world from where I can see almost everything. I can get most of my problems solved and questions answered and have a feeling of satisfaction, even if the feeling is pseudo. It’s to me a coffee house where everybody meets and discusses freely at their convenience without being physically present at the place. If only Habermas were alive he certainly would have recommended Internet to everyone, perhaps. So when I login, I am immediately connected with my friends staying in different parts of the world; and without Internet it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise - thanks to numerous social sites and web sites that provide all these services free of cost. On Internet I have lots of choices and innumerable free material for my utmost needs. Taking the Internet from me would be like putting me in a well and making me understand that I am no more than a frog in a well! And certainly I will be cut off from my friends and rest of the world. I meet many friends on the net everyday, I talk to them, I find everyday some new sites and enjoy them.
Mobile phone is needed but I can manage without it. If something is so important then I can just walk for 2 minutes and make an important call. And if somebody needs to contact me I have the landline. I just don’t like cell phone that much and I also know that others will hardly find it normal. It’s abnormal not to have a cell phone today. It mostly irritates me with so many stupid value added services. It’s more useful for the people whose jobs demand communication and networking with others. But I do use a cell phone and the send SMSes to my friends: Rohan, do v hav clas 2morw. Hey, ver u goin 4 dinner…and so on. I don’t listen to music and don’t sends mms, because these facilities are not available in my phone and certainly don’t need it now, but sometimes I play games on my cell phone. The second most used among services by me is an alarm which I use almost everyday and sometimes many times a day. I hardly use a calculator.
If the mobile phone is taken away from me I can manage with my landline. But, I certainly can’t afford to lose the Internet connection. If it’s taken away then I would feel like a frog in a well incessantly jumping to come out of it to meet others and to know the world better.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Cell phone use in India
Earlier communication was difficult and cumbersome, but as society advanced people began discovering faster and quicker ways to communicate with one another. Today, we are living in a world driven by technology and every day a new invention is out which makes communication simpler and easier. The Intenet and the cell phones are such inventions that have changed the way people communicate. For a large section of people including me , the Internet and the cell phone have become an integral part of our very existence. What was once onsidered a luxury has now become a necessity.
Today mobile phones are not just used to make and receive calls. Unlike their predecessor the telephone, the compact nature of the mobile phone enables the user to carry it around and use it almost anywhere and everywhere. They have been so effective that people like my parents have stopped using their landlines altogether. Mobile phones are user friendly and can be operated by a 10-year-old child as well as as an 85-year-old man . Earlier , in times of emergency one had to look for a phone booth to make a call but with the coming in of the cell phone things have changed. For some it is an expensive accessory which they can flaunt around or make a fashion statement with , for others like me it ahs become a second skin without which life is unimaginable. Initially meant only for the elite class and considered as a device for the ' yuppies', mobile phones have now cut across economic barriers and are used by all income groups . Every day there is a new mobile phone entering the market offering novel and better features right from the basic calling facility to the more popular messaging, to the inbuilt camera , video, music player, alarm clock, ability to access the net using the GPRS facility and many more.
The Internet too has simplified life for people around. You can do almost anything and everything through the Intrnet right from chatting, mailing, online shopping and banking , you name it and you can do it on the Internet.On an average I spend almost three hours a day on the net mostly chatting, mailing , using social networking sites like orkut to keep in touch with friends , calling my parents and friends who live abroad ( as cell phone companies charge exorbitant rates for international calls ) and use search engines like Google Search which has assignment submissions easier and faster.
India is now going through a telecom revolution , where one can see that the mobile user base has surpassed the Internet user base. The reason for the popularity of the cell phone over the Internet are many some of which are reduced calling rates due to competition from private and public sector telecom companies like Vodafone , BSNL, and Airtel, cheaper handsets introduced by companies like Reliance and expansion and availability of network evn in the remotest corner. Today there is also a lot of discussion on the 4th screen:i.e. people accessing the Internet through their cell phones , not PC's and mobile TV's . In a country like India only a tiny percent of its massive population use the net and rural India does not come under this section due to lack of literacy to use the Internet. We see more farmers, rickshaw drivers, maids, being engrossed in a conversation over their cell phones than use the Internet, clearly indicating the popularity of the cell phone over the Internet.
Every invention has its positive and negative effects and we need to be mature enough to figure out what we want out of it and the same applies to cell phones. They have been created for our comfort and not our survival . For me the cell phone is definitely a boon inspite of its flaws and man is smart enough to find solutions to overcome the flaws.
Today mobile phones are not just used to make and receive calls. Unlike their predecessor the telephone, the compact nature of the mobile phone enables the user to carry it around and use it almost anywhere and everywhere. They have been so effective that people like my parents have stopped using their landlines altogether. Mobile phones are user friendly and can be operated by a 10-year-old child as well as as an 85-year-old man . Earlier , in times of emergency one had to look for a phone booth to make a call but with the coming in of the cell phone things have changed. For some it is an expensive accessory which they can flaunt around or make a fashion statement with , for others like me it ahs become a second skin without which life is unimaginable. Initially meant only for the elite class and considered as a device for the ' yuppies', mobile phones have now cut across economic barriers and are used by all income groups . Every day there is a new mobile phone entering the market offering novel and better features right from the basic calling facility to the more popular messaging, to the inbuilt camera , video, music player, alarm clock, ability to access the net using the GPRS facility and many more.
The Internet too has simplified life for people around. You can do almost anything and everything through the Intrnet right from chatting, mailing, online shopping and banking , you name it and you can do it on the Internet.On an average I spend almost three hours a day on the net mostly chatting, mailing , using social networking sites like orkut to keep in touch with friends , calling my parents and friends who live abroad ( as cell phone companies charge exorbitant rates for international calls ) and use search engines like Google Search which has assignment submissions easier and faster.
India is now going through a telecom revolution , where one can see that the mobile user base has surpassed the Internet user base. The reason for the popularity of the cell phone over the Internet are many some of which are reduced calling rates due to competition from private and public sector telecom companies like Vodafone , BSNL, and Airtel, cheaper handsets introduced by companies like Reliance and expansion and availability of network evn in the remotest corner. Today there is also a lot of discussion on the 4th screen:i.e. people accessing the Internet through their cell phones , not PC's and mobile TV's . In a country like India only a tiny percent of its massive population use the net and rural India does not come under this section due to lack of literacy to use the Internet. We see more farmers, rickshaw drivers, maids, being engrossed in a conversation over their cell phones than use the Internet, clearly indicating the popularity of the cell phone over the Internet.
Every invention has its positive and negative effects and we need to be mature enough to figure out what we want out of it and the same applies to cell phones. They have been created for our comfort and not our survival . For me the cell phone is definitely a boon inspite of its flaws and man is smart enough to find solutions to overcome the flaws.
Perfect Timing!!!
Hi Everyone
Hope you are enjoying your Spring Break. I happened to be watching PBS last night and won't you believe it - Chris Anderson of Wired and Michael Arrington of TechCrunch were both on Charlie Rose. Talk about perfect timing!
Hope you are enjoying your Spring Break. I happened to be watching PBS last night and won't you believe it - Chris Anderson of Wired and Michael Arrington of TechCrunch were both on Charlie Rose. Talk about perfect timing!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Digital Marketing Issue of Ad Age
Since the discussion in class on Wednesday centered around the effect of new media on advertising, I thought everyone might find this interesting: Jonah Bloom, Ad Age editor explains upcoming plans for the digital marketing issue of his magazine.
Cell phone use in India
While the use of the Internet presupposes the literacy of the user, more significantly their knowledge of English, mobile phone technology in India has a greater mass appeal due to its lack of onus on the user’s literacy. Another principal reason for the popularity of the mobile phone is the nominal investment involved in procuring and maintaining a connection. With private mobile phone services competing for visibility, there are lucrative offers and dirt-cheap call tariffs that make mobile phone use more feasible to the customer than the Internet.
With regard to the issue of accessibility, the mobile phone wins over the Internet hands down. While the mobile phone ensures connectivity at the press of a button, Internet requires the computer to be switched on, the connection to be established, a website to be accessed before you can share information. Increasingly today, parents are equipping children and youngsters with mobile phones in order to reach them at all times and to ensure their safety. It is noteworthy here that the older generation has taken to the mobile phone technology much better than the Internet because of its simplicity. While the Internet requires one to know the basics of computer usage, mobile phones present fewer complications.
This discussion is incomplete without considering the “mobile” nature of the mobile phone. The possibility of using a mobile phone at anytime, anywhere helps the user in multi-tasking making him/her more efficient. The Internet on the other hand, requires you to be stationary; unless you access it on your mobile phone which is not viable in India given the popularity of the basic phone sets.
Neither the mobile phone nor the Internet means much to me. I feel liberated and unrestricted the day I forget to carry my mobile phone. The thought that I cannot be reached by anybody unless I choose to contact them thrills me. Be it in class, at the movies, lunch or while hanging out with friends there is always a mobile phone going off which is an annoying distraction. I do not answer calls unless I am absolutely free to talk and in that sense, it is also an encroachment on one’s privacy because people assume that it is acceptable to text and call you at any time of the day or night.
I did not own a personal computer while growing up and during a brief period in high school when I did have Internet access at home, the dial-up connection was way too slow, erratic, laborious and expensive to use extensively. This also makes it possible for me to function effectively without the Internet unlike a lot of friends who feel maimed when unable to access the Internet.
Mostly, my use of the mobile phone is restricted to receiving calls. I dislike having long conversations over the phone and therefore one facility that I use extensively is the short message service (SMS). Alarm, FM radio, calendar and clock are the other services that I use on the mobile phone. The one facility that I use most frequently and that provides me with the most satisfaction is my use of the outbox as a journal. I type out random experiences, emotions, mundane observations etc. and save them as drafts in my outbox so much so that it functions as a “mobile” chronicle.
True to my non-Internet-friendly, non-tech-savvy self, I am proud to proclaim that I would be ecstatic if mobile phone and Internet access were to be taken away from me. It would free me of the obligation of replying to SMSes, mails and updating my Orkut profile, of not answering calls and the like.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
NIN Ultra Deluxe Limited Edition Package of Ghosts
After tonight's discussion, I just had to check out the new NIN album. And, wouldn't you know, that $300 package is already sold out!! And it wasn't even released until this week!
The next big thing in advertising?
Increased interactivity is obviously the direction advertising and public relations is going, but I don’t think it will all be focused on the Web.
I got really excited when I read the Wired article about Nine Inch Nails and 42 Entertainment because that is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about. I’m not saying all ads and PR activities should involve multi-continent treasure hunts, but integrating everyday elements people encounter into marketing for a product is how to make new fans and keep the ones you have interested. Like Trent Reznor said, he wasn’t attempting to create marketing for his album, even though that maybe the way it is perceived. He knows his fan base and doesn’t undermine their intelligence. He is creating an experience with the fans. When you involve people at that level, you are no longer just trying to sell a product. You are trying to give them a better understanding of what you are producing and making them a part of the production.
A film that hit theaters about a couple of weeks ago called Be Kind Rewind took this approach. The film stars Jack Black and Mos Def, who are two kooky friends working for a local video store that is running into financial problems. Through a weird accident, Jack Black gets magnetized and manages to erase all the tapes in the video store, so Mos Def attempts to make his own version of the movies. Prior to the film’s release, the production company asked for fan-submitted “movies” reenacting their favorite films, which is called sweding. It helped create buzz for the film and plenty of funny shorts. Check out the guide to sweding.
I think that is the way the industry is beginning to move or at least consider moving because consumers want to feel like they are a part of something. However, other interactive approaches probably won’t work as well like the Nike-Google mashup of Joga.com. Soccer is huge around the world, but people can only manage so many social networking sites. Right now, it’s either Myspace of Facebook. It would be difficult for such a niche site to be truly effective. It might keep the current fans happy, but I don’t think it could attract more.
R/GA, one of the leaders in interactive advertising knows this. 42 Entertainment gets it. Now everyone just needs to catch up.
I got really excited when I read the Wired article about Nine Inch Nails and 42 Entertainment because that is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about. I’m not saying all ads and PR activities should involve multi-continent treasure hunts, but integrating everyday elements people encounter into marketing for a product is how to make new fans and keep the ones you have interested. Like Trent Reznor said, he wasn’t attempting to create marketing for his album, even though that maybe the way it is perceived. He knows his fan base and doesn’t undermine their intelligence. He is creating an experience with the fans. When you involve people at that level, you are no longer just trying to sell a product. You are trying to give them a better understanding of what you are producing and making them a part of the production.
A film that hit theaters about a couple of weeks ago called Be Kind Rewind took this approach. The film stars Jack Black and Mos Def, who are two kooky friends working for a local video store that is running into financial problems. Through a weird accident, Jack Black gets magnetized and manages to erase all the tapes in the video store, so Mos Def attempts to make his own version of the movies. Prior to the film’s release, the production company asked for fan-submitted “movies” reenacting their favorite films, which is called sweding. It helped create buzz for the film and plenty of funny shorts. Check out the guide to sweding.
I think that is the way the industry is beginning to move or at least consider moving because consumers want to feel like they are a part of something. However, other interactive approaches probably won’t work as well like the Nike-Google mashup of Joga.com. Soccer is huge around the world, but people can only manage so many social networking sites. Right now, it’s either Myspace of Facebook. It would be difficult for such a niche site to be truly effective. It might keep the current fans happy, but I don’t think it could attract more.
R/GA, one of the leaders in interactive advertising knows this. 42 Entertainment gets it. Now everyone just needs to catch up.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
What's next?
The next big thing in online advertising and public relations has to be a more accurate system of metrics. Current methods just don’t give a true picture of message reach or frequency. Just because an opportunity to see a message exists does not mean it will be seen. And click-through rates don’t account for accidental clicks or the true number of unique users who may see an advertisement or public relations message online. The article “Modeling the audience’s banner ad exposure for internet advertising planning” states the problem best: “Exposure models are traditionally useful in evaluating CPM and effectively reaching the target audience,” but, “conventional reach/frequency exposure models are apparently less applicable for the context of on-line advertising.” The most accurate way to measure success of online advertising or public relations is to make messages interactive. If people take the time to get involved, that at least can be measured more effectively.
It does seem like all advertising online finds at least some success, though. Even fads. Look at pop-ups. It’s obvious people like pop-up advertising the least because everyone complains about the nuisance; but, it’s still a moderately effective tool in creating user lists for future solicitations. Every time a pop-up appears, and a user takes the time to enter a contest, or request more information, his or her personal information ends up in a database, most likely to be sold to others for marketing measures . . . whether in the form of public relations or advertising.
Side note: I really enjoyed the article about Trent Reznor. I’ve always loved his music, and I’ve always known he’s a talented artist. Reznor writes all his own lyrics and composes his own music. I knew he was creative and imaginative. But the marketing idea he pursued was almost too brilliant and too advanced to be effective. I love the mystery and the audiences need to get involved in the search. But I don’t think users were ready for the challenge.
It does seem like all advertising online finds at least some success, though. Even fads. Look at pop-ups. It’s obvious people like pop-up advertising the least because everyone complains about the nuisance; but, it’s still a moderately effective tool in creating user lists for future solicitations. Every time a pop-up appears, and a user takes the time to enter a contest, or request more information, his or her personal information ends up in a database, most likely to be sold to others for marketing measures . . . whether in the form of public relations or advertising.
Side note: I really enjoyed the article about Trent Reznor. I’ve always loved his music, and I’ve always known he’s a talented artist. Reznor writes all his own lyrics and composes his own music. I knew he was creative and imaginative. But the marketing idea he pursued was almost too brilliant and too advanced to be effective. I love the mystery and the audiences need to get involved in the search. But I don’t think users were ready for the challenge.
The Next Big Thing
I think that the next big thing in Public Relations and Advertising will have something to do with interactivity, which is what many of the articles we read this week suggest. I tend to agree with the definition given by the article “Conceptualizing and Measuring the Perceived Interactivity of Websites”, it says “interactivity is the capability of a computer enabled communication system that allows exchange of roles between senders and receiver in real or delayed time so that communicators can have more control over the pace, structure and content of the communication”. I also agree with the pod cast “Selling Big Ideas to Big Clients”, that typically the next big thing will be “usually pretty simple, and self evident”. This is true because those are the ideas that aren’t hard to sell. I also think that the next big thing must have legs online as well as offline. I don’t think that having one and not the other is as effective. An example of this would be in the article “Chrysler makes interactive the cornerstone of its strategy”. In Chrysler’s Spring Sales Event they utilized off line ads in TV and newspapers to show web addresses for dodge.com. This campaign was very effective in its use of both offline and online resources. The pod cast even mentioned the success of Chrysler in their interactivity. Chrysler realized that 70% of all consumers research a car online before buying it and used this information to form a campaign that would be incredibly successful. By incorporating interactivity into there campaign their first quarter sales increased by 7%. Another company that has had great success with interactivity is R/GA , an advertising and communications company. This company was ranked 11th in 2005 on the list of the country’s largest interactive agencies. The owner of this company, Robert M. Greenberg believes that because there are so many advertisements , we as consumers get overloaded and tend to tune the advertisement out. The key to fixing this is to “engage them in digital conversations that are so entertaining, so involving and valuable that they won’t want to ignore them” He believed this should be done through symbols and icons, where you are in control of where you go and what you do. A company that has not been as successful in using interactivity as Chrysler and R/GA has been is Brawny. Brawny’s attempt at keeping up with new media was to essentially make a reality TV show and blatantly brand it with Brawny. The show involves 8 men competing in an obstacle course of different activities such as filling a baby bottle and cleaning a muddy floor. This attempt failed because the brand failed to consider that the target, which are women who are busy at home taking care of children and cleaning the house, don’t actually have time to go online and watch this 13 minute heavily branded commercial. I think the last line in the article summed it up very well “If you put the creativity ahead of the consumer, you are lost”. This was clearly where Brawny had its downfall, perhaps if they had come up with an idea that was more interactive they would have been more successful in their new media venture. Another attempt that, from what I have read didn’t go as well as planned was when Nike and Google combined forces to kick off the social networking site, Joga.com. They wanted to find a place where people who were fans of soccer could come and have a social network. Google hasn’t had the best track record with social networking sites and thought this might be the key to success. It sounded simple enough, and perhaps I haven’t heard about it because I have no interest in soccer and it is invitation only, but it seems as though the branding on the site would be a turn off to me. They article states how they plan to alleviate that issue by making this site open and authentic and not just an extension of Nike, but how can it not be? Another example of an incredibly successful interactive attempt was described in the article “Secret Websites, Coded Messages: The New World of Immersive Games”, this article talks bout how Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails wanted to develop the “worlds most elaborate album cover, using the media of today”. He did this by contacting a company, called 42 Entertainment that could help him develop a sort of interactive fiction or game for his die-hard fans to follow in anticipation of the release of the new album. A reason for the success of the game is definitely the interactive factor of it, “Games are about engaging with the most entertaining thing on the planet, which is other people”. The games success was measured in that by the time the album was released 2.5 million people had visited at least one of the game’s 30 websites. One thing that remains steady though all these campaigns comes form the article “Modeling the Audiences Banner Ad Exposure for Internet Advertising Planning”, it states that “whether the goal of an online campaign is interaction or enhancement of branding, the audiences exposure to advertising messages is a necessary condition for an effective campaign”. This may seem incredibly obvious, but without exposure your campaign has nothing. With all the success in interactivity, its amazing to me that according to the article “Digital-talent dearth breeds crisis”, that if you are in the market for interactive talent there isn’t enough of it to go around and what is out there is incredibly expensive. The article states, “The greatest threat facing the continued growth of interactive advertising is the paucity of great talent”. Apparently this is due to a generation of talent that got laid off when the “dot com bust came and they got laid off by the hundreds.” This makes me think that with the PR and advertising agencies inevitably becoming more interactive that becoming well versed in interactivity would be an incredibly lucrative and rewarding career path. The article “Stakeholder Strength: PR Survival Strategies in the Internet Age”, discusses how it is crucial as a PR practitioner to develop strategies to deal effectively with online interactions with stakeholders. The entire basis of PR is communication, so it is a natural progression to move this communication online. Being online puts strength into the stakeholders. It gives them more channels to communicate. This needs to be watched carefully though because according to the article “the internet enables employees to go directly to customers and warn them about possible dangers areas within the organization” Whereas this would be more difficult to do without the Internet. The article Internet Communications…Let’s Get it Right!!! Also talks about how all emails are archived by the government so you should always be careful about what you send. According to the article "email is the primary tool of public relations contact and communications”. Because of this it is crucial to email effectively to clients and to be diligent in the spelling, grammar and effectiveness of our emails because they directly reflect what we do, which is communicate. Above all I think that the next big thing in Public Relations and Advertising will involve interactivity, but at the same time it will be simple and self evident.
The Next Big Thing
Not knowing a ton about advertising or public relations, I can still guess that the next "big thing" is going to be more interactive than we've seen yet. After reading Secret Web Sites, Coded Messages: The New World of Immersive Ad Campaigns, it seems like people become more enticed and drawn to a product when there's more than meets the eye. People like to be their own detectives when it comes to buying large items in particular - they do tons of research when buying a car or even a new TV, and when they find the one that exudes a certain attitude or makes them feel like this product and them are "meant to be," people go nuts. For example, even watching Lost, makes me feel like I'm in a certain club with secret handshakes and codes that can be limitless in terms of interactivity with others and online. It's kind of prevalent in the car ads that are like mini-movies that allow people to visit the sites and become part of a larger story.
That said, I think more specifically, this next big thing in the ad industry will follow the current trends of transcending all mediums - giving the audience the ability to research a product immediately and completely interact with it before actually buying it. Ad and PR companies will sell the idea of the product and involve the consumer with it before actually physically touching it - whether that be a virtual experience in a video game or an interactive experience online.
One thing that I don't really see working - which is a fad I think AD/PR groups are beginning to see isn't really working as well - is the annoying pop-up, pop-under ads that we only click on by mistake or, in the case of people like Theresa, just curious to see where they take us. Regardless, I think Greenberg was right in the NY Times article when he said, "technology is going to wreak havoc on the agency business. Because of advances in technology and communication, we're surrounded by information we see and hear. Overload is a huge issue." The overload of constantly being hit with advertisements wherever we go is becoming absolutely ridiculous. I've come to expect half of my screen being taken up with a Progressive Insurance ad every time I check my hotmail account (Yes, Dee, I have one too). People are being turned off to and numb to these abundant and intruding methods.
One ad I actually like is the interactive game ads that do not get you to a certain point in the game, then automatically take you to their site - like those annoying "Punch Osama Bin Laden and Win a New Laptop" ads. I was just watching Lost and during one of their online "commercial breaks," instead of the typical Allstate ad, there was a snowball game by Sprint. There was no sound, nor did I see any phones. I just saw my opponent and began throwing snowballs at him - and this game actually required skill. After 30 seconds of playing was up, I was allowed to watch the next segment of the show. However, I kept playing the game for a good minute, with the Sprint logo in the corner of my eye the whole time. I thought this was very effective because it was non-intrusive and undemanding, and it was actually fun. I remembered that ad more and have a better feeling about Sprint than any other ad from watching that show online. Maybe that's the next "big thing" for those who don't care about searching for clues or being part of a "club."
I think it's awesome to read that "it's a great time to be in digital, provided you're part of the select group that has real experience in Flash development or web design and can help create the sophisticated integrated-marketing programs that agencies and their clients increasingly are demanding" from the Ad Age article. That makes me feel like I'm going into the right career path financially (not that I necessarily want to be a web designer). I guess it's good to know that I'm going into a field where my skills are in demand for once - unlike most other mass mediums. Definitely an exciting time to be learning this stuff too. I'm interested to see what this "next big thing" will actually be, but it seems like the traditional "informing and reminding" aspect of advertising is absolutely evolving with click-thru and interactive methods.
That said, I think more specifically, this next big thing in the ad industry will follow the current trends of transcending all mediums - giving the audience the ability to research a product immediately and completely interact with it before actually buying it. Ad and PR companies will sell the idea of the product and involve the consumer with it before actually physically touching it - whether that be a virtual experience in a video game or an interactive experience online.
One thing that I don't really see working - which is a fad I think AD/PR groups are beginning to see isn't really working as well - is the annoying pop-up, pop-under ads that we only click on by mistake or, in the case of people like Theresa, just curious to see where they take us. Regardless, I think Greenberg was right in the NY Times article when he said, "technology is going to wreak havoc on the agency business. Because of advances in technology and communication, we're surrounded by information we see and hear. Overload is a huge issue." The overload of constantly being hit with advertisements wherever we go is becoming absolutely ridiculous. I've come to expect half of my screen being taken up with a Progressive Insurance ad every time I check my hotmail account (Yes, Dee, I have one too). People are being turned off to and numb to these abundant and intruding methods.
One ad I actually like is the interactive game ads that do not get you to a certain point in the game, then automatically take you to their site - like those annoying "Punch Osama Bin Laden and Win a New Laptop" ads. I was just watching Lost and during one of their online "commercial breaks," instead of the typical Allstate ad, there was a snowball game by Sprint. There was no sound, nor did I see any phones. I just saw my opponent and began throwing snowballs at him - and this game actually required skill. After 30 seconds of playing was up, I was allowed to watch the next segment of the show. However, I kept playing the game for a good minute, with the Sprint logo in the corner of my eye the whole time. I thought this was very effective because it was non-intrusive and undemanding, and it was actually fun. I remembered that ad more and have a better feeling about Sprint than any other ad from watching that show online. Maybe that's the next "big thing" for those who don't care about searching for clues or being part of a "club."
I think it's awesome to read that "it's a great time to be in digital, provided you're part of the select group that has real experience in Flash development or web design and can help create the sophisticated integrated-marketing programs that agencies and their clients increasingly are demanding" from the Ad Age article. That makes me feel like I'm going into the right career path financially (not that I necessarily want to be a web designer). I guess it's good to know that I'm going into a field where my skills are in demand for once - unlike most other mass mediums. Definitely an exciting time to be learning this stuff too. I'm interested to see what this "next big thing" will actually be, but it seems like the traditional "informing and reminding" aspect of advertising is absolutely evolving with click-thru and interactive methods.
Advertisers: Can We Undiscover This Frontier?
Okay, what's the next Big Thing for the Ad people? This is a tough question for me because in so many ways I think discussing the Internet in terms of ads is grossly American and grossly rhetorical. Now, one can be rhetorical without being grossly so; and rhetoric has merit, so I don't want to play Plato to the PR Sophists.
No, I want to talk about colonies. More so, I want to talk about the Internet as this new frontier loaded with colonies of the old world trying to make a fresh start or just keep themselves relevant.
'Stakeholder Strength' really ignited this idea within my head. Back in the 1500's Europe had traded away much of its gold and silver to the Mid East and Asia for goods, and the economy of the European nations verged on collapse. Then Spain manages to find the Americas and the gold/silver/land rush is on. Every European nation tried their hand at colonies to stay relevant. You don't have to struggle to see corporations and organizations reacting the same way to the Web. Everyone is trying to find a way to be relevant in the wake of the new frontier. We see numerous examples of this from Nike to Chick-fil-A to Brawny. Does a colony make sense for everyone? Probably not, but the status of a successful colony (website) means everything.
Of course, the Internet as frontier already has successful colonies asserting their own presence in a manner that took centuries for the Americas. Amazon, Google, E-Bay, and so forth have formed the first generation of native inhabitants. They should likely serve as lessons for future success, but it's hard to tell exactly how.
Unlike a normal, physical frontier, the Internet keeps changing under the feet of these colonies. Wu's study of interactivity shows how our concepts of media interaction have changed in only a few years and how nuanced our expectations have become. Ad agencies seem to view themselves as the old monarchs of Europe, capable of providing little freedoms to keep their ideas afloat. Pick-a-path car videos from VW or elegant Flash while you stop for a visit, but these colonies won't last without realizing the full interactivity required. Google's purchase of YouTube showed that interactivity is more than options in a pre-existing video -- it's the ability to create from scratch and comment freely. I don't think Manovich would champion any of these ad sites as superior to Final Cut Pro.
This is where things get dicey. The power relationships these articles suggest are non-congruent. Organizations must accept that the Web is an agora, an infinite physical place and frontier,not a billboard or TV. People may play with your sign, but its more important to build a shop/colony/landscape where they want to hangout and talk then anything. The next big thing builds community and culture unique to itself. Because of this it favors the artist who can tell a story, like Reznor, over the company looking for a gimmick.
Simple ideas, as referred to in the SXSW podcast are easy to sell to companies, but to have legs, you need a narrative. The more you allow an audience to participate in a well-realized narrative, the more successful you will become. However, narratives require skill and complexity. Whether PR companies can transform themselves into storytellers of a Reznor or JJ Abrams caliber remains to be seen. Whoever masters the ability to create the most appealing interactive place with an engaged sense of authentic community culture and group narrative will attract the largest audience and the most loyalty -- whether consumer, artistic, political, or interpersonal.
Someone just needs to create an agora different enough from the old world that we simply have to be there.
No, I want to talk about colonies. More so, I want to talk about the Internet as this new frontier loaded with colonies of the old world trying to make a fresh start or just keep themselves relevant.
'Stakeholder Strength' really ignited this idea within my head. Back in the 1500's Europe had traded away much of its gold and silver to the Mid East and Asia for goods, and the economy of the European nations verged on collapse. Then Spain manages to find the Americas and the gold/silver/land rush is on. Every European nation tried their hand at colonies to stay relevant. You don't have to struggle to see corporations and organizations reacting the same way to the Web. Everyone is trying to find a way to be relevant in the wake of the new frontier. We see numerous examples of this from Nike to Chick-fil-A to Brawny. Does a colony make sense for everyone? Probably not, but the status of a successful colony (website) means everything.
Of course, the Internet as frontier already has successful colonies asserting their own presence in a manner that took centuries for the Americas. Amazon, Google, E-Bay, and so forth have formed the first generation of native inhabitants. They should likely serve as lessons for future success, but it's hard to tell exactly how.
Unlike a normal, physical frontier, the Internet keeps changing under the feet of these colonies. Wu's study of interactivity shows how our concepts of media interaction have changed in only a few years and how nuanced our expectations have become. Ad agencies seem to view themselves as the old monarchs of Europe, capable of providing little freedoms to keep their ideas afloat. Pick-a-path car videos from VW or elegant Flash while you stop for a visit, but these colonies won't last without realizing the full interactivity required. Google's purchase of YouTube showed that interactivity is more than options in a pre-existing video -- it's the ability to create from scratch and comment freely. I don't think Manovich would champion any of these ad sites as superior to Final Cut Pro.
This is where things get dicey. The power relationships these articles suggest are non-congruent. Organizations must accept that the Web is an agora, an infinite physical place and frontier,not a billboard or TV. People may play with your sign, but its more important to build a shop/colony/landscape where they want to hangout and talk then anything. The next big thing builds community and culture unique to itself. Because of this it favors the artist who can tell a story, like Reznor, over the company looking for a gimmick.
Simple ideas, as referred to in the SXSW podcast are easy to sell to companies, but to have legs, you need a narrative. The more you allow an audience to participate in a well-realized narrative, the more successful you will become. However, narratives require skill and complexity. Whether PR companies can transform themselves into storytellers of a Reznor or JJ Abrams caliber remains to be seen. Whoever masters the ability to create the most appealing interactive place with an engaged sense of authentic community culture and group narrative will attract the largest audience and the most loyalty -- whether consumer, artistic, political, or interpersonal.
Someone just needs to create an agora different enough from the old world that we simply have to be there.
The Next Big Thing: Online Interactive Advertising
The next big thing in advertising and PR is definitely going to be some sort of interactive web based idea. Only by advertising on the web can advertisers get millions of people to come together and do something as extraordinary and immense as the alternate reality games (ARGs) talked about in the first article. Only online can viewers interact with products and web graphics. People are getting tired of seeing the same old ads on TV, in magazines, and the ever annoying pop-ups online. Advertising today is all about interactivity. Capturing the customer's attention by giving them something in which they can be a part of themselves seems to be the only way to keep a hold of viewer's short attention spans these days. Humans are curious creatures, and NIN and Lost are using that curiosity to gain millions more fans by giving out hidden clues where people all over the world have to work together on the net in order to find the answers to the riddles. By only giving people glimpses of what's coming up, the advertisers maintain power over their viewers until everything is finally released. When all the information was disclosed at one time, people think it's cool or whatever for a short period, but then get bored and move on to something more new and exciting. It's really an ingenious concept that may be the next step in marketing, maybe even "the next big thing".
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
If I Knew What the Next Big Thing Was…I’d Be Working at Apple!
Well when it comes to advertising, I defer to people like Theresa, Heather, Shane Dee and all of you in that field just as I would defer any video gaming issues to Dee. (Come to think of it, Dee what do you think about the whole ARG advertising model?)
One of the passages that caught my attention is the one in the WIRED magazine about ARGs, “the games offer a solution to a growing problem: how to reach people who are so media-saturated the block all attempts to get through.” This has been a problem that has perplexed people trying to get information to the masses today and particularly so for advertisers. I do not know enough to predict what form or shape the next Big thing will be in advertising, but I would venture to say it would be the model that is most successful at not only reaching a target audience but whose effects/response on the audience is easily measured. But once again, the ARG model seems to target only a certain niche group of people, e.g the Nine Inch Nails fans. If that is the only group the advertisers hoped to reach, then it was successful, if it were trying to reach a mass audience, then it has to look for a way to get to people who do not have the time to go clue hunting for the next clue to solve the next puzzle.
In the NY Times article about Robert Greenberg, we learn that his team is also trying to figure a way to break through the clutter by wedding design and marketing in groundbreaking ways. I agree with Greenberg’s assertions that consumers are now a lot more powerful than they used to be, they are not passive but active actors that must be appealed to in a different way by dumping the risk-averse and conservative models and embracing new radical ways to appeal to the consumer.
Of course, not every idea is going to work. A good example is the brawny episodes. The article put it best, “if you put ‘creativity’ ahead of the consumer, you are lost.” Then there are also companies like Chrysler who have managed to have successful interactive advertising campaigns.
The Internet has reshaped traditional advertising completely, people in print media are probably not excited about this change but for those in electronic media, it has got be mind-boggling the possibilities that are still out there when it comes to interactive advertising.
In Public Relations, the Internet has long been embraced as an essential tool that I am scratching my head to think of what could be the next big thing. Marken’s article written in 2005 now feels very ancient. PR professionals have already integrated the Internet and interactivity - to a certain extent. I am not sure anyone in PR wants the audience to have total control of the message. After all you are trying to sell the image of a client - be it individual or a corporation. The nightmare for most people in PR today is controlling or influencing the message in the Internet age where they are so many voices out there. You look for ways to make the audience have limited conversation, but I believe at the end of the day, PR professionals seek and can get more control of the audience than advertising people can - just because of the different models of business. Advertisers want to sell a product that people may have to buy and own. PR professionals are trying to sell an image that can be abstract, you dont have to own the image of Dell, but you can have a favorable image of Dell - there is not the need for the level of interactivity required in owning something. My bet - the next big thing comes out of advertising not in PR, if it is, then I just lost another opportunity to make a ton of money!
P.S. Is there anything yet on JogaTV? Can someone send me an invite?
One of the passages that caught my attention is the one in the WIRED magazine about ARGs, “the games offer a solution to a growing problem: how to reach people who are so media-saturated the block all attempts to get through.” This has been a problem that has perplexed people trying to get information to the masses today and particularly so for advertisers. I do not know enough to predict what form or shape the next Big thing will be in advertising, but I would venture to say it would be the model that is most successful at not only reaching a target audience but whose effects/response on the audience is easily measured. But once again, the ARG model seems to target only a certain niche group of people, e.g the Nine Inch Nails fans. If that is the only group the advertisers hoped to reach, then it was successful, if it were trying to reach a mass audience, then it has to look for a way to get to people who do not have the time to go clue hunting for the next clue to solve the next puzzle.
In the NY Times article about Robert Greenberg, we learn that his team is also trying to figure a way to break through the clutter by wedding design and marketing in groundbreaking ways. I agree with Greenberg’s assertions that consumers are now a lot more powerful than they used to be, they are not passive but active actors that must be appealed to in a different way by dumping the risk-averse and conservative models and embracing new radical ways to appeal to the consumer.
Of course, not every idea is going to work. A good example is the brawny episodes. The article put it best, “if you put ‘creativity’ ahead of the consumer, you are lost.” Then there are also companies like Chrysler who have managed to have successful interactive advertising campaigns.
The Internet has reshaped traditional advertising completely, people in print media are probably not excited about this change but for those in electronic media, it has got be mind-boggling the possibilities that are still out there when it comes to interactive advertising.
In Public Relations, the Internet has long been embraced as an essential tool that I am scratching my head to think of what could be the next big thing. Marken’s article written in 2005 now feels very ancient. PR professionals have already integrated the Internet and interactivity - to a certain extent. I am not sure anyone in PR wants the audience to have total control of the message. After all you are trying to sell the image of a client - be it individual or a corporation. The nightmare for most people in PR today is controlling or influencing the message in the Internet age where they are so many voices out there. You look for ways to make the audience have limited conversation, but I believe at the end of the day, PR professionals seek and can get more control of the audience than advertising people can - just because of the different models of business. Advertisers want to sell a product that people may have to buy and own. PR professionals are trying to sell an image that can be abstract, you dont have to own the image of Dell, but you can have a favorable image of Dell - there is not the need for the level of interactivity required in owning something. My bet - the next big thing comes out of advertising not in PR, if it is, then I just lost another opportunity to make a ton of money!
P.S. Is there anything yet on JogaTV? Can someone send me an invite?
Eyelid advertisments
I don't think the question should be what is the future of advertising, but more appropriately what is the future of successful advertising campaigns. I mean, let's face it, newspapers, and terrestrial radio will be around longer than a lot of us give them credit for. I do see a growing trend of advertisements online and interactive. Yet, even in that NIN article and how they are playing a sort of evolved D&D with coded messages and secret websites - it is not all that successful. However imaginative and innovative this quasi-marketing is it would have been more successful if he would have done the normal radio rounds with rigorous touring. A prime example is how they even bolded specific letters in a chance to reveal a secret code. Who has time to decode this nonsense, why can't they get a job, and have a couple of kids? Like I said, this is very innovative just not very appealing to mass audiences, but then again maybe thats the point. Targeting to niche audiences - that's the future. Audiences that want the message. We are currently in a world where we encounter almost 3000 ads a day, if the advertisers wants to make their message count they must target specific niches.
I do believe that online interactive ads will continue to grow with popularity. Huang and Lin in the article: Modeling the Audience's Banner ad Exposure for Internet Ad Planning bring up an interesting point that many people argue that advertising's main function is simply to inform and remind. And however annoying they may be if they are informing and reminding us about a product or service then they are ultimately working regardless if we are clicking and interacting. In the other article Chrysler and Jeep seemed to have a positive impact with interactive advertising , but perhaps they were selective choosing where to advertising and they are simply targeting the appropriate audiences.
In the realm of PR (which is a completely differently story then advertising and I hate how they always get lump together) everything seems to have gotten much easier with the rise of the Internet. Marken's article, Online Public relations brought up a great point to remember when considering public relations. Is that because there are over 17 Billion emails every day more and more people are public relations practitioners. Every email that you send and receive from your company's eddress is a direct representation of the company itself. On the other hand, in the more formal sense of the term PR - modern practitioners can bypass traditional media and get out their message directly through the media our their own corporate website or blog. The example that i pops up is how Mattel handled their slew of toy recalls last summer. Instead of holding a press conference, they posted a video of the CEO apologizing almost immediately on the home page. This is PR in it finest.
As far as advertising under your eyelids, all i know is the best is yet to come!
I do believe that online interactive ads will continue to grow with popularity. Huang and Lin in the article: Modeling the Audience's Banner ad Exposure for Internet Ad Planning bring up an interesting point that many people argue that advertising's main function is simply to inform and remind. And however annoying they may be if they are informing and reminding us about a product or service then they are ultimately working regardless if we are clicking and interacting. In the other article Chrysler and Jeep seemed to have a positive impact with interactive advertising , but perhaps they were selective choosing where to advertising and they are simply targeting the appropriate audiences.
In the realm of PR (which is a completely differently story then advertising and I hate how they always get lump together) everything seems to have gotten much easier with the rise of the Internet. Marken's article, Online Public relations brought up a great point to remember when considering public relations. Is that because there are over 17 Billion emails every day more and more people are public relations practitioners. Every email that you send and receive from your company's eddress is a direct representation of the company itself. On the other hand, in the more formal sense of the term PR - modern practitioners can bypass traditional media and get out their message directly through the media our their own corporate website or blog. The example that i pops up is how Mattel handled their slew of toy recalls last summer. Instead of holding a press conference, they posted a video of the CEO apologizing almost immediately on the home page. This is PR in it finest.
As far as advertising under your eyelids, all i know is the best is yet to come!
The future isn't what it used to be
When talking about the future of public relations and advertising I think of a playing field that is constantly changing. I believe that we will always have the basic print and television advertisements but the internet and emerging communication technologies will surely restructure the current way they are delivered. Public relations is a different story. I feel that the field itself is constantly changing and new methods are being used as they have no other choice (more on this below).
I do not believe that ARGs are the next big thing in advertising. They are just plain swell and the audience for some of the sites are great, but I believe that an over-saturation will eventually take place. The Wired article on ARGs and Trent Reznor was very interesting and proved to me how truly devoted fans can be. For certain products ARGs are the way to go, but mark my words that every dumb company will begin to use the idea and kill it (like so many great ideas before it). I would like to take this time to mention that McDonald's is currently involved in an ARG. While the idea is neat and visionary, you must understand that only a select group of people (either devoted to the product/cause, obsessive compulsive, or bored) will tough out the entire game to find the answer. There is also the issue of spoiler sites and of course waiting for the next round of clues. Has anyone tried to work the 'LOST' ARGs or even the one for 'Donnie Darko?' Well don't unless you want a headache. Just remember- a company will ruin it soon.
In referring to the Business Week article on Joga. com, I do not believe that social networking sites sponsored by specific companies will be the next big thing. This may be popular at first but how long can people interact on a site designed specifically for soccer? I understand that many people outside of the U.S. worship the sport, but it is a social networking site, not a message board. The site is also invitation only and makes me think of the long line at a trendy nightclub and when you finally get inside you immediately want to leave. The whole Joga idea seems a bit creepy to me as Nike wants its users to create profiles and meet other soccer players to discuss the sport. Sounds more like free market research on a particular demographic.
Advertisements needed to be changed and creative ideas are helping that. In the 'Madison Avenue's 30-Second Spot Remover' article we are introduced to Robert Greensberg. He is truly a visionary that understands the need for creative content in the delivering of advertisements. The internet is becoming a popular medium for advertisements and it has nowhere to go but up. Greensberg said it himself in the New York Times article, " The Web is not a one-trick pony, the internet is a new language because it's not linear. The novel is linear, film is linear, but the Web is not."He acknowledges that many advertisements are tuned out by people (especially younger people) and creative advertisements on different mediums is the next step. Gain some imagination in your staff and profits will most likely follow.
Some have already failed in the quest for a creative and interactive internet advertisement. Refer to the Brawny article to find out how an internet reality show can turn into an epic failure. I will give them props for trying something different and we all need losers to know what not to do. The article even says "if you put the creativity ahead of the consumer, you are lost." It may have seemed like a new imaginative idea at first, but they should have thought more about their consumers and how they would interact with and interpret such an idea. Chrysler seems to be doing things right in their online advertisements (but they are not a paper towel company obviously) with games and videos. Who wouldn't want to race their possible new car against other potential buyers online? Not me personally but to each his own, I can see how it works.
Now to public relations. I said earlier that public relations is constantly changing because it has no other choice. I still believe this four paragraphs later as they are always looking for new ways to communicate and monitor their publics. The Marken article mentions how email and internet based communications have already changed the way people are reached in public relations. I found it interesting how they said, "The Internet puts all business-large and small- on a competitively equal footing if it properly and effectively used." This is true to a sense as some companies may prosper online at the same rate as a company that has been around long before the internet. Public relations practitioners are given immediate communication that allows feedback and conversation that once took much longer. The internet and communication technologies can be seen as making their jobs easier but there are negative aspects for them as well. When referring to the 'Stakeholder Strength' article, the concept of customers creating websites for people to complain about a company comes up. This makes (or should make) a company be very conscious about their employees and the relationships that go on within an organization and with customers. One negative experience with a bank teller having a bad day could result in a post or new website telling others not to do business with them. These negative sites can also come up in a web search making the job of the public relations practitioner stressful as they try to correct the wrongs. While the internet has made communication easier for PR professionals, it has made their job harder with spoof sites and the increasing presence and power that customers have thanks to the medium.
In conclusion, I think the next big thing will be creative and imaginative advertisements that stray from the norm. We are all so used to television and print ads that we tune out without even noticing. When a company gets creative, they get attention which could turn into profits (or maybe not Brawny). ARGs are a good idea for now but it will soon be ruined and a new idea will need to come around. ARGs are a fad in my eyes but I can see them sticking around for a little bit with devoted fans of bands and television shows; it is when fast food companies get in on it when we start to have problems. For public relations I do not know what the next big thing will be. I assume it will have to do with emerging communication technologies and creating spoof sites of their own (we have all heard of fake bloggers and sites that act as front groups for corporations). To sum up this post- creativity is the key.
I do not believe that ARGs are the next big thing in advertising. They are just plain swell and the audience for some of the sites are great, but I believe that an over-saturation will eventually take place. The Wired article on ARGs and Trent Reznor was very interesting and proved to me how truly devoted fans can be. For certain products ARGs are the way to go, but mark my words that every dumb company will begin to use the idea and kill it (like so many great ideas before it). I would like to take this time to mention that McDonald's is currently involved in an ARG. While the idea is neat and visionary, you must understand that only a select group of people (either devoted to the product/cause, obsessive compulsive, or bored) will tough out the entire game to find the answer. There is also the issue of spoiler sites and of course waiting for the next round of clues. Has anyone tried to work the 'LOST' ARGs or even the one for 'Donnie Darko?' Well don't unless you want a headache. Just remember- a company will ruin it soon.
In referring to the Business Week article on Joga. com, I do not believe that social networking sites sponsored by specific companies will be the next big thing. This may be popular at first but how long can people interact on a site designed specifically for soccer? I understand that many people outside of the U.S. worship the sport, but it is a social networking site, not a message board. The site is also invitation only and makes me think of the long line at a trendy nightclub and when you finally get inside you immediately want to leave. The whole Joga idea seems a bit creepy to me as Nike wants its users to create profiles and meet other soccer players to discuss the sport. Sounds more like free market research on a particular demographic.
Advertisements needed to be changed and creative ideas are helping that. In the 'Madison Avenue's 30-Second Spot Remover' article we are introduced to Robert Greensberg. He is truly a visionary that understands the need for creative content in the delivering of advertisements. The internet is becoming a popular medium for advertisements and it has nowhere to go but up. Greensberg said it himself in the New York Times article, " The Web is not a one-trick pony, the internet is a new language because it's not linear. The novel is linear, film is linear, but the Web is not."He acknowledges that many advertisements are tuned out by people (especially younger people) and creative advertisements on different mediums is the next step. Gain some imagination in your staff and profits will most likely follow.
Some have already failed in the quest for a creative and interactive internet advertisement. Refer to the Brawny article to find out how an internet reality show can turn into an epic failure. I will give them props for trying something different and we all need losers to know what not to do. The article even says "if you put the creativity ahead of the consumer, you are lost." It may have seemed like a new imaginative idea at first, but they should have thought more about their consumers and how they would interact with and interpret such an idea. Chrysler seems to be doing things right in their online advertisements (but they are not a paper towel company obviously) with games and videos. Who wouldn't want to race their possible new car against other potential buyers online? Not me personally but to each his own, I can see how it works.
Now to public relations. I said earlier that public relations is constantly changing because it has no other choice. I still believe this four paragraphs later as they are always looking for new ways to communicate and monitor their publics. The Marken article mentions how email and internet based communications have already changed the way people are reached in public relations. I found it interesting how they said, "The Internet puts all business-large and small- on a competitively equal footing if it properly and effectively used." This is true to a sense as some companies may prosper online at the same rate as a company that has been around long before the internet. Public relations practitioners are given immediate communication that allows feedback and conversation that once took much longer. The internet and communication technologies can be seen as making their jobs easier but there are negative aspects for them as well. When referring to the 'Stakeholder Strength' article, the concept of customers creating websites for people to complain about a company comes up. This makes (or should make) a company be very conscious about their employees and the relationships that go on within an organization and with customers. One negative experience with a bank teller having a bad day could result in a post or new website telling others not to do business with them. These negative sites can also come up in a web search making the job of the public relations practitioner stressful as they try to correct the wrongs. While the internet has made communication easier for PR professionals, it has made their job harder with spoof sites and the increasing presence and power that customers have thanks to the medium.
In conclusion, I think the next big thing will be creative and imaginative advertisements that stray from the norm. We are all so used to television and print ads that we tune out without even noticing. When a company gets creative, they get attention which could turn into profits (or maybe not Brawny). ARGs are a good idea for now but it will soon be ruined and a new idea will need to come around. ARGs are a fad in my eyes but I can see them sticking around for a little bit with devoted fans of bands and television shows; it is when fast food companies get in on it when we start to have problems. For public relations I do not know what the next big thing will be. I assume it will have to do with emerging communication technologies and creating spoof sites of their own (we have all heard of fake bloggers and sites that act as front groups for corporations). To sum up this post- creativity is the key.
Buy my post now because I care about you! Advertising and Public Relations Issues
The future of advertising and public relations should have a certain honesty to it. We all grow up in the most ad-plagued, whitewashed b.s. country in the world and we KNOW it! I say if you can be honest about that and humble in what you're doing, it helps you out a lot. I also think little things like sending thank you cards for buying a car would help. Little touches do matter.
Companies also need to make ads fun and interactive - a range from little to no involvement by a consumer to going on gps treasure hunts in your local town for giveaways and to solve riddles. What makes a person love a product? To me, it is a human touch and a decision to willingly want to participate by the consumer. The best persuasion a company can hope to spread is one where people don't think they're under it. Trent Rezner knew that. The Blair Witch Project knew that...but it also sucked.
Nike and Google are smart with the soccer fans idea because of it being the world's biggest sport and all but it shouldn't be by invitation only. I think they'll end up pulling a facebook and opening up to others with less hoops to jump through. Brands should be shifting their money to online ads asap. The sooner, the better. The Internet is only getting bigger and easier to get lost in. Plus, online ads are cheap. It is most important to invest in your own site - a lot. Some of the car sites offer 360 degree views of all the interior and exterior and let you take virtual test-drives. That is cool. Chrysler has a good site and is probably tired of inflated TV prices, cluttered mags and declining readership in papers. As for Brawny, who thinks of paper towels? I buy the ones with the most amount for the cheapest price or the recycled ones if I want to spend a little more. I don't think the message is otherwise important for something with which I wipe the counter.
Abratt, Pitt and Merwe ponder how p.r. has been affected by advertising. The message that was hard to manipulate is now harder with consumers and rival companies possessing the power to harm your image online. Plus, when some of these guys get caught trying to wreck the image of others, you get a real pickle on your hands. BP Oil and Microsoft must be demanding some kind of solution to their bad press and image. I wonder if what Goebells (Nazi minister of propaganda) said still stands, "If you repeat a lie long enough, it ceases to be a lie."
Tim O'Brien, not the author of 'The Things They Carried' I assume, expands on some ideas from Greenberg. The article is all about KISS- keep it simple stupid. No, not for your company - for the consumer and develop it right the first time. You've got to give options but not complex ones. Look at how facebook is beating up on myspace. People got tired of the ugly layout, hearing someone's bad choice of music and the spamming. Facebook is more interactive with the newsfeed, streamlined and offers more apps, which are relatively simple and diverse. Brand loyalty is still in the marketplace and although spam and digital recorders can be filtered to stop promos from being seen, ads will always find a way. Maybe you'll be able to point and click on things you watch on your future television if you want to buy them. Just an idea...
Wu's research looks a the interactivity in relation to the user's viewpoints - nothing matters more. You can have the flashiest ads but that doesn't mean everything. Sure, being noticed is paramount. But being liked is also very important (head on, head on), especially if you can elicit that reaction somehow. In Huang and Lin's banner ad studies I have to reiterate that visiting web sites doesn't necessarily mean your ads are being paid any attention. It is real hard to determine unless your ad is directly clicked on or you have survey research. Interactive ads are annoying but work- something like an ad that opens and obscures a news article I'm reading will catch my attention. So would a movie that auto-plays. The only thing is that you better entertain or get to the point immediately because I'm clicking you off.
The book chapter shows the rising dollars in ad sales. I trust the Internet completely for shopping while my parents don't. I'm not sure why they think a web administrator is more likely to steal their info than a waiter. I recently needed a new dvd player but didn't want to wait the week it would take for Amazon to ship it to me so I called Best Buy. They did not have the product I wanted, which costed $10 more but told me they could order it for me. I had to respond that I could do the same. The only reason I'd go to places Best Buy is the convenience of having the product now. But if I can get it cheaper and not have to park and talk to people in the store - isn't it worth a few days wait? Amazon also knows my purchase history and can recommend things I'd like more than the guy at the store could. The whole online sales thing also makes me want to invest in shipping companies, which I'm sure are growing a ton with all the e-biz they deliver. Ads will definitely help as a revenue-builder for a person's site, but as a main source of income I don't think they're a good idea. Since it is hard to link online ads directly with sales, they are pretty low-cost.
Marken's article on efficiency and improving the chances of your messages being noticed through organization, spacing, relevance and language is good. I think an online presence is more important than the brick and mortar of most businesses these days. Think of colleges - the site will attract you with little effort and you can find out almost all you need to know about the school from it alone. The amount of time and dollar investment necessary depends on the product.
Creamer's article talks about the online ad strategies of the past. Like teenagers, they were goofy, awkward versions of themselves that have now blossomed into prettier, interactive versions that offer a little more than they used to in the past. Hopefully, those of you that take Cindy's multimedia class can learn some of those skills and make yourself a more attractive job candidate - in any field.
Visions of the Future
The future of advertising definitely seems to look more creative and interactive. The last few years we have been at the verge of a paradigm shift between the old age of advertising and the new age. Many of the readings for this week explain their vision of the future for advertising. In my opinion some of the interactive ideas lead the path toward the advertising of the future and some are just fads that will or already have faded away. Robert Greenburg says it best when he says, "The old approach of marketing saturation has created a clutter environment that people are now resisting, in an era when people feel they have less time in their lives for all the things they want to do." He projects, "I think things are going to get infinitely more complex and the challenge is about taking things that are infinitely complex and making them simpler and more understandable." ARG's are an extremely creative way of capturing an audience. Some of those things that Trent Reznor did for pubbing his Nine Inch Nails album were ingenious. I would buy his album just for that. ARG's are the future of advertising because they WORK. This is something that changes the landscape of advertising and public relations. A fad in the ad industry is putting television shows online. Who really has the time to watch them in this fast paced society. It may be interactive and somewhat creative (who would have thought to make a TV show on the Internet), but it's missing the limited time factor. The advertisers will have to put more effort into it than that. Another fad is creating social networking sites to get adds. If all companies created a social networking site based around a certain brand there would be way to many of them and it would defeat the purpose of social networking. They might as well have a Nike Soccer sponsored group on Facebook or create their own Nike Soccer page on myspace if they want to continue with the social networking thing. This again is interactive, but lacks creativity. Social networking sites are everywhere! As far as the shortage of interactive talent goes, I don't think it is something we really need to worry about. One day the you-tube generation will produce the talent that is needed to make interactive ads. We just have to play the waiting game for a while. Soon there will be an abundance of interactive talent and interactive ads won't cost so much and since the Matthew Creamer article "digital talent dearth breeds crisis" was written in 2006, that day will come sooner than we can imagine. It is not something we should worry about now that kids are learning html in gradeschool. Finally, the audio piece from SxSW interactive discussed visions of the future of advertising in searching for the "Big Ideas" of tomorrow. It was interesting to hear about how these ideas came about and it really gave an illustration of what the advertising indusrty looks like and looks for. Today the "big ideas" involve interactivity and creativity. Tomorrow we will see interactivity amplified to the highest degree. It is the only thing that people will pay attention to.
Future of Advertising/PR
In my opinion, the next big thing in advertising/public relations is going to be a mix of interactive and viral marketing. Just like the article in the Wired magazine on NIN harped on, the future seems to be heading to more “cryptic” ads instead of the normal, bland advertisements of the past. Interactive websites, flash drives, coded messages, and ARGs will be used to help the entertainment industry get the “buzz” around a certain project. For example, going to the Grand Theft Auto IV website (http://www.rockstargames.com/IV) one can travel around the massive city modeled after New York City and actually view screen shots and video advertisements of the section of the city you choose. This gets the gamer more in tune with the different sights and sounds the city has to offer. Even though these are virtual places, they still create excitement for the game. Guohua Wu defined the first dimension of interactivity as the perceived control over the site navigation, the pace or rhythm of the interaction, and the content being accessed (Wu, 2006). This website is a good example of being a good interactive website. The Internet will be a huge part of the next big thing to happen in advertising/public relations if it hasn’t already.
I believe the trends in advertising/PR that will become fads in the future are the mini-movies that are being used to promote normal, “need” products. Take the Brawny article for instance. It is safe to say that Brawny fell flat on it’s face with the episode of a obstacle course complete with the brand all over it. Like the authors of the article say “We have serious doubts whether anybody would watch such a thing on television; it’s too obnoxiously Branwy-branded, far beyond the most clunky “The Apprentice” or “Queer Eye” product placement.” (Garfield, 2006) Other than that, the future for interactive advertising looks very bright.
I believe the trends in advertising/PR that will become fads in the future are the mini-movies that are being used to promote normal, “need” products. Take the Brawny article for instance. It is safe to say that Brawny fell flat on it’s face with the episode of a obstacle course complete with the brand all over it. Like the authors of the article say “We have serious doubts whether anybody would watch such a thing on television; it’s too obnoxiously Branwy-branded, far beyond the most clunky “The Apprentice” or “Queer Eye” product placement.” (Garfield, 2006) Other than that, the future for interactive advertising looks very bright.
The Distant Future...the Year 2000
I think the future of advertising and PR revolves around a single concept. This concept is this: Everyone is a potential nerd. So we, as advertisers, must figure out what our audience is nerdy or could be potentially nerdy about, and then figure out a way to connect our brand to those things in an unobtrusive, respectful, smart, meaningful and sophisticated way. One of the articles talked about how JJ Abrams did this for his movie Cloverfield. JJ Abrams, along with Chris Nolan are two writers/directors that are pretty hip to New Media. They are constantly employing viral marketing techniouques in their advertising but doing it very intelligently, without insulting the fans. They are the ones that can even get away with doing it obtrusively because they are just brilliant geniuses, and their work allows them to. But brands like say, Pepsi, will have to do it in unobtrusive ways if they want the respect of the audience. But I really think that advertisers have to figure out ways to make people feel like they are respecting their intelligence instead of just trying to sell them something. What do I mean by meaningful ? Besides the obvious? Well take a look at that Brawny article. They were trying to cash in on the New Media trend and just had no idea how to do it conceptually. That was not meaningful to the audience and it wasn't in any way smart either. I believe the article's author called it "idiotic" and that is quite the perfect term.
Another future trend I think I would think about if I were an ad exec is not giving away the whole story in the main event. Take Lost for example. Lost releases games and does tie ins with other films and shows (they actually did one with Cloverfield that was very talked about) where they embedd clues not available on the show. I know a big group of people that bought tickets to an Imax film just because the trailers featured the first 8 minutes of the upcoming Batman movie. Chris Nolan organized rallies specific to each city he chose to do his Batman promotions in-Austin was one of them...you could find clues on the street in the form of cards with web addresses that you had to go online and figure out h ow to enter in ...I mean this was elaborate stuff much like the ARGs they talked about in the Nine Inch Nails article. And Trent Reznor said that it wasn't advertising or trying to sell anything but the genius of it is that those types of antics still get you press and then you're also ultra cool for not "advertising". What viral marketing does is create hierarchies within its fan base...all of a sudden, teh people that participate, the people that keep up with every minute detail become the elite. and they actually in this way, become gigantic billboards, spreading their knowledge to their friends. It creates a sort of competition if your nerd base starts logging on everyday to see teh latest viral ad campaign that may or may not give out some hidden clues. It also gives you extra time to think and come up with answers. In this way, its like a virus. So appropriately named is the term.
After reading about the Joga.com Nike/Google endeavour, I'm actually kind of curious to find out how successful they are today. The strategy employed Google's gmail 'invite only' bent, which again creates a sort of elitism.
I also just wanted to point out that one of the most successful campaigns mentioned in the readings was called ilovebees, and the WOMAN behind it, is speaking at SXSW interactive-Jane McGonigal. The article didn't credit her (boo to them!) but she was the mastermind behind it and many other popular and successful New Media/brand integrations.
I think the most annoying thing in existance, and something I hope is a fad, are certain types of Facebook widgets. All the sites are trying to do them now and they are obnoxious. Some of them are done well, but it seems to be a case of the Pareto principle here...80% are horrible and annoying, and 20% are actually well done. Well, maybe even less than that. But you can't really deny the success advertisers are having with Facebook so if the widgets get better and start working better, they might be around forever. That is when I'll delete my account that's for sure.
I'm also glad that one of the articles talked about how nerds are a precious commodity, and they weren't just 8 years ago when they were all being laid off. This too is the future of advertising...people that work with their creative and business brains. When I was in my undergrad at UT, I majored in Creative Advertising and it was just drilled into our brains that we were the creatives and the losers who couldn't think were the suits. It was so very Eastside and Westside in the rap world. Now it seems a new breed of people are a hot commodity, and its those of us that feel we fall somewhere in the middle. For that, huzzahs are in order.
Another future trend I think I would think about if I were an ad exec is not giving away the whole story in the main event. Take Lost for example. Lost releases games and does tie ins with other films and shows (they actually did one with Cloverfield that was very talked about) where they embedd clues not available on the show. I know a big group of people that bought tickets to an Imax film just because the trailers featured the first 8 minutes of the upcoming Batman movie. Chris Nolan organized rallies specific to each city he chose to do his Batman promotions in-Austin was one of them...you could find clues on the street in the form of cards with web addresses that you had to go online and figure out h ow to enter in ...I mean this was elaborate stuff much like the ARGs they talked about in the Nine Inch Nails article. And Trent Reznor said that it wasn't advertising or trying to sell anything but the genius of it is that those types of antics still get you press and then you're also ultra cool for not "advertising". What viral marketing does is create hierarchies within its fan base...all of a sudden, teh people that participate, the people that keep up with every minute detail become the elite. and they actually in this way, become gigantic billboards, spreading their knowledge to their friends. It creates a sort of competition if your nerd base starts logging on everyday to see teh latest viral ad campaign that may or may not give out some hidden clues. It also gives you extra time to think and come up with answers. In this way, its like a virus. So appropriately named is the term.
After reading about the Joga.com Nike/Google endeavour, I'm actually kind of curious to find out how successful they are today. The strategy employed Google's gmail 'invite only' bent, which again creates a sort of elitism.
I also just wanted to point out that one of the most successful campaigns mentioned in the readings was called ilovebees, and the WOMAN behind it, is speaking at SXSW interactive-Jane McGonigal. The article didn't credit her (boo to them!) but she was the mastermind behind it and many other popular and successful New Media/brand integrations.
I think the most annoying thing in existance, and something I hope is a fad, are certain types of Facebook widgets. All the sites are trying to do them now and they are obnoxious. Some of them are done well, but it seems to be a case of the Pareto principle here...80% are horrible and annoying, and 20% are actually well done. Well, maybe even less than that. But you can't really deny the success advertisers are having with Facebook so if the widgets get better and start working better, they might be around forever. That is when I'll delete my account that's for sure.
I'm also glad that one of the articles talked about how nerds are a precious commodity, and they weren't just 8 years ago when they were all being laid off. This too is the future of advertising...people that work with their creative and business brains. When I was in my undergrad at UT, I majored in Creative Advertising and it was just drilled into our brains that we were the creatives and the losers who couldn't think were the suits. It was so very Eastside and Westside in the rap world. Now it seems a new breed of people are a hot commodity, and its those of us that feel we fall somewhere in the middle. For that, huzzahs are in order.
advertising & PR
The new media have changed the future of advertising too? I guess..I never thought anything about advertising or PR seriously, but I think the next big thing in advertising is targeting audiences who want them. Unlike passive TV or radio advertisings, the internet, for example makes advertisers use the medium to influence consumers who have same interests. 500 or more cable channels and VODs are other examples.
In The article, Stakeholder Strength: PR Survival Strategies in the Internet Age, the authors say, “communication is at the heart of the management of relationships,” and the communication is no longer “unidirectional.” I think advertisers approach customers by combining both advertising and marketing (PR) methods to produce the interactive communication. Not quite sure how successful Nike and Google’s joga.com website is, but it is becoming a trend today that two unmatched(?) companies get together and launch a something new. Apple and Nike are still promoting runners with iPod, and whomever their partners are, the corporations try to put their advertisements everywhere possible.
It seems like technology makes us have control over advertisements; Tivo, DVR or pop-up blocking software. However, I think customers are exposed to more and more advertisements. They are just different formats. A friend of mine, who is a film major at UT, her unfinished film project is already on imdb.com and youtube.com, and she is popular now. O’Brien says, “digital interaction can be tailored in an infinite number of ways.” Yes, I think there are unlimited possibilities for advertisers, and of course, a number of people who are sick of them, just like me.
In The article, Stakeholder Strength: PR Survival Strategies in the Internet Age, the authors say, “communication is at the heart of the management of relationships,” and the communication is no longer “unidirectional.” I think advertisers approach customers by combining both advertising and marketing (PR) methods to produce the interactive communication. Not quite sure how successful Nike and Google’s joga.com website is, but it is becoming a trend today that two unmatched(?) companies get together and launch a something new. Apple and Nike are still promoting runners with iPod, and whomever their partners are, the corporations try to put their advertisements everywhere possible.
It seems like technology makes us have control over advertisements; Tivo, DVR or pop-up blocking software. However, I think customers are exposed to more and more advertisements. They are just different formats. A friend of mine, who is a film major at UT, her unfinished film project is already on imdb.com and youtube.com, and she is popular now. O’Brien says, “digital interaction can be tailored in an infinite number of ways.” Yes, I think there are unlimited possibilities for advertisers, and of course, a number of people who are sick of them, just like me.
It's Advertactive!!
I found the concept in Chapter six of Web Theory about audience commodity and audience-labour interesting as audiences are cultivated through interactivity. I think this gives Web Advertising an edge over traditional static advertising.
I like how ARGs have begun to take advertising and marketing to a new interactive level, although many of those involved are trying to distance themselves form the idea of advertising. As Ross put it, it is a good way to solve for “how to reach people who are so media-saturated they block all attempts to get through.” I am interested to see actual numbers on the returns for the amount of resources poured into them. They are interesting and fun, but are the truly effective? I doubt they hold the key to the future of marketing.
Also, even with the innovation of ARGs, it could be speculated that the potential of interactivity in advertising might be hindered by the lack of talent. As Creamer put it “…it's not so wonderful if you're in the market for interactive talent. There's not enough of it to go around, and what is out there will cost you-dearly.”
I think a lot of the value in advertising going more and more interactive can be found in the first of Guohua Wu’s three dimensions, that the user experiences perceived control. I view the success in this type of advertising as a backlash to the lack of control and perceived intrusiveness over Television advertising.
Even with the introduction of more interactive advertising, I think advertisers have struggled to accomplish success in how Greenberg “wants to engage them (consumers) in digital conversations that are so entertaining, involving and valuable that they won't want to ignore them.”
With trailblazers Chrystler, Brawney, Nike, and others facing failure or only moderate success, I wonder what will become the killer app for interactive advertising? Or will advertisers dig interactive advertising into the ground by over-saturating consumers? I do not feel, that at this time, I can make any assumption as to where and what advertising will go and become. I do believe this is a very interesting time for media spectators and researchers as interactive advertising is constantly changing and morphing trying to find a successful shape.
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