Social Media vlog

I tried using imovie, it's a bit choppy, but here ya go!

Politics Today

New new media has changed the way campaigns are run today. Candidates now have the ability to target specific segments through a number of different media instead of just using mass communication. They can target a large segment of the population with Facebook, Twitter, they can blog about their campaign experience and upload YouTube videos to keep their voters entertained and informed. Instead of spending a large sum of money on a spot on a major TV news outlet, they can create a speech from the comfort of their home, or on the road even, and upload it to YouTube. They can tape interviews with voters at different locations to answer questions in a less formal environment and give a down to earth appeal.

But, new new media can also be very damaging to a campaign. If some unknown truth about the candidate is revealed, it will spread like wildfire throughout the Internet. This would call for serious damage control both through the use of social media as well as conventional mass media. So, I see new new media as being extremely helpful for the public in terms of election. Not only do we have the potential to feel significantly more connected to our candidates, but there is also an ease with which the majority of society can learn about past scandals if they happen to come up during the election period (or after).

However, we must always be careful not to believe anything too quickly and always check stories against other sources. Although the truth has the ability to spread rapidly across the Internet, so do lies.

Obama and Digital Media for his 2008 Campaign

Revolutionizing Politics

It is interesting to see how much of an impact new new media is having on government, politics and law, one of the most reluctant groups to accept to new technologies as Dr. Levinson says. The Obama administration used tons of new new media, never used before, throughout the campaign, including a campaign video made specifically to air on YouTube. An actual presidential debate was streamed via CNN and YouTube, bringing new media more attention in the presidential race. The administration continues to use all kinds of media everyday. It is fascinating how these new methods, like blogs on the the whitehouse.gov website, facebook pages, etc. allow the people to have more of a say and an opinion ever before. I remember writing letters to the president in grade school that the teacher would pack up all together and mail to the white house. I don't remember if we ever got responses, but I'm sure if we did it was similar to the one Dr. Levinson's wife got back. Lookingback it doesn't seem like this method was very effective. Not only is it easier to write an email or a blog post or a facebook comment, but it is also easier for white house administrators to read them and take what they say into consideration. I think new new media has revolutionized politics for the better. It will be interesting to see what types of new new media will be used in the next election and to see if it has any interesting effects.

Podcast

I have only listened to a few podcasts before reading Dr. Levinson’s chapter, but they seemed more appealing after the reading.  The first podcast I ever listened to was actually created by a co-worker.  The podcast contained his NFL playoff predictions, and was pretty entertaining.  The format of his podcast was similar to a radio show, but I was able to tune in whenever I wanted and even pause it.   Another great feature about podcasts is the ability to transfer them to your ipod, and listen to them on the go. 

            I can’t imagine podcasts entirely replacing radio, because people like to listen to live shows; but I believe they will increase in popularity.  Similar to the way some people became famous after being discovered on YouTube, I think certain people who frequently “podcast” could get discovered and get offered positions at radio stations.

According to the “podcast” Wikipedia entry, the first community podcast was hosted at Fordham University in 2005.  

Podcasts

Podcasts are not an area of social media that I was familiar with before reading Dr. Levinson's chapter on them. In order to learn more about them firsthand, I also went on iTunes and looked around the podcasts page. I did find a lot of interesting things that I did not know were available as podcasts. I found an entire section of language learning podcasts which I think is very interesting. Since I am going abroad to Spain next Spring I am considering subscribing to one of these podcasts in order to improve my spanish skills. I found a lot of other types of podcasts that seem to serve practical purposes. I think the good thing about podcasts is that they are so accessible and so convenient. So many people listen to their iPods on the way to work, while working out, in the car and it is so easy to simply listen to a podcast instead. It doesn't require any extra time to be set aside. To me podcasts seem like a good outlet for people to express themselves, as anyone can create their own podcast and make it available for others to listen to or watch. I can also see podcasts being used to organize flash-mobs or other real-life events like we talked about in class. I can not think of very many disadvantages to podcasts. For the most part, podcasts seem like practical sources of information or entertainment should someone decide to take part in them.

Podcasting

I feel that podcasting is a great form of new new media in which one can express themselves. It allows people to proclaim their ideas and individuality to others whether it be on their iPod or in the car. Obviously, the free-ness of it all is amazing. While I do not produce my own podcasts, I feel that this form of new new media is not too invasive into one’s private life. Other forms seem a bit creepy to me, allowing people to know where you are at all times, which gets too invasive for me personally. The whole idea of actually creating something shows that you have a talent and I think podcasting is great way to show your uniqueness and get yourself known to others for a good reason. The example Levinson uses is very interesting, when he creates a podcast rather quickly in the beginning of the chapter. He discusses a popular problem known as cyber bullying and I think it is a great way to get your opinions on a topic out there for others to hear and be able to react to.

What's real?

I think that Second Life is a way for people to escape from their life and live in a fantasy world. I kind of understand it as a promotional tool as Dr. Levinson describes when trying to sell his book, or as Lost used it. Lost's use of its own satellite website in conjunction with the Second Life island was a really creative idea and would really work to bring fans together. It would also allow those working on the show to see feedback from viewers and get a feel for what the show's following really wants from it. However, I wonder how profitable it really is to use it as a means for making money. I know that Dr. Levinson referred to a few people making a large sum of money, but I would think that typically people would be breaking even or losing money, especially since all the extras in second life have to be purchased. Let's face it, no one wants to walk around in a virtual world naked and basic. So, I feel like people would get lost in this virtual world and would be at risk for becoming too comfortable in it. They might ultimately grow to prefer Second Life to their real life and not want to leave. I feel like it would become addictive and people might sit in front of the computer for hours developing relationships that they may never experience in person. It is an interesting phenomenon because I remember playing the Sims and loving it, but at least aside from paying for the version of the game, the rest was free. Second Life seems like it could draw people in and in a way take their money as they become more and more consumed with the virtual reality.