Customer-Focused Websites

In today's society, people have a YouTube attention span. This meaning, people are only focused on something for a few seconds, and if they do not become engaged, they lose interest. This article describes its strategies as if you are trying to sell the website versus being self absorbed.   

It's first strategy is to provide clear statements that are customer benefit oriented. Again, this means that it suggests less narcissism and more selling of the product in an easy worded way that the customer can understand. The second strategy states that it supports its claims. They suggest that the website showcase some third party support or customer support. this can be accomplished with live accounts on how the product has benefited others. Thirdly, the article suggests that website proactively address potential objections. What this essentially stating is that website should state what it promises to deliver. This could be anything  such as fast delivery for an example. Lastly is suggest to usher the visitor into a dialogue. For an example, to could be a free download or a free sample of their product.  

Customer-focused websites draw customers in because they aren't foreign to them. Websites that focus on the customer are more appealing and are easier to navigate.  People lives have become busier with very little time to waste. Sites, such as this, are becoming popular because they have evolved with peoples busy schedules. It has evolved to compliment man’s desire to quickly get in website, get what they need, and leave.  

In conclusion, websites like these can be effectively accomplished is to know your evolving digital world. Remember that people have full schedules and no longer have any extra time to spend searching through a convoluted website. Avoid focusing on ones self and focus on the customer. You can easily see as time goes on, technology will advance which will change the way we receive our information. 

Web 2.O Another Frontier

·         Intro

Technology has opened doors for us that we could never open before in our life! If anything, it has made us closer. It gives us the ability to keep in touch with our families, jobs, and friends. The internet used to be just emails and banner ads. It quickly evolved to be something much bigger. We use to come home and watch TV but now we watch TV on the internet. We search on the internet, read blogs, upload pictures, and we update our statuses. We have come to share our lives on the internet. We’re not on the internet as passive observers. We’re on the internet to have a shared experience.

·         What is Web 2.0, and how has the shift in digital culture

We are in a time where technologies make it easier for ordinary people to take media into their own hands. They are able to create, share, and express themselves in every possible media channel. Examples include fan communities, groups of gamers, blogging population, and various subcultures online. What these groups have in common is that they have environments that are supportive in which to create and share what you create with others that there is a real respect for the creative process and there is an assumption that whoever is a reader can become a writer and whoever is a consumer can just become a producer.

Web 2.0 describes a new version to the world wide web. It is sites such as YouTube or Facebook that allow users to connect and interact with as producers or creators of content in a digital world. Web 2.0 is removes the barriers that older Web sites had that limited users to easy access to user-generated content.

A great example that has embraced Web 2.0 would be Geni, a genealogy and social networking website. I became familiar with this site last year when I was searching my family tree and Geni was the most helpful. Like Facebook, it aims to connect people. However, unlike Facebook, Geni seeks to connect families with a shared family tree of common ancestors. It is fairly simple to use with tips every step of the way. People lives have become busier with very little time to waste. Sites, such as this, are becoming popular because they have evolved with peoples busy schedules. It has evolved to compliment man’s desire to connect and produce their own content.

·         How has it empowered ordinary people to become media producers and distributors?

This is what Web 2.0 is also about participatory culture and spreadable media. Participatory culture is a term that refers to a culture of people that do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers. Henry Jenkins added that the key elements of participatory culture include low barriers to participation, strong support for sharing, informal mentorship, members who feel that their contributions matter, and who cares about others' participation. Participatory cultures reward participation. Not everyone must participate, but everyone must believe that if they participate it will be valued.

Web 2.0 has allowed for people to take to social media and share their skills with the world and help contribute to produsage.  Sites such YouTube allow people share their skills with world. It displays a wide variety of independent videos. This included “Hollywood” movie clips, television show clips, music videos, a wide variety of amateur created videos such as video blogging “vlogging”, short original videos, and educational videos. YouTube can define as “user-friendly.” From your casual viewers, to your independent producers anyone can use YouTube. With this access to an easy interface, many users have taken to this site as there way of expressing themselves.

Produsage is best described through the examples that the web has produced over the years. A good example would be the rap artist “Souja Boy.” The young artist decided to make a catchy song and dance and uploaded it to YouTube. There it spread like wild fire, make Souja Boy famous within hours. He allowed people to take the video and make their own dance videos and share them without any compensation. This made him a conduit of produsage in which people took his work and produced their own version.

Another example would be Rooster Teeth’s Red vs. Blue.  Red vs. Blue is probably the first web series and first video I ever watched on YouTube itself. Red vs. Blue is a comedic parody series based on the Halo video game franchise, created by Rooster Teeth Productions. Red vs. Blue was created by using voice-over and prerecorded gameplay videos of on the Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360. The series followed the Machinima techniques of other videos seen by using synchronizing video footage from a game to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio.

Series did so well that seasonal DVDs were released due such a high demand for them. Initially the series intended to be very short; the project quickly and unexpectedly achieved significant popularity following its Internet release on April 1, 2003. Praised for its originality, the series has won four awards at film festivals held by the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences. It has also won the award from "Best Animated Web Series" from the International Academy of Web Television. The series was credited with bringing new popularity to the YouTube channel “machinima,” helping it to gain more mainstream exposure, and influencing more people create their own videos that matched this art form.

·         How it has this affected many of the media industries?

For years, newspapers have been one of Americas’ primary sources of global, national, and local news. We rely on them for the information that we needed to understand what is happening in our world. But today, newspapers across the country, including in the north east region, are in crisis. Declining circulation and advertising revenue have led to staff cuts, less content, and even bankruptcy, putting in question the ability of the newspaper industry to continue providing vital information to the public.

It’s no secret that journalism has had to step down from the pedestal it was once on. In a way this descent has been, in part, a result of its own doing and in part because it has failed to keep up with the times. While technology has progressed, journalism has to a certain extent been unable to re-invent itself in the digital sphere and has simultaneously been unable to sustain itself in the analog sphere.

Journalism is being given tough competition by sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where traditional forms of news reporting do not matter anymore. What traditional media outlets can't do anymore, is cover breaking news. That is one of the fundamental problems facing journalism today. With reporting become by the second as opposed to daily, consumer’s habits have changed and unfortunately newspapers haven’t been able to keep up. But we are forgetting that there's a difference between information and knowledge, If a bomb goes off in Afghanistan, people can read about it instantly on Twitter but they won't be able to know what it means. Where did it come from? Who did it? What's happening over there? That is what journalism can do. There is no doubt about it, Facebook and Twitter are now pathways to news, but their role may not be as large as some have suggested. The population that uses these networks for news at all is still relatively small, especially the part that does so very often. Moreover, these social media news consumers have not given up other methods of getting news, such going directly to websites, using apps or through search. In other words, social media are additional paths to news, not replacements for more traditional ones.

Like what was stated previously, Facebook and Twitter have become new pathways to news. People have been relying in these social media sites for their news, family updates, weather reports, and place they can share everything.  Public relation jobs and industries have also adopted this form of news spreading. Being a public affairs officer myself for a non-profit organization, I know full well how social media plays an important role. Social media has become a tool to use to reach out to modern people today. It has become a way for big organization, such as Taco Bell, to directly communicate to its customers and relating to them. This creates a new form of marketing and brings in more trusting customers.

·         Conclusion

In my conclusion, Web 2.0 is only the beginning of a new shift in digital culture. You can easily see as time goes on, technology will advance which will change the way we receive our information and entertainment. With social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, people can connect and share themselves more than ever before. I, personally, look forward to the future of Web 2.0 and the frontiers it will take mankind.

Work Cited

·         Christian, A. (2012, 11 11). Youtube’s fading ‘halo’. Retrieved from http://tvisual.org/2012/11/11/youtubes-fading-halo/

·         Informa Telecoms and Media. (2012, 03 30). Machinima to launch prime, prepares for first youtube ‘upfront’. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltveurope.net/22678/machinima-to-launch-prime-prepares-for-first-youtube-upfront/

·           Klowden, K. (2008, 06). Writers’ strike of 2007–2008 the economic impact of digital distribution. Retrieved from http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/writers_strike.pdf

·         Jenkins, Henry. Fans, bloggers, and gamers: exploring participatory culture. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Print.

·         Rose, Frank . "Deep Media." 'Deep Media'. Frank Rose , n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.deepmediaonline.com/deepmedia/2013/01/henry-jenkins-on-spreadable-media.html>.

Participatory Culture

Participatory culture has been around longer than the Internet. The emergence of the Amateur Press Association in the middle of the 19th century is an example of historical participatory culture; at that time, young people were hand typing and printing their own publications. These publications were mailed throughout a network of people and resemble what are now called social networks. The evolution from zines, radio shows, group projects, and gossips to blogs, podcasts, wikis, and social networks has impacted society greatly. With web services such as eBay, Blogger, Wikipedia, Photobucket, Facebook, and YouTube, it is no wonder that culture has become more participatory. The implications of the gradual shift from production to produsage are profound, and will affect the very core of culture, economy, society, and democracy.

Participatory culture is a term that refers to a culture of people that do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers. Henry Jenkins added that the key elements of participatory culture include low barriers to participation, strong support for sharing, informal mentorship, members who feel that their contributions matter, and who care about others' participation. Participatory cultures reward participation. Not everyone must participate, but everyone must believe that if they participate it will be valued.

Produsage is best described through the examples that the web has produced over the years. A good example would be the rap artist “Souja Boy” or, in my opinion, Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager.  Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager is a comedic web series created by Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan which parodies Star Wars. The show's central character is Chad Vader, the day-shift manager at the fictional supermarket Empire Market, who doesn’t fit in well with the staff. Initially produced to be a show for a local station in New York, the project was canceled after only two episodes were released. However, the creators decided to continue the story and upload it to YouTube. The show has received several awards, including an Official Star Wars Fan Film Award, which is a high honor for a Star Wars fan.

Matt and Aaron have been Keynote Speakers at a number of events including Comic Con, The Writer's Guild, Dragon Con, Fan Expo Toronto, and more. I personally have sat in on one of their panels at Dragon Con, where I have learned several points of how they got started. Additionally, I learned how this series opened several doors for the creators due to its success. One of the most notable doors to open is the position offered to Aaron Yonda by LucasArts. With an upcoming video game being produced, LucasArts needed a voice for the famed Darth Vader. Generally, most fans would have thought that LucasArts would have chosen the original but expensive voice actor, James Earl Jones. However, they decided to go with Aaron Yonda because of how strikingly similar his voice was to the character. Furthermore, Aaron has now played this character for LucasFilm on several different projects, and is probably every fans dream come true.

Another example to participatory culture is today’s memes. If you have been on the internet in the past few minutes, you more than likely have seen one for yourself. This can be from the picture memes you have seen or the videos that have gone viral, such as Red vs. Blue or Chad Vader. In the Henry Jenkins’ book, “Spreadable Media,” Burgess suggests that “certain videos act as a hub for further creative activity by a wide range of participants.” This might sound familiar when you think of all the different harlem shake and Gangnam style videos that I am sure you watched a million times.

The internet use to be just emails and banner ads. It quickly evolved to be something much bigger. We use to come home and watch TV but now we watch TV on the internet. We search on the internet, read blogs, upload pictures, and we update our statuses. We have come to share our lives on the internet. We’re not on the internet as passive observers. We’re on the internet to have a shared experience. This idea is what Henry Jenkins and the authors are trying to convey to their readers. By writing this blog, I myself, am a perfect example to all the forms of participatory culture.

Chapter 2 Spreadable Media

We are in a time where technologies make it easier for ordinary people to take media into their own hands. They are able to create, share, and express themselves in every possible media channel. Many of the tools allow for them to store, correct, remix, and redistribute content from media as a mode of creative expression. Practices, institutions, and ways of doing things have developed around those tools. Examples include fan communities, groups of gamers, blogging population, and various subcultures online. What these groups have in common is that they have environments that are supportive in which to create and share what you create with others that there is a real respect for the creative process and there is an assumption that whoever is a reader can become a writer and whoever is a consumer can just become a producer. There’s a training process in which professionals help newcomers acquire the skills to be involved and their system of distribution which allow for them to give feedback on a regular basis. In chapter, authors Joshua Green, Sam Ford, and Henry Jenkins help illustrate the meaning of appraisal, the physical world vs. the digital world, and how YouTube has become such a success.

Chapter two gives us a better idea on how term “appraisal fits in with media theory. According to the book, appraisal is defined as a negotiation between different systems of evaluation, determining not only the object’s value but also how that value can be measured. For example, a gold coin can have many different levels of value; the value of the gold, the value of the coin as a historical object, a collector’s interest in the coin, or how valuable the coin is to a certain person or family.  The television show, Antiques Roadshow, and the online auction site, eBay are two places where they use this form of appraisal.   By placing value on a product, both the antique show and eBay are able to see how much a product is worth. However, the antique show uses professionals to estimate their market value versus eBay allowing users to determine a products market value.

Another concept the chapter discusses is how material goods versus digital goods are shared. The book uses the example of someone giving a bottle of wine as a gift. Once they give it away, they longer have possession of the wine and once the receiver is finished, they longer have the wine either. However, if one was to share a copy of a song through Bluetooth, both parties can have possession of the product. These digital goods can be shared, sold, or gifted without the owner ever loosing possession over the digital good.

Created by three former PayPal employees in 2005, YouTube has come a long way since its beginnings. Like AtomFilms, YouTube displays a wide variety of independent videos. This included “Hollywood” movie clips, television show clips, music videos, and again, a wide variety of amateur created videos such as video blogging “vlogging”, short original videos, and educational videos. YouTube can define as “user-friendly.” From your casual viewers, to your independent producers anyone can use YouTube. With this access to an easy interface, many users have taken to this site as there way of expressing themselves.

In my final conclusion, this chapter opens us to a world we are all familiar with but may not fully understand the importance of our digital world. This chapter helps us understand the difference of how the physical world and digital world determine the value of their goods. It also reminds us how YouTube and other sites like it have allowed a new culture emerge and utilize this new technology to express themselves and continue spreadable media.

Sex Sells

Easiest way to money and followers on the internet is unfortunately sex.  I say unfortunate only because we, as mankind could strive for better things. However, there is no denying the fact that the reason why certain shows on HBO get so many viewers or why music videos gain so much popularity.   It is the same reason why the porn industry made over $1 billion dollars over the past year. Additionally, according to Nayar, Americans have spent $200 million on fee-based adult sites. So how does our society allow this product to sell so easily on the internet?

Internet laws towards sexual content can be very unclear. When investigating such sites, one cannot always determine between what is porn or something that is considered art. In terms of gender roles, the difference between porn and erotica can mean two completely different things. Erotica is basically the old ways of sexual explicit content. It has been used for many years as essentially an art style of sex and nudity. It’s much less cheap and degrading as porn, however some consider porn to be the new erotica.

The online game known as Second Life allows people to recreate themselves as “avatars.” Through this game, many people try out different life styles from their real life. Additionally, this game allows for players to pursue online relationships. As a result, these online relationships are escalated through cybersex.  In the game, players can change what clothes they are wearing or their physical features to increase the cybersex pleasure.  Because of these actions, cybersex viewed as a new culture of social interaction between anonymos people. 

This newly forming culture has even sparked the interest in feminists. Currently, among the feminist, there are two sides to the topic. One side feels that cybersex is liberating for women. This can relate to women who may feel that they are unattractive in real life and seek a way out. On the other hand, some feminist see cybersex as intimidation and exploitative. They believe that, even in the cyber world, that women are still victimized and disrespected.

The internet has given sex immense power. Billions of dollars are ranked it through sexual content on the internet.  Cybersex has become a new form of culture of social interaction between anonymous people.  Through cyberspace and cybersex, women men and women feel they are able to express themselves that they would not normally do in the real world. Ultimately, humanity will have to choose how they practice and view sex the further we advance our society.

Online Confessions

Recently I have been reading a book called "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle. She has brought many good points that I have either agreed greatly on or only slightly disagreed. This past week I read a chapter discussing a new topic regarding online confessions and the effects it has on its users.  Online confession sites are places where people can go and post confessions about things that have happened in their life. Most of the time, the website lets the users post anonymously. This helps the poster feel that they can really confess something without anybody in their life finding out. Sometimes, users can post and comment on another person’s confession. They can give feedback, or unfortunately express their anger at the confession. These are almost like a catholic going to confession, without the priest.

Many people who use these sites are bored, lonely or just looking for answers in other people. They rationalize that using these sites help get things off of their chest. They don’t think these sites could do any harm, especially because people don’t even have to use their name when posting. Older people seem to use these sites in order to find something online that they do not have in real life, such as a person they can trust with their deepest secrets. Younger people tend to see these sites in many different ways including just reading them for fun or actually using them to confess secret things. Confession sites allow a poster to be anonymous just so they can get things off their chest without anybody finding out it came from them

Venting is also another aspect of online confession sites. Many people will go on these sites to talk about their personal life. They are able to say whatever they want without feeling like it can come back to them in real life. It is a way to get things off of their chest since there are many things they want to say they might not even be able to tell their closest friends. People are also able to read confessions and realize they may not be alone and they are going through similar things. It is almost like a justification for things they have done.

Even though the online confession sounds like a good deal, there are repercussions a person may not foresee. A person is able to post without using their name, but someone else is also able to comment on a confession or post. Since they can comment without using a name, they do not have to be nice or even helpful. They could be demeaning and leave the original poster upset and feeling worse than before they posted the confession. These are harsh comments that a person would probably not be able to say to the person if they were meeting face to face. Sometimes it can be hard for the poster to understand people are just being cruel.

Online confessionals can be seen as easy therapy sessions. People are able to take a situation and post about it online, getting it off of their chest, and feeling better about the situation. Even though some people can post and be negative and not get the attention the poster was hoping for, it can still ultimately help relief stress that can build up in a person that keeps everything in.

Babies

Last Thursday I had the privilege to watch a fantastic silent film called Babies. The movie is not exactly a silent film but I have no direct dialogue from any of the “main characters.” The film depicts many segments of four babies who are born in four culturally different areas of the world. The film, in my opinion, was design to illustrate the similarities between each child, despite being born to different parents and raised in different cultures.

The first child we are introduced to is Ponijao from Namibia.  Born in a hut in the local village of Namibia, Ponijao’s mother takes little preparation before giving birth. A few ceremonial rituals are done and she ready to give birth. Although the birthing process seemed archaic, the baby that is delivered acts the same way any child does once it’s born. After taking a look at how the other children are born, we are reconnected with Ponijao where he is always amongst company. Whether It is his older brother watching over him or his mother has him on her back while she works, the child is always looked after. Like most children, Ponijao is seen playing around in the dirt and exploring his surroundings by crawling around. Ponijao is also well groomed after his mother by having his head shaved regularly.  Not to mention his mother also keeps him well fed by breast feeding him whenever possible. Finally we are assured how relatable the people in Namibia are to us in the USA by showing Ponijao’s mother playing with him and helping him stand up once and for all.

Next we meet Bayar who is from Mongolia. Bayar’s mother prepares herself by doing a ritual dance before the birth. However, this time she is giving birth in a hospital far away from her home in her local village. Once Baya is born, he is immediately swaddled in blankets. This is largely due to the traveling he must take to get back to his home far from the hospital. Once Bayar arrives at home, he spends most of his time inside his family’s hut. He can be seen using a pacifier that is made from something organic that matches something we would use in the states. While his mother is not always present in the hut, Bayar is usually accompanied by his older brother who watches over him. Another similar trait Bayar had to babies in the U.S. is his tendencies to cry for attention. This can be seen when he is being spoon fed or if his brother is teasing him. Discipline is also witnessed when his mother gives him a slight spank when he is misbehaving.  Additionally, Bayar plays around just like any child would and eventually finding the will to stand on his own.

Thirdly, we meet the first girl in the film known as Mari from Japan. Starting of rather different than the other two, Mari is born in a big city full of lights and technology. Mari is born in a hospital quite like the ones we have in the United States. Once Mari is born, Japanese characters are written on her feet. This could indicate her name or be some ritualistic symbolism in her culture. Breast feeding is again, something that is made clear in Mari’s culture. Along with a father who is present a large portion of the time. Similar to us, Mari’s parents take her to a day care service during work hours. Along with the care she is given at the daycare, Mari receives plenty of time with her parents when play with her in singing and exercises that keep her entertained. Mari is also accompanied by other children whose parents have joined with Mari’s parents on this parenthood journey. Finally we see Mari enjoying a birthday party and learning to stand.

Lastly we finally meet Hattie from California who is the other female child in this film. Very similar to Mari than her counter parts, Hattie is again born in a hospital full of medical devices and ways to keep her safe. Again we see the father taking the time to be with the child while he reads to her. He also goes to the next level by taking a shower with Hattie to give her a full bath experience, which she enjoys immensely. With Hattie, we see there is a higher degree to keep her safe from any sorts of danger. For example, we see Hattie with socks or mittens on her hands to protect her from her scratching herself. She is also bottle fed rather than breast fed which can vary in the United States. Hattie also receives regular medical checkups to make sure she is in full health. We also see Hattie strapped in bouncy chairs that keep her entertained and safe from running around when her mother is occupied. Cleanliness is apparent when it comes to Hattie because we witness her father giving her a lint roller rub down from any dust or hair. Again we also see parents, specifically mothers, grouping together to help each other with child raising. Lastly, we see Hattie’s parents taking her out for a bike ride and witnessing her first steps in life.

In conclusion, Filmmaker Thomas Balme allows us to witness the first steps of life in this film. By following Ponijao, Bayar, Mari, and Hattie, we get a chance to understand and realize how similar we are to other cultures when it comes to our children. Take this opportunity to realize that we are not so different from each other and that we should embrace and respect other cultures.