Reebok's New Branding Campaign

Reebok launches a new "branding" campaign by way of the entertainment business.

On Dec 14th, Reebok teamed up with the Independent Film Channel and NY Production House Roadside Entertainment to launch FRAMED, a reality-based series that pairs up celebrities with athletes as they work together to direct short films.

An interesting example of a branding campaign for the age of convergence, where a product company entering the "branded entertainment" industry to produce media that will spread across multiple platforms (Film Festivals, TV, Yahoo!, Youtube, etc.).

Says Reebok's Todd Krinsky in a press release:

"Reebok enjoys strong partnerships with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment and through our first original television series 'Framed,' we can show consumers sides to these global icons often unseen. We are thrilled to be able to bring together Hollywood talent and our roster of top athletes to create a unique viewer experience that lives outside of traditional advertising."

Read about it in Adweek and NYTimes

FCC Eases Media Ownership Rules

Some argue it's to help newspapers in the age of the Internet, others say it's an old- fashioned power grab by large media conglomerates.

The FCC has just approved loosening ownership rules, allowing a company to own both a newspaper and a radio or TV station. Further signs of media consolidation at work.


Read about it in the N.Y.Times

group journalism projects: WNYC Public Radio

WNYC's Brian Lehrer has organized a number of "group journalism" projects enlisting the audience to go out and research specific topics. Citizen journalism meets collective intelligence meets spoiling?


the first assignment:
"We reveal some preliminary results from our group journalism project “Are You Being Gouged?” comparing the prices of milk, lettuce and beer and look for the reasons for price disparities between neighborhoods and types of stores." (from WNYC site)


the second assignment:
"Help us find out the true financial impact of Bill Clinton on the Hillary Clinton campaign in our latest group journalism assignment." (From WNYC site)

And now for something fun...
how many references can you spot?




from Channel Frederator
"the World’s Original Cartoon Podcast... THE central hub for hot, hip, upstart animators"

CLASS CANCELLED

Due to illness - Thursday Nov 15
Pls check your e-mails
L.A.

Colbert's Facebook Following

Comedian Stephen Colbert's "mock" presidential run has already garnered almost a million supporters on the social networking site Facebook... more than Obama.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/colberts-facebook-flock/

Comcast Blocks Some Internet traffic

"Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic"
Implications for Net Neutrality
& affecting p2p sharing

read || watch video

Advertising to Kids

Junk Food Advertisers Target Tech Savvy Youngsters

Convergence for Tots

Watch these clips from CBS news on advertising aimed at kids.
(Watch critically, what assumptions are the guests & hosts making about the inevitability of advertising for kids. )

See (from PBSKids) "Don't Buy It": strategies to teach kids to become aware and critically challenge advertising.

Web sites extending contact with childrens' television programming:

• Nick Jr,
  
• Noggin (both owned by Viacom)
• Disney
  
• PBSkids.org (run by PBS)
  

Consider how the push to target a younger and younger demographic, making them loyal costumers "from the cradle to the grave," is rapidly making its way to the on-line experience.

"A new wave of interactive play sites for a young generation of Internet users, in particular girls." Read about it in N Y Times article

Visit sites:

• Wenkinz,
• Cartoon Doll Emporium (See also their "fashion" dolls)
• Club Penguin (ad-free, subscription-based, recently acquired by Disney)
  

Take a moment to consider: What are these sites teaching kids?
Or, put another way, what are kids learning by interacting with these sites?
Is it all about selling, or is there something bigger at play? (consider Jenkins)

Finally, refer to Leslie Shade's article "Young Canadians talk About the Internet" (published in a "Life On Line"-themed issue of the Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol 30-4). What digital literacy skills does she encourage?

"[W]e must ask: with regards to the internet, how do children and young people see themselves? Do they see themselves as citizens or do they see themselves as mere consumers, with their ability to interact with friends and access an array of content? ... Given that children and young people are active users and potential shapers of furure digital content, developing a critical and creative education and awareness campaign that involves their input into its design and outreach is vital."

50 years ago ... SPUTNIK

This short from Current TV summarizes the amazing event that took place 50 years ago today: the launch of SPUTNIK, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. Arguably, this accomplishment gave birth to the modern telecommunications age. Think cell phones, google maps, "live" transmissions from across the world, weather forecasts, and much more.

"Good" Television & "New" Viewing Habits

WNYC's Brian Lehrer discusses the "improvement" of television programming in today's age of multiple delivery platforms.

Cell Phones, Web Spread News of Military Crackdown in Burma

The Associated Press reports on the ways that mobile technology is allowing citizen journalists report on the events in Burma, where the military regime is violently cracking down on peaceful pro-democracy protesters, including buddhist monks. In spite of the regime's efforts to keep journalists from reporting on the crackdown, mobile technologies allow witnesses to get photos & videos out to the world.

Read Story

Miro (2) --- Public/Private Debate

Miro is also a non-profit organization. That means this software was not developed to make profit for a corporation. It was created as a "public service." For now, it's free ... kind of like PBS or Public Radio.

Miro's currently running a fund-raising campaign to help support the costs of operation. On their blog, one of the founders asks users to donate.

What really drove me to post this (besides wanting to show the way video content is being distributed nowadays) is the really interesting conversation is developing in the comments thread of the fundraiser page. Basically, it's a heated but intelligent debate about the differences between a proprietary/capitalist model of society versus an open-source/public model.

Three arguments being made:
- the leech: "I can download everything for free so why should I donate"
- the communitarian: "you should contribute because it supports a good cause"
- the capitalist: "the non-profit cause is a losing proposition, go corporate"

One final point: Miro is in a similar position as "traditional" public broadcasting (including public television and public radio). Indeed, they argue they are providing a public service that the corporate "new" media doesn't. Granted, they do not have the educational mandate that PBS had at its inception and they do not produce content like PBS stations do, but it does raise the question: should we start thinking about forming a "Corporation for Public Internet Broadcasting"? And/or what will the role of the CPB and PBS be in a convergent world, particularly vis-a-vis the emerging educational content that's out there?

Miro (1) -- Internet TV

Miro : an open-source program that allows you to search, download, and watch video content from all over the world. Its interface is very user friendly and the video content is organized by channels, categories, tags, etc, so you can search and watch stuff that you choose.

It is a model for the future of TV/video content: watch what you want, when you want it, all from sources that are not part of "The Industry." Tap into the vast collections of user-generated content from peer-casting sites like trough sites like YouTube, BlipTV, Revver, Veoh, etc. Or download HD quality programs from professional sources that not available on your local channel line-up.

Miro is an aggregator for the vast video content being generated throughout the world. "TV" has never looked this good... oh, wait, but this isn't TV anymore!

Tim Berners-Lee on the Semantic Web

This video supplements our readings for next class, as Tim Berneres-Lee, inventor of the WWW, explains the concepts behind the Semantic Web.

Net Neutrality

Two short videos introduce the issue of new neutrality and argue why the net should remain "neutral" without limitations by ISPs. We'll discus this more in the coming weeks.

Tim Berners-Lee's position:


A perspective from Canada: here

How Medium Changes the Message (1) - Kids & TV

A recent report on the effects of TV on children. Note how the medium changes the message.

This is how a "tv" web site reports the findings:
ABC7Chicago
Consider: Watered down? Why? Is it really in their interest for your kids to stop watching TV?

This is how it was reported by Reuters news service (who provides news stories to various news outlets like Yahoo, newspapers, and on-line news providers like Environmental News Service) read here

This is how it was reported in the USA TODAY blog
(notice the informality)

This is how the scientific journal Pediatrics from the American Academy of Pediatrics reports it: abstract of article

Here is a previous article in Pediatrics on similar topic:
Children Adolescents and Television

media-opoly

This "TV Funhouse" video aired on Saturday Night Live some time ago. A lighthearted take on at a serious issue - so serious that NBC supposedly prevented it from replaying on re-runs of SNL. We'll be addressing the issue of media consolidation on several occasions in class.

For a more serious take on some of the consequences of media consolidation, read these reports from respected PBS journalist Bill Moyers.

Developments in Learning

Two interrelated stories relating to education & convergence.

Curling up with a nice... laptop?
Two new E-book Projects launching.

How will kids get that nice red apple for teacher ... online.
Virtual Schooling Growing

In following with the class introduction (the "Big Picture"), consider the changes in cultural paradigms, interpersonal relations, social structures that these developments imply. Consider the profit motive behind these. How does it shape these evolving "industries" that are so central to our culture? Who benefits? Who is left out?

On a more personal level, would you want your kids to read e-books? To go to an on-line school? Why? Why not? At this point of personal fear of change (i.e. your concern that they won't get something you got with more traditional schools), at this point is where you find & experience the very changes in cultural logic that we are addressing in class.

Thompson across platforms

Tonight on NBC's Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno, Fred Thompson announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Thompson's official web site will post his official announcement online at 12:01am 9/6.

Earlier in the evening, prior to this announcement being braodcast on Leno, Thompson ran this "pre-announcement" ad during the Republican candidates' debate which aired on FOX. The candidates criticized Thompson for not joining them to discuss the issues.

Note how the various media have been mobilized and utilized and how quickly the blogs buzz.

As we'll discuss in class later in the term, Barack Obama and other politicians have been using the web very effectively for a while. But it's impressive to see a made-for-tv campaign "event" unfold with all its Hollywood-inspired coordination and drama... all from the comfort of your computer screen.

Magazines: This week's Newsweek cover story
Mainstream News Sites Report: yahoo/ap
Blogs: Politico, Drudge Report