Jessica Rose as Jenna and Randy Wayne as Carl ("Rain Man") in Ghost Town. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

AFTER a busload of college coeds takes a wrong turn on a back road, they end up in a real ghost town inhabited by deadly spectral gun-slingers. Now the jocks and nerds have to battle outlaws who become earthbound every 13 years to rehash an epic shoot-out. If they can’t fight their way out, the students will be stuck in the supernatural town for 13 years as well. Ghost Town airs Saturday, October 24th @ 9 p.m. on The Syfy Channel and stars Jessica Rose (a.k.a. Lonelygirl 15), Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Randy Wayne (The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning) and Billy Drago (Charmed).

As noted above, photo courtesy of and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Twilight, True Blood, and Vampire Diaries, you are hereby put on notice.

This post is all about the vlog, aka, the Video Blog. Because my blog is mostly text and pictures I would not strictly classify it as a vlog, but being as this blog is about the Internet’s viral content and much of that viral content comes from videos, I would certainly say video is a crucial component of my blog. At the bottom of this post I have included my very own first video that I have ever made of myself and posted it here. I have also posted some classic YouTube videos simply of people talking and chronicling their lives. This was a phenomenon that took off when YouTube first took off; before YouTube webcams were seen as things usually used for explicit sexual activity, but once YouTube came around, people began to use them to create Vlogs and chronicle their lives. They are also now frequently used for videochatting, so that friends from far away places could stay in touch, as Apple marketed them and programmed them into their new models. For some excellent examples, as I explain in my personal video, the first is of LonelyGirl15, the classic girl video blogger (who was actually a fraud).

And secondly is Mitchell Davis, who does excellent editing with his vlog to achieve great comedic timing. Check ‘em out and tell me what you think!

"ACME Saturday Night" Host 10/3/09 Mircea Monroe

LOS ANGELES – (Friday, October 2, 2009) – Mircea Monroe [“Drive,” “Cellular”] will host the online, comedy TV show “ACME Saturday Night” Saturday, October 3 at 8:00 p.m. PT on www.acmecomedy.com. The show is recorded live in front of a studio audience at ACME Comedy Theatre in Hollywood.

"ACME Saturday Night" Musical Guest 10/3/09 Katherine Pawlak

Monroe will appear in a variety of outrageous sketches and videos alongside “ACME Saturday Night” cast members.  Actress and musician Katherine Pawlak [Emma on "Lonelygirl15"] will perform as the show’s musical guest.  Former “ACME Saturday Night” host and “Mean Girls” star Jonathan Bennnett will return to the show as a video guest star.

ACME Comedy Theatre is located at 135 N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90036.  Studio audience tickets are available at www.acmecomedy.com for $10.00.  Tickets are $15.00 at the door the night of the show.

"ACME Saturday Night" Julie Wittner, Jonathan Bennett, Hope Shapiro PHOTO: WINSTON KERR

Celebrities who have hosted at ACME previously include:  Tichina Arnold, Jonathan Bennett, Lea Thompson, Matthew Lillard, Brian Krause, Kevin Richardson, Debra Skelton, Tatyana Ali, Kato Kaelin, Neil Flynn, Kelly Packard, Jai Rodriguez, ANT, Elaine Hendrix, Maria Quiban, Cristina Perez, Noureen DeWulf, Lisa Ann Walter, Kate Linder, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Thomas Calabro.

ACME Comedy Theatre celebrates its 20^th Anniversary this year.  Dan Kane is the executive producer of “ACME Saturday Night” and the owner of ACME Comedy Theatre. Please visit www.acmecomedy.com for additional information.

MEDIA CONTACT: riley@charlesrileypr.com

Katherine Pawlak Music on MySpace

Mircea Monroe "ACME Saturday Night" www.acmecomedy.com © Winston Kerr Photography 2009

Mircea Monroe and Nathan Fillion "ACME Saturday Night" www.acmecomedy.com © Winston Kerr Photography 2009

youtube hala türkiye’de yasaklı mı bilmiyorum ama ben başbakanın önerisini tercih edip gerektiğinde ulaşıyorum. sadece gerektiğinde ulaştığım bir site, o kadar önemli değil ama bir hayli fazla ünlü çıkardığı da bir gerçek. eğer sosyal, dünyadan haberi cidden olanlar varsa okuyucular arasında lonelygirl15′i hatırlayacaklardır.
lonelygirl15 şu zamana kadar youtube’da en fazla ünlenen kişi. kendisi nickinden de anlaşılacağı üzere 15 yaşında bir kız olduğunu falan söyleyip uzunca bir süre vlog (video log) tutmuş, belli bir takipçi sayısına ulaştığında da bir hollywood yapımında oynamak istediğini söylemişti. sonuç ne oldu bilmiyorum ama onun videolarının hem gençlerin “lonely (yalnız)” sıfatına hem 15 yaşında olduğuna takılmaları, ayrıca kızın cidden günlük yazar gibi hayatını paylaşmasıydı ya da öyle davranıyordu. ne kadar doğrudur bilemiyorum çünkü ne kendisini tanıyorum ne de videolarını takip ettim. tek alakam izlediğim bir videodur. neyse bu hanım kızımızın 19 yaşında yeni zelandalı olduğu ortaya çıkmıştı sonra. zaten film teklifi de almış kendisi.
ben de can sıkıntısından youtube’u karıştırırken böyle elemanların kanallarına bakayım dedim. kim var, kim yok, neler yapıyorlar, nasıl ünlü oluyorlar diye ve sonra haber kanallarını, şirket kanallarını eleyip kişisel profilleri incelemeye karar verdim.
tüm zamanlar ve en fazla takipçi sayısı değişkenlerini baz alaraktan bugün itibariyle sıralama şöyle;

1-fred

fred 41 video upload etmiş. 1,257,617 takipçisi var. az sayıda videoyla en çok takipçi sayısına ulaşan arkadaş. merak ettim nedir diye. açtım baktım bir videosunu. elemanın siması tanıdık geldi. zaten biraz araştırınca kendisinin tişörtlerinin satıldığını, icarly diye amerika’nın en ünlü çocuk şovuna katıldığını görmek mümkün. videoya gelince, upload edilmiş son videoyu izlemeye çalıştım ama sabır sınırlarımı zorladığından dolayı 30 saniye anca dayanabildim. sebebi hem elemanın sesi, hem de esprileri. o kadar bayat espriler, o kadar saçma şakalar yapıyor ki ben kendim o yaştayken yapılan esprilere şu dakika itibariyle sofistike bile diyebilirim. ama bu elemanı diğerlerinden ayıran şey sesi. normal parçalara “chipmunks” efekti uygulanmış gibi (ki efektin gerçek adı bu adı bu değildir) bir sesi var elemanın. ilk videosunda bu sesi duyup kapattım ve hep böyle değildir diye başka bir videosunu deneyeyim dedim. bir de baktım ki ses hep aynı. elemanın en büyük olayı sesi zaten. önce bir adet “chipmunks” şarkısı koymak istiyorum ki siz ne tahmin edebilesiniz. arkasından da elemanın en son upload edilmiş videosunu koyacağım.
chipmunk: aslında efektin adı gerçekte chipmunk değil fakat 80′lerde yayınlanan (bilmiyorum belki de daha eski olabilir) bir çizgi film olan “alvin and the chipmunks” çizgi filmindeki karakterler böyle konuştuğu için ben böyle bir isim taktım. çizgi film 3 tane sincabın müzik grubu kurmasını anlatıyordu ki sesler de daha tiz bir hale getirilmişti. bu da böyle.
alvin & the chipmunks – beat it (evet evet mj’in – blog da mj tribute sayfası gibi oldu)

fred’in videosuna gelince;

sonuç: youtube’dan direk soğuma ve yeni nesilden bir şeyler beklememe sebebi.

2-nigahiga
amerika’da yaşayan asyalı gençler bunlar. 1 tanesi açmış bu kanalı, diğer 3′ü de yardım amaçlı aralarda görünüyorlar. esprileri fred’e göre daha iyi. genelde parodilerle uğraşıyor. bir house parodisi yapıyor bir x-men. fakat hala pek zeki espri kabiliyeti yok, yüzeysel. kültürel bir sorundan kaynaklanıp da anlamıyor da olabilirim diyeceğim ama amerika’da doğma büyüme olarak amerikan mizahına aşina olması gerekiyor. amerikan mizahından da anladığımı düşünüyorum ve işin içinden çıkamıyorum. neyse kendisi 38 video upload etmiş, 1,207,526 takipçisi var. son parodisi saw serisiyle ilgili. fred’e göre katlanılabilir olduğundan 1-2 videosuna daha göz atabildim.

sonuç: takip edilecek insan değil ama en azından katlanılabilir.

3-smosh
80 video upload etmiş, 906,435 takipçisi olan tipik amerikan genci. tam böyle teenager değil, tam da yetişkin değil. arada kalmış bi eleman. kendi çapında film tadında klipler upload ediyor sürekli. kötü efektler, komik olduğunu sandığı espriler var çektiklerinde. diğerleri gibi izlenemeyecek şakalar yapmıyor, katlanılabilir ama hayatınıza bir şey katmayan gülümsemeyeceğiniz laflardan oluşuyor videoları. en azından benim izlediklerim öyleydi. örnek video ama izlediğinize değmez baştan söyleyeyim.

4-universalmusicgroup
bir müzik şirketinin bu listede olmaması abes olurdu zaten. şirket bilincine sahip olup klip ve albüm tanıtımları yayınladıklarından kendilerini atlıyorum.

5-kevjumba
nigahiga’dan sonra 2. asyalı eleman. 49 video upload etmiş, 562,108 takipçisi var. hala sayının aşırı fazla olduğunu düşünüyorum ben. bıyıkları yeni çıkmaya başlamış, sesi yeni kalınlaşmış asyalı bebenin “kızlar m&m’s gibidir”, “amerika’da asyalıyım o yüzden kız arkadaş sorunu yaşıyorum” tarzı geyikleri, “bak ben okulda ne yaşıyorum” tarzı problemlerini anlattığı videolar için 560.000 takipçi!? şaka olmalı.

asian-american tiplerde espri anlayışı denilen şey yok bence.

daha fazla devam edemeyeceğim galiba. 2 gecedir ara ara bakıyorum bu kanallara ve ne güzel bir espri ne de izlemeye değer bir şey gördüm. tabi daha bakılmamış olanlar var. 12. sırada miley cyrus var mesela. “super sweet 16″ saçmalığının şu sıralar başrol oyuncusu ve şöhretini korumakta o kadar ısrarcı ki youtube’daki diğer kızlara sataşıyor sürekli. 9. sırada venetianprincess diye bir hanım kızımız var mesela. güzel bir kız, sezar’ın hakkı sezar’a. ama gel gör ki videolarını bir bakıyorum, smosh’un aynısı ya bu. sesini aptal saptal değiştirip kendi havasını katıyor sadece videolara. berbatlık baki tabi. 3 tane emo gözüme çarptı ayrıca. gitar çalabiliyoruz ufaktan, e saçlarımızı da tek göz açıkta bırakacak şekilde tarıyoruz, neden youtube’dan kız arkadaş bulmayalım mantığında gençler. cool olmaya çalışıp olamayanlardan. böyle gidiyor youtube top list’i. bunlar 300-500 bin takipçisi olanlar bir de. daha bunun 3-5-10 binlikleri var. onlar daha iyi bunlardan. aralarında cidden komik elemanlara da rastlamışlığım vardır. yani youtube’da en iyi tepede değil de en kötü tepede nedense. garip. anlam veremiyorum buna.
şimdinin teenagerları bunları izliyor artık. bizim neslimiz daha mı zekiydi ne?

The folks at EQAL, who practically put the concept of newteevee on the map with lonelygirl15, are foregoing original content to focus on building online extensions of established brands, like the company’s new project with TV chef Paula Deen. What does it say about the state of original episodic content online when one of its biggest success stories believes its future lies in traditional TV?

We first learned about this news in a post over at MediaWeek, so we talked with EQAL’s co-founder and COO, Greg Goodfried, to find out more. “We have taken a shift, currently, from recurring serial dramas to focus on working with existing entertainment properties,” said Goodfried.

Some of those existing properties Goodfried is talking about include its partnership with CBS for Harper’s Island/Globe, working with Anthony Zuiker (creator of the CSI franchise) on the Level26.com portion of his “digi-novel,” an upcoming project with actress Alicia Silverstone, and a new project quietly being rolled out with southern belle chef Deen.

EQAL is running the digital extension of Deen’s cooking empire and is charged with the creation of Get Cookin’, an online community/cooking/reality show (which presumably will involve lots of butter and bacon). Goodfried went on the road with the Deen crew to shoot behind-the-scenes footage of stuff like her recent trip for an appearance on Good Morning America. EQAL will work to bring the Deen family and fans together online to interact with each other through videos, blog posts and more. EQAL is also working on ad sales for Deen online.

What drove EQAL, kings of new media, into the warm embrace of old media? Goodfried said there were two factors. First, traditional media brands were coming to EQAL looking for this kind of digital extension. Second, he said it’s unreasonable to think you can come up with an original idea and expect advertisers to finance it anymore. Advertisers want brands that already have a built-in audience (like Paula Deen).

This desire for a known brand is something we’ve heard before. ABC (s DIS) abandoned original online content in favor of creating off-shoots of established TV shows like Ugly Betty.

EQAL hasn’t abandoned original content entirely. “We definitely believe in the creation and production of original content for the Internet,” Goodfried said. It’s just more challenging now. Goodfried believes original content creation needs to be done dirt cheap and it needs to have its own hub where a community can be built (and become less reliant on the promotional whims of YouTube (s GOOG)). Even then, though, Goodfried says, those brands will still have a hard time reaching and establishing relationships with advertisers.

One thing is for sure, Goodfried will be reaching for some plus-sized pants if Get Cookin’ takes off and he has to spend a lot of time on the road with the Deen entourage.

So this month has been insane. Just got a new car, working many days of the week (with not that many hours but whatever), final papers for graduate classes, and then of course to top it all off the first week of summer break what happens? I get bad sinuses/head cold/whatever you call what I have. But point is I had all of today off… and yet couldn’t leave the apartment. But have been taking the time to do some productive things. Things like… convert some papers to PDF’s so I can upload them for you to enjoy, create a new twitter/blog/forum with some friends, and even start a youtube account. So, let me show you what I’ve been up to.

First, I have never played with YouTube but lately I decided I wanted to learn how. You can see my first two YouTube attempts here. Please be kind.

Also – I have some lovely friends met from Harper’s Globe and LG:15.  Together we have joined forces and became the Geek Girls. You can follow us on twitter @geekygirls, check out our new geeky blog, and play at our geeky forums. Come and join us – I promise we are nice!

I am currently trying to figure out how to upload the papers I wrote as PDFs for everyone to read/enjoy/give me feedback about. I have them in PDF format just not sure if I have to find a server to upload them to and then link or what. I will post them as soon as I figure it out!

So, this is one of Lonelygirl15’s clips.  What do you think?  Is it too well edited?  Do you think she is real?

I’m just going to be as cut to the chase and classy as I can with this: last night’s episode of Lost gave me an erection of awesomeness.

I mean, right?

Predictably, since it was a Ben episode, we got a little more details, some holes filled in the various back stories, and plenty of fodder for future speculation.

Some quick thoughts:

Locke. Granted, it’s a Ben episode, but I really dig the “new John Locke” that we’ve been seeing post-resurrection. He’s more serene, operating with more of a purpose, and appears to have a Nic Cage-sized sense of knowing things. Goodbye sometimes confused and lost old man, and hello to embracing the fully confident new leader of the Others. And it sounds like he’s not crazy about housing his people in the barracks when they could be out in the wild. Roughing it!

Ben. He’s always been a little more than just the villain of the piece, but now, I have to say that it’s riveting watching him constantly working his games on people and setting up his machinations. And Michael Emerson’s portrayal of this character is fascinating in that no matter how confused or thrown for a loop the character ever could be, you can tell that the wheels are always still spinning in his brain.

Sure, the guy’s always lying, but I think that his most honest moment was probably last year when he was traipsing through the jungle with Hurley and Locke and had to pause to say: “How many times do I have to tell you, John? I always have a plan.” Good times.

Caesar. Ha ha.

Rousseau. Her encounter with Ben not only made me think that we may actually be done with her character now, but also makes me want to go back to season 2 and watch his first episode again. Lindelof wasn’t kidding when he teased that the two of them “had words” at some point in the past. Also, I think that the whispers have moved up a slots higher on the list of things I’m curious about.

Alex. Interesting how she became both Ben’s one decent quality (and you just have to be amazed that she was raised as well as she was, considering who her “dad” was) and seemingly that noose hanging over his head.

Richard Alpert, Benjamin Light’s #1 man crush. For starters, Ben was totally his Alex, right? Seemingly he was always cheering him on just a little (until Locke came alone), yeah? Secondly, he totally lies to Widmore about what Jacob wants, but Widmore just kind of goes with it, which I find fascinating, even though he really din’t have a choice. Speaking of which…

Jacob! Seemingly, he and the Island are one in the same, especially if you wanted to use them in a sentence. So, If I were to say to you, “Jacob wanted me to kick you in the balls,” then you could easily just as well say, “The Island wanted me to kick you in the balls.” Also, Jacob seems to be the magic word to use in just about every situation. You’re pissed and want to know why I just kicked you square in your balls? It’s simple. Jacob wanted me to. Sorry. You can’t argue with that.

Charles Widmore. Well, Chuck here didn’t leave the way I was thinking he would (I was hoping for a turn of the frozen donkey wheel, after being tricked into doing it by Ben), but this was just as interesting. Of course, after the fiasco with the baby Alex situation, it didn’t seem like it would’ve been too hard for Ben to make quick business of him. Also, try to ignore that he’s seriously rounding up on how long he’s been trying to get back to the Island.

Also, it’s interesting to see the new guy playing the middle aged Widmore, who looks a lot like Alan Dale, especially with that wig they gave him. Of course, the guy who played teenage Widmore back in the 50s looked a lot like Alan Dale too. Oddly, teenage Widmore guy and middle aged Widmore guy look nothing alike. Let’s hope they do just as good with the actress coming in to play middle aged Eloise.

Annddd, I’m fascinated by the symbol on the vests of the Others guys who were escorting Widmore (don’t ask my why, but I got a total Nixon vibe in that scene) to the submarine, which also had the symbol on it. It seems to be based on the Taoist ba gua, much like the DHARMA logo. A hold over from the Purge?

Desmond! A collective “Whew!” comes over the audience to find that his family and he weren’t violently murdered by Ben, even though I think Ben effectively got the revenge he sought against Widmore in the transaction. But also perhaps found a glimmer of a soul in himself too. And we got to see Desmond deserve a nice little beat down as well. I really want to go watch that sad little phone call Ben makes to Jack in “316.”

The Monster! Ah, the monster. They tell us over and over again, that it’s not a nanotech swarm (which I really want it to be even more now after having finished Michael Crichton’s Prey today), and yet… wouldn’t that make perfect sense? The way the “creature” transitions from it’s Monster state to it’s human replica capable of real conversational interactions (and throwing people against walls) is intriguing as hell.

Also, like Locke, I think all the monster wanted was an apology and some remorse. And some undying fear of God loyalty for the new leader of the Others. And you know what? I think it’s going to happen.

Oh, and The Question: What lies in the shadow of the statue?

Ooooh. I think something very interesting it happening with the red shirts of Ajira flight 316. Perhaps their tiny brains are being taken over? Or perhaps, just perhaps, they aren’t there on accident and have something to do with the upcoming war that Widmore has warned us about. Plus, I love that Frank Lapidus enters every scene he’s in like he just stumbled out of a bender. If they only gave him a drinking scene with Desmond he’d be my favorite character.

Next week: Miles talks to dead people! (Spoiler: Naomi appears). Dr. Pierre Chang! Hurley (who also talks to dead people) and… what appears to just be some awesome good times with the DHARMA gang back in the 70s. That, or we’re going to outer space, brotha!

But tonight is the premiere of Harper’s Island, the 13 week close ended episodic television version And Then There Was None meets your average cheap slasher flick, where a group of well to do strangers go to a wedding on an island, and then slowly get picked off one by one by a mysterious killer who has a beef with them from the past.

At Wonder-Con, Lollipop and August and I attended a panel promoting the show, but held by the makers of the Lonelygirl15 franchise, who were executing an online web series meant to tie in to the main show. The whole presentation was laughably bad, and the show appeared to be ridiculously shot “video blogs” of a cute girl who couldn’t stop herself from accidentally filming her boobs all the time.

I love mysteries and horror movies, but I’ve always preferred the “slasher” films because, typically, you get that little bit of whodunnit involved. The mysteries are usually either retarded or too easy to figure out, but maybe that’s half the fun too. More so if they’re trashy. And this show just sounds like one of interesting ideas that can only be executed horribly. I’m watching the first few minutes of this as I type and aside from Final Girl to be Elaine Cassidy (who was wonderful in Atom Egoyan’s Felicia’s Journey), Richard Burgi being his usual level of sleaze, and Harry Hamlin making eyes at some twink in the wedding party, this is just a bunch of nobodies that you can’t wait to see get offed (though I’d suggest that you just go watch the original April Fools’ Day instead). Secluded island murder porn, here we come.

]]> http://runyoncm.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/youtubing-authenticity/ Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:41:10 +0000 Christopher Runyon http://runyoncm.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/youtubing-authenticity/

YouTube has become a huge part of media, especially social media. The average college student is overwhelmed with the amount of videos they can watch and can share with others. A normal class period conversation usually includes their most recent video findings on YouTube.  Users can use YouTube to share video, comment on videos, and share their stories to others. With interactive buttons like SHARE that allow users to share on social networks, websites, and even embed video into a post or comment is amazing. The YouTube community has sky-rocketed, with the sloan Broadcast Yourself  gives the idea that everyone can be a producer by uploading their videos for millions to watch. In fact, YouTube released a statistic stating that every minute, ten hours of video are uploaded to their site. A YouTube revolution has started and couldn’t be stopped.

Soon, individuals became YouTube celebrities as people around the world followed their posting like lonelygirl15.  She immediately became a YouTube star of reality entertainment. Lonelygirl15 was an home-schooled  16 year-old teenager girl with religious parents who secretly recorded all her videos in her bedroom. The long series of video started in June 2006 and ended in August 2008. Her followers quickly jumped to 2 million viewers and had one highest watched channels on YouTube. After more videos were posted, people began to grow suspicious  if she was real.  Later, actress Jessica Rose and her filmmaker, screenwriter, and photographer were discovered to be a fake.  Everyone was fooled and not too happy. Below is a video of die-hart explaining why YouTubers were so upset of the scam.

We all know that YouTube is flooded with pointless videos and that’s why we love it. But when this micro-soap hoax was uncovered, we saw YouTubers truly get pissed that people would post non-authentic material the site. Even YouTubers had an expectation of truth and honesty.

Former AOL CEO to be News Corp Chief Digital Officer; Jon Miller will lead all digital initiatives and will likely join the Hulu board. Meanwhile, current Fox Interactive President Peter Levinsohn will be president of new media and digital distribution for Fox Filmed Entertainment. (Deadline Hollywood Daily, paidContent)

ZillionTV Adds Weinstein Company Content; movies such as The Reader to be available through the forthcoming set-top box. (release) See our previous coverage of ZillionTV.

MSN Ramps Up Original Online Series; company’s branded entertainment and experiences team to launch 15 projects, many of which are web series. (MediaWeek)

YouTube Back Up in China; government lifts block of the video-sharing site that was in place last week. Meanwhile, the sites’ user accounts may be tied to citizens’ real identities in South Korea. (The New York Times, paidContent)

Lonelygirl15 and KateModern to be Distributed in Japan; agreement between EQAL and Shinto Tsushin will bring dubbed versions of the series to the Japanese market. (emailed release)

Tandberg Television Unveils Ad Insertion for Network DVRs; technology allows for dynamic commercial placement at the headend. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Some of you know that I’m in a program to get my Masters in Communication (Advertising) at Cal State Fullerton. Others know that I’m very interested in social networking and social media (hence my obsession with twitter). Well, because I am currently taking a class on Mass Communications Theory the two interests often collide.

I’ve become very interested in a new Social Show called Harper’s Globe. It is an ongoing web series that is part of the Harper’s Island mythology. It is also done by the same company that created the LonelyGirl15 experience, so it’s already making a large splash.

This week the theory in question that I chose to write on was the Information Diffusion Theory and whether it was relevant in a modern technology world. By looking at Harper’s Globe I saw that it proved the theory valid. The following is my paper that looks at it. I hope you enjoy!

Information Diffusion Theory

In the ever changing world of mass media one must look critically at the current mass communications theories to see their validity in today’s society. One such theory that can be proven as relevant in today’s world of mass communications and new technology is the information diffusion theory first introduced by Everett Rogers in 1962. His information diffusion theory had five stages that new mass communications technologies must be passed down through before being widely adopted (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271). The following discussion will examine the stages in relationship to the new media phenomena of the social show, in particular Harper’s Globe, produced to go with CBS’s new television show Harper’s Island.

The first stage is where people are first being made aware of the new form of communication. This can be done through information from mass media (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271). It was also suggested that change agents could be involved in the distribution of the information regarding the innovations to assist others in their use ((Baran & Davis, 209, p.272). In looking at Harper’s Globe it is seen as getting press in new media groups as being the first of its kind. The creators of the program, who would be the change agents, are seen through the mass media explaining the concept and inviting people to join the website to find more. They are also available on the website to help people begin to enjoy the experience. As the site begins to become more popular the forming of the second stage is seen.

The second stage is when the communication form is adopted by a small group of early adopters (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271). This group of early adopters on the Harper’s Globe website comprised of the creators and members of the company that created the site and the program. They are a small group of people including family and friends of those who created the site and people running the website in various capacities. It is them who explained to the opinion leaders in stage three how the website worked and the in and outs of the new phenomena of a social show (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271).

In stage four the opinion leaders encourage their friends to use the medium (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271). This is currently the stage that Harper’s Globe is in within the information diffusion theory. The opinion leaders are sharing the information about Harper’s Globe on other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. This allows the information to reach a larger number of followers, or opinion followers. As the site grows it is hoped that more people will find there way to the new social show after the television series debuts on CBS. These people would be the late adopters to the show (Baran & Davis, 209, p.271).

Various other factors must be taken into consideration though. One such factor is the role of the active audience. In order for someone to be interested in Harper’s Globe it is suggested that they be an active member of the audience by posting comments, solving mysteries and communicating with the characters, however it is not necessary in order to enjoy the weekly episodes. While being an active audience member can enhance the understanding and pleasure one gets from a social show, it is not crucial, just something extra to keep people interested in new media interested. Unfortunately, the idea of being an active audience is not introduced in the information diffusion theory so it is uncertain how being an active part of the audience influences people’s decisions to try and encourage the use of new media. Time and further exploration of the role that audience participation has in the evolution of new forms of mass communication can, in the future, help form opinions to revise this theory appropriately.

MILES BECKETT FROM EQAL: HARPER’S GLOBE PREMIERE

Earlier today at Digital Hollywood NYC, I had the chance to catch up with Miles Beckett, co-founder and CEO of Eqal.  You may remember Eqal from the online sensation lonelygirl15 or Katemodern fame.  Well, they’re back again, this time in coordination with a new CBS series called Harper’s Island.  Harper’s Globe, the online series, premiered its first episode online today.  Harper’s Island premieres on CBS April 9^th.  Watch the first episode of the online series above.

Check out the 2 part interview with Miles below.

Part 1

Part 2

[show=harpersglobe size=large]Creating newteevee to supplement oldteevee is a tricky thing. How do you tie your online content to your TV show in a way that engages your TV audience without having so much integral content online that non-Internet-savvy viewers feel alienated? There’s no magic formula, but one effort hitting the sweet spot is Harper’s Globe, the new “social show” created as a companion to Harper’s Island, a “mystery event” coming to CBS next month.

Harper’s Globe — produced by EQAL, the folks behind a modest little success called lonelygirl15 — is the story of Robin Matthews (the ridiculously adorable Melanie Merkosky), a recent college grad who gets a mysterious job offer to digitize the archives of Harper’s Globe, the local newspaper of Harper’s Island (where the death-at-a-destination-wedding show takes place). Robin’s also tasked with building a social network on the paper’s web site. As she scours old files, her attention is caught by a murder spree that devastated the island seven years ago. And the more she digs, the more dangerous things get. Already, a poster named Dangerous Wreck has uploaded a seriously creepy video, and that out-of-the-blue letter Robin received with the job offer is looking more and more suspicious.

What makes it a “social show?” It’s not so much a simple web series as a constantly interactive site with a social network and daily content updates, where in-show characters upload videos and blogs, and participants can comment, interact with characters, and upload their own content. Every Wednesday, a week’s worth of character content updates gets edited into a new episode — meaning that those following the mystery have a choice to either follow the updates as they unfold during the week, or get a web-show-packaged version weekly.

(A “mystery event,” by the way — in the case of Harper’s Island — is a contained 13-episode series that will wrap up the mystery and reveal all by the run’s end. Think of it as the anti-Lost.)

Much like Harper’s Globe has launched several weeks before Harper’s Island, Robin arrives on the island a few weeks before the events that kick off the TV series. Producers for both platforms are reluctant to confirm how much crossover there will be (for fear of spoilers), but EQAL’s Greg Goodfried and Matt Siegel say that Harper’s Globe Episode Four — which airs the day before the premiere of Harper’s Island — ends with the arrival of the TV series’ fated wedding party, and the events of the first episode of Harper’s Island feature prominently in Harper’s Globe Episode Five. (Also of note is the fact that Jennifer Yale, head writer for Harper’s Globe, just happens to be Harper’s Island Executive Producer Jeffrey Bell’s assistant. So it’s fair to assume the creative teams are in close touch.)

The goal is to have a web experience that enhances the TV show without becoming too interdependent with it — what Goodfried calls, “relevant but not required.” So far, so good; the site and the videos are great-looking and intriguing, there’s extra content scattered around online (like Robin’s college blog), and the forums and comments on the site are heating up.

Newteevee that seems to be making a geniune effort to give us something new. That seems worthwhile enough to justify a small body count along the way, right?

Creating newteevee to supplement oldteevee is a tricky thing. How do you tie your online content to your TV show in a way that engages your TV audience without having so much integral content online that non-Internet-savvy viewers feel alienated? There’s no magic formula, but one effort hitting the sweet spot is Harper’s Globe, the new ”social show” created as a companion to Harper’s Island, a “mystery event” coming to CBS next month.

Harper’s Globe — produced by EQAL, the folks behind a modest little success called lonelygirl15 — is the story of Robin Matthews (the ridiculously adorable Melanie Merkosky), a recent college grad who gets a mysterious job offer to digitize the archives of Harper’s Globe, the local newspaper of Harper’s Island (where the death-at-a-destination-wedding show takes place). Robin’s also tasked with building a social network on the paper’s web site. As she scours old files, her attention is caught by a murder spree that devastated the island seven years ago.  And the more she digs, the more dangerous things get.  Already, a poster named Dangerous Wreck has uploaded a seriously creepy video, and that out-of-the-blue letter Robin received with the job offer is looking more and more suspicious.

What makes it a ”social show?”  It’s not so much a simple web series as a constantly interactive site with a social network and daily content updates, where in-show characters upload videos and blogs, and participants can comment, interact with characters, and upload their own content.  Every Wednesday, a week’s worth of character content updates gets edited into a new episode — meaning that those following the mystery have a choice to either follow the updates as they unfold during the week, or get a web-show-packaged version weekly.

(A “mystery event,” by the way — in the case of Harper’s Island — is a contained 13-episode series that will wrap up the mystery and reveal all by the run’s end. Think of it as the anti-Lost.)

Much like Harper’s Globe has launched several weeks before Harper’s Island, Robin arrives on the island a few weeks before the events that kick off the TV series.  Producers for both platforms are reluctant to confirm how much crossover there will be (for fear of spoilers), but EQAL’s Greg Goodfried and Matt Siegel say that Harper’s Globe Episode Four — which airs the day before the premiere of Harper’s Island — ends with the arrival of the TV series’ fated wedding party, and the events of the first episode of Harper’s Island feature prominently in Harper’s Globe Episode Five.  (Also of note is the fact that Jennifer Yale, head writer for Harper’s Globe, just happens to be Harper’s Island Executive Producer Jeffrey Bell’s assistant.  So it’s fair to assume the creative teams are in close touch.)

The goal is to have a web experience that enhances the TV show without becoming too interdependent with it — what Goodfried calls, “relevant but not required.”   So far, so good; the site and the videos are great-looking and intriguing, there’s extra content scattered around online (like Robin’s college blog), and the forums and comments on the site are heating up.

Newteevee that seems to be making a geniune effort to give us something new.  That seems worthwhile enough to justify a small body count along the way, right?