The Day Music Died (side b)

Andrew Keen’s “The Day Music Died (side b)” was on point when talking about how the internet is threatening our values, economy, and creativity. The “Web 2.0” creation is starting to affect people all over, especially those in the movie business. I completely agree with him on the point that the movie industry is in trouble, and the Internet is definitely to blame. Movie theater prices have skyrocketed over that last decade, going from $5 for a movie and $2.50 for candy, to $11.50 (at some theaters) and $3.50 for a box of candy. This inflation was due to the decline in movie goers (which was about an 8.7% decline in 2005, and it is still declining), and they needed to make the money off of the people who still go to the movie theater despite the high prices. What’s the cause for the infrequent trips to watch movies on the big screen? Free movie downloads! According to the article, there are approximately 660,000 people who regularly download movies from the Internet, and the number is expected to increase to about 50 million by 2010. I’m not so sure that the number will increase that dramatically in that amount of time, but I’m sure more and more people will be exposed to free movie downloading from friends and family and the number will increase exponentially. Many major companies in Hollywood have to cut jobs and sales are decreasing. Keen states that because of piracy, the total lost output from all U.S. industries is about $20.5 billion annually. This figure deals with the lost of annual earnings to U.S. workers, lost tax revenue, and the loss of jobs. Disney recently eliminated 650 jobs, and the number of films in production had to decrease as well. Their ticket sales were down from $1.5 billion to $962 million in the two year span from 2003 to 2005. Warner Bros. cut 400 jobs worldwide in December 2005 alone.

The way the internet is advancing is also a cause for concern, especially with the increase in the bandwidths, which is the transmission capacity and speed of data transfer. With problems in downloading happening less frequently, more people will be encouraged to download movies. Netflix is also making it easer to watch movies, with a wide variety of them absolutely free and ready to watch whenever (as soon as you sign up). Including in the movie industry, small movie stores are going out of business as well. People can just get their movies shipped right to their house as well as just watching them on your computer.

Bookstores around the world are also suffering due to the Internet. I agree with Keen when it comes to the fact that small businesses being threatened. Approximately 2,500 independent bookstores have gone out of business since 1990, according to the New York Times, which is sad to hear because there are so many people affected when that happens. The owners and workers lose their jobs, and many people are just taking summaries from the Internet and not actually reading books. There are so many people who go on sites like sparknotes.com, which actually gives a very detailed summary and points of interest for countless numbers of works. There is no need to read any of the classic as well as modern works, which I think is important in the process of learning. Amazon.com had a 21% increase in “media sales” over the final quarter in 2005, which includes books in that category. It is very popular to buy and sell books for much cheaper prices than a normal bookstore would sell them for, causing for anyone who is up for saving money (everyone in the world) to use this site instead of taking a trip to the store. More and more people are becoming accustomed to doing this, and I think that soon enough there won’t be any bookstores left. Everyone in this day and age does things on the Internet, and the future generations will probably be buying everything from their computer.

News networks are also unprotected from this Web 2.0 craze. People now regularly log onto their computers to find out about what’s going on in the world. A Pew Research study in 2006 showed that 71% of adults (from 18-29 years old) get most of their news online. NBC has plans to eliminate 700 jobs from the total workforce. Thinking about the future, plenty more people will be sadly laid off, causing unemployment to rise even higher (according the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate is currently about 6.5 for ages 16 and older, which is an increase from about 4% in 2000). The number of people employed in the newspaper industry (according to the Newspaper Association) was down by 18 % between 1990 and 2004. Sadly, the participation that goes along with “Web 2.0” is only going to increase and cause all these different problems to increase as well. I absolutely agree with all of Keen's points, and I am afraid of the future because of the high increase in the population (which is increasing at a rate that is cause for concern) and the decrease in the amount of jobs because of the Internet.

Moore's concept of "sheep devouring men" in his novel, Utopia, was a “reaction to the Enclosure Laws that banned the peasantry from the fields of the great estates.” This relates to our time period, 500 years later, when people who are executives at companies like Google, Youtube, and Myspace, are getting ahead and pretty much stealing from “the little guy.” Nowadays, many people that are at the bottom are not getting what they deserve and are being pushed aside by the “aristocrats” of our time. A good example is YouTube, which was bought by Google for $1.65 billion dollars. There is no need for journalists, editors, producers, publicists, customer-service staff, or a back-office support staff, which causes for less money to be dispersed to others but the main staff of 60.

"Growing Up Online"

“Growing Up Online” was a very accurate portrayal of how young people are obsessed with the websites like MySpace and Facebook. Many teenagers have an exceptional amount of time on their hands, so their free time is spent on the computer. There are many things to do such as look at pictures, post comments, sent messages, do quizzes, and post information about yourself. Many people live a sort of double life because of the way you can portray yourself differently.
Many parents are afraid of predators and stalkers that many young people can attract online. Many young girls post up sexual pictures of themselves, which inevitably causes males to become interested and sometimes ask to meet them. There are a great number of young adults that would say that they would just ignore messages and comments that are predatory, but there are always the select few people who are not so smart. It is very dangerous to have information about where you live, but most people just say their hometown (which can still be dangerous). One mother even tried to monitor her children’s use of the computer by having it in the open and not in their rooms, but they still would close out on the screen when she would come around.
Advertising is massively used all throughout these websites. On every single page you will see advertisements on the sidebars and sometimes pop-ups come up. On Myspace sometimes a random person will comment on your page, but it is an advertisement for some product. I personally got fed up with that website when it began to be flooded with too many advertisements and it was extremely annoying. Facebook is okay, but it is always advertising for ways to be slimmer and more fit.
There is a lot of negativity when it comes to comments and pictures because people can comment really mean and nasty things that hurt one another. It is easy to just delete something that is written, but if you do not get to a computer fast enough, it may be too late and everyone will see it. One friend of mine had that happen to her recently, but she goes on Facebook every 10 minutes so she caught it and deleted it before many people could see the comment.
Overall, people need to be more aware of what they are putting on the web, especially since it can affect your job in the future. There are ways to get onto a website, and you don’t even know if your pictures and information truly is deleted. Someone can steal what you have and easily publish it somewhere else. Websites need to be monitored more carefully and parents should be more wary about letting their children spend a lot of time on the computer.

The Persuaders

We are headed towards having tangible advertising that connects people on more of an emotional level, not just creating brand loyalty. People who are at the top of the advertising business are trying to push the envelope because techniques are going to work as long as they’re the only one using it, but then it’s going to be saturated and they need to always be ahead of the game. People’s interests are the top priority, and as interests change, advertisers have to keep up with that and try not to lag behind when it comes to what’s “hot.” I think that techniques of persuasion are never going to go too far, especially since if it a outstanding idea that will be very profitable, there will always be people who will be for it. I feel as though advertisers will try anything to and advertising techniques will become more and more advanced as the technology in our world gets better and better.
People who have certain products put themselves in a kind of category of people, like those who are Macintosh users, those who like certain music, those who travel on a certain airline, or those who drink a certain drink. Many people think it is “cool” to do a certain thing and young Americans are extremely impressionable. We get all the messages and advertising since we are small children, not even understanding what we’re being advised about. We’re brought up being sold on different products and services, most of us not even knowing what goes into the research and production of those products and services. Once someone is set on a certain product, there is a sense of belonging and you feel like you found something that’s fit just for you, and advertisers are trying to get to these primal impulses to get us to be appealed to products and show us that that product will do just that. The advertising in movies works really well, especially when top actors are using certain brands and driving certain cars. The populace of the United States does look up to famous people, and usually if they’re using it, it must be good. Every time I see something being used in a movie that isn’t a fake generic name, but a real company that I see at the stores I go to, I wonder how much money those companies pay to have their product appearing in that movie. Movies that are aiming towards a certain audience definitely use this strategy as well, causing for a lot of sales.
Americans look for any excuse to buy products when they really don’t need them. Like the hummer example, why would anyone want to have a hummer if they live in New York City? People do not go off-roading in NYC, but a hummer is the vehicle that is the biggest and best of all SUVs, therefore people will waste their money on it. Americans are most definitely susceptible to the world of advertising and marketing, and we always want what is the biggest, fastest, most powerful, and most luxurious. For example, whenever a new iPod comes out, people want to update even though they already have an iPod that holds that same amount of music. When a new model of a car comes out, everyone wishes they had that newer model. The people who can afford to buy new versions of products usually upgrade, therefore making the need for newer products a constant obsession.
People need to be more aware of what people are advertising for, and people should do more research and not act on impulse just because someone says it is the best. People need to justify what they are buying on a logical level, not just from feeling good about a commercial or billboard. Personally, sometimes I will see an advertisement for some kind of food and they make it so appealing that I actually go out and buy that food for a meal. On a few occasions, I unfortunately regretted my decision to get McDonalds, but the advertisements work sometimes.

I think that marketers and researchers should be allowed to do whatever they can in order to find out what teenagers are interested in. Everyone needs to make money, and whether or not you are good at your job depends on how much you make, especially when it comes to people in the marketing and research business. Teenagers are definitely influenced by the media because they are very impressionable, ever since younger years. When kids are even younger, they look up to parents, older sibling or cousins, or whoever is older and “cool.” Who doesn’t want to be cool, right?
The ethnography study was something I found to be very interesting as well as effective. If teenagers are letting these people come to their homes and raid their closets, then who cares? It’s not as if they are intruding and not asking for permission. I think that that is a great way to find out what teenagers are into and how they feel about certain things, especially if they do their research in the right way and have people from all over the United States in all different towns and populations.
What better way to find out how to market and advertise? This way, it’s coming straight from the mouths of exactly who is spending the most money. Conducting surveys, taking pictures and making videos is definitely not going too far, and that is probably the best way to get accurate data besides raiding someone’s room and following them around asking questions all day. $150 billion was estimated to have been spent on teenagers in 2001, and I’m sure that number for last year is still about the same. Clearly, its important that companies are producing the right merchandise to sell to teenagers and adults alike (considering how much parents spend on teenagers).
From my personal experience, if you are a good, fun, nice, enjoyable, and of course “cool” person, what you wear or listen to or what you’re into do not matter. There are different groups of people who are into different fashions, different music, different movies, and different interests in general. I don’t feel like everyone tries to be the same, but there are some who just don’t know what they want, so they find out what they like through their friends. The marketing media is doing what they are supposed to, and it’s not that big of a problem with teenagers.

Quiz bitmap & vector

Media professionals have many ways of finding out what audiences are interested in, whether it’s from ratings, sales figures, or email responses and interactive satellite television. Other ways include looking at responses on the internet and seeing what products are viewed the most, and what comments are made on products. Usually there are comment boxes on websites that sell products and they ask you for a rating. For example, amazon.com has you rate products, whether it’s books, movies, games, music, computers, electronics, home and garden products, toys, apparel, or shoes, and plenty of people take their time out to glorify a product if it worked really well for them or they really enjoyed it.
When it comes to ratings, media professionals can see whether or not their advertisements during a certain time slot have been boosting sales or whether they see no difference. With kid’s shows, they would obviously show commercials for toys and cartoon movies, while more adult shows that are on later at night would have advertising for things like electronics, higher rated movies, and products that only adults use.
The radio can also be used, since many people will call in to share their views about certain things. It is a good idea to find out what audiences are saying directly from their mouths, especially since they know they are anonymous. Reading feedback in magazines is also a good way to find out what people are interested in. There are always those sections at the beginning that discuss different articles in the previous magazine and people say what their likes and dislikes were. Usually people are honest because they want the magazine to respond appropriately so that the magazine can be improved for their reading pleasure.
Production research is also another way to find out what people are interested in. Research is done to find out about how the creativity or agency of he media professional is limited by organizational and also external factors. Organizational means the way the goods are produced, the ownership structure, the editorial line, and culture or ethos of a certain media organization. External factors could be anything from the economic power of advertisers and sponsors, the laws and regulations enforced, and the willingness of those who are politically and economically in charge.

This short film, Money as Debt, by Paul Grignon was definitely more interesting and informative than I had anticipated. The Mint surprisingly only makes 5% of the United State’s money, with banks creating 95% of all the rest. It is startling to find out that the banks simply trust people and that when a loan is given, money is “created” and the total amount of money in the United States increases. I had never thought about the actuality that it started a long time ago with goldsmiths and how they would cast coins based on eights and purity of metals (gold and silver) and that is how they had a value of worth. The paper money we now have is a spin-off of the paper claim checks that those bankers back then were making, which also had a scheme behind it. People were taking out loans and taking money out on credit, and the banks charged interest which was making them money. Eventually, a “run on the bank” happened when bankers lent out too much money and did not have enough supply when people started asking for their gold back. The government had to regulate banking and legalize that practice. This seemed good, but now we are in the terrible crisis of money being debt today.
Now, money isn’t value, but debt. It used to be worth an amount of silver, but now it’s just a “digital dollar.” In the past, gold and silver had to be found and dug out of the ground, and it was limited, but now it’s created as debt, and it’s created whenever anyone takes a loan out from the bank. The American debt is an astonishing $45 trillion (in 2007), compared to the $5 trillion debt in 1957. A 40 trillion dollar increase in 50 years is a really scary thought, considering that the amount of time was so small. Paper, digital, and plastic money definitely makes more sense in our world, especially the way we live in such a fast paced society.
Our deposits are actually loans to the bank in reality. All banks are connected, and bank credit created at one bank becomes a deposit in another, and vice versa. One part discussed how banks collect interest on money it never had. The money that they charge interest has to come from the people who took out the loans, and the banks charge incredible amounts to try and keep up with the rising debt. When someone pays off their debts, that individual will have more money, of course, but, if all the debts are paid off, that leaves society with no money. The example of The Great depression is exactly that: the money supply shrank drastically while supply of loans dried up.
I definitely agree with the statement in the movie that “Greed and dishonest are the main problems,” especially because money is the focus of everything. There could be no national debt if the federal government simply created the money it needed, but our interest payments to the government would be impossible. It is also ridiculous that bankers are in charge of who gets the money they need and who doesn’t. It’s getting harder in our society because of the economic probels we are now all encountering. The survey was also discussed where they asked people about money and no one had an accurate understanding about how money was created, even employees at banks! It is not surprising, however, because I know that personally I had no idea about this either.