May 7, 2008Do we need the Mainstream Media?
Filed Under: Medium - neither rare nor well done
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For those of you who read this blog regularly (that is when I actually get to posting! HA!), you'd know my position on Second Life hypeing and dehyping by the Mainstream Media.
...but I got to thinking about the MSM with respect to "fringe" Twitter.
As 1938 Media's Loren Feldman so eloquently put it, Twitter is for "Geeks, Weirdos, Shills, Middle Aged Women looking to get laid" (I guess I would fit into the middle aged woman category then!)
And although the incredible guys over at Common Craft created "Twitter in Plain English", I'm not sure (despite the rave reviews) that this does anything to "rise the tide" and help newbies to take the plunge:
So I guess my question is whether we need to embrace the necessary evil that is mainstream media and accept the inevitable....new technology might tip within the innovator and early adopter through people like Robert Scoble, but in order to break out of the fishbowl, we need the help of the mainstream (media)
fyi, I'm jaffejuice on Twitter. Just over 2,000 followers, but won't rest until I get to 20,000 (surely there are more geeks, weirdos, shills and middle-aged women looking to get laid that read my blog and listen to my podcast???)
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Comments
I'm another of those middle-aged women following you on Twitter (@uniquefrequency)
Posted by: Daryl Tay
Joseph
2nd Life is horse shit no matter how you slice it. The concept of a 2nd life exists in the peer to peer networks that surround things like gaming. For example Microsoft's XBOX Live network or the World of Warcraft network.
We interact in a 2nd life world every day, but not on 2ndlife.com Yes I've been there, yes I've created a profile, yes I've tried to engage, yes I continue to visit every so often (if only to make sure I haven't missed anything), and yes I still think it's horse shit.
The reason Twitter works is because of 2 things:
1. It's simplicity. We've been text messaging for what feels like eons. And Twitter is an easy extension.
2. It's ability to integrate. It makes my life easier when it can sync with my Facebook status.
Main stream media still works for a lot of reasons...TV, dare I say still is the best MASS reach media channel. Yes the ads get skipped very often, but if you want a shotgun, online can't give it to you quickly enough or on the scale of TV. For example, an FSI, while an archaic approch still generates more immediate lift that a digital coupons from couponsinc.com. Coupons Inc. would tell you the same thing.
I remember a study done a few years ago, wish I had it handy, that showed the best buzz/viral performance was with those campaigns and brands that advertised more. Well, no shit. The more you promote something the more people in the "main stream" will learn about it.
Adam
Posted by: Adam Kmiec
Found the article I was referencing:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003611538&imw=Y
and
http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1086
IF you want more people to be aware of Twitter and other products they need to step up the advertising.
Posted by: Adam Kmiec
Joseph, it will take more an ads to make Twitter mainstream. It's a matter of time and brainset. Most people have jobs that actually require them to work - 40 hrs. a week, half-hour lunches, and two 15-minute breaks. Often, without a computer. No Twitter time, my friend.
As for brainset, some people can multi-task others cannot. So I think Twitter is unlikely to go mainstream.
As for 30-second spots, the issue isn't whether or not they'll die, the issue is that it has become more difficult to reach the mass because the mass has so many more viewing choices. I think the 30-second spot will die, but not for a good long while.
Posted by: betaBonnie
