Global Media News

Its an Apps World and We Just Live in It

 Why do stores like H&M, Forever21, The Gap and even Pizza hut urge customers to download their free apps? Ever wondered about this? Ever wondered what benefits businesses are receiving by creating these free apps for their consumers? Do they create them for our convenience or is it a marketing tool they use to make us spend money?  

I believe it’s a little bit of both. I think businesses create apps to keep consumers up to date with new products and also  to make sales. I think these apps are convenient because consumers can now instantly check a store’s inventory. 

In an article by Roy Furchgott for the New York Times titled, "What Do All These Phones Apps Do? Mostly Marketing"   it explained how companies create these free apps as a way to draw in consumers. I bet you’re wondering how does this work since these apps are free and you’re not paying for them? Well when you download these apps it's a different form of advertisement  "Advertising apps are evolving from the early novelties" I picked this quote from the article because  it explains exactly how apps are growing as a form of advertisement. When most apps were first created they were very simple. For example there was the flashlight app and even simple apps that told you where to find local bathrooms. Nothing that really promoted it's self like a bank app, a store app and even a newspaper app. Apps have become more complex, and they generate sales for different companies now. 

For example I love to shop at Forever 21 and luckily they have an app that keeps me up to  date with all new merchandise and the app also gives me special discounts. But what makes the app even better is the fact that I can use it to shop. I don’t have to drive to the mall or sign on the Forever 21 website I can simple use the app. Therefore Forever21 won’t lose a sale because the app allows me to purchase any item I need. 

Companies have found a way to make the usage of apps benefit them immensely. In an article by Stephanie Clifford for the New York Times titled "Linking Customer Loyalty with Social Networking" it explained how an app like Foursquare is used by different companies to promote their brand. For those of you who have never heard of Foursquare it’s an app that allows you to check in your location when you visit different stores, it allows you to find hotspots and also to find businesses that have special promotions for people who have the Foursquare app. Companies like PepsiCo and Starbucks have teamed up with the creator of Foursquare to attract foursquare users into their stores. They have created special promotions for Foursquare users; therefore getting consumers into their stores while advertising to them in a different way.

I personally love this way of advertising. It’s convenient and allows me to stay up to date with all of the stores and brands I love. If it allows companies to flourish economically then so be it. I think it’s a win, win situation.

 

Breastfeeding being marked taboo through technology?

In a time where everything is now, people's priorities seem to be changing; in terms of their children and what is and what is not proper in American Society.

Whereas a mother feeding a baby was a natural bodily function, Social media, and our news sources have turned it into a taboo issue.  In a BITS article, Facebook Won’t Budge on Breastfeeding Photos "Facebook is standing firm on a policy that has led to the removal of some photos posted by women that show breastfeeding".

In a social networking site with over 140 million users, why is breastfeeing such a major issue; where you can look at anyones pictures and see the use of drugs, under age drinking, more obscene pictures of body parts, and breast feeding pictures are being "flagged" as innapropriate?? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!??!

  VS.

Here are two pictures, first a woman breastfeeding her young children on a TIME magazine and then a half naked, half having sex Abercrombie add; both marketed by our media and news stations. But only one is deemed "innapropriate" by todays media, and Journalists.

TIME breastfeeding cover sparks controversy  "This morning the top two search terms on Google were “TIME magazine cover” and “time breast feeding cover,” and the magazine had four of the top five overall searches. People both supported and criticized TIME on social media"

So how does this digital spark, influence the information being gathered and being informed to the public, throughthe power of the digital screen. When this article came out, along with the military controversy on breastfeeding it was all over every news cast, social media sights, and newspapers; which can be accessed by the click of a button.

Breastfeeding has always been a taboo issue,  for what reason I do not know; but now with the way information about Formula is being marketed it is making people think that there is actually something wrong with breastfeeding; since the American population has such a bias view on it. Also since Americans are always on the go; baby food formula companies are marketing to parents through every possible means to get them to buy their product saying it has the same vitamins as breastfeeding; and since breastfeeding is always such a taboo, it leaves the American population thinking that formula is just as healthy; due to of all the marketing and money that does go into the selling of a product.

Fact Sheet: Infant Formula Marketing in Doctors’ Offices and Health Clinics

"Many healthcare providers unwittingly serve as marketers for the infant formula industry by allowing formula samples and other marketing materials into their offices. Formula makers use this insidious marketing tactic to encourage mothers to feed their babies formula instead of breastfeeding. Providing infant formula samples in health clinics suggests that staff endorse formula feeding over breastfeeding. Yet, extensive research proves that not breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life poses significant, short and long-term risks for children and mothers."

Due to the fact that their is money is formula, it is advertised on televison, Facebook, Twitter, all parenting magazines and trickles down to the doctors, who influence peoples minds greatly. If you can't even have a picture of breastfeeding on facebook, how it is fair to have formula ads and advertisting on the left hand columns  on facebook for advertisment. The way the information is marketed is twisted, and changes peoples minds.

Who's your celebrity brand?

Persuasion is not a concept new to the world. For as long as people have  had products to sell they have used this idea to market themselves to people. One of the best ways to market yourself or your product is celebrity endorsements. Taking a well known figure and have them like your product often sells it better then you ever could.

“The reason why social media works as a marketing tool is because of its appearance as a casual medium. A major concern is what happens once your friends and social contacts realize that they are being marketed to."Forbes.com

The best part of social media celebrity marketing is that a lot of times celebs don’t even mean to be endorsing a product. Sometimes they tweet that they like something or are caught in a photo that then gets posted on face book of them drinking, eating or doing something. All of a sudden its everywhere. This kind of endorsement is free. No one is paying Lindsey Lohan to tweet she’s drinking an energy drink. She just is.

Michael Jackson was one of the first celebrities to prove that using a star was a great a great way to sell a product. In 1983 Jackson was paid 5 million dollars to do a series of Pepsi commercials, the most anyone had ever been paid to indorse a product. Seeing an almost immediate increase in revenue Pepsi jumped on to endorse Jackson’ next album and increased his pay to 10 million dollars. This is a precedent Jackson set that we still see today.

“Its nearly impossible to surf the internet, open a magazine or newspaper, or watch television without seeing a celebrity selling something, whether its umbrellas, soda , cars, phones, medications, cosmetics, jewelry, clothing or even mutual funds” NYTimes.com

Which  means its all the more important for companies to slide their adds in on face book. With so many types of adds its better to get a consumer where they least expect it. If you see a friend like the new Nike sneaker your more likely to click on it to check it out. People don’t want things forced on them. A lot of consumers know what companies are doing by putting their favorite celebrities in ads. However when they are sneak them in people are intrigued.

A shot of your  favorite singer drinking Snapple in a casual shot on instagram is an easy way of saying “This beverage is cool” without having to put the ad out by the company. Seeing Lea Michelle (of Glee) wearing the latest shoes from Candies will prompt thousands of “Gleeks” to want the same thing.

"Today's consumer is a totally different animal than the consumer of even five years ago, meaning that what was effective and influential five years ago is not necessarily so today, as today's consumer is more likely to be influenced by someone in their social network than a weak celebrity connection. “ The Branding Insider

Now more then ever its important to set your brand aside and get people to want to purchase your stuff. What celebrity will set your company apart?

"Art in Exile"

 

    Being that I am an extreme lover of the arts, I am infatuated with the various creative visions and messages that are given off from different works of art. Aside from traditional forms of art such as paintings and sculptures, the digital revolution has contributed to the creation of films and other forms of art that are able to reach broader audiences.

     In a TED Talk entitled “Shirin Neshat: Art in Exile”, a Persian artist named Shirin Neshat spoke about how she has lived in the United States, in a self-imposed exile from her native country, Iran. In the video Neshat spoke about how things were when she lived in Iran, and how things changed for the worse once she went back to Iran as an adult. According to Neshat, her people have been fighting a battle against their regime and “government that has done every crime to remain in power”.

    Many artists like Neshat are at risk because they pose as a threat to the structure of their government. The intentions of artists like Neshat are to “inspire, provoke, mobilize, report and bring hope to their people”. After visiting Iran as an adult and viewing a country that she could no longer recognize, she became immersed in the study of the Islamic Revolution, and how it dramatically transformed the lives of Iranian women. According to the video, Neshat found the way that Iranian women embodied the political transformation of their government to be very interesting. She thus thought by studying a woman she could read and analyze the structure and ideologies of Iranian culture.

    During her time studying Iranian women, Neshat produced a collection that addressed and focused on these issues, and the concept of “those who willingly stand in the intersection of their love of God and faith, but violence, crime, and cruelty”. In 2009, Neshat produced a film entitled Women Without Men, which explored and compared the rights of Iranian women in 1953 and today. This film was based off of a novel written by an Iranian woman named Shahrnush Parsipur, who was sent to jail for 5 years for writing this book.  

    Although Neshat does not have direct access to her country, she finds herself to be the voice of her people. The works of artist’s like Shirin Neshat should be heavily applauded, and need to be exposed so that they could continue to provoke the minds of their audiences. Without the expansion of the digital revolution, the issues that these artists try to address would have never been able to reach the amount of individuals that it has. 

 

Below is the TED Talk that I watched entitled, Shirin Neshat: Art in exile:  

 

 

Below is the trailer for the movie Women Without Men: 

 

Museums Educate Youth Via Smartphone Apps

    Museums play a vital role in educating the youth in America.  Today many museums have added an element of technology to their exhibits while other museums refuse to do so. According to New York Times article, “Museums Engage Children with Siren Call of the App”  many museums are looking for ways to engage children.  

    The Museum Of Natural History believes the games offer a fun interactive way for children to get involved. According to Rebecca Edwards, an education specialist for children and families at the Getty believe that children are already using smartphone and are fluent in technology.  She says, “Because digital platforms are relevant and accessible, they are familiar to “digital natives”, young people who have grown up with technology”.  

    There are several benefits for using technology and smart phone apps to educate children. Apps are easily accessible, for most museum visitors come with a smartphone in hand.  Using an application is a paperless way to get information to viewers.  It also allows for the most amount of information to reach the most amount of people without hiring more staff. With smartphone applications children have a broader array of games and activities that help them get involved in the museum.  

    The Philadelphia Museum of Art is taking a different approach to engage children and families in the museum.  They recently introduced five new exhibits geared towards families. These exhibits involve watercolor activities, 20th century costumes and stroller tours.  Although a small amount of technology is used to make these exhibits possible, it is not a focus of the activities.

    Other museums are embracing the new technology available and using it to engage children.  The Getty has a new smartphone game which has shown to engage  children.  The game is called switch in which, “ Switch, in which an evil genie has wreaked havoc at the museum. The paintings in an app are not the exact duplicates of the paintings on the wall, so players must find the differences. The challenge is to correct details in a copy of the museum painting on the iPhone so that it matches the actual image.” This game has children looking around the museum and studying the artwork to find mistakes.  Another method of engaging children with technology was audio tours.      These tours were led by animals from the paintings that talk about themselves.  This audio tour helps children connect to and focus on the paintings.
A study done by the Metropolitan museum showed that the technology did not take away from the museum experience.  125 teenagers in groups, played a game at the museum. After the teens were asked what they liked about the game. According to Peggy Fogelman, the head of education at the Metropolitan museum, the children responded by saying, “they most liked looking closely at the works of art.” and according to Peggy that meant that “the game did not interfere with the experience, it enhanced it”.  
    Many museums are on board with the smartphone boom. The Museum of Natural History is proud to embrace technology. The even supply students of their summer program with laptops and smartphones.  President of the museum Ellen Futter discusses the benefits of the digital revolution by saying, “It extends access to content on site and digitally and deepens our relationship with our audience. It is an opportunity to examine real specimens, talk to our 200 scientists and take that understanding and use it in a digital application.”
    I see technology as a great way to educate children and families.  These games are designed not to have children staring at a screen all day but to have them engaged in the museum.  Many children cannot connect ot artwork or get bored easily.  These animal narrated audio tours and digital games get children excited and engaged.  I understand not wanting a child using technology all the time, but these games are not taking away from the museum experience they are enhancing it by engaging the “digital natives”.  

Museums Update And Expand With Smartphone Apps

Although museums often give us a look into the past most recently they have begun to  incorporate modern technology into their exhibits. With the help of smartphone application every individual can have a private guided tour of a museum at minimal cost.  New York Times posted a great article on their website about the Museum of Natural History introducing a new interactive app to compliment their exhibit.

“An Extra Set Of Eyes At The Museum” by Joshua Bernstein talks about a free app called Beyond Planet Earth and an app that costs $3.99 called Maurizio Cattelan: “All,” at the Guggenheim Museum.  The Beyond Planet Earth app for the Museum Of Natural History shows visitors 3D images of spacecrafts and solar systems.  The Guggenheim Museum uses its app to give an audio history of artist Maurizio Cattelan.  

To make these smartphone apps applicable in the museum a Wi-Fi system had to be installed.  The Museum of Natural History spent $1 million on installing Wi-Fi in the museum in 2010.  The Wi-Fi investment was not just for the use of smartphone applications, but a cornucopia of resources implemented throughout the museum.    Touch screens, video games and scent simulators are among a few of the new innovated technologies at the museum. With the use of new technology visitors can not only see a 3D image of the moon but they can smell it as well.  Technology is being used to educate and inform visitors in the most accurate and entertaining way.  

Last year I had visited the Museum Of Natural History and was inclined to download all of the free applications advertised in pamphlets and signs all over the museum.  With my iPhone I was able to point it at an image of a solar system and see the 3D floating image on my phone.  I was able to walk through the dinosaur exhibits and get a detailed audio description of each pre-historic creature as well as a map to help me find my way through the exhibits.  At some point I got thirsty and in my hand I opened the museum app and was directed to the nearest eatery in the museum. Going to the museum with a smartphone changed to whole experience.  It made everything new again and exciting with hands on interaction with each exhibit.  

These apps are also serving as a way for everyone to experience the museum without having to physically go there.  The Guggenheim offers a virtual tour of the museum with histories of the artist along with detailed descriptions of each piece of art.  They have even said that that 30 percent of the application users live outside the US.  The small fee to have the Guggenheim in your hands is a major contributor to keeping museums alive and running.  Although many museums do not have the budget to develop smartphone apps, it is a profitable investment.  Nearly half of the museums involved with American Association of Museums are integrating smartphone apps.  

When at the Museum Of Modern Art, I stood isolated and lost as my friends twiddled their thumbs away on their iphones.  This was in 2010, when I did not have a smartphone. Well after this trip to the MoMA, I was persuaded to buy the iphone the very next morning.  Let me tell you why.  As a group of friends and I entered the MoMA, they all immediately downloaded the MoMA app, plugged in their headphones and moseyed around the museum with intrigue and focus.  While I struggled behind them trying to keep with my paper map.  I then had to wait behind a group of people at each exhibit to get close enough to squint at the tiny writing on each piece of art.  The MoMA smartphone app is an audio tour of the museum individual designed for each user based on a quiz.

The MoMA website discusses what exactly is inside this app. The iphone app includes a calendar with current events that are easily shared on Facebook and Twitter. There are five audio tours, an information page, art index, and MoMA  Snaps.  MoMA Snaps allows you to take a photograph and save/ send it as a museum postcard.  

Now all of these smartphones seem like a great way for visitors to connect to the museum and the exhibits and can be a profitable source of income for museums, but what about children.  Should children be encouraged to think they need a smartphone to enjoy a museum.  I know that I was influenced to get a smartphone after feeling like I needed it to enjoy the MoMA.  There is a New York Times Article published a few weeks ago about children using smartphones to interact with museums.  The article by Geraldine Fabrikant, “Engaging Children With The Siren Of The App”discusses the pros and cons of children being encouraged to use smart phones in museums.  

Some museums like The Museum Of Natural History view technology as a great way to connect with children.  They grow up using technology and it is a great way to get them involved with the museum. Other museums have a different idea about the use of technology.

Philadelphia Museum of Art believes that the museum is an opportunity for children and families to step away from technology. Emily Schreiner, associate curator of education for family and community learning said,  “Adults are not always comfortable with their kids being on iPhones. What we want them to take away from the museum is an opportunity to slow down, look closely and spend time as a family."

 

   

 

 These opposing views both have valid points.  At The Museum Of Natural History, children were so eager to join the summer program where they would use technology to resurrect prehistoric creatures, the museum opened two more seminars. While at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art families are benefiting from “Stroller Tours” and quality family time.  Some parents don’t feel comfortable with their children using smartphones and technology when at a museum.  They want them to take the time to enjoy museums as they were when they grew up.  It is very interesting to think about the effects of technology on children in the digital revolution.

 

Liquid Natural Gas: A Profitable Future

Natural gas has been around for while, people use it to heat their houses and fuel their barbeques.  If natural gas is around why are we still so dependent on oil? Well, transportation is heavily dependent on oil and only now are finally seeing vehicles running on natural gas.  This shift from oil to natural gas is a mjor game changer for the future.

Shell is one of the largest supporters of natural gas today. They are banking on natural gas as a the future way of life.   On Shell’s website these words are printed bold big, “Natural gas offers an affordable and environmentally acceptable option to power people’s lives today. It will also help to meet the world’s rising demand for more, cleaner energy into the future. Shell is using advanced technology to open up new resources of natural gas”.  Natural gas is cleaner than oil, abundant and an easily accessed in the US.  

Shell truly is putting a tremendous amount of resources into the gas of the future.  According to New York Times article, “Betting on Gas, Shell Floats Plan on High Seas”, Shell has control over nearly 30 percent of the worlds liquified natural gas volume.  There biggest stake in the future of natural gas is the vessel they are majority owner of.  This vessel is like nothing else built before and is a major investment in natural gas.

The largest ship ever made will span 1,600 feet, house 400 people and be on site for approximately 25 years.  This huge liquid natural gas vessel will house an apparatus that cools natural gas into liquid at negative 260 degrees Fahrenheit.  The total costs of this vessel would exceed $10 billion a year.  Despite these these high costs, it is expected that Shell could make $1 billion a year in net profits.  
Shell is proud to be the first to build a floating liquid natural gas vessel and is excited to move forward with countries like china and india that are leapfrogging into the future.  Another New York Times article written this October called “After the Boom in Natural Gas” discusses some of the advancements made with the use of natural gas most recently.  Not only does natural gas bring cheaper energy but cleaner energy.  According the article, “Companies and municipalities are deploying thousands of new gas-powered trucks and buses, curbing noxious diesel fumes and reducing the nation’s reliance on imported oil.” Natural gas is so much cheaper than oil that the United States economy benefited by over $100 billion last year.  The price of natural gas has reached an all time low, down nearly 60 percent.  
It seems that natural gas could be the commodity of the future.  With its price being at an all time low, its a good time to invest. Shell believes natural is a good investment and I am on board.  Check out this video uploaded to youtube by Shell, it promotes the use of natural gas with some great easy to understand facts.  

Social Media Used to Prepare for Sandy

As the superstorm known as hurricane Sandy barreled up America's east coast, it also became the major trend on social media venues such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.; as these mediums became the 'real-time' news station for those attempting to track and prepare for the storm.

This Washington Post Article highlights how Hurricane Sandy became the favorite topic of conversation amongst social media users in the days before the storm. Discussing the natural disaster on social media became as much a part of the preparation experience as stocking up on bread, water and batteries. As much as 10 images per second were posted on instagram  with the hashtag #Sandy to track the path of the storm as well as to post its continuing destruction and to alert citizens on the necessary preparedness supplies.  “I think this demonstrates how Instagram is quickly becoming a useful tool to see the world as it happens - especially for important world events like this.” Sandy also quickly became the topic of choice among U.S. users on Facebook as  the terms “Sandy”, “Hurricane Sandy” and “Hurricane” were the most-used terms.

Government officials also used social media to alert citizens on hurricane Sandy. This New York Times article discusses how Twitter was used as an emergency broadcasting service during the storm, allowing governors, mayors and emergency management officials from North Carolina to Massachusetts to deliver vital and timely updates.  An example of this can be seen on the twitter of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York which has been used delivering  hundreds of rapid-fire updates since late last week, becoming a must-follow for anyone looking for information about the recovery efforts.  It is on this account that Twitter users learned when  tunnels were closed, bridges opened, and commuter rails were shutting down.

In conclusion, social media networks have stepped up during this time of need, providing vital information to help citizens prepare for the storm and recover after the storms's devastation.

The Ease of Access

 Within the passed 6 years there has been a huge boom in the electronic media art world. Not only did the advancement of technology influence the art world as a medium but also the ease of finding and sharing new art works. One big contributor to this boom is youtube.

 

When you think about it some of the flash animations we see on youtube are a form of art and these animators fresh out of college or even still studying in college can share their art work and clients can find these new artists and hire them. According to Zack Larmand of arbitragemagazine.com “By providing a way for people to share videos, YouTube has introduced viral videos and made them a part of our global culture.” Viral videos are videos that become extremely popular in a short amount of time skyrocketing the stars of the videos into fame. Artists such as PSY from South Korea whos famous for the song and dance Gangnam Style which now according to youtube.com has 701,814,261  on youtube and with out sites such as youtube and the ease of access to these things PSY would not be known outside of south korea.

 

Some stop motion artists such as “ZealousCreative” would not be known either Zealouscreative has a following of over 2million people. These artworks done by these relatively unknown artists would basically fall to the wayside never to be seen or would be seen less over if lucky would get the same amount of views in maybe 5 years. Where people like Psy got over 700million views in 3 months.

 

Below is just a video by zealouscreative showing off some artwork

 

 

The ease of Access

 Within the passed 6 years there has been a huge boom in the electronic media art world. Not only did the advancement of technology influence the art world as a medium but also the ease of finding and sharing new art works. One big contributor to this boom is youtube.

 

When you think about it some of the flash animations we see on youtube are a form of art and these animators fresh out of college or even still studying in college can share their art work and clients can find these new artists and hire them. According to Zack Larmand of arbitragemagazine.com “By providing a way for people to share videos, YouTube has introduced viral videos and made them a part of our global culture.” Viral videos are videos that become extremely popular in a short amount of time skyrocketing the stars of the videos into fame. Artists such as PSY from South Korea whos famous for the song and dance Gangnam Style which now according to youtube.com has 701,814,261  on youtube and with out sites such as youtube and the ease of access to these things PSY would not be known outside of south korea.

 

Some stop motion artists such as “ZealousCreative” would not be known either Zealouscreative has a following of over 2million people. These artworks done by these relatively unknown artists would basically fall to the wayside never to be seen or would be seen less over if lucky would get the same amount of views in maybe 5 years. Where people like Psy got over 700million views in 3 months.

 

Below is just a video by zealouscreative showing off some artwork