The Tenth Accident: Still Alive?

It’s been a while since I last tried my hand at blogging. I’ve never been able to stick to writing regularly. However, during this short, 10-post run, I have come to learn a few things that I can apply to my future blogs:

It does not have to be regular. Deadlines are always intimidating. This is probably why my previous blogs weren’t successful. If I don’t have anything really interesting to write, I shouldn’t have to.

But, there has to be a certain level of commitment. Like in any project, I can only find fulfillment if I see it through.

Always bring a pen and a notepad. I never know when inspiration might strike.

Be observant. People around me can offer a lot of things I would never guess they can.

Be unique. In this blog, I tried hard to write about stuff that none of my peers would write about.

What’s interesting to you might not be interesting to your readers. Being relevant is the way to go. I try to write about what’s currently going on in the news and on the internet. If your blog is interest-driven, say a travel blog, I don’t think this strictly applies.

Lastly, be enthusiastic. Look forward to the next blog post. Having this attitude really helped me enjoy blogging. The perfect example for blog enthusiasm, of course, is Barney Stinson.

"THIS IS TOTALLY GOING IN MY BLOG!"

The Ninth Accident: Hyperspecialization: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The concept of hyperspecialization is anchored on Adam Smith’s 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations, which described how division of labor increased production the most. This system is efficient; it completes the task in half the time it would take a single person to do so. However, a single mistake in the process can affect the entire chain. Here is the cast of Friends (Season 1, The One with All the Poker) to show you what I mean.

Like in every industrial concept, there are two sides: the good and the bad. Here are some examples from both.

The Good

• Tasks are completed faster.
• The results are better.
• Specialists are free to choose which project to work on.
• Because of competition, companies get the best of the best for the least expensive cost.

The Bad

• Work can become boring and lifeless.
• Compensation isn’t always ensured.
• Because workers don’t identify themselves with the company, they don’t work with organizational goals in mind. This can lead to feelings of lack of self-fulfillment.
• Workers may be compensated less than what they actually deserve.

But don’t take it from me. Take it from Thomas W. Malone as he talks about The Age of Hyperspecialization.

The Ugly

Hyperspecialization does not promise to answer all the problems. It has enough on its own. What it promises, though, is that its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. And frankly, at this day and age, can we even afford to look for another, more efficient system when what we have here works most of the time?

The Eighth Accident: You and a +1 are Invited to the Google Party

There's a new kid on the block.

Google has finally decided to try their hand at getting the SNS crown from Facebook. Google+ was launched on June 28 this year in a beta stage. Initially, people only got in if they were invited by existing users. On the 30th of September, it went public and anyone who wanted to can register and get an account.

Google+ has a lot of great features, some of which are unique, while some are familiar:

1. Circles - groups of friends, acquaintances, etc.

2. Hangouts – primarily for group video chatting

3. the +1 button – their version of Facebook’s like

4. Stream – their version of Facebook’s news feed

5. Sparks – their version of Twitter’s trending topics

When I first signed up, I honestly thought that Google+ will have a hard time getting Facebook users to transfer to them. People have already established contacts in Facebook. Eventually, I was proven right. There are currently internet memes circulating Tumblr that pokes fun at the Google+’s initial attempt at exclusivity. Some of these are:

and

So what is Google+ doing wrong? I believe that the problem lies not with them per se. It’s just that Facebook has grown to be an almost invincible social networking giant, one that continues to be dynamic, ever-changing and always on the front of design and function.

The Seventh Accident: The Movie Buzz-ness

There’s a reason why a movie producer would hold advance screenings and why he fights for trailer slots on the highest grossing films that are currently being shown. He wants to create buzz. Ideally, this intrigues people into going to the theaters and watching the movie once it hits the cinemas.

But what if this buzz “overbuzzes” and backfires?

On the episode “Rebound Bro” of How I Met Your Mother Season 3, Marshall makes a good point:

"...because you built it up for like two weeks, saying it was the greatest movie ever."

Now that I think about it, this is probably one of the reasons why I liked Jerry Maguire. Yes, there’s the iconic “You had me at hello,” but no one bothered to sell me the film, and this led me to a pleasant movie experience (albeit on DVD).

One of the things that I took away from Emanuel Rosen’s The Anatomy of the Buzz Revisited is that if we please the audience, both potential and those who will surely come, we get organic buzz from them. This is the best trigger. However, it shouldn’t stop there. Even the most loyal fans  and viewers can turn away from the movies they highly anticipate. This is why what producers do nowadays is they release different versions of trailers and they hold movie premiers in different countries.

An MIT study shows that online and offline word of mouth marketing affects the box office performance of films. This is why we  have what we call sleeper hits (eg. My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and flops (eg. Norbit).

While certainly not the speediest, word of mouth has always been the most effective form of marketing. In most cases, there are real good experiences that push a person to vouch for a brand, or in this case, a film. Ultimately, the credibility is the driving force behind it.

The Sixth Accident: The Quiet Place

As I lie here on this reclining bed that smells as if it has been washed with chlorine, I realize that people, even with a gazillion deadlines looming over, with Facebook and Twitter and Youtube and Tumblr and all of these social networking sites, have got to slow down and relax every once in a while. I know it’s really difficult to take this advice, trust me, I’m in the same shoes. But here is a short post that I dedicate to busy students and office workers who just can’t seem to stop and breathe for a couple of minutes.

I don’t remember where exactly I got this from, probably Tumblr, but I’m so grateful for having come across this. Now, don’t worry. This isn’t one of those sites who scares the crap out of you. All you have to do is relax, obey the words, don’t hurry and you’re going to feel terrific after.

Go on, click the image.

Now, try and do this everyday. Make this a habit. It will only take 90 seconds. That’s a small price to pay for a break from the stress of the internet.

Now isn’t that nice?

The Fifth Accident: Medi-tweets

Twitter has penetrated everything—from celebrity life to real time news from around the world. But one thing that I find unbelievable is how surgeons, yes, you read that right, use Twitter in order to interact and teach medical professionals and students from wherever live from the surgery room!

Sherman Hospital is the first hospital to simulcast a surgery in both Twitter and Facebook

This highly unusual function of Social Media has gotten so much attention online and offline that it became the theme of the 13th episode of Season 7 of Grey’s Anatomy. Just like any other drastic change, there will be persons who initially disapprove…

Chief Webber orders Dr. Bailey to stop tweeting her surgeries.

but once they realize that, in the words of Dr. Bailey, “Residents from all over the country gets to see a surgeon’s decision-making process. They get to ask questions live. It’s a great teaching tool,” they can’t help but convert.

"Now when you're tweeting tomorrow, tell everyone that Ellis Grey's trick was to add those, okay?"

It’s amazing how far the Internet has come, but what really impresses me is how people find more and more functions of Social Media. It used to be a simple means of expression and information, but now, look at where it has gotten us.

 

The Fourth Accident: Catfishing

What is the real face of social media? Only a handful bother to ask. Even fewer know the answer, and even then these people found the answer the hard way. Take for example Henry Joost, Nev Schulman and his brother Ariel. They got into an extreme situation that showed them the dark side of social media. The one good thing they got out of it? They made a documentary film.

(spoilers ahead)

Don't let anyone tell you what it is.

The relationship started when Nev receives a painting of one of his published photos from Abby Pierce, an eight-year old who lives in Michigan. They become friends on Facebook, with Nev getting to know her older sister Megan, a vet, a songwriter and a dancer, her mother Angela, Angela’s husband Vince and some of their family and friends.

Nev eventually gets into a romantic relationship with Megan, who enthusiastically sends him sound clips of her songs. This goes on for eight months, until he discovers that the MP3s she has been sending him are audio layers of  covers and originals on YouTube. This soon leads him to uncover other lies made not only by Megan but also by Angela.

Finally, the trio decides to travel to Michigan to make a surprise visit and find out the whole truth. They discover that it is Angela who has been painting the canvasses Nev has been receiving, and that Angela was orchestrating everything, including creating fifteen fake accounts of “family” and “friends”.

The Fifteen Fake Accounts with Nev's

In the end, Catfish is a film that will really provoke you to think of how many of your Facebook friends you really know, and how many of them you added or accepted because you have common friends or their profiles look cool and harmless. Angela never meant to harm Nev, and luckily for her, he understood that. As Henry said, “I feel like it’s not malicious, it’s just sad.” This is why they didn’t confront her harshly, or publicly embarrassed her. In fact, right before the end credits, they tell us that they’re still friends on Facebook. I actually checked Angela’s Facebook page, and she seems to be doing great with her art.  Check her out here: https://www.facebook.com/pierce.angela.

We all have uses for Social Media. Angela used it for escapism, I use it to connect with friends and get the latest world news and you probably use it for trivial things like games or trolling. With the almost limitless power that Social Media has, let’s not forget that we should always practice responsible and accountable use. Otherwise, the internet will soon be a barren land ran by artificial people with artificial relationships.

The Third Accident: The Takeover of Dr. Horrible

Ever since I was young, I’ve always been a fan of musicals on and off stage. The Sound of Music, the films of Disney Renaissance, even the Trumpets-produced The Little Mermaid—this was the perfect, over-achieving child of Music and Theater. But you see, Theater has been worrying over his family’s accessibility for some time now, and Music has been busy feeling sorry for their usually overlooked second child, Internet. However, late one evening, Internet, anxious and sweaty, approached them and hesitantly told them about a new idea. It was brilliant, and it solved all their problems. What is it?

An online musical.

Soon enough, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was born.

The Creators and Main Cast

NPH looks awesome in anything.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a three-act musical that tells the story of Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother), an aspiring supervillain, as he struggles to get into the Evil League of Evil while keeping Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion, Castle), his archenemy, off Penny (Felicia Day, The Guild), the love of his life.

Over-all, I was very impressed by the production. The songs were exceptionally written, as were the story and the script. You will not only sing along, but you can’t help but also mouth the catchphrases (“I’ve got a PhD in horribleness”) while watching on your computer. The vocal talent and comedic timing of Harris, Day and Fillion were so impeccable that not one overshadowed another in any scene.

Even more notable than the amazing quality of the mini-series is that nobody in the cast or crew was actually paid at the time it was being produced. Joss Whedon, one of the creators, funded the entire thing himself with only $200, 000. Furthermore, the episodes were released on Hulu for free. However, with the huge sales of its soundtrack on iTunes and its DVD copies, Whedon has proudly written on his blog that they have since “been able to pay [their] crew and all [their] bills.”

The first of its kind, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was a tremendous commercial and critical success. On 2008, Time ranked it 15th of their Top 50 Inventions. It was also voted as “Favorite Online Sensation” in People Choice Awards on 2009, and in the same year, it won a record seven awards in Streamy Awards including Best Original Music, Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series for Neil Patrick Harris and Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series. Finally, the online musical hit was awarded the 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class, Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program.

And so what? Does this signify the end of Broadway, or even television? It’s too early to tell. But what the entire cast and crew of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog did was to slap them in their faces and prove to them that someday, viewers would be able to live without them, that someday, they would prefer Dr. Horrible to Barney Stinson. For more than decade now, Internet has been leaving Live and Video Stars for dead, and if they want to survive, they have to step it up. The most amazing thing in all of these is that it’s win-win for audiences. Until the inevitable three-way showdown, we get easier access to musicals, we get to enjoy a more innovative, if not panicky, television and Broadway, and generally better entertainment.

Watch Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL466FF99B52BB07A2

The Second Accident: Trolling

Urbandictionary.com defines troll as “one who posts a deliberately provocative message to an newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.” However, as can be expected of netizens, trolling is no longer limited to picking fights in forums. It is now making misinformed victims out of social networking sites users of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Tumblr.

No, not this troll.

Trolling is usually fun if you’re on the spectator’s side of it. I’m an avid Tumblr user and my dashboard has at least one post everyday that makes victims out of innocent and, frankly, gullible users. I must admit I’ve had my share of being on the troller end. Here’s a screenshot of trolling I once did on Facebook:

Image used with Grace's permission

I had to confess early on, but it looks fun, right? Even if it seems simple, there is actually a science to it. Here is a simple guide to successful trolling:

1. Choose a relevant and popular topic. Soon after the showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, a lot of fans were reliving the entire Potter decade by posting pictures, making FMVs (fan-made music videos), uploading interviews of the cast on YouTube and quoting them. A particular one that got attention was by JK Rowling who reportedly said,

I laughed when I saw this on my dashboard, but a lot of people, even the biggest fans, got really confused.

2. Choose your influencers wisely. Don’t have a lot of followers to reblog your trolling sprees? Try tapping those who do. Part of the reason why the previous example got so much attention was because it was reblogged by -Hogwarts, a tumblr famous. Challenge yourself and see if you can make this personality be the first of your victims. Who knows? This can be your ticket to being famous online.

3. Choose the right site. It takes less for a post to be reblogged on Tumblr than for one to be shared on Facebook (eg. a cat watching a cat watching a cat watching a cat watching Nyan Cat). Twitter is very real-time so your troll-tweets can only survive if it’s retweeted by a lot of people. Remember, trolling is most effective if it’s in the center of people who knows what you’re going on about and can relate to it.

4. Choose to be updated. There are tons of new content going around the cyber world every few seconds. If you’re committed to being a troller, it wouldn’t hurt to at least know what you’re going to be talking about.

And what if it’s you who gets trolled? Prevent that from happening with these 3C’s: cross-referencing, checking the comments and consulting Google and Wikipedia. If, despite these, you still find yourself in trollee’s shoes, just take it in stride while singing along to You’ve Been Trolled.

The First Accident: Of Omelettes and Lemonade

This starter post has undergone four rewrites, two edits and one repost. And why not? Much like the first day of school, I’m feeling pretty conscious of how I would come across as you read this. But perhaps it is less scarier because in the online world, words, images, videos, comments and all other content can be deleted. If you’re lucky and someone hasn’t looked at or read any of it yet, you can erase everything and it would be as if it never happened. You get another chance of starting anew.

"Watch out! New meat coming through!"

But what if someone has? And that someone is someone you know? What if, true to Murphy’s Law, that someone is the subject of your rant or the recipient of your supposedly anonymous love letter? What then? One thing’s for sure: you’re going to be serving omelette, soon. With lemonade of course.

I’d rather settle for pancakes if I can, of course. Thus my four rewrites.

But don’t get me wrong. I won’t be writing of serenades and blushing and candlelit dinners (just yet). This blog isn’t that kind. Instead, it’s going to be a meta-blog. You know, a blog about blogs, use of internet about all things internet. I am also a huge film and television buff, so watch out for that as well. It’s a pretty big load, but it’s better than not trying at all.

Broken eggs make the best omelette.