Web TV

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Gone are the days of tuning into my television on Monday nights at 8 P.M. to catch an episode of House or Gossip Girl. If I want to watch a television show and can't be stationary in front of a TV set, I can just wait to catch the show online, whether it's through the network's website or sites like hulu.com. Not only does the Internet benefit a viewer when it comes to watching television shows, but the Internet has become a native medium for TV producers who can't successfully air their programs on television channels. Cell phones, computers, iPods, and other types of electronic devices are starting to expand a digital network of television media and free access. I certainly don't have to pay for cable if I want to watch episodes of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central or The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family.

Internet distribution definitely impacts the control network companies have over their shows. The current network model is affected because channels like NBC, Fox, CBS and ABC, along with their parent companies, can't control what when and by what medium their viewers recieve content. Internet distribution challenges the control network companies have because once a viewer is in cyberspace, they can view shows and related content whenever they want. People can watch TV in a taxi cab, on college campuses, or even while waiting at the dentist's office without even looking straight at a television screen! An independent producer who could not sign a sufficient contract with a network or was let off a network due to low ratings, can take their episodic series online. They can try to sign a contract with hulu.com, provide their shows through YouTube for free, or open up their own .com website and stream the videos for free to viewers. Of course, going the Internet route may not come with the advantage of making higher profits off of advertising and providing a higher chance that the series would go into syndication on other TV networks.

Here is a video on television moving to the Internet:

Fox channel provides some of their content, such as Glee and House on hulu.com Comedy Central used to provide The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on hulu.com before ending their contract to provide the shows on the host's websites. Viewers can search for South Park online and eventually be led to southparkstudios.com. ABC Family provides The Secret Life of the American Teenager on hulu.com the week after new episodes air. More information on television on the Internet can be found here.

In The Television Will Be Revolutionized by Amanda Lotz, the topic of web-integrated TV existing in the Internet space is discussed. Convenience technologies - including the DVR, VOD, DVD, the Internet, and mobile applications such as phones and iPods -  enabled viewers to more easily seek out specific content and view it in individualized patterns (Lotz 59). With so many options available, her description of the "5 C's of the Post-Network Era" are applicable to the scenario of how viewers obtain TV from an Internet signal rather than the traditional TV signal. These are choice, control, convenience, customization, and community.

Choice: Viewers always had the choice of flipping through channels and choosing what show they wanted to watch on what network. Now users can choose which medium to obtain content from and when they want to watch it. They can choose who their provider is, whether it's a cable provider or the Internet.

Control: Viewers can control whether they want to watch what's available on the TV, the Internet, or simply create their own shows and participate as a producer. People can control their access on TiVo's, on-demand features, and visit websites like hulu.com.

Convenience: Watch TV at home, on the road, at the doctor's office on your iPhone, in the library on your laptop... the choices are endless and there is added convenience. Using a DVR or TiVo to record your shows to watch later, coming home late and missing House but being able to access it later on the Internet, are just a few examples of how people much more convenience.

    
 

Customization: Now we don't have to sit in front of a TV box and become mere receptors to what is provided for us. If we are dissatisfied, we can search for shows on the TV guide list on the television or just go online. We can watch in normal features, high definition, or possibly 3-D in the future.

Community: People always had the choice to discuss their television shows when they'd see their friends and family after the episode was over. Now people can watch shows together live and discuss it in the comments sections, on social networking sites, or blog about it.

Here is a video on satellite direct offering viewers TV viewing options outside of the traditional offers of watching on a television box set:

     
All these changes that are impacting network television should not be a surprise to people. The Internet has been impacting all kinds of media, including radio and print. Television is adapating to the Internet's revolutionary changes by providing media content online. As discussed in Stelter's New York Times article which can be found here, larger audiences online are being attracted to the Super Bowl and Olympics at higher numbers because they were watching and surfing the web at the same time. People preferred to watch msot of their media content online. Watching media content and chatting online with other people at the same seemed to be what most people preferred. This water-cooler effect, Stelter describes in his article, are what makes some of these normally TV broadcast shows more attractive to people.

This relates to the Long Tail because now people can access much more media on an unlimited shelf space. This is a democratizing tool as well because now ordinary citizens can upload videos, start webshows, and have much more content available for viewing online when they couldn't afford high-priced cable packages before. This also relates to Creative Commons because people still own the rights to their media content and can use the non-profit organization's licensing options to protect their content.

I highly believe that television in ten years will be streamed more frequently on  web and that cable will be like the Internet. More information can be found here. I think my family's Comcast subscription features will allow for web surfing on the television and viewing your bank statement while watching an episode of CSI. Comcast, AT&T and other companies may provide cable packages for iPhones, computers, and even for cell phones. Companies will try to compete for viewer's attention and if they stop, I think the web and viewers will gain too much control and the companies will therefore make less money.


Works Cited:
All Images Obtained Via Creative Commons:
www.flickr.com/photos/schmilblick/252772357/
flickr.com/photos/elsie/368171792/
flickr.com/photos/ndevil/3882462178/
flickr.com/photos/62337512@N00/2749561795/
www.flickr.com/photos/guspim/2844628093/

All Videos Obtained Via Creative Commons blip.tv.
Sources and Links:
"Cable TV Is Doomed." The Atlantic, 18 03 2010. Web. 17 Apr 2010. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/03/cable-tv-is-doomed/37675/>.

Lieberman, David. "Could This Finally Be the Season For Web TV?." Money. USA Today , n.d. Web. 17 Apr 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/garden/11tv.html?scp=14&sq=web%20television&st=cse

Lotz, Amanda. The Television Will Be Revolutionized. New York City: New York University Press, 2007. Print.

Quenqua, Douglas. "Turning to the Internet to Catch a Favorite TV Show ." Home and Garden . The New York Times , 10 03 2010. Web. 17 Apr 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/garden/11tv.html?scp=14&sq=web%20television&st=cse>.

Stelter, Brian. "Water-Cooler Effect: Internet Can Be TV." The New York Times , 23 02 2010. Web. 17 Apr 2010. http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/business/media/24cooler.html

Stelter, Brian. "Successes and Some Growing Pains at Hulu." Technology . The New York Times , 31 03 2010. Web. 16 April 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/01hulu.html?scp=5&sq=internet+television&st=nyt>.

Viral Networking

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What does social networking mean to you? There are many different answers to this question depending on how you use social networking websites. Many people around the world come together with common interests to use sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, whether these people are individuals, businesses, or entrepreneurs. What purposes do these different media services offer to the public? How do companies benefit from these services when it comes to marketing and the long tail distribution? We will take a look at a few of the popular sites available to people and how they are a democratizing tool for millions worldwide.

Twitter began as a micro-blogging service that later grew as a social media and news reporting website. People began to use this site to write about their daily life knowing that a mass anonymous audience would have access to read it. Even people who are suffering crisis within their country can post updates to provide the world with information and pictures. Aside from individuals using Twitter, 34,000 jobs were posted on TwitJobSearch in January proving that job recruiters and seekers are using Twitter (Miller). Why does Twitter work for employers and potential employees? Unlike e-mail, a company doesn’t have to come up with a list of people who will receive the "I'm hiring" message because anybody searching can see it and it's a cheaper, faster and easier way to recruit (Miller).  Starbucks' Twitter is an example of one of the many Fortune 100 companies using social networking sites. Starbucks uses Twitter to let people know about any new changes to the company, new gift cards available as well as new flavors for fans to test. Being a Starbucks addict myself, this site is a great way for me to find out new changes.

Facebook is a popular social networking site with 350 million users worldwide (Schroeder). People use this site to communicate, upload and view photos, videos, and other content. Small businesses are creating fan pages and groups for users to join in order to find new customers, build online communities of fans and dig into gold mines of demographic information on its users (Pattison). As the image on the left conveys, a user can see any updates posted by a business on their homepage (known to users as the 'news feed'). Just like Twitter, users and businesses can post updates and announcements, even something as simple as, "New Flip Ultra HD custom skins available on our website" Then other people who are connected to the business would read it and maybe post comments. The update from Flip drew me to visit their website and spend a few minutes drooling over the custom skins I can put on my Flip. If used effectively, companies can upload fresh content and updates regularly as niche marketing. This form of target marketing conducted by Flip worked on me. This also applies to the Long Tail distribution because they can provide information for free and promote products on an endless shelf space, hoping users will be willing to make purchases. Musicians and film makers use Facebook and MySpace to promote their music. Remember the 2008 election? Obama counted more than 2 million American supporters on Facebook, while McCain had just over 600,000 (Fraser).

On YouTube, Obama stole the show as his supporters uploaded more than 1,800 videos onto the BarackObama.com channel (Fraser). His political campaign was promoted effectively via YouTube in terms of providing viewers with extra content about his promises of bringing about "change."

Universal Music and Hollywood Records are just two of the many companies that promote content online for viewers to enjoy. Through YouTube, companies can also keep track of ratings and how many people viewed videos. News organizations upload clips of news helping people stay updated. CNN is a prime example of this and such a YouTube link can be viewed here.

LinkedIn is a social networking website geared towards professionals trying to maintain contacts and information within the industry. This website standardizes information entered by users into predefined “Profile Headline”, “Summary”, “Education”, “Company”, etc. categories (Schaffer). People can use this site to find jobs as well. Google Buzz was created to compete with Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to have this social media site built directly into their Gmail. Here's a link to some success stories from businesses and individuals about their experiences using social networking sites. A new University of Maryland survey shows social media usage among small businesses increased to 24% in 2009, up from 12% in 2008 and 22% of those surveyed feel social networking is already helping them turn a profit, with 46% believing the marketing tool will help them make money within the next year ("ASI Central"). 

Below is a video that explains how businesses can use social networking sites as a business tool to connect with clients and build trust:

How do these social networking sites relate to the Long Tail distribution? Businesses can use these websites to promote their companies at a minimum or no cost. They can provide their content for free hoping to generate revenue. Individuals can exercise their freedom of speech by taking to Twitter and other sites to post their opinions and comments. Citizens unsatisfied with their government can post videos to raise awareness. Freedom of press allows journalists to convey their stories through social networking sites, especially on YouTube. The Internet is a democratizing tool and these social networking sites help provide people with a vast amount of information. Creative Commons allows people on these sites to protect their work via free licensing with "All Rights Reserved," "Some Rights Reserved," and so on. The video posted above was found on blip.tv with a Creative Commons license.

Thus, social networking sites are changing the way people have access to information. People can view these sites through their computers, phones, and tablets. Companies like Starbucks have been smart enough to follow their consumers online and create social networking profiles to promote their own agenda and build trust in the community. Creative Commons allows these companies and individuals to copyright their content as they utilize the long tail distribution technique and niche marketing. So yes, social networking is a means to communicate with people and receive updates on friends, but it is also a form of viral networking and marketing that is benefiting millions of people worldwide.

Works Cited:
Images/Video found via Creative Commons Google Image (in order of appearance):
Twitter Feed: Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3257942812_8d59f7a646_o.jpg

Tech Crunch Facebook: Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2568/3769089178_45f74e3914.jpg

MySpace: Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/294080639_3682a8d88c.jpg

YouTube Jennifer Hudson Performance: Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3495/3252665182_a663fb5337.jpg

Video: Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://blip.tv/play/AYGZqn8C" type="application/x-shockwave-flash
 

All Websites that were cited within the blog post:
"ASI Central." Social Networking Usage Doubles. 02 03 2010. Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/apps/news/industrynews.aspx?id=3715

Fraser, Mathew. "U.S. News and World Report." Barack Obama and the Facebook Election. 28 11 2008. Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election.html?PageNr=2

Miller, Claire. "Twitter Could Become the Unemployed's Best Friend." The New York Times. 01 25 2010.
The New York Times Company, Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/twitter-could-become-a-recruiters-best-friend/?scp=6&sq=twitter&st=cse.

Pattison, Kermit. "The New York Times." How to Market Your Business With Facebook. 11 11 2009. The New York Times Company, Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/business/smallbusiness/12guide.html?_r=1

Schroeder, Stan. "Mashable: The Social Media Guide." Facebook’s Road to 350 Million Users. 02 12 2009. Web. 2 Mar 2010. http://mashable.com/2009/12/02/facebook-350-million-users/

Schaffer, Neal. "Windmill Networking." What is LinkedIn and Why Should You Join?. Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://windmillnetworking.com/2009/08/26/what-is-linkedin-and-why-should-you-join/