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The end of election 2012, finally

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

In all honesty, I didn’t think this day would ever come! With a seemingly never ending election season, the today is finally here. To say I’m excited would a gross understatement.

And while others might reserve their excitement for tonight when the results come, my excitement comes tomorrow with the end of political ads!  For months it’s just been a steady stream of ads and social media chatter. So tomorrow I can turn on the television or login into and know no one will be trying to convince me how to vote, is a wonderful feeling.

Don’t mistake this excitement for apathy. I’ve already voted and I truly believe there are some important issues at hand. But there is only so much a person can take and I reached that limit probably four months ago.

I have to believe this over saturation of politics causes more damage than good. Just watch this video that’s circulated to different news outlets. Look what this election did to this poor child! But if was socially acceptable to cry about the election like this little girl, I would. All the news coverage, social media fodder, and attack ads have left me feeling less politically engaged than ever! And I know I can’t be the only person.

That being said, I hope everyone exercises their right to vote today! Just please, exercise some restraint and civility, as well! We can disagree without being disagreeable; my high school Civics teacher taught me that.

The explosion of K-Pop

Posted on by Brian Lee

YouTube has launched the careers of musical artists such as Justin Bieber and Arnel Pineda (current lead singer of Journey). Now’s it launching an entire genre of music called K-Pop.

I bet more people are familiar with K-Pop–which is pop music from South Korea–than they realize. Just turn on the radio or go online to hear/watch PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” which the New Yorker calls the “Macarena of the moment.”

These videos have high-quality production and dance choreography, which certainly helped them go viral worldwide (the No. 1 rule for viral marketing is to have good content). So far, “Gangnam Style” has more than 600 million views, Girls’ Generation’s “Gee” has 90 million and Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple” has 50 million.

K-Pop’s popularity is an example of the ever-evolving digital landscape. Previously, you typically discovered new music through the radio and/or by watching MTV/VH1. Now, by the time a song hits one of those media, you’re already familiar with the song through YouTube, Spotify or iTunes.

What does this mean for the notoriously greedy record industry? Besides using these new avenues, record executives need to remember it’s okay to give away something for free. Recent sold-out K-Pop concerts in the United States and huge record sales prove this.

And if something is worth sharing, people will share it.

It’s That Time of Year: Annoying Campaign Calls

Posted on by Katelyn Youngblood

Ah, election season.  While I’m a strong supporter of exercising your right to vote, what I do not support are political parties that cross boundaries to get their point across—in fact, it’s reaching the point where they’re actually pushing voters away.

Let’s backtrack a couple of weeks.  On October 4th, President Obama came to Madison to speak.  Regardless of which party you identify with, seeing the President of the United States come to your school and speak is a pretty cool experience.  I saw him when he spoke at the UW campus in 2010, and I thought it would be good to attend again, especially during election season.

Here’s the thing.  In order to get through the gates and access Bascom Hill (having him speak on Bascom Hill is a whole other issue, which can be found here), you needed to sign up for a ticket online.

From a marketing/communications standpoint, it was a brilliant idea. Require the name, email, and phone number of the attendees so that you can target them later. Easy, simple, and bound to get a few votes. While this bothered me quite a lot, I was forced to type in my phone number and then pressed “I’m in!” (which is another thing that made me cringe).

A few weeks went by until last Monday, when I was rudely awoken by an unknown number calling my cell phone.  Of course it was Obama for America calling and of course they were wondering whom I’m voting for in the election. As nicely as I could, I asked them not to call me again.  This peace and quiet lasted a whole two days, until they called me again. A few days later I got a third call.

I get it. I’m a college student voting in my first presidential election and getting people like me involved is important.  However, if you’re going to call my personal cell phone and harass me with annoying political propaganda I’m not going to appreciate it. It’s just the principle of it.  I’d have to have been living under a rock if my life in the last few months hasn’t been inundated with political, partisan bullshit. But yes, I’m acutely aware that it’s important to vote.

However, if this overbearing campaigning is even making me, who never doubted that I would vote, begin to hate politics in general, what is this doing to those who aren’t as sure?

Because regardless of your political views, age, race, or where you live, NO ONE likes being awoken by annoying campaign phone calls, and it’s certainly not going to win you any votes.