Category: The Media

Tweet Tweet

Posted on by Brian Lee

I, like many others, use Twitter as a news source.  Because I am a creature of convenience, I follow my favorite news outlets and am able to browse all of them in one stop.  It’s amazingly efficient and I would highly recommend condensing your news surfing through Twitters!

That being said, it concerns me how frequently Twitter itself is news.  Maybe it’s my secret addiction to entertainment news (I blame my mother and her insistence on watching Entertainment Tonight), but I have noticed an increasing amount of people reporting on what someone tweeted as a news story.

It’s a little weird to hear a story start, “So and so tweeted…”  It’s like someone releasing a statement, if that statement was a stream of consciousness ranging anywhere from the mundane to the inappropriate.

I wish this was a trend I could see going away but I know that just isn’t the case. How often do you hear about a celebrity or pro athlete putting their foot in their mouth on Twitter?  (Maybe I hear about it more because of my embarrassing habit of watching entertainment news channels…) As long as you give people the vehicle to say stupid things they will.  And as long as people say stupid things, someone will make a news story out of it.

Wishful thinking

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

I am about to disclose an embarrassing, personal tidbit; if I am given the opportunity to a watch a television show, any show, consecutively by season it will increase my chances of being mildly addicted to it. Of course, Netflix is completely to blame for it.  For all its faults, having streaming seasons of shows is Netflix saving grace.

Now I am still a rational human being and the dwindling catalog, increasing fees, and bizarre marketing choices are a huge issue for me and so many others.  Unlike others I am not going to bash Netflix missteps. Instead I am going to look on the bright and see the potential Netflix has for the future. Contingent on the fact they still have streaming content from major networks, producing its own original programming can only help Netflix.

But I do have a suggestion for Netflix to build on.  In November, Netflix confirm they would revive the fiercely-loved but low rated Arrested Development and nerds everywhere rejoice. The hype behind Arrested Development has grown in its six year hiatus and in no small part to Netflix.  Netflix could a prime location for other fan-obsessed shows that get canceled from major networks and they could corner their own little niche market.  They’ll be the last beacon of hope for TV geeks and their fandom.

I’ll have to wait until 2013 to see if the new seasons draw in viewers. But if it does I seriously hope Netflix considers continuing with other great-but-canceled shows.  It would be phenomenal for their conflicted brand image.  Maybe this is just wishful thinking for me, TV nerd, and my beloved Community. (Well, this post is just full of embarrassing facts about me, isn’t it?) If NBC rashly cancels, Netflix could be the way to get their “six seasons and a movie.” But this is Netflix so they’ll find a way to ruin something!

An Instagram worth a thousand words

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

Some might assume that the news of Instagram’s Android debut being delayed would disappoint my nerdy, amateur photographer self.  They would be wrong.

The social media site and app does seem to fit with my compulsive need to take and share pictures.  And I am excluded from joining because I actively refuse to join the cult of Apple.  But I am not particularly disappointed by the delay nor am I completely sold on Instagram’s potential for something beyond a photo sharing site.

My first hesitation is about the app and it’s fairly petty and more than a little pretentious.  With the ability to filter every picture into an “artistic” shot, I worry about oversaturation and a lack of ability to discern between a truly great picture and a picture that just mimics something truly great.  While I support art for the masses, I don’t think all pictures are created equal even if they are created by the same filter.   I mean, how many color distorted photos of cups of coffee or someone’s lunch are truly great pictures? Or how many do we really need for that matter?

But my second, and more valid, concern about Instagram is the need of its own social media site.  You can upload your Instagram photos to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc.  It’s the redundancy of existing sites that has me concerned.  Obviously, for personal use it doesn’t matter as much but for marketing it might.  Other social media sites were able to find a unique niche for businesses that elevate them as a branding tool.  While businesses are using Instagram and using it well, I am not sure the site itself is a necessity.

I guess I am a little curious for the Android version to be released.  But not to join, instead I’m interested to see if my Instagram-apprehension is well-founded or not.  Though, I am willing to place bets that in a few months I’ll back track on everything I just said.  And then you will be able to enjoy all the vintage looking pictures of coffee cups I can upload.