Social Media Revolution

These videos always freak me out a little. I've probably watched one of these types of videos in all of my communication classes. It gets the point across better than simply listing facts and statistics, but I would like to see where they got these facts from.

I'm a firm believer in the social media revolution and how it's changing the shape of the world today. The world is getting progressively smaller and tools like Twitter and Facebook are making communication around the globe instaneous. I talked earlier about the twitter effect on films, and this video just sums it up and expands it to the world as a whole.

This summer blockbuster season will be considered the summer of the Twitter Effect, but is right? This article isn't so sure. While Bruno and G.I. Joe have suffered huge box office drops from Friday to Saturday, Twitter can't take all the credit. Bruno (and Sasha Baron Cohen) has a small but fervent fan base that probably rushed to see the film as soon as it opened. The drop of 61% is comparable to Twilight's drop of 71% from weekend to weekend, which also has a small but enthusiastic fanbase. And despite being panned by critics and viewers alike, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen went on to be the highest grossing movie this year.

I think this "Twitter Effect" is not all thanks to Twitter, it is thanks to the rapid dissemination of information through all social media - twitter, facebook, friendfeed, delicious, digg, etc. It's a force that can't be stopped and is changing how we all live our lives.

This article disagrees with me. They believe that the internet has not spread ideas, as much as it has made us censor ourselves. Granted, there have been a few instances of people getting fired over facebook updates and/or tweets, but these are few and far between compared to the amount of usage these sites get. And compared to the good it's done. Twitter was an integral part in the Iranian Election. It has saved lives thanks to people (like @mrskutcher) seeing suicidal thoughts and then stopping the writers from following through with their plans. It has raised money and awareness for numerous charities.

I say, Viva la Social Media Revolution!

Random Video of the Day

I find this video way too hilarious to just let it slide by unnoticed.



Here are some of my favorite phrases from this gem:

"that says a lot about life, and about cat massage"

"she feels so good she forgets to swallow"

"use both hands to double your pleasure, double your fun"

GENIUS!

Family Guy will beat you up

As I mentioned in an older post, the Family Guy Emmy campaign is going on a more non-traditional route. Well, here are the 2 latest installments:





I'm disappointed they just redubbed the same scenes with new dialogue. I was ok with them redubbing clips from the show, but I thought each show would have a different clip. I guess not. Oh well, I still think these are funny. I especially love the last line about Entourage. For more on how Entourage IS just like Sex and the City with guys, check out this article.

What's your Mindset?

This school year is gearing up and this is the first time that I won't be gearing up with it. This such a strange and new experience, I don't quite know how I should be acting since I'm not getting ready to go back to school. Maybe that's part of why this blog exists?

I just found this annual report about the "mindset" of each graduating class. It's a list that Beloit College makes every year of the major defining events that shaped a graduating class's lives.

In honor of my graduating in 2009, here are some highlights from their Class of 2009 list:

1. They don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors.
2. Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.
3. They never had the fun of being thrown into the back of a station wagon with six others.
4. "Whatever" is not part of a question but an expression of sullen rebuke.
5. Dirty dancing has always been acceptable.
6. The Starship Enterprise has always looked dated.

For the full list, click HERE.
You can also check out other years' lists here.