Advertising/Marketing

Skin Crawling Ring Tones

jtoney — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:00:21 +0000

Skin Crawling Ring Tones

Chester Bennington from Linkin Park performing at Sonisphere Festival in Kirjurinluoto, Pori, Finland. {Kallerna}

Ring tones that are felt, not heard, could be on their way.

From The Wall Street Journal TechEurope blog:

According to the patent application, Nokia is proposing "a material attachable to skin, the material capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin, wherein the perceivable stimulus relates to the magnetic field."

Or to put it another way, a vibrating tattoo.

That magnetic field would interact with the tattoo, causing it to vibrate in a certain way.

Nokia's thinking is that in much the same way that you can have different ring tones for different callers, so too a future phone could emit a different magnetic field depending who is calling, or if your battery is running low, or you receive an SMS, for example.

Rockband Linkin Park may have been prescient on this discovery:

"Crawling"
[Chorus:]
Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming/confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
Controlling/I can't seem

[Bridge:]
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
(without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure

[Chorus]

Discomfort,endlessly has pulled itself upon me
Distracting/reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
It's haunting how I can't seem...

Hopefully, more useful applications will evolve from this discovery. Do we really need to feel calls, texts, tweets as they're coming in?

jtoney Wed, 03/21/2012 - 11:00

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Linkin Park

Media

Technology

Well, finally we don't even "need" cellphones. First we talked with devices beeing physically connected, now we communicate with devices not even beeing connected, tomorrow we will be without devices, just with out thoughts!

If you would like to shed four to five pounds weekly of straight fat then use Bronkaid for weight loss. It really is strong though so watch out and take your fish oil!

Liberate your Shoelaces, Flexagons!

jtoney — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:30:46 +0000

Liberate your Shoelaces, Flexagons!

Ads of the World.

Can business cards evoke creativity, spark interest? Standard business cards seem outdated, dull, uninspiring. Liberate your shoelaces, your flexagons!

Consider shoelace business cards for Adidas employees, a highly creative approach to grabbing attention, and importantly, explaining what you do for a living.

A design colleague of mine, Prof. Rose Gonella, suggested that I use a flexagon business card, because my job involves so many facets - teaching, research, administration,...

It's easy to make a flexagon:

Give up those dull business cards! What's your design?

jtoney Mon, 03/05/2012 - 07:30

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Art

design

Video

Best of the Web!

Thank you. Can you elaborate?

Oscarito! Oscar Friere would never be the type to use a shoelace as a business card. He would not have a business card but would just rip off some of the duct tape he used to tape his pump to his bike and write on it!

(Oscar Freire, World Road Champion, Tour De France Green jersey winner, and well known flake, well no, rather well known personality ...)

Liberate your Shoelaces, Flexagons! – Dean's Corner Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I'll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

Presumably the shoelace business cards are designed to complement Agent Maxwell Smart's shoe telephone?

Great website

Should I Sell my Car for NY Giants Season Tickets?

jtoney — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:58:31 +0000

Should I Sell my Car for NY Giants Season Tickets?

MetLife Stadium: NY Giants vs. Washington Redskins, Dec. 18, 2011 (my own photo.)

This may be a sign of football withdrawal syndrome, but the day after the NY Giants won the Super Bowl I was searching for 2012 season tickets (more on that later.) I was reminiscing about last December when I took my son to his first professional football game at MetLife stadium. It was a bright, freezing cold day and the stadium was packed with more than 80,000 fans. The NY Giants were having a bad day battling the Washington Redskins; several times the announcer excitedly reported "Touchdown!" followed quickly by taking it away due to a penalty.

From USA Today:

On third down, Manning threw and apparent touchdown to D.J. Ware, but the call was overruled upon review, setting up a 4th-and-2. Then, Nicks' touchdown grab was nullified due to a holding penalty on David Diehl. On 4th-and-long, Manning was sacked, bringing to end the woeful series.

You can watch the highlights here.

Rex Grossman threw for a TD, and the Redskins put a hurt on the Giants and their playoff hopes with a 23-10 victory on Sunday.

By the third quarter, the score was NY Giants 3, Redskins 20. Despite dismal prospects for a win, my son and I were having a great time. For most fans, it was a different story; they were yelling insults at the NY Giants, and worse, almost our entire section emptied before the third quarter was over. I wonder how many of those same "fans" enjoyed the Super Bowl? At the end of the game, the Giant's record was 7 wins, 7 losses. Winning the Super Bowl after such an underwhelming record must be one of the great turnaround stories in sports! Woeful series, indeed.

Back to those season tickets, not for mere mortals, it turns out. Being sentimental, I wanted to get the same seats. First, I would need to purchase two Personal Seat Licenses, at $12,500 each - $25,000 total, to support the construction of the new stadium at a cost of $1.6 billion. Then the price of the tickets are fixed at $500 each per home game. Since I am far from a "one percenter," that's not going to happen. I suppose I could sell my car - who needs it, right? No wonder so many fans watch the games at home!

jtoney Thu, 02/09/2012 - 09:58

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Sports

Beauty and Brains Tease

jtoney — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:16:35 +0000

Beauty and Brains Tease

Sources: PetaPixel and Photo Vatika (Sony India)

No, I'm not the first to discovery this extraordinary brain trick. I did want to share this, though, as an example of how our brain processes and stores images. Give it a try - amazing!

Sony India Interesting Ad : stare at the colored dots on this girl's nose for 30 seconds, then quickly look at a white wall or ceiling (or anything pure white) and start blinking rapidly. Congratulations, you just processed a negative with your brain!

I invite any neuroscientists to explain the mechanism!

jtoney Sat, 02/04/2012 - 04:16

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Neurology

not a neuroscientist, but this is a common optical illusion. i believe it has to do with the rods and cones in the eye becoming fatigued, rather than any brain function.

How does this relate to persistence of vision?

Thank you for your comment. I am interested in the link between the rod/cone cells in the eye and processing and storage of the image. Can anyone elaborate?

Negaive afterimages are generated by the retina, independent of central processing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterimage#Negative_afterimages

Whoa...I kept seeing this ad well after a min. from starring at the negative image. o_o

I'll be darn. I'm so easily entertained!

It's pretty cool. Could see her positive image on the ceiling instantly. I think it's interesting.

Hahaha, I did this and then stared at the wall across from me, the image was huge and in focus. Also, you dont have to stare at the dots, stare at her eyes, its more natural feeling. :)

(sorry, non-native speaker groping for words)

Generally, our senses don't report the current state of our surroundings but only change-of-state. That's why we get used to an odor in a room, no longer notice some constant noise, or why we still can tell blue from green even if the light itself is red (be it in a club or the evening sun).

The afterimage happens because our vision compensates for a "distortion" for a few moments after said distortion is no longer there.

sonra gelen olumsuz gÃ¶rÃ¼ntÃ¼ oynadÄ±ÄÄ± de en az bu reklam gÃ¶rmeye devam etti.

another one to try

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=359371497425261&set=a.3391463427…

Hey ..can u do the same for written word, I'm thinking of cheating in an exam,seeing the written text would be helpful, is that cheating

How come! I am a huge fan of your site, I have been reading it out for a few months, but forget to check back in some times. I really don't have anything to add, but I wanted to say thank you for making this brilliant website!

Thank you very much!

Good information you got here. I recognise the time involved in coming up such informative post. I will be coming back for more. Thanks!

How Romney is Underpaid at $57,000 per day

jtoney — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:40:54 +0000

How Romney is Underpaid at $57,000 per day

Photo AP.

The release of Gov. Mitt Romney's tax returns on Tuesday highlights the Presidential candidate's wealth and the low 14% tax rate that investors enjoy, far less than the 25-35% tax rate that the average American pays for wages.

Yes, Gov. Romney's annual earnings of about $20 million indicate that his dividends and interest received in one day are close to the average household annual income of about $57,000. This should surprise no one. Let's put some perspective on this, relative to individuals with his business expertise - by some accounts, he is underpaid.

Gov. Romney presents himself as a "regular guy" while at the same showing pride for his business acumen and success. This is in no way unusual for public figures with comparable annual income. So do television personalities such as Matt Lauer, at $17 million per year (some mornings, I can almost believe the "regular guy" image.)

Should the public be shocked that a successful business person earns the average annual salary in a day? In the private sector such as Bain Capitol, described in their website as an:

alternative asset management firms whose affiliates manage approximately $60 billion

....or, for that matter, a hedge fund firm such as Appaloosa Management that:

primarily invests in equities and debt of distressed companies, bonds, exchange warrants, options, futures, notes, and junk bonds. The firm also seeks to invest in companies in bankruptcy

-- It is not uncommon for their CEO to earn not $20 million per year, but well over $1 billion. In the case of Appaloosa Management, founder and President David Tepper recently earned $4 billion, or $16 million per day. That corresponds to earning the average American's annual income in not one day but in less than two minutes!

So is Gov. Romney undervalued? You decide.

jtoney Thu, 01/26/2012 - 02:40

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Media

Politics

To the guillotine with them all!

If corporations are people can we pull a Bain? We get a loan, buy the undervalued asset using the loan, then liquidate it if it doesn't perform! Dance android dance?

(suggestion made in jest, I would never want to see Mitt dace, so I suppose other people wouldn't pay to see it either)

How long do you suppose it will be before Bain changes its name due to the press received during this election cycle? I'm guessing 3-5 months after the election.

In my opinion, they're all OVERPAID. This very much goes to the heart of what is wrong with our country. The top tier has gotten totally bloated out of proportion to the bottom portion, and the entire middle is being squeezed out. And we let it happen! Ridiculous.

@BJD -- Not only did we let it happen, I see many people online (primarily, it must be said, those who self-identify as Republicans or libertarians and who spend a lot of time excoriating "libtards") cheering it on, even though they themselves are in lower income levels. These are people who have connected with the American success mythology to the degree that they draw no connection between where they are kept and where these CEOs are helping to keep them; rather, they see themselves as "I could be that someday." Policy is supported by gleeful self-delusion, that these are all "self-made men" and that anyone can climb the ladder of success and gain such fortune. In other words: no consideration for what is, but everything focused on the dream of what might be.

The mythology supports the system. The ugly reality of "if your family has the money, you go to the right schools, schmooze with the right people, and have no ethics whatsoever" isn't part of the awareness of the mythology. Thus, people become complicit in making disequities even when they're on the wrong side of it.

Personally, I think the overall "greed is good" message starting off in the '80s, along with a systematic devaluation of "community responsibility", has exacerbated this.

Jeff,

I wrote a comment on either the 27th or 28th. I pointed out the double taxation of dividends, and argued that tax policy can only do so much to reduce inequality, especially not without affecting the overall economy in negative ways. I finished by noting that executive compensation probably has exceeded the worth of those individuals in comparison to the added value of people better at those jobs.

My comment was 'held for moderation' and never posted. I was not confrontational, rude, crude, or otherwise disrespectful in that reply. I certainly hope that you aren't censoring your own blog for opposing viewpoints. It is awfully hard to respect the opinion of someone that would do that.

Super Bowl XLVI NY Giants to New England Patriots: "Stomp You Out!"

jtoney — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:07:42 +0000

Super Bowl XLVI NY Giants to New England Patriots: "Stomp You Out!"

Photo: :The New York Giants in a December 2008 game against the w:Cincinnati Bengals (Flickr tedkerwin)

In 2004, I had a memorable evening dining with NY Giants player Michael Strahan (see "Football Helmet Hits and Brain Injury - What Should Be Done?") With a repeat match of the NY Giants battling with the New England Patriots coming up in the Super Bowl on February 5, I was reminded of this:

From Michael's Facebook page:

New York Giants Fans, remember this?

Will history repeat itself?

jtoney Tue, 01/24/2012 - 14:07

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Media

Sports

we will stomp u out again

Hidden Value of NY Giants Commercial Breaks

jtoney — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:27:50 +0000

Hidden Value of NY Giants Commercial Breaks

MetLife Stadium: NY Giants vs. Washington Redskins, Dec. 18, 2011 (my own photo.)

The New York Giants-Green Bay Packers divisional playoff last night had a whopping 40.1 million viewers, with numerous commercial breaks, some amusing, some annoying, some dull. What is the value of those commercials? Do they really allure new customers to their products?

I have a confession to make. I'm not really a football fan, at least not in the usual sense. This all changed when my son began to approach his teenage years. This post is about a common but idiosyncratic little tale about fathers and sons, played out in various ways, I am sure, in millions of households. When my son was little, we did everything together with a closeness that deepened from the moment when I witnessed his birth. But that changed as he grew, with increasing aloofness. Suddenly, it seemed, when I asked about school, his friends, more and more monosyllabic answers would follow. It became more difficult to draw him out, to learn about what's going on in his life.

Then recently I made a curious discovery, while we watched football games. There are so many commercials in between plays that we began a habit of using the mute button - forgive me advertisers! - during which we began to talk. This "commercial talk" takes on many forms, from word play to joking about the disconnect between the product being advertised and the context of the scene played out by the actors to what's going on at school, to how his friends are doing. You get the idea.

Am I the only one to experience this hidden value of NY Giants commercial breaks?

jtoney Mon, 01/16/2012 - 08:27

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Sports

Jeff, pressing the mute button to engage in real conversation is brilliant! I look forward to trying this myself. Thanks!

Generic Lipitor, The Same and Not The Same

jtoney — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:22:52 +0000

Generic Lipitor, The Same and Not The Same

Photo source.

With the news of availability of generic Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering drug, sales of the prescription brand have plummeted, as expected. Is generic Lipitor really the same as prescription Lipitor? Consider this:

"Generic drugs are identical to brand name drugs." True or False?

We know that generic drugs cost less than their brand name equivalents, offering a savings of 50% or more. But are they "identical"?

Behind every pill is a story. US patents grant the inventor a 20 year property right; only the inventor can manufacture and sell the medicine. When the patent expires, anyone can produce and sell it. The Food and Drug Administration arguably has the most rigorous regulatory oversight in the world for both generic and brand name prescriptions, to ensure that the drugs are safe and effective.

But the devil is in the details. Yes, any company can manufacture a generic drug after patent expiration and must prove to the FDA that it is "bioequivalent" to the brand name pill. Are "bioequivalent" pills "identical"? Consider this. In order to produce it, the generic manufacturer must know how to make the active ingredient, on a multi-ton scale, how to add the inert, inactive components, and how to coat the pill. Each of these steps is critical for the final product to be as safe and effective as the brand name drug.

How do they know how to do this? The generic manufacturer refers to the original patents, along with other scientific articles. But here's the rub. These patents are crafted so that just enough information is revealed to convince the US Patent and Trademark Office that the invention is novel and "non-obvious", while maintaining "trade secrets" including details about large-scale manufacturing.

So each aspiring manufacturer of a generic drug needs to figure out how to mimic the original brand name process for each step. Not surprisingly, different companies can accomplish this using various methods, whether to synthesize the active ingredient, formulate the inactive ingredients or coat the pill.

Why should you care? Because there is mounting evidence that variation from generic to generic produced in the US, and more importantly, those produced worldwide, can determine the safety and effectiveness of a medication. For example, generic forms of the antidepressant Wellbutrin XL 300 were found to release the active drug at different rates compared to the brand name, measured by an independent testing laboratory. In a survey of twenty foreign sources of generic simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, researchers found that a 20 mg dose actually ranged from 29.7 to 40.1 mg. These medicines can often be purchased over the internet without a prescription. More than doubling the prescribed dosage could result in more adverse side effects. The effectiveness of these medications can also be reduced by differences in "clumping" of the active ingredients and the pill coating - this changes how long it takes for the pill to dissolve and release the drug.

So buyer beware. Generic drugs can be safe and effective, particularly for those produced in the US, but an informed patient working together with their physician will ensure the best outcome. Online social networking for patients and healthcare workers is one of the best ways to make this happen, such as PatientsLikeMe. If you are fortunate enough to have a good health insurance plan, choosing the brand name prescription will ensure uniformity and reliability of the medicine. However, if you and your doctor choose a generic equivalent, be sure to communicate with your health care providers about any potential adverse side effects. To make sure that the medicine is working, be sure that you follow up with your doctor for any required tests. Keep a record of any changes you note in your reaction to the medicine - see "Tips on Generics". And please check with your pharmacist - be sure that their source of any generic is consistent, as there is no requirement to notify you if they do choose another manufacturer.

A generic drug produced in the US, while "bioequivalent" to the brand name drug, may or may not be "identical".

A version of this article was published at NJ Voices.

jtoney Tue, 12/20/2011 - 09:22

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

health care

Pharmaceutical

Caution should be taken...

As I began to read this article I started to think about the case of Wellbutrin XL, and sure enough you included this example. I think antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs are especially prone to different experiences when compared to a generic formulation. Of course these patients as a whole are probably more likely to suffer "perceived" differences but do not account for all reports, imo.

Yes, a patient might prefer a polished generic tablet over an unpolished brand name tablet even though this would improve their care. The most important question is "Are there clinically significant differences between medications?" The drug manufacturer and the FDA are responsible for ensuring this does not happen. If clinically significant differences exist,there was a problem with the FDA approval process.

I picked up my first prescription of generic Lipitor (atorvastatin)today, December 29th. The generic is made by Pfizer and will be the only one available for several months until other generics are available according to my pharmacist. My insurance plan is getting hit because I'm paying $7.00 per prescription for the generic but they are paying for a slightly discounted Lipitor from Pfizer until the real generics become available.

A disclosure of conflicts of interest, if any, would be appropriate here.
The author does not state how much variability was found in the content of branded simvastatin, i.e. Zocor. What? No one checked that? How about the inter-patient and intra-patient variability of timed release branded Wellbutrin? Was there any measurable difference in therapeutic effect, or just anecdotal reports touted by Pharma? Also unstated is the fact that doubling the dose of most statin drugs yields only about a 6% difference in therapeutic effect. The variability of measured cholesterol levels is about 10% on any given day. In that context, the difference between branded products, for about $5-8 per day and generics, for about $0.04-$0.20 looks a lot different.

Now, any conflict of interest to disclose?

We live in a world where one drug fits all. That single pill one patient might take will be absorbed differently in different patients based on their diet and metabolism, and one pill might have different effects on, for example, a 90 pound Asian woman than on a 250 pound Italian man. We dont worry too much about this sort of variability, but this author wants us to freak out about the insignificant differences between generic and brand-name Lipitor? That is ridiculous. Fda already has a designated class of drugs, call Narrow Therapeutic Index drugs, where very small degrees of variability do make a difference. Cholesterol-lowering statins are NOT in that category. So please, if your doctor writes you a prescription for Lipitor, insist on the generic. It will work just as well as the brand-name on 99.99999 percent of patients and sav them a ton of money.

There is also the US Pharmacopia which has much additional information as well as the Phase I II and III records

I was switched from lipitor to the generic 8 months ago when the generic was available. The worst side effects ever. dizziness, depression, memory loss none of which I had on the brand name. I switched back 3 days ago and pray these horribly side effects go away

I was given lepitor for the past 11 years no problem switched to generic 2 months ago and immediately started having palpitation fatigue by which I did not get up from bed for 2 months been to all kinds of doctors catskan x rays etc. Cardiologist asked me to stop"lepitor" I forgot I was taking the generic and he did not know I was taking the generic. The next day after stopping it I was able to do my house hold chores for the first time in 2 months of my lost life.

I just had to refill my script for the next 90 days. Per my script plan my share was over $400.00 for Lipotor whereas the generic is $10.00 for 90 Days. Who can afford this??

Where Did This Cheese Come From?

jtoney — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:45:08 +0000

Where Did This Cheese Come From?

"Daddy, do you know where this cheese came from?"

I absolutely love this video demonstrating that learning science can be - and should be - fun. Enjoy!

This series is a result of a collaboration between broadcast media (NBC) and scientists (National Science Foundation.)

From Eureka Alert:

National Science Foundation and NBC Learn launch 'Chemistry Now' video series
Videos celebrate International Year of Chemistry; available cost-free to students, teachers and fans of chemistry.

In celebration of the International Year of Chemistry, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, have teamed up to launch "Chemistry Now," a weekly online video series that uncovers and explains the science of common physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day. The series also looks at the lives and work of scientists on the frontiers of 21st century chemistry.

"Chemistry Now" consists of 32 learning packages that aim to break down the chemistry behind things such as cheeseburgers and chocolate or soap and plastics. A new topic will be explored each week starting in January and running through May. The series will then resume in the fall of 2011 to keep pace with the academic school year.

Made especially for students and teachers to explore chemistry in and beyond the classroom, the online videos are matched with lesson plans from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and are available cost-free on NBC Learn and NSF's Science360 websites and on the NSTA blog.

Weekly content includes original video stories that illustrate real-world applications of chemistry; current events and archival news stories related to chemistry; original source documents and images from the Chemical Heritage Foundation; articles from the archives and current publications of Scientific American; and content-coordinated lesson plans for middle and high school students, produced by national curriculum specialists at NSTA.

In addition, the "Chemistry Now" series will profile NSF-sponsored scientists who are hard at work on the next generation of chemistry breakthroughs.

"The International Year of Chemistry is an excellent opportunity to reach out to the public and convey to them the ways in which chemistry is involved in their lives each and every day," said Matthew Platz, director of NSF's Division of Chemistry. "We are especially excited about the opportunity that this collaboration gives us to reach out to large numbers of intelligent, energetic young people who might not have imagined that they could be contributing members of this thrilling, dynamic field."

"Chemistry Now" builds on a number of other collaborations between NBC Learn and NSF in their partnership to advance the understanding of and interest in science, technology, engineering and math. As part of the partnership, NBC Learn oversees all production of the learning packages and contributes original video, as well as historic news coverage, documentary materials and current news broadcasts from NBC News.

"Today's students thrive on the opportunity to learn from real life examples of what they are studying in school," said Soraya Gage, executive producer of NBC Learn. "Using unique and engaging storytelling, NBC News can help break down barriers to understanding complicated scientific concepts."

"'Chemistry Now' provides a fantastic opportunity for teachers to supplement classroom learning by using video and lesson plans that are supported with rich, accessible pedagogy," said Francis Eberle, executive director of NSTA. "We are delighted to contribute to the project, and we know chemistry educators will find the packages useful."

Previous NSF/NBC Learn partner projects include: "The Science of the Winter Olympics" and "The Science of NFL Football."

jtoney Sat, 07/30/2011 - 09:45

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Media

science communication

Video

Rebecca Black and The Teenage Celebrity Industrial Complex

jtoney — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:10:34 +0000

Rebecca Black and The Teenage Celebrity Industrial Complex

Fourteen year old internet sensation Rebecca Black just released a follow up video "My Moment" after her debut of "Friday" that went viral with more than 167 million views. Attention at this scale landed her a spot on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a music video with Katy Perry, "Last Friday Night".

Such opportunities for seemingly instant fame can affect these teens, and pre-teens, in a profound way: IRL (In Real Life)...

Rebecca Black has had to endure the backlash of cyberbullying after her first video.

And Black, 13, certainly never anticipated the social media uproar, mainstream media hellfire, parodies and remixes that greeted "Friday" as the video became nearly ubiquitous across Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. Time.com called the song - which provides a primer on the days of the week, innocently celebrates partying, and ponders the merits of "kickin' it" in a car's front versus the back seat from a wholesome teen girl P.O.V. -- "a whole new level of bad" and "a train wreck." Slate proclaimed "Friday" "disastrous" while Yahoo asked straight up, "Is YouTube sensation Rebecca Black's 'Friday' the worst song ever?"

Consider Megan Parken, age 15, whose "MeganHeartsMakeup" has garnered almost 50 million views of YouTube. According to The New York Times:

Soon she was quitting more than cheerleading. The money-making opportunities from participating in YouTube's partner program and from the companies whose brands she mentioned were so great (and her discomfort at school growing so much) that she decided to quit high school entirely after ninth grade and enroll in online courses at the University of Texas, with the full support of her parents.

"The financial opportunity is incredible," said her mother, Susan Parken. "She has saved enough money to buy her first car" and has put away money for college.

Some teachers weren't horrified, either. "The confidence she has in her videos is not the way she was in school," said Yasemin Florey, Ms. Parken's yearbook teacher during eighth grade. "YouTube brought out the real Megan. She gets more out of her viewers than dealing with the drama back at school."

Have extraordinary opportunities for web celebrity led to a change in attitude for teens and tweens? A study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles indicates that it has.

The study:

The goal was to document historical change in the values communicated to tween audiences, age 9-11, who are major media consumers and whose values are still being formed. We analyzed the top two tween TV shows in the U.S. once a decade over a time span of 50 years, from 1967 through 2007.

Figure 1 provides a graphic example of this pattern. It shows how community feeling, the value that was top in 1967, and fame, the value that was top in 2007, flip in 2007, with fame for the first time above the yearly grand mean and community feeling below.

What a profound change in values over four decades! Of course, signing up for the YouTube partners program or blogging does not guarantee anything for these teens and tweens, and seeking fame at a young age is nothing new. Online social media makes the whole process more accessible by both performer and viewers, and now the world is watching 24/7. The self-reported devaluation of "community feeling" could be because the meaning of "community" has changed dramatically, compared to the "three communitarian values - community feeling, tradition, and benevolence" according to the authors of the study. Whether embracing online communities more and more results in a more shallow, fame-seeking person remains to be seen. This study could be a warning sign that we need to seek balance amongst traditional, family based ("IRL") communities and those in cyberspace.

jtoney Wed, 07/20/2011 - 10:10

Tags

Advertising/Marketing

Concert Reviews/Music