Secret Service Investigates Facebook Poll

While browsing blogs for random stories and articles, I came upon a site which I surprisingly ended up enjoying. SiliconANGLE is an open blog that seems to focus on social media, entrepreneurship, news and trends. I'd definitely suggest the site to most new media publishers looking for an interesting read.

However, that's all beside the point. The first article I stumbled on the site was "Facebook Poll Asks "Should the President Be Killed?" and Nutbars Come Out of the Woodwork." With a title that seemed so strange, I shrugged it off thinking it was simply a joke or some sort of attention grabber. Still pretty intrigued, I decided to look for more information and surprisingly, I found articles and video clips already.

On one of the many third-party applications on Facebook, a user created a poll which asked "Should Obama be killed?" Answers included "Yes," "No," "Maybe," and "If he cuts my healthcare." Overall, there were 730 users who responded to the outrageous poll, though the responses were unavailable. Once more people were aware of the poll's existence, including the Secret Service, Facebook moved to remove the poll. Facebook stated that they were unaware of the poll until early Monday (September 29), and have no record of which user created it (although they assume the third-party who created the application will have a record). Also, after the poll's removal, the Secret Service began its investigation of who was behind it and what was his or her intent in creating it.

None of the articles around seem to be full of detail, although this does simulate how quickly news can be distributed over the web through blogs, newspaper websites and social networks. A quick browse on YouTube brings up a few videos, on Facebook, there is already a poll in retaliation to the one against Obama, you can find numerous tweets about the subject from random users made on Twitter, and many blogs have already written up posts about it.. Most news articles haven't even been posted for half a day. Despite being exposed to this sort of wildfire-like spread of knowledge almost daily, I am constantly astounded by it.

SiliconANGLE (blog with the post mentioned about the poll first): www.siliconangle.net

News article from LA Times: www.latimes.com/ --

Apps Anyone?

It seems that a common buzz word these days is "Apps". Whether you are viewing the menu at UNO's Chicago Grill or the one on an iPhone there seems to be an "App" for everything. As part of the ongoing discussions in this blog "Apps" promote another key way to distribute content. iPhone Apps are being utilized in the print media industry in applications where the iPhone can be used as a medium to review customer print orders from inception to production.

One of the lectures in my Media Distribution & Transmission class this week was focused on media distribution workflow. There are many traditional workflow structures, but with so many multi-channel offerings we continually move away from the old ways of distributing content. The options are seemingly endless and the pace of technology will allow this trend to continue. So as we think about ways to disseminate content the question you may want to ask - Is there an App for that? Check out the iPhone Apps at: http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone/

Based on what I have seen, read and heard (multi-channel reception of information) I know that my next mobile phone will be an iPhone.

DD

Hulu to go to subscription service?

By now, many people have heard about Hulu. It's a site that allows you to watch free, and legal, TV shows and movies online. The site does have commercials during the shows, which helps to generate the revenue. It has a partnership with companies such as NBC, FOX, and ABC. These networks will distribute their content to Hulu, which will then be available for everyone's viewing. Many people use it, and prefer it to regular broadcast TV. It is a very convenient alternative.

However, recently the company has announced that they are thinking about creating subscription services, and pay-per-view tools. Now, this isn't exactly a bad thing, but I believe it may hinder the site's success. Many people began using Hulu because it was a free alternative to TV, and they didn't have to worry about being caught pirating. However, with the possible shift to being monetized, people may shy away from the idea of Hulu. This may cause those who had enjoyed Hulu to start (go back to) pirating TV shows.

The company execs within the Hulu partnership stated that they were open to any other ideas in how to monetize Hulu further down the road. I believe that alternative methods should be explored, because while the creation of subscription services is really not a bad thing at all, I do believe that it could impact some of the success that Hulu has already been exposed to. Nonetheless, Hulu is a good example of how TV has changed mediums, and I believe it shall probably continue to be so.

Original Article: http://zikkir.com/it/10936

The future of libraries, with or without books

Recently, libraries have been experiencing a revolution similar to that of the web, facing pushes to become digital and focus on public and group communication. The worry that physical books are going extinct is a pressure causing some libraries to reevaluate the way in which their institutions can remain places of free and shared information.

Jason M. Schultz, director of the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley Law School, describes the role of libraries being two-fold: First, they serve as places to get free information. Second, they are community centers for civic debate. Trends in social media have sent librarians creating circles of conversation mimicking that of twitter and facebook, as well as running blogs and even RFID tagged books that when scanned by phones, read the story to the listener. As libraries become more attune to technology and focus on group conversation and debate, their workers must also alter their job tasks to create topics of discussion, monitor debates, and provide technical support.

All of these changes focus on fulfilling Schultz’s second role of libraries. It appears, then, that libraries’ survival depends on their presence as a source of social commentary, discussion, and debate. If funding continues, libraries will continue to change.

To see the original article, click here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/04/future.library.technology/index.html?iref=newssearch

A Word from PRINT '09

Hello,

Earlier this week I was in Chicago at the PRINT '09 trade exhibition. The PRINT show is held every 4 years and during non-PRINT years, GraphExpo is held. These shows take place at Chicago's McCormick Place which is a massive convention center. The primary exhibitors are printing equipment manufacturers, paper companies, software application firms, publishers and educational institutions.

So what does all of this have to do with media distribution? Everything. The distribution process is essential to all content created and produced for dissemination whether to 1 individual or to the masses. A venue such as PRINT '09 really emphasizes the complexities of the entire print production cycle which starts with the customer order specifying their wants and needs.

There was much to see at this show including an impressive booth display from Eastman Kodak, Xerox and Heidelberg. However, one of the significant features at this year's show was the focus on mailing, fulfillment and distribution. There was a large amount of floor space dedicated to suppliers of mailing equipment/software and mailing consulting firms. Their message was clear: A reliable distribution workflow is critical to the print production process and it involves a myriad of functions such as staging, packaging, mailing and fulfillment.

For more information on PRINT '09 and future PRINT and GraphExpo shows go to: www.gasc.org.

Kanye West's 2009 VMA outbust plasters the web in seconds

From Facebook statuses, YouTube, Perez Hilton's Blog, MTV.com, and E!Online the news of Kanye West's outburst at the 2009 Music Video Awards plastered the internet. Within minutes of "the incident" in which Taylor Swift, winner of the best female music video for 2009 is delivering her acceptance speech fellow musician Kanye West storms the stage taking the microphone from her hand to divulge his opinion that singer Beyonce has "had one of the best videos of all time". This outburst leaves Taylor Swift speechless as ragging fans and fellow peers encouragingly applaud Swift's efforts.

I would have not even known of this event until tomorrow morning, as the cable in my apartment has been down all day. But with the internet, and our generation's equivalent of word of mouth, engines such as Twitter and Facebook, I knew within seconds of the fiasco that "KANYE WEST RAN ON STAGE AND TOOK THE MIC FROM TAYLOR SWIFT WHILE SHE ACCEPTED HER AWARD AND TOLD EVERYONE THAT BEYONCE DESERVED IT. Now you know." thanks to an informative Facebook status update. Within minutes I was able to watch the video on YouTube and 30 minutes later I had multiple videos to choose from and commentary from 213 people nationwide of their views on the story via MTV.com/news.

Similarly to stories that would have not made top headlines or media frenzies in the past due to distance across continents or small town victories, live performances such as the VMAs would not have been able to be posted instantaneously without the use of technologies such as TiVo, camera phones, and numerous electronic devices that shape our world today. It is only rational that such technologies are being used to facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of multi-channel distribution of media to the masses. We want things done fast, done right, and as cheaply as possible; and as long as there are means to facilitate these desires there will be consumers.

To read the MTV article and watch video click here:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621389/20090913/west_kanye.jhtml

Getting Started

Hello,

A few weeks ago when I set up this blog I let everyone know that this is a new experience for me. I have not been a blogger or a follower of blogs. However, after going to see the movie "Julie & Julia" I was motivated to create a blog about a topic that was important to me: media distribution. Will I blog daily? I think we all know the answer to that.

That said I have drafted a wonderful group of contributing writers - my students! Each week from now through mid-November one of the students from my media distribution and transmission class will be posting commentary on topics related to media distribution. For me it populates the blog and for them it adds to their class participation grade. So it's a win-win for all.

I hope you enjoy the fresh and insightful commentary that will be shared over the coming weeks by this very bright group of young people. I'll also be dropping a line here and there as well. In fact it was my intention to send this note before my students began their commentary, but I was not fast enough. The first post is there (posted 6 days early) already which definitely indicates that this group of students is awesome!

Happy reading and I'll be in touch.

Distribution Diva

Canadians Angry Over Loss of Broadcast Television

As of June 12, 2009, Americans that were still relying on braodcast cable could no longer receive any television stations via their antenne or on television rabbit ears; however, they need not fear missing American Idol or the local news. Even though the over-the-air method of broadcasting free television was coming to an end, there was a new option available to those who still wished to receive broadcast TV. that solution was a digital cable converter box that could be obtained for a small fee or in some cases, there were coucher programs that you could receive a box for free.

In his blog article, "Small Cities say it's unfair to loser TV signals," Steve Anderson describes a similar situation for many small town Canadians. Like us, Canadians are being told that their rabbit ears and other over-the-air broadcast receiving devices will no longer work after 2011; however, unlike America, there is no alternative for small town and rural Cananadians that wish to still receive free basic channels. The only solution being offered this population is to simply pay for satiellite or digital cable. The households that currently utilize the free broadcast cable are only getting 3 free channels and many are unwilling to pay for cable that will give them 60 or more channels when they are only using 3.

It has been suggested to the government and cable companies that Canada could adopt a technology like that currently used by the US and Europe. This system, called multiplexing, would allow for citizen to purchase a converter box and use that to get up to 6 free channels. Currently, the word is mum on how the rabbit-ear users will fair because cable companies and legislators seem unwilling to discuss the issue as of now.

You can read the original article here: http://democraticmedia.ca/blog-entry/small-cities-say-its-unfair-lose-tv-signals