The Future of Politics and Social Media

Can you imagine the world 20 years from now? How much do you think it will change in regards to social media? Well, it’s a hard thing to consider since you probably can’t even fathom how much technology will advance by then. One thing I think will definitely happen is everything becoming web based. We already see it happening in our everyday lives, but in the future there probably won’t be a need to have things like newspapers and physical textbooks. People will just be able to go online for all that.

The same goes with politics. I think a lot more information will be given to us on the web in the future. As soon as something big happens we would know about it immediately. Even faster than how news spread now. With presidential campaigning, most of that will be done online too. I can imagine candidates spending a lot more time updating information online than preparing for a speech.

In a way, this sounds good to me because it’ll get more people involved in politics. People will almost be forced into seeing something about politics online. Then maybe people wouldn’t be so naïve about political subjects. What do you think?

***The picture shows yet another one of my theories, that we will be able to vote on our phones in the future***

2008 Election & Social Media

I think that merging social media and politics has made more people aware of what's going on politically. There are many people out there who never watch the news or read a newspaper, but are constantly on the computer. During the past election the candidates used this to their advantage because everything was at the click of a mouse. This was especially true for Obama who received a lot of votes from the younger generation (ages 18-24). He used social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to get his message of Change across to the public.

I’ve never been too big on politics because it just seemed like a pain to keep up with everything. However, now that everything has starting to become internet-based, it’s much easier to keep up and understand. Plus, politics has become more interesting to me since adopting the internet as a tool for providing information. Now you can read blogs, watch videos, and even get updates on Facebook about what’s going on politically. By the way, who would have thought that Facebook/Twitter and politics could relate in any serious way?

Below is a video that I watched when Obama was still campaigning. It has a bunch of celebrities in it talking about why Obama should be president. When celebrities are involved in things like politics, it’s just more good press for the candidate and more people will see it. I probably wouldn’t have ever seen it if it wasn’t on YouTube either.

I guess my main point is that things spread much faster on the internet than anywhere else, so it can be very helpful to a presidential candidate. When everyone knows and starts to care about you, that is when you become popular. The internet succeeds in making things known.

So, here’s my question to you! Do you think that Obama’s success in the election was based a lot on his use of social media sites?

Amazon.com

I want to continue with the subject of reviews by talking about the ones you see on Amazon.com. I see these reviews as very helpful when it comes to purchasing what you want online. There have been plenty of times when I've wanted to buy something on Amazon, but saw that it had horrible reviews. In a sense, we are learning from someone else's mistake when we see these bad reviews. I buy things online (especially books) all the time now because I have this resource I can look to help me decide if I want the product.

These reviews are also a good way for people to communicate with one another, almost like a discussion board. This mostly pertains to books because people can comment on someone’s review. For instance, someone might make a point about the plot of the story being stupid. Then another person might comment explaining why the author might have written it that way. Stuff like that can be helpful to look at so you really get a sense of what you’re buying.

The only downside is that you can read a book that had great reviews and still be disappointed with the results. When that happens you’re wondering what all these reviewers were thinking, but we’re all different. No one can just expect to always get something great just because a lot of people liked it. So reviews can be good and bad, I suppose.

What do you think?

Here's the link to amazon! Take a look at some of the product reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/

Influence of Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes is just one of the many websites where people can post reviews about different movies. I see it as an excellent resource to figure out which movies are worth seeing. I also like it because anyone can put their opinions on the site. I've seen people ranging from professional movie critics (who usually work for a newspaper) and the everyday movie lover. That can be helpful because it won't be as bias. I think, for the most part, you’re getting a pretty reliable view of what the majority truly think.

However, sometimes I wonder if people’s opinions are shaped based on these types of reviews. For instance, if everyone is talking about Harry Potter and how it’s the greatest movie of the century you may force yourself to like the movies even if it’s just an unconsciously decision. I know that in a lot of situations people will watch things just so they can be part of the group and be able to talk about it. They may not have been interested in it without influences from other sources. That’s why I wonder if movies truly become popular because most of the people who watch it REALLY love it, or is it just because we feel like we’re supposed to like it.

I know it’s a farfetched thought, but it’s just something I’ve considered. Just think, when someone says they don’t like a movie that “everyone” likes then there’s automatically something wrong with them. People are like, “How could you not like that movie?!” With that in mind, it would make sense that people would force themselves to love these movies. In the end, Rotten Tomatoes would just end up being one of those influences that shape our opinions of movies. Who knows though?

What do you think? Am I just looking too deep into this?

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Below is the link to the Rotten Tomatoes Reviews for Twilight. I'm actually suprised that it got a 5.5/10 because there are SO MANY young fangirls who are usually on these sites raving about the movie. Anyway, take a look:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/twilight/

Oh, Parodies! How you make me laugh!

In my opinion, the definition of fanfiction is more than just a story based on a piece already published. I think it can also include videos that are like parodies of a movie or book. It still has the same criteria of the stories you see on fanfiction.net. The story and characters are still based on something previously published. Plus, it's made by a fan (well, I guess they aren't always fans but still).

One parody that I really liked was based on the Twilight series. It was about a middle-aged woman who is convinced that her co-worker is a vampire like Edward Cullen. It's funny because she was so delusional about it. The end was kind of cheesy though because he did end up being a vampire. Well, I guess the concept wasn't cheesy but it was the way they did it.

Anyway, I think having this visual form of fanfiction can be even more effective than a written form. For one, more people are probably more willing to watch something opposed to reading a fanfic. It’s a form of social media that people get drawn more easily. Why do you think YouTube is so popular? It’s because it’s easy to just press play and watch a video then make a comment on it.

Do you agree? Would you more likely read a fanfiction or watch a parody of a book/show/movie?

Bad Fanfiction

If you've ever read a fanfiction before you know there are PLENTY of bad ones out there. It all depends on your individuals preferences. Like, for me, I hate fanfictions that take the characters so far out-of-character that they're somebody else completely. Then there are others that can irk me even more because they don't know how to use spell-check and can’t seem to manage that subject, verb agreement thing [sarcasm]. You know what I mean...

ANYWAY, I was watching a video called, "What Makes A Bad [Mostly Harry Potter, but others also.] Fan Fiction Part 1." It's a video blog where a girl basically rants about the things that make a bad fanfiction. She focuses mostly on the Harry Potter fanfics and I think she makes some pretty good points even though it's based on her own opinions. For instance, she says that she hates when the authors of fanfics write about two characters being all angsty and sad then "10 years later" are married and happy. She says, "I'm all for a happy ending but you gotta tell us how they get there."

Despite how bad or good the fanfiction is, I do like the fact that people feel like they can be bigger part of their favorite books/movies than just a consumers. Plus, it brings a lot of people together on the internet who have the same interest. What about you? How do you feel about fanfictions?

Collective Intelligence on Family Guy

On Family Guy, they show a lot of funny clips that are both random and have nothing to do with the story line. In one of the short clips, you see a bunch of monkeys in a room attempting to write Shakespeare. One is on a typewriter and all of them are trying to think of a title for a play. I think Peter (one of the main characters) said something like, "Put a bunch of monkeys in a room and you have Shakespeare." That was the joke of the whole thing. This is the dialogue in the clip:

Monkey on Typewriter: "Let's see: 'A something by any other name.'"

Monkey 1: "Carnation ..."

Monkey 2: "What about daisy?"

Monkey 3: "Chrysanthemum, iris..."

Monkey 4: "Rose? What about rose?"

Monkey on Typewriter: "Rose is good. Uh, 'A rose by any other name.' Yeah, that works. Moving on..."

Monkey 5: "Hey, what about tulip?"

Monkey on TW: "Rose is fine. Moving on."

Unfortunately, I don't have a video clip to show you, but this is an example of collective intelligence because the monkeys are collaborating to create something great. It shows that more success can come from a collaborative effort. Who knows how long it would have taken the monkey on the typewriter to figure out a title for a play without help from the others.

What do you think? Is it better to rely on your own intelligence or work together with others to get things done?

Source: http://nbierma.blogspot.com/2006/01/monkeys-typing-shakespeare.html