With the universal spread of portable audio players like the iPod came the advent of the “podcast,” cheap audio software similar to weblogging that spread over the Internet and became available for easy download. Podcasts are a sort of amateur radio, and a natural development in the digital revolution of 2.0 media. Audio content such as interviews about various topics can be distributed in much the same way as written material via blogs. Audio versions of radio shows or the Wall street journal for example, could be sold and transported to portable audio devices. Shows, books, etc could now be listened to whenever and wherever the listener wanted. Audible information could now be portable. Developing a better system for audio file transfer required a new RSS language, which was eventually developed. A new program was developed and synchronized with the iPod, and podcasting as a practice spread like wildfire. Audio files could be transferred directly to portable audio devices in the pockets of every American. It seemed only natural that the trend would grow, considering the massive spread of the practice of blogging before it. The term “podcast” expresses the importance of the iPod and iTunes in spreading the practice of podcasting audibly and visually. The portable aspect of the podcast, and the ability for anyone to be a podcaster are two possible reasons for the popularity of podcasting. People tend to appreciate something as easy as downloading and listening to a subscribed feed rather than searching and reading scattered Internet content. The syndicated feed allows users to keep up to date easily with a podcaster. Podcasting and video-podcasting have grown in popularity and become an essential part of the “2.0 revolution.” Podcasts allow subscribers to have whatever audio content they desire at their fingertips and in their pockets, ready to be called upon whenever the listener decides. This sort of user-control is essential to its success.
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Obviously, the media revolution has come to play a large role in the worlds of marketing and communication. It is only natural that as more and more people pay more and more attention to digital material online that companies would have to rearrange strategies to include sectors dedicated solely to information distribution via the web. Society at large places a large important for example on a companies twitter and Facebook pages to gain information about the company. Thus, more attention must be paid to these modes of information control to reach the massive audience in an effective way. Corporations now use blogs, sometimes controlled by employees, on their own website. Corporate blogs can allow managerial leaders to keep in touch with both employees and customer satisfaction. It can help the corporation seem more personable and dedicated to fulfilling needs of customers. Traditional marketing strategies have been replaced by more modern communication modes like SMS texting, with some sort of reward for massive spread. Masked marketing describes a situation in which information that doesn’t seem to be an advertisement is sent and rumor marketing is a situation where something related to something that may later come out is sent before it comes out. Exclusive invitations are another way. Such a sort can lead to millions of downloads within days. Evangelist customers are enthusiasts for a product who try to spread it amongst other people by blogging and researching. A corporative blog is blog created by an organization by an official worker, showing the mass audience that the worker is transparent.. Blogs are an important trend in advertising, marketing, and public relations as they increase communication and awareness. Blogs have the ability to change and highly affect a business Thus; hundreds of new blogs are registered everyday, up to 18 updates per second. Millions of people buy products because of a comment from the Internet. This sort of power shows that all corporations must adapt to this new marketing strategy, as it is highly effective, more so than any other in this growing digital age. However, all blogs are not appropriate for a corporation, and must be carefully updated and worked on to be successful. Blogs allow corporations to have proximity to customers, accept and modify feedback, learn about competitors, network, and remain loyal to customers needs. Blogs can be used to introduce a new brand, to test a product, to keep in touch with bosses, to prepare for a special event or to promote a market. There are many uses, and blogs have become an important staple for the success of a company.
With the advent and universal spread of modern digital technologies, many fields of work and average daily activities were affected at large. Particularly, methods and marketing strategies in terms of political campaigns were forced to change with the times and address and meet the needs of the grassroots masses and voters. It is interesting to observe Barack Obama’s campaign and success in terms of his revolutionary use of technology to reach and connect with millions of voters. Barack Obama’s campaign defines the concept of “Politics 2.0” and the necessary actions that now must be considered a standard to follow in order to succeed politically. In class, we first discusses the differences between campaign strategies in the U.S. and in Spain, where things remain simpler but are changing with the time as well. Most notably the differences in Spain include that in the U.S., minutes on TV are not regulated but rather purchased, that the internet is used to collect money and to advertise, that campaigns are run by professionals rather than members of political parties, that points of views on topics like abortion reign more important than an election manifesto, that US politicians microtarget based on several factors, and that campaigns cost much more. Obama’s campaign taught the general public several interesting facts about political campaigns today. First of all, people are self interested rather than politically motivated, that every factor must be addressed towards private individuals rather than generalizing amongst groups,and that public forums must be used to contact and understand the needs of voters (the Y generation is less interested in political debates and speeches), and Obama raised much more money than ever before specifically through private donations garnered by addressing individual needs and making each person feel “special.” His website allowed viewers to share opinions, which could be polled and addressed. Thus, although Obama employed traditional political strategies, it would be ignorant to avoid the particular importance the internet played in this campaign specifically. For example, Facebook allows politicians to seem transparent, mobilizes people virally, communicates important events and message, humanizes, and allows for microtargetting.Obama used twitter to respond to followers, used SMS feeds to spread ringtones and programs, and addressed blog questions, making each voter feel important. Obama’s “Brand” focused on keeping in touch, and users knew it would be a permanent installment because he could not just bail out after winning. Thus, the internet can be used to essentially win a campaign in the following ways: to inform (upload to youtube), to connect millions of people, to ask voters to be involved, and to talk with people to address concerns, and to give all relevant information virally. Most importantly, microtargetting becomes possible as voters can be classified based on hundreds of defining factors. Thus, the internet is a permanent tool in the arena of politics since Obama’s revolutionary use of modern technologies.
As an American student studying abroad, I had to evaluate multiple factors before deciding on Barcelona above any other European city to live for three months of my life. Besides the rich cultural experience I pitched to my parents and advisors, one outstanding factor put Barcelona way above all the rest. All my friends who had previously studied here came home with one definitive word that was unanimously “inexplicable:” nightlife. The nightlife in Barcelona is world renowned and I can now say with confidence that it is rightfully so that Barcelona claims the title of “best nightlife” of any city. Several factors differentiate the nightlife here from any I have seen in the world (saying a lot coming from Miami myself). First of all, the hours and scheduling. In Barcelona, my friends and I typically do not go out before the hours of 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. This is ideal, because in America, where we go out by 10:00 p.m., you often choose not to go out if you have had a tiring or busy day, because you are not allotted any time where you could nap, get ready, and mentally prepare for the night. Furthermore, if you nap prior, you can stay out until later without tiring. Second, specific days have specific clubs designated to that day, which makes narrowing down the “place to be” very easy. For example, George Payne’s for football and beer on Sundays and Suite 191 for the musical stylings of Dj Papis on Wednesdays. The night is guaranteed to be packed with people to socialize with and drink specials to boot. Next, the musical stylings. As the electronic and house music genres have begun to massively grow in popularity in the states, the excitement and utter amazement at the music in Barcelona is simply unbelievable for Americans to set their ears on. The Dj’s are nothing less than phenomenal in every club in Barcelona and it is impossible not to dance the entire night away any night here. Furthermore, it is very commonplace for clubs here to regularly schedule appearances by world famous Dj’s like Afrojack, David Guetta or Avicii. Its truly a dream come true to have these options available every night of your life for three months. The music that is standard any night here would be the most exceptional night in America. People here appreciate the diversity and talent required to produce such magnificent sounds, and the music is appreciated without enhancement by drugs or alcohol as well here. Next, the aesthetic design of each club. Every club in Barcelona is a magnificent sight for the eyes. The architectural set up designates specific areas to dancing, smoking and socializing, or watching the DJ from afar. The clubs are beautiful, spacious, and intricate. Magnificent LED and neon lights drape the entirety of the clubs, with chains on the walls or fountains in the middle of the clubs. Furthermore, impersonators like Edward Scissorhands or Dani Vi with his electric neon violin or incredible dancers painting the stage or the man wearing the transformers-esque light up suit robot-ing through the crowd are nightly occurrences. The eyes are always pleased every night and you simply can’t believe that this is a regular occurrence in your life. Next, the people. Everyone in the Barcelona clubs are beautiful and outgoing, and seem to love every second of being there. They dance and drink and socialize and make you feel at home. I cannot not mention the alcohol situation. Typically, promoters have some sort of all you can drink special before certain hours for a certain price, or free champagne for ladies. One quality that cannot be ignored is the amount of alcohol you get for your buck. In America, a red bull vodka might have 2 shots maximum in the drink. In Barcelona, you are given half a glass of vodka, with a red bull on the side. 12$ for about seven shots is nothing to be distraught about. The nightlife in Barcelona is difficult to describe in words. But the consensus between my friends and I seems to be that every night of our life is the best night of our life. The music will keep you dancing and the visuals make you unable to tear your eyes away. When friends are visiting from other countries, they simply cannot believe what we have at our disposal. Two months later I now can offer my insight on some of the best clubs here. First of all, the clubs can be divided into districts, so wherever you are staying you have something that you can do until the sun comes up. The club scene here is much bigger than the smaller bar scene in America, so you better be ready to go hard every night of the week, as their is ALWAYS something going on. El Born district boasts Cat Bar, one of my favorites, a guaranteed good time. Raval is home to 7sins lounge, with a basement dance floor that is a great spot to pre-game the night. My favorite area by far is Port Olimpic. CDLC is a must see for out of towners, I saw Paris Hilton there last week! Shoko is perfect for Friday nights for the first half off the night. The red fountain-walls and outdoor VIP section always make for an amazing night. The music ad dance performers are standard there. Opium Mar defines saturday nights. It doesn’t get more definitely Barcelona than here. The club is large with a large dance-floor and great music. The outside deck is also large, a great place to take a breather or talk to your friends. The multiple bars make access to drinks easy and the music is always great. The VIP section boasts its own bar as well. The Ice Bar is a cool sight for tourists to see. Everything including the furniture and the glasses are made of ice. The bar is held at a temperature of sub-zero and coats are provided to guests to keep warm. Also, if you aren’t in the mood to dress up and battle the lines, there are multiple chiringuitos near the beach, a slurry of smaller beach bars where you can get instant access and a more low key night. Other cool places include Chupitos, a shot bar that boasts flaming shots and a list of hundreds to choose from (try the monica lewinski for a real sight to see). At Sutton Club, girls dress like movie stars and the people seem to be outstandingly beautiful here. Otto Zuts has some of the best music in Barcelona and a cool multilevel vibe. Razzmatazz is a must see for out of towners/ Five stories of all different genres of music packed with THOUSANDS of people. The bar and pub scene is much smaller. Dow Jones is a cool bar where prices of drinks change with demand, and every so often the “market crashes” and drinks are near nothing. Obama bar has a karaoke hour, and George Payne karaoke/football Sundays are a favorite. Go to any local bar, and you’ll have a good time sipping Barcelona beer or sangria brewed in house. The nightlife in Barcelona is difficult to describe unless you’ve seen it yourself. My friends and I go out at least four times a week, and simply cannot stop. Every night is different from the one before it, and the music and aesthetics of the club are enough to fuel stories for hours to tell at home. The nightlife is much different than in America, and sometimes its too much to handle. Barcelona boasts the coolest clubs I have ever laid eyes on and every night is unforgettable. If you love music, having fun, partying, and socializing, Barcelona nightlife cannot be avoided. It is truly a breed of its own.
With the universal spread of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace came an issue for the Radio industry, as we learned at our visit to iCat. The responsibility for several persons to constantly update several different pages several times a day becomes a burden for those people, and perhaps overwhelming for listeners. Obviously, having outlets that listeners can check to find out who will be on the radio show what day and when, or what number to call to enter a sweepstake, for example, is very helpful for an industry that thrives off popularity and garnering a massive following. However, these sources should be used sparingly and properly. For example, the radio should not automatically update, most of what they post to these sites should be personalized, not automated like a robot, or followers will lose interests in the radio’s pages and the radio will have to spend money paying for jobs that are useless. If a radio station tweets useless things multiple times a day, people will not continue following them on the website, or will ignore what they have to say in the future. I think exceeding 3 or 4 posts a day is a little overwhelming for any source, and the sites should be updated only when something important is happening.Posts should be engaging no matter what. Although everyone has an iPod now, radio is still very important to many people. And although we now have many sources to spread ideas, people still look to the radio for the same things they’ve always desired in the shows they listen to. Thus, radio shows are more capable than ever to provide listeners to what they want, because they have many outlets where people can provide feedback for what they want to here and what they prefer on a daily basis. The traditional radio audience still exists, and still wants the same things from the stations. Thus, social sites are good in that they allow the stations to directly connect with audiences and provide them with information they might desire. However, these sites should be used sparingly and posts should be manually updated rather than automated several times a day. In this day and age, every industry must operate these sorts of pages to be able to compete. I think they should try to not lose sight of what they came to do, to provide listeners with entertainment and music. Social sites should be used to keep the audience connected, but the radio should stay true to what they always have, and listeners will keep coming back. Social Sites can allow listeners to request songs, artists can promote singles, and radio stations can make money off their following. The social sites should be used to improve the station and what people want from it. Today, people expect and know that every station probably has a Facebook,Twitter and Myspace. Thus, stations MUST update and use these mediums, but it is up to them to not overwhelm followers and to figure out how to use these sights to their advantage rather than their detriment.
Abr-ossip Girl 