Digital Content Advances Prove Writers Were Right Walking

I’m a “Grey’s Anatomy” Fan so I was right at home in front of the TV for the recent season premiere. Such new shows aren’t always available. This was the case in 2007-2008 when the Writers Guild of America went on strike over compensation for digital content, including streaming video and DVD residuals. In earlier negotiations, the writers had lost out on their fair share of the highly profitable home video market. The writers didn’t want to be victims yet again. They wanted just compensation for their contributions, and rightly so. Such was the topic of discussion this past week in my Digital Marketing Communications class.

While I missed seeing new episodes of "Grey’s Anatomy," I believe the 12,000 writers had little choice but to go on strike. The New York Times (2008) said the strike enabled writers “to wrest a major concession from management — winning a piece of digital revenues — the kind of victory that has largely eluded organized labor in the past few years.” Tony Gilroy, the writer and director of Michael Clayton, said “there is no one who can argue that the strike was not necessary. We would never be in the position we are without it. Anybody who says the strike was a bad idea is dead wrong,” (Carr, 2008).

As a former shop steward for The Wire Service Guild, part of the Communication Workers of America, it was easy for me to side with the writers on this one. During my years as a reporter with The Associated Press, I never actually had to walk a picket line, however, I came close several times. During one tense negotiation period, reporters across the country participated in byline strikes, refusing to put our names on stories. Such a move never sat well with AP officials in New York, who wanted a name attached to AP stories to distinguish them from member contributions. This was particularly true on national stories, where news competition is fierce.

No doubt technology has changed not only how reporters and other writers do their jobs, but also how consumers watch media. Companies, both large and small, expect employees to produce more with fewer people and less compensation. Yet, it is common to hear arguments that unions have outgrown their usefulness. I would argue that those who make such assertions have never worked for a company where they were treated as little more than a widget in the production line.

The writers fought to get compensation at great personal cost. Some of them, who had yet to earn the minimum of $30,000 to have union health insurance, went without. In the end, the writers got just $1,200 a year for the first two years for streamed programs, small potatoes compared to the millions studios can make off a single movie or TV program. More importantly, the writers got much deserved recognition for their work, whether it appears online or in print.

References:
Carr, D. (2008, February 12). Who won the writer’s strike? The New York Times. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/arts/television/12strike.html?_r=1&ref=arts.

Pandora Helps the Digital Immigrant Discover New Music

I made a musical discovery this week, four weeks into my Digital Marketing Communications class. Sure, I have streamed audio onto my computer from radio stations that were simulcasting their on-air signal, and I’ve downloaded music to my iPod. But I really have never been a big consumer of Internet radio. That could soon change. I’ve discovered a service for those of us who aren’t afraid to try new technology but would like a little help. We’re the ones who love our Smartphones like the iPhone and all the apps that can be downloaded on them. The service? Pandora, a personalized music streaming site: http://www.pandora.com/#/stations/create.

What I like about Pandora is it simplifies the online music-listening experience. Based on the Music Genome Project begun in 2000, Pandora is the most thorough analysis of popular music ever undertaken. Each song in the collection is analyzed by one of more than 35 trained musicians, and assessed against up to 400 distinct musical attributes such as melody, harmony, and rhythm. This is great for music fans like me who like listening to new and upcoming performers, particularly ones I might hear on West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage (http://www.mountainstage.org/). With Pandora, when I enter an artist's name or a song title, Pandora automatically suggests similar tracks and builds a playlist. Listeners can then accept or reject the suggestion. Pandora remembers the responses and then will fine-tune subsequent recommendations.

I liked discovering this service, but it made me stop and think about how much the music industry has changed. I remember as a child in the ‘70s, buying a Kiss album, my first venture into rock-and-roll. No more bubble gum pop music for me. I listened to that album for hours, learning songs that had yet to make it on the radio. I still have that album (and a turntable to play it on). Kids today don’t even buy CDs anymore; they only buy songs they like from Internet sites, so they don’t get the experience of discovering other songs that could become their new favorite. That’s what technology has done.

The music industry is not unlike many businesses going through a transformation because of technology. Wired’s Eliot Van Buskirk (2009) called today’s use of social media by artists "music’s curse and salvation." With music now being distributed on social networks, radio no longer is the only place to hear new music for free.

Such changes in consumer behavior ultimately forced historic Tower Records to close in 2006, (The Associated Press, 2006). Social media and the digital distribution possibilities it offers has empowered a new generation of music fans as well as musicians. Performers like Taylor Swift appeal to fans directly on social sites such as MySpace, bypassing traditional record label distribution avenues. Music industry executives should embrace this consumer change, and work with it and adapt, or they will find themselves in Tower Records’ unenviable position – simply put out of business.

References:
ACountry.com (2008). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.acountry.com/music/taylor_swift.

Van Buskirk, Eliot (2009, April 9). Social Media Networks Are Music’s Curse and Salvation. Wired. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/04/social-networks.

The Associated Press (2006, October 10). Tower Records Victim of iPod Era. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/TowerRecordsToClose.aspx.

When Two Worlds Collide: Digital Publishing and Politics

My journey over the digital divide brought me to familiar territory this week as we looked at publishing and politics and how both have changed in the era of Facebook and Twitter.

My friends and family know that I love to cook for them during my spare time so the fact that I often visit Epicurious.com, the online home of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines since 1995, comes as no surprise. Both publications are owned by Conde Nast, the world’s largest magazine publisher.

Epicurious.com is the premier Web destination for food lovers like me. The site has won more awards than any other food site. It uses blogs and video to complement its articles and vast database of recipes, complete with user reviews and ratings. I use it more than many of the cookbooks in my expansive collection.

What I didn’t know is that there were so many of us foodies out there allowing our cookbooks to gather dust while we turn to the Internet for new recipes. The growing popularity of Epicurious.com and sites like it has led some traditional magazine subscribers to dump their subscriptions altogether. In response, Conde Nast is streamlining its approach and putting more of its money behind digital darlings like Epicurious.com (Kinsman, M., 2009). In fact, fans can now access the site’s database of more than 25,000 recipes on their iPhones and iPod Touch. Such accessibility could lead me to make the leap from my tiny BlackBerry Pearl, which I love for its size, for the larger, snazzier iPhone.

Such a phone would also make it easier to remotely access e-mails, like the one I got this week from President Obama’s camp. Not only has the Internet changed how elections are conducted, but also it has changed the way the president of the United States governs and communicates with citizens. Obama has refused to give up his cell phone and has maintained e-mail communications with his supporters through his campaign network.

Obama’s campaign capitalized on the popularity of the Internet to connect with hundreds of thousands of supporters and to mobilize multitudes of volunteers in a new type of grassroots movement that had never been possible in previous elections. Now Obama has asked his campaign supporters to support him again in his efforts to reform healthcare in the United States

“I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical — and I need your help,” the e-mail said. “Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you. Add your voice: Ask your representatives to support my plan for real health reform in 2009.”

Whether Obama’s approach will help him in his quest for healthcare reform is not clear. One thing is certain, however. His use of digital media during his rise to the presidency will be studied for years to come as the textbook example of a new kind of campaign driven by people and technology.

References:
Kinsman, M. (2009, February 28). Conde Nast and Others Are on a Push to Finally Make Digital Work. FolioMag.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from http://www.foliomag.com/2009/internet-nickels-digital-dollars.

Epicurius.com (2009, April 30) Epicurious.com Introduces iPhone Recipe Application in Apple App Store. Press release. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-30-2009/0005016926&EDATE.

Join the Journey Over the Digital Divide

I admit it. I’m a digital immigrant. That’s the term education consultant Mark Prensky (2001) gives those of us born when a mouse went squeak not click. We grew up before personal computers, cell phones, iPods and other technology gadgets were part of our daily lives. We had no concept of control, alt, delete.

As a child growing up in rural West Virginia in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we received only three TV stations – the local ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates via antenna. When Atari released Pong, basically electronic ping-pong, my siblings, cousins and I were glued to the TV for hours, fighting for our turn to play the world’s first video game. Today’s kids, who Prensky calls digital natives, would be bored within seconds.

I don’t like being an immigrant; I like to think I embrace change, including new technology. I was one of the first among my friends to get a cell phone, one of those old bag phones, the kind that were the size of a large purse. Today, I’ve got a BlackBerry and a Facebook page, and I text more often than I talk on the phone.

Still, I find old habits die hard. I work in public relations and when I have to copyedit a complicated document, I prefer to print out an e-mail rather than make changes electronically. If you do that, or have ever called someone on the phone to ask if she got your e-mail, you’re a digital immigrant, too.

Even though I embrace new technology, I envy how quickly and easily digital natives learn it. I want to be a digital native, so I’m seeking to bridge this generational digital divide. I’m taking steps by enrolling in my first online college class, Introduction to Digital Marketing Communications. It’s part of a new graduate certificate program at West Virginia University. (Let’s Go Mountaineers!) Already, it has challenged my thinking. I hope you will enjoy reading about my thoughts and insights as I continue my journey into the world of digital media.

References:
Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved September 6, 2009, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf.