Entertainment Apathy: Nature vs. Nurture

When it comes to pop culture, I am under no false impression that I am "hip" or "with it." My television viewings are limited to occasional episodes of Shark Tank and Friends, and while I enjoy listening to music, my die-hard fan days peaked in the 90s with NSYNC and Britney Spears. Therefore, when it comes to digital media in the year 2016, I tend to consume what is right in front of me; if there is a show on TV that I've heard is good, I'll watch it. If a song is on the radio, I'll listen to it. My entertainment preferences are very much a product of what is available at any given time.

What calls for this entertainment apathy? Is it a genetic predisposition? Or are my lack of passionate preferences a product of limited options? In "The Long Tail," Chris Anderson argues the latter. He explains that "many of our assumptions about popular taste are actually artifacts of poor supply and demand matching," and that the entertainment industry is limited by constraints of space, time, and resources. For example, the shelf space at Blockbuster is limited and therefore, so are its offerings. In his view, my favorite childhood movies were not Cinderella and Flubber because I truly felt connected to princesses or slime science, but rather, I "chose" those movies because they were placed at the center of the shelf at Blockbuster. Is this really choice? Such limitations prevent people from forming individual, unique interests as they are swept into the mainstream "hits" that everyone loves.

Until recently. With new developments such as Netflix and Pandora, popularity no longer determines profitability. Consumers can track down even the most obscure documentaries and most random artists, leading to an authentic discovery of self. While Anderson rejoices that we have "broken the tyranny of physical space," it means that places like Blockbuster also get shut down. The possibilities for human consumption are endless, which leads me to these final questions: can humans handle this kind of freedom? If given a vast array of options with no direction, will people still reach the same conclusion and fulfillment? Will movie theaters even exist in 50 years?

While I relish the opportunity to discover my own taste in music and movies through modern technology, I can't help but look back on my Britney Spears, Flubber-filled, Blockbuster days with nostalgia. The prospect of true entertainment is provocative, but will it enhance one's self-identity, or confuse it? Bind a community, or destroy it? These are the questions I continue to ask.

Information surplus: Is there still hope for content business?

Snapchat

Skimm: http://www.theskimm.com/

The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-information-founder-jessica-lessin-will-laugh-last-2013-12

http://digiday.com/publishers/information-subscription-model/

The Week: http://theweek.com/

The Law of Information and Attention in Media

The two readings discuss related topics - the economics of information and the economics of attention. In the "Information Surplus in the Digital Age" chapter, information surplus is defined as "the excessive amount of information available to users even at the price of zero." If we look at the law of supply and demand, a high supply and low demand will push prices down; therefore the more information we receive (supply) and the less attention we exert (demand) will continue to push the price of information down, or in other words, continue to increase information surplus. With that in mind, how are media companies supposed to continue to grow and make profits in the future? Is there a media company out there that can find the answer? One medium in particular comes to mind - Snapchat.

Although its concept would seem to solve the attention deficit and information surplus discussed in the readings, Snapchat is not quite there and even shows signs of regression from solving this problem. The application's concept is simple: people can send up to ten seconds of a photo or video and cannot view it again once the content is opened. Ten seconds allows for us to devote enough attention without being overloaded with an excessive amount of information. However, how will Snapchat make money from this concept especially when the application is free? The answer is advertisements, which is the same reason Snapchat is moving further from decreasing the information-attention gap. Over the last year, Snapchat has added Stories and Discover Channels, two features that allow advertisers to pay for their content to be featured. Although this advertising projected a revenue of $50 million for the company in 2015, more information is saturating the application and the less attention people are devoting to it. Snapchat has fallen to information surplus and as a result the value of attention management is lost. If a trendy application like Snapchat cannot find the solution, will the problem ever be solved?

Overstimulated and overwhelmed

Davenport's and Beck's chapter on the Attention Economy is surely something every college student can relate to. Just like Rob was interfered with conversations on the way to the bathroom, most of us aren't able to unplug even when nature calls. We are constantly tuned in and wanting more content. The chapter outlines how our attention is a valuable commodity, and I agree with this statement. In today's "information environment," I know I will never realistically be able to escape the realm of social media. Thus, I try to redirect this time in order to spend it more wisely than mindlessly scrolling through Facebook. Now, I utilize news apps on my phone to learn happenings around the world, I carry a novel with me to read during breaks from class and I have taken up coloring as a new hobby. I find all of these experiences to be more rewarding than a Facebook check-in ever has been. Yet, even if I am not perusing Facebook during these activities, my phone is never far from me. Truthfully, it scares me to think about how much I would struggle without my phone. I am working on creating a healthier relationship with the technology that I have integrated into my life. Now that I know "organization ADD" exists, I will work to combat that in the workplace. I believe attention and time management go hand in hand and I am going to work smarter, not harder, this semester.

Because I am making a more conscience effort to focus on learning world news, I am surprised to learn in the second article that a "decline in news consumption is inevitable." Personally, I do not own a tablet or e-reader and I value the feeling of being able to hold a hardcopy book or newspaper. I hope that in the future I will be reading my kids bedtime stories, instead of letting a robot take that job.

Although Professor Chyi makes valid points, I certainly hope our society will see the value in traditional media. Certainly, the information surplus is something that will continue to impact our lives. Even if "nothing can stop the gap between the supply and demand curves," I hope that we are able to address the negative attributes that come with this information surplus.

Attention Deficit in the Digital Age

Both articles, "Welcome to the Attention Economy" and "Information Surplus in the Digital Age,” really put into perspective how valuable attention is. I never really thought of attention as comparable to money (and sometimes even more valuable that it.) In the first article, I was able to relate to Rob Lippincott. Between balancing three jobs and being a full-time student, I’m constantly checking my phone for text and email updates, even on my time off. However, in dedicating my time to one thing I’m inevitably neglecting something else. This “information surplus” the author talked about stuck out to me because as a busy person, I find there’s never a shortage of things to devote my attention to, but there’s definitely a limit to how much of my time I’m willing to devote to certain things. The idea of wanting to market items for free show that even items with minimal cost won’t necessarily win over our attention. In the example of print media, although most newspapers are relatively cheap, many people still won’t buy them. What’ll be interesting is how print media finds a way to make newspapers marketable, profitable, and attention grabbing enough for readers.

In the second article, our professor elaborated more on the digital age. Something I thought was interesting was the idea that the younger generation goes online for “anything but news.” I like to have faith that younger people care enough about the world and their surroundings to be informed about what’s going on, and since I know they’re not buying print media, I’m interested to see how they get their news, if anything. Another thing that stuck out to me was the turn to more “click bait-y media” to get viewer’s attention. As we discussed in class, many prestigious news outlets are resorting to publishing things that are arguably un-newsworthy, but attention-getting to get more viewers. I hope that in the digital age, news outlets will not stop publishing actual news for the sake of cheap clicks and retweets.  

The Adversity around Attention

Attention is underrated in our day and age. These two articles, "Welcome to the Attention Economy" and "Information Surplus in the Digital Age" both stuck out to me. Firstly, the article regarding the attention deficit present in our society stuck out to me, as it acknowledged what I find to be a "silent" issue in our society. The article goes as far as to say that, "attention has become a more valuable currency than the kind you store in bank accounts." I agree with this because I think, in the day and age where information is constantly circulating, you must be able to afford to be attentive. The media industry is no longer black and white, therefore you it takes time to make sense of the different technologies and to make accurate perceptions on information. Everything comes in such vast quantities so it is brutally easy to overlook an important piece of information that you might categorize as a detail.

The second article posted elaborates on the idea of information surplus. This article was very enlightening to me as I am constantly trying to retain as much information as possible. However, I never stop to ask myself, "When is enough, enough?" I find it challenging to dissect the information placed in front of me on social media and online, as the amount of information can be overwhelming. I find it interesting that in the "Information Surplus in the Digital Age" article, the Iris connects the attention deficit with users' willingness to pay for online news outlets. Individuals are now on-the-go, however the need for information has only grown. When will the time come where our brains are overstimulated, to a point where we can no longer move at such a quick, "efficient" pace?

Instructions on reading responses

This blog is the platform for us to exchange interesting ideas during the seminar.

You're expected to do a few things here:

1. Respond to readings

Please post a short response to assigned readings (as early as possible but no later than 11 a.m. the day before class).

The purpose is to provoke analytical/critical/creative thinking on issues to be discussed in class.

You should first read through the assigned readings and then share your thoughts/questions/examples with the class. It is desirable that you share an online example, please include the link in your post (make the link clickable and open in a new tab).

If there are more than one reading assigned for a particular day, you should response to ALL of those readings to receive full credit.

Come up with an intriguing title for each of your posts.


Please write in short, concise manners (e.g., you can do bullet points when appropriate.) so that it is easy to read online and in class.

Please label your posts using both "your screen name" (no need to use your real name, but be consistent throughout the semester).

You're expected to respond to more than 1/2 of the assigned readings (i.e., 5 posts or more) throughout the semester.

Feel free to comment on your classmates' posts.

2. This is also the platform where we share relevant online resources (e.g., news or links to Web sites) with each other. Briefly explain why you think the story is important. Again, make the link clickable and open in a new tab.

3. You will also post certain assignments here. Follow the instruction of each assignment.

(If you have questions about the technical side of blogging, please let me know.)