An Experiment In Media Awareness

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Awhile ago I got rid of cable.  For what I paid there was little that interested me, and most of what I did watch was online, availabe on Netflix, on Hulu, etc.  I rather liked the idea of freeing myself from cable and also wanted to see what happened.

I actually found myself quite happy without it, and as I’ve been watching all the (legal) options out there for getting content – the web, netflix, etc. it’s made me ask just why we consume media the way we do.  Sure we all have theories, but they’re usually theories about other people.

So I’m trying an experiment in being aware of how I use media – games, television, the web, and so on.  My goal is to understand why I do what I do, look for patterns, look for ways to improve it, and look at how I can leverage technology to get more of what I need media-wise.

The technique is simple (and you may recognize it from other psychological techniques): I keep a notebook and write down why I consumed the meida that I did and what it was.  The goal is not to judge (but believe me, that’ll happen), but to understand and observe.  I’m interested in seeing why I do what I do, and what it tells me.

I think this is important in an information age (especially one where so much ignorance seems to be prevalent), information technology, and for people with related careers.

If you feel like joining me, let me know.  Let’s see what happens.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Oogieloves experience Oogiehate and Oogieindifference

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I’m sure you’re disappointed to hear that the Oogieloves film has tanked terribly.  This may be record tankitude.

I of course don’t follow children’s television much, unless it’s about Hasbro’s marketing departiment going “WTF” over brightly colored pony fandom.  However I had seen the posters for this film when I went to watch a Rifftrax and figured it was some other franchise I’d ignored.

Turns out as I dug deeper it was an independent kid’s film, best summarized by a commenter at gawker as trying to look like a franchse.  I thought it was a franchise and am kind of surprised to discover it’s bounced around for 3 years before coming to theaters to fail.

So I’m getting the impression this little failure is an example of trying to create “insta-franchise” that didn’t work.  Can I understand why it was tried?  Sure – if people think it’s a franchise they may feel it’s reliable or predictable – franchises don’t even have to be “good” per se to succeed.  The thing is that a franchise builds on a series of past experiences, of which people had none to go on.

I also think a lesson can be taken in the internet age, the one of instant fame and viral effects.  Yes those things can build a franchise, yes you can create something fast, yes you can get attention.  But you can’t pretend you have something you don’t have.

The Oogieloves could learn a lot from the Kardashians and Honey Boo-Boo.  This, by the way, is probably something I’ll never type again.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Ask A Progeek: Cover Letters And Formality

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Ah, cover letters.  So important, so often forgotten.  So let’s see what one of our pro geeks out there wants to know about them:

How casual are you allowed to be in your cover letters?  I want to sound like a person, not a term paper, but I don’t want to seem like I don’t care about formality.

Cover letters are the first thing most people see in my experience – resumes are second – so it’s natural to worry about them.  A cover letter is often the “first impression.”  So the real question is what kind of first impression do you want to make.

There’s where you start.

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