The Latest Hits of 2015

The theory of "The Long Tail" is that our culture today is obsessed with creating "hits". Chris Anderson explains that the industry today wants to produce a movie that is going to have people running to the theater and having tickets be sold out. Not all movies are hits, but here are some that are on the top of the charts for 2015 so far and brought in the most revenue.

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron

2. Furious 7

3. American Sniper

4. Cinderella

5. Home

These were the top 5 movies with The Avengers in the #1 spot for selling just over 53 million tickets and making about $438 million in sales. I even paid the extra money to see this movie in IMAX 3D to get the full experience. Of these movies I have seen 4 out of 5 of them. I'm not surprised with this list because for one The Avengers and the Fast and Furious movie series are very popular and carry on a story. These two movies have millions of fans that keep up with the movie and impatiently wait for the next one to hit the theaters. 

American Sniper is very powerful. It is based on a true story and the roles were casted perfectly. Chris Kyle's story is one that was all over the media and it is no wonder people were eager to see it. Clint Eastwood definitely produced a hit and I thought that Bradley Cooper was without a doubt the perfect guy for the role.

The last two movies are PG, which means family friendly. Cinderella and Home were two cute movies for kids and the family. Fairy tale lovers long awaited Cinderella to be released in anticipation of reliving their childhood. Home featured actors like Rihanna, Steve Martin, and Jennifer Lopez. This animated movie received a lot of attention from the media. 

Some other hits of 2015 were Fifty Shades of Grey, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Pitch Perfect 2, Mad Max: Fury Road and Insurgent. 

Some of these may have been a hit due to the publicity and some may have been a hit simply because it was a fantastic movie, but either way they managed to top the chart and I would recommend watching them if you haven't already. 

"Call Me Caitlyn"

We all know that news travels fast these days. But fast is an understatement for the time it took for the news of Caitlyn Jenner to reach millions of people. It was not only all over the TV, but all over social media, like Twitter and Instagram. The social media frenzy all started with the Vanity Fair cover featuring Bruce Jenner, excuse me, I mean "Caitlyn Jenner".

News like this gets covered by every type of media platform possible. The topic of Caitlyn has been discussed on every talk show, late night comedy show, news station and social media network. With the wonderful technology we have today, people are given the opportunity to debate this controversial topic amongst each other online.

Caitlyn Jenner is definitely a trending topic and hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. All you have to do is search #caitlynjenner.

People have used her pictures to make memes and create a buzz for the entire Kardashian family. Kris and Kim in particular have been brought down by social media from this news. Posts have varied from Caitlyn looking better than Kris to Caitlyn "breaking the Internet" like Kim. Not only have people posted funny pictures that they created, but also serious ones like the one on the left. Many people are very vocal about how people are calling "Caitlyn" a hero when there are real American heroes like soldiers out there fighting for us.


People need to realize that once you put something out there on the Internet there is no going back. There was an incident where Terry Coffey made a Facebook post criticizing Caitlyn Jenner on not being a real hero. He posted this picture to show what a "real hero"is.

Little did he know that one of these men were actually a cross-dresser. This man was almost beaten to death by five men for being a cross-dresser. This was a ironic coincidence and Coffey had to cover himself with a follow up post and recover from his embarrassment. This made the news and had hundreds of thousands of shares. 

I've noticed a pattern. With Bruce Jenner's coming out as a woman it seems to have started a trend. First it starts as news and social media buzz. Then it follows with the transgender community taking a stance. It even leads to this making it into the entertainment world. In fact, a new show, Becoming Us,  has made its debut on ABC Family. It is a series about a transgender dad and family. It really is crazy how fast things spread, because a couple years ago we would't have had a show like his on TV. 

I find it interesting how many ways the media can spin a story and display it to the public. People have their own opinions and have the option to share them with the world. With new media today,  posts like "I am Caitlyn" really can "break the Internet".

The New Era of Fashion Blogs

Recently I researched fashion bloggers today and how the online phenomenon has changed. In the recent years fashion bloggers have ditched their blogs and moved to social media. More specifically, they are creating Instagram accounts as their blogs. With the increase in social media use for not only personal use, but in the business world, it doesn't surprise me that fashion bloggers would follow this trend.

The majority of fashion blogs is pictures anyway so Instagram is just making it more convenient for these bloggers. It is quick to upload pictures, easy to use and a great way to reach a large audience. Bloggers are given the opportunity to show their own style and identity to the world. The bloggers collaborate with companies to promote their products on their Instagram and it benefits these brands by marketing for them.

I don't think people realize the benefits of fashion blogging. I didn't even know they were as glamorous as they are. If you are serious about this, it can definitely be a career choice. How much do you think brands pay for a fashion blogger Instagram? Well blogger Danielle Bernstein makes between $5,000 and $15,000 to feature products in her pictures. Yes, that is a lot of money. Brands are willing to pay millions to get endorsements from bloggers because they know that their target consumers can be reached on Instagram.

Here are some popular fashion bloggers on Instagram.

Charlotte G. (@thefashionguitar)

Julie Sarinana (@sincerelyjules)

Camille Charriere (@camtyox)

Helena Bordon (@helenabordon)

When I presented my research people asked me if I had a fashion blog. I do have a fashion blog called College Couture. Like many bloggers said online, I agree with them that a blog is hard to maintain and and Instagram would be much easier. I don't currently keep up with my blog, but it is great to think of all the opportunities a successful fashion blogger would have.

Check out my website, Fashion Bloggers and their Move to Social Media, for more information about fashion bloggers!

Tidal: A New Change for Music Streaming?

A lot of my classmates have talked about the new rise of "Tidal" for music streaming. It was mentioned in a couple blogs like Nick's Blog and Media Minded. Ally also researched it for her final project where she gave the class a more detailed look into Jay-Z's new project. The question everyone seems to be asking is whether Tidal will do well and people will actually pay to listen to their music.

We are living in a time where people don't want to pay for their music anymore. Personally, I have't purchased music for years. That goes for buying CDs from the store too. I guess I never thought about how it affects the artists who work hard to create the music for all of us to listen to. It's a tough situation though. Many people in class have said they don't want to pay the money for this music streaming site because they would rather put their money toward more important things like food and college loans. This makes sense, because why would people choose to pay for music when they can get it for free?

We have many free music streaming sites right now like Pandora and Spotify. People even use YouTube to listen to their music. Pandora and Spotify both have free options, while Tidal will not have the option to listen to their music for free.

Tidal's goal is to create a new era for artists.

The way they are going to be successful is if they achieve their goal is the music fans who don't want compressed audio and want to support their favorite artists. There are some big names so they might have a chance in pulling this off, especially with their power in the music industry. Even though I know that a lot of people don't think its worth it, their minds may change in the future. For now I wouldn't pay the money, but if it happens that a lot of songs are taken off of Spotify and Pandora I may consider switching over. Also, if it really does become as exclusive as rumors say it will be, I could be convinced to try it out.

I am interested to see how successful Tidal becomes and if Jay-Z will succeed to create the "new era" that he is working toward. It could either have a huge impact on music streaming or just be another site for people to listen to music on.

Rumor Has it, Twitter is Getting a Makeover

Everybody knows Twitter as the trending social media network that buzzes with posts, pictures and daily news. Almost everyone and anyone has an account especially the younger generation and celebrities.

Rumor has it that Twitter is coming out with a new homepage soon. This will appeal to the non-users of Twitter, like lawyers. I noticed this problem when I went to an internship interview at a law firm and found out they aren't using Twitter as a means of networking. The problem is that Twitter appeals to a younger market of people. Crazy thing is that less than 15% of lawyers use Twitter.

In order to appeal to a more mature audience, this social networking site is going to have a whole new design. The goal is to make members feel more part of the community and be more open to conversation and marketing on the site.

Here is a sneak peak of the new look.

As you can see the look is more professional and more appealing to business to join. I feel that this new design will bring in an older audience and expand the number and type of users. This would solve the skepticism that people, like lawyers, have about creating a Twitter.

I am also a fan of the new organization. Twitter can be all over the place, but with this new design people can search for tweets and users with an easier way to navigate.

I have no doubt that this is the right move for Twitter and this move with lead to an increase in users.

Social Media and Social Activism

There has been a lot of social media based activism, such as Kony 2012. What is a better way in today's day and age to promote a social change than using social media. I personally have never participated in activism on my social media accounts, but I have witnessed other people doing so.

I have seen anything from "Save the Whales" to "Support Gay/Straight Alliance" on social media. The best way to get these trending is to retweet, share, like and post about the change you are trying to make. It is very effective to use networks like Twitter and Facebook because there is no faster way to get the word out to millions of people.

I think social media is helping to "politicize" and "mobilize" this generation of college students in that they can fight for what they want and influence people right from their phones. People have power right at their fingertips. This generation is technologically advanced and we have been given so many opportunities to benefit from this. If we have something to say, we open up Twitter and make a post. If I wanted to get people to vote for someone for instance, I would post on Facebook and have people share it.

Social media is the new way of communicating a message and putting up a fight for what we believe in. If there's something you feel strongly about changing, get online and spread the word!

Inside the Online Hair and Beauty Community

There are so many communities online where people with similar interests communicate with each other. These communities can be in the form of Facebook groups, web sites, Pinterest, forums, etc. I conducted an ethnography of the community of hair and beauty.

Hair and beauty has been an interest of mine since I was young, especially working in a salon and spa since I was 16. I was excited to emerge myself in the community and contribute to the discussions. I was most looking forward to sharing the knowledge I have acquired over the years working in the industry. It was a great feeling knowing I may have helped someone with a problem they were seeking answers for or even gave what someone thought was good advice. This made me realize how connected and open these communities are with each other and how beneficial they are.

I had a great experience researching this community. I joined the forums on HairBoutique and MakeupAlley. I registered with the community as "MGgirl" and participated in many discussions like what my favorite hair products are and how to maintain curls. Having learned about the lines we sell at the salon, I was able to give some good information on the different types of products I thought the women may be looking for.

One thing I absolutely loved about the forums were how appreciative everyone was for the comments. If you answered a question or gave feedback many people wrote back saying thank you and how much it helped. With beauty and hair comes a lot of trust and kindness. People are very sensitive sometimes when it comes to how they look so it was great to see how many supportive people I came across.

I found a great blog called The Beauty Department. This blog was co-created by reality TV star and fashion designer Lauren Conrad. It is really an interactive website because it links to their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. The website also provides great tips and tutorials. The creators of the tutorials make it known that they are open to receiving and responding to any questions.

After my experience and observing from the inside of an online community I would suggest for anyone to become a part of a community. Not only do you get to converse with people about common interests, but you can also learn information you didn't know and teach someone else something they didn't know. It's all about the exchange of knowledge and being able to benefit and help each other. If you are passionate about something take a look online and these sources to your benefit!

Is Technology the Cause of Bullying?

Does this blog give me a greater power to bully someone? If I post on Twitter or Facebook, am I more willing to write cruel things about people I go to school with?

The answers to these questions are yes and no. Sure it would be a lot easier for me to spread rumors and lies to hundreds of people within a matter of minutes. But the solution to this problem isn't to get rid of social media and the problem isn't technology.

In Danah Boyd's book, It's Complicated, she talks about how parents and adults assume technology is the problem for teens being bullied. A lot of times parents don't see the real truth behind what they assume to be cruel posts.

I remember one day in high school when one of the guys posted a video on Facebook that was compiled of many videos of a girl who was the target of jokes. The video became popular really fast and soon had its own group on Facebook. The school found out about the video and took it down immediately, punishing the guy who posted it. Yes the video was down, but I remember continuing to see him make jokes in school.

I agree with Boyd because even though the use of Facebook caused a huge uproar, but the bullying would have occurred with or without it. I believe that social media can't be blamed because there is so much good that comes from it and instead I feel we need to focus on solving the problems and going straight to the bullies.

Hollywood Works FAST and FURIOUSLY

We have probably all seen the Fast and Furious movies.  This series is not only one of the most popular in the world, but Furious 7 made $384 million just on opening weekend! This puts them at about fourth place behind Harry Potter and The Avengers. 

Myself, along with millions of other were saddened from the news of Paul Walker's death. Occurring right in the middle of filming, everyone was asking the question, how can they finish filming Furious 7? 

The whole time in the theater I was on edge and trying to figure out the parts where Paul Walker wasn't actually Paul Walker.  It really shows how truly brilliant technology is these days. They did Walker's role justice by completing his work using the latest technology to make a digital body double. 

This same kind of technology was used in other movies such as The Gladiator and The Hunger Games: Mockingly. In these movies I couldn't tell the difference with Oliver Reed and Philip Seymour Hoffman's faces being used on a body double.  And this isn't a cheap fix up either.  It costed Gladiator an additional $3 million!

For those of you who don't know the process of continuing Paul Walker's character, here is a quick explanation. Paul Walker has a brother Caleb Walker.  Caleb was used to film the final scenes for the movie. Now they're not identical twins, so this is where technology and digital editing.  Paul Walker's face was edited on to his brother's body and his voice was taken from past scenes he's shot and put together to form words to fit his script. Amazing right?! It blows my mind what we can do these days.

This proves how much these multibillion-dollar franchises are willing to pay for the work they create and to please the audiences that are willing to spend the money and the time.  This is just one part of new media today. I continue to be surprised at what new technology comes out next and I look forward to see what the future hold for the media. 

The Google Takeover

Our lives today is very much taken over by technology.  We use technology for so many things and have become dependent on it for many of our daily activities.  Google especially plays a huge part in our lives.

I personally use Google anytime I am looking for an answer to a question that I have or just simply looking for more information about something.  I do believe that Google is very powerful because people depend on it for answers.  It is the easy way out that people turn to whenever they need help or more specifically, information, pictures, videos, etc.

People may say that we are addicted.  But, I don't think using Google is an addiction, I see it more as a tool.  I would say people are addicted to Pinterest or video game, but not Google.  We may use this search engine a lot, but it is not that we are addicted, it is the fact that this has been an online success created for the purpose of people using it in whichever way they find it beneficial.

There has been the controversial talks about Google endangering our privacy, but is it really? I don't think so.  Google may use images of us, but they are not images we haven't already posted online.  People should expect that once they upload an image online, it is out there for people to see.  As for the issue of Google using our history of searches to choose the results that we see after we hit search, well I see that as more beneficial than an invasion of privacy.  It is definitely up for debate thought since people are not comfortable with their history being shared with third parties. I guess at the same time this can be a concern depending on the content of the searches. Google is only trying to help get you the best results so what if they use your history, it is not like they are telling everyone what you have searched for in the past.

Another issue is whether the Googlization of our lives is endangering our independence.  This is where I'm on the fence for this issue.  In one way I would say no because it is not like Google can do everything for us, we are still independent.  But, on the other hand, I see how Google has definitely made us rely on it for a lot of things.  One thing would be academics.  With Google it is easier to search for  answers quickly instead of taking the time to read or even do research.  It saves people a lot of time and energy, which can be seen as a  good and a bad thing.  Overall though, Google does more good then bad.  Google teaches us a lot and with all that we can learn I believe it can make us smarter.

A good book to check out about Google is, The Googlization of Everything, by Siva Vaidhyanathan.

What is Convergence?

Henry Jenkins defines convergence as the flow of content across multiple media platforms. With convergence has come both social and technological changes. The media today is dependent on participation.  I understand this because without people contributing there would be no media flow and no one sharing stories and being active in the media world.

Take our phones for example. In that one small device we not only have a phone, we have a computer, camera, and so much more! This explains why our phones are our lives, because everything is on that single device. Also, look at iPads, tablets and kindles.  On these devices you can store hundreds of books, newspapers and magazines. No more days of carrying stacks of heavy books.

Unfortunately, the days of print journalism is dwindling and now everything is online. It is rare to come across someone reading the paper or relying on the paper for a news article.  People are checking Twitter and Facebook to get news as soon as it happens. Convergence has empowered consumers to get on social media in order to communicate with others and make online connections. I actually find most of my news on my social media from posts by friends and tweets on my home page.

We really have come so far with media convergence and there are so many changes that are still going on.

A Look Into Trine-Maria's Blog

I read an online interview with Trine-Maria Kristensen and her blog Hovedetpaaboggen. Most of you probably don't know Danish or what her blog is about for that matter.  It translates to "Head on the Block", which also means "to dare".

She is the head of marketing and the founder of a market research group.  I'm a marketing major so I was interested to see what her blog was all about.  It also shows that you don't need to have a background in writing to have a blog.

Not only did her outlook on blogging appeal to me in her interview, but also her love for Italian food and traveling Italy. That is definitely a hobby I would love to have!

Trine-Maria is very open in her interview about how blogs worked when she first started and how she wanted to figure out why blogging was worth talking about.  Her personality comes off as quite humorous and friendly.

She writes about what she wants and doesn't hold anything back, for instance, if something is irritating her on the Web, she will post about it.  In majority of her blogs, she likes to leave them open ended to strike up a response from her readers.

I can tell that she's a good business woman because she says that blogs don't just have to be private diaries, but can be about products and knowledge.  I love her whole perspective on blogging because she is professional, yet she is all about connecting with people and she says she gets smarter because her readers know more than she does.

Trine-Maria's blog is one that I would be interested in checking out. Now all I need is a Danish translator!

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello!

My name is Samantha and I am a student at North Central College. This is my blog for my Introduction to New Media class.  Check out my blog for posts about the online world and technology today!

Thanks for reading!