Chapter 11, Question No. 6
Choose a company and see what is being said about it in the social-media space, including blogs, any complaint sites, and what the company is doing with social media, if anything. Discuss your findings and suggest any ways the company should do a better job in social media.
I chose the UFC as my company to discuss. I think the UFC does a pretty good job with its social media sites. The UFC stays pretty active on their Facebook page. They make posts every day and the weeks leading up to a fight, the UFC will have many posts about the upcoming event. For the UFC I think they have been marketing themselves very well because they were not very well known a little more than a decade ago. Dana White, the president of the UFC has stated many times, how important it is to use every avenue of advertising. He says that one person might hear about an upcoming event on the radio, another person might see it on a commercial, and someone else might hear about on Facebook or Twitter. The UFC is very active on its social media sites. When I look up complaint sites or blogs about the UFC, I usually find the same two complaints over and over. The first is about Dana White. He is very outspoken, I do not personally have an issue with what he says, there are many people who are. He has no problem cussing out fans or giving strong opinions on many different topics, not just fighting. This is not normal behavior for the president of a large company but they have showed no signs of changing the rules or White's behavior. The other complaints are usually made soon after a fight card is completed. If a fight card does not happen to live up to the hype, fans will voice their opinion.
The UFC recently signed a long term deal with FOX to air events and advertisements on FOX, FX, and Fuel TV. They have stated that their is a direct correlation between the number of people that watch their events when they are advertised during the NFL season and during the off-season. Football season is the time of year when FOX will attract its most viewers and therefore be able to advertise (to a larger audience) about the upcoming UFC events. It is perfect for the UFC because it is the same demographic. I think that the UFC should try to figure out other ways to try to make up the difference from the football season. They should advertise during other sporting events like the NBA and MLB. They do not get as many viewers but they still get a lot and they are a similar demographic. And always explore the new social media that are being created.
I believe the UFC has done a great job with its PR and expansion in the last decade. There is not much I would change but part of the question was to make a suggestion and that is mine.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Journal No. 7
Journal No.7, Chapter 10
Question No. 5
Most people do not like to watch a movie or read a book more than once or twice. However, people can often play the same video game for hour on end, repeating levels and characters. Why do you think this is so?
The reason people like playing video games for hours is because the the you never know what is going to happen. In a movie or a book, you know that everything you are seeing or reading will not change in any way. No matter how many times you watch or read it. Video games offer people a chance to be a part of something where the outcome can be different in a multitude of ways. There are a number of other reasons also. One of those reasons is it gives people a chance to put themselves in someone else's shoes. People get to take part in a fantasy world where they can do things be able to do in the real world. People get the chance to go to war, to be a super hero, or be on a professional sports team. Video games are also a great way to relieve stress for someone who needs to take their mind off of things for a little while. Another reason is that people get a form of fulfillment and happiness from solving a level or beating an opponent. When someone beats a level, they experience a "dopamine rush". Dopamine is what makes a person feel good or happy. Sometimes will get obsessed with beating a level or the game and they will not stop until they do so. People are competitive. What person would not feel good after winning the Super Bowl or saving the world? There is also the self-esteem boost that people can experience when they beat other human players at the game they are playing. Nowadays, people can play against their friends even when their friends are across town. People can play with people across the country or even across the world. That is pretty amazing. For me personally, I have gotten a lot better about spending a lot of time playing video games, I only play once or twice a week. But I have definitely spent hours in the same day trying to beat the same game. And I can understand how people do not get tired of playing video games because my favorite games after all these years, are games like Mario Kart, NBA JAM, Super Mario World. I have been playing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games for years and I am still not tired of them.
Question No. 5
Most people do not like to watch a movie or read a book more than once or twice. However, people can often play the same video game for hour on end, repeating levels and characters. Why do you think this is so?
The reason people like playing video games for hours is because the the you never know what is going to happen. In a movie or a book, you know that everything you are seeing or reading will not change in any way. No matter how many times you watch or read it. Video games offer people a chance to be a part of something where the outcome can be different in a multitude of ways. There are a number of other reasons also. One of those reasons is it gives people a chance to put themselves in someone else's shoes. People get to take part in a fantasy world where they can do things be able to do in the real world. People get the chance to go to war, to be a super hero, or be on a professional sports team. Video games are also a great way to relieve stress for someone who needs to take their mind off of things for a little while. Another reason is that people get a form of fulfillment and happiness from solving a level or beating an opponent. When someone beats a level, they experience a "dopamine rush". Dopamine is what makes a person feel good or happy. Sometimes will get obsessed with beating a level or the game and they will not stop until they do so. People are competitive. What person would not feel good after winning the Super Bowl or saving the world? There is also the self-esteem boost that people can experience when they beat other human players at the game they are playing. Nowadays, people can play against their friends even when their friends are across town. People can play with people across the country or even across the world. That is pretty amazing. For me personally, I have gotten a lot better about spending a lot of time playing video games, I only play once or twice a week. But I have definitely spent hours in the same day trying to beat the same game. And I can understand how people do not get tired of playing video games because my favorite games after all these years, are games like Mario Kart, NBA JAM, Super Mario World. I have been playing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games for years and I am still not tired of them.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Journal No. 6
Chapter 8, Question No. 1
Today many television shows and advertisements try to look amateurish or "homegrown" to emulate what is often seen on the Web. Do you think professional production values will continue to drop, or do you think amateur user-generated content will get more professional over time? Why?
I think it is obvious that this is a fad. We have seen that once something is "hot", there is no shortage of people who are willing to imitate it in hopes of gaining popularity. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Reality shows began a while back. I do not even know which reality show was the first to really grab the public's attention but we'll just say it was Survivor. Once people saw that Survivor was a hit, almost immediately there were 10 times the amount of reality shows by the same time the next year. The thing that is interesting to me is that reality shows are still popular. But, I do think they will lose "steam" eventually. I think this "homegrown" aspect seen on television and advertisements is partly an effect of those reality shows. I believe that other effect is that sites like Youtube and Dailymotion are so popular that people do not mind if things are done professionally or not. But I do believe that these television shows and advertisements that look amateurish or "home-grown" are a fad and they will die down and eventually fade away. We learn that technology is always evolving and that goes for the shows and advertisements that we see. They are much different than they were 10 years ago and they will be a lot different 10 years from now.I do believe that amateur user-generated content will become much more professional because of the technology that is being created and also because people become accustomed to using technology that is very complicated compared to what they used a few years ago. Just think about Smart Phones and all their functions and flip phones from a few years ago. People can use Smart Phones for many different functions including things like cameras and apps. Those cameras and apps can make amateur user-generated content look professional.
Today many television shows and advertisements try to look amateurish or "homegrown" to emulate what is often seen on the Web. Do you think professional production values will continue to drop, or do you think amateur user-generated content will get more professional over time? Why?
I think it is obvious that this is a fad. We have seen that once something is "hot", there is no shortage of people who are willing to imitate it in hopes of gaining popularity. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Reality shows began a while back. I do not even know which reality show was the first to really grab the public's attention but we'll just say it was Survivor. Once people saw that Survivor was a hit, almost immediately there were 10 times the amount of reality shows by the same time the next year. The thing that is interesting to me is that reality shows are still popular. But, I do think they will lose "steam" eventually. I think this "homegrown" aspect seen on television and advertisements is partly an effect of those reality shows. I believe that other effect is that sites like Youtube and Dailymotion are so popular that people do not mind if things are done professionally or not. But I do believe that these television shows and advertisements that look amateurish or "home-grown" are a fad and they will die down and eventually fade away. We learn that technology is always evolving and that goes for the shows and advertisements that we see. They are much different than they were 10 years ago and they will be a lot different 10 years from now.I do believe that amateur user-generated content will become much more professional because of the technology that is being created and also because people become accustomed to using technology that is very complicated compared to what they used a few years ago. Just think about Smart Phones and all their functions and flip phones from a few years ago. People can use Smart Phones for many different functions including things like cameras and apps. Those cameras and apps can make amateur user-generated content look professional.
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