Social Media and Online Relationships

    Today more than ever, people are participating in online relationships.  Whether that be business relationships, romantic relationships, or friendships, relationships are being made with social media.  Connecting with others has become such an incredibly easy thing to do with so many social networking sites on the web.  In both my professional life involving school and work, and my everyday life involving friends and family, I find myself forming relationships with social media.  I communicate with professors, coworkers, friends and family with different social networking sites.  I communicate with professors and get information about school through Twitter and sometimes even Facebook.  Same goes with my family and friends.  I communicate and form relationships with my family and friends through social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  With Facebook, anyone can easily connect and build a relationship with friends and family, or in some cases, complete strangers.  Facebook even asks what users relationship status is. 
    
    With a professional network such as LinkedIn, users can connect and build relationships with others that have interest in the same field as themselves.  LinkedIn is a a social network that is business oriented so it can be a good tool to use when the time comes for one  to look for a new job.  There are also social networking sites used for meeting people on a romantic level, like eHarmony.  Dating sites have become a very popular way for meeting and seeking a significant other.  I recently came across a social networking site I had never heard of before in relation with music entertainment.  Musicdating.com is where people that have a love for music and at the same time, looking to be in a relationship, can go to meet people with the same interest in music genre. Interesting.

   One thing that helps build relationships online (and offline) is common interests.  One aspect of social media is the use of hashtags. Whether on twitter or an application like instagram where users become instant photographers and can share their creative work with followers, hashtags allow common pieces of work to categorize together.  We are now even seeing more use of hashtags on television.  For example, on the E! Network, during each program, a hashtag of the show that is airing is displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen.  This is meant for viewers to see and be able to go onto their social network of choice (twitter, instagram) and use the hashtag to let others know that they are watching or referencing to the program.  This can form relationships with users of the networking site that all have that common interest.  Just click on the hashtag and see every post from every user involved.

    Another area of communicating and forming a relationship in connection with the entertainment industry is a website like IMDb, the Internet Movie Database. Not necessarily a social network, still a source of communication between people with a common interest, therefore forming relationships. We are given just about all the information we would ever want about any film, television program, etc. all in one website.  This site allows people to discuss their opinions and feelings on each program with message boards and user reviews. This could be good as a source of information in educating people about the topic, or it could turn into a negative concept in causing conflict between those that disagree on the reviews regarding the films.  This aspect of social media relationships is important because people tend to have very strong opinions when discussing something like movies.  Everyone turns into a critic.  

   When it comes to movies, music, video games or anything entertainment, forming relationships is very important.  The more advertised, the more discussed and the more the product is put out to the public, the better chance it has of being successful. Participating in social media can strengthen relationships in the entertainment industry because it is an additional way of communicating.  Communication is key to any type of relationship. When communicating with social media, we are ultimately developing some type of relationship. Not many people go onto Facebook to post photos, write their opinion on something controversial, or even state that they are having a bad day and not anticipate a response from somebody else.  If you are taking part in social media, chances are you are forming many relationships.

User Generated Content and the Entertainment Industry

    This week I will be looking into user generated content and how it connects with the entertainment industry.  First of all, what exactly is user generated content? User generated content is our own work that we create for others to view.  Examples of this are blogs (just as I am creating now), user reviews on sites like Yelp and Amazon, and how anyone can upload and promote their very own work on YouTube.  

    User generated content seems to have both, a good and bad impact on media.  Lets start with the good.  With Amazon.com, they are launching a user generated content movie studio that would be perfect for those just getting started in the filmmaking industry. "Each entry automatically becomes optioned by Amazon Studios for 18 months, and should any entry get turned into a finished movie, the creator will get $200,000, with a further $400,000 bonus available should the movie make enough money at the box office" (techland.com).  This sounds like a really good idea for those interested in screenwriting or filmmaking to get a chance to start up their possible career.

Now the bad.  User generated content often gets thought of as bad quality or inferior to professional content in terms of art.  YouTube is a primary network of videos posted by users.  When a user posts a user generated music video that is primarily put together of original work aside from the music, that video may get flagged and taken down for copyright infringement.  This is also the case on other social networking sites like Facebook.  Post a video on the site and it will get taken down for copyright reasons concerning music.  This can be frustrating for those of us that wish to share our work with the world but cannot because of the song we chose to put in the video. This has happened to me on several occasions. 

    For the most part, user generated content is a positive thing.  It is ultimately a great way of communicating.  Allowing anyone to post what they wish (as long as there are no copyright issues) for the world to see, whether that be a review on amazon, a compliment to a friend on a Facebook photo, a video made by an aspiring filmmaker, makes for an easy way to help, inspire and share our talents. 

http://techland.time.com/2010/11/17/amazon-launches-movie-studio-wants-user-generated-content/

Intro

          Hello everyone! This is my first blog post and I am excited to see how blogging goes for me. I have created this blog to discuss the topic of social media and how it is applied to the entertainment industry.  This can consist of video production, movies, music, television, advertising, etc.  I am a communication design major with an option in media arts at Chico State so the topic of media interests me on a personal and professional level.  

I have been an avid user of social media sites since I was about 13 years old.  I started with email and instant messaging and then made my Myspace page.  Once Facebook took over, I joined Facebook along with Insagram, Pinterest, Vine, Twitter and I am sure there will be more to come in my future.

          With my field of interest being something along the lines of media, I am looking forward to looking into different ways social media and the entertainment industry go hand in hand.  Just about everyone uses some form of social media today in age.  From young kids to adults to businesses, social media is being used.  We see what others are interested in or what they are doing with social networking sites.  Log onto Facebook and see that one of your friends just went and saw the latest movie and loved it.  This can spark interest for another person to go see this film that they may not have had interest in before.  We see advertisements of the latest films, music videos, television series, etc. on these social networking sites as well. This is the primary way of making money for most forms of media entertainment. Social media is a good way to determine what is worth seeking further interest and time into.  If other people are "tweeting" about how horrible a movie is that will attract others away from the film, and if people are posting about what Miley Cyrus did during the VMA's, people are gonna go looking for that video.  

          I know that with my major in media arts and my personal love of social media, my future will be working with it in some form whether it be within my profession or on my own time. I am looking forward to seeing where social media takes us in the future.