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Bruce
Boardmeister
Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 7926
Location: Portland, OR
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 Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:32 am Post subject: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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I finally broke down and signed up for two 21st Century communication tools.
I had a video game session last week and the director insists on using Skype. I got it. She called in from San Diego and the two producers were online from Poland and Vienna. The sound from all was very good, almost broadcast quality. I must go learn more about it.
I also saw one last story that convinced me to join Twitter. When signing up they "force" you to pick 10 initial contacts (I didn't see the tiny "skip this step" button until later). I chose some comedians and television personalities I like. Holy crap, what a load of crap from most of them. Under what must be some kind of "publish or perish" philosophy many of them issue a handful of comments and linked photos and videos every day, most of them inane or so inside that it's impossible to care. I cannot imagine having hundreds of people to follow and wasting hours of my time trying to glean something of use or honest amusement. I shall trim and choose my "following" list wisely, but once again it makes me fear for the future of our society... all those people wasting more and more of their time in a pool of 98% drivel.
On the flip side this still makes me wonder about the usefulness of this and FB as marketing tools. If folks are going be fed information like a fire hose in the face, how can you have any hope they're going to sip from your little fountain of information?
Maybe I'll get it someday. It ain't today.
B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005
I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. . |
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Scott Pollak
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Posts: 1903
Location: Looking out at the San Juan mountains
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| Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:45 am Post subject: |
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Bruce, I get the feeling you and I are roughly the same age and from the same eras and background. I've had Skype for years and love it, and LOVE using it instead of phone patch for remotely directed sessions. Corey Snow and I did most of the troubleshooting of my computer via Skype. I was simply stunned to learn that my wife, the person who inhales any and all technology for the pure sake of having it, did NOT have Skype til this weekend.
However, I refuse to waste time on Twitter. Never been there, have no desire to. I love your phrase about being "Fed information like a firehose in the face". Another reason I almost NEVER read blogs. A person could very easily spend 24 hours a day, every single day of their life, just reading the crap people post without coming up for air and likely without gaining much worthwhile. Yes, I know, there IS some worthwhile stuff out there, but really.......
If I need to learn or find something, I'll come to an industry-specific forum like this one to learn and find, not wander the wasteland of the web, reading everyone's online diaries and musings. Just because a person thinks it, or posts it, doesn't mean it merits being read.
(And no doubt many will, and can, and should, say the exact same thing about what I just wrote here!) 
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.
www.voicebyscott.com |
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Mike Harrison
M&M
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 6:13 am Post subject: Re: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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| Bruce wrote: | | it makes me fear for the future of our society... all those people wasting more and more of their time in a pool of 98% drivel. |
BINGO! Thank you, Bruce. My take on our society is that it thrives on successive 'flashes in the pan.' Think about almost everything that became popular over the years. We tend to jump on board with the latest and greatest... and then beat it to death before moving on to the next thing. Skype is an exception, in this case.
I'm totally amused by the use of the words 'extreme' or 'ultimate' to describe a particular sport or other activity. By the nature of the word, once we've reached the 'extreme' or 'ultimate,' there's no way to top it. Uh-oh... what do we do then?
On the (marketing) advice of others, I'd jumped on Facebook and Twitter, only about two years ago. I've largely left Facebook, and have been seriously considering clamping the beak of Twitter, as well. It's impossible to both engage with people on the surface ('friending' or 'following') and actually read everything that's posted.
With the exception of LinkedIn which, in my opinion, does have some very redeeming qualities from a business standpoint, my view on social media is that it has become nothing more than a huge container filled with those novelty toy wind-up chattering teeth. Or an auditorium full of people at podiums with microphones. Everyone's yakking at the same time, and not only is no one listening... no one is caring.
On Facebook and Twitter, what isn't photos of kittens (no disputing they are cute) or other exceedingly trivial personal notes is the attempt by many to 'market' themselves. Some have amazingly mastered the ability to take the essence of a loud in-your-face local car dealership commercial and pack it into 140 characters.
Others market themselves under the guise of useful information, but they've configured their auto-tweet to fire every five minutes or less. Talk about being in others' faces. It may be useful information, but when the same stuff is repeated over and over, IT. IS. SPAM. Only a few seem to have any taste when promoting themselves this way.
It's true, if attempting to market oneself, posting things of a political nature can have negative results. I first found it odd that extremely few would engage in political discussion. But then I came to realize that it isn't possible to engage in truly important debate with many who appear to be more interested in celebrity baby bumps. Or in disseminating huge quantities of misinformation under the guise of 'help.'
Fascinating: to have something called 'social media' yet not use it for topics that truly affect all of society. Exactly where IS the "right place" to have these discussions that impact society? Here, we have tools that can potentially help shape the future, and instead they're like a hammer that's used not to nail things, but to prop a door open.
Bruce and Scott both mentioned age, wondering if that prevents us from seeing the value in these things. I think what age does is give us the experience to see things for what they often really are... and the guts to say so.
(signed)
Bemused in Binghampton
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.
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ballenberg
Lucky 700
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 793
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:14 am Post subject: |
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I agree with all you whippersnappers-- I'm older than the lot of you!
(Mike, the "baby brother" of a classmate, knows this to be a fact!)
But Skype--yes, works great for "patch", though after some weird audio issues on a test recording, I run it from a separate computer and put it all through the mixer--that way no danger Skype will mess up the end result.
Tweet that, kiddies! |
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Lee Gordon
A Zillion
Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 6844
Location: West Hartford, CT
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:56 am Post subject: Re: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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| Mike Harrison wrote: | | I first found it odd that extremely few would engage in political discussion. But then I came to realize that it isn't possible to engage in truly important debate with many who appear to be more interested in celebrity baby bumps. |
Forget the baby bumps and kittens, it's impossible to engage in political debate with people who have made up their minds they have the answers and nothing is going to change them. What passes for "debate" on Facebook (and, I assume, Twitter; I have not yet joined Mr. Miles in that 21st century time-waster) is each end of the political spectrum preaching to its respective choir. The incessant postings, even from people with whom I agree, have become as tiresome as the ones from those who are clearly wrong.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice
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ccpetersen
With a Side of Awesome
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 3708
Location: In Coherent
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:22 am Post subject: |
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Yay, on the SKYPE! I use it weekly for various telecons and patches, and it's great. And, if you're skype-to-skype, it's free!
About that Twitter stuff... you have to manage it. My Twitter feed is filled with people who share news that I find interesting (from scientists, producers, etc.). If somebody gets all hinky and starts sending too much promo stuff, I just cut 'em. Conversely, I usually only share stuff I think is interesting to my immediate group, but I have been known to whine about blizzards upon occasion. 
FB: well, that's an evolving story. It WAS a way for me to keep in touch with family; now it's friends and colleagues, too, and I've divided them into interest groups and block anybody who's a jerk, including some family members.
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Mike Harrison
M&M
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:30 am Post subject: Re: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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| Lee Gordon wrote: | | The incessant postings, even from people with whom I agree, have become as tiresome as the ones from those who are clearly wrong. |
Agreed, when these back-and-forths are mixed in with other topics. Politics has always been "one side's right and the other side's wrong," and I wouldn't imagine that would change anytime soon. "What, compromise?!?!"
It's just a real shame that the demise of the Fairness Doctrine has created – due largely to the assistance of the media swill mills and laziness – such a misinformation wasteland.
<sigh>
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.
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Mike Harrison
M&M
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:36 am Post subject: |
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| ballenberg wrote: | | (Mike, the "baby brother" of a classmate...) |
And how weird is THAT!?
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.
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Zach Meissner
Contributor IV
Joined: 01 Feb 2013
Posts: 132
Location: Husker Nation aka Nebraska
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:43 am Post subject: |
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There's some great stuff in this thread.
As one of those said young whippersnappers, I'll chime in.
Bruce, you bring some great points to light about the times we're in. First, let me point out the merits of these things. Love Skype, use it all day everyday. A truly wonderful world bridging technology that has made everyone digital neighbors. Twitter, et al, I'll get into that.
For those in my age group, under 30, many may not necessarily agree with what I'm going to say in this post.
I'm trying to disconnect, while keeping plugged in. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
I am more than guilty of wanting and getting the latest gadgetry, software, social media plugs, etc...
I've followed the crowd because, well, that's what you do right? Everyone else is on these sites, so I should be too because they must know something I don't. And being of the younger generation, EVERYone my age has the latest and greatest, and i'm hip right? Thus, the exodus to all things social began, as well as the overflow of unnecessary information.
For me, two words sum it up: Digital Noise.
Once you plug into the machine, the feedback loop starts, and it's loud. Twitter is a great example of this if you are actually sifting through what's out there. Don't get me wrong, there is some excellent stuff and uses for social media, I'm on all of them just to have a spot, but filtering it out is a must. What I listen to, and what I am able to provide to others is what makes or breaks it's usefulness for me personally.
When it comes down to it, how you use these tools, i.e. twitter, Facebook, etc.., will determine if they're useful for you or not. At what point does a tool become a distraction?
I've backed off all kinds of social media because engaging in non-trivial subjects while taking parting shots via text on screen is not a real conversation with a human being. Human beings feed off of our reactions to each other, and when we're in person, this happens in real time. So, with social media, more often than not you see things mis-construed and taken out of context because there are really just 2 one-way conversations going on, Sure it's a dialog maybe, but not in the sense it should be with the subjects being discussed.
The people that I follow on social media are the people that are kind enough to invite me on their personal journey with open invitations and share of their knowledge without any ulterior motives or to pitch a service or a product. You find these people because they are always giving and speaking from their own place. C.S. Lewis wrote "Nothing you have not given away will ever really be yours."
Find the people who give because they believe in what they're doing, and then do the same yourself.
People want to invest in other people and relationships, and with all the noise of social media, we've forgotten where and how to properly invest our time and energy.
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Pax vobiscum
ZachMeissner.com
Last edited by Zach Meissner on Tue Apr 09, 2013 6:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jen Gosnell
A Hundred Dozen
Joined: 14 Jan 2010
Posts: 1290
Location: Portland, OR
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Scott Pollak
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Posts: 1903
Location: Looking out at the San Juan mountains
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:26 am Post subject: |
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Outstanding thoughts and comments, one and all. And I'm so glad to find that I'm not alone in my distaste for the sludgepool of digital and electronic billboards, media and what-not that fights to steal away every waking second of our precious time.
ALL great stuff, but the two words that really hit the nail on the head, from Zach's post, are "digital noise".
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.
www.voicebyscott.com |
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Lee Gordon
A Zillion
Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 6844
Location: West Hartford, CT
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:50 am Post subject: Re: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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| Mike Harrison wrote: | shame that the demise of the Fairness Doctrine has created ... such a misinformation wasteland.
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Either way, the Fairness Doctrine wouldn't apply to Facebook, Twitter, or anything on the internet -- even sites run by news organizations that would have been subject to it on their broadcast outlets.
By the way, I noticed you disappeared from FB rather suddenly. One day, you were posting your thoughts on the issues of the world, and the next day, SocialFixer informed me, "You are no longer friends with Mike Harrison (account inactive)." That sometimes happens due to FB glitches of one sort or another and those friends magically re-appear but you never came back, so I assumed you got fed up and deactivated your account.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice
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Mike Harrison
M&M
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:24 am Post subject: Re: Jumping into the 21st Century |
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| Lee Gordon wrote: | | By the way, I noticed you disappeared from FB rather suddenly... I assumed you got fed up and deactivated your account. |
Fed up, yes, especially after someone very close to me – in law enforcement – had taken issue with my opinion.
I'd posted a link to the news story about two Texas women who last summer were subjected to a body cavity search ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD where they'd been stopped for having tossed cigarette butts out of the car windows.
Appearing with the link was my opinion: "This is outrageous!"
This law enforcement-type said: "Do not stoop to the level where you sully and degrade the reputation of those sworn to protect you." He also called the media report "Lackluster shitty reporting." There was considerably more testosterone-inflated bluster, but you get the idea.
My reply was that the trooper who made this traffic stop and decided to have this search conducted sullied and degraded his own reputation... and that this "lackluster shitty reporting" consisted of nothing more or less than what the trooper's OWN dashboard camera and audio captured, and was evident to anyone who saw the video. "This is 'Protecting and Serving?!?'" (simply Google Texas body cavity search) The women have filed Federal charges against the two troopers, one of which has been fired. Both have been indicted; one on two counts each of sexual assault and official oppression, the other for theft (one woman reported prescription medication missing after the trooper searched their car).
When I realized that someone this close to me could be so arrogant... and ignorant on top of it... I knew what I was dealing with and decided I didn't need it anymore.
Of course, you're right about the Fairness Doctrine not applying to the Internet. And, as I've learned, even if it did, presenting some people with verifiable fact has the same effect as exposing a vampire to the light of day.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.
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Leslie Humble
Contributor IV
Joined: 03 Jan 2012
Posts: 145
Location: Cape Coral Fl
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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My good friends. Let me put it this way to convince you not to use Facebook and Social Media to express your political opinions. And our founder, imho, was right in restricting it even here.
The right and the left in America are almost evenly split in their adherents.
Slightly more people voted to put Obama in office but almost half did not.
Promoting that you are far left, far right, or EVEN a moderate, automatically
turns off 50% of your potential customers. HALF that see your posturings are already moving on to Voice Bunny or as far as they can get from you. AND ONLINE LASTS FOREVER.
All the time you see people posting "Please keep your political opinions out of my face". Believe it.
There are many venues for you to express your American right of dissent or to campaign for the position or candidate of your choice. You can canvass for a cause or candidate, campaign contributions, use Newspapers.....OR you can continue to do what is your right also....distance ONE HALF of the population from the A list of your friends. Yes I mean your friends too, because not all of them feel your level of engagement with a certain position.
The Social sites are the wrong place. Tell me about your new job, your new dog, your personal triumps and failures, and I will compassionately share your life.
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There are rules to the Universe. Learn them and prosper. www.HumbleVoiceover.com |
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melissa eX
MMD
Joined: 20 Oct 2007
Posts: 2783
Location: Lower Manhattan, New Amsterdam, the original NYC
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| Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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Leslie +10.
I never post about politics, religion or anything else that's potentially polarizing. While I have no problems expressing my opinions - and sometimes changing them too - in conversation, and by that I mean face to face conversation, I don't think it's very smart to alienate potential clients. Or even potential friends. Especially via a medium that can't express subtleties.
See, I'm even being cautious here - 'cause this is in Chat. |
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