Case Study 8 - Blog

MySpace: Open With A Joke

Myspace is an internet site where audiences can create and customise their own, personal webpage. They can leave blogs on their site, upload pictures or videos, add music to their page and fill in an ‘about me’ section for their friends to view. By making friends online, you can leave comments and messages on your friends’ pages, establishing an online community or network of friends.

This site has been created by five friends Sam V, Sam J, Kamil, Martyn and Jobby, who are using their ‘space’ to promote their indie band ‘Open With A Joke’.

On the page:

• Top left of page: Title of band (‘Open With A Joke), location (London), Profile Views (7440) and a picture.


• Pictures: If you click on their pictures you can see a whole album of photos of them These consist of individual photos of the band members, the band as a whole, the band playing a gig, and friends of the band. All of the photos have comments left by their network of friends, such as under this photo of all the boys at a fancy dress party:

• About the band:
• Friends: To the left of the page there is a ‘friends’ section where they’ve left their top 12 friends, and if you click on the link you can see their other 509 friends. These are all links so you could visit other people’s spaces, creating the real sense of a network of friends.
  
• Videos: OWAJ have linked on their space 3 videos from the site http://www.youtube.com/. One is their music video to ‘I don’t see the attraction’ showing them and their Lego alter egos, one is of them playing live as Jobby takes off his jumper to reveal his wife-beater t-shirt and one is of a bear falling out of a tree onto a trampoline.
  
• Comments: The rest of the page has been taken up with their friends’ comments (they have 520 in total).
  
  This site shows how easy it is to create an online community, and how successful personalisation is; more people use MySpace than any other blogging sites, as they can create a page completely unique to them. There is a great crossover of media forms on this site alone; the internet, photography, video and music.
  
  For the industry, MySpace is a great way of promoting, especially new bands. Artists such as Lilly Allen or The Arctic Monkeys were recognised through MySpace, and have a huge online following.

Case Study 7: Online magazine

Elle

This is a website for the women’s lifestyle magazine ‘Elle’. With daily updates and pages where you can quickly browse the latest fashion trends, it’s like a quick, convenient way of reading a magazine. It would be useful for those who don’t have time to buy and read the whole magazine or just for people who want to find out more on what they've already read.

The social group relevant is the typical Elle reader; fashion conscious women, probably between the ages of 18 and 40. Often targeting working women with a good salary - they like to promote expensive and designer clothes. Nevertheless they do have high street sections as well. The website is like a non-linear way of reading the magazine – the page is separated by headings, allowing the reader to enter whichever sections they feel like reading.

It’s relevant because it’s showing how hard copies of media are being replaced, and how there is the possibility of media becoming completely virtual.

Page layout and offers

Headings across the top: fashion, shopping, beauty, lifestyle and travel, news, horoscopes, magazine.
Rolling menu across the top: latest news updates and the best sections to check out on the site, e.g. ‘hot new floral trend, stars in love, Kate Moss’s office job!’
Elle logo top left of screen
Option of becoming an Elle VIP (join and get added benefits on the site)
‘Elle Soundtrack’: a new popular track is put up everyday which you can listen to when on the website, promoting new bands. Today – ‘Good Luck’ by Alterkicks.
The main page: taken up with promotions and new additions to the site. Competitions (win! £500 to spend at TopShop!), Latest News (Mel B, ex-spice girl, has baby girl), Lunchtime buy (trendy new handbag), Fashion Update (latest from the catwalks, Milan, London, Paris, New York).
Interactivity: Today’s poll – what do you think is Jennifer Lopez’s best film?
Online Shopping: all of Elle’s own label available online.

For the institutions:

• Gives them a sense of who reads their magazine (if people sign up for things, give their details)
• Promotes customer loyalty, those who read the magazine are likely to come online and then buy more Elle products
• Keeping up with NMT trends; everything has a website. They are closer to their audience thanks to the sense of an online community.
• Can promote their next issue
  

Convergence, interactivity, personalisation, convenience, narrowcasting.

Case Study 5: specific radio show from Xfm website

Lauren Laverne’s Breakfast Show

It’s an interactive webpage for the show. Again targeting typical Xfm listeners; mainly those who listen to the breakfast show, but also providing information for those who don’t, promoting the show.

The audience can:

• Read the latest news (not real news, funny things such as youtube of the day) on the ‘frontpage’ online newspaper
• Competition – win a trip to Space Camp USA or be a ‘gig pig’ and see 5 gigs for free.
• Postings and comments in response to Lauren’s hot topics. This week’s ‘you shouldn’t but you would…’
• Play Lauren’s film quiz
• She’ll play 3 songs of your choice in one part of the show (the 9 0’clock shuffle). Kind of like a phone in but online.
• Listen online to any interviews you’ve missed with famous artists
• Find out more about this week’s show, about Lauren Laverne herself or about the ‘house band’ featuring on that week’s show.
  

The technologies involved again are just the internet, digital radio and online videos.

Like the general Xfm website, this is allowing audiences to choose what they listen to at their convenience. It’s different to traditional radio, as these new technologies are allowing a more non-linear approach but is also involving otyher mediums such as video and the internet. As a distributor of music and promoting bands online radio is really good; audience’s can find out more about smaller bands or watch videos and find links to download new singles from much bigger bands. Again this is a good example of interactivity, convergence and personalisation. This is also a great example to use when talking about the music industry, and how media is helping us to discover much smaller artists.

Case Study 4 - Radio Station Website

Xfm

Website for the Xfm radio station (local to London). In effect it is replacing the usual fashion of how to listen to radio – the way you can download podcasts or ust listen to it online makes it more convenient (you don’t need a radio in your office for example) and more personalised and non-linear for the audience (listen to what you want, when you want at your convenience). The technology used here is the internet, but also new digital radio distribution.

The site is clearly targeting its typical Xfm audience – generally quite young, alternative music lovers (generally indie and rock). Through the range of bands mentioned, promotions of very particular music festivals (Glastonbury as opposed to Take That’s new tour).

Online activities: Page split into 4 sections

On air: This weekend on Xfm, and the uploaded shows from the week (shows which you can listen to at your convenience, for example Lauren Laverne’s breakfast show) and an Xfm playlist, showing all the songs they’ve played this week on air.

News: General music news; Glastonbury tickets on sale, new tours, Jack White to play Elvis in new film, recent interviews.

Watch and Listen: More videos, podcasts and music available online from Xfm. Examples: watch Xfm’s winter wonderland, Xfm meets Noel Gallagher, Good Shoes new single ‘Think before you speak’, watch videos from Arctic Monkeys, Muse and more, the Xfm films show podcasts.

Extras: random competitions and gig tickets. For example: win Kings of Leon tickets or Arcade Fire tickets now on sale for Brixton academy.

Play button located at top of page – ‘listen to Xfm.’ - audience interactivity and convergence.

All of these provide great audience interactivity letting them discover more about specific shows or artists. Gives them a non-linear version of radio, they can choose to listen or watch what they want and when. All specifically targeted at Xfm audience – everything they would want from the radio station and more on the website.

Option to join Xfm plus: more news and updates, greater access to areas of website (basically more provelidges all round), free sign up, monthly newsletter. They can use your details to target you with more promotions, but it also allows the audience to feel more involved with a brand. Online surveillance.

Convergence: radio, now radio station online, radio also providing videos (not just about listening anymore!)

(case study 3 link)

Link for Ugly Betty Website on Channel 4

Case Study 3 - One prgramme example from Ch4, Comedy

Channel 4 – Comedy – UGLY BETTY

(Quote from website)

“STARTS FRIDAY 5TH JANUARY, 9.30PM ON CHANNEL 4

In the superficial world of high fashion, image is everything. Styles come and go, and the only constants are the super-thin beauties who wear them. How can an ordinary girl – a slightly plump plain-Jane from Queens – possibly fit in?
If you took a moment to get to know Betty Suarez, you'd see how sweet, intelligent and hard-working she is. But few people do, because in the world of high fashion Betty is the oversized peg in the petite round hole...”

· Clear promotion of their new TV programme, getting the audience interested and providing them with date and time of start.
· Website for Ugly Betty was available on Channel 4’s site way before the programme started. Television consumers could see the advertisements and then log onto the website to find out a lot of info, watch online trailers and video clips before programme aired. Now used to give even more info on the brand, fulfilling interactive needs of dedicated Betty fans.
· Extras include: Episode guide, the show, cast, gallery, forum (where fellow fans can share their ideas), fact files on all of the characters, mode’s fashion galleries, Ugly Betty online game, watch the ‘revelation’ video and catch up on missed episodes on 4oD.
· Pop-up adverts for Ambro-Solaire new tanning spray and Jaguar cars. Really annoying because they cover the screen so you accidentally click on them. Very big brands, expensive advertising space because this is a popular show. The advertisers expect a lot of people to be on the webpage.
· Forums let the fans discuss their views on the programme. Gives people from all around the world a chance to share their views – online community, virtual friends. (Audiences)

The forums can also be used as a form of online surveillance, seeing what the audience are interested in/complain about in order to target them more effectively. (Institutions)

The interactivity for the audience is not only benficial to them, but to the industries as well - by keeping audiences interested they can create brand loyalty, keeping their ratings higher and the money coming in through competitions, phone-ins, downloads, advertising slots and voting. This keeps the brand alive, meaning more Ugly Betty episodes can be made, and more money can be put into keeping the quality of experience high for the audiences. Ultimately keeping them happy. Like a big circle!

Key theories: Interactivity, convergence, personalisation and narrowcasting.

Case Study 2: TV genre sub-section from Channel 4

Channel 4 – COMEDY

• Website page promoting channel 4’s television genre comedy.
• With jam-packed information concerning all of your favourite ‘4’ comedies, audience are invited to interact with the programmes, feel more involved, discover new facts but also feel more inclined to follow a brand.
• All programmes are linked back to their distributor channel 4, which promotes their institution as broadcasters. By providing all the new services and new media technologies (see next bullet point), channel 4 are showing themselves to be a part of the new and innovative era of media technologies.
• Just from this page the audience are offered: 10 minute online catch-up of a missed programme, online videos, games, DVDs, online episode guides, galleries, blogs, interviews and monthly highlights of the show. Moreover, you can find out more information about your favourite individual comedians or characters from a show.
• The layout still conforms to the Channel 4 webpage style: same fonts, logos, colours, headings, menus and adverts, but with a ‘comedy’ edge. Comedians heads are cut out and dotted about the page to look funny, and the background is like a big comic swirl. All the information is presented very close together but all have clear headings and pictures so the audience can understand and relate to the programmes mentioned.
• Good example of interactivity: shows the depth of what an audience can explore. There is so much offered just for this genre, imagine how much is in total including all the genres. Also showing how mediums are converging: video and television are also available on the internet.