03/08/07 – MySpace whoring

Just as I mentioned in my earlier research, one online article for the Times written by Lewis Smith entitled “Online net workers who click with 1,000 ‘friends’” notice friends is in inverted comas suggesting something else. The artlce quite neatly sums up the race for numbers but then goes into the idea of collecting celebrity ‘trophy’ friends which I find really interesting as I can’t after all see any celebrity who has someone managing their page declining any fan when it is putting money in their pockets. This is exactly why, when I moved over to Facebook myself I personally ensured I not only knew my contacts on a personal basis but would then endeavor to stay in contact with them unlike my 80+ so called friends on MySpace. I currently have 141 friends on Facebook all of whom I am personally linked to, have met and have had experiences with. Now that’s what I call real friends!!!!

31/07/07 – The Carver

NipTuck utilities the MySpace profile in a different way. Instead of employing character profiles for each member of the major cast they developed a single profile for a key character who happened to be the antagonist of the third season, as reported in the article “TV Characters Blog Their Way to Build Ratings” by Leo Juares. There aims were, through the blog, to convey ideas of the rapist character in ways they could not over the television. Their hopes were to “create a buzz and involve the audience in a whole new way”. This is the initial notion of my project idea, to get the audience interacting in a more creative manner and sharing their knowledge and opinions back with the fictional characters and ultimately the Producers who can then use this collective information to their advantage to make their show more appealing to their given audience. Later in the same article and interviewee is quoted to have said “one thing MySpace is really good at creating is creating community” which is a really nice touch. What I hadn’t yet realized is that those members of Chalkhills audience who were either out of the locality or even out of the country probably do not interact with other fans. There is no fan site as such for members of Chalkhill to fans to come together and create a discourse on. So once again MySpace will be the perfect place to initially create this platform where fans can share ideas.

25/07/07 Sex Offenders barred

This BBC article entitled ‘MySpace bars 29,000 sex offenders’ starts to raise the bar slightly in online safety. This someone what seems in response to the MySpace research I carried out earlier and the bill being processed about banning the use of MySpace in public places to kids. But ethically with the onslaught of fictional profiles as well as fraudulent profiles being uploaded each day, how can it really be policed? Surely this must have been one of the issues which was raised in the initial business model as deception of any form when it comes to identity is a fundamental issue. Maybe it will take a serious con for something to happen, again only time may tell.

19/07/07 – Commercial use of social networks act as abuse?

In an article entitled ‘MySpace blurs line between friends and flacks’ discusses the debate of the ever increasing promotion use of the social networks to promote such things as movies and even products such as Wendy’s )American burger joint) who can then become your friends. The writers concerns are that children will be deceived more easily as the line between genuine member and marketer becomes ever blurred. You decide….. 

10/07/07 – TV shows using social networks

Another fantastic article hi lighting the main points I have made;http://www.mediavillage.com/jmr/2007/07/17/jmr-07-17-07/index_print.html  

09/07/07 Ethics

An article entitled ‘Fictional Profiles, Real; Friends’ touches very sensitively on the matter of the amount of promotional material, fake fantasy profiles and more dangerously fraudulent profiles which exist is an issue. It then covers in more detail the problem with earlier profiles of the Office which I had discovered but am limited on knowledge about the programme. Stating the main confusion was between whether it was the character from the TV show or the actor the pages were supposed to be promoting and whether it was anything to do with the actual programme or not. The question is then posed “who controls the rights to a fake profile of a fictional character?”.

03/07/07 – The Office characters have MySpaces

I recently came across this article which I hadn’t yet seen evidence of on MySpace. The Office, a pretty successful British BBC comedy staring Ricky Jervais, has also joined the MySpace revolution. Even though the blog states that they think it is run by the actors, it also states that they stayed in characters and wanted to see what MySpace viewers thought about the show, This sounds like a Producers ploy top me alas I looked at the profiles;http://www.myspace.com/davidbrentphhttp://www.myspace.com/accountingladyhttp://www.myspace.com/bjnovakhttp://www.myspace.com/kevinmalonehttp://www.myspace.com/pambeesley http://www.myspace.com/kateflan Some profiles had more traffic then others but they certainly to receive comments form their target audience which I believe is what the wanted.  

01/07/07 – Fans help filmmakers win YouTube deal

A very inspiration article about some filmmakers, entitled “Fans help filmmakers win YouTube deal”, who took the risk of taking out $100,000 on credit cards to make a movie they screened on YouTube has paid off (Well is gradually). What’s interesting is the networking capability of YouTube which is brought up in the article by Hugh Hart when he states the filmmaker as saying “People were commenting on the videos, then commenting on each other’s comments and becoming friends with each other”. This was simply because they had something in common which they were all interested and stimulated enough by to talk about it.

06/06/07 – Virgin Media goes back to the Ark

Virgin Media have started to use the potential of gaming television to create an interactive platform for their cable provision, reports Informitv. Using the red button on your digital remote you have the ability to create a two way dialogued with what you are seeing on the television in real time. It does not specify the benefits of the use of a piece of technology called the Ark, other then it’s browser capabilities so one would assume it would be like basic Web gaming like point and click which this develop.   A later article on this however, entitled “Two way TV acquired through ingenious media investment”, suggests that television is currently not fair or fun yet it should be and the interactive platform will endeavour to provide such interactive programmes as lives game shows. This sounds more promising as the emphasis is not on technology but on formats. Once again this will create a more proactive audience if they can directly interact. However the question is, if you’re juts a viewer you will lack the emotion of seeing others win or lose. In one sense it’s a step back from using the telephone as a way of communication to television (which is rarely used live anyway) but it will be interesting to see how this interactive element develops.

16/06/07 – Case studies

CASESTUDY: skins Skins is a UK based British teen drama which premiered on E4 on 25^th January 2007. It centres around eleven teenagers from Bristol and their lives. Each half an hour episode centres around one or two of the main characters to develop their individual personalities and storylines with the audience. With clever marketing from the outset, Skins became popular very fast. It’s clever, witty and damn right funny characters were easily watched. Since the first season was aired a second season has been in production and will be aired at the beginning of next year, with competition winners from the public actually starring and contributing in the next season. This is one way Skins is unique and interactive as it had not only opened up a new lead character space for a member of the public to fill, but for others they could contribute towards the script.  Primarily Skins had a webpage on the channel 4/E4 website. These pages now contain links to the old episodes and a plot synopsis of each one, trailers, unseen exclusive mini-episodes , competitions, forums and a MySpace link. On the ‘Us’ section it states that they, the characters, are hoping that through writing blogs we the audience will’ sort of be able to be mates’ with them. This is a really weird concept when you hear it coming from the website when you know they’re characters from a show, but this is exactly the next dimension which needs to be exploited. On the same page they have mini profiles also of their interests and a bit about themselves.The MySpace link however takes you straight to the Skins homepage on MySpace which is well made. You are given a warning from the outset (more of a disclaimer of it’s potential contents) then once in you are bombarded with adverts and merchandise form the show such as the soundtrack and ringtones.  The page has received more then 65,000 friends which is amazing and has received almost 20,000 comments which can’t be a bad thing! Heading to the first profile for character Tony, you are immediately hit with the theme of Skins (which breaks reminds you that it’s from a show). His profile is basic with no theme, his information is very similar to that from the E4 site, and his videos are from the show itself. His blogs are even about the show. So even though he is coming across as his character he may as well be the actor. Once again his URL address has skins in the title and even though it says he has been online recently, nothing has been updated as far as I can see from when I initially looked at this page a few months ago. He still manages to have more then 6,000 friends though which is a good marker for interest). Looking at a supporting main character, Tonys sisters page, Effy has managed to theme her profile background but her profiles is highly undeveloped, you can’t even read the font her writing is in and as a result she has only managed some 141 friends.

There isn’t much written outside of the Skins pages about the MySpace profiles but in one online forum more recently, many agreed they liked what they saw, probably because it was knew and it was the first time they had seen it!!!! Or because they had been missing Skins and it added to the value of the show. Again this shows audience potential but we all know consumers always want more.
 With this in mind and with regards to my project the mini-episodes are exactly what I want to do for Chalkhill but once again develop them slightly further. The Chalkhill MySpace page will contain mini episodes to compliment and parallel existing storylines while the character pages will contain ‘home made’ videos and vlogs created supposedly by the characters themselves. These will be uploaded respectively one a weekly basis as and when they can be developed and filmed. The homepage was a promotional tool almost like an advert rather then containing more relevant information. Chalkhill should look the same (stand out from the crowd) but focus more on the different elements of production and how people can get involved as it is after all a community based soap opera.The webpages should then totally immerse the audience in the reality that either they are part of the sap or the soap is part of the world. So unlike the Skins pages there should in no way be references to the soap. Each page should define the personality of the character and should relate to how much time they would spend on the Internet as well as how capable they are of using technology or getting someone to help them. Either way everything on their pages should be personal to the character and not related to the show, there should definitely be blogs and video as of some kind, and they should be regularly updated and kept refreshed.   CASESTUDY: prom queen Prom Queen us unique in that it is not a televised. It is sent out to email boxes when it is released in small bite sized 90 second chunks each with its own cliff hanger. It follows a group of teens during the senior year leading up to the Prom with the major plot being an untold secret which will rock the school. Initially released at the earlier stages of the year to promote the sponsoring film ‘HairSpray’, Prom Queen was released through May and June. What made it unique was not only it being such a small production, but also that each of it’s main character also had MySpace profiles as did the production itself which I can no longer seem to access.The main homepage for Prom Queen on the Internet states that season two entitled ‘Summer heat’ is on its way. Once again it’s website is very well stylised and contains all past episode for you to watch again at you own convenience, a short synopsis, forums for discussion, and even a store where you can purchase logo’d items of clothing.  There was no real explanation however to the link with the film Hairspray, other then the film sponsored it which is pretty much unheard of, especially since the film hadn’t even been released yet and none of the characters from Prom Queen were in the film. But it was a good marketing ploy to get people to watch HairSpray.You can get to the characters MySpace pages directly from a link from the main website. Looking at Michele’s profile  page initially the character has a personality and this is shown through the chosen theme, very pink!!! The page informs me she was online recently which is good considering Prom Queen has already finished. What is very promising about Prom Queen is that they had the right idea. The blog although short and sweet has been maintained leading up to the prom while episodes were being emailed out and even video content was uploaded to compliment this and as a result a few people have made an effort to leave comments. The only failing is that at the end of the video which she obviously is taking on her phone, the Prom Queen website link is advertised. Even her music for her profile (Rhianna – Umbrella) is very current and of the moment. Her MySpace URL has no links with the show, and she has mustered more then1,800 friends.

Looking at another profile to compare, Brett is what I would call a supporting cast member also. He either is the kind of guy who signs up but never uses the profiles or because he’s a supporting cast member he isn’t given as much attention which is a shame. He does have a selection of videos with the same flaw as Michele’s some of which appear on his regular blog.

Prom Queen has been received warmly by some critics. An article entitled ‘Review: Prom Queen’ initially looks down upon the shorter episodes and typical characters, but the realises that as a result you don’t get bored (because you don’t get the time to) and the practically praises the MySpace pages which as he almost states, saves the show by proving key information you’ll probably forget. He also mentions it is constantly updated which again is essential. Another review entitled ‘Prom Queen to Reign Viral Video?’ looks more at the statistics to prove its success stating it receives some 200,000 hits a day and in total has had more then 5.2 million views, believing that more companies will now jump the fence and take on the platform for productions. A further review on TechCrunch although not to the taste of the writer still vouches for its validating and reception.  As Prom Queen is not televised it has a much closer relationship to Chalkhill in that Chalkhill is primarily publish on the web first of all. In relation to the project it follows very similarly the patterns I wish to create in Chalkhill, most importantly from this study is the keeping in character on the profiles (refraining from referring to the show or advertising it in anyway) and the fact that during the release of episodes it was being regularly updated. They too are having a second season and also have a very positive response on their main MySpace pages. This is very promising for what I am about to put into practice for Chalkhill. The difference being that Chalkhill currently does not have a regular broadcast of its episodes, they are released when they are finished.   CASESTUDY: Traveler The final case study is on an American show called Traveler which I came across by accident while reading a review. It is an ABC produced show based on the lives of three school friends who have grown up together and then go on a road trip. They are caught up in a terrorist bombing and two out of the three get the blame and must flee the country. It was not very popular and as a result was scrapped after only eight episodes and reported by Wikipedia (Traveler TV series). An early review however, entitled ‘After a Museum Is Bombed, the Real Trouble Begins’, compares it with the likes of 24 which is in it’s sixth season, saying it is much more refreshing. Maybe the topic itself was still all to fresh in the light of all the recent terrorist attacks.The homepage on the ABC website doesn’t give much away and there are no real links to the MySpace profiles so I’m not sure exactly how they were promoted, maybe through or at the end of the show. Even though the programme was scrapped the profile pages are still in existence (Which related to an earlier comment I made regarding numbers of active profiles actually online in comparison to those which have been long forgotten). Jays profile has a theme but has little else. No photos, no videos and only one blog entry. It was not kept updated and it has advertising all over it in the form of a video clip from the show and banners advertising when the show is on. The co-stars profile is no better.

This therefore is a good example of how not to do it.
Promotion through the show itself would be the best way for others to interact. How often have you seen a telephone number in a movie or on telly and either called it yourself or thought of someone else doing just that?  Well what if when it rang and someone answered it was the person from the movie. Wouldn’t that freak you out a bit? Well with the safety Net of your Computer screen and a big wide world out there, the same principle can be used on the Internet. If plot strands of Chalkhill could either mention the characters MySpace pages or even have MySpace relate to a storyline I believe some fans would go looking tp see if they’re there and to find that they’re not only there but alive with content will not only shock the audience but keep them hooked for a long while as the show becomes interactive. What if comments placed on MySpace could then travel back through to the scripts and then be seen on the soap. That would be the pinnacle of interactive television surely. The boundary would completely come down and anything could be possible. Maybe I’m looking too far ahead, put a mention I’m sure could be placed in the scripts.