Did Ryan Giggs Kill The Newspaper?

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you have no doubt heard about the escalating “freedom of information” battle surrounding Twitter and the breach of numerous injunction orders. This is a debate that has been brewing for sometime and as it rapidly approaches boiling point authorities are struggling to put a lid on the emerging pot of internet activists. For the first time in the lengthy saga that stretches back to 2009 Twitter has bowed to pressure from the courts and made it known that they will “comply with a law, regulation or legal request” The statement follows in the wake of a flurry of publicity surrounding the naming of English Football star Ryan Giggs as the holder of an injunction that protects details of his personal life. Just hours after the move by Twitter, an anonymous user mocked authorities by posting a fresh batch of injunctions on the mini-blogging site. Despite quickly being removed, the post attracted hundreds of followers who wasted no time in plastering the names all over the web.This blatant disregard for the court warnings, and the inability for authorities to enforce injunctions has once again put the issue of “free information” under a spotlight.

The social web, and the ease in which it facilitates the dissemination of information is at the heart of this debate. In this new environment we are all broadcasters. We can share and access information from a huge range of sources, and if we choose we can remain anonymous in the process.

The movie The Green Hornet, which I just recently watched for the first time paints a nice picture surrounding the spread of Information and should help explain the rise in the social web. If you haven’t seen it, the film is about Britt Reid (played by Seth Rogen) a party boy and heir to his father’s Newspaper fortune. “When Daddy gets murdered, Britt hires a secretary, Lenore Case (a superfluous Cameron Diaz), who is older and smarter than he is. [And] teams up with Kato (Taiwanese singer Jay Chou), the family chauffeur, a gadget-maker and martial artist, to exact revenge.”

Adapted from the 1966 TV show, The Green Hornet is set in a historic land where News Paper’s were the worlds primary source of information. Throughout the movie we are repeatedly reminded of the power that these News paper’s possessed, and how easily the news could be manipulated. After inheriting the paper from his father, Reid wastes no time in harnessing it’s influence to establish his alter alter-ego - The Green Hornet - as a household name. Sitting at the head of the News Room table he fires off headlines and stories to his staff despite the warnings of Mike Axon, one of his fathers trusted advisors.

As the story progresses we learn that Reid’s father was being bribed by District Attorney Frank Scanlon, and was slanting the news in his favor by refusing to print stories about the rise in crime. As a result there was a wide-spread public disillusion that the D.A. was doing a sterling job fighting crime. When in actuality there was a ruthless gang-war tearing the city apart. This revelation is in contrast to his father’s claim in the opening scene of the film. With his son sitting in his office he yells down the phone that “he will never jeopardize the journalistic integrity of the newspaper for some random mayors political agenda.” highlighting the fact that despite the best intentions, it is far to easy for the news to be manipulated when controlled by a single individual or conglomerate. The ease in which public perception was manipulated by the newspaper coupled with the public’s inability to garner another source of information is a sharp contrast of todays “social” society where Twitter and Youtube are fast becoming staple sources of news.

Another interesting observation from the movie is the way the villains obsess over how they’re perceived. This is a notion that is introduced in one of the opening scene’s where two rival villains argue over what makes them scary.



In the scene Benjamin Chudnofsky, the head of crime in the city, sits down with a young hot-shot drug dealer who threatening his dominance. The flamboyant drug dealer - Crystal Clear - dismisses the aging Chudnofsky as a boring washed up old man who “dresses like shit”. He claims that today, in order to get to the top, you need style, you need a catchy name, you need henchmen dressed in Gucci and Armani, and you need to leave a calling card that people can use to spread word of your scaryness. This strong emphasis on perception and the reliance on word-of-mouth to build up their reputations highlights two of the key factors in the emergence of the internet and prevalence of the social web.

When exploring any new media, or information communication technology (ICT) I always look at it through the eyes of Marshall McLuhan’s Laws of the Media. This concept was created as a means of understanding the effects that new technology has on society. McLuhan concludes that four things happen whenever a new technology is adapted, these effects are universal, they happen to all new media and human artifacts, and they happen simultaneously.




In terms of Marshall McLuhan’s laws the rise in the “social web” represents the “Reverse” law, whereby the Newspaper has been pushed to the limit of it’s potential as a source of news. In the example of the Green Hornet this is highlighted by its inability to accurately report on the state of crime, in the case of modern society it represents the inability of traditional media to report on things that are protected by injunctions. McLuhan’s law states that when this happens we see a reverse effect whereby a new technology emerges with opposite characteristics. In this case, the social web. In today’s society Twitter and Youtube are widely used by the individual to disseminate information free from agenda and influence. Word of Mouth is now the norm whereby information is Tweeted and Re-Tweeted on Twitter at an extremely rapid pace. The power of traditional media has taken a huge hit as people shift away from the notion of being spoon-fed news and move towards a word-of-mouth environment where they can consume news directly from the source.

So while authorities and law-makers scramble to adapt to this changing environment and snatch back some of their control, ultimately they are fighting a loosing battle.

The days of a single source of news are gone, the individual now has the power.

NEW AGE ARTISTRY

One of the joys of social media - in particular social networking sites - are the various links and clips that when shared by a friend, show up in your news feed. As I was scrolling through mine today Sam Hill, a long standing Auckland DJ and Promoter, had shared this article - from on inthemix.com.au -which I found very interesting. Basically what it talks about is the apparent demise of the Club scene at the hands of the new age promoters. It highlights a trend where DJ’s are being booked based not on their skills and talent, but on their ability to inflate the guest-list. It raises examples that show just how far this trend goes, and brings forth instances where DJ’s were given quotas as to how many paying friends they must bring along. In response to these claims Sophie Page - ‘Home The Venue’s’ - argued by saying:

“Sublime was hammered on ITM for having quotas, but it was taken somewhat out of context,” she says. “We are all about our DJs promoting the brand, as well as themselves, so we can build something bigger than a local dancefloor. What we did put in place was a bonus pay scheme so we could get some more dollars into their pockets and motivate them to really push themselves further than through a new event on Facebook.”

What its basically saying is that from a business and marketing perspective, social media and the ability to utilize it effectively is a hugely valuable and important skill. It is a trend that is not just confined to DJing and the club scene either; it applies to many businesses across a wide array of industries. It highlights, in no uncertain terms, the effectiveness of social media as a promotional tool and the unfamiliar scenario in which young people have the upper hand.

The fact of the matter it’s the young up-and-comers that are making the most noise in the world of social media, and because of that they are generating large followings and securing more sets. Clubs and events want to become bigger than local dancefloors, and they recognise social media as one of the key mediums that can get them there. The DJ’s who can offer them the greatest exposure are the ones with the greatest online presence. And as it appears they are more often than not the young up-and-comers.

This is the idea that interests me the most. In times past it was the older generations that were looked up to. They were seen as wise and knowledgeable and they represented the top of a fairly ridged working structure that saw young people having to work the ranks before earning a place atop the ladder. The Information Revolution however, has seen the “wise and knowledgeable” factor whittle away. The rise of the internet gave young people an infinite source of knowledge that they could tap whenever they wanted. This resulted in the role reversal we see today; young people, after growing up with the Internet are proving to be the experts in the field of social media and as such are leaving their older counter parts confessed and frustrated in their wake.

A movie I saw recently which illustrated all of this perfectly was the superhero film Kick Ass. The movie as a whole was decidedly average but it dealt with this particular scenario well. Without regurgitating the whole plot it was about Dave Lizewski, a geeky teenager who decided to dress up in a costume and become the super hero Kiss Ass. A serious car crash, a public brawl and a YouTube video later and Kiss Ass had become the new web phenomenon. As Dave put it; “[his] MySpace: 38 friends, Kiss Ass’s MySpace: 16,000 and counting.” This did a great job of Illustrating the speed at which information flows through social media, and its power as a communications medium.

As the movie progressed the evil mob boss villain was revealed. Enter Frank D’Amico, an aging mobster with a geeky 17 year old son. When D’Amico’s attempts at canvassing the streets looking for Kick Ass failed he reluctantly decided to enlist his son Chris’s help. Chris, upon transforming into another superhero Red Mist, effortlessly utilized the power of social networking sites to track down and meet up with Kick Ass. This particular segment illustrated the extent to which the pendulum has swung and transferred to the power to the younger generation. Frank D’Amico was a feared and powerful mob boss with years of wisdom and knowledge behind him. In many respects he was far more skilled than his son, but his refusal to embrace new technology caused him to hit a brick wall when looking for Kick Ass. A wall his son was easily able to climb.

A scene towards the end of the film summed it up nicely; Chris had captured a gun fight on a teddy bear nanny-cam and had burst into his Dads office to show him. Frank, not knowing what the teddy was or how to use it was quickly told to sit down on the couch while Chris plugged the bear into the TV and showed his Dad the video. In a picture that resembled a teacher teaching some pupils we the audience were shown the power that the young geeky teenagers now posses, as well as the dangers that can become of refusing to embrace new technology.

But I Digress. Going back to the article on the clubbing scene from the beginning of this post; when reading it I asked myself is this trend a good thing? It has obviously led to a scenario where DJs with average mixing skills are landing gigs ahead of their more skilled counterparts. From a strictly musical perspective it is definitely not a good direction to be travelling, and to be honest I find it concerning. However, to dismiss these young up-and-comers as punks with no talent is in my opinion short sighted. Their ability to successfully navigate and manipulate the world of social media is in itself an amazing skill. While the older more experienced DJs can manipulate and control a crowd from behind the decks, the new age promoter/DJ can do it from behind a computer. Their ability to build a brand, and inspire a drove of “friends” is at the end of the day a far more desirable talent from a business and marketing perspective. This is something that the older generations definitely need to look out for as a refusal to embrace social media will surely put them at a disadvantage.

Sorry for the length, it’s been a while so I had a lot of pent up opinion to get out. I’m currently working on a social media experiment for an upcoming post, so make sure you stay tuned. When it’s all done it should be a good read.

- Jake

The Finished Product

Wide-eyed and open-mouthed I stared up at the screen; legitimately worried I was in the wrong place. I rummaged around in my pocket, pulling out the scrunched up ticket stub, re-reading it in disbelief: “Clash of the Titans 3D”. Shaking my head I reluctantly shifted my eyes back to the screen. What I saw was not a movie; it was the latest product to be churned out of the Hollywood production line. From the unimaginative and predictable storyline, to the shallow wooden characters, I’d seen it all before. Only it wasn’t good the first time, so why would it be good now?

Unlike “Avatar” and “Alice and Wonderland”, “Clash of the Titans” wasn’t intended to be 3D. It was written and shot as a 2D film, but after the record breaking success of “Avatar” the decision was made to add another dimension in post-production. In all my technological curiosity I was dying to see how this film would stack up visually. The ability to successfully transform a film into 3D is an exciting concept, one that will theoretically result in the 3D re-mastering of many old, classic movies. After seeing “Clash of the Titans” however, I am far less optimistic. I’m not going to delve into all of the films shortcomings. That would require me to relive it, and frankly once was more enough. What I will say is that the third dimension in this film (or product) was necessary, it provided the film with the depth that its storyline could not. And above all it made it marketable.

This, it appears, is where the industry is headed. The big studios continue to churn out films whose merits lie not on their complex storylines and cinematic originality, bit in their marketability. And 3D has emerged as the perfect platform for these films to launch.

Disney’s recent hiring of MT Carney, as their new marketing chief, highlights the extent to which this trend is gripping Hollywood. It goes against the entrenched belief that movie marketing is a specialist skill possessed by only a select few within the industry. Carney has no movie background. She made her name as the co-founder and owner of naked communications, a marketing firm that specializes in the new global marketing landscape. Her background is in the consumer-marketing world, a world where she worked with companies like Coca-Cola and Nokia. This illustrates how the big studios are beginning to view and market their movies. A big box office movie now has potential to be so much more than just a film. Merchandise, video games, spin off cartoons are just some of the by-products of a well-marketed film. They are transforming these movies into brands.

The consensus industry reaction seems to suggest that Carney will not last long in this new and unfamiliar role. I for one feel that this is where we are heading, and that in this consumer driven market she has a chance to revolutionize how these films are perceived by the public. Time will tell.