Sound Bytes
A column about the future of the music industry by Jonathan CunninghamU2 Partners with Dropbox and Spotify Remains Free in the U.S.
Sound Bytes: Sir Mix-A-Lot Talks Social Media and SOPAThe Analog-ist
A column at the intersection of social and traditional media by Betsy Hauenstein & Cheryl Lowry
Looking for Candidates With Design Skills
Is Paper the Future of Screen?
Does the Hive Mind Work Offline?
Introducing: The Analog-istGhost in the Wire
A regular look into the deeper issues surrounding digital media by Ken RufoThe Education Crisis
On Wikipedia Knowledge
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Balancing the “Push” of Ads with the “Pull” of Social
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/img_facebook_oldSpice_540x360-250x150.jpgPublished May 14, 2012 at 1:40 pm Back in January, Proctor and Gamble kicked off the New Year with a shocking announcement for marketers. With a flat market share and under pressure from investors, the administrat ...
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Kick(starting) the Tires of a New Content Model: Part 3
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/kickstarter-badge-backer-250x150.pngPublished May 11, 2012 at 10:54 am Well, my Kickstarter project is over. As I predicted in Part 2, I didn’t reach my funding goal, and the 30 days the campaign ran ended without a savior sugar momma coming forward ...
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Facebook IPO Woes
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/facebook_logo-250x150.pngPublished May 2, 2012 at 9:43 am The countdown to Facebook’s highly anticipated IPO has begun. On April 23rd, Facebook filed its latest amendment to its registration with SEC. According to the filing, Facebook ...
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The Analog-ist: Martians and Media
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/kindlepad1-250x150.jpgPublished April 27, 2012 at 9:32 am I have fond memories of old Sesame Street skits in which a pair of Martians try to understand Earth technology, sometimes consulting a manual for reference. Here’s my favorit ...
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Hacking Edu: You Too Can Attend MIT
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/MG_65011-250x150.jpgPublished April 26, 2012 at 9:59 am Thinking back to the first Hacking Edu event two weeks ago, one question I was left with was, Is higher education, in its current form, facing the threat of irrelevance? I t ...
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Hacking Edu Finale Tonight at Jet City Improv: How deep is the crisis facing Higher Ed?
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/flip-5-250x150.jpgPublished April 25, 2012 at 12:33 pm This month’s Four Peaks Hacking Edu series draws to a close tonight – or more aptly – moves onto a new series of initiatives. Despite the month’s hyperbolic “crisis” pr ...
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Gawker’s Deep Throat at Fox Gags
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gawker_logo-250x150.jpgPublished April 24, 2012 at 4:28 pm Well it took less than 4 days for Gawker’s heralded Fox Mole, Joe Muto, to be found out, suspended, dismissed and slapped with a cease and desist order by Fox News. On April 10 G ...
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Hacking EDU: Discussing Education Reform During Husky Fest
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/April-19-4-person-panel_6761-250x150.jpgPublished April 23, 2012 at 8:00 am During a rainy kick-off to Husky Fest this past Thursday, the MCDM team was center stage for the entire day and strongly committed to discussing ways to transform education as we k ...
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Pat Summitt Leaves Her Mark on Basketball and Online
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Pat-Summitt1-250x150.jpgPublished April 19, 2012 at 12:18 pm Yesterday was a big news day–full of many big stories – the NHL playoffs, the passing of Dick Clark (America Bandstand), and the ongoing Secret Service scandal. But the bigge ...
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Coveted Pulitzers Awarded to Online Publications For the First Time
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/politico-250x150.jpgPublished April 16, 2012 at 3:07 pm Politico and the Huffington Post are the first online only publications to receive the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for journalism. The 2012 awards were announced today in New York ...
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Instagram Alternatives if Facebook Ruins It for You
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/camera-plus-icon2-185x150.pngPublished April 16, 2012 at 12:07 pm “The photos you take on Instagram are owned by you,” stressed co-founder Kevin Systrom during a SXSW panel on mobile photography last month, “they’re always going to ...
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Hacking the Table with Michael Hebb and Chase Jarvis
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/MG_67851-250x150.jpgPublished April 13, 2012 at 9:06 am April 12th found the Hacking Edu team sitting at the table with several education influencers (UPDATE: check out who they are). Hosted by One Pot’s Michael Hebb at Chase Jarv ...
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I’ll Give You $1 Billion For a Good Mobile Experience
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/instagram-250x150.pngPublished April 13, 2012 at 8:18 am When I first saw the numbers I was astounded. That Facebook would pay $1 billion for Instagram, a company with 13 employees that has only been around for 2 or so years and has $0 ...
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Ghost in the Wire: The Education Crisis
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/MG_64261-250x150.jpgPublished April 12, 2012 at 9:55 am All this talk of Hacking Education and the crisis in Higher Ed reminded me of this old Kaplan University commercial, entitled “Your Time.” The logic of the commercial is pretty ...
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The Analog-ist: Is Paper the Future of the Screen?
http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/penpaper-250x150.jpgPublished April 9, 2012 at 9:48 am Although great for social networking and consuming entertainment, tablet computers have largely failed to provide tools that simulate the immersive and responsive experience of dra ...
Flip is Hiring!!!
Its true. We are hiring. I will be leaving my position at the end of the month when I graduate but I will be on hand over the Summer for an orderly transition.
Flip the Media has been absolutely the best part of the MCDM for me. I can’t emphasize how many opportunities I have had because of the work I have done on the Flip. Be it covering fascinating workshops at the Sundance Film Festival or having my clips support an overseas research fellowship, my work at the Flip is my best portfolio and resume material from grad school. Flip the Media staff get to put thier creative energies forward in a way that no other class in the MCDM allows. In a program that doesn’t have many rigorous capstone opportunities, FtM is the way to go. A few weeks back we ran a very interesting article about the rise of the “Content Strategist” by Cheryl Lowry, one of our most talented editors. In that article she posits that any organization’s communications strategy needs people who can produce, evaluate and curate quality content. That is what we do at the Flip. Everyday.
Join the team.
Here are the deets:
Flip the Media, the blog of the MCDM program, is seeking two senior editors for the 2012-2013 academic year. Editors will act as Content Strategists, managing the flow of content on the blog, editing posts and curating the website, and as Community Engagement Specialists recruiting contributors, managing social media properties, organizing community events and brand evangelizing.
Continue reading
Balancing the “Push” of Ads with the “Pull” of Social
Back in January, Proctor and Gamble kicked off the New Year with a shocking announcement for marketers.
With a flat market share and under pressure from investors, the administrator of the world’s largest advertising budget announced it was eliminating 1,600 non-manufacturing jobs – many from the marketing department – and shifting to digital only initiatives “to contain media spending long-term.”
P&G Chairman and CEO Bob McDonald:
“In the digital space, with things like Facebook and Google and others, we find that return on investment of the advertising when properly designed, when the big idea is there, can be much more efficient.”
Interestingly enough, McDonald continued by pointing out that digital media’s largely free social distribution options could significantly drive down costs for the CPG manufacturer, citing the over 1.8B free impressions garnered by its break through “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign for Old Spice from 2010.
Many media theorists and market watchers know that digital isn’t really free despite what some execs profess. What’s important about McDonald’s statement is the indication that marketing executives view digital as a cost-saving channel powered by shared media and that is a job killer.
As consumers of media, we can only hope P&G’s move is in line with the macro-trend of brands shifting away from simply producing ads towards creating awesome, value-adding content. Continue reading
Viral Video of the Week–SloMo Popcorn
I love the slo-mo guys.
If you haven’t seen them yet, they’re awesome. This week, though, when I saw that the topic was “Popcorn,” my attitude was “meh.” I mean, I’ve seen slo-mo videos of popcorn before, so I wasn’t too excited by it.
But they got some really great footage. And the ‘between’ bits were hi-larious. Once you watch this one, you’ll want to watch all of their videos. So I apologize in advance for the loss of your afternoon of productivity.
Bwa-ha-haaaaaaaaa…
Kick(starting) the Tires of a New Content Model: Part 3
Well, my Kickstarter project is over. As I predicted in Part 2, I didn’t reach my funding goal, and the 30 days the campaign ran ended without a savior sugar momma coming forward. Even though my project failed to reach its funding goal, I’ve learned a lot from the experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to have an inside look into the crowd funding world.
With hindsight I can identify three factors that worked against me while I was trying raise money with Kiskstarter: I could have marketed more than I did; I’m not an established name in the foodie/cocktail world and my video pitch could have been better. There are many other reasons that Kickstarter campaigns win or lose but the most important factors seem relatively obvious…if only in hindsight.
4 Things I Learned From 10 Years at Microsoft
It arrived via interoffice mail in a plain cardboard box. My Microsoft 10 year service award. A 6-pound shard of solid glass. It somewhat resembled the obelisk on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s Presence.
Its weight was metaphorical as well: had I really been creating content for the same company for a decade? What about the death of worker loyalty? What about the end of the full time job? Yet all around me, obelisks sprouted from windowsills and bookshelves, all suggesting a more stable working reality for me and many of my colleagues.
A misconception exists that working for a large employer like Microsoft for many years is an easy deal. I can only speak for my profession – technical communication – but remaining competitive and ambitious within a large tech corporation is a prerequisite for survival. Here’s 4 more things I learned from my 10 (OK, 11) years at Microsoft:
1. Love the product more than your title. Large corporations offer an unmatched opportunity to impact products that are used by millions of people worldwide. Don’t accept a role working with technology, products, or services that don’t inspire you, even if the position you hold matches your preferred job title or skills. A corporate re-org can put you in this situation without your consent– don’t be afraid to begin your job search when that happens, either inside or outside the company you’re at.
The Dark Side of Mobile: did Syria use mobile technology to target journalists?
This report is special to Flip the Media by Joshua Cole and was originally posted on Thirdecade.
The video below from the New York Times is extraordinarily graphic and I do not recommend watching it with children or at work.
The video highlighted in this piece is by Robert Mackey and others who made there their way out of Syria in February and March were brought to us by a handful of journalists like the late Sunday Times writer Marie Colvin and murdered French cameraman Rémi Ochlik. Much of that footage is sent streaming via cell phone, a Mac mini and wi-fi technology. But that simple technology may also send a signal the Assad regime can use to pinpoint the position of journalists.
Viral Video of the Week–Fresh Prince of What?
I normally try to eschew the more commercial videos, but this one made me giggle.
So many of my friends are OBSESSED with Downton Abbey. I guess that’s what I get for hanging around with geeks–steampunk and Downton Abbey fill my social media feeds. So this video is for all of you DA aficionados.
I think that this should be the new intro credits for the next season. The only thing better would be if Maggie Smith were to do a rap. That would make my life complete.
Facebook IPO Woes
The countdown to Facebook’s highly anticipated IPO has begun. On April 23rd, Facebook filed its latest amendment to its registration with SEC. According to the filing, Facebook now boasts over 900 million monthly active users, with 300 million photos uploaded, and a whopping 3.2 billion likes and comments on the site every day.
While Facebook’s IPO day will almost certainly be spectacular, its long term success is far from assured. As a soon-to-be public traded company, Facebook faces a conundrum – the balance between shareholder and user interests.
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