Week 2 Reflections

Last month Variety published a report stating that YouTube celebrities were more popular than traditional celebrities in a study of 13-18 year olds. This clip from Shane Dawson ranked #8 of 20 on the list has garnered over 12 million views.

Reflecting on our supplemental readings, I think it is fascinating to think media companies may have to increasingly compete with a substitute such as YouTube star Shane Dawson (though I don't know close a substitute) that offers a cheaper (free w/ internet connection) alternative,  is more agile/adaptive, and doesn't have to follow many of the same rules of media companies. Additionally Dawson can continue collecting ad revenue for the foreseeable future on several videos simultaneously with virtually no distribution cost.

I'm also curious about how remix culture impacts the supply and demand relationship of media. From personal Twitter accounts to established, large-traffic blogs there are media entities that thrive off the remix, repurposing and reposting of another source's media. These consumer-producers are aggregators, memes, YouTube channels dedicated to producing show recaps. I'd like to spend a few minutes in class discussing this if there is some time available.

Finally, reflecting on the attention issue presented in the readings, I'm curious to know if there is evidence media consumers feel obligated/pressured to having knowledge and a voice about larger/macro issues rather than local issues? Are there certain types of knowledge that are considered more important than others?