Parents and Video Games

Parents and Violent Video Games

I love playing video games, and between my boyfriend and I we have more than 5 video game systems. I will also admit that some of the video games we most enjoy playing are M-rated games. As enjoyable as these games are for us to play, I don't think I'd ever let my child play them until I think that he/she is mature enough to handle the content.

It's unfortunate that children these days have ways to get around their own parents' decisions. Even if they are told that they cannot have something, children have peers that they can borrow from. With the internet now a powerful tool at the younger generations' disposal, children can bypass any age restrictions on video games and movies by purchasing them online.

The ESRB has ratings for a reason, and while I'm not saying that no child should ever play an M-rated game, I am saying that parents need to be more mindful of what their children are doing. They cannot monitor their child 100% of the time, but they can make efforts to at least make sure that their child is not buying and playing these games for themselves until the parents think that they are ready. This may vary from child to child, or from parent to parent. That is why it's also important for parents to be mindful of the rules that their child's friends' parents have set.

The video used footage from M-rated video games. I believe that these clips sum up the main reasons why M-rated games are rated for mature audiences. I also used a clip from Robbie Cooper's "Immersion" case study, which showed the expressions of children playing video games. I highly recommend going to Cooper's website and taking a look at the whole project. It's interesting, and slightly eerie. In fact, I was trying to go for a creepy undertone with this movie.

There is a constant debate on who is responsible for keeping mature content out of the hands of children. Parents blame the industries that provide the content, saying that they need to make it harder for youths to obtain it. The industries blame the parents, saying that they need to take the parenting into their own hands and do their job to watch their own kids. Technically, enforcing strict regulations on purchasing media is unconstitutional, and has been attempted many times by Congress, to no avail. That is why, as much as I feel that the industries need to do their own part to enforce age restrictions, parents need to have the final authority to keep unwanted content out of their homes and their children's hands.

A Web 2.0 Revolution? Maybe Not.

At first glance, this seems to be a huge leap forward of the Web 2.0 generation using technology to make a huge impact on the world. In a protest against corrupt politics, about 10,000 young protestors made their way to the capital of Moldova, organized through Facebook, Twitter, and text messages, to speak out against Communist president Vladimir Voronin.

But, as Anne Applebaum explains, the "Twitter Revolution" may not be as impressive as it looks from a social networking aspect. Just how big of an impact did Twitter have in this protest?

First, and most striking, is the number of Moldovans who actually use Twitter. As of April 7, right after the event, there were only 71 Twitter users from the area. Secondly, with more than 10,000 protestors, the massive turnout seems far too large to be organized through social media alone. In fact, further research on the organization of it all has determined that many of the protestors, some themost active protestors in the crowd, were national security guards. The preparation involved would have been too difficult for ameteurs with no governmental connections to be able to pull off, such as climbing onto the parliament roof and raising a flag.

So, was this all a massive fraud? Well, no. Facebook and Odnoklassniki.ru, a Russian networking site, were major contributors to the turnout on April 7th (although, again, the networking done on those websites was probably only enough to bring in about 1000 protestors). Even if social media was not used at all, this is still newsworthy. Perhaps people should stop getting hung up on conspiracies and look at the larger picture of citizens coming together to fight for fair politics and uncorrupt elections.

On a final note, the next time you're on Twitter, do a search for #pman. The updates on this topic are quite interesting to go through.

Rebranding and Public Reaction

In my opinion, a company is only as good as its packaging. It may be the best product in the world, but if it's branding sucks it's just not going to fly. Branding is a huge part of any product, and every now and then companies get the idea that they're just not hip, contemporary, or fun enough for the times and rebrand. Sometimes the rebranding is brilliant and works in the company's favor...and sometimes it doesn't.

Last month, the SciFi channel, after 16 years, decided to rebrand. Among other things, the network has changed the spelling of it's name, ever so slightly, to "SyFy". Granted, their decision was not solely for hip or trendy purposes. The word SyFy can actually be copyrighted, something that the channel could not previously do. As UnderConsideration's Brand New site appropriately explains, "by changing its name to something that is phonetically identical yet spelled like a 3-year-old text messaging, it can become wholly ownable and mutated (pun intended) across different ventures like Syfy Games, Syfy Films and Syfy Kids".

Despite the negative feedback on the logo design and the name change, it seems as though the network is not budging on its decision. Don't despair, people, we can make a difference if we really try. Just look at Tropicana's rebranding mishap.

So, what does this have to do with PR? In essence, it is the PR rep's job to manifest branding into something that the consumer can connect to. They complete the brand, glorify the brand, and help to insert the brand into consumer culture. The question is, can good PR and marketing make up for an otherwise disastrous branding attempt?

The Many Faces of Viral Video

Viral videos are defined by the Free Dictionary as "a video that spreads quickly via the Internet. It is often a short clip on a video sharing site such as YouTube that people reference in blogs, e-mails and instant messages". Note the bold text in that statement. First, a viral video spreads quickly, hence the name "viral". Anything referred to as viral suggests that it is virus-like, spreading throughout its host, in this case the internet. Secondly, these videos tend to be short and sweet. Like an annoying jingle that gets stuck in your head, viral content is usually not too long and very memorable. This isn't always the case, but very rarely does long content catch on. Lastly, the content is referenced. It is common marketing knowledge that the best advertising is through word of mouth, and viral content is no different. The more blogs, websites, and e-mails content is found on, the better.

Viral marketing is a highly valuable tool of Web 2.0-saavy PR reps. However, not all viral marketing is done by professionals. Whenever a Youtube user makes a video with a company's label on it, they are participating in viral marketing. Whether the videos these average users post are positive or negative to the companny's image is a different story.

Viral content can also be used to give attention to important messages. PSAs, news, politics, and other issues can be posted online to make more people aware of things that may previously have been ignored or taken for granted. A recent example is the viral video of Taliban influence in Pakistan. The viral video is not advertising anything, but the information is important and is now more public than it may have been before.

Austin-based Hourville Looks Promising

Move over Craigslist, Austin has a new website to give you a run for your money.

Hourville, a brand new website launched only late last year, appears to be much like any other business listing online. It takes business listings and categorizes them. However, unlike those other listing sites, this one takes connections between employers and applicants a step further.

According to Austin Business Journal (available RIGHT NOW on the first floor of Moody for you St. Ed's kids), "HourVille also includes a Web-based tool that enables users to schedule appointments without going to another Web site or engaging another contact".

To better understand how HourVille works, I visited the website, still in it's beta stage, and typed in "Austin, TX" to see what was available in my area. Visually, it's a lot more stimulating than Craigslist, giving users much more of a "Web 2.0" experience. The categories are separated in three distinct columns: selling, businesses, and advertisements. I'm also a fan of the "How It Works" page, which shows you how the website works, not in detailed paragraphs, but in movie form. Fun if you're at home, but inconvenient if you're at work, school, or the library.

The Rice Alliance I.T. and Web 2.0 Venture Forum voted HourVille one of the top 10 most promising Web 2.0 companies. The premise definitely looks promising, but we'll see how this site develops past its beta stage.

Is This the Life You Had in Mind?

When someone tells you to "get a life", maybe they're not really being rude. Maybe they're just telling you that you need to try out Second Life, a social networking tool that allows people complete freedom in a world as mild or crazy as only your imagination will let it become.

Second life has it's share of pros. As a networking tool, it allows strangers, friends, and even companies to come together and chat in a virtual world that is visually stimulating to keep meetings lively and offers users a chance to show off a bit of creativity. Even if you're in your pajamas at home, you can still make a meeting with your avatar in your company's Second Life conference room. Your company may even have their own island that you can jet over to in virtually no time at all. (sorry! I had to.)

However, from my own experience, Second Life either needs a complete makeover, or it is doomed to fade away. In all honesty, Second Life is the same as any MMORPGs (Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games for people who have never heard of FFXI, Ragnarok, Warcraft, or any of the like) online today. You log in, show off your character, show off your virtual possessions, and get bored over time. You will slowly, but surely, abandon your character, quit paying your monthly fees, and leave your hours and hours of time and energy (and button mashing) alone to rot.

The graphics are subpar to what technology can develop today. Unfortunately, if SL does decide to give its polygons a makeover, it will be at the expense of bandwidth that many casual internet-goers may no longer have. Plus, Second Life is, in many ways, trashy. Giving people the freedom to do and place what they like in a virtual world will ultimately lead to some not-so-pleasant excuses for architecture and decor. Also, as with every MMO, the people you interact with are complete strangers who may or may not have decent grammar and manners. The content does not stay fresh enough to keep people entertained for long.

As a PR or company tool, I can see the benefits of Second Life as a conference room or marketing base. However, what meeting can you accomplish in Second Life that you cannot accomplish via video telecommunication? Why design a pseudo headquarters in a virtual world when the numbers of regular occupants in said world is decreasing steadily? Companies such as Reuters are finally getting it and closing shop on their Second Life bases.

Second Life may be a great resource for some companies, but it seems an almost unnecessary tool in a technologically growing world that has many more interactive, mature, and accessible techniques to communicate with colleagues and coworkers alike. The style seems dated, users tend to get bored and move on over time, and the whole concept seems destined to disappear soon. Sure, there are still plenty of people on Second Life, and I've poked around there myself. I, personally, found nothing really noteworthy of the program, and not even that much merit from a PR standpoint, but maybe I'm just biased because my dad was a software engineer for video teleconfrencing programs?