The ShenBot

As I sit here trying to think about what to write for this week’s blog post, I’m finding it challenging to get out of my Twitter-centric mindset as I’ve been focusing my module paper on the topic of the microblogging service. But, there were some things in the news that were of particular interest to me, and they’re all extensions of things we’ve either discussed in class, things we’ll be discussing in class or things I’ve discussed on this very blog. I figure a little mishmosh isn’t so bad every once in a while.

The big news is that Engadget is reporting that Apple has applied for a trademark on the name APPLE as it relates to gaming devices. Holla! This struck a chord with me because of the Gaming 2.0 post I did last week – There is no argument that gaming is becoming more mainstream. Take the Nintendo DS system – it’s perfectly portable and promotes games for kids AND adults, specifically the Brain Age game. I can’t tell you how many people I saw playing that game on the subways when I still lived in New York – it was just as popular as the crossword or Sudoku. Now imagine the increased popularity if that gaming device was looped in with a phone/iPod. Of course, this is all just speculation since Apple hasn’t announced anything – they’ve only applied for the TM. But, it is wonderful to imagine.

I also encountered an article in the New York Times about job interviews taking place in MUVEs, or multi user virtual experiences – i.e. Second Life. Matt Villano takes us step-by-step through the process of signing up for an SL account and how he felt his in-world interview went. The article was sparse – no question. It basically said nothing that had not been discussed before. He didn’t go deep enough into this concept that other corporations other than Linden may still be using Virtual Experiences to interview potential clients and how they would go about getting a sense of the person solely from an avatar to avatar interaction. I was also confused why this article was coming out now when it can be argued Second Life is already on its way out of the popularity bubble. The concept of holding virtual job interviews is fascinating – if other companies outside of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Web 2.0 bubble are conducting them.

And lastly, I stumbled upon an article in Ars Technica discussing how music album sales can be directly linked to “blogger buzz” on the web prior to an album’s release. There was a direct correlation between how much bloggers favored an album or how many MySpace friends a band had to how well their album would sell upon its release. What is interesting about this is the study shows that this blogger buzz is sometimes far more effective than traditional marketing tactics, however, it was stated that it still can’t beat a good review in Rolling Stone Magazine. It was a telling article as it relates to the marketing industry, though, and how traditional marketers are being forced to wear new, viral hats in order to achieve their goals. In all, I’m sure it still depends on the audience a marketer is trying to tap – but more and more people are responding to this viral buzz than traditional media marketing. I’m curious to know how this is affecting the industry, if/where there is still a need for “traditional” marketing and how, like in the newspaper industry, marketers are evolving to meet a changing need.

Any thoughts?