Medialoper

Chasing the long tail of new media

Archives for April 2007

The Daily Loper – April 30, 2007

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Time And Relative Dimension In Space Edition

Todays links of interest:

How To Save Network Television

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Last week, I noted two seemingly contradictory articles. The first commented on NBC’s apparent low ratings. The second (nice of me to put the two in one post, no?) talks about DVRs being used in greater numbers and increasing viewership of shows. One other statistic that has been buried in the news about viewership these past few weeks was that during the recent spate of reruns, viewers moved on.

Once upon a time, reruns were space fillers — when there were only three networks, the networks held the viewers captive. What were they gonna do? Watch something else? Ha.
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The Weekly ‘Loper – April 29, 2007

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While you were busy canceling yet another good TV show before it has a chance to find an audience, here’s what we were looking at:

The Daily Loper – April 27, 2007

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Oh My God, You’re Middle Management! Edition

Todays links of interest:

Sleep: That’s What I Really Like

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I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person. I once had a job where I had to be awake and alert at seven in the morning, five days a week. Everyone said I’d get used to it, but the truth of the matter is that every single morning was a struggle. While I’m sure that my particular fondness for sleeping late on Saturday mornings began long before that job, it was then that I began to covet those mornings.

Now, as I work nearly full-time (okay, it’s more than forty hours a week, it’s probably a little past “nearly”) on a consulting project in addition to my regular blogging schedule plus my other writing assignments, I find those Saturday mornings mean even more to me. I refuse to open my eyes until the sun is high in the sky.
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The Daily Loper – April 26, 2007

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Bleen, Yurple and Gred Edition

Todays links of interest:

  • FCC Report Urges Limits On TV Violence
    We are no fans of violence on TV, but no. Creating a law against TV violence is a bad bad idea.
  • Dog owners ‘fleeced’ in poodle scam
    If your dog bahahahas instead barks, that’s a pretty good indication something is wrong. The amazing thing about this story is it was only uncovered after a Japanese TV star brought her "dog" onto a talk show, only to be informed by the host that it was actually a lamb. That must have been an awkward moment.
  • "Drive" runs out of gas
    This, right here, is why we hate it when an interesting new series premieres on FOX. It also becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because lots of people no doubt stayed away for that reason, hastening the cancellation. Too bad, because "Drive" had energy, it had potential, and most of all it had Nathan Fillion. Bite us, FOX.

    • [Read more…] about The Daily Loper – April 26, 2007

Furries and Griefers on the Campaign Trail: Presidential Politics In Second Life

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John Edwards Campaign HQ Defaced In Second Life My first Medialoper assignment and I’ve already missed a deadline.

Lopy e-mailed me last night to remind me that my story must be filed no later than 5 a.m. By 8 a.m., my voice mail was full, and I was ignoring Lopy’s frantic IMs. The general election is over 18 months away. Why the hell do I have a 5 a.m. deadline in April of 2007?

For the record, Linden Lab performed a major upgrade yesterday, and the grid was down much longer than anticipated. On top of that, I’m in the process of setting up a compound deep in one of the most remote regions of Second Life. My hut is located on the Eastern edge of the universe (literally) and is surrounded by water as far as the eye can see (at least until a casino or strip club moves in next door). It’s the perfect place for me to focus on covering a campaign as strange as the 2008 presidential race is shaping up to be. Lopy’s ludicrous 5 a.m. deadlines are no help at all.

By now, all of the leading Democratic presidential candidates have set up headquarters in Second Life. The media coverage of these campaigns has been muddled, skeptical, and occasionally mocking. For reporters who can’t tell the difference between a virtual world and a video game, there’s no apparent reason for the campaigns to be here. Those same reporters are overlooking the fact that presidential campaigns are already a game, and moving that game into a virtual world full of sex-crazed furries and flying penises is a logical progression in the already weird history of American politics.

[Read more…] about Furries and Griefers on the Campaign Trail: Presidential Politics In Second Life

The Daily Loper – April 25, 2007

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All the Agents and the Superhuman Crew Edition

Todays links of interest:

MySpace Takes the Social Out of Social News

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When the world’s most popular social network decides to get into the social news business, you expect them to make it, well, social. On the contrary, the new MySpace News site is anything but social. In fact, MySpace has left out just about every feature that makes competing social news sites like Digg and Reddit so popular and addictive.

There’s ample opportunity for innovation in social news. The current leading sites tend to have a decided tech slant. As a result there’s plenty of room for social news that is either more general in focus, or more narrowly targeted to a niche not well served by Digg and others. MySpace News does nothing to capitalize on this opportunity.

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The Daily Loper – April 24, 2007

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Mellifluous Box Edition

Todays links of interest: