Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Serena Williams Tweet

"Okay, so I know that a lot of you are at work! Do you all sneak on twitter on your phones or use your work computers? Do you get in trouble?"
-Serena Williams Twitter

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Hardly Working at College Humor



The show seems to be set in the college humor offices. This is an interesting statement about the nature of the collaborative process for workspace media content.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Cyber Monday

It strikes me that the holiday shopping that takes place on Cyber Monday is a very early example of workspace media. Why wait until Monday when you are back to work to start shopping? Because of faster computers and secure lines?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Muppets using Workspace Media



Latest viral video shows Muppets using workspace media. Pay attention to the end.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Mobile Workspace Media with the Windows Phone



As windows attempts to enter the 3G mobile market they have been advertising during sporting events for the Windows Phone. A major selling point of the advertisement is the idea that this phone will allow users to have the complete versions of programs that work on their computers. The desire to have these programs is expressed in this commercial. A man bored in a meeting invites a Facebook application into the boardroom via his phone. When the staff suspiciously looks at him he calls up an Excel document. Interesting in this advertisement is the target audience for this phone; a board middle aged man. The idea of duplicity or la perroque that the phone allows; you can actually hide your distraction under the table. Also the idea that this phone is necessary for work and play.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Break.com's Man in the Box


Man In The Box - Saras Class Reunion 2 - Watch more Man In The Box

This entire site, Break.com, focuses on humor and male popular culture in its presentation of web content. This web series, Man in the Box, is about cubicle life.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sponsored Web Series



As advertisers and the creative industry workers continue to collaborate in the creation of web series I am increasingly interested in the way in which the brand of the products or services influences the genre and narratives of the content. In this series, IKEA has done the majority of the financial backing and thus the genre becomes a workspace comedy. As streaming video is increasingly colonized by advertisers and entertainment industry creative teams it will be fun to watch how the user generated genres that have been established on YouTube will co-exist with more traditional industry genres. Despite the amount of stars in this series it really seems to struggle to be anything more than a commercial.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Lunchtime is the New Prime Time with Fox

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=foxsports&from=metadatawidget_en-us_foxpsorts_videocentral&vid=5ff6342c-205f-42e2-8abe-431187af000a" target="_new" title="Cubed: Episode 5">Video: Cubed: Episode 5</a>

Fox television is currently running an advertisement during their coverage of the MLB playoffs for an internet service that they claim will bring "primetime to lunchtime." This information comes after recent research by Visible Measures that states that internet traffic increases on video websites during the "lunch hour." Fox has chosen to serve this audience by offering daily sports programming. Of the hour block the most interesting show is an homage to the Office called, Cubicle. The show "stars" a group of office workers who use the internet to settle disputes and create top ten lists. I am, as ever, fascinated by the development of the workspace audience and the assumption that that audience is male and interested in sophomoric comedy.

article on research:

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-lunchtime-is-the-new-primetime-2009-10

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Ctrl at NBC.com




Ctrl a web show at NBC.com is based on the idea of a magic keyboard. An cubicle bound employee played by Arrested Development's Tony Hale uses the keyboard to torture his boss and co-workers. The show is sponsored by Nestea and is incorporated into the diegesis of the story as a bottle of the beverage is spilled on the keyboard to begin the hi-jinx.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Madison and Vine in a Viral Video



The commercial for the new version of Microsoft Office has reached number 4 on the viral video chart. It seems to be taking notes directly from Donaton's Madison and Vine. It combines a satirical secret agent spot with information about the new office software. Comedy is key in this video as it self-consciously comments on the un-sexiness of a new software package.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Goldblum and Collective Intelligence

Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorJeff Goldblum



I have been reading Collective Intelligence by Pierre Levy this past week and I have been struck by his compelling writing style. I am not, however, convinced by his Utopian assertions. I wanted to provide a link to a recent example of "collective intelligence." Perhaps Levy underestimates the awesome allure of goofing off.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

"Evony" a Workspace Media Massive Multiplayer



A desktop game that advertises its utility at "the office" or "the school." It argues that it will fix boredom and avoid detection. The game is similar to the Age of Empires but all of the saved information is stored online so that the user can access their game from whatever portal they can access. The advertising banners use the above appeal which focuses om cleavage.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pogo.com



Friday, June 26, 2009

TV Everywhere


The Big News this week in the internet video world was the agreement between Time Warner and Comcast to create a content portal called TV Everywhere. The website would authenticate users as Comcast cable subscribers and make available to them cable channel content from Turner, Rainbow Media, Scripps, A&E and Comcast (these are the initial partners). Though the name suggests that the service would lend itself to Workspace Media activity the details suggest otherwise. Reporting by blogs such as PaidContent.org, NewTeeVee and magazines like Wired have explained that TV Everywhere will adopt the traditional television model of full commercial breaks as opposed to the Hulu method of 30 second spots. The strategy is a much more attractive to content providers but privileges a more traditional viewing context. Instead of short clips the content would be like...well watching TV everywhere. I am anxious to see how the service will be marketed and which programs will be most popular. Based on my research on popular online content I would wager that E! and G4 will be most streamed offerings.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Web Series

Episode 6 from The Cheeseburger Show on Vimeo.




Web series such as The Guild, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and Chef Kevin Pang's Cheeseburger Show are a different breed from Workspace Media. They are longer than most internet video and they approximate the style of a television show, a variety show segment or a film. These examples demonstrate that there are all kinds of audio/visual content on the web. Yet I am struck by the similarity in tone between workspace media comedy and these more professional shows.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Reaction Videos




Random Hilarity: How To Rick Roll Somebody




Viral Video memes like, "Keyboard Cat," "Rick-Rolling," and "2-Girls-1 Cup" are interesting for their function more than their content. These videos demonstrate an audience practice related to pranking. The videos are sent to subvert the expectations of the user. Their effectiveness is due to the cultural understanding that anything is possible on the internet. The video being sent to you from a friend could contain anything and the moment of pressing play is a moment of endless possibility. These videos are the punch-line or pay-off to a moment of tension.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Countdown's Oddball Segment



Keith Olbermann's Countdown news program on MSNBC has adapted the "lighter side of the news" convention and given it a viral flair. The daily segment entitled, "Oddball" consists of viral videos and a humorous and sarcastic voice-over. It works in the sense that it balances the more serious and bombastic portions of the show. Thus internet video is assigned the role of the humorous break from the more serious issues of the day (i.e. workspace media).

ESPN 360 and Billy Mays



The advertisements for ESPN's internet channel, ESPN 360 specifically identified the workspace as a venue for entertainment. The tone of the ad is indicative of the prankster aesthetic that I will be discussing in my dissertation. This aesthetic is performed in the selection of the infomercial style of the video and the testimonials of the satisfied customers. The ad identifies new media technology as a capable of performing multiple tasks and it suggests that those tasks should be balanced, work is "soul crushing" and live sports are the answer.

Hulu Commercials



Hulu is an internet video social networking site. Hulu's advertisements rely on spokespeople from television texts with a cult following. They represent internet video viewing as an activity associated with the workspace. The tone is irreverent and humorous. The interactive applications featured in the ads are designed to harness the enthusiasm of fans and the viral capabilities of internet viewing.

See all the ads here: http://www.hulu.com/hulu-tv-ads

Tosh.0: Demi Bush

Tosh.0Thurs, 10pm / 9c
Unfollow Ashton Kutcher
www.comedycentral.com
Daniel ToshMiss Teen South CarolinaDemi Moore Picture


Tosh.0 is an entire show on Comedy Central about internet video culture. The host is a comedian who replicates a sensibility that I have argued is the basis for workspace media. The form and content of this show relates to other efforts by the entertainment industry to highlight the web's utility for humorous transgression and workspace multitasking.

Highlights of this Particular Clip:

Prankster - against Ashton's blog
Pornographic - Celebrity Nudity
Comedy - irreverent "helping underprivileged kids go to community college"

Comfort Wipe



This is a recent infomercial that has risen to viral prominence because of its unusual premise. The video is currently the second most viral video according to Unruly Media's viral video chart. This user identified content is consistent with popular viral memes in that it employs sarcasm, bathroom issues, advertising and a prankster aesthetic.

Deadline Post-it Stop Motion



This user generated video is the current #1 most viral video according to Unruly Media's Viral Video Chart. The producers of this short have decided to represent many of the issues that I will discuss in my dissertation. They depict the workspace as a portal for work and play. The identification of these dual desires within new media technology appears to be resonating in this popular clip.