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Blogging is the new black, but what interrupts the hype surrounding this new media form is the simultaneous rise of astroturfing.
My first videoblog entry responds to the age-old (if the ‘age’ began in the last few years) question- What is Astroturfing? It provides a background context from which future vlogs will expand, focusing on the term itself and whether people understand its meaning.
Equal to the utility of the private individual to jump on board this new craze has been that of the technically savvy corporations in the business world. For them, blogs provide a new route by which their target publics can be persuaded. The anonymity of online communications prevents astroturfing from being immediately recognised, but the first step is to raise awareness of the practice itself.
This vlog entry tries to take a creative approach to exposing the lack of awareness for the term 'astroturfing', and in the process seeks to educate the viewer what it is on simple terms.
Understanding astoturfing is MUCH easier than walking in three-inch heels. Still confused? Don’t worry, hit play, kick back and be confused no more.
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Media, Images and People used in Episode One:
(00:00:00) Music: Ring tone from Optus Zoo www.optuszoo.com.au [1]
(00:00:21) People: iGeneration Honours Class
(00:00:36) Definition and web page: ‘Astroturfing.’ (2006). Wikipedia: The Free Encylopedia. [online] Retrieved 16 September 2006: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing [2]
(00:01:04)Voiceover: Paul Young (2006). ‘Hack.’ (radio broadcast), Triple J [online] Retrieved 20 August 2006: www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/podcast [3]
(00:01:09) Webpage: Seth Godin (2006). Seth Godin’s Blog. [online] Retrieved 14 September 2006: http://sethgodin.typepad.com [4]
(00:01:06) Webpage: Christina Jones (2006). eBeautyDaily: the beauty blog. [online] Retrieved 14 September 2006: www.ebeautydaily.com/category/cosmetics [5]
(00:01:12) Image: Ms Fits (2006). ‘Old people getting it done.’ Reasons You Will Hate Me. [online] Retrieved 14 September 2006: http://reasonsyouwillhateme.blogspot.com/2005/11/when-people-just-dont-d... [6]
(00:01:13) Image: eecue (2006). ‘crowd.’ [online] Retrieved 14 September: www.flickr.com/photos/eecue/241979807 [7] (Creative Commons Attribution licence).
(00:01:24) Webpage: oppenheim99805 (2006). ‘Coke Zero gets sued by Coke.’ YouTube. [online] Retrieved 14 September 2006: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-s_TAgM2_M [8]
(00:01:31) Webpage: ‘After Fake Blog, Coke Zero Moves on to YouTube Video.’ (2006). AdRants. [online] Retrieved 14 September 2006: www.adrants.com/2006/07/after-fake-blog-coke-zero-moves-on-to-you.php [9]
(00:02:05) Interviews: Six students from Public Relations (Advanced Techniques) postgraduate class at Curtin University of Technology. Filmed with their permission.
(00:02:05) Music: Background radio played in café where it was filmed.
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