Question 6 - Identify a form of digital culture (e.g. leet speak, memes, Youtube unboxing videos, glitch art, cyberbullying) that also has a distinct local or regional characteristic. Trace its history and using notable artefact(s), explain how this digital culture may be of significance to designers.
Alohaaa, on my last blog post, I asked a few questions regarding our revolutionised culture. Are YouTubers changing our culture for the better or the worse?
First of all, if it ever crossed your mind that our culture can be destroyed by whatever it is, just think about it, it cannot be.. Because culture is not solidify, it changes over time and it can never be destroyed or like disappear…
There are arguments on both sides regarding YouTubers & culture but we all know that, no matter which side you’re on, YouTubers aren't going anywhere. It’s a fact that they are revolutionary. And so far from the research I’ve done, they’re clearly changing our culture for the better. They’re changing the way the whole generation consumes entertainment and be selective of their influences (Chawla, 2014). Everything develops and become better and more advanced through time, and that’s what YouTubers are.
So, my next question is, will this Vlogging Culture benefit designers in any way?
You do not need the knowledge of math and science to analyse this question and work out its equation because if you’ve read all of the blog posts I put up, YES, IS THE ANSWER YOU KNOW IT. The question is how?
HOW
We all know that YouTube is by far the biggest video site on the planet earth; mainly for one reason: It connects people. Ok maybe two reasons: It has a little something for everyone regardless of your interests and passion. (Patel, 2014). It is literally for everyone of all ages.
In simpler words,
Designers + YouTube = More opportunities.
YouTube has over a billion users which means it can possibly get any information transmitted locally to globally. It is not only the size that is expanding but the velocity is accelerating as well because of the speed the information is shared (Bullas, 2012). The Vlogging culture can benefit designers in a number of ways and as a graphic designer, I will now focus on the benefits for graphic designers in particular.
First of all, as a graphic designer, advertising is vital to survive in this business industry and guess what?! YouTube is the platform to make successful advertising possible. The way I see it is that it can be broken down into two categories: Pay or Be Paid.
PAY (Money Out)
There are the viewers who watch videos made by the creators and then there are the advertisers who pay YouTube for advertising based on different advertising formats and a percentage of the money goes back to the creators (YouTube, n.d.). It’s a cycle.
YouTube Ads is one of the many effective ways to grow your business and reach new customers and it’s not as expensive as you think it is. Charges will only be applied if a skippable video Ad is viewed for more than 30 seconds (Siu, 2014).
Putting unimportant information aside, another form of advertising is through Vloggers. If you haven’t heard, Vloggers are setting the future shape of marketing and advertising (Chawla, 2014). Partnering or paying vloggers to advertise a product, brand, service or whatever it is that you want it to be known, is gold (Allsopp, 2015). They’re changing our advertising and marketing strategy and also, they have millions of viewers from all over the world which means they can help you reach an audience bigger than tv commercials could!
Many popular vloggers do promotional paid by adverts. An example would be Zoella, as mentioned before. In her vlogs, she’s been advertising products that doesn’t even come off looking like an advertisement to the viewers. Sometimes, it just seemed like it’s something she consumes or uses daily. Here are some examples:
Zoella mentioning her dog’s apparel that was sent in from Pet London to be advertise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_3VykE_A8.
Official Website of Pet London.
Zoella mentioning a face mask by a brand called Adore that was sent to her P.O. Box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAo9aajE7Uo.
Official Website of Adore.
Although there are issues regarding ‘hidden advertising’ by vloggers such as the The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), they are making vloggers declare that they have been paid to advertise a product because they think it is important that the viewers know when and what they are being marketed to so that the product is not falsely promoted. Also, the viewers should know that the vloggers are paid to say the things they say, instead of finding it out later and that could ruin their reputation (Harley, 2014).
I’ve never really see this as a problem but I do think that to be fair with everyone who is working in the advertising industry, and to be fair with the viewers as well because they obviously look up to their favorite vloggers a lot and to be fed with false information is like making use of their viewers/fans that they’ve built for so long. It is okay for vloggers to give shoutouts to brands or products but if they’re paid to do so, they should do it in a clear and upfront way with the audience (Lynch, 2014). But then again, if you are an advertiser, you wouldn’t want this issue to stand in your way because vloggers + advertising is very effective, hands down. But that is being selfish and not being considerate of others, I mean, this is a competitive world after all. Someone is going to be better than you so you gotta do whatever it takes to be on top. Overall, it really depends on how serious/severe the situation is.
I’ll continue with part two: Be Paid, on my next blog post. :) It is taking me so long to write one post..
References:
Allsopp, A. (2015) “YouTubers are taking over the internet & changing the entertainment industry”. Available at: http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/opinion/internet/youtube-vloggers-are-taking-over-internet/ (Accessed: 16 January 2016).
Bullas, J. (2012) “http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/05/23/35-mind-numbing-youtube-facts-figures-and-statistics-infographic/“. (Accessed: 15 Jan 2016).
Chawla, D. (2014) “The young vloggers and their fans who are changing the face of youth culture”. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/28/vloggers-changing-future-advertising (Accessed: 6 January 2016).
Harley, N. (2014) “Hidden advertising by vloggers under the spotlight”. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11255077/Hidden-advertising-by-vloggers-under-the-spotlight.html (Accessed: 17 January 2016).
Lynch, A. (2014) “ASA rules top vloggers like Zoella must tell fans when they’re being paid to advertise”. Available at: http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/26/asa-rules-top-vloggers-like-zoella-must-tell-fans-when-theyre-being-paid-to-advertise-4963669/ (Accessed: 17 January 2016).
Patel, S. (2014) “Why Video Games and YouTube Are a Perfect Match”. Available at: http://www.thevideoink.com/features/special-issue-tag/video-games-youtube-perfect-match/#.VpJvvZN95E4 (Accessed: 10 January 2016).
Siu, E (2014) “Looking For New Ways To Reach Customers? Try YouTube Advertising”. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/05/08/looking-for-new-ways-to-reach-customers-try-youtube-advertising/#2715e4857a0b4b08a3f77add (Accessed: 15 January 2016).
YouTube (n.d.) “How ads work on YouTube”. Available at: https://creatoracademy.withgoogle.com/page/lesson/ad-types?hl=en#yt-creators-strategies-4 (Accessed: 16 January 2016).
No comments:
Post a Comment