Fueling the (MTV) Machine

posted on September 15th, 2009


Ugh. I don’t even know why I’m writing this. I said I wouldn’t, but I looks like the machine is powerful enough to push an independent hippie like me over to the dark side (or maybe it’s the light side – depending on your point of view) a little bit.

Before reading my drivel, I recommend reading Neil Bearse’s post on the matter. He hits the topic spot on; much better than anything I’m about to write.

Seeing the following tweet is actually what finally made me write this post:

Aww ... poor girl

By now I’m sure a lot of you know what happened with Taylor Swift and Kanye West at the MTV VMA (yes, it’s VMA not VMAs; the abbreviation is plural) on Sunday night.

I was Skyping with Rachel while she was watching the show and she freaked out when the ‘incident’ occurred. Soon after, people I follow on Twitter did the same (similar to the tweet above). Most of them felt for Taylor, yet a few people were giving kudos to Kanye.

Either way, everyone in this situation is raking in the money. I don’t have to tell you why because you’ve already read Neil’s post on it.

That said, I’m different. Even though my friend Justine was the Twitter Correspondent for the awards show, I still didn’t watch it. Sure, I’ve seen the ‘incident’ I’m discussing, but I don’t care for awards shows. Or much mainstream content for that matter. I let the news come to me. Rarely does crappy news like this come to me, but it’s hard to get away from on Twitter and when my girlfriend is up in arms about it while we’re on Skype.

I guess the point I’m getting across here is that I am different. And I reckon you should be too. There’s enough people glued to the television watching AI, SYTYCD, BB, and all the bad crap in the world that appears on news and currant affairs shows. Why don’t you discover something for yourself rather than letting people tell you what to buy, think, and do.

I love how the social/new media space is sticking it to the man. Well, until you put something on YouTube and the man takes it down. Or an event like The Webbies decides to give awards and now it’s no different than the MTV VMA. Ugh. Life is a cycle. Break it.

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  • mynameishayden
    I usually hate awards shows, especially the red carpet, but the VMA seemed different to the traditional style awards show. The performances were awesome.

    I don't have Foxtel, and so I tried to find video clips of it on the MTV website, but because I am in Australia, they are major failures, and don't allow the content to be viewed.

    It would be great if they did more with the internet, and I think they are starting to go into the right direction, with their prompt upload of videos online, blog posts and photos, and also the use of twitter to work with their viewers, but I think they need to take it a step forward. Maybe a few steps.

    They should broadcast the show online, and make it easy for people to access.

    Allow the content to the ENTIRE world. We shouldn't have to download software to cover up our IP so we CAN view the content.

    The internet is a large medium and now, there are a lot more people switching off the TV and using the internet as their source of content.

    I beleive that networks should utilize the internet to work for EVERYONE.

    haydenonline
  • I definitely agree about the restrictions on Internet content in Australia, Hayden! The reason they probably don't put the show live online is because of the sponsors that pay millions of dollars for advertising during the commercial breaks.

    Content providers all over the world have a huge opportunity to share events like this LIVE and put localised advertising on the page, as video overlays, and during commercial breaks. In Australia, we'd see relevant ads for companies like Optus and Apple with prices in AUD$.

    Hulu should be doing this too! After living in America for a year I realised how badly Australia has it. Sure, our landscape and cities are quite unique, but our technology is so messed up that I'm planning on moving to America. Americans come here on holidays for a reason; they know they can go back to good Internet and content when they get home.

    Oh, and airing Supernatural (and many other programs) a week after they air in the USA doesn't cut it. I'd be glad if they aired it here within 24 hours hours. Anything more and I'm going to find other ways to watch it.
  • mynameishayden
    Movie piracy is also a similar issue, most movies are released in the USA before Australia, plus the release of the movie on DVD (etc...). I beleive that there would be a drastic decrease in movie piracy if everything was distributed at the same date and time worldwide.

    I also think that content like TV shows should be licensed worldwide, not just in selected countries.
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