Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Trend Watch: Ryan Seacrest on the Future of Television and Entertainment

In an interview this month with Fortune Magazine Ryan Seacrest talks about what he considers the exciting future of entertainment. 

”We’re seeing platform, technology, and content all converging, and it’s happening quickly,” he says. “It’s exciting to me.

There’s an appetite for more original content than ever, and I have a company that creates content, whether it’s distributed in short form, reality form, live form, or game form.”

However, what stories might television viewers expect to see from the Emmy-award winning Jaime Oliver and record-breaking Kardashian’s producer?

However, what stories might television viewers expect to see from the Emmy-award winning Jaime Oliver 'Food Revolution' and record-breaking Kardashian’s producer?

Ryan reveals he desires: “to continue to produce shows that directly effect change. We’ve gone too long without addressing issues like child obesity, so to be able to tell those stories and help people through television is a powerful thing.”

You can read the entire piece in the January 2012 issue of Fortune Magazine.

Trend Watch: Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry

Quick. Tell me the age of the average game player. 12? 15? 17? Nope.

According to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the average game player age is 37.

Even more surprising is the finding that in 2011, 29% of gamers were over the age of 50. In all, 72% of American households play computer of video games.

Here are some other interesting stats from the 2011 Essential Facts About the Computer & Video Game Industry report released by ESA  on the demographics of video game players.

You can read the full executive summary after the jump.

Parents & Games

"Kids play video games for fun with the goal of progressing to the next level and eventually conquering the oppoent, whether that's another player or the computer.

What's more, the social aspect--sharing tactics, experience and explanations--help cemet what they've learned." ~ James Paul Glee, author of What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy

• 91% of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented

• 86% of the time kids receive their parents' permission before purchasing or renting a game

• 9 out of 10 parents pay attention to the content of the games their kids play

• 68% believe game play provides mental stimulation or education

Top Four Reasons Parents Play with Their Kids

• 85% Because they're asked to

• 84% It's fun for the entire family

• 81% It's a good opportunity to socialize with the kids

• 57% It's a good opportunity to monitor game content

Video Games and Parental Controls

• 98% of parents are confident in the ESRB ratings

• 86% of parents are aware of the ESRB rating system

• 75% of parents believe that the parental controls are useful

• 80% of parents place time limits on video game playing

• 74% of parents place limits on Internet usage

Gender & Gamer Demographics

"There are games now for pretty much every age, every demographic." ~ Jesse Schell, professor of entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University

• 58% Male 42% Female

• Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (37%) than boys age 17 or younger (13%)

• 33% of gamers say that playing computer or video games is their favorite entertainment activity

How Gamers Play

"Gaming is productive. It produces positive emotion, stronger social relationships, a sense of accomplishment, and for players who are a part of a game community, a chance to build a sense of purpose."  ~ Jane McGonigal, PhD. author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

• 55% of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device

• 65% of gamers play games with other gamers in person

• 47% play puzzle, board game, triva or card games

2011 Essential Facts: Video Game Industry

Infographic: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials & iGen Media Consumption

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via MBAOnline.com | View Large

Report: Minority Kids Spend Most of Their Waking Hours Plugged In

Minority children spend an average of 13 hours a day using mobile devices, computers, TVs and other media — about 4½ hours more than white kids, says a new report released earlier this month.

The findings, from Northwestern University, are being presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.

The results are from an analysis of two Kaiser Family Foundation surveys that tracked media use by kids 6 to 18.

Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they're plugged in on any given day.

Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use (13 hours, 13 minutes a day), followed by Hispanics (13 hours), blacks (12 hours, 59 minutes), and whites (8 hours, 36 minutes.)

via yourlife.usatoday.com

 

The report shows that compared with white children, minority youth:

• Watch TV and videos one to two hours more a day;
• Listen to music about an hour more a day;
• Use computers about 1½ hours more a day;
• Play video games 30 to 40 minutes longer a day. Black (84%) and Hispanic kids (77%) also are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms and to eat meals in front of the TV.

Read more about the Kaiser Family Foundation report on minority kids and media use >>>

Always Connected: The new digitial media habits of young children

Today’s parents, academics, policymakers and practitioners are scrambling to keep up with the rapid expansion of media use by children and youth for ever-larger portions of their waking hours.

This report by Sesame Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center takes a fresh look at data emerging from studies undertaken by Sesame Workshop, independent scholars, foundations, and market researchers on the media habits of young children, who are often overlooked in the public discourse that focuses on tweens.

The report reviews seven recent studies about young children and their ownership and use of media. By focusing on very young children and analyzing multiple studies over time, the report arrives at a new, balanced portrait of children’s media habits.

Always Connected was written by Aviva Lucas Gutnick, Michael Robb, Lori Takeuchi and Jennifer Kotler.

Always Connected: The new digitial media habits of young children

Trend Watch: Gen Y Affluents

Digital media is trouncing traditional channels with Gen Y, the largest U.S. consumer group. Deft marketers are recognizing the value of investing in their own sites, social media platforms, and mobile apps.

“It’s the ‘end of the beginning’ of a dramatic shift in ad-spending from traditional formats to digital. Power will shift as brands cultivate authentic relationships via social media, creating cohorts whose size dwarfs media brands’ subscriber bases.” ~L2 Founder and NYU Professor Scott Galloway

L2 surveyed nearly 1000 high-achieving and high-earning Gen Y adults for this study. Refined to a panel of 535, on average this sample set is on a trajectory to earn more than $80,000 in the short-term and double their income within the next five years.

Gen Y Affluents: Media Survey

KEY FINDINGS:

• Facebook, hands down: 81 percent of millennial use Facebook every day—nearly twice as many as watch TV or read newspaper content.

• Blogs scale the gates of the fourth estate: 45 percent read blogs every day, as many as those reading newspaper content.

• News brands thrive—it’s paper that’s dying: Nearly half read a newspaper every day, but 79 percent access that content digitally on a daily basis.

• Digital killed the TV set: 42 percent watch TV shows online; 27 percent watch movies online.

• The upwardly mobile go mobile: 25 percent use mobile to access social media, and one in eight watched a video on mobile in the past 24 hours.

• Digital branding is paramount: 63 percent use social media to engage with brands, and more than 50 percent say that Facebook, blogs, and brand videos affect their opinions about products.

• Websites are flagships, too: Websites are as influential as physical stores in shaping Gen Y sentiment, second only to friends’ opinions.

Boomers, Millennials & Gen X: We All Want to Be Young [VIDEO]

via vimeo.com

The movie "We All Want to Be Young" is the outcome of several studies developed by BOX1824 in the past 5 years. BOX1824 is a Brazilian research company specialized in behavioral sciences and consumer trends.

Some of the key generational characteristics (or insights) showcased in the film include:

• the sense of global, personal connection and collective consciousness enabled by the internet (and information age);

• a generalized sense of anxiety brought on by access to an overwhelming amount of information – and the need to stay connected across networks;

• use of hyperbolic language in self-expression, arguably to avoid getting ‘lost’ amidst this information overload;

• blurred definitions and categorizations of self (think designer-slash-DJ-slash copywriter-slash blogger);

• transience in short-term relationships;

• balancing work & pleasure by seeking out pleasure in short, pre-programmed breaks – this generation is used to having access to things that give them immediate pleasure.

Related: Watch 'We All Want to Be Young" in Spanish

Global Youth: Chinese Millennials' Use of Technology, the Internet, Social Media & Mobile Devices

Earlier this year Accenture released a report that found that young Chinese (14-27 years old) spend an average of 34 hours each week using real-time communications and social media/networking tools. At 34 hours a week, that number is almost triple the average of the other 12 countries profiled in the report.

Global Research on Millennials Use of Technology

Other key findings from the Accenture report:

• Chinese youth dwarfed other countries’ video game habits (14 hours compared to 3.4 for other countries);

• Online Shopping ( 5.1 hours vs. 1 hour for other countries);

• Virtual Worlds (5.3 hours vs. 1 hour for youth in other countries);

• Chinese youth are more obsessed with real-time chat at work than any other nation in the survey. Reporting that on average they spend 9.2 hours each week on instant messaging;

• Chinese are more enthusiastic about posting personal information on blogs or social networks than any other nation surveyed;

• Social profiling is most common in China where Millennials report that 50% of their time using SNS is spent trying to learn more about peers or superiors.

Chinese Youth and Social Networking

Currently the most popular social networking utilities for Chinese youth include QQ, MSN, RenRen and Kaixin. In China there are 640 million people under the age of 24. Like other markets, the Chinese SNS ecosystem is peppered with lots of niche communities.

Related: China’s Top 4 Social Networks

QQ, with 1 billion registered accounts (keep in mind that users are allowed to have multiple accounts, so that number skews a bit high), seems to be the leading SNS with Chinese youth and its revenues were reportedly four times higher than Facebook.

Chinese Youth, Mobile Phones and the Internet

Other key facts about Chinese use of the internet based on China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) data:

• By June 2010, Chinese internet users has reached 420 million, up 9.38% since Dec 2009;

• 41% of Chinese interet users are above 30 years old;

• 88% accessed the internet from home;

• 77% use mobile phone to access the Internet in their leisure time;

• Mobile IM is most popular application, used by 61% of Chinese Internet users;

• Chinese boys are more likely to own a mobile phone  before Chinese girls. In addition, the "network effect" appears to play a stronger role in the adoption of mobile technology among Chinese youth.

Family Online Safety Institute: 90% of parents have discussed Internet safety with their kids

According to the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) 90% of parents have had conversations about Internet safety with their kids? Have you?

Check out this video from FOSI called “Go Figure” to learn more about the digital habits of your teens.

 

Thanks to the Facebook Safety team for sharing this video!

Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century

According to a study from the Pew Internet & American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden, 2005), more than one-half of all teens have created media content, and roughly one-third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced.

In many cases, these teens are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures.

A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices.

A participatory culture is also one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created). Henry Jenkins: Participatory Culture & Media Education

A growing body of scholarship suggests potential benefits of these forms of participatory culture, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, a changed attitude toward intellectual property, the diversification of cultural expression, the development of skills valued in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship.

Access to this participatory culture functions as a new form of the hidden curriculum, shaping which youth will succeed and which will be left behind as they enter school and the workplace.

Social Networking Privacy Tips for Parents

TRUSTe, provider of the leading privacy trustmark, has announced the results of a survey of parents and their teenagers on social networking behaviors – the first national social networking privacy survey to be conducted on both parents and their teens that also measures parental expectations against actual teen behavior.

The study is titled “The Kids are Alright,” as it reflects in many ways parents and teens doing the right things on social networks.

The survey found that overwhelming 98 percent of parents indicate that both their teen’s privacy – as well as control over their own personal information – is important, very important or extremely important when using social media websites.

Social Networking Privacy Tips for Parents

The majority of parents and teens said they feel confident about the safeguards they have in place for their Facebook accounts, although 89 percent of parents want default privacy settings on all teen accounts to limit the amount of information that is public and to restrict advertiser and application access to their teen’s information.

Parents are looking for more direct ways to control their teen’s information and overall want greater control. Not surprisingly, most parents spend less time than teens on social networking and Facebook, although the majority of both groups checked Facebook at least once a day and frequently more often.

Related: Digital Parenting Resources: Teens, Social Media & Cyberbullying

Global ‘Digital Life’ research project reveals major changes in online behavior

The largest ever global research project into people’s online activities and behaviour – Digital Life – was launched earlier this week by TNS, the world’s biggest custom research company.

Covering nearly 90 per cent of the world’s online population through 50,000 interviews with consumers in 46 countries, the study reveals major changes in the world’s online behaviour.

Among the key findings of the study are:

• Globally, people who have on-line access have digital sources as their number one media channel. 61% of online users use the internet daily against 54% for TV, 36% for Radio and 32% for Newspapers.

• Online consumers in rapid growth markets have overtaken mature markets in terms of engaging with digital activities. When looking at behaviour online, rapid growth markets such as Egypt (56%) and China (54%) have much higher levels of digital engagement than mature markets such as Japan (20%), Denmark (25%) or Finland (26%). This is despite mature markets usually having a more advanced internet infrastructure.

• Activities such as blogging and social networking are gaining momentum at huge speed in rapid growth markets. The research shows four out of five online users in China (88%) and over half of those in Brazil (51%) have written their own blog or forum entry, compared to only 32% in the US.

• The Internet has also become the default option for photo sharing among online users in rapid growth markets, particularly in Asia. The number of online consumers who have ever uploaded photos to social networks or photo sharing sites is 92% in Thailand, 88% in Malaysia and 87% in Vietnam, whilst developed markets are more conservative. Less than a third of online consumers in Japan (28%) and under half of those in Germany (48%) have uploaded photos to such sites.

TNS Digital Life: Drivers of Online Behaviour

• Growth in social networking has been fuelled by the transition from PC to mobile. Mobile users spend on average 3.1 hours per week on social networking sites compared to just 2.2 hours on email. The drive to mobile is driven by the increased need for instant gratification and the ability of social networks to offer multiple messaging formats, including the instant message or update function.

• The digital landscape will change in the future. Research shows that consumers expect their use of social networking on mobiles to increase more than use through PC. In the US, for example, a quarter (26%) of online consumers expect their use of social networking on a PC to increase in the next 12 months compared to over a third (36%) who will be looking to their mobile to increase usage. In Australia the figures are 26% and 44% respectively, and in Sweden they are 28% and 53%.

TNS Digital Life: The North American Digital Landscape  

• Online consumers are spending more time on social networking sites such as Facebook. In rapid growth markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and China, the average time spent, per week, on social networking is 5.2 hours compared to only 4 hours on email.

• Online consumers in mature markets remain more reliant on email, spending 5.1 hours checking their inboxes compared to just 3.8 hours on social networking. The heaviest users of social networking are in Malaysia (9 hours per week), Russia (8.1 hours per week) and Turkey (7.7 hours per week).

• When it comes to who has more friends, online consumers in Malaysia tops the list with an average of 233 friends in their social network, closely followed by Brazilians with 231. The least social are the Japanese with just 29 friends and Tanzanians have, on average, 38 in their circle of friends. Surprisingly, Chinese consumers only have an average of 68 friends in their networks despite being heavy users of social networking sites, indicating a culture that embraces fewer but closer friendships.

Trend Watch: New Television & the Media Blender

Every electronic mass media format introduced in the 20th Century, including film, radio, and television, is now in the process of absorption into digital telecommunications networks.

To survive in the 21st century, the companies that produce and distribute traditional media types must adapt to an entirely new environment. The new networks include digital broadband provided by cable television system operators and telecommunications companies offering wireline and wireless access.

via vimeo.com

From the plasma screen in your media room, to the portable device in your pocket, to the side of a high-rise in Manhattan, savvy broadcasters are creating comprehensive "ecosystems" for rich media content with multiple consumer touch-points and immersive interactivity, blending television, web, movies and gaming to redefine the experience of television now and for the next generation.

The 2009 5D Conference explored the intersection of design and technology in the creation of "new television", the experience in front of the screen and the experience in the screen created by the blending of media and the interaction of the consumer.

In this clip, Robert Tercek addresses the vectors of change across all platforms of media and looks at the sphere of media industries that have been absorbed by the telephony sphere.

Common Sense Media Launches 'Power to the Parent' – A National Media Awareness Campaign

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that provides families with information about media and technology, launches its new multiplatform public awareness campaign Power to the Parent.

 Designed to educate parents about the impact that media has on kids' live and the importance of parents (and parenting) in this picture, the campaign is supported by a $40 million TV ad campaign, online manner ads, a microsite, and a social media component.

The goal of Power to the Parent is to get parents to be involved in kids' lives and how they are using media to help them make educated and safe choices when using various media. The campaign includes three parent-targeted TV spots, tilted Role Models, Stadium, and Time Spent, which are already airing and will continue to run over the next year.

Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, NBC Universal, and Time Warner Cable are supporting the TV campaign. The online initiative is supported by Common sense Media's partners Yahoo!, Facebook, GreatSchools, and Hulu, all of which will offer a connection to the campaign microsite via banner ads, links, and other content.

How Angry Birds Became a Hit [VIDEO]

I'm totally addicited. I have dreams about Angry Birds. I tweet about Angry Birds. I have opinions on which cartoon birds I like (those awesome yellow birds) and which ones I don't (those tucan-ish birds).

For those of you living in a cave, Angry Birds is the addictive game that has become the top iPhone app in the world.

The game has over 7 million downloads and is poised to be the next big entertainment franchise. Think Sponge Bob. Mark my words, Angry Birds is going to be huge.

 

via gigaom.com

Does Dr. Drew offer Angry Bird rehab yet?