Derek E. Baird, M.Ed.

Dear Evan Hansen, Teen Broadway fandoms, and Mental Health on Tumblr and Instagram

Dear Evan Hansen (DEH) is a social media-centric musical that has been widely celebrated by a show-specific online fan community, known as ‘Fansens’, on Instagram and Tumblr, having won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2017. 

The growth of this fandom, on these platforms, is unique as Fansens have adopted plot points and thematic elements from the musical relating to how social media affects social anxiety, depression, and suicide to create fan art and fanfictions that, in turn, result in a community of care on social media where fans can discuss their own encounters with social anxiety, teen suicide and cyberbullying.

Though most Fansens would not have been able to see the musical performed on Broadway or live in-person, their fanfictions, personal posts, and fan art reflect and refract the difficulties that young people have with mental health, social anxiety, and suicide.

Using both digital methods and post-structuralist textual analysis, written by Derek E. Baird and Jarrod Walczer, analyses numerous fan cultural artifacts collected from DEH-specific hash-tagged posts on Tumblr and Instagram.

In doing so, this article provides a new perspective on the role that fan communities, their artifacts, their use of digital media, and their fan activist and upstanding techniques can play in providing avenues of self-care and modeling positive online support for those dealing with mental health issues.

By examining the emotional resonance between the characters, plot points, and music of DEH, and the fandom that spontaneously grew around it, we maintain that fandom studies scholars can gain a richer understanding of how visual media and fandom can be used to foster unity among young people and combat social issues both on social media and in the corporeal world.

You can read the full article here, or you can read a synopsis of our research over on Medium. You can access the full article on the Journal of Fandom website.

Case Study: How I Grew A GIPHY Channel from Scratch to 14 Million GIF Views

Like most successful recording artists, the COVID-19 outbreak in March brought everything — live concerts, recording, and fan events — to a screaming halt. After the initial shock of lockdown, Chris Mann got busy creating coronavirus parody videos that unintentionally went internationally mega-viral.

In addition to using Facebook and YouTube to distribute the videos, I also looked at ways to make the video content evergreen, grow his fanbase, allow fans to participate, show his lesser-known comedic personality, and tap into the cultural conversation around the COVID-19 outbreak.

While we had previously used GIPHY, the animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) hadn’t been, up to that point, a priority social platform for our digital content, culture, or community strategy.

Fast forward a pandemic and five months later, and we’ve seen the GIPHY channel grow from a couple of thousand GIF views to nearly 14 Million GIF views (as of this post) in just a few months.

Over on Medium, I wrote up a small case study sharing the content, culture, and fandom strategies I’ve learned from growing the GIPHY channel from nearly zero to 14 million GIF views.

Trend Watch: How Brat Built An ‘Always On’ Gen Z Media Empire

As TV continues to be an increasingly fragmented medium, entertainment brands are struggling to figure out the best way to reach Gen Z audiences. One company, however, seems to have cracked the code.

Brat, the Gen Z-focused digital studio, and network, already has nearly 2.5 million subscribers on its YouTube channel and is capturing the attention of teens and tweens with original scripted content like Chicken Girls.

Read more of my latest piece on Gen Z, Brat and the future of TV over on Gen Z Pop! magazine.

Infographic: Gen Z and the Future of TV

Gen Z is the first generation that has had access to on-demand television content for a majority of their lives. Yet, questions still remain around how these digital natives actually consume content, as well as what their attitudes are towards video advertising in comparison to Generation X and Millennials. That is until now.

In a quest to better understand Generation Z, Hulu partnered with Tremor Video to survey over a thousand respondents ages 14-50 on their TV and SVOD consumption habits and digital video advertising preferences. 

And, with the help of the Center of Generational Kinetics, the results provide a window into the variance in behaviors and preferences across three generations – Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

From binge-watching, to using TV as a social capital, the future of TV is intertwined across a range of Gen Z preferences and behaviors.

Here's some of the key findings from the Hulu Insights team:

• 70% of Gen Z respondents equate “watching TV” with watching via an online source.
• Gen Z is less likely to actively avoid watching advertising and over 50% said they don’t mind or actually enjoy watching TV ads.
• 60% of Gen Z respondents prefer to “binge” a show, watching multiple episodes at a time – compared to only 40% of Gen X.
• Gen Z is driven by a need to be “in the know” about TV in order to be part of the social conversation. 20% have posted about a show… without actually watching it!

Related

• Cornucopia of Children's Content Comes to Streaming Services
• Derek E. Baird Blog Category > TV
• Most Popular SVOD & TV Apps for Kids
• Disney's New Platform Could Be The Streaming King for Kids SVOD

Photo Credit:  Victoria Heath on Unsplash

#YouWillBeFound: Teens, Social Media Artifacts and 'Dear Evan Hansen'

My colleague Jarrod Walczer and I have been working on a book chapter for a forthcoming publication about the upstander culture sprouting up around the hit Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen and the visual social media artifacts being created by teens.

 

We've spent the last few months scouring Instagram and Tumblr and reading countless numbers of Dear Evan Hansen posts, visual social media and culled data on thousands of posts.

 

It's been a pretty amazing, and, to be honest at times, a humbling experience. But mostly, it's heartbreaking to read how disconnected and alone the most connected generation in human history feels from the real world.

 

Either way, one thing has become very clear: it's hard to be a teen in the social media age. So much harder than most adults can even comprehend. 

We've learned a lot, developed a deep respect for the Fansen fandom, the Evan Hansen cast and most especially, Ben Platt.  As we delve deep into the culture of Evan Hansen, and read the personal stories of these teens, it's clear that Mr. Platt is holding the hopes and emotional fears of many young fans on his shoulders.

Yet, night after night, he continues to carry the emotional weight of the role, he continues to be gracious with his fans and greets them with a smile on his face at the stage door. 

We are putting the final touches on our book chapter and will have more details, soon!

Meet the Tweens of Gen Z

What sets Gen Z apart is an unrelenting relationship with information and technology, and their early independence, born of impatience and the confidence to act. These are the identifying traits of what will be the largest demographic in history.

And yet, their confidence and knowledge often out pace experience...which causes tension between an advanced intellect, and the reality of their actual age and emotional intelligence.

At the epicenter of this tension we find tweens—a complex subset of Gen Z. They are caught up in the turbulent transition from simply being a kid, to fending off the intricate pressures of teenage existence. They are the pivotal middle-ground of Gen Z.  

Tweens pose an interesting dilemma. Kids (5–8) are still largely influenced by and accessed through their parents.

Teens (14–18) are rapidly forming their own opinions and establishing independence from parents, and there are direct channels to reach them.

Tweens (9–13), on the contrary, are the hardest to reach, even while they are actively seeking cues and learning to form opinions. 

Because they are the least accessible, and arguably the most open to influence, tweens are an important puzzle to solve for companies marketing to Gen Z.

Gen Z is set to influence nearly $600 billion dollars of family spending and will comprise 40% of consumers by 2020. To succeed in marketing to this unique segment, any brand that wants in, has to be willing to play by their rules.

My colleague, Gregg Witt and I have co-authored a new book for Motivate Youth.

In this guide, you will learn key insights, strategies, and tactics your company can deploy to improve tween marketing efforts. You can download a copy of Meet the Tweens of Gen Z over on Scribd.

 

For Storyteller Branden Harvey, Changing the World Sounds Good

Meet Storyteller Branden Harvey

I'm a big fan of Branden Harvey. He first popped up on my radar during the early days of Snapchat, er, Snap Inc! At that time he was a crazy kid from Portland with a awesome hair cut and unbridled good energy and positive vibes. 

Then he traveled to Africa, using Snapchat and Instagram to share his adventures. And what adventures did he have! It was then I saw that Snapchat really was a powerful *storytelling* tool. Branden is a talented storyteller who combines his infectious brand of optimism, digital skills and social media presence to spread good in the world!

At a time when there's so much negativity and, frankly bullying on social media, it's so refreshing to have someone like Branden use his storytelling gift, passion for social media and photography to lift spirits and challenge us to look for the silver lining and good in other people, places and things. 

Sounds Good Podcast

He has a new podcast called, "Sounds Good." Every Monday he talks to people in the creative fields about their process, living authentically and sharing their advice and knowledge. It's fantastic. You can find "Sounds Good" on iTunes, SoundCloud and other podcast networks.

Every week I listen to "Sounds Good" and think, "That was my favorite episode." But this episode featuring Jessica is just a wee bit more special.

This week Branden sat down with Jessica Hische, an amazing lettering artist and author, who has worked with creatives like Wes Anderson, New York Times, American Express and many, many others. 

Brad Montague: "Don't Hide Your Magic"

IBrad Montague is the creator of Kid President, the popular web series featured on Rainn Wilson's Soul Pancake YouTube channel that has been viewed more than 16 million times.

With a passion for helping foster creativity and compassion in young people he is constantly creating new and unique ways to make the world a better and more childlike place.

In this podcast, Brad sits down with Branden Harvey, a storyteller, social media pioneer and doer of good deeds!

These are two of my favorite people, so it's great to have them together in the same podcast! Both Branden and Brad are really inspiring and it's such a treat to listen to them both talk about their creative process.

As a bonus, Brad shares the Kid President origin story (Hi, Kid Prez!) and a reminder to not to "Hide Your Magic." So sit back, relax and dream better dreams!

Trend Watch: 60 Million Teens Going Crazy for Musical.ly App

Move over Vine and Instagram! Musica.ly is the newest hot app among teens and tweens. How big? Nearly 60 million t/weens are using musica.ly to make their own music videos.

And like Vine and Instagram, teens are using musica.ly to become Internet stars and amass huge followings. 

Watch as "Muser" star Baby Ariel joined GMA to explain to the appeal of the app and teach the hosts how to make a musical.ly video.

 

 

UPDATE: Musical.ly has merged with TikTok (8/2/2018)

Using Virtual Reality as a Pathway to Learning

Virtual Reality as a Pathway to Learning

“Sharing knowledge is a lovely thing.” –Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef

In my previous blog post, I outlined how technologies like virtual reality, especially for Gen Z students, provides avenues that allow them to engage in a social, collaborative, and active learning environment.

The theory of constructivist-based learning is even more powerful when placed in a social and immersive and spatial context like that provided by virtual reality.

Under this new “digital pedagogy” learners tend to construct knowledge via self-directed and collaborative project based learning (PBL) activities, forming social learning communities, and technologies such as Oculus Rift headsets and virtual reality platforms like MissionV and Google Expeditions.

 

As students go through process of choosing, utilizing, and integrating technology into their projects, it provides opportunities for them to be actively engaged, as well as acquire, share, and make use of community knowledge and showcase their skill sets and contributions.

“What it [VR] offers as a tool for creating worlds and experimenting with some of the ideas underpinning logic and programming that make it exciting — together with the incredible community of users and their creations.” -Tom Chatfield

In addition, collaborative and interactive projects undertaken in a community structure allow students to interact with other members of the class, identify who has a particular skill or expertise they want to acquire, and provides opportunities for them to model and scaffold this knowledge with their peers.

Constructing the Future of Virtual Reality Learning

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In an evaluation report on the MissionV Schools Pilot Programme in Ireland,  Dr. Conor Galvin, a professor at University College School of Education, found that the use of virtual reality technology in the classroom showed real benefit in tackling students’ social issues.

For example, Galvin points out that the students struggling to being included in their classroom, were able to become accepted by their peers because of their technology skills. Integrating the virtual reality project into the curriculum allowed for shy students ‘come out of their shells’ and boost confidence in students who were previously lacking in confidence in their maths skills.

One thing is clear, as Gen Z move from the classroom to the workforce, it will be increasingly important to deepen our understanding of these burgeoning digital learning styles and prepare educational and training programs (online and off) to meet their learning styles.

If the future for education is going to involve virtual reality, how exactly can virtual reality technology make an impact on the learning process? While in many ways we are just getting started using VR in the classroom, the future is here and it will be exciting to see where it takes us!

State of the Kids Digital Space, Apps & Media

Alison Bryant and Paul Levine of children's digital research company PlayScience present their latest findings on kids and digital media at Casual Connect in San Francisco.

Not surprisingly, most children hear about new apps from their friends, especially as they get older, though younger children are more likely to learn about new apps from their parents.

Here's the executive summary of the PlayScience report:

PlayScience: Kids, Apps and Digital Media

Here's the video of the PlayScience presentation at the Casual Connect 2015 Conference in San Francisco.

 

Thanks to Scott Traylor of 360 Kid for the video!

Taylor Swift 1989 Secret Sessions [VIDEO]

This is GENIUS. This is how you do fan marketing---build relationships, treat fans like friends, empower influencers to spread the word, support your brand ambassadors and, oh--bake them cookies.

No literally, Taylor made cookies for her fans. (Hopefully, she will post the recipe for those chocolate chip coconut cookies on her tumblr.) 

Taylor Swift took to the internet to find fans across the US and UK and invited them to hear her new album "1989" first! These sessions were top secret and became known as the #1989SecretSessions.

Her whole approach to marketing her new album has put the fans first. From her album launch party on Yahoo!, to the Secret Sessions, embrace of tumblr and even her Olivia Benson-dietCoke-kitten video has been geared to engage and celebrate her fans and reward their loyalty. 

Taylor Swift, marketing genius. 

Related Links

• Buy 1989 on Amazon

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STUDY: The Role of Social Media and Technology in Peer Bullying

Trend Watch: Tenth Grade Tech Trends

I ran across this really interesting essay over on Medium by Josh Miller, who interviewed his sister on the latest tech and social media trends at her high school.

Josh's findings dovetail with what I've heard in my own interviews with tweens and teens on the hows and why's of their social media habits.   

Take a peek into the mind of a teenager on social media to learn what's in (spoiler, not Facebook) and what's hot (rhymes with snap and cat).

Tenth Grade Tech Trends

White House: "15 Economic Facts about Millennials" [REPORT]

Today the White House released a report entitled “15 Economic Facts about Millennials” (pdf). This report takes an early look at this generation’s adult lives so far, including how they are faring in the labor market and how they are organizing their personal lives.

This generation is marked by transformations at nearly every important milestone: from changes in parenting practices and schooling choices, to the condition of the U.S. economy they entered, to their own choices about home and family. 

Millennials “15 Economic Facts about Millennials”Report

Related: All--Yes, all!--the charts from the White House Report on Millennials!

Why Snapchat Is The Future of Social Media [VIDEO]

In his new video, fimmaker Casey Neistat makes the case for Snapchat being the future of social media, but in a fundamentally different way.

It's not like Facebook or MySpace, his argument goes, though it may be their natural evolutionary successor.

Snapchat is different, Neistat (and the gaggle of Snapchat teens he interviews) says, because it actually mirrors the way we interact in the real world.

"Snapchat is great because it's virile and vital. Because it's right now. Because there's no pressure to be produced or fake, because everything disappears in a few seconds anyway."  -David Pierce, The Verge

Snapchat is a way to let people live your life with you, a surprisingly close approximation of just running into someone for a few seconds at the store or on the subway platform. Neistat points particularly to Snapchat Stories, the public-facing part of Snapchat, as the feature that made Snapchat really move into the mainstream.

 

 

To illustrate the power of Snapchat, Neistat invites Jerome Jarre, the King of Snapchat with 1.2 million follwers, to send a Snap his fans asking them to meet him in Union Square----16 minutes later Jarre racked up 142,000 views on his Snap and several hundred screaming fans actually showed up in person.

Read more on The Verge