The Oscars

The Oscars aired on Sunday night opening to millions of viewers across the nation. Televisions were on, music was playing, people were drinking, and shiny dresses were over the screen. It was a great atmosphere for those actually at the Oscars and those watching in the comforts of their own homes either having an Oscars party with friends or simply streaming it on their laptop while trying to study for their midterms. Either way, it was quite a show!

Not only were people simply watching the show, they were also engaging with it via social media. The Oscars committee definitely had their eyes on this one from the get-go. Under the Twitter handle, #Oscars2013, viewers were constantly posting their thoughts/opinions regarding anything and everything about the event. This brought the audience together for good 4 hours straight.

Amongst the most tweeted, posted, and shared items during the event were definitely Seth McFarlane's opening act, or more commonly referred to as "the boob song," and Jennifer Lawrence's fall on her way up the stage to claim her trophy for Best Actress in Silver Lining's Playbook. Just seconds after both events occurred the online social sphere went on a complete buzz. Videos were uploaded to YouTube of the acts and in no time were people commenting away and posting their remarks.

Here are the links to both acts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TWLKP8j0zk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyAWdlqEmxg

All-in-all the Oscars was a great show and a Sunday night well spent. Seth McFarlane did a great job hosting the show all by himself, the acts, the presenters, the winners, pretty much everything about it was really well executed (even their social media tactic!). Way to go Oscars!

We're Really that Dependent.

 

Just the other day on the bus ride to class, I overheard two students talking:

Student 1: "So wait...he doesn't have a Facebook?"
Student 2: "Not that I know of. I searched all possible variations of his name and still couldn't find him."
Student 1: "Wow...that just means that he's sketch and that you don't want to talk to him.Where has he been living anyway? Under a rock?"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little after hearing this. If this conversation was to go on just a few years back, then simply not having a Facebook would be pretty common and wouldn't be deemed as being "weird." This just goes to show that times have changed and the realm of social media is only becoming more powerful.

Today, almost about 58 million Americans use social media sites on a daily basis. This is just a 4% increase since 2011 which was 18% as compared to 2012's 22% of daily usage/logins.



To check one's Facebook page is most often the first thing one does right when he wakes up and right before one goes to sleep. It is also the first thing one checks when they open their internet browser.

Knowing these facts only brings one question to mind -- Do we control social media or does social media control us?