hal tweets ·1:04 PM
Indie comics in 80s LA, a homage featuring Groening, Panter, Hernandez bros…. http://bit.ly/b1FcGM
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2009,
16:51 GMT
Studies on Twitter and Facebook Usage Support Peep
Posted by: Hal
Okay, so first off a Neilsen study has concluded that total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83% from 2008 to 2009. Facebook and Twitter are, not surprisingly, the big time-suckers in all this. Facebook time increased 700% percent, from 1.7 billion minutes to 13.9 billion minutes. (This is in the US only.) Meanwhile, Twitter experienced growth of, get this, 3712%. See the chart below for the whole breakdown.
In the Peep Diaries I argue that we’re replacing other entertainment options with peep entertainment options like social networks. These numbers certainly support that contention.
There’s also a new study that just came out of Harvard. This study looked at 30,000 Twitter users in May 2009. It concluded that the typical Twitter user doesn’t actually do much tweeting. Over half the Twitter users tweet “less than once very 74 days.” (see chart below) There are a small number of twitter users, 10%, who dominate the tweetverse: “the top 10% of prolific Twitter users accounted for over 90% of tweets.”
So what does all this mean? Well my take on it has always been that we like to watch, that we are, in fact, conditioned to watch by our popular culture, which is dominated by television and movies. I’d argue that the default position we take in regards to mass media phenomenon is always to watch. Over time, we learn to also contribute, but first we have to “break the seal” and get comfortable with the notion. On Facebook, we’ve broken the seal and become very comfortable, probably too comfortable, with sharing everything and anything. We’re only starting to get comfortable on Twitter, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.
2009,
18:57 GMT
‘Tell Me Your Secret’: The Video
Posted by: Hal
Okay so those of you who have been following me on Twitter or Facebook might remember a barrage of strange pronouncements a few weeks ago. They were the secrets people were telling me in exchange for a free copy of The Peep Diaries at Book Expo America, the giant publishing convention in New York. Now, shown here for the first time, it’s the ‘Tell Me Your Secret’ video: what will people do to get a free book? Enjoy. Hal.
2009,
20:24 GMT
Positive Vibe Summer Viral Peep Video
Posted by: Hal
Hey it’s summer, I’m in an inexplicably decent mood, so I thought I’d end the week with a cute video that’s been watched over 1 million times. It’s the lighter side of peep, and it’s also a great example of the way one person can really get the party rolling. Enjoy the weekend!
2009,
20:19 GMT
The Pain and the Pleasure: Hal Tour Video Peep
Posted by: Hal
Okay here’s a cute little video Sally did of parts of my book tour. See me cracking up on the Joey Reynolds late night talk radio show (everyone go to Sally’s blog and demand that she give us another video JUST on that, it’s so bizarre and hysterical).
Also: Hal doesn’t want to talk about Chicago (where the listings in all the papers said the reading would be the NEXT night) and the great reveal in LA. (I won’t spoil it for ya, but what Sally doesn’t show you is her chasing down a horrified Timothy Dalton and knocking a stack of books over in the process. Sally: Can I take my picture with you? Timothy Dalton: Ah no, I’d rather not, actually). Here’s a signed pic of him Sally, to take away the pain…
I’m a stuck up asshole…
Anyway, great video and I suppose I better get used to it…Peep culture baby. My pain is your gain.
2009,
20:33 GMT
Anonymity Project: The PostSecret Effect
Posted by: Hal
Here’s an interesting 5 minute video about why people send their secrets to PostSecret and read their embarrassing pubescent diaries out loud on stage at events like Mortified. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s well done and I like the focus on the “need for authenticity” and the idea that “new media create new ways of knowing ourselves.” It reminded me of the conversation I had with Frank Warren (creator of PostSecret) and how he told me that it really didn’t matter if all the secrets he gets in the mail are true or not, what matters is that we, the readers of the secrets, feel they are true.
The Bloggist
Hey, I’m Hal Niedzviecki. I’m a writer/thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my wife and daughter. Up till now I’ve always considered myself a private person. But at the same time I’m fascinated by people who effortlessly open themselves up to the whole world. So I’ve… more...
Indie comics in 80s LA, a homage featuring Groening, Panter, Hernandez bros…. http://bit.ly/b1FcGM
Issue 47 (spring) is now completely ‘unlocked’ on the NEW Broken Pencil website. Web TV, Liz Worth on punk TO & more http://bit.ly/bXvQuP
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