Aram Sinnreich

New article: "Welcome to Alphaville, Avoid the Ghetto"

Truthdig.com just published my new article, "Welcome to Alphaville, Avoid the Ghetto." It's about what happens when smartphones turn our entire life into a giant search engine, and then selectively hide the results without telling us.

...The world we see through our smartphones is a curated world, and its horizons are constricting, rather than expanding. Though they’re often billed as modern-day Diogenes’ lamps, outshining the light of day with the light of truth (or “augmenting reality,” in contemporary geekspeek), they would be better understood as corporate-sponsored guidebooks to our own lives, keeping us on the prescribed path and off the road less traveled....

For more, read the article on Truthdig.

Happy American Censorship Day

Today, in honor of American Censorship Day, I've replaced my standard banner with a cheerful black bar.

I do this as a form of protest against the spirit of censorship pervading the regulation of the Internet and other communications platforms -- specifically, the pending legislation known as ProtectIP and SOPA being discussed in a Congressional hearing today. This legislation would criminalize huge swaths of the Internet as we know it today, and put a politically unacceptable degree of censorship power in the hands of government and large corporations. I stand with organizations like Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as publishers like TechDirt and BoingBoing, in opposition to these measures, and I hope you will as well.

To find out more, and to take action, please visit AmericanCensorship.org.

 

Peter Maass lecture at Rutgers SC&I on Oct 3rd

I've somehow bamboozled my friend Peter Maass, the deservedly award-winning war correspondent and nonfiction author, to come give a talk at Rutgers in two weeks. I can't wait. Peter embodies that rare combination of intelligence, experience and humillity that makes for a great journalist, and a riveting lecturer.

The lecture is free! Hope you can make it. (You can download the flier here)

Draft Syllabus: Critiquing Marketing Communications

I'm preparing a brand new class for the fall, an online-only, masters-level course called "Critiquing Marketing Communications." It's part of our new masters program focusing on digital media. 

The basic premise is that marketing communications are one of the most common, and most influential, forms of communication in contemporary society. Yet it's largely sequestered in an academic ghetto. Most of the scholarship surrounding these communications either falls into the how-to category (e.g. Marketing 101) or into the realm of pure cultural criticism (e.g. Intro to Consumer Culture). What I aim to do is combine the practical and the theoretical, giving students a sense of how marketing works as an industry, and also access to some of the primary strains of criticism surrounding this form of expression.

Below is the final version of the syllabus. Whether you're in marketing, academia, or both, I welcome your feedback.

9/1-9/6: Unit 1 – Introduction: What are Marketing Communications?

Readings:

• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 1 & 2.
• Mark Crispin Miller interview: http://to.pbs.org/qUpfQ1

9/7-9/13: Unit 2 – Marketing History & Landscape

Readings:

• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 18 
• Marchand, “Advertisements as Social Tableaux” in Advertising the American Dream
• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 5.

9/14-9/20: Unit 3 – Foundations: Branding, Creative and Packaging

Readings:

• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 2
• Doug Atkin interview: http://to.pbs.org/ngHAFs
• Kevin Roberts interview: http://to.pbs.org/qzDF81
• NYT Article on Crispin Porter: http://nyti.ms/pXbEmy
• NYT Article on CP/BK breakup: http://nyti.ms/pr5LLQ

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Aaker on Brands (read 5 most recent blog posts): http://bit.ly/pjzy1G
• Video: Mad Men Carousel Scene: http://bit.ly/rdkbpL

Guest Interview: [name], President, [large advertising agency]

STUDENT BLOGGING BEGINS

9/21-9/27: Unit 4 – Foundations: Media Buying & Selling

Readings:

• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 7.
• Baron & Sissors, Advertising Media Planning, 7^th Ed. Chap. 4 & 12 (thru p. 368)

Guest Interview:

• [name], Group Director, [large media agency]

STUDENT MODERATION OF DICSUSSION BOARD BEGINS

9/28-10/4: Unit 5 – Foundations: Public Relations

Readings:

• PRSA Code of Ethics: http://bit.ly/pLani3
• Bernays, American Public Relations: A Short History
• Boorstin, D. The image: A guide to pseudo-events in America, Intro & Chap. 1

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Article re: Kenneth Cole Twitter Fail: http://lat.ms/qObjN5
• PRwatch headlines: http://www.prwatch.org/headlines

Guest Interview:

• [name], Veteran PR consultant

10/5-10/11: Unit 6 – Critique: Mass & Consumer Culture

Readings:

• Gailbraith, J. K. The Affluent Society, Chap. 10 & 11.
• Schudson, M. “Historical Roots of Consumer Culture.” In Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion.
• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 18

 10/12-10/18: Unit 7 – Critique: Branding

Readings:

• Klein, N. No Logo. Intro, Chaps 1-2.
• Quart, A. Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Chap. 1.
• Frank, T. The Conquest of Cool, Chap. 11.
• MIDTERM ASSIGNED

10/19-10/25: Unit 8 – Critique: Race, Gender, Sexuality & Identity

Readings:

• Sivulka, “White Soap and Black Consumer Culture”
• Klein, No Logo, Chap. 5
• Ryder, “Talking Vaginas and Football Heroes: Gender, Race and Advertising” http://bit.ly/qIXGFC
• Sinnreich, “‘This Is What We Do’: Why I Hated Chrysler’s Super Bowl Ad” http://bit.ly/pDREqZ
• Article on Nivea ad: http://on.mash.to/p3LbbB
• Video: Colbert on Summer’s Eve http://gaw.kr/pKEaZ4
• MIDTERM DUE 10/25 at 11:30pm

10/26-11/1: Unit 9 – Backlash: Culture Jamming and Ad Busting

Readings:

• Lasn, K. Culture Jam, Introduction & “Spring”
• White, M. Toxic Culture. Adbusters. http://bit.ly/okEuHz
• Article: Ad-Free Sao Paolo: http://buswk.co/qbUUZ3
• Article: Junaio AR AD TAKEOVER: http://bit.ly/pWza3M
• Article: BP Twitter spoof: http://abcn.ws/pcASCt

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Sao Paolo Flickr set: http://bit.ly/pLugJX
• KAWS interview: http://bit.ly/qYg5z4

11/2-11/8: Unit 10 – Internet Marketing, 1995-2005 (Web, Email & Search)

Readings:

• Johnson, M. (1998). Rational Branding: Building Consumer Relationships Through Service. Jupiter Research.
• Mayar & Ramsay, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. Chapters 4, 5 & 6

Guest Interview:

• [name], co-founder, [interactive media research fim] 

11/9-11/15: Unit 11 – Internet Marketing, 2006-11 (Social, Mobile & Beyond)

Readings:

• The Hectic Schedule of a Social Media Manager: http://bit.ly/qwn64t
• Charlesworth, D. It’s About Good Link, Not Good Ink. Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications. (pp. 38-43 of http://bit.ly/qbkYFY)
• Mayar & Ramsay, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. Chapters 7 & 8

Guest Interview:

• Guest Interview: [name], Communication Director, [major social media company]
• [name], [principal, boutique communications agency]

11/16-11/22: Unit 12 – Critique: Digital Rights & Privacy

Readings:

• FB Beacon article: http://bit.ly/oNRsAF
• FB Beacon analysis: http://bit.ly/pfgvf3
• Vaidhyanathan, S. The Googlization of Everything. Chap. 3.
• Zittrain, J. The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It. Chap. 9. http://bit.ly/oOCOGB

11/23-11/29: THANKSGIVING BREAK 

11/30- 12/6: Unit 13 – Epilogue: Ghosts in the Machine?

Readings:

• Lanier, J. You Are Not A Gadget. Chap. 1
• Baym, N. Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Chap. 2
• Video: Ray Kurzweil on the Singularity: http://bit.ly/qM1epu
• FINAL PAPER ASSIGNED 

12/7-12/13: Unit 14 – Conclusion

Aram on the Sundance Channel's "Love Lust" [video]

A couple weeks ago, I was interviewed pretty extensively for the "social networks" episode of the Sundance Channel's show "Love Lust." As the promo video below shows, it strikes a nice balance between education and entertainment, with a bit of a bias toward the latter.

You can download the full episode from iTunes here: http://bit.ly/aramonsundance

Arista vs. LimeWire: My Expert Report

Earlier today, LimeWire and the major labels announced they've reached a settlement in the damages portion of their lawsuit, ending the biggest P2P trial since Grokster. The settlement was reportedly for $105 million -- a big chunk of change, but a small fraction of the billions (revised downward from trillions) sought by the RIAA.

I haven't commented publicly on this case for the past six months, because I was retained by LimeWire as the primary expert witness for the defense. In fact, I was scheduled to take the stand today, and only found out yesterday afternoon that the settlement talks were likely to bear fruit.

I was actually really looking forward to testifying, both because I felt that the RIAA's argument was largely bogus, and I hoped to have a chance to contradict their claims on the record, and because I find the larger subject of the music industry's transformation such a fascinating subject.

Fortunately, most of the testimony I would have given on the stand is part of the court record in written form. To be specific, I prepared a 20,000-word (65 page) report detailing the many reasons for the downturn in music sales, the many sources of free music available to consumers, and some of the many mistakes the labels themselves have made, contributing to their financial woes. I also weighed in on the scale of damages sought, arguing that a large damage award would likely have little or no effect on the amount of free music available online.

I'll probably turn this all into a book one of these days, but in the meantime, you can download and read the report in its original form here. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

 

Introducing MondoNet: The censor-proof, unsurveillable network [video]

A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at TEDxUSC, in which I laid out the basic argument for MondoNet, a new project I'm working on with a few of my grad students at Rutgers. My basic point is that, despite the many amazing cultural, economic and political uses to which it's been put, the Internet has a fundamental flaw preventing it from being an effective tool for democratic political action and cultural innovation.

The flaw lies in its centralized architecture and hierarchical governance; no matter how much people resist against institutional power through innovative cultural forms, and no matter how much we lobby against oppressive and exploitative uses of the technology (e.g. the current battles over net neutrality), the network provides its operators with an excess of power that will necessary be exploited.

We propose to remedy this situation with an architectural intervention: namely, using ad-hoc, mesh networking technology to create a global network that is fundamentally resistant to censorship, surveillance and exploitation, because no single individual or institution can control the information flow on any significant scale.

Clearly, there is a lot to discuss here; we plan to publish a full-length academic article in The Information Society in July, and a pre-publication copy can be read at MondoNet.org. But we're still working on developing funding and fleshing out the engineering, so I welcome your feedback, criticisms and offers of help! 

Here's the video:

Social media and the news: Aram interviewed on MPR Midmorning [Audio]

This morning, I was interviewed on MPR Midmorning (along with Andy Carvin from NPR) about the increasingly complex role of social media in the gathering, analysis and dissemination of news. It was a lively and interesting conversation, although as usual, I didn't get a chance to make half of the pithy observations I'd prepared.

You can listen here: 

Lady Gaga breaks up with Target: Aram interviewed on MPR

Today, I was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio about Lady Gaga and Target parting ways, on the eve of their exclusive release. Here's the audio:

Aram on Bloomberg TV: Will Sony's new digital music service threaten Apple's dominance? [video]

This morning, I was interviewed on Bloomberg TV about the prospects for Sony's newly-announced direct-to-consumer digital music play, and about the overall outlook for digital music in 2011. The video is below: