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Social Media’s Influence on Film and TV Audiences: An Interview with Alexandra Samuel

Photo of Alexandra Samuel

Alexandra Samuel is the Director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University and co-founder of Social Signal, one of the world's first social media agencies. Earlier this week, she spoke at the Women in Film and Television (WIFT) luncheon in Toronto about strategies and tools for online branding, and reaching broadcasting audiences through social media.

Samuel explained to the WIFT luncheon attendees that “the audience dictates the success of a film or television show—even before it is made.” She gave the example of a Finnish-German-Australian sci-fi comedy called Iron Sky, which raised roughly one million Euros via crowd funding from internet audiences. Because the film was promoted heavily online to seek audience funding, it generated so much buzz that it sold out at the Berlin International Film Festival premiere.

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Kony 2012 Generates Over 55 Million YouTube Views Since Monday

The biggest newsmaker from the power of social media in recent memory has been the campaign to make Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony famous for his atrocities. That hasn't come without criticism toward the charity behind the unprecedented 55-million plus views the half an hour long video has garnered on YouTube since Monday.

Called Invisible Children, they were forced to explain their actions because of a controversial past that includes questionable financial records as only 32% of their funds went to direct services last year, ABC News reported. But the online virality is incredible: this tweet has received an earth-shatterng 265,000 retweets in less than three days.

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SocialBungy to Launch a Socially-Enabled Contest and Sweepstakes Platform This Spring

socialbungy screenshotToronto and Montreal-based startup SocialBungy believes that every digital marketing campaign should be unique on its own - without seeking the help of custom development or breaking your wallet.

When the company launched two years ago as a social media marketing shop, their customers, like Steam Whistle and Lindt Chocolate, were always asking for custom campaigns. But not all companies can afford the cost that comes with customization. To meet those market demands, SocialBungy plans to launch a socially-enabled contest and sweepstakes platform this spring. 

“Ultimately our goal is to eliminate the high cost of launching a professional and brand-tailored campaign. In fact, most of our campaigns will run along the same price range as our cookie-cutter competitors, with campaigns starting at $249,” says Mike Barwick, Founder of SocialBungy.

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INcubes Demo Day: Five Innovative Internet Entrepreneurs Seek Funding

Three months ago, INcubes opened their doors to seven new companies for incubation in Toronto. INcubes evaluated the market potential of these startup ideas, and then off the startups went into a three-month qualifying curriculum program. 

In the third month - after business plan refinement, expert advice, market research and development facilitation, resource procurement, third party qualification, and product plan refinement - five of the seven selected startups created an investor package presentation and practiced their pitch before going live Tuesday at the Royal Ontario Museum before an audience of interested parties. 

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The Average User Spends Seven Hours Per Month on Facebook. For Google+? Three Minutes

As Google continues to shove its social network, Google+, down users' throats, the concept of engagement—a rather crucial component of a social community—seems totally lost on the seemingly socially inept company. While it boastfully claims nearly 100 million users worldwide, mostly drawn from those inadvertently signing up while using other Google products, Google+ remains a virtual ghost town.

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Conservatives Mired in Constant Tech Issues, Next Parliament Wants to Take Public Policy Online

There seems to be one common theme in Stephen Harper's Conservative government: give them a piece of technology, even as simple as a landline telephone, and they will find a way to create a nationwide scandal. 

There's no shortage of drama either—new information says that a Liberal staffer created "Vikileaks" to demonstrate what it would be like to have your personal privacy exposed on the Internet after controversial remarks from Vic Toews about passing the bill that would allow greater access to your personal activites. 

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How Fast Can Larry the Bird Fly These Days? About 3,000 Tweets Per Second (Up 25% in One Month!)

So, it's more or less been confirmed that the long nameless Twitter bird has actually been named "Larry" all along (likely in reference to Larry Bird, the former professional basketball player). But how fast can that bird fly? These days, Larry is up to 3,000 tweets per second. And that's up by about 25% from just one month ago! Whew, those wings sure are pumping.

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REVEALED: The Person Behind the Vicious Vikileaks30 Attacks

Adam Carroll, a liberal staffer, has been officially exposed as the man behind the now-defunct Vikileaks30 Twitter account, which slammed Safety Minister Vic Toews with personal attacks. Vic, of course, has become nationally infamous for his blind support of the destructive "online surveillance" or "lawful access" legislation, Bill C-30 (which has, to the relief of millions of Canadians, been delayed).

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Youth Newly Labelled Generation C For Good Reason?

As Generation C is the most digitally conected on the planet, maybe the "C" in our recently renamed generation stands for "cool" representing people from the ages of 18-34 in various fashions. I just turned 23, but I'm thinking it's just not cool to represent the old ethos of what cool used to mean anymore—which is generally doing nothing, chillin' out and maxin' out like Will Smith on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air versus his nerdy counterpart Carlton Banks. 

But before I mistakingly think my generation is special, the number one trending hashtag Friday in Toronto for a time was . The hashtag launched a protest against my own generation and what they have become—loveless, alcoholic, judgemental, disrespectful, disloyal, tatted, anti-authority, untrustworthy, and pregnant. 

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