Ok, so I’m having a mental block on what to write about for the first blog of 2008. I guess I could go on and on about how we all make resolutions that we don’t keep because we set the bar too high for ourselves, but the 24-hour news programs have already done that one to death.
How about talking about the perils of using debit cards, or how to reduce personal debt, but no – the news media is inundating us with that advice as well.
And don’t start me about the Presidential Elections and the Caucuses, or Britney Spears – I am so sick of it all already.
Is it any wonder that people are turning off their TV’s and heading to the Internet for their news and entertainment? Just go on to a gaming site (and I don’t mean gambling gaming, but rather internet games like pyramids, or any of the solitaire card games) and you will find thousands and thousands of people each day who spend many hours playing games, interacting with other people in their groups and making friends.
One of the biggest phenomena at the moment is World of Warcraft. Now I suppose this may have been around for a while - but I just found it!!
World of Warcraft or WOW boasts paid membership of over 13 million and growing. You select your character, dress your character and can even change the facial features (wider eyes, narrower nose, etc), hair color, build, etc. Then off you go on your quests. You can be a warrior, or a mage; human or fantasy figure, etc. The whole vast “world” is an amazing montage where you interact with other players, form Guilds, and gain skills for your character.
The most interesting aspect for me is that there are no advertisements, no product placements, no billboards, nothing. I asked several players in my Guild what would happen if say, Starbucks decided to sponsor a coffee shop in one of the towns, or a McDonalds appeared. To the last person they said that they would stop playing.
It seems that we are doing a great job of pushing people away from the traditional places they would see advertising. That, I believe, is the dilemma that faces advertising in the future – to be seen, but not to be seen to be intrusive. We are so inundated with messages coming from every angle that to enter a place such as WOW just for a little while is a very soothing experience, and total escapism.
And, just to blow my own little theory out of the water I would like to announce that NASCAR (yes, the all advertising, all of the time sport) starts it’s season again with the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in 39 days. “Go Junior”
Sheila
To Date - Mage Level 6
And Dale Jr Fan
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