A ‘beautiful day’ at Spartan Stadium

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Rachael

U2 performs at Spartan Stadium on June 26. Photo courtesy Jennifer Orlando

More than 65,000 fans packed into Spartan Stadium Sunday night to rock out with legendary band U2.

The concert in East Lansing, Mich.—originally scheduled to take place June 2010 but was postponed due to the band’s lead singer, Bono, having back surgery—was a stop on the U2 360° Tour, the highest grossing tour in history, according to Billboard.

“The U2 concert was truly a fantastic community event. We were thrilled that MSU could host a tour of that magnitude in Spartan Stadium,” said MSU spokesperson Lisa Mulcrone. “It was a great way to show off campus and the greater Lansing area to more than 65,000 concert-goers, and it provided a great economic boost to local businesses. The atmosphere was festive, the weather was perfect, the show was phenomenal and people seemed to be having a really great time. All in all, it really was a beautiful day.”

The unique, 360-degree stage the band performed on took six days to build inside Spartan Stadium. The 400 ton stage, which took two days to take down after all was said and done, was accompanied by a cylindrical LED video screen that expanded and collapsed, and a steel structure draped in a fabric that reflected whatever color was shone on it.

The idea for the one-of-a-kind stage was conceived in 2006 after a model of the stage was “after a model was built with forks over dinner during the Vertigo Tour 2006.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like the U2 concert at Spartan Stadium,” said concert-goer and East Lansing resident Anna Kramer. “The stage by itself was incredible and the performances were awesome. Even the crowd was top-notch.”

Under a sunny sky with temperatures in the low 70s, Florence Welch of Indie band Florence and The Machine opened the show around 7:15 p.m. Florence, in a draped magenta dress, took advantage of the 360-degree stage, running around it to catch fans from all sides of the stage. The band ended their set with their hit song “Dog Days are Over.”

After a brief intermission and stage prep, U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. — took to the stage around 8:45 p.m. and instantly brought the crowd to their feet singing “Even Better Than The Real Thing.”

The band continued their performance with fan favorites such as “Beautiful Day,” “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Stay,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and many more. The show ended at 11 p.m., after three encore performances featuring songs such as “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” and “With or Without You.”

Bono, also known for his global activism for human rights, told the crowd he was inspired by a campus such as MSU, and commended the university’s work in Africa and around the globe. The advocacy group ONE—a grassroots organization founded by Bono that’s aimed at ending poverty and disease—is supported by campus groups such as the one at MSU.

He also chanted, “Go green!” to the crowd, touching on the spirit of the Big Ten campus.

He even made mention of the band’s first visit to East Lansing, Mich., on Dec. 7, 1981. They performed at Dooley’s—now Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub at 131 Albert Ave.—and wondered where Mr. Dooley was that night.

For East Lansing resident Jennifer Orlando, the concert was nothing less than extraordinary. Along with her brother, Frankie, the two arrived at Spartan Stadium at 2 p.m. Sunday to get in line for general admission seating. Gates to the stadium opened at 5:30 p.m.

“It was a long wait, but it was well worth it,” Jennifer Orlando said. “Being seven rows back for the concert was an unforgettable experience. To be that close to a musical legend like Bono was such a thrill. It was definitely the best concert I’ve ever been to.”

See sights and sounds from the concert in this Storify report. >>

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Brian Solis: Exploring the culture and effects of new media

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Rachael

Brian Solis, a leader in new media effects. Photo courtesy briansolis.com.

Brian Solis is a forward thinker in the new media world. He defines his blog as “Defining the convergence of new media and influence.” He’s principal at Altimeter Group, a research-based advisory firm. He studies the effects of new media on business, marketing, publishing and culture.  He’s also the author of “Engage,” a new media book that takes a look at the new media landscape and how businesses can use new media to its full potential to succeed in its industry.

I think the fact that he studies the effects of new media on society is what makes his blog important. He takes everyday and up-and-coming new media platforms and components and explores what it exactly means for our society—communication, culture, etc.

Brian Solis' #hashtag hand sign.

Brian Solis' #hashtag hand sign. Photo courtesy briansolis.com.

For example, one of his latest posts is about “The Hashtag Economy.” In 2007, he said, “#hashtags would create channels that will improve the Twitter experience.” And he was right. He goes on to explain that hashtags help separate and give a timeline to smaller conversations happening in larger conversations. A fun fact: Solis is the ‘inventor’ of the #hashtag hand sign. See image to right.)

I’ve known of his blog for a little over a year now. While I don’t check it regularly, I know I turn to this blog for all the latest on new media effect and to some regard, theory. Solis is truly a leader in new media thoughts, and keeps readers up-to-date on trends—he even has a mobile app for his blog, which I check more than the desktop version. He’s constantly churning out new information and new ways to look at new media. I would have never thought about a hashtag the way that he wrote it in his blog, but now it makes me really think out why hashtags are so important, and how I can use it in my personal and professional use of Twitter.

His writing is unique, too. He helps readers understand what he’s saying in a simple way. I feel like since he writes about the effects of social media in a sociological way, the writing could get weighed down with heavy terms and unnecessary jargon. An example, from the before-mentioned hashtag entry:

This digital shorthand if you will is only part of what’s changing.  Digital anthropologists have long observed the impact of text messaging on the ability to write in longhand. R U surprised? Prolly not…LOL! Twitter will also become the subject of educational studies to prove that the culture code of communication is transcending status updates to affect everyday engagement. Specifically within 140-character inspired transmissions, the hashtag is playing an important role. –Brian Solis, The Hashtag Economy.

See what I mean? He explains what he means by actually saying it and showing how text messaging has an impact on longhand writing. Solis is pushing the envelope, relating new media to existing memes and writing it so we are engaged and can understand what he’s trying to explain to us. I’m a big fan of Solis, and I encourage all of you to check out his writing!

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Mock Knight News Challenge application

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Rachael

Making it easy for newspaper organizations to create mobile-friendly websites is important for readability and accessiblity. Photo courtesy clickhereonlinemarketing.com

Annual Operating Budget: N/A until grant awarded.

Project Title: E-Newspaper

Requested amount from Knight News Challenge: $100,000

Expected amount of time to complete project: 1 year

Total cost of project including all sources of funding: $100,000

Describe your project | Society is becoming more and more on-the-go, and many print newspapers are becoming a dying species. How can newspapers stay afloat? Have mobile-friendly websites with enhanced features that will make readers want to pick up an electronic reader or smart phone and read the paper’s stories of the day.

Why? Take this statistic into consideration: The average iPhone user spends 45 percent of their time making voice calls, and 55 percent of their time using the phone for web mobile purposes—checking email and surfing the web, and possibly keeping up to date on the latest news in their community.

Read more on Why you need a mobile friendly website. >>

Problem is, many newspapers do not have mobile-friendly websites. When readers visit a newspaper’s website from their smart phone or electronic reader, the page is often difficult to read due to its layout and text size—simply because the time or resources haven’t been used to create a mobile-friendly website.

Many newspapers–especially smaller ones–do not have the budget, time, or staff (expertise or manpower) to create these mobile-friendly sites and applications, and readers are less likely to purchase printed newspapers. Many turn to online tools to get their news. Some newspapers are even closing their doors for good or adjusting how often it publishes a paper, instead of taking the time to create a mobile-friendly app that will cater to the needs of its readers and community.

For qualifying newspaper organizations,  a turn-key solution for the creation of mobile-friendly websites would be important to the success of the newspaper’s future.

The E-Newspaper project will be developed to give newspaper organizations across the United States a turn-key platform to implement its newspaper in a mobile-friendly way. The project will employ a team of web programmers that will develop an easy platform for newspaper organizations to then take and create their own mobile-friendly apps for smart phones and e-readers. Functions of the platform include:

  • RSS functionality: News headlines will easily transfer from the newspaper’s website to its mobile-version with mobile-friendly text and images.
  • Social media integration: The mobile-version will allow users to easily share stories via Facebook, Twitter and other sharing platforms. It also will allow the use of embedding YouTube videos within stories.
  • Multimedia components: Tools will allow for full-screen photo and video galleries.
  • Live reporting function: Journalists associated with the newspaper will be able to access a live-reporting function in order to upload photos and brief remarks as to what they’re seeing as they’re reporting a story. This is unique component will be a feature that will intrigue readers to check out the mobile version.
  • Banner ads: The creation of mobile advertisements will be simple and easy.
  • Weekly email tool: Users who log on to the mobile version will be automatically subscribed to a weekly email delivering the week’s top headlines. Users can opt-in to special categories of news stories, or choose to opt-out if they do not wish to receive email.

Online tutorials also will be created to educate news organizations on how to use the platform to successfully create a mobile-friendly website.

How will your project improve the way news and information are delivered | This project will improve the way news and information is delivered because it will increase accessibility for readers. In today’s fast-paced society, we don’t always have time to pick up a newspaper every day and take it from point A to point B. Our society also is becoming more electronic, so delivering news via a mobile website will promote ease of access to information. It will also improve readership. More people will read the news if it’s offered to them in a way that’s easy for them.

How is your idea innovative? | I think the problem we’re seeing with newspaper organizations today is diminishing readership and support for the actual newspaper, resulting in lower profits for the organizations. This idea is innovative because it will give these newspaper organizations the tools they need to continue to be successful, without investing the time and money they would need to create a tool like this. Many communities depend on its journalists to deliver the news, and newspapers are being as creative as they can to keep delivering that news with the budget they’re on. Offering a turn-key platform will enable news organizations to keep up with the times and let readers know that ease of access to the information they want is a main priority.

What experience do you or your organization have to successfully develop this project?  | The vision and creative will be created by me. I have experience with implementing new technologies on the web and understanding accessibility for readers. The web programming would be outsourced to an organization capable of creating mobile-friendly websites.

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