I was reading a recent blog post by Tim Lambesis, who’s the frontman of As I Lay Dying (a Christian metalcore band I really like), and he had some very interesting thoughts on how interactions between fans on a social networking site have become more or less marketing tools. Lambesis observed that one of his favorite bands had posted a new song, and that he noticed how many “Likes” it had. Next, he saw that some new photos also had been posted by the band and that that post had as many or more “Likes” than their new music did.
The problem?
People seem to be more interested in what the band is wearing or doing at any given moment than for what they have to say in their music. So Tim asked his blog readers what fans should be more interested in: what the band members wear and where they hang out, or the content and quality of their music?
That’s not a problem “fans” of Plugged In have to worry about. As a designer around here, I know firsthand that the writers of Plugged In’s reviews face a constant battle with trying to convey deep and meaningful thoughts to the millions of readers who come to see what they have to say about popular entertainment. And frankly, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to see photos of all my office-mates planking while wearing Angry Birds costumes. (And I can’t imagine them actually agreeing to do it either!) Video clips, photos and quick half-baked thoughts are readily available in cyberspace. For years now I’ve sat right next to the guys who write our reviews, and you can rest assured that we’re not about that.
How about you? Are you drawn towards microwaved drive-thru stream-of-consciousness fodder? Or do you want real meat and potatoes?
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