But now we've got some signs that blogs might be able to really impact mainstream, non-geek people and media. First, there was the Lamont victory, but of course it's impossible to know how much of that victory was about online efforts and how much was about policy.
So what, then, can act as a measure of the influence of web culture? Why, Snakes on a Plane of course! For as ubiquitous and unavoidable as the film's been online (almost immediately moving from in-joke to overplayed), it's been noticeably quiet in mainstream media until its debut this week. But Kurt Loder (he's in his 60s!) breaks it down on MTV's site:
There's no way to separate the experience of actually seeing "Snakes on a Plane" from the year-long carnival of Internet anticipation that preceded it: the fake trailers, the viral videos, the posters, the songs, the T-shirts. God, it's been fun.
Here, then, is our referendum on our real influence. Snakes doesn't have to be the number one movie this weekend to show that blogs have influence over people who aren't web geeks. But a decent showing would illustrate that we are maybe, finally, reaching outside of the echo chamber. I couldn't think of a more noble subject for the experiment.
]]>This is a great story that people are having a lot of fun with. Don't be such a downer!
]]>(totally kidding)
]]>In India recently blogs were banned and initially the mainstream media just displayed a knee-jerk reaction. But then so much fruitful noise was generated on various blogs that not only the somnolent bureaucracy, but also the mainstream media had to take notice and devote the prime time slots to the issue. Even during the Tsunami and the recent Mumbai blasts blogger played a major role disseminating the information. So yes, in their own little or big way, I believe blogs do make an impact and as more and more come into existence, it is going to empower a big up-till-now silent majority.
In this instance, I'm saying the blogging momentum failed to do almost anything for this movie.
Samuel L Jackson in a summer action movie is good for 13m+ withour any problem, especially with what it was competing against this late in the summer.
FOr me to agree that internet auciences had any influence over the box office of this film, I would have liked to have seen it gross over 20m in the first weekend.
]]>Brian Clark, way up there: I wasn't trying to be a downer. I just wasn't privy to the "in-joke" that Anil mentioned. All I saw was the "overplayed" bit. And that wasn't pretty.
]]>If a blog [posts] in the [blogosphere] does it make a sound?
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