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I am not on YouTube or social media
It is all your fault
[ 8 minute read ] 1814 words
They're blown again!
I just plugged in a pair of speakers into the earphone socket of my laptop; I have done it before and there are even an identical set currently plugged into an identical laptop in the same way right now. The speakers I just reconnected had blown some months ago and one of the speakers had separated itself from its lead. However, I thought, before I throw these away I shall just test them one more time just to settle any doubts as to their usefulness. Since I don't have any music stored on the laptop I went to YouTube for The Who - 'Baba O'Riley'.
More often than not, these days, YouTube videos start with an advert. Everybody wants to monetise their videos so the video-makers click on 'Allow as many ads as possible' or something when they upload their video file to YouTube. Even though the first word of the ad I was subjected to did not start with a percussive sound, it was louder than the following words. My speaker because there are three volume levels to set (YouTube; laptop; and in-line speaker wire), which I did not monitor, was instantly blown. The only volume setting that was not at maximum was on the laptop (master volume, if you will). Whose fault is it that my speaker got blown? Law students studying Tort Law would recognise this sort of question in a heartbeat.
There is more though; but only because this is not a finite exam question. There is marketing and sociology lurking in the background.
Marketing: The key goal is to stand out from the competition or the rest or an environment, such as by using 'foregrounding', 'framing' and 'contrast'.
Sociology: an acceptance of intrusive digital content AND heightened personal interactivity.
These, obviously, are not definitions of the subjects. They are only markers to signify where I am going with this. If this was an essay they would be in an introduction.
Romeo at the laundrette.
If you fall asleep watching Romeo and Juliet on your telly, and after a while Romeo starts talking about washing liquid lumps and Juliet responds with how wonderful her life is, and how white her clothes are because she uses those same washing liquid lumps, you probably won't wake up.
Advertisers need to jolt you awake, or at least change your mental attitude. Of course, if Romeo and Juliet did start talking about blobs of detergent it would be 'product placement' which is marketing by the back door, and foregrounding is not used. Foregrounding is when something is brought to the fore and the rest, the background, is left limping behind. I believe it to be 'contrasting' in the main.
That annoying chipper voice that we sometimes hear to advertise stuff is used to foreground the product. If we all spoke like that then it would be David Attenborough trying to sell us lawnmowers, power-tools and Dormeo mattresses.
One of the easiest way to jolt us into paying attention is to use a raised voice. Consider a scene in a bedroom where a long married couple are in bed quietly discussing their day. Then, an advert comes on. If the volume is loud then we MUST pay attention, even if to just be annoyed at the interruption. That is what the advertisement on YouTube hoped to do when I tried to test my speakers by clicking on a 'The Who' video on YouTube, by starting with a very loud word, which gave no warning beforehand for me to turn down the volume settings on my set-up.
Have technology, will use it?
In our current world nearly all of us have SmartPhones or at least mobile phones; some retro-style phones, such as the new Nokia 3310, launched in 2017 (originally September 2000), have 5G capability but no internet capability).
In recent marketing, most businesses decided to foreground themselves from their competitors by adding services. Once upon a time, we would order something and it would arrive and we, the customer, would be forgotten (except that the business needs to keep a record of its transactions for tax purposes). This record became an integral part in developing Customer Relationship Management or CRM. After-sales contact with customers had long been around before we all started to get texts to tell us nonsense about our purchase. If you bought a Rolls-Royce decades ago, perhaps even 100 years ago, the dealer would keep in contact with the customer, at least for a couple of years. This after-sales personal interaction is a 'value-added service'.
In the modern world, we have no 'quibble returns' as a value-added service. But what else could a business do to add economic value to a product? They thought for a while over tea and biscuits and came up with, since nearly all of us have a phone, pre-emptive texting. They sent us a single text to say the order is on the way. They then, when they all started doing it, decided that they needed to foreground themselves from their competitors and so they sent us texts and emails to let us know precisely the stage at which our order was at. This isn't strictly true because when we order something it does not necessarily come from the business we ordered it. There is a chain of businesses, including financing businesses, the 'supply chain' that is involved in making sure we get what we order. Most of these are given our telephone number or email addresses so they too can tell us what they are about to do, or have done with our order. This, incidentally, is why we are always asked for our telephone number AND email address; because no-one in the supply chain knows what information another business in the supply chain needs to irritate us with their idea of a 'value-added service'.
A case in point: I ordered a replacement bank card. I received an email stating that the 'lost' card was cancelled. Great idea! I then received an email saying a new card has been ordered; and then another email saying the order has been received and it will be dispatched within seven days. Many of us might find all of this useful to know; even that it will be delivered to my home (which email included the full address). Whoops! An email that pertains to a bank card delivery that has my full name and address in it! Who among us missed the relevance of that amidst all the emails, and the medley of other emails that swathe us to tightly that we have no room to ponder or think? It is indicative of a supply chain (The bank doesn't make the card).
The Blame
Now then. In the modern world, in which we amalgamate ourselves with normal practices, we now have an expectation of a pre-emptive text as a warning or advisory comment before something happens. Should YouTube start every video with a short (two second) piece during which we can set the volume on our equipment?
Should the advertiser not start the advert with a very loud first word? But who are they to know whether their advertisement is the first thing that will be heard on a device that day? We might ask, 'Do they care about our equipment?' Definitely! They do not want potential customers to have bad experiences due to their business and advertising practices.
Should I use more expensive equipment when I know that it was an advert that was overly loud, that came on while I was watching a YouTube video, that destroyed the internal speakers on my laptop, that necessitated buying external speakers, which were blown the same way? That begs the question: Should there be an automatic volume limiter on all laptops?
Should I have made sure the master volume (laptop) was turned down before I started the YouTube video, when, used to not having to think for myself due to the constant stream of advisory texts and emails, I just clicked 'Go'? Have I been brainwashed into being a zombie?
I am a victim of my environment
I am sometimes surprised that students ask questions in online forums when the answers are easily found within the course text. I am irritated when in Open University Forums contributors submit less than 100 words.
I own three laptops. I frequently use two simultaneously. About once a month or so I will access all three simultaneously. They run different operating systems and have similar software on them. They can all access the internet via a hub. This means I can have three Open University web pages visible at the same time (four, because I also have an external monitor). Each laptop can have multiple Open University web pages open. Realistically, I only open or view up to six pages at the same time, though that is rare. The screen sizes are 15 inches and I use font-size 10 or 12 for normal work. I, obviously, have a keyboard, and a mouse, for each laptop. I can search the internet on one laptop and still view three Open University web pages. We might say that I am not constrained by either visibility or function.
It has become plain to me that my fellow students are using SmartPhones to study for a degree; and only SmartPhones. What made them think this is a good way to proceed? As contrast, I can see one static draft of my intended assignment submission, search the internet, type a new draft, and view the Open University guidance for the assignment simultaneously, while flicking through the Open University module books.
I used to consider that it is foolish to only use a SmartPhone to access a degree level module and, I suppose, write their assignments on. However, it is also foolish to start a YouTube video without checking the volume levels of my equipment. Let's face it; I have three areas which I could check and I only need to check one to save my speakers from being blown. I know marketing practices. I know YouTube videos are monetised and I know music videos are usually not interrupted by adverts so they are at the beginning of the music video.
How did I get here?
'And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house" 'And you may ask yourself, "Am I right, am I wrong?" [...] And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?".'
Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime', Written by: Brian Eno, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison, Christopher Frantz, 'Remain in Light', 2008.