The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers are mostly made up of Millennials (young adults born between 1981-1999). Many Cavalier fans are Millennials. This means great social media moments, especially during the celebration. We weren’t disappointed. Lebron took several selfies with fans and his family. Tweets flowed. Cleveland star Kevin Love tweeted, “Long live the king” (referring to king James). The Cavaliers front office tweeted, “First of 33 teams to ever overcome a 3-1 deficit.” Snapchat photos show the Cavaliers passing the NBA trophy around on the flight home. Celebrities joined the social media fun. Cleveland legend Drew Carey showed off a $5,000 Las Vegas betting ticket. Under the picture he said, “Let’s go Cavs!” Basketball legend Magic Johnson congratulated James with a tweet. He congratulated James for bring a world title to his home state of Ohio (this is big of Johnson. He’s a Michigan resident. Do you know the rivalry between these two states?!) President Obama tweeted his congratulations to the Cavaliers. Even space celebrated. NASA sent out pictures taken from outer space. This picture showed Cleveland lit up in celebration the night they won the championship.
Sports and social media are going hand in hand. We should expect this in the future. Imagine being a kid in the stands that night. Imagine you take a selfie with Lebron, Kevin Love, and your other NBA heroes. You have a story to tell your friends. You have a story to tell future generations. You have pictures to back it. Imagine being on that team. You get countless congratulations from people you’ll probably never meet. We complain about the evil social media can cause. Unfortunately, there is a lot of evil social media can cause. But there’s a lot of good social media causes. This celebration is a good cause. This is how social media should be. Who will win it all in 2017?
Ever watch a TV show set in a city and ask, “How accurate do they portray a certain place? How accurate do they portray an industry?” How accurate does Breaking Bad portray New Mexico? How accurate does Empire portray the hip-hop industry? The question being asked is, “How real is TV show Silicon Valley?
If you ask most, Silicon Valley is scary accurate. Even Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says the show is so accurate it’s not a comedy; it’s a documentary. Box co-founder Aaron Levie tweeted, “Good news: it’s accurate. Bad news: it’s accurate.” Was that the goal? Some even guess which character spoofs which Silicon Valley personality. Who would fictional Hooli founder Gavin Belson be? Marc Benioff, Larry Page and Larry Ellison are all viable candidates. And what about his eccentric rival and philosopher Peter Gregory? Could that be PayPal founder Peter Theil? Theil did put his money where his philosophy is. He stood by Hulk Hogan in a very high profile case. Who could Laurie Bream be? On the show, she’s a venture capitalist partner. She’s a woman in a male dominated Silicon Valley world. Maybe this is what makes her extremely cutthroat. Could this either be Mary Meeker, Marissa Meyer, or Ellen Pao? Could Laurie Bream be a combination of all three?
This is what makes Silicon Valley such a hit. Yes, the comedy is very good. But character accuracy is what makes the show relevant. Even real-life tech leaders ask, “Could that be me?” When I watch the show, I’m asking, “Hmmm. Could that be…”. Silicon Valley does a good job portraying personalities. It seems to do a good job integrating tech based events in story lines. It doesn’t blatantly do this. However, they take various issues going on in the tech world today and subtly incorporate them in the show? How accurate do you think this show is? Can you see yourself in Silicon Valley (I mean the TV show)?
In March 2016, former pro wrestler Terry Boella, better known to wrestling fans as Hulk Hogan, won a $140 million lawsuit against online media firm Gawker Media. This lawsuit started when Gawker allegedly extorted Hogan over a sex tape release. Now, anonymous sources are saying one Silicon Valley maverick financially supported Hogan’s cause.
That maverick is PayPal co-founder, Facebook backer and Founders Fund creator Peter Thiel. Theil’s people stay silent about these rumors. But Peter Thiel is a well known First Amendment advocate. And this case violated Hogan’s rights in vile ways. But it wasn’t just the First Amendment or his admiration for Hogan that allegedly made Thiel champion Hogan’s cause. According to a Forbes magazine article, Gawker tried to oust him back in 2007. Two years later, Thiel said Gawker Media and their franchises (like the now defunct Valleywag Silicon Valley publication), “… had the psychology of terrorists.” Even Gawker founder Nick Denton hinted Theil’s hatred of Gawker probably contributed to him paying Hogan’s legal fees in this lawsuit. Valleywag had a reputation for exposing lifestyles in Silicon Valley, the very opposite of what this multi-billionaire believes in.
Maybe the saying is true…an enemy of the enemy can make a really good friend. I’ve even seen pictures of Thiel speaking on Hogan’s behalf. But I think something even deeper is happening. I grew up in the ‘Hulkamania’ era. I remember when Hulk Hogan was an American hero for us kids. But in the last 10 years, it hasn’t been the case. Think of what this man has endured: a bitter divorce, a son in jail, a sex tape scandal, this lawsuit, a racial scandal that got him permanently barred from WWE, the very company he helped turn into a global powerhouse. Hogan could use a friend right now. From the looks of it, Thiel is that friend. I hope this potential friendship goes beyond this lawsuit. I hope Thiel’s positive influence can help Hogan get on the comeback trail. What do you think of this new partnership?
Are you anticipating the Kentucky Derby today? But you can’t make it to Louisville, and you sure can’t make it to Churchill Downs. Thanks to virtual reality, you can be closer to this historic horse race than ever.
Virtual reality company NextVR will be streaming the Kentucky Derby starting at 4pm. You can only get this through the NextVR app and Samsung Galaxy Headset. They will have VR cameras around the track, around owners’ suites, and in the paddock. In the paddock, horses prepare for the ‘fastest two minutes in sports history’. All one has to do is connect a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to a Gear VR headset, download the VR app, and turn to NBC, the network that’s broadcasting the Kentucky Derby this year. NBC has broadcast the Derby since 2001, and is expected to do so through 2025. Recently, sports and virtual reality have intertwined. NextVR has live streamed NBA and NHL games. It’s just too bad NextVR, nor Samsung Galaxy, can help you best pick who is going to win. They can’t help you make that perfect bet, either. You better rely on the odds and your own expertise for that. There are just some things virtual reality can’t do.
But with this Samsung Galaxy Headset hookup, you can be even closer to the action than even some people at Churchill downs will be. Sure, you won’t be mingling with the millionaires and celebrities, but you will be really up close and personal with the real stars: the 3-year-old horses. You’ll have to make your own mint julep and find your own fancy hats (you can find one at a thrift shop for under $10). But please don’t get too carried away. Just know that you’re still in your own home, in your own surroundings, not toasting mint juleps with an A-list star. Who is your money on this year?
The Symphony Advanced Media ranked top ranked shows for Millennials aged 18-24 years old. The top four have something in common: they weren’t on network or cable TV.
The top four shows among younger millennials were all on Netflix. The top show was “Making a Murderer” a true crime show following a controversial Wisconsin case. Other top shows, all on Netflix are “Master of None”, “F is for Family” (an adult cartoon about a 1970s family), and “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”. Making a Murderer was a hit with older millennials from 25-34. The top network hits with this age group were Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. This viewing habits were tracked between September 21, 2015 and January 31, 2016. There’s a reason Netflix shows like “Family Guy”, ?”Jane the Virgin”, and “New Girl” did so well among 18-24 millennials. These shows are streamed either live or next day for 35 days. Shows from other streaming shows companies like Hulu and Amazon did well, too. Not everybody is following this trend. Among Gen Xers, those aged 35-51, nine of their top ten favorites are on the main four major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.
But it’s the Millennial viewing habits, particularly the younger ones, that are responsible for Netflix’s rise to power. They’re shows are even winning awards. I have two explanations for this. Look at the astronomical cost of cable/satellite/FIOS today. That’s because they’re all controlled by a small handful of companies. Younger people don’t want to, or can’t pay for such services. For less than $10 a month, they can get the same quality of entertainment. There’s the creative factor. If you look at Netflix, the majority of their shows are rated M. Younger people love racier TV. On the other hand, Gen Xers (like me) and Baby Boomers long for the days of family hour TV. Netflix can go where network TV often can’t. Why do you think Netflix is so popular with young adults?
Okay, why am I blogging about NFL football in April? The Super Bowl was two months ago. The regular season is five months away. But Twitter has gotten involved with the NFL in a major way.
Twitter won the rights to show NFL football games live on their social media site. They beat out tech heavyweights Yahoo, Verizon, and Amazon. Starting this upcoming season, Twitter will stream 10 Thursday night football games for free. Twitter stockholders have already responded. Their shares gained two percent. They’re already making up ground for the 26% they lost so far in 2016. It’s been Twitter’s dream for it’s service to discuss live events as they happen. The NFL knows more fans are streaming games. Twitter is expected to broadcast these games through their Moments feature. Obviously, Thursday night football isn’t as popular as the traditional Sunday or Monday night football. So Twitter takes advantage of this growing trend on the ground floor. Twitter knows in 2021, current broadcasting contracts will be up. They will resale rights. Twitter wants in on that sale. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says Twitter’s role centers around world events, bringing live information about these events and sharing information about these events.
Dorsey should be very pleased with this new deal. The NFL is the most popular sporting entity in the United States of America. As Twitter celebrates their 10th anniversary this year, this is huge for them. I think celebrities post so much on Twitter that regular people think Twitter is just for celebrities only. That mentality can easily drive Twitter membership down. But the NFL will easily pick those numbers up. Now that Twitter will broadcast NFL games on Thursday, that gets their foot in the door for Sunday broadcasting in 2021. Twitter had better advertise this to the moon if they want be in the 2021 conversation. Could the NFL rights be the best thing that ever happened to Twitter?
