Lara Skolnik

***this was written 9/25 in response to the lonely girl 15 article 

Before this class i was aware that there were small series on youtube, but i did not know abuout Lonely girl 15 specifically and I definitely did not know about its popularity.  It amazes me taht Flinders and beckett could create such a convincing set of a 16 year old’s roo, fabricate a lifefor her, put it on youtube, and gain the popularity that it did.  it is even more amazing tthat after the viewers discovered that it was all fake, nothing changed.    It is interesting how the article shows the difference between TV shows and vlogs.  The author says that on tv, an episode airs at a specific time and is meant to make sure that the audience gets hooked on the show.  However, since vlogs can be viewed whenever, the creators get a very good, clear idea about what is attracting viewers and waht is not.  Also, Flinders and Beckett state that the internet is a new medium of enternatment. Although TV reality shows are popular, even more reality is required for successful vlogs.  Since Youtube is a palce for normal, every day people to post their own creations, Lonelygirl15 would have to look like improv. the filming techniques can not be advanced.  The videos are usually only a few minutes.  In addition, what makes Lonelygirl15 so realistic is the vlogs of other characters. On a tv show, a team sits down together and carefully plots out what contributuions each character will make to an episode or season of the show.  However, Lonelygirl15’s characters add their own, seperate vlogs, basically creating subseries.   I am now very impressed with the thought and effort that was put into lonelygirl15.  I was really unaware of the major differences between interne,t and traditional entertainment, and also the reasons behind those differnces.