Positively Media

How we connect and thrive through emerging technologies.

by Pamela Rutledge, Ph.D.

Should Teachers and Students Be Facebook Friends?

Ask most students if they are Facebook friends with their teachers and they will tell you, “it depends on the teacher.” That alone should tell us that a blanket policy prohibiting teachers from interacting on social networks with students is the functional equivalent of burying your head in the sand. Read More

Six Weiner Lessons for Using Social Media

Politicians, CEOs and Rock Stars are the kinds of people who can be competitive, narcissistic, and have a need for power along with having talent, tenacity, resilience, and the willingness to take risks. It's a big problem, however, when success turns into Celebrity Syndrome, especially in the age of social media. The only cure is a serious reality check. Read More

Transmedia Storytelling: Neuroscience Meets Ancient Practices

Transmedia storytelling development has four fundamentals 1) the psychological and neurological drivers of story; 2) current shifts in consumer psychology; 3) an authentic story; and 4) matching platforms to audience motivations. The storyworld comes last. A birthday cake needs decorations, but fancy icing without a good cake makes for an unsatisfying party. Read More

Transmedia Psychology and Innovation

Definitions, like cognitive maps, define our view and in doing so, limit our vision. My view of media psychology is better labeled ‘transmedia multi-psychology.’ Silly? Yes, but media psychology has to address converging technologies, blurring boundaries and shifting psychologies in a world where our basic assumptions are continually changing. Read More

Perverts, Stalkers, and Cyberbullies, Oh My!

Shame on LA Times columnist Sandy Banks for perpetuating ignorance and the fear of technology. It exemplifies the response of people who aren't willing to learn what it's like to be a kid living with technology today. Read More

The Case of the Missing Cobra: Making News Compelling Through Story

The Bronx Zoo misplaced an Egyptian cobra. I read about it in the LA Times. This isn’t the first errant zoo animal, so why would a west coast paper carry news about an east coast zoo faux pas? Because it became a story. Read More

Should You Share Regrets Online?

When things don’t go as we plan or hoped, we feel regret. Regret can be difficult to manage because it involves self-blame—regret is about our lost opportunities and possible selves. The regret can be painful and enduring. Here are four reasons why sites like SecretRegrets.com can help. Read More

Tips for Applying to College: Using the Web to Lower Stress

It’s the end of another college application season. High school seniors are waiting for the fat envelopes. High school juniors are visiting schools. It's stressful for everyone. Zinch.com can help. Read More

Does the Internet Make You Happy? Thoughts from SxSW

At SxSW Interactive, our panel asked the question: Does the Internet make you happy? My answer is ‘No.’ Let me tell you why. Read More

The Warm and Fuzzy Side of Technology

My 85-year old Dad took issue with an LA Times interview with Dr. Sherry Turkle warning about the inhuman side of technology and the dangers of virtual companionship. In fact, my parents emailed me the article, along with a list of all the benefits of the digital age from their eyes. Read More

Twitter and Sheen: A Match Made in Media Heaven

Twitter's Authenticity and Immediacy are turning Charlie Sheen into (even more of) a Media Sensation. It's more than morbid curiosity. Sheen has created a very compelling narrative and we crave the sense of closure. Read More

Levis: The Karma Capital That Got Away, Part 2

Brands and corporations have significant social impact. In Part 1, we said Levi's irresponsible Go-Forth campaign ignored the psychology and cultural sensibilities of the market. Here are 7 take-aways from this marketing faux pas to create serious Karma Capital by aligning social goals with the bottom line. Read More

Levi’s: Go Forth and Exploit Part 1

Levi's uses Braddock, PA, a struggling former steel town, as the backdrop for a Depression-era narrative in a recent ad campaign. We find it disrespectful and alarming on multiple levels, not the least of which is the implicit message of their gritty, hip, 'Grapes of Wrath' look: "Poor is the new sexy." Read More

The Psychology of Social Media that Fuels Social Change

Social media drives social change through the strength of weak ties. The strength of these ties is the psychological shift toward collective agency that comes from interconnectedness: the impact of seeing the actions of others and believing that individuals can make a difference. Read More

Stories Are the Antidote to Information Overload

What does it mean when we have real-time on-demand information? We have more information that we know what to do with. We have a filter shortage. Stories are the way to contextualize information so people hear what you have to say. Macy's and Downy are missing an opportunity by not making a stunt into a story. Read More

The Psychological Power of Storytelling

Transmedia storytelling unites the ancient art of storytelling with the new communication model of a networked society. No matter what the technology, the human brain responds to content by looking for the story to make sense out of the experience. Read More

Transmedia Storytelling: The Reemergence of Fundamentals

Transmedia storytelling is one of the most exciting developments in the last few years for two reasons. First, it represents the continuing shift from a technological to human focus and, second, storytelling taps into a fundamental form of human communication that engages our imagination and through that, empathy and creativity. Read More

The Psychology Behind Why the iPad Didn’t Kill the Kindle

Amazon succeeds because their strategy catches the psychological fundamentals that drive consumer behavior, not short-term infatuation with bells and whistles. Read More

New Media is the New Museum, Part 2

In part 1, we wrote about the first of two important points that Arianna Huffington overlooked in a recent post on social media use and museums. Our first point was how cultural shifts change the way media technologies augment experience. In this post, we tackle the second: is there a right way to experience art? Read More

New Media is the New Museum, Part 1

Arianna Huffington recently expressed misgivings about museums adopting social media. It's not a question of whether museums should adopt new media. New media IS the new museum. Social media is a powerful communication thread that ties us together in the present and with the past. And what, if not that, are museums?

2011 will be the year when technology takes a back seat to human experience. In 2010, people grappled with the deluge of social technologies. 2011 will bring a move toward simplification as we lift our sights above the tools, features, and click-throughs and focus on the psychology underlying our interaction with media. Read More

Chavez & Twitter: Censorship Won't Change the Psychological Impact of Social Media

Chavez doesn't like Twitter and Facebook. He made the mistake of thinking that someone can control information on social media networks. Now he wants to control information the old fashioned way: government censorship. If he does, it won't change the psychology of Venezuelans. Social media technologies have already taken care of that. Read More

Jump-Start Your Thanksgiving Spirit

As you gear up for Thanksgiving, be thankful for T-Mobile because they have once again tapped into the joyful side of humanity with a flash mob event that is not only exuberantly entertaining but will have you looking forward to the holidays and, if not to traveling, at least to seeing family and friends. Read More

Four Ways Social Media Is Redefining Activism

A New Yorker editorial by Malcolm Gladwell argues that social media is not redefining activism because it's based on weak ties. That's wrong. Social change isn't about what tools we use to communicate. It's about our passion and commitment. Social media facilitates our ability to connect and act and our belief that we can make a difference.
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Who Wants More Reality?

Sometimes when new technology is introduced, you get a glimpse of the future. The iPad was like that for me. Now Samsung is introducing the Galaxy Tab (tablet) on September 2. This time, the glimpse of the future comes from their marketing pitch not their product. The top item the Galaxy Tab offers those who want “more”? Augmented reality. Read More

Lend Your Eyeballs to Achievement not Aberration

Let’s celebrate achievement, such as the PS 22 Fifth Grade Chorus from Staten Island, instead of outliers, like LeBron James’ basketball contracts, or irresponsibility and bad behavior, like Lindsay Lohan’s substance problems and jail sentence. It's time we started exercising our power through choice and the use of emerging media technologies to promote the behaviors we want to see. Let's use the excitement and engagement of technologies such as augmented reality for prosocial ends and set higher standards by celebrating achievement such as Time Out New York Kids is doing with their feature of the PS22 Chorus.

There are several things media psychology is not. The key to media psychology is that it involves learning psychology AND the technology. If you want to "practice" media psychology, you need to know how media technologies work--how they are developed, produced, and consumed. And you have to really know psychology so you can actually apply it to issues of usability, effectiveness, and impact. It may not seem very encouraging to hear, especially from someone who is passionate about media psychology, but if you are searching for a profession with a clear career path, predictable income estimations, and logical next steps, this is not a field for you. Read More

Media Psychology: Why You Should Care (Part 2)

Don't believe Chicken Little. The sky is not falling. Media psychology uses the lens of psychology to understand human interaction with technology to help people adjust to the rapid pace of technological progress, keep authors honest when they report media research findings, and to remind people that everyone’s experience is different—even with technology. Read More

Media Psychology: Why You Should Care (Part 1)

Media psychology is a field with no consensus definition, no clearly-defined career paths, and no easy answers that can add value anywhere human behavior intersects media technologies. Read More

Online Safety: Educate, Not Legislate

Facebook’s recent privacy control changes have triggered a big response of concern, indignation, and pages of analysis. When people are angry, they demand solutions—often in haste and not often rationally. This has added fuel to the political fire to regulate social networking sites. It’s time to take a deep breath and realize that we need a longer view to achieve a solution that is both effective and sustainable. That solution is education, not legislation. We need to redefine media literacy to include understanding how media technologies work and how they are used, not just focus on content. We need to elevate media literacy to media citizenship. Media literacy needs to be included as a core item in our educational line-up not an after-school after-thought. Read More

Pamela Rutledge, Ph.D., M.B.A., is Director of the Media Psychology Research Center and teaches media psychology at Fielding Graduate University and UCLA Extension. more...