VMAs

What did you think of the VMAs?

I watched it live, and have to say I was just as shocked as everyone else when Kanye made Taylor Swift cry (word has it she was hysterical backstage and had to be convinced to stay), Lady Gaga’s disturbing rendition of her song Paparazzi, and Lil Mama’s major stage-rush fail.

I wanted to commend MTV for doing such a great job incorporating social media into the event in live time.  The company worked with Radian6 to provide live visualization of online buzz surrounding the event, and reported the results throughout the show as well as on its website.  The number of tweets surrounding each event skyrockted traffic at Twitter and certainly created more buzz for the event.

I personally found it much more enjoyable to watch knowing I could have instantaneous conversations with hundreds of friends via Facebook and Twitter, and certainly made each show-stopping event all the more exciting.  I believe upcoming widely televised events, including the Oscars and the Super Bowl, will become even more popular and give each event a new life.

As for my favorite tweet of the evening?

Kanye West just jumped on the train and told Taylor Swift that the 4/5/6 is a better subway line.

Major props to Taylor Swift for killing it minutes after Kanye proved to the world he still isn’t worthy of anyone’s respect.

Drexting

Driving+Texting=Drexting.

Okay, so maybe that won’t catch on, but below is a video that was recently posted by the British media as a public service announcement to persuade teens to quit texting while driving. WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND TERRIFYING and I would not recommend anyone with a weak stomach or for that matter, a conscience, to watch it.  IE: If you don’t want to have nightmares until you grow old, do not watch this. While it is completely staged, it is very realistic and catastrophic.

Do these ads make a difference?

I think so, to some extent.  Look at everyone talking specifically about this ad.  Exactly on target.  Everyone right now knows, drexting=bad.

Still no? Alright.

While the image of that accident above will forever haunt me, I do not know what effect it will have on a teen. With minds so short-ended and focused on the social aspects of high school, coupling that with the freedom associated with having a car can spell disaster.  Ah high school, I remember thee clearly.

Personally, I feel these foreign public service announcements have always used the “shock” factor to take it to the next level.  We all remember driver’s ed (depending on the state, some are more rigorous than others – Minnesota’s 30+hr class included) and the violent videos, intense speakers, and graphic images programs use to ingrain the dangers of driving into teenagers’ minds.  Our bodies aren’t physically designed to be chugged down the highway at 55 MPH, let alone higher speeds, and being 100% aware of the road ahead is the most important thing above all else while driving to protect ourselves and others on the road.

Having personally avoided an accident yesterday after the cars ahead of me slammed on their breaks into a screeching halt, all I could think about was how thankful I was that I wasn’t on my phone (confession: I usually am).  My Blackberry did take a trip and fly out of my lap and go under my pedals, which I later fetched unscathed, but that’s a much better consequence than a rear-ender caused by cell phone distraction. And of course, the two-second rule came into play as I had left enough room in front of me and my cat-like reflexes were functioning to a T.

I think the most effective solution to this problem is making texting and talking on your phone with your hands illegal in all states.  Studies find that texting while driving reduces your concentration 23%, and while a greater proportion (3/4) of accidents cannot be specifically attributed to phone use, drivers need to be aware of the dangers.  I believe that creating a law (which already exist in states like NY) will give that extra push and excuse to put the phone on speaker and keep both hands on the wheel.

There is no doubt that this video will reach our lawmakers’ computers soon, thanks to the viral power of the internet, and encourage a bill to be passed.

It makes you wonder: Who knew social media could save so many lives?

Below you can find my favorite least favorite PSA, from our neighbors up in Canada (also quite graphic).  The message: accidents happen.  So you should be terrified every waking hour of the day while you’re on the job.  Oh, Canada.