Many people engage in simultaneous media use…often a laptop or smart phone while watching TV. If you’re one of them…and you’re planning to watch the Academy Awards show this Sunday evening on ABC…this may be just what you need to occupy your attention during those boring acceptance speeches.
According to USA Today, apps for iPhones, iPads, Android and Blackberry devices are available offering a wide range of features.
For example, the Oscar Backstage Pass is, according to their promotional copy, the coolest thing since…well, the vuvuzela app from last summer’s world cup!
Get the ultimate insider’s view of Hollywood’s biggest night with Oscar Backstage Pass! The Oscar Backstage Pass app is the perfect companion app to have when you are watching the 83rd Academy Awards® on February 27th. You’ll get access to live streams from exclusive cameras placed throughout the Red Carpet, the Kodak Theatre and the Governors Ball so you can go beyond the tv broadcast and watch more live Oscar action as it’s taking place. With Oscar Backstage Pass you get more stars, more glamour, more of everything you love about the Oscars®!
To get the Oscar Backstage Pass for only $.99, visit the iTunes app store.
More coverage from the NYTimes.
I think this is just another way for people to occupy themselves while watching an event. I also think it is just a way for creators of these Apps to get additional money for these “behind the scenes footage.” This is probably easily footage they could have included with the tv broadcast or online but instead charge $.99 for the feature. While a lot of these Apps are another way for people to get interactive with the content, it’s another way for the companies to get a profit. I honestly don’t get the point because if I am going to sit down and watch the Oscars, why would I care to use an App about the Oscars while it is broadcasting live on my tv? But since a lot of people just enjoying getting Apps on their smart phones I am sure a lot of people would enjoy features like these. It just seems sad that when a lot of features like this use to be available online for free, that you have to pay to see them now.
Apps are just an extention of what our phones are capable of. If you are into the Oscars and have nothing better to do during acceptance speeches then yes, this is the App for you. What happened to just sitting through the speeches or even better, doing homework instead?! All the awards shows do is give celebrities an excuse to brag about how many movies they were in, how much people liked them and who is the biggest brown noser out there. Yes, talent does win some of the time but when the audience doesn’t even know who is up for an award then we know its all riged. The App isn’t going to give you behing the scenes footage, its going to give you what the creators of the App want you to see so you become obsessed with these types of Apps for more media and celebrity related productions.
Apps are for your convience.I wouldn’t pay an extra dollar to have access to the awards. I could easily watch them on telvision for free. Today most apps cost to use them. You can find the free ones but they are usually slow or don’t work. You pay all this extra money when having a smart phone. You end up paying for special data packages and use of internet. I think all apps should come with the phone or at least have the option to download for free.
The academy awards app is very clever. It provides access to the extreme. Now instead of waiting untill the backstage stuff hits youtube, you have it right there on the spot, watching it as it happens that very second. I am qutie sure this going to be a very popular app.
Anything can be an app nowadays. I’ve never watched the Oscar’s or Emmy’s, but it’s not surprising to me that people would pay the extra dollar to have extra access to all of their favorite stars.
I personally love apps, but at times, I feel like as a society, we are starting to rely on them way too much for my liking. The is nothign wrong with a good game of Angry Birds, but what about when they make apps to copyright papers without getting traced or caught. Or other thigns that could be potentially frowned upon, this particular app is okay I think, a bit pointless though.
I don’t fully understand the longevity of this App for the Academy Awards. I say this because this is an event that takes place for one night and people will be down loading it for .99 cents just so they can fill time during the actual show. This gives so much life to the comment that we are too tuned in. Commercials give people time to talk about what they have seen, time to think, time to digest what they like-don’t like –agree-disagree and offering to fill that time with more coverage of the awards seems so consuming and greedy of the media. Granted they are not forcing people to buy the app I feel the advertisement hints that this is the best way to watch the awards and get everything that is anything. If this app exists I feel many more will likely come in its place when other events worth of media pop up. There is no time to just breathe. There really is an App for the that as they sad and that’s what makes me so sad about it all. There is such a thing as too much.
In the recent film “Friends with Benefits,” there is a joke about a smartphone app that determines whether a woman is on her period. In a currently running Geico television advertisement, three men demonstrate apps that 1) simulate a champagne bottle, 2) project a “bro-stashe,” and 3) allow the men to play drums, a trumpet, and a guitar. The point of all of these gags is that apps exist for every imaginable purpose. I have over twenty apps on my phone that get daily usage. Several times a day, in fact. It’s part of modern living with media. My apps give me access to infinite information through Google, let me talk to my best friend through Hey Tell, and let me know where my boyfriend is at a glance. In short, apps are great. While I didn’t personally watch the Oscars with the enhancement of a smartphone app, I don’t see why a person wouldn’t if they were a fan of entertainment. Ultimately, apps can give us nearly super human powers, and it seems foolish not to make the most thorough possible use out of them!
This is when you know technology has taken over society, when apps are being created for a one- day event. I find it a bit ridiculous to have an app that you can only use for that specific event. Having to pay for the vip app is also ridiculous in my opinion. I also think that having a lot of apps makes your phone slower, which I have experienced because I have an Android phone. I have also found out that there are millions of apps that you can choose from. Technology is increasing rapidly and I feel as if there will be a ton of apps over time.
I think it’s great to have apps for multiple things but at the same time your phone can only handle so many apps before it starts to run slow especially if your phone runs off of microsoft. So once we reach that limit what are we gonna do. when we want more apps are we gonna have to throw away the apps we already purchased i mean its only a $1 right. It would be nice if apps were like netflix but sadly its not.
I am constantly amazed at the apps that are available for usage on smart phones. Some make me question our state of being as a nation because of the stupidity and uselessness of certain apps, but on the other hand, there are some fascinating apps for consumers. The Academy Awards app is clever, but somewhat of a time waster. Anticipation is lost with the use of this app. While some like having the inside scoop, I like being surprised and reacting with little to none preconceived notions. Apps will continue to be created until technology dies, which is the most impossibility our world could face. So….apps galore!
Smart phones are one of the media’s greatest allies. The smart phone can do anything media related. Its able to surf the internet and even browse online radio stations while still having the ability to text and call friends. I think that the Academy Award app is a unique and useful app since the media puts out so much hype about the Academy Awards. Since smart phones compliment the media, the media has utilized the ability of the smart phones to expand the hype about the Academy Awards. Everyone wants to watch it, so everyone would probably purchase the academy awards app.
I think that the Academy Award app was probably a pretty big hit. I personally would not purchase it just because I do like watching the award show and feel like the speeches are a part of getting the full affect, no matter how boring some of them may be. I think the speeches are significant because you get to see an actor or actress outside of a role they may play and speak for themselves. You can get to know that person through their quick speech. Pretty soon, there will be apps for absolutely everything and they reason for that is because we live in a face paced, high tech world, and people will buy into it.
I personally think this is a little ridiculous but this might actually appeal to some people out there that are really interested in keeping up with hollywood. To me this is just another way that Apple is trying to get your money. I believe that the apps in general are just starting to get ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong a lot of them are very useful but there are some that serve no purpose either and the fact that people spend money on some of the apps that they do is crazy. All of the time and energy invested into creating all of these things just detaches people more from actual social interaction. If everyone is walking around caught up in their phones and getting all of their daily intake of news and whatever else they might wanna know from there, there will be no need to even talk to anyone else. Apps are fine and dandy, but I just think that a little less time should be spent focusing on them and a little more on reality.
The apps that smart phones and mp3’s are able to access are making it easier for people to stay updated on everything from hollywood gossip, game scores and news, and real world news. Thee app that allows people to get updates to the Oscars was such a success because some people weren’t able to watch the coveted awards ceremony, so this app gave people the opportunity to stay updated with the most recent news from the show. This is what apps are intended for, to give people the opportunity to keep up with the most what’s new.
I think the app was a good idea but i would not get it and I didnt. I am into my phone but not that into it id rather sit and listen to the boring speeches then get on my phone waste money and time getting and using the app. This app is for people who have time and money to waste.And technology is getting more enhanced but sometimes technology fails and messes everything up so sometimes being old fashion is a good thing to be.
I think this is a pretty cool app for those who are really into celebrities and knowing who got what instead of having to sit through all of the speeches but I personally would’nt look into buying this app. It amazes me how many different apps they are coming out with and how dependent we are on technology, people rarely stop for directions or have a big paper map in their car. You can practically find anything in your phone these days. This is just the beginning to technology as well, it’s going to keep growing to the point where it’s pointless to leave your house to have a conversation with someone when you can easily text or skype them. Most of the apps and other technology is not necessary, and filling up my phone with things like the acadamy awards app would just be a waist of space.
Technology has come a long way and has increased tremendously over the decades. Many people are starting to engage media through their smart phones. How far can they really go with these smart phones? They use to be used for just communication and now you do about anything on them. Every smart phone is starting to get an app store on their phone and I do have to say their pretty nifty. With the new technology through these smart phones you able to purchase plane tickets, movie tickets and all kind of thing’s, it’s basically a mini laptop that you carry around because it has internet and everything that you need. Technology is getting bigger and will continue.
I think the question we need to ask ourselves is what is the purpose in going into the real world? Everyone that has a smartphone has their entire life in a phone. Are individuals nowadays to attached to their smartphones? Could this lead to problems in the future, or is this behavior acceptable. I believe smartphones are great. All the information smartphones provide is fantastic. At this point in time our world is going through the period of time in which not every individual has a smartphone, however within the next couple of years I believe that almost everyone will have one. Some of the apps that have been invented are extremely helpful. I believe apps are great, however are they necessary? Most items that individuals own are not necessary; they are just nice to have. Having a smartphone may not be necessary, however it is extremely handy.
I think the Academy Award App was a great idea. Just like it was said in the blog, many of those speeches are boring! That App probably brought in a whole new crowd to watch the Award show that might not have been as interested before. For those that are less interested in the art and inspiration behind the movies, to those that care more about gossiping about what each starlet wore-the App would definitely serve its purpose. On a side note, Apps can be really powerful tools if used for purposeful things. My fiance is a Kindergarten teacher here in Pueblo and she was telling me about a Smart Phone App that was made especially for children to practice working with sight word flashcards. She said her student’s parents hand their kiddo’s their phones in the car on the way home from school and quiz them on their words that way. By no means, should an App take the place of that interaction between parent and child, but in our technology driven society today, where most Kindergarteners are able to independently access and use computers.
It’s hard to deny the utility of smart phones. As a tool for managing menial tasks on-the-go, they make practical sense; using my phone to, say, turn on the lights in my home while on vacation to ward off intruders, or, unlock my vehicle in case my keys are locked inside is nothing short of cool. But from reading other posts, I realize that most consumers lack the capacity to realize that heavy reliance upon technology to enrich everyday experience exemplifies a type of obedience to a modern mythology; a belief that technology is a meaningful way to attain personal fulfillment.
Once the sole domain of religion, hopelessly lauded technology now provides the unwarranted substitute to ordinary human experience and an empty promise of satisfaction through its use. Arguably, the sole function of religious magisteria is to dupe consumers into disregarding ordinary personal experience in favor of religion’s magical tales and empty promises (a direct line to God, protection from natural consequence, etc.). After all, religious practice enriches one’s soul and enhances reality through a pretend but distinct connection to a greater truth, didn’t you know? If you’re a member of the “correct” religious club you could escape the common mortal experience and earn eternal residence (and happiness) in the ethereal realm. What a bargain! The only cost is the dismissal of ordinary human experience, as it’ll never be quite as satisfying as a back-stage pass to the divine.
The advent of technology (print media, then electronic forms) provided quicker individual payoffs and instantly magical substitutes to religious promises of self- enrichment. Sitting around the radio to listen to one’s favorite radio addresses, or finding oneself captivated by moving pictures in a box became the modern way to supplant one’s dissatisfaction with ordinary experience and a way to transcend reality. Just like religion, technology provides a way to mystify and commoditize the experiences of others; making them seem more magical than anything you yourself are experiencing only to try and sell you a short cut for having something similar.
There is a technological magisterium that permeates modern culture so deeply, it might be causing a sort of protracted suicide for the human being. This would be an interesting discussion to have, but there are few who have the faculty to do so. The myth that technology will solve all of the world’s issues is creating overtly quantifiable consequences to the natural realm. However, these objective facts won’t have any useful impact in ordinary discourse on these issues. For now, consumers will continue to engage in the mindless contrarianism of whether one smart phone app is more useful than another. The marketplace will continue to welcome any new app regardless of its utility and especially if it has the potential to stimulate more consumption.
i guess people want to be a part of the show now! Has the app world gone to far? well if they are selling it then the consumer needs to be the one to take a look at what they are buying but most of them wont its only .99. Sometimes i get5 the feeling that all this information and what i believe is silliness about the apps just disconnects people from reality even more. It all reminds me of the sprint commercial where the lady texts her boy friend across the table that she is breaking up with him. Apps make it easier to avoid the human interaction and become addicted to a device all the time. Makes me wonder what would happen is the earth took a large EMP blast would the world survive the chaos of having to talk to people face to face?
The apps for the smart phones are amazing in their own right but I believe if they keep formatting apps in the variety that the companies do, there will be no need tv or a laptop. When is enough, enough? The phone was once just used for communication now you can buy plane tickets, check out books,etc. It is truly amazing how far technology has come but with all this technology has come solidarity. It has taken a stab at people’s social interactions and everyday living routines. Soon enough you will be able to drive through an app on your smart phone than actually using a steering wheel. All this techonlogy can’t possibly be healthy for us.