The Facebook & Twitter Con with “Social Media is Bullshit” Author B.J. Mendelson
Episode 50 : Media Mayhem
Episode Synopsis
B.J. Mendelson takes to Media Mayhem to make the assertion that Facebook is “absolutely ineffective,” and Twitter is all hype.
He also reveals the dark heart of the Huffington Post, the reason Occupy was a fizzle while the Tea Party gets their agenda moved forward (*hint-it’s money!), and why journalism has become a bad rehash of a few ‘power-users.’
Guest Bio
B.J. Mendelson has contributed to The Huffington Post, CNN, MTV’s O Music Awards, Mashable, Forbes, the Eisner-nominated ComicsAlliance, and other national outlets. He regrets writing for all but two of them.
In February of 2003, B.J.’s “Universal Break-up Card” was featured on BoingBoing, Fark, GorillaMask, College Humor, and many other websites. This would be the first of a long string of humor columns for B.J. to go viral.
B.J. was also previously a new media director for a television show that aired in forty million homes through ABC affiliates across America, a syndicated college survival columnist with CBS College Sports, and has been quoted and featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, Smart Money Magazine, and other national outlets.
He has talked about the myth of social media at such colleges as SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Alfred, Marist College, and the University at Albany, among others. Just recently, he debated the ambassador to Pakistan at the United Nations.
His first book, Social Media Is Bullshit was published by St. Martin’s Press and released on September 4th, 2012.
Episode Breakdown
00:01 Coming up on Media Mayhem, B.J. Mendelson calls out the Huffington Post.
00:31 Introducing B.J. Mendelson.
02:11 How to get 700,000+ followers on Twitter.
05:40 Why Twitter was relevant in Egypt, and not for nearly everyone else.
08:25 Journalists using Twitter as a resource.
11:35 Fake stories and media consolidation polluting journalism.
14:47 Napster as a case study in what’s wrong with the media narrative.
17:45 The corporate control of the top 50 blogs and podcasts.
20:05 The Huffington Post model of journalist sharecropping.
24:02 The reason that Occupy fizzled and the Tea Party thrives.
25:54 Promoting on Twitter-”The internet is great if you’re rich or a celebrity.”
27:46 Reaction to the Clinton speech from the Twitterverse.
30:51 Understanding the numbers of social media.
33:49 The place for agreement and not discussion-the far left and right.
36:54 Contrasting the support and organization of Occupy and the Tea Party.
40:37 “Stay away from Facebook, it is absolutely ineffective.”
43:05 Thanks and Goodbye.
Additional Links
http://twitter.com/BJMendelson
http://www.socialmediaisbullshit.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Bjmendelson
http://bjmendelson.com/