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Drez
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To take a break from all the philosophical, political, moral, religious, and other heavy-duty topics that have been popping up lately, I thought we might be able to discuss something related only to personal utility: hype.
Sometimes I feel alone in completely resisting the media's and the "advertisement collective's" attempts to hype things up to me, be it movies, games, books, a cure for cancer, Britney Spears having an alien child with a lesbian, or anything else. I simply refuse to buy into hype. Ever. I may become interested in something, but once I do I immediately forget about it until the thing comes out.
I admit, though, that even the slightest bit of initial interest is thanks to hype (assuming a liberal definition of the term), even if it is in the most minimal amount. Also, I think it is impossible to completely block out all hype. I don't know diddly squat about Halo 3 and I haven't read anything about it but I certainly know it's supposed to be a "big thing." Same went for the seventh Harry Potter book.
I guess I'm curious what others think about a few things here. Is hype necessary? Does it prevent you from or help you in achieving utility, on average? I admit I've broken my own rule on occasion. Peter Jackson's version of Lord of the Rings was a big thing to me so I consumed as much as I could about it before it came out. I felt like I was part of a community in that respect, even before it was out, an anticipatory crowd that all shared a common desire.
And that can provide utility too, even though it is almost tangential to the utility of actually experiencing the thing you are being hyped into wanting to experience.
Furthermore, is hype just a necessary part of advertising? Is it a good practice, an evil practice, a practice that is more or less successful depending on how much money an ad firm can throw at hyping any particular thing? Does hype diminish the actual effect a fresh experience has?
To that last one, my answer has always been "yes" and is the primary reason that I no longer buy into hype, and block as much as possible. I'd rather selfishly experience things from a fresh, unbiased perspective, and the only way I've found to do that is to not discuss or read anything about anything until you experience it for yourself, firsthand, uncolored by anyone else's feelings, thoughts, and desires about the thing in question.
To add to that, of course, is the concept of "overhype" - that something can be hyped up so very much that the actual experience can never, ever match the fantasy you've concocted in your head, or simply the one you were fed by others. Overhype, I think, is the main problem here and that one that causes the most detriment to one's utility given any specific experience. Unrealistic expectations will cause people to not see the actual value of something because it doesn't match their expected value, and their disappointment clouds their perception. This is another main reason I don't buy into it. I'd rather expect too little or nothing at all than to expect too much. As such, I am often either pleasantly surprised, which increases my personal utility, or not very disappointed because I didn't have any expectations whatsoever, good or bad.
I also recognize that people achieve utility in different ways based on their personal psychology and that different amounts of mental fortitude are required to block out the way certain things are agressively advertised, so my personal philosophy may not be possible for everyone.
Last, as I posed above, is hype a necessary ingredient for human consumption of entertainment products? Would the economy of entertainment collapse if not for aggressive marketing techniques designed to fill our brainspace with hopes and dreams for future movies, tv shows, books, games, and so on?
P.S. If a mod thinks the thread title is misleading or does not describe the content of the original post well enough, please let me know and I will change it. I thought it was just an ironic way to open the topic up for discussion.
Sometimes I feel alone in completely resisting the media's and the "advertisement collective's" attempts to hype things up to me, be it movies, games, books, a cure for cancer, Britney Spears having an alien child with a lesbian, or anything else. I simply refuse to buy into hype. Ever. I may become interested in something, but once I do I immediately forget about it until the thing comes out.
I admit, though, that even the slightest bit of initial interest is thanks to hype (assuming a liberal definition of the term), even if it is in the most minimal amount. Also, I think it is impossible to completely block out all hype. I don't know diddly squat about Halo 3 and I haven't read anything about it but I certainly know it's supposed to be a "big thing." Same went for the seventh Harry Potter book.
I guess I'm curious what others think about a few things here. Is hype necessary? Does it prevent you from or help you in achieving utility, on average? I admit I've broken my own rule on occasion. Peter Jackson's version of Lord of the Rings was a big thing to me so I consumed as much as I could about it before it came out. I felt like I was part of a community in that respect, even before it was out, an anticipatory crowd that all shared a common desire.
And that can provide utility too, even though it is almost tangential to the utility of actually experiencing the thing you are being hyped into wanting to experience.
Furthermore, is hype just a necessary part of advertising? Is it a good practice, an evil practice, a practice that is more or less successful depending on how much money an ad firm can throw at hyping any particular thing? Does hype diminish the actual effect a fresh experience has?
To that last one, my answer has always been "yes" and is the primary reason that I no longer buy into hype, and block as much as possible. I'd rather selfishly experience things from a fresh, unbiased perspective, and the only way I've found to do that is to not discuss or read anything about anything until you experience it for yourself, firsthand, uncolored by anyone else's feelings, thoughts, and desires about the thing in question.
To add to that, of course, is the concept of "overhype" - that something can be hyped up so very much that the actual experience can never, ever match the fantasy you've concocted in your head, or simply the one you were fed by others. Overhype, I think, is the main problem here and that one that causes the most detriment to one's utility given any specific experience. Unrealistic expectations will cause people to not see the actual value of something because it doesn't match their expected value, and their disappointment clouds their perception. This is another main reason I don't buy into it. I'd rather expect too little or nothing at all than to expect too much. As such, I am often either pleasantly surprised, which increases my personal utility, or not very disappointed because I didn't have any expectations whatsoever, good or bad.
I also recognize that people achieve utility in different ways based on their personal psychology and that different amounts of mental fortitude are required to block out the way certain things are agressively advertised, so my personal philosophy may not be possible for everyone.
Last, as I posed above, is hype a necessary ingredient for human consumption of entertainment products? Would the economy of entertainment collapse if not for aggressive marketing techniques designed to fill our brainspace with hopes and dreams for future movies, tv shows, books, games, and so on?
P.S. If a mod thinks the thread title is misleading or does not describe the content of the original post well enough, please let me know and I will change it. I thought it was just an ironic way to open the topic up for discussion.
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I read about Daikatana in magazines as a kid, I read previews, updates, talked about it with some of my friends, and even posted on a BBS. I think I went through most of high school in the time it took to come out, and when it did it was so very dissapointing. I almost rahter it would have never come out so I could still think it was the 'next biggest thing evar'.
I tend to have a negative reaction to hype, nowadays, due to my own personal observations of the inverse relationship between hype and quality. The more something gets hyped, the more likely it is to not live up to the hype. Part of this relationship is causal - if something gets hyped a lot, the suspicious part of me thinks "this can't possibly live up to the hype, I wonder what's wrong with it?" and then I start focusing on the negatives.
If something is mildly hyped or interest is driven in a "teaser" sense rather than explicitly sold, then my curiosity is piqued rather than my suspicion. It's a blurry line differing the two, however.
There's a good reason for that...
Pre-order the answer today for only $10. Release date currently scheduled for September 7th, 2007. Free shipping if you act fast!
Are you telling Richy to basically buy horrible soul-crushing news of social ineptitude on layaway?
I cannot answer that on grounds of protecting my intellectual properties from info-thieves prior to gold-mastering of said data.
Look at movies... they used to actually STAY in theaters longer then a week... now unless they make the top three or something, they are gone before you can blink. Same with video games... they have to generate buzz just to get picked up, but then they have to keep the buzz going in order to break even or make a profit. And with more and more systems relying on one franchise to actually move hardware, it gets even worse.
Anyway, I consider buzz and hype a necessary evil in a consumer economy. However, I find this thread over-hyped and give it a Rotten Tomato score of 18%.
Yeah, and PSP had a huge backlash with their media blitz... hype is a double edged sword... companies that over-reach end up getting the crap smacked out of them. Someone here mentioned Daikatana, which is a great example of hype gone wrong.
It's a self-pertuating cycle because we need increasngly moe and more hype to get interested in anything anymore. Watch some commercial from a decade ago for an example. It's like, from our perspective, they aren't even trying. But back when they were made they were good enough to sell stuff.
And that's basically what I got. I was happy with Fable. A lot of people weren't, and I think it's because it did not match what was advertised and hyped to them all along. I'm not sure if that's Lionhead's fault, the gamers' faults, or a mixture of the two, but I ended up with more utility in the end because I enjoyed the game: expecting something it ended up not being didn't bother me in the slightest. I expected nothing and got a decent game.
And, for some reason, I've never fallen victim to overhype. I actually enjoy the experience of hype -- being excited about something is a fun experience, especially if you can share it with other excited people. I'm just into unabashed sincere emotion wherever I can find it. Hype tends to generate that in people -- the emotion of course being one of anticipation/excitement.
I enjoy hunting for new details, I enjoy reading blogs and updates and gleaned information. To me, hype has an entertainment value all its own.
And, somehow, it never really gets to me. I mean, it does put my expectations at a certain level, but I find that my expectations usually match up quite closely, if not identically, to whatever's being hyped. Transformers and Superbad are two recent examples. Tons and tons of hype, and I got exactly what I expected. And because I had spent so much time anticipating it, it made the experience ultimately much more enjoyable for me.
But I'm rather unusually fleixble and easy-going. I'm just naturally attracted to the high-points of any piece of entertainment, instead of the flaws. I find the silver linings, and I hold onto them. It's not even a conscious effort, it just happens. Sure, when I'm in the mood for critical analysis, because what I'm consuming can hold up under it, then I'll do that. It adds to the experience. So, it's not to say I'm not discerning -- it's just that I can usually enjoy most things. I can find something to enjoy.
So, results may not be typical, I guess.
Are you guys against hype that matches up with what is actually delivered?
It makes overhype easier too though. Remember back in the day where everyone on theinternet who'd seen donnieDarko thought they were a unqiue snowflake who'd found a great obscure movie?
Yes. I don't need you to tell me if Game/Movie/Book X is any good. *I* will be the judge of that.
It is more acceptable when perpetuated by the fans of a series rather than a marketing department. This is why the Harry Potter hype didn't bother me too much, because people just loved it that goddamn much.
The comment about movie "hype" interests me, though. The recent movie WAR is a perfect example: when I and my buddies saw the trailer, we were very excited. The trailer itself didn't even look that good, but the mere choice of actors gave us high hopes. When we actually saw the movie, though, we were brutally disappointed. It was almost like being invited to a sorority party by a girl carrying an inflatable pool and a sack full of jell-o packets, and then when you arrive you find out the pool is sitting on top of a hole in the roof to keep rain out and everyone is sitting around eating jell-o fruit salad.
Who cares when Starcraft 2 comes out? You can always wet your whistle with Starcraft: Ghost.
oh...
In my opinion, hyperbole is one symptom of hype but not hype itself.
But I know that particularly in the entertainment business, there seems to be virtually no bounds on the ROI of hype.
Buzz is good.
Hype is bad.