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Rocketboom

“She can do it, he can do it, then why can’t you do it?” will best explain why the Rocketboom becomes so popular. Rocketboom does not lecture you on what is happening in the world as anchors for major broadcasting networks do. Nor it does not argue that you accept its opinion. While it follows the format of newsroom, with world map behind an anchorwoman, which impresses you on any other mainstreaming media, it just invites audience to enjoy watching it.

When you watch news on TV networks such as NBC, ABC, or CBS, you are more inclined to passively consume what you see and hear. I believe it is because the professionals sitting in front of you (actually, in front of a camera) are giving a sense that they are all well trained “professionally” in delivering and interpreting issues. Therefore, you, as a viewer who has no access to issue makers, trust them to be truly authoritative. You simply think that anchors are different from you.

In contrast to that, do you think Joanne Colan is someone existing in different planet from yours? I assume that you do not give much a prestigious status to her as you do to anchors from major networks. You may think that if she can do it you can do it, too. This is which takes you closer to Rocketboom than NBC’s Nightly News.

It that sense, you may want to argue that Rocketboom is mainly targeting audience who is not serious about current issues that affect our society. But I think that is not true.

It is my belief that to handle news with comic flavor on it is not distracting serious audience. Even intellectuals will find Rocketboom interesting because it does not lose reference with the audience who is enjoying parodies.

Consequently, the audience demography will not be limited to technology geeks or mindless youths who seek entertainment only from news. Many of my friends who are not geeks often told me that they are regular audience to Rocketboom.

Rocketboom producers, however, do not seem to believe that “grandmas” who are afraid of technologies are watching Rocketboom. They look more interested in playing with advanced devices. More often they introduce “awkward” projects that must be from technology gurus. Many of these approaches will disappoint our “grandmas”.

Another drawback that I found from Rocketboom is that it does not stick to single format. Rocketboom sometimes adopts “Charlie Chaplin” flavored voiceless movie concept; Joanne Colan does not show up and only video clips with music is broadcast. So far I have not figured out why Rocketboom continuously has maintained it. I think it needs coherent format.

As mentioned before, many serious viewers are interested in watching Rocketboom’s news delivery. They want to see parodied and twisted interpretation of news that takes serious readers to something like a cartoon sections in news magazines. So I would like to suggest Rocketboom stay on the single format of newsroom. It would be also nicer if Rocketboom assumes that there are many non-geeks among its audience. It does not have to put too much time for technological wonders.