Stars wanted: Agencies scouring the Web
July 23, 2007
Stars wanted: Agencies scouring the Web
Agencies are aiming to find fresh new talent through UCC, but industry insiders question how ‘fresh’ the idea actually is.
Agencies and companies seeking “stars” are increasingly conducting auditions that incorporate user-created videos. Not only is the posting of such videos being encouraged on the Internet, but there is also a growing number of mobile portals for such clips.
SBSi recently opened a mobile music portal channel called SBS Music Star. It features the broadcasting company’s music-related programs such as concerts, variety shows with musicians and talk shows featuring musicians. The service is interactive, and viewers can watch the programs by phone and take part in voting in polls or participating in talk show discussions by calling in.
This channel also has an open audition feature where mobile users can upload their clips to potentially be featured in a music program.
The Web-based video portal Mgoon formed an alliance with JYP Entertainment, an entertainment firm founded by the musician Park Jin-young.
Last week, the two companies announced that they are holding online-off-line auditions for wannabe musicians. Applicants to the entertainment firm don’t have to upload a video to the portal in order to audition, but they get extra points if they do.
The Gyeongju World Culture Expo, in which 30 countries participated, is also seeking young talent through online user-created content. It features visual and participative art such as music and dance, and includes a user-created content event in which anyone can upload their “talent” to the Internet.
Until Aug. 25, SK Telecom is holding auditions for preschool children. Seven children will be selected to become members of the group “Seven Princesses.” Seven Princesses is a child group that debuted in 2004 and garnered great popularity with their babyish voices. The group’s lineup has changed several times since then. Video clips can be uploaded to the Web site www.01star.co.kr.
Agencies are aiming to find fresh, new talent through this medium, but industry insiders question how “fresh” the idea actually is, because a lot of the star-making user-created videos were in fact put together by professionals, and the artists themselves did not just get suddenly swept up in Cinderella-type stories.
For instance, 17-year-old Xeno, a female singer who became popular after three videos of her singing circulated widely on the Internet, was not a student who just happened to upload a video on the Net. She had been training in singing and dancing for three years with a record label that had high hopes for her talent.
By Wohn Dong-hee
Staf Writer for JoongAng Daily
Searching for the truth at Google Korea
May 25, 2007
Google is taking a dose of bitter medicine from local media. Daily newspapers are suggesting that Google’s new search service is copying Naver and that Google Korea is trying to steal information about local portals through interviews with potential candidates.
Korea’s wire service agency, Yonhap, as well as a number of daily and Internet newspapers, said that Google’s new Universal Search service is almost identical to Naver’s “integrated search” service, which was launched in August of 2000. They also accused Google of imitating Naver with its “Daily List of 100 Fastest-Gaining Queries.” Naver, run by the local firm NHN Corp., is currently the largest Internet portal in Korea, in terms of revenue and page views.
Google Korea retorted that its Universal Search service is part of a “natural trend” and that because Korean companies have cutting-edge products, Google’s service may seem to be similar in certain aspects.
Local media are also accusing Google of trying to convert researchers into industrial spies. The Financial News quoted two employees, both of whom worked for local Internet companies. One employee, who declined to be identified, said that in an interview for Google Korea’s research and development center, the interviewers asked about the details of the program the employee was working on. Another worker said that Google Korea interviewers asked about the problems of search software as well as other questions on key technology. The interviews took seven hours, the worker said. Both sources said that, after the interviews, they felt like industrial spies.
Google’s interviewers also allegedly told applicants that if they submitted the names of the five best developers in their company, that would give them an advantage in recruitment.
As of last week, Google Korea had appointed about 20 developers. When Google Vice President Alan Eustace was in Seoul last October to establish the company’s Korean R&D center, he said that the company would employ about 150 people for now.
An employee at a portal service firm who declined to be identified said, “The reason Google has come to Korea and is increasing investment here is to imitate local services and pilfer key human resources.” Google Korea, however, said that its interviews were purely for judging applicants’ abilities.
On a separate note, a Google insider, who wished to remain unnamed, complained that the company is worried about reports it claims are untrue.
“Some of the media reports about Google Korea contained false information, which can be a disadvantage to us, especially since Google is a listed company,” the source said, declining to go into detail about which reports were false.
By Wohn Dong-hee for JoongAng Daily
Cyber world draws Korean groups
May 22, 2007
Korean organizations have discovered a three-dimensional cyber-frontier ― the online game Second Life.
Won-Buddhism, a splinter Buddhist group formed in Korea, set up a huge temple in the Second Life gameworld with the celebration of Buddha’s Birthday approaching.
They are one of the first Korean religious groups to establish a presence in the 3D virtual world created by California-based Linden Lab.The Won-Buddhist group said it plans a special ceremony for Thursday, Buddha’s Birthday.
Currently, the area next to the temple, which is a replica of the religious group’s actual main temple, is decorated with colorful hanging lanterns.
Followers of Won-Buddhism meditate in front of a large black circle (called a “won” in Korean) instead of traditional Buddhist icons.
The Won-Buddhists’ three-story virtual temple consists of a large congregation hall and a courtyard, which is decorated with Korean architectural motifs, such as a stone pagoda.
The Won-Buddhists plan to place an English version of their scripture inside the building and use the building as a venue to promote their religion to both Koreans and foreigners.
“We anticipate that this is a good opportunity to reach out to people beyond the barriers of or generation. We will continue to strengthen promotion activities in the cyber world,” a spokesperson for the group said.
The construction company Eld Co. is building a model house for its apartment units in Second Life.
The Incheon-based company hopes to finish construction ― on the Internet houses, not the real ones ― by the end of this month.
In a statement, the company said that it wanted to try a new type of online marketing.
“There have been a lot of Internet model houses, but they weren’t very successful,” the company said. “We’re hoping that this will work because it’s a different business model.”
The model house is built to be similar to the real offline model house, and users of Second Life can enter the building for a three-dimensional experience.
Korea’s top science school, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or Kaist, has also entered Second Life.
Kaist’s Graduate School of Culture and Technology has established an independent island in Second Life and is hosting an online course in the virtual environment.
It is the first Korean educational institute to officially set up a cyber school within Second Life. This semester’s course is not open to the general public.
In the digital age, couples that break up are finding ruder and cruder ways of saying goodbye, forcing online social networking services and Net portals to tighten security.
In the wee hours of Monday morning, one high school boy whose ex-girlfriend recently began dating his friend began posting photos of the girl and other private information along with libelous comments about her on DCinside, a popular Web site.
Many Internet users flocked to her homepage from a link provided by the ex-boyfriend. The high school girl later posted her (very different) side of the story on the Internet, but not before thousands of people had already visited her Web site and photos of her were circulated throughout major portals.
Such personal relationship stories would not make it into mainstream media were it not for the public rants that sore ex-lovers feel the need to post on the Internet. Some cases involve public figures, such as a television news anchor who married a Hyundai heir last year.
Because of these problems, social networking services such as Cyworld and blog services such as Naver are offering more “personalized” privacy services. Cyworld recently enabled users to block specific individuals. Naver users can now choose to make their blog posts unavailable to the portal’s search engine, and can prevent visitors from copying text and images from their blogs.
Portals are taking these measures because individuals wish to continue their online activities, but these Web scandals have pushed up demand for higher levels of security, especially when private content is involved.
“Punishment for people who circulate private information can only be taken if the defamed individual files a suit, and laws in Korea make suing for defamation extremely difficult,” said Sohn Su-yul, an attorney at the law firm Taepyeongyang.
Wohn Dong-hee for JoongAng Daily
