Update on the friend business: It wasn’t what I thought it would be. But nothing is broken so that’s good.
And other than that I’m trying to get myself into thesis-writing mode.
Like for real. I have 6 months where I have to write a thesis. It’s really doable. But I’m pretty stumped by the step of finding a problem to write about.
So to remind myself that I’m further along than I think I am, I’m going to make a list of stuff I’ve done:
- I found a subject that perfectly combines Technology and Business: YouTube
- I wrote a list with 16 areas of YouTube I’d like to investigate further.
- I wrote a 20-pages paper about user interaction and gamified processes on YouTube
- I found my thesis advisor
- I’ve read about persuasive technologies, gamification, business models, motivational theories, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember.
- I went to a lecture about big data and found out that it really is just a buzzword.
- I’ve bought books about behavioral and cognitive economics, information visualization, and the fallacy of technological solutionism (give them to me Amazon so I can read them!)
- I’ve investigated the business model of YouTube and found that they are constantly trying to increase their revenue, currently by diversifying their products.
So I’ve done stuff. But I want to do more. And most importantly, I need to find my angle on this project. So far I’ve found that even though I knew YouTube was a huge area to tackle, it is even larger than I thought. Maybe even larger than life? Anyway. All I need is a good title and the rest will follow.
Ideas so far include “YouTube: A Case Study of a Persuasive Business” and “How YouTube Creates Revenue: Aligning Consumers, Contributors, Creators, and Customers”. Maybe I should go in a totally different direction: “Why YouTube Trolls are the Best Trolls” or “YouTube: It’s the Shizzle!” or “YouTube: The Parasite of Google?”
I mean, the possibilities are endless, and that’s kindda the issue. Suggestions are welcome in the comments.
