Discoveries

Having no real life affords me a lot of time to read articles on the Internet and generally explore and learn about the world. While there are MUCH better, healthier, more social things I could be doing with my time, there are worse things I could do as well.

For the past year or so I've been learning about the Slender man mythos and following various blogs and youtube channels.  Now, now, now, before you even start to think it, I am not going to make this a slenderblog.  My mind is not anywhere near as creative or twisted as it would need to be in order to start something like that. So keep that out of your minds!  Slender man, with Marble Hornets in particular (WARNING: Do not click that link if you get scared easily and/or it is almost night/foggy and you live near trees), provided a great introduction into Alternate Reality Games, or ARGs.  ARGs are hard to describe and undefinable, as they can take on so many different forms.  They can be blogs, videos, links, puzzles, networks of websites and people, and pretty much anything you can imagine.  Basically, they are non-linear games with interactive facets to them.

ARGs stand out to me for several reasons. One, they interest my inner nerd. I mean, what nerdlette wouldn't love a roleplay-cyber-real life fusion?  The possibilities that these platforms present are endless.  Another reason is that, after reading several *coughwaytoomanycough* articles I discovered that ARGs can and have been used by marketers in campaigns of all sizes.  As a (current) marketing major, I found this really intriguing, and I switched one of my marketing electives for the fall semester into a technology-based marketing class in hopes that I'll be able to learn more about the topic.  Well, actually I switched to that class for another reason as well, I had the professor in a previous course and she was spectacular, so this was just the push I needed to sign up.  Notice how I put Internet learnings over common sense? CLASSY, NO?

Until next time...
HEART
Zan