Today's Topic: The Economics of Contest Voting Practices
In March of 2005, the FOX network's #1 Cash Cow, American Idol, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Phone Numbers Fiasco, re-aired the... Anyone? Anyone?... The same program? The exact same program? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered? Raised viewership, in an effort to mollify outraged national viewers' concerns regarding possible scheming and contest-rigging on the part of... Anyone? Anyone?... The Elusive Phone Numbers Guy? Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? Mom? Aaron? It did not work, and American Idol viewers sank deeper into the Great Phone Numbers Fiasco, questioning the validity of any voting system that would keep Frans/Babs/Micks in the singing competition.
A few decades ago we had a similar debate. Anyone know what this was? mrtl? Circus Kelli? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this said? It said that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This was very controversial. Sort of like cancelling all the votes on a "live" American Idol evening and trying again the next day, hoping for the same outcome. Does anyone know what we call this? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" (contest voting) economics...
All right, all right! I'm finished now. Sorry. I simply could NOT resist one last play on a movie quote. But, c'mon! Who could let a little Ferris Bueller hilarity pass by?
At least, it's funny when I picture the classroom scene in the movie, and hear THAT VOICE, and see the students' dead, DEAD eyes, and that boy drooling all over his desk in his lecture-induced sleep/coma, and experience vivid flashbacks to several horrific lectures on the Medieval Period I presented to (read: inflicted upon) my British Lit students early in my teaching career.
Hee. See? Funny.
I will try to restrain my geekiness in the future. Pinky Promise.
4 Comments:
-
commented:
Ok - Mistake to try to call on me for a social studies question, especially for something that happened when I was too wee to remember. You get a blank stare (and maybe some drooling) for that one.
I am also greatly disappointed in what happened last night, especially because the cynic in me doesn't believe for one second that this "error" was not intentional. Give me a break!- » 3/24/2005 2:08 PM
-
commented:
And by the way, you've been tagged. See my blog for the questions and have fun!
- » 3/24/2005 3:10 PM
-
Unknown commented:
*drooling on desk*
- » 3/24/2005 3:17 PM
-
Cat commented:
C'mon! You gotta love this scene! Anyone? Bueller?
- » 3/24/2005 4:59 PM