Comments on: And the Oscar Goes to… http://blog.crowdflower.com/2010/03/and-the-oscar-goes-to/ Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:03:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: George Rivas http://blog.crowdflower.com/2010/03/and-the-oscar-goes-to/#comment-2706 George Rivas Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:11:02 +0000 http://blog.crowdflower.com/2010/03/and-the-oscar-goes-too/#comment-2706 These results have more to do with segmentation than "hive mind". The audience is pre-selected to be Avatar fans: Heavy internet users = computer geeks = sci fi fans = Avatar worshippers (age range and gender is probably a factor too skewing towards young males... but this will only start arguments.) Hence the overinflated view of Avatar. How could it be "Best" picture when it wasn't even a "good" picture? Interesting set theory problem. It had great effects, but the story was one-dimensional, predictable, re-hashed, etc. You didn't exactly need to be Nostradamus to see that trite, tree-hugging conclusion coming over the horizon. This was judging the book by its 3D cover. Next time, I would suggest gathering demographics from the respondents and throwing out any that don't fit the demographics of the target prediction set -- members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are mostly not web-addicted teenage boys. Just a thought. These results have more to do with segmentation than “hive mind”. The audience is pre-selected to be Avatar fans: Heavy internet users = computer geeks = sci fi fans = Avatar worshippers (age range and gender is probably a factor too skewing towards young males… but this will only start arguments.)

Hence the overinflated view of Avatar. How could it be “Best” picture when it wasn’t even a “good” picture? Interesting set theory problem. It had great effects, but the story was one-dimensional, predictable, re-hashed, etc. You didn’t exactly need to be Nostradamus to see that trite, tree-hugging conclusion coming over the horizon. This was judging the book by its 3D cover.

Next time, I would suggest gathering demographics from the respondents and throwing out any that don’t fit the demographics of the target prediction set — members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are mostly not web-addicted teenage boys. Just a thought.

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