Above is a recent interview I conducted with the creators of Digital Nation: Life in the Virtual Frontier for PBS’s Frontline.
Producer & correspondent Rachel Dretzin and correspondent Douglas Rushkoff discuss how the Web and digital media have transformed work, learning and social interaction in ways that we are only beginning to understand. FRONTLINE’s “Digital Nation” premieres Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET on PBS. Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/tvschedules
My good friend and long time videoblogger, Steve Garfield, is coming out with a book this January called Get Seen. If you’re curious about web video you should definitely check it out. The book is thick, and knowing Steve, I’m sure it covers everything that has anything to do with online video. Steve has been around since the very beginning and has a lot of experience to share. He currently teaches all he knows at BU, Northeastern and Emerson College.
I’m also featured as the very first quote in the book (see below). There’s also an interview in the book with both Steve Woolf and me. Thanks for including us Steve!
image by contentnow
It’s that time of year again when people from across the US travel to the land of make-believe for Digital Hollywood (yes, the site needs a design update, pronto) to see what’s happening in new media.
This isn’t your regular tech event… actually it’s not techy at all. And perhaps that’s a blessing and a curse. For years many independent new media producers have been attempting to bridge the entertainment gap and get the developers and coders talking to the directors and the actors. The problem is that they speak two totally different languages, live in totally different worlds, and most of the time seem like they don’t want to know each other anyway.
This wouldn’t normally be an issue, except we’re entering a dangerous stage in development where it’s integral for these two camps to get on the same digital page, or else we’re headed for some serious disfunction. Web content creators need to know what they’re creating on, how it’s different, and how much power they really have.
On Monday morning I attended a meeting for members of the International Academy of Web Television. The first thing I realized as I entered the room filling up with eager participants was that I was completely underdressed. Jeans and a lazy t-shirt is probably not the best fashion foot forward, but hey. The second thing I noticed was that there was a lack of developers, coders, or any tech people at all. Maybe I missed them somehow. (Please raise your hand). The third thing I noticed was that the room could use a little bit more color and just a little bit more women, but that it was a start.
So okay, I’m still excited because this is an opportunity to be at the ground floor of a place where changes can be made. As we all settled in, we sat down to hear what the plan was. We were obviously at the very early stages of development so there were many questions by many opinionated individuals… yes, including myself.
Some members shared ambitious visions for an organization to tackle the big issues in web content. Epic Fu creator Zadi Diaz and The Guild creator Felicia Day said they’d favor an IAWTV that was truly international and independent, advocated for causes like net neutrality, and deviated from a Hollywood-centered model.
My main question was “Hey, if we’re calling this an international academy there should be some international representation, no?” Why yes… and now I’m involved in the effort to make sure the organization’s name holds its promise. That’s the way it works, right? Don’t ask a question unless you’re willing to fix it. I’m up for making sure this organization really pays attention to what is so special about the web. To make sure that we are seriously considering issues like independence, interactivity, Creative Commons, content created in underrepresented countries, languages and translation, geo-locking (which Felicia Day made a strong point of), etc..
It may be a foolhardy task, but I think the point of being involved is so you can fight for what you think is right. And to the credit of the IAWTV, they did select many members who really care about the web, who understand what’s at stake, are willing to teach others what the implications of losing our rights may be, and who want to celebrate diversity and what makes the web special. Tonight we have the Open Entertainment Alliance meeting, where the main topic of discussion will be net neutrality… and requires more of that fighting spirit. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Cannes Lions
21 Things Advertisers Must Know in 2009 and Beyond
I’m in Cannes right now, just finished up with my panel at the Cannes Lions conference (Big thanks to Digitas for the invite). I had a lot of discussions around advertising and marketing on the web. Overall, I was surprised at how still, in 2009, so many people just don’t get how the web works and how the old rules DO NOT apply. I found myself silently stewing during one of the panels I sat in when I kept hearing ideas that clearly came from people who were playing it safe and boring. So here are some of the tips and pointers I picked up from my past few days here:
Dear people advertising on the web,
1. Do not look back, you will turn into a pillar of salt.
We are pushing the biggest, reddest reset button in modern history. The old way of doing things does not apply. Not here on the web.
2. Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.
Next time you (or your creative) has a GREAT idea — one that you know in your gut is awesome — do me a favor, DO NOT run it by everyone else in the goddamned building. Go with it. A point of view has focus. Too many points and that vision becomes dull.
3. STOP calling people consumers!
People are not mindless drones waiting to consume. We are all people hoping to connect and you are hopefully facilitators of conversation. As soon as we change the language we will change the action.
4. It is not professional vs. amateur. It’s crap vs. quality in COMMUNICATION.
Just because something is polished and created by someone who has dozens of filmmaking awards does not mean it will communicate what you need it to communicate. It does not mean they understand the language.
5. You better care what you’re talking about, otherwise I wont.
6. Stop trying to be cute. Be useful. Inform, don’t just entertain.
There better be a very good reason why I need you in my life. I can’t tell you how many commercials I’ve seen where I remember the character, or the funny thing that happened, but can’t for the life of me remember who the advertiser was. Tell me how you’re useful to me. If you are a serious product or service, why are you trying to be cute?
7. An unexamined life is not worth living, neither is an unexamined idea.
Do not be lazy. What’s the point?
8. Have a conversation!
Open up. Stop trying to control the message. When you talk to someone, you don’t muzzle them, do you? Do you have your lawyer meet every person you speak with? Establish a relationship. Establish understanding. Keep your doors open. Invite people in. Show us your human face. It’ll be okay.
9. React.
Having a conversation means you take turns.
10. To thine own self be true.
Play to your strengths. If you’re X company why in the world would you create a bland fictional web series about a bunch of people doing silly shit? When I’m searching for X on the web a few months later, guess what, you won’t show up. And I was looking for you!
(this deserves another blog post about funding & sponsoring fictional content)
11. Play the match game.
If the show I’m about to watch is shot one camera, raw, non-fiction, why in the world would you have an ad that doesn’t match the tone? What you are saying is that you do not care about the creator or the viewer, only about getting your self-important message out. It does not reflect well.
12. Stop it with the 15/30 second glossy prerolls.
Seriously, is that the best you can do? It just ends up pissing people off.
13. The web is a new language, take time to learn it!
Understand the web! It is NOT TV, stop treating it like it is. Take the time to learn the medium otherwise you deserve to fail… so you can learn.
14. Speak less, listen more.
A general truth: if you don’t know what to do, if you can’t find the answer, it’s because you’re not listening. Stop being arrogant and listen. The answer and the first step is usually a very simple one.
15. Information fatigue is a real thing.
Keep your message simple and direct.
16. Step down from your tower. Go where the people are.
You are not better than your community. You are providing a service. Never forget that.
17. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.
Or you will be burned by the candlestick. That strategic plan you had six months ago is too old. We’re in a constant state of acting and reacting. Taking months to make a decision is not going to cut it on the web. Cut the bureaucracy.
18. It’s not the height, it’s the weight.
What people carry away is more important and long-lasting than the amount of number of people reached. Which is better? Telling your story to one person who will be moved enough to retell your story to other like-minded friends, or expanding your story to cater to five people who will find your story amusing, but not impacting, and therefore ultimately forgettable?
19. Aim for the bulls eye: right place, right time, right person.
Stop throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Good communication means that you have an understanding of your environment, the social climate, and the person you’re having a conversation with.
20. The web is global. Global is the web.
21. The web is that last checkbox.
It’s the one everyone has checked throughout the history of surveys, the one that says “heard about it from a friend.” Our friends and acquaintences are our filters, our trusted sources, our new networks. PEOPLE are the new media… and medium. Be real. Just talk to us and stop trying so hard. We’ll either be friends or we won’t. Easy as that. :)