Last week American and European content experts gathered in Amsterdam for Cross Media Week. From the very first presentation, I got the feeling there is one big division in how the immediate future is perceived and, at first, it looked like the difference revolved around where you live (America or Europe).
The week began with two Hollywood filmmakers, Michael Johnson (Pixar) and John Underkoffler (Minority Report adviser), stressing the importance of winning devotion from users. Their presentations looked at the mechanics of filmmaking very much from the point of view of audiences and that word that jarred so many of us — devotion.
It seemed odd because we're (it was a largely European audience) inclined to be storytellers who place an abstract value on the integrity of the story, regardless of the audience.
When you think about it twice you come back to a problem many bloggers, vloggers, and content producers face. Do you blog to win a devoted audience, to build a community of like-minded people, or for your own satisfaction?
Do you make those videos to go viral on YouTube or because you are passionate about narrative and character or comedy?
The same is true of any type of content. With all the distribution options out there, what's your strategy? Where are you coming from?
There's room for people to do all of these things, of course. For the European mind the idea of winning devotion was, I suspect, too packed with religious connotation, and worse, the ultimate goal of such devotion is profit.
Attending BarCamp Ireland on Saturday the issues were echoed in a discussion about why Irish multimedia content is slow to get to the web. Why is Irish creativity not dominating the upload sites — or why are we here not reconceptualizing content in the way that YouTube's founders did?
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - Vikk Simmons
Truth told I suppose I blog for myself and then those who want to review what I write. Prior to the Internet I would develop essays simply to work my writing muscles. Sometimes I would send them out. Now I use my blog as a way to capture thoughts for future essays and longer pieces. I enjoy discussing the subject of writing and I enjoy sharing what I've discovered, learned, or noticed.
That said, in writing anything for an audience-even of one--reader manipulation comes into play.
2 - Rich Frankel
I think the most interesting part of it, is the idea that Hollywood, an industry built on one of the least communal of all media, is starting to wonder how they can get a piece of the action. In that respect, I think "Snakes on a Plane" was something of a proof of concept for a more interactive approach to the movies. To a lesser extent, the fact that "Serenity" got made shows the impact of the new paradigm (not saying a word about their relative merits as films).
As for the desire to have an audience- I think we all want to be heard, at least a little bit, otherwise, we wouldn't publish.
3 - daniel
Good questions, ones that I am facing. Devotion, or the mystery that is chased is a great value. So is community. Are they mutually exclusive?
D
4 - haydn
Hi Fellars - thanks for dropping by.
Daniel - checked out your site - I hope it's going to be a great hit for you and persuade a lot of talent about the web's merits.
The idea of more interactive movies is intriguing, Rich. maybe you could say more.
As for using blogs for prep - I do that. I blog it and then start working towards an article from those first ideas.