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Transmedia storytelling is nothing new…. Right?

Posted on by in blogRock, storytelling, transmedia

mediaRock

So the short is answer... Right! Absolutely right!.... But also wrong.

The formats may change but the game stays the same. Well for the most part at least. I think the key difference here right now is audience participation. Let me explain... For millennia, ancient civilizations all around our world (when it was still big), have used their own refined brand of "transmedia storytelling". The fundamental truths and belief systems of entire tribal nations were constantly being delivered via different mediums such as song, dance, cave paintings, story, ceremony, etc. Each piece within itself crafted to single or multiple themes (to entertain; or educate; or unify; or pacify; etc). Yet all working together to bring an deep understanding to the bigger picture of ultimate responsibilities and the continuing narrative of life's lessons. ...Now, that's not a brief you want to get wrong! But the effectiveness speaks for itself. And even at a very highest of levels you can clearly see (and have to admire) the simplicity in it's complexity. So the idea of transmedia is nothing new, and it's not like  we have a limited choice...
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Video’s Soft Stats – Get Tracking

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Video Statistics I was conducting a video strategy session with a corporate marketing department recently and as we were wrapping up, one of the questions posed was "What are the most important stats for us to track for video?" or words to that effect (my memory is rarely verbatim - unlike my girlfriends'). Now bear in mind this was a marketing department at the top of their game and they collect enough tracking data to find a needle in the depths of deep space let alone a haystack, so (excluding any key details) my response was along the lines of... 'Hard stats' are great stuff, they show the trends ex post facto and can build a solid business case on which to base decisions. But it's the 'soft stats' that show intention and desire and with that, future direction. Now when I said 'soft stats' it was met with blank stares and couple of mouthy crickets, so I'm guessing I'm the only one that says 'soft stats'. Meaning further explanation is in order. In a nutshell it is basically measuring motivations, contentment, desires, expectations and the like. None of this...
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Viral Video – the process

Posted on by in blogRock, Viral Video
viralVideo
There has now been a lot written about 'viral video'. Some will tell you that it's a simply pot luck and others will tell you it's a well traversed yet secret path on which they, and they alone, can guide you. Some even say that it's a complete myth, a figment of our imaginations! Although I'm not sure that youTube are completely on board with that one. None the less, this blogRock post isn't aimed at the validation or otherwise of viral video theories or in fact viral video itself. It's merely a collection of observations culminating in a quickly rendered powerPoint slide. For some it may provide a little clarity and cut through from which to make there own decision, while for others it may well be as un-fulfilling as Freud's explanation that "...the Meaning of Life is Death" (although I prefer the way Monty Python explain the same principle). It's never usually a good idea to put a link to a Monty Python clip, but for those of you who have stayed or even less likely, come back, I'll continue on. There's a good TED...
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Social TV Platforms – the five minute version

Posted on by in blogRock, Social TV
Social TV "Social TV Platforms"... it's ridiculous isn't it? Not the social TV platforms themselves of course (...well mostly), but the fact that the term "Social TV Platform" (relatively new to most) is already far too general for it relate to any one specific type of platform. Let me explain. Over the past month or so a lot of people have been asking about social TV and in particular Social TV Platforms. What are they? Which ones are dominant worldwide? What does/will the Australian landscape look like and how best can we leverage? etcetera... and the answers aren't as straight forward as you might think. Let's take it back a step, or maybe a few. "Social TV" itself is simple enough. The social interaction of people in the context of watching a particular television show or series. This has been rampant since the very start of television in very 'low tech' forums called "lounge rooms". You would see friends and family cram into the one room to watch their favourite TV shows around a luxury 12 inch screen. I believe the precursor to this was Social Radio, but...
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