• MySpace is going back to their music roots
• Yahoo is injecting new leadership
• Digg is back to v1

There’s always the come back, the recovery, the re-birth. It’s got me a little inspired to never count myself out.

I watched The Newsroom last night and I liked it!

Some, Not so much

What I find most interesting isn’t the show itself but the conversations around it. Those in the industry looking for moments - either to trash it, or to find a gem of truth in it. Funny enough - the veterans of the job, Mansbridge & Rather, are more open minded to find some amusement and entertainment in it all.

Yes, there will be themes about juggling the news. The challenges in the decisions and weight of it all. Yes there will be long winded speeches about how to change the world ( it’s Sorkin after all ). But that’s not what caught my eye.

What I saw was the active targeting of the lazy and those who assume and regurgitate.

The shows opener takes the easy blow of targeting students; those that are still in the midst of learning and making up their minds; those that can be impressionable by their mentors and teachers. The question, “why is america a great country,” is a little presumptuous isn’t it? That’s like asking “Is you mother a whore?”

In the midst of the show they go into the systemic issue of defining what’s news. The shots of the computer program that seems to be making the decisions. The script that somehow vilifies the people who blindly follow it.

I’m feeling there’s going to be some pot shots at the newbies entering the media industries

• Will the future of our media be quietly influenced by Twitter Trends or Facebook Wall algorithms of the select management and owners?
• Will the connected generations, that have been accustom to knowledge at their finger tips, have the patience to hunt for weeks & months for a single answer? Or will they just rely on those that answer in a day?
• Will our future media folk be blinded and swindled by the ever greying press release - written by the genius corporate PR trained with the same tactics wearing a more expensive suit of sheep’s wool?
• Will those running the show hire and promote those who regurgitate and mimic their own sentiments, or will they actually look for someone with ability? Will they even listen?

But somehow I’m thinking these questions have been asked before, and they will always be asked. The ultimate point, is the act of questioning, in itself, is the first step

Mad As Hell! Kinetic Typography from Aaron Leming on Vimeo.

I recently saw a tweet from @tMediaStrategy asking “Do you think new forms of #transmedia storytelling will develop? http://t.co/IHuNpQaV”

With media and technology’s rate of advancement and experimentation it’s only natural that I responded a “Yes”. To me, it’s like the mathematical probability of life on other planets.

But then the dreaded follow up tweet “@ethernick what forms do you think will emerge? #transmedia”

Oh crap.

Honestly, it’s a “you don’t know what you don’t know” experience.

So without the 140 character limit, tMedia, I’ll try to blog it out. Here we go.

Say It - Make It

The lines are blurring between fact and fiction. If a story mentions a book, website, twitter account, etc… People will start hunting for it in real life. I know I do.

The moment a story makes any reference to fictional material on the web or otherwise - buy it, make it, register it, use it!

I was watching Girls and saw reference to a twitter account “HannahHorvath”. Did it work: no. Why did I look? Because in the scene I clearly saw tweets I wanted to read, namely something about eating wet bread? Instead I found a fan account without the tweets I was looking for.

I commend shows like How I met Your Mother for publishing The Bro Code and for bringing barneysvideoresume.com and lilysinlabor.com to life.

Right Now

Part of the trend of Social ( which has been the dominant focus from media ) is Real Time. The hashtag is probably the biggest “in your face”, at least from TV. That little faded word in the bottom corner.

The show New Girl doesn’t just show the classic “#NewGirl” they’ll also start highlighting catch phrases that they want like “#schmidtbaby” or “#McMouse” - the idea is to see what other viewers are saying about it right now!

Additionally the Conan App looks to be pretty cool ( although sadly to say as a Canadian I can’t see it in action for myself ). From what I gather it can show time delayed tweets, comments and conversation when playing back older episodes while you watch. See what people are saying at the exact same moment in the show.

I don’t really have a good solution to this one - but I do know that with apps like hootsuite it’s not hard to hire a writer for a day to time delay a few tweets on behalf of a character

The media of real life

This I think is the mother of all.

Taking a look at successful brands, successful personalities, successful stories, they all at one point in time, jump off the page to shake hands and be with real people.

Brands have on the street promotions like that RedBull car always driving around town.

Personalities go to conventions, answer questions, and get filmed by TMZ at bars late at night.

Stories? Take a look at Comic-Con’s, Cosplay, LARP, even Quidditch. These take the stories way beyond anything the original storyteller could imagine for. Participants become the story; they make the story; they evolve the story.

Now is this transmedia? By definition, not directly. But does it have exponential positive influence on the story itself? To allow the story to branch out beyond itself? To give it the material it needs to up the ante in the next instalment? Absolutely!

I was given the task of making a manifeto for class. There was one that fell under the guidlines, and one that didn’t. One that I wanted, and one that I didn’t. This is the one that I didn’t hand in, but the one I’ll use, just for me.

1. The Same Rules Apply. New Technology isn’t a mystery, just a new medium. The same rules for interacting with people in the 19th century still apply.
2. Dig for the root. Don’t take anything at face value. Always ask “why” or “where it came from”. If you can’t ask any further, then ask someone else.
3. Nothing is new. Recognize that. Respect that.
4. When you understand, you can overlook the details. Having a foundational understanding of why something is, will help you figure out the details later.
5. Details are what set you apart. Everyone can have the same message, but what makes you stand out, are how you say it & more importantly why you say it.
6. The most important words, are in the spaces. Between every word, your true nature slips out.
7. Be a Tumbleweed. Learn to roll with things and look forward. Let the wind cary you, and don’t say no to the experience.
8. Improv Rules. In the world of improvisation, the fastest way to kill a scene is to say “no”.
9. When a baby falls down, it doesn’t get embarrassed. And neither should you. Mistakes are a fact of life, and when it happens, move on.
10. If you show your skeletons, no one else can. Don’t be afraid of the past, show it with pride. Even more, show that you’ve learned from it.
11. Sometimes the only one who knows there was a mistake is you. There are countless Jazz albums where a musician makes a mistake. To the average listener, they don’t hear it. To the trained listener, it adds wonder and flavor.
12. Sharing is caring. Keep sharing with people. Wether it’s one person or a thousand people. Wether they share alike, wether they recognize you or not, they will always remember where they got something from. So will you.
13. If you wouldn’t say it in a crowd, don’t say it. Online or over the airwaves, if your instinct is to whisper, or look over your shoulder, you are not the one who should be talking about it.
14. Someone else can always say it better. Look for them. Give them the recognition they deserve.
15. Shake hands and kiss babies. In everything you do, if you take the extra time to recognize someone, that charity will always come back. Do it wether you are on the clock or not.
16. You have two ears and one mouth. Always listen twice as much as you talk.
17. If you have nothing important to say, don’t say anything. If you can’t contribute to the conversation simply share the conversation. See Sharing is caring.
18. Land it. Everything needs to have a point. Everything needs to have a solid ending. And if you get lost…babies fall down.
19. When all else fails go back to the basics. It’s good to try new things, but when they don’t pan out, keep it simple.
20. Less is more.