Wednesday, January 6, 2010

#YouTube #Counterculture and #Transmedia #Art

Swiss artists Comenius Roethlisberger and Admir Jahic have created these renditions of YouTube videos “in an attempt to disrupt the haphazard collection of archived videos that YouTube has become.” The artist duo has “transformed the visual (virtual) language of ‘broadcasting’ back into physicality by producing illustrations on a heavy handmade paper from virtual references with elemental art materials to do what they do best, that is, add to the confusion.”

Comenius and Admir touch upon the Warholian nature of Pop...


... To more Degas-like Impressionism (or more aptly known as disambiguation).

Right on, fellas.

You might even consider this a collective form of transmedia narrative, but I’d rather not confuse things any more ;)

Then again, this makes you think about what other elements we can extract from digital culture at large, recontextualize, and then shape as our own.

This also makes you wonder about what experiences can really mean in a world that is this hyper-connected and hyper-socially challenged... And how individuals like you and I can profit from the delivery of alternative, or augmented, perspectives by connecting the dots in more meaningful ways.

 

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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Blogs, Vlogs and Pay Walls... Now What?

There are now over 200M blogs in the world. Video consumption is spiking. Display ads are resurging. Search advertising is on the rise. Most newspapers are dying a quick death, while the best are doing better. Many are implementing pay walls. And like cable TV, people are willing to pay for premium content (okay, premium can mean a lot of things, but work with me here...).

What does this tell us? Ultimately, that advertising and publishing are becoming one and the same.

The simple truth is that there is a glut of content on offer, just not a lot of good or great content. The Long Tail has created a mighty middle, dedicated to the mediocre and often mindless contraptions of sensationalism.

Remember, we are now at a state in our existence where people are actually searching for meaning. Really, they are. Just look around you.

Ok, so that said, Burns would tell us to stop bitching and to pony up for that great content we seek (or the content that seeks us). We sure as heck know Rupert would too. And we now have a pretty good idea of what Chris Andersen thinks about all of this. Oh, but wait a second... Rupert makes money off of Burns, and Burns sells ads. Free means compromise, and it’s not entirely clear, at least to us little people, if this is a good or a bad thing.


[image credits: omg-ponies.com & writethirty.com]

So now what?

As the saying goes, Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity. It is what makes nations great and marriages happy.

If you don’t want to look at ads, then it’s time to pay the piper. And believe it or not, that piper... Could be you.

Posted via email from goonth's posterous

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Welcome to the Age of Personalized Publishing

Welcome to The Age of Personalized Publishing. All in one, one for all.

I can create my own dynamic platform. I’m hyper-connected. I don’t have to follow anyone or join groups because my preferences constantly change. I can be wherever and whomever I want to be. I don’t have to search for great content, it finds me. And I can act with purpose.

My content is a direct reflection of my social identity, and vice versa. I don’t just live in the Cloud, I am the Cloud.

I can avoid ads, or, I can create them. I can create, buy, sell or place media. If I’m good enough, people will pay for my content. If I’m smart enough, I can do this as a partner to major brands. Or, I can build my own brand, and create products supported with tools provided to me by corporations. Or individuals. Or both.

The term ROI is no longer thrown around egregiously. It can mean something like ‘Reciprocity of Intent’. Or it can mean absolutely nothing at all.  

Blogs morph into content hubs.
Banners are now publishing units.
Microsites are now micromedia.
Search is a sole function of community.
Social utilities are a part of the mainstream.
Doing good is the same as making money.
‘Online’ and ‘offline’ are married.
People are media.
‘Experts’, ‘gurus’ and ‘evangelists’ no longer exist.
Great storytellers do, however.

Production is truly democratized.
Collaboration is editorialized.
History is recontextualized.
Artifacts are cherished.

Agencies are facilitators.
Brands are micropublishers.
Publishers are anthropologists.
Technologies build culture.
Networks provide meaning.
Studios support infrastructure.

Governments listen.
Politicians act.
Teachers transcend.

Please, tell me, is this just a dream?

Posted via email from goonth's posterous