Transmedia definition discussion

INteresting blog article on defining transmedia here www.giantmice.com/archives/2010/04/towards-a-definition-of-transmedia/

I've been commenting and good discussion growing from comments

Literal Video Versions

OK - just had these shown to me - they are funny, I remember sneaking out to the living room, putting a blanket over me and the tv to hide the glow and watching Friday Night Videos and saying ooo how cool is that - now these are remade and I love the creativity and ingenuity - what a great writing exercise to have freedom but must stay within the confines of the video and the melody - I think it would be fun to write one - can't sing, but could write

So far this one is one of my favorites - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA - total eclipse of the heart hehehehe

Rating Transmedia

Read a nice article at www.thewrap.com/blog-entry/critical-shortfall-who-rates-transmedia-15492

and left the following comment

great article and a topic I have been wondering about myself for quite some time - rating/evaluating transmedia (archiving and the lasting ability of these projects is another topic I think a lot about). Rating/evaluating come in two forms - one is related to access (one might argue success is a touchy word) - as you mention how many people view the transmedia, how many people view a portion of the transmedia and how many people UNDERSTAND the whole story.

Then there is another area, one I started a small rating concept for (more as an attempt to work through the ideas than as trying to say, as you point out, oh I am qualified and an expert - I am neither IMO) - but that is rating the necessity of each piece to understanding/experiencing the whole and thus the true transmedia nature of project.

I think a grid of ratings are needed for any transmedia project and then each person can look at the number that best fits what he/she wants for that experience (is it total number seeing any piece, how many made it all the way through, how necessary were the pieces to understanding the story, how many people bought this or that, etc).

I would maybe suggest a transmedia project dictates a more involved list of metrics and that anyone getting into a project of this sort should accept they will need to consider that, and put into place a number of metric measures fro the getgo....

A look at a different sort of outcome from privacy loss

Interesting ideas and article

www.mediapost.com/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=126013

Treme (nola) and Transmedia and newspapers

Caught this article about index/nonfiction as story - niemanstoryboard.us/2010/04/13/from-treme-to-the-911-commission-report-index-as-story/

which led me to the show's web site - www.hbo.com/treme/index.html

and to this article - www.nola.com/treme-hbo/index.ssf/2010/04/hbos_treme_explained_do_you_kn.html (which has a place readers can share comments - more interaction)

What I like about this

First, as a general awesome link between a fiction and non-fiction source - cool!!!!

Second, it is a way for newspapers to find a place to jump back into places where they seem to be dying.

Third, what a great way to teach culture, geography, social studies and such

I do not have HBO so still waiting to see Treme (I am looking to see if it is online yet...) - but I can see from the official site there are some transmedial elements and potential for even more - how many people might start to really look into this time period and place (I already have as I write some stories that take place in Nola and from general time period).

This is an example of how I think transmedia can be used in education!!!!!!!

Bebo demise and archiving transmedia story

well if this is true - "AOL To Sell Or Close Bebo" on WEB SERIES NETWORK: www.webseriesnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/aol-to-sell-or-close-bebo

then it is another signal that certain elements of transmedia/crossmedia projects can easily be loss or transformed from original intent (what about all the wonderful things that happened on MySpace or livejournal or yahoo groups or I could continue as social networks and services rise and fall) - or would this mean recreating the event in the newest and latest social medium - which could mean relaunching a story every so once in a while - which could mean a writer/creator/manager has to invest a lot more in this type of project - which could have good and bad.....

Does this mean transmedia projects will always come back to haunt you or you will have to always carry them aroound - and does this mean lots more work for a writer/creator and will there be then a backlash of less enthusiasm and ohhhhhhhh what about all the wonderful things in contracts and so on on who gets paid to do what?????

Can of worms, opened once more....

Mobile Computing research

from www.morganstanley.com/institutional/techresearch/mobile_internet_report122009.html

The Mobile Internet Report

To receive a printed copy of The Mobile Internet Report, please contact your Morgan Stanley Representative. To purchase a copy, please click here.

For other Morgan Stanley Technology Research reports and presentations, please click here.

December 2009

Our global technology and telecom analysts set out to do a deep dive into the rapidly changing mobile Internet market. We wanted to create a data-rich, theme-based framework for thinking about how the market may develop. We intend to expand and edit the framework as the market evolves. A lot has changed since we published “The Internet Report” in 1995 on the web.

We decided to create The Mobile Internet Report largely in PowerPoint and publish it on the web, expecting that bits and pieces of it will be cut / pasted / redistributed and debated / dismissed / lauded. Our goal is to get our thoughts and data into the conversation about what may be the biggest technology trend ever, one that may help make us all more informed in ways that are unique to the web circa 2009, and beyond.

We present our thoughts in three ways:

1) “The Mobile Internet Report Setup”– a 92-slide presentation that excerpts highlights of the key themes from the report (This presentation is also available in Simplified Chinese - 移动互联网研究报告摘要).

2) “The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes” – a 659-slide presentation that drills down on thoughts covered in “The Mobile Internet Report” (Note that the presentation is 40MB and may take some time to download).

3) “The Mobile Internet Report” – a 424 page report which explores 8 major themes in depth and includes the two aforementioned slide presentations + related overview text (Note that the report is 50MB and may take some time to download. If you prefer to download individual themes of the report, please click here. This report is also available in Simplified Chinese - 移动互联网研究报告.)

Technology and computing changes - will the rest follow?

A few interesting articles lately have come out that should be watched and considered.

www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2010-03-31-1Aappworld31_CV_N.htm and www.pcworld.com/article/184876/mobile_internet_to_dominate_within_5_years_study.html

We see these changes creeping into culture - changes in how business is done, changes in how media is delivered and consumed and more....

It is an exciting time, it is a scary time, it is... change

Interactive Fiction, participatory culture and Transmedia Events - will we be left behind or late to the party

Interactive Fiction, participatory culture and Transmedia Events - will we be left behind or late to the party

The points brought out in this article - www.jokeandbiagio.com/indie-filmmakers-meet-interactive-fiction are really worth thinking about. It highlights how, in some ways, today is a very exciting time in media and also a very scary time. Things are changing, the world is changing, and a shift that began 10 years ago is really beginning to be felt.

We are living more and more, for better and for worse, in a participatory culture and people today want to not be passive consumers, they want to feel part of the experience. But is this a fad or something more, a true change?

And if there is a shift, will people be left behind? I remember playing "The Beast" or more accurately, trying to play. I found it frustrating and difficult as there always seemed to be someone there first, someone else was picked, someone else got to play, and I still was a passive observer. The down side to this rush to certain interactive and transmedia experiences is most of these events leave people behind.

There is this nasty two sided coin - the writers, creators, advertisers want lots of people to come and see and so on, but as you increase numbers, usually the event becomes a, well, Beast, and then people are left out, behind or become frustrated and turn away.

Then there is the difficulty of managing an event that has a "time". Sure you may be able to archive, but then, once again, you are a passive participant because you are late to the party. Even worse, how are these fictions and experiences being archived? Will we be able to keep up? Must we be constantly plugged in and tuned in to interact?

And, along the lines of the transmedia necessity rating I keep tinkering with, how much of the fiction/event/sources must we try and scoop up and experience to really "get" the story? Are we really ok if we don't participate? And what about the difference between a crossmedia product and a transmedia one?

And last - are we trading in certain types of stories in a rush to experience? Yes I separate the two because while you can argue everything is story (which I can go for) - there is a definite difference between a novel and an article and a forum board with people discussing a puzzle that reveals a little more about a universe. I like all of those, but how will they fit in this interactive culture?

I love april 1

check out the front page of wikipedia, Google, MSn and some others - I love this day in the tech world - hehehehehe