Dealing With Culture Shock in a Healthy Manner

100 Reasons

Offered without comment: 100 Reasons to Watch Jericho

Nietzsche vs. Jason

The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. "Whither is the artist?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him --- you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? ... Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying the artist? Do we smell nothing as yet of the artistic decomposition? Artists, too, decompose. The artist is dead. The artist remains dead. And we have killed him.

"How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? ... Must we ourselves not become artists simply to appear worthy of it?

...

It has been related further that on the same day the madman forced his way into several galleries and libraries and there struck up his requiem. Led out and called to account, he is said always to have replied nothing but: "what after all are these galleries and libraries now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of the artist?"

Argleblogle Glop-Glif?

File this one under "huh?" Gizmodo runs a "Microsoft LOL" story about Microsoft's YouTube channel and their decision to leave comments open and uncensored is a "marketing mishap." What? How is allowing people to express opposing opinions without being censored a "marketing mishap?" Unlike other companies - say, Apple - who delete comments they don't like and actively kill blogs they don't like, which is fine as long as they make slick phones with crippled functionality and overly-DRM'd music that looks hip with white earphones - right guys?

Guys?

Full Disclosure: I used to work on Microsoft accounts, but no longer do so. I was in no way connected to setting up this YouTube channel, but I would have strongly encouraged anyone who was to allow comments on the channel without censorship - and to actively engage in meaningful dialogue with the YouTube members who posted comments there, positive or negative. Crazy, I know.

Update: Forgot to give credit - story came via Seth's Shared Items.

Update 2: Apple doesn't kill bloggers, they kill blogs. Big difference! Changed above for accuracy.

A BioShock Halloween

I'm laid up with some kind of bronchial infection, but in lieu of real content here's an awesome video a coworker sent me of "A BioShock Halloween."

The Only Winning Move

In my office's breakroom, CNN is running footage of Russian president Putin comparing the US' missile defense shield plans to the "Cuban missile crisis." The article on CNN.com seems less hyperbolic, but having a former KGB agent in charge of a Russia that's increasingly resembling its former communist self in all but name is scary enough without tossing around the closest we've ever come as a species to setting our clocks back a couple hundred thousand years.

Just in case our leaders are reading the Puppet Show (or if any of you Puppeteers need reminding): the only winning move is not to play.

Have the Rolling Stones Killed

It was 29 years ago today...

It's All About the Content, Baby

A big buzz-term in the Web 2.0 community is "user-created content." By this, people are typically referring to things that online communities create themselves that demonstrate their passion towards something. This blog post is an example of "user-created content."

The New Marketing people were quick to seize on this, and "user-created content" quickly became something quite desirable within New Marketing circles. In this slightly more cynical case, the content they're referring to is something that users have created to show their loyalty to or excitement about a brand or product. A good example would be the "PG version" of the 300 trailer that came out right before the movie. The YouTube video (embedded below) has more than 4.5 million views, and while the users did basically overdub the source material a few times, it was enormously popular, and New Line played along because it's basically free advertising (a trick many companies haven't quite figured out yet.)

I was thinking today about the push towards user-created content, and I think it's a great goal, it's something that's exceptionally hard to create organically unless you specifically give the community tools to do so. But even if you were to allow users to create their own car commercial and share it (as GM did a couple of years ago), will all that have the same effect as one humorous video that's an overdub of the official trailer? It's hard to tell. There's a reason there aren't more Lewis Blacks, Dave Attells and Jon Stewarts out there: doing something funny and relevant, with a wide audience appeal, isn't easy. Empowering community members to do so is great, but one shouldn't expect each video created to be another "300 PG."

Rather, I think New Marketing should focus more on user-chosen content. Empower me to take the things I want and put them in my own space. This blog is a fine example: the content you see on the right nav is either static (the blogroll) or chosen (Google Reader, my Gamertag and its accompanying RSS feed) content. Facebook is an even better example; the entire site is at its heart a colossal crisscross of RSS feeds all picking from and talking to each other. Aside from blog posts and "wall writing" (Facebook's comments), most of the rest of the content there is generated by RSS, and the user chooses what, if anything, is displayed on their page.

The iGoogle landing page is much the same way. It's now so infinitely customizable that there are website contests devoted entirely to who has the best iGoogle landing page. That's powerful stuff, and I suspect we're only beginning to tap the potential of user-chosen content.

That's my thought for a Sunday after a busy weekend.

David Lynch's "A Goofy Movie"

Offered without commentary:

Turnabout is Fair Play

By now, I'm sure you've seen the Miss Teen South Carolina geography gaffe videomeme that's been floating around. And I'm sure you've had a good laugh at her expense, when she talks about maps and "the Iraq." Blonde beauty queens are so stupid, laff out loud amirite?

In one of the most amazing bits of turnabout and fair play (Seth sent it to me), Lauren Caitlin Upton hosts a quick little video geography quiz on People.com. She gets a chance to snicker at you as you stumble through some pretty simple geography questions.

This is pure goddamned new media genius, and here's why.

1. It's clever. It's not overly sarcastic. It communicates its message without being overbearing. It's not in your face, but its obvious enough to get. It's subtly subversive, my favorite kind of response. "Sure, you laughed at me, and yeah I fucked up. But I can laugh at you a bit too." Fucking brilliant.

2. It's viral. Because of the set-up of the quiz, they can't put it on YouTube (and the site is getting pounded as I write this) but the link is already going around. Seth sent it to me, and I Twittered it and emailed it to my coworkers. It's already on forums as well. Why? It's easy to use, easy to approach, and not intimidating. Again - the simple response is sometimes the best response.

3. It's fast. When did the Miss Teen SC video first go up, Tuesday? Monday at the absolute earliest? This is Thursday - an eternity in "Internet time," but still four days to create something that's obviously professional, that took some thought and creativity, and is polished. It's ludicrously fast to get something like this online considering how traditional media and traditional PR typically works. Bravo.

I'm not sure who's responsible for this, but they deserve an award. Excellent, excellent work, new media people.

Jericho Seyz "Thanks!"

I wish I could have been at Comic Con this year. Some of my friends were, and I even mentioned those friends should check out the Jericho panel. I doubt those friends did, but CBS was kind enough to release the "thank you" reel from that panel (NUTS!) on YouTube. I know that's two Comic Con-related, YouTube posts in a row, but who cares. Contains raw footage of Season 2 with spoilers. NUTS!

Via the SA forums.

Mother of God (Futurama)

Futurama's coming back, coming back, coming back! And they showed a trailer at Comic Con, which I didn't get to see.

But now thanks to the Internet (and CrunchGear, the trailer is now online! See YouTube below.

Oh Jimmy crack corn, and Bender's great. Jimmy crack corn, and Bender's great!

It is Your Patriotic Duty to Buy This DVD Set

That's right, Puppeteers - if you don't buy this DVD, you're not an American. In fact, you're probably a freedom-hating commie fascist terrorist.

It's Jericho: Season One! I'm sure you've been watching on CBS Friday nights at 9 pm (8 central), but you'll definitely want this DVD set - loaded with extras, and ready for viewing at any time.

In fact, if you have friends who aren't into Jericho yet, grab a copy for them too!

Fair warning: some of my friends who read this blog aren't into Jericho yet, and will probably be receiving this set as a gift from me.

The first hit is always free! Free, like the opposite of communist fascist terrorism! Free like Jericho!

And here, for your viewing pleasure, a fan-made video celebrating Jericho's return:

When I Grow Up

From the crayon blog: a spoof of the Monster.com Superbowl ad that pretty much sums up working for an agency:

Yeah, that's about right.

Jericho Returns!

Jericho fans with more skills than myself have been crafting promotional spots for the re-run of the first season starting July 6. Here's an awesome one:

Tune in. You won't be disappointed. (Spotted on SA)

Steampunk Star Trek

Steampunk seems to be a dominant geek meme at the moment, but this Steampunk Star Trek parody from 1994 is pretty awesome (reminds me a bit of the Call of Cthulhu silent).

Via BoingBoing.

Jericho: SAVED

This is astounding.

Like many TV viewers with an Internet connection, I enjoy discussing my favorite shows online. I've subscribed to the Jericho thread (spoilers in first post) on Something Awful for a while now - which became a call to action after the show was canceled shortly after the season finale.

The show was supposedly canceled for poor ratings (even though CBS put it up against American Idol - a show more popular than the fucking Superbowl). But the story doesn't just begin and end with the canceling of a show.

CBS did some very intelligent things with Jericho. They offered users their own message board and wiki, right on the CBS site. Good, because it drives traffic to CBS' site (as opposed to an offsite forum like Something Awful), and good because it gives fans a place to rally. Jericho was a story arc show much like recent, successful dramas on network (Heroes) and cable (Deadwood, The Sopranos), which is to say that each episode built on the last. It also meant there was a fair amount of fans trying to figure out mysteries, whether it was the morse code message at the beginning of each episode to the mastermind behind the nuclear attacks in the show.

In short, it was a brilliant stoke of community development online.

So what happens when you've given people the tools to come together as a community around a show they care about, and then suddenly announce that show is canceled?

Fans get upset. They mobilize.

It's happened before, of course. Firefly fans managed to get Serenity made (which still ended up flopping), but CBS was firm: the show was done for and there was nothing that could be done.

Or could there? One guy, who owns a nut company in New Jersey, decided a tie-in to the "nuts!" phrase from the final episode would make an excellent rally point. So he designed a nuts campaign to save Jericho - where he would deliver nuts to CBS headquarters as a statement of support (the nuts would then be donated to charity, and proceeds from sales would go to helping rebuild the town of Greensboro, Kansas, recently devastated by a tornado - Jericho is located in Kansas.) How many nuts have been delivered to date? Almost 20 tons. The YouTube videos of the deliveries are pretty awesome. The campaign became an Internet phenomenon as well, making sites like Metafilter.

The show's actors and producers were surprised by the outpouring of support. So too was CBS; they wanted to find a way to resolve the storyline. Maybe a two-hour movie? Nothing doing. The show's writers refused.

And today, on the LA Times' TV blog, comes this post: Resurrection: The fans save Jericho. The most interesting part is producer Carol Barbee's comments about the inaccuracies of ratings and the shifting face of entertainment:

I really think that what has been learned here is that networks are going to have to look at numbers and who is watching their show and who is downloading their show in a different way from here on out. I think they have to understand that the Nielsens are not telling the story anymore and that the 18-49 demographic they're all so keen on is online and that's how increasingly they are getting their news and entertainment.

That's quite appropriate - since I myself watched the first 10 episodes on my Xbox 360, downloading them from the video marketplace.

It was the Internet that united fans of the show, and it was the online communities created around it that led to the passion, investment, the tools for communicating and mobilization, and the dedication not to give up that saved Jericho.

Whether a company is utilizing the online community to promote their brand or product, a group of dedicated citizens is using it to enact positive political change, or an as-yet undreamed-of use that is still years away - Jericho's being saved is a great example of the wonderful things that a dedicated community can enact when given the tools. Frankly, it makes me proud to be in the line of work I'm in.

War. War Never Changes.

As some of you know, I authored the Fallout PnP RPG a while ago (quite a while ago, actually), so it's with a good deal of interest that I watched the teaser for Fallout 3 by Bethesda. The site is getting hammered at the moment, so take a gander at the YouTube video if you'd like:

It doesn't show any gameplay unfortunately, but they nailed the Fallout style and confirmed the game will be set on the East coast (Fallout games have previously been set only in the West coast.) And that Brotherhood of Steel Power Armor looks absolutely badass.

Fall 2008 can't get here soon enough.

Morning Dose of Perspective

This song came up on the random iPod on the walk into work this morning. I'm too old to have heard this when I was a kid, but it certainly makes one think:

Two Covers of Hurt

An old pal (who has no website) linked me to a YouTube video by "Sad Kermit" - a cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt, in the same style as the Johnny Cash cover. Slightly NWS for lyrics and, well, an odd puppet, well, thing.

And if you've never seen the Johnny Cash version, what the hell is the matter with you. It's one of the last (if not the last) videos he made with June Carter Cash before they passed: