Category: Ideas We Like

  • All those rich TV sports deals may finally make cable so expensive that we’ll see more demands for a la carte subscriptions. It’s one reason why I cut the cord years ago. I’m indifferent to sports, and I refuse to subsidize media that holds no value for me. I’ll just watch those Super Bowl ads with…

  • Time shift: why I walk to work, listen to records and carry a camera

    I’ve just pulled out my vinyl copy of Paul Simon’s 1986 album, Graceland — which I purchased in 1986 (“every generation throws a hero up the pop charts”). Over two decades later, I’ve begun spinning it again. It sounds great. I guess the teenage me took pretty good care of this fragile analog media. I…

  • Am I a brand? And is that ok?

    It’s a constant struggle — that balance between bragging/TMI (Too Much Information) and the need to promote our abilities and presence in this chaotic communications ecosystem. We’ve discussed this on several occasions in our “Narrative & Networks in Digital Media” class, driven especially by our reference to Networked: The New Social Operating System. That given…

  • Commerce as engagement? Starbucks pushes beyond classic earned, owned, paid media

    This is the second year that I’m co-teaching our foundational “Narratives & Networks in Digital Media.” graduate class with Mac Parks and Shay Colson. At its core (and also the premise to the MCDM/”Storyteller Uprising”): Successful communication depends on the creation of compelling content and sustained multi-platform  engagement by distributing this content through relevant networks. This…