• The first (and last?) social media election: online resources and where to watch on second screen

    After the 2008 election, I hosted a conversation called “The First Digital President.” Barack Obama’s win was partially attributable to his online engagement and fundraising — primarily via a still-novel Facebook platform. But as a German news organization reported today: There are now ten times as many Facebook users and five times as many Twitter…

  • 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…

  • Why I want to help scientists tell their stories better

    “Can girls do that too and stuff?” my daughter Rose asked me, for the second time. We were both glued to the live YouTube feed of Felix Baumgartner’s awe-inspiring freefall jump from the edge of space, even as we were visiting Seattle’s Museum of Flight (which curiously, wasn’t screening the historic event anywhere). My four…