Aram Sinnreich

Aram on the Sundance Channel's "Love Lust" [video]

A couple weeks ago, I was interviewed pretty extensively for the "social networks" episode of the Sundance Channel's show "Love Lust." As the promo video below shows, it strikes a nice balance between education and entertainment, with a bit of a bias toward the latter.

You can download the full episode from iTunes here: http://bit.ly/aramonsundance

My radio interview on Beatles Rock Band

Today I spent an hour on MPR's "Midmorning" (along with Daniel Radosh and Jason Della Rocca) discussing the soon-to-launch Beatles Rock Band, and some of its bigger-picture implications for the media industry and society at large. We also responded to a lot of listener questions. Altogether, it was a nice, freewheeling conversation, aided by host Kerri Miller's terrific moderation.

Here's the stream of the show:

Take our Online Video Advertising Survey, win an iPod

My consulting firm, Radar Research, is doing a new project on Online Video Advertising -- trying to figure out which business models, price points, feature sets, and publishers are best suited to this emerging platform. If you're involved in the business, either as an advertiser, a buyer or an agency executive, we'd love your feedback.

The survey's very short, and you could win an iPod Touch. Plus, we'll be publishing the topline findings in an article.

Here's the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Vmt3J9wVh0nwiqTRucgxqg_3d_3d

#*!@&%ing with The Count

This isn't particularly clever, or even new, but when my family and I needed a laugh this weekend, this video came through like gangbusters.

Amazing what a little creative censorship can add... your brain fills in the naughty parts, making it far funnier than either the pre-censored version, or any actual dirty version could be. Kind of like the way revealing underwear can make someone look sexier than they do in the nude. Thanks, brain! And thanks, cousin Mark!

User-gen ad topped Superbowl audience faves

A few years back, when Marissa and I were pushing user-generated video as the saving grace for advertisers and programmers, we were considered to be dangerous radicals. Today, it's a foregone conclusion that "prosumers" are better at targeting themselves and one another than most agencies and networks; according to the USA Today Ad Meter Poll, the user-generated Doritos spot took first place among Superbowl viewers.

Ironically, however, this 30-second spot made by "two nobodies from nowhere" captures all the banality and vapidity of a genuine Madison Avenue production.

The people have finally spoken. And what we want, apparently, is more gags about people's testicles getting hurt. Maybe I need to rethink my schtick about the transformative nature of configurable culture.

Conversation with TV Exec about Convergence and DIY

A friend of mine who is a strategy exec at a major TV network sometimes IMs me to talk shop. With his permission, I'm posting an interesting conversation we had today, about how Hollywood should deal with the "DIY" video movement. I've changed his handle for privacy purposes.

I will also be cross-posting in my new role as a guest blogger over at Starpolish.com.

TV_exec
question
do you envision a world where

Aram Sinnreich
shoot

TV_exec
DIY
acutally is competitive with
studio material?
talking long-form
(30 min greater ent content)
ugc
whatever u wanan all that cagtegory

Aram Sinnreich
depends on what you mean by DIY/UGC
peer production yes

TV_exec
long form
commanding cpms

Aram Sinnreich
peer production, yes

TV_exec
similar to current hollywood long form
pper production?

Aram Sinnreich
meaning, open source

TV_exec
oh ok i c

Aram Sinnreich
movie equivalent of linux
but not single-handed

TV_exec
right so
that gets distributed on line

Aram Sinnreich
it's hard enough for a single person to make a compelling 5-min clip

TV_exec
or do they strike deals with other media distrbution?

Aram Sinnreich
not very many auteurs can swing 1+ hours without collaboration

TV_exec
sure, or have hte money
to make it competitive with hollywood
talking ent only

Aram Sinnreich
right, though that's becoming less of an issue, esp w/ animation and documentary

TV_exec
i think that's unclear

Aram Sinnreich
so is your question about distro

TV_exec
but yeah i mean it's heading that way

Aram Sinnreich
or about content

TV_exec
it's about both
meaning

Aram Sinnreich
or about revenues?

TV_exec
it's kind of a broad question about
the "disurptive force"
of non studio / hollywood content
and its place in the future

Aram Sinnreich
1) will long-term content be made by non-hollywood entities? yes

TV_exec
i agree with that

Aram Sinnreich
2) will it have competitive distribution? yes, to an extent, but studio money will still go a long way

TV_exec
we internally always refer to it as "long form" for distnigushing sake
ok
yeah it's like

Aram Sinnreich
3) will it have revenues?
yes, but probably through secondary uses and services, e.g. linux

TV_exec
right
i mean it's baiscally asking the question

Aram Sinnreich
i think the entertainment world needs to understand what's happening in the software world

TV_exec
how so specifically?

Aram Sinnreich
because code has been manipulable, configurable, peer-produced much longer than, say, video

TV_exec
ok

Aram Sinnreich
those creative communities and industries have already figured out a lot of the possibilities
e.g GPL
which was recently adapted to creative commons for entertainment/media
or collaborative production, which is what's starting to happen on youtuve
for instance, all the beyonce versions
even the concept of "versioning" got its start in software, unless you count the jamaican kind

TV_exec
i mean it makes sense with regard to

Aram Sinnreich
and as far as biz models

TV_exec
creating mroe value overall
i think
but it's about who moentizes it
i was wondering this (came up in a meeting)

Aram Sinnreich
software has shown that corporations can make money from peer production and distribtion

TV_exec
yeh but that is not apples to apples

Aram Sinnreich
google's whole business is built on more-or-less open source software
not exactly, no
but culture is becoming more and more like software

TV_exec
i agree
but i think u know for example
the average person

Aram Sinnreich
in that it's produced by taking snippets, and rearranging them to suit different tasks at different times

TV_exec
watches 6 television stations
right?

Aram Sinnreich
yes

TV_exec
if hlllywood serves as a tastemaker
and offers up X product
and controls all that product
and the peopel are ok with that

Aram Sinnreich
well it depends what you mean by "controls"

TV_exec
the need for robust gpl type licensing structure
is not really there
or am i off?

Aram Sinnreich
there are powers that average people have now that they didn't ahve a decade ago

TV_exec
why does content need to change if in genreal the people will have the services they neeed?

Aram Sinnreich
and they are increasingly clashing with media legal depts over those powers

TV_exec
yes but what is that % oppulation

Aram Sinnreich
such as universal suing that family for youtubing its toddler with "lets go crazy" by prince in the background

TV_exec
mos tpeople are passive consumers

Aram Sinnreich
actually, you're wrong
most people are now active consumers
i fielded a national survey in 2006 that showed this

TV_exec
don't u think u have to acgtually wait for the old generation to die off
before saying that?

Aram Sinnreich
been looking for funding to re-field recently
creative commons is also about to publish a similar survey

TV_exec
hm

Aram Sinnreich
true, this stuff does correlate linearly with age
but
even old folks are doing this stuff to an extent

TV_exec
well yeah we are talking abotu the future also so poitn taken haha
u know that like some crazy high %

Aram Sinnreich
my grandma has a flickr and my dad's on fb

TV_exec
of ppl claim texting as the most valuable
feature on their phone?
i think that's an itneresting paradigm shift refelective
of kidn of what ur talking about

Aram Sinnreich
yeah, that's why the telcos can charge ridiculous prices for it

TV_exec
haha word
it really comes down to licensing strucutre, right?
i mean the distribution is what it is in large part

Aram Sinnreich
yes, if you mean revenues

TV_exec
but who owns the content and what u can do on it and how you capture
ancillary revenues

Aram Sinnreich
licensing is going to be bigger and bigger
not so ancillary any more

TV_exec
is all incumbent on who owns the license

Aram Sinnreich
because copyright is increasingly reverting to its original form

TV_exec
well it's itneresting -- i'm not seeing anything to suggest a radical departure from current copyright

Aram Sinnreich
e.g. regulating inter-business relations

The future of television

Used to be, you'd lumber over to the "idiot box," turn it on to one of three channels, and sit back in your Archie Bunker chair for a night of quiet submission. These days, you need a Ph.D. in television just to turn one on. Two screens, three screens, four screens, convergence, fragmentation, digital broadcast, analog holes, IPTV -- who can make sense of it all???

Actually, my friend Marissa Gluck can. Along with Meritxell Roca Sales, she's published a report on the future of television for the Norman Lear Center.

So turn off your iPhone 3G YouTube RSS aggregator, turn on a reading lamp, and curl up with this brilliant piece of analysis.