Transmedia Storytelling 101

Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story. So, for example, in The Matrix franchise, key bits of information are…

Why Our Brains Make Us Click on Lists

The article-as-numbered-list has several features that make it inherently captivating: the headline catches our eye in a stream of content; it positions its subject within a preëxisting category and classification system, like “talented animals”; it spatially organizes the information; and it promises a story that’s finite, whose length has been quantified upfront. Together, these create…

Obamacare’s broken website cost more than LinkedIn, Spotify combined

Much of the criticism of Healthcare.gov has come from people who are fundamentally opposed to the idea of a government-mandaded website that manages the individual citizen’s purchase of health insurance from private providers. So, while I have been following with shock and dismay the  horror stories (long waits, incomprehensible error message, unhelpful live chats, unpopulated…

Comedian punches reporter who tweet-heckled him at ‘Funniest Celebrity in Washington’ contest

The tweets in question were pretty mild. In my journalism class, we’ve been talking a bit about the value of having a thick skin and taking the high road. Here’s an example of what can happen in the real world. Stand-up comic Dan Nainan, a comedy club road warrior whose credits include performing for President…

Snarky Error Message Comments on “the transience of linked information in the internet age”

Arent you glad you didnt cite to this webpage in the Supreme Court Reporter at Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 131 S.Ct. 2729, 2749 n.14 2011. If you had, like Justice Alito did, the original content would have long since disappeared and someone else might have come along and purchased the domain in order to…

Jimmy Kimmel Reveals “Worst Twerk Fail EVER – Girl Catches Fire” Prank

Brilliant. The combination of a looks-too-good-to-be-true video, the patina of respectability that comes when a TV talking head introduces the clip, and the internet as a means for spreading links illustrates just how easy it is to fool lots of people — including professionals who should know better. I did show the original video to…

Benefits Of Being A Social CIO

SHU’s Phil Komarny: Every get, starts with a give: We have all heard the phrase, you get what you give, and in the world of social media that phrase takes on a much more weighty meaning. Go ahead, prove me right, create a twitter account and follow 100 or so people. Just read, don’t interact.…

Disruptions: Texting Your Feelings, Symbol by Symbol

Being a word-oriented thinker, I don’t have much interest in emoji icons. I dislike it when an autocorrect turns a traditional sideways smiley into an icon. My daughter, who at age 11 is too young for a Facebook account, sometimes uses my Facebook account to chat with her slightly-older teen friends, which means that when…