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Posted: 2010-03-09 17:11:13 Shortcut URL: http://t.conquent.com/FA00 Sometimes you need a new word, but most of the time there is a perfectly good word that you don't know or maybe just don't like. Corporate America loves new words, and I'm not sure why, after all, they don't treat the words they have particularly well... Take this word I heard today: Transmedia. While it sounds like the transexual porn section of the video store, it's actually a marketing term that refers to storytelling, where "content becomes invasive and permeates fully the audience's lifestyle." (wiki). Which means omnipresent storytelling, or cross-media, or just plain pervasive media. Creating a word to describe your idea isn't new, but we used to call it "branding." You would come up with an idea for a new soft drink, coin a term, trademark it, and create Coca Cola. Eventually the word Coke means any soft drink. The generic word "soft drink" is still there, but the mainstream use of "Coke" only happens after the brand, and therefore the word, is established in popular culture. The prevailing thought now is to create a word, and use it enough that you force it into popular culture. It almost never works, as seen with the broken trail of words and jargon. The problem I have with making up words is based in one of my basic maxims: This stuff is complicated enough, we don't have to make it more complicated. The process of explaining your concept of pervasive storytelling is slowed down by creating a word that could be gay porn or a Soviet telegraph. I'm not saying that "pervasive storytelling" isn't a mouthful, but if I look up the words on Dictionary.com or, lord help us, in a book, the words have meaning and I don't need a wiki or a jargon dictionary to figure out the concept on my own. Now take your crazy talk and get off my lawn...
Sam: Re: Transmedia 2010-03-09 17:21:25 "Transmedia" was first coined in 2003. It became a bit Hollywood during some of the Battlestar Gallactica "cross platform" story initiatives and press (one of the Showrunners was very "transmedia" driven and used the phrase frequently). "Cross Platform" preceded "transmedia" but meant the same thing, without the pretense. Regrettably, it's deeply misused by those who think that having "content" placed on a bunch of different platforms constitutes "transmedia." And, equally regrettably, it's good to use for certain Search results. Actual "transmedia storytelling" is rare, where Users/Audience acquire storied content from different sources a bit like a puzzle. There are also "converged media" story telling applications, which more seamlessly blend storytelling across different delivery mediums but usually within a single content consumption experience (not disconnected by time/space). Worse yet is the quest for making "social media" part of transmedia storytelling. Having a bunch of people shouting at a TV (in a bar, during a Game) does not extend the story to the Bar. The experience extends, but, not the story. A Twitter stream is no different. Subtle point, but, worth making. What I'm getting at is that it's an old concept at this point, it's generally misused; it's still as pretentious as when first used. But, there is some meat in there that's worth delving into...it would just be nice if people said, "hey, like I'm telling my story in a bunch'a different places, cool, eh?" |
About the Author:
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Past Postings:
Transmedia
That magical little tablet
How your website can be in two places at once
Masterpieces created by sheer volume
Suing over lack of originality
A Primer on Internet Fame -- dancing babies, hamsters, numa numa, and more...
Checking my messages
Rules are made to be broken -- in a reasoned, systematic way
So many accounts, so few passwords
Who really uses Twitter? 60% of Twitter's traffic isn't on Twitter
The Web is a Jerry Rigged Kludge
Twitter: Asleep at the Mouse Wheel
Where regulation is good: Google Voice and Vonage
How Facebook is (unintentionally) forcing programmers to piss off users
The Twit Cleaner
Perfect Secretary's pitch for @Adbroad (and the Youtube API)
The Emotions of Text
The Shorty Awards Scandal -- Manual Spam is still Spam
Google Analytics, the cloud and missing numbers #fail
Helen Klein Ross & Michael Bissell Interview at Adweek's Social Media Strategies Conference
The Internet is the New 60's
Cougars from New Zealand (and I don't mean big cats)
Adding facts together, or why you can't charge your cell phone from wifi
Social Media and the Destruction of the World
Rabid Fans vs Passive Viewers -- The Coco vs Leno saga
How to tell someone to retweet (without using up your 140 characters)
You can't buy social media
A book unopened is but a block of paper
Building the LOST: The Final Season Sweepstakes
Holiday SPAM (or the lack thereof)
Archiving Twitter
Too Many Toolbars
Random Censorship with Google Adwords
Accessibility and Shopping Online
Twisted path to customer service
Flash: Shiny objects blinding your audience
Twollow and other gold rush scripts
GPS in a Laptop computer
Thinking outside the box... There was a box?
Twitter was designed for Text Messaging
It's not the corporations, damnit
Entrepreneur or Dreamer?
Adweek Social Media Twitter for Brands Presentation
Socializing is more than Social Media
Generational Marketing is a Myth (or Who's your Daddy?)
Social Media is Just the Way We Use the Internet
Twitter Followers Don't Matter (ask the porn sites)
The Internet is Gooder than Books
Sometimes you don't want your campaign to go viral
Best Twitter Branding Campaign
Like flies to crap, Spammy Twitter Followers don't really go away
iPhone SMS Security Hole
How Flipmytweet works
Cell Phones as Microscopes
Digg is not the Hijacker -- You Are
Steve Ballmer -- the walking dead?
Twitter as an open mic poetry reading
Automatic Social [un]Awareness
First splash for United Against Malaria
New Media/Old Media and the CLIO Awards
Interview at SXSW: Mad Men Twitter And Tracking
We've got an App for that -- it's called the Web
Understanding Google To Get Your Resume Noticed
The trouble with Wordpress and other templates
Wayward Words with Baggage
Speaking at SXSW March 17th
The fleeting Memory of the Internet
It's okay to say 'I don't know'
Nike Takes Over Conquent
Facebook owns this title
Excuses, excuses
A little on Social Media
Feeding on Content
Attack of the Bots
Web 1.0
Net Neutrality
Getting clever with data feeds
The Other Credit Crisis
The Broadband Inauguration
T-Mobile owns Magenta and Other Patent Stories
The Risk-takers, Doers and Makers of Things
The noise of 20,000+ Twitter Followers
30,000 feet, 500 MPH Suburban Strip Mall
Cellphones, toilets and the Inauguration
The End of Days (of song): Microsoft Songsmith Example
Browser Bigotry
The Death of your Soul: Microsoft Songsmith
Creative Development or Developing Creatively?
The Myth of Wikipedia (or the Wiki-1400)
Online/Offline Sales -- is it really that bad?
Is PayPal Tacky?
Old School Web Design Still Works
Domain Squatting
Green Chri$tma$
QA 101
Portland Snow
Get some return on that web traffic
I think they have a backup...
I'd love to have that problem
The [un]importance of statistics
Don't be a tool of viral marketing
Emails, discussions, blogs, wiki and web content
You Designed for Print First
You let someone else register your domain name
You figured .biz, .info, .us would work fine
What's after the Integrated Circuit?
Intelligent life is out there (but it's bugger all down here on earth)
Subject Matter Experts Talking Other Subject Matter
The Totalitarian Regime of Apple
Oversimplifying how people work
crowdSPRING
Traditional agencies vs. the 'new model'
Creative Services for the New World
Reverse Anthropomorphism
The End of Time
Better Living Through Twitter
Lessons Learned From Apple
It's the Brand, Baby
Business Architecture vs. Web Construction
On Truth
Inverse Peter Principle
Random Knowledge
The Hive
RSS for this blog
With a career that has spanned advertising, production, technical services, and project management, Michael is able to articulate the wide range skills and professions that make the Internet work. This eclectic understanding and his desire to shine the light on those hiding behind techno babble has brought success to a wide range of projects.
Twitter @bissellLinked In
Past Postings:
Transmedia
That magical little tablet
How your website can be in two places at once
Masterpieces created by sheer volume
Suing over lack of originality
A Primer on Internet Fame -- dancing babies, hamsters, numa numa, and more...
Checking my messages
Rules are made to be broken -- in a reasoned, systematic way
So many accounts, so few passwords
Who really uses Twitter? 60% of Twitter's traffic isn't on Twitter
The Web is a Jerry Rigged Kludge
Twitter: Asleep at the Mouse Wheel
Where regulation is good: Google Voice and Vonage
How Facebook is (unintentionally) forcing programmers to piss off users
The Twit Cleaner
Perfect Secretary's pitch for @Adbroad (and the Youtube API)
The Emotions of Text
The Shorty Awards Scandal -- Manual Spam is still Spam
Google Analytics, the cloud and missing numbers #fail
Helen Klein Ross & Michael Bissell Interview at Adweek's Social Media Strategies Conference
The Internet is the New 60's
Cougars from New Zealand (and I don't mean big cats)
Adding facts together, or why you can't charge your cell phone from wifi
Social Media and the Destruction of the World
Rabid Fans vs Passive Viewers -- The Coco vs Leno saga
How to tell someone to retweet (without using up your 140 characters)
You can't buy social media
A book unopened is but a block of paper
Building the LOST: The Final Season Sweepstakes
Holiday SPAM (or the lack thereof)
Archiving Twitter
Too Many Toolbars
Random Censorship with Google Adwords
Accessibility and Shopping Online
Twisted path to customer service
Flash: Shiny objects blinding your audience
Twollow and other gold rush scripts
GPS in a Laptop computer
Thinking outside the box... There was a box?
Twitter was designed for Text Messaging
It's not the corporations, damnit
Entrepreneur or Dreamer?
Adweek Social Media Twitter for Brands Presentation
Socializing is more than Social Media
Generational Marketing is a Myth (or Who's your Daddy?)
Social Media is Just the Way We Use the Internet
Twitter Followers Don't Matter (ask the porn sites)
The Internet is Gooder than Books
Sometimes you don't want your campaign to go viral
Best Twitter Branding Campaign
Like flies to crap, Spammy Twitter Followers don't really go away
iPhone SMS Security Hole
How Flipmytweet works
Cell Phones as Microscopes
Digg is not the Hijacker -- You Are
Steve Ballmer -- the walking dead?
Twitter as an open mic poetry reading
Automatic Social [un]Awareness
First splash for United Against Malaria
New Media/Old Media and the CLIO Awards
Interview at SXSW: Mad Men Twitter And Tracking
We've got an App for that -- it's called the Web
Understanding Google To Get Your Resume Noticed
The trouble with Wordpress and other templates
Wayward Words with Baggage
Speaking at SXSW March 17th
The fleeting Memory of the Internet
It's okay to say 'I don't know'
Nike Takes Over Conquent
Facebook owns this title
Excuses, excuses
A little on Social Media
Feeding on Content
Attack of the Bots
Web 1.0
Net Neutrality
Getting clever with data feeds
The Other Credit Crisis
The Broadband Inauguration
T-Mobile owns Magenta and Other Patent Stories
The Risk-takers, Doers and Makers of Things
The noise of 20,000+ Twitter Followers
30,000 feet, 500 MPH Suburban Strip Mall
Cellphones, toilets and the Inauguration
The End of Days (of song): Microsoft Songsmith Example
Browser Bigotry
The Death of your Soul: Microsoft Songsmith
Creative Development or Developing Creatively?
The Myth of Wikipedia (or the Wiki-1400)
Online/Offline Sales -- is it really that bad?
Is PayPal Tacky?
Old School Web Design Still Works
Domain Squatting
Green Chri$tma$
QA 101
Portland Snow
Get some return on that web traffic
I think they have a backup...
I'd love to have that problem
The [un]importance of statistics
Don't be a tool of viral marketing
Emails, discussions, blogs, wiki and web content
You Designed for Print First
You let someone else register your domain name
You figured .biz, .info, .us would work fine
What's after the Integrated Circuit?
Intelligent life is out there (but it's bugger all down here on earth)
Subject Matter Experts Talking Other Subject Matter
The Totalitarian Regime of Apple
Oversimplifying how people work
crowdSPRING
Traditional agencies vs. the 'new model'
Creative Services for the New World
Reverse Anthropomorphism
The End of Time
Better Living Through Twitter
Lessons Learned From Apple
It's the Brand, Baby
Business Architecture vs. Web Construction
On Truth
Inverse Peter Principle
Random Knowledge
The Hive
RSS for this blog