Comments on: Lonelygirl and… the future of entertainment? http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/ Musings from the Geek Salon Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:13:47 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: mercboyan http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-151 mercboyan Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:14:45 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-151 You better believe I'll let you all know when get our next show going! Thanks for the tips. Many aspects, such as where the show will be hosted from and international issues, are out of my hands. Personally, I'd love to have the show on every platform in every country and available to everyone, but it's more complicated than that unfortunately. I agreed with Dan on the Press release, too, but perhaps certain parts could be announced while others are left for those who really want to dig deep. For example, we release the fact that the show is highly interactive and that there is more to the show than meets the eye, but not give out clues or anything specific. Either way, once our next sow gets going, I'll be sure to come by here and the ARG site to make sure word gets around. Thanks again! You better believe I’ll let you all know when get our next show going! Thanks for the tips. Many aspects, such as where the show will be hosted from and international issues, are out of my hands. Personally, I’d love to have the show on every platform in every country and available to everyone, but it’s more complicated than that unfortunately. I agreed with Dan on the Press release, too, but perhaps certain parts could be announced while others are left for those who really want to dig deep. For example, we release the fact that the show is highly interactive and that there is more to the show than meets the eye, but not give out clues or anything specific. Either way, once our next sow gets going, I’ll be sure to come by here and the ARG site to make sure word gets around. Thanks again!

]]> By: Gratitude time! « Hey Guys, It’s The Bible! http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-129 Gratitude time! « Hey Guys, It’s The Bible! Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:11:57 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-129 [...] Thanks to A Pleasing Fiveness for the link and the nice words about the [...] [...] Thanks to A Pleasing Fiveness for the link and the nice words about the [...]

]]> By: andrewcrisp http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-115 andrewcrisp Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:16:16 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-115 I partially agree with Dan, on reflection. A press release may be a bad idea, as it kind of gives away the secret before you've even started. That said, talking to ARGnet is probably still a good idea, even if it's just an email to the site admins. At the very least, read what they have to say about the ARGs currently operating. I partially agree with Dan, on reflection. A press release may be a bad idea, as it kind of gives away the secret before you’ve even started.

That said, talking to ARGnet is probably still a good idea, even if it’s just an email to the site admins. At the very least, read what they have to say about the ARGs currently operating.

]]> By: Danoot http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-111 Danoot Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:52:11 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-111 I don't know, I think a press release kind of defeats the point of an ARG? Unless it is being clearly set up as an online thing, I guess. But some/all of the fun is finding trailheads and then following them down into crazyland, but not being sure that they're actually anything at all, until you're already in. Like the that's my milwaukee video. It was weird, but it didn't necessarily have anything to do with a game (also it didn't keep my interest enough for me to follow it, eventually). But it was awesome to find, and then see if it was an ARG or just a weird thing. Also, something I'd really like to see is some international approachability - there is no way we in Aus can really get into a game which uses phones at all, unless the writers specifically set up an Australian number - so using phones immediately cuts out a lot of your potential audience's participation. Email is not time-constrained, like phones are, and is easier to automate. Also as mentioned, youtube comments, forums, etc, all good ways to get your audience internationalised. I find it a bit depressing when there's a heavy US-centric bias in the material, but I suppose it's to be expected, given where most ARGs originate from... I don’t know, I think a press release kind of defeats the point of an ARG? Unless it is being clearly set up as an online thing, I guess. But some/all of the fun is finding trailheads and then following them down into crazyland, but not being sure that they’re actually anything at all, until you’re already in.
Like the that’s my milwaukee video. It was weird, but it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with a game (also it didn’t keep my interest enough for me to follow it, eventually). But it was awesome to find, and then see if it was an ARG or just a weird thing.
Also, something I’d really like to see is some international approachability – there is no way we in Aus can really get into a game which uses phones at all, unless the writers specifically set up an Australian number – so using phones immediately cuts out a lot of your potential audience’s participation. Email is not time-constrained, like phones are, and is easier to automate. Also as mentioned, youtube comments, forums, etc, all good ways to get your audience internationalised.
I find it a bit depressing when there’s a heavy US-centric bias in the material, but I suppose it’s to be expected, given where most ARGs originate from…

]]> By: andrewcrisp http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-96 andrewcrisp Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:31:34 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-96 Hi mercboyan! Glad you found the blog! First of all, I think you need an internationally available forum and wiki set up before the series airs. The lonelygirl wiki is well maintained, and I'm sure the lonelygirl staff do most of the work, but fans do a lot as well. It will allow people to talk about it more flexibly than operating through myspace - throwing up their theories, linking to their forum posts and so forth. You can even throw a banner ad at the top of each page to get some advertising revenue as well! The success of lonelygirl was really down to how much the geeks (like myself) got involved. SF seemed to appeal almost exclusively to the teen girl market, and whilst there are many geeks amongst teenage girls, I'm sure you'd have more success if you hooked the boys in as well. For the podcasts, chats, columns and so forth, have them hosted on a "portal" site, where fans can easily access them. I understand that SF was in partnership with MySpaceTV, who wanted a lot of exclusivity in when the episodes were shown. I suggest going with YouTube, as it can be shared across MySpace and Facebook with relative ease. Not only that, but it appears as though all the videos have been taken down from MySpaceTV for some reason. I'm guessing it's in anticipation of the UK release, but it means that someone from outside America will just be disappointed upon finding many videos which simply read "Error". The bottom line is that the more international you go from the beginning, the bigger a stir you will cause. Maybe you guys made a lot of money through the partnership with MySpaceTV, and if that's the case, then maybe you should stick with it. However, for a truly interactive experience with thousands of fans pouring over clues across the globe, you'll have to let go of some of the exclusive control and let people have at it. I'm really looking forward to the next series, as this is a medium I'm really enthusiastic about. I think a viral marketing campaign before the series starts would also be great - a word or phrase or idea or video or image that appears all over the internet to whet people's appetites. The movie Serenity had a great viral video campaign (called the River Tam sessions), and it would be fantastic to see something like that again. If I had seen some viral marketing, and found a forum and wiki with links to the YouTube videos and a portal to all the interactive content, I would have watched the series from beginning to end, even though I'm neither a girl nor a teenager; I found out about the series only once it had finished, and all the interactivity was gone. I suggest talking to the Alternate Reality Game Network ( http://www.argn.com/ ) with a press release and commenting on blogs that deal with lonelygirl and other ARGs with your viral awesomeness. I really can't wait for the next one. I will help you get the word out, I just need to know what the word is first :) Hi mercboyan! Glad you found the blog!

First of all, I think you need an internationally available forum and wiki set up before the series airs. The lonelygirl wiki is well maintained, and I’m sure the lonelygirl staff do most of the work, but fans do a lot as well. It will allow people to talk about it more flexibly than operating through myspace – throwing up their theories, linking to their forum posts and so forth. You can even throw a banner ad at the top of each page to get some advertising revenue as well!

The success of lonelygirl was really down to how much the geeks (like myself) got involved. SF seemed to appeal almost exclusively to the teen girl market, and whilst there are many geeks amongst teenage girls, I’m sure you’d have more success if you hooked the boys in as well.

For the podcasts, chats, columns and so forth, have them hosted on a “portal” site, where fans can easily access them.

I understand that SF was in partnership with MySpaceTV, who wanted a lot of exclusivity in when the episodes were shown. I suggest going with YouTube, as it can be shared across MySpace and Facebook with relative ease. Not only that, but it appears as though all the videos have been taken down from MySpaceTV for some reason. I’m guessing it’s in anticipation of the UK release, but it means that someone from outside America will just be disappointed upon finding many videos which simply read “Error”. The bottom line is that the more international you go from the beginning, the bigger a stir you will cause.

Maybe you guys made a lot of money through the partnership with MySpaceTV, and if that’s the case, then maybe you should stick with it. However, for a truly interactive experience with thousands of fans pouring over clues across the globe, you’ll have to let go of some of the exclusive control and let people have at it.

I’m really looking forward to the next series, as this is a medium I’m really enthusiastic about. I think a viral marketing campaign before the series starts would also be great – a word or phrase or idea or video or image that appears all over the internet to whet people’s appetites. The movie Serenity had a great viral video campaign (called the River Tam sessions), and it would be fantastic to see something like that again.

If I had seen some viral marketing, and found a forum and wiki with links to the YouTube videos and a portal to all the interactive content, I would have watched the series from beginning to end, even though I’m neither a girl nor a teenager; I found out about the series only once it had finished, and all the interactivity was gone. I suggest talking to the Alternate Reality Game Network ( http://www.argn.com/ ) with a press release and commenting on blogs that deal with lonelygirl and other ARGs with your viral awesomeness.

I really can’t wait for the next one. I will help you get the word out, I just need to know what the word is first :)

]]> By: mercboyan http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-93 mercboyan Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:07:33 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-93 Percy, I just came across this article today and wanted to bring to light a few things about the interactivity on Sorority Forever. I agree with you that theWB website was way under par on this one and yes, the content of the episodes themselves may not have been targeted toward someone like you, but I think you may have missed out on the interactive world of SF. In fact, there was a huge interactive portion of the show that existed in the form of Myspace profiles, character vlogs, live video chats, podcasts, advice columns, plot puzzles, forums, clues and codes, etc... Certain characters in the show even existed solely for the purpose of being major online characters. It was mostly on Myspace, so many people missed this experience of the show. How do I know all this? Because I worked on the show as the metaverse director, and it was my job to make all of this stuff happen. I would love to hear some ideas on how we could have better spread the word of this interactivity? I'm not a studio head or anything like that, just interested in what you, or others here, think would help us make the interactivity well known on the next show? Percy,
I just came across this article today and wanted to bring to light a few things about the interactivity on Sorority Forever. I agree with you that theWB website was way under par on this one and yes, the content of the episodes themselves may not have been targeted toward someone like you, but I think you may have missed out on the interactive world of SF. In fact, there was a huge interactive portion of the show that existed in the form of Myspace profiles, character vlogs, live video chats, podcasts, advice columns, plot puzzles, forums, clues and codes, etc… Certain characters in the show even existed solely for the purpose of being major online characters. It was mostly on Myspace, so many people missed this experience of the show. How do I know all this? Because I worked on the show as the metaverse director, and it was my job to make all of this stuff happen. I would love to hear some ideas on how we could have better spread the word of this interactivity? I’m not a studio head or anything like that, just interested in what you, or others here, think would help us make the interactivity well known on the next show?

]]> By: danoot http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-87 danoot Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:50:44 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-87 I don't know about high. I might be mildly buzzed on life, at best. I don’t know about high. I might be mildly buzzed on life, at best.

]]> By: chromefist http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-81 chromefist Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:33:24 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-81 I want to stress, gentle reader, that Julia and Dan are high on life. I want to stress, gentle reader, that Julia and Dan are high on life.

]]> By: misterfinn http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-80 misterfinn Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:04:18 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-80 Percy, Lonelygirl15 is oldmeme. Why do you have to be such a failboat? I also agree with previous comments, Join us for breakfast! It will be bliss! Thank you for directing my attention to atheistblog. The lols are plentiful indeed. Percy, Lonelygirl15 is oldmeme. Why do you have to be such a failboat?

I also agree with previous comments, Join us for breakfast! It will be bliss!

Thank you for directing my attention to atheistblog. The lols are plentiful indeed.

]]> By: juliadactyl http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/lonelygirl-and%e2%80%a6-the-future-of-entertainment/#comment-79 juliadactyl Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:12:58 +0000 http://apleasingfiveness.wordpress.com/?p=175#comment-79 Now it is YOUR face that will cry alone tonight. Now it is YOUR face that will cry alone tonight.

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