Last November, the MIT Comparative Media Studies Department and Convergence Culture Consortium ran the Futures of Entertainment conference. Details of last years conference with podcasts are online. Registration for the next one, to be held on the 16-17th November at Cambridge, has opened. The event is described as follows:
The logics of convergence culture are quickly becoming ubiquitous within the media world. Audiences are being encouraged to participate in a wider range of sites. Transmedia principles are being adopted by content producers in a broad range of fields. ‘Engagement’ is being discussed as crucial to measurements of success. Futures of Entertainment 2 brings together key industry players who are shaping these new directions in our culture with academics exploring their implications. This year’s conference will consider developments in advertising, cult media, metrics, measurement, and accounting for audiences, cultural labor and audience relations, and mobile platform development.
Sessions and speakers include:
Mobile Media:Marc Davis, Yahoo!; Bob Schukai, Turner Broadcasting; Francesco Cara, Nokia
Metrics and Measurement: Bruce Leichtman, Leichtman Research Group; Stacey Lynn Schulman, HI: Human Insight; and Maury Giles, GSD&M Idea City
Fan Labor: Mark Deuze, Indiana University; Catherine Tosenberger, University of Florida; Jordan Greenhall, DivX; Elizabeth Osder, Buzznet; Raph Koster, Areae Inc.
Advertising and Convergence Culture: Mike Rubenstein, The Barbarian Group; Baba Shetty, Hill/Holliday; Tina Wells, Buzz Marketing Group; Faris Yakob, Naked Communications; Bill Fox, Fidelity Investments
Cult Media: Danny Bilson, transmedia creator; Jeff Gomez, Starlight Runner; Jesse Alexander, Heroes; and Gordon Tichell, Walden Media
Opening Remarks by Henry Jenkins, MIT; Joshua Green, MIT; Jonathan Gray, Fordham University; Lee Harrington, Miami University; and Jason Mittell, Middlebury College
At the beginning of their book, Digital Aboriginal: Radical Business Strategies for a World Without Rules, Mikela and Philip Tarlow set forth their manifesto:
We are witnessing the birth of a new generation, described not so much by their age, as by their actions in the world. They are using the freedoms of the new economy to develop a set of behavioral strategies: Digital Aboriginal.
This new generation is driven, yet they rarely plan. They function equally well in the accelerated Net time of the high-tech world and in the empty spaces that tend to provoke synchronicities. Although brilliant strategists, they often chart their courses based on pure instinct. They are highly individualized, yet depend on deeply tribal ways of birthing ideas. In the guise of looking for killer applications and the next technical edge, they are leading a revolution. They are operating from clear and coherent models of success and leadership, which are at the heart of this book.
They are forging new business scenarios based on their insatiable creative spirit. They are driving new values in the workplace from their relentless commitment to reshape the future with greater meaning. (2002, ix)
This year I had the priviledge of being an unorganiser for both the BarCampSydneys. The second one we held on Saturday 25th August and once again I walked away so excited, keen and inspired!! Last time I posted about how the event was a conference for initiates, and one observation about BarCamp I made then was:
Rather than have a small group of programming-committee-appointed experts to deliver to a large audience, a small of group self-appointed experts share with each other. Because anyone can present or talk or workshop in any manner they desire and anytime, BarCamp attracts more experts. Events that say they will provide the experts attract more people who are not experts. Events that encourage anyone to come and emphasis that everyone is important, attract more experts…
This time I’d like to explore this further, under the governing logic of: the power of unconditional participation. The ‘unconditional’ nature of BarCamps is a rockin’ key trait. Unlike most events:
Anyone can attend: no-one has to pay or be accepted after an application;
Anyone can present: no-one has to be selected or peer-reviewed;
Everyone is treated equally: no-one is paid or given VIP treatment.
These may seem like simple characteristics but they have a far-reaching impact. In the two BarCampSydney events I’ve unorganised & participated in, I always walk away feeling so motivated, so excited, so full of excitement about my future and I feel fulfilled and regenerated. This feeling is not specific to the unorganiser experience: many people I’ve spoken to have walked away feeling this way.
Now, although I walk away with valuable information and key insights, it is not, I believe, the knowledge I walk away with that affects me the most. Instead, it is the BarCamp spirit. It is the spirit of unconditional participation: where all are given to without vetting, without the requirement for having to earned or paid for it. How can you walk away from that feeling anything but worthy and valuable yourself? You don’t have to prove anything, just be present. It is those sort of psychological designs, paradigmatic approaches to knowledge production, that will affect the workplace, indeed society in general, to a greater degree and quicker than any furniture or forum construction.Â
The events are unconditional in the sense that industry leaders provided top-notch advice to everyone, to every question, without hesitation, for free. No question was considered stupid. Everyone had equal access to advice. Now this is VERY different to industry conferences, labs and residentials. I’ll speak about entertainment events because that is my area. As an organiser, mentor, MC, moderator, keynoter, panelist, presenter and attendee of many entertainment events I have to say that the quality, relevancy and diversity of information passed on in the single day at BarCampSydney surpassed all of those I have been present and watched from afar. The only event which comes close (in my admittedly limited opinion) is TED. OK, perhaps not exactly. But that is what it FELT like. As Nick Hodge said in the Tangler discussion:
The VC/Startup stuff was the shiznit this year. Like getting $100,000 of free consulting.Â
Here are the industry leaders that put on their best tribal elder hat for the day:
And ‘Mark’ I think it was (someone tell me!) who started a session on the non-tech aspect of a start-up: how to get a business going if you’re not a techie. I loved that he did this because although I’m tech-friendly, I’m not a code expert. I come up with ideas all the time but do not have the skill to implement them. It was great to hear about how someone was addressing this. This, for me, is a really important aspect of the BCS experience: that pretty much every stage and personal angle of creating a business is covered. That happens because people feel, no matter what stage they’re at or how much they know, they get up there and start a conversation.
Another approach I found interesting is the notion of intrapreneurs. Yep, you read that right. Intrapeneurs are those rockin people inside a company created by an entrepreneur that keep the inventions coming. Coined by Gifford Pinchot, intrapreneurs create within the company instead of creating another company.  It would of been great to hear Elias Bizianne’s talk on this subject but I missed it. Here is a music video that explains some of the ideas:
Think video games are kids’ stuff? Think again. Provocative new data show that video games have created a new generation of employees and executives–bigger than the baby boom–that will dramatically transform the workplace. And according to strategists John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade, managers who understand and harness this generation’s distinct attributes can leap far ahead of their competition. Got Game shows how growing up immersed in video games has profoundly shaped the attitudes and abilities of this new generation. Though little-noticed, these 90 million rising professionals, through sheer numbers, will inevitably dominate business–and are already changing the rules. Although many of these changes are positive–such as more open communication and creative problem solving–they have caused a generation gap that frustrates gamers and the boomers who manage them. Got Game identifies the distinct values and traits that define the gamer generation–from an increased appetite for risk to unexpected leadership skills–and reveals management techniques today’s leaders can use to bridge the generation gap and unleash gamers’ hidden potential.
But beyond the benefits for those working in industry, it is exactly these sort of approaches to sharing information, encouraging self-motivated creation and heterarchical environments that are yearned for by academics. For many years I’ve been saying that I want to be an independent researcher like Marie-Laure Ryan. It is only now that I’m at the final stages of my PhD and have to think about what to do next that the reality of that is hitting home. But I’m not the only one. After pervasive game designer and researcher Jane McGonigal finished her PhD, she went to the Institute for the Future — a place where she can balance both design and research with a cycling range of clients. And now, Danah Boyd has said that she will not go straight into an academic post. I’m the same. I want freedom…freedom that most academic institutions and corporations cannot offer. Which makes complete sense actually. Freedom isn’t given.
During a discussion about game to film adaptations at a talk I gave recently at the Film and Television Institute in Perth, Graeme Watson commented that part of the success of Tomb Raider could be the prevalence of the character Lara Croft. I think Graeme is dead right, and here is a post by Jessie Jess, a student, that explains some of the attraction:
After reading this definition [Jenkins ‘transmedia storytelling’] I automatically thought about Lara Croft: Tomb Raider as an example of transmedia storytelling. Lara Croft is in multiple media platforms, such as video games, comic books, novels, movies, animation and through modeling (yes people are hired to be Lara at conventions and other events!). There have been 2 Tomb Raider movies to date and the third is being rumored to be in production and Angelina Jolie has placed Lara on the map. The movies as a medium for Lara is incredible, it provides a life like stunning image of how Lara would look in the real world. Video games as a medium in the Tomb Raider series have the record for being the highest selling video game series of all time. Lara as a video game character is even in the Guinness World Book of Records as “The Most Successful Video Game Heroine.†In the novels, they take off from where the video games end. […]
I am really into having access to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in many different media outlets. I have the opportunity to keep up with Lara in different ways, I can play the game one day, watch the movie, read the book, and even see her in “personâ€. […]
No matter what form of media Lara is distributed in, the story is easy to follow, she is on a mission, and the viewers are along for the adventure. […]
A second reason for Lara’s success can be compared to Indiana Jones success, “When Indiana Jones went to television, for example, it exploited the medium’s potential for extended storytelling and character development: The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) showed the character take shape against the backdrop of various historic events and exotic environments (106).†There was potential in expanding the character development of Lara Croft and extended storytelling. She was able to take shape against other forms of mediums. Hence how Indiana Jones is still around and is currently in production of a new film. This is a perfect example showing how Tomb Raider is able to be successful. Characters in the Matrix have no room for development because they are following specific guidelines for all the different forms of mediums that have been predetermined.
Indeed, as I’ve mentioned before, Chris Dahlen has spoken about the specific appeal of characters in his blog:
In fact, the characters in these worlds are the thing that interest me the most: we’re flooded with characters nowadays, and the ones that stick start to engage us on many platforms. Where do they come from? Why are we drawn to them? […] But here’s the catch: the characters and worlds we’re talking about aren’t just getting richer and more interactive; we’re also scaling ourselves down to live in them. [from this post]