GiantMice

I hate the phone. I’ve always hated the phone. Even as a teenager. Seriously. For years, I assumed it was because I hate surprises (my nightmare: someone throwing me a surprise party and not telling me first so I can prepare myself for the surprise). This was the number one reason I didn’t play I Love Bees as actively as I could have – I wanted nothing to do with answering pay phones and that was especially true once the live calls started happening. What if I got one? I’d have to hang up!

Yet, despite my own personal horror, the phone plays a prominent part in the ARG world. Despite the fact that so few games actually use phones, the phone is such a classic example of how a game or story can reach beyond the screen and touch someone “in the real world.” And, of course, get a few designers together talking about the future and you’re sure to hear about how amazing it will be when voice recognition software is actually good enough to make phone calls seem more real and less recorded (the alternative, you see, is to use live actors and that is just not scalable). Then, it seems, will ARGs truly be great at reaching out into the real world and providing some amazing character & story interaction.

Really?

Clive Thompson has written about the Death of the Phone Call in this month’s Wired and makes some really interesting points. First of all, phone calls are on a decline – both in frequency and in length. He has some theories for why this is: we’re already in constant contact with one another through other mediums that are both synchronous & asynchronous which allows us to not interrupt our lives in order to have a conversation unless it’s convenient for all involved. And, like him, I find that almost all of my calls (even my calls with my mom) are scheduled and, if they’re not, I get an IM saying “are you free? can I call?”

He goes on to predict that the phone, as a communication medium, will eventually be reserved for longer, more in-depth conversations which, I must say, is how I use it today. Well, for that and for conference calls. Everything else is handled over twitter, im, text message, and email.

If the phone is a medium that is best used for long in-depth conversations, will amazingly accurate voice-recognition & branching narrative trees ever make for an engaging interactive experience? More engaging or realistic than, say, how we are already communicating via text messages, email, twitter, etc? And what happens when video enters the picture?

Today’s contestant on Transmedia or Not transmedia is…

An Experiment In Transmedia: Fox Show To Be Viewed On iPad Before TV

The first episode will be inserted via DVD in New York and Los Angeles subscriber copies of the October issue of Vanity Fair, as well as in newsstand copies in the New York area – reaching about 400,000 readers. It will also run on Vanity Fair’s iPad application – it’s not yet estimated how many viewers it will reach on the iPad, given the application’s relatively recent launch. Fox will also support the show’s premiere with traditional media, via print ads in the October Vanity Fair.

So, the big experiment in transmedia is that the same episode that will be viewed on TV is being recorded to a DVD and inserted into a magazine and, for people who have an iPad and the magazine’s iPad app, they can also view it on their iPad.

We’ve got TV! We’ve got DVD! We’ve got Magazines! We’ve got iPad! It’s gotta be transmedia, right?

Bzzt! Wrong.

All we have is a video of an episode of a tv show. We have a video of the episode on DVD (inserted into magazines), and the same video downloadable onto an iPad and, of course, viewable on tv. But, there has been no actual movement or interaction between platforms and the story isn’t being told on multiple platforms. You, the viewer, aren’t getting different things in different places. What you are getting is the exact same thing just delivered to you through a whole bunch of different media outlets. It’s like a book – whether you borrow it from the library, buy it at a local retailer, or order it online, you are still getting the same book.

And, to hit the point home, just read the article…

Overall, Fox’s intention was for the previews to deliver an exclusive experience, and to create the perception that this is a ’special’ show – something that needs to be watched in order to be enjoyed and understood.

It is just a show. Of course, this is a special show. You will need to watch it in order to enjoy and understand it. Unlike all those tv shows you don’t have to watch to enjoy or understand.

But! There is hope! The show is a prime time soap set against the backdrop of big Texas oil. It’s a completely unique concept that may or may not spawn card games, board games, beer, and huge parties where young impressionable minds all over the land learned the art of betting… on, of all things, who killed some oil baron. (why, yes, my mother was obsessed, the card game was actually pretty fun, the board game was just monopoly, I was too young to drink the beer, and the party was still a blast. and, no, there is no evidence that my friends and I dressed up as some famous cheerleading squad and did a dance routine to the theme song during the aforementioned party and, without evidence, this did not ever happen.)

Now, if the show does become quite the thing and all sorts of crazy merchandise begins appearing, we might have transmedia (of the franchise sort, which in my world is still debatable as transmedia and is, more, a, um, franchise… crazy, I know). But we are not talking about hypotheticals. Nor are we talking about some 1980s television show. We are talking about Lone Star and whether or not showing the first episode via dvd in magazines and downloadable via iPad apps is transmedia. And, the answer is…

NOT TRANSMEDIA

Kickstarter is a really cool way to get projects funded through crowd-sourcing. The creators put out a video and description of their project and say how much money they need to get started – then, if you like the idea, you can help fund it with a few bucks. As far as I know, Socks, Inc is the very first ARG to get funding this way.

Socks, Inc is the latest brainstorm from Awkward Hug – the insanely fun & creative guys that made everyone fall in love with robots (or at least a robot) last summer.  Awkward Hug earned people’s respect with Must Love Robots but, more than that, they showed us all how to not take ourselves quite so seriously and to enjoy ourselves. Socks, Inc has a lot to live up to and, judging from the outpouring of love from folks all over the ARG world (thinkers, players, and doers), it’s one of the most anticipated alternate reality games ever.

Heck, I can’t remember the last time that I was so eager for a game. It’s got a great team behind it, a really fun concept, and a lot of ways for players (remember them? so many ARGs seem to forget about them these days) to get involved. If you have a few bucks to spare, please throw it their way. If you don’t, that’s ok…. as long as you promise to keep an eye on it because it will be a game worth watching and, more, playing. If you want to get a headstart on the playing, you can probably do so by giving them some of your info at Must Love Socks.

(oh and congrats Jim, Tanner, & co… project of the day! that’s awesome! yay!)

The other day, BoingBoing guestblogger Chris Arkenberg posted an interview with Behnam Karbassi of No Mimes Media. It’s a good read, highly recommended, but what jumped out at me was a breakdown of three different types of transmedia: franchise, marketing, and native. There is often much debate and confusion over what’s what in the world of transmedia and much of the confusion comes when people are talking about different types without realizing it.

So, what are they? What do they mean?

Franchise Transmedia

Franchise transmedia occurs when a story world is spread out into various media formats. It goes by names like “world building” and, essentially, means that different stories can be told within the story world (or universe) and might show up in comics and books and video games. There may also be stuff online and merchandise and “user generated content” and so on. All of these different pieces work to make the story world a richer more exciting place.

This is also what is talked about frequently today. Why? Partially because it’s something that networks & studios have been doing for years. They’re used to it and it’s a huge source of money for them.

Examples: Star Wars, Heroes, Doctor Who

Marketing Transmedia

Marketing transmedia builds a story around a brand or a specific property. Unlike franchise transmedia, this isn’t about world building as much as it is creating story told over a variety of media platforms to support or promote an existing story or, perhaps, to build a story around a brand.

Alternate reality games have been used in this manner for ages – from promoting movies (AI, The Dark Knight), tv shows (Regenesis, Fallen) or video games (Halo, Gun, Resistance) to promotional experiences around a product (Sony Aquos TV) or brand (Audi).

Television shows, in particular, have been exploring a variety of ways to create a transmedia experience around the show. From character blogs & twitter accounts to graphic novels and webisodes that reach deeper into the universe by exploring new stories or embellishing the back stories of minor (and, occasionally, major) characters.

Examples: The Beast, I Love Bees, Lost, Nurse Jackie

Native Transmedia

For many of us working in the field, but certainly not all, this is the holy grail. Native transmedia projects are transmedia projects that are created and built across platforms from the start. In native transmedia there is no separate property or existing universe that the transmedia is supporting and it’s less about creating or enhancing a story world than it is about telling a story.

Unlike the others, native transmedia tends to come from a single vision (even if that single vision is created by an entire team). In franchises and marketing transmedia, there are different teams of people in charge of the story and world building at different times. For example, the marketing department responsible for promoting a film or television show may decide to have a transmedia experience run for a few months before the release. They then hire a team to create the transmedia and they often come in with their own pitch and their own story and design. They may have access to the universe or story bible, but they are the ones writing and telling the story.

The challenge with native transmedia, however, is financing it. This is one reason why there are so much marketing transmedia. Marketing departments have budgets and are often willing to explore new ways to promote existing properties, products, and brands. Because of that, they have become the biggest patrons of the transmedia arts.

Examples: Cathy’s Book, Majestic, Eldritch Errors, Valemont, World Without Oil

So, there you have it… an explanation of three different types of transmedia. Do you see it another way? Find my descriptions lacking or flat out incorrect? Speak out in the comments.

Note: The examples that I’ve give are a combination of popular & frequently discussed projects and/or projects that I’m likely to blog about. I know that there are gazillions of other examples. If you send examples my way, I may attempt to create some sort of list or addendum.

We’ve got some new stats thanks to a new survey out by Edison Research onFrequent Social Networkers. Americans are becoming more and more comfortable with using social media. Not only are more people using social networking sites (48% of people have a profile today compared to 24% in 2008 and 34% in 2009), but they are more likely to update frequently than they were a year ago. 30% of social networking users update several times a day and the number of people who do has more than doubled over the last year from 18 million to 39 million.

Women are more likely to use social media more often than men – 57% of people who update several times a day are women. This is, likely, not due to the stay at home mom factor as only 6% of frequent social networkers are “homemakers” compared to 8% of the general population.

Social networkers spend more time online and watch less tv than the general population. In fact, they spend almost twice as much time online (3:52/day compared to 1:56/day) and about a half an hour less in front of the tv (2:50/day compared to 3:25).

Social networkers are significantly more likely to use a DVR or Tivo. Especially a DVR. 47% of frequent social networkers have a DVR while only 36% of the total population does. Social networkers are also more likely to:

• Watch TV on DVD
• Watch TV online
• Purchase TV shows online
• Order TV shows on-demand

Social Networkers are also more likely to listen to online radio & podcasts and to buy music online.

None of this is a huge surprise to me. People who embrace social networking are more likely to embrace other online activities. It speaks to a comfort level and/or a reliance upon online activities. But, from a transmedia perspective, it is interesting. As people become more accustomed to various online media activities, they are more likely to use them. And, despite my earlier words of warning against relying upon twitter, if you are creating a transmedia property, especially one that uses online video or other technologies, utilizing social networks will help to target an audience more likely to engage with other aspects of your experience.

You can download all of their slides with a variety of stats and 30 different charts by registering for their mailing list.