Cross-posting this from my marketing blog so people who only follow this part of the blog can see it as well.
Okay, kiddos, I brought this up at work last week and a few people seemed to understand some of the words, so I thought I would repeat it in more augmented form here. So, here’s a few tips from the land of Savvy-Ass Marketing 101, inspired by watching the Kickstarter campaign of the web series EastSiders unfold.
Kit Williamson and Van Hansis star as Cal and Thom in the new web series “Eastsiders.” Watch at eastsiderstheseries.com
Here’s the deal: this is a well-written, crisply acted, well-crafted series that needs to be funded. In the Age of the Innerwebs, this is a way that creative people can develop their talents and also increase the importance of technology to cultural shifts. What’s that mean? It means less advertiser control of our entertainment and more original work delivered to a population starving for it. I’m so excited about this. Just in the last year I’ve watched programs produced for the Web explode in number and quality.
I won’t bore you with any more of my treatises on this issue — for now — because I want you to take a couple of minutes and watch an episode and then give these folks a couple of ducats.
I’ve said before that the reason that I was eager to watch this program is because I’d pay to watch Van Hansis order a ham sandwich, but I was equally captivated by Kit Williamson and the rest of the cast.
In a different generation, I did my share of begging, borrowing, bartering and stealing to get my own work produced on a shoestring. (Dear God, when did I get old enough to be telling war stories that no one alive can relate to anymore?? LOL) Anyhow, all these folks want is a credit card number and a few bucks. Just do it.
Christopher Plummer, dismayed at theater tickets’ steep cost – Boston.com.
“The young would be coming if the price was right,” actor Christopher Plummer says, arguing that the stiff price of theater tickets is a barrier. (Photo by Chad Batka for The New York Times)
Let’s put it this way: there are a lot of mitigating factors at play, but I spent a huge chunk of my career figuring out why people buy theatre tickets and I can tell you this: he’s not wrong.
The Worst Movies Of 2012 – The Daily Beast.
This is pretty cute. The worst movies of 2012 review themselves! LOL
Last year some commentators predicted that straight applicants would say they were gay just to get an “enrichment scholarship,” which the college gives to students from underrepresented minority groups, including LGBT students. Mr. Rold said he had seen no evidence of that.
This year nine of the 12 freshmen who identified themselves as LGBT students also qualified for one of Elmhurst’s academic scholarships. The other three were either black or Hispanic, and, therefore, would have received an enrichment scholarship anyway.
Over the last year, membership in Elmhurst College Queers and Allies, a student group, has nearly doubled, Mr. Rold said. Why? Anyone’s guess.
It’s easy to overthink the power of a 12-word question, even one that became national news and stirred debate among admissions officers. The question’s a potential conversation starter, one thread among many in the story of who enrolled at Elmhurst and why.
“We’ve learned a little bit more about them, and they’ve learned a little bit more about the college,” Mr. Rold said of LGBT students. “The next thing will be to see how we retain them.”
via A ‘Welcome Mat’ for LGBT Students – Head Count – The Chronicle of Higher Education.
This sentence from the above pull resonated with me:
Last year some commentators predicted that straight applicants would say they were gay just to get an “enrichment scholarship,” which the college gives to students from underrepresented minority groups, including LGBT students. Mr. Rold said he had seen no evidence of that.
Why? Because it was obviously a concern of old straight guys who watched too much “Three’s Company” in the 70s and 80s. Have you EVER found a good old-fashioned straight teenager who wants to say he’s gay for a few scholarship bucks? Yeah, me either.
I’m glad colleges are starting to be this inclusive, but they shouldn’t be perplexed if prospies don’t check the “Hey, I’m gay!” box. Remember, today’s national discourse is not about getting high schoolers to come out necessarily, rather it skews toward “it gets better” once you get into college.
All in all, a good piece by Eric Hoover.
‘The Onion’ Skewers Social Media ‘Experts’ [VIDEO].
I love this. Every now and then, The Onion lasers in on something and it rings so very true! Watch.
Before rank-and-file conservatives ask, “What went wrong?”, they should ask themselves a question every bit as important: “Why were we the last to realize that things were going wrong for us?”
U.S. President Barack Obama walks onstage with daughter Sasha (2R), First lady Michelle Obama (2L) and daughter Malia (L) before giving his election night victory speech in Chicago, November 7, 2012. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
This is a great piece in The Atlantic. Worth spending a few minutes thinking about.
Of course I know who Scott Evans is. The openly blond actor is the kid brother of Captain America star Chris Evans. He has made a name for himself in his own right with a memorable turn on One Life to Live playing a cop, one of our top five gay career fantasies, according to the Village People. Most recently I spotted him in the audience at the Emmy Awards, and a few weeks ago on the patio of a bar in West Hollywood. So, yes, I certainly know who he is. I just don’t know him. But try telling that to Facebook.
via Derek Hartley: Scott Evans: One of the People You May Know.
Scott Evans as Ofc. Oliver Fish on “One Life to Live,” part of one of daytime’s first longer term gay couples. Sadly, Facebook has never connected him to me!
Love this piece on HuffPo. I was just having this conversation with a co-worker. Everyone Facebook suggests to me either (A) I don’t know or (B) I absolutely, positively never, ever want to be friends with — like the troll who orchestrated my ouster from one of the best jobs I ever had. [Well, karma’s a bitch: he got his! LOL]
Anyhow, it seems to me that at this point in my long Facebook “career,” if I’m going to be friends with someone, I’ve already friended them or vice versa. I have enough friends.
As to Derek Hartley’s article, I have to admit to being more than a little bit jealous here. I legitimately know (not just “Facebook know”) a few folks who travel in the same circles as Mr. Evans, but Facebook has never suggested his dreamy visage to the right of my screen. Upset by that, I must admit! LOL
New York Public Library to Open Charles Dickens Exhibit – GalleyCat.
I love Dickens. I’m not a Dickens freak, but I’ve been involved with Dickens adaptations in the theatre for more years than I can count.
Funny Dickens Christmas show : here
One-Man Dickens Christmas show script: here
Truth in advertising …. the first one is my company. The second one is written by a great friend — and was directed two years running by my business partner.
I’ve marketed both.
This is one of my favorite things recently. First, I do love the train — so, yeah, Amtrak! Second, the HuffPo article below contains this lovely bit:
The new “Ride With Pride” campaign depicts two same-sex couples with children, while directing users to a unique, gay-friendly site featuring vacation packages for Martha’s Vineyard…
You can take the train to Martha’s Vineyard??
from Amtrak
Amtrak ‘Ride With Pride’ Campaign Releases Two Gay-Friendly New Ads (PHOTOS).
One Last Word 