Nice Post from David Armano on Logic+Emotion: How To Think And Communicate Visually

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Originally posted on Edelman Digital

"Visual storytelling is nothing new. We only need to look to the earliest signs of humanity for proof—simple paintings on the walls of caves tell the story that people are a visual tribe. Today, it seems, communications must be visual in order to be compelling, as well as to compete with the massive amount of information available to us at any given moment (even Google acknowledged this in 2001 by introducing image search). Whether it’s a web video, infographic, or illustration, visual assets can communicate a wealth of information rapidly, and in ways that our brains process differently than other, more traditional mediums.

The secret to producing these compelling, yet bite-sized morsels of information is having “visual literacy,” or being able to think in pictures. Don’t confuse this with being an artist or designer. Anyone can think visually—or learn to look at the world through this type of lens—and then work with a visual communicator (a designer or producer) to craft a digestible visual deliverable, which earns our time, attention and encourages us to take action.

As someone who thinks visually, I want to share five tips that I believe will work for anyone who is looking to communicate and influence through a medium that transcends the written word:

1. Empathize: See the world as a child

Most of us drew pictures before we began writing. But now that words dominate our communications, it’s possible we have to do some neurological re-wiring to take our brains back to that point where simple, elegant pictures help us tell stories. I recommend three steps: 1) Observe everything, especially the minute details. 2) Ask questions; especially the ones that make you feel unenlightened. 3) Resurrect your sense of exploration; in other words, re-ignite the curious portion of your brain. Children have a way of noticing the little things we take for granted. They are immensely curious and never lack for questions. Putting yourself in a more “child-like” mindset will set the stage for all kinds of thinking, including visual...."

David McCandless & Information is Beautiful Challenge - MON€Y PANIC$!

From the site:

"Welcome to our second challenge. It’s called MON€Y PANIC$!

There’s a ton of information and data flying around about the financial system, debt crises, recession fears, Wall St occupation, currency devaluation, collapse of the markets and general END OF THE WORLD PANIC!

So we’ve teamed up with the Guardian Datablog to offer a handful of datasets that may cast light, give perspective and otherwise explain – even just slightly – what the hell is going on.

The challenge, then, is to bring some, all or many aspects of this money panic to light and help us see the problem. Or see the lay of the land. Or see the issues or data clearly.

Make the crash visible, understandable.

That might mean focussing on a small detail, a single story or visualizing the whole damn financial system. Size won’t matter. We want *clarity*.

You can enter in two ways. With a finished ‘design’ or a well-conceived ‘napkin’ sketch. We also welcome interactive and motion graphic entries. Bring it!"

Whoa. Mobile app lets you pay with your name - The Globe and Mail

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Excerpt:

"Ready to ditch your wallet, cash and credit cards? A mobile payment app lets users make purchases with their smartphone without taking the device out of their pocket or purse.

Developed by electronic payment startup Square, the app called Card Case allows customers to pay for products and services at local merchants automatically by simply providing their name to complete the transaction.

“You walk in, say your name, and walk out. It’s a seamless payment experience,” said Megan Quinn, director of products for Square..."

Transmedia views: An interview with Nuno Bernardo | i-docs

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Excerpt from an interview Nuno Benardo by Nina Simoes:

"Nuno Bernardo is an award-winning transmedia writer/producer and creator of the world’s first international interactive on-line teen series, Sofia’s Diary. He is also the CEO of transmedia production company beActive and author of The Producer’s Guide to Transmedia.

Your background is in advertising and journalism. What element or factor would you say it was decisive to setting up your company to develop transmedia projects?

My career until I set up beActive, was a very “transmedia” career. Advertising, event management, audiovisual production, IT, so I was able to learn how to do several tasks that are key when you develop and produce Transmedia projects. I always loved storytelling and computers (new technologies). Transmedia allows me to do both.

The 350 South – an American journey is described as the first Beactive’s transmedia documentary. In fact, a fully participatory documentary experience. Will the audience participation change the story?

The goal of the interactive or participatory element of 350 South is not to create an experience where the audience can decide between door A or door B. Or, in this case, a different routes for the participants. It’s more to allow the audience to be part of this journey: cycle with the participants along their journey, help them, giving them accommodation or just meet them for a drink. The goal is to make the audience part of the story, part of the show...."

A Missing Piece in the Economic Stimulus: Hobbling Arts Hobbles Innovation | Excerpt via Psychology Today

The fact is that the arts foster innovation. We've just published a study that shows that almost all Nobel laureates in the sciences actively engage in arts as adults. They are twenty-five times as likely as the average scientist to sing, dance, or act; seventeen times as likely to be a visual artist; twelve times more likely to write poetry and literature; eight times more likely to do woodworking or some other craft; four times as likely to be a musician; and twice as likely to be a photographer. Many connect their art to their scientific ability with some riff on Nobel prizewinning physicist Max Planck words: "The creative scientist needs an artistic imagination."

Bottom line: Successful scientists and inventors are artistic people. Hobble the arts and you hobble innovation. It's a lesson our legislators need to learn. So feel free to cut and paste this column into a letter to your senators and congressmen, as well as your school representatives, or simply send them a link to this column. One way or another, if we as a society wish to cultivate creativity, the arts MUST be part of the equation!

Can Content Producers Be Disruptors Or Is Content Only Meant To Be Disrupted? | Excerpt from TechCrunch

Then Why Aren’t TMCs Investing in New Media Programming

The Traditional Media Companies are not investing aggressively in lower-cost, made-for-Web (and mobile, tablets) programming.  They have absolutely no financial incentive to see online video advertising grow and hit the projections because a lot of that will invariably come at the expense of television.

Ultimately, online video content can be promotional or commercial.

To TMCs, in all likelihood, it will be promotional: it allows them to bring down distribution and marketing costs.  Video content is an investment, a cost of goods sold or marketing expense, but it’s a necessary part of the marketing mix and the most popular activity online, what people spend 47% of their online time doing.

This Creates an Opportunity for New Media Content Producers

Content is not a zero-sum game, so long as new media producers create content to fill the hole and demand online, then they can over time replace the mindshare previously held by the TMCs.  If you doubt that look no further than Disney’s decision to partner with YouTube even though it’s an investor in Hulu.  You also have to wonder when Viacom will sign a peace treaty with YouTube.  How much longer do they really want to not be on the largest video platform in the world?  How does that now grow the MTV brand and Viacom’s revenues?

VCs Remain on the Sidelines

You would think that VCs would see this opening and aggressively fund content, especially when you consider that we’re in the content consumption phase of the Web’s evolution: we have built the infrastructure and platforms, now it’s all about feeding the insatiable appetite of consumers who spend 33% of their time on new platforms (web, mobile, tablets) while marketers are only spending 19% of their ad budgets accordingly.  Kleiner Perkins’ Mary Meeker sizes the opportunity at $20 billion (see slide above).

Until more VCs come along who get the dynamics of media and online video, and back content plays, then they will be leaving a lot of money on the table.

read the original full post:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/12/content-producers-disruptos/

Future of Film | Stories & Worlds: What Transmedia Has to Teach (and Learn)

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Excerpt:

"..Software is the key and the bottleneck.

"The biggest challenge to physically distributed narratives was the bottleneck of the gatekeepers," says transmedia pioneer Jordan Weisman. "With the onset of interactivity modes, the bottleneck is software engineering," which has a much more limited pool of talent.

The emergence of new production tools and platforms will help the non-techies, including Coincident TV and Conductrr.

Lance Weiler thinks of his transmedia projects like software, labeling versions 1.0, 2.0, etc. Indeed, his DIY Days, which preceded Story World, sponsored a hackathon.

Data is the new oil.

Most transmedia projects converge on the Internet, incorporating audience interactivity that produces floods of very targeted user data that can be measured. This can drive revenue and influence the story form itself. Nowadays, the audience becomes a strategic advantage for the content creator, not just the distributor.

Business models are hard to find.

Whenever indies gather, they talk about money, and Story World was no exception. To date, all successful models for transmedia have been financed by patronage or commissions, as noted by Brian Clark of GMD Studios. Clark believes that "the next wave of innovation in transmedia storytelling is going to be about business models rather than storytelling forms."

A popular tweet during the conference referenced the patronage model: "If you want to do transmedia, move to Canada."

The emergence of an app market (for iPhones, Android, TV and desktop) offers new avenues to test the willingness of the audience to pay for original and indie transmedia story experiences.

So, as a veteran of the indie video and film movement of the 70s, 80s and 90s, I offer a few observations as encouragement...."

read the full post on tribecafilm.com