If you’re a regular Movie Blog reader, please read this post through and then give your thoughts in the comments.
Yesterday morning I arrived in Los Angeles and spent the day hanging out on the set of “Pathology“, the new Milo Ventimiglia flick (Milo is the dude who brilliantly plays Peter Patreli on Heroes). At one point, one of the studio guys pulled me aside and asked if I’d be willing to do an on camera interview for the Pathology DVD. Being a total media slut I said “yes” and off I went with the guy who is directing the DVD material to do the interview.
One of the questions the guy asked me was “why do you think the studios have dropped the ball so badly with how to work with the internet?” I thought for a moment and then said this:
“The thing that makes online media unique from mainline media (TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines) is that online media and communities are (or can be) relational. Traditional mainline media is all PRESENTATIONAL. We are RELATIONAL.”
Now, I know I’m not the first guy to come up with that… but the reality of it really struck me. Everything about the mainline media is about presentation. You PRESENT stuff to the public to consume. You craft your “product” and then offer it to the masses to either consume or ignore. There isn’t much middle ground.
With online communities like The Movie Blog and others… it’s a little different. We TRY (we don’t always succeed) to make our stuff relational. The idea isn’t just to come and get the news (THE MOVIE BLOG IS NOT A NEWS SITE), but rather a place to come and interact with thoughts, ideas and opinions. We interact, we argue and debate… we agree and joke around… it’s relational. We all love the movies, and what online communities like The Movie Blog offers that mainline media can’t, is that interactivity, that forum for debate… that relationship based around our common love of film. How many places are there where the authors actually jump in and laugh, fight, argue, share ideas, or agree with you? Only on online communities. In a way, it’s really all about relationship.
I think that’s part of the reason that I’ve always made The Movie Blog almost as much about my experiences with the movie world as it is about the movie news items that we comment on. This is my blog. It’s realtional. Some people like to criticize me for that… saying it’s not “professional”, saying that to talk about yourself or your experiences on your own blog is wrong.
But I think those people are missing the point. They still seem to have a mainline media way of thinking. They seem to think I’m supposed to be some sort of Journalist… which clearly I’m not. They seem to think The Movie Blog is supposed to be yet another form of Entertainment Weekly or other form of “NEWS” site. We’re not. This is a blog… this is a site dedicated to interaction and being relational. We don’t always do it right… but it is what we try for.
Back to the studios for a moment. I think the main reason that big studios still haven’t “got it” in relation to online media, is because they just plain don’t understand how to relate or be relational with its audience yet. And you know what… I think they should be forgiven for that. For decades they’ve mastered the art of PRESENTATIONAL MEDIA… it’s what they understand and know. I think we should cut them at least a little slack for not instantly understanding how to shift gears and also interact on a relational level.
Mainline media and online sites that act like mainline media (operating with a presentational philosophy) will always have their place (a huge place) and are really needed. But the real beauty of the online arena is its relational capabilities… when we use it.
Just my two cents worth on a Sunday morning. What do you think?
