Thanks so much to Daniel Burka for this nod to his friend and photographer Steven Desroches. Desroches took the photo linked below at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. It captures so much brilliance of story-telling composition in one, single frame.
This is, after all, an example of how to describe the wonder of a beginning-middle-end story arch from a single point in space and time. The viewer wonders excitedly at how this story was set up, and with greater anticipation about how it will resolve. It is timeless.
I had never heard of Desroches, but will certainly be paying attention to him from now on. Congratulations on a wonderful capture!
This is a good summary from Jason Calacanis summarizing his take on “Scoble’s Law” (wow, I can’t believe Scoble is coming up with a law behind his name): “The less you talk about yourself, the more folks will talk about you.”
This is more of a cardinal law of organic self-promotion, and less of a journalistic technique. But it flies in the face of Lacy’s interview strategy: put herself in the middle of every story, the sun around which all her subjects orbit. On this last note, it’s certainly time to stop talking about her, even as an object lesson.
In this personal interview with a YouTuber Omar Gallaga, I think she says it all — and highlights through what she doesn’t say just how backward it is to call her a “journalist.”
It is hard to describe the disaster that befell Sarah Lacy at the SxSW conference in Austin this week. In an interview with the often-tight-lipped Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Lacy managed to single-handedly turn her audience into an angry mob, wielding Twitter posts like pitchforks and torches, all aimed at her head. Zuckerberg rarely steps into the limelight; thanks to all the company’s recent privacy missteps, he tends to be more of a marked man than an interesting field exemplar. In this case, Lacy’s lack of polish gave him the ultimate dodge. Facebook PR: this was a dream. If you have the time, take a break and watch the whole thing here. At about the three-quarter mark, it gets very interesting.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/allfacebook/videos/13/
For more Sarah Lacy goodness, head here: Facebook is All Grown Up. In it, she takes her low-brow sorority chiq to turn an ‘interview’ between her and a grown-up into a name-drop-a-thon in which she completely destroys the thread of the discussion by turning herself into a pundit.
This is not a discussion of Sarah Lacy as an accomplished media personality. It’s a sad reality check on the level of acceptable behavior that comes with finding yourself both a reporter of news and a celebrity yourself.
With Zuckerberg, the audience was not amused. Enough so that many began to yell out questions themselves, rather than listen to Lacy’s self-aggrandizing inner-circle-speak. Her public response in the interview? “You guys try doing what I do for a living. It’s not as easy as it looks, OK?”
Where Sarah went sideways.
- She shunned any healthy respect for her audience. From the interview questions, and the direction she took the discussion early on, it was clear she had her own agenda for the Facebook founder and showed little interest in the caliber of both social and technical expertise in the room. To be fair, Zuckerberg likely had put some constraints on the kinds of questions Lacy could ask — it’s a reasonable PR expectation. But her dismissal of the audience heckling showed a rampant disrespect for her listeners and her role in addressing their needs.
- She is not a humble person. I had never followed Sarah Lacy. I’d heard of her and read her blog from time to time when linked. In catching up on her work, it is clear that she is a media personality first, and a journalist a very distant… let’s say… fifth. She’ll be a great addition to “Inside Edition” one day. Once the audience revolts, concede and rebuild the relationship. Simply spitting in the fire will not put it out.
- She pretended it never happened. On her Twitter feed: “seriously screw all you guys. I did my best to ask a range of things.” That, for Lacy, appears to be where the story ends. In the post-keynote interview between Zuckerberg and Lacy, the interview falls soundly back into PR speak, her nodding acceptance of his every word punctuated with a resounding “Uh-huh” precisely ever three seconds. Her questions completely ignorant of the events preceding this interview, which had occurred minutes prior on the keynote stage.
Becoming a savvy interviewer takes a great deal of media training and experience in front of a camera. If her ego can handle it, this experience is a ripe learning opportunity on how to handle yourself professionally, maturely, clearly, and confidently online, in the media, on camera, and in life.
Just got this episode of a new “Quarterlife” parody from good friend Daniel over at the Independent Comedy Network.
If you don’t think the writer’s strike has been good for new media producers, check again. As far as pilots go, I would watch this over … I dunno … “Class of 99” any day.
If you head over to ICN, check out “Inappropriate Workplace” too. There’s some good humor in that there broadcast.
If you have feedback, leave it on Daniel’s wall over on Facebook.
Here’s something that’s NSFW: a viral video picking up steam on YouTube that reveals what the animals are really saying on the BBC hit documentary series, “Planet Earth.”
Put on those headphones and proceed at your own risk!
I’ve been AWOL for the last four or five days now, trekking to Tulsa for the funeral of my grandmother, Wanda Peters. I have some more thoughts to share on her passing and will get caught up there soon. In the mean time, thank you for your patience as I dig out from under the pile that has accumulated around me. It’s starting to ferment!
One of my favorite podcasts is WebbAlert, a technology news show hosted by Morgan Webb, highlighting daily tech news and social media memes. It’s daily, no more than about six minutes per episode, and Webb does a good job of covering the geek news I need with a ripe sarcasm I crave.
For the last few weeks, WebbAlert has had a compelling new sponsor: DeVry University. It’s a perfect match — while I know very little about the place, I know they have technical and gaming programs that fit the market of the show. But more important than that, it shows that the adult education industry is dipping its toes into some more progressive waters.
Here’s a wonderful piece showcasing the purity of art taking place in online media. Think of it as “Johnathan Livingston Seagull: Redux”.
Leo’s Song from impactist on Vimeo.
Senator Barack Obama
Originally uploaded by Stephen Voss
I saw the “Yes We Can” video (in the “Featured Video” box on the front page) for the first time a day or so after it hit the net. Until that point, I had passed on this election cycle’s rhetoric. After eight years of a declining quality of voice in our administration, I found little point in hitching my attention to pundits looking to tackle the center of American low-brow.
The video is a haunting homage to Obama’s New Hampshire concession speech which went largely uncovered by mainstream press. Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.am opens the piece in stark black and white. He’s familiar, but not household. And when he opens his mouth, it’s not his voice that comes out.
Watch this video. It’s a presentation cast of Laurence Lessig giving what I believe is one of the best summaries of why we should be considering Obama strongly, particularly those of us who were Edwards supporters, as requested by Lessig supporter. It is not only a great talk, but a wonderful example of effective presentations, by one of today’s master orators.
Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s that I have a deep personal affinity with actors and celebs I’ve never met. I’m a Reagan-era kid, after all, the actor-politician cemented for me a sentiment that the most important work of all is that of telling stories, pressing enthusiasm, fueling emotion.
It’s why I get to say things to myself like, “Man, if Will Smith only knew me, we’d be buds. Best friends.”
Apollo Group leadership thumbs their collective nose at the courts, saying that the $277.7 million verdict against them “will not have a material adverse affect on its business or cash flows.”
While it’s thrilling that the company has enough cash to cover the bond and the finding, investors should note: the company has likely learned very little from the experience.
My daughter Sophie is currently enrolled in a Chinese language immersion school. She’s in kindergarten now and her teachers have started introducing the kids to simple oragami projects for crafts time. Then, in a sweet bit of synchronicity, her godfather received a book on some creative origami projects that you can make out of dollar bills for Christmas and brought it over for dinner a few weeks back. We were both schooled handily when we tried to make a Klingon Bird of Prey out of a greenback.