Web-based entertainment isn't new, but the creators of a new drama being aired online are using social networking in a unique way in order to build an audience, host content and sustain ongoing interest.

Girl Number 9 is a six-part thriller just 30 minutes in length in which detectives work frantically to save a young girl who is endangered by a serial killer playing a deadly game. Each webisode ends in a cliffhanger. (Note: The drama's theme and language are aimed at an adult audience and may be not safe for work.)

The series features actors from two BBC television series: Tracy-Ann Oberman and Joe Absolom from EastEnders, and Gareth David-Lloyd, who starred in the Doctor-Who spinoff Torchwood. James Moran co-wrote and co-directed the drama, along with Dan Turner.

Moran says, "It's the first UK web drama with an established film director and established actors. We've seen that people are excited by this web thing, but no one really knows what it is or how to take advantage of it."

He explains that much of the planning took place online. "Initially, I met up with Dan in a coffee shop, but we met a year ago and had an email correspondence and texted. Later, we were passing ideas back and forth through email."

Later, he actually cast one of the stars of the production, Tracy-Ann Oberman, on Twitter. "Traditionally you'd approach the actor's agent, but I'd spoken to her on Twitter anyway; we were Twitter friends, though I'd met her before. I knew she liked my work, and I loved hers, and we could save waiting for a reply. She said she'd be happy to be involved."

Once the webisodes were shot and produced, the creative team continued to use existing social networks for promotion and began to create dramatic content on the platform itself. The detectives on the case and the suspect tweet plot points and clues to involve the audience further:

"It's mostly me and Dan looking after all of it and creating the conversations," Moran explains. It's incredibly time consuming; we had to work out the entire plot, and it's been a huge amount of work to plan the content and the narrative."

But, he adds, the interactive connection leads to great conversations with and trust from the online audience. "I think it's because we're grass-roots -- we're not sponsored, we're not from a big channel. It's just us, and we're promoting it on our own."

"Something feels honest about people doing this themselves, it makes this feel like more of a community thing."

Using social networking tools for promotion may seem like a natural fit for a web drama, but Moran tells LiveWorld that traditional media companies shouldn't be afraid of using free technology to connect with target audiences in a transparent way.

"I think some of them do. Some are mistrustful (of fan comment) and try to lock down unauthorized activity, which is a bit silly. Along with people following us on Facebook and Twitter and using our own hosted forum, within a couple of days of the project being publicized, there was an independent fan community out there. We thought to ourselves, 'Why are they doing that? We've given them this space to do what they like.' ... but fans like to have complete control over their own communities, too. They've already created icons (user avatars) featuring the characters -- and even desktop wallpaper. You can't pay for that, really."

"A lot of networks seem to be scared, that it'll make them look bad if there is negative comment. But this is a subjective piece of entertainment and not everyone's going to like it... some will absolutely hate it. If you shut down those opinions, you've lost."

Moran says there are two keys to using the platforms successfully, timing and passion. "You could spend ages working on something and it just doesn't catch on, but a video on YouTube of someone being hit with a tennis ball is funny and can get 8 million views." That sort of thing isn't always under a promoter's control, but he adds that audiences can sense whether something is a commercial effort or done out of love: "I think you've got to fully commit to something like this, and do it with as much passion and love as you felt when you created the original product. If you're not delighted about it, the audience is not going to be interested, and that includes the promotional side of it."

"Have a sense of humor about it. Be irreverent. This is casual and informal entertainment and interaction."

Moran says the formula seems to have worked so far. "We're happy with the amount of plays. In fact, the first half hour, the server slowed down quite a bit, so we've put a backup server in place just in case. More people have been watching it over the weekend as well, and we're hoping word of mouth will help."

The team producing the drama sent out a press release when they first announced it, but the response has been surprising; the actors and creators are receiving the sort of attention usually paid to high-budget television minseries. Along with the expected indie entertainment blogs, the drama has received writeups in the UK national press and a spotlight on a cable news network.

"A lot of people get information passed on through these social networks now. If you're not using them, you're missing out on what is potentially a huge audience. We never imagined I'd be interviewed live on Sky News the day it aired. It's been a bit out of hand, but in a good way!"

Lessons:

Plan ahead: Schedule extra time to nurture interaction with your target audience.

Use free tools: Make the most of existing social networks as well as building your own hosted community.

Share your love: Followers will sense it if you're just going through the motions. Be passionate about the project every step of the way.

Links:

Girl Number 9

Character interaction Twitter list/feed

Facebook Fan Page

I haven't been much of a "joiner" lately; that's what my mom calls people who take part in loads of group activities. I don't belong to any local clubs or societies. I don't have a standing appointment on certain weekday evenings to play softball or Scrabble or rehearse for a community theatre production. I've done these things in the past (and they're fun!) but I haven't for a few years.

Part of this is because I telecommute, and I don't have a built-in local network of friends and colleagues with which to do things -- and I also live between two cities, so most activities would call for a bit of a drive.

But I realized this month that I do belong to a tribe, after all. The tribe of sci-fi and fantasy geeks online. The sort of geeks who go to conventions and hang out with other enthusiasts.

(And I say that proudly. Because there's nothing wrong with being a geek. In fact, it's awesome.)

Like all subcultures, fandom has a presence online, whether you follow Anime programs or Battlestar Galactica or Doctor Who or Star Trek (Old school or new school) or The X-Files (or the Flintstones). Part of the fun of being a fan is finding people to squee over your programs with you.

What's "squee"? Well, it's "being extremely excited." Wait. I need an exclamation point. "Extremely excited!" You can be extremely excited(!) about what happened last night on Supernatural and call your best friend or turn to your spouse (excitedly!) to tell them about it, but what if they don't... really care that much? What if they don't know who Teal'c is? (He's a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak on Stargate SG-1. Teal'c rocks!)

That's where the internet comes in. Yes indeed.

Before fandom communities existed online, fans did get together. They created fanzines. They went to conventions and wore Starfleet uniforms and conversed in Klingon. They still do these things, but the internet is a motivator and an evangelizer for fandom. It encourages people to discover what they have in common. People get excited about fan conventions like Dragon*Con together. They plan their costumes and the parties they'll attend. They look for other people who love the same comics and films and television programs. They squee. In communities.





How does this apply to building a community for your customers? Well, you've got to find out why they come online and why community -- any online community -- is important to people.

It's because they want to share experiences. Sometimes it's squee over a new car (really, your brother-in-law doesn't want to talk about convertible color options more than once, and you're starting to sound a bit obsessive) or squee over a trip you're taking (and once you've shown your brother-in-law the photos once, he probably doesn't want to hear more and more and more about your windsurfing experience). But other people who plan to windsurf want to know... and you can share your excitement, your squee, with thousands of them on a travel community.

What is the experience your brand represents? If it's about making life as a parent simpler, there are parents who want to know. They will also want to squee about their children's moments and milestones with other parents.

And if it's part of your brand strategy, you can also motivate customers to do something outside the online home you provide for them, like get together in "real life", just like fan conventions are made to do. That's a call to action.

I had a fantastic time at Dragon*Con. Next year I'm dressing up, maybe as Agent Scully. Or Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. (Starfleet represent!)

But I will never, ever be as cool as this Imperial Stormtrooper in a tutu.




"Us" Fan video by Lim. You can read more about "Us" here.

Ah, Twitter... how I love you, though you are abused and misunderstood by so many.

We were having an internal discussion via email (so slow, so many clicks, so many decisions about whom to CC) when the eternal question was posed:

"How can you get anything really interesting into a Twitter tweet? It's only 140 characters!"

Well, it's no "Why are we here?" but it's a great question. The answer is: what can't you get into 140 characters?

The most effective tweeters use imagery, headlines, enticing links, quotable remarks, deals, humor and thought-provoking questions to capture followers and to capture their imaginations.

If you're using Twitter in a corporate capacity, you've got to think about three things:

- What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to increase brand awareness, inform followers about what you offer in order to increase sales and loyalty?

(Okay, well... yes to those, right?)

- What is your company's image and how can you best express it? @thinkgeek has a personality of its own, and so does @MarriottIntl I follow them both. I am a gadget-and-funky-t-shirt-buying geek who sometimes stays in hotels. I have clicked on links and purchased goods and services from both companies, and each has a friendly, but informative and professional presence on Twitter.

- Who's writing the tweets? Every organization has someone who's good at summation, and more importantly, engaging and interesting summation. And, uh... don't forget spelling.

So, you've got to cram tone, good writing and content into 140 characters? If Hemingway can do it, so can you. He once wrote a six-word novel and it is said he called it one of his best works:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."


Next time... how to write a headline. Because not every tweet can be a novel in six words or a... *cough* mangled Shakespearean quote (hey, you clicked!) ; more often, you'll want followers to click to read more... and that's why headlines exist.

Plea: I'd like your votes! LiveWorld has entered several possible seminar topics into the SXSW 2010 Social Media Panel. Mine is called #SocialMediaFail: Tales from the Trenches and I'd love the opportunity to talk about why communities fail. Nobody ever talks about that.

LiveWorld has several entries and Bryan Person details them here.

Since more of us seem to spend more time behind our keyboards and screens than in smoky barrooms - where are you getting your political discussion fix this election season?

The landscape has changed quite a bit since the 2004 elections, with more traditional news sources adding comment functionality on stories and editorial pages (I find myself somewhat disappointed when I can't comment directly on an article). Other community sites like Facebook have been used for discussion with people we already know and the opportunity to meet others with a similar take on the issues. You can Twitter your reactions live during debates (and Hack the Debate has even broadcast tweets during the events.)

Next week we'll take a look at how the candidates themselves used online community on their own sites and others, but I'd like to know:

1. Where are you getting political news online (blogs, news sites)?
2. Is there an interactive/community element on the sites you visit?
3. Were you required to register/join to post, and was that a big obstacle for you?

On the evening of the first debate between presidential candidates Senators Obama and McCain, T Boone Pickens promoted a live chat following the event.

Where? On top of the Drudge Report website:



When planning a live online event, some sites/entities promote the event ahead of time, but many more do not provide enough lead time for users to be able to shoehorn attendance into their plans. Others fail to promote the event at all or bury details on a page which receives little attention.

For good event/chat/live Q&A traffic, try:

1. Smart Promotion (in the right places at the right time). Is there a clickable link where users can find out more? If the event is a month away, change the promotion image or text a few times; a promo box on the same piece of page real estate for a month tends to become invisible after a while.

2. Pre-registration. Let interested parties sign up for the Q&A ahead of time. You can send them an email alert to remind them to attend, or let them submit questions early.

3. Promotion concurrent with the event. As in the example above for the energy chat - a high-traffic site with timed traffic (people looking for debate updates) get an immediate invitation for something occurring very soon.

Use your resources if planning an event. If you can do television promotion to drive traffic, go for it...it's powerful!

We did not produce the Pickens chat, but one of LiveWorld's most successful live events featured "Millionaire Bride" Darva Conger. The event was promoted in prime time by ABC prior to the event, and approximately 28,000 people attended.

(Make sure the server can handle that many people! Please let us know what your promotion strategy is like.)

Prominent promotion was also extremely successful for our Night of 100 Stars and 2000 Grammy Awards events. (The latter was part of an IBM web strategy for the Awards and featured live green room chat events produced by our team and promoted on the official site. They did an amazing job.) I certainly enjoyed tap-tapping my heart out for both events! Hey...there's J-Lo...what a dress.

After your event has concluded, don't forget to post the transcript prominently online - and let your preregistered users or interested attendees/fans get their hands on a copy via an email link as well.

Happy event planning!


(obligatory musical accompaniment)
The Metros... Talk About It

When we talk about online community, much is made of opportunities to meet new people with similar interests (politics, lolcats, pictures of politicians with lolcat captions) but people who have known each other for ages who are using new social media to connect in better ways than we did just a few years ago.

You've received the Alumni newsletter via snail mail, packaged neatly with a request for a donation, but those short blurbs, which are now located online (next to a link leading to a handy form for alumni donations). But they're static, and let's be honest, a little contrived. Really? Bart's a huge success? Not living in a Hobo Jungle down by the railroad tracks in the darkness on the edge of town?* Well, he did go into hedge fund management, so... there's always next year's newsletter!

We can keep in touch with old school friends via email, but years later, it's difficult to find people who've married or changed their names to avoid the law or just don't go by "Der Jagermeister" anymore. So, they've got to want to be found.

Classmates.com (and the UK's Friends Reunited) recognized this years ago by establishing places for friends to reconnect. And they're good sites, but in the case of Classmates, (FR is now free) if you'd like to do more than post a picture and list your name, like actually contact old friends instead of just scrutinizing their pictures to see if they're still en fuego, you'll have to fork out for a membership. Still, the site has expanded its offerings in recent years and has added more opportunities to connect socially and plan reunions.

Another option for reunion use is the dedicated event site - such as MyEvent.com. Some do charge fees, but if you're using them for reunion planning, you'll probably only need the site for a limited period. These sites do not tend to have many community features - usually simple profiles and a contact function.

Less restrictive, free AND still en fuego, is Facebook. After the site was opened to the general public rather than current college students, it's a natural place to cook up a community with schoolmates. You're probably already on it (or on MySpace) and groups are easy to create. Groups are a fantastic outlet for reunion planning and sharing photos of your kids, pets, politicians with lolcat captions, etc.

The best thing about Facebook, and the thing which caused a mini-revolt when it debuted two years ago - is the News Feed. Ah, the Feed as noted in this recent NYT article changes the game. It's PERFECT for casual but informative tidbits. Bart went to his 20th Jimmy Buffett concert last night? Mandy is knitting? Valerie is wondering how the Eagles blew it in Dallas? Yeah. I mean, I am wondering that, actually.

These feed posts are like Twitter tweets - a hit-and-run snapshot of what your friends are doing. MUCH more interesting than the sappy writeups in the alumni newsletter.

This is what makes community fun, no matter whether the context may be your current interests, networking or reconnecting with people who knew you when you were at your gawkiest and had Flock of Seagulls hair. It's immediate, it's interactive and nobody is going to hit you up with a donation. Unless their kids are selling those chocolate bars for drama camp, in which case, I'll take three.

Go Spartans!





*I stole that Hobo Jungle line from Wonkette's Ken Layne. He's very, very funny.

I plan to talk about Culture & Community, and whatever else comes up.