WorldChanging on the New Media Landscape
By Tim.
The ever-brilliant Micki Krimmel has written an extensive post on WorldChanging about the current online video landscape, and turned in possibly the only thoughtful and appropriate response I’ve seen so far to the news recently reported that our friend Amanda Congdon and ABC won’t be continuing their relationship for another year.
Micki’s best point is that the online video landscape has evolved and grown so much in the past year, it’s almost useless now to draw conclusions about the viability of the industry based on any one person’s career choices — though I’d add it was pretty useless more than a year ago, when people were using Amanda’s departure from Rocketboom for their own axes to grind about videoblogging and its emerging personalities — many of them were painfully wrong when they made predictions then about her or the medium’s prospects, and I think there’s a good chance many of them are wrong now.
Amanda’s taken a lot of shots by virtue of being one of the first breakout videobloggers to get a lot of mainstream media attention, which these days happens a lot more often than it did a year ago. I know that I’m obviously biased as a known conspirator of Amanda’s, but no one’s written much yet about what a challenging gig she took on at ABC, and how amazing it is that she worked for a year with them at all. I’ve watched and sometimes commiserated with her in open admiration as she forged her way with ABC — a company I’ve done some work with, and know how long it can take to change, for many good and understandable reasons — and as she helped push through a lot of positive change in that organization.
Before Abcnews.com/Amanda, there was no video content on the site simultaneously available via RSS feeds and iTunes podcasts, no flash players with pause buttons, user comments on videos, or regular interaction with the viewer community in every episode. Not to mention that there were no videobloggers working in mainstream media, and covering stories that viewers asked them to do, or soliciting their participation in making the show. The thought of a major news organization like ABC supporting anything like that format for a year, much less getting those changes made within a year, is mind-boggling, if you take a step back from it. Lots of things that have followed, like Wallstrip joining CBS, JETSET joining us at Next New, and the increasing amounts of latitude they’ve each had to make their shows succeed in their new homes, all followed a path pioneered by Amanda.
(Photo by Amanda)
If people want to critique what could have been done better, they should. I’ve always felt that the show was underserved by a poorly designed website and intrusive ad model that made it difficult to watch and interact with, though the podcast remedied some of that for me. For that, we can’t really fault Amanda, who maintains a beautifully simple and easy to use website for her personal videoblog. ABC needs to improve this if they want to build viewership on the web — and new initiatives like the great work being done by ABC Family show that they know it. But at the same time, Amanda and ABC should be applauded for an experiment that’s made both of them smarter — it made a lot of sense for both at the time, and they’re both well-positioned to do even better things next as a result.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Yeah Amanda! Yeah videobloggers! Yeah the new world of TV!
September 28th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
It’s an interesting phenomenon when people take what’s essentially an anomaly and attempt to apply the facts surrounding that situation to a larger group or entire industry.
Amanda Congdon has her own particular style. So does Lindsay, so does Zadi, so does Shauna, so does Casey, so does Veronica, so does Sarah, so does Obreahny…..
Amanda being hired by ABC means……. Amanda was hired by ABC. Period. They saw a match between what they were trying to do with their show, and the on-air talent skills that Amanda was bringing to the table. Amanda going to MSM didn’t mean we ALL were heading to MSM. Similarly, the contract ending after one year doesn’t even indicate that the show didn’t work in and of itself.
I think the overall lesson here is “put your best foot forward” in whatever you’re doing, because MSM’s definitely watching. That doesn’t mean they’re going to be interested in YOU. That doesn’t mean they’re going to sign you, and even if they do… that doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever.
October 1st, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Heah…she’s a good looking blond with a great body and ABC thought they could use that old formula to sell internet ads.
It didn’t work.
Bring on the next act.
Things haven’t changed much since vaudville - just the delivery systems.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Simply, Congdon (it’s unprofessional to call her “Amanda”) was the top of the internet-native newscasters and that’s why a somewhat overeager news division picked her up. For a traditional news organization whose upper ranks were probably more enamored with the idea of such a personality than willing to question the quality of her reportage, it was probably a given that someone who had relative success with an underpowered and - to them - unprofessional site would flourish when given the tools and access of a multinational corporation. It’s traditional wisdom, but wisdom that ignored the new dynamics of web celebrity. Whatever your opinion of Congdon, it’s easy to see that she did not flourish in the niche ABC carved out for her. There was no real change in what she did or what she put across - simply the logos and the graphics got better. Does that mean she does not have a place in journalism? It’s really not for any of us to say - the market will determine that. What is easy to see is that a news organization of such quality could have cultivated and developed online talent from their large roster of qualified journalists and reporters instead of turning to an outsider. Perhaps then they would have gotten the final product that they wanted instead of having to publicly disown their own decisions. To me - the split says more about ABC’s understanding of new media than it does about Congdon (whom I never truly expected to make it past a year.) I had the same opinion of ABC as I do now and the same advice to them - good and entertaining news presentation comes from proper instincts and an imaginative approach to whatever medium is being used - new media does not require a new understanding of what constitutes a good story and good delivery - look for the best people - not simply the most popular - and then put your best foot forward.