New Movie! Idiot Ball! The Problem With Video Chat!
Interesting things and surprisingly useful frameworks: The Neal Ungerleider Newsletter #83
Hey there. Things have been busy. But BUSY IS GOOD. Don’t ever trust anyone who tells you otherwise.
One thing I’ve been up to lately: Consulting on a new documentary.
The Faithful is premiering online March 19. I'm excited for two specific reasons:
1) The topic. Director Annie Berman’s film examines public image, faith, memory, and legacy through the most dedicated fans of Princess Diana, Elvis Presley, and Pope John Paul II as her 15-year project evolved from a vacation pastime into an intrinsic part of her life.
The Faithful explores topics like copyright, the ownership of identity, public image, and fair use when it comes to public figures with large followings. The movie also centers on why the legacies of Diana, Pope John Paul II and Elvis are so enduring, with all three mattering to the public years after they have passed on (as recent royal family events have shown!).
2) The technology. With the financial assistance of Grant for the Web and other partners, we've built our own premiering platform from scratch with digital ticketing, screening, chatrooms/panels for attendees and more--giving filmmakers a new option for debuting their film beyond traditional screening platforms and movie theaters.
I'd love it if you could join us for the premiere or spread the word to others looking for new ways to explore content.
Have you ever heard of carrying the idiot ball? I just learned about this concept a few days ago and it’s changed my life.
The more you look around THE MORE PEOPLE YOU SEE CARRYING IDIOT BALL. People carrying the idiot ball at work. People carrying the idiot ball on the left wing. People carrying the idiot ball on the right wing. People carrying the idiot ball in social media culture wars. People carrying the idiot ball in social interactions. The only way to win idiot ball is not to play idiot ball, but once someone throws you the idiot ball it’s surprisingly hard to pass, drop or fumble… It’s funny that way.
Lastly, Farhad Manjoo over at the Times wrote a great column this week arguing that videoconferencing can replace a lot of business travel. Lots of mixed thoughts on this.
1) First, the hardest one. Video chat is awesome for day-to-day talking, status updates and making deals. When it comes to sharing presentations, brainstorming or bonding with other people, video chatting is not as ideal. You can't go to dinner with your client on Zoom. You can't schmooze over coffee with the other vendors they hired for the project in Skype for Business. Hypothetically, you could watch Netflix together with your work team and chat in real time, but in real life…
2) For promotions--the book readings, the professional talks, the panels of the world--we're playing catchup right now (I mean, to be fair, that's what I do for a living) with making digital experiences just as good as a packed night at the Angelika Film Center or a 92nd Street Y panel. We want strangers making small talk online at events and the chat backchannel to be just as awesome as the concert or sports match you’re streaming.
3) But an awesome thing about our video chat reality: Business travel is a barrier lots of times. Not everyone has the means or the ability to reasonably fly/stay at a hotel/attend offsite meetings as a routine part of business. Things are harder when you don’t have money or don’t/can’t want to gamble $1000 on a credit card on the risk of making a deal! You can’t just go on a business trip when you’re a parent or the primary caretaker of a loved one! The shift to digital is democratizing that and it's 1000% awesome.
I mean… I fully cop to being one of those annoying creative class airport lounge people who traveled all the time for work pre-lockdowns. But I'm seeing now that the shift to digital leveled the playing ground for a lot of business development & remote work. That's a positive--brings more talent to the table and is an unmitigated GOOD THING.
Things I’ve Enjoyed Lately:
Figuring out advertising and our Influencer Lifestyle.
YouTube food host Mark Wiens’ videos from Iran. On the bucket list, one day, when relations are better.
Premee Mohamed’s These Lifeless Things, the elder gods/cosmic horror/post-apocalyptic scifi short story you never knew you needed.
Thank you, Marvel Podcasts: Method Man talks comic books with Jean Grae.
Programming Note:
I’m a day late with this newsletter due to unexpected—but good—circumstances.
Speaking of that, regular readers may have noticed that our publishing schedule has been jumping around a bit. The newsletter format’s also been jumping around a bit. In fact, everything’s jumping around a bit. I want to make sure this newsletter is useful to readers, interesting to me, and something THAT TURNS INTO AN AWESOME END RESULT. Stay tuned for more things.
And speaking of that… I’d love to hear from readers about what they like about the newsletter, what they don’t like, and what they’d like to see from the newsletter. LMK.
Love and coffee,
Neal
About This Newsletter: Neal Ungerleider is a strategic communications consultant who works with individuals, agencies and brands. He writes this weekly newsletter about the media communications industrial complex and hopes that you found it of use. Check out his bio, his portfolio, and current projects and interests.
Connect on Twitter or LinkedIn and learn more about at nealungerleider.com. To reach Neal, reply to this email or drop a line in the comments.