Snakes on a Set

Here's an idea from the We Are Smarter Than Me file...

If you recall, last summer the horror-comedic
thriller Snakes on a Plane was released only after a long process in which potential fans of the film were asked for suggestions about what scenes, plot twists, even expletives, they wanted to see in the film. The film's creative team was free to cherry-pick a few of the best ideas. Although the film was not a big hit at the box office, the pre-release buzz was much more than one would normally expect from what was, at its heart, a low-budget horror film.

The same general idea--get the viewers involved in the creative process--is being tried again, this time in televisionland. VH1 has decided to let viewers vote on which comedy sketches they would like to see more of. So, instead of guessing what the viewers want, let them just tell the TV executives what they want. It's a really simple, yet powerful, idea that is outlined in this a National Public Radio story.
Gabcast! Club MediaNote #34



TTh 1:15 class was preempted for the Autry field trip on April 10 and did not get this medianote


***LONG TAIL UPDATE I just ran across an interesting article on The Long Tail, one of the three possible topics for this semester's MC101 research paper. This looks at the theory from more of a business standpoint. It might be a good compliment to some of the more media-oriented sources that students are finding.