It’s a delicate balance. That’s no lie. But when they(by “they” I mean the grand high PTBs who run things) block the one thing that’s been giving them FREE advertising, they’re biting the fans that feed them. I’m not saying they should allow entire shows to run about the interwub video circuit unchallenged. I’m saying they could set a time limit on the clips allowed on YouTube Google or what have you.
Maybe they could get interns to create an online identity on those video servers and post whatver clips they fancy. Now the corporate types are gonna scream, “We have comedy clips on Motherload!” There’s a problem with Motherload. It sucks donkey balls.
I goofed the other day and watched a commercial during The Daily Show and heard them advertise free viewings of Daily Show on Comedy Central. They brazenly added, “It’s better than viewing clips on some crappy blog.” Well, when you have only two consistantly funny shows on your whole damn network, I’d be careful about my level of cockiness.
You know what the problem is with the South Park infested Comedy Central.com? You can’t email videos to friends. You can’t post videos on your “crappy” websites. The clips they think are funny are the blandest parts of the shows. The show celebrities can’t communicate with their fanbase as easily. Do you think the Stephen Colbert Green Screen Challenge would have had half as much juice without the love of You Tubers and ILM wannabes?
Fuck, no.
In this “new media,” or whatever you want to call it, you need to be fan accessible. Cause we’re the suckers who will spread your disease farther and cheaper than any slick advertising agency could ever imagine. We find that unturned rock in the wilds of Nomanisland. We flip it over. We shove our funny under that bitch until its inbox is stuffed with videos of cats running full steam into brick walls. And we do it all, free of charge.
(Well, free-ish since most of us are doing these things at work while the Big Boss isn’t looking, but that’s BB’s problem.)
In the future, in the year 21st century, you’re gonna need to treat your fanbase as friends or at least amicable acquaintances and not like psycho pirate lepers.
