This past week I attended Digital Hollywood at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey, CA. It's always an interesting conference to check out, consisting of a mix of entertainment industry professionals, top players from established digital companies and people looking to make connections with both. With the digital space rapidly evolving, it's the place to be if you're looking to gain a better sense of how entertainment and tech are converging. There was a lot to take in, but here are the items that I found most "Share"-worthy:
-- Amber J. Lawson is a force in the world of digital comedy, and I love what she's doing with her new philanthropic initiative, "Transforming the World Through Comedy." Lightening the mood is a great way to draw attention to serious causes, and I hope this continues to gain traction.
-- The paper resume is clearly not the future, and .pdf/.doc attachments are just so... one-dimensional. The future is the online resume, and sites like About.me and Vizualize.me. are definitely worth checking out. Same goes for Branch Out, a Facebook app that functions similar to LinkedIn though uses your Facebook connections. Also, more and more recruiters are turning to Twitter to fill jobs. Sites like TwitJobSearch.com and TweetMyJobs.com are great resources for finding real-time job listings on Twitter.
-- Oren Katzoff from Cracked.com (of which I'm a fan) claimed that sharing videos late in the day, rather than earlier, works better for his site. The reasoning? It's tougher for people to watch video content while at work; thus, Cracked will typically post editorial content earlier in the day and videos later on. This may not be the new rule, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.
-- Part of Digital Hollywood was the Urban Media Summit. I only attended one panel, though most of the time was spent trying to lock down just what "urban" means. Does it mean African-American and Latino? Under 25? Is it the new mainstream, or is it simply a mindset? It was actually kind of fun hearing audience members argue with the panel about this. My definition of "urban" is when execs salivate over the idea of Jay-Z or Eminem's involvement in the marketing. Or something like that.
-- I really like what Principato-Young Entertainment is doing to keep its talent roster active in the digital space. Corey Moss, VP of Digital, has been helping talent develop original ideas for the web, and the content is then matched to the appropriate outlet. One web series to look out for is Allison Becker's series on MyDamnChannel, "You Snooze You Lose." (She was great on "Mayne Street.")
-- Expect to see more live events taking a cue from this year's Academy Awards. The Oscar Backstage Pass app pushed the boundaries of interactivity, allowing users to tune in through dozens of different cameras (which they could then operate!), experience app-only interviews, videos and more. (I'd love to see The Masters offer an app that has cameras installed at various places along each hole. Or maybe the Westminster Dog Show could install helmet cams on some of the dogs in competition? Hmm...)
-- I love how Crackle, a digital extension of Sony, is establishing itself as a brand. Crackle offers tons of FREE movies, original web series and more, with their core audience consisting of 18-34 year old males. Crackle can now be found on the XBox 360 and works with Kinect, which should be an ideal fit for their audience and increase exposure. (FYI: You can watch Step Brothers for free on Crackle. Just sayin'.)