Anne, that is a great find, and good stuff.

Unfortunately, in today's culture, at least here in the US, if you want to get people to understand what you're talking about, this type of thing is usually what's got to happen.

Hi, Ann

Glad you liked my post on Poynter. Along these lines, I just found another bit of humor that helps explain a somewhat geeky issue -- the problems with the Pay Per Post advertising system.

See: http://paymetoblog.blogspot.com

It's far less slick than WeOwnTheInternet, but it does make the point.

- Amy Gahran

Jim: Right. But I don't see that as a bad ("unfortunate") thing...these sorts of initiatives are actually quite smart, with a lot of thought and creativity behind them, making the issue(s) accessible.

Amy: Thanks for including the Pay Me To Blog reference. Definitely more of a one-note band than We Own the Internet, but yeah...you get the point immediately.

And by the way to all -- I loved the news story "spins" under press coverage in "We Own the Net." Priceless.

Hi Ann,

Great article!

Humor, done correctly, can empower change. Some writers may think they are humorous, but they are not, and their message, as a result, goes no where.

I predict a good future for those who can write with style and wit.

Regards,

Sandy Riedel

Ann, I am a huge fan of satire and political incorrectness, and agree they make news accessible and encourage us to think. I hope viewers remember, however, that there exists a difference between hard news and satire and never confuse the two.

A famous and smart philosopher said several centuries past, "The problem with democracy is that people get to vote," or something close to that.

Who IS that guy? I want to hire him to head up our SEO sales department.

"I want to make one thing perfectly clear... we OWN Google..."

sb

"They poke fun at dry, dismal current events and issues we'd rather ignore if we could. That's the beauty of it: Funny = accessible, especially if you're trying to stir interest in a largely disengaged community."

And that's the key, framing an issue in terms that the audience will respond to.

Sounds like good marketing to me ;)

Ann: Great post. Yep, it's the era of "show" vs. "tell". And the show needs to be entertaining.

If you've not seen these two (on net neutrality, you're in for a treat).

a. "I'm the internet, You're the internet" diddy by a cast of, um, characters. Not sure if Peter Pan or cat on guitar is my fave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VrCCpaEoxI

b. All hail the net-neutral ninja: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZSKsSTX-i8

Good post Ann. I went through the site and I agree with you that using humor to tell this boring story is a great idea. What I like best about this is that they do a great job of getting to the heart of the issue which is the RBOCs have a legalized monopoly at the local level and now command pricing power at our access points. That's the heart of the issue and not if you are going to have access to content.

When I was at AT&T (the older version), we had plans to compete at the local level as I'm sure MCI and Sprint did. Sadly, the government allowed the SBCs and Bell Atlantics (Verizon) of the world to buy up the competition and form giant telecom companies. So these guys are dead on accurate.

Anything that gets the real message out and steers it away from the content argument is a great idea. If it makes us laugh too, well it is better the crying over spilt content.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Sandy, Mack: Thanks for your comments. Agreed.

Lewis: Guess that's always a risk. But one worth taking.

Scott: I know. I just love his smarmy, over-the-top delivery.

CK: Three words: Oh. My. God. The "I'm the Internet, You're the Internet" was strangely compelling...weird, but compelling. Best line out of the "Net Neutral Ninja": creating "...a giant wall made out of the shredded First Amendment." Love it.

There's only so much bad news people can take. There are too many problems, and we can't solve them all.

But, it's good for us to know what's going on.

Fortunately, humor gives us a way to know all the horrible shit that happens every day without our brains exploding.

Mark Foley, anyone?

And, Ann, I told you I was still here!

Great insight Ann! Thanks. I'll be posting something similar later at www.acleareye.com. Please let me know your thoughts. And btw, this "trend" was precisely my motivation for GuruBBQ.com. ;) Hope to see you soon.

Ann,

The use of comedy and drama to move people to take action is actually very Shakespearean. When Hamlet really wanted to shake things up he put on a play, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." I wish there more companies who burned their PowerPoint presentations and told a great story instead.

Ted

Ted makes a great point worth going over again; comedy/ laughter has been the delivery vehicle for "message" since the days of the Roman Empire. It's nothing new at all, which proves that it is effective. The technique would not have survived if it weren't for effectiveness.

On to the actual point though, delivering the message with a bit of humor does many things. One thing is that it can help to plant the message more effectively and permanently- if you remember the joke, you remember the message. Heck, we're all talking about this stuff, so it has clearly worked to some extent. It also helps to get the message to an audience that might not otherwise ever find the message or "get it" any other way. We start talking in tech-speak and we'll lose 9/10 of the audience. Keep it simple and engaging and you retain a much larger section of the audience.

That's basically why I try to be the genuinely goofy goober that I am. I can be as serious as the next delusional and lost poet searching for his next glass of wine, but I'd rather spend my time slipping pointed barbs under the King's robes while he's laughing his fool head off. Until I get caught anyway and make a visit to the guillotine.

Good analysis, Ann! I like SCB's characters, and find his use of naive humor quite disarming.
In my seminars, I like to have clients make up off-beat, irreverent mottos for their products as a way to open their thinking. One of my favorites (from Pepsi): "Mountain Dew is the only soft drink that comes out of your body the same color as it goes into it." http://blog.creativethink.com/

Ted raises a GREAT point with "The use of comedy and drama to move people to take action is actually very Shakespearean."

And Lewis was ranting a few months back that WOM is as old as the hills. 'Tis true.

So everything old is new again...or, when something is effective (humor, referrals) it's everlasting.

Show (don't just tell), paint a story (included humor wherever possible) and connect with your markets through these vehicles (so they become your storytellers). And dumb it down (per your original point, Ann)

We could all focus on just these action points for the rest of our careers, eh?

Great article, Ann. Glad you liked the ninja; he's all sorts of popular now and publishes new segments all the time.

Thanks for the comments, Paul and Tom! Good to see you stopping by.

Ted: Merryweather actually reminded me of a character that Captains of Industry would create.

Tim: You might want to register that: GenuinelyGoofyGoober.typepad.net : )

Roger: Nice to see you here and thanks for adding the Mountain Dew...uh...visual. I've been reading about your products at Logic + Emotion.

CK: I'm inspired for my next post: Old Is the New New.

Really thought provoking post. Yes I do wonder how some comedians have the knack to represent something really dry and somethimes political to the masses who would rather than know about it. For eg. No one really wants to know about War...then we have guys like Jon and Jay Leno who brings attention to the same by their own style...a serious topic enclosed in a wrapper...A chocolate that any child can have...

The other thing to note about sites like these is how wonderfully VIRAL they are. Brilliant marketing! And all for a good cause.

My favorite example isn't recent, but I still get a kick out of www.themeatrix.com.

p.s. I'm telling Penny, our Customer Service Ninja, that she has serious competition out there. ;]