darlings
we’re driving to the Valley (the bit over Laurel Canyon) today as on Thursdays we work for a photographer (did we tell you that before?) – it’s a lovely thing to do – we re-touch pictures (adjusting contrast, exposure, tints and so forth – yes, a New Skill), and “consult” on blog posts and other social media ‘feeds’ and build a database for marketing ‘blasts’ and be nice and helpful in a general way.
it’s the beginning of what we hope is a 4th (or is 7th?) career (we have had Other Lives) to run alongside the Lady Novelist and photographer life.
you see we’ve Noticed that a lot of Smart People in Hollywood (and elsewhere – but this is where we live, right now) might need some careful (and always kind) help with the new fangled world of how to present oneself on the Interweb (we have done this Ad Hoc from time to time but never, as the Americans say ‘formalized it’ – which means, get-paid-for-it).
all this reading in the Academy of Motion Picture Library got us thinking about Gladys Hall.
you see gladys hall was really the world’s first social media consultant.
we can explain…….
in the 1920s and 30s, famous movie stars were owned by the Studio System who controlled their image, love life and creation-of-a-persona (right down to the eyebrow shape and one’s Name).
but then the Movie Stars would take tea with gladys hall who wrote for ALL (and we mean all – there were a Lot in those days) the Syndicated Press (sometimes dismissed as the Fan Magazines but make no mistake, they were as powerful as People Magazine in their day).
a subtle manipulation of image would take place – breasts (metaphorically) bared, divorces explained, the adoption notices of children smoothly released to the adoring fans, weight loss encouraged, new wardrobes applauded, Transatlantic Travel tips dispensed.
if you watch the emergence of a storyline it’s clear that gladys hall was helping Certain Stars.
Now back to today (we’ll give you a moment to pull focus and go into colo(u)r – welcome back).
MBA types write Long Reports about “Direct To Consumer” to encourage WOM – word of mouth – and you can find Hefty Binders all over town with documents ‘explaining’ this – perhaps not as clearly as one would like as in –
“since the destruction of traditional distribution networks controlling syndication and the shorter viewing window rights assigned to properties bought and sold there is an opportunity for Talent Owners to go communicate directly with multiple audiences on various platforms using the mechanism of electronic commerce – ‘ecommerce’ and digital payments systems like PayPal and build their own platform.”
phew!
what it really means is this:
Movie Stars can go straight to their audience today (but they still need a modern gladys hall to carefully tease out the message and protect one’s private life without seeming to do so).
the interweb is about community – sharing – approving – discussing – adoring certain things – not liking others (and some pretty tough criticism that one needs to be careful to look the other way if one is Very Sensitive) – but one needs to have one’s own place-on-the-interweb from which to start (not a ‘feed’ that populates someone else’s ‘aggregator’ when they’ll put suspiciously low rent advertising next to one’s very expensive image ;-) It Happens. *sighs*
anyway – we’re still Developing this idea.
thoughts most welcomed.
one always appreciates guidance…..and something else to do while one’s Literary Agent in Manhattan (such a lovely phrase) is reading one’s 3rd book.
for example – Mr. Auden taught creative writing while He was waiting for his Literary Agent to sell His books – and Auden’s Reading List helped many people discover a deeper meaning behind not only the great works of literature but also themselves.
so there you go.
a post about a future career (or at least getting paid for something one has done for free a lot ;-) and gladys hall mixed with auden and an exposition of how MBA types explain away the destructive force of the interweb laying waste to the middle man.
where else could you get such a melange?
right?
have a beautiful day darlings – the sun is already rising in the sky over here on This Coast.
