Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 5 of Rerun, your weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV curated by Axonista.
This week we look at the effects that live streaming apps will have on election campaigns, we wonder if we've reached peak cable with Horace Dediu and we feature the creative force that is Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead.
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Top Pick
How live-streaming will change election campaigns
The 2016 presidential election in the US — and future elections worldwide — will be truly 24/7 campaigns. The rise of live streaming apps means that every speech, whether planned or impromptu, can be recorded and streamed by anyone. Both reporters and voters will have the power to share every inspirational quote, moment and even gaffe that the candidates will make. Candidates will be able to open a live video conversation with voters from anywhere at any moment. Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Obama, agrees that elections will never be the same again.
Future of TV
Peak Cable
There are some long term fans at Axonista of Horace Dediu's no nonsense stats-based analysis of the mobile industry, in particular the battle between Apple and Samsung. Here he is in typically astute form with a concise high level analysis of the cable TV business. While it's hard to pick an exact date for peak cable (if it hasn't already happened by some measures), history does have a habit of repeating itself. We reckon the cable industry still has runway to adapt to change and save itself, but the current period of volatility is unlike any its experienced before. The comments provide some great additional insight to the discussion.
How Facebook’s Chief Geek will meld reality with the Oculus
In the future sharing moments with friends will be an immersive virtual reality experience, that's the vision of Facebook's Chief Technology Officer Mike "Schrep" Schroepfer. It's years away yet, but as revealed in this Wired interview it's something that Facebook is already laying the groundwork for.
You'll be seeing more tweets on TV
Hot on the heels of releasing Periscope last week, Twitter have released another app for broadcasters. Curator allows broadcasters — and in the future anyone — to create live curated tweet timelines and publish them anywhere. It looks like a well designed and powerful app, and we can see it being a hit with not only broadcasters but also news organisations and even governments.
Google may be planning a TV show
Niantic Labs, an internal startup within Google, are reportedly looking to bring their hit augmented reality science fiction game Ingress to TV. It's a mobile game where players join one of two factions and play for control of real-life locations, travelling around collecting resources and taking control of portals. Some meetups have gathered up to 5000 people, so we're excited to imagine how a TV series could influence such a game!
HBO is coming to Sling TV
The march of streaming and online TV in the US continues this week with Sling TV announcing a deal with HBO. For $15 a month subscribers will get access to both live HBO and video on demand, with HBO Now a possibility in the future. For those of you wanting to see the current streaming TV landscape, The Verge have an excellent tool for that.
Interactive Media
The Kirkman Effect: How The Walking Dead could reshape entertainment
This is the story of Robert Kirkman, a man who quit his job at Marvel to create his own comic, The Walking Dead. Now the most watched basic cable television show in history, the TV adaptation finished its fifth season this week and shows no signs of slowing down, reaching over 15 million viewers a week. It's also an award winning game series on pretty much every platform. Robert Kirkman is not a household name, but he really should be.
Introducing Whipclip, your new favorite second screen app
Partnering with a host of US TV networks Whipclip allows you to search for scenes within a TV show, quickly grab a clip and share it over social networks. You can also browse and discover trending clips other people have shared. It looks like a great app for broadcasters and viewers alike!
The promise and realities of creating immersive media projects
This report by StoryCode takes a deep dive into audience numbers and behaviours for a few immersive media projects. It comes out of each one with some learning and best practices, and it's well worth a read if you're currently thinking about immersive media.
When art meets digital technology
What happens when you combine art with digital technology? This feature by Dazed lists several currently running exhibitions that do just that.
How a virtual nose can help reduce motion sickness
The effects of virtual reality experiences can be so strong that some people feel genuine motion sickness, also known as 'simulator sickness'. However researchers at Purdue University have found that adding a virtual nose seems to reduce the effects. Participants in the study didn't even notice that the virtual nose was there! What's not clear though is why exactly it helps, no body nose...
We'll let ourselves out...
Happy Friday!