Boing Boing, “a directory of wonderful things,” or a blog featuring quirky, thought-provoking “internet zeitgeist” stories, just launched Boing Boing tv.
“The idea is simple. Explore the same kind of stuff we’ve been obsessing about since Boing Boing began nearly 20 years ago, only explore it now in daily video. Five days a week, and short: under 5 minutes each.” Boing Boing has enlisted Deca to produce it’s daily vlog and Federated Media to broker associated ad deals, while the directory’s co-founder, Mark Frauenfelder and co-editor, Xeni Jardin take on the initial hosting responsibilities. ###
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Just like the blog, the show features zany, engaging topics, but I found its premiere episode to drag at times. I’m not sure if I can get used to these stiff talking-heads, even if they are tounge-and-cheek and self-aware. And if the video version is just going to showcase the same peculiarities as its written counterpart, it begs the question, “why do a show?” It’s got to have some compelling entertainment value for me to supplant a few seconds of skimming paragraphs for a few minutes of watching episodes, and as of yet, it’s not quite worth the trade or additional time.
But it is only the first episode, and while I’d currently prefer to receive my daily dose of internet news and oddities from Rocketboom (Tilzy.TV page), Boing Boing clearly has the talent to create intriguing content, and there’s surely enough strangeness on the web to go around. Insert some punchier writing, speed it up with some quicker cuts and a cute girl a la Zaproot, and I’ll come back for more of the same content.
The first installment is a straight, studio shoot, but Boing Boing TV plans to venture in the field and to incoporate submissions from their “community… audience…internet-friends.”
