Commentary 2.0 with Slikstr

Slikstr is a mock videoblog of the titular start-up, which aims to be “the world’s first user-created and -controlled company” with content entirely dictated and directed by its customers.

What does Slikstr actually do, you ask? Not much, really. And that’s the joke: Waiting for Godot exasperation set in the quotidian absurdity of the cubicle and boardroom.

Yes, it’s a rip on The Office (just so we get that out of the way right now), but with a twist of Lonelygirl‘s YouTube that allows viewers to not only believe the company’s real, but also watch the action from a variety of behind the scenes perspectives: vlogs, Second Life board meetings, interviews with “staff,” and sneak peeks at applicant interviews.

The whole thing essentially parodies the myriad of useless interactive websites and jobs that have exponentially multiplied since the boom of Web 2.0 start-ups: the company’s mission is not only completely superfluous, but its employees have also learned to speak in pseudo-professional jargon like “implement social networking tools” and constant reaffirmations that “YOU” the customer, is the creator that prove so necessary to convince themselves that what they’re doing is of importance.

###Even though they’re clueless. Slikstr COO Michael Golan puts a smooth-selling, overoptimistic face on the company’s complete lack of actual content (watch him double talk his way through an explanation of his duties); Creative Director of Projects Joel Radcliffe

has a nonchalant demeanor (an interview with him on what he does is riddled with “you know”s); Hannah Lindman, Director of Community Management and Support, maintains a bubbly exterior but doesn’t understand what’s going on; CEO Louis Ebbage seems to exist only through his Second Life avatar, and addresses customers with gems such as, “Slikstr is a dream, a dream of what can happen when technology and inspiration combine. Techperation, I call it”; and poor new hire Rob DiMenno is the only one honest enough to admit to being befuddled.

Jamison recently sat down with Slikstr creator Matt Feldman of Neovids.tv to discuss the project and its evolution.

Matt Feldman of Slikstr

Slikstr places one more layer on the art-imitating-life scrim by adopting the very “social networking tools” it mocks to better involve viewers in the fun.  There’s a blog, a wikidot page with business plan, and page where you can create your own Slikstr video mashups.

So, ironically, Slikstr (real version) is offering viewers the very interactive options that Slikstr (fake version) would like to institute but probably won’t have the skills to pull off. In any case, we’re rooting for the Slikstr team: after all, we’re members of it.