'Facebook Diaries' provides medium for expressive Gen-Yers
by Brittany Talarico
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Mosaic
Mostly everyone falls victim to the enticement of Facebook. Students check their profiles morning, noon, night and every free second in between. There is an overwhelming desire to be connected, and the site feeds into the basic human instinct of nosiness.
Generation Y wants to communicate and articulate itself. Its cohort is often misunderstood and stereotyped as being self-centered and egotistical. This misinterpretation is sparking an increase of generated video on the Internet, used as a channel for representation.
The new TV series, "Facebook Diaries," provides an outlet of expression and gives our generation the opportunity to be documentary filmmakers through sharing personal stories. The stories, which are first submitted on Facebook, will be aired this summer via Comcast's video site, Ziddio.com, and on TV through Comcast ON DEMAND. The series will be produced by Oscar-nominated producer and documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler, and a story department headed by the producers will review each entry.
Co-executive producer of "Facebook Diaries," Donnie Jackson, says the nickname for his position in TV lingo is "show runner."
"The idea for this series is a collaboration between Facebook, R.J. and Comcast Cable," Jackson says. "It had the DNA of all those participants."
The most important quality of video entries is honesty, he says.
"We want people to be candid about what they are talking about and their point of view," Jackson says. "Of course the videos have to be audible and clear, but this is not a show about production value. It's about getting personal stories.
"One of the main goals is to really give a voice to a generation who has been considered narcissistic and self-absorbed. We would actually like to re-frame that and show a different side to the generation."
Jackson says you have to be a Facebook member in order to upload a video. When the video is uploaded, it automatically transfers to Ziddio.com.
Generation Y wants to communicate and articulate itself. Its cohort is often misunderstood and stereotyped as being self-centered and egotistical. This misinterpretation is sparking an increase of generated video on the Internet, used as a channel for representation.
The new TV series, "Facebook Diaries," provides an outlet of expression and gives our generation the opportunity to be documentary filmmakers through sharing personal stories. The stories, which are first submitted on Facebook, will be aired this summer via Comcast's video site, Ziddio.com, and on TV through Comcast ON DEMAND. The series will be produced by Oscar-nominated producer and documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler, and a story department headed by the producers will review each entry.
Co-executive producer of "Facebook Diaries," Donnie Jackson, says the nickname for his position in TV lingo is "show runner."
"The idea for this series is a collaboration between Facebook, R.J. and Comcast Cable," Jackson says. "It had the DNA of all those participants."
The most important quality of video entries is honesty, he says.
"We want people to be candid about what they are talking about and their point of view," Jackson says. "Of course the videos have to be audible and clear, but this is not a show about production value. It's about getting personal stories.
"One of the main goals is to really give a voice to a generation who has been considered narcissistic and self-absorbed. We would actually like to re-frame that and show a different side to the generation."
Jackson says you have to be a Facebook member in order to upload a video. When the video is uploaded, it automatically transfers to Ziddio.com.
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