2008 November 05

CNN Hologram: “Cheesy Tech” That Added No Value

While I'm a huge fan of taking technology risks, trying stuff out and moving forward on cutting edge innovation, sometimes it's so obvious that something adds no value, is done just for eye candy effect, and is laughingly cheesy that it has to be called out (and I'll wager Saturday Night Live will be bring us a skit on this just like they did with this one about the giant touch screen maps, another eye candy technology that's actually pretty useful for "what if's" and other analysis on the fly).

CNN's bringing in Jessica Yellin via hologram is last night's best "cheesy tech" example and is the antithesis of applying technology in a useful manner. When a TV screen cutaway is perfectly acceptable — and when some hologram thingy is so new and useless that it makes whatever is coming out of the person's mouth irrelevant — that's a no value addition.

Here's a brief snippet with Ms. Yellin describing the (clearly expensive) 35 HiDef cameras that had to be used to deliver her holographic presence:

The enormity of the shift that occurred last night is still sinking in. Feeling the spirit of millions that have been moved and are primed to tap into vision and get behind this new leader was certainly profound. Ironically, it wasn’t until I saw a man in a live TV shot last night whom I’ve had zero affinity for in the past — the Reverend Jesse Jackson — shedding tears in Chicago’s Grant Park in the midst of tens of thousands of others, did it sink in how amazing this was for the African-American community.

Not that I’ve been unaware of Obama’s black 50%, but it’s been totally irrelevant since I, like more of us than ever before, realize that we’re all connected and in this together. What’s mattered to me is his vision, my belief in his intention for change, his certain inclusion of everyone, a refreshing intelligence, and the world-class thought leaders he’s already brought close to him as he crafts strategy.

What will be hyper-analyzed over the next several months, however, is that the Obama campaign leveraged the internet, tapped into the social media zeitgeist, and engaged with people in ways never before possible (and because so many of us are already connected with social media), and there are key lessons here for every company, organization, movement or individual wanting to sell, build brands, move an agenda forward, or build an ecosystem.

[Read more...]