Coverage of Musicosm.com and Commentary by Scott Fedewa

As one of the first entertainment experiments online, the press was never quite sure what to make of Musicosm.com. 

The company's business model integrated music, television, online community, user-submitted content, e-commerce, and an original graphic style that didn't fit easily into any pre-existing boxes.  Some forward-thinking media outlets covered the company's progress, and Scott Fedewa, Spottworks' CEO, wrote many press releases and white papers attempting to explain his vision to the world.

Some of this commentary and coverage included:

- Narrative Metaphor-based Interface Design by Scott Fedewa (see below for full text)
- The Top Ten Reasons the Web Is Going to Kick TV's Butt by Scott Fedewa (see below for full text)

- Musicosm.com Launches!
- The Hollywood Reporter
- Venture Net 1997
- Webnoize
- Context Conquers Convergence Conundrum
- MIPCOM News



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By Scott Fedewa CEO & Executive Producer Spottworks, Inc. December 1997

Context is King: Metaphor-based Interface Design

As anyone reading this article knows, the World Wide Web has become a victim of its own success. Its explosive and continuing growth has resulted in an overwhelming volume of data attempting to provide information, services, and entertainment to users.

This vast mass of information, often with little distinction between quality and quantity, has turned the Web into a cacophony of information bewildering to its intended audience, especially the novice users upon which the on-line industry depends for its further growth and eventual profitability. As the flood of data they produce competes for their audiences’ limited viewing time, both traditional and new media communities are recognizing the importance of “filters” or “agents” which help viewers sift through the deluge to locate the information or entertainment they value.

This article suggests a new way to organize and present information using “metaphorical interfaces” which draw upon users’ real world experiences to add value to the information and entertainment available in the on-line world.

Traditional Information Organization: Menu Trees and Search Engines
Thus far, the on-line community has primarily responded to the demands of on-line information organization in two ways: By building “menu trees” to present its data and by implementing “search engines” which attempt to hunt down related “key words” amidst the 1.3 million web sites currently available in cyberspace.

Neither of these approaches provides users with the sort of intuitive navigational interface needed to deal with today’s Internet. For example, relying on a menu tree’s hierarchically organized lists of topics exposes users to the same problems that those seeking spelling help encounter when attempting to locate a word they can’t spell in an alphabetically arranged dictionary: one wrong move and the path to the information objective is lost, leaving the user alone to click through the vastness of cyberspace hoping for a lucky encounter with the information sought.

Alternatively, given a manageable amount of information to analyze, search engines can be extremely useful. Such software can help users locate potentially interesting data which includes references to the key words the engine is asked to pursue. Unfortunately, as the World Wide Web’s growth has exploded, the number of useful results returned by the “brute force” approach of these automated indexes is today usually drowned amidst the noise of other less relevant or even deliberately deceptive web sites.

While an efficient means of presenting information in the “real world” where information is traditionally confined to the two-dimensional world of the printed page, the industrial age style approaches of both menu trees and search engines can and should be improved upon now that the age of hyperlinked information has arrived.

The Potential of the World Wide Web: Overload!
The challenge we face in a world of unlimited information is to avoid Toffler’s “future shock” of stimulation and information overload. We architects of the information age must develop better ways to structure the unprecedented quantities of data now available. As the technologies we have created continue to generate more information than any individual can properly sort or evaluate, much less comprehend, successful information organization must be a priority for our society in order to capitalize on the potential for further human advancement which may be realized from effective application of all our new knowledge.

The unprecedented “hyperlinking” abilities of the World Wide Web allow information to be cross-referenced in a near limitless fashion. This “web” of information has already become a new organizational infrastructure in itself.

Today information’s presentation can be freed from its dependence upon alphabetical lists and hierarchical indexes to instead allow concepts to directly reference one another with a click of the mouse. To maximize the effectiveness of this new technology, interfaces providing users easy access to the information organized in this way should be intuitive and “user friendly”, ideally building upon relationships between information which users have already internalized. The implicit organizational structure of information successfully presented in this manner is quickly apparent to the viewer and allows more efficient and effective access to content.

Metaphor-based Information Organization
A metaphor can be defined as an expression which concisely suggests another, usually more complicated, concept through reference to known principles. Consequently, an excellent way to organize information and convey it succinctly is through metaphorical reference to real world situations which are already understood by its viewers. For example, Apple’s use of the “desktop” metaphor as an interface for its operating system was a groundbreaking way of organizing complicated PC operating instructions into a familiar and inherently information-rich pattern which could be easily comprehended even by novice users.

Unfortunately, web designers have yet to extend this practice beyond the creation of an infinite variety of “buttons” and “icons” which they use to accent their menu tree-based navigational interfaces. One exception is Geocities (www.geocities.com) which allows its users to build their web pages in “virtual” re-creations of real world neighborhoods (e.g., a virtual Washington, D.C. attracts the web pages of politics buffs, while music fans build their sites and community on a virtual “Sunset Strip”). While this approach has potential application in most any information-rich setting, it is especially appropriate for story-driven contexts.

Narrative Metaphors: The Future of the Business
Narrative metaphors are the next step in the evolution of information organization principles. While any metaphor implicitly contains information, a narrative metaphor can be particularly data rich because it provides a built-in information hierarchy defined through the relationships of the characters in its story.

Multi-faceted characters operating in story-based environments offer the engaging, passive entertainment with which Hollywood has built generations of loyal audiences such as that now needed by the Web. Additionally, to viewers interested in extending their entertainment experience interactively, a narrative “context” can add value to simple collections of information by drawing upon fictional scenarios and characters to present information or entertainment related to characters’ backstories or fictional personal interests.

If the original “Star Trek” TV series had been able to do this, for example, the Captain Kirk character may have been an interface for information about piloting a Starship and Kirk’s own war stories, while Spock may have offered information on his home planet, Vulcan, and his career as the Enterprise’s First Officer. I

f such a narrative metaphor is well-constructed, not only is it entertaining, but users’ real world experiences correlate to those in the on-line environment so that resources appropriate to the metaphor employed are offered, with individual characters providing information and recreational opportunities appropriate to their fictional personalities.

Drawing upon the information-rich environment we all live in daily to create fictional worlds explicitly organized to provide users information and entertainment allows a paradigm shift in the creation of human/computer interfaces: When entering unfamiliar spaces users can quickly learn to find information and participate in the activities being offered by behaving just as they would in the real world -- by becoming acquainted with characters who share their interests and exploring their personal backstories.

It is not enough to simply “graft” pictures of people onto existing caches of information, however. The information offered should be relevant to the “world” created and take its organizing structure from the narrative metaphor being employed by the story. Success in creating this context allows viewers to draw upon their common sense understanding of the metaphor and real world experiences in similar scenarios to easily locate the information and recreational opportunities they seek.

Case Study: THE MUSICOSM
The best currently available example of this “next generation” form of integrated entertainment and information organization is a property developed by my company called “THE MUSICOSM” (see www.themusicosm.com). We created this on-line entertainment environment to provide an entertaining and participatory “insider’s” view of the music industry.

THE MUSICOSM does this by using a traditional linear, TV- style narrative as the organizing metaphor of its “virtual world”. Into this context are integrated the latest interactive music-themed informational and recreational opportunities enabled by on-line technology.

More specifically, to help viewers navigate the many informational and recreational offerings available in this “microcosm of the music business” we have used the metaphor of a Sunset Boulevard office tower which houses several music-related businesses (a record label, a radio station, and a nightclub). These businesses, in turn, employ the characters of the narrative, who also serve as interfaces for information related to their roles in the story.

Given this music-themed context (which is inherently interesting to our young target demographic) even a novice user can easily find information by pursuing the metaphor: Concert schedules are found in the nightclub (where tours are booked on a daily basis); demo tapes are found on the A&R talent scout’s desk (whose job it is to discover new bands); the site map is in the office of the Leasing Agent who controls the plaza’s (virtual) space, streaming audio “broadcasts” of the latest music are available from the radio station, etc..

Extending this metaphor allows our narrative’s writers to provide additional entertainment to viewers not available through television. Examples of this include both offering “extra” background information on the characters and employing them as interfaces for information and entertainment related to their music industry job duties and even their fictional personal interests.

For example, the record label’s VP of Marketing not only provides an interface to the industry gossip which is her stock in trade, but because she is English and into dance music, her personal profile also offers users links to the Ministry of Sound (www.ministry-of-sound.com), a London club famous for its cutting-edge dance music. Similarly, the nightclub’s Sound Engineer is not only an interface for the concert cybercasts he engineers, but also for the latest video games (www.happypuppy.com) and punk music (www.epitaph.com) because of his character’s love of both.

Definition of such characters as resources for both entertainment and information allows them to serve the varied purposes that one’s acquaintances do in real life: some friends know the score from last night’s game, while others may be better resources for the latest Hollywood gossip or “in” restaurants.

This multifaceted use of characters and the narrative metaphor in which they live to provide both entertainment and information integrated into the same context is the first of its kind and represents the interactive future of the entertainment industry.

While these examples are drawn from our music-themed fictional world, THE MUSICOSM, the principles can be applied to any set of related information which can be organized around a metaphor widely understood by its intended audience or which they will be interested in enough to learn. Other examples might include stories built around characters involved in any scenario which already has a wide community of interest in the real world: sports, travel, the military, a particular university, etc..

The most visible application of these principles will most likely be seen in the explosion of “companion web sites” for major television shows over the next year (many of which our company expects to be involved in developing).

Convergence
The convergence of entertainment with technology continues to offer staggering opportunities for companies which develop innovative approaches to the emerging new media. Creative combination of Hollywood’s traditional strengths in narrative entertainment with the rapidly increasing technological capabilities of on-line environments can create new forms of entertainment which offer both traditional linear programs such as that produced by the TV and film studios, while also profiting from the efficient delivery of information and the new forms of interactive recreation demanded by today’s increasingly “wired” consumers.

The major challenge facing on-line designers and investors today is to create new “brands” of entertainment which manage to do all of these things in one “place” which is entertaining enough to engage viewers’ on-going interest and repeat visits. Organizing and integrating information and entertainment to create context for branded, next generation entertainment “channels” built around engaging character-driven narrative metaphors will be the key to this success.

* Spottworks, Inc. is a new media content aggregator, web design studio, and consultancy based in Beverly Hills, CA. The company’s primary focus is the creation of “next generation” entertainment environments to promote the spread of digital, interactive entertainment beyond early adopter audiences into the heartland of America and the world. The world of THE MUSICOSM, which the company proudly calls “The World’s Leading Integrator of Music Content” is growing on-line at www.musicosm.com.

The author can be reached at info@spottworks.com.

© 1997 C. Scott Fedewa, Esq. - All Rights Reserved.

[THIS ARTICLE IS POSTED FOR HISTORICAL INTEREST. CURRENT QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR CONTENT SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO SCOTT FEDEWA.]

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The Top 10 Reasons Why the World Wide Web is Going to Kick Television’s Butt! C. Scott Fedewa CEO & Executive Producer, Spottworks, Inc. 12/29/97

10. WEB AUDIENCES CONTROL THEIR OWN VIEWING SCHEDULES. With potentially unlimited on-demand channels available 24/7, on-line audiences are no longer forced into appointment viewing or sitting through commercials except by choice. (And the TV industry thought remote controls and VCR’s were bad?!)

9. THE WEB BROADCASTS GLOBALLY. As the first truly global broadcast medium, audiences worldwide will have first-run access to programming formerly licensed by territory. TV distributors, syndicators, and affiliates will find their legal and accounting staffs more disturbed by this than the viewers...

8. UNLIMITED ON-LINE CHANNELS OFFER UNPRECEDENTED COMPETITION TO TELEVISION. While the entertainment industry has been distracted for years haggling over DVD standards, the Internet presents a much greater threat (and opportunity) to Hollywood’s media dominance: Anyone with a computer and a modem can broadcast worldwide! Unregulated, jurisdiction-proof, “netcasters” are introducing more fresh, varied, uncensored, and interactive new forms of entertainment than TV could ever handle with its government-regulated, lowest-common-denominator programming approach.

7. TV’S ADVERTISING MODEL WILL COLLAPSE. Audiences will leave TV in droves when presented with a medium where force-fed commercials can be avoided in favor of personalized, interactive product placements. Concurrently, advertisers are realizing that they can not only access an affluent demographic of consumers more precisely on-line but also interact with them there to build brands.

6. ON-LINE TECHNOLOGY CAN DELIVER MORE COMPLETE ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES. On-line entertainment can offer both passive and interactive entertainment. Why settle for just TV when you can have more? Well-crafted narrative entertainment on-line allows you to both watch the show and step inside the narrative to pursue whatever you fancy. (e.g., where did Agent Mulder grow up? Click on the his grandparents’ photo to find out!)

5. MANY-TO-MANY COMMUNICATION ALLOWS INTERACTION. On-line users worldwide already regularly meet one another on-line to interact, bond, and build communities in real time using chat technology. This simple interaction has helped America On-Line build a 10 million person audience while the TV industry’s level of interactivity has yet to evolve beyond the “Larry King Live” call-in show model.

4. NEW “COLLABORATIVE MEDIA” ENTERTAINMENT PROVIDES VIEWERS MORE RESPONSIVE CONTENT. The now mature TV industry only typically provides 26 new episodes to viewers each year. In cyberspace, Silicon Valley’s 24/7 start-up work ethic is combining with the constant audience interaction enabled by e-mail to create new forms of on-line entertainment which accommodate user participation and refresh more often in response to audience interests.

3. THE NEW MEDIA INDUSTRY IS EXPANDING AGGRESSIVELY. The TV business has grown complacent milking profits based on programming principles largely invented in the 1950’s. Meanwhile, the smart and well-financed young start-up companies of the “wired” generation are leap-frogging the baby boomer-controlled television establishment to stake out market share in the mass media of tomorrow.

2. ALL THE TRENDS ARE CONVERGING IN FAVOR OF THE WEB. The Web’s explosive growth is continuing due to increasing PC penetration, computer literacy, on-line advertising, venture capital financing, and, of course, declines in TV viewership. Regardless of the delivery platforms that eventually win out, even today millions of demo-graphically desirable office workers already surf the Web daily during business hours (where TV’s are forbidden), while more PC’s are now sold each year than TV’s..... Do the math. And, the Number One reason the World Wide Web is going to kick TV’s butt: 1

. TELEVISION HAS ABDICATED ITS LEADERSHIP! Decades of dominating the globe’s media (and some expensive mis-steps) seem to have made Hollywood dismissive of the potential of technology-enabled entertainment just when it’s finally about to succeed. Unlike traditional media which move in decades-long product cycles, on-line entertainment’s capabilities are improving on a monthly basis and sneaking up on the studios fast. Hollywood needs to stop viewing advances in technology as threatening.

Instead, 1998 should be the year that television embraces new media for the market-expanding opportunities it offers all of us.

Happy New Year from Spottworks!
- Scott Fedewa

* Spottworks, Inc. is a new media content aggregator, web design studio, and consultancy based in Beverly Hills, CA. The company’s primary focus is the creation of “next generation” entertainment environments to promote the spread of digital, interactive entertainment beyond early adopter audiences into the heartland of America and the world. Its narrative-based “virtual world”, THE MUSICOSM, is growing on-line now at www.musicosm.com.

[THESE ARTICLES POSTED FOR HISTORICAL INTEREST.  CURRENT QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR CONTENT SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO SCOTT FEDEWA.]