Prime Time Replay:
Jeffry Adelman
Founder of dot.com and creator
of the website Forever Cool
MsgId: *emedia(3)
Date: Mon Oct 13 20:59:04 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
This is E-Media for Monday, October 13, 1997. Tonight's guest is Jeffrey Adelman, founder of dot.com, an interactive marketing and communications company. As dot.com's president, Adelman has directed interactive marketing and media for some of the hottest companies in Latin America and the US. Adelman's background, which involves over 15 years in corporate marketing, communications, and interactive technology, also includes a Ph.D in Latin American studies, and a daughter whose own interactive project will be online in a few short months.
MsgId: *emedia(4)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:00:29 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
Thanks for that very nice introduction!
MsgId: *emedia(5)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:01:04 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
Hi, Jeffrey! Just trying to give some background on your experience in interactive media And, yes, we will talk about "Forever Cool"! :-) First, what is "dot.com", in terms of why you decided to create it, and the companies you've worked with?
MsgId: *emedia(6)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:02:59 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
I should say that it's "Jeffry", not Jeffrey. One day, I'll learn to comprehend what I read.
MsgId: *emedia(7)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:04:58 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
dot.com is an interactive marketing company that specializes in providing content and strategic advice to companies such as Microsoft, Citibank, Prudential and Synergos, a Rockefeller-sponsored philanthropy. We focus on the online experiences and needs of the baby boomer population.
MsgId: *emedia(8)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:08:20 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
Which fits in with the concept behind "Forever Cool". The show is described as an online media event for Baby Boomers. But if someone hasn't caught the show yet, the description also makes it sound like a cyber-soap. Is "Forever Cool" an interactive story, with tons of ad-libbing for the audience?
MsgId: *emedia(9)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:12:44 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
It is not a soap at all. "Forever Cool" is a website for people between the ages of 40-55 who are thinking about their future and dealing with issues of growing older. The generation that has always broken the rules is still at it, only this time reinventing the rules as they turn 50. "Forever Cool" provides a forum for the "rock 'n' roll generation to tell its stories . . . but the site goes beyond story telling. It contains very useful tools for self-discovery and databases and resources for its participants. The site is devoted to 13 different themes ranging from retirement to sexuality. Every two weeks the theme changes. The architecture of the site is as follows: 2 stories of real people who've made some dramatic change in their lives; 3-4 interative tools or exercises such as number crunchers, surveys; a database of 25 cool places to relocate to; expert advice and a bulletin board . . . so you can see it marries documentary entertainment with valuable info.
MsgId: *emedia(11)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:17:48 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
How much of the Internet audience, in general, is made up of 40-55 year-olds? How do you get this age group to "tune in" again to a new revolution in communications?
MsgId: *emedia(12)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:23:17 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
Important question. Contrary to conventional wisdom the Internet is not soley the stomping ground of Gen X'ers. Boomers were among the first to use the Internet in universities and government and currently active users of the Internet in the work place. "Forever Cool" appeals to boomers because it appeals their core values: irreverence, a love for useful info, self-improvement, the desire to do things differently from their parents. The web is a great vehicle to reach out to America's 78 million boomers, one of whom turns 50 every 71/2 seconds.
MsgId: *emedia(13)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:23:23 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
Whose lives are these shows based on? The shows for Week 9 seem particularly interesting -- especially the description of Maria as someone who takes off "for Hungary to make the world safe for capitalism" . . . How has the participation been for shows that have already run ("Reinventing the Rules", "Retire or Rewire"). And why a bi-weekly program? Why not a show every week?
MsgId: *emedia(15)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:30:24 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
Reinventing the Rules, Retire or Rewire and 6 other episodes have already run. They are however available in the show archives. You mentioned Maria one of our documentary stories featured in the Doing Good episode. Maria chucked her Wall St. lawyer's job to join the Peace Corps in Hungary. Tired and bored with Wall St. She decided she wanted to change the world and went to Budapest where she taught the principles of capitalism, especially the legal ones, to budding entrepreneurs. She's now in Angola working on an economic development project. She is one example of our 26 documentary stories of people who decided at mid-life to take the leap and do something very different with their lives.
MsgId: *emedia(16)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:33:00 EDT 1997
From: EllenDatlow At: 38.26.14.217
If anyone in the audience has questions, the door is now open. Please sign your name and remember to Press "pause" before typing.
MsgId: *emedia(17)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:38:20 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
While we are waiting for questions let me answer the last one about a bi-weekly schedule. MSN opted for this schedule because the site is jam-packed with info, interactive activities and documentary story-telling and they wanted to give it time to build an audience . . . which it has. FYI -- Citibank is the exclusive sponsor of the show and will run episodes of "Forever Cool" on its website next year.
MsgId: *emedia(18)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:39:25 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
How did you plan these episodes? Are all the episodes based on people you know now, or on situations which would seem most familiar to people in the same age group facing the same things? These episodes, too, all seem to deal with very successful types with good outcomes. Are there episodes planned to deal with lower-middle class? Will there be an episode where parents have to deal with how to keep their young children safe from Net dangers when the kids know more about the Web than they do?Hmmm . . . Citibank -- not Chase? :-)
MsgId: *emedia(20)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:43:40 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
Another interesting aspect of "Forever Cool" is the participation of award-winning filmmakers who crafted the 26 online stories. For the first time in web history a group of filmmakers working within the technological constraints of the Web have created interactive documentary "film"-like stories. Using still black and white photos plus synched voice-over, the stories have the emotional appeal of film.The episodes are not all focused on success stories of boomers. There is a mix of class, race and ethnicity in the lives we focused on . . . and we deal with some tough issues like battling cancer, grieving for lovers who've died of AIDS, coping with a mother stricken with Alzheimer's. It's real life and real people dealing with the ups and downs of ordinary life. But the stories are only one aspect of "Forever Cool" . . . what many find appealing are the interactive exercises that encourage self-discovery . . . in terms of these activities there are weekly surveys where the "Forever Cool" participant can compare his/her responses to their peers; there are number crunchers to calculate everything from retirement savings needs to the value of one's volunteer labor; there are personality profilers to measure one's attitudes towards risk, sexuality, technology, etc.
MsgId: *emedia(22)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:51:46 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
How much of each program is devoted to the different aspects of "Forever Cool"? (Film, expert discussion, audience interaction in discussion groups, etc.)
MsgId: *emedia(24)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:54:50 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
Each episode is equally divided into 4 components: documentary stories, interactive exercises, databased of useful info; and expert Q&A
MsgId: *emedia(25)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:55:14 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
Will there other episodes? What will "Forever Cool" feature for its next programs?Sorry. That was a bit jumbled. Will there be other episodes than the 13 listed? What will future "Forever Cool" shows deal with beyond the 13th?
MsgId: *emedia(27)
Date: Mon Oct 13 21:59:17 EDT 1997
From: JeffAdelman At: 152.163.201.140
The remaining episodes will focus on Travel, The Inner Life, Keep on Truckin' (staying fit physically and mentally), the Big Squeeze (boomers caught between the emotional and financial needs of their kids and their parents -- a situation faced by many boomers -- hence the sociological moniker, the Sandwich Generation).MSN may rerun the episodes next year since "Forever Cool" meets MSN's new strategic direction -- providing useful and practical shows capable of building a sizeable community
MsgId: *emedia(29)
Date: Mon Oct 13 22:02:52 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 12.68.131.229
Our time is up! Thank you, Jeff, for coming online tonight! Jeffry Adelman is the president of dot.com and the creator of "Forever Cool", a new program focussing on the Baby Boomer Generation. The show can be seen on MSNetwork's Channel 4. As Mr. Adelman mentioned, 4 episodes will also be featured on the Citibank website. Thanks again, Jeff!
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