More than the 70% of the essays and handbooks focusing on Media Studies published in Italy, for example, are books originally written in another language: english, french, deutch, spanish, polish, portuguese… Even the smallest corporate in our market translate and publish foreign texts regularly to help people learning  better and knowing more about communications, media techniques and imaginery. But… as you know them, how many US publishing house, for example, have an in-house reader that can judge french, italian, spanish etc… titles? So, how to compensate this absence? Are you sure that literary agents are the best solution actually?

Just a personal example: since Cross-media communication is such a young discipline, I wrote the first book focusing on cross-media in the world here in Italy in 2005. Then, I published the second one (one of the 5 published all over Europe today) in 2009, and it got published by one of the most important corporates in Italy (mutatis mutandis, the same that published the optimum Henry Jenkin’s “Convergence Culture”…). Dozens of students and young researchers studied them and today I’m so proud they are at owrk for majors and european broadcasters. But… did any US publishing house notice it?

Yes, many and complicated are the reasons of the fact: the small dimensions of the italian market, the “big risk” of the scouting activity, the absence of translators from italian to english in US for example, the low quality of many texts (like my books, probably!) etc.! So, I’ll write my next essay using my global (and incorrect) English and my students will study it in that language, ok! But… are you sure that this would be the real, ultimate and best solution for the audience too? And not just for Italians, or Europeans… [Max Giovagnoli]

The bestknown Acafan in the world, Prof. Henry Jenkins, commented some days ago the born of the “transmedia producer” credit in his blog. Here his words about the great role played by the first transmedia producer, Jeff Gomez and Starlight Runner Entertainment in this difficult match.

“From the beginning, transmedia has been a site of experimentation, innovation, and exploration at the heart of the mainstream media. Many of us have seen the signs of transmedia practices emerging from some time — mostly taking shape around forms of marketing because that’s how such projects could get funded, mostly reflecting the logic of a more integrated media industry with strong economic imperatives for creating entertainment experiences across platforms. [...] From my perspective, there is a use within the academic world for clearer, more precise definitions, but there is also a value more generally for a more slippery conception, at least while we are still undergoing such rapid evolution. My hope is that the definition and borders of the concept will be debate everytime two or more transmedia advocates have gathered.”

Here in Italy, the definition of “cross-media” is still more used than “trans-media”, as it is in many european countries, but soon, as Prof. Jenkins says too, I believe academic world and industry will match better also in the use of the phrases, to contribute better to the lifelong experience of merging media all around the world. And it doesn’t matter if some of us… like me, first of all, will have to update the “titles” of their books. Its the hard part of the job of any pioneer, isn’t it? But I’ll write more about it in my next short essay published on “Script”, the most important magazine for screenwriters in Italy, which will be published in june. [Max Giovagnoli]

Convinto che per imparare il mestiere del “creativo di eventi” sia necessario partire dalla nomenclatura, nel suo “Dizionario degli eventi” l’autore spiega e usa il “gergo” dei professionisti come working knowledge e unico metodo possibile per mettere ordine nel caos magmatico dell’organizzazione di eventi per il business e lo spettacolo.

Ne esce un dizionario di settore e un “prodotto antistress” dedicato ai giovani professionisti della comunicazione e del marketing. Uno strumento per muoversi agilmente tra gli addetti ai lavori e per non perdersi nel “chi fa cosa” delle agenzie e dei numerosissimi partner impegnati nella genesi di un evento. Dal brief  alle uscite sulla stampa, il dizionario di Accatino propone diversi percorsi di lavoro e somma alle voci del suo vocabolario un ricco apparato di fonti e contatti utili per tutti gli aspiranti creativi di eventi di oggi.

Eyepet, il nuovo "augmented toy" di Sony

Eppure, guardando i prodotti e i servizi attivati in tutto il mondo in questi mesi, non si trovano ancora idee che favoriscano l’incrocio di più media né forme di racconto capaci di passare da un mezzo di comunicazione agli altri, per rinforzarsi e guadagnare proverbialmente “più pubblici al prezzo di uno”.