An idea we are playing around with is doing some kind of online science show for GE – what is a good way to do some storytelling around what the scientists and engineers are up to, non-fiction. I’m trying to work out something that is a more modern format though, instead of just shooting video and editing, I wonder if you would “friend” an experiment, in the social network sense, and if it would be compelling to follow along with science at its own pace. as in, some experiments and progress may happen quickly, some may happen slowly. Would it be fun in the long term to have a more ambient experience with a science “show”, if you followed along with it in a more documentary sense, using social media ?
For kids?
For adults?
For both?
Sign me up!
I remember sending 25 box tops and $4.95 to get my stretchy incredible hulk toy. The anticipation! I can see my kids and my academic colleagues waiting expectantly for the latest results. What a way to share the drama of science that may otherwise appear tedious.
-Burt
what kind of experiments have you found these scientists to be exploring? are they long term? on-going? one-offs? are they related to their work or just wacky ideas they want to do in their free time? do some of them have natural interactive entry points for people to suggest iterations? are they physical and interesting to watch or are they more like data modeling on a computer? could be a cool idea if there was enough change-over-time to keep them lively.
In terms of what type of experiments – I think it woudl be a mix of things that are ongoing at GE – like opening up their research on some projects, and then in other cases, we would do experiments or lessons that were just about science or engineering in general. and i think audience-wise, “people on facebook” ? so young to old, anyone interested in interesting things about science.
ideally we’d cover a wide range of topics and scenarios and you would ‘friend’ just the ones that interested you. and yeah, sorrel, it would be great if they were visually stimulating.
we are going to have a pow-wow with some of the gang here, and at facebook, and see what we come up with in terms of a “show format”, and from there we’ll brainstorm with GE on what sort of topics would make for good experiments, and see if we end up with anything good!
stay tuned