Here comes the webcom

Much of the recent noise around the convergence of television and the Internet has centred on the enabling technology - be it the set-top box, the software drivers or broadband speed - and less so the content. But that's changing. The Gibson Group's My Story ("NZ's first 'byte' sized cross-platform drama series. Available on TV, Vodafone 3G mobiles and online") was a decent nudge in the right direction (and so too The Simon Elliot Show). Now from the Media Guardian comes news of a 'webcom' called 'Where are the Jonses', following the misadventures of Jones, 'who has just found out she is the offspring of a sperm donor and sets off around Europe to find her 26 brothers and sisters'.

A online sitcom, it works like this: "Following each two-to-five-minute daily online episode, viewers are asked to contribute via so-called Wikidot technology that allows them to add, remove, edit and comment on the scripts. They can also keep up with the storyline and its characters through video-sharing site YouTube, social networks MySpace and Facebook, photo site Flickr and various blogs. The characters in the comedy even have their own Twitter feeds, updating fans via mobile phone."

Hey, a web 2.0 smorgasbord. Just like Wikipedia, anyone can contribute story ideas. Apparently, fans have offered their homes as locations and put themselves forward as potential characters. Looking at the scripts, I think there's an antipodean plot line or two that could be explored involving beer fests, a Combie van or a lost weekend somewhere in Amsterdam.

Anyway, the show, produced by Baby Cow Productions (co-owned by this bloke) is, as you can see, shot in the style of The Office and is, according to the Media Guardian, "a brave attempt at marrying the web with television." Could this be the way forward for New Zealand television drama? I can think of a couple of shows I wouldn't mind script editing from time to time. But more likely, there are elements that can be adapted to suit existing formats. Like Second Life, the idea might not be complete, but it's what happens next that will matter.

PS. While browsing the Media Guardian I stumbled across this on the Facebook discussion: If Facebook is just this year's version of AOL, is that bad? Worth a gander.