Rage and respect

[NOTE: There is good news at the end of this post]

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to write about a video an organization had posted that had gone viral. As I examined where it had been posted I discovered that the number of views on YouTube was a minuscule fraction of the viral view count I'd been given.

I contacted in-house analytics staff and after talking to the director of the department that had created the content, I learned that videos automatically begin playing as Facebook users scroll through their feed. If a video is visible for three seconds, it counts as a "view."

This morning I did research and found this: "...In a post on Medium this week, Matt Pakes, a manager in the video product team, wrote that three seconds is enough of a signal for Facebook to register that someone has watched video in the News Feed.

"'While there is no broad industry standard for view measurement, three seconds is one common choice, and gives us a consistent metric for all video on Facebook,' Pikes wrote. 'If you have stayed on a video for at least three seconds, it signals to us that you are not simply scrolling through feed and you’ve shown intent to watch that video.'” (Marketing land.com / Aug. 17 2015)

The topic intrigues me.

I learned about the magical quality of time and film/video when I took a class in beginning screenwriting from Ron Friedman in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. I'll write more about Ron in a future post.

One day Ron was reading a scene that had been written by one of the students. The student had written that the camera should "pause on a picture on the wall for 15 seconds." Ron stopped reading and gave an illustration. He said, "In 15 seconds on screen, Jackie Chan could defeat 18 opponents and play a game of chess with his toes."  Those few words made an impression; as I write each scene I think about the interplay of imagery and time. It is powerful.

When it comes to brands and analytics, I'd go further.

Whatever we're doing there's always something else we should be doing. We try to juggle work or study, family, friends, health, bills often shortening sleep with books left unread on the nightstand, invitations unanswered.

Throughout the day, marketers and organizations are using increasingly invasive techniques to create as many impressions as possible.

As I think of analytics and what should count as a "view," I believe that a glimpse of a video, less than one second, should count as a "view." A brief glimpse of content can create strong emotions. Seeing a box with the "play" triangle in the middle of it should count as a view.

I think the overall effect of these these mini-impressions can be negative, creating hate for a brand by a thousand tiny paper cuts (views).

I carve out time to read about about things that interest me (film, screenwriting, travel, public relations, technology among others), I've clicked on a link and have read the first sentence when a screens pops up; sometimes a tiny sentence allows me to click on it to "visit the site," the worst is when a clock begins counting down: seven seconds... six seconds... five seconds. The magazine is fortunate if I want to read the article badly enough; if not I immediately close the window.

My reaction to ads that forcibly compel me to watch them is the opposite of anything positive (where's a thesaurus)? If I were a brand, I'd consider paying for a my fiercest competitor  to purchase this type of ad.

There is a currency that's equal and will never increase for every individual globally, and that is the number of seconds in a day. From the minute we awaken, we learn to budget and invest time.

I believe that it's possible for brands, advertisers and creatives to create messages that are welcomed, sought after and shared. It begins with respect.

One of my early assignments as a writer was to interview a top medical specialist. My two bosses called me in and warned me that over the years, this physician had skewered every writer who had interviewed him.

I prepared for the interview by asking his assistant for clues about what was important to him; I reviewed his CV (resume) and studied research articles he'd written. During the interview he responded thoughtfully to my questions. I'd learned about him; I'm sure his assistant had mentioned that I'd contacted her to prepare for the interview. I'd respected him, his work and his time. I never did see the temper I'd been warned about and the article became a cover story for the organization's magazine.

It's easy to think of human examples, but the theory that respect can create amazing connections happened to me awhile ago while I was house-sitting for the parents of a close friend. Their home was beautiful and they took several 5- to 7-day business trips each year.

An achiever, I thought I was taking great care of their home and the pets: a Sheltie and two cats. However, the owner told me, "Everything looks perfect when we return, we are hoping you will continue to house-sit for us, but when we get back, Shadow [the indoor cat] is a little upset for a day or two."

What had I done? Shadow's water was crystal clear, changed twice a day; her litter box cleaned daily. The next time I house-sat, Shadow came to the door to greet me and followed me to the couch. I usually played with the dog for a few seconds and then let her out into the back yard before going through the owner's "to-do" house-sitting list.

This time I walked to the couch; Shadow followed. I talked to her: "It's all about Shadow."

When I sat down she hopped onto the couch and stepped onto my lap. She let me pet her for a few minutes and kissed me on the cheek with her nose before hopping onto the floor. Then, she watched me through the window as I watered 25 or so miniature trees, hanging baskets of flowers and ferns.

Before I left I made sure each door was open (including doors the maid had closed that afternoon), so Shadow wasn't barricaded; she could follow her normal routine.

When the owners returned, they said, "what did you do? Shadow was loving when we returned." I house-sat for them for years and when Shadow, a stunning Persian cat, began to suffer from dementia due to old age the owners warned me, "We can't have the neighbors over any more. Shadow has become violent and we're afraid she will injure them."

The next time I house-sat I wore heavy jeans and a jacket, just in case Shadow attacked. She came to the door to greet me as she'd always done, crawled on my lap and kissed me on the cheek before hopping off the couch and going to the window to watch me water the plants.

It's all about respect.

If writers, brands, advertisers take time to create amazing content and respect peoples' time, amazing things can happen.

What can make someone stop, tune out everything and focus on a brand's message? Powerful storytelling techniques can be embedded into the content. More about that in upcoming posts.