Taking Your Site Web 2.0 Series: Spill Dot Con - A Case Study
Howdy, this the second installment of my Taking Your Site Web 2.0 Series. I have been on the technical side of web development for 15 plus years and used to take great pride in showing off my prowess using tools like Flash and custom html, etc. Over the last 2 years, I have made a significant shift away from those tools to embrace a Web 2.0 approach to all of the work that I do. From creating your own blogs and social networks to implementing web video in an efficient way, there are number of free or low cost tools that allow you to create your own robust media platforms that can promote your business, church, favorite charity or just a hobby.
Today, I'll talk about the web site Spill.com based on the social networking platform called Ning. Until recently, Ning had a completely free option for you to create social networks. Now, you can start a network for as little as $2.95 a month. The site Spill.com, is definitely a high end site and I'm sure they pay far more than $2.95 a month but it's nevertheless far cheaper than having a developer create your own custom network and because it is open sourced, improvements are always being made and shared. There are lots of smaller sites that have vibrant communities built around them including the one I created for students in my outreach program Media Xperiments, which has just over 500 members in Texas. So, here goes... Enjoy!
In the interest of full disclosure, I am working to help produce the film and music festival Spill Dot Con. Nevertheless, I am doing so because it is something that I truly believe in. Spill Dot Con is an event celebrating the community of the web site Spill.com, a movie review site with more than 31,000 members around the world. The site is based on animated characters created by Austinite Korey Coleman and his long time crew of fellow film geeks.
We always hear stories about "overnight successes" but in reality, most of those successes have taken many years to come to fruition. I've known Korey Coleman for close to 20 years. He has always been a charismatic guy with mad drawing and animation skills. About ten years ago, Korey and friends wanted to find a way to get into the movies for free. So, they decided to do a live action movie review show on access television. They would sit in 2 rooms and comment on films as they played scenes from trailers cutting back and forth... kind of Mystery Science Theater style. It worked. They got to see most all of the latest movies and even became local celebrities for a time. During this time, Korey continued to make a living as an artist and animator. He had a long running comic strip in the Austin American Statesman and even wrote, directed and starred in a feature film that made it into SXSW one year.
About 5 years ago, Korey had the idea of combining his animation skills with his love for film and decided to make animated versions of their reviews and publish on them web. And this where Web 2.0 technology and platforms begin to play a large role in Korey's success story. Korey posted his reviews on YouTube (go figure) and attracted the attention of an international pay per click ad network called Miva. (That's right, there are companies out there scanning the web to sign promising talent.) They asked Korey to do a few reviews for them and it turned out that he was dependable and delivered consistent quality. So, they hired him full time and Spill.com was born. Korey and the Spill crew continued to prove themselves and they were eventually sold to Hollywood.com opening the door to cash flow for the rest of the crew and the hiring of more animators and support staff.
Through the web, Korey and the Spill crew have built a world wide base of extremely loyal followers willing to hop on Greyhound buses for 24 hours or fly overseas just to hang out.These fans, many of them film makers and creatives themselves, have made their own tributes to Spill by mashing up Spill videos and podcasts into entirely new pieces along with intricate illustrations paying homage to their favorite Spill characters.
Now, not all of us can draw or are particularly funny like Korey and the Spill crew. Nevertheless, they are a great case study in how to build a brand based on Web 2.0 technology. They took a compelling interest, in this case film, and used their strengths to create an entire community around it. A video review on Spill now averages over 270,000 views in a month. It wasn't easy and it certainly didn't just happen over night. Korey had a passion. He worked for years on it before he ever received a dime and that passion continues to evolve and inspire others. So, think about your passions in life. Is there a powerful idea or cause for which you could create a community? Perhaps your passion could become your business. All of the tools you need to find your audience are available for free or at very low cost on the web.
