Hurricane Films:

How can you engage an online audience in storytelling? - How do you encourage users, especially those from an older generation to participate?
The above question that was set by Hurricane Films is designed to aid them in the formation of a comprehensive stratergy, that would enable the Hurricane Films website www.peoples-stories.com to establish itself as the key element and essential conduit in being the ultimate storytelling device for the older generation and in particular the over 65's. The initial campaign strategy is to target Merseyside but it must be created in a way, that allows the stragergy in future to be rolled out in an efficient and successful manner throughout all regions of the UK. Allowing the continuous growth of the site geographically as it spreads into new regions, but also to develop its knowledge base and interaction with these new regions as it moves forward.
In researching the extent of Hurricane Films predicament, I reveiwed the Age UK (formorly Age Concern) website and discovered that according to their website that 5.7million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet before in the UK and also don't own a computer. This one statistic creates an enormous obstacle to Hurricane Films ambitions. There are three ways of dealing with this situation. First to try and work around the fact that 5.7million over 65's have never used the internet, and attempt to engage them indirectly via third parties such as family members, activist/community groups and internet cafe's. Secondly to tackle this situation head on and for Hurricane Films to encourage the 5.7million over 65's to buy or obtain computers and to educate them in using the internet directly. Thirdly a combination or mixture of the previous two viewpoints.
It is also prudent to review similar situations in recent history invovling technological evolution and how an older demograph of the British population was energised into joining and participating with UK societies new interactive technological media ethos, despite it's initial negative correlation. This was the case regarding Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the UK, and we have examples of both failure and then success. The original inception as the ONdigital/ITV digital conduit failed. This was due to Sky being their major provider of programmes, and thus receiving 70% of ITV digitals profits. Another reason for its failure was due to it being a subscription service. BBC investigations revealed that their was a distinct age divide regarding the British publics attitude towards DTT. It revealed that the over 45's were largely unwilling to invest in DTT, having to buy new digital set top boxes and possible new television sets combined with the cost of a subscription service, lacked appeal to the older generation when they couldn't see the potential benefits. Some commentators may argue that this predicament is echoed today with the over 65's lack of engagement with the internet, as they have to invest in computers and subscribe to a broadband package, and for many of them they can't see the benefit of this substantial investment. DTT only became a success when the BBC lead the Freeveiw launch and role out of the digital switchover. As a result in only 18 months 3.4million UK households were receiving digital television via freeview, and those figures continued to grow rapidly thereafter. This had been a joint venture led by the BBC, and involved National Grid Wireless (formerly Crowne Castle) & BSkyB as private partners, but left the BBC as the focal point of this service, it's controller and main profiteer.
For Hurricane Films to fulfil the ambition that the above question alludes too, it potentially has to make mammoth undertakings. Hurricane Films is a small private regional company, and doesn't have the scope of the BBC. The answer for Hurricane Films is to tweek the Freeview role out model to benefit itself. The BBC was a large not for profit company that colluded with smaller private partners. Hurricane Films is a smaller private company that needs to cooperate with a number of larger not for profit organisations, but maintain controll of the project at all times like the BBC with Freeview, thus being the head of a Cooperative and which as a company is still allowed to make profits, whislt also remaining its main profiteer.
Hurricane Films needs to launch a Pilot Scheme for Merseyside that at a later point can be rolled out across other UK regions. It also must sell this idea & stratergy to it's partners in order to bring them on board and invest in the project with them able to see potential benefits to the elderly. The partners in the Cooperative must involve schools, colleges & universities (For varying degrees of social communictions) along with local and national government (providing multiple applications). There must also be a collection of local, regional and nation charities & activist groups that deal with the older generation (e.g.Age UK). The Cooperative must also include agencies such as Local Solutions that blur the lines between local government and charity. The NHS, Social Services along with private care & nursing homes must also become involved (assisting the more vulnerable). Within all these groups champions (individuals) must be set up and given support with moving the concept forward, with various types of people that can aid the project in different ways. There is also the individual (from the older generation) who is able to assist as an internet champion.
The current government is envoking the idea of the big society and is attempting to introduce legislation and other mechanisms to aid this government policy. The 5.7million people who are over 65 and are currently unable to benefit from the internet, through either a lack of education in this area, or means, or possibly both. Would benefit considerably from this potential Hurricane Films lead Cooperative. The benefits to the elderly are as follows: They are missing out on the immense financial and social benefits that the internet can offer, for example keeping in touch with grandchildren, discovering new interests and hobbies, and by shopping around to save money on products and services. It also gives them a window and access to the world from their own home, at a time when mobility can be a problem, and a computer normally is cheaper than a car. There has also been the problem of nursing & care home abuse and scandals which were highlighted in the media this year (Southern Cross, Castle Beck & Winterbourne), and the internet can give the vulnerably a voice and protection in our society. By creating a new online community for the over 65's, a new community spirit would be created and work to combat lowliness amognst the old, which in turn could improve their quality of life and in turn their life expectancy through higher moral. The governments new e-petition legislation that allows online petitions with 100,000 signatures or more to enforce a debate in parliment on their chosen subject matter. Could potentially give the silver vote a greater political voice in parliment, and create policies and laws that would be highly beneficial to the over 65's, with them conceivably becoming a very powerful lobbyist group. Regarding potential monetary benefits and possible discounts for the elderly regarding computing and broadband services, it depends on the goodwill the Cooperative can generate from organisations and individuals involved within it. Along with goodwill from local & national goverment, the taxpayer, and wider society. Thus how much direct or indirect ability Hurricane Films or the Cooperative has to aid the engagement of the elder generation with the internet depends on the amount of investment capital the project can raise.
The Benefits to Hurricane Films being at the head of this Cooperative are as follows: It creates a high level af trust amongst the over 65's and also throughout the wider UK society, as this would be seen as an organisation for good by the general public. Therefore empowering the Hurricane Films brand over all others in this sector, and creating engagement with the older generation for their principal project www.peoples-stories.com . The encouragement from individuals and organisations of wider society (either involved in the Cooperative or not) towards older individual citizens to tell their stories would almost always involve the conduit of Hurricane Films. The amount of consumer interest and potential material that this creates could lead to a highly profitable business model that could spread across multiple platforms. Including a highly profitable website, television broadcast programmes and feature films. Creating profit margins that would guarantee a small private companies future, whilst operating in the current & future difficult market conditions.