But I liked Gilligan’s Island…
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Notes
From 1960-1990, with only three major networks, huge numbers of people (up to 30 million) watched a show at the same time. That attempt to appeal to “everyone” resulted in shows like Gilligan’s Island and Three’s Company.
That was “the greatest mass-market success story in history.” But the “golden age” only came when cable networks started creating shows (The Sopranos, Mad Men)—even though those shows had only a fraction of the audience (3-4 million) and would have been canceled on network TV.
Creators of those types of show were seeking “someone,” not “everyone,” and that resulted in “TV we could be proud of” and now take for granted.
Some shows become crowd-pleasers (The Office), but “you don’t create a hit by trying to please everyone.”
Thoughts
I don’t know how I skipped this chapter before—I guess that kind of mistake is easy on a Kindle. Anyway, that’s why it’s out of order…
I was born right when that mass-market success story took off, so I have some nostalgia for shows like Gilligan’s Island. But I can’t deny that shows on cable, or influenced by the change cable wrought, are way more interesting. There’s so much that I see very little of it, but when I do watch—the first season of Daredevil, the stub of Gibson’s The Peripheral—I am impressed by the power that TV can have. I understand how “serious” actors were able to overcome the stigma of appearing on TV; the quality became so undeniable that the stigma faded away.
When I think of the work I do—whether that’s blogging (beyond this mostly-for-me series), or writing, or making music—I am definitely not thinking of everyone. But I’m not really thinking of any particular “someone,” either.
I remember, when I was starting the blog, coming across content gurus (lots of them) who recommended developing something like an avatar for the audience—distilling the demographics of whom you’re reaching (if you already have an audience) or whom you want to reach. I tried to come up with something, but I never could make it convincing. I think that distillation evaporates empathy. It certainly felt empty.
I think my problem is that I want to reach anyone. That’s not the same as everyone, but it’s not the same as someone either.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.