The response has been tremendous. The early videos - so cool. So we decided to get a jump start and start posting the video now.

You can see what's happening at the Bicycling Web Site or if you want to jump right to to the videos - start HERE.

The project is part of Magnify Media's overall belief that readers/consumers/viewers will quickly become a significant part of the content creation universe.

Bicycling is part of the Rodale Publishing group - a really terrific collection of magazines on subjects like health, fitness, lifestyle, and wellness. Among their titles - Prevention, Men's Health and Runner's World, which are published in 36 countries, as well as Organic Style, Organic Gardening, Backpacker, BestLife, Bicycling and Mountain Bike.

Our vision is that engaged and respected content consumers are likely to be the early adopters in area of consumer content creation.

And if the fast start at Bicycling is any indication - we're on the right track.

I went to see Chris Anderson from Wired interview Craig Venter.

Interesting - on a bunch of levels. First of all, I'm fascinated by the fact that I knew so little about Venter. Chris introduced him as the greatest living scientist... and a I sat up in my chair. I'd known he was the man behind the sequencing of the human genome. And I'd known he'd gotten into a wrestling match with the government over who would do it first. But that's about it.

First - a few headlines. The very first sequence was completed just 10 years ago - so this is all brand new science.

Second - Venter made the point that big science is slow... and that big leaps tend to put everyone's nose out of joint. I hadn't thought about it - but it makes sense.

and Third - that the complex questions about who owns genomics data was pushed to the fore by a government edict that NIH had to patent every discovery before it was published.

Venter is now embarking on two new projects, sequencing the seas, and sequencing the air. (he's collecting samples from a 40 story building in Manhattan - but wouldn't say which one).

this is his new non-profit research foundation

Overall - i found the complexity of his work staggering in it's importance, and equally staggering in how little coverage there has been about its potential impact. (yes, lots on his 'controversies' - they make good copy).

And then finally - back to media (the place I come from). I couldn't help but think about Anderson's Long Tail thesis, and the fact that this conversation was going on without any media capture devices recording it. If Venter will be looked back on as the father of genomics - and his musings about the challenges of getting the human genome sequenced will be of historic significance to medicine, science, energy, and the environment - then what is the long tail value of this kind of material.

I think it's significant - perhaps priceless. Since you can only suppose in the middle of a scientists career how history will treat him in retrospect. What would the value of conversations with Einstein be? Alexander Graham Bell? Louis Pasteur?

In a question and answer session after the talk, someone from the audience asked how Venter felt about the current state of High School Biology Education. He answered that his greatest concern was that recent polls suggest that 60% of American's don't believe in Evolution. He saw that as the ultimate expression of our willingness to ignore science.

Chris Anderson continues to blow me away with his ability to turn the Long Tail thread into an exploration of media, society, technology, and change. What began as an interesting observation has turned into a significant conversation for content creators, media organizations, and advertising types.

Now Chris asks the question - "does niche replace mass?" And it's a good one. The Long Tail Blog

What's interesting here is that people seem to be suffering from a certain kind of loneliness, living in a world in which we can't all go to the office and say - hey did you see "60 Minutes" last night and be assured that half the office would nod in agreement.

But being connected to millions of strangers may not in the end be as satisfying as being really connected to hundreds of of people who share an interest or an avocation. I read blogs that I'm sure are read by just a few folks. But because they share my interest, i like reading their comments, and even interacting with them. The value of a community to it's members isn't size, it's relevance.

There's a terrific new post up from Chris Anderson (of Long Tail fame) about television and it's particular appropriateness to long tail economics.

He's right on many points, including the disposable nature of current offerings and the huge amount of TV that is missed and gone forever.

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From The Long Tail "Thus the ratio of produced content to available content is the highest of any industry I've looked at. Other industries may produce more content--print, for instance--but it's far more available (see Google). Only television treats its premium content as disposable. True, a lot of it actually is. But not all, and not as much as is effectively thrown away after a brief moment in the sun."
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What he doesn't say - but i suspect he an many other literate folks know - is that most of what is now distributed via TV deserves to be missed.

Content that is created under the current system conforms to it's shape and limitations.

That means that all content is biased in favor of scale (large audience sell TV ads).

But the power of the promise of the Long Tail isn't that we want to have all 500+ channel content on a server in an on demand world - what a pile of junk. Rather it is that evolutionary economics could actually create an entirely NEW kind of media.

Think of current 'television' as mass market entertainment, and the future of 'motion media' as having a whole series of other species. File content under:

a. Knowledge b. Debate and Discussion c. Exploration and Ideas d. Art

Overall, far more detailed - valuable, and necessary. Not a pastime, but the evolving center of a marketplace of ideas and information - created with new media tools.

So, I would suggest that TV shouldn't be saved. It shouldn't be Exploded. It should Evolve.

This is the tricky part. A number of years ago I was at conf. with lots of smart people. It was one of those 'everyone participates' think tanks. And when it came to me - the question was "didn't I agree that TV was the source of much evil in the world, in education, in our lives." Rather than answer - I asked everyone in the audience who watches TV to raise their hands. Out of 100 people - 8 did.

My point is - there is a cycle we have to break. TV programs to lowest common denominator audiences. Intelligent viewers don't use video for knowledge, or understanding. And the people who make programs for smaller, but more discerning viewers find they can't reach their intended recipients.

Companies like Brightcove (as Chris rightly points out) are key to the puzzle. But then we need to go the next step, and challenge great thinkers to attempt to translate their ideas into moving media. Not 'Sundance' films. Something entirely new.

Because we'll need an entire generation of new media ideas before we can ask people to evolve from passive consumers of junk media into thoughtful creators and remixers of participatory television.

There's a terrific new post up from Chris Anderson (of Long Tail fame) about television and it's particular appropriateness to long tail economics.

He's right on many points, including the disposable nature of current offerings and the huge amount of TV that is missed and gone forever.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Long Tail "Thus the ratio of produced content to available content is the highest of any industry I've looked at. Other industries may produce more content--print, for instance--but it's far more available (see Google). Only television treats its premium content as disposable. True, a lot of it actually is. But not all, and not as much as is effectively thrown away after a brief moment in the sun."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What he doesn't say - but i suspect he an many other literate folks know - is that most of what is now distributed via TV deserves to be missed.

Content that is created under the current system conforms to it's shape and limitations.

That means that all content is biased in favor of scale (large audience sell TV ads).

But the power of the promise of the Long Tail isn't that we want to have all 500+ channel content on a server in an on demand world - what a pile of junk. Rather it is that evolutionary economics could actually create an entirely NEW kind of media.

Think of current 'television' as mass market entertainment, and the future of 'motion media' as having a whole series of other species. File content under:

a. Knowledge b. Debate and Discussion c. Exploration and Ideas d. Art

Overall, far more detailed - valuable, and necessary. Not a pastime, but the evolving center of a marketplace of ideas and information - created with new media tools.

So, I would suggest that TV shouldn't be saved. It shouldn't be Exploded. It should Evolve.

This is the tricky part. A number of years ago I was at conf. with lots of smart people. It was one of those 'everyone participates' think tanks. And when it came to me - the question was "didn't I agree that TV was the source of much evil in the world, in education, in our lives." Rather than answer - I asked everyone in the audience who watches TV to raise their hands. Out of 100 people - 8 did.

My point is - there is a cycle we have to break. TV programs to lowest common denominator audiences. Intelligent viewers don't use video for knowledge, or understanding. And the people who make programs for smaller, but more discerning viewers find they can't reach their intended recipients.

Companies like Brightcove (as Chris rightly points out) are key to the puzzle. But then we need to go the next step, and challenge great thinkers to attempt to translate their ideas into moving media. Not 'Sundance' films. Something entirely new.

Because we'll need an entire generation of new media ideas before we can ask people to evolve from passive consumers of junk media into thoughtful creators and remixers of participatory television.

When a phrase works, it works. Now it seems like "The Long Tail" has been around forever. And companies are referring to it as if everyone knows the concept and agrees that it's basic reasoning is sound.

It is.

And now the latest to jump on the bandwaggon is Google LINK

And Chris Anderson continues to blog with terrific passion and conviction about the impact of the Long Tail (his phrase) on tv, books, music, and advertising LINK

This may all seem somewhat circular, but in fact part of the cool thing about watching an idea evolve in blogs is that you get to see many points of view as the concept crystallizes. Ross Mayfield reviews Chris Anderson's presentation at the Media Center seminar: LINK

It's all taking shape - creating value in small audiences, empowering small advertisers to actually reach appropriate audiences. Very exciting stuff.

When a phrase works, it works. Now it seems like "The Long Tail" has been around forever. And companies are referring to it as if everyone knows the concept and agrees that it's basic reasoning is sound.

It is.

And now the latest to jump on the bandwaggon is Google LINK

And Chris Anderson continues to blog with terrific passion and conviction about the impact of the Long Tail (his phrase) on tv, books, music, and advertising LINK

This may all seem somewhat circular, but in fact part of the cool thing about watching an idea evolve in blogs is that you get to see many points of view as the concept crystallizes. Ross Mayfield reviews Chris Anderson's presentation at the Media Center seminar: LINK

It's all taking shape - creating value in small audiences, empowering small advertisers to actually reach appropriate audiences. Very exciting stuff.