[Editor note: Part II’s video on Jane talking about wind energy with her town supervisor is tomorrow.]
In my thirty plus years of working on environmental issues, I’ve learned a few things. One is that our “representatives” are often anything but. Another is that government bureaucrats have little interest in taking initiative, no matter how much sense it might make.
Yet another is that “environmental” organizations are much less interested in the environment then they might lead you to believe.
Yet still another insight is that active support from a sufficient number of citizens can be enough to offset these other liabilities. Put another way, if we do not get sufficient support from fellow citizens, our campaign objective has little chance for success. Phrased differently: the success of our campaign has more to do with the support we get, than the merits of what we are trying to do. Once this reality has sunk in, it should be clear that educating the public is of paramount importance.
So how to best do that is the $64,000 question. (Remember when that was a LOT of money?)
My New Video
I’m a scientist, not a PR expert, so this is not my field of expertise. However, through trial and error I have picked up some ideas over the last thirty plus years. For one thing, I have found it best to be FOR something, rather than AGAINST something else. Taking a positive approach resonates with most people.
Another key ingredient is the KISS principle — to keep it simple stupid.
Putting things into perspective, using some humor, and employing analogies are also powerful and useful in getting a message out. Then there is the question: HOW do you get your well-expressed good ideas out to the public? Clearly using the widest variety of media would seem to be the way to go. Exactly how to do that is what I have been investigating for awhile now.
My latest forage is into animated (avatar?) videos. My first one is addressing one of the most common queries I get: Please give me a simplified overview of the industrial wind energy situation!
So here is my attempt to write a script and then produce, direct and edit a corresponding video — all within the fairly narrow constraints of the software (about 7 minutes).
I look forward to your comments.
[…] Dick and Jane Talk Wind Energy (a teachable moment: Part I) – MasterResource […]
Brilliant! I can’t wait for it to go viral.
Can you send me the web sites mentioned near the end, or post them? Thx
David
John, Love the animation & message but the machine voices drag the video down. My wife was in the room when I played it and she said this video is totally without emotion. If you could dub in actual voices, your video would be great!
David:
EnergyPresentation.Info
WindPowerFacts.Info
Email me if you’d like to get my free energy & environmental newsletter: “aaprjohn@northnet.org”.
Paul:
That would be great, but do to the limitations of the software used, that is not possible. See tomorrow’s post where I will list some of the other many limitations.
Thank you John…its what is needed simple, practical, and rational. AFA recommends reviewing the handout entitled, “What Not To Say” …available from Mr. Droze.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
“Compared to what?” Is such a good question is so many situations. It is a question we each ask before we buy – anything! It is also a question that no special interest lobbyist (looking for permission to force taxpayers to repair their bottom line) wants to be faced with. Political capitalism turns taxpayers into involuntary customers who otherwise would buy something else.
Tom:
Yes. When you do ask wind energy proponents the “compared to what” question (e.g. about jobs created), they always say “compared to doing nothing.”
That, of course, is a false and purposefully self-serving comparison — which is one of the points I tried to make in this video.
John, once you create the video you can edit the video, strip the audio and add a new soundtrack. Granted it is not seamless but it would make a better final product.
[…] Droz Jr. has posted a couple of brilliant little videos on MasterResource highlighting some very pertinent questions […]
First of all, I liked the video. I think the voices are fine and fit with the animation.
Second, the EnergyPresentation.Info is GREAT!
At 213 pages it is a doozy! Just chucked full of facts, figures and analogies. Please keep the good work.
MisterG:
Thank you.
This energy business is complex stuff. For people who want to be able to speak intelligently about this, they really need to carefully study the “bible”: EnergyPresentation.Info.
For those that just want a quickie overview: look at the “Jane talks about Energy” videos.
[…] Congratulations to John Droz Jr at Master Resource who has done a great job explaining the problems with wind power using avatars. It is the kind of educational tool required to explain why “it’s clean and it’s free” is not correct and deserves to go viral in the blogosphere. […]