Monday, October 23, 2006
Scott Adams has
an interesting post, over at his
Dilbert blog, about success/failure and knowing when to quit. He uses the Dilbert TV series as his main example, explaining that it failed because, even though everyone seemed to like it, nobody got really passionate about it. This, he states, was evident at the first screening of the pilot. Had 90% of the people there hated it but the other 10% loved it, then it could have been a success. Whether the argument is foolproof, as there are obviously other factors that can contribute to failure, it does stand out as a pretty sound early indicator especially when dealing with content and the such. I hate Star Wars, I absolutely loathe it, and I'm not the only one. However there are plenty of people out there who love it to a ridiculously disproportionate level. And not just that. I can't say I've ever met anyone of my generation who is indifferent to Star Wars. It always seems to be one way or the other but nobody can deny it's been a huge success. I can't understand why it's so popular or why people flocked to see the abjectly poor prequel jobbies but they not only did, they even queued overnight and probably even longer. That's not to say that a film can't make money by just being likeable but for true long term success you need to inspire love. Now even if you're loved there's still a million and one ways you can fuck it up (and don't I know it) but if you can't get someone actually excited about your idea, then your dead in the water.
How does this relate to
BifSniff Cartoons? Do we inspire a passionate response? Other than from the very devoted members of
Brian and Martin's fan clubs. Judging by some of the comments, it would seem people develop fairly dramatic views of the cartoons but whether that actually translates into love/hate on any sort of a consistent basis, I don't really know. It certainly hasn't turned into revenue or even anything you might call a qualified success - even if it has paved the way
for other things that might do better. There could be other reasons it has stagnated like it has, time constraints have certainly taken their toll, but in his blog Adams recounts Dilbert's initial success was because the 10% who got it, passed it on to their friends, talked about it and hung it on their walls. How many people out there have a
BifSniff Cartoon pinned to their corkboard?
2 Comments:
My love of Star Wars is in the context of the storylines, how Lucas stole cues from classic stories/tales, and then amalgamated it in the guise of a SciFi. I hate the commercial side of it but it’s needed for production and profit.
I do have BifSniff hung on my walls and in the office kitchen. My passion for BifSniff is derived from the simple fact that it is offbeat, funny and intelligent. I eagerly await each new installment with my Friday morning coffee.
Focus, direction, opportunities and diligence may change, but persistence pays off. You guys have talent.
I love BifSniff.com
To be fair, we do quite well considering we only update once a week.
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