Viral Novel Turns Internet in on Itself
LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 3, 2009 — We’re all aware of the escalating intrusion of in-your-face media in our lives. In the first full-length Internet video novel, URL: http://www.youbetyourskin.com, published on Google Video, Floyd Flanagan satirizes the media’s tightening grip on public consciousness with a darkly funny odyssey through the conundrums of sex, violence, race, wealth, guilt, and responsibility in a world devoid of privacy.
Flanagan’s novel lampoons new media and he thought it would be appropriate to use state-of-the-art technology for publication. He considered books on CD, which are now mainstream, but he wanted to do something different. Considering the popularity of YouTube, a video reading of the novel seemed like a natural, using the Internet to parody itself.
Researching the subject of book publication in video format, Flanagan was surprised when he was unable to find a single video novel on the Internet. Thousands of people tell stories on YouTube, but these vignettes are limited by YouTube’s ten-minute maximum length, clearly inadequate for a full-length novel. Google Video enabled Flanagan to get around that limitation. His approach was simple. He used inexpensive EvoCam video software and the built-in camera on his MacBook to record the eleven-hour, serialized reading of the novel.
The website, URL: http://www.youbetyourskin.com, provides viewers with an easy-to-navigate interface. Viewing the novel is as easy as listening to a book on CD. In addition to streaming Internet viewing, chapters can be downloaded from Google Video in .mp4 for portable replay on iPod and PlayStation.
Flanagan says, “I’ve always been interested in the pressures that rapidly evolving technologies place on individuals. Today, the amount of publicly accessible, personal information is exploding. Radio frequency ID chips placed under the skin can tell a scanner your medical information and track your whereabouts on the fly. You’re on the verge of becoming a scannable, walking charge card, ripe for the picking. Before you know it there will be no such thing as privacy. Begin this story and step into that world.”
About the Author:
Floyd Flanagan and his wife are longtime residents of Long Beach, California. In addition to writing, Flanagan’s professional career includes media producer, instructional designer, and systems engineer on satellite systems with Raytheon. His interest in futurist media began with the electronic publication of “Mylar’s Warp,” the first online novel in text format, published on The Source computer network in 1981. His other writing includes “MacCats — 99 Ways to Paint a Cat with MacPaint” and “Maggie and the Moneysuckle Tree — a Young Person’s Guide to Building Wealth.” Mr. Flanagan is currently working on a sequel to “You Bet Your Skin” and other projects.
Contact:
Floyd Flanagan
1.562.4380772
flonan70@gmail.com
youbetyourskin.com
http://www.youbetyourskin.com/video.htm
