Wanna be a part of history? Join The Cult of Sincerity

I have only one beauty to report tonight. I happened to get an e-newsletter from a favorite singer/songwriter, Jake Armerding, earlier this evening. He mentioned two of his songs were featured in an independent film that released today (well, EDIT yesterday, actually--April 8th, two days ago. I was mixed up on dates last night!).

Cool, I thought, way to go Jake! On closer inspection, I saw that the movie premiered on youtube. Whaaaaaa?????

Yep, this little film, The Cult of Sincerity, premiered on youtube.com



People in the publishing business are always talking about the newest technology coming down the pike to deliver books to the public. The Kindle, an electronic reader from Amazon, has been a hot topic for the last several months. There is the great debate--will paper books ever completely go away? And most writers say with righteous indignation, "NO WAY." We love our paper books, we do.

On the other hand, most published authors also realize they have to embrace new technologies if they want to stay in the game. There are legitimate fears, though. What if suddenly it's all free on the internet? How will writers make any money (not that they make much to begin with)? Who will be motivated to write if it's all free anyway? Will it be supported by advertising? Tough questions, indeed, and of course, only time will tell. The Kindle, by the way, isn't cheap. It's $399, but it's currently sold out on Amazon!

So, here it is, April 8, 2008 (yesterday) and the first full-length feature film ever debuted on youtube is out there. When I checked, there were over 6,000 views. Did every person watch the full movie, as I did? Hard to say, but it certainly generated some buzz in one day two days on youtube.

At any rate, I did watch the whole thing. I thought I'd check out a few minutes, and if I was engaged, I'd watch the first quarter, then watch more tomorrow. But, soon, I *was* engaged, and watched the whole thing. I won't lie and say I didn't surf a little while I watched, and yet. It was pretty good, quality wise, and it had a great message. I was glad I glanced at a few comments below the viewer that said the first scene was a little jerky, but to keep watching, because that was true.

The cool thing here, though, is how the producers, two fairly unknowns from NYC, are making money. They ask viewers to visit amiestreet.com, an independent music outlet, purchase song credits for three bucks, then they can download the full movie, get songs, and on top of all that, Fount of Mercy, a nonprofit that links Western organizations with groups who provide orphan care in Africa, gets two dollars, too. I guess the theory is that people sign up with amiestreet.com and will return, and they will make their money back. (I might have the details mixed up--listen to their blurb at the beginning of the film yourself.)

Creative marketing using new technologies? I'd say so. Who loses?

So, be a part of history, go check out The Cult of Sincerity. If you are so moved, do as they say and support it financially, too. (I haven't yet, but I just might tomorrow.)