Everyone's Dreaming

Simon Fuller's (creator of the Idol franchise) latest multi-channel entertainment venture has really piqued my interest for a variety of reasons. Fuller is tailoring and re-crafting pop culture phenomenon, American Idol, one of the most successful TV shows in the history of American broadcasting, for the digital screen. There's nothing necessarily groundbreaking about the move, which seems like a logical one given that 'If I Can Dream' is an American series targeting young people, but the level of interactivity and cross-channel engagement weaved into the program makes it damn interesting.

'If I Can Dream' aims to create a new entertainment experience, tapping into the 'always-on' generation (a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that, the average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device), through a highly interactive multichannel approach that uses social media to allow 'fans' to interact with the aspiring stars and gives them the chance to actually become a star and share the house with these five hopefuls.

I'm very curious to see if it's going to become a sensation or just fizzle under the radar (they definitely have some muscle behind them with Pepsi and Ford on-board)? Will young folks become so enthralled with the aspiring stars that they pop-in to watch them brush their teeth, sleep, eat and chase their dreams? Or will the Hulu shorts be enough to elicit their involvement and create connections to the characters and program?

One last burning question: Does the wannabe musician walk around with his guitar throughout the entire show?

A snippet from the press book: 'If I Can Dream' is an interactive cultural experiment, opening up the American Dream and democratizing the process of the making of a star. Viewers are presented with a game changing multi-platform approach to storytelling. It will be experienced live 24/7 at ificandream.com with 22-minute weekly highlights on Hulu.com, audience interactions with Clear Channel and a global open audition process on MySpace.com.

'If I Can Dream' is brought to us by Poke New York and American Idol creators 19 Entertainment.