Collaboration baby. Bring it together.

I've been thinking a lot about collaborative projects lately. I'd love to create an interactive novel with a variety of writers and designers, so that the novel is a multidimensional experience, rather than just felt through one medium. The key would be to first agree on the glove that holds the ideas together: the storyline and organizing principle that would allow the various contributors to digress, improvise and go off on strange tangents. It would be great to get the public involved, whether as editors or curators (the pieces they prefer, want published). The whole project could be a great outlet for creativity and a quasi-experiment. I wonder how many ways you could tell a story? A collage of images and photography at a gallery, online site with connecting groups/fans, video montage, print book?

Any takers?

Going All Hollywood

I'm really bent on this idea of collaboration, and how social media and a shifting industry reinforces the need for partnership more than ever before. It's all about the Hollywood model, the collage of talented people, from scriptwriters, directors, producers, lighting technicians, photographers, actors, sound specialists, etc, that work together to weave together narratives that form the rich tapestry of our culture. OK, now the communications industry may not be taking over the movie business, but I do believe it is going to take a new approach to engage deeply with people, one with creativity at its core.

A lot of the projects I have in mind would necessitate contributions from a host of talented folk - from illustrators to designers (from comics to Twitter stories to Open source API)...

Any thoughts on collaborative projects you're working on or have heard about?