Making video content creation second nature for every little girl in America.
From her arrival in America in 1959, Barbie has been a curious harbinger of trends.
With more than a billion Barbie Dolls sold, she is both icon and trend-setter.
Therefore, when Mattel announced the release of ‘video Barbie’, it seemed to me that video has now become utterly mainstream;
not video watching, video creating.
Video cameras were once adult toys, largely left in the closet and taken out only for special events such as birthdays or trips.
Video was the purview of professionals.
Video was for ‘special events’ and for ‘special people’.
This clearly is no longer the case.
Video Barbie may seem like a dumb gimmick, but look at the technology – the small camera, the small screen, the ease of use.
And the ubiquity of use.
With Barbie, the video camera is with you (or your daughter) all the time, everywhere.
It is as now as commonplace to children as, well, a Barbie doll.
This is a defining moment, not in the technology, but rather in our relationship to creating content.
It is not longer complex, special nor reserved for special occasions.
This, plus the HD iPhone4 with iMovie are, IMHO, cultural benchmarks and turning points in who makes video and how we perceive the act of video making.
Now it’s as common (or soon will be), as picking up you phone or your kid playing with the Barbie doll.
Michael Rosenblum
For more than 35 years, Michael Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalism revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State's Government's broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on this paradigm (1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996). Other clients include Spectrum News, Verizon and CBS News.