Hasta La Creative!

In a development that just seems wrong in an Orwellian kind of way, Captivate Network—the elevator-media company, whose name seems kinda creepy if you give it a few seconds of thought—is now also providing desktop content via blogs linked off the Captivate Web site that, according to Brandweek, “amplify topics featured on its elevator screens.” (Captivate’s movie blog is called People Tell Me I Look Like Han Solo.) Mike DiFranza, Captivate’s president, explains: “Nearly 50 percent of our viewers identify Captivate as their primary news source.” Recalling the vacant stares of the people who ride the elevator with me during the week, I can believe it. DiFranza concludes: “People are time pressed and catch information on the fly, and when they want to dive deeply, they go to the Internet.” True enough. Most people want to take their media wherever they go. But who wants it following them when they get off the elevator and lurking on their desktops?

—Posted by David Gianatasio