Setting The Table: Enhancing Campaigns With Video
Ever found yourself zoning out during public meetings about policies or projects that seem distant from your daily life? You’re not alone. Let’s face it, most of us aren’t jumping at the chance to dive into something that seems dry or disconnected from our interests. That’s the challenge many face when trying to engage communities in important initiatives. How do you make them care?
Enter the Tablesetter video. It’s like the appetizer that piques your interest before the main course. This short video serves up the who, what, why, and how of a project in a way that’s not just informative but actually engaging. We’re talking about reaching people where they are—on social media, where they consume information and connect with others.
Picture this: instead of a drab public meeting, imagine a video popping up on your feed, telling you what’s up with a project, why it matters, and how you can jump in. It’s convenient, it’s captivating, and it’s exactly the kind of outreach that grabs attention in today’s world.
Starting your project with a Tablesetter video isn’t just a smart move, it’s a game-changer. It boosts engagement, expands your reach, and even helps you build a loyal following for your project. Think of it as the first step in turning a potential snooze-fest into a dynamic community endeavor.
But here’s the kicker: you don’t have to stop at just one Tablesetter video. Integrate videos and visuals throughout your project, and you’ll take your communication game to the next level. Suddenly, that hefty project document transforms into a vibrant, accessible resource that speaks directly to the community.
Still not convinced? Check out some of the Tablesetter videos we’ve whipped up for inspiration. Better yet, start crafting your own and watch as engagement soars and community connections deepen. Trust us, it’s a recipe for success you won’t want to miss out on.
Animate Your Video!
Struggling to schedule shoot dates, prep time, and find people and locations for your video? Animation is the perfect solution! At Civic Eye Collaborative, we understand the importance of video messages but also know the challenges involved. That's why we advocate for animation – it eliminates these hurdles, letting you focus solely on defining your message. Take our animated video "ABC Quick Check" as an example. Even short animations like this offer numerous advantages over text-based communication. This is especially crucial for safety-related messages that demand attention and information retention. Don't let a busy schedule hold you back from video production. Hire an animator and unleash your creativity!
(A)rtificial (I)ntern: Using AI To Simplify Your Work
When approaching the conversation of AI implementation, more frequently than not we are met with visions of a dystopian future, massive unemployment, lonely Juaquim Phoenix dating the disembodied voice of Scarlet Johanssen, and the Voight-Kampff test. Far from the “cool” cyberpunk dystopia media has promised us, AI has seemingly only offered us precariously self-driving cars and anatomically dubious art. So end of story right? Certainly, not!
AI isn't the philosopher’s stone we’ve been promised, but to say it serves no utility would be foolish. It’s cliche, but using a hammer to drive a screw doesn’t demonstrate the uselessness of a hammer, but rather the ignorance of the operator. Throughout history, film and literature have often portrayed "thinking machines" as humanity's destroyer or enslaver, fostering fear, hatred, and ignorance towards AI. However, with a balanced and reasonable investigation into AI’s uses, one can learn to see it as a tool, rather than over-hyped trash.
Probably the most immediate and banal example of bad AI usage is cheating on term papers. When I was in college, we were warned not to use Wikipedia. Despite these warnings, I utilized Wikipedia from undergrad through grad school and managed to graduate. Copying and pasting from Wikipedia is about as good an idea as asking a chatbot to write your term paper, but common sense will never deter lazy students. Like I told my graduate advisors, Wikipedia is not a reliable source, but rather a collection of relevant citations. Wikipedia cites scholarly articles within relevant context, making it an invaluable resource when starting a new research project. Chatbots can do the exact same thing in seconds.
My background is not in planning, so my testing will reflect that; bear with me. I asked a chatbot for 10 sources to understand the history of ancient Sparta. What it returned were a collection of important sources from top scholars in the field, but zero primary sources. Considering only secondary sources is like outsourcing your critical thinking. Next, I explicitly asked the chatbot to provide primary sources instead. It returned a variety of sources, including some obscure ones that would have escaped my consideration. Interestingly, it excluded the most obvious source “On Spartans” by Plutarch, perhaps due to a rigid definition of “primary source” considering Plutarch wrote centuries after the Spartans he wrote about, referencing sources we no longer have access to. Given that it did its job very literally, I can’t fault it too much. The utility of this may seem minor until you consider that chatbots respond immediately, at any time of day, have access to nearly all human knowledge, and respond to “dumb” questions; it’s remarkable.
The second utility I’d like to highlight with AI, is its utility as an editor. A Chatbot can take bad writing and make it reasonable while preserving the integrity of the idea. All of this without payment, and while returning your work immediately. To test its ability, I provided it with the following paragraph and the prompt “Please edit the following passage for grammar, and spelling. Additionally, please make it flow better to be more engaging.”
Ancient Sparta was a Greek city state located in ancient Greece. Ancient Sparta was one of the strongest city states. They had a strong military because they were able to conquer another city state. They made the citizens of that city state serve as peasants to do all the farming work. These people were called Helots, they were similar to medieval peasants but a modern audience might consider them to be slaves. With the Helots doing all the farming, the Spartans were able to do military training which allowed them to be so strong.
It returned:
“Ancient Sparta, a Greek city state in ancient Greece, was one of the most powerful city states. Sparta had a very strong military because they conquered a weaker city state, and forced them into a peasant-like servitude. These people were known as Helots and led lives similar to medieval peasants but with some aspects that a modern audience would call slavery. The Spartans could then focus on what interested them, military training, and as a result became an unmatchable force on the ancient battlefield.”
The most shocking transformation of the text followed the request: “Could you revise the passage to sound more academic.”
“Ancient Sparta, nestled in the heart of ancient Greece, stood as a formidable beacon among its peers. Renowned for its military prowess, this Greek city-state wielded unmatched power. How did they achieve such dominance? By subjugating a neighboring city-state, Sparta imposed a harsh servitude upon its inhabitants, known as Helots. These individuals lived lives akin to medieval peasants, yet tinged with shades of what today we'd unequivocally label as slavery.
With this labor force at their disposal, the Spartans could devote themselves wholly to their true passion: military training. Their focus on martial prowess transformed them into an unparalleled force on the ancient battlefield.”
Ancient Sparta, situated within the annals of Greek antiquity, emerged as a preeminent city-state distinguished by its formidable military apparatus. Central to its military might was the subjugation of a neighboring city-state, a conquest that consigned its populace, known as Helots, to a state of servitude bearing resemblance to medieval serfdom, albeit infused with elements unmistakably suggestive of slavery by contemporary standards.
This arrangement afforded the Spartans the singular opportunity to devote themselves unequivocally to the pursuit of military training. Consequently, they evolved into an indomitable force upon the ancient theater of war.”
Hopefully this demonstrates how transformative AI editing can be.
Generally where one makes a mistake with AI is with expecting far too much from it. However, it's essential to manage expectations realistically. While AI tools can be incredibly helpful, their effectiveness often depends on the quality of input and guidance provided. Much like with human editors we would still advise that you review anything before publishing or submitting your work. Unfortunately, AI is not beyond making mistakes at this moment, but with the right effort, the time saving capabilities are unmatched.
In no way does this article intend to address the societal impact of AI, the potential harm it can cause to the work force, or it’s implementation in robotics or self driving cars; there is certainly a lot to consider with this technology. Nor does it attempt to make the case that AI should replace all your tedious work, because there are often unconsidered benefits from doing something the “hard way”. Rather we hope this help balance the fears with the idea that AI can improve the quality of life for many people, assuming their needs are kept in mind. We hope your opinions constantly evolve as new discussions of AI (both positive and negative) are held.
Thank you for reading!
Urban Planning is going viral: Channel Feature
The topic of urban planning is gaining in traction among young content creators. Whether discussing living in the aftermath of red lining, and suburbanization to creating more equitable and walkable cities, urban planning has seemingly captured the attention of the next generation. Rather than simply making note of the increased awareness of these issues, we at Civic Eye Collaborative think there is something to learn from this phenomenon.
Finding ways to approach these topics that excite and captivate audiences is an ongoing struggle, not just for urban planning, but every academic field. Part of the issue is created by an echo chamber effect of academics creating content to be shared essentially amongst a small group of academics. But there is a way to balance content with engagement that tends to be lost when creating something solely with the academic in mind. We think it is important to look to these new talents for better ways to communicate these ideas.
The first creator we’d like to point to is Brice Lan a.k.a. “Flurfdesigns” whose video “Why Don’t Kids Go Outside Anymore?” garnered a staggering 2.2 million views at time of penning this article. On top of that, his videos run between 8 and 15 minutes while, importantly, maintaining the viewer’s attention.There is a lot to be learned from this approach. Brice, combines well researched ideas, with interesting script writings, and a video making style that demonstrates a personal creativity. He asks the questions his audiences care about, and he allows himself to play in the margins of entertainment, and education. The only question that remains for us is “Why don’t we follow suit?”
We hope this can begin a dialogue and that you share this video, not just with your friends in planning, but with your friends outside the industry. Do you believe there is something to be learned from this viral video? Do you think their space in the planning world for more engaging content? Are there any content creators you think need to be featured? We’d like to hear from you, reach out to us with your ideas and opinions.
Please check out Brice’s channel “Flurfdesigns” at https://www.youtube.com/@flurfdesign/featured