I very recently had the pleasure of talking with Ze Frank, a web personality who continues to show that he “gets it” more than others [especially with regard to the art of communicating with and moving people online]. Frank is already well known to many for several handfuls of reasons, which include his year-long web show and, most recently, for co-hosting Color Wars, “an internet-wide game in which players from a number of self created teams compete for prizes and medals.” We discussed, in particular, the value of resonance with regard to capturing and motivating an audience, both on and off line.

Frank stressed that resonance, not a necessarily logical or quantitative exponent, is one of the most important variables when it comes to connection with an audience or a crowd. This is important for movement-makers of all shapes and sizes to internalize when trying to mobilize a base.

Consider that before he won the primary, there was an element of faith that was projected unto Barack Obama by his supporters. For many, support for Obama the figure [strong, transcendent, untraditional, "post-partisan"] did not necessarily mirror or represent support for Obama the public servant (based on a number of votes, etc). This embrace was, and case of many continues to be, rooted in part in illogic — to some, the Senator fro Illinois represents youthful optimism, the reinvention of American mythology, opportunity for the disenfranchised, and so-on. Sen. Obama’s allure lies in his mythology; he resonates with people in a way that the other candidates did not.

Understanding how to connect on a movement-to-person level is as fundamental as knowing how to maintain databases, properly leverage the power of Facebook, frequenting all of the right blogs, etc.

Having been to many conferences, talks, and seminars, where suggestions regarding the how-to of maneuvering in a “post 2.0″ world are thrown around with varying degrees of authority; having read thousands of blog entries dealing with “the right components necessary” for putting together successful social movements; having attended hundreds of hours of rigid panel discussions and keynotes about how networking will change everything, I find a topic like resonance to be as refreshing as it is ethereal

The road to establishing a sense of resonance with the audience—be they viewers or potential supporters of a revolution—requires a brand consciousness. I consider one particular episode of Frank’s show, entitled Jon-Benet, to be required viewing when it comes to “getting” branding. In it, he says, “A brand is an emotional aftertaste that’s conjured up by, but not necessarily dependent on, a series of experiences.” Further, “The shared emotional aftertaste of brand is platform-independent. If you leverage those aftertastes, people will pay attention, regardless of where they are. And whether the emotional aftertaste is good or bad is irrelevant! As long as they’re watching.”

Frank is not only excellent at articulating this, he is great at putting it into action. His knack for comprehending resonance is very much the difference between the successful cult following of The Show with Ze Frank and why many other daily vlogs go nearly unwatched. It is the reason he was able to help to put together an Internet-based game and why he knows that people will be really into posing as younger versions of themselves or why they might be willing to compete in a nerd rap battle. His comprehension of how all of this fits together is the reason why there are thousands of people waiting to see what he’ll do next.

Understanding resonance works similarly to what they say about getting your shit on Digg: You can go through the motions but content is key. The only way that one can harness a true sense with any degree of authenticity is not by attending conferences and learning the calculus of maneuvering online, but by knowing who people are, what they connect to, and what they want. To do this, we are required to listen much more than we talk, be willing to digest input as much as we love creating output, and maybe, once in a while, turning our backs on Twitter here and there and talking with someone, outside of our apartments, face to face.

For tomorrow, we’ll take a look at some successful instances of branding.

-Filed in Ideas