Big Think recently sat down with Charlie Todd, the founder of the comedy troupe Improv Everywhere. In addition to his general thoughts on the future of comedy on the Web, we wanted to find out how Charlie built his fan base. Specifically, we wanted to find out how he gets people to show up for Improv Everywhere events–which happen, well, everywhere. Charlie told us he utilizes advanced social networking sites to communicate with current and future fans all the time. Basically, cutting-edge technology helps Charlie to make people laugh all over the world. “I started this social network, just kind of as technology has caught up with what I want to do. There’s a website called Ning that lets you create your own social network very easily. So I started one in January, and it’s called the Urban Prankster Network. And whenever someone sends me an e-mail or goes to my website, they’re directed to that site to start their own group. And there’s probably a couple of hundred cities have their own–maybe 22,000 members of that site right now.” Here’s more from Charlie on how he harnesses technology to grow his comedy business.
This interview is part of a series on BigThink, sponsored by Dell and Digital Nomads.
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by John Leverett / October 31, 2008
I checked out Urban Prankster and it’s a pretty funny site. I’d like to know whether there are any digital resources for helping develop and organize comedy projects — scripts, routines, improv troupes — online.
by Elliot / October 31, 2008
I really like this interview series–I have followed it for a few weeks now. A funnier headline might be fitting for this one though. Also, it might be nice to talk to a few people who can talk about how technology can help us out of our current mess — productivity, retraining, innnovation, etc. Overall, I liked what Todd had to say though.
by Charles Beach / October 31, 2008
Charlie Todd reminds us what the Millennial generation has known for a long time: that in addition to turning us all into highly efficient machines, mobilizing technology can be used to make people laugh all over the world. This is a great video that inspires creativity, entrepreneurship and genuine good feelings.