I’m proud to say that The Disney Blog is up for an Orbbie for best Theme Park blog over at the Orlando Sentinel. I’d certainly appreciate it if you head on over the place your vote on the blog’s behalf.

Remember, Vote daily! Thank you!

Today marks the next step for the Walt Disney Company’s parks and resorts division. They’re finally launching a blog. It’s about time, I’ve been advocating for this for years. Disney employs the best and brightest in their fields and now you’ll be able to hear from a few of those subject matter experts directly. Plus, we’ll get the usual PR related material too (which is okay with me).

www.DisneyParks.com/blog is still too new to gage whether or not it will be a success. But it has many good things going for it. Permalinks, which allow direct linking to individual posts. It has comments, albeit moderated. Comments means they’re at least interested in joining in conversation Disney fans rather than just speaking at us. It has an RSS feed, so you can follow the blog at your own pace and at the place of your choosing. It even has twitter status, although it’s not immediately obvious that’s what they are. I would like to see a ’social media panel’ where readers can easily find links to all the social networking channels for the Walt Disney Company.

I’ve actually known about this project for about a year now. I think it’s taken Disney that long just to clear it with the lawyers. The number one question I get is, are you afraid this will cannibalize the readers from the unofficial Disney blogs (like this one)? The answer is, no. In fact, I think it will have the opposite effect. More people will discover the world of Disney blogs via the new official blog and they’ll be tempted to find out what the unofficial take is.

Disney will always be limited in what they can communicate via the blog. They can’t ’spoil the magic’ and they can’t be critical of themselves. They can show that they’re listening and use the blog to communicate in times of crisis and celebration. But they’ll never write the long inquisitive posts that you expect from Disney fans. They’ll never discover the truth behind a rumor or the humor behind a Disney legend’s off color joke. And they have to be even handed in how they offer travel planning advice. One of the reasons they’re running the Disney Mom’s Panel, so those non-Disney employees are the advice givers.

Over time, I expect there to even be some interplay between the official and unofficial Disney blogs. Now, at least, Disney Parks has finally begun to reach out. Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and at last blogging (sort of the opposite order most usually take). Welcome to the conversation Disney Parks. Now tell your friends and neighbors at the Mouse House how to join in.

This is the 5000th post here on The Disney Blog. That’s 18 posts a week or more than two posts a day since I launched the blog in June 2004. A fairly respectable average, if I do say so. According to Technorati there were about 3 million blogs at that time. There are over 250 million blogs today.

I’ve been on the internet in its various forms since 1991. I started writing about Disney on USENET’s Rec.Arts.Disney and Alt.Disney.Disneyland, then later on LaughingPlace.com beginning in August 1999. I also joined and learned a lot from the e-list “FutureCulture.” It was my first online community and I’m proud to say I’m still a member.

I started my personal blog in 1998 before they were called blogs. I called it “You are your URL” or iURL for short. It was obvious to me then that the internet would become the new “permanent record” that parents so often warned their kids about to keep them in line. As so many have found today, an unfortunate photo onFacebook can often mean the difference between getting that job or turning public opinion in a court case. An iURL was my attempt to control that message by putting my information out there first in the manner I wanted others to see.

In 2004 when I started writing The Disney Blog, there were no other Disney blogs. There were a dozen or so Disney travel planning websites and about 500 other Disney fan websites, each with a specific topic, but none used the now common reverse chronological post and the informal voice that comes with a blog. Sadly many of these excellent websites have been lost to the ravages of time, but some survive and even thrive.

The early weeks of The Disney Blog benefited from the three hurricanes that hit Central Florida. Although I was living in the Las Vegas area at the time, I was able to collect and synthesize news and on the ground reports of the preparations and damages for the storms, particularly as they impacted Walt Disney World. This brought a lot of traffic to a young blog and really helped developed the writing style I still use today. I aim for my writing to be about 90% news and information combined with around 10% of my unique perspective on how it all fits together.

Since I started The Disney Blog thousands of blogs have sprung up in the Disney niche and most of the big Disney travel planning websites have sprouted their own blogging platform in some fashion or another. I am overjoyed about this. I believe that a rising tide lifts all ships. I wouldn’t have learned half the fascinating stuff I have these last 5 years without all those other wonderful voices. So if you write a Disney Blog out there, thanks to you. Please keep up the great work.

Another growth area for online Disney fan activity has been Podcasts. The number of talented individuals and the amount of new and interesting material covered each week never ceases to amaze me. There’s so much good stuff out there that you could literally listen all week to just Disney podcasts and still be behind when the next week’s episodes are released.

Related to podcasting has been the explosion of fan created park DVDs. Historical videos, tributes to attractions and cast members, park guides, park tours, and so much more. That the Walt Disney Company hasn’t stomped out this cottage industry is a blessing for us all. By letting fans produce blogs, podcasts, DVDs, Disney keeps the fires stoked in the belly of its most devoted customer base and reaps the benefits of new fans as the word gets spread around by those same passionate customers.

Speaking of the Mouse House. Let’s look at the Walt Disney Company’s involvement when it comes to blogging and social media. I still don’t think the company has recovered from the disaster that was the Infoseek and Go.com purchase. Because of that, there really isn’t one unified theme from the company when it comes to social media.

The Disney parks division got started a few years ago with some video podcasts. Since then the podcast format has been dropped, but the video production quantity has risen steadily. It’s also spread into other divisions. The Cruise Line, Animation, Disney Consumer Products, Disney Channel, and ABC all use the online video format fairly extensively. If your division isn’t on this list (games, movies, archives, etc), why not?

The company has even begun testing the social media waters. Many Disney divisions now have Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, and they’re exploring other products. The one area I think Disney is lacking is content creation by subject matter experts, specifically blogs. There is a certain amount of freedom that’s been granted Disney animators (specifically Pixar animators) to blog about what they love and are experts at. I would like to see that model expanded to the rest of the company.

I believe Walt Disney would have been a tremendous user of social media, once he got over his fear of letter go of control of the discussion. He would have been all over it to talk about whatever his next big project was.

The lesson to be learned from Social Media and online Disney fandom in general is that, while Disney still controls the product they produce, the fans now own the brand.

This could not be any clearer than with D23. Billed as The Official Community for Disney Fans, D23 is Disney’s early attempt to harness some of that fan magic. Get the product in front of the fans and let them take it from there. I’ll save my views on D23 for another post some day. But let’s just say some action in this area is better than nothing.

So what does the future hold? We’re still in the youth of blogging, podcasting, social media, and other disintermediation as to what it means to be part of Disney culture. We’re also just a few short years from Augumented Reality having a large impact on our daily lives including leisure travel. The seeds of augmented reality can be seen right now withYelp’s iPhone app, FourSquare, some other iPhone apps. Disney parks are experimenting with it using RFID technology and, if the sudden proliferation of Disney parks themed iPhone apps is any indication, fan use won’t be far behind.

What else would I like to see? Closer cooperation between the Walt Disney Company and its fans. Right now so much of the relationship work is handed off to third parties or has to pass through so many layers of legal dancing that many great projects never get off the ground. There is still very much a parent child relationship between Disney and its fans, as if we’re not mature enough to handle the truth. For instance, don’t tell us you’re not building a DVC hotel when we can see the thing reaching skyward right from the monorail. It’s better to cultivate the mutual interest in the success of the product.

I would also like to see closer cooperation between Disney websites. I know the economy has played havoc with our yearly MouseFest reunion, but I hope it comes back. There should also be more online connections made and synergy found between us.

It’s about time to wrap this up. Obviously this was not the unquestionable and complete account of Disney fandom online. But I think it’s a good look across the breadth of it. Five plus years and 5,000 posts covers a lot of change and that’s the one thing I promise you we’ll see more of when it comes to Disney. Just look at the Marvel acquisition. I haven’t even begun to think about how we’ll integrate with the online Marvel fan community.

Most important, thank you for being part of The Disney Blog. Thanks for reading my look at the State of the Disney Blogosphere. I hope you’ll still look here for your dose of Disney news and information 5,000 posts from now.

Disney 23 maybe the new official mouthpiece magazine for the Walt Disney Company, but there is still just one fan magazine that covers the entirety of the Disney experience with in depth articles and beautiful and rare photos. Now Tales from the Laughing Place Magazine has expanded their empire with the launch of its new blog The Art of Telling Tales and a flickr site.

“Since we launched our first issue back in ’04 our readers have asked us to release additional photographs and artwork that we could not feature in our issues,” Tales Publisher Lee J. MacDonald reveals. “We have decided that an online blog will allow us the flexibility and freedom to build on the stories we have featured in our quarterly publication. We are aiming to update the blog on a near-daily basis with articles that expand on our printed coverage and also cover news and rumors from around all Disney business units. Our editorial team will also offer insight and commentary on recent news events.”

Art of Telling Tales will feature exclusive content from Walt Disney Imagineering’s research library and rare photography from around the Walt Disney Company. The first series of posts will focus on the D23 Expo that was recently held at the Anaheim Convention Center. The posts will include images from the models on show within the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts showcase from angles that only Tales were permitted to photograph.

• Art of Telling Tales can be found at the link below:
  http://artoftellingtales.blogspot.com
• In addition Tales creative director Lindsay Cave has launched a microsite on the world’s best photo management website Flickr which can be found at the link below:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/talesfromthelaughingplace

Tales is a quarterly high-quality advertising-free magazine dedicated to the creativity of the Walt Disney Company and its business units such as the theme parks, movies and musicals. The magazine has a strong emphasis on photography and artwork from the Disney libraries and is printed on quality paper-stock to help preserve the publication for years to come.

Issue 15 is due for release in late 2009. Tales from the Laughing Place Magazine is available as part of a four-issue subscription or individually with worldwide shipping. Issues 2 through 14 inclusive are available as back issues and Issues 1 through 6 inclusive are now available on a CD-ROM in high-resolution PDF for home printing. Visiting LaughingPlaceStore.com for more or borrow a friend’s copy and be impressed.

The Disney Blog is up for ‘Best Disney Blog’ over at WDW Daily News. The site with the most votes wins and it’s up to each site to motivate their fans to vote. Although I prefer to let the blog and the quality of the stories speak for themselves, I would appreciate it if you took a moment to go and vote.

Thank you.

Diana Freedman visited World Disney World in January and couldn’t help thinking about how her vacation experience contained lessons she could take back to her day to day life. Her breakdown of what she thinks make the Disney magic, and how she will aspire to apply these characteristics to her blog in 2009 is important reading for anyone. Even if you’re steeped in these lessons, it’s good to be reminded every now and then.

(Read)

Bookmark, the first book blog, has partnered with Disney to promote the Adam Sandler “Bedtime Stories” movie. For everyone who comments on this post, Disney will donate a book to a child in need. Up to 250,000 books. Only 260 comments so far, so join in and help a good cause.

Matt has spent 20 years collecting everything he could get his hands on having to do with Walt Disney’s animated classic Alice in Wonderland. Now, to our great benefit, he’s sharing it on his new blog Vintage Disney Alice in Wonderland. Many of his items are from the 1950s, especially from the initial release. He also showcases a lot of international materials.

I hope you’ll head on over and spend a few minutes exploring Matt’s wonderful site. Thanks Matt!