Rainn Wilson, well known for a role in the television comedy “The Office,” lectured Stony Brook students about his media company Soul Pancake this Tuesday night. Wilson has created a New York Times Best Selling book, a website community, a mobile app, and a YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers dedicated to encourage people to dig deeper in themselves and engage in lifes’ big questions.
Soul Pancake uses videos, discussion boards, and social media to bring people and their individual journeys and stories together. “Soul Pancake as a business entity is a direct reflection of who I am as a human being” Wilson said.
While listening to the lecture I thought about how blogging is cheap to start and anyone can write about their passions. Wilson wanted to start a company that would help people figure our what they believe it, and how to be happy. The website, YouTube, creative videos, and social media allowed him to design a successful, original media community.
His talk made me believe points we have discussed in class like great journalism brings people together, technology drives change, and that good media platforms aggregate different stories and topics to give the viewer variety.
Media consumers want to personally connect with what they watch and read. Soul Pancake provides content that initiates conversations, whether they take place in an online discussion board, through media sharing, or with a friend right beside you.
Overall I learned that what we talk about in class happens in real life. I needed to see and hear about a successful web-based media company to believe that it is a possibility for my future in journalism.
