Derek Housman

Dear Web TV Community,

It seems like only a short time ago we were here talking about how we needed to move on from the problems of yesterday and move onto tomorrow. It seems like tomorrow has come for many of us.

Today, the team of people behind the Streamy Awards have published their website Rebuild the Trust. Their desire is to gain support for two important changes in the IAWTV and the partnership between the Academy and the awards show.

I believe both of these issues have merit, but are not truly fleshed out by the manifesto.

First, the Academy is in need of a lot of work, both in their structure and how it’s perceived by non-board members and the community in general. Since the organization only was legally created in December of last year, the current board will continue to guide the IAWTV until next December.

The makeup of the board is not a great representation of the Academy. There are few to one creators, mostly executives, and all are people who DO make a living in the New Media world. And as such, they’re very busy with their own jobs, unable to pour the necessary resources into a growing organization such as the IAWTV. Additionally, the membership has doubled since the board was elected and will continue to grow this year.

So I do agree, the board needs to open up elections, and they should be held shortly as there is much work to do.

The second issue is how the Streamy’s/IAWTV partnership should be handled. I don’t have all the information to make an informed decision on how much or who controls what, but I can say this: The IAWTV does not have the manpower to effectively run an award show by themselves. We can barely inform our members how to vote correctly, or how any of our processes work. An agreement of sorts is needed. The board should be reorganized, and they should be empowered to make these decisions.

However, to tie the two together is unwise. Too many issues are on the table and they need to be carefully analyzed. It works to the Streamy producers advantage to have the board reorganized as they gain a significant partnership with the Academy and more recognition for the Streamy;s. Agreeing to one is agreeing to both and not having the full understanding of how the Streamy’s are currently run could cause future repercussions. I agree with elements of the proposal, but not the language used within. Barrett Garese makes several good, but speculative, points about what might have led to this decision.

I ask the board to hold elections in the near future and for the community to speak out about your concerns, not just about the transparency needed within the academy, but how we can grow and show the world what great content we make. The future doesn’t belong to the Academy, but to the community that fuels it.

Sincerely,

Derek Housman
IAWTV Academy Member