Saturday, December 29, 2007

99 Seems like a good stopping point





Five O'Clock Shadow 99

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Well kids, here you have it. The final "Five O'Clock Shadow" post. It was fun doing this, and I got a lot more familiar with Flickr. Sort of resurrected the account, you might say.

I've got a new idea, partly thanks to that re-association with Flickr and various other web 2.0 sites. I'll leave you in suspense as I need to do some rearranging to make ready for it.

And for those who enjoyed my posting of pics on Flickr -- they'll still be coming, sometimes from my phone, sometimes from PhotoBooth, and maybe a real live camera if I can pull it from The Lovely Wife Lovely Wife anytime soon.

Enjoy the new year.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Cleaning out





Five O'Clock Shadow 98

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


As the year winds down, I find it once again time to re-examine and restate my assumptions. For the remaining days of my vacation, I'll be doing the following:

  • Paying close attention to anything that comes in over RSS. Pictures, posts, podcasts... you name it. Each and every item will be examined, and the larger site from which it comes will be evaluated. Not telling you to be interesting, just sayin'...

  • Pruning my "friends". I use that term in quotes, since the term is bandied about much by various YANSN sites. In some places, it may make sense for me to keep someone in the "friend" list even though I don't know them. In others in doesn't, so I won't.

  • Parsing my sites. I said some time ago that I'd sign up for every new shiny thing that comes along just to see how it works. And while that's still true, I'm going to start being very upfront about what I keep using after a time. Out of the 52 profiles I have, a half dozen or so have actually helped me do anything better. You need to know that, I think.


Happy New Year, in the event I don't post here again before.

Monday, December 24, 2007

We're painting this Xmas





Five O'Clock Shadow 97

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


It's a tradition: the Lovely Wife gets the itch to paint this time every year. Started with NJ's bathroom and has spilled over into my office. Which is a good thing, as I was starting to not enjoy working in it. New paint helps. I hope.

Happy Xmas to those who celebrate it. We don't, but I'm not beyond recognizing an event with significance for others. Oh, and I'll take the time off, too.

Keep your eyes on Podiobooks.com. I'm working on a Top 20 Books of 2007 post.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Seriously considering ROFLCon

ROFLConI've decided to approach my 2008 convention schedule with significantly more thought and care than previously. On the top of my list of I CAN HAZ is ROFLCon. Teh funny, to be sure!

I reached out to the organizers today to see if the whole podiobook movement is worthy of inclusion or not. As I told them, we're not Tay Zonday, but we too move away from the mic when we breathe.

Regardless of the result, I'm giving the event serious consideration.

This is the ongoing record of an effort to assemble every famous internet meme or celebrity to come to Harvard in the spring of 2008 to attend a conference.

Presumably, they're going to talk about fame online.

But with Homestar Runner and Dinosaur Comics coming and Goatse on the guest list, getting there is going to be about 80% of the fun

Party like a rockstar


ROFLCon 2008. Go ahead and block off April 25th & 26th. And someone near Cambridge MA clear off some floor space for me.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Good parts of Xmas





Five O'Clock Shadow 96

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Anyone know who knows me knows that I'm not one for the Holiday spirit. Part of it is a general aversion to anything that is too popular, a significant amount comes from my internal conflicts with over-commercialization of society and my part in it, and then there's the fact that most of the trappings either bore or annoy the hell out of me.

But not the food.

Bring it the fuck on.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The reason for the season





The reason for the season

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Who says I'm not into the holidays?

Thanks to Phil Plait for providing the image, which I think he got from The Slumbering Lungfish.

Extra points if you can correctly guess which side of the photo to place the sun!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Xmas Speaking of Beer episode





Xmas Speaking of Beer

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Blame it on the turkey, carb overload or way too many beers, but I totally forgot that Charlie say me, The Lovely Wife and Jack Mangan down after our Thanksgiving feast to record a special 'Liquid Christmas' edition of Speaking of Beer.

It's up, and I sound far gigglier than I prefer. Here I blame a mixture of too much beer and being far too out of practice from being behind a microphone.

E.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Five O'Clock Shadow 95





Five O'Clock Shadow 95

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Listening to: Various tunes by Soul Coughing

While sitting at: Mama Java's coffee shop in Phoenix

Accomplishing: Some Podiobooks.com updates and general information housekeeping

When I should be: Nothing. This is Sunday.

But I'm really looking forward: To making dinner tonight. Salmon and pasta, me thinks.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Evo is on Seesmic





Five O'Clock Shadow 94

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Yeah yeah... I know I just said I was giving these things up. But I also said some time ago that I wanted to get into video, so deal.

It's true, I managed to squeeze a Seesmic invite from someone. Haven't played with it enough to know what good the whole thing is, and it's rather insular right now. But at the minimum, it'll be a good "training" application to see what parts of video I'm good at, and where I need help.

Oh, and it was funny when Sigler used a fictional character to kick a fictional representation of Hutchins in the nads. Cannot wait to see how this arms race goes.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Totally screwed by Apple

Oh I am not a happy man. Earlier today, I installed the latest update from Apple. I've not yet made the switch to Leopard, as I like to let things get a little settled before I take the plunge. But I'm *very* good about installing the auto-updates from Apple when my system alerts me.

Perhaps now, not so much.

The latest one caused my system to hang at the boot progress. Using The Lovely Wife's lappy, I checked the Apple forums, only to find that many others were reporting the same problem. Long story short -- the fix which was working for most wouldn't work for me because of disk space issues. And while I just did a backup on Saturday, I now find out that was only a data backup... that didn't include my programs.

So I'm a little screwed right now. Actually, I'm a lot screwed right now. But what the hell. Shit happens. Good time for me to make the switch to as many web-based apps as I can, I guess. Could be quiet from me for a while as I figure out passwords, important websites and such. Oh, and email. Think that's totally gone, too.

Shit.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving memories of Joe

I miss Joe.



Thanks to Ian for putting together this video tribute. No, it's not podsafe, but I don't care.

I was thankful to have had someone like Joe in my life -- if only for a little while.

I'm thankful that people like Leann and Tee are moving forward in his name.

I'm thankful for those I still have around me.

And in about 15 minutes, I'll be thankful to Charlie for the great friendship, company and beer he's offering me today.

E.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Restating my assumptions





Five O'Clock Shadow 93

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Assumption #1: We live in a world where it is impossible to create time. Therefore, I need to spend my discretionary time in the most productive channels possible.

Assumption #2 My definition of 'productive' may be -- and probably is -- significantly different from that of everyone else on the planet.

Assumption #3 My definition of 'productive' is highly influenced by the term 'discretionary' in the same sentence.

Assumption #4 Cool and new things (read: 'shiny') will always grab my attention due to perhaps faulting faulty wiring on my part. Or that of my parents.

Assumption #5 Some of those shiny objects will enhance my productivity.

Assumption #6 Most of them will not.

Assumption #7 Continuing to chase the shiny for the sake of chasing the shiny is -- according to my definition -- not productive.

Assumption #8 It's not like others (CC, Clintus, Chris, et. al.) aren't doing a damn fine job puddle jumping for the masses.

Assumption #9 Not all lists need to contain 10 items

Assumption #10 I receive maximum pleasure during discretionary time when I'm highly productive on Podiobooks.com.

Guess what that means?

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Getting through the fog





Five O'Clock Shadow 92

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


I'll admit it -- things have looked a bit cloudy for the last several months. I think I've figured out why, and what I'm going to do about it. But I'm not quite ready to announce it just yet, so you'll have to sit in suspense for a while longer.

But while you are waiting, do me a huge favor. Facebook has just released the ability for brands to create their own profile pages. I've made a Facebook profile for Podiobooks.com and would be your BFF if you would befriend the page and start interacting with it. Facebook promises some pretty groovy things when real people (you and me) start interacting with brands that they love (Podiobooks.com?), and I'm curious if where that leads us.

Monday, November 5, 2007

What do I want to be when I grow up?


I had a fantastic time at PodcampAZ on Saturday. Good people, good discussion, and a good deal more activity in this town than I had ever imagined. I've made quite a few new contacts that I'm really looking forward to getting to know better.

Yet at the same time, I'm starting to ponder some existential questions. I'm not ready to call it a crisis, but I'm getting that itch. It's very much a 'what do I want to do when I grow up?' question. Here's what I know:

  • I really enjoy what we're doing at Podiobooks.com. Hugely rewarding for me and I know it's a great resource for others, so that's not in any danger
  • I dig playing in the new media playground, but do wonder this: to what end?
  • I miss podcasting, but not enough to make me carve out more time do it more often. So enjoy the Utterz. And I ask the same "to what end" question.
  • Video would be cool, but also terribly time consuming. No, I'm not a record-and-release kind of guy on general principle. No problem if you are. I ain't. See TWE question.
  • I'm really interested in stepping back from the bleeding edge and teaching some people who are about five years behind how to get two years behind. Unsure about the transition, and I'll miss the edge.


How about you? Do you try and keep a linear progression to your personal life path, or do you go through these same sorts of things? And if so, do you acknowledge and embrace them, or bury them down deep inside?

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Jazzed





Five O'Clock Shadow 90

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


A couple of things have me jazzed today:

  • Google's OpenSocial movement.
    No, it's not a new social media site you need to make a profile for. Rather, it's a set of open APIs that will (in theory) allow for interoperability between social networking sites. And at the rate companies are jumping on board, it should be quite an impact. I'm recommending to Doug, Chris, Ray and the rest of the development crew on Podiobooks.com that we follow suit. Sweet!

  • NaPodPoMo. Anxious to get back into the swing of things behind the mic, yet unable to come up with anything that I really want to do long term, I've decided to give National Podcast Post month a shot. Daily podcasts -- likely in the form of Utterz but maybe a CultCast for the entire month of Nov. Yikes.

    That's it for now. Hockey tonight, so you can follow the action here or here, I'm not sure which one!

Evo joining NaPodPoMo



Never let it be said that I won't cave to pressure. Well, actually I kind of like this idea. Gets me back in the habit of recording something. Most of mine will be Utterz, but I may crank out an occasional Found Things... and with luck a CultCast could come out of it.

Here we go...

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

All podiobooks, all the time





Five O'Clock Shadow 89

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Cripes, people. I mean I dig the fact that you creative types are going to town on your stuff and all, but do you have to do it all at once?

  • Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty is now live. I read the book ('cuz I rock) and really enjoyed it. Can't wait to hear Mur read it to me.
  • Scott Sigler launched Nocturnal, and you know I have to listen to that. Oh, and Scott promises that we'll have The Rookie up and loaded in a few short days.
  • Dairy of an S&M Romance is live, and it sort of behooves me to listen to the first adult-oriented book on our site, don't you think?
  • I've been waiting to hear The Secret World Chronicle for over a year... and it will be live on Podiobooks.com by the weekend.
  • ... and there are still dozens of damn fine books I have had the time to get to. Gah! Someone clone me, please!


Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Masking yourself





Five O'Clock Shadow 88

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


I'm what you'd call a moderate reader of Laughing Squid. It comes in my RSS feed, and I'd say about 30-40% of the articles interest me. That's actually fairly good, as I tend to blow through news items only looking for the tasty morsels of goodness.

But I must take exception with a recent post entitled Social Network Message Autoresponder.

I get the complaint. I really and truly do. We have this fantastic communication tool called email, so why don't we just get folks to use it more often? Well... three reasons:

  1. One size does not necessarily fit all - Email may be your chosen way to communicate, but it's obviously not the preferred method for the person who reached out to you via some social site. And unless I'm mistaken, the only way they can contact you through said social media site is if you already have a profile on said social graph, yes? This look like a cake-eat situation.

  2. My grandma makes the same argument for paper letters - This works really well for my grandma, but not so much for me. The same in reverse holds true for my son. If I email him, it takes him days to respond. But if I send him a message on MyFace, he responds in minutes. This one relates to #1 above, but I felt it was strong enough to stand on it's own.

  3. Email is overloaded - While it may still be hailed as the killer app, it's losing its charm for many of us. I dread opening the inbox some times, and I even keep the damn thing cleaned out! Thank the gods for RSS feeds and readers, or I'd be out of my gourd. And if there was a way to route email to an RSS feed, I'd be in hog heaven!


As I stated earlier, I sympathize. Heck, I was in your camp for a while. But since every single social media site I belong can be set to send me an email when someone messages me, and since my browser tends to store my login details, and since the person decided that's how they communicate best, I'm happy to take off the mask an talk to them over there. On my schedule, of course.

Do you try and force the conversation on your terms? Or are you happy to talk where they want to talk? Tell me about it...

Monday, October 29, 2007

Five O'Clock Shadow 87





Five O'Clock Shadow 87

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


A list of things on my mind. Won't make a lot of sense to all of you, so feel free to move along:


  • I'm liking Utterz. But I'm hesitant to stick it here on the blog. I just got the blog cleaned up and I don't want to clutter. And unlike everyone else, I'm not sticking it in my Twitter feed. If you want a feed with all my junk, follow me on Jaiku.

  • You sure about this, Geo?

  • Went back to the gym today and am thinking about going back tonight. Time to get serious about this shit. Have decided that Traineo is the right way to go, but I wish it was easier to add friends. You know... the cornerstone of social networking?

  • We added the first ever erotica title to Podiobooks.com. Nobilis has a short story collection of erotica rumored to be on the way, but ThornDaddy and Dollie beat him to the punch.

  • For those that asked: I'm going as nothing tomorrow.

  • Have made interesting connections with certain individuals in the city of Chicago. Quite.

  • Two author friends of mine didn't know I'd left tDP, though I did that long before I left FPM.

  • Am taking the rest of the night off.


End trans.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Five O'Clock Shadow 86





Five O'Clock Shadow 86

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


So... I'm not so sure this is working out. Well, for one thing, I know that I'm not working out. That's probably part of the problem.

So I've fired up the Traineo profile, hoping that some of you may have one and are using it a lot more than I. With luck, you can get my ass moving. Just hard to crawl out of bed or drag myself away from the 'puter. But I need to do it.

PodcampAZ next weekend. I'll dry to post more between now and then.

And heck, I forgot to mention that my fantastic narration of The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd is live. It was on SE#015. Apologies for the audio quality. Seems something happened and everyone was overmodulated. Sounds a lot worse on my since I'm pretty loud by nature.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Didja miss me?





Five O'Clocks Shadow 85

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Sorry for the longer-than-anticipated hiatus.

When I returned from the trip to NYC, I spent my time hanging out with Philip from Australia and my father. I wasn't sure how that paring would go, but it turned out rather good. I think they both found the other strangely fascinating. :)

Today I had a great surprise. It turns out that some of my tips on promoting your podcast were picked up by Entrepreneur.com. So thanks to Catherine for running them, and also for cleaning them up and making me sound a lot smarter than I really am.

Monday, October 15, 2007

See you next week





Five O'Clock Shadow 84

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


I'm going incommunicado for the next several days. I have another trip to NYC coming up, and I don't know when I'll update.

So you know the drill: play nice.

Oh, and I updated the Theme for my blog. Perfect time to do it, don't you think? I'm hoping that since it's an updated version of the same thing, there's less of a chance for breakage. But if not, report it here and I'll deal when I get back. Or Dan might tweak, if he's watching. :)

E.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Found Things - Social Network Just Made for Two

Hey look! New audio from Evo, and it's not a CultCast!

Nope. Here's a little something I found and thought I'd share. It's an audio file by Ze Frank that is fitting for the topics covered on this blog.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Were you having trouble subscribing to my feed?

Huge huge props to the lovely and talented Donna for pointing out a major fubar with my site. If any of you have had trouble subscribing to my feed (and you know it's free, right?), I implore you to try that again. It has been fixed.

For the technodweebs out there who care what was wrong, read on:

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Strange days, indeed





Five O'Clock Shadlow 83

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Not a lot of time to update tonight. A very strange day work-wise. I have a huge project that was due last week -- and I still haven't finished it.

Yeah, I procrastinate.

My mom is in town, plus there are lots of cool things which have been taking away my attention. They are just so much more fun than... well, work.

So I may disappear on you all for a few days. I have to get this done. And hang out with mom.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Scheming up new media ideas





Five O'Clock Shadow 82

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Today the value of social media came up in a few conversational threads I'm following. I'm not here to justify your usage of one social media site over another. Nor am I here to try and convince you that you should follow lock step behind me as I play with latest shiny thing. I figure you can make you own decisions, and that you look to me and others (and we're all honored, I can assure you) for occasional commentary on the latest meme. I'm here to help.

But tonight I want to talk to you about the true power of social and new media. It's about the real opportunities involvement in a community can bring. Please understand that "opportunities" means many different things to many different people. For some, it's simply about extending friendship. For others, it's about developing real "offline" relationships. Many are trying to build their professional credentials. And a few of us are just playing around to stay ahead of the curve.

I'm all of those things. In fact, my involvement with new and social media has allowed me -- just in the past few days -- to start scheming up some pretty cool things with some pretty cool people. Steve Eley and I are talking about ways of making Escape Pod and Podiobooks.com work closer together. Kris Smith and I are playing with the idea of 'friendship'. C.C. Chapman and I are pondering the definition of 'perfection'. I wouldn't have met these guys were it not for social media.

So am I an evangelist? You bet. Because that's just the tip of the iceberg. And all of us involved in this destination-less wave of new and social media are just getting started.

Twitter vs Jaiki - Round Two

Jaiku, a Twitter-like service that caught the eye of Leo Leport earlier this year, is being purchased by the Daddy of Big Dogs, Google. I first told you about Jaiku some time ago. After that, I pretty much left it alone, though I did manage to feed in all of my various RSS feeds into it. Great as a "what is Evo doing on any given project right now" feed, but less a place for communications to develop.

So what does this mean to new media content producers and social media mavens? Well... nothing specific, really. Twitter, Jaiku... lots of services are being employed by many of us in the new media space as ways to distribute information to our audiences.

In practice, it means that I'll spend the better part of tonight and the next several days adding lots more friend requests, as Twitter folks decide to create a Jaiku profile as well. If the balance shits -- and the interface remains solid -- I may start pushing that more and more.

But right now, I'm pushing 600 folks following me on Twitter. So I'm not going any where... yet.

Monday, October 8, 2007

The spreading of social media





Five O'Clock Shadow 81

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


Heard today that a new social media site, ViewPoints.com, has just come on line. Like all good new social media sites, this one has a focus and is breaking into relatively new territory: Social Reviews.

The concept is simple to anyone who has ever created a profile on any social media site, so I won't belabor that point. What I will rave about is their use of the "I am" tags, which is simply brilliant. When filling out your profile, they give you the chance to choose several statements about yourself in different context. In the "About my Work" category, you can say that you are a movie star, a college professor, a CEO... lots of different choices. Think you have one better? Add your own tag. Then do that about 20 more times and you've developed quite the tag repository about yourself.

Armed with that information, the system then suggests tags to you that may be relevant to the reviews that you are writing. How cool is that! Very helpful to others who are reading your review to help them understand if you are the same type of person that they are.

All and all, I found the site easy to use and friendly. Looks like a lot of thought was put in to this one, and I think they'll do well. Heck, I've already created my first review.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

New Social Media Discoveries





Five O'Clock Shadow 80

Originally uploaded by evo_terra


I've made a few discoveries in the last few days. So rather than waxing philosophical on this fine Saturday afternoon, I thought I'd share them with you.

  • Shelfari seems quite cool. Thanks to Brad P. for pushing me in the direction. In a nutshell, it's a social network for book lovers. Explore, share, friends... all the classics, but all centered around books. I made a group for Podiobooks.com fans, too.

  • Zachary R. then asked how it compared to Goodreads. Very similar. Goodreads has less of a Web 2.0 fill, but actually has more activity. So another Podiobooks.com group was formed there, too.

  • And I finally understand that TextMarks is not a Twitter-clone. You could use it that way, sure. But it's true power comes with the dynamic calls and SMS broadcasting. Still pondering the best way to utilize this, but I've set it up for me and for Podiobooks.com just a placeholders for now.

  • I wish Twitter would let me send mobile updates to more than one account. But it won't, and I get it. Why? Because I've set up a Twitter profile for NJ's high school hockey team (Hamilton Huskies) as well as his travel U16 midget team (Thunder on Ice). I'm really enjoying using Twitter as my update medium and archive for the games, even if not many people are following. Trouble is, I have to hope the rink has wifi, since I can't do phone updates to multiple accounts.

    So how are you spending your weekend? Found anything worth noting?

  • Thursday, October 4, 2007

    Life as a professional trailblazer





    Five O'Clock Shadow 79

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I'm a bit less manic than I was last night. Many things on the day-job side of life managed. Tonight it's all about fun-job stuff that's been piling up too.

    As I wrote that sentence, I almost wrote "professional" life instead of day job. But that doesn't work, as it must mean that things outside of my day job are less professional. Not true. At least, it doesn't feel true.

    Does it take a paycheck to be a pro?

    Does it take an advanced pedigree of some sort?

    What if the things you are trying to be a pro at don't come with paychecks, or if you are a trailblazer? What if you are a professional trailblazer? Maybe we need some sort of certification program for that...

    Wednesday, October 3, 2007

    I feel like Flash Gordon...





    Five O'Clock Shadow 78

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    This is me in a manic mood I've finally realized that I've been piling and piling and piling things up, leaving them stuck in various folders Well now it's crunch time, as I've fallen behind on some key projects So it's time to hunker down and get it done Couldn't have come at a worse time, as I had to get estimates for the body work on Sheila's jeep and sort out a mess with the dry cleaners Hey, when did Twitter get a new look Well, no time to worry about that right now, and I really don't have time to post this Lots of work ahead of me tonight to dig myself out of this cave Will make for a tired boy tomorrow, but a caught up boy And as Sigler says, sleep is for pussies.

    That'll teach me. Let me be lesson to you all.

    Tuesday, October 2, 2007

    Knowledge versus opinion





    Five O'Clock Shadow 77

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    When I was a young man (a boy, really) I hungered to know things. It was important to me that I have an understanding of things and how they fit in the larger universe as a whole. I wasn't particularly good with fixing or building things (and I still am not), but I was pretty good at remembering facts and figures, as well as breaking down complex and abstract ideas. I was once asked by a childhood friend what I would wish for, and I replied "to know everything".

    Now that might have been a stretch, because I wasn't big into studies and was happy to skate along in school rather than buckle down and crack the books. There were many things to learn outside of school, not just within the hallowed walls of the pissant schools I attended.

    But now that I'm an adult, I make my living by telling people what I think, which is very different from what I know. I know a lot, but I rarely get to directly apply that hard-and-fast knowledge in my daily life. Instead, much of what I do relies on my experiences and intuition. Today I'm paid pretty well to tell people what to do -- and I can't say for certain that I know what the outcome will be.

    And of course I see the obvious correlation between acquiring knowledge and synthesizing that down to the thoughts and opinions requested of me. But at the end of it all, I'm still telling you what I think, and rarely what I know.

    Is that wisdom? Finally?

    Get a private and local phone number with Jangl




    Prior to leaving for the PNME last weekend I played around with this new thing I saw called Jangl. While at the PNME, I met up with Chris Breshears who works with the team that put the tool together. This is one of those things I was instantly enamored with, but my conversation with Chris got me even more stoked. Here's the headline: Sign up for a free account and start using it. It's about to get a whole lot cooler.

    If you are already bored of me talking about it, check out this video to get a fast-pace summary of what it does. And if you are already using Jangl, you can follow that link to get a groovy Jangl button to put on your site. I added one to my Contact page, since this post won't live on top for ever.

    Curious what the hell this is? It's a way to keep your privacy when giving out your phone number. And even better, your callers get a free local number with which to call you. Doesn't matter if they live in Memphis and you are in Nome. The system does one better and gives you a local number to call them back. And it's all free to use. And no one has anyone's 'real' phone number. But 'real' phones ring.

    If you still aren't convinced of the value, that's OK. It took me a while to get it. But I like what they are doing and what they are planning on doing, so I recommend you get a login already. It's free. Or at least try the service. Heck, I'll be your lab rat. :) The fancy looking phone up there should generate a local number for you that will call me. It'll go to voice mail, so don't worry about waking me up. It's cool.

    Monday, October 1, 2007

    Five O'Clock Shadow 76





    Five O'Clock Shadow 76

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Today was a good day. I haven't been feeling like I've had many of those lately, so it was a welcome change. And rather unexpected, as I may have pulled 6 hours of sleep out of the Friday-Sunday insanity that was the 2007 PNME. Not to mention that ETOH-laced sleep isn't nearly as helpful as "true" sleep.

    But after all that, the day was good. And it's not like the things in the day changed. Clients continue to be clueless, inane questions were answered in email, day-job challenges were increased because of my Friday absence... nothing there that you would point to as really positive.

    I chalk it all up to the total recharge I got from the PNME. I feel better about myself, the world and my place in it. Oh yeah... and I don't particularly mind you sharing it with me either. Of course, all of that is subject to change.

    Off to work out. And watch Heroes. Two more things that should continue the good mood.

    Sunday, September 30, 2007

    2007 PNME After Thoughts





    Five O'Clock Shadow 75

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    So the 2007 "Podcast Expo" has come to a close. I've been fortunate enough to attend since the beginning, all three years. And I've already booked my hotel at next years event, the 2008 New Media Expo. Yeah... another name change. :)

    The expo is always an interesting and exciting time for me, as I get to meet 5 groups of people.

    Listeners and/or fans
    The first group is always a rush. Yes, as I said on one of the talks I gave, I'm in this for the ego boost. I'm in it for lots of other reasons, too. But the ego boost ranks right up there. As the PotUSA say, 'Everybody wants to be naked and famous'. These people can recharge me after a long day (or the morning after a longer night) without fail. Heck, it happened in the airport on the way home, when I was moments from curling up in corner waiting for the flight. Nope, wide awake afterwards and buzzing again!

    Old friends
    The second group is the "fall back" collective. I don't mean that in a bad way. I think of these people as family (others have called it a Tribe), and it's the most natural thing to walk up to them in the middle of a conversation and just chime in, with not much more preamble than a much-needed hug to kick things off. I truly love these people. The composition changes from conference to convention -- as does their size -- but they remain an unwaivering highlight of any trip.

    Expo friends
    Something strange happens every year at the Expo. I see a group of people -- some 20 or so -- who I only see once a year: at the Expo. The rest of the year, our correspondence is usually limited to the occasional Skype or email conversation, though it's been boosted this year by the advent of Twitter. But outside of that, I only see these people at the Expo, and every time we meet, we fall right back into the friendship like it's been some unit of time a lot smaller than a whole year. And when we said our goodbyes this year, it was with calls of "See you in Vegas!". There's something magical about a friendship that needs no more -- or less -- work than that.

    Virtual friends
    Though the Expo didn't grow a whole lot this year over last, I've gotten to know a lot more people in the new media space than before. And though we've never met, we've struck up a friendship thanks to the interwebs. Over last weekend, I got to move a lot of those into one of the two previous categories. But I'll keep making online friends through the course of this year, and I'll finally get a chance to meet them next year in Vegas.

    Soon-to-be friends
    But of course, no Expo would be complete without someone acting as a 'connector', dragging me along and saying "You have got to meet this person!" I do, and many times that connection leads to something more. Other times it comes from a turning to the guy or gal on the barstool next to me and saying "Hi. Tell me your story". Or maybe I heard them speak and made it a point to go out of my way to strike up a conversation. I look forward to the next year where I can get to know them better and grow the friendship. And when we meet again, we'll see which category they move into!

    I'll end with a thought: as much as I enjoy the "social" aspect of the Expo, not everyone wants, needs or maybe even understands what it is that I and just about everyone listed above is talking about. At the Expo, I know for a fact that many people attended the sessions, walked the Expo floor, found a place to have dinner, and then retired to their rooms to watch TV or work the night away. All while us social butterflies partied the night away. And that's OK. People have different wants and needs. We should all be wary of assuming that what we think is required to make the show successful is really what is required to make the show successful for everyone else. I'll have more to say on this in the coming weeks/months.

    And in case I don't see you before: see you in Vegas!

    Wednesday, September 26, 2007

    Hang with me at the PNME 2007

    As the Lovely Wife is upstairs packing for the event, and I sit here trying to finish my presentation, it occurs to me that I need to post the "official" agenda of where and when I'll be at the Portable and New Media Expo, happening the for three fun-filled days in Ontario California. Here's the plan:








    Thursday
    8:00 PM - We arrive at the Expo
    9:00 PM - Raw Voice party- Marriott, Suite TBD

    Friday
    7:30 AM - Association for Downloadable Media meeting - Convention Center, Ballroom A
    9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
    10:00 AM - Selling the Unique Value of Your Content - Convention Center, Ballroom C
    2:00 PM - Interview with Lulu TV - Location TBD
    3:15 PM - Understanding Your Content Liability Risks in New Media - Convention Center, Ballroom B
    6:30 PM - Dr Floyd Live - Marriott, Meeting Room #36
    8:00 PM - Culture Catch Salon - Convention Center, Hall B
    8:30 PM - Technorama Live - Marriott, Meeting Room #36
    9:00 PM - Podcast Pickle Party - Marriott, Room TBD

    Saturday
    7:30 AM - Homefries Breakfast - The Spires
    9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
    10:30 AM - Selling Advertising and Sponsorships for Your Audio or Video Content - Convention Center, Ballroom C
    12:30 PM - Presenting From Commentors to Contributors: Building Rabid Fans - Convention Center, Expo Floor, Podango Stage
    2:00 PM - Presenting Veterans of the Yahoo! Podcasting Board - Convention Center, Ballroom B
    3:15 PM - How to Generate Buzz and Extend Your Brand with Social Media, Convention Center, Ballroom A
    4:30 PM - Meeting with Wizzard- private
    6:30 PM - 1st Annual New Media Expo Concert - Convention Center, Hall B
    8:00 PM - Wizzard Media party - Doubletree, Room TBD

    Sunday
    9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
    11:45 AM - Creative Ways to Grow Your Audience Every Week - Convention Center, Ballroom A
    12:30 PM - Presenting Writer’s Panel - Convention Center, Expo Floor, L.A. Podcasters Booth 607
    3:00 PM - Head to the airport

    Of course, this is a planned schedule. Plans are subject to change, shiny objects, beer and too much beer. Any free time after noon will probably result in me holding court at the bar at the Marriott. Come hang, and I'll see you there!

    Customers, Service Providers, or People?





    Five O'Clock Shadow 74

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    The client/service provider relationship is a time-honored tradition. From this we have added many terms to our cultural lexicon, the greatest likely being "the customer is always right".

    I wonder.

    No, strike that. I think it's wrong.

    As a customer, I don't want any special treatment. If I yell and scream at you, I expect you to fix whatever is broken.

    But if I yell and scream at you and it turns out I'm wrong, I expect you to yell and scream back. I mean... come on. That's how we'd do it in the real world, right?

    What is it with this artificial "Customer" mantle we've created? Why do we think it makes other people immune to responding back to us as real people? I don't want to do it this way anymore. Lords know it gets worse in an anonymous intrawebs environment, but it happens in the real world, too.

    So that's it. I'm officially turning in my Customer hat. I'm just a person. I'm also turning in my Service Provider hat1. I'm just a person. I sometimes shout. I sometimes curse. I sometimes overreact. So do you. So do we all. Let the chips fall where they may.

    And I really don't care if money is involved or not. I'm still dealing with someone, and I hope they don't respond like a robot to anything I do or say just to improve the odds that I might continue spending money with them. I'd rather spend my time cultivating relationships with people who expect to be treated like people than some illusionary Customer which means jack-shit at the end of the day.

    1 - And for the record, I spent way too many years in the service industry. I think I still am in the service industry. But I'm pretty sure that everyone in this industry and everyone who this industry services are still people.

    Monday, September 24, 2007

    The Two Faces of Evo





    Five O'Clock Shadow 72

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I have a confession to make. I've been secretly moonlighting on all of you. And while I cannot apologize for my actions, I can fess up and offer full disclosure. Hey, I did it for you.

    Well... some of you. OK, a few of you. And it is to those few -- those who are interested in online advertising and marketing -- who I am now speaking. If that's not you, then I have good news: you probably won't have to read much more of me talking about those things here.

    It is with mixture of excitement and trepidation that I announce the unveiling of a blog I've kicked off for Blue Ribbon Digital, the company for which I am gainfully employed. We're a digital advertising agency, and my posts (as well as posts from others in the agency) will be about the specialties of BRD, changes in the online advertising space and how large companies can spend piles and piles of cash to make piles and piles of cash.

    No, it's probably not what most of you are interested in hearing from me, Evo. So fine. Stay here and enjoy as I talk about lots of other things. But for the small number of you who care about those things or are at least moderately interested in what my alter-ego Travis has to say, please check it out. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

    Maybe tomorrow I'll talk about how stinking cool Jangl is, and how damned hard it is to type that without an 'e' at the end.

    Sunday, September 23, 2007

    Sigler v. Hendrix smackdown audio posted

    OK, so "smackdown" may be taking things a bit to far. For background on what this all about, look I talked about if on this website as well as on the Podiobooks.com blog. BoingBoing tipped me off about the event first. The discussion was last week, and those following me on Twitter got a play by play.

    Rick K, editor for The Agony Column brought his mics, mixer and general love of recording and editing interview. That saves you having to suffer through me getting to it. The audio is now live, with lots of links to the charity that brought these two together.

    The image is courtesy of Stephen Jacob who has a whole set of photos from the event.

    The Electric Church by Jeff Somers





    Five O'Clock Shadow 71

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I got up early this morning to knock out the final couple of chapters in Jeff Somer's debut novel1, The Electric Church. Sucks that I have to buy books now, but such is life.

    I picked up The Electric Church on a whim. Was in B&N, didn't know what I wanted, saw this on an end-cap and thought it looked interesting. What an understatement. Near future dystopian tale where a hired gun tries to take down a wacky religion and the establishment? Color me there!

    This is a really well told tale. Full of nearly non-stop action, I wanted to read it all in one sitting. And while this is a stand-alone novel, it's set up to be an ongoing series. I'll definitely be getting the next one as well.

    Evo rating: 4.5 damn dirty apes!

    1 - I think it's his first one to be published. He's written more, but I don't think those have been published. Maybe they should be. Or maybe they should get out into the world by some alternate means?

    Saturday, September 22, 2007

    Turning the bullhorn around





    Five O'Clock Shadow 70

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I get the occasional message, post, or tweet something to the effect of "why don't you post more frequently?" It's a valid question, and one that has a very good answer.

    Though I really enjoy exploring the implications of changes in the web, social structure and just about anything else that strikes my fancy, sometimes I need to engage in another activity:

    Listening

    Contrary to popular belief, I do not know it all. In a similar vein, I cannot instantly process it all. Listening leads to consideration. Consideration leads to exploration. Exploration leads to understanding. Understanding leads to knowledge. And somewhere in there, the Force is supposed to be mentioned, but you get where I'm going.

    Lately, I've been doing a lot of listening. Who do you listen to? Other than me, of course.

    Tuesday, September 18, 2007

    Much on my mind





    Five O'Clock Shadow 69

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Holy mother of pearl, but the last two days have been busy!

    I spent the better part of this day cogitating on the following:


    • creating another silo in the company I work for
    • pondering the question of enhancing the experience of blogs, social media and other Web 2.0 sites
    • how this site is impacted when I start blogging for the company I work for
    • the implications of Creative Commons licensing when multiple expressions are planned -- or not planned
    • how the heck so many great people got involved with the technical side of Podiobooks.com
    • hoping that all the bases are covered on the next book
    • putting ideas to presentation form for my second talk at the PNME
    • how much work I'm going to have since I'm taking the next two days off to watch Scott Sigler beat up on old media


    Yeah, that's a lot to take in for one day. Hence, the photo fits.

    Monday, September 17, 2007

    Five O'Clocks Shadow 68





    Five O'Clocks Shadow 68

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I'm feeling rather frazzled today. Super long weekend (as those following me on Twitter know) and a slammed Monday like I haven't seen in a while. So this is going to be a short one as I'm going to yoga to chill out.

    I think I just fired a client earlier today. That's OK. This client was kind of a pain in the ass and the business didn't really have much of a chance to grow. Still, it's always a tough decision to make. Life would be so much easier if the clients just went along with us, you know?

    I'm buried with email and RSS feeds. Maybe I'll knock them out post-yoga. Or maybe I'll turn in early.

    Sunday, September 16, 2007

    Of high school hockey and Twitter experiments

    It's no surprise to many of you (especially those following me on Twitter) that I'm a fan of hockey. Strange for a guy in the desert, I know. But my son plays the sport and has for many years. He's currently on three different teams and for the next 8 months or so, our schedule revolves around his schedule. Welcome to kids.

    This weekend, I decided to play around with the idea of using Twitter as an update tool. For the last couple of years, I had been the announcer for his team, calling out goals, penalties and scores live at the game. It was a lot of fun for me, informative for the parents (the refs aren't big on sharing information with the fans) and the kids seemed to enjoy it, too. But now we're in the big-town, and I don't have free reign on the microphone. And I miss it.

    So I thought... how about Twitter? Well, you can take a look at my previous Tweets from this weekend. They are long. Really, really long. And that's just calling out (mostly) goals, penalties and the score at the end of each period. It was a pain in the ass on my Treo, but much better on the lappy. Trouble is, not all rinks have wifi.

    I enjoyed doing it and have decided to keep doing it. But I realize that the vast majority of the 500+ followers of my feed could probably care less about my kid's high school hockey program. Fair enough. And I also realize that the majority of the parents and fans of the team probably care even less about the other things I have on my personal feed when I'm not tweeting about hockey. Again, fair enough.

    So I've created a new Twitter account just for Hamilton Huskies High School Hockey updates. Find it at http://twitter.com/HuskiesHockey and follow it if you like. I have to figure out how to get my Treo to update that as well, as my phone is currently slaved to my personal Twitter account. Unsure how to do that. Better call Ev and ask.

    Thanks for hanging out as I played around with this idea. Sorry for all the tweets, but such is the nature of experimentation, right? I'll only post occasional hockey stuff now on my personal Twitter account. For as-it-happens info on Huskies Hockey, stay tuned to the new feed!

    Saturday, September 15, 2007

    Dresden Files needs to go





    Five O'Clock Shadow 67

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I consider myself a fan of science fiction. That status is open to interpretation, as some people equate "fan" with the original meaning of an abbreviated version of "fanatic", which I am certainly not. And I recognize others are. But languages -- especially the English language -- are fluid, and the accepted meaning of "fan" is now "someone who likes". And I like. But I don't 'dress up', I don't own a light sabre, and I don't blindly follow the industry, authors, producers, actors or directors and fall in love with their next project just because it's scifi and I'm "supposed to". And that sometimes puts me at odds with the crowd who assume that all fans are -- or at least should be -- fanatics.

    I noticed a post from Debbie yesterday that a campaign is underway to save The Dresden Files, currently the recent SF show to be placed on the chopping block from The SciFi Channel. (I posed a comment on her LJ blog, then realized that the social aspect of the campaign gave me an excuse to talk about it here as well.) This may be the more creative of the "Save [insert show name here]" campaigns; supporters are encouraged to send a drumstick (as in, used by drummers, not a part of tasty poultry) to the president of Skiffy (a less-than-affectionate term for The SciFi Channel for those that need the reference) with the protest message "SAVE DRESDEN" marked on the instrument.

    Interesting and novel as the campaign may be, drumsticks won't help save a show that sucks. Yes, I know that there are die-hard fans of SF who want every SF show ever made continually produced through the end of time. And yes, there are the die-hard fans of Jim Butcher (I, too, enjoy his writing style) who think this particular adaptation of his books is high art.

    Unfortunately, a good number of people who like SF and enjoy Butcher's books think this show blows as hard as Enterprise did -- and we're not watching. When networks notice (don't get off on the measurement tangent, please) a show isn't bringing in the audience, it needs to go. That's not the fault of the original content that inspired the show. And it's not the fault of SF as a whole. In fact, it doesn't matter wherein the blame lies.

    A turd is a turd, and sometimes the collective wisdom of the masses is appropriate. This incarnation of Dresden needs to go away, and they (whoever the hell 'they' are) need to try again. Note that this is not a blanket statement saying that television studio executives always make the right decision. Some times they make decisions that piss me off, too. See Firefly, Police Squad, Dinosaurs and Farscape for reference materials.

    If you are fan, bust your ass to save the show. That is your prerogative, and I'll not stand in your way. Make your Facebook groups. Launch an email campaign. Storm the castle both figuratively and literally. Use every tool in the chest -- web based and real-world -- and make your feelings known. But I reserve the right to stand on the sidelines, commenting on how this is yet another example of hope's desire to triumph over experience.

    Wednesday, September 12, 2007

    Recap of the Conversational Marketing Summit





    Five O'Clock Shadow 66

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    I've just sat through two days of meetings, presentations, case studies and drinks with some of the smartest minds in advertising, marketing and new media. The venue was the Conversation Marketing Summit hosted by Federated Media.

    All things considered, it was a good event and I hope they have it again next year. I think my time was well spent there -- as both new media advocate and traditional online advertising agency guy. Yes, I did learn a few things. But I think what I got most out of the event was validation. No, not of me. Validation of where I've been watching this industry go.

    If you follow me on Twitter, you received a lot of information as it happened, as I was using Twitter as my note taking and retention device. It makes a good repository, for sure. But there were times when the internet connection was being taxed by all the other people trying to access the webbernets, so you missed somethings. Like:


    • 70% of all of thew views of Ask a Ninja come from their "back catalog". What does that mean? There is value in archived content. Those interested in monetizing content would be well served to have a solution for this. I don't think it's hard-embedded ads.

    • Embedding video from sources like YouTube and Lulu TV is cool, but what gets cooler is when someone develops technology that lets us embed the video from 1:12 to 1:56 of a five-minute video. That's coming.

    • The Jawbone headset is really freaking cool and I so want one. Johnny Vulkan! (Coolest name, EVAR!) I need a hookup!


    But the biggest takeaway, for me, was this: we're early. It is very true that conversations are happening, have been happening and will continue to happen about brands, products and services around the net. It's true also that smart companies will find ways to leverage those conversations -- and that can mean many things -- to their advantage. But that is hard, and it doesn't scale for shit. Trust me. I heard that message over and over again. And it needs to. I'm thinking a lot about scale as of late.

    Is conversational marketing the next gold rush? I honestly cannot say. Yes, some companies and firms will find ways to make money. And just like the gold rush of the mid-1800s, most of those companies and firms will make the picks and the shovels used in the mining process. But unlike the gold rush of old, we're talking about a currency of reputation and the ever-changing nature of "consumer conversations"... and people generally hate being talked to as "consumers".

    Sorry that I don't have an easy answer for your or a solid point of view on how you should point yourself, your agency or your media property. I'm just not sure we have the right questions yet.

    Photo credits: Me, in the SFO airport around 6:00 tonight.

    Friday, September 7, 2007

    PodCamp AZ is November 3, 2007



    I have to go speak at CopperCon tonight, so I doubt I'll make a 5OS tonight. Busy weekend (assuming I'm feeling better), so I leave you with the above graphic and hope that you'll make plans to attend PodCamp AZ on November 3rd. Gonna be fun!

    Thursday, September 6, 2007

    Throwing in the towel





    Five O'Clock Shadow 65

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Enough of this roller-coaster. Time to be greatful that I live in a world where heroic medicine can exist with traditional medicine. I've been sick for seven days now, rolling from one version to another. Whatever this is, or whatever opportunistic little bugs keep on jumping on the make-me-feel-like-shit bandwagon, it's time to change course. Antibiotics, here I come.

    So let's put this metaphor to good use. All of us have ways that we prefer to do things. We have a certain world view, and have some times strong predilections to one behavior over the other choices in front of us. Forget the conversations about "the one right way" for a minute. I think we can all agree that there are many paths we can take to get to a goal. (Note by "we" I am referring to regular readers of this site. Not the intolerant masses at large.)

    Having convictions is a good thing. But living in a world where we have more than a single choice in how to behave is a good thing, too. And when your chosen path isn't getting you towards your goal, it's almost always better to stop doing More of What Doesn't Work and find a different way.

    This may seem to fly in the face of the stay-the-course crowd and those dogmatic adherents of perseverance, but understand that I am not advocating you turn into a quitter when the going gets tough. But I am suggesting that there is a fine line between sticking it out, and packing it in when it's obviously not working.

    I'm there. And I'm stubborn. How about you? Do you know when enough is enough? And do you hate the decision, even though you know you have to do something different?

    Wednesday, September 5, 2007

    Am I missing something about the new iPods?





    Five O'Clock Shadow 64

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    For today's 5OS (and yes, I'm feeling much better), I thought I'd follow suite and talk about the latest iPod released by Apple. But I'll take a slightly different approach than you might have seen.

    It's obvious to me that Apple is aiming for two very different segments of the population, and I seem to fit neither. On one hand, you have the over-the-top, more-storage-than-you'll-ever-need version of the new "classic" iPod, with a conventional click wheel. On the other, the uber-cool iPhone-wihout-a-phone touch iPods with an amazingly small amount of storage.

    Neither of these fit my needs. My 60 BG iPod has loads of podcasts, music and movies, and it's about half full. So more storage I don't need. But I do need a lot more storage than the new touch screen, and that interface is just hella cool.

    So I have to figure -- since I'm not all that strange (no comments) -- that I'm missing something. Apple must have some trick up their sleeve that will make me care a whole lot less about the storage capabilities of a portable media player than I do right now. But they must know that some folks won't take them up on whatever that offer looks like, so they've put out the "classic" to satisfy those needs.

    The only thing that comes to mind is some sort of super-streaming method being developed, allowing you to store your media somewhere other than your portable device. I'm not deep into the tech enough to know or care how that'll happen, but it's the only thing I can come up with. If they have figured out -- or are close to figuring out -- a way to get extremely fast downloads to the device from anywhere... maybe I don't need to carry it all around with me after all?

    Tuesday, September 4, 2007

    Holiday sickness sucks





    Five O'Clock Shadow 63

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Well my Labor Day long weekend sucked major donkey dick. Yours?

    Well, it didn't all blow. The flu that took me out on Friday certainly blew. The only highlight being when Mur Lafferty called me from the Pimps and Hos party at Dragon*Con and got the whole room to shout in my effigy or honor, take your pick. You rock, Mur.

    It seems that about half of my friends were at Dragon*Con this year, and I had to miss it. But as shitty as I was (is) feeling, I was in no shape to attend. Woulda been miserable to be around, too.

    Saturday did not suck, as the flu seemed to have passed me (I'm usually a 24-hr flu guy) and I was able to make a Luau over at Gilbert's house. Gil and I played together in a skapunk band called Spaz Kitty about five years ago. The band is still together, and they asked me, the original bass player (can't call myself a bassist, sorry) to sit in for a redux of Tantric Kitty, a song that I wrote the main riff for. A blast. Even better: NJ, who was about 10 when I split with the band, got to sit in on drums. I cannot even begin to describe how fucking cool it was to play one of my songs with my old band where my son was rockin' the set. Pics soon to be posted on Flickr.

    Sunday was back to me being miserable. Flu was gone, but now a nasty cold. It subsided enough on Monday for me to get many chapter edits on Expert Podcasting for Dummies kicked out, but I didn't do much else. And today, I still feel like all that tissue I've been using is shoved into my sinus cavities. And lungs.

    So... how was your weekend?

    Saturday, September 1, 2007

    You never know when inspiration may strike

    I hope you are all aware of Beatnik Turtle. Every day this year, this horn-powered rock band releases a brand new song with their Song of the Day project. When you try to crank out a new tune each and every day, you take your inspiration from a variety of sources. Some folks, like my friends Charlie the Beer Guy & Mur Lafferty, ask for songs to be written, and they group is happy to comply. Check out Speaking of Beer and Mason Rocket.

    Sometimes the inspiration comes from sad moments, as happened when Joe Murphy passed. I can't find the tune 'For Joe' on their site right now, but I'll see if I can't find it later and post a link.

    Anyhow... Sometimes that inspiration comes from the strangest and most mundane places. Like a totally throw-away post I made on Twitter some weeks (months?) ago. The song is Just Getting Off The Call With Rob Safuto. I gotta start posting some high-value stuff if people are going to use it as inspiration.

    Thursday, August 30, 2007

    I Have No Time for That





    Five O'Clocks Shadow 62

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Today's five o'clock shadow is... A CULT CAST! Yep, it's been a long LONG time since I put one out. But now the office is ready, I had some free time and thought... why not?

    If you're new to the CultCast experience, it's not what you are used to reading on the site. I'm a lot less nice. But hey, aren't all cult leaders? And no, I'm not looking for your money or asking you to follow. My cult is a cult of the willing. I need no sheep, thank you very much. Click the link on the right column of this page to get the prior episodes if you like.

    Today's lesson deals with the choices we make and the impact those choices make to our availability. Chances are, you need to listen. If you have time.

    Here's to the crazy ones

    My new favorite quote, attributed to Johnny Appleseed:

    Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things.


    Right on. That's me.

    And by the way: the Johnny Appleseed story you were told as a kid is a whitewashed version. Check out Michael Polan's book The Botany of Desire for the real deal. Fantastic book.

    Wednesday, August 29, 2007

    I'm on .TV!



    Now before you ask, no... this is not the project I've decided to stick with that will get me back in your ears on a regular basis. As I said in yesterday's post, I'm intrigued by video and am seriously considering working with the medium for my next project.

    This ain't it.

    But I do hope to learn a few things from uStream. I can handle the microphone and know how to run a show and run it well. But I don't have much (read: any) skills for talking to you from behind a camera. Plus I'm flying solo, which isn't the best way to see me as spontaneous if the past is any judge.

    So drop by from time to time and see what I've got cooking. You maybe entertained. You may be bored. That's OK. This is just my video playground. Well... one of them.

    Tuesday, August 28, 2007

    links for 2007-08-29

    The magic of online video





    Five O'Clock Shadow 61

    Originally uploaded by evo_terra


    Today I discovered the magic of online video. OK, truth be told, I discovered online video a long time ago, but it was over the weekend when CJ showed me how to get Stickam working. As for the magic, that was definitely today.

    I work remotely from my home. About a third of the company I work for (more on that in the future) are like me -- slugging away at the job from the comfort of our own home. Yes, that can be as cool as it sounds, but it can also be very isolating. We've been bridging physical divide with Skype for some time now, but it's still not the same. Phone calls aren't the same. But with two of us both using uStream, it is a very close approximation to having a co-worker just around the corner or across the cube-wall.

    Mandy and I used it all day today and worked out some protocols. Like shutting off your microphone when the phone rings. And keeping Skype open to bip each other when the feed drops or the audio goes wonky. Nothing hard to do.

    Our next step is to bring in a third member of our team and to embed all of our streams into an HTML page. Very Brady Bunch of us, I know. But I have high hopes for it.

    How are you taking social media tools and adapting them to how you work and live?

    Thursday, August 23, 2007

    Dust Storm in the Desert

    My very first video uploaded. I feel like part of the cool club. I took this a week ago with my Treo 755P, so don't expect amazing quality. But it does showcase the really powerful dust storms we get here in Phoenix when the monsoons kick in.It wa

    This video was originally shared on blip.tv by tmanscipan with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license.