Thursday, August 30, 2007
I Have No Time for That
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:
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.
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
85% of all video we watch is pre-recorded. Then why the hell do we let networks dictate when we watch it?
Keep an eye on what is being said about you. Cool stuff even I didn't know about.
Everyone is getting in the social media game. You know that when porn grabs it, there's money to be made.
Considering rushing to social media to advertise your wares? Success can be had, but think about it, first. Remember the term 'post-scarcity' and deal.
What about new media, like we're doing at Podiobooks.com? Could we use the power of social media to make a product (hate to call them that, but it is what it is) for our customers?
The magic of online video
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.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
13 Bullets: A Vampire Tale
I recently completed the print version of David Wellington's 13 Bullets. Thanks to David for sending me a copy of the book, and for keeping it as a free online serialized text story. For today's Five O'Clock Shadow (up to #60), how about a quick review?
David has figured out the secret of writing damn good fiction: forget the boring-ass exposition that usually makes up the first part of the book, establishing characters, motivations and the world setting. Instead, start with an action scene that makes the reader wish he hadn't worn white undies -- then don't let up.
I'm serious. This book starts with action, throws on a little more action, gets all set for a nice and much needed breather, then throws that plan out the window and rips your nuts off with more action. And then for the finale... more action!
Well written, David. Very nice character growth. Exceptional pacing. You had so many chances to take this book down the easy-to-follow path, but each time you didn't and gave us something unexpected. I read this book in about four evenings, an hour or two at a time. Had I started it on a Sunday morning, it would have spelled the end of my productivity for the day. So watch it.
But get it. Very worth it. Think of your personal favorite X-Files episode. Make Scully a fresh recruit and a lesbian, and replace Fox with the CSM -- but with more attitude and fire power. Now make them fight the baddest and ugliest vampires you can think of -- none of this romantic blood-sucker bullshit. Mix well. And don't forget to breathe.
Well done, David. You serve as a fine example to others that giving content away for free can -- and does -- turn into good things.
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