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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

NECN Anywhere including Macintosh

In today's Boston Globe, Keith Reed looks at web and podcast video offerings from local TV stations including NECN, Local TV news when you want it:
"(NECN) is unveiling on Monday NECN Anywhere, an initiative to reach viewers with video-on-demand, podcast, and eventually cellphone versions of some of its news and talk shows. NECN is also upgrading its website so that users of Apple computers can access the video available there."
Congratulations on supporting the Macintosh.

For local stories that aren't covered by mainstream media, check out New England Stories.

Everything changes for Brookers


Last week when I was interviewed for that newspaper article, the reporter and I took a tour of YouTube and watched some of Brookers videos.

He interviewed her for the article too.

Today she has a new video on YouTube, - Everything changes:
"Well, it finally arrived, my contract. I have been in contact now with Carson Daly productions mtv2 for about a month on and off and i finally have a contract here from them in my posession and i am more than 90% sure that this is it i am going to go with this."
If Brookers really has a contract with MTV2, I'm happy for her.

If it's for producing videos for MTV2, it's too bad since MTV2 seems to only support Windows.

Multitasking Media Mashupers

Powazek: Just a Thought: Generation M:
"We got used to 500 channels of nothing on, and upped the ante to billions of constantly-updating websites. There's more information floating around than we could possibly ever consume, so we surf, we skim, we take in the best and let the rest float by. And we're really good at it."

Steve and Jonny Warhol


Steve and Jonny Warhol by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Created with St Warhol!.
via [ Abby ]

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

419 is only $174.30


One thousand paintings ( 1000 numbers = 1000 paintings ).
Carol says wait until she gets home to discuss buying one of these paintings.
via [ BoingBoing ]

Video: Vlog Soup 14


Free video tour of the vlogosphere: Vlog Soup 14:
"This time on Vlog Soup, FISH JOKES, Ill Wil takes a vacation in Second Life, Jack Selby, Steve Sutt, Cooking with Kids, A Collection of Rare Music Videos featuring Depeche Mode and zefrank's Summer Jamz."

John Furrier interviews Steve Forbes

PodPolitics.net - Interview with Steve Forbes, CEO & Editor in Chief, Forbes Inc.:
PodPolitic’s John Furrier sits down with Steve Forbes in his office to talk about flat tax, politics, world economics, blogs, podcasts, and social media.
Steve Forbes' Flat Tax talk seems to make sense.

I still like the idea of a Flat Tax.

Sidewalk Neutrality

David Weinberger, in his post, Sidewalk Neutrality, writes:
Bob Frankston has an extended and brilliant piece that wonders what strolling on a sidewalk would be like if it were managed with the same logic the telcos use to justify Net discrimination.

Free and Valid Passport Photos


Create passport photos online at ePassportPhoto.

I just tried it. Very easy. It gives you a nice template to help in sizing and positioning your photo.

It's a lot cheaper than going into a photo store.
via [ Mashable ]

Save YouTube videos

Save YouTube videos with KeepVid, then make the .flv file iPod ready with iSquint.

Free DVD to iPod converter

HandBrake Lite rips a DVD for an iPod in two clicks.

Free iPod video maker

iSquint: iPod video made easy.
Doesn't require QuickTime Pro.

The Irony of Haditha

Tim Ireland writes, Why are these men being victimised?:
"I'm sorry, but I fail to see the difference between the incident in Haditha and the retaliatory measures against Iraq following September 11."

Bridget Loves Scoble

Bridget's got a brand new blog at O'Berry Cavanaugh's Blog (OC) after meeting Robert Scoble.

She talks about American Idol.

Nice start.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Impossible to Repress or Control


Amnesty International - irrepressible.info:
"Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Websites blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information.

The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Governments %u2013 with the help of some of the biggest IT companies in the world %u2013 are cracking down on freedom of expression.

Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress."

Sunday, May 28, 2006

The End of Mass Media

CBC Newsworld - The End of Radio, TV and Print:
"The CBC's pop culture specialist Jian Ghomeshi ponders the fate of mass media and asks whether we are nearing a world without television, radio or print in THE END, a three-part series airing on CBC Newsworld."
We're not.
via [ Amber Mac ]

The Hanso Foundation is Real

YouTube - Hugh McIntyre Interview:
"The interview between Jimmy Kimmel and Hugh McIntyre, Communictions Director The Hanso Foundation, on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'."
Lost is unreal. ;-)

Filene's is Gone


Filene's is Gone by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Over at the Chestnut Hill Mall today I saw a stark reminder that Filene's is gone from our retail landscape.

Bloomingdales has fenced off the area and has started demolishing walls. They are going to be combining the two Chestnut Hill locations into the former Filene's space.

Comcast DVR Sucks!

Here's a few reasons from a random web page on why the Comcast DVR Sucks!.

Here are mine:

1. To spell out any show name you have to scroll through the whole alphabet. TiVo does it better.

2. When you pause a program, go do something else, then come back, the show is put back to the beginning. TiVo remembers where you paused the show.

3. You have to guess where the show starts after the commercials, when Fast Forwarding. TiVo does it better with their show preview buffer.

4. HD shows sometimes don't get recorded in full screen. TiVo doesn't record HD.

5. Playback is problematic. Sometimes you get jerky playback and pixelation. TiVo is better.

6. Remote is unresponsive. Sometimes the remote does not function. The TiVo remote is better. Way better.

I'm looking forward to the day that Comcast implements TiVo software on their DVRs.

Hipcast: XML-RPC URL

When adding certain blogs to your Hipcast (audioblog.com) blog list, on some you need to know the XML-RPC URL.

Here are the XML-RPC URLs for Wordpress:

Wordpress.org
http://yourblogname.com/xmlrpc.php

Wordpress.com
http://yourblogname.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php

SoapBlox powers Blue Mass. Group

SoapBlox :: Building Online Communities.

Lost Information

Final Episode: Live Together, Die Alone.

What the Top 10 blogs are saying about hte LOST season finale.

The Tranmission:
For the first time, we see the “outside world.” It’s still there. And people are looking for this island. What this means for Season Three boggles the mind.
The button was real, the hatch was important, but both seem to have both come and gone this season. If the electromagnetic properties were what kept the island off the grid, though, and if the “fail safe” blew it all to smithereens, is the island visible again? And will weird things stop happening?

Have Money Will Vlog

Have Money Will Vlog is a new project to help fund vloggers. On the main page it gives a status of 51 - 75% funds pledged for Chis Weagal's American King project.

I asked Jay Dedman what that means.

Jay answers:
This is from fundable.org.

This means that between 51-75% of the $1,000 Chris needs has been pledged.

If he doesn't reach this goal in 28 days....he gets none of the money.

This is to make sure the community as a whole supports it.
It's a clever way to make sure you only fund a winner.

Right now, we've gotten $740 pledged.

We're almost there.
http://havemoneywillvlog.com

This will pay for a month so Chris can edit a new series.
American King is a new documentary videoblog series from Human Dog Productions. It follows Garrett Lambert (video, video) convicted of embezzlement at 19, through the end of his probation, and out of reality. I found that Garrett's apathetic attitude to life epitomized my generation's approach to life. I also found him very funny. American King will be a video blog series with 1-2 videos posted per week, each running between 2-10 minutes. The goal is to end up with between 30-40 videos total. Your donation will allow me to devote a month to editing the first section of American King and get a head start on posting them.
Chris' video proposal.
NOTE:
The Have Money Will Vlog site has you sign on to PayPal, if you are funding the project with PayPal, then when you get over to the fundable.org site there is another PayPal button. If you click it and enter your PayPal info again, you've just made a second donation.

Go over to the fundable page to make a donation directly with them.

Blogger templates and hacks

Blogger templates.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

links for 2006-05-27

Is the Medium the Message?

Arianna Huffington writes The The Medium Isn't the Message -- The Message Is the Message:
"The medium isn't the message; the message is the message. With the right medium providing the needed amplification."
I'm studying up for my panel at the Media Giraffe Summit that's happening out at UMass, June 29-July 1.

Technology: Merging Forms: Is the Medium Still the Message?
.

CONVENERS:
Steve Garfield, Rocketboom.com; Paul Grabowicz, University of California Berkeley; Robb Montgomery, VisualEditors.com.

Blogging. Reporters who pack a camera, MP3 recorder and a notepad. 24/7 deadlines. Is journalism using technology or the other way around? As the information fire hose reaches full pressure, is wisdom increasing too?

Bloggers are Journalists

Bloggers are Journalists:
"... online reporters and bloggers are entitled to the same protections as traditional journalists."

Friday, May 26, 2006

Zebro Show in Wired

These guys:
http://zebroshow.com/

made this:
http://www.viralvidz.net/

and got written up in Wired:
Viral Video Parody Viral Video

The Rocketboom of SciFi


Check out Casey and Rudy's GALACTICAST video blog, featuring SciFi news.

This episode includes news on Star Wars, Star Trek, Cillian Murphy and more.

Tell them Steve sent you. ;-)

Project Documentary

I'm going to be interviewed for project Documentary, a documentary on Citizen Journalism produced by a class at CCTV.

Two New Vloggers

Meet two new vloggers the CCTV Video Blogging Class ravi and I just finished teaching yesterday.

Zermeno Art News

Angel's 'Musical Point of View"

Welcome to the vlogosphere!

Massachusetts Drivers Watch This


Clark's Drivers Ed:
"A tip for driver's regarding setting the side view mirrors... Most people set them so the driver can see cars in the rear, but if you move them outwards, so you only see cars as they exit the rear view mirror, you can actually get rid of that blind spot and see with '365 degrees of awareness' Try it!"
I hope that most of you already know how to set your side view mirrors to remove your blind spot.

If you don't, you must watch this video.

Blip.tv does Windows

Blip.tv integrates with Windows Movie Maker:
"We've released our very unofficial Windows Movie Maker support. There's an installer on the tools page. Download it, Install it, and use the Send to the Web feature of Windows Movie Maker to send your video to directly blip.tv or monique.blip.tv. How cool is that?"
That is cool. Now all we need is something like that for iMovie HD.

Your Google Video Ad

Google's video-exchange ambitions and the future of ads online - MarketWatch:
"As early as Friday, Google Inc. will be letting anyone -- from Coke, General Motors, to your local plumber, physician, and you -- create an advertisement no longer than two-minutes and upload it onto the search engine's site. You must become a Google AdWords client (takes minutes to sign up) before you can submit a video ad by uploading it onto Google. As an advertiser, you can then bid to be placed across online publications -- like niche blogs -- that might find your video relevant."

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Borat: The Movie


FOXNews.com - New 'Ali G' Film: More 'X' Than 'X-Men'?:
"Last night at Cannes, FOX — our little old 20th Century FOX — presented a stealth screening of the funniest, lewdest, coarsest and potentially most gigantic hit of the year.

The title is “Borat,” and if this 88-minute comedy manages to get an R-rating, the world as we know it may never be the same."
via [ Best Week Ever ]
links for 2006-05-24

Dick Hardt presents Identity 2.0


OSCON 2005 Keynote - Identity 2.0:
"Watch Dick deliver a compelling and dynamic introduction on Identity 2.0 and how the concept of digital identity is evolving."

Net neutrality - The video

Joho the Blog: Net neutrality - The video

Regina Spektor in Second Life



I just saw that Millions of Us went live in Second Life with an online release of Regina Spektor's new album 'Begin to Hope'.

Here's the Press Release: Sire Records to Launch Virtual World for Regina Spektor in Popular Online World Second Life.

Head on in by following the Slurls for Regina Spektor build for Warner Brothers Records.

And proving that the music business now has a level playing field, Eric Rice is building a listening station for music artist HALOU in Second Life.

It's located on Slackstreet, next to Multiverse Records (or across from the Hipcast Expo Center.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ask a Ninja: What is podcasting?

Why do people watch YouTube?


Jason Feifer from HappyScrappy.com just interviewed me for a story about Internet video celebrity.

We watched a couple of YouTube videos while talking on the phone:

Crazed Numa Fan [Views: 762,714] and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious [Views: 40,845].

I had a great time talking with Jason and enjoyed watching and commenting on these videos.

The article should run next week in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a mid-sized daily covering central Mass. ;-)

Ask a Ninja Explains Net Neutrality

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom.

Note:
I scooped Wired by 16 minutes.

Cremate me, then dump me in the pond

Boat House
The Boomer Chronicles - Grave Concerns:
"I am lucky to live just a few blocks from Forest Hills. I contacted them and discovered that cremation at Forest Hills will set me back a thrifty $280. You can’t beat that!"
via [ Universal Hub ] the best place to find the best of Boston blog posts.

4 Way Chat


4 Way Chat by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Joshua has a friend join into our three way iChat making it a foursome.

Monday, May 22, 2006

links for 2006-05-22

US Airways Lost Me


US Airways Web Site forgot who I am.

US Airways just merged their online systems with America West yesterday.

Unfortunaltely for me, I tried to log on to usairways.com today.

It seems that after merging the databases, some username/password issues have arisen.

So for me, I can't log in anymore. And when I follow the on screen directions, the system tells me that my username doesn't exist anymore. When I try to create a new one, the sytem tells me that that username already exists to. When I try to create a new unique username with a lot of letters after it like "rgth6u7i768", the system tells me that that username already exists too.

So I called the online help line and after remaining on musicless hold for a while, I got this answer direct from US Airways:
"We still have little bugs to work out, as soon as the bugs are out of there, you can log in and request a new password if needed. Try logging in again in three days."
Ha Ha Ha. LOL. Three days. This is a huge disaster to US Airways/America West.

Think about how many people are not going to use US Airways because they can't log on to make a reservation for THREE DAYS! This problem has not effected all online accounts. I wonder how many?

I usually like to book direct with an airline, but I guess the easiest way to book this filght is through Travelocity.

I bet a lot of pepole who encounter this problem are going to find it easier to give up on logging in and will book a flight elsewhere.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Steady, As She Goes


Check out The Raconteurs website and the song, 'Steady, As She Goes'.
via [ Marcelo Zorzanelli Ferri ]

Park Bench


Park Bench - a photoset on Flickr.
I went back to take some more pictures of Matt Hincman's park bench installation at Jamaica Pond.

We met Jane. She'd been wondering what it was. I told her that it was a "guerilla art installation." She asks, "UE?"

Yes. UE. Ha ha. As opposed to a gorilla art installation. That would be something that Ryanne, Annaliese and Amy would do.

I learned that is was an art installation from the comments on my previous post. Thanks Sonia!

So I wanted to get some pictures with people inside the bench. Carol and Jane hopped right in! Me too.

It sure is a conversation starter and I hope it stays at Jamaica Pond for a long time.

Girl with a big camera


Girl with a big camera by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Sonia shows me her new Fuji 6x7 camera that looks like a toy.

I took this photo with my Razr phone, but the attachment was too big to send by mail, so I had to figure out how to sync my Bluetooth phone with my MacBook Pro.

On the Razr, you have to go into Settings, then option 8. Connections, 2. Bluetooh, Setup.

Then you click on "Find Me".

After that you have a 60 second race against time to get Bluetooth Setup Assistant on the MacBook to find your phone.

After it finds it, you get a number that you key into your Razr and the phone is then paired with your MacBook.

Now you can use the Bluetooth menu bar 'Browse Device' option to move files from your Razr to your MacBook.



Razr iSync MacBook Bluetooth Tips

Your Photo on Blocks


Photojojo - Photo Blocks: Stunning Gifts from Your Photos in 15 Minutes or Less.

This looks cool.
via [ Lifehacker ]

Friday, May 19, 2006

I saved $30 at Roche Bros


Carol and I walked into Roche Bros supermarket today and it was jam packed with shoppers.

"What was going on?", I wanted to know.


The volume of shoppers in the store made me think that a storm was bearing down on West Roxbury. People were all buying watermelons! Big watermelons!

Then Carol brought over the Roche Bros ad that broke today:
Whole Seedless Watermelons for $3.99 each, Hummus 10 for $10, 10 pack of Hermits for $1.99, Bumble Bee Tuna for .77, a dozen eggs for .88!
Lots of excitement over at Roche Bros. I suggest heading over there before all the watermelons are gone.

New England Stories

There's a new episode up at New England Stories:
"David and Alice Tames take a trip to Plum Island, Massachusetts."
Got a video story from New England that you want to have shown on New England Stories, let me know.

Podcasts are Evil

ShelleyTheRepublican.com: Podcasts Part 2: Science Fiction or Satanic Fiction?:
"In this article and forthcoming episodes I will attempt to explore these podcasts and give you an impression of just how dangerous they are. I'm also going to talk about our new petition; a way that concerned readers and parents can put a stop to the podcast problem forever."

A New Tabblo of Photos


Glenn at Boston WTF takes a look at the new photo sharing and page layout site Tabblo in Tabblo: Poster Child:
"Photo-sharing site/app Tabblo believes several inspiringly reasonable things"
Here's a Tabblo example: Break 2006. Models?

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Find Stuff in Second Life

Second411 - Second Life Search Engine

Second Life Podcast

Secondcast.com
links for 2006-05-17

Embeded Flash Player

SanDisk - SD plusSanDisk USB


Whoa!

Check this:
SanDisk Ultra® II SD™ Plus USB 1GB

It's a SD card AND it has a USB interface for direct connection to a computer.

Very cool.

Remix Government

Metavid:
"Metavid is a project which seeks to capture, stream, archive and facilitate real-time collective [re]mediation of government proceedings."
via [ unmediated ]

What is SLurl?

SLurl: Location-Based Linking in Second Life.

Ahh. Now pass over a nice cold Slurm.

Can not ship wine to Massachusetts


My friend Sean wants to ship me a nice bottle of Le Cigare Volant 2002.

But he can't.

Why not?

Update:
A California winery responds:
Hi Steve,

While your legislature has passed the favorable laws, the regulating agencies in MA have yet to produce the necessary paperwork and forms for us to complete. Also, they have many tax/excise requirements which may eventually make shipping to MA prohibitively costly for us.

Hopefully these issues will be resolved, but we are not sure when that might happen.

Best,

Peter Manetta
Bonny Doon Vineyard
This is maddening!

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

VoteJohnTobin.com -- that's it


From Poli/Tech Conference: V-Blogging, Control or No?:
"V-blog aficionado Steve Garfield shared his experiences working on Boston City Councilor John Tobin's '06 campaign. Garfield convinced the candidate to create short video clips for his site -- stuff featuring him at local events promoting initiatives, at a council meeting, in the public square, that sort of thing. Evidently, Tobin was so taken with the potential for video blogging and his site he had all his bumper stickers and lawn signs changed to read, 'VoteJohnTobin.com' -- that's it. The candidate created a new video for each of the 9 days leading up to the city election."
The Personal Democracy Forum was a fun experience!

Technorati tag:

What's wrong with this picture


I went to a recent New England Podcasting meetup in Framingham at John Harvard's Brewhouse. I love it there. Good beer AND good food. Plus, with podcasters, you get good people too.

This evening, a reporter showed up with a notepad.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"Steve Garfield", I replied.

"Where do you live?" she wanted to know. I told her Boston. "Where exactly?" she pressed.

I replied with a question, "Who are you and where are you from?"

If I'm going to be answering probing questions about the exact whereabouts of my house, I'd like to know who is asking.

When I interview people , I usually introduce myself first. Seems like the polite thing to do.

She told me that she was a reporter from the Boston Globe and writes features for the West Weekly section. Since I wasn't a resident of her coverage area, she wasn't interested in me, and turned to someone else at the table to grill.

This reporter was just doing a job.

She wasn't interested in me as a person. She just saw me as raw meat, an ingredient for her story. By turning her back on me upon finding out that I wasn't in her coverage area, she hurt my feelings.

I think that points up the difference in professional newspaper writers vs. bloggers. She obviously was writing this for a story, had an angle and was doing it because she was being paid to do it.

On the other hand, I was there to meet people and to socialize. I was interested in meeting as many people as I could, and in listening to their stories. I was there for the love of both meeting others and of podcasting. She wasn't.

LET THE PICTURE TAKING BEGIN, OR NOT
A little while later, the reporter started taking pictures.

At a Podcast Meetup Photos are taken
Nothing unusual about that. People are taking pictures all the time, at blogger meetings, podcast meetups and at videoblogging meetings where video is taken too. So that's pretty much the way life is these days. We all take pictures of things and people that interest us and post them up to flickr, where we can then share them and then post them on our blogs.

So as the reporter started to take a picture of the people at table, I brought out my camera to get a picture of her taking a picture of us. Pretty standard operating procedure for a flickr photo loving blogger who is also into documenting the way media is made.

As I raised my camera, she shielded her face and said that she didn't want her picture taken.

She was upset.

She fled the room and hurried into the next room, out of sight.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THIS PICTURE?
At a Podcast Meetup Photos are taken
She wanted to take pictures of us, with no compensation, to put in the newspaper, where the paper will make money, but I can't take a picture of her?

I've encountered this before.

To me, it seems like we are being used and that she felt that she was better than us. Above it all. Wanting to take but not give back. Well it really doesn't work that way anymore.

It's only fair that if the press wants to take our pictures and put us in their newspapers, that we have the right in exchange to take their pictures and put them in our blogs.

NOW SOME OF THE PODCASTERS ARE MAD AT ME
After I upset the reporter, some of the local podcasters were mad at me. Not all, just those that don't 'get it' yet.

They wanted to know why was I antagonizing the one person who was here to help them. A reporter from the great and powerful Boston Globe which was going to promote podcasting and bring the New England Podcasters fame, fortune and new members.

I'm all in favor of good press, but at what cost?

WHICH PLATFORM PRODUCES MORE HITS?
I'm not sure that a newspaper article in a publication that hardly ever includes links to websites will actually be a good form of promotion. The Boston Globe has a long history of not including live URL's in the online version of stories where the main topic is a website.

On a side note, the Four Eyed Monsters video podcast got more hits from a mention in my Vlog Soup video blog then they got from a mention in the New York Times.

Better promotion for the New England Podcasters would be blog posts by members, on their own blogs, linking to each other.

As a matter of fact, at the end of the meeting I asked the New England Podcsaters webmaster to start a blog, which he did:

http://newenglandpodcasting.wordpress.com

I think some podcasters miss out on a good form of promotion by only having an RSS feed or an iTunes subscription without an associated blog.

Blogs also allow podcasters to have a discussion with their listeners in the comments. Lots more podcasters should have blogs...

I'll be interested in seeing how the Boston Globe article on podcasters comes out and wonder how much promotion it'll actually give the group.

This blog post will probably give them more hits.

Click this link to the New England Podcasting new blog and let the counting begin.

NECN Switching to FLASH

In the comments area of this story on Lost Remote, Community telling its story of New England flooding, Steve Safran tells us that they'll be switching to Flash for their videos next month.

Mac users will finally be able to watch videos on the NECN and Boston.com sites.

Yay!

Monday, May 15, 2006

TV News is fake?

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed - Center for Media and Democracy:
Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed A multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clien.
Who knew?

Dina Kaplan Interviews me in a minute


Watch the Video

One Minute News (Personal Democracy Forum: Steve Garfield!).

Dina writes:
"I finally met the famous Steve Garfield at a Speaker's reception for the Personal Democracy Forum. Steve actually did my favorite videoblog of all time: his mother's 'I can't open that' about all the difficult things to open - shampoo, aspirin, etc. So funny I laughed out loud. Anyway, if you're in NY catch up tomorrow at the PDF that should be pretty interesting...."
Technorati tag:

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Spindle Party


Spindle Party by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Personal Democracy Forum speaker party at Tai Ping Carpets in Union Square, NYC.

This is a very cool place for a party. When the waiter came by and offered me salmon on a "couch", I grabbed one. I thought that was the funniest name I'd ever heard.

I misheard him.

Technorati tag:

NYC


NYC by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

I'm in New York City to participate in the Personal Democracy Forum.

Coffee with Boston Media Makers

Amy telling stories of Santa Cruz
Boston Media Makers - Meeting Report: Sunday May 14th:
"Despite the rain a good number of vloggers gathered for coffee on Sunday May 14th at 10AM, at Sweet Finnish in Jamaica Plain, MA"

Happy Mother's Day


My Mom's Blog by Thoroughly Modern Millie: Old Photographs:
"'This is an opportunity to reflect on our lives and our loved ones. We will elicit recollections and acknowledge the values of past memories, deep relationships and life experiences.'"

Saturday, May 13, 2006

links for 2006-05-13

I can lace my sneakers!


I just figured out how to wear the sneakers that I bought on Slackstreet from the back of a truck. I'm very happy!

Monitoring the media

Grade the News

Music, Film and Video

Project: Think Different and a new world of popular culture media!:
"Music, Film and Video that empowers you to think differently and think BIG about your ability to change the world"

Media Playlist

iondb:
"Using a powerful desktop tool, regular people are finding the best blogs, podcasts, videos, and photos and remixing them into their own live published playlists."

Information's Social Life

Social Life of Informatione:
"'Should be read by anyone interested in understanding the future' - Times Literary Supplement"

Friday, May 12, 2006

Garfield, Kinberg and Goldstein


Garfield, Kinberg and Goldstein by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

A triple threat.

Google Keyword Cartoons


GGirl on Zales Jewelry:
"Why is Google a $100 billion company? GGirl decided to investigate. She discovered that advertisers are willing to pay Google to buy special keywords."
via Kenyatta

How to make a movie in Second Life

Machinima.com: Second Life - Making the Movie:
"Shooting basic video capture in Second Life is as simple as selecting the proper pulldown menu command (File - Start/Stop Movie to Disk)-- or via hotkeys, Ctrl Shift A. When you hit this command, an interface menu will ask you to choose a resolution and a file type."
Standby.

Roll Camera.

Action!
links for 2006-05-12

Hipcast.com Conference and Expo Center


Virtual Suburbia: Hipcast.com Conference and Expo Center:
"The Hipcast.com Conference and Expo Centre bears the design signature of Endira Udal and Rez Menoptra of Rezzust (formerly Kush Design Lab), and represents their most jaw-dropping work to date."

Second Real


Second Real by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Where am I really?

I'm in real life and in Second Life.

I'm in Second Life watching real life.

Panelists are speaking and we are listening.

In Second Life and IRC, we are talking about what the speakers are talking about.

Big Screen


Big Screen by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Sitting in Austin Hall, at Beyond Broadcast, watching the events unfold in both real life and Second Life.

Beyond Broadcast


Beyond Broadcast by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

I'm at Austin Hall early to get a good seat for Beyond Broadcast at Harvard.

It'll take a little while longer for my physical body to arrive.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Echo Chamber Project Overview

Kent Bye
Kent Bye is here for Beyond Broadcast and showed me his recent post, Video: Media, Politics & Social Change: An Overview of The Echo Chamber Project | Echo Chamber Project:
"This video provides explains how the media fits into political and social change and specifically addresses the following questions:

* How is the Press supposed to Work?
* How and why does the Press act like an Echo Chamber?
* How is media changing?
* What does it mean that the 'news is becoming a conversation'?
* Will these new media changes affect the nature of politics?
* How does The Echo Chamber Project fit into all of this?"

Follow Me


Follow Me by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Spin Martin just met me in Second Life and said, "Follow Me." He bought me a nice suit off the back of a truck and then took me on a tour of Slackstreet. Whoa!

This reminds me of the first experience I ever had meeting someone online, in real time, in a multiplayer game. I told the story to Jason Scott for his BBS Documentary.

Steve Garfield interview from BBS Documentary: The first time that I encountered someone online.

It's Deja Vu.

At a Podcast Meetup Photos are taken


At a Podcast Meetup Photos are taken by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Standard procedure at a blog, podcast, videoblog meeting is to take pictures, record audio and video, and post it to the web.

That's life.

YouTube.com: The Greatest Site in the History of the Internet

Mike Miliard of the Boston Phoenix wonders if YouTube will go the way of Napster in his article, Get it while you can:
"A couple of months ago, a man with the screen name x-amount logged on to Recidivism.org , the blog he maintains with a few of his friends, and made a pronouncement. “YouTube’s obviously blowing up. We’re living in that Napster-like magic moment where you simply can’t believe the kinds of historic stuff available to you with just a simple search. Which means of course that it’s all gonna get shut down ANY MINUTE.”"
Mike Miliard might just be the greated writer in the history of the Boston Phoenix.

Check out the full article to learn what's happening at YouTube and other sites like it. I've got to go watch Conan O'Brien's failed TV pilot Lookwell now.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Rich Media is Hard To Find

Walt Crawford wrote Rich Media is Hard.
A search for vlog in Yahoo! Video yields a few thousand entries. But are people willing to watch amateur talking faces for very long? I suspect not. I'll guess the continuing audience for amateur vlogs (excluding amateur porn) is another order of magnitude smaller than for podcasts, partly because it's just plain harder to do a satisfactory video.
Dave Winer says:
"Amateur is not below professional. It's just another way of doing [media]. The root of the word amateur is love, and someone who does something for love is an amateur.
The problem is that a quick search on Yahoo! video doesn't bring up any kind of search result based on a trusted source.

Over on Vlog Soup, I'm filtering videoblogs for you. These are videoblogs that I either like or find interesting.

Others are acting as Human Filters too.

If you're in a hurry, check out some of my favorite videoblogs.

Boston Flickr Photo Walk

CC Chapman and I have been talking about organizing a Boston Flickr Photo Walk.

What we want to do is converge at some location, possibly during an event, and make media there.


Chuck Olsen covered a flickr photo walk in Minnesota and shot a video of it.

So I've got the local Boston flickr photo group on board, as well as the Boston Media Makers ( for video ), all we need now is a gathering place.

Ideas?

There are 3 Boston Photo Groups on Flickr that I found:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/35237094528@N01/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/exploitboston/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bostonphotomob/

JP

Neighborhoods

Boston Media Makers

New England Podcasters