Wed, 25 November 2009 On my way home in the rain on Thanksgiving eve I stopped in at the local turnpike service center and spoke my mind.
You get what you pay for and tnstaafl (there's no such thing as a free lunch) Comments[0] |
Sun, 22 November 2009 If you want to put your video on the web and you don't know a lick about website creation, look into Wordpress. Producing media and distributing it online requires a platform that provides a base from you can attract interest and develop a community. I think its fair to say that self promotion on the internet is not a common skill set of most production oriented media producers. One of the best ways to step into this critical space and feel as though you have some control over the process is to produce a blog using Wordpress. Wordpress is one of many different blogging software platforms, such as Typepad, Blogger and Drupal, however I think it is the best combination of flexibility, power and accessibility for non web developers. There's a tremendous amount of learning resources for the uninitiated, with tutorials for the beginner at Wordpress.org and online in general. Even easier, you can go to Wordpress.com, create an account and start blogging in 10 minutes. There is even a video channel, Wordpress.TV that offers up a hefty dose of information for newbies. There are meetups that take place all over the country, all over the world! I just found a Wordpress meetup in Boston that I'll be attending next month. Last month there was presentation by Adam Wood on how to customize a theme called Atahualpa which you can follow here. I found an interesting review of Thesis, another popular theme, containing lots of information about how a good theme simplifies blogging. The really valuable thing about Wordpress is that is is more than just a blogging tool. It's a content management system (CMS) the organizes your content, tracks your marketing efforts and does other things CMS software does. Finally you can attend, for next to nothing, Wordpress Camps all over the country. I just found one will be in Boston, close to where I live, in January. Even if you can't attend one, or you want to know what kind of sessions occur you can check out past unconferences online. A recent Wordpress Camp in Phoenix has some video of some their sessions, including how to put video online. Last week, about 700 attended WP Camp New York City and going by the list of sessions it must have been amazing. Comments[0] |
Tue, 13 October 2009 I'm using the last show as a starting point for this show, about an
idea I want to put out there for helping students learn how to better
produce content and how to produce better content. I believe school is
the place where this learning can and should take place, but it's
success depends on how well it's presented and maintained. You'll have
to listen to learn more. At the end I give a brief review of two books, Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky and The Rise of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida. They're not light reading but I think each one has something important to say about how the internet is changing the way we produce media. Comments[0] |
Fri, 25 September 2009 This show is about two experiences that were bouncing around in my head
and collided. First, a podcast about technology and second,,
conversations with educators lead me to consider the necessity of
providing some kind of multimedia literacy as part of the higher
education experience. Sort of like directed play in the schoolyard to
avoid bullying. My thought is not only how to produce content that hits the intended mark, but also present the impact and responsibilities, both personally and to others that being a broadcasting entails. There was a time when it was rare and seemingly ridiculous to require students to attend schools with a computer. Not so ridiculous now. I think the time is coming to accept the responsibilities that private broadcaster carries. I don't have any solutions to offer, but I think we should be thinking about this. Here are some links to people and places mentioned in the show. Comments[0] |
Wed, 14 January 2009 Hi there, Happy New Year. I've been hunkering down in the editing bunker through the holidays and came up long enough to leave you this note and the latest show. My film is done. It's called Handmade in America. I'll be posting it online later this month and when I do I'll let you know now you can watch it. I was thinking about the nature of social media and spoke about that a little bit in the show. I also wanted to let you know about a website and a podcast you should check out if you're interested learning how to make money through online distribution of your media, specifically audio and video podcasts. Here's the links for things I mentioned in the show. Comments[0] |
Sat, 20 December 2008 Here are a few thoughts that have been distracting me as I hunker down and edit my film. In case I didn't go into enough detail in the show, or worse, if all that detail confused you, let me explain a couple things. In one segment I'm talking about the "Fishbowl" of podcasting. It's a term that has the same currency among podcasters as kleenex has within the general public. With podcasters, the fishbowl syndrome means we have created a world that is not only unique, but separated from most people. Information gets in, but nothing is getting out. And because it's comfortable there's a risk no one inside the fishbowl will make an effort do something about it. This is the same experience every avid hobbiest has, the difference is that podcasters, participating in a "social" media, where communication means community and community building, there is an evangelical weight on their shoulders. Another term used a lot, ad nauseam really, is "monetization" which I'm not sure is a real word. Apple's dictionary doesn't recognize it. Monetization's intended meaning within the podcasting/social networking community is the process of converting you podcast/social media into a money making machine. Essentially turning your hobby into a job. That sounds like a terrible idea when you put it like that. What makes some people roll their eyes when they hear it is that the constant request for "how to" monetize is becoming a cliche. There are a lot of facets to podcasting, and monetization is a valid piece. But it's importance is often/sometimes inflated beyond it's real stature in this emerging medium. And, I have come to believe that the fact that the con people feel this way, and the pro people continually request "how to" points to the fact that no one knows how to. It's like the get-rich-quick telethons on weekend and early morning TV. Never the same guys, always a different method. Links mentioned in this show: Comments[2] |
|
Video StudentGuy A weekly audio journal of painful introspection and learning stuff about production video
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
