12 Seconds of Fame with Video!

Here's a cool new site that is trying to combine video with Twitter with Facebook updates. Who knows if this will work but I like it right off the bat. It's better than Seesmic because the videos have to be 12 seconds, which makes them less boring and you don't get that incredibly ripped off feeling you have when you sit through a 4 minute video expecting it to be great and it just doesn't deliver.
Let's see, 12 seconds, short enough to hold attention spans? Check. Long enough for some people to embarrass themselves horribly for life? Check. Sounds like a winner to me.

Vidler

Check out Vidler, a video player I stumbled on while watching TheSocialWeb.tv (these guys are only on their second episode, so they are a little clunky, but still informative.



Add comments and tags while you watch simply by clicking on the timeline on the bottom of the video. The timeline even lets you zoom ahead and see what the speakers will be talking about, so you don't have to waste a second hearing content you don't care about.

Love it.
HB

Human Computation

Luis Van Ahn is a lofty vision and a short attention span (sound familiar?)

The 29 year old computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University prefers short stories to novels, TV shows to short stories, and the Internet to all of the above.

If others share his liabilities, so much the better: he plans to harness his generation's fabled impatience to change the world, according to Smithsonian Magazine's 37 under 36 issue.

MISSION: Make computers smarter
METHOD: Make tasks fun.
MADNESS: GWAP

"Computer solitaire eats up billions of man hours a year," Von Ahn points out "and it does nobody any good." But he says his "games with a purpose," such as the ESP game (just blew an hour on that one), accomplishes all sorts of useful tasks.

Players tag images on the web, translate documents from one language to another, or make it easier for blind people to navigate the web - all while having fun.

When you play the ESP game, a Carnegie Mellon computer pairs you up with another player and sends randomly selected images, such as a picture of the White House, to both screens. Each player tries to describe the picture, and at the same time, tries to guess what words the other player will choose to describe it. As soon as both players use the same word - "president," for example - the computer rewards them with points and downloads another image.


Von Ahn was hooked on computers when he received his Commodore 64 at age 8, and now Google has licensed his ESP game, giving him more time to partner with Internet Archive to create a game to have computer users translate old books, and help the Department of Homeland Security with a game designed to help airport screeners focus on their job by drawing attention to important details on X-ray scans. Ultimately, Von Ahn is on a mission to have computers do it all, "then we can all just sit around in robes eating grapes,"

Works for me.
HB

To Blog Or Not To Blog

Caitlin and I chatted about blogging the other day, so I thought I'd post a few tips for new bloggers. I figure the majority of you participate in social sites, facebook and what not, what about about a blog?

I will venture to guess many have started a blog, wrote a post or two, but then ended up deleting more than you published, and ditched the whole idea.

Blogging is a whole different animal.

Not to get too deep on you, but it's like a personal introspective journey. It's rewarding, but hard work.

I think you will find it well worth the effort - but only if you do it right.

When I started as mamaVISION a few years ago, I had no idea what lied ahead (thank god). Truth be told, it was scary as hell. There was a few times I contemplated deleting the whole damn thing. I always knew mamaV could be wiped out in one simple click of a button, but something told me to keep going.

So, if your going take a jump and become a blogger, here's some tips from a semi-pro who has been through the wringer and back, way too many times to count:

1 Be Real
If you are going to sit around crisis'ing about what people think about you, and if you'll be liked, or worst of all you set out to TRY to be cool- you're dead meat.

To be a blogger, you must be fearless. Say it like it is, call it like you see it, flip it out there and see what sticks. Above all, be ready for anything.

2 Take the good with the bad.
This is the World Wide Web. It means you are exposing your viewpoint to the world wide wierdos, and frankly, a-holes. Let their comments live among the rest, don't freak and delete them.* Resist the urge to moderate.

Your skin will grow thick, and you will learn a lot by listening to all points of view. I believe there is something to be learned from everyone. Have an open mind my friend....wide, wide open.

*one and only exception is perverts. they come out in droves - nuke 'em immediately.

3 Ponder
Take time to ponder before you write. I often think about a particular post for days or sometimes weeks before I actually post to my blog about it.

By ponder, I mean thinking only. Don't start writing drafts of your thoughts or put anything down on paper. Keep it all in your head. Sort through your opinion and stance, and when ready - crank it out hard and fast. Launch it and don't look back.


4 Passion
Don't bother blogging if you are not extremely passionate about your topic. Many people start blogging for the hell of it, or worse yet, to make $. You will fail, guaranteed.

Blogging is hard work. You will put your blood, sweat and tears into it, so enthusiasm is sure to wane if you venture out with some half baked idea.

5 Break the rules
There's a lot of solid advice out there, from bloggers a heck of lot smarter than me, but there is one rule of thumb I don't agree with - "You must post daily."

Totally bogus. Never worked for me. Forcing yourself to post daily, break's the "be real" rule. You can't force out thoughts and ideas. Don't post just to post, ever. The best posts are those that are well thought out, or better yet, written in total haste and anger.

This may mean you crank out 3 posts in a day, or just a few a month. Either way, each and every post you do will mean something to you and your readers, and automatically be filled with the spark and emotion that is essential to your blog personality.

6 Vision
Give your readers something to visualize the points you are trying to convey. Take the time to choose images that reflect the mood, topic, or discussion at hand. My favorite place for pics is IStockPhoto, the xsmall images are usually a buck, and well worth it.

7 YouTube It
Ok, now if you really have balls - start YouTubing*.

Videoblogging scares people (ahemmm...Caitlin) but it is the greatest. There is simply no better way to express yourself. And allowing users to see your expressions, and gestures, speaks volumes for your sincerity.




My first vblog tumbled out of me naturally because I was so pissed off and angry about a certain topic. While sitting in my car before work, I simply blasted off my thoughts, and launched it to the world. Today, the majority of my readers on mamaV find me on YouTube, so it's an awesome channel to find others that care about what you care about.

*Helpful Hints for vblogging: 1 All you need is a digital camera set to video mode, hold it out and shoot. 2 Choose a comfy spot, sitting in my car before work was best for me. 3 Don't be so hard on yourself, try not to be vain, who cares what you look like! 4 One or two takes max. 4 No editing, just spit it out and launch it!

7 Blogrolling....questionable

I always found "blogrolling" to be an odd practice. This is a blogger way of networking - this is the ole' "hey why don't you link to my blog, and I'll link to yours?"

The whole thing just seems kind of fake to me, but hey, it's these links that up your ratings on blog search engines, so you need to make your own mind up about this practice.

That should be enough to absorb for now.

-HB

Coming soon...what the hell is RSS?

Provigil helps us to work longer, have less fun.

An article today in Techcrunch, in addition to the multitude that I've seen lately, is illustrating the high points of performance enhancing drug, Provigil. In an industry that rewards 24 hour blogs, the most current news available, and businesses that pop up and sell for millions overnight, I can't say I'm surprised. The internet is awesome, keeps our whole company in jobs and paid, and we have incredible access to all kinds of information anytime.
Yet there does seem to be a price to pay for all of this "currentness". I've written before on bloggers that stay awake until they collapse (and even die) and hotels that should think about not offering wireless. Even daydreaming about an online free vacation seems like a totally un-affordable luxury.
Will the emergence of the internet as a total lifestyle uncover new issues that we haven't even begun to think about? Could it bring us back to a kind of second adolescence? Peer pressure could suddenly rear it's ugly head in the workplace like it would a high school. If entrepreneurs are taking it and succeeding because they don't need as much rest, will others take it simply to keep up?
And what about the rest of our lives? What about, ummmm, fun? You know, hanging out at a cafe for hours with friends? Days at the beach? Bike rides? Provigil could be the cure to our urge to have a day off.
Here's my last question: If you knew about a performance enhancing drug with no side affects and wasn't habit forming, would you try it?

Goodbye Fake Steve Jobs

With his most recent post "I'm Sailing Away", the Fake Steve Jobs is closing the book on his blog. Thanks for a great run and good luck in your future endeavors at Newsweek!
Any ideas on new blogs we can read now?

Is Viacom Just a Big Crybaby?

I've been watching the Viacom vs. Youtube battle heating up for a few months now and it's starting to get pretty interesting. To recap, Viacom is upset that Youtube has a lot of videos with copyrighted material on it and, of course, would like to be compensated for it. And by "upset", I mean they are suing Youtube.
With the recording industry setting a precedent of chasing down the end users and suing them for downloading music, it looks like Viacom may be following suit.
It's my thought that Viacom is seeing a sharp decline in its television advertising budgets and is looking to pick up some cash and is turning its frustrations on Youtube, and inevitably, the end user.
At first, Viacom tried to skirt Youtube by trying out programs like live commercials on Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O' Brian. Good effort, but here's the problem. People JUST DON'T WANT TO WATCH TELEVISION COMMERCIALS ANYMORE.
The internet has allowed people to choose what content they want to watch and when they want to watch it. Social media has further spurred the race for good content. Attention spans for the 30 second spot are simply gone. Companies must reach the correct demographic with the correct message at the correct place.
Viacom's answer to scare people with threats of legal recourse will not change the fact that advertising folks have got it a little tougher these days and honestly, maybe it's time for the industry to recognize this.

Why You Shouldn't Rebuild Your Site

It seems like everyone is "relaunching" their sites these days, and spending a good deal of money to do it. Great flash sites full of games, videos, and content can be great to visit, no one is disagreeing with that. Check out the GotMilk site, and the Uniqlo site if you want to see some of our favorites.
However, these expensive sites can be easily overlooked if they go un-promoted. I have spoken with many companies that have wonderful sites but no budget left to promote them. It's not enough just to think "if we build it, they will come". That's where social media comes in. If you can take some of that great content from your new site and get it in front of your demographic, it's like having another great site out there.
Some tips to think about before your relaunch.
1) Do we have great content that we can syndicate?
If so, you may want to think about taking that great video to your demographic (which is already hanging out online).
2) Will we have enough money leftover after the redesign to promote this site?
Plan to spend 1/3 of your budget to make sure that internet surfers at large can find your site, don't expect anyone to "stumble" on it.
3) Driving Traffic isn't the only goal for a website.
Essentially, you want people to visit your site but at the core of this goal lies the real goal. Get your message in front of your audience. There are many ways to do this without a fancy flash site.