Labels

Categories: Food | Travel | Beer | Wine | Boston | Humor | TV | Tech | Pop Culture | Politics | Golf | Video | Photo | Auto
Sponsored: Samsung | Cadillac | Volt | GMC | AT&T | Gear List: Cameras, Lights, Microphones, etc.
More: SteveGarfield.com | Steve Garfield's Video Blog (archived 6/19/2013)
“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” | Mastodon

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BusinessWeek, TV Guide and Google

links for 2006-10-31

Boo! It's JerryTime!


Texas Chainsaw.04 by It's JerryTime!, uploaded from flickr.

There's a new It's JerryTime! for Halloween: The Texas Chainsaw Customer

We Like Deval Patrick

IMG_5007.JPG
the scotto bloggo: This was not a great week for Kerry Healey:
"The negative ads backfired on Healey because their negativity has not balanced with a positive personality. In any political campaign, be it for President or student council, it is very difficult for voters to support a candidate they don't like. This phenomenon is distinct from the candidate's views on the issues, but it can have a tremendous affect on voters. Although we'd like to think voters vote purely on issues, this is not true for many if not most. This is not a cynical characterization of voters as superficial morons. The personality issue is very important because if voters don't like a candidate, many of them won't trust them either."
Who is Kerry Healy?

Dems For Healey.

Imogen Heap Video Covered by TV Guide

Pumpkin Tower
I showed the Hide and Seek: Unofficial Imogen Heap Music Video in LA at a Halloween Videoblog Festival at Yahoo!, TV Guide covered it.
"Vlogger Steve Garfield (SteveGarfield.com) of Boston, Mass., made the cross-country trek to Santa Monica to attend the party. His video covered the recent Life is good Pumpkin Festival held on the Boston Common, which benefited Camp Sunshine, a national retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses. "My initial idea was to get [pictures of] a bunch of pumpkins," Garfield said. "But I grabbed people's faces, too. I took 157 photos, and ended up using 97." Garfield's next step was to find the right song to score the video, and he found the perfect tune in a haunting version of "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. "She's my favorite artist," raved Garfield."
Imogen Heap is coming to Boston on November 11th. I'll be there.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Firefox 2.0: Close Tab Buttons

links for 2006-10-30

Borat on SNL


Borat on SNL

Video: Meet the L.A. Videobloggers


Chris Brogan captured some moments from Steve Across America at Canter's Deli in LA: Meet the L.A. Videobloggers.

Goodnight Burbank!


Eyebrow Boys by Chris Brogan, uploaded from flickr.

I love this picture!

I was Gerry Cheevers for Halloween


CIMG1134 by Rick Rey, uploaded from flickr.

No one in LA knew who Gerry Cheevers is.

zefranking video statistics

ze's page :: zefrank.com: rocketbooming:
"Should we even care about eyeballs? I don't. I care about my audience, but my show ends on March 17th, 2007 whether I have one eyeball or a million. Given the current state of web metrics, talking about eyeballs seems to create more risk than value anyway.

Rocketboom might very well have more eyeballs than Ask A Ninja, Amanda Across America, or any of the currently popular video shows. But it's important to question not only what those numbers are and where they're coming from, but also whether the eyeballs these shows claim to have are even open.

This is the interesting part of the conversation and I hope the web dialogue continues in the direction of answers and solutions. Producers cannot make intelligent creative or business decisions about their work without meaningful measurements. In the absence of sane metrics, we're already repeating the mistakes that turned television into what it is today. "
The discussion continues...

Watch Brightcove Hosted Videos

Brightcove launching video marketplace:
"“As the mainstream consumer moves into watching video on the Internet it will evolve from short humorous clips into programming that’s meaningful to a broad cross-section of mainstream individuals, Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire said. "
Top 100 Brightcove Buzz Videos.

Brightcove is now open to vloggers to make money off of their videos via ad sharing or pay per view.

Update, The Brightcove Network Launch:
There are a ton of other incredibly existing things that we're also introducing today, including our new PublishPod, a free desktop tool for Macintosh and Windows that allows anyone to easily encode and upload media into our system. It provides professional level encoding tools to anyone, ensuring high-quality content experiences. It also handles uploads of very large files -- say, a 3GB WMV HD file you're publishing to sell, or a 2-hour show for streaming distribution. There are no limits on file size or video length.
Whoa.

I've been waiting to try out their new Macintosh upload tool. It uses a Sorenson codec to encode to Flash 7. the Windows cersion uses the On2 VP6 codec which encodes to Flash 8. You can still use your own encoder.

Uploading a 3GB video file? Unheard of. Until today.

Don't I Know You from the Internet?


Catherine Holahan takes a look at the current state of vlogging and money on BusinessWeek.com. I get mentioned:
Steve Garfield, one of the original video bloggers, is one of the online stars who gets paid to make appearances in the real world. Garfield now supports himself through video blogging, speaking engagements, consulting, and Web video production work—all bolstered by his online fame. His shows, including the Carol and Steve Show that he runs with his wife, receive more than a thousand hits per day. "I am not generating a ton of money off the advertising," says Garfield. "It is just something to cover the hosting fees. The speaking and consulting on video blogging complements it."
I'm glad there won't be a controversy with my numbers based on this article. If you head over to my vlog, my feedburner stats are right there and as of this posting, show a daily download rate of 1,252 per day. That doesn't take into account all the hits that Vlog Soup gets on it's own split out vlog. Statistics are all over the place. The feedburner stats don't even take into account page views.

This whole run to embrace statistics is troubling too since there is also value in brands, niches, engagement, and belonging.

A message to advertisers
Are you looking for 50,000 people who might care about your ad, or 5,000 who are engaged and targeted to your message?

And here I'm just talking about video views. There's also the publicity you get from connecting your brand with video blogging. Look at all the press Amanda Congdon generated? There's a value in that too.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Ask A Ninja About Video Advertising

Kent Nichols of Ask A Ninja recently shared his thoughts on advertising for web video on the Yahoo! Videoblogging list:
I mean as we can all see through the YouTube sale, someone is getting rich off of the stuff we're creating, and that certainly isn't us.

Even when you sorta passively agree to a TOS you're allowing someone else to make a buck off of your work. There is a tradeoff -- if I had to pay for the bandwidth bill for AskANinja.com I wouldn't be here today, or I would have already had to make a deal someone bigger.

When I hear about the crappy deals that people have been signing it makes me sick. A major studio just approached us to create a custom piece for them, fully licensed and released, for $500. And I know that people will take that -- but come on, the legal bill for accepting an offer like that is going to be ten times that.

Also there's a huge issue of where user generated video becomes work for hire. Meaning at some point you as the producer become responsible for production insurance and, horror of all horrors, Errors and Omissions insurance. Both of which aren't cheap.

Just don't sell cheap -- these are Fortune 500 companies that spend billions of dollars a year to promote and advertise themselves. If it doesn't feel right -- SAY NO. or ask for help from someone like UTA.

If you're going to become a business, those mundane businessy details will come back to bite you someday, so build them into your budgets.

No one wants to make a video for $500, and then be sued by someone who feel libeled by your creation for $10,000,000 (something that is a possibility).

-Kent, askaninja.com
Sobering thoughts.

Steve Across America in LA


The Steve Across America tour will land in LA today at 1:00 for lunch at Canter's Deli.

There's a reservation for the "Videobloggers" in the Kibitz Room. That's one of the main dining rooms for those who have never been.

1PM. Here's a Google Map of Canter's Deli so everyone can get directions.

There's a parking lot for Canter's on the corner of Oakwood and Fairfax.

Canter's Deli Pics.

Tonight we're heading to the Halloween Videoblog Festival at 7:00 PM.

See you there?

Thanks Steve Woolf.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Blue Sky Mountain


Blue Sky Mountain by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

links for 2006-10-27

Santa Barbara


Santa Barbara by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Beach Walks with Carol and Steve

MacBook Random Shutdown Firmware Update

Here's a firmware update for MacBook users to address unexpected shutdowns.

Apple - Support - Downloads - MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.1:
"The SMC Update improves the MacBook’s internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns. This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, including those that received warranty repair."

Wine Shopping


Wine Shopping by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Andrew Murray Glass Carol


Andrew Murray Glass Carol by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Doc Searls was right: Olio E Limone Santa Barbara

What's cool about the blogosphere is that you can get personal recomendations from other bloggers when you are going to a new city.

Doc suggested Olio E Limone in Santa Barabara.

Thanks Doc. It was amazing.

A review of Olio E Limone Ristorante at Santa Barbara.com

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Robert Scoble: Blogging so I don't have to

New audience metric needed: engagement:
"There’s another stat out there called “engagement.” No one is measuring it that I know of."
Excellent point Robert.

Thanks for writing it so I can link to it.

Art in a White Box

Piotr Parda made an art exhibiton in a former Office Max, Boston’s Weekly Dig: Arts: Pure:
"Pure starts with a conceit: Art, like medicine, takes place in a white box. In its ideal form, the gallery is supposed to be a vacuum, aesthetically separate from the outside world, allowing the works inside to speak without interruption. “That’s a very, very noble idea, and an excellent way to show art,” said Pure curator Lisa Lunskaya Gordon. “But it’s becoming the only way.”

To her, art thrives on context. She prefers to see art in a home, set among other things. That’s not something you get in a gallery—but that’s not to say that the gallery succeeds at what it sets out to do. The white box, Lunskaya Gordon says, is a fraud. It is not airtight. Art can affect the visitors, and visa versa. She compares it to a hospital: Its goal may sterility, but its inhabitants are sick people with susceptible immune systems. The white box is only clean when completely empty, and then it’s useless."
Yesterday I paid $12.50 to go look at some modern art at the SFMOMA. That my friends was art in a white box.

SFMOMA
The SF MOMA doesn't follow Dave Winer's unconference model, that's for sure.

NO PHOTOS.

You can't take photos at SFMOMA.

Hey, the art museum at Harvard allows photos.

It was ironic to have my camera in my bag with a desire in my mind to remix the art I saw and not be able to take a flikr pic. It was frustrating.

I've always got a camera with me to capture and share moments.

I'm used to reusing and remixing photos and music.

I'm also spoiled by going to unconferences where the audience is a participant instead of just a passive viewer. Conferences are so much more engaging when they are designed to promote interaction. I like lectures too, good ones are great, but there needs to be a balance.

Photos in my mind.

Here are a few moments where I wanted to take a photo, but couldn't:

Michael Jackson and his monkey. Yup. they were at the top of the stairs. I wanted to show them to you with a quick snapshot, but couldn't.

George Nelson Bench - SFMOMA Ceiling. There was a design exhibit showing modern designs including a '70's era wooden bench design by George Nelson. the ceiling in SFMOMA looks like that bench. I wanted to take a photo juxtaposing both thigns. I couldn't.

Outside SFMOMA
The Museum as Art. the museum is beautiful. I wanted to take some photos from inside, but couldn't. So I too some from outside and one secretly inside from a place where I thought it was ok. ;-)

Urinal
The most influential modern art work of all time..

Imposing Order: Contemporary Photography and the Archive - This exhibit was made up of images of museum collections. They had one photo in which you saw many colorful people walking in front of a piece of art that depicted many colorful people. I wanted to take a shot of people in SFMOMA walking in front of that painting, but couldn't.

Ironic.

Three Women Outside SFMOMA
I'm going to get involved in the new ICA in Boston and see if I can promote some un-museum exhibitions there.

Andy Carvin: The Unblinking Eye

Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: Ze Frank: The Unblinking Eye.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

links for 2006-10-24

QuickTime Guide


While at Apple headqurters yesterday I found out that Apple has a QuickTime Guide to Entertainment over at the Apple QuickTime section of Apple.com.

A version of this also shows up when you click open QuickTime.

Pumpkin Festival Tableau

Steve Across America


Steve Across America: Steve Garfield and Scott Beale by DNSF.COM, uploaded from flickr.

Steve Garfield and Scott Beale. I'm using the torch on my Nokia N93 to read the pizza menu.

It was a revolving door of videobloggers at House of Shields in San Francisco tonight for the first stop in the SteveAcrossAmerica tour.

Good pizza, good beer, good friends!




Scott Beale blogs about Steve Across America.

Photo credit Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Ze Fank teaches video blogging

the show with zefrank

Wanna be a web celeb?


Yahoo! is having a Talent Show for web video.

Toyota Highlander: Turn off maintenance light

How to shut off maintenance required light on your Toyota Highlander?:
"Turn ignition key to 'ON' and press the odometer button until the display reads actual mileage... not Trip A or B.

Turn ignition key to OFF.

Hold in the same button you used in step 1.

While holding the button in, turn ignition key to 'ON'.

The 'Maint Reqd' light should blink and go out."

Audio Podcast from Apple Headquarters

I'm at Apple Headquarters for a few meetings today.

1 Infinite Loop
I started off at 1 Infinite Loop.

Listen to this podcast I made while walking the Apple Campus:

MP3 File

Update:
Ate lunch next to Steve Jobs.

3 Infinite Loop

Borat Movie - Deleted Scene

Borat - Dinner Prayer


YouTube is now flooded with promotional videos for the new Borat movie.

I'm happy to help promote the film for free.

CC now uses crayons


Details on CC Chapman's new company are starting to emerge.

crayon - a new marketing company

CC says:
We want to prove that the social media community has the power to let the world know what is going on.

The name of the company is crayon.

crayon is a different kind of company that integrates the best of the consulting, agency, advisory, thought leadership and education worlds. You and I both know that the world has changed even if other people in the marketing, advertising, and public relations sectors have not. The goal of crayon is to help clients make sense of these changes and tap into them in order to differentiate themselves from their competition, participate in community-driven conversations, and stand out from the crowd.
See you on the island.

Schlomo's Bar Tonight at 7:00


Steve Across America - Steve Garfield in SF

When
Monday, October 23, 2006
7:00 PM

Where
House of Shields
39 New Montgomery
San Francisco Bay Area, California 94105

Description
Join Steve Garfield in San Francisco at House of Shields for an informal gathering of Bay Area media makers.

Schlomo has reserved the top floor for us. We'll share some good conversation and cold beer.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

links for 2006-10-22

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Hancock and Pumpkin Towers


Hancock and Pumpkin Towers by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

We went to the pumpkin festival.

Check out my Pumpkin Festival Pictures and my Hide and Seek: Unofficial Imogen Heap Pumpkin Festival Music Video.

links for 2006-10-21

The Vloggies: GO VOTE!


Voting has now opened on the Vloggies web site, go vote for your favorites.

If you want to learn about video blogging, or just sample some video blogs that people like, the voting page is a good place to start.

30,000 pumpkins on Boston Common


Life is good Pumpkin Festival 2006, on Boston Common today.

Here's the schedule. The Pumpkin Festival ends at 8:00 PM, which is a good time to hang around until if you want to help them clean up and bring a few pumpkins home with you.

Vlog Soup: Episode 19


Steve Garfield's Video Blog: Vlog Soup: Episode 19:
"This time we visit Salem Massachusetts where Halloween is celebrated. What's up with that? We'll find out, and visit some scary vlogs... "
Check out some video blogs in a new Vlog Soup.

$1.65 Billion is Pocket Change

$600 for a share of Google stock?:
"Google’s stock closed up 7 percent today, adding about $10 billion to the company’s market value in a single day."
What's next?

Make It So!

Make It So! Sayeth Cleopatra.

"Make it so." (a bridge command), Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Web Video and Money

links for 2006-10-20

WZLX should go ALL KARAOKE

I had to drive up to Salem yesterday for a planning meeting for a new video project I'm getting involved in.

It was an hour's drive, so I spent some time listening to the car radio.

I don't usually listen to the radio other than for a short time while eating breakfast.

Yeaterday morning I decided to check up on my old friends Karlson and McKenzie on WZLX. when they were in Boston a few years about on what was then Eagls 93.7 I was a producer and wacky sidekick. Fun times.


So yesterday they had a longtime fan Kenny Delmonte come into the studio. You can here a clip here. Stay with it or scroll ahead to the part where Kenny sings along to Centerfold by J. Geils.

Kenny Delmonte on Karlson and McKenzie. [ mp3 ]

That made me smile. We've heard these classic rock songs over and over for so long. It was fun to hear someone simg along who was so enthusiastic.

Bush Test


Presidency 101 - Global Test.
via [ What Was I Thinking ]

Upload, Comment and Rate Short Films

Spielberg and Burnett's On the Lot now accepting submissions:
"Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett’s forthcoming FOX series, On the Lot, is now casting, accepting short films from filmmakers.

Anyone “over 13 years of age must submit a self-directed short film, up to five minutes in length, to thelot.com,” where the films will be viewable by the public, according to a press release. Others will be able to comment on and rate the films.

The show’s impressively large, well-designed site (which is kind of unusual for FOX shows) says the show is presented by Ford and Verizon. It includes links to the “Most Viewers,” “Most Discussed,” and “Most Linked” films."
B I N G O!

I watched Bon Appetit by Juston Lutsky, Epic Image Entertainment.



It's pretty funny.

Bon Appetit - Official Website.

Where video online is headed

Nicholas Reville, September 14, 2006:
I want to convince you that if you care about open standards, open source, deep linking, and all the other things that make the internet wonderful, you should care about where video online is headed."

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Rumorgirl and guys


Rumorgirl and guys by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Rumor Girl Karen Gilbert with John Wall, Frank McMahon, Joe Cascio, and me and the Boston Blogtoberfest.



Some other local bloggers I met for the first time and had fun talking with:

Erinire and David Evans.

I also had fun talking with Jon Petitt, Abby and Kristopher.

Jenny did an amazing job of organizing this... Thanks!

Samantha Stephens


Samantha Stephens by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

I was in Salem today...

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The Net at Risk

Teletruth: An Alliance for Customer Telecommunications Rights.

On Moyers on America... now!

Barak Obama Wants Us To Ask Questions

Senator Barak Obama wants us to ask this about people running for office, "If all you've got to say is something bad about the other person then you are not solving problems."

Amanda and Dave

links for 2006-10-18

All video blogs are TV shows


Nicholas Reville - DEMOCRACY: INTERNET TV BLOG - Viewers don’t really care how it gets to them:
"Most people don’t care how TV gets to them or what channel it’s on, they just want to watch. If a show comes via cable or satellite or terrestrial broadcast or the internet or even DVD, it’s still a TV show. We don’t need a new term like ‘netcast’ for the same reason we don’t call satellite TV shows ’satcasts’. When we need to specify that a broadcast is internet based, we can say ‘internet TV’ the same way we would say ’satellite TV’ or ‘network TV’ or ‘cable TV’ or ‘pay-per-view’.

A side note: I think ‘video blog’ is a useful term for a specific type of internet-based video show. This is the same as any genre of show: all soap operas are TV shows but not all TV shows are soap operas. Similarly, all video blogs are TV shows, but not all TV is a video blog."
What’s coming in Democracy Player 0.9.1: Part 3
Web Page Link - Any video file that has an associated web page– usually a blog post or a page with more details about the video– now has a ‘WEB PAGE’ link that takes you to that page in your browser. This is especially useful for sites that allow comments on videos. Future versions of Democracy Player will let you display even more associated info about a video file, such as the full description, torrent stats, publisher name etc.
Yay! Thanks.

Micro Duckie Sponsorship

Micro duckies
ZeFrank says: "Micro duckie sponsorship will forever change the face of advertising."

the show with zefrank: 10-18-06

Steve Across America: Canter's Deli 10/28


Canter's Deli by Laughing Squid, uploaded from flickr.



Update:
The Steve Across America tour will land in LA on Saturday October 28th at 1:00 for lunch at Canter's Deli.

Canter's Deli Pics.

That night we're heading to the Halloween Videoblog Festival at 7:00 PM.

See you there?

Let me know if you want to meet up.

Photo: "Scott Beale / Laughing Squid"

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

El Oriental de Cuba Reopens


Video: El Oriental de Cuba Reopening:
"Local residents and city officials turned out to celebrate the reopening of one of Jamaica Plain's favorite restaurants, El Oriental de Cuba on Monday October 15th."
When news happens in Jamaica Plain... the eyewitness news Steve.
links for 2006-10-17

Videos for Deval Patrick



Here are a couple of videos from DevalPatrick.tv:
Bill Clinton for Deval Patrick, October 16th. [ 26:02]

Hey, that Bill Clinton is a pretty good speaker. We should elect someone like him for president.

Rally for Change Clips. [ 2:15]

Vote Yes on #1: Wine Sales in Supermarkets


Flying by carlosluis, uploaded from flickr.

Question #1 on the Massachusetts ballot doesn't go far enough.

We want beer in our supermarkets!

From the Vincent at the Supermarket set.


Read all about the debate here:
Wine Sales: Question 1 on the Massachusetts Ballot

Trains are made of metal and run by men

Tim McIntire: An Open Letter to Orange Line Employees:
"...one time, coming home from a wretched show at a wretched little club near the Common, I catch the last Orange Line train outbound, which is not at all unlike catching the last chopper out of Saigon. We go from Chinatown to Downtown Crossing, and stop. The doors open, and we sit there. And sit there. And sit there. Finally, being a brave soul, I venture out to the platform, and find the driver sitting there, reading an issue of Ebony magazine, with his feet literally propped up on his little cubby hole windowsill. I ask him if we'll be going soon, and he rolls his eyes and exchanges glances with a T 'cop' on the platform, like I was an asshole for believing that a thirty-minute delay was perhaps excessive."
dove evolution

The Pumpkin Carving Song

Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Pumpkin Carver:
You make us soup, you make us bread, you have a candle in your head.
Brilliant!

Video: How to Make Chicken Soup

Feed Me Bubbe.

My mom and I love this.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Video: Borat with Arizona Republican Committee


Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat on Republicans:
"borat on republicans (2004, 9.1MB, 4:10 min)

“Lunch with Arizona Republican Committee”"
via [ dvblog ]
Free Hugs Campaign on TEN News Australia

Thanks Abby!

Hug.

Deval Patrick Videos

links for 2006-10-16

A slave to AM/FM radio

Blogger stays in prison, defying grand jury order:
"Wolf could be jailed until July, when the term of the grand jury ends.

'It's not all that bad,' he said. 'The worst part is not being able to go outside when I want a breath of fresh air, and not being able to listen to the kind of music I like to listen to. Being a slave to AM/FM radio is not the same as having my iPod.'

Wolf said work on his next project isn't hindered by his surroundings. He wants to create a blog for prisoners."

Deval Patrick: Just Words Speech 10/15/06


Deval Patrick: Just Words Speech 10/15/06 is the featured pick over at Top 10 Sources.

Thanks.

It's also featured at Blue Mass Group and cross posted at Daily Kos.

Check out the full speech.

Deval Patrick at Boston Common - Part 1
Deval Patrick at Boston Common - Part 2

Deval Patrick at Boston Common


IMG_5072.JPG by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.