Behind the Scenes: John Edwards, Robert Scoble and Chuck Olsen

Chuck Olsen talks about the behind the scenes work of uploading John Edwards announcement video from New Orleans onto YouTube, and gives us some details on flipping the switch on the campaign website early. Robert Scoble talks about the power of capturing fleeting moments with the candidate and sharing them online. You can see personal moments of the candidate with people and might be there to capture a moment that could make international news.

Reposted from 12/30/2006: Behind the Scenes: John Edwards, YouTube and the Campaign Website

iJustine Apple Store Unofficial World Tour

Visit iJustine.

Kimberly Wright Shower

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I had fun talking these photos at my niece's bridal shower. Enjoy!

Social Media BBQ

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Photo's from Joe C's Social Media BBQ in CT on August 9, 2008.

Making a Plane Reservation on AA.com: You Can View Seats

Here's an update to my previous post about my reservation experience on AA.com.

Nicole Simon informs me, via twitter, that you can VIEW seats while in the selection process.

On the first Select Flights page:



You can View Seats:



Click View Seats:



Look at the little note:



So if you miss this, like I did, when you get farther into the process, you don't see the note or have any way to select a seat. That's still a problem.

They need a step 3.5 - select seats, between step 3 - flight summary and step 4 - payment. A place to select seats. Then, if you don't go through with the payment, remove the seat selection. It's a computer, it should be able to handle it.

Reille Hunter's John Edwards video 'Plane Truths'

I have a clip from Reille Hunter's John Edwards video 'Plane Truths' on Vlog Soup 21 (starts at 2:20):



Original post with links to all videos featured.

Watch more Vlog Soup.

Chris Brogan Discovers The Raw Power of StumbleUpon

Here's what Chris Brogan said today:

Some of what I do here at [chrisbrogan.com] is test out what works and what doesn’t, so that I can report to you. It’s also a great way to collect ideas for my book with Julien Smith, which should be officially announced in a few weeks or less). Here’s what I have for you today:

The Raw Power of StumbleUpon | chrisbrogan.com

You should read the whole article.

Funny though, I didn't see how I could stumble upon it. Ironic.

The Apple Store is Really Busy

The Apple Store was VERY busy this afternoon. Here's some audio of how noisy it was. Lots of noise, lots of people. Apple is doing very well at retail.

Mobile post sent by stevegarfield using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

I bought an iPhone 1.0 Monster iCableLink Headphone Adapter and declined a bag + paper receipt. Too bad the 3" adapter came in an 8 1/2 X 4" plastic pkg.

Making a Plane Reservation on AA.com

When you make a reservation on AA.com, selecting seats IS NOT part of the timeline.



The computer picks seats for you, then drops you on a payment screen. Weird.

On other sites like JetBlue, choosing seats is part of the process.

Note: I'd normally fly JetBlue to San Jose, but they aren't flying there any more starting in September. :-( I'm heading out to Streaming Media West.

I'll be running a session on Live Broadcasting Over Mobile and Wi-Fi Networks with Bhaskar Roy from Qik and Mac Haot from Mogulus.

I needed help figuring out how to select seats.



So I clicked the Click to Talk button. This window popped up:



After entering in my information, I selected Call Me "Right Now."

When I clicked talk, my phone rang.

Very cool.

The help person explained it to me.

At this point in the timeline, you need to click the HOLD button, at the bottom of the page to hold your reservation, THEN go back in to edit it by clicking SELECT to select your seats.



Poor user interface. They should add seat selection to the timeline, or at least explain on the page that you need to put your reservation on HOLD in order to choose seats.

I asked her why they did it this way. She explained the you either have to reserve a reservation first OR pay for it before you can select seats.

Makes no sense to me. I want to have the seat selection process be part of both my purchase decision and buying process.

To close out this happy story I noticed that there was an option to upgrade seats with points. So I checked my point balance online.



They all expired last year. D'oh.

Update:
You can VIEW seats on Step 1. I missed it. See the details here:

Making a Plane Reservation on AA.com: You Can View Seats

Making a Plane Reservation: Farecast

Making a Plane Reservation: Farecast

Farecast is a great way to search for air flights and compare times and fares. Really, really great.

When you find a flight you want, you click it, and then get sent to the airline to book it on their site.

2009 SXSW Interactive Panel Picker

The 2009 SXSW Interactive Panel Picker is now live:

"Welcome to the Panel Picker voting interface. This web application gives you the power to browse all programming proposals and give us your feedback on which ideas you think are most appropriate for the SXSW Interactive Festival (scheduled March 13-17, 2009 in Austin, Texas)."

30% of the panel decision making process is made from these online votes, the other 70% is made my and advisory board and staff members, they are like non-binding electoral college voters, reporters with a basis if you will.

Here's my proposed session:

Live Twitter: Media Makers Roundtable

Category:
New Technology / Next Generation
Presenter:
Steve Garfield, SteveGarfield.com
Description:
Based on the Boston Media Makers model, a group of about 30 conference goers will sit around a big table and have a chance to talk to everyone else for 3 minutes. You can tell us what you are doing, ask a question, or do a show and tell. This is for people who are interested in audio and video blogging, social media and conversations. This is an opportunity to meet other people at SXSW that you might not otherwise have a chance to get to know. See: http://bostonmediamakers.wordpress.com for and idea of what our meeting are like. It's so popular these meetings have spread to New Hampshire, Washington, DC; Denver, Colorado; and planned to start up in London. See how it works and bring it home to your city!

I made a comment on the page to add more info:

I started Boston Media Makers because of conferences like SXSW, where there are a lot of great people attending, but you don't get to meet them all. So it'd be exciting to have a meeting at SXSW and allow people to meet others that they might not usually meet. Check the Boston Media Makers website to see what our meetings are like: http://bostonmediamakers.wordpress.com After we go around the table to see who everyone is, we break out into an open discussion. Hope to meet YOU at SXSW!

Thanks for voting.

Hello First Time Readers

First time here? I'd like your impressions.

What are your first impressions?
What did you first think your blog was about when they arrived at it?
Did you find it easy to read/navigate/understand?
What did you ‘feel’ when they first arrived at your blog?
What suggestions do you have on how you could improve your blog?
What questions do you have having surfed your blog?
What words would you use to describe the design?
What are the main things that you remember about your blog 10 minutes later?

Let me know in the comments.

Regular readers are welcome to comment too!

Thanks.
via [ ProBlogger - 31 Days to Building a Better Blog ]

Newsweek: Streaming Video From Your Mobile Phone

Streaming Video From Your Mobile Phone: Broadcasting video direct from your cell:

"Steve Garfield, one of the Web's more beloved video bloggers and Qik beta tester, claims already to have 'scooped CNN.' During the New Hampshire primary, he stumbled into interviewing Republican presidential candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter, who happened to be on his way to a press conference. Garfield live-cast Hunter's news online (that he wasn't dropping out of the race, just yet) before anyone else. Of course it's not every day you bump into a congressman with news. Garfield has also recently streamed a live stroll along the beach because 'a lot of people I know are stuck in the middle of the country.' He's also shot footage from a concert by the rock band Boston, which hints at the latency of this technology. Boston's lawyers may or may not be thrilled to know that someone was broadcasting live from the audience. Still, the technology is far enough under the radar that it may come in handy not just for breaking news but also shooting video covertly, be it for good or ill."

Nice job by Brian Braiker on the story.

Boston's smart. Video clips are great promotion.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: Share Robert Scoble's Secrets

I've started reading David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Looks like it's going to be a great read.

While reading the foreword by Robert Scoble I saw a section where he talks about how the news broke that he was leaving PodTech. Although he doesn't name names, I was there.

Here's an excerpt:

"Look at how the world found out I was leaving Microsoft for a Silicon Valley startup (PodTech.net).

I told 15 people at a videoblogging conference. Not 'A listers' either. Just everyday videobloggers. I asked them not to tell anyone until Tuesday - this was on a Saturday afternoon and I still hasn't really told my boss.

Well, of course someone leaked that information. But, it didn't pop up in the New York Times. It wasn't discussed on CNN. No, it was a blogger I had never even heard of that posted the info first.

Within hours it was on hundreds of other blogs. Within two days it was on the Wall Street Journal, in the New York Times, on the front page of the BBC, in Business Week, Economist, in more than 140 newspapers around the world (friends called me from Australia, Germany, Israel, and England, among other countries) and other places. Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's PR agency, was keeping track and said that about 50 million media impressions occurred on my name in the first week.

All due to 15 conversations."

Robert is talking about Vloggercon 06, held in San Francisco. I was one of the videobloggers he told that he was leaving PodTech.

He told me not to tell anyone.

I didn't.

Did he really want it kept a secret?

Now he touts it as a success.

What happens the next time he tells someone to keep a secret?

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Peter Cashmore, Me and StreetAttack's Photobooth Pic

0808_Yoono_070, originally uploaded by krisireland.

Thanks Peter for a great Mashable event in Boston.

I liked seeing how StreetAttack put together a Photobooth that immediately printed out photos and allowed you to email them. Very nice job. Photobooths are cool.

There was a great crowd at The Roxy. People sure do love having their pictures taken.

I enjoyed talking with a lot of friends and meeting new people.

Fun moment: Stephanie Frasco was doing a presentation and I interrupted her with "You're that YouTube Girl!" Ha! Oh we laughed at that. Here's her YouTube channel, AskFrasco. We met online on Jeff Pulvers show. :-)

Mashable's US Summer Tour 2008

0808_Yoono_068, originally uploaded by krisireland.

Barack Obama - Rock Star

Image: Drew Friedman for TIME

Good article in TIME, Crushing on Obama, about the press and Obama, but it's the image by Drew Friedman that really rocks.

Nice job.

Visit Drew Friedman.

Boston Inside a TV Set

Just trying out Slide's SkinFlix player that lets you put your YouTube videos inside things like an iPhone, a theatre, a plasma TV, and more. I wonder if they'll support LCD or OLED?

McCain, the Analog Candidate

John McCain Seattle by soggydan, on Flickr

Mark Leibovich writes in the NY Times about how McCain can "barely use [ the internet ]:The Nation - McCain, the Analog Candidate:

"Mr. McCain who in an interview with Fortune magazine two years ago called himself a “Neanderthal” about computers, in contrast to his wife, Cindy, whom he called a “wizard.”

“She even does my boarding passes — people can do that now,” Mr. McCain marveled. “When we go to the movies, she gets the tickets ahead of time. It’s incredible.”

Mr. McCain’s sense of wonder evoked the episode in the early 1990s when George H. W. Bush became overly impressed upon seeing a price scanner at a supermarket check-out counter. It suggested to some people that the president, who had spent four years in the White House after spending eight years as vice president, was out of touch with the lives of average Americans."

It's a good article and I enjoyed reading it, except for the part where Leibovich repeats the false story about President Bush and the Grocery Scanner. Follow the link to see Snopes calling this story false.