"The Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry have threatened legal action against Sacha Baron Cohen, who portrays fake character Borat on Da Ali G Show. "Next, they'll be reporting that reality TV isn't real.
Sheesh.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Borat is fake?
Digital Spy: Kazakhstan threaten Borat lawsuit:
Sheesh.
Sheesh.
It's not JerryTime right now
DreamHost - Emergency Status:
"Fri, 18 Nov 2005In case you were wondering why you couldn't get to It's JerryTime!.
Network Problems
We are currently experiencing some network problems with our main router. This may cause some delays / timeouts in services at this time. The problem is being looked into and should be fixed as soon as possible. We will post more informaton as it becomes avaiable."
Amanda Congdon
Amanda Congdon by jdlasica, uploaded from flickr.
Amanda Congdon, the talented host of the groundbreaking Internet television program "Rocketboom," shortly after her appearance at the Symposium on Social Architecture.
Steve Garfield mashes together vlogs
Robert Scoble writes: #49: Steve Garfield mashes together vlogs: 
Another review just came in from PodGuide.tv:
"Fun video log. Steve Garfield watches a ton of video blogs, mashes them together into what he calls Vlog Soup so you can see highlights of the best video blogs. Good way to keep in touch with what’s happening in this space. Warning, if you visit Steve’s vlog you’llThanks Robert!wasteinvest hours watching some really great videos."
Another review just came in from PodGuide.tv:
Could Steve & Carol be the new Regis & Cathy?Thanks. It's The Carol and Steve Show, and Kathie Lee left Regis years ago, now it's Kelly Ripa.
The Steve & Carol Show is just one of a series of programs put together by Steve Garfield over on his videoblog. In fact, so prolific is Steve's output, you could almost think of his as a one-man network channel, with chat shows, Talk Soup style vblog roundups, live events coverage and more.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
No Spam Email Address Maker
Email Address Encoder.
Don't put your email address on a web page. Ever.
Use this encoder to defeat the evil spam overlords.
via [ Joshua ]
Don't put your email address on a web page. Ever.
Use this encoder to defeat the evil spam overlords.
via [ Joshua ]
Scary guys in dark suits just showed up
Right now Rebecca MacKinnon and Ethan Zuckerman are hosting Expression Under Repression:
"Just now we just received word from someone on the ground at the event of the appearance of 'a phalanx of secret police'"
Scott Adams Buys Expensive Water
The Dilbert Blog: Expensive Water:
"The other day I was doing some grocery shopping and picked up a case of bottled water. A woman who evidently works for a competing bottled water company noticed my choice and insisted on knowing why I wasn’t picking her lower priced water instead. The clear inference was that I’m not too bright. Water is water, she noted."
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Cameras are ruining everything. Everything.
Lindsay writes, Why Cameras Are Ruining Everything: A Manifesto: 
"Hey did anyone take pictures at the Arctic Monkeys show last night at Mercury Lounge? Like, maybe...100 people? Ruining the show for those of us who were there to actually enjoy it, not to prove that we saw it? Causing the lead singer to say after the very first song:
'Wow, lots of cameras...put your cameras down and enjoy the show!'"
Citizen Journalism is Discovered (Alive) in Watertown, MA
Lisa Williams writes, PressThink: If I Didn't Build it, They Wouldn't Come: Citizen Journalism is Discovered (Alive) in Watertown, MA:
"A nerd is a person who can sustain attention in something long after a normal person has lapsed into a coma. Patiently, the nerd sits, until the object of its attention cracks and reveals its strange and fantastic inner life."
Let's Talk Video Blogging
Stephen Warley writes a nice overview of videoblogging for TVSpy.com, Let's Talk Video Blogging (Or Is It Vlogging?):
"I know some of you are still probably trying to wrap your heads around blogging and podcasting. Now all of the sudden here comes video blogging! What is it? What's its potential? Why should you care? Those are just some of the questions I hope to answer for you."
Previewseek is better than Google?
Previewseek bills itself as the world's most advanced search engine.
The results page is pretty impressive. Try searching for your own name and see what comes up.
Where's the Zayre Fan Club?
Adam writes about The Ames Fan Club on Universal Hub.
Then he asks about Zayre.
I worked at Zayre during high school.
That's the patch from my smock vest. We all wore these silly smocks. Prior to that we wore blue smock coats.
We were slaves to the minimum wage. When the increase of the minimum wage happened to coincide with time for my raise, my manger told me that the higher minimum wage was my raise.
I was joking about starting a union at the snack bar. The next day I was called into the store manager's office and told to stop talking about a union.
We had a lot of fun though. I need to go look for some more Zayre memorobilia.
Then he asks about Zayre.
I worked at Zayre during high school.
That's the patch from my smock vest. We all wore these silly smocks. Prior to that we wore blue smock coats.
We were slaves to the minimum wage. When the increase of the minimum wage happened to coincide with time for my raise, my manger told me that the higher minimum wage was my raise.
I was joking about starting a union at the snack bar. The next day I was called into the store manager's office and told to stop talking about a union.
We had a lot of fun though. I need to go look for some more Zayre memorobilia.
AOL AIM SPAM: Non Permission Marketing
Just got an AIM message from the AOL System:
aolsystemmsg (AIM) 1:23AOL AIM is now the Borg.
AIM added a new AIM Bots group to your Buddy List. 1:23
Send IMs to moviefone and shoppingbuddy for great holiday flicks and gift ideas. (To remove 'em, just right-click and delete! Learn More)
Resitance is futile.
Our only defense is the delete key.
On vlogs: Authentic and Passionate
Here's an email exchange I had with Kent Bye of Echo Chamber Project:
Steve Garfield: My FireAnt has over 1,000 unwatched videos in it.
Kent Bye: Ah. Information overload has hit the vlogosphere.
Yeah, it'll be even worse with Rich Media.
That's why we'll need more vlog soups and revlogs to help filter and find stuff.
And you don't even need to be a vlogger to be a traffic director.
Steve Garfield: Did you see Vlog Soup #8. My computer had a lot of cut outs and drop outs when I recorded direct to disk. Two people didn't like it, others like it and think it's something that I should figure out how to recreate and sell. Ha ha.
Kent Bye: heh, I definitely don't think you could package it.
Hmmm... I actually liked it at first. It's a bit of a novelty.
But I could see how it could grate on some people's nerves.
I actually liked how you included some false starts in there more than the Max Hedrum effect.
I'm very hesitant about production quality as well -- since I want everything to be perfect.
We all want to get it just right, but it's nice to see the outtakes thrown in there. It adds some authenticity.
After listening to Adam Curry's podcast a bit, I realize that sometimes it's better to screw up some and be authentic about it, than it is to make it just right on the 15th take after all of the emotional impact has been sucked dry.
I'm recording intros to podcasts, and I realize that the ones where I got the feelings and passion right were *much better* than the ones where I was focusing on getting the words just right.
I mean, your words are getting hammered by the digital side effects -- and in the end you can still get the gist of what you're saying because you can really tell that you're passionate about vlogging. So the *right words* in your case aren't even that vital.
Steve Garfield: I think people used to TV will not like it and those who follow what I am doing will appreciate it for what it is. Different then TV.
Kent Bye: Again, I think the difference is the passion and the emotions that you bring to the table.
People will forgive the quality if there is authenticity -- or humor -- which is what you sometimes get with the digital cut outs.
Steve Garfield: Although, as someone who likes to present quality, I run the risk of people who drop by thinking that web video is crappy.
Kent Bye: It seems that production quality and authenticity are inversely proportional.
So I think w/ the medium it's better to err on the authentic and passionate side.
Any monkey who is rich enough can have great production quality, but it's the genuine passion that's severly lacking from TV.
But there is a production threshold that you should strive for -- and it's different for each piece you do.
Authenticity came up a lot at the We Media Conference, and helps explain why Jon Stewart is so popular. Here's certainly funny and has great writers, but Stewart also has a true voice and he's transparent about his worldviews. In that way, people can actually trust him more -- even though he does a "fake news show."
Podcaster Leo Laporte says that quality podcasts come when "you speak from your heart about things you care about that you're passionate about" because people are hungry for authenticity and personal connection. And this certainly extends to blogging and video blogging as well.
Anyway, it's what my wife Jen and I were going for with these two vlog posts, and we seem to be on the right track telling from the feedback we've receive so far.
Ebb and Flow Episode 1
Finding a Home
Steve Garfield: My FireAnt has over 1,000 unwatched videos in it.
Kent Bye: Ah. Information overload has hit the vlogosphere.
Yeah, it'll be even worse with Rich Media.
That's why we'll need more vlog soups and revlogs to help filter and find stuff.
And you don't even need to be a vlogger to be a traffic director.
Steve Garfield: Did you see Vlog Soup #8. My computer had a lot of cut outs and drop outs when I recorded direct to disk. Two people didn't like it, others like it and think it's something that I should figure out how to recreate and sell. Ha ha.
Kent Bye: heh, I definitely don't think you could package it.Hmmm... I actually liked it at first. It's a bit of a novelty.
But I could see how it could grate on some people's nerves.
I actually liked how you included some false starts in there more than the Max Hedrum effect.
I'm very hesitant about production quality as well -- since I want everything to be perfect.
We all want to get it just right, but it's nice to see the outtakes thrown in there. It adds some authenticity.
After listening to Adam Curry's podcast a bit, I realize that sometimes it's better to screw up some and be authentic about it, than it is to make it just right on the 15th take after all of the emotional impact has been sucked dry.
I'm recording intros to podcasts, and I realize that the ones where I got the feelings and passion right were *much better* than the ones where I was focusing on getting the words just right.
I mean, your words are getting hammered by the digital side effects -- and in the end you can still get the gist of what you're saying because you can really tell that you're passionate about vlogging. So the *right words* in your case aren't even that vital.
Steve Garfield: I think people used to TV will not like it and those who follow what I am doing will appreciate it for what it is. Different then TV.
Kent Bye: Again, I think the difference is the passion and the emotions that you bring to the table.
People will forgive the quality if there is authenticity -- or humor -- which is what you sometimes get with the digital cut outs.
Steve Garfield: Although, as someone who likes to present quality, I run the risk of people who drop by thinking that web video is crappy.
Kent Bye: It seems that production quality and authenticity are inversely proportional.
So I think w/ the medium it's better to err on the authentic and passionate side.
Any monkey who is rich enough can have great production quality, but it's the genuine passion that's severly lacking from TV.
But there is a production threshold that you should strive for -- and it's different for each piece you do.
Authenticity came up a lot at the We Media Conference, and helps explain why Jon Stewart is so popular. Here's certainly funny and has great writers, but Stewart also has a true voice and he's transparent about his worldviews. In that way, people can actually trust him more -- even though he does a "fake news show."
Podcaster Leo Laporte says that quality podcasts come when "you speak from your heart about things you care about that you're passionate about" because people are hungry for authenticity and personal connection. And this certainly extends to blogging and video blogging as well.Anyway, it's what my wife Jen and I were going for with these two vlog posts, and we seem to be on the right track telling from the feedback we've receive so far.
Ebb and Flow Episode 1
Finding a Home
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