from Web 2.0 Expo NY
the Meaning of Life – stop motion from Vytautas Alechnavicius on Vimeo.
Haiku project – stop motion based on Marcia’s haiku:
“The Meaning of Life”
She asked me about
The meaning of life,
didnt Know what to say— blank
Song: Outside – To Forgive But Not Forget
Crew: Vytautas Alechnavicius, Goda Jankute, Sergejs Radkevics,
Add.Help: Christina and Grace
http://eportfolio.partyofdreamers.com
Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams…
What happens when an unbelievable offer of $10000 risk free money is actually genuine?
At a TED talk earlier in the year, Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.
Henry Jenkins is the director, Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT. In this short video he discusses the power of media in a 21 century trans-mediated world. A world where converging technologies and cultures give rise to a new media landscape.
Freakonomics author Steven Levitt presents new data on the finances of drug dealing. Contrary to popular myth, he says, being a street-corner crack dealer isn’t lucrative.
David Heineimeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and partner at 37signals in Chicago, says that planning is guessing, and for a start-up, the focus must be on today and not on tomorrow. He argues that constraints–fiscal, temporal, or otherwise–drive innovation and effective problem-solving. The most important thing, Hansson believes, is to make a dent in the universe with your company. This clip was taken from Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner
Big Thoughts at The Bell House with Reggie Watts from Tom Mason on Vimeo.
Big Thoughts at The Bell House is an interview-based music series that plumbs the minds of traveling musicians.
Filmed backstage at The Bell House, a 1920’s warehouse-turned-music venue in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, each session begins with the question: “what have you been thinking about on the road in the wee hours of the morning?” What ensues is a free-flowing conversation culminating in a musical challenge: to create an improvised piece of music inspired by the topic at hand.
All performances are presented without digital audio effects.
Created by Tom Mason, Camera by Simon Doolittle
For more on Reggie Watts, visit www.reggiewatts.com
For more on The Bell House, visit www.thebellhouseny.com
Plenty of suspense…
Metal on Metal “BASTARD” from The Glue Society on Vimeo.
Directed by The Glue Society.
Starting out in social media can be very daunting for many brands – especially when resource may not be there to hire ‘experts’ instantly.
Alexandra Samuel recently wrote this piece in the Harvard Business Review. If you’re new to social media, we thought it may be helpful.
If you’ve got an experienced social media team, a solid budget and an appetite for innovation, you can create an original online presence that engages your customers or supporters in an entirely new kind of online experience.
But many organizations lack the time, budget or experience to start from scratch. That doesn’t limit your social media options to a generic corporate news blog or a standard-issue Facebook page. Here are three great options for robust social media presences that let you manage cost and risk by building on existing tools and established best practices.
1. Suggestion Box
What is it: Invite your customers, supporters or employees to submit their ideas and suggestions for new products, services or improvements. Community members get to rate submissions so the best ideas rise to the top; it’s your job to ensure top suggestions get implemented.
Great for: Consumer-facing brands open to product/service input; member-driven NGOs looking for policy or service ideas.
Examples: Dell Ideastorm , MyStarbucks Idea, Threadless
How to do it: Build your own site using a content management system; many now offer a Digg-style submission and voting system as an add-on. Or use a pre-fab solution like the Salesforce software that powers Dell’s site, or the turn-key Uservoice, designed specifically for managing customer suggestions.
Where to spend: Invest in the implementation of a few user-submitted ideas as soon as possible; then use your media team to publicize the fact that you’re listening. Once people know their ideas will turn into action, it will be easy to motivate participation.
Where to save: Don’t build your own submission-and-rating system from scratch. There are lots of turn-key options available.
Where to get help: Make sure you have a community manager who can reach out to potential early adopters — like the customers who already blog or tweet about your project. And if your product development team is less than thrilled about taking direction from consumers, hire an organizational development expert who can help you evolve into a more nimble and responsive organization.
2. Widget
What is it: Create an interactive badge your customers or supporters can place on their Facebook pages or blogs. A widget can display your latest news, deals or contests, invite Twitter-style updates, or solicit donations.
Great for: Popular brands with young, web-savvy customers who love to wear your logo; non-profits with young, eager-to-help supporters.
Examples: innocent drinks, Ask Your Lawmaker
How to do it: Use a service like SproutBuilder or WidgetBox to create a simple widget with content updates powered by your RSS feed; for non-standard approaches, a web developer or programmer can create something from scratch.
Where to spend: Design skills and interactivity to make your widget stand out from the pack; outreach and incentives to encourage people to install the widget.
Where to save: If you’re soliciting donations, use a widget or development kit designed for online fundraising, rather than creating your own donation system.
Where to get help: Widgets that exist to serve up content (like videos) thrive when they’re presenting really great media, so hire a great filmmaker, photographer or content development team. If your widget prompts action (like donations or media forwarding) get strategic help from someone with a track record in online campaigning.
3. Deal-of-the-day
What is it: Create an online presence that lets people know about a special, time-limited offer. It could be a product available in limited quantities, a discounted service, or donation matching. Update your offer regularly so there’s a reason for your audience to check back frequently.
Great for: Companies with new products or services they want to publicize; businesses with stock to clear; non-profits who want to balance their big-donor relationships with more grassroots fundraising.
Examples: Future Shop, Pizza Hut’s Facebook page
How to do it: Create a Twitter feed or Facebook page that you update once a day (or even once or twice a week) with a special offer. Promote your feed or page to fans or potential customers so they can track deals in real time.
Where to spend: Offering a real deal by taking a hit on profitability–or even taking a modest loss — so that your deals are meaningful (10% discounts don’t cut it). If you’re a nonprofit, invest in donor relationships with individuals or companies who can offer to match donations.
Where to save: Limit the number of items available for purchase or set a ceiling on matching donations so that you control your maximum outlay.
Where to get help: A social media ambassador or web-savvy publicist can help get the word out about your great offers so that you attract followers.
Written by Alexandra Samuel, CEO of Social Signal,
