Disqus - Latest Comments for Justin Kownacki

Re: The Ugliness of Pride in Blogging

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:19:37 -0000

Leesa:

I did the same thing just recently, and felt a bit odd about it. I'd posted something regarding mediocrity and what it takes to rise above it. When my girlfriend read it, she was upset that I'd placed myself in such a highly egotistical context -- one I didn't recognize at the time and am still not 100% sure was there in the first place.

But, just the same, I took it down. I have a large enough ego as it is, and when people close to me start telling me I'm coming off in a way that may be off-putting to others, that's worth considering.

In hindsight, I should have left the post up and gauged response and / or done the strikethrough thing, but I decided to be quick and easy about the fix.

Interesting to know about the astrological energies, though... It does seem to be going around the podosphere more than usual too...

Re: 2008 Pittsburgh Bloggers March Madness Challenge – Final Four Edition

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:14:04 -0000

Hmm... Either Lynsie and I have the same Final Four picks left -- which is why I can't possibly pass her on the way to the championship -- or you could only pick one native Erieite to root for in this final matchup, so you've selected Herr Locobhone. I understand your choice -- Lynsie is far more supportive of your Angel habit, and Loc hits with the force of ten men.

Re: Blogger Fantasy Football Update – Week 13

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:13:18 -0000

That 35 point lead comes despite John Kitna's penchant for throwing to the wrong jersey, or slamming himself into the ground when defenders come near...

Re: Technology That Empowers Me

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:55:51 -0000

Ironically, those of us in web video who've been preaching the "all-in-one-box" mantra for years were right after all... except for the part where your box doesn't play video all that well.

Yet.

The other stumbling block here is that, even though we can continue to boil our technological lives down to one or two boxes, everyone's still going to have their own VERSIONS of those boxes. I somehow doubt we'll ever reach full standardization, nor should we. But I do wonder if the utopian (and minimalist) hope for a "one box" solution is a pipe dream for precisely these capitalist reasons...

Re: My "Happiness" Series of Posts

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:32:51 -0000

Hey, glad to see someone's tackling the job of positive reinforcement...

Realizing you don't think you're being the best you can be, and taking action to change, is commendable. It deserves to be shared. The day we all stop aspiring to be better is the day they roll us up and let the cockroaches have a try at dominance.

Re: Tools I use on my Mac

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 12:07:33 -0000

Per your suggestion, I've just downloaded Levelator. I currently use Soundtrack Pro, but I'm always open to new possibilities.

And yes, I'm a Cyberduck fan too.

Re: Whoop Ass Over IP

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:27:42 -0000

I smell a meme.

Re: This is the New Media Fishbowl

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:09:45 -0000

I was quite sad that I didn't show up in this diagram... until I remembered I'm not on Facebook. *WHEW* I can keep on livin' in the fishbowl, even if the fishbowl cain't find me.

Re: Viral is not word of mouth

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:32:25 -0000

I think of "viral" as word-of-mouth on steroids. It's more than something interesting that I *might* pass along to a friend; it's almost compulsory. It has less to do with permission and more to do with the un-keep-down-ability of the message.

As such, it's as hard to create as it should be.

Re: We really are in trouble in this country. This is just the beginning of it.

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:48:21 -0000

But how much of a guarantee is FDIC insurance? If all aspects continue to head south, what requires these accounts to live up to their end of the bargain? Would the cash reserves even BE there for people when the bottom drops out?

Re: A Web Video Discussion

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:49:16 -0000

Amateurs can't compete in terms of production value or paid promotion, so they have to make it up in other areas, like innovation, interaction and relevance. Big studios will always be around, but they'll need to produce the types of stories that can't be told on minimal budgets in order to maintain a traditional theatergoing audience. Comedy and drama are universal draws, regardless of budget, but genre spectacles (horror, sci-fi, musicals, history, war) are much harder to produce in your backyard / cubicle.

Re: Matthew Ebel on STBD

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 15 May 2007 16:15:26 -0000

I wonder how much of our traffic at STBD this week is due to the fact that your video player conveniently placed the "Play" button on Justine's chest... Sneaky Ebel...

Re: Change Has Happened, Change Will Come

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:19:07 -0000

That's the key: Obama is the kind of figure who makes me want to be a better person in emulation of him. And when enough of my fellow Americans think enough of him to elect him our president, that makes me want to work even harder with them to improve this country.

For the first time in 8 years, I can say America isn't getting the president it deserves, but the promise it aspires to deserve.

Re: Back in Boston, Back in the Studio

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:24:03 -0000

Juke joint this place up. Nothing beats the winter blahs like some rollicking Squirrel Nut Zippers-type shenanigans.

Re: Erie PA News and Events for Wednesday November 8, 2006

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 21:22:10 -0000

Thanks for the PodCamp Pittsburgh mention! As a native Erie-ite (I've lived in Pittsburgh for 9 years), I hope to see some of you down here for the weekend! We've put together a very cool event, including sessions by Andrew Baron from Rocketboom, Alex Lindsay from TWiT and Brian Conley from Alive in Baghdad -- plus, it's free!

Visit http://www.podcamppittsburgh for more info, and to register!

Re: Happy Birthday Bacn!

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:07:13 -0000

Makes you wonder what'll happen at this year's event, doesn't it?...

Re: Photos of Chicken John’s Lost Vegas | Laughing Squid

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:03:08 -0000

Great shots. Granted, great subject matters helps, but still...

Re: 5 Blog Writing Tips To Get More Comments

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 23:19:22 -0000

Ben;

I just read about your new role in Grasshopper Media over on Chris Brogan's site. Congratulations! Chris has a huge passion for this emerging market, and he's excited about your take on the business angle, which has the rest of us who know Chris excited for the future of Grasshopper.

Perhaps we'll see both of you down at PodCamp Pittsburgh in November?

Best wishes.

Justin

Re: Should You Hire Workaholics For Your Startup?

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:20:16 -0000

Startups need to run on the blood of workaholics, 'tis true, but you're right to classify the breed of workaholic necessary -- a dedicated, passionate, motivated and level-headed one. People who LIKE staying late, working weekends and sacrificing personal relaxation for fame, fortune, or at least the promise of being able to pay the bills in the very near future.

However, there's a proper way to phrase everything, and coming across like The Guy Who Finds Nothing Wrong With the Puritans isn't going to ingratiate Calacanis with the denizens of the real world, who DO value balance in their lives and (perhaps correctly) perceive the startup space as a place where antisocial people with self-worth issues go to get rich and die young.

To each, his own. And to the man making a fortune off the blood of the workaholics? The universe has a better understanding of "balance" than you do, so listen when it starts talking.

Re: VON07 / Network2 Link-O-Rama

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:31:47 -0000

Great meeting you as well, Kfir. It's always interesting to chat with people who watch STBD. Reminds me that someone out there IS paying attention... ;)

Re: Breaking Down the Social Media Walls Part I – What Other Guys Have to Say About New Media

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:07:34 -0000

Hmm... So independent people who make themselves very available are actually LESS trustworthy than people who work for corporations and have their privacy guarded?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how living in a walled garden makes someone else more reliable...

Re: Come On - Grow Up! (Social Media Walls II)

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:36:25 -0000

There's no way to ensure that all information conferred in this "real time" immediacy is vital, though. As Twitter continues to prove, for every important post that crosses my eyeline, there are 40 arbitrary pieces of conversation.

Human beings need to express themselves at the speed of light, regardless of the weight of the conversation. If you think blogging is polluting the public discourse, wait until we can all communicate telepathically...

Re: 4 Features That Will Make Ustream Kick Ass (of Live TV at least)

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:05:01 -0000

Perhaps Ustream will enable a new armada of "sister" programs, like Twitter has with Twitteriffic, Tweetbar, Twitter Search, etc.

Ustream built it, we will come... Unless someone else does it better...

Re: What Old Media Can Learn from New Media Creators

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:57:58 -0000

STBD can operate on the cheap for now, 'tis true. Eventually, everyone involved -- from the cast to yours truly (aka the guy cracking the whip) -- would like to earn a living from the endeavor. But we're not alone in that desire.

Eventually, the world at large will realize that the inexpensive entry point for web video means THIS is the next incarnation of film school...

Re: 5 Characters We All Met in The Social Media Space

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 04 May 2007 11:00:55 -0000

The Namedropper: I may have no idea what this person actually DOES, but I certainly know who he KNOWS, because he won't stop mentioning them. And I say - Citing quotes and referencing anecdotes is fine for social or metaphorical communication. But no one needs to read another 20 Twitters about who you sat next to on the hotel shuttle back from the conference.

Re: Can Someone Please Create The HBO Of Online Video?

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:04:01 -0000

Yes.

But...

There's still the "chicken or the egg" question of: Is the online audience large enough, and discerning enough, to WANT an exclusive channel of quality shows (yet)... or do we need to work harder to create more quality shows across multiple channels in order to DRAW that larger audience in? Because that exclusive channel needs to monetize, and will likely have higher overhead due to the expenses of promoting those 10 shows than a standard channel that offers literally millions of videos.

Quality is more expensive (all around) than quantity. Are we there yet?

Re: Why and How Internet TV Creators Shoot Themselves In The Foot - Myself Included

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:00:00 -0000

I think you're still getting ahead of yourself. Before we need to "redefine" the medium, we need to actually "define" it. The average person is still clueless about the possibilities and potential of web video -- they believe it all begins and ends with YouTube.

Before we need to worry about clarifying labels, we need to make sure the labels fit in the first place...

Re: Why and How Internet TV Creators Shoot Themselves In The Foot - Myself Included

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 04:08:29 -0000

I do find it amusing that we've managed to bash "internet" AND "tv" on this thread about Internet TV. And yet, meanwhile, we're still no closer to a better explanation of what we do (or how it differs demonstrably from existing descriptions).

Take a lesson from "podcasting" -- once a lousy term enters the public consciousness, there's no dislodging it. Semantics and framing are more reptilian than we'd like to believe, and it takes a HUGE effort to rebrand a concept.

Meanwhile, I keep calling it web video... Seems simpler, yet offers more opportunity for interpretation.

Re: Online Storytelling, Justification, And What The Godfather Has To Do With It

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:40:45 -0000

The "rules" of online storytelling will be defined by the successful storytellers. They will also likely be variations on the "rules" that have worked in previous media.

I think the key rule is immediate audience engagement. A web viewer isn't seated in a theater, subject to the pacing of the writer / director for 90 minutes. He or she is also not watching TV, where the act of changing the channel still requires the act of finding and clicking a remote control. On the web, sitting still long enough to watch a 5 minute video IS the anomaly of "standard" behavior, so to engage that viewer, a video must be immediately interesting.

After that, anything goes... for five minutes. (And yes, that includes references to unseen / offline characters. It worked in "Cheers" as well -- we never see Norm's wife Vera in the entirety of the TV series' run, though she's referenced in nearly every episode.)

Re: What does Wallstrip Cancelletion Mean for Internet TV?

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:24:16 -0000

Also, keep in mind that there are numerous variables involved in any show's cancellation:

* Did the program run its course?
* Were the creators (or distributor) burned out?
* Did the subject matter dry up?
* Did someone get a better deal elsewhere?
* Were there politics involved?

One example isn't enough to judge an entire medium by, but if there's a rash of well-produced shows getting expunged, then we can say there's a trend.

Re: Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 Day One

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:44:00 -0000

Michael;

Thanks so much for coming to PodCamp Pittsburgh 2! It was great having you there, snapping away like crazy. (Nice to see a guy who enjoys his work, and thanks for all the very cool photos!)

I hope you met some cool people, and if you didn't get a chance to introduce yourself around, now you can keep track of everyone through Twitter, etc. (As long as all the bacn doesn't interfere with graduation...)

Re: Why You Should NOT Wake Up Early Tomorrow

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:44:11 -0000

As a fellow night owl, I completely agree. People should worry less about fitting into someone else's pre-designed notion of when "appropriate" work times are, and instead find their own rhythm. I guarantee you, everyone's is different, but we're never encouraged to find them because the banks and post office are only open from 9-5.

Re: The Secret to a Successful All-Nighter

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 21:31:08 -0000

Blasting music is useful if you live alone. I don't, so I need to watch my audio output during all-nighters.

However, I have noticed another energy-conserving tip: proper lighting. My office features the deadening hum of fluorescent lighting directly above my (ergonomically horrendous) desk. I've noticed that switching to halogen lamps creates a much more inviting atmosphere, which DOESN'T sap my energy nearly as fast.

Also: don't eat big meals, but do snack at intervals. The act of getting up to nibble on something might be just the change of atmosphere you need to recharge for a moment.

Re: It’s Blog Action Day

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:24:03 -0000

I don't know that taking action just so you can smugly rub it in people's faces really encapsulates the message of an altruistic event like Blog Action Day... although, if it gets people off their asses, I suppose it's better than typing 1000 meaningless words of support and then gassing up one's SUV...

As for the more important word in the phrase, yes, ACTION trumps BLOG by a landslide.

Re: Do you know what’s happening in Newark?

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:17:54 -0000

One way to keep kids safe: give everyone something proactive to do with their lives, rather than waiting for all the "bad apples" to end up in jail.

Personal responsibility is out the door in this country, replaced by semantics and empty promises. Where are the social leaders who can see the big picture and address change as more than just a re-election buzzword?

Re: Gramps

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 02:39:08 -0000

Chris;

I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather's condition, but I'm glad to see you have a vault of memories to share with your kids so they won't forget him either. Don't miss out on the opportunity to be as good of a father or a grandfather -- or an inspiration -- as you can be. Somehow I doubt that's even possible, given your life.

Best wishes,

Justin

Re: Build Content Networks- at Grasshopper Factory

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 21:43:10 -0000

I agree. Now, how about transferring this post / summary to the Video on the Net follow-up wiki at http:/videoonthenet.pbwiki.com?

Re: News: Chris Brogan Joins pulvermedia to Work on Video on the Net, Other Properties

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 23:23:33 -0000

Congratulations! It's great to see you find a connection to what you WANT to do and what you're obviously so good at. Best wishes and full speed ahead!

Re: My Plans for Podcast and Portable Media Expo

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:59:24 -0000

As I won't be able to attend PME, what I want for PME is for Chris to update me with all the "Holy cow, do you know who I just met / what I just saw / where I just was?" moments I would have otherwise been able to enjoy in person.

Re: Visiting HQ

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 10:31:46 -0000

Whatever happened to calling one's spouse using the in-room hotel phone?

Re: Live from JFK

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:18:18 -0000

Is there a PodCamp Pittsburgh (Nov 10-12) in there as well?

Isn't it great to be in demand?

Re: How Will We Move This Forward?

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:25:16 -0000

Good points about the paralysis of choice, Senor Penn...

I was talking with some small business owners in Bellevue last night, a borough in Pittsburgh wehere we film a lot of Something to Be Desired. They were wondering what more they can do to create a buzz around their neighborhood that brings more people in to experience their various destinations -- a superb high-end restaurant, a Euro-style nightclub, a singular coffee shop and a one-of-a-kind thrift store, among others.

The resultant conversation sparked an idea in my head and I now believe I have the template for the future of community-building media communications in my mind. I'm excited to talk about it with the next round of conversationalists and see where we can take it.

The web: it's not just for corporations anymore.

Re: Proving He Loves Me

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:26:40 -0000

Will I ever take a photo that doesn't make me look like a world-class douche? Probably not...

Perhaps I should instead stop being a world-class douche...

Re: damn you, American Airlines

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:02:09 -0000

United is no better, from my experience. JetBlue, Southwest and (um) AirTran have been my best experiences thus far. Something tells me businesses lose their ability to serve customers after a certain growth margin.

Aspiring web moguls: keep that in mind..

Re: PodCamp Pittsburgh After the Fact

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 23:18:47 -0000

Chris;

Thanks so much for inspiring the idea of PodCamp and helping those of us in the new media space find ahome for our scattered, passionate and disruptive thoughts. May we all continue to learn together and grow together as this medium explodes.

Now put your pants on.

Re: Small Boxes 01 - Home and Away

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 17:56:43 -0000

Having a family is so 1997...

http://spamusement.com/index.php/comics/view/81

Re: Catblogging for Months and Aware of It

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 03:07:53 -0000

I read ChrisBrogan.com because I know you and I want to see what you're up to. I think of it as a message board, where you post your thoughts and then, hours or weeks later, I can come in and post mine. It's a poor excuse for an instant messenger window, but it works the same way.

I would also be reading here even if I didn't know you. However, I've been reading far more often now than I did before we met professionally. Then, the items you posted that were "of value" to a theoretical audience weren't always of direct value to me personally. But now, even when you're stuck in an airport for an hour and have nothing to say otherwise, I feel I get more value from that, in a way.

I guess the questions is, Who are you looking to provide value to, and how? People you know (or who want to know you), about things that happen to you and things you care about, or people you don't know, and about information you're claiming to be an expert on?

Derisive a word as it may be, there's a reason catbloggers have loyal readers -- nobody wants a pitch, they want a story, and even better, a conversation. Mostly, they just want other people.

Re: Planning and Time Horizons

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 03:13:11 -0000

I don't believe in time horizons. I believe in goals, and I believe in realistic expectations, but I don't believe in charting my life for the next five years according to how I feel today. What works in the broad sense (how I feel, who I am, what I want and need) is not what works in the microcosmic sense (how new experiences and relationships will alter my immediate needs and opportunities, changing markets and worldviews, adjustments made as I improve).

If you want something, follow your heart / head / gut. I believe everyone knows the best way to get there. Everything else is just semantics.

The key is to realize what's holding you back and take action to overcome that stumbling block. Maybe overcoming stumbling blocks can become a new pastime in itself. Moreover, perhaps you'll be free of stumbling blocks if you cleave through everything, and then you'll see the bigger scarier question:

What now?

In the meantime, don't get too hung up on specifics and time charts and Getting Things Done, because that's just another falsified reality. Instead, get excited about becoming Chris Brogan and let the rest fall into place around you, sir.

Re: My Life Planning Model

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:10:19 -0000

Good advice.

Q: What happens when what matters most to you isn't paying the bills?

(A: Find a way to merge the two, I think.)

Re: Iron Man and Jeff Pulver

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:37:48 -0000

I just want to know what Iron Man did wrong -- besides the alcoholism, womanizing, government evasion and everything else that makes him great. "Tipping his hand" seems less likely to get his ass handed to him than "operating the suit while stinking drunk."

Re: New Colonies

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:48:52 -0000

Colonies need money to survive, but there's no way the French would have given the Americans that money if they didn't think the colonies had a reasonable chance of survival.

Who among us has a reasonable chance of survival? Which members of this new colony have proven they understand the way things work, and have clear-cut plans for the future?

Not many of us.

And yet we all go forth into the wilderness, begging (or blogging)...

I do agree with the circular tail of the main post-PodCamp Pittsburgh conversation, which said, "Monetization is all well and good (and yes, necessary), but there's no money to be made from things no one wants."

We either have to be good or be in demand -- preferably both -- because being mediocre and repleaceable won't get you very far.

What's the original or vital element you, as a colonist, can bring to the table? Are you a blacksmith (tech guru)? Farmer (content creator)? Tailor (web designer)? Cook (content network)? Or are you one of the many mouths that need to be fed while performing the manual labor necessary to build the infrastructure of the colony?

Discern your goal, discover your role and find a way to fit within the proactive framework. Otherwise, your ship might sink.

Re: Penn Brilliance

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:15:14 -0000

We're holding a PodCamp Pittsburgh follow-up on December 12th, a one month check-up to see who's doing what and how. It's essentially a happy hour meet-up, but it'll be about two hours, and everyone will probably have about two drinks.

Sessions? We're skipping that part in favor of an open conversation. Probably because of the two drinks...

Re: Disruptions and Flow

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:19:44 -0000

The thing is, there's one element none of us can foresee: the spark that motivates a nation.

The American colonists had religious persecution to escape from, followed by the need for survival. After that, a better relationship with God would be the next pot-stirrer for that community.

What do we, in this new colony, have as motivation? Money's not enough -- everyone back in England needed money too, not just the new colonists. What are we "escaping" onto the internet FOR, exactly? Why is this new medium so valuable, and how is our success within it vital to our survival?

The fire has yet to be lit under the general public OR under the general new media creator -- it's still a "safe" place to be, where we can putter without fear of consequence. Putterers don't revolutionize.

What's our spark?

Re: Business Tips for New Media Types

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:56:18 -0000

All of the above makes sense to me, especially the part about exclusivity. I agree that will be the big buzz of 2007, as far as I can tell, when the smart companies will look to lock up properties for the long haul (3-5 years). If it's in your best interest to sign with one of them, then do so, but remember: we all entered this space for the autonomy, and there's a trade-off between control and income.

Otherwise, we all would have kept trying to break into television or film 24/7.

Re: Seek Frame Build Bridge

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 01:58:33 -0000

Four words? I don't know, that may be pushing the catchphrase theme a bit...

It certainly sounds preferable to Bitch. Complain. Slap. Moan. Which, as I recall, is how the Three Stooges became famous.

Happy 2007!

Re: Yougle

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 01:00:45 -0000

I agree with both sides of this equation. Google is great for "impersonal" information and opinions, because I don't know the people giving them. For basic factual information, it comes in handy. But if I want to know something from a day-to-day consumer or patron POV, I'll ask someone I know whose opinion I trust (unless I've found someone online whose opinion -- via blogs, etc. -- is similar to mine in other cases... and even then, that's one alternative to talking to a friend).

Re: Power Poster

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:55:46 -0000

Power posters, eh? Nice idea. Wait until we all have video flatscreen bulletin boards and we can make ourselves power videos to watch like screensavers in the morning and at night...

Or, record an interview with yourself six months to a year in the future, and play it back every so often, to reinforce the ideas of where you'll be.

Re: Power Poster

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:01:18 -0000

No, the people who created handheld voice recorders and imagination beat me to it. I'll leave the trampled genius stuff to Tesla. Not the band.

Re: Wishing Versus Doing

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:04:02 -0000

I don't even know that you need to ask for forgiveness all that often. Just be the bets person you can be and let the effects of your actions work themselves out.

Except Hitler and Mugabe. They have some explaining to do.

Re: Wishing Versus Doing

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:04:46 -0000

edit: "best."

Re: Social Matters

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:21:41 -0000

Aye, face time will never be trumped by digital connection. It's great that we can all share ideas in various media, but all of that needs to be seen for what it is: an impetus to cause all of us to come together IN PERSOn as often as possible.

Of course, most of us would never have even known we WANTED to talk to each other if not for the internet, so celebrate its ability to allow us all to first put our boats in the water.

Re: Friendsourcing and FriendHelp

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:40:52 -0000

Devil's advocate: sometimes working with friends creates its own brand of complications. Make sure there are clear boundaries set, so the working relationship and the friendship don't become entangled. That way, if one person starts slacking on the work end, it can be dealt with in a way that won't disrupt the friend end.

Re: Who Wins the Revolution

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 11:58:19 -0000

To Graeme: revolutions only happen when numerous people care about something enough to take action and incite change. It rarely happens among the contented in any class / society. One group or contingency needs to feel they're being marginalized, unjustly, and therefore are driven by a primal need for self-actualization and respect from others.

Does what we're doing with the new media (r)evolution qualify? I think it depends on exactly what you feel you're able to do now that you couldn't do before. I'm not sure portable media is enabling the marginalized to be heard and inspiring widespread institutional change based upon hard-fought ideals in quite the same way as the American or French revolutions gave power to the people.

Then again, I may be wrong.

Re: Who Are Your Fans

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 12:05:05 -0000

I think you need to make a key distinction: your (target) audience and your fans are not always the same thing.

Your audience is the people you BELIEVE are hearing your message, the ones you CREATE the message for.

Your fans are the people who RESPOND to your message, who TAKE ACTION based upon what you say or do.

We may think we're creating something that appeals to a certain group of people when, in fact, it appeals to a completely different group for completely different reasons that we never considered.

As the pipe company who owned the "utube" URL proved when they were slammed with misguided YouTube traffic, it's not who you THINK you're talking to that matters; it's who's HEARING you.

Re: Dave Says We Dont Take Podcasting Seriously

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:57:26 -0000

Interesting thoughts. I'll comment there shortly, but I wanted to mention I've just blogged about the underlying nature of what I believe makes PodCamp work, and it has a lot more to do with the conversation than the timeframe.

Re: Your Show Itself is NOT the Money Maker

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:12:09 -0000

Anecdote from yesterday's PodCamp Pittsburgh Meet-Up: I aked the room how everyone intends to differentiate themselves from everyone ELSE in the room.

"In a way," I said, "we're all competitors." This provoked some differing opinions from the participants.

"Why should I listen to one person's podcast instead of another?" I asked.

"You don't have to choose," someone said. "Just download them both to your iPod."

"Yes," I said, "but which one will I listen to FIRST?"

Time continues to be the only resource each of us has exactly the same amount of, and everyone wants to be worth your time. What are each of us doing to mkake ourselves worth another person's time?

Re: Who Do You Know in New Media

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:38:41 -0000

Thanks for posting a photo where I'm actually eating. People were beginning to wonder...

Re: Productivity vs Time Worked-Farming and Harvesting

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:48:19 -0000

The hardest thing, I think, about the increasing customizability of people's lives, down to their independent control of their time, is the decentralization that comes with it. As great as it is to be able to do something whenever I want to (or whenever I can), it's true that it might not always be done at the BEST time for maximum effect -- i.e., for everyone ELSE.

How do we refocus our newfound independence to best suit our newfound community?

Re: Community and Rockstars

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:05:54 -0000

Ironically, I suspect very few ACTUAL rockstars WANT to spend time with their community and hand out roadmaps. Perhaps that's the IDEAL version of a rockstar...

Re: Friendsourcing Needs- Can We Work Together

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:58:48 -0000

"Chris Brogan builds bridges" may be the best solution ever.

Even though we at STBD use the one-episode-homepage method, I'm not so sure that's the way to go for episodes that each focus on something slightly different. I've always thought Rocketboom would do better with their archives easily scrollable. I wonder what the average views of archived material on RB-designed sites are. (Drew?)

Re: SNACK- Goodbye to NEW Media

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:52:54 -0000

Hey, remember when we were all arguing over whether the term should be "podcasting" or "netcasting" or "webcasting?"

Having a catchy buzzword to power the conversation always helps.

Rushing to declare a word "dead" will always be in vogue, especially if it seems to create equality where there is none among the masses (yet).

Few people have the individual power to create a meme, much less name a medium. The general public will decide whether we're podcasters or eMedia creators, or when we simply become storytellers. Adoption comes on their timeframe, not ours.

And I say this as a person who's been creating a web sitcom for 4 years now, and which the public has yet to divine a subgenre for.

Yet.

Re: Use These New Media Tools

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:44:15 -0000

I agree with Char -- I actually don't use RSS at all, except for one or two videoblogs I subscribe to in iTunes (egad). Everything else, I do manually. I'm not sure if it's more personal or just more easily differentiated in my head, but I enjoy seeing each element in its native environment, rather than strained through mine.

One tool you might want to include in your toolbox is a wiki. Sites like PBWiki make it extremely easy to host a publicly-editable website where everyone can join the conversation -- a la Wikipedia.

Oh, and it's interesting you mention this topic today, as we in Pittsburgh have just announced BootCamp PGH, a one-day, "bare basics" introduction to new media for the folks who feel PodCamp is speaking just a little over their heads. Never blogged or podcasted before but think you could (or should)? Attend our free one-day event and get the answers you need to get started!

Re: Screw Complex Systems

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:53:42 -0000

Thanks for posting that. It's like the guy is looking over my shoulder. Creepy...

Re: Social Media Starter Kit

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 12:18:39 -0000

It may be obvious, but I believe everyone / every business can make use of a MySpace profile. Sure, the site is horribly designed, but you can hack it to pieces or just find ways to maximize its existing capabilities. Some tips:

- Every time you have an upcoming event / new video post / anything you NEED your audience to engage with, issue a MySpace Event Listing. Then, invite everyone on your list, or just those who fit the geographic profile.

- Change your photo often. Nothing brings in repeat profile lurkers like a new photo every day.

- Don't use MySpace's blog feature if you already have one of your own. Just make one post that sends all blog hunters to your "real" blog URL.

- Issue bulletins with grippingly cryptic titles. On MySpace, bulletins are Google AdWords in the hands of the people.

- Leave ads in the comments on your friends' profiles that direct traffic back to your profile. If you can do this in a non-ad, "conversationally contextual" way -- like, say, ACTUALLY having a dialogue with someone -- that's even better.

- Cross-blast your traditional marketing materials (press releases, email updates, etc.) to your MySpace friends. Cutting-and-pasting works wonders and enables you to hit another few thousand people.

Re: Social Media Starter Kit

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:31:02 -0000

Actually, the slightly older crowd seems to be migrating to other, newer social networking sites, including those that specifically target an older crowd ( like Parents Connect) or professionally-oriented sites (like LinkedIn).

But, as the industry leader, MySpace still provides value. After all, you can simply check the box under "Children" that says "Proud Parent" while searching for new friends to add...

Re: Twitter as a Community Tool

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:46:24 -0000

It's possible that groups are SO obviously a good idea, they simply held them back from the initial release, so they could drop them in "by popular demand" down the line...

Re: Contributing in the Snack Culture

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:09:43 -0000

I agree with most of the above. The big keys: hook them from the first bite (or opening scene) and be able to take it with you / share it.

The biggest problem I have with BuzzMachine and other like-minded blogs are the overlong paragraphs. It gets to a point where I can't tell what's more important than anything else. We're on the move; we need bullet points, lists and short summaries.

I also agree that this kind of thinking leaves room for the reverse killer-app: long-term food for thought. But in a snack-driven world, those long-form meals had better be better than ever.

Does all this mean iJustine is even more prescient than I thought when she named her blog TastyBlogSnack long, long ago?

Re: Twitter is the New Gate Jumper

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:42:34 -0000

Uh oh... Twitter is the latest "thing" that people "don't get"...

Which means, if I "get it"... it must be old news by now.

Where's the NEXT big app?

(At some point, we'll all evolve so fast that the future will be retro.)

Re: One Thing To do Different Today

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 04:30:31 -0000

Boy, this superheroism blogging is going around. I think you, me and Penn are all drinking from the same cup.

Wash your hands.

My superpower? Easy: Captain Harebrained Scheme, on patrol. No concept too unlikely, no ideas too disparate, no business model too unwieldy to be seriously considered.

You've got a carrot and a donkey? I see an eco-friendly mobile fertilization unit. Give me two hours and $2000 and I'll write you up a franchise license...

Re: How it Works Around Here

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:49:06 -0000

The less you control, the more you have to offer.

Re: Tags Are Your New Website

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:05:28 -0000

It depends completely on how much you insist on controlling your brand and how much you enable your users / participants to "be" your brand.

It's getting to the point where your brand is a by-product of the experience of the users; that experience IS the brand, and your USERS ARE the brand.

Re: The Importance of Collaborative Creativity

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 13:37:11 -0000

In the future, "gallery openings" will be done via SMS...

Re: Maintaining Community Spirit In Larger Communities

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 13:50:16 -0000

The reason we had such a great run of PR before PodCamp Pittsburgh is because Erik took the time to contact EVERYONE who may have been interested in the event, as far as we could tell. Having one person dedicated solely to that is a godsend.

(And even then, people still said afterwards, "Oh, I wish I'd heard about that," which proves you can never get in front of everybody fast enough...)

Having such a huge number of people at PodCamp NYC shouldn't be a problem as long as everyone remembers the basic tenets continually mentioned above: be social, be friendly, ask questions.

The biggest problem I see is the sheer amount of information available, and the trouble some folks may have in deciding what to see.

Solutions? Encourage people who arrived in groups, or from the same company, to NEVER attend the same session. That way, those folks get double the information to discuss afterwards, and meet double the people in the process.

Also, if the presentations are being recorded, make sure EVERYONE knows that so they can catch up on what they missed afterwards. It'll take a lot of the anxiety of choice out of the equation.

Re: Katrina Makes a Birthday Movie

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:01:51 -0000

Happy birthday, sir. Kat did a great job. Next time she asks you to teach her a computer program, you'll suspect something similar, I'm sure...

As for us, our STBD Brogan Birthday video met with destruction at the hands of my DV tape heads. Suffice it to say, it included three attractive girls wrestling with the hypothetical question: "Chris Brogan or a tank full of lobsters?"

[Spoiler alert: they preferred Chris Brogan...]

Re: Reach Escape Velocity

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:58:19 -0000

Agree, agree and agree.

As an added twist, if you're NOT a generally shy person, you may want to combine Chris's first two tips: go off and meet new people and see new things completely on your own.

Getting to see old friends at events is great, and is one of the primary reasons I attend. But Chris is right: that comfort zone is seductive, and after a few minutes you might get the impression that you don't NEED to meet new people because you're surrounded by old people.

Take a break from the safety net. Agree to reconvene later. Heck, challenge everyone from the old group to bring someone new back to the evening's mixer. Whatever you do, find new ways to meet new people, or the conversation becomes a closed loop.

Re: Left Behind

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:03:21 -0000

I just opined about the future of MySpace, and I have a feeling I'll be writing something similar about Twitter/Jaiku in a few months.

The difference between "keeping up with the Joneses" and the jump to Jaiku is noteworthy, though: Twitter is a conversation. It's a party. if the party leaves the room, the people at that party / having that conversation don't want to be left behind.

Funny observation: who was the tipping point for the Jaiku migration? Which of the top-level Twitterers said, "I'm moving to Jaiku," and everyone else suddenly realized they had to take it seriously?

Those are people with the power to shift markets. And I'm betting it was Brogan and / or Scoble.

Re: Internet Will Change Everything

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:14:17 -0000

"Borders still count for something." Indeed.

Re: Chris Brogan One Year Later

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:15:49 -0000

Considering you've essentially helped create a culture where there was none a year ago, it's impossible to predict where this culture will lead you -- or where you'll lead the culture.

My best guess? You'll be:

- Doing something you're even MORE passionate about than what you're doing today,

- Working with some people you already know and some who aren't even on your radar now,

- Uniting strangers toward a common goal in a manner that disrupts their safety zones in a positive way, and

- You'll be far more content and healthy, both physically and emotionally, considering all the uncertainty you've been tackling this past year.

Onward and upward.

Re: My Best Networking Tips

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:54:34 -0000

Be memorable.

I don't mean wear a silly tie or tell racist jokes. I mean be someone I want to remember. You can do that by being knowledgeable, or funny, or charming, or a combination of all of the above.

I'm talking to people because I want to meet people I want to work with. If I want to work with you, it means I want to spend part of my exceedingly busy life with you.

Be someone worth my time. Be memorable.

Re: Thinking Blogger or Writing Blogger

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 22:01:08 -0000

Writing blogger, with one caveat.

Frequently, I'll get an idea for a blog post while walking or driving, and so I'll "pre-write" it in my head due to lack of computer at hand. Otherwise, I just start typing and see where it goes.

That's how I give live presentations, too. Come to BootCamp and marvel at my off-the-cuffery.

Re: Media Makers Need to Climb the Value Chain

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:03:42 -0000

So what you're saying is: we need to start acting like we're worth something?

Isn't growing a spine the antithesis to new media creation?

Re: Front Load Your Writing

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:05:04 -0000

@Linda: I'm not so sure it's sloppy reading that's the problem. How about "people have far more to do in far less time than ever before?" Why waste my time making a long-winded point?

I always ask this hypothetical: WHY should I spend my time listening to you?

If anything, I think it's the WRITERS who have to learn to not be self-important. If people want to read / hear / see more from you (or me), they'll tell us.

Otherwise, please don't presume you're worth more than a few moments of someone's time.

Re: Wake Up

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:00:09 -0000

Agreed. Every so often, my life needs a little recharge and refocus.

Four credit cards' worth of debt? No, more like 5 or 6...

The key for me is to simplify AND motivate. One leads to the other. If I have too much to do, I'll freeze and I won't do anything. If I have only a few things to do, I'll be lazy and I won't do anything either. I need to have JUST ENOUGH to do to get the important things done -- a strategic semi-clutter.

Re: Reasons Why I LOVE JetBlue and not Continental

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:52:14 -0000

JetBlue continues to be the best flight experience, hands down. Larger carriers feel impersonal and move too slowly to be accommodating. JetBlue still feels like a "we're all in this together" adventure, rather than a "thanks for your money" exchange.

I've had numerous lousy experiences with US Air. I've had numerous positive experiences with JetBlue and SouthWest. In air travel, smaller is better.

Re: Human Experiences

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 02 May 2007 11:21:40 -0000

On the opposite side of the equation... comedy (and life) is math.

Re: Fishbowl

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 05 May 2007 12:59:26 -0000

Two points:

1) Shawn Smith of Geek Riot and I were having a similar conversation on Thursday. His take? "It seems like everyone who's interested in new media is IN new media." The rest of the world has yet to catch on.

2) I've been approached by a union representative who's indicated that STBD should work with them to develop a deferred payment contract for the actors. I find it ironic that I can barely afford to produce the show, yet agents of law (and commerce) are already stepping in to ensure that they get their piece of the pie, if and when there IS a pie.

It seems a bit ludicrous to worry about employment contracts when your average New Yorker can't name a podcast, no?

Re: An Autobiography of Sorts

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 23 May 2007 10:37:11 -0000

I merit an entire paragraph in the Chris Brogan story? Wow, I must be doing something right.

In the film version of this blog post, I insist I be played by Topher Grace...

Re: An Autobiography of Sorts

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 24 May 2007 11:51:22 -0000

Yes, keep evolving. But not into a shark. That would be scary and your children would cry.

Re: The Right Tool for the Job

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 28 May 2007 11:03:33 -0000

Don't forget: your audience might also need multiple avenues into your brand. I myself don't listen to much audio -- if I have the time, I'd prefer to watch video -- but I eat up quick text bursts and photos. There's something to be said for utilizing ALL forms of communication effectively within your message / brand / experience.

Anyone doing that yet? It seems like most of us are more monomedia than multimedia, with exceptions.

Re: What Need Does This Site Fill

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:52:54 -0000

You're figuring things out and you share that experience with us. You're the designated explorer for the Web 2.0 world. Because you're passionate about gathering information and meeting people, it influences the rest of us to reconsider what we're doing and whether it's what we WANT to (or SHOULD) be doing, every day.

Re: Audio Podcast-Confidence

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:39:59 -0000

Great conversation.

Confidence is a mindset. Overconfidence / arrogance is THE OPPOSITE of confidence; it's the falsified external lie we tell people when we KNOW we're not sure.

The most confident people in the world are also the most sedate because they don't feel the need to make their case public. They KNOW they're competent, and therefore confident.

Re: Killing Jacks

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:04:41 -0000

I think general education still needs to be well-rounded -- everyone needs the basics of language, math, arts, sports, etc. But, at a certain time, one should be encouraged to delve more deeply into what they're good at.

Of course, you don't always find what you're good at without wandering the countryside a bit...

Re: Adult Language-Coffee is For Closers

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:30:04 -0000

So it's cool that, after watching that video, I'm reminded that I couldn't give two flying fucks about commerce. I'm sure I'll be shining some guy's shoes somewhere down the line, but the trick is, I can also leave and have nothing to lose.

And isn't THAT a bitch? Be very, very wary of the people with nothing to lose. They remember that everything you work for is shit...

Cheers.

Re: Your Job as a New Media Artisan

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:06:57 -0000

The NUMBER ONE THING ANY SHOW can do to improve itself is tightening up. That doesn't necessarily mean getting shorter -- though it almost always happens, as a by-product -- but it DOES mean cutting out the filler. The average reader / listener / viewer is there for the main course, and has very little time to waste on non-core experience.

Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone. But it probably applies to you.

Yes, you.

Re: The Power of THIS Community

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 01:20:53 -0000

I have a feeling there will be another couple hundred photos of Chris Brogan canoodling with attractive geeks while gnashing teeth at the camera, Euro-style, after this week. Have fun bringing the love of community to the old world, sir.

Re: Expanding the Internet TV Audience

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 01:20:49 -0000

Why SHOULD Kfir Pravda's mom watch internet video?

What's being produced online that the average woman in her 40s-60s would be interested in?

Is it something she can already get on her TV, in a format she's used to and understands?

It's a chicken-before-the-egg scenario: people won't move to web video in droves until there's something there FOR them, not just the tech heads and early adopters... but the wider swath of programming won't appear until there's an audience that can support it.

The best thing that can happen is a leveling of the distribution playing field. Stop thinking your computer is at war with your TV and find ways for them to work together. Then the audiences are the same, AND they're already there.

Re: Endorsement by Attention

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:08:09 -0000

Great point about implied endorsements. I think those are the most powerful. People are always looking for "hidden signs," because we want to believe we're crafty and "ahead of the game" -- even as children -- so when you get an implied endorsement to do something, it sticks in your head.

This is why productivity tends to drop at work when the boss is in a good mood, or why missing a deadline and still retaining that client gives the impression that the client will accept substandard work.

Re: 100 Comments- Mojo for Video

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:37:22 -0000

Option A: A subject that people are ALREADY passionate about.

Option B: Characters that people GROW to care about.

Option C: Information that you CANNOT FIND elsewhere.

Option D: An EMOTIONAL impact.

Option E: A good punchline.

Obviously, every one of these criteria is subjective. But a video doesn't become "viral" without one of the above elements.

Re: Questions for You and Me

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:23:55 -0000

#1 Between now and last July, my life improved by meeting hundreds of other bloggers, video producers and other social media creators -- and fans -- face to face. My free time, surprisingly, is now richer because I'm working that much more.

#2 My next move for my career is settling my massive financial imbalance. I'll get there by taking several private steps to clear up existing debt and then begin living like a financially responsible adult instead of someone who's expecting a market to appear overnight.

#3 I can teach Chris Brogan how to edit on Final Cut, how to attract and retain passionate collaborators, and how to win at NBA Live 2004 for the PS2.

Re: New Media Types- Pay Attention to PodTech

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:22:59 -0000

You really need to subscribe to the Yahoo Videobloggers' group. Lots of conversations there that put all this PodTech news in a completely different light. Not saying anything's right or wrong, because I believe in grey areas -- but I also believe it's better to have a wider picture.

Re: When Points Get Missed

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:25:28 -0000

Thank GOD it's more difficult to produce good video than good audio. That should mean fewer people will wade into the video field, and therefore make it easier to FIND quality video content...

Except for the part where YouTube serves up 100 million videos per day... Surely not all of them are what we'd consider "quality."

Meanwhile, anyone have any numbers on how many audio podcasts are served up every day?

Re: Media Makers Next Steps

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:34:17 -0000

Actually, there are 4 ways to succeed in this emerging market:

1) Find a way to play nice with the companies who have money (i.e., creating content for paying clients).

2) Find a way to make new money for an existing comapny (i.e., Financial Aid Podcast as an extension of an existing profitable business).

3) Find a new, undiscovered, untapped niche and exploit it first.

4) Find a new, undiscovered, untapped niche and exploit it best.

You don't have to play by "old media rules," but if you're not going to, you'd better be exploring, striving, taking chances, persevering and finding all the opportunities you possibly can.

Otherwise, you're just treading water, hobbyist.

Re: Records and Miniseries

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:49:10 -0000

Actually, any "miniseries" idea I could suggest would actually seem like an idea I wouldn't want to see end. Community, motivation, creativity, passion... these are all topics that could be fruitful for years.

A miniseries should break off a specific part of a story with a defined (by you or by the topic itself) beginning, middle and end. Say, "a monthlong look at community in Boston startups." That way, you can have a thesis, use the miniseries to test the thesis, and then draw conclusions. By that rationale, Ze Frank's "The Show" was a (yearlong) miniseries.

Oh, and as a video producer, yes, I agree: break your show down into manageable mini-chunks. That's why STBD has moved to 10-episode arcs, which allow us a breather in-between. Easier to grasp, for viewers and for us.

Re: Review Your Output

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 15:42:06 -0000

Daniel's right: more important than whether your blog is accomplishing x, y or z is whether your blog -- or your photos, Twitters or anything else you create -- is accomplishing it's intended goal (whatever that goal may be).

Chris, you hit it on the head when you said, a lot of us keep doing this BECAUSE we've been doing it. When videoblogging (or what have you) becomes part of your routine, it's easy to lose track of why you're supposed to care about it -- or why anyone else should.

Before you start: ask yourself WHY you're doing it. WHAT do you hope to accomplish? HOW will you measure your (relative) success? HOW OFTEN will you check to see if you're still on the "right" track?

Re: The Long Tail of Community

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:36:21 -0000

Funny how "conservative" values, like keeping our conversations / problems / business transactions "in the family," marry so easily with "liberal" ideals like open communication, transparency and anticapitalism.

We're a complex bunch, we social media types...

Re: The Power of Local Social Media

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:24:35 -0000

So. So. Good.

People don't realize the power of:

A) Hyperlocalism, and
B) Working TOGETHER to cross-promote wisely.

Cheers.

Re: How Opportunity Really Works

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:15:40 -0000

Very true. Opportunity is a matter of "being in the right place at the right time" -- but you won't know where that right place IS unless you surround yourself with people who routinely find places you consider interesting.

You also need to be prepared. Opportunity is wasted if it falls into your lap and you're not ready to take advantage of it. Carry business cards. Have an elevator pitch. Make the time to stay in touch.

Most important: BE Authentic. Don't just SEEM authentic. People want to work with YOU, not who you THINK they want to work with.

Re: Deeper Twitter- Tuning Twitter for Value

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:51 -0000

I think people are still making value-based judgment calls about Twitter (and the people who use it) without realizing that Twitter is a blank slate. It's a tool. It's a cypher, which each of us uses in our own way.

To say "Twitter works / doesn't work" misses the point: what you mean is, "The WAY I'm using Twitter works / doesn't work FOR ME." If it isn't working, switch it up.

Don't hit nails with the claw end of the hammer.

Re: The Foundations of Your Power

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:28:22 -0000

Great idea to categorize power as "the ability to ___." Power is not money, resources, influence, etc. Power is the ability to see an action through, with all the bells and whistles that come attendant.

Something tells me there are big missiles taking aim from Camp Brogan, and they're likely to plow into the heart of a mountain that needs to be moved in the near future. Enjoy the process.

Re: Bridge Strategies for Social Media Adoption

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:59:00 -0000

John Carman and I were just having this conversation on Saturday. It's easy to believe everyone would love new media if they'd only "get it," but the fact is, not everyone WANTS to be social -- and, being social isn't a guarantee of financial (or other desired) success.

I agree, you need a strategy before you start. It doesn't have to be a 12-page business plan, but it should consist of one very clear objective:

What constitutes success?

If companies are expecting social media to double or triple their sales figures, they may not be ready to implement it properly. Social media is as important to the long tail of customer loyalty as it is to the short view, and misusing a potentially powerful tool for engagement could result in dashed hopes for all involved.

Best to know what all parties involved want to accomplish before the first blog post is written -- and that same advice applies to individual social media creators, too. Don't confuse activity (the creation of content) with success; most of us need increasingly more difficult brass rings to make the effort seem worthwhile.

Re: Why I Am Not a Podcaster

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:49:10 -0000

We've always needed to label things for easier understanding. Unfortunately, that then connotes that someone only does one thing (or one thing well).

Example: How hard is it for Stephen King to publish something that's NOT horror? Where would a bookstore PUT it?

And yet -- is Stephen King not an author?

(Answer: Yes, but he's a HORROR author. Or a FICTION author... Unless you're talking about "On Writing," in which case -- and just this once -- he's a REFERENCE author...)

But... he also wrote screenplays... which makes him...

A storyteller?

(Answer: Yes, but he's a 20th CENTURY storyteller... unless he publishes something in the 21st Century, in which case...)

Re: Site Rework Done

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 04:00:12 -0000

That's a very good point: the average visitor may never have noticed a difference, but the average webcrawling robot certainly will -- and that will lead to more average visitors via improved search.

Good Lord, SEO works?! Next thing you know, someone's going to be preaching the word of contextual advertising and targeted marketing...

Egad.

Re: Measuring Social Media Efforts

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:36:23 -0000

Everyone's goals are different. The biggest issue is that so many people don't HAVE goals -- they create social media "just because."

Even if you "have something to say," or "want to connect," it still helps to eventually pinpoint exactly WHAT success MEANS for you, so you can then measure the steps taken.

300,000 viewers for Something to Be Desired would be amazing. Would it constitute success, or a percentage thereof? If I don't know that, I can't tell if ANYTHING I'm doing is successful...

Re: Slicing Time in a Face to Face Environment

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:10:53 -0000

Go to your next conference with a fistful of lollipops. Every time you meet someone you don't already know, give them a lollipop. When you're out of lollipops: sorry, you can only talk to people you already know.

Ideally, the lollipops will run out right around the time that the booze kicks in.

Re: Why Bother Blogging Podcasting and Using Social Networks

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:25:54 -0000

That sound you hear are the sabres rattling in self-defense of a lifestyle. No one wants to believe they're wasting their time. And, if they derive value from it - whether personal or professional - they probably aren't.

However.

Social media for social media's sake IS a waste of time, if you could actually be doing something MORE productive.

I'm all for Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever you personally enjoy using to maintain a wide swath of web-based communication. But people who use these tools without perspective or a clearly-defined goal are simply caught in the echo chamber.

Ask yourself this: if you removed yourself from the social media sphere tomorrow, what would happen? What would change? Who would miss you? Would you survive?

What would you do instead?

If the answer is "nothing even remotely as fun as this," you should probably quit and re-evaluate your life...

Re: Whats Your Social Media Strategy

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:30:37 -0000

Another view: at what point in the process is it okay to change directions, switch oars or switch boats altogether?

How do you define whether or not you're reaching your goals, and within what timeframe?

Flexibility is key, but changing strategies at a schizophrenic pace is not wise in the world of both overnight successes and long tails...

Re: Video is Power Chords

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:07:04 -0000

People intake information in different ways. Text is not audio is not video. To say any one of these media (or countless others) is dead / irrelevant / "better" than the other is to miss the point:

To each message, its media.

I might learn about X faster through video, but you might process text about X better.

Meanwhile, I might prefer an audio book on a trip, and you might have the time to read.

"Free Hugs" would be far less effective without the music... for you. And me. But perhaps not Person C.

Majority rules, though. We can't stop evolving just because some folks are late to the multimedia sensation party...

Re: New Media- STAND UP

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:04:11 -0000

No one defines their goals in this space.

No one defines what success means for them.

No one outlines what's important to them.

Thus, it's a giant swirl of "let's get together and see what happens." Occasionally, great ideas come from that approach. More often, people are left feeling unsatisfied. Especially "professionals" who look into the space, see a bunch of people either half-assedly taking part or rushing to market with substandard content and bemoaning the lack of attention / investors, and they tune the entire medium out as the playground of the mediocre.

Be a business.

Be an artist.

Be both.

Be neither.

Those are everyone's options.

Not defining yourself? That's not a viable option if you want to move forward.

Re: Moving On

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:51:21 -0000

Congratulations on a new direction. Remember, the one who dies with the most interesting experiences wins.

(The one who dies with his mortgage paid off comes in second, which is still pretty decent...)

Re: As PodCamp Evolves

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:31:08 -0000

Aaron's point is valid: what IS PodCamp?

I think the name, like all things "pod," was obsolete the moment it was created - but, as a brand, it now has traction.

I don't think PodCamp is meant to be ONLY about podcasting (and, as Aaron's comment shows, there's still confusion as to what podcasting itself means, since video IS "podcasting"). I think PodCamp is meant to be a conversation about all things related to social media.

That's a gigantic playing field. If PodCamp wants to have a hand in all of it, perhaps a name change IS in order.

(Bottom line: I agree with diversifying, specializing AND swirling it all together. We just need to be clear about what PodCamp IS, and therefore what each variation is ABOUT.)

Re: The New Gig

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:26:31 -0000

I think seeing Mr. and Mrs. Brogan sending their love here really puts Chris's impact on the community into perspective: we're all one big (sometimes) happy family.

And, anyone who can teach his parents to comment on blogs is the kind of guy people should be overjoyed to be employing.

Best wishes, Chris.

Re: Step Back and Look Around

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:36:00 -0000

I think everyone benefits from re-evaluating WHY they do what they do, and checking their gut to be sure it's what they still WANT to be doing.

There's nothing wrong with saying, "No, what I'm doing ISN'T what I want to be doing," and then changing your life.

There IS something wrong with never asking yourself, or worse, asking yourself and then ignoring the answer because "maintaining" is easier.

Re: Third Place in Cyberspace

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:42:16 -0000

Starbucks provides a "third place" that's a hybrid between home (minus the family drama and ennui) and work (minus the stress and deadlines).

To find that "third place" online, you'd need to first know:

* Where is your HOME on the web, and
* Where is your WORK on the web?

From there, you can identify what experiential aspects a person would need to consider that "third place" essential to their daily routine but not so mundane as to be taken for granted.

The "third place" has to be a treat.

Re: Participation- The Key to Social Media

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:58:39 -0000

Life is full of asterisks. For example: Treat independent producers WHO ACT LIKE PROFESSIONALS like professionals.

The act of picking up a microphone or a video camera does not automatically earn you the respect of the populace, nor should it. If you want to work with professionals, you should BE professional. That means taking your work seriously, producing quality content, and engaging others civilly.

People lip syncing on YouTube? Not professional, sorry.

Re: The Importance of Risk

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:50:28 -0000

Don't confuse "risk" with "calculated risk." Using existing assets to enter a new market, or starting a side job that utilizing some of your existing equipment / experience, is a calculated risk. Deciding you're going to burrow to the center of the earth is not. It's all a difference of degree, and of having access to resources that will likely help you accomplish your goals.

It's also about being able to learn from feedback and adapt to situations as they arise. Can you start a successful business with no experience, contacts or resources? Sure, but your odds are infinitely small. Of course, when 1% of those "renegades" succeeds, the media trumpets their success story in a way that makes taking a more conventional approach seem less sexy and, therefore, uncool -- which leads to even more failure from people who ignore conventional wisdom and at-hand resources in favor of wanting to be The Next Big Success Story That Defied the Odds.

Being the lunatic who survived the bad idea gets you a lot more free press than being the person who leveraged their assets does.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:08:57 -0000

It's an interesting title, "trust agent," because the "agent" part implies that someone is purposely acting on behalf of another person's / company's interests. And we all know that "agents" often have reason to be diplomatic, vague or untruthful, so adding "trust" to the mix also feels like it should come with permanent quotes.

Random thoughts:

* People only trust you until you display more flaws than they feel comfortable with you having

* Are there trust agents in politics? Does anyone actually believe a word out of the White House spokesperson's mouth?

* For that matter, does anyone believe any news anchors, reporters or columnists?

* How important IS trust in business? In politics? If it's not, what replaces it? Self-interest?

* Can trust agents exist outside of an echo chamber?

* Can a person trust someone whose ideology is drastically different from their own? (For example: is there a PC user who reliably trusts a MAC agent? Or a Republican who can cite a credible Democratic source?)

* Is a trust agent just a different flavor of propaganda - a newspeak version of a pandering marketer, using the concept of "trust" as an economic bartering chip?

* What's the average person's price for trust? Can it be bought and sold?

Re: Shut Up- You're Helping the Customer!

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:08:30 -0000

If there's one thing social media COMMENTS have taught me, it's that we should always listen to authority.

When Brian Conley protested Tibet in China and got arrested, the commentsphere decided that he got what he deserved -- you don't protest China *in* China.

When "Bob" tried to improve his company's standing among their existing customer bases, he got reprimanded -- you don't defy your bosses in order to improve the company.

When Hitler told people to gas the -- wait, where was I?

Oh yes: authority is always right. And if you don't like it, move to Canada. (They don't have any authority there, and everyone is always equally right.)

Re: Put a Face to Your Brand

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:44:09 -0000

Chris - thanks for mentioning our video on your blog! (And thanks to everyone else for the feedback!) We weren't quite sure how the video would turn out when we first started, but we knew it was important to NOT imply that *everyone* knew what Bigelow Tea was. (In a city the size of New York, that would never be accurate.) Instead, it made more sense for us to show the way Cindi is able to interact with everyone and put a face to the brand, which I think helps support Bigelow's history as a family company that's achieved their success without losing sight of who they are as individuals.

By the way, if you're on Twitter, feel free to follow Bigelow Tea for more tea-related tweets, recipes and videos.

And yes, Alex, that *is* the same camerawork -- and camera -- I use on Something to Be Desired. Thanks for noticing. :)

Re: The Righteous Web

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:23:46 -0000

Some journalists are more opinionated than others. Some social media creators are more transparent than others. In all media, there will be straight-shooters and there will be shills. In each person, there is the capacity to be both.

The trick is in figuring out who's being what when, and then deciding what you think about that. And then checking back a few days / weeks / months later, because this is the 21st Century, and who we are changes daily.

Re: Social Media as a Softening Agent

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:56:37 -0000

What's the end goal? What gets you there directly, and what's the scenic route? It's all part of the same composite ROI, but the ROI for the individual pieces has to be defined. And a Facebook page isn't likely to sell 3 million units of Product X all by itself; everything's relative.

Re: YouTube is Not the Internet but She Has a Point

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:13:24 -0000

Let the market decide. If YouTube becomes vanilla (or, like mainstream media, safely blood red), that's a market opportunity for an ACTUAL "freedom of speech" site.

Keep in mind that YouTube was valued at so many billions of dollars because of the likelihood of working with advertisers. Advertisers don't like unsafe, unpredictable entities. The more "free" the service, the less valuable it is to big business.

Re: Television and Online Communities

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:01:54 -0000

Which fictional TV shows have amassed a fan following? In recent memory, I think of things like LOST, ALIAS, Battlestar Galactica and The Office.

How did they do it?

The first 3 are mystery / sci-fi shows, which translate naturally to the "cult undercurrent" that propagates on the web. They also encouraged their fans to search for clues, solve puzzles and try to outwit the writers at their own game -- all of which is empowering and makes a casual fan feel like he / she is part of the larger creative process.

And The Office is probably a mirror image of what a lot of these same fans live through every day in their real lives. But being early adopters of web tools like MySpace and iTunes didn't hurt, either -- especially when those channels were used to offer supplementary material that added depth to the overall viewing experience.

Any new show that's looking to build a similar following would be smart to:

* Both engage and empower its audience

* Not take the intelligence of its audience for granted

* Allow its audience to watch the show whenever and wherever it wants

* Provide supplemental content that adds depth and insight for the dedicated fans who want more than just a casual viewing experience.

Re: Television and Online Communities

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:47:37 -0000

Fictional programs have an easier natural hook to unite viewers than news shows do, because news is partisan and divisive by nature, whereas fiction tends to be uniting. (If you don't like a show, you don't watch it; if you're watching it, then you already have at least one thing in common with everyone else who watches it.)

News programs that don't hide their bias have a much easier path toward rallying a community around their POV (think Rush, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, etc.). News that purports to be unbiased almost can't generate a community on principle alone, because to do so would somehow be seen as sensationalistic or manipulative. It's not the news itself that people would be expected to rally around; it's the causes and actions that the news sheds light on that should be the rallying point.

In my opinion, CNN's i-reporters are a great example of mainstream media being dragged down by low-quality social media empowerment. I never click on an i-reporter story because I rarely think they're of value; they immediately strike me as someone's amateur hour news report, tailor-made for 15 seconds of CNN pseudo-fame. On the other hand, I fully support something like Alive in Baghdad because they produce their news under their own umbrella, apart from the presumed criteria of someone else's business model.

I think mainstream news agencies who expect to revolutionize the news via social media may be misunderstanding both their own role and the role of social media. When it comes to news, people want to rely on trusted sources. (Not that there really ARE that many anymore, but I digress.) I don't care about individual POVs on the news (which is what social media would provide); I care about accurate facts being delivered quickly and coherently, and I care about hard questions being asked immediately, rather than from the safe distance of historical evaluation. The mainstream news should focus on strengthening their own trustworthiness and accuracy, while using their financial might to force open the doors that independent journalists can't get behind.

Meanwhile, the MSM should be scouring the independent news ranks for hotbeds of social interest, budding journalism stars and independent facts that can be corroborated and compiled into a larger story. They can use social media as a way to connect with the people who are passionate about news, while also considering the social media news outlets to be a feeder system toward a mainstream media that's worth aspiring to join. Otherwise, they run the risk of becoming as irrelevant as the i-reporters they cater to, and that destroys two systems at once.

Re: PodCamp email taken out of context…

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:27:24 -0000

As one of the co-organizers of PodCamp Pittsburgh, Dave Mansueto of Libsyn and I had the same concerns as the NYC PodCamp planners: what do we do about travel expenses?

We knew we needed A-list speakers to attract a crowd that would make the event relevant, and -- not being a major city hub like Boston or NYC, where "experts" seem to flock -- we knew we might need to find ways to assist certain target speakers with the expense involved in coming to Pittsburgh.

Most of them were able to make the trip under their own power because they had the budget in place and viewed their participation in the event as an opportunity to interact on a personal level with other new media types. This type of thinking is crucial to the success of an event like PodCamp, which tries to stay far away from the "keynote speaker" model of most conferences (which would invite more debate about expenses and potentially create an isolaitionism among "tiers" of attendees).

But, for the potential participants for whom travel was an issue, we had to make decisions. Was having Person X at the event worth enough in terms of value to the other participants that their travel expenses could be justified? In two or three cases, the answer was "yes," and we found creative ways to help that happen -- most of which occurred with the aid of outside sponsorship, so the burden wasn't placed on the central donations to PodCamp Pittsburgh.

Would we do this for anyone? Unfortunately, no, we couldn't, because it takes a significant amount of sponsorship cash just to execute a completely free event like a PodCamp, so belts need to be tightened and decisions need to be made.

Like Pittsburgh, the NYC planners felt that having certain speakers at the event might of a high enough value to the other participants that potential travel expenses could at least be considered.

Unfortunately, an understandable negative perception of that offer -- i.e., the argument that all attendees at a PodCamp are equal and should therefore be treated equally, including compensation or lack thereof -- has led to a widespread panic about PodCamp in general and NYC in particular, and I doubt any of it is beneficial to the greater conversation we should all be having here, which is:

How can each of us move forward proactively in this new media environment given the current climate, which involves an economy so nascent that the thought of compensating travel expenses for an unconference speaker can become a divisive moral battle?

Re: The future of video advertising and search on the Net?

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:29:58 -0000

This may be a step in the right direction, or it may not. What it feels like is yet another way to push more "contextual" ads in my face when I have zero interest in the subject being discussed.

I know this is must be rocket science, but if I have to watch an ad to support a free video, can I not tell the site what types of ads I want to see? Why must advertising forever be about guessing what people MIGHT want to watch? Aren't we beyond that in this permission-based era?

Re: The power of ubiquitous media - UCLA Police on YouTube

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:41:48 -0000

Raise your hand if you're surprised by any of the following:

* A college student refuses to cooperate with authority figures / maintains his civil rights (pick a side)
* People in authority use justifiable force / abuse their power to complete their duties (pick a side)
* Dozens of witnesses harrass the authority figures who were doing their jobs / do absolutely nothing and allow an innocent man to be assaulted by misanthropes (pick a side)
* Casual observers are outraged at the liberal / conservative bias on display

As with most situations in life, this all boils down to what side you were on in the first place. I wasn't there. I don't know what happened. None of us ever will because of the bias of all journalism and the inability to report facts objectively. All we'll ever be able to do is form an opinion, and that amounts to zero unless action is taken.

Bobby Knight punches a kid? A guy in a library gets tazered? Shocking? Justified?

Yawn.

However, someone pursues this video, and this incident, to the ends of the earth to produce something moderately resembling truth, and then either student rights or security tactics are altered as a result? Then bravo, the American public did its job.

In the meantime, everything else is talking, and talk is nothing without action.

I love American spectator politics.

Re: Top 5 Things You NEED To Know To Leverage AppleTV and iPhone in New Media

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:10:56 -0000

Good tips. Above all, the lesson should be ease of use and clarity. Complain as we may about having to adhere to iTunes specs, if it means people have an easy-to-access entry point to the world of web media, it benefits everyone.

I can't imagine any company that disrupts the very markets they create in quite the same way Apple does. Someone in that company is a genius. It think it's that Jobs character...

Re: Rebranding the Student Loan Network and Edvisors Network

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:25:27 -0000

I'll say this: I consider the site / network to be very information-heavy. That's a good thing because it makes me feel like I could learn whatever I wanted to in this particular field by surfing the related links... but there are so many of them, it could be perceived as daunting.

What about a more finely-tiered system of information unveiling, so the site experience becomes more personalized the deeper a visitor digs?

From a "who are we" perspective, I'd say there's a fine line to tread between being bastions of information and being authorities. Does your audience need you to be a reference or a guide? Do your opinions outweigh your facts or vice versa? That POV affects how you would position yourselves, I would think.

Polish it up and make it new! -- Good luck!

Re: Matrix 2.0 - What the Web Says About YOU

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:38:59 -0000

Very true, and from a pessimist's persepctive, this absolute lack of anonymity could be disturbing.

From the optimist's point of view, this means that we now have even more ways to stay connected with the people we WANT to be connected with, and -- like every other form of human interaction since cavemen were peering through the mists at each other -- there are always ways to avoid the people you don't want to see (or be seen by).

The real question, as mentioned above, is: How do we utilize (or game) the system?

Re: Digg Fires Google

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:09:18 -0000

Do we still care what Digg's users do? Evidently, Microsoft does...

I'm looking forward to seeing a comprehensive list of the most powerful COMMUNITIES online, not the most powerful individuals. Seems to me that Digg's might come in high.

Re: Celebrate BlogDay

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 13:09:27 -0000

Great idea! Ironically, I read only one of the blogs mentioned in your shortlist, but I'm slavishly devoted to my OWN 5 or 6 a day... perhaps I can turn a few others on to them as well.

Re: The Weakest Argument Against Web 2.0 Yet

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:19:06 -0000

I know that after I drove a car for the first time, I couldn't wait to get out and start walking again...

Re: Twitter Grader and Making Twitter Better

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:03:27 -0000

I agree, but (as my recent tweet -- which led me here -- explained) I think that rating system needs to be divided between:

* the relevance of each tweet TO EACH USER, and

* the relevance of each tweet AS A COMPOSITE WHOLE.

For example, someone might post a link to the all-time greatest SEO article in the history of the web, but if you only use Twitter to keep in touch with 3 people, that article means nothing to you. Thus, your thumbs-down shouldn't deter an SEO expert from being able to see it -- nor should their thumbs-up force that article onto the minimalist's page.

Also, a thumbs up or thumbs down is too limiting. A scale of 1-5 or 1-10 stars will give far more accurate results over time. Relevance isn't an either-or thing; it scales.

Re: Twitter Needs A Thumb

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:28:40 -0000

Now that Twitter's claiming they'll start offering paid pro accounts, you never know which features they'll include in the premium version.

Re: Why Traditional Advertising Formats Fail On The Web

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:22:48 -0000

What about the unspoken alternate truth: traditional advertising is overpriced. As much as the internet shot itself in the foot by making all of its information available for free or far more cheaply than via traditional distribution channels, those same traditional channels drastically overpay for standard advertising methods.

Show me a company that finds value in spending millions on a 30 second Super Bowl ad and I bet you'll notice their name is "ABC," "NBC," "CBS" or "FOX."

Re: The Ugliness of Pride in Blogging

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:19:37 -0000

Re: VON07 wrap-up VIDEO

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:48:03 -0000

Great wrap-up, Jim. (And not just because I'm in it.) You really summed up the current buzz around the space, which is: we're here to stay, so what do we (the content creators) need to do to ENSURE we can stay, while also helping other companies figure out how they can utilize our skills and services. It's the "okay, web video isn't going anywhere, so let's start figuring out this co-existence thing" part of the life cycle of new media.

Re: Josh Wolf, the Blogger Code of Ethics and the Title of Journalist

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:43:11 -0000

I see both sides of this issue, though I'm not sure it's an issue so much as it is a case of semantics. In the final analysis, none of us knows what he or she will do in a given moment, much less under pretense of absolutes, so questions about what someone might or might not do serve only to create a theoretical platform for debate.

This is why it's so damn hard to elect presidents.

Personally, I think I'd rather see more activism, but I'd like to see it characterized as such. I find it impossible to believe in the "objective" point of view, because every word is written and every camera is pointed by someone with an opinion, no matter how neutral he or she may attempt to be. At least activism can admit it's taking sides.

Re: CBS Finds Value In Niche Market Media

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:37:49 -0000

Will STBD be the new hotness? People have been wondering that about us and Galacticast for quite awhile now. I wonder how many nights it takes before you cease to be an overnight sensation and become an "about time"...

And, in the meantime, we all keep plugging away because, high-powered production deal or not, we still enjoy doing what we do. (Thank god.)

Re: Amanda Congon, Katie Couric and The Diminishing Value of Celebrity in Media

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:21:24 -0000

The gap between "normal" people and celebrities is always shrinking. Pop culture, like religion, is built upon a concept that there's an ideal lifestyle to aspire to. But when someone can ride a wave of democratized YouTube success toward even a fraction of the power that "real" (industry-created) celebrities have, that shakes the paradigm.

You're right to say content is swiftly becoming the magnet, not celebrity. Enter: the death of net neutrality. (We can't have the people choosing their media without corporate oversight indefinitely, now, can we?)

Re: The Ugliness of Pride in Blogging

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:19:37 -0000