Friday Flick – Mr. Happy Man
We can all use some positivity in our lives, so I thought I would share some with you. For the last 30 years, Bermuda’s most beloved resident Johnny Barnes has dedicated his life to making the world a happier place in his own unique way. From the Mr. Happy Man Facebook Page, “Johnny Barnes (Mr. Happy Man) not only is he in great health, but he reminded me that he was turning 89 this year, “and when you’re 89, you gotta keep it cool!””
Filmmaker, Matt Morris (@MattMorrisFilms) has won several awards for Mr. Happy Man including It won the audience award for Best Short Film at AFI Silverdocs and Grand Jury award for Best Documentary Short at the Sidewalk Film Festival. To purchase the entire film, visit his website: http://mattmorrisfilms.bigcartel.com/
Mr. Happy Man preview from Matt Morris Films on Vimeo.
Leveraging Social Media Workshop 01/20/2012
I had the opportunity to lead a workshop to local businesses about leveraging social media. It was received well and I think we all learned a lot! Below is the the presentation I facilitated. If you would like for me to speak to your group or organization, please feel free to contact me!
SOPA – Here’s what you need to know
What is happening?
Two bills before Congress, known as the P rotect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, are meant to stop online piracy but would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American businesses. Experts agree that there are better ways to shut down pirate websites than asking US companies to censor the Web. Join the groundswell of experts, organizations and people from all parts of America united in their opposition to SOP A and PIPA. Tell Congress not to censor the Web and not to cripple our innovation economy.
Taking a Stand
Today, January 18, 2012 several companies are speaking out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in an attempt to get the attention of the US Congress to not pass this bill. Essentially, this bill would allow the US Federal Government to shut down entire sites because of even a single piece of copyrighted content posted on the site by a user. This would basically be the end of large social sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Wikipedia, and many more.
What can you do?
- Sign a petition against SOPA: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
- Black out your social network profiles with these graphics: http://bit.ly/xqY0Zx
- Contact your Representative in Congress: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CongressLookup?zip=
- Understand why SOPA is dangerous to the free flow of information: http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/
- Read the SOPA bill: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/show
- Read the PIPA bill: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show
Here is a good interview that debates both sides of SOPA. Feel free to share it!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Friday Flick – Sunset at Ocracoke, NC OBX
My wife and I started a tradition several years ago of traveling to the Outer Banks of North Carolina during New Years. This year was special because it was our 10 year anniversary from when we met. The next to last day of our trip we drove down to Ocracoke Island and explored by driving on the beach. We have traveled to several tropical islands while we have been together, but this has to be the most beautiful island I have ever experienced. This week’s Friday Flick is the sunset we experienced January, 2nd while at the southern point of Ocracoke Island. Take a few minutes, relax, and enjoy this beautiful sunset.
BONUS: Check out more photos from our trip!
mobile, Social Media, Technology
Happy New Year! Follow the NYC New Years Ball
Follow the ball on Twitter
The folks that are managing the Times Square Ball Twitter account (@timessquareball) are really doing a great job humanizing this big sparkling ball. Here is an example of a recent tweet:
I’ve got to spend the rest of the night memorizing my moves. Tomorrow is#NYE2012. See you there! — Times Square Ball (@timessquareball) December 31, 2011
Like the Ball on Facebook
Along with several resources of how to “connect” with the Times Square Ball, you can view up-to-date status updates, photos, and more on the official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TimesSquareBall
Watch the Livestream Feed
If you are not going to be in front of a TV, but want to watch the ball drop the same way you have for so many years, you’re in luck! The Times Square Alliance will be using Livestream to stream live video of Times Square and the ball drop. Here is the Livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/2012
There’s an App for That!
That’s right, the big shiny ball at the “crossroads of the world” has an app (or 2). There are native apps for Apple iOS and Android devices, here are the links:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/times-square-official-new/id408688944?mt=8
https://market.android.com/details?id=net.timessquareball.app
Here is a video to tell you more about the app:
The Official Website
Find all the information that you would ever want to know about the NYC New Years Ball. You can also find photos of previous balls and the history of why the NYC ball has become so popular! Here is a link to the official website: http://timessquareball.net/
Here is to a prosperous and uplifting 2012! Do something different, smile more, create more, push the envelope more! Cheers!
Friday Flick – Eat
This week’s Friday Flick was produced by Rick Mereki (@Rickmereki). The title of the third and last of three short films in this series, and this week’s Friday Flick is titled “Eat”. You know how they say “they make it look easy”? Well, these guys certainly made this flick look easy, but in order to accomplish this, a lot of work and travel had to happen. Here is what they said about their adventure:
“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films = a trip of a lifetime.”
Let me know what you think about this flick, and be on the look out for the other two in this series in the following weeks!
Friday Flick – Learn
This week’s Friday Flick was produced by Rick Mereki (@Rickmereki). The title of the second of three short films in this series, and this week’s Friday Flick is titled “Learn”. You know how they say “they make it look easy”? Well, these guys certainly made this flick look easy, but in order to accomplish this, a lot of work and travel had to happen. Here is what they said about their adventure:
“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films = a trip of a lifetime.”
Let me know what you think about this flick, and be on the look out for the other two in this series in the following weeks!
Learn from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
Friday Flick – Move
This week’s Friday Flick was produced by Rick Mereki (@Rickmereki). The title of the first of three short films in this series, and this week’s Friday Flick is titled “Move”. You know how they say “they make it look easy”? Well, these guys certainly made this flick look easy, but in order to accomplish this, a lot of work and travel had to happen. Here is what they said about their adventure:
“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films = a trip of a lifetime.”
Let me know what you think about this flick, and be on the look out for the other two in this series in the following weeks!
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
Friday Flick – TimeScapes
This week’s Friday Flick is one from Tom Lowe (@timescapes). Lowe has been working on the movie, TimeScapes that creatively captures different environments around the American Southwest. The amazing cinematography in the trailer below makes me want to purchase the full length movie, and go experience these places in person. You can find out more information about the movie, TimeScapes at http://timescapes.org/. Enjoy!
[BONUS] Behind the scenes videos from TimeScapes
TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.
mobile, Social Media, Technology
Spotify – What’s with all the hype?
What is it?
Spotify is an online music service offering users the ability to stream more than 15 million tracks on demand using Spotify’s unique technology. Spotify provides instant access to whatever music you want, whenever and wherever you want it, through a simple, clean and quick to use platform via an ad-supported, free-to-the-user service and a paid subscription service…legally.
What’s Cool?
- Over 15 Million songs at your finger tips for unlimited listening and sharing.
- Multi-platform: Listen to music on Spotify on your computer (free) or your mobile device (paid subscription)
- Playlists: Create and share with your friends. Access them from anywhere.
- Share your favorite music via social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Premium Spotify
The added advantages of paying for Spotify Premium just might be great enough to drop $9.99/month for the following features:
- No Ads!
- Playing songs on my iPhone and iPad
- Downloading songs to my mobile devices for when I might be in a place that I do not have an internet connection
- Exclusive content: Being able to hear new albums before they are released
- Higher quality music, up to 320kbps
Service Plans
Here is an abbreviated rundown of the different Spotify service plans. Click on the graphic for more information about the different plans.
Facebook + Spotify =
Facebook and Spotify announced a collaboration recently to allow over 800 Million Facebook users to share their favorite music with their friends. Here is a short video about this collaboration:
Conclusion
I am an advocate for Spotify. I think that their model is exactly what the music industry needs. Daniel Ek, Founder of Spotify was quoted in a CNN interview saying ”What Spotify is saying is, ownership (of music) is great, but access is the future,” Ek said. “The main reason people want to pay for Spotify is really portability. People are saying, ‘I want to have my music with me.’ ” The model of “give it to them free” has gained popularity in the past few years, so much so that I think it is almost expected. Companies that realize their revenue should not be focused on the end user, but with the content providers or ad creators, are companies that will make a lot of money while providing an outstanding customer experience.
INSTAGR.AM
© 2012 Lee Yount.