It is I, the Blog Neglector! I really need to start writing about some of the stuff that we've been doing! We are in some crazy times! Prepare for some horn-tooting, because, well, who the hell else is gonna do it?!
Yesterday we found out that JETSET, which we always called "the little show that could," is no longer such a little show. We surpassed 1,000,000 views for the month of September, which is a nice milestone.
That we have been able to sustain and grow JETSET is a major source of pride for Zadi and myself. Throughout the 16 months we've been posting JETSET shows on the web -- 80 as of next Monday -- we've always been proud that we have been able to make a malleable format that is always growing and changing.
And we are really only scratching the surface of the untapped potential of JETSET.
In the next few months, we will roll out a new website for the show, at least one spinoff show, a JETSET blog, and something I'll save for a surprise so as not to turn it into the proverbial jinx. We are also going to step up our production values big time.
There's not really any time to rest on our laurels because there is so very far to go. We have an industry to try and impact and an awful lot left to learn. Trust me, we have our eyes and ears open.
I always say that JETSET has flown under the radar of the people who keep tabs on the so-called prominent web shows that are out there. You won't find us mentioned in the Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, Techcrunch, BoingBoing, or any other mainstream publication or blog. Nope, we just keep making quality shows that take advantage of what the web has to offer. We cultivate a community of viewers that never ceases to amaze us with their passion and endless invaluable contributions. We find great people to work with like Rick Rey, Annie Tsai, Eric Rey, and Barrett Garese. Our friends pick us up when we need it, and we try and do the same for them. And we have never let anyone or anything stand in the way of the things that we know are right for us and for the show.
Never wait. Never ever. If there's something that needs to happen, go out and make it happen. Make them have to keep up with you, not the other way around.
Oh, and if you were one of the million-plus who watched in September, thanks!
In talking over our business direction with Zadi tonight, I think it's really important that people who are working on building a business always set aside time each week to sit down and talk over where you're headed, if it still makes sense, and ask yourselves whether the things you're doing day in and day out support the larger mission.
It's funny that a couple of things we had not considered in the past for JETSET suddenly made an awful lot of sense in the larger context of the mission we're trying to develop at Smashface. These weren't any ideas that were terribly innovative, but we had not seriously considered them because we hadn't focused on the idea of what it is we are trying to build.
Our goal at Smashface is to be working on projects that span all forms of media and that don't conform to the traditional structure of entertainment. That's not to say it won't have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but that each of the arcs exists in a larger context, exists in the context of audience contribution, and that each media incarnation informs the other.
Speaking of new initiatives, we're going to work on being better bloggers. I'm going to try to post every day going forward. I'm sure I'll miss a day here and there, but I think it's important that I find a way to create a daily record of the things we think and talk about.
Jay, my partner on Pixelodeon, sent over this link yesterday. It's for YouTube's new Project:Direct contest.
Now, I don't really have any gripes with YouTube holding a contest that helps independent filmmakers. But I do have a rather serious problem with the way they are branding their contest. Just take a look at these two pages by clicking the thumbnails below:
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This is not cool.
Further, the video intro they are using is very similar to the one that preceeded every screening at Pixelodeon and preceeds a number of videos created at the event for the Pixelodeon website. For comparison, the YouTube video is embedded first, then the Pixelodeon video underneath:
Now, the carnival-like pinwheel image we used for Pixelodeon in the background was from a stock image available on iStockPhoto.com, so it's not exactly rare. But I find it hard to believe that the YouTube designers were not aware of Pixelodeon, since we had a number of prominent YouTubers attend, and in fact we had an entire screening dedicated to YouTube (embedded above).
We created a strong brand, and YouTube appears to be "borrowing" concepts that can potentially create confusion between the two events. The chances are very remote that this is a coincidence. They even have a film projector "flicker" and grain imposed over their pinwheel video clip like the one Ryan Junell created for us for Pixelodeon.
I'll update this post when we figure out what we're going to do about it. Zadi has already reached out to YouTube to try and get some answers.
This evening we launched the newly redesigned Smashface company website and new company blog.
Our goals are to keep things simple and professional. In the next few months we have some interesting projects in development, and we felt like a company redesign was pretty long overdue.
Let me know what you think, if there's anything you think should be changed/improved, etc. The projects section will get filled out in the coming weeks with some nifty DHTML scrolls and project thumbnails.
Very cool! JETSET and Smashface were mentioned in a nice article by our friend Casey McKinnon in today's Guardian Unlimited newspaper. :)
In case you don't already know, Casey is co-creator, producer, and star of two current online shows, Galacticast and A Comicbook Orange. She's celebrating her two-year anniversary creating web shows. Congrats, Casey!
Seems like lately all Zadi and I have been doing is bitching about things. We bitch about the show, we bitch about business, we bitch about people on the street, you name it. Part of that is stress, part of that is burnout, and part of it is misplaced indignation about things that are not really important.
Tonight we went for a late night jog to clear our heads and get a little exercise. On the cooldown walk back, we started talking and, as usual, bitching about things. Then then strangest thing happened.
A van pulled up next to us and an elderly woman lowered her window. She asked if we could help her by picking up her husband, who had fallen out of his seat inside the van. Zadi and I looked at each other and considered the situation. There was no way we were going near that van without her opening the doors and turning on the lights.
When she slid open the van's side door, there was a little old man crumpled up on the floor. He had fallen off of his motorized chair. It was obviously not a threatening situation, so I stepped inside to see what I could do.
I'm 6'3", about 200 lbs, and this elderly fellow was probably half my size. After considering the best way to lift him without hurting him, I picked him up off the floor and put him back into his seat. He was was clearly humiliated by the situation. Imagine having to ask a perfect stranger, sweaty from jogging, 11:30 at night, to lift him up like a child and help him sit back down in his chair. I got him settled in, told him no thanks were necessary, and they drove off to destinations unknown.
I believe life is really about noticing the small things. There we were, a young couple with everything in the world going for us, and what were we doing? We were complaining, as usual. Well, that was it. If you believe in signs, there was none clearer that this one. Shut our stupid mouths. Our problems are nothing, they are meaningless. Almost anyone would trade positions with us. We felt like fools.
There will always be reasons to bitch about things. Someone not treating you right? Sucks. Bad luck? Man, I feel for you. But you know what? That's about as far as it should go. Because that stuff just circles right back to you and pollutes your thinking.
Tonight really helped me locate my focus. When we got back home a situation we'd been dealing with suddenly came into very clear focus. It is amazing how clear your mind can become when you simply decide to turn off the unnecessary noise.
