Viddler

Logos. Whenever anyone creates a company or identity there is often a logo that goes along with it. Sometimes the creation of a logo takes months of research, designing, and reviewing. Is the logo really that important though? Some companies have very basic logos, yet they are very successful.

Shawn Hickman (he’s the guy wearing the awesome monkey outfit) created a website to learn and discuss such things. It’s named Yagglo (subscribe). (Now there’s a name that stands out! Although, I keep thinking of Yahoo!.) Yagglo is videos aimed at simplifying the web for anyone that’s new to it. Mostly comprised of tutorial screencasts, the videos are only a few minutes long an teach one step at a time.

For most people that already use the web on a daily basis Yagglo’s video tutorials will detail things that are second nature to you. That said, there are some hidden gems like the following rant that might teach even the experienced web user a thing or three.

I’m sharing this rant/discussion about the importance of a good company logo because it’s relevant to just about anyone. If you’d like to check out Yagglo’s Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and other tutorials, I’ll have links below the video.

Being unique these days is difficult, but very possible! Think different. Think big. Rock it!

Yagglo has tons of videos teaching simple things like learning how to send an e-mail in Gmail to an explanation of @replies, ReTweets, and DMs are on Twitter. The videos are all neatly categorized on the Yagglo website, but you can also view them all on Viddler.
These videos are great for first-time web users like elderly people, young adults that only check Facebook, young kids, cave people, and extraterrestrial aliens.

Of course, you can follow @Yagglo on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, and see more methods of contact on Yagglo’s contact page.

The Viddler Community Spotlight shines on members of the community that are doing an exceptional job at embracing interaction with people through their videos. If you feel someone is doing a tops job at this, feel free to send me a message and tell me all about it.

Alrighty, here’s a win-win situation that’s made full of… well, win!

E. Christopher Clark (subscribe) — Chris Clark for short — has a goal to get his book Down the Cape published and read by the masses. It’s generally a pretty long road to getting a book published, so Chris is taking baby steps (shoutout to those whom have seen What About Bob! Anyone?).

He has decided to take the route of producing a free serialized audiobook (technically known as a podiobook) that will be made available on a regular schedule.

If you aren’t familiar with podiobooks, I’ll give you a quick rundown:
Scott Sigler pioneered the podcast novel in 2005 and since has produced several of them and had the stories published and in stores. Following his success authors such as J.C. Hutchins, Mur Lafferty, and Seth Hardwood. All of them have also signed book deals and had millions of downloads. Evo Terra, another author, coined the term podiobooks and created Podiobooks.com as a place to aggregate all such content. Now, there are thousands of podiobooks available throughout the Internet. Most are free, but some require donations to the author for production costs and all the effort they put in to create such great content. If you’re looking for something to listen to for free, then download a podiobook. I love them!

Back to Chris. He’s a busy guy! (Who isn’t these days?) He travels on a bus for a total of four hours every day. He could spend that time listening to hours of podiobooks, but he’d prefer to actually create his own. He just needs some simple equipment to get started. Most importantly, he needs a laptop to take with him on the bus so he can edit and produce his podcast episodes instead of staring blankly out the windows. Laptop computers are getting cheaper, but it’s still a big investment for anyone.

In the video he lists off a couple of other pieces of equipment he needs to get the production under way. Yes, he’s asking for your support! But you don’t just get to listen to the podcasts once he has created them. Oh, no! A site called Kickstarter allows you to pledge $10, $20, $50, $100, etc and get some awesomeness in return. Awesomeness includes signed copies of his previous book (Those Little Bastads), mentions at the beginning or end of each podcast episode, and if you pledge $1,000, he’ll travel to your place (within the USA) and read to you. I think I read somewhere that you’ll also get a free hug, but don’t quote me on that.

Yes, I realize the last video we featured of Chris was him asking for a bit of mulah to help social media. He’s just trying to change the world, save the cheerleader, and all that. Do you know how much cheerleaders cost these days? It’s crazy!

Anyway, here’s the facts:

• You watched the video, right?
• Check out Chris’ Kickstarter project.
• Donate whatever you can. Even a buck will make you famous once he tweets your name.
• Listen to the podiobook when it is released. Follow Chris’ Twitter for updates: @ecc1977.

That’s all, kids. Go forth and be humble.

Any videos that have made you roll over on the floor laughing your brains out can be directed to me in the form of a message. Other videos can also be directed to me. The Viddler Blog is all about you. Well, and announcements about amazing developments at Viddler.

Rocketboom is on an international talent search. Yes, the extremely popular show that takes the format of a mini-newscast is on the lookout for a new anchor in New York City and also the new location of Los Angeles (Venice Beach to be precise).

Some of the highlights of the job include working with the talented writers and producers of Rocketboom (subscribe), earning a base salary of US$80,000/yr for 25-30 hours a week and 3% of all advertising revenue, the ability to travel internationally for special episodes, events, and conferences. Getting paid to travel; nothing else is sweeter! Well, maybe a fine piece of candy, but you know what I mean.

All you have to do to apply for the position is make a video response to the video below, read and agree to the New York - Manhattan or Los Angeles - Venice Beach details on Craigslist, then go to talentsearch.rocketboom.com and submit your application. You have until the end of June 2009 to apply. Zoom zoom!

I’m sad to see Caitlin Hill’s personality on Rocketboom such short-lived, but I’m sure the new anchor will do an awesome job! It could be you!

Rocketboom is distributed through Sony Pictures to content providers such as TiVo, iTunes, Facebook, and all the best video sharing websites like Viddler and that one that Google owns. This means you’ll probably get recognised in the street if you’re one of the two new anchors. Just FYI.

Viddler’s Community Spotlight exists to highlight members of the community doing interesting and wonderful things. If you’re up to something awesome, it would be wise to let me know by sending me a message with all the fancy details. Sweet!

Yup, today is the last day of E3. Aww, over so quickly? Don’t be so sure about that… The plethora of announcements will echo on for the weeks and months that lead up to when games and new hardware are actually going to be on the market.

I must commend Joystiq (subscribe), SCEA Blog (subscribe), Talking About Games (subscribe), PS Universe (subscribe), Destructoid (subscribe), PGNx Media (subscribe), and Xbox Insider (subscribe), and all of the other users that provided such great videos from the E3 Expo! Their passion for gaming rubs off on the Viddler community (including myself) big time!

I’m sure you’ve seen all the popular game trailers and previews of the upcoming PSP Go, so I thought I’d show you a pretty rad game that will be available for the Nintendo DS this fall (spring for those in the Southern Hemisphere). This game is called Scribblenauts and fits under the genre of emergent puzzle action. Using the Nintendo DS’s touchscreen, the gamer can summon objects to solve the game. Being attacked by a swarm of bees? No problem. Just write the word ‘flamethrower’ and one will appear in the character’s hands. Pretty magical indeed!

What would you summon in Scribblenauts?

‘E’ What?

E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. The event is presented by International Data Group (IDG), but in previous years the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) presented it. Many video game developers attend E3 to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware. The invite-only event receives several thousand attendees each year. This year it’s held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Don’t forget: If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on the Viddler Blog please send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is in it’s second day and already dozens of new and upcoming games have been announced across all video gaming consoles and Mac/Windows systems too.

Halo 3: ODST (an expansion pack for Halo 3 — see video), and Halo: Reach (the next game in the series — see video) are due to be released for the Xbox 360 on September 22, 2009, and sometime in 2010, respectively.

That’s two games. TWO! You can check out the hundreds of E3 videos that all of our great users have uploaded, here: viddler.com/explore/tags/global/E3

Check out Joystiq’s (subscribe) video summary of the second day at E3:

If you’re attending E3 and would like your video(s) to appear in our top-right videos rotation or on the blog, just send me a timely message.

‘E’ What?

E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. The event is presented by International Data Group (IDG), but in previous years the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) presented it. Many video game developers attend E3 to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware. The invite-only event receives several thousand attendees each year. This year it’s held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Don’t forget: If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on the Viddler Blog please send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

NB: You can apply to be a model for Kiel James Patrick’s Fall 2009 line below the video.

There’s a lot of smaller designers these days that are offering unique products for moderate prices. I’m certainly no fashion guru, but my sister is a fashion designer in Sydney and has taught me some basics.

I’m a big fan of Johnny Cupcakes unique/rare products. He only has three stores and an online store.

Kiel James Patrick has a way giddy line of accessories. Founded and based in Rhode Island, Kiel James Patrick is a luxury lifestyle brand. You probably won’t find something priced under $10, but it’s not crazy-priced like Ralph Lauren or Abercrombie and Fitch. It’s in that middle range that we love.

His products currently consist of the Signature KJP bracelets, headbands, and key straps. Although, the product line will be expanding in to apparel and other accessories soon.

Cristina DeHart from Explore Modeling (subscribe) went behind the scenes at the photo shoot for Kiel James Patrick’s Summer 2009 range. From the makeup artists to the photographer’s point of view, you’ll see the whole process of the photo shoot in the video below. Kiel himself always appears in the photo shoots for his products because the products reflect his lifestyle.

As you’ll notice on the timed comments in the timeline, Explore Modeling and Kiel James Patrick have teamed up for the casting of the photo shoot for Kiel’s Fall 2009 Product Line. Both males and females can apply online to be a model in the photo shoot.

I know a lot about modeling and acting, so here are the facts you should know:

• Anyone in the world can apply, but the winner will receive a round-trip economy airfare from their nearest major U.S. domestic gateway. Read: If you live outside the USA, you’ll need to get your own way to/from there.
• Entrants will be judged on being able to meet the time commitment and job responsibilities of a professional model and the requirement of the casting; will “match” with the “look” that the client (Kiel James Patrick) needs to market their products; the Personal Statement they write on the application; and compatibility and appropriateness of the scheduled photo shoot.
• You must be between the ages of 15 and 30.
• You must upload at least one photograph of yourself (no sexually inappropriate content). Consider uploading at least one headshot, and at least one 3/4 to full length.
• Don’t fabricate information on the application. Read: Be yourself.

Who made this video?

Explore Modeling (subscribe) is a free resource for models — new and experienced — to obtain honest, reliable, and useful information, and tools that models can use in establishing their own careers in modeling.

Cristina DeHart, the site host and a full-time professional model, breaks down the basics of modeling and talks about her own career and modeling experiences.

If you have a contest or anything fun you’d like to share with the Viddler Community, then send me a message and include a link to your awesome video.

Since as long as I can remember I’ve always been positive about life, the universe, and everything. I’ve been extremely fortunate to do all the things I do, and I’m only twenty-two. Family and friends all keep me happy and that’s all I need in life. Sure, I’m not perfect; I take things like clean running water for granted just like most of the first world.

Even if you think your life isn’t that great right now, I can assure you that it’s probably pretty close to as great as mine is; chances are there’s people that don’t even have access to reading this blog post (and watching the video below) even if they wanted to.

Dpzramon (subscribe) is a super-giddy fellow! Not only does he help hook up customers at the six Dominos Pizza stores he operates in Chicago, but he actively goes out in the community and makes new friends and relationships because he’s that awesome. If you’re hankering for some Dominos while in Chicago, make sure you send @dpzramon a message on Twitter and see if he’s around!

He was recently in Las Vegas and met a homeless person named Eric whom had a very positive attitude towards life. Dpzramon captured a few minutes with Eric on camera. It’s truly inspiring!

Dpzramon has been dedicated to serving his neighborhoods through social networking for over five years. Search around; you’ll find him everywhere.

Not everyone may be as friendly and optimistic as Eric, but how will you know unless you go and say “howdy”?

Do you have a video just as inspiring as the one Dpzramon made? Feel free to suggest a video for the Viddler Blog and front page by sending me a message.

If you’ve seen me on YaffleJuice, then you probably know I love Tuesdays. If not, know now that I love Tuesdays. I hope everyone has a fabulous Tuesday today!

Less than a day after The Society for Geek Advancement posted their debut video (and yes, there will be more) online, Sarah Cooley (social media fiend and all-round geek) was thinking the same thing I was: I’m a geek. Why wasn’t I in this video?

Honestly, we know the people in the debut video are geeks. That’s what will make the video more popular; the well-known geeks get the ‘hits’. Thing is, we should all should be allowed to profess our love for being a geek to the world. In case you’re reading this and you’re not a geek; we’re not jealous we weren’t in the video. We just want to add our geek confessions to the society like the video is asking.

Here, Sarah will explain more:

Yup! It’s time for you to yell your geekiness to the world in a video! Geeks unite!

Just make your video as a .mp4 (if you need help encoding in high quality, feel free to contact me), and upload it to drop.io/imageek (and Viddler, too ).

There’s a lot of people that we’re calling out to; Lisa Bettany (mostlylisa), Chris Clark (ecc1977), Daynah, Jess Bulpitt (jez_igby), Colin Devroe (cdevroe), Coley Wopperer (coley), Clintus McGintus (clintus), Maggie Skacan (maggieconv), and Luke Beaumont (lukeb3000) just to name a FEW that I see on my Twitter list right now. Don’t be intimidated by ‘popular’ people online. We want to know about every geek out there!

There’s a Geeks Group on Viddler if you’d also like to collaborate there!

What do you geek out about? Computers? iPhones? Design? Cross-stitching? Make your video now!

The Internet allows everyone to participate in anything and everything. The days of relying on commercial radio to tell us what music to listen to are a distant memory. Unique art can be found in a couple of clicks. And video. Everyone is all over video. HD. SD. Film. Hard disks. 21:9. 16:9. 4:3. 3:2. Flash. Mobiles. People love video.

Technology is cheap enough that we can all participate. A Mac can be a music studio and a filmmaker all in one. Alright, enough gushing over these exciting times.

Art. Almost anything can be art. Even lines of software code.
Indie — ‘Independent’ in long form — artists are those that don’t have a larger power (i.e., a major record/fashion label) to tell them what to do. They are their own boss using the Internet to distribute their art to the masses and many make a living from it.

What if you’re looking to make or discover indie art. Where do you go? ThreadBanger (subscribe) is a perfect start. They have a video series called Thread Heads in which there’s different themes for different times of the year. The video below is all about DIY. No, not Do It Yourself; Decor It Yourself. If you’re always struggling to find wall space for new pieces of art such as photographs, then this episode has the perfecto solution for you!

Oh, and there’s enough links in this episode to keep you busy for the whole three-day weekend coming up. Yup, I just gave you permission to take Friday off!

This is only one of ThreadBanger’s videos. If you’re looking for how to make placemats or a picnic blanket backpack, then you better watch more of their videos…

There’s also a plethora of more handy ideas and how-tos on their website. Also, they have a limited time offer for anyone interested in buying a sewing machine. Sewing machines have all kinds of computer gadgetry in them these days, and if you buy one from Janome, then you can score 50 spools of thread when you send your receipt in to ThreadBanger. More info here.

What kind of art have you created lately? Leave some photos/video of it below.

After all the issues discussed in the 75 winners’ videos of C-SPAN’s StudentCam 2009 contest, there was just one grand prize winner; Sawyer Bowman. He those the personal topic of cancer and asked what the president’s plan is to eliminate the fatal disease.

President Barack Obama saw Sawyer’s video and recorded his own. In it he addresses cancer as a key priority of his. He mentions his personal relationship to to cancer, his plans for research, and a cure that we’ll see in our lifetime.

Sawyer Bowman’s interview with C-SPAN yesterday: