By Brent Dixon on May 02, 2007
Last week Trey flew into Dallas for the CUES Nexus conference. It was the first time we had been able to hang out since The Big Move, during which he had the Black Plague anyway, and I have to say it was great to see the guy.
The week was a whirlwind. Check out Trey’s OSCU post for more on presenting to some enthusiastic credit union marketers, embracing our geeky side, and in doing so hanging with rockstars of new media and marketing like Paul McEnany, Jake McKee, John Keehler, and Joseph Jaffe.
Jaffe gave the closing keynote at Nexus, and in that session said “marketers are storytellers.” Speaking of stories, here’s a good one about Jaffe’s company, Crayon:
The names Crayon and 93 Colors (their blog) were inspired by a Crayola Big Box , which has 96 colors. When you remove the three primary colors – red, blue and yellow (TV, radio, and print)- you’re left with 93 colors. Crayon uses these more interesting colors, like chartreuse (podcasting), salmon (Second Life), periwinkle (consumer generated media), and on and on, to tell their clients’ stories.
The end.
Our name happened because Matt is a crazy cajun from Louisiana.
By Trey Reeme on April 20, 2007
Trabian needs a Rails developer.
From our 37signals job board post:
We are seeking a Rails developer for a three-month contract with the potential for extension or full-time employment. You would be helping us develop new web-based applications and complete support requests on existing apps.
We are based in Indianapolis, IN, and develop web-based applications and websites for financial institutions, primarily credit unions. We’re trying to bring passion and innovation to an industry of not-for-profits that need to reconnect with their members and serve as financial advocates for a savings-deficient society.
It would be great to work with a local developer in either Indianapolis or NYC, but remote candidates will definitely be considered. Also, any server admin and/or J2EE experience would be a plus (don’t we all wish Rails was around a few years earlier so we didn’t have to support J2EE apps?).
To apply: Send a resume to doug@trabian.com.
If you know someone who’d be a good fit, hook us up!
By Brent Dixon on April 18, 2007
If you haven’t yet read Dave Armano’s BusinessWeek article, “It’s the Conversation Economy, Stupid,” kindly stop what you’re doing, take the phone off the hook, give the kids some Benedryl, and do so.
Here’s a taste:
One of the engines that is driving “2.0” growth is the fact that communities are forming around popular social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Ning, Twitter‚Äîthe list goes on and on. These platforms facilitate conversation. Conversation leads to relationships and relationships lead to affinity.
Brand affinity, as companies such as Harley-Davidson (HOG) have proven, often drives communities to form around them. This is why anyone who plays a role in branding needs to become a conversation architect. Marketers, businesses, and designers must have an intimate understanding of how these platforms are evolving and influencing human behavior. There has to be an in-depth understanding of why some us of love to incorporate these services in our digital lives.
I like that Armano emphasizes people over platforms. It’s very easy to get caught up in technological possibilities while not paying due diligence to the conversations you’re working to incite. Each social media platform enables conversation in a very specific way, and none of them work independently.
As a business, before blogging or Twittering or Yelping or any of these other verbs that didn’t exist a few years ago, don’t stop with the knowledge that these create dialogue. Understand how and why as well.
By Brent Dixon on April 12, 2007
I just received this email from Apple:
Apple TV is here, and podcasts are making a big move into the living room. We want all of them to look as good as possible, so we have three video formatting recommendations for you…
Recommendations for Formatting Video Podcasts
1. If you’re encoding your video podcast at 320×240, please increase the resolution to either 640×480 or 640×360 (depending on the aspect ratio of your source files). Why? Because video podcasts at this resolution look great on Apple TV and still port to video iPods. Lower resolution podcasts might also work on both platforms, but they don’t look nearly as good on a widescreen TV. As always, make sure to test any encoding changes you make to ensure device compatibility. QuickTime 7.1’s “Export to iPod” function will ensure that a video file is encoded at a width of 640 and is iPod-compatible.
2. It’s best not to create two different podcast feeds for different resolutions. By doing so, you dilute the popularity of your podcast and reduce exposure in our charts. It’s better to have one feed high in the charts than two that are lower.
3. If your source files are 16:9, stick with that aspect ratio. Don’t add letterboxing to make them 4:3. By doing so, you prevent the video from expanding to fill a 16:9 widescreen TV and instead end up with black space on all four sides. Also, your original source files should be at least 640 pixels wide.
Of course these are just recommendations. We understand that there are good reasons for 320×240 (bandwidth bills) and 720p (looks fantastic). Do whatever makes the most sense for your show. For more information on formatting video, see the recently updated spec:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html
Podcasts are no longer handcuffed to computer screens and ipods. Now anyone with a camera, a computer, and a great idea can be broadcast on TV sets in living rooms globally.
If you’re considering getting into video podcasting, keep these specs in mind as you produce your show. Television-accessibility opens up a lot of doors for podcasting, and will help bring it even more into the media big leagues.
What’s more, online communities are creating entertainment together. Check out this fantastic piece of kids’ programming that Charlie is working on with the Vimeo community:
Down By The Bay (kids sing-along invite) on Vimeo
We live in a time where you can create your own TV show with people thousands of miles away that you’ve never met and distribute it to audiences across the globe. Heck. Yes.
By Doug Williams on April 02, 2007
Today is THE first Rite of Spring. It puts Punxsutawney Phil’s annual charade to shame. At the magazine where I worked in a former professional life, it was, rightly, a red-letter day on the calendar. A holiday not to be missed. A day of rest and reflection. Not to go all Annie Savoy on you, but there must be a reason it coincides so closely with Passover and Easter.
It’s Opening Day.
To celebrate baseball’s annual rebirth, I’ve created Trabian League Baseball. If you’ve played any sort of Fantasy Sports, you’re familiar with the drill. I’ve created a league on Yahoo!. It’s free to join, just visit http://fantasysports.yahoo.com/ and click “Sign Up Now” under the Baseball section (it’s at the top in the middle, hard to miss). Choose the free option (below the big yellow buttons) and then pick “Join a Custom League” after you sign in. Our league ID and password are as follows:
ID: 298537
Password: posada
Trey and I are already in. We need six more teams from Credit Union Land. If you’ve never played, try it. If you’re an old hand, lend your expertise. All are welcome. We will have an automatic draft (that you can attend and affect in person, if you so wish), so Yahoo!’s algorithms can take the heavy lifting off your plate.
Yes, the sport of baseball has a villain threatening to supplant its heroes. The maelstrom of steroids, inflated player contracts and the looming demise of its pillars give it the feel of the Second Act of an operatic score. But this is counterpoint to it’s brilliance. A minor turn to make the resolve that much more satisfying.
As for me and my house, we’ll be in Tier 11 at The Stadium today.
