My history of social media and internets..

If you haven't heard, tomorrow - October 26 - Yahoo is finally shutting down GeoCities. This makes me so sad. My very first website ever was hosted on GeoCities. And thanks to archive.org's wayback machine, I was able to find it and see it again today. But more on that in a moment..

This got me thinking about how the Internet has progressed for me. I was lucky to be at an impressionable age when the Internet was really starting to get going..I was young enough to embrace new technology, but I was old enough to remember all the changes. I got to see the evolution of the Internet from the old to Web 2.0 and beyond. It's been a weird and interesting journey.

Self-promotion ahead.

A video I shot over the course of last fall/winter alongside my friends and associates Aaron and Katie and edited was chosen by Ben Stein to be a finalist in the YouTube Video Volunteers Spotlight: Animal Welfare contest. Out of the top ten finalists, voting by the public will decide the top three, who will be showcased on youtube.com. This would be great for Cat's Haven, who have no advertising budget.

So please go to http://www.youtube.com/ytvideovolunteers and thumbs up Cat's Haven: Faces of the Shelter! Voting is open until 11:59 tonight.

love/hate for after effects

Before college, I had never used Adobe After Effects. The first time I opened it, my head exploded. I instantly hated it.

My first project in AE was an animatic starring my mother, the lunch lady. It turned out pretty decently, but it frustrated me so much. It got lots of laughs during the showing, so at least the storytelling was good.

Little Video Timecapsules

When it comes to preserving memories, I'm usually more apt to grab a still camera than a video camera despite being in the video field. With a still, you can get a frozen moment that represents an event, and it can end up being really timeless. It eliminates all the flaws really easily and exists as a single split second of time. In general when you're talking about pre-WW2, still pictures are what you get. I'm fairly used to seeing this era is frozen bits and pieces and I like it that way because everyone seems perfect and classy and timeless.

But then occasionally you see a video from an era that didn't really have much video, and it's almost kind of shocking to see the people in the pictures moving around. They seem like still life in the photos, almost like they don't really exist. But then suddenly they're moving around and being regular ol' people who don't even know what's coming to them in the next 70 years, wearing clothes and walking around on what looks like a movie set.

I saw this video posted on Mashable this week. The Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam released it recently. It's the only known video of Anne Frank. I think the whole somewhat strange feeling of seeing figures that don't normally have 3 dimensions in this form is furthered by seeing someone so iconic as Anne Frank. This video is from July 22, 1941, a little under 5 months before WW2 started.




With her diary having been published for 50 years, it's easy to forget that she was once an actual person. She was once a little girl who lived in a building and peered out of her window to see a bride and groom walk into the street. I think this should be shown to kids when they are assigned to read her diary, as a reminder that it is in fact NOT fictional.

This is another reason I love video. It can capture a whole scene so vividly even on 30 second of black and white. With everyone having a video camera in their pocket these days, this feeling of finding a small treasure in a video long past won't continue.

The Difference Between Twitter and Facebook Status

In short, this is what I have determined the difference between Twitter and Facebook Status Feed is:

Facebook Status Feed: "Kylee Wall said blah blah blah."

Twitter: "Blah blah blah said Kylee Wall."

Facebook is directly linked to your full profile, among your friends, and the importance is placed on YOU saying something.

Twitter is linked to a small avatar and an ambiguous screenname and requires a click through to see a tiny snippet more. It places the importance on what is said, with who said it being an afterthought. This is why retweeting became a regular occurence, whereas on Facebook people rarely copy/paste witty statements their friends make. What their friends may have said belongs to them. Not to mention Facebook creates a thread so you can comment on how witty they were...

That's how I see Facebook Status and Twitter differing.

Transmedia Gaming Experiences

I am a huge fan of transmedia and alternate reality gaming. The interactivity of watching something on TV, doing something on your computer, going somewhere and having a shared experience, or physically creating something and having it all fit together in one big puzzle is a really intriguing experience. I've participated in a few of these, like the Dunder Mifflin Infinity campaign, or the on-going Dharma Initiative recruiting for Lost. Not to be limited to TV, NIN also had an interesting transmedia experiment with their last release.

The first transmedia experience (and still the most exciting to me) was a game called Majestic. My dad saw it somewhere and it was subscription based, so he purchased it for me thinking I would enjoy it.

It was AWESOME.

Filled with Glee

Oh, how I adore Glee. It airs Wednesday nights on FOX, in case you've been living under a rock. It's centered around a Glee Club at an Ohio high school, and all the dramas that come along with it. And it of course features a lot of show choir and other musical numbers, though they are set in realistic circumstances - no spontaneous breaking into song here.

And it's a show that knows its audience. Clearly, this show isn't for everyone and could have easily failed if put in the wrong place.

The first episode of Glee aired as a special sneak preview after an episode of American Idol this summer. Obviously people who love the drama of the biggest Glee Club in the world - the one made of American Idol contestants - will love a show set around one.

Now it airs right after So You Think You Can Dance. Again, capturing the audience of dance enthusiasts and leading them into the show.

A vast majority of the cast of Glee is also on Twitter, talking back and forth with each other and fans throughout episodes and the week. They have determined that fans are "Gleeks", and ask for feedback each week. In fact, "Glee" was still a trending topic as of 5 PM today.

And the soundtrack for each episode is released on iTunes after each episode. Earlier, last night's final song was #3 on iTunes.

The show itself is smart as well. It keeps a good balance of the surreal and ridiculous, and real themes like teen pregnancy, infatuation, and homosexuality. The creator, Ryan Murphy, selects all of the show's musical numbers with a degree of genius - a great blend of showtunes for the choir nerds, and pop songs of the 70s-now to satisfy everyone else. Last nights Cabaret duel/duet with Kristin Chenoweth and Lea Michele solidified the show's ability to use showtunes in a totally awesome manner.

So, where does Glee fit into the scheme of things? It's not really like any other shows out right now. It's a dramedy by all accounts. It has three dimensional characters, fantastical sequences, textured lighting, an ensemble cast that's truly related to each other, story arcs, and other stuff I can't think of anymore (college was 6 months ago!) The only other dramedy I can think of that's currently on air right now is Scrubs. However, Scrubs operates on a 30 minute sitcom type formula, allowing it to be easily placed in the comedy category. What other one hour comedies exist?

Where does a musical dramedy satirical show about high schoolers fit in amongst all of your other entertainment?