Learn. Teach. Post. Always be moving forward…

So, I ‘ve realized that I haven’t made any progress on the blogging front. The fact of the matter is that I haven’t made progress on much of anything I’ve set out to do this year – aside from work, work, hit the bar after work, and try and make some new friends (half of which I’ve made at said bar). I’ve taken Halloween and the two following days off of work and I truly hope to get some things accomplished. Item number 1: Get all of the tech junk I’ve accumulated over the years out of my room, up and working, and on e-bay. I keep putting off buying a nice camera for lack of spare funds – but it’s time. Goodbye multitude of spare computers and parts. Farewell oh plethora of repaired LCD televisions (they’re really nice but seriously who needs 5 seventeen inch LCD tv’s). See ya later barage of random guitar pedals and processors. Mr. Crate amplifier that has blown circuitry…I’d love to fix you, but the truth is I’d rather give you to someone who has the time and buy a new one. I’ll have you know that you’re all contributing to the future of, well, me…my new pressing hobby (making video for the web, writing, and just generally engulfing myself in Media Making). It’s been a good run – but it’s about time you fella’s (and ladies – the LCD’s are too cute to be boys) had a better home, one where you’re used to the fullness of your abilities. Cheers.

Aside from selling and buying stuff – like a good consumer should, I need to go sign up at the Washington Sports Club. After having lost 80 lbs. my junior year of college and getting down to 175lbs., blowing out my knee a year before I moved here, and then working constantly and otherwise sitting on my ass – I’ve subsequently gained 20-30lbs of that mass back. It bothers me. I don’t feel healthy. My smoking has gone through the roof with the vast amount of stress that moving to D.C. and working my pants off to try and save some cash to pay off loans and maybe get a down payment on a house (that’s a big MAYBE). So yeah. Quit smoking. Work out. Get healthy. Feel better. Work on movies, videos, blogging, writing, reading, movie reviewing and all of the things this blog is supposed to be about.

Learn. Teach. Post. Always be moving forward. That’s my new credo.

So wish me luck and a Happy Halloween to all.

Cheers,

Scott Stead (Idea Machine…hopefully this will be a more productive winter than last.)

blogging for dummies: my foray into blog/vlogging

It all started in November 2006. The midterm elections were in full force: debates, interviews, propoganda, candidates shaking hands and kissing babies, mudslinging-dirt-digging-campaign-adds, and, of course, network news coverage of all-of-it. I was fortunate enough to be privy to CNN’s election coverage at a local DC watering hole, the Cafe Tryst in Adams Morgan. We planned, we prepped, we set up, we tore down…and somewhere in the middle we invited bloggers from all over the country to come hang out, sit down and share their perspective of the election coverage for the duration of the evening.

There was something about it. The interactivity. The culture. The climate. The sense of community that was created. Watching people respond to every little event that occurred that night, right down to our incredible IT staff handling some last minute “who decided to share their internet connection and drag our band width down” issues. People were hanging out and drinking coffee, chatting in semi-circles, sitting side-by-side and broadcasting the event in their own words to the masses right along side their Mass Media counterparts that invited them out for the event. I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to run home, jump on my PC and partake in the conception of ideas, the paying witness to, and the new community of digital denizens shouting from the roof(lap)tops. I wanted to be a blogger.

Knowing what you want to do and knowing how to do it are two different things all together. It wasn’t a week later that I noticed a posting on DC’ist about a new group getting together in the district called DC Media Makers. Live in DC. Check. Media. Love it. Maker. Ahhh, there’s the catch. That’s what I want to do. Not sure how to swing it. So I went, and met, and checked it out. I made some connections. And I’ve been digging in ever since. So were this a how-to, which I’m pretty sure it’s not — I’d recommend joining a group like this because it seriously helps to a) foster your creativity b) hone your skills and c) just makes you DO IT.

What it all comes down to is having a passion, pursuing it, and making connections. Through meeting people “in the know and how” I’ve followed advice, and links that lead me to more advice and more links that have generally filled my brain and bookmarks tab beyond capacity. I’ve toyed with Jott, Twitter, MindMeister, Protopage, Jaiku, del.icio.us, JumpCut, Avacast, UStream, and other toys/sites. I’ve visited the blogs and vlogs of Steve Garfield, Jay Dedman, Jonny Goldstein, Jill Foster, Andy Carvin, Carl Weaver, Chris Brogan, Rupert Howe, Bryper, Mark Cuban, Ze Frank, Rocketboom, JetSet, TechCrunch, Galacticast, Blogotheque, TVNewser, FishbowlDC, Wonkette, Lost Remote, Huffington Post and a host of others (this could literally go on forever).

So right now I’m absorbing and retooling. Thinking and writing off the blog – which I hope to translate at some point to blog worthy postings and eventually video blogs. I’ve got some ideas I’m kicking around that I’d like to see come to fruition and hopefully with a little luck, a lot of motivation, and a push from my muse I’ll be rolling in no time.

My goals as of current are to: a)write a meaningful posting a week b)buy a dvcam so i can get rolling with the video end of things and c) develop my own thematic content and or style.

So friends, wish me luck and keep on blogging on your own – YOU all are my inspiration.

Cheers,

scottstead

and a new blog is born: death and new media at VT

so here i sit – watching the VT story unfold. i’m watching the coverage on CNN. i’m watching my newly acquired twitters popping up in my IM. Andy Carvin (npr) and Jim Long (nbc) firing away new information every couple of minutes. cnn i-report has been playing video from Jamal Albarghouti a VT Student (now i-reporter) all morning. they keep reporting that it’s had over 120,000 hits since they first threw it up on the web. i’m watching this from so many angles. i need to at some point after the fact throw up a timeline of how i took all of this in. jim reported 30 deaths an hour ago. now we’re looking at 32 or more. talk of the nation has a rolling blog pointing to CollegeMedia.com which “includes a timeline of events on the campus, and a graphic that shows the shootings locations.” so i’m not sure what to take away from all of this – except that i’ve got so many ways of taking it all that it’s almost overwhelming. i’m on the inside-looking out, and at the sametime on the outside looking in. the power is in our hands to report from anywhere – this is the new media – and once i throw it all together – i feel like i might be able to come to some kind of truth about the whole thing. more late…i’ve more reading/watching to do.

http://collegemedia.com/

Roanoke Times Photos

Flickr VT Shooting Pool

Blog of the Nation (NPR)

CNN Story + I Report Video

Andy Carvin’s Twitter

Jim Long’s Twitter