Dispatches from a Venture Culturalist

Evangelizing about web 2.0 and RealDanceFM

ventureculturalist — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:52:19 +0000

Since landing in Boston last year, I’ve found more work in the online space than anywhere else – this has meant a return to the skills that have been somewhat dormant since about 2000 when I was last contracting as a designer to any large degree. Some of the jobs have been small scale gigs for fellow filmmakers and friends – others have been a little more extensive. A site for one client is currenly in beta, and I’ve been working on a third-party platform called MemberClicks (memberclicks.com) which has been very interesting: Its an organizational engine that essentially provides a large suite of services out of the box that any org with a large membership could use. Other than the fact that their browser-based editor is “not really Mac compatible” its a cool service that does away with the programmer component of a project like this.

In other news, I’m presenting on “Web 2.0″ for the Enterprise Center in Salem this week – basically a presentation to small biz owners on what they should know about podcasting, RSS, etc. Previous talks I’ve given on the subject have been well received, so I’m looking forward to this one. Speaking about convergence, Web 2.0, etc. (pick your buzzword) are a good opportunity for me to focus on some key trends (simple means of syndication, publishing across multiple forms of media as mainstream…), filter out the noise, and debunkk some surprisingly widespread myths (using and producing podcasts has no direct relation to the Apple iPod) for lay audiences.

Back to the trenches…

The Move Home

ventureculturalist — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 03:21:20 +0000

After living in numerous locales – Watertown MA, Edgewater CO, Everett WA, Salem MA, Lincoln MA, Belmont MA, Middletown CT, NY NY, Proividence RI, El Paso TX, Seattle WA, San Francisco CA, Cape Town ZA, Manguzi ZA, and Salem MA (again) – I’ve finally landed back home in Boston where I was ushered into the world a few decades ago in the middle of a Nor’Easter that the Globe says dumped 13 inches of snow on the city. It’s good to be back, and I’m getting to know Jamaica Plain , aka JP (my new neighborhood, which has a familiar vibe: it feels like a chunk of San Francisco dumped in the southern reaches of the Hub. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_Plain).

Amazing Grace Jeff Buckley wins Best Picture and Best Doc from the DIY Film Fest in LA

ventureculturalist — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 03:02:09 +0000

My first post is good news. A film I edited back in 2004 (in collaboration with Nyla Bialek, Director-Producer) was recently awarded Best Film and Best Documentary at the DIY Film Festival in Los Angeles (see: http://www.diyconvention.com/). The award is a great tribute to the producers who funded the production out of their own pockets and persevered over the course of many years to create a film that pays homage to the independent spirit of Jeff Buckley. An excerpt from the film’s official website http://www.amazinggracejeffbuckley.com/wordpress/) is posted below:

“We’re proud to announce that Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley won two awards at the DIY Film Festival in Los Angeles last week, Best Documentary and Best Film! Waxing a little sentimental here, the DIY stamp of approval is especially meaningful. The indie spirit of Amazing Grace is a big part of its overall message – that Jeff inspires regular ole people (like us) to embark on their own creative odysseys.”

“The on-going loop of this film (the snake swallowing its tail) is how we were inspired by Jeff to make a film about WHY Jeff inspired us to make a film. Our passionate desire to create a film through which people could “catch” this inspiration is what carried us through the DIY process. Without inspiration there is no DIY. You simply can’t sustain.”

“That said, the DIY awards are a true testament to the inspirational reach of Jeff Buckley, and we’re particularly proud of it! Thank you very much to Rich Martini and the DIY judges.”

Hello world!

ventureculturalist — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:57:46 +0000

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