Ello's First Film....ad? | VIDEO

To me, Ello is what Vimeo is for YouTube but for tumblr.

The ad-free social network just put together this trippy "film" - title "Control" - advertises promotes? showcasing their brand new mobile app. I don't post on Ello much myself but I do like discovering new designers on there...which means I'll be downloading it soon.

The video's description says:

"Your social network is owned by advertisers.

Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.

We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity, and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.

We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life.

You are not a product."

This is part of their "Art not Ads" program and was created by Legwork Studios.

AND if you happen to use Ello, you can find me here!

Find what you're NOT looking for with Netflix Roulette

Content discovery on Netflix is challenging with a library of over 9,500 titles and limited promotional space, especially when you've already caught up with Scandal and you finally finished Breaking Bad.

But fear not, Netflix Roulette by CodeUSA is quirky enough to solve your content binging woes.

With Netflix Roulette, you set a genre and add in a few filters to narrow down the content - you can even get picky with the star ratings. After you spin, out comes your next hour or two of media feasting.  Don't like what you see? Adjust the filters again and spin.

NOTE: Only ONE title is recommended at a time. Would be great to see Netflix account integration, but is very awesome as is.

Netflix Roulette | Get a random movie from the Netflix catalog and watch instantly!

The Vine Compilation to End All Vine Compilations

Move ovah, BatDad. This is an #UltraVine.



The clip mashup plays over Crystals (Federico Scavo Radio Edit) by DANK (feat. JACQ) and is the "first ever music video made completely of Vines," so says Astronauts Wanted, the main producer and platform for this #UltraVine. The site is actually the newest project of ex-MTV President, Judy McGrath, and Sony Entertainment. While the millenial-focused site is still in beta, they're already off to a good start with a Vine-first under their belt. More on Astronauts Wanted here.

Astronaut's Wanted #UltraVine | Astronauts Wanted | No Experience Necessary

Living Paper Dresses by Jule Waibel

German designer Jule Waibel is creating 25 paper dresses for 25 cities (24, though there will be 2 in London) for global retailer Bershka as part of project, "Entfaltung."



Each dress is hand folded, giving it a life-like sensibility when worn as the paper opens and closes - appropriate since "entfaltung" means to unfold in German. The multi-city exhibition of the dresses begins January 2014 in numerous Bershka flagship stores including Madrid, Paris and Istanbul to name a few.

More deets after the jump.

Jule Waibel | "Entfaltung" for Bershka

Spotify YouTube with a Chrome Extension

Yes. You can now "spotify" music videos on YouTube with a Chrome extension called Streamus.

Streamus lets you instantly play and bookmark videos directly in your Chrome browser while you continue your web browsing business. Interestingly enough, YouTube is set to launch an on-demand music streaming service in the near future, per Billboard.

Why is this a Thing? After installing the extension, type "streamus" + Tab + song name + Enter = the song starts playing in your browser instantly and seamlessly.

Best case scenario: You have a song stuck in your head and you need instant gratification. Keyword, instant.

No more closing out "Wrecking Ball" by accident for the umph time!

Streamus | Streaming YouTube music made simple by Google Chrome - Streamus

Jeff Gomez - What is transmedia?

Jeff Gomez - What is transmedia?

The man himself who pushed the PGA to establish the title of Transmedia Producer into the guild.

Thank you Jeff!

Transmedia Storytelling - Technology Review

Transmedia Storytelling - Technology Review

Analysis of transmedia presence in the current entertainment landscape

Digitaria | What I Learned at Comic Con 2010: Transmedia is Everywhere

Digitaria | What I Learned at Comic Con 2010: Transmedia is Everywhere

Really good breakdown on Henry Jenkins' theories on transmedia today and how it shouldn't be confused with certain franchising and branding.

Elizabeth Stark: The Gender Gap In Tech: Why Mentors Matter

Elizabeth Stark: The Gender Gap In Tech: Why Mentors Matter

My former Copyright, Culture & Commerce professor, Elizabeth Stark, wrote this very true and very engaging article about the importance of mentors in a very male driven industry.

I think one of the important aspects about mentoring is the inspirational and motivational work that can be down while working with a mentee.

"Blogs In Plain English"

This makes me happy and explains why I love the democratic effects of the Internet on society. Kudos to commoncraft.com!

"Hello, we are Alphabeat and we play pop music."

I first discovered Alphabeat somewhere between 2007 and 2008, when my friend, Ryan, put this as his About Me on Facebook. Tonight, I went to their first ever concert in NYC and they were absolutely amazing. And more amazing, they opened for Lady Gaga in her UK tour. Absolutely amurzing.

Check out some Alpha-Love below.

And some Alpha-Gaga...

What if magazines eventually turned into video-zines?

I subscribe to a bunch of different RSS feeds, and as dorky as I am, I read some fashion blogs. I usually stop on the posts that have some kind of commercial or short film for different fashion trends and started thinking, What if all magazines just became videos? This crossed my mind after watching The Love Thing by Love Magazine.

In my mind, that's what video magazines would look like. It wouldn't be necessary to make it look like a recorded runway show. In this way it would be more stylized and less formal as most runway shows seem to be.

Like all media industries, print is definitely feeling the pressure of the Internet. So, would it be terrible if fashion magazines (or all magazines for that matter) turned into video-zines? Like TV, they could easily be able to include intermittent commercials instead of only having banners around their article pages online.

I don't necessarily think print is going to go completely out of business, it will just become a leisure product rather than the predominant medium.

I'm starting to get some of my newsletters as audio files or videos, why not a whole magazine?

Considering the rise of the interactive reader (think iPad than Nook/Kindle), the interface of magazines and newspapers will soon change. Instead of reading a simple digital copy of a physical NYTimes on nytimes.com, the iPad has it's own NYT interface that actually defines the term digital newspaper. As per the different iPad videos, it feels like a newspaper but it also has the interactivity that goes hand in hand with the digital realm of the Internet.

This seems like the a perfect template for magazines to follow, especially those that include large pictures such as fashion and lifestyle magazines. But who knows what'll happen this decade in media development.

Get the Lead Out! Cartridge-Free (& Erasable) Pencil Printer | Designs & Ideas on Dornob

Hell yes! I had previously blogged about an inkless printer but this is totally up my alley. No ink, just lead! Save money on paper (because you can erase pages you don't need) and no big spending on ink cartridges!

My one concern would be accidental smudgings but i lurve it.

Get the Lead Out! Cartridge-Free (& Erasable) Pencil Printer | Designs & Ideas on Dornob: "How about a portable desktop printer that prints out pages you can erase? Beyond being a great, green and cheap alternative to buying endless colored ink cartridges, the prints themselves have a hand-made feel that only comes from that traditional graphite we all associate with hand-written letters and memos."

What ever happened to "safe harbor"?

There is something very wrong in Italy's recent conviction of three Google ex-employees for taking down footage of a boy getting beaten up back in 2006. They were charged with "criminal defamation and a failure to comply with the Italian privacy code." Google wrote this blog post assuring that they plan to appeal this decision.

I'm not versed in Italian privacy laws but, just like Google's statement includes, it's common sense within today's technological savvy that these men did not own or distribute the footage - it was the girl who uploaded the video. How do these men get charged?

I believe that they were involved in taking down said video and helping the police identify the bullies, I'm assuming, through their Google accounts and IP addresses.

If using technology for a positive purpose (with information that is readily available - Google's access to the girl's information) is an invasion of privacy, isn't it fair to say that these people opted and ACCEPTED the fact that computers and browsers record IP addresses? Let alone incorporate a lot of personal information on social networks or their Google accounts?

However one might position themselves in respect to this issue, consider that we live in a very public technological society where privacy is an option that is not usually chosen.

Source: Official Google Blog: Serious threat to the web in Italy

Electronic Book, Out Of Stock?!?!

A Judgement In Stone (Electronic book text) By (author) Ruth Rendell ISBN 13: 9781409067863 at The Book Depository

Jaw officially dropped. I was looking for Ruth Rendell's "A Judgement in Stone" as an eBook or online text I could legally use for one of my classes, and just when I click a link to access it, the book is described as 'Out of Stock.' What is the point of an eBook then???

Tube fail.