MediaCasters.tv

Having watched so many events from a distance and wanted to be there I think MediaCasters.tv is an an awesome idea. What is Mediacasters.tv? Well to quote their press release:

Live events stimulate conversations, but those offsite can’t really respond until later, when “the moment” has passed. What if you could engage from anywhere right as something interesting happened? In real time? Using super flexible, lightweight “social media” tools that make anyone a mediacaster.”

And that is an awesome idea. As I have watched live streaming and chat programs and more evolve and spread I have been wondering - Why can't we create a way for people who can't come to the event to participate and join in the event? I mean, it isn't going to be the same as being there, but it can certainly allow partial involvement and move this "distance is shorter because we can use the network" to the point where it involves participating in actual events.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how Mediacasters.tv evolves and I'm hoping I will be able to make it down to join in the last day of Boulder Startup Weekend 2 to see it first hand.

I'd love to bring Mediacasters.tv into Colorado Podcamp. New Media is global and local - what a great way to enable both. Thank you Laura "Pistachio" Fitton.

Brief thoughts on Second Life & The Media

I was just reading an article on ABC News about the SLCC. I find it amusing the constant "well only x people made a lot of money in Second Life".

What percentage of Internet users make real money on the internet. Is it even 1%? What use is the Internet then? Oh..it was started as a way to exchange ideas between scientists, educators, and inventors? People use it just to share with others and connect to family far away? Where's the worth in that? Could it be the communication and connection and creativity has its own worth?

SL is just a new medium that is still growing. It's also different. When companies first came to the internet few made much money or had more than a few brochures online. It took time to learn the new medium and now many businesses exist only on the web. Given time SL, or other virtual worlds like it will develop in to a new medium for business and yet still be a medium for play - not unlike the internet, but at the same time in a different way than the internet.

And for those who ask why would you spend money on virtual objects - what does your movie ticket buy you? 2 hours in the theater and a memory? How is that any more tangible than a virtual outfit that may be "worn" many times and is used to impress someone who might become a business partner?

Hype is hype, but given time and the development of more pervasive bandwidth and better computers virtual worlds will become as common as instant messaging and email.

Innovative Media 30 Years Ago

On one of the shows Chris Brogan hosted on Blog.tv he invited me to co-host with him. We talked about security, Jewish mysticism, and how I might use this new media for the things I teach and do. When he asked I was struck a bit by how much of this "new media" has been used, in the past 30 years, for spreading Jewish mysticism and the like. I was going to email Chris some thoughts on this, but I decided I would put this here and share it with everyone.

Right now there is a project going on called The Living Archive where they are working to digitize vast stores of magnetic media from 12 to 30 years ago. These are videos and films of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Now what ties this to the new media theme is the following. Although some of the film is from professional recordings, a large portion of the film is from individual people making their own recordings of something they thought was significant in their life.

Even more relevant to the new media is that talks that the Lubavitcher Rebbe gave were broadcast over an improvised phone network (I think it may have been a call in line) not unlike the live podcasts of today. There were also real time translators who translated from Yiddish and Hebrew to English. (In the videos you can see people listening on earpieces to the broadcast translations as they watch). For some events, like Menorah lightings they did at an international satellite linkup of live Chanukah Menorah lightings around the world. This was done in the 1980's.

So many of the features of the "new media" have long been used, but only recently have the tools been developed that enable anyone to implement global broadcasts at the push of a button.

I'm still working out what I can contribute to the video podcasting/new media trend, but I found reflecting on what has already been done an interesting exercise to determine what of what are we doing is truly new and what is the democratization provided by new technologies.

The Gaming/Social Industry

I was reading W. James Au's article on the gaming industry as well as Joi Ito's article and I was struck by two things.

The first was the irony of the fact that if the gaming industry really is as James Au describes it "young gamer dudes, serving an audience of young gamer dudes" that they would not "get" that their audience would have a desire to create their own worlds just as much as the producers of the games do.

The second thing that struck me was actually tied into something I had been thinking of earlier. The social aspect of gaming, and the popularity of networks in general strikes me as being a reflection of the society we live in.

My mom likes to talk about the "front porch" of her childhood where kids would just play in the neighborhood and neighbors would sit on their porches and socialize and keep a general eye on the kids. I am sure there are some places where that still happens but I think more and more people find their social circles based more on interests than on location. With longer commutes and frequent travel it is harder to build a relationship based on physical location alone. When physical space becomes somewhat more irrelevant I think it is natural that we, the social beings that we are, would see a virtual location where we can be together.

Thus even as WoW has its gaming and adventure aspects it also has its social aspects. Second life and There and quite a few others are even more about having your place or hangouts and getting together. It isn't just that gaming is changing but that gaming is replacing a part of culture that was lost when commuting and travel became the norm.

A (not so) Quick Sketch Biography of Goldie Katsu

I've been thinking about Chris Brogan's DIY Autobiography Kit, well, since he published it on his blog. I thought I'd join in and write up my Quick (or maybe not so quick) Sketch Biography, so here it goes.

The thing most people know me for is… my smile and my willingness to listen.; alternatively, my ability to get groups of diverse people to work towards a common goal; alternatively, the ability to help people understand viewpoints that are different than their own; or perhaps all of the above.

Depending on the circle I may be known (in addition to the above) for:

• work for the community
• computer security knowledge,
• ability to help them with their computer problems
• ability to make things work
• knowledge of Judaism both practical and mystical

The people I associate the most with are…people who want to change the world. This is a broader spectrum of people than one might think at first. Sure it would include movers and shakers who start disruptive movements, but it also includes people who work in education because it makes a difference, or people who are involved in charity works to help improve people's lives, or even people who just want to make their piece of the world a little better.

People who have influenced my life are… my mom and dad. They are both teachers and are incredible listeners and they make huge difference in the lives that they touch.

Another person who is a big influence in my life is the Lubavitcher Rebbe - this influence is in more areas than you might think. Certainly his work to spread Judaism to Jews touched me as I became a baalat teshuva (someone who took on Jewish observance, rather than being raised with it.) But even more so his style of teaching and his view of the world has influenced mine profoundly.

His teaching style is one of looking at something, asking penetrating questions, coming up with answers, seeing the flaws in the answer, and then coming up with stronger answers. If you read any of his sichot (talks) or maimorim (lectures) you will see this pattern again and again. This has influenced my teaching style and also the way I approach my work.

I'll talk about two specific aspects of the Rebbe's view of the world. The first is not accepting limits. So many people have stories of going to the Rebbe and telling him their "great accomplishment" and the Rebbe would say to them "That is a great start". I tend to live my life with the attitude of anything can be done. If I think of a project or idea that inspires me I will go for it and find a way to make it work.
The other aspect of the Rebbe's view of the world is his ability to see value in everyone in the sense that everyone has worth and contribution to give to this world. It is easy to write off people, it is much harder to uplift people, yet the latter is a characteristic of the Rebbe, and one that I attempt to emulate.

One challenge I took on and overcame was…learning how to promote myself. I think this is really the biggest challenge for me. I am very good at doing, and being there for others, but I will often let others take credit for my work. While this isn't bad in all cases there are downsides to this - beyond self interest. If you have something to contribute and you don't let others know about it the value of your ability to contribute is limited to the projects you seek out. When you learn to promote yourself people can (and will) come to you to ask for that special skill you can contribute. Learning to say "I did that" "I can do this" required a shift in perspective to not feel like heel when I said it. Although I can say "I over came this", I'm still learning how to promote myself and let others know what I can contribute.

My early years, before you probably got to know me were…turbulent and chaotic. Ok maybe not quite that, but before I met my husband I had lots of passion and ideas but little faith in myself and little focused direction. I was involved in lots of things: motorcycling, movie making, Rennaisance Faire, posting on news groups, costuming, folk dancing, ballroom dancing, playing clarinet, playing flute, going to geek parties through out the south bay area, bicycling, etc. etc. Lots of great stuff, but I would flit from one to the next never certain of committing to any one thing, or being fully present.

My husband, in addition to helping me see myself has given me the support to help me grow. He is the first person who really believed in me and was not afraid/threatened by my successes but spurred me on to do more. I didn't list him as an influence, as he isn't an influence in my life but a part of my life.

You might not know this, but…I tend to be verbose when writing...oh wait you probably know that already :-) But seriously, I am leaving out some details of my life and accomplishments that might be interesting to you, leaving those to share in a person to person interaction. I'm goldiekatsu on gmail, twitter, flickr, jaiku, etc. (And Goldie Katsu in Second Life. It is true, Katsu is not my real last name, but I'll answer it to it.)

I’m passionate about…people and ideas. I love all of the new technologies, but I tend to view them just as tools. The importance of these technologies to me are how they affect people and help spread ideas. More on that in another post.

In the next year or two, I hope to…have fun and laugh more. Of course, given the above that means being busy with people and ideas.