YouVert

F*ck Planet Earth!

An interesting take on the BBC's fascinating Planet Earth series. So that's what the animals were saying...

Planet Freaking Earth

Ask A Chola

I came across this series yesterday and I think it is pretty good. Social video is great for character creation as you can do and test so much while spending so little. Check out AskACholaTV, a LA gangsta chick character with a conscious. She wears a green bandana to raise awareness of global warming. She does PSA's for the barrio. It is humorous and whoever does it is surprisingly productive, there are over 30 vid spots and growing! She does not seem to have that many views yet, but it is the kind of thing I could see catching on.  You heard it here first!

Drug Education For A Troubled Youth

Luckily for all those wayward 13 year olds out there, youtube comes to the rescue with such educational titles as How To Roll A Joint, How To Roll A Joint...Or How To Get Stoned, How To A Joint/Make A Spliff The Proper Way, and many more. It is sweet that all those needing a little assistance need only turn to the social videowebs for their D.I.Y needs.

How To Roll A Joint

Thankfully you can still get the drug counterpoint from those pillars of sensibility, Ronald and Nancy Reagan. But wait.....what is that they are saying!!!!

iCaught It On The TeeVee

I finally saw iCaught last night on ABC. If you have not heard of this show, it is a basic news format show that looks at CGM vids on the web and then goes in depth as to their creation and their creators. It is actually a smart idea. If a video has gotten 12 million views on YouTube, then for some reason, people have responded to it and may be interested in the story behind it. Last night's episode had a pretty droll report on users filming themselves doing Jackass type stunts, but I was happy to see the story on William Sledd, the self-proclaimed "Ask A Gay Man" host who we covered back in January. It explored how the medium can create celebrity at least a fleeting moment if not a little longer. It also must be a pretty cheap show to produce, which makes sense for the network as the content is already out there and there is built in interest. Whether it is the Philippine Thriller phenom or Darth Vader Chocolate Rain(see below), people are paying attention.

The most interesting twist is that new media has turned the tables on traditional media and yet trad media is still finding ways to monetize and sell ads against it. I wonder if the creators are sharing in the ad buys?

Citizen Media List

The citizen journalism phenom is only picking up steam. CyberJournalist has a growing list of such sites and damn if their aint alot of people out there with something to say!

Check out the Uber list here.

Also, if you have not seen it, someone very related to me is involved with this site that is focused on letters to the editor, especially when those letters are denied from the op ed pages of major newspapers.

Rejected Letters to the Editor

Save The Planet, Win £10K

In this new CGM contest, first seen on AdRants, users make films on environmental themes and then get those rated. Winners receive cash and prizes from the £10K prize pool. Scene Won promises future competitions on other topics, but this first one is in partnership with Global Cool hence the theme. At least you can feel less morally corrupt better than making an ad for Chevy.

LINK: Scene Won

The Masses Break The Story

For all fans of Citizen Journalism, this is a good segment from NPR's on the media. It talks about how the web community was reacting and on top of the Washington attorney scandal
way before the traditional media got involved.

LINK: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/23/03

History That Never Happened

Originally seen on Boing Boing, this is a photo mash-up contest where users are encouraged to create historical/antique images that never happened using their best photoshopping techniques.  The famed Chicken coach for one at left.

I love how modern technology more and more allows for that which never was done to become faux-reality. As we create our future in the way we see fit, leave it to us to re-create the past as well.

LINK: Worth 100

Business Week on CJ and Vlogging

Business Week has an article on the rise of Vlogging, Citizen Journalism and how it is getting more  attention from advertisers, viewers and the political sphere. It points out some good examples of what it is and why it is making waves. Of course there are the usual big media detractors but in general, it is a pretty positive piece.

Seeing that in the last 2 days alone 3 different people have all asked about CJ and possible extensions of it on behalf of brands, it seems to really be bubbling up. Is Citizen Journalism the new Second Life in 2007?

LINK: Business Week on CJ