Gypsy Bandito

Uncle Jay’s 2008 Review

CT Moore — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:31:31 +0000

I don’t know who this guy is. A coworker sent me the link. But I think we can all learn something from him: you’re never too old to vlog or “get it.” Not only is the content well timed/targeted, but the presentation (format and editing) are spot on. Incidentally, a mysterious stranger who’s been emailing me should find this vlogger particularly inspiring.

WOM Haiku 2

CT Moore — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:25:45 +0000

The voice of trust says

a product is good or bad.

We all hear a truth.

And the winner is…

CT Moore — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:27:05 +0000

Update: The Akoha cards go to Meg from Finland because (1) she told a bad joke, and (2) bad jokes are the dirtiest jokes.

So I held this contest, and now I’m ready to discuss the winner. Merry Christmas…

iPhone Version

Monty Python Gets It

CT Moore — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:13:37 +0000

Whatever “it” is, Monty Python seems to have it by the short hairs. I came across this on Johnnie Moore’s blog (who found it on Geoff Jones’ blog). First, the strategy it is exemplar of an established media brand rolling with a fury of punches it can’t deflect. Second, the content is perfectly formated for the web video consumption patterns. Finally, the strategy has a revenue stream component. Now how many video bloggers can claim that they “get” all three of those — especially the last one?

Mainstream Media 1, User Generated New Media Free Hippy Love 0.

Akoha VIP Starter Deck Christmas Giveaway

CT Moore — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:10:04 +0000

Photo scraped form musigny's Flickr account.

Update: If you win this VIP Starter Deck, of course you also get a BETA Invite to Akoha.

So since everyone is giving away all kinds of schwagg this time of year, I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon. I’m giving away an Akoha VIP Sarter Deck to one lucky commentor. The deck is a Fall 2008 Edition, and includes 24 Real-World Mission Cards.

For those of you who don’t know what Akoha is, it’s a web-based game with reality-based play (very cool), and it’s designed to make the world a better place by changing the way people think about acts of kindness. But you can find out more about that by watching the video interview below with Akoha founder, Austin Hill.

For now, I’ll tell you how can win. First, comment on this post telling me either (1) why you deserve an Akoha VIP Starter Deck, (2) a dirty Christmas (or Hanukkah or Festivus or whatever) joke, or (3) why you think I am (or am not) one of Canada’s most influential men in social media (you can also VOTE FOR ME HERE).

Then, like a veritable Santa Claus, on Christmas mornning, I will arbitarily pick the winner according to my groggy, hung-over, and sleep deprived whim without any regard for merit, democracy, or random luck whatsoever.

If you want to learn more about what Akoha is all about, check out this interview with Austin Hill that I shot at Podcamp Montreal this past fall. That’s where I actually got my grubby paws on the starter deck; I’ve just been too lazy and unappreciative to use it. And if you’re wondering how Akoha plans to actually make money, check out this other art of our conversation where Austin discusses Akoha’s revenue model — and find out how they intend to (1) move actual merch, and (2) add actual value to existing marketing channels.

Persuasion Haiku

CT Moore — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:36:41 +0000

Arguing with them

will convince them that they’re right.

Persuade by action.

Lifestream Haiku

CT Moore — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:01:12 +0000

Aggregate your feeds

into one place ‘cuz you are

only your content.

Pursuit of Happiness Haiku

CT Moore — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:06:13 +0000

When given a choice,

most people choose to be right

rather than happy.

Unconference Explained

CT Moore — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:58:12 +0000

Lately, I’ve been into haikus, and part of that is that I feel that bloggers talk to much and say too little. It’s been my attempt at try to create a social object. Although a haiku is actually text and not really a shareable object, per se, there’s something to be said for its brevity — specifically, how that brevity makes it somewhat tangible.

Unlike Hugh McLeod, I can’t draw worth s**t. But what I can do is use Photoshop and download stock imagery, and that’s precisely what I decided to do to explain just what an “unconference” is. This is what an unconference is like:

You see, I was nominated (along with 60 other dudes) as one of Canada’s most influential men in social media (you can VOTE FOR ME HERE), and part of what I have to do to compete is educate the marketplace about social media. And when I saw this stock image, I thought I’d touch upon part of the social media culture that relies less on media, and more on being social: the unconference.

Now, someone else who’s in the running for Canada’s most influential man in social media (and will probably end up ranking a lot higher than me) is Mitch Joel, and he not only sees the unconference differently, but as something that’s going to change business:

No one ever just “attends” an unconference. The spirit of it is that we are all equal, able to share our knowledge or help in any which way we feel will best serve the community.

You might be shaking your head at this point thinking this is all a little too much “kumbaya” for your liking, but trust me: unconferences will change the way you think about business.
[...]
Unconferences work because everyone attending wants the same outcome: to learn more and share with their peers.

Now, I’m not sure how much I disagree with Mitch, but I do to some extent. That being said, unconference can be a lot of fun, giving like minded people a chance to let it all hang out.

At the end of the day, though, there’s something to be said for the perceived value of a conference ticket that costs you a grand and requires that you catch a 6 hour flight to attend the shindig. It causes everyone to actually listen to those speaking, and I think part of that is that not everyone gets to speak.

LifeStream Bandito

CT Moore — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:28:30 +0000

“So what the f**k is a LifeStream?” you ask. Well, simply put, a LifeStream is this thing that geeks who produce stuff on the interwebs in a variety places use to aggregate it all in one place. Why am I telling you this? Well, because I got nominated as one of Canada’s most influential men in social media, and it’s not enough that you all VOTE FOR ME. I also get points by educating the marketplace about social media. Why am I blogging about LifeStreaming, specifically? Because I complained about how flawed this contest’s judging is. So without further ado:

A LifeStream is an RSS feed that aggregates all the other RSS feeds from around the different places that a content-creating-geek publishes their content. Now, if you’re just a content-creating-geek, and not a code-creating-geek, there are a variety of third-party services you can use aggregate your feeds, such as Tumblr. You simply sign up, plug in all your feeds, and stream away to your geeky heart’s content.

I’m using Tumblr to power CT Moore’s LifeStream (that’s me ;) btw). And here’s my Lifestream’s own RSS feed. However, just as Profectio’s judging criteria is flawed, so is my LifeStream. First, I’m limited to 5 RSS feeds at a time. You can request to that limit bumped up, and I have, but I haven’t heard back from the Tumblr team yet. So some of the RSS feeds I’ve had to leave out are:

Secondly, some of the places I blog don’t have an RSS feed just for me. These places are:

So as with most things human, my LifeStream is imperfect. But I can’t make everything in my own image ;)

And there you have it: the low-down on a LifeStream, and another way to follow everything little thing I do on the world wide interwebs. I know you’ll enjoy following me as much as I do.