So in addition to creepily following Grunny on Twitter I’m following one of the guys behind AskANinja.com and today he put up a really great post about how Jay Leno’s move to the 10pm slot will shake up things in the industry.  I caught Conan’s response to the change on the show last night and I think he dealt with it in a really classy and funny way, like he always does. 

Anyway, Kent Nichols brought up a bunch of issues that will come about due to this change which will cut into time that was or is now reserved for hour dramas.  Just go read his post, then come back here.  Please come back?  I was about to leave him this big reply that he’d never read then I remembered, hey I have a blog too.

The move towards ‘new media’ (which i think is a way too broad term to describe people making network-less indie-esque work and using the internet to distribute it) is a direction that IS growing and is picking up speed.  I don’t think it could be stopped at this point with the way the entertainment industry is working so hard to cut jobs and find the easiest way to put out programming people will be content with.  Not impressed, just content. 

One thing industry television has that ‘new media’ doesn’t is a hard copy location.  Now I know that’s not what Kent was talking about hardly at all and I didnt miss his point,  it just brought me to another one.  Hollywood may be a ‘movie-town’ but it’s still where we think of as the Mecca of visual entertainment.  I have to wonder what will happen to the aesthetic face of Hollywood as the location of entertainment shifts from the NBC back lot to say Felicia Day’s house for example, or Michael Buckley’s spare bedroom.  Or is it too late for that already?  The days of glitz and glam have long given way to the 4am starlet throwing up on her own shoes that could easily pay my rent.  Maybe it’s time for a change.

-DoubleBitch

Who knew that avatars could get sick… *coughs, sneezes, blows nose: repeat*

Looking past all that, I AM NOT DEAD.  The real Gen has been working her RL job, thus I’ve gotten stuffed in a corner.  I have been around on Second Life a lot recently, for reasons comparable to why people hang out at certain places: friends.  The circle is changing – dramatically.  Let’s say I have many a memoir I could project here, but am feeling shallow in the ridiculousness of the events that occurred.

Things got worse than a soap opera but with the recent banning of a “friend”, the Grid seems a bit more peaceful.  Speaking of banning, I had an hour long ban due to talking back/over “Big Brother”.  Here’s a tip – NEVER SPEAK WHEN A LINDEN IS AROUND.  I should read “1984″, and so should all of you. Luckily, my mouth has taken up residence on my partners quarter sim, in a little shack I share with a fellow neko.  That was a loaded sentence if I’ve ever seen one!  Once my thoughts get organized I shall extrapolate on the subjects.

Got another XBOX 360 and found an internet TV show based off of WoW, but renders itself to all online, geek-loving metaverses: The Guild.  Come to find out Kent Nichols, writer and co-creator of askaninja.com has been helping the group with the project.  How dare I assume he hadn’t heard of it when I IMed him the other night.  Tsk, Gen.  The internet may seem vast, but it’s really a high school filled with word savvy elites.  The group does lack football players and cheerleaders, but have been replaced with warlocks and vanilla.

Anyways, The Guild is a dream for my humor and personality, but I can’t help feel ostracized by the platform it was presented on; of course most gamers would find it amusing, but I can hear the haters cursing just underneath the snorting laughs when Zaboo shows up at Codex’s home.  Also since none of my online “friends” have seen it, I’m feeling a bit alone in my geekdom.  They own 360’s… I should be screaming at them to download the 3-5 minute episodes, but that’s the whole marketing plot.  As much as we try to change, be different, unique, the more big money and the dream of fame stay the same.  Wait, did I just diss myself?

I am half way through “Snow Crash”.  Good read.  I suggest it to anyone interested in any virtual social capacity.  I’m off to drain my virtual sinus.

<3

Gen

Why didn’t anyone tell me about this website earlier, I have so many questions to ask……. 

askaninja.com

Promoting a book isn’t easy. Not only do authors need to invest in a marketing plan specific to their location and audience, but they also have to be inventive and imaginative with their strategies.

Of course new authors want to sell books and make some extra cash, and yes, the traditional methods of hosting book signings, culling book reviews from relevant magazines and establishing an Internet presence work towards that end, but that’s not the whole marketing story.

As Gen Y fades into the background and makes way for the next generation of teenagers listening to kid-core and sporting the latest fashion trends, authors need to adapt to the times.

Think about it. Submitting your book to pop culture blogs and hip online magazines just starting out can be as simple as sending an editor a polite email with your ISBN.

Or how about starting a vlog (video blog) hosted by one of the characters in your book. Take Askaninja.com for instance. Though Douglas Sarine and Kent Nichols started their vlog years in advance of their recent book The Ninja Handbook, the benefits they’re reaping from the publicity of their episodes and their publication (not to mention their free audio book) is undoubtedly working to their advantage, both professionally and financially.

.

Preview The Ninja Handbook here:

The Point: Maintain your traditional modes of book marketing, but don’t be afraid to branch out into unconventional areas of promotions as well as new, younger audiences. Twenty or 70 years old, you never know who will want your book!

Here an interview  by Pop17 of Ask A Ninjas creator Kent Nichols at NME who is one of the master minds behind the hit podcast. Ask a Ninja is a show based around random viewer questions that are answered by an unknown “Ninja”. The show is really fast paced with quick cuts and fast talking which makes the show funny. Ask A Ninja is definately a podcast you should be subscribed to on itunes.

Daisy Whitney’s “new media minute” is a great resource about online video.

I love this episode especially, as it stars key videobloggers (including Kent Nichols from Ask A Ninja, and Steve Garfield), who give their advice for succesful videoblogging.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine (aka Ask A Ninja) gave a great session about their views on how to create a successful vlog. The session, called 45 minutes film school (a homage to Robert Rodriguez’s 10 minutes film school, a fact that made me an immediate fan of the guys behind the black uniform), took place in IDC’s blogference, earlier this week.

The Ninjas gave many tips, but here are the ones I found most important:

Organize your operation early – create a legal entity, and divide responsibilities in your team

List what you stop doing as soon as you have the money to do that (did anyone say editing?). This list will make you happier in rainy days

Clearly define your audience and resources. when you have a big idea, amazing concept, always keep in mind what are your real abilities – including time, technical resources, money and such.

Audio is more important than video. People will see a crappy video with great sound, but not the other way around.

Shoot quickly, as much as you can in one session

And, the most interesting thing for me, was their approach to their site. Ask A Ninja started early with their site, and drove as much traffic possible to their homepage. There is an opposite view, that you should push your video everywhere you can in order to get noticed. I wonder if the homepage centric strategy will work well with less viral content.

Thanks Ninjas for a great session! – A rare picture of a Ninja – A look that can kill – Future Ninjas?

Technorati Tags: ask a ninja, blogference, Kent Nichols, Douglas Sarine, Robert Rodriguez, 10 minutes film school