Social Media for Four Eyed Monsters
by mobilejones

Reprinted from mobilejones.com

When low cost production meets creativity and talent plus social networking, syndication, indy media along with video podcasting and shared audioblogging, what do you get? Four Eyed Monsters.


Susan Buice and Arin Crumley, the team behind the Four Eyed Monsters video podcast chronicles their relationship in the context of making, promoting and premiering their indy film at Slamdance and beyond. What's special about FEM and of particular interest to anyone following social media from the prosumer (producer + consumer) perspective is the use of community and sharing tools to enable creative works distribution directly to consumers. (Other forms of social media or the use of the term focus on business use of blogging, podcasting, etc. to connect to customers.)

Susan and Arin use multiple profiles and a blog on MySpace to connect with fans, distribute video podcasts (also available on iTunes) and promote their films. I found out about Susan and Arin through several recommendation calls in the podcast service Buzz o Phone.

Buzz o Phone is described as a consumer talk back service, but as usual some clever folks have begun to use the service in ways that were unforseen by it's creator. The podcast includes individual complaints, recommendations and promotions phoned into an 800 number. Several callers recommended FEM and finally the site owner added his own recommendation stating, "Four Eyed Monsters is unlike anything I've seen on the web." I agree and it worked, because I immediately Googled the phrase, found the site and watched the first episode. Now, I'm hooked and can't wait for future episodes.

I'm not really clear on what the distinction is between video podcasts and video blogs. Maybe someone will consider taking the time to explain why the different labels and how they differ technically, functionally or otherwise.

Susan and Arin have also included a great tutorial resource at their main web site on creating, editing and distributing video podcasts. Just in case others want to give it go.

Each video podcast is about 5 minutes in length which is in a safe zone for mobile consumption. It would be great to see mobile device distribution of this amazing series.

Submitted by mobilejones (view blog) on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 6:35am

Comments

 

Terminology

Hey, glad you got a chance to check our our video podcast. Also glad to see that buzzophone has a very intelligent audience with people like yourself listening. So to answer your question about terms, her is what we've gathered from reading online. A video blog is more based on a website in which there are blog entires, each with a video in them, but also some entries with no video. A video podcast is independent of the blog and the content caries it's own weight. More of a show. Another term being used is vodcast. We are guessing thats a little bit more of a corporate term because it refers to VOD, Video On Demand, which implies that it's video designed for cable or broadcast, but delivered on demand over IP so it's called Vodcast. In the end we think it all comes down to a feed. So maybe there needs to be a new term, video feed. Or video food? I don't know, but we are sticking with "video podcast" to describe ours because we like the idea of a "podcast" that is video. To me a podcast is personally made media that is "cast" into peoples "pods". What is a pod? Something the vehicle of the future or something that represents an individual. The media drive of a person. So their computer or their portable media drive. To be casting video into someone's media drive automatically when ever you have something you'd like to show is really great for filmmakers traditionally slammed up against walls when it comes to releasing content.
Anyway, this comment is getting way too long, so I'll leave it at that.
Arin (and Susan)

If you want, check out the F.E.M. Video podcast and subscribe on iTunes or

Submitted by foureyedmonsters on Tue, 02/28/2006 - 22:18
 

Thanks, Arin

Thanks for the explanation on video podcasts v. video blogs. Makes sense.

Check out Pod2Mob if you get the chance. It's a podcasting to mobile phone service and free to add your content.


Debi Jones
Contributing Editor, Blogging and Social Media
Feed your mobile jones

Submitted by mobilejones on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 03:02
 

Same terminology issue comes up with audio

I find the same terminology issue comes up for audio. Elise Bauer sent me this explanation of what she sees as the difference between podcasting and audioblogging:

Regarding audioblogging versus podcasting - in my mind, and I could be wrong here, audioblogging refers more to posting an audio message to your blog, often using the input device of a phone. So, you can call a number from your cel phone and leave a message and the message shows up on your blog. I've posted a tutorial on how to do this with Movable Type www.learningmovabletype.com/archives/ 001022blogger_audioblogging_with_movable_type.php"> here

. Podcasting, again, from my understanding, is more about creating high quality audio content that you release on a regular basis that would be more typically downloaded from your site to you iPod. ITunes is now even offering a podcasting channel that will give you access to people's podcasts for playing through iTunes on your desktop, or for downloading to your iPod. Eric Rice has written tons about this. He mixes audioblogging and podcasting, but I think there is a distinction - one more simple than the other. Given that in either case it is still an audio file, you could call them the same thing. But in my mind, podcast is more like a show, with higher production values.

I confess I still treat the words as interchangeable.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

Submitted by Elisa Camahort on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 08:42
 

Since we're talking terminology

In the video realm, "prosumer" is shorthand for professional-consumer -- as in "prosumer camera." The idea there is that the camera, or whatever equipment, has adequate quality for professional use but the simplicity required for regular consumers to use. Canon and Sony's offerings of prosumer DV cameras opened up the video production world in such a disruptive way, literally hundreds of video production and post-production companies went out of business.

Seeing "prosumer" used as a descriptive for programming itself I find very interesting, for it's descriptive of the disruptive and democratic (small "d") nature of low-budget/no-budget, self-distributed entertainment: the producer is the consumer, and the consumer can be a producer. Cool.

Laura
· BlogHer website admin
· pingVision: Drupal theming, design, development and hosting
· personal blog

Submitted by Laura Scott on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 08:55
 

terms

The podcast versus audioblog point is indeed interesting. It may seem that I used them interchangably in the article, but that wasn't intended. Buzz o phone for example is both an audioblog (a player is available embedded in the web page) and it's a podcast because the audio has it's own feed.

That's the important distinction which seems in line with what Arin wrote as well. Many podcasts are low production quality and in fact a long running interview show that has featured many leaders in social media has very low audio quality but very high content quality. So, video podcasts and podcasts have their own feed while audioblogs and videoblogs or vlogs are embedded and consumable from a blog post.


Debi Jones
Contributing Editor, Blogging and Social Media
Feed your mobile jones

Submitted by mobilejones on Wed, 03/01/2006 - 09:16