We’ve come to depend on our time off as a time to re-think, to re-consider, to re-formulate. It happened last year when we looked for ways to make video a part of Common Craft and it happened again last week. Among other things, our time in Mexico gave us a chance to talk about this blog.
For a few months now, I’ve not been happy with my blogging, aside from the videos. I was at a blogging crossroads – a time when I struggled to define the blog’s focus. Our business, our product and world moved so fast that I couldn’t build any momentum outside of posting new videos. Often, this meant not blogging at all or only posting our videos.
We’ve decided to make a change. We’re planning to open up a little more and blog about our life. We want to focus on the things that fascinate us, make us laugh, give us inspiration and make us think – and I mean us, not just me. Sachi may not blog often, but she will be, as usual, a big inspiration. We want to give you another look at the people behind the videos and hopefully learn more about you too.
This being said, we want to know your thoughts. What are you interested in knowing about us? Ask a question. Challenge us.
We're taking off for Sayulita, Mexico, where our good friends are getting married next week. We'll be back in action on November 12th. Until then, we won't be returning emails and answering phones on time.
Part of this vacation includes a vacation from dealing the beloved comment spammers. Comments are off until we return. Adios amigos.
Remember folks, be careful tonight - zombies don't eat candy. If something happens - we'll see you at Costco.
That's Sachi's jack-o-lantern on the right - suffering from a zombie bite to the forehead. Mine was inspired by the shirt in this photo. Have a fun and safe Halloween!
Kevin Flaherty, the guy who runs marketing at the wiki company Wetpaint (and does killer zombie voices) invited me to the filming of Wetpaint's latest experiment: parody commercials.
I had no idea what to expect, but it was awesome. It was the first time I'd been on a real set during filming. It was just like our studio at home, except this set had giant lights, real actors, a director, lots of expensive production gear and fewer whiteboards and markers. Just like it, I swear!
The idea behind the videos is to illustrate the difference between Wetpaint wikis and other wiki platforms via parodies of the Mac/PC ads. In this case, Wetpaint is personified by a hip, attractive actress named Maya and "wiki" is played by an actor named Troy Lund that kept us laughing all day. The videos are directed by local director Branson Veal.
This last one is the most original and my overall favorite. It starts as a behind-the-scenes look at the video's production (when wiki first meets Wetpaint) and ends as an eHarmony parody.
Unfortunately, this site is getting absolutely HAMMERED by comment spam from a single source. 100's of bullshit comments a day for a few days now - all peoples' names. Akismet (a comment spam fighting tool) isn't picking them up and I'm tired of dealing - especially with a weekend on the way.
I'll turn on the comments again soon. If you want to be in touch, please use the contact form.
VizThink is a conference about visual thinking. We'll be there leading a yet-to-named session that will focus on our story and the role of video and simplicity in communicating ideas with clarity.
Since we started making videos, I had been meaning to talk to Dave Gray, the chairman of Xplane, author of the Communication Nation blog and the person who got VizThink off the ground.
We had a great chat recently and I learned more about VizThink, which is not just a conference, but a community for people who are interested in visual thinking. Dave and Xplane have been working with visuals to communicate more clearly for over 15 years.
Tom Crawford is the CEO of VizThink and is putting together what will be an awesome event. I'm excited to meet people like Scott McCloud of Understand Comics, Kevin Cheng of OK/Cancel and Nancy Duarte who worked with Al Gore on the presentation used in An Inconvenient Truth.
