nicefishfilms

I am, by default, a loyalist. My friends have been with me on this journey through the best and not so bright times. Even those who occasionally fall out have a place around my campfire anytime they wish. When I began blogging back before the iPod, BluRay, Facebook and WordPress I decided on using NucleusCMS. We've had some fun times together but it is time to make the move on over to WP. I love watching code grow and blossom, fork off into unexpected directions to be applied in ways we couldn't have imagined. This is innovation, this is the promise of open source.

This blog space will remain intact, but the new home is simply nicefishfilms.com We've made our main site fully iPhone and Android compatible, installed some robust plugins for our films and photo's. Hope you enjoy the clean layout. I'll be moving the RSS feeds over to the main site so if you've already subscribed, worry not, we'll keep feeding.

If you've landed here for the first time, please make a note that all new posts and developments will be at nicefishfilms.com I'll be porting some of the past posts from the last few years as they serve as a pretty neat trail guide of our journey so far.

Thank you for reading, subscribing and being so supportive over the years, here's to a new souped up ride!

msw

Watch live video from The Cube LIVE from Austin on Justin.tv

follow us on Twitter for updates and visit the pitchengine page for details.

Thanks to TexasCoworking, NewTek Powered, Justin.tv

CES was a cacophony of sights and sounds but Marc Ostrick, Robert Scoble and I made it out of Vegas filled with great options for Scoble's studio. We hunted for the tech that we could implement almost immediately. We met with engineers and technicians from some of the biggest consumer electronic manufactures in an attempt to select a mix of gear that provides the best options for a streaming studio.

In Part 4 of The Spark Series we tour CES with Scoble:



We will be announcing final gear selections soon.

msw

Marc Ostrick and I are going to CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. CES is miles of companies showcasing anything and everything for our wired experience. From TV's to in-car electronics, one can get lost in all of the options but we have to stay focused. We are filming with Robert Scoble with the specific task of building his live streaming studio. We've done our research, looking for the cutting edge gear that will give us the look and speed we require. Our shopping list continues to shift with each new press release announcing the unveiling of new gear at CES. A moving target rich with possibilities. This is the year of streaming video and we need to select the gear that will grow with us.

We're attempting to build out this studio within a budget frame work that is within reach of podcasters. The switch from audio to quality video streaming can be tricky especially when considering the migration to viewing web content via TV. The top live independent studio is of course, TWiTtv but for most of us, that level of investment is not feasible. Beyond a simple 'studio-in-a-box' concept, we're looking for gear that builds outward and is scalable.

We're examining our camera options with a mix of pro-sumer and HD webcams and those options are expanding rapidly. Of particular note is Sykpe's announcement of HD streaming. The tight integration of Skype with TV monitoring might have an impact on our broadcasts almost immediately.

Beyond our camera needs, we are selecting mics, switches, cables, mounts and software for the studio. In the past, CES seemed to be a glimpse towards the gear of the next year, but we're looking for the tech that is going to power us now. The process of selecting the gear and set-up will be filmed and streamed so we can go through this experience together. We're starting with an empty space and filling it with the ideas and tech from the miles of options at CES. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.

msw

It's now 20-10, time to get serious about progress. Time to see some real results in the effort to once and for all end extreme poverty for all mankind. I've spent years working with and monitoring some incredible NGO's and feel a great momentum in the right direction. The idea of Social Innovation, once foreign to most, is becoming a standard practice within my network of professional colleagues and friends. Every week we're reading of successes within ORG's that didn't even exist a few years ago. Did you see that Charity Water grew over 40% in a tough economy and raised more than $8.5 million for water projects and operations? How about The Millennium Development Goals Report from the UN that those living in extreme poverty dropped by a quarter from 1990 - 2005? Chances are, you're not aware of the progress being made in the fight for a better life around the globe. We are far from done but within striking distance. That's why I'm proposing a different way of looking at extreme problems facing Mankind. Perhaps it's time to adopt a new way of digesting the data, creating a score card and seeing this fight as a battle between two teams. Team 1 is Team mKind — all of us. The opposition is the forces that if left unchecked will run us out of existence.

We seem to comprehend sport scores pretty well. We understand that when it's Third with 5 yards to go you adjust the play. I think it's time that we put up the score, the push towards the goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. In searching for this comprehensive data, I've come up short. Are we afraid if we showed the progress this will cause us to decrease the sense of urgency? I'd like to think that if we put this in a different perspective we can cause those on the sidelines to join a winning team. If you knew that your efforts, time and money wasn't getting lost in a losing cause you'd keep the pressure on, right? What if we stopped thinking of this as a part-time initiative and made it the way we live?

A whole new generation is coming up through the ranks thinking about, acting and innovating the ways we approach the issue of extreme poverty. It's time to visualize the goal. This is where I need your help. Do you receive updates from your causes? I'd like to put as much information into a data base and link them to scoreboard for all to see. Are you aware of any global info tracking services that contain data sets like the one I'm talking about? Please send me the links.

I'm committing to reaching out at least once a month to the large network of blogs, media and producers to highlight progress we're making. I want us to put the data up for all to see— we can, we must win this (and we're getting closer.)



Today we have more tech, more funding, more concentrated actions by a widening group of really big-thinkers fighting this good fight. Let's see where we are, let's push this to the goal line. Far from a rah rah chant, I want to see us move down the field and share the playbook. Time to measure where we're at this time.

So I'm calling out to all the smart nodes— feed me data when you come across it. Push for progress reports and help us visualize it better.

msw

As the year comes to a close, I'm doing the normal reflecting on what's been and more importantly, looking forward to what's next. We've tried to concentrate on film to express what we are seeing in the moving net. This space has taken the short end of the clock as I cut down on the posts. Hope to rectify that in '10.

Caught a few big waves this year- I'm grateful for the journey and for the fellow surfers who I've met along the stream of '09.

It was a year ago today that I wrote of 'the story of the year' being Leo Laporte's 24 hour live coverage of the iPhone. So it seems fitting that as we say farewell to another year I share with you the 'big story' of my year, as I see I.T.



As Marc Ostrick and I thought about visiting with Leo in Petaluma- we thought about his impact on Tech, Media and Distribution. It's good to know that good guys sometimes win. Read the full post on eGuiders.

We've uploaded the full interview with Leo for OPEN remixing - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Thank you to the thousands of people who took time to watch our mini-docs this year. Thank you for showing us that the humanity behind Tech matters most.

msw

Marc Ostrick and I are honored to premier our next mini documentary 'OPEN' on TWITtv today at 2pm PDT. Immediately after the showing we will make the film available at eGuiders. We look forward to connecting with you and discussing what emerging tech and community means to us.

If you are coming here via the showing, welcome and we hope you take the time to explore the blog and follow us on Twitter, FriendFeed or Facebook. Chances are, if you're on a social network you can find us via the user name - nicefishfilms.



msw

We continue our journey through the tools of connection. For me, IT provides the rails for voice to be carried around the world- instantly. I jumped into Twitter early and introduced the service to a wide array of friends. We see the mainstream media jump all over Twitter like it's new. This was called BBS and then SMS but this time the package is slick enough for the general marketplace to understand. I embrace what we can do together using the latest shiny object to send out signals. It's important not to let the tool become the focus. The reason we're seeking connection remains constant - we NEED each other in order to be human. The code of the rails carrying our voices will change - may our melody of conversation continue to be the goal.

Fellow filmmaker and friend Marc Ostrick and I visted the #140 Conference in LA to converse with a great collection of molecules.



For more information about the film, please visit eGuiders.

Do you want the future to be controlled by the fine folks at the cable company? How about losing your rights to info to the Gov't? The following video gives a good overview of what's at stake. The big co's have a commercial interest in preventing us from accessing the net / content in the open. We can make a difference - but only if we care about the free flow of information.



Filed Under: Couldn't be more important.

msw

more: Save The Internet

I enjoy watching things change. Visting the BlowWorld Expo with Marc Ostrick was pretty darn exciting. We are seeing the great democratization of info flow. We are banding together to find the tools that help us express.

Thank you for watching and sharing our mini documentary.

Click To Play

More information about the film can be found at eGuiders

msw