January 10th, 2008, 1 Comment »
Mimi emailed to let me know that my peculiar fandom project DearRockers.org was featured on the CBC’s culture show Q yesterday. I had pitched the Q’s webby correspondent Mio Adilman on the story, as it seemed like the right thing for his Download Down-Lo segment. And apparently it was.
If you’re interested in listening, here’s the four-minute piece (in which Mio needlessly mocks Vancouverites):
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
One aspect of DearRockers.org that I was interested in was what the ratio of visitors to letters would be. I thought it would be low, but it’s shockingly minute. Since it launched in early November, the site’s had about 55,000 visitors, and has about 20 letters that I didn’t directly solicit.
That’s one letter for nearly 3000 visitors. Of course, the ‘friction’ to create a letter is quite high–it’s not like leaving a comment on a blog or something. Still, an interesting result. I wonder what the visitor-to-creator ratio is on YouTube or Flickr?
I must do that draw for the iPod Shuffle, too.
1 Comment »
December 7th, 2007, 4 Comments »
Anne’s Diary is a Canadian social network for 6 to 14-year-old girls (I read about it on the CBC’s Spark blog). It has two interesting security features to fend off child molesters and the like. To sign up for the service, kids need to get a non-parental adult professional as a sponsor (much like applying for a passport).
Secondly, you get a USB fingerprint scanner with your initial package, and I gather the kids use this to log in to the service. And yes, that’s as in Anne of Green Gables. With an ‘e’. No Prince Edward Island gable was ever this secure.
Actually, there’s one other cool feature that I like: “each Christmas the child will be sent a physical copy of their Diary with all of their entries included in it.”
I also wonder what their exit strategy is for girls who turn 15. Do they get summarily booted off the service? Is there another network (besides, you know, Facebook) that they graduate too? I emailed the company to ask, but they haven’t replied.
I posted this yesterday on MetaFilter, and some discussion ensued.
4 Comments »
December 3rd, 2007, 4 Comments »
Having spent the start of the hockey season in Malta, I regularly want to watch NHL (and in particular, Canucks) highlights online. This proved surprisingly challenging. I’ve made a lengthy survey of the alternatives, and here’s what I came up with. I have a relatively slow Web connection here in Malta, and I’m running a MacBook with AdBlock Plus, which can play havoc with Flash-based videos.
- Fox Sports – Decent Flash-based videos, though they’re in a popup window and you have to filter for ‘NHL’ before you can see any. They provide short clips and they only seem to cover the American teams. Grade: B-
- ESPN – Again, decent Flash player but they only cover American teams and their videos often aren’t up to date. It’s December 3rd today, and they haven’t posted video from yesterday’s games. Also, the clips are on the short side. Grade: C+
- TSN – It could just be my connection speed, but this site takes an eternity to load, and performs very poorly in Firefox and Safari on the Mac. The video itself is good, but getting there is too much trouble. Grade: D
- SportsNet – The videos simply won’t play on my Mac, in either Safari or Firefox. Under the blank video window I see the message “Flash is required for Sportsnet.ca video.” I obviously have Flash installed, so I don’t know what’s up. Grade: F
- CBC Sports – I’ve been watching these for a while, and they’re quite good. Yes, it’s an irksome pop-up window, but the Flash app is very fast, easy to use and the videos are lengthy and well-edited. Grade: A-
- NHL.com – It took me a while to find these videos, because a search for “NHL.com video” indicated that their latest video was from 2004. These guys are the winners. They have a fast Flash-based player, the longest highlights packages, and you can choose individual clips–goals, saves, hits and other incidents–from the game summary. Grade: A
My universal complaint about these video sites and micro-sites is that they always disclose the scores before you watch the package. I prefer to watch the highlights with the outcome in doubt. I ought to be able to click a button to hide the scores in the web app.
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October 29th, 2007, 7 Comments »
Stuart McLean is Canada’s Garrison Keilor. His main gig is The Vinyl Cafe, an hour-long variety show on the CBC. These shows are anchored by McLean’s “Dave and Morley” stories–tales of a fictional Toronto family which feel a bit like “For Better or Worse” on the radio.
It’d be easy to dismiss McLean’s schtick as sappy, family-friendly entertainment, but I think what he does is quite tricky. He manages to tell richly-detailed, funny, charming stories about the mundane details of our lives. And he does it without resorting to a lot of comedic tricks–it’s all there in the strength of his writing and delivery. And his delivery is great–he’s a very natural storyteller and humourist.
I wouldn’t want to listen to him every day, but once a week would be quite enjoyable. And now I can, because the CBC just started podcasting the Dave and Morley story portion of The Vinyl Cafe broadcast. I’m subscribed.
UPDATE: Jody’s comment reminded me of something I meant to mention. I suspect McLean makes good money out of his Vinyl Cafe books and recordings, so it surprised me to see his material on iTunes for free. I suspect he conceives of it as a promotional strategy for expanding his audience. After all, the people listening to this podcast probably aren’t the same people who regularly buy his books and CDs.
7 Comments »
October 9th, 2007, 10 Comments »
Last week on CBC’s Q, I listened to a pretty fascinating interview (MP3) with cinematic auteur and hero of snobby cineastes Peter Greenaway. Greenaway was on to promote his latest film, Nightwatching (here’s an extended trailer).
I quite like Q host Jian Ghomeshi, but he was definitely fighting above his weight. Greenaway lectured him on a number of topics, including the ‘death of cinema’. I agreed with much of what Greenaway said, so I transcribed a few bits (only transcribe opinions you concur with, I always say):
Cinema now, with the laptop generation, Generation X, is really to do with an interactive, multimedia world and cinema can’t be that. Cinema cannot be democratic–it cannot create multiple endings. You can’t interface with it in any satisfactory way.
So, I think if we’re going to excite imaginations with the potentiality of this grand audio-visual experience, we’re going to find new ways of doing it. I would argue that the ‘Casablanca’ syndrome–that cut-and-dry bedtime story for adults–is really finished. It doesn’t really have a place anymore.
That’s not to say the screen is going to disappear. I have a mobile phone in my pocket, and I suspect you have too. And it has a screen.
And here’s another good bit:
We’re now all lateral thinkers, and certainly we are encyclopedists. We are browsers, we are laptop users. So we have to refashion this media to be relevant to contemporary imaginations.
I’m fond of saying that, before too long, going to the cinema will join the ballet and the opera as dated, niche entertainments that appeal to a few. Mr. Greenaway just said it better.
10 Comments »
October 8th, 2007, 7 Comments »
Whiskey tango foxtrot? I leave town for a few months and the place goes to hell in a handcart. The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is accepting proposals (PDF) (thanks to Sarah for the link) for a new, uh, exhibit in Stanley Park:
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (the “Park Boardâ€Â) invites proposals from experienced proponents for the provision of life size animatronic dinosaur and related educational exhibits at Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. The exhibits will
be set up in the Miniature Railway area and the Children’s Farmyard area.
Is ‘proponents’ the mot juste there? I don’t think so.
Here’s a CBC article about the request for proposals. That’s just nuts. It’s a city park, not a funfair. I encourage the Parks Board staff to take a drive up to Hope, and witness the sad, tired remains of bizarre theme parks that litter the highway. Maybe then they’ll think twice?
It’s a bit like the Parks Board was traumatized by last winter’s storm damage, and they’re just blindly reaching for anything to make us forget about it.
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September 22nd, 2007, 3 Comments »
I happened to hear on the CBC today that Diana Krall has a new compilation album out called The Very Best of Diana Krall. I’m not a fan, but it got me thinking about ‘best of’ albums, why they’re made and how they’re marketed.
I didn’t think for very long, because I decided that I know almost nothing about the subject. Presumably these albums aren’t targeted at dedicated fans, because they already own almost all the tracks from their original releases.
Just Some Demos I Recorded in My Basement
I say ‘almost’ because the compilation album usually includes one or two token ‘previously unreleased’ songs, which are obviously there entice the loyal fan who wants to own everything by their favourite artists (I’m reminded of an old Barenaked Ladies song). iTunes, PureTracks et al have changed this practice, enabling fans to only purchase the 10% of the music that they don’t already own. That said, I’m guessing that most Diana Krall fans will still be buying CDs as opposed to downloading music.
One way to get fans to buy compilation CDs is to pair them with another whole CD of previously unreleased material. I remember that the 10,000 Maniacs did this, and I bought in. Did I get real value for my money? Probably not, but I was pleased to hear 14 new songs (or versions of songs) that I hadn’t heard before.
Assuming it isn’t existing fans, who buys compilations? I’m so out of tune with the music buying patterns of the average adult that I have very little idea. How do people over thirty buy music these days? Do they go to HMV or Walmart with particular CDs in mind? Do they decide ‘I’m going to buy a CD today’, and then peruse the store aisles for something that strikes their fancy? Do they usually visit the artist’s website first?
How do you shop for music? Do you buy compilations? I’m less interested to hear from the iTunes and Music users of the world, and more keen to hear from people who walk into bricks and mortar stores and walk out with shiny plastic discs.
On a vaguely related note, while watching season one of “Heroes”, I was reminded once again of how Ms. Krall and Ali Larter were separated at birth.
3 Comments »
September 19th, 2007, 15 Comments »
Tomorrow I’d like to watch a crucial Canada-Australia football/soccer game at the Women’s World Cup. It’s being broadcast live (at the convenient local time of 10:45am–the tournament’s in China) on CBCSports.ca, but can only be accessed in Canada. The same is true of NHL hockey, which I’d like to watch this fall.
The CBC blocks the rest of the world from watching sports programs because they don’t have broadcast licensing agreements with other countries. That’s lame, but understandable. It’s frustrating, though, as a tax-paying Canadian who doesn’t happen to currently reside in Canada.
I’m looking for a relatively pain-free means of looking Canadian to the CBC’s Canucklehead firewall. I read through Boing Boing’s anti-censorware page, but nothing there seemed applicable to my particular problem. Any suggestions?
UPDATE: I’ve got a kind offer from a Canada-residing Canadian to offer his machine as a proxy server. Now I’m desperate seeking instructions and/or software which enables him to easily set up a proxy server thingy, and me to connect through his machine.
UPDATE #2: Meh. I got access to a Slingbox from another kind Canadian, but the connection speed was pretty poor on my end. Plus, sports are about the worst thing you can watch on dodgy Internet-powered streaming Web video. There’s fast camera movements and many small objects in motion on screen. Soccer is bad, but in my experience hockey is the worst.
Ultimately, the Canadian women failed to advance through to the quarter-finals. A disappointing result for our national team.
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