Tag Archives | youtube

Youtube’s and My Dad’s Birthday

By on April 23, 2013 in About Us

Business Insider let me know this morning that it was Youtube’s 8th birthday. It also happens to be my dad’s birthday. No one had to tell me that, in part because it’s three days before mine and only a few days after my sister’s. (Yes, my mom made three separate birthday cakes and had three separate parties. She’s a trooper!)

My dad passed away five years ago in November. So he didn’t get to see Youtube in all it’s glory.. but he did get to see some of it.

My dad hated computers. He was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century by my mom and brother-in-law and implemented a computer inventory system finally at the hardware store my family owns. My mom did all his email for him at their shared email address. I can almost hear him say ‘Tell Nicole…’ as I read through some of my mom’s old emails.

What he did enjoy about computers was a specific part of the internet (I heard from my brother-in-law so if I’m wrong, Justin, let me know!) was his my MSNBC homepage.

Now these pages no longer exist but the idea was you logged in and in a dashboard format, it showed you articles you might like, videos, links to partner websites etc.

Lots of websites do this now. Really these were the precursor to the personalized news we have come to expect on social networks.

My dad liked checking it before and after lunch… because it changed during the day.

I smile when I think of this. I have 600 new unread articles in my RSS feed reader just from since 9 am this morning. My Facebook and Twitter feeds update every second.

My dad knew the internet at a simpler time. I did too when Breaking Even was first getting started.

So today, I appreciate that all this access to information is still novel, videos can still be funny, and wonder at how it all can refresh if I just wait a bit.

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This Week From The Interwebs: Texts From Hilary, Corgis, and Things To Buy For One Billion Dollars

By on April 13, 2012 in Web/Tech

I think I’m going to start a semi regular feature called ‘This Week From The Interwebs’. I see so much fun stuff online (‘interwebs’ being a funny, old-timey way of saying the internet) that I can’t share it all so here’s a repository for things I find interesting, in hopes maybe you think they are interesting too.

Here’s the song and video I can’t get out of my head, first and foremost:

You’re welcome for that. And in other news:

Texts From Hilary
This Tumblr blog was all the rage the last week or so. Inspired by an image of Hilary Clinton texting, it’s fake correspondence via text between Hilary and other famous people, some political (Barack Obama, Joe Biden) and some not so political (Ryan Gosling, Mark Zuckerberg). Whether you like Hilary or not, it’s pretty funny. This week, they’ve shut the blog down since they actually got a text message from Secretary Clinton herself. If you want to know how to say goodbye on a blog, the last post is a pretty fun and classy exit.
http://textsfromhillaryclinton.tumblr.com/

Apps From Social Media Breakfast Bangor
So I recently gave an ‘Appy Hour’ talk at the Jesup Library is Bar Harbor and the day after, I got this great link with more apps that I’d never even heard of. If you want to do more with your smartphone or tablet, here are some cool things you can do:
http://www.smbbangor.org/smbbgr11-app-show-and-tell

Youtube Is Now Letting Everyone Monetize Videos
It used to be Youtube only partnered with channels that got a lot of traffic but now, you too can have ads with your video that could potentially generate revenue for you.
http://mashable.com/2012/04/13/youtube-opens-partner-program/

Facebook buys Instagram for $1 Billion
A twelve person company dividing up $1 billion. Not bad math any way you do it. I just can’t quite believe the size of this deal (though the baseball deal this week was bigger, wasn’t it?)
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/

33 Animals That Are Extremely Disappointed In You
This may be the funniest thing I’ve seen all week. Scroll to the end of the post (worth it) and you will understand my not-so-secret dream to have a pack of corgis follow me around all day.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/animals-who-are-extremely-disappointed-in-you 

Have a good weekend, on and off the interwebs!

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Marketing Monday: Superbowl Ads 2011

By on February 7, 2011 in Marketing Monday

My theory is companies aren’t trying hard at SuperBowl commercials anymore because of the whole internet marketing movement. That said, I had some fun last night watching some commercials anyway! Here they are, in no particular order:

The ‘Aww, clever!’ Commercial
I laughed out loud because beavers are ridiculous but at the same time, thought Bridgestone’s message was memorable. You know, since besides the commercial being clever, I also remembered what product it was trying to sell.

The Controversial Commercial
I personally took this as Groupon making fun of America’s consumption culture (of which they are also a part of). But they are giving money to organizations to make up for this potential gaff but hey, they got people talking and aware of some larger-than-saving-50%-off causes.

The ‘I Can Totally Relate’ Commercial
In a totally different feel of a commercial, Bridgestone made this cute ad about a guy who thought he pressed ‘Reply All’ instead of ‘Reply’. We can all relate, which is why watching him go through hell and back to get to this missent email. I did forget what the commercial was for so maybe this was a bit too clever.

The Uncomfortably Hilarious Commercial
Doritos held an ad contest with fans to produce a Superbowl Ad. While the running pug won, I thought this commercial was pretty funny, if only because for a second it makes you a bit uncomfortable. And isn’t that true humor, boundary pushing in a way audiences haven’t yet seen before?

All in all, it’s clear that there is always going to be a place for commercially produced advertisements yet these are going to change and become more relevant to all of us since regular people like us are becoming a part of the ad creation. And now, your turn to weigh in…

What was your favorite commercial?

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Too Cute Tuesday: Bottle Glasses

By on July 27, 2010 in Too Cute Tuesday

Too Cute Tuesday is a weekly event involving a craft, a cocktail, and friends. To learn more, read all the archived entries at www.toocutetuesday.com or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/toocutetuesday.

This week, we attempted a craft that I (Nicole) saw in a ReadyMade magazine, or so I thought. I ripped apart the house looking for this article. I am now convinced I am crazy and somehow hallucinated it. Nicole 0, Craziness 1.

This cheesy Youtube video allows you to believe that cutting a bottle half with string is easy, involving fire, acetone, string, and cold water.

And when Nicole was on her trip to Savannah Georgia last week and saw glasses made of beer bottles inthe SCAD store (the glasses aren’t online but they have other pretty things at the online store), an attempt was going to have to be made by Too Cute Tuesday.

A final semi-successful attempt at the craft. After this ta-da moment, we called it a night. Craft fail!

Materials
Acetone, and lighter fluid
String
Scissors
Bottles of Corona, empty
Lighter
Basin of cool water
Safety glasses (sun glasses)
Sandpaper (was supposed to smooth out the small shards left over)

Cocktail of the Night: Coronas (so we could use the bottles)
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This Week In Business: The Educational Edition

By on March 5, 2010 in This Week In Business
This week was busy at Breaking Even Communications but since I was waiting on a few different stages of some ongoing projects, I found myself with a little time for some professional development then usual. That’s right, I schooled myself!
Here’s what happened:
I attended a webinar, and actually paid attention.
Most of the time, I am quite the slacker webinar attendee. I am usually filing papers or making lunch while I listen to a presentation. When I listened to a webinar sponsored by Verizon and given by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. I made myself get out my notebook and actively listen for the next 45 minutes.
You know, paying attention really does help you get more out of things! Being a good student paid off in some new ideas for improving my product. Partnerships with complementary organizations and video testimonials anyone?
Wish you had sat in on the fun? All of the Verizon sponsored webinars are achived here. And it looks like there are a few good ones for me to go back and listen to later.
I got a couple iBooks from a school sale for a song.
Those of you who live outside the state of Maine may not be familiar with the fact that Maine has a laptop program, which gives students 6th grade and older access to their own laptop. Beginning in grade 7 or 8, students can take it home after signing a sort of “I will be responsible and so will my parent/guardian” agreement. Every few years, the schools replace the machines, which are all Apple iBooks. To make a bit of cash (but probably more accurately, save themselves from disposal fees), the schools sell them off on the cheap, in my local case $25 a pop.

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Fun Friday: Chef Dan

By on February 19, 2010 in Family and Friends

Let me just say right off that I am far from being some kind of smooth lady on the relationship front. But I’ve recently did something where I accidentally encouraged my new boyfriend to do something nice for me, and then it kept happening.

Dan likes to cook. The second meal he made me, I decided to take out my digital camera and record him on video.

The next day, I watched it. What surprised me was that the video was actually good. I asked if I could post it on Facebook, thinking his friends would get a kick out of it. Almost immediately, he got phone calls, emails, and comments, mostly asking when the next video was coming out.

Next video?

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