EarWorm Media: Blog, Blog!!

Here's an oldie, but a....well, it's an oldie where I come from.

2009-08-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

Know that line? No? Well, you should!!! Name the movie in comments if you can! But first, here's an oldie, but one of my favorites. Hope to do more with it soon:

Dr. Shroud Episodes

2009-08-30T04:53:00.000-07:00

New Dr. Shroud episodes coming along nicely, though starting to feel like the Guns N Roses album:

Cyko KO!

2009-08-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

Newest animated series, hoping to do more soon:

Redefining Words

2008-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

I was reading Wired magazine and saw this site called The Big Word Project. At first, I thought "Great! Another knockoff of the Million Dollar Website", but then I thought how cool the idea was.

The way it works is that users can redefine words with a link to their website at a dollar a letter. For example, "corn" may be bought for 4 dollars (see the math involved?) and would link to an interested party who makes corn products. Or not----maybe someone simply likes the word "corn" and wants to fork out the cash to make it his or her own. After all, who DOESN'T like corn???

After visiting the site, it got me thinking about words I too would like to redefine---hell, I know a LOT of words that need fixin'! Some that came to mind: president, religion, peace, suffering, hate, pope. But being a relatively simple (or superficial) person, I opted for something a little more "me" and a little less deep. So, here is what my 7 dollars bought:

Maybe soon it'll be as easy to redefine some other things in this world.

NJ Biz Article

2008-04-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

EarWorm was featured in this week's NJ Biz newspaper. Here's the article.

I think it came out great, but I think I might have sounded a bit resistant to the idea, when in fact I am supportive of ALL content working. My point was that the carriers will always find a way to make money, even if they have to appease the masses with the IDEA of being open source, open development or whatever.

The fact is that the sort of gatekeeper mentality is what makes money (look at tv). They can find a way for it work, but they have to first find a balance between quality, access and price. You can provide viewers with "free" content, but if you are going to charge for the "good stuff" in the back room, it has to be priced accordingly. I don't think anyone can argue with that.

Don't get me wrong, I love YouTube....I'm just not sure how much longer viewers will tolerate watching our next door neighbor blow spaghetti out of his nose.

Kind of reminds me of when everyone had a "home page" on Angelfire or Geocities. AngelWHAT? GeoWHO?

Exactly.

Mobile Monday Report

2008-03-28T17:19:00.001-07:00

So, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I had gone to Mobile Mondays for the first time in NYC. This week's topic was Mobile Video and its future. Can't remember what the exact title was, but you get the idea.

Anyway, my trip there was pretty exciting as I sat at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel for nearly an hour. Yes, an hour. Apparently, the powers-that-be thought that 2 lanes would be overkill, so they narrowed it to one during rush hour. Genius at work.

With 15 minutes to spare, I raced up 8th Ave and found parking, running like a complete nerd to the Samsung Center where it was held. When I asked the police officer out front where "10 Columbus Blvd" was, he replied "Columbus BLVD??", perplexed by the "blvd" part apparently. I then corrected myself: "no, CIRCLE." He held up his index finger and put on a shit eating grin, pointing to the giant building in front of me.

"That's the Samsung Experience Center?", I asked.

This is where it gets funny.

"You see those big letters where it reads SAMSUNG?", he said, smirking as if he was a guest on Leno.

"I guess not", I replied and walked off.

Of COURSE I hadn't seen the letters on the inside far back of the building behind the multiple layers of glass---I wasn't standing there in front of the building doing NOTHING. All. Day.

Jackass.

Anyway, got into the building, sat down and was right on time. There were about maybe 50 people there and I couldn't believe it was FREE! The place was decked out in tech stuff of all sorts with the people to match.

They had some great guests from both the digital and tv worlds---a mix of tech and content people. After some speakers spoke about their companies (Qik, Ringleader), there was a panel with a moderator, Lubna, who had some great questions, but none of which sparked any debate. The panelists were all in agreement on most things.

The big topic for me was content. I became a little concerned when panelists kept mentioning that mobile ads should be 30 seconds to a minute long and that long form content (20 minutes) is the future! 30 seconds for an ad??? And where are you watching a full 20 minutes on your phone?

Later on at the bar, I was talking to some people about this and they backed up their story with some studies saying that people are watching content from their homes---okay, that I understand---but long form content---in their homes? Isn't that what TV is for?

Despite their "studies", I still disagree. Mobile content is all about context---on the bus, waiting for a friend, yes even at home. But even this mobile head has to admit---I watch it most at home when I'm waiting for coffee to brew. No long form here.

Right before I left, a reporter (JP) from NJBiz.com had asked me a few questions. I'll be in their paper Monday and I hope I got the answers right!

All in all, a great night. I'll be back for more.

EarWorm World Headquarters

2008-03-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

I know you've been anxiously waiting to see the secret walls of EarWorm Media! Well lucky you, your wait is officially over. I managed to take some time and snap a few pictures with my cell phone of our bare walls, spanking new sign and creepy artifacts! Here is a small window into our world with more to surely follow---hmm...maybe a picture of some people?

The new sign as it overlooks Bridge St. in the town of Milford, NJ for all to see. There was a predecessor to this one which was WAY too small, about 33" (ever see "Spinal Tap"?). It blew down. Seriously. Hey, black minivan, get out of the way!!

The "guest area". This is where people come and eat lunch, read books and go to the bathroom. I should mention that the bathroom is off to the right. And I'm not sure who the people are.

This is where the magic happens. By "magic", I mean a lot of looking out the window, mainly gazing lovingly at the new sign. **sigh**

Clowny the cast iron bank. Also looking at the sign. And possibly planning to kill me.

To be continued....

Mobile Mondays

2008-03-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

I attached myself to this group, the NYC chapter of Mobile Mondays. It looks great, especially this new conference coming up this week about mobile video in which I think I am going to attend.

Mobile video is pretty interesting and I look forward to see where it's going (it BETTER be going!). I suppose it's a matter of time before watching video on the tiny screen becomes a habit---making it a habit is what it takes for it to become successful.

Take a look at what email and the web have become for people and how some (most) can't live without it. The same thing is destined to happen with mobile as speeds increase and content improves. One day, you might even be reading this blog at one point on your phone.

Or maybe you're doing it now.

Wreckhouse Magazine Interview

2008-03-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

The fine and rather creepy folks at the newly formed online horror magazine, Wreckhouse Magazine had asked me to do an interview about Dr. Shroud and some of the new work I am doing. You can see that here: http://www.teamfenix.com/wreckhouse/shroud.html

They had some really good questions about my new endeavors, the revamped Dr. Shroud and mobile mobile, mobile!! I think I gave the right answers.

What's an earworm?

2008-03-12T10:18:00.001-07:00

That thing from Star Trek, right? Not really---that's an earWIG. Close enough, though. KIRRKKK!!!

My mother in law first told me about it and said I should name my company Earworm. Needless to say, I thought it was great. But what the hell is an earworm?

Before I set up business I thought I should look at the meaning. Dictionary.com had these:

"a song or tune that gets stuck in one's mind and repeats as if on a tape"

(do people really still use tapes? )

Here's the other:

"a large destructive moth larva (Heliothis zea) that feeds on corn and other crops"

While the dark side of me likes the latter, I think it's best to stick with the first.

Then again, I don't think it matters.

Blog, Blog!

2008-03-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Since EarWorm is fairly new I thought it would be a good idea to expand upon the News and Releases section to not only keep you informed about developments on our productions (Dr. Shroud, The Hyrde, Cyko KO!), but also try to add a personal touch with snapshots of our own personalities, experiences and lives. So here I say: Unleash the worm!

Meh. Maybe not.