Bodyform Proves, It’s Content That Matters
In response to this much “liked” Facebook post, the “CEO” of Bodyform took to YouTube with a hilarious, and entertaining yet very empathetic (to their actual customers, not whiny dudes) video response.
Genius. It’s fun, and delightfully British.
But here’s what you might have missed. Click through to the Bodyform YouTube Channel… It’s unbranded.
Gasp!
Now I’m sure that this will change rather quickly, but it’s important to take note.
Bodyform saw a unique opportunity to connect with people online in a fun and engaging way, and they did it. And they didn’t let the details get in the way of good content. Where many companies would spend months debating whether it was ok to be on YouTube; and spend more months debating the mundane design details of the Channel’s header design; and still more many months producing dry content that will neither excite, nor offend anyone; Bodyform just made something great and let it loose into the wild.
This is a valuable lesson for all companies.
Quality content wins.
(Via AdWeek)
Hide Your YouTube Viewing History from Google
Google’s New Privacy Policy
Google’s new privacy policy is pissing a lot of folks off, and I’ve been asked by a few readers what I think about it. The simple answer is that as an Android user, I’ve been giving so much data to Google for the past three years that the new privacy policy doesn’t really change much for me on a practical level.
On a philosophical and political level, I’m deeply troubled. Philosophically, I think more privacy is the direction we should be moving. However, politically I don’t want to see that privacy come as a result of government regulation. As we have seen with copyright law, when governments get involved, things get ugly fast. Google’s actions here have captured the attention of government leaders in quite a few countries, and I guarantee it’s going to case problems down the line. Ultimately the people who will suffer most from government internet regulation will be smaller website operators., not Google.
Killing YouTube Data Collection
All that being said, I have no problems sticking it to Google for grabbing at more data. Here’s a simple way to kill Google’s data collection on YouTube:
Courtesy of Lifehacker
How To Use an Abacus
After about nine hours of nonstop work without food, the following question struck me for absolutely no reason:
How the hell do you use an abacus?
Thankfully YouTube had the answer.
The RetroCalculators YouTube Channel has a lot of obscure calculator technology that’s worth a look for math & engineering geeks.
Dream Theater Drummer Selection Competition
Progressive metal legends Dream Theater, lost their drummer when Mike Portnoy decided to leave the band. They held auditions and have selected their new drummer, but haven’t publicly revealed their decision.
They chose to record the seven audition sessions, and have begun posting 20 minute segments on YouTube. It’s sort of a YouTube reality series.
My initial reaction was annoyance, because Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands, and I’m dying to learn who will assume Portnoy’s thrown. However after watching the first segment, featuring Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme, Annihilator), I’m kind of hooked.
The guys from Dream Theater are some of the finest musicians on the planet, and the drummers who are auditioning are incomprehensibly talented.
The remaining drummers auditioning are:
Aquiles Priester (Angra, Paul Di’Anno), Peter Wildoer (Darkane), Virgil Donati (Planet X, Seven the Hardway), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Today Is The Day), Thomas Lang (John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Glenn Hughes) and Marco Minnemann (Kreator, Necrophagist, Ephel Duath, Joe Satriani).
All of these guys (Dream Theater & the drummers) represent some of the best technical rock instrumentalists alive, and it’s pretty cool to watch them play.
My money is on either Mangini or Minnemann.
Give the series a look:
The Spirit Carries On
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Web Series
Here’s a little weekend entertainment for you.
Last year director & choreographer Kevin Tancharoen (brother of Maurissa Tancharoen, cowriter of Dollhouse & Dr. Horrible, she’s also married to Joss Whedon’s brother Jed) created an internet short called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as a pitch for the right to create a large work. The insanely cool video featured Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite & Spawn) and Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) as Jax & Sonia. The video quickly went viral due to extreme awesomeness.
Less than a year later the first or nine episodes is available for free on YouTube, and a new episode will be posted every Tuesday.
As far as action film is concerned, this really is quality stuff, and so far the story seems like it’s going to gel better than previous Mortal Kombat movies.
I’ve read that some people think that Jeri Ryan is too old to play Sonia, but I rather like a more mature, battle-tested take on the character. I also thought it was good that she freed herself.
Michael Jai White is always believable as an ass-kicker.
Finally, Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica & Dollhouse) is a great as Stryker. He’s awesome with stage combat, and he plays that Captain America-type character damn well.
Here’s a glimpse of things to come:
You an catch new episodes on The Machinima YouTube Channel every Tuesday.
I won’t post them here until the series is done, but I will tweet the new episodes @dbspira.
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
Careful readers may note that I occasionally end my sentences with prepositions.
When my seventh grade English teacher demanded we “never end a sentence with a preposition,” I wanted to know why. His response was, “it’s sloppy.”
I never accepted his answer, because daily use of the English language provided empirical evidence to the contrary. I learned his rule, and chose to break it.
I broke the rule in college.
I broke the rule in grad school.
I break the rule on my blog.
I break the rule while writing for Fortune 500 companies.
Many pedantic pricks have pointed out my grievous use of prepositions. I’ve always asked them, “why am I incorrect?” No one has ever given me an answer other than, “it’s sloppy,” or “my seventh grade teacher said so.”
This evening I finally learned the answer.
This is a piece from the Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor YouTube Channel. It is one of my favorite YouTube channels, and one of the best examples of corporate web content.
The bottom-line? “Don’t end a sentence with a preposition” is a baseless rule that you don’t have to put up with.
