When The DV World Was New

In 2003 I saw my first non-tape digital camcorder at a DV convention in Los Angeles. My brain is fuzzy on it but it was an attempt to reach out to industrial and corporate videopeople.

They made a token effort to reach out to "those Internet folks". Many of the exhibitors were not interested in talking to people from the new disruptive wave. The exhibitors were there to make sales to their traditional markets. They had no use for the computer people.

I walked around, got as much swag as I could to justify my admission fee.

Then I saw this:

It was one of the first digital video camcorders. There were two guys running around in white lab coats talking up a storm in either a British or Australian accent. I couldn't tell you which because I was drawn like a bee to honey about that camera.

Running off an 2GB SD card and recording AVI (I think) video. Could have been Motion JPEG. It might have recorded 320x240 video.

It was affordable. $199 in cold hard cash or credit card. Accessible. Golly gee did I want to buy it right then and there. Which meant that I didn't. Not enough cash and I had limited options on uploading and posting videos.

I knew it was a game changer. I knew other camcorders were coming that would be better. I did not known that it would start to pave a path that transformed an industry. Digital video created new opportunities for creatives and non-Hollywood type innovators.

That is the thing about the future. Sometimes you can see a wee bit ahead but you'll never know until you step into the void.

Twelve years later I own different kinds of devices. The most recent being a Pivothead eyewear recorder. Everything old is new again.

Smartphones have replaced dedicated digital recorders. Action cams like the GoPro are transforming movie making and gaming.

Corporate media is busy locking down new talent and production companies to get rooted in the future yet to come.

And hotels are trying to keep you from using personal Wi-Fi and smartphone usage in their buildings.

What has this got to do with video?

Well, if this industry gets the right to block personal Wi-Fi usage then other companies will follow. Some of those companies could be people in the broadcast television industry looking to suppress any form of innovation they don't understand.

Or police departments wanting to stop people recording and uploading video of certain activities.

Or a religious group that thinks you should not have a voice to express your views and actively stops transmission.

How shall we go forward?

Other Posts of Interest

• Equipment
• Legal
• Ramblings
• Video Advocacy
• VidGeeky
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Quick Look at ATC Chameleon Dual Lens Video Camera

I just got this camera yesterday and I am recording video that I'll have up in another post. The Oregon Scientific ATC Action Video Camera (and yes, that is a mouthful) has the distinction of being a dual lens camera/camcorder. The camera record 1080p video at 30 frame per second. Split that two ways and you get 720p video from the front and back lens. That can lead to some really trippy videos.

This is not a new camera; it has been available since 2012.

Let me say up front that I got this on sale on Woot.com for about $40. It retails for $149 and I have seen ads for it around the $80-$90 range. I think under $60 is about right for this camera if you understand and can live with the limitations.

But first,

The Specs:

Video Resolution: Both lenses record separately 720p at 30fps On the camera you can select side by side or top to bottom recording. You would need to use software from the web site to do things like picture in picture or viewing video from a specific lens.

Audio: I checked the video properties using QuickTime Pro; seems to be Monaural AAC at 22,000 kHz per second. Remember, you aren't buying this for the audio quality. If you are near the camcorder it will pick up your narration but it will also pick up every gust of air or wind that the camera encounters. 

Focus and Field of View: This is a fixed focus camcorder. Keep in mind that it is also a fish-eye type lens. You manual adjust the lenses to record at the angle that you want up to 170 degrees. One lens records north/south and the other records left and right.

Storage: There is no internal storage. It can record on a micro SD card up to 32GB. The camera would prefer a class 10 card, I was able to record adequately on a class 4 memory card. 

Battery and Battery Life: Internal non-removable 1000mAh Lithium-Polymer Battery that should hold up for about two hours.

Body: Plastic all the way and that might not be a bad thing. While recording, I hadn't secured it firmly in the mount and it fell out. No harm done with no visible damage. The actual aperture is tiny, maybe F/16 or F/22. I can find no information about the size of the sensor.

It is also important to know what the camera doesn't have:

• There is no LCD and no ability to attach one. 
• There is no internal image stabilization. You find a way to hold it steady or you mount the camera on something.
• There is no way to take a still photo; it is just video.

So, Why Would You Want This Camera?  

I can see a use for this as a supplemental camera for recording music events. It is a way to get the musician and audience in the same recording without swiveling from one to the other.

Perhaps as secondary camera for demonstration or training videos where you are trying to show someone how to do a task and you want an alternative view as you are doing it.

For the right price this could be your GoPro type camera for infrequent action type videos you might want to record.

And yeah, for citizen journalism purposes as well.

Other Posts of Interest

• Buying Camcorders
• How To
• Journalism
• Video Advocacy
• Home Page for Mobile Users

UNEP World Environmental Day Videoblogging Contest

UNEP World Environment Day 2014 is June 5, 2014. They are looking for videobloggers to submit videos regarding small islands and global warming/changes.

I just found out about this. For many of us it is too late to enter. However, if you have a video ready to go and you can upload it by April 4, 2014 you might do yourself some good and help the world out as well.

http://www.unep.org/wed/blog-competition/how-to-enter.asp

Here are details as I know them.

• You need to make a video about the problems and or possible solutions about global warming as it pertains to small islands.
• You can use your phone, tablet or whatever you got to get the message across.
• The video needs to be less than 2 minutes in length. Any more and it will be disqualified.
• Post to YouKu for folks in China and YouTube for everybody eles.
• Plunk a message on the UNEP Facebook page

You don't have much time, Contest entries must be submitted by April 4, 2014. Check the FAQ for exact details.



And now to truly show my age I do not know who this person is but young women folks are drooling over him. Give Mr. Somerhalder a listen to help spark you up about the contest.

Like I said, I had no idea about the contest until a few moments ago. Would have love to put the word out about it. Oh well, do what we can when we can.

Other Posts of Interest

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Right Now
• Action Guide from FreePress.Net
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Make Time to Read Activist's Guide to Archiving Video

The Activist’s Guide to Archiving Video is written for people who are using video to document the shady goings on around the planet. Trouble is not just found across the globe; you might see mischief in your own back yard, social event or at a public gathering.

If you have recorded an event or experience that needs to stand up in a court of law you will need to do certain things to maintain the integrity of the video.

I implore you to make it easy on yourself. You never know if you have to pull a video out of a hard drive five years from now.

Which is a dang good reading to start reading the guide. There is another reason.

A lot of video and pictorial content being created. There are millions of uploaded hours of videos. I submit that there are not too many people are thinking about archiving, storage and future retrieval.

What will happen to your stuff when your web host changes their business focus? Or loses money and funding? Or wants to cash out and the new owners want a 24 hour game video channel with no cats allowed?

Are you really just banking on cloud storage services to keep you from singing the “I lost my stuff” blues?

Tsk, Tsk.

You really need a good storage and retrieval workflow. So check out the guide even if video advocacy videos is not what you want to do. The information on the Witness.org site can help you to keep you and your videos a bit more secure than trusting a web host.


Other Posts of Interest

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now
• Data Journalism Handbook, Web Edition
• Be Safe When Recording Police Officers
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Musings on Crowdsource Crime Fighting

I have been hesitant to comment on the serious and evolving Boston Marathon Bombing suspect hunt. There has been a lot of misinformation created by mainstream media; specifically the New York Post as well as some users of social media via Twitter.

The content requests from the Boston Police Department and the FBI is just an extension of the old fashion wanted poster.  Except that the community provides the photo or video.

This isn't the first time that law enforcement has asked for photos and videos of a crime scene. But I think we have to just take a moment to understand that not only was the FBI asking for content but folks on their own via other social networks are conducting their own independent investigations.

This is a different space we find ourselves in.

There might be questions we are going to have to ask ourselves. I am thinking about this from a U.S. perspective.

1. What are my rights and responsibilities to provide that information?
2. Will I be compelled to testify at the trial to verify that I did indeed take the photo and video?
3. Can I retain my copyright and insist that I be fairly compensated for non-law enforcement use? This means having broadcast and cable news programs pay for the use of my content. I don't mean to be callous; not everything is for profit and there are instances where you need to show what you got. But if law enforcement turns over that info to broadcast media then that media company, as a business, should compensate the creator of the work. Is that going to happen?
4. What will we do when it is found out that somebody fudged the photo or /video evidence? Not in malice; maybe the person edited a portion out that they felt was not important.

That is just on the law enforcement side.

What about independent cyber investigations? Or crowdsourced vigilante crime fighting?

I'm thinking of recent incidents where people have been attacked on-line that slipped into off-line behaviors.

What if they have the wrong person?

Yeah. This is going to get increasingly messy.

There is a lot to think about.


Other Posts of Interest

• You Should Read the Contract, Seriously
• The Copyright Bots are Here
• Protect Yourself - Make a Resource Binder

PodOMatic Minicast Maker

Digital storytelling has many paths. New ones are coming down the pike and I like to point out possibilities when they pop-up. PodOMatic Minicast allows you to tell stories with voice and photo.

It isn't video. You might not need video to construct an audio/visual story.

The web service is free and really easy to use. You create an account and then upload your audio and photos to the site. I created narration with my photos but you can also select music from the library.

Depending on the size of your minicast it can take a while to process. Once finished you can add your minicast to Twitter and Facebook.

What Is It Good For?

Glad you asked because I can see a lot of positive uses for this type of service.

Poets should pay particular attention because it doesn't get easier to create a visual or video poem.

I can see this for citizen journalism where you are describing a situation and you have photos to spice up your radio or audio podcasting narrative.

You could use it for:

• short demonstrations for craft, fashion or creativity post on Twitter and Facebook
• creating content for your blog (not sure about the embedding just yet)
• educational uses i.e. language building skills

You get up to 500MB of free storage and 15GB of bandwidth per month. You also become a member of PodOMatic; not just of the Minicast section. You might want to customize or de-activate certain account features.

It is in Beta mode so things may or may not go according to plan.  I created my Minicast at around 9:30am. It is now 2:25pm and I haven't received the link to upload. It might have had something to do with the size of the photos I uploaded.

You might want to reduce the size of the photos and use mp3 for audio uploads.
 
Still, if it does what it claims then this is another tool for the old kit bag.  I'll post the Minicast should it ever show up.

As always check out the Terms of Service.

You grant PodOMatic an irrevocable sub-license to transmit and display your stuff. You still retain ownership and copyright to your work. You would be subject to their opinion and option of removing content that violates copyright or what they feel would be objectionable content.

Other Posts of Interest

• One in 8 million NYT Slide Stories
• Narratively Telling the Stories of New York City
• Pcth (Pitch) A New Way to Tell and Share Stories

More Diversity, Less Consolidation Video from NCMR 2013

I believe change will happen from the bottom and the sides applying pressure to the way things have been done. It is an applied change. That change cannot happen if you are on the outside looking in on corporate controlled monopolies.

Yes, it is far easier to create content. Perhaps we now need to look at distribution access as well.

Just a thought.

Anyway, this is a discussion about how to improve access for under served and under represented communities.




This is a recording of the More Diversity, Less Consolidation session from the National Conference on Media Reform that was held in Denver, Colorado in April 2013.


Other Posts of Interest

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now
• Data Journalism Handbook The Web Edition
• Checking Out Everything Is A Re-Mix

Still Time for DoGooder Video Awards Entries

Video can do a lot of good. When we take are attention from cat videos for just a moment there is a lot of interesting work in the non-profit and advocacy realm. If you have a video that you created to highlight a problem or propose a solution you might want to submit it to the DoGooder Video Awards.

This is a promotional video from the project page:




According to YouTube, you can be either an individual or a non-profit that can submit videos. You can get most of the details from the YouTube project web site.

This contest is only available to participants in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

I want to call attention to this because on of the sponsors is See3 Communications. They make advocacy videos for a variety of people. I beg of you to read the contest rules before submitting your video.

The DoGooder Award FAQ page that might be of interest to those that want to make sure the video is seen in its best possible light.

As always read the terms of service and contest rules. The deadline for entries is March 22, 2013.

Other Posts of Interest:

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now  
• Everything Is A ReMix 
• Revised YouTube Creator Playbook

Looking At Democracy Media Challenge

I'd say both democracy and media are challenged at this moment. Probably a good time to jump in and give your two cents about how you would fix or contribute to the solution. Should you be so inclined the Looking @ Democracy Media Challenge contest is looking for folks to give ideas, inspiration and direction to those that want to make it better.

The contest is a project of the Illinois Humanities Council, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  This is a promotional video for the project.




According to the web site, they are looking for creative work that:

(a) Tells a story about why government is important to our lives, or (b) Tells how we might together strengthen American democracy

It is a transmedia contests; meaning that you can create a website, blog, audio, video, infographic, smartphone app or whatever you want so long as it is digital content.

There is prize money, you could win up to $25,000 in cash, which would solve a lot of folks problems or possibly create new ones.

As Always, Read the Rules, FAQs and Terms of Service

Doing quick skim of the essential things to know:

This is a United States based contest so for my international friends, sorry you are out of luck on this one. Contributions must be in English, captioned or dubbed.

The contest is open to individuals and organizations: I'm taking that to mean non-profits but it was not specified. It seems it gives room to allow for-profit creators to jump in and muck up the mix.

You retain ownership of your work but you grant permission for the contest to use/display your creation for a year. (Yes!)

If you want in get busy; you have until 3:00pm April 30, 2013 to submit you ideas and projects.


Other Posts of Interest

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now
• Data Journalism Handbook
• It Gets Better - Video Advocacy

Education or Video Advocacy

A few days ago I listed sources where you could find info on creating advocacy videos. Education is the highest form of advocacy. You help another person understand their world and their place in it or you help another being make their life better.

It is a grand time for education bloggers. They are doing wonderful work and I bow at their collective greatness. This is a video from C.G.P Grey about a topic that can get folks worked up a bit; the United States budget and the Debt Limit aka fiscal cliff.


Advocacy takes all forms and one of those forms it to help to create a educated baseline of discussion.That is what a good teacher does; here are the facts (as we know them at the time) and this is a cause and effect kind of deal.

C.G.P Grey does this with animation, a wee bit of humor and facts. It is a fact that Congress is hip deep involved in the budget and the porking there of. (that was my opinion.)

Your viewers, and a good chunk of C/G/P Grey viewers (based on the comments I kinda wished I didn't read) may not believe you or accuse you of having directional leanings.

Here is the thing. If the information can be verified and replicated outside of your believe system there is a good chance it is the truth. Which isn't always the same as a fact.

It is tricky. I think he does a very good job of communicating a dry process.

If you are thinking about any form of education, resource or info-blogging you are gonna be roasted at some point.

You will have no control over what people think of your video. You do have control over the quality and the responsibility of getting it right (factually)

When in doubt, be true to your school and get it out there.

Other Posts of Interests

• Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now
• You Should Read the Contract, Seriously
• Placing A Copyright Notice In Your Video, Part 1

Video Advocacy Resources You Can Use Now

People have created books, magazines and slideshows to help explain a cause, project or situation. Using video to bring awareness to a problem is nothing new; non-profit agencies, advertising companies and people with money have made these kinds of films and videos for years.

You don't have to be a Hollywood actor to fund a project. You only need a recording device and an idea that your local media will not pay attention. If you heart is a pumping to do good then there are resources for advocacy and participatory video.

The Digital Naturalist Blog explains the five types of advocacy videos. This blog is focused on not only the how of telling the story but the realities of competing with viral cat videos and popular media.

WITNESS Advocacy Training Guide blog is a detailed guide on planning an advocacy video to distribution. It covers recording, editing, sharing concepts and even if you don't want to create a campaign you should still go over their to learn how to produce an effective video.

This is an example of one of their videos showing who they are and what they do. It is not the typical non-profit video.




On the main WITNESS site there is additional info on creating video for advocacy.

The North Carolina Justice Center has a 20 page PDF manual on some of the same topics. I don't believe, as stated in the guide, that you need $800 and a Macintosh to get started but different strokes for different folks.

One of the sections of the manual gives good information about how to conduct interviews and get what you need to make a quality video.

There you have it; three solid resources to dive into and help make a change. There are people who say why bother. We need to bother those people to make a positive difference.

Other Posts of Interest

• Action Guide from Freepress.Net
• The It Gets Better Project
• Chris Anderson of TED on How Video Powers Global Innovation

Data Journalism Handbook - Web Edition

I am not a reporter. Never claimed to be. But we have all found ourselves trying to bring facts and information into our social circles or media discussions. Me? I do try to talk to real people.

But for those times when it is just the electrons flowing back and forth between carbon based units it is good to have a resource you can flip open when you have a need.

For you citizen, advocacy and life long information gatherers you might want to swing over to the Data Journalism Handbook web site.

http://datajournalismhandbook.org

 You can tell a story with numbers, figures and reams of data. There is a way to do it without it being a snooze fest. For those folks interested in advocacy, citizen journalism or communicating difficult subjects this book might be of help.

Skimming through the visualization section and a few ideas popped into my head. I am not a graphic artist but I can see the possibilities of animating numbers with images or a data collage.

The handbook is free to look at via the web or you can order the actual paper based book when it comes out from O'Reilly. 

So much to learn and not near enough time.

Other Posts of Interest

• Know Your Rights Video From ACLU
• Two Guys From Texas and Recording on Private Property
• IJNet Basic Camera Tools Video

Inside The Story and Doing Good

Taking a brief pause in the search for planned consumption to give a shout out to an inspirational e-book that is also a way to help folks that really need it.

More Info About Inside the Story

Adam Westbrook has asked working creatives and journalists their ideas and philosophies about telling a good story. He has gathered the advice in an e-book that will be on sale for a limited time.

The proceeds of the book will be donated to Kiva, which is a non-profit crowd source micro financed organization for broke folks that have an idea and want to start a business in countries like Africa, Asia and South America.

The book cost U.S. folks about $6.60 or there abouts but the sale will be £3.50 GBP cuz the dude is in England.

I got a copy and it is a good shot of inspiration and advice. It is not exactly a how to but ideas on how to get it done. Anyway, if you want it get a move on because it is only available for about four weeks and one of them has slipped by.

Checking Out Everything Is A Remix

So yes, creators do need to be compensated. No question. Not even worth a good debate about it. But think for a moment about the concepts of community, socialization and heritage. Our collective histories are build on the remembering and sharing of what came before.

Happy Birthday isn't just a song, it was adopted as a cultural meme to focus attention on the one person in the room that has reached another year or milestone. My Girl isn't just a song by The Temptations to me, it is a cultural marker of the music, the attitudes and my world circa the 1960s.

It is on of my favorite songs. Possessive noun. Dr. Who, fishnet pantyhose,bleaching cremes, She-Hulk all have a life beyond their intended purpose. And if I wanted to create a video commenting on politics today using the aforementioned content I have the right to do so.

For now anyway before it gets stripped from my hands.  There is a good non-skeezy reasons for folks using other people's content. One of those reasons is called inspiration.



Kirby Ferguson has a web site called Everything is A Remix. The site supports his web series exploring the how and why we use copyrighted and historical content. I have a smaller version of the first video. You should go to his site where you can see it in full size glory.

There are ways to do this correctly. Most of use are trying to figure that out. The music and entertainment industry is vigorously trying to keep folks on lock down. There is stuff coming down the pike that could potentially criminalize people linking to copyrighted content.

Don't think that one is gonna get too far. There is no prison big enough to hold every single user on the Internet. 

In addition to the web series on Kirby's site there are other public and commercial examples of remix culture and creative channeling. You will be surprised on just how much content is used over and over again in homage, idea modification and bending content to fit a new time and place.

Other Resources

• EFF Fair Use FAQ and Ansersers
• Copyright Law via U.S. Copyright Office - in bite size form that you can download as a PDF
• Stanford University Page About the Public Domain

Quick Look at Canon VIXIA HF R300

I have a Canon camcorder and I'm happy with it. No complaints. No need to update either. Actually, I can't. I have exceeded my allowable camcorder purchases to X = 3. I got the Canon, the JVC, the camera on my smartphone, the Samsung waterproof and the camera on the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0.

Oh, yeah. forgot to tell you all about that one. For another time. Anyway, having all of the above for just about any recording contingency kinda puts a damper on the justification of running to the camera store.

Moderation in all things is a good way to go. But if you haven't upgraded in a while and you are on the frugal side of the fence I would take a look at the Canon Vixia HF R300.

Who Is It For?

Well, looking over the specs I'd say that if you are a full time vlogger on a budget, activist or have a journalism bent this could work for you.

Tech savvy parents with kids at sporting or dance events would also do well with the 32x optical zoom. 

Yes, I know it says 51x advanced zoom on the camcorder but that is some finagling mixing the optical with the digital zoom which is crap and you should never use the digital zoom.

Recording Format

This is going to be tricky to explain but I'll give it a go. This camcorder records in AVCHD/MPEG-4.That is a high definition format. You'd want to uses this format if you are going to project the videos on a HD television, you want to make DVD/Blue Ray copies or you want to create a professional video for education or business purposes.

You want to be sure that your video editing program can handle this specific file format. Mac users, this definitely mean you have to check it out ahead of time before you buy. Most of the current video editing program support AVCHD/MPEG-4.

This camcorder also records in MPEG-4 aka MP4. Straight MP4 doesn't have to be high definition; it can be but I have two camcorders that record in MP4. One is high def, the other isn't. Folks might want to use MP4 if you know you are going to upload to a video web host or if you are going to watch videos on your mobile device.

Straight MP4 will give you more recording time and greater compatibility with various editing programs. But there is a hitch. Per Canon, you can't record longer than 30 minutes or 4GB at a time.  I can't determine if this is standard definition MP4 or the HD version. I'd have to dig in to confirm.

Other Specs of Interest

• F/Stop: f/1.8-4.5 - this bad boy is going to be okay in low light situations. I'd would have a tripod or some kind of support handy but yeah, f 1.8 does a camcorder body good.
• Manual, Automatic Exposure and a Cinema filter
• Optical Zoom: 38.5-1232mm You are so going to need a tripod.
• Can accept up to 64GB of SDHC and SDXC memory card. 
• External microphone jack and headphone jack.
• Able to transmit via Wi-Fi SD memory card.

Wi-Fi You Say?

Yep, you can record video and send them to a location on your home network or presumable to a cloud service. Some of y'all are going to get yourselves in big trouble. All I can tell you is to make sure the Wi-Fi is off or password secure your network

What you will need is a Wi-Fi SD memory card. These have been around for years. If you find an open access port you are good to go. if you have an iPhone/iPad you can use that as well.

Bottom Line

This is the entry level version of the current Vixia series. You can have a much or a little control as you want and the video is going to rock. If you need pristine HD you got it. Want good enough and small file size you can have that too.

(Eh, this really depends on your needs. For some of you recording in HD is the way to go and then later if you decided to knock it back to MP4 that is fine. You can't record in standard definition and then change your mind later.)

For a list price of about $350 it could be a good investment for the right person.

Other Posts of Interest

• Audio and Music
• Basic Skills
• Buying Camcorders
• Copyright and Fair Use Issues
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Video Advocacy Resources at Witness.org

For those of you that need to document the astounding things that are happening in your communities, special shout outs to Virginia, Kentucky and, god help you folks living in Arizona, there are a bunch of good stuff at Witness.org Training page.

I have a copy of an earlier addition of the book, Video for Change and there is much goodness in it. You can download a pdf version. I haven't check out the version posted on the site; if it is the early version you might have to adapt what is presented for current technology.

This is the full deal on planning, shooting and getting your message out to folks.And from the looks of it we are gonna be up to our necks in content.

Seriously, it is like standing in front of an information bazooka or something.

Prepare now.

Other Posts of Interest

• Resources
• Social Media
• Apps and Software
• Storytelling
• Video Advocacy
• VidGeeky
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Firefox Flick Global Video Contest

The Firefox browser needs you or, more to the point, your video skills to help tell the story. The contest is now open for everybody on the globe who isn't on Internet lock down to make a video.

This is what I can scope out so far:

• You will be creating a public service announcement aka a PSA. 
• The video can be as short as you want but no longer than 120 second/2 minutes.
• You can work on your own, with a team or if you can talk you teacher/professor into it as a class project.

There are four categories to choose from; best 30 second spot, best animation, best use of new technology or best public service announcement.

You got a shot at this, check out the competition. Really, you can do this.

Now you could do this out of the goodness of your heart but there are prizes, check out the Rules for more information.The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on May 1, 2012.

Go forth and make magic

Action Guide from Freepress.net

One of the speakers at Media for the 99% Summit was Craig Aaron from Freepress.net. He spoke about the need to pay attention to mainstream media and corporate influence on consumers.

The topics ranged from Net Neutrality, urban low powered radio and the influence of lobbyists. There are a lot of lobbyists from cable, media and phone companies all trying to stake multiple claims to the airwaves.

http://www.freepress.net/resources/activist_tools

I bring this up because I got a copy of the Media Reform Toolkit that I've been flipping through. You might want to check out the Action Guide that has suggestions on how to change or contact mainstream media.

This could work if you live in a community where your local paper or television station is still viable and has influence. To me, much in the guide is old school activities that may or may not work.

Writing a letter to the editor can work for a small newspaper like the Pasadena Weekly, that has a stated policy about printing letters to the editor.

The L.A. Times?  Eh, no comment.

There is a section in the guide on making a video.that does contain good advice; get the right camcorder/recording device for your needs, have a plan, record and upload. There are no specifics but for newbies that really is the gist of what you need to do.

Look, a lot of the information in the book is good but I think those of us that use the Internet can adapt what is in the guide for our current needs.

Here is the thing. Not all of our friends and relations that need to know this stuff is on or has access to the Internet. Those of us on the Internet don't always know about techniques for activists communication. We all can stand to learn how to communicate our concerns more effectively.

When in doubt read the guide, take what you can use and then reboot into the new.

How The Stop Online Piracy Act Affects Creating Videos

I am not sure that I trust Congress to do the right thing anymore. SOPA is a draconian act that would be so overreaching in intent that it would seriously cripple free expression, exchange of information and reporting of any kind of controversial topic not generated by mainstream media.

This is no joke. Read some of the background information from the Electronic Freedom's Foundation (EFF) to understand what is at risk.

Or watch the video.

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

I don't use the word draconian lightly. From the Electronic Freedom Foundation:

Section 103 of the bill sets up a so-called “market-based system” which would allow individuals and companies to cut off financial support from websites — both foreign and domestic — simply by sending a notice to their payment providers or ad networks. In many cases, these sites are dependent on the revenue from those payments and ad networks for day-to-day operation

So let's say a snippet of music from a radio that is playing while you record a street scene. Anybody, a troll, a company or someone that does not like what you are recording. They can get you and your web host bounced from the Internet.

Or they can choke payments to your web host causing them to make a decision between freedom of speech and survival.Which one would you pick?

This act is bad because if it goes into effect you will have:

• No warning
• No process or procedure or redress
• No legal support
• No nothing.

Let's get closer to home. Vimeo has been sued by Capitol Records for aiding and abetting copyright infringement. Because some folks lip synced a song.

Yes, copyright holders have the right to protect your property. That is already in place. SOPA would go one step further by seizing money generated by Vimeo. It could shut it down.

As well as Blip.tv. Viddler. Oh, yes and some joint called YouTube.

We need to be aware of what people with limited understanding of the Internet, these would be Congress people, that are being schooled by the RIAA, MPAA and others like minded agencies that really would like to turn back the clock to 1976.

For more information go to AmericanCensorship.org  

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