@kim

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Fri, 17 May 2013 19:45:15 -0400

Audio

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:25:31 -0400

Audio

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:24:08 -0400

#LA #KELVIN!!!

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:10 -0400

#LA #KELVIN!!!

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Wed, 08 May 2013 22:40:18 -0400

NOW IN THEATERS: Three reasons to go see Iron Man 3

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:35:36 -0400

By +Kim Sherrell

Sure, it’s a violent, choppy, manipulative, LOUD, yet beautiful, sarcastic and actually extremely well-acted movie that just happens to employ the subject of America vs. Muslim terrorism in a slightly immature and ill-timed fashion. It’s a comic book movie. What were you expecting?

So what if Ironman 3 is a bit overwrought? Who cares if the love story gets completely sappy at times? I enjoyed it because:

1. The VFX are fun. Sometimes it’s okay to just shut off your brain and enjoy the visual spectacle. The Ironman trilogy has provided jobs for tens of thousands of artisans, all highly skilled at making unbelievably realistic environments—fiery explosions and incredibly beautiful underwater scenes. So there’s that.

2. Clever twists. Some of the Marvel comic book purists didn’t care for the liberties taken with mythology. Nor did they appreciate the occasionally watery plot.

Example: [SPOILER ALERT] “As a comic geek. I was disappointed with the Mandarin,” tweeted Calvin Lee. “Iron Man 3 was a C+. If you attack the president, the Avengers are gonna show. And they didn’t,” added Jason Inman. Yet, I didn’t mind this break with classical tropes. For me, the disconnect just added a layer of surprise. How will Tony Stark handle the threat solo?

Inman went on to agree that the movie was pretty good overall. “It totally Rocked!” added Calvin Lee. Indeed. It does rock.

3. Great acting. Pretty good writing. Most everyone agrees on this point of acting. The cast did an exceptional job of working with what they were given. Nothing against Shane Black. He did a brilliant collaboration with the people at Marvel, but when it comes to story, Joss Whedon set the bar really high with The Avengers.

That said, Black is the Action Movie King and I can’t think of a single scene were the action wasn’t completely, 100% enjoyable.

As for the acting, Robert Downey Jr. and Guy Pearce turned out some great performances; as did Gwyneth Paltrow. Without revealing too much, Ben Kingsley’s role was exceptionally valuable. If the movie contained any substance whatsoever, the truth behind the Mandarin’s persona was key. Tony Stark’s evolution, though less nuanced, also got its point across to audiences:

‘You create your own demons,’ Stark says from the outset. Human beings are flawed creatures, but they can work through their issues. They can heal.

I happened to overhear a conversation immediately after the film that centered around Downey Jr.’s exorcism of his own personal challenges. “He used to be strung out. So messed up. He went to jail. Now look at him! He is Iron Man!” This kind of sums it up for me. Iron Man 3 is a hyperreal feast for the eyes and a nice metaphor for human frailty, if you don’t read too much in.

4.9 out of 5 stars

Watch the trailer on hulu

2headedsnake: Donna Holdsworth ‘Queen of Light’

Sat, 04 May 2013 01:04:24 -0400

2headedsnake:

Donna Holdsworth

‘Queen of Light’

(via John Wilcock, New York Years 1954-1971 (Issue #1, by Ethan...

Fri, 03 May 2013 22:40:00 -0400

(via John Wilcock, New York Years 1954-1971 (Issue #1, by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall))

A comic book biography on the underground publisher and political writer John Wilcock. So good!

via @Glinner

Growth Hacking Tools & Tips: The Future Belongs To Those Who Can Build Audiences

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 01:34:00 -0400

By +Kim Sherrell

The future belongs to those who can successfully grow and engage audiences. That’s the message from Saturday’s Growth Hacker Live, a gathering of industry experts who got together in Downtown LA to share ideas on how to achieve scale.

The event’s lineup included some seasoned experts who make growth happen for companies such as TechCrunch, Paypal, Hulu, Viddy, StumbleUpon, iHeartRadio, and Yammer.

The session was packed with just a ton of practical information and valuable suggestions. Here are some of my takeaways:

GROWTH HACKING 101

1. Prioritize your growth metrics.

Ultimately, your company needs to focus on a few important measurements. What are your key performance indicators? For some, this might involve just a single metric. If there is any doubt about where to begin, there is mounting evidence and some general agreement that WOW (week over week growth) is an effective place to devote your resources.

A single-minded focus on WOW can have a dramatic effect on driving success, says Aaron Ginn, citing Facebook’s explosive growth. “Usage is the only thing that matters,” he says, “because without users, you have no company.” So, when in doubt, focus on WOW.

2. Don’t over-think the UX.

There are dozens (if not hundreds) of different possible actions a site visitor can make, but is this overwhelming choice really necessary? There is a reason Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Groupon, Pinterest, and all the rest begin with a dead simple login screen. Yes, you want to avoid friction in the on-boarding process, but more importantly, you want to direct the flow to meet your number one growth objective: grow the userbase.

NEVER put social share buttons on the front page. It gives the visitor too many choices that detract from the fundamental goal. Hello? You’re trying to get users to sign up for your product/service. Remember? It sounds obvious. Hilarious, even. Yet, it’s a mistake design/devs make, repeatedly.

3. Influencer endorsements are still the rage.

“Celebrities are hard to get,” says Eva Ho, VP of Marketing & Ops at Factual. But there are many people who have influence in your market segment. Find the people who are passionate about what you are doing.

Back when Chill was still called Namesake, Andrew Skotzko spent a big chunk of his time cultivating relationships with the first 100 users, some of whom he remains friends with today. This is a big deal. It might only take 500 or 600 raving fans to launch an empire, right? Influencers can help your company get to the next level.

4. Steal. Copy. Remix.

Sound familiar? We’ve heard this advice a lot lately, especially from successful app developers who say 10 minutes of research in the App Store can show you precisely what the actual market is for any given product. If it’s not in the App Store, people don’t need or want it. So the prevailing wisdom says.

Patrick Vlaskovits notes, however, that there is wild difficulty in discerning between what he calls Good Ideas, Bad Ideas and Indeterminate Ideas. So, yeah. Steal product ideas (or don’t steal product ideas) to your own benefit/peril.

It sounds funny, but Patrick adamantly believes that “skeezy affiliate marketers” know all of THE BEST channel-specific hacks. So, borrow from them, while making it less skeezy, of course, he says. Just keep in mind that the algorithms are constantly shifting so even the finest skeez-bomb tactics have a limited shelf life.

5. Test early. Test often. Try crazy sh!t.

Even with the best data, you’ll be unable to predict which ideas are going to hit. So experienced Growth Hackers like George Ishii (Yammer, Paypal) and Charlie Black (Technorati) suggest that you test things out. Iterate, change the variables, iterate, and try wild ideas, then, build your hypothesis and boil it down to a key assumption that you can TEST. Taking this to the extreme, Anuk Nagpal might even go so far as to apologize later for a product he has advertised on Facebook that is still in development or doesn’t quite exist. Not saying you should cheat, but you’ve got to find out if people want what you have to offer. There’s no getting around the reality of economics.

You’ve heard this all before. Ask your friends if they would use your product. Ask your first 100 customers if their expectations are being met. Your chances of failure are high, so the least you could do is become as scientific as possible about your assumptions. This is a hard concept for new entrepreneurs because they sometimes find it deathly easy to get caught up in the vision. It’s pretty easy to overlook the actual facts. Develop your science mind, grasshopper.

6. Never give it away.

Everyone seemed to agree on this point. If you don’t charge for your product your users “will have no skin in the game,” as the saying goes. But once customers fork over some cold, hard cash, they begin to feel invested and that’s when you immediately begin to get truthful feedback. Honest feedback comes with the advantage of knowing exactly what needs to change ASAP so as to rescue your business from meeting with misery or a dreadful, untimely death.

Bottom line:
Measure your WOW; choose a practical design flow; get your product into the hands of influencers; borrow ideas while making them your own; test your assumptions on real people; and P.S. earn money. The name of the game is GROWTH HACKING and your goal is survival which is always spelled r-e-v-e-n-u-e.

Six Proven Tools for Growth Hacking

Okay. I’m not an affiliate marketer. I have no formal relationship with any of the following companies. I’m just saying that, of what’s out there, this is the stuff that growth hackers are talking about and recommending so I wanted to pass along the info.

Facebook Ads https://www.facebook.com/advertising

Google Ad Words http://adwords.google.com/

Ad Roll http://www.adroll.com/

MightyHive http://mightyhive.com/

SAILTHRU https://www.sailthru.com/

Klout http://klout.com/home

Questions? Contact: http://about.me/kim

WHO ARE THE GROWTH HACKERS?

DID I MENTION…the panels for Growth Hacker Live simply rocked! Aaron Ginn (StumbleUpon, Mitt Romney campaign) and TechCrunch’s growth expert Greg Kumparak made it down from San Francisco. Alisha Outridge of iHeartRadio flew in from NYC. Former Viddy and Hulu exec Andrei Marinescu was on hand with some wonderful advice specific to content distribution and online video subscription services.

Eva Ho, George Ishii, Charlie Black and offered solid insights that only come from years of working on the front lines, as did morning kick-off speaker Sean Ellis.

Patrick Vlaskovits rounded out the list. Patrick (@PV on Twitter) is responsible for coining the term “Growth Hacking” and additionally authored the NYT bestseller ‘The Lean Entrepreneur.’ More about the event: http://growthhackerlive.eventbrite.com

UNRELATED: This is me, telling Mel Brooks to hurry up and make a sequel to ‘History of the World: Part I.’

(via Warner Bros. Dumps A New Trailer, Photos &...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:17:00 -0400

(via Warner Bros. Dumps A New Trailer, Photos & Posters… ‘Great Gatsby’

Vicetone feat. Jonny Rose - Stars [OUT NOW!] GET IT HERE:...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:43:00 -0400

Vicetone feat. Jonny Rose - Stars [OUT NOW!]

GET IT HERE: smarturl.it/VicetoneStars

theplanetofsound: The David Bowie Paper Doll Click here to get...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:25:48 -0400

theplanetofsound:

The David Bowie Paper Doll

Click here to get the PDF

“Money or Me” by Matthew Schultz feat King Dave /...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:21:00 -0400

“Money or Me” by Matthew Schultz feat King Dave / Kendrick Lamar Mixtape, Vol. 224 (by Matthew Schultz)

He’s got a huge hit out there right now and people are calling Matthew Schultz “James Dean and Johnny Cash in one.” I like the way he fuses rock with hip hop and I LOVE the guitar on the King Dave. You probably already heard the Jim Jones version. If not, here it is on YouTube (Not Safe For Work).

Blessid Union Of Souls - I Believe - Live On Fearless Music HD...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 20:00:35 -0400

Blessid Union Of Souls - I Believe - Live On Fearless Music HD (by fearlessmusicshow)

fuckyeahmovieposters: Looper by Joel Amat Güell

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:29:34 -0400

fuckyeahmovieposters:

Looper by Joel Amat Güell

(via Justin Timberlake: Mirrors)

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:09:07 -0400

(via Justin Timberlake: Mirrors)

Why “The Walking Dead” is Like a Western : The...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:43:49 -0500

Why “The Walking Dead” is Like a Western : The New Yorker

What Is ARTWALK+?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:40:00 -0500

By +Kim Sherrell

ARTWALK+ is a free app that brings people together in support of open culture and creativity. http://artwalkplus.com

The initiative began as a virtual art crawl on Twitter in early 2009. Since then, ARTWALK+ has grown to include a thriving community of art and culture lovers who get together online to hang with friends and share interesting links. This year, we have added a Google+ Community and it is awesome!

How it works:
Point your browser to our free, no hassle app OR follow the hashtag #ARTWALK to view the links people are sharing. If you’d like to share new art, music, film, and creative projects, just submit them using your social network of choice. Everyone is welcome!

TUMBLR Follow/Submit
GOOGLE+ Subscribe/Submit
TWITTER Follow/Tweet
FACEBOOK LIKE
1ND1E JOIN*

ARTWALK+ is powered by 1ND1E, a new cultural portal for sharing art, music, films, apps, books, fashion and more. We are currently in early BETA. Join or learn more about our members here: http://1ND1E.COM/members

☮ p e a c e

Featured at ARTWALK+

RAJA BLACK - “Peace”

ARTWALK+ is a free, no hassle app authored by +Kim Sherrell. TRY IT!

Woody Allen and The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band Live at...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:00:00 -0500

Woody Allen and The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band Live at Carlyle Cafe 11.18.2012 (by Mark Martucci) via @jerryz

First Music Video Created Using Real-Time MRI Sivu - Better Man...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:00:00 -0500

First Music Video Created Using Real-Time MRI

Sivu - Better Man Than He

Hat tip Hamutal Meridor and Majento SR via Brain & Mind Community on g+.

Read:
http://www.medgadget.com/2013/01/first-music-video-created-using-real-time-mri.html