DIY Days LA 2009: Wrap Up – November 23rd, 2009

“Welcome to the future. Nothing is as it was. Everything is new so no one knows anything.”

In a sense, that was the working thesis for the recent DIY Days in Los Angeles. I’m not bashing the event. Truly, we’re at a time of cutting edge change and what’s true today might be bunk tomorrow. Plus, as my mama always said, “seek those that seek the truth, distrust those that claim to have found it” but I digress. These speakers gave us a snapshot of where we are and what the future might hold. What follows is a seminar by seminar review of the night.

Social Media for Storytellers
Lance gave us a brief introduction and overview of social media. As always, Lance was clear, concise and inspiring.

Loveland
I gotta say, I thought this talk was total bulls**t when it started. Jerry Paffendorf seemed disorganized and discombobulated on stage. By the end, I was completely charmed and I wanted to invest in LOVELAND. Hey, Jerry, so there’s a mayor of LOVELAND? Can I get a title? Make me the “Ambassador of Fun” and I’ll invest $35. Deal?

DIY and Why?
I took at class with Jon Reiss at Film Independent earlier this fall and it has to be one of the best I’ve ever taken there. Go buy his book. It’s a must for any and all truly independent filmmakers.

Evolution of Storytelling
In the past year I’ve become a bit obsessed with transmedia (damn, I hate that term. I want “multi-medium” to catch on). I love the idea but have been a bit… I wasn’t entirely sure how to get a good grasp on it. Jesse Alexander and Elan Lee did an awesome job of giving us a good overview. Also, they got me to try my first game. Not bad but the ending just fizzled; maybe it was a technical glitch with my experience.

The Art and Craft of the ARG
So if Jesse and Elan provided a wonderful bird’s eye view of alternate reality games, Steve Peters and Jan Libby took us down a rabbit hole so deep I couldn’t make heads or tails of this talk; I think Lance should have moderated this talk. Regardless, it’s obvious I should try my first ARG, especially if I want to develop one for my multi-medium project.

Personal Brands
Marc Horowitz had some interesting things to say but I was taken by Micki Krimmel. She’s engaging, genuine, and turned her internet celebrity into a great business: NeighborGoods. Also, have I mentioned that I’m smitten with her? She showed up later that night at a nearby bar and we chatted. If I didn’t have to deliver a drink to a friend I would have asked her out. Damn. Wait, maybe she’s reading this. Micki, if you’re reading this I’m the handsome, charming, bearded Latin guy you met at that bar after DIY Days.  Hit me back and maybe we could grab a burger and shake soon.

The Eisenstadt Experience
Dan Mirvish talked about stuff but I had to step out for a breather as I was drowning in information.

Phew, what a jammed packed night. If Lance or The Workbook Project or DIY Days come to your town, don’t miss out.

Micki, I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

;)

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3 Comments

3 Responses to “DIY Days LA 2009: Wrap Up”

  1. This might be the first time I’ve been asked out via blog. Nice work! I’m pretty swamped and traveling for most of the rest of the year so making plans right now is next to impossible. But we’ll see what we can do. ;)

  2. eww, get a blog, you two. ;)

    tony — or shall i call you ambassador — your comment on my talk and the loveland project made my day, man. posted something on it here about how it currently rings true on different levels: http://7billionfriends.tumblr.com/post/254758548/for-the-currently-confused-say-hello-to-your-new

    the current kickstarter round just finished with another square foot being claimed. i’ll write to you when i get the next round up, should be tonight, and then we’ll see you in loveland, good sir.

  3. ok round 6 is up now at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jerry/loveland-round-6-a-force-more-powerful . i’m working on a new video for it, but check it out, the first cut of the inchvestor map is up on http://makeloveland.com so when you get your inches you’ll see yourself pop up on the map. i still need to enter the info by hand so it takes a minute (til i see it). my friend larry from http://lemonary.com put it together and there’s a whole bunch we can do with it. i’d love to hear your thoughts on what you’d like to see grow on it (facebook connect? pictures? geography? plans for your inches? etc etc). it’s a simple start but that’s like everything on this project. where it goes is where we take it…

    welcome to loveland, ambassador of fun!

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