Facebook app has Darth Vader in it?, originally uploaded by ultimatewhit.

It looks like Darth Vader is standing next to (who I can only assume is) Mark Zuckerberg in the Friends icon in the upper right corner of the new Facebook app on the iPhone. Super weird. Is this a hint that Lucas Arts is thinking about buying Facebook – or the other way around?

And how did they make the guy above the Profile look just like me? Does the icon above your Profile look just like you too?

The way I see it, the internet is going to revolutionize the way we consume our media (it already is—I’m a case in point without a TV), but the internet industry isn’t going to make it happen, the TV industry is. Some of the networks are finally getting it. It took a long time for them to start putting full episodes of shows online. Hulu took it a step further by getting several companies to all put their media in one place.

The reason I’m telling you this is to make sure you understand that I don’t think Silicon Valley is going to change the entertainment industry. There are plenty of productions houses up here that were thought to do amazing things, but just aren’t. (Revision3).

For those of us who are writers, directors, camera operators, editors: our jobs are staying in LA for the most part. Shows will be made the same way they have been for years. One difference is that now the internet provides us with random video clips —it’s like America’s funniest home videos except with no commercials and no censorship.

There is an exception to all of this: Joss Whedon of Buffy and Firefly. It’s not that I think he is the exception, but rather that he has realized the potential in making an online show the “old fashioned way,” which is the “current” way in LA. My understanding is that when Whedon created “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” he made the show how he wanted, then put it online how he envisioned it rather than through all the politics that generally ruins a good script. I think college humor is another great example of this.

If you have the funding, you can make something and put it online for people to see. Who knows how many people will watch it? If you have the funding and someone’s name, like Whedon, you can make something how you want, and maybe make a profit. If you have a show that is gimmicky, you might be able to get people to watch it, and may be able to make a little money. (See Ask A Ninja, Homestar Runner, or LG15.)

Television is breaking into the web-o-sphere. People like high quality video, and are willing to watch commercials for it. They just want to be able to choose when they watch it—not much of a change, think TiVo.

So is there an industry being built here for people who work in film? I’m not sure.
Seesmic is making it easier for the audience to communicate with one another, but possibly more importantly it’s making it easier for the audience to communicate to the media. That’s what is totally revolutionary as far as I’m concerned.

My co-worker Giselle and I just put this video together.

I think it helps show how people are starting to communicate with each other online, as well as how the media is becoming engaged with the audience.

The audience experience is changing as we speak but the way we produce our content is only slightly. High quality content will still be made by ABC, and all the other channels, but now you can make a show and say ‘Fuck’ in it 100 times, stick it online, and not have to worry about a thing (except for hate mail and death threats from crazy parents who don’t pay close enough attention to what their kids are watching).

Has anyone else noticed how much people are “just saying”. I don’t get it. You’re saying, that’s all you’re doing? You’re suggesting? I feel like I hear this all over the place, people making statements about this, and that, and qualifying it with, “I’m just saying”. I think my favorite though comes from my coworker Thomas who is not just saying, but is just saying (figure that one out).

At any rate, I’m “just confused”. It’s pretty hard to keep up with all the new lingo, especially “just saying” and of course “fail”, everything is failing these days; Companies, Whales, People… We’re never going to get anything done if we’re not more positive. We need people to hear that they are succesfull and that we are not just saying, but we are doing… What do you think?

I’m just saying…
You know?

What I don’t get is what all the “Free Obama” stickers and pins are about. I keep up with the news pretty well but I’ve heard nothing about Obama being captured, or imprisoned, and yet all over the internet I see “Free Obama” this, and “Free Obama” that. How can this story have fallen through the cracks? If you have any info, please send it my way. Thanks.

Speaking of Free Obama, I’m wondering when will he be free (for coffee)? I donated a substantial amount of money to the campaign (somewhere between $15 – $20) and since then, Barack has been sending me e-mail updates on his campaign – awesome!

I recently found out that his campaign headquarters are in Albuquerque NM, which is great news because my mom recently moved there! When I found this out I immediately started to reply to his daily e-mails.

“Dear Mr. Barack Obama, What a coincidence – my mom just moved to Albuquerque, maybe we can go out for dinner when I come into town. Now that I think about it, you’re probably pretty busy – maybe coffee will do? Let me know how free you are in October, that’s when I plan on visiting.

Sincerely, Whit Scott”

To be quite honest, I’m a little mad at Obama right now. The dude sends me almost an e-mail a day and I only send e-mail’s back once or twice a week. I gave him $15 – $20! I’d be more then happy to buy his coffee, although I heard he’s been breaking records when it comes to fun raising (by the way fun raising sounds amazing, I totally want to work on a campaign!).

My guess is this all comes down to the Free Obama stickers I keep seeing. I know he has an Internet connection wherever he is being kept, but he obviously can’t get out for some coffee with one of his biggest supporters. If you happen to see Obama anytime soon let him know that I’d still really like to go out, and that I’m not that mad at him – I understand that running for President is not easy (I was the President of the Anti-Social Club in high school).

Last week I went to a wedding. My Mom’s. She and Susan have been together for 12 years, 6 with a civil union, which is so much more peaceful than an uncivil union (much less expensive too).

Then I got back to SF, went in to work for a few hours then headed up north to Stone Lake Farm where I camped for a couple nights, and helped move some stoves around. That was an oversimplified explanation of the weekend.

Seesmic du Jour Season 1 ended. Below is the last episode. It’s crazy that it’s over now, I don’t know how I’ll be able to count how long I’ve worked at Seesmic now. Just imagine having a video archive of every day for the past 168 work days. For me, even though it was not a show about me, it was a show that I was there for every day. I shot it, I edited it, I came up with ideas for it, then at the end of the day, every day, I posted it all over the web and blogged it for Loic. And now I don’t. That is a crazy feeling, but it’s also a ton of weight off of my shoulders. Now I can use my creative energy on other Seesmic production projects.

All signs point to summer. It’s time to unlock the creative box and get some projects going. I have a few in mind, tell me what you think.

1. Break out the sewing machine and get crafty.
2. Edit some personal videos as well as videos for friends and family.
3. Write and read some Screenplays. I’ve never done this, but I think it would be fun.
4. Focus full time on Ultimate Frisbee.
5. Focus on my online persona, building Whit Scott as a brand.

I’m open for suggestions.

I have a very unique job, one in which I have the opportunity to sit and listen to some “important” bloggers (Joi Ito, Tom Crampton, Loic Le Meur) talk about the future of the tech world, blogging, and the internet. Luckily I have some good friends whom I have similar conversations with and have a different view of the future of the web. With these two perspectives I have been thinking about my blog, but can’t seem to come to a conclusion. Maybe I can get your help.

1. I am not a writer. I speak much better than I write. If you think my writing is good at all, it’s because I have a few friends who do bits of editing for me.
2. I’m a video producer and photographer.
3. I post on flickr, and twitter often.
4. I upload a video a day for Loic Le Meur, post it on his blog, facebook, YouTube and blip.tv, making me a full-time Video Blogger.

So the question is this. Is my blog layout a good layout? If I don’t see myself as being a writer should the center of my blog be a place for writing? Also, if I’m producing a video a day should I be posting those videos on my blog even if they’re not about me? They are my day’s work after all.

I’d like my blog to be more interactive with my lifestyle and my internet use. If I’m online all day long creating content why does my blog feel so static at times? I’m open to suggestions, critiques, comments, and design ideas.

By the way, I have video commenting in the comments section. If you have a webcam, join the video conversation.

I met Jim Woods, Brewer of MateVeza Beer about six months ago at Green Drinks. He had brought a keg of his beer to this particular bar and shared a glass with David Anderson and me. We talked about his beer, while sipping away, and let me tell you, both the story and the beer are awesome. I asked Jim to retell his story about how he got started and what his yerba mate beer is all about.

Jim Woods: Yerba Mate Beer
Officially I started brewing the day I turned 21… so I guess that would mean that I “started” brewing while at UCSD.

I stumbled upon the idea of MateVeza a few years ago – I was nursing a pale ale betwixt sips of yerba mate (a cousin of mine introduced me to this wonderful beverage when I was in college) and noticed the way the flavor of the mate and the cascade hops complimented each other; the earthy, herbal, grassy notes of yerba mate paired quite well with the crisp, citrusy flavor of the cascade hops. I later realized that the effects might be another selling point in light of a growing trend of caffeinated alcoholic beverages.

A home brewer for years, I set out to brew a yerba mate pale ale. After experimenting with different recipes, methods, and quantities, I brought a formula and label artwork to Butte Creek Brewing Company in Chico, California because I was a big fan of their beers and their pioneering in brewing organic. We structured a joint venture and brewed the first batch in November of 2006.

Mateveza is brewed with EcoTeas organic yerba mate from a family farm in North Eastern Argentina. The coarsely chopped yerba mate leaves are added during the mash. The yerba mate provides a refreshing herbal finish and a natural source of caffeine equal to about a half cup of coffee per beer.

I decided to brew MateVeza organic because I was committed to using the very best ingredients and having a environmentally responsible product.

MateVeza is brewed with 95% organic ingredients (everything but hops). The USDA has placed hops on their exempt list due to the commercial unavailability. This means that brewers can label beer with the organic seal even if the hops are not organic. Here’s an article from the LA Times if you’re interested in the details.

Keep in mind that organic hops are extremely difficult to source (especially with the current hop shortage). There aren’t any farmers in the US who produce organic hops and the farmers in New Zealand have most of their crop committed for the next few years. Hopefully things will change and organic hops will become available. We will continue to look for a source.

Business has gone really well. Getting approval at Whole Foods and BevMo has been great. And we have expanded our distribution to CA, OR, and WA. We haven’t had much of a budget for advertising or sales support (it’s still a one-man team), so the main challenge is getting the word out and educating people about the product.

We’ve gotten a lot of good press (Mateveza press), which has been awesome. A part of me was worried about how the craft beer community would respond to a caffeinated beer, but they have really embraced it. Most really appreciate the fact that the yerba mate contributes positively to the flavor profile of the beer. The mate buzz is just a bonus (but for some a huge selling point).

I’m currently working on some new packaging and making a big push in the markets we’re currently in. So stay tuned…

Whit: So David you know that it’s Green Month on my blog, and I said I would be featuring friends in the Green industry. Can you tell everyone why I chose you to start with you? What I’m asking is, what do you do for a living?

David Anderson: (are we pretending this is a phone transcript or something?)

Whit: I’m totally putting all of this in the blog, and yes.

David: Ah, direct copy and paste. Well, then, let me be as pompous as possible… Well, Whit, first let me say how much I appreciate the opportunity. I’ve been following your blog for a long time, because, well, blogs are my job.

Whit: Really? And what blog are you with, and what is your role at said blog?

David: I run the first blog network with exclusively environmentally-themed content. We’re called Green Options Media.
Technically, I’m the Publisher of the network, which is really a lot more fun than it sounds. Our editorial team does all the really hard stuff, and I just get to sit around and determine the strategic direction of the network’s editorial staff, content and marketing.

It’s my job to look at all of the other blog networks and other new media, and identify how those strategies can be applied to green media.

Blog networks are kind of a brave new world, and best practices, writer compensation, and all the other details are still very fluid. I’m particularly proud of the writer model we’ve come up with. In other verticals where blogs have become big business, it’s because the majority of readers are already very interested in a wide range of related topics, and it’s pretty easy to find knowledgeable writers.

Green Media faces a tougher challenge; to date, most successful green bloggers are just people who happen to be interested but have no particular expertise in a green field–instead, their expertise is in running a blog. At the same time, there are tons of environmental professionals who are looking for a way to share their expertise with the world. Many of them are starting blogs as that outlet, but almost none of them have the time or expertise to administer, market, and otherwise find exposure for their personal blogs.

Whit: Well I’ll be asking you to come on the blog a couple times this month. Just so everyone knows, what is it that you brought you to this position? Specifically, what is your background in the green world?

David: Like many web entrepreneurs, it started small and evolved unexpectedly. I graduated from college (UCSD) with a growing passion for sustainability, and started a blog on the interplay of environmental and energy issues.

Through that blog, I met other high profile green bloggers, and the idea for Green Options as a single, multi-author blog was born. We launched that in Feb 2007. That blog grew quickly, but we recognized that we were only successfully reaching an audience that was already very ‘green.’

We realized that splitting our blog into smaller, affiliated blogs on more niche topics was a much easier way to pull people into the circle of sustainability, since when most people start to “go green” they start with one or a couple topics that interest them–no one’s going to make a ‘green’ portal that claims to be all things to all people their homepage, but normal people are open to small introductory changes before getting more involved.

So, we have a food blog, a parenting blog, a cleantech blog, and so on down the line, each written to be accessible to a particular audience who might not want to dig into every green issue in the world… quite yet.

Which brings me back to our writer model: we set up what we call a ‘direct professional’ model — giving those green professionals a platform to bring their expertise to the world.

Whit:Well you know I love GO, I’ll have you back on the blog soon. I just wanted everyone to get to know you and your site before I proceed with Green Month. Thanks for the first chat.

David: Any time, Whit.

In case you were wondering how Seesmic worked here is a great tutorial that I made with Vinvin in French. I don’t speak French so I had to edit it with Vinvin standing over my shoulder. When Vinvin was done Giselle and I went back and wrote it for the English speakers. We have no idea if we’re saying anything remotly close to what Vinvin was saying. Hope you enjoy it!

I’d like everyone to meet my new friend Daniel Brusilovsky. Daniel is a blogger, podcaster, videographer, editor, photographer and High School student. Everything I want to be, except the high school student, I don’t need that again. What’s really remarkable is the success that Daniel has had at only 15 years old. Alright then, let’s get to it.

Whit Scott: First off, Thanks for doing this interview, i’m totally stoked.
Daniel Brusilovsky:I am very excited too! Thank you for having me…
Whit: So how long have you been doing the Apple Universe show?
Daniel: I started in April of 2007, April 5, 2007 to be exact
Whit: What made you decide to start your show? What was your motivation?
Daniel: Leo Laporte was a big part….he is one of my idols, and I wanted to try the same thing, and now I am one of the biggest teen podcasters!
Whit: That’s very exciting! Congratulations! Do you know how many listeners you have?
Daniel: Thank you…right now, we have over 1,000 worldwide, about 1,000-5,000 page views per day…
Whit: You’re 15 years old right, nearly 16? Great success so early, is this something you think you’ll want to continue to pursue as you prepare to go to college?
Daniel: I just turned 15… I plan to go to college for a broadcasters and new media degree
Whit: Probably a good decision
Daniel: I love doing this
Whit: Who have you been most excited to interview, and what is the coolest event that you have been too?
Daniel: Leo Laporte has been the biggest guest, and the coolest event had to be the Steve Jobs Keynote in 2008
Whit: Awesome, well for those who may not know where to listen to Apple Universe, where can we direct them? And are there any additional sites or anything else you’d like to mention?
Daniel: I got the amazing opportunity to talk to Steve Jobs and shake his hand!
You can find the NEW Apple Universe site at www.appleuniversepodcast.com which is re-launching this Saturday but you can find the old site www.appleuniverse.mypodcast.com with all the old stuff
Whit: Cool, Thanks for the interview Daniel
Daniel:Thanks Whit!

If that’s not enough you can also check out Daniel’s personal blog. Also, don’t forget to check out the re-launch of Apple Universe this Saturday February the 16th at 8:00 PM PST