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Twitter Launches Vine, the 'Instagram of Video' (in Lieu of Owning the Instagram of Pictures). End Saga?

Dave Kendricken — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:32:43 +0000

Twitter is “the internet’s SMS.” Instagram is the Twitter of pictures. Some app somewhere is prophesied to be “the Instagram of Video.” I’ve used epic words for social media’s ‘cinemaminigram’ before, because it’s apparently that big of a deal — or it may just be YouTube. Then again, if Instagram is Twitter for photos, but Facebook nabbed Instagram — all while ‘Instagram for Video’ is still out there — what’s a Twitter to do? The next best thing, or better: Twitter has just dropped Vine for iOS. It’s a lot like Instagram, but for 6 second looping videos. Given that Twitter already is, well, the Instagram of words, this app could be the ‘IoV.’ Is this saga at the beginning of its end? (more…)

Can Filmbot Make it Easier to See Movies in the Closest Theaters with Friends?

Ryan Koo — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:15:04 +0000

I’m visiting friends in Denver, CO this week and the movie we all want to see is Moneyball. So my friends bring up Fandango to find out where it’s playing locally. However, what they don’t know is that Fandango, like its competitor MovieTickets.com, doesn’t simply show you the nearest theaters as you would expect. Instead, both sites prioritize their own partner theaters and, to varying degrees, hide theaters from which they don’t collect commission on ticket sales (often relegating theaters to the next page even though they’re closer geographically). Enter Filmbot, a new independent showtime engine that promises to treat all theaters equally, including independent listings and special screenings, and that also aims to make your theatrical experience personalized and social using Facebook. It’s limited to New York city right now, but it should be expanding to other areas soon. Here’s the demo video: (more…)

'Take This Lollipop' is a Short Film that Stalks You, Literally

Ryan Koo — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:28:09 +0000

Do you ever worry that all your freely available online information makes you a potential target for stalkers who may be psychotic/dirty/violent/evil? If so, don’t watch “Take This Lollipop,” a short film that uses Facebook to make you a central character of its story.
Click through to the site itself and connect to Facebook for the full experience, but if you truly are paranoid about online privacy and want to watch what happens without putting yourself at fictional risk, here’s an example of what viewers get: (more…)

Vote Today or the Future Will Look Like This!

Ryan Koo — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:57:36 +0000

Regardless of your political affiliation, if you’re an American, today’s the day to, ah, “rock the vote.” This video may come from a PAC you don’t agree with, but I hope you appreciate the clever writing and Facebook-based personalization features all the same. Click on through to see a customized version of future news network CNNBC, with a scary tale of RepubliCorp’s takeover. (more…)

Social Media as an Agent of Change for Documentary Filmmaking

Ryan Koo — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:27:00 +0000

For every filmmaker I know who is a social media maven, there are at least two who are skeptical about Twittering and Facebooking their projects into existence (or at least, into popularity). I think it’s a common misperception that using Twitter and Facebook somehow comes at the expense of the actual filmmaking part of… well, filmmaking. I myself was a late adopter of Twitter (follow me here), and I understand the line of thought that goes into being a social media luddite. But the fact is, to reach an audience a hundred years ago, you would literally have to get out a soapbox and stand on it to shout at people passing by on the street. Now there are instantaneous, free tools of mass communication and some are worried that these tools are more trouble than they’re worth? In this light, Mashable has a nice story that rounds up many options for how social media has changed the game for (documentary) filmmaking, and it goes beyond just Twitter and Facebook: (more…)

A Slight Design Refresh and a Bit on NoFilmSchool's (Social Media) Traffic

Ryan Koo — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:02:51 +0000

You may notice things look a little different around here today (if everything looks the same, you might have to hold Shift and click your “refresh” button). Note there are no major aesthetic changes — I switched the titling and typography (I was always more of a sans-serif kind of guy, whatever that means), and there are now Twitter, Facebook, and StumbleUpon badges on single posts. I’ve also created a NoFilmSchool Facebook Page, which now has a home in the sidebar. Many of these changes have been driven by a look inside the analytics of this site, so let’s look at NoFilmSchool’s recent stats: (more…)

What is the Facebook Like button really about?

Ryan Koo — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:30:13 +0000

A lot of people are talking about Facebook and the social network’s usurpation of our formerly private data. Facebook’s personalization is now opt-out instead of opt-in, and this has irked many. Some of the ways this change affects us are subtle — you “like” something instead of becoming a “fan,” and now your friends’ Facebook pages are littered with more “so-and-so likes” posts — but what the Like button is really about, I think, is e-commerce. (more…)