YouTube Opens Screening Room for Indie Shorts

Okay, so I love short films.  In addition to appealing to ADD-afflicted by not requiring us to sit through 180 minutes to "understand the narrative," short films are more financially viable for indie filmmakers to create.  The problem with short films is that you can usually only see them at film festivals -- until now.

YouTube has set up a virtual screening room to bring the short films of independent filmmakers to a global audience.  Not only can you view top-notch shorts (curated by a YouTube editorial panel), you can also buy them to watch whenever you want on your computer or portable device.  While the majority of these films have played at international film festivals, occasionally you’ll find films that have never before screened for wide audiences.

They just launched the screening room last week and plan to add four new films every two weeks.  So, show the indie filmmakers some love and check it out!

Click here to learn more about the YouTube Screening Room.

What I Learned at the Americans for the Arts Convention...

Remember those essays you had to write in elementary school - e.g. "What I did for summer vacation"?  That's sort of what this post feels like since Brad chastised me for being remiss in my blogging duties.  Of course, I fired him - again.  I do that a lot.  It just never seems to stick. AFTA held this year's convention in Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love (and sisterly affection).  The hotel sold out long before I climbed out of my procrastination long enough to book a room.  Thankfully, I found a room at a nearby hotel - directly across the street from where they were filming Transformers 2.  If only I hadn't gotten bored and walked out of Transformers, then I might have been more starry eyed.

After three days in Philly with Americans for the Arts, I return to the Burgh with three essential take-aways:

1.  Affirmation -- In a recent (soon to be published) environmental scan of the arts community conducted by Americans for the Arts, it has been determined that, "The influence of technology, unconstrained access, and the new immediacy of communication on traditional and new and evolving production/delivery mechanisms is not yet entirely understood."  While the influence of technology on production/delivery may not be fully understood, the impact of technology on the arts community has been seismic.  Between AFTA and the NPAC conventions this month, I come back to the Burgh knowing that our Technology in the Arts conference, blog, podcast, and site resources are truly useful tools for the field to assist them in navigating unfamiliar terrain.

2.  Futurists Rock -  The Keynote Address was given by futurist Andrew Zolli, founder of Z+ Partners and organizer of the PopTech conference, in the manner that I've yearned for at all of the conferences I have attended throughout my professional life:  highly engaging, provocative and witty.  He touched on a multitude of issues - from innovation and "the tyranny of choice" to experiential economics, "the Long Tail" and "Citizen Brand." I think it was the first time that I went to a conference where the keynote speaker talked for 45 minutes, and I wanted to hear more!  For those of you who were not able to attend AFTA this year (or for those of you who just want to hear more of what Andrew has to say), check out these video clips on YouTube.

3.  The RenGen is Here - On Friday, I had the pleasure of listening to Patricia Martin talk about the premise behind her book RenGen: Renaissance Generation - The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What It Means to Your Business.  Here's a brief bit from Patricia about the event that inspired her to do the research for this book:

I tried to run out to the AFTA bookstore to buy RenGen - but of course, it was already gone.  Amazon, here I come!

My two favorite concepts that she talked about during her session are:

• RenGen is a psychographic NOT a demographic. What characterizes this psychographic?
  • Lifelong learners
  • Time-starved idealists
  • Sensualists
  • Eco-conscious
  • Fusionists
  • Inner-directed creatives
• Collective Creativity - a post on the concept from her blog.

Okay, folks, I have blogged enough today to keep the Brad at bay.  I pinkie-swear to do better!

Better Than Handing Out Flyers?

Built for bands, musicians and music performing organizations, ArtistData is a site that enables you to enter upcoming performance information once and then sync it to many different social networking sites that are musician friendly or oriented. I have to say that I was impressed with the simplicity of the system, based on their demo video.  With a few minutes and clicks, performance listings were updated on the sample band's MySpace, PureVolume, Eventful, and Virb profiles.  Also, the show details were sent out to other sites such as JamBase, Last.fm, Mojam, Pollstar, and ShowClix.

A real treat is the site's ability to notify local newspapers and media about your performance directly from ArtistData.  I would assume that ArtistData keeps art & music PR contact emails for major newspapers and publishers.  I wasn't able to see how comprehensive their listings are, but, if you know of a publication that exists in the area you will be performing that is not on the list, you can notify ArtistData and they'll do what it takes to get it added for next time.  I wonder, though, if this replaces the need to send out press releases or to cozy up to your local papers' inside sources.

All in all, ArtistData seems like a very expedient way to get your performance information out there.  It would be especially useful if you, your band, or your organization already use more than 1 of the social networking tools listed above.  And, it seems like ArtistData intends to expand its offerings and resources as time goes on.  Sites such as Amie Street, BETA Records, Buzznet, FameCast, and Hooka/indie911 are on tap to be added to those sent performance info.

Oh, it's free, by the way (at least for now).

I am really interested to see if, in the near future, a similar technology is developed for visual, graphic, and illustrative artists to help them manage their profiles, exhibition information, and work sample images across the plethora of social networking sites that cater to them.

Props to Mashable! for tipping me off to ArtistData.

Web Usability Notes from TitA: Canada

Josh Futrell and I are sitting in a Web usability workshop at Technology in the Arts: Canada at the moment, and I thought I'd share some notes from the session. The workshop is being led by Robert Barlow-Busch, director of product design at Primal Fusion, a semantic web startup in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Robert's overriding thought about usability testing is quite simple but very important: "Observe people using your Web site."

Josh looks please to be learning about usability.

Why conduct usability testing?

• More useful
• Easier to use
• More desirable (more positive emotional responses)

Aside from basic usability testing, Robert also just talked about projective exercises, which determine what type of emotions people attach to your organization. In the session's particular projective exercise, we were asked to imagine that a group of car manufacturer logos were members of a family. Who in the family would each of the logos represent? Robert's point was that this type of activity is more engaging than simply asking, "What do you think about Ford, Chrysler or Volvo?"

By the way, the entire group agreed that Ford was the drunk uncle. Sorry, Ford.

How does this translate to the arts field? An example that Robert presented was for an arts organization to use this type of activity to test how people view the organization's logo in comparison to the logos of other available activities (cinema, zoo, arcade, video games, Netflix, etc.).

Other resources:

• Usability Professionals Association
• User Interface Engineering

The full set of slides from Robert's workshop will be available soon at TechnologyInTheArts.ca.

Sponsor Technology in the Arts 2008 and be the envy of all your friends...

Want to be one of the cool kids? Sure you do. Who doesn't? The Center for Arts Management and Technology is currently offering sponsorship opportunities for its 2008 Technology in the Arts Conference, scheduled for Oct. 9-11 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Be almost as cool as this guy.

Some additional sponsorship notes:

• Any sponsorship of $1,000 or greater secures a spot in our Tech Expo.
• We have built into our three-day schedule more than four hours dedicated exclusively to the Tech Expo. We will also be promoting the Expo as a primary feature of the conference.
• The Tech Expo will be located near registration in a very prominent location in the hotel.
• All coffee breaks will be held in the Tech Expo area to provide additional exposure.
• We will be providing a 15-minute recognition announcement and demo/speaker opportunity for the sponsor of our Keynote/VIP Luncheon.

Want more info about the conference? Follow this page for regular updates.

Want more info about sponsorship opportunities? Get it here.

Come on... everyone's doing it.

(Image in this post licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy of ninjapoodles' Flickr photostream.)

OPEN NOW! - The Power of the Subject Line

Recently, I attended a webinar from Patron Technology on how to effectively use the subject line in e-mail marketing messages. And they should know! Patron Technology, a sponsor of the 2008 Technology in the Arts Conference, has been on e-mail marketing with arts organizations for years with its PatronMail service. Why does the subject line matter?

According to Christine Blodgett at Patron Technology, "The subject line IS the marketing message. It is your first point of contact with an e-mail recipient. If they don't like it, then they won't open it. If they don't open it, then it won't produce the desired effect."

A recent survey conducted by Return Path reveals the subject line to be the third most important factor for determining whether or not someone will open an e-mail marketing message.

So how do can we best harness the power of the subject line?

Make every word matter - When you look at your inbox list, how many words do you typically see in the subject line? Not very many, right? So:

1. Keep it concise - Under 50 characters (approximately 7 to 10 words)
2. Pay attention to word placement - Place incentivizing phrases ("Free tickets for.."), time-based phrases ("Last chance to..."), and informative labels ("______ Monthly Bulletin") toward the beginning of the subject line.
3. Be clear - Tell them what's inside. Make sure the content promised in the subject line is easy to find in the e-mail.
4. Be honest - DON'T oversell it!
5. Be consistent - If you have a type of message that you send out on a regular basis (like an e-newsletter), make sure to label them in a consistent way so that recipients will easily recognize them in their Inboxes.

Google Grants...and Google for NPO's

UPDATE: Be sure to read our most recent post on Google resources for arts organizations.

I know this makes two in a row from me on Google.  However, in my defense, I have been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now and, since I just found out (thanks to the Non-Profit Tech Blog) that Google has a launched a new non-profit portal that aggregates all of its services that apply to NPO's, I figured now is a good time to highlight one of Google's services that, I think, totally rocks:

Google Grants.

To really explain Google Grants, I first need to explain Google AdWords.  You know those “Sponsored Links” that sometimes appear to the right of your search results on Google?  Those are brought to you by Google AdWords.  I’m not going to explain any more than that since Google has already done that work for me with the detailed information and demos on its site.  Suffice to say, Google AdWords can help increase traffic to your Web site.

And Google Grants is a program that Google has developed to help non-profit organizations have access to free Google AdWords advertising.  Organizations who are awarded Google grants get at least 3 months of AdWords service with cap of $10,000 worth of advertising per month.  Awesome!  Google Grants even goes beyond just giving away free advertising, by helping organizations to define and refine ad campaigns.

Click below for a Q & A with a past Google Grant recipient after the jump.

If your organization wants to learn more about Google Grants, please visit the new non-profit portal that Google has launched and click the Google Grants link.  Or, you may click here.  Google also has developed a Google Grants Blog.

One of the reasons I’m so interested in Google Grants is that one of CAMT’s clients, Art in Context, was a recipient of a Google Grant in late 2007.  I’ve interviewed Teresa Schmittroth, Program Director at Art in Context, about her organization’s experience.

JOSH:  How was the Google Grant application process?

TERESA:  The process was actually pretty easy. The grant application requires standard information about the organization such as nonprofit status, mission statement, contact information, a brief statement on how Google Adwords would contribute to the organization, and a description of the organization's target audience. In addition we were asked to submit a proposed ad campaign and a sample of key words relevant to our organization. We applied for the grant on July 12, 2007. Within 24 hours we received [a confirmation] response. By November 29, 2007 we were notified that our organization was selected for a Google Grants award and our account was activated.

JOSH:  How did you find using AdWords?

TERESA:  I was really impressed with the depth of the ad campaign that the Google Grants Team set up for Art in Context. Upon activating our account there were several 'ad groups' they had developed for us specifically addressing the type of information we provide public access to, e.g., Exhibition Listings, Artist Listings, Image Listings, etc. The ads were slightly commercial-eze for a nonprofit library, but compelling. I spent several days tweaking the language and the key words, but the structure Google set up was really good. By January, when searching for the word "artists" on Google, Art in Context was among the first results in Google's Sponsored Links.

JOSH:  Did you see an increase in your site traffic as a result of your work in AdWords?

TERESA:  We did experience a very noticeable spike in phone calls from researchers after the ad campaign began. Also, the following comparison of page views between February 2007 and February 2008 demonstrates a definite increase in information displayed, which is key to our mission:

	February 2007	February 2008
Page Views	1,514,630	2,042,540
Average per Day	54,093	70,432
Average Page Views per visit	4.27	7.09

Here is a snapshot I just put together for our board:

Google Grant activity for Art in Context Dec 1, 2007 to Feb 29, 2008

• There were 30,188 clicks to Art in Context from Google's Sponsored Links.
• There were 2,146,880 ad impressions for Art in Context displayed in Google's Sponsored Links.
• It would have cost us $20,510.48 for this service if this were not a grant!

JOSH:  Any other thoughts/comments about the Google Grants program and Google AdWords?

TERESA:  Thank you, Google!

And thank you to Teresa Schmittroth, Program Director at Art in Context, and Google Grants.

Creative Commons: Not perfect but it works

Thought I'd give a little teaser on our upcoming podcast interview with independent musician Jonathan Coulton, known by millions of geeks as the guy who wrote the song Still Alive for the award-winning console game Portal.

Coulton will be featured in Technology in the Arts Podcast episode 38 (to be published Friday, March 14) talking about how he's used Creative Commons and other online practices to build a rabid and connected fan base.

Creative Commons, Coulton explains, allows an artist to apply a standard copyright and then scale back the restrictions. While many musicians and record executives are trying to find ways to lock down their songs, Coulton has found a way to make money giving his music away for free.*

Coulton, and others like him, understand that once you establish a fan community hundreds of thousands strong who are deeply connected to your work, you'll have no problem paying your bills. And Coulton certainly likes people to pay if they can... After all, he has a family to support.

Check out our upcoming podcast for the full Coulton interview, and check out Coulton's songs here.

So what do you think? Can free work for musicians? Should musicians run their own careers?

*Free is fine, but you can also support Coulton's work. Find out how.

The Good...& Just the Ugly

Online artist registries are ubiquitous nowadays. In lieu of or in addition to a personal web site, they are a great way to make your work as an artist available to the larger world. Some are open to all, while others are curated by discipline, geographic region, quality of work, etc. I participate in several registries as an artist, but my hands-down favorite is the Irving Sandler Artists File offered by Artists Space in NYC. Developed by artist/former staffer Letha Wilson and her colleagues, the registry went online a couple of years ago with great success. It is free, uncurated, and still fulfills its primary mission marvelously: to showcase artists, their work, and ideas. Plus, the user-friendly search interface enables you tag selected artists and add them to your online portfolio for further review.

Other registries, however, are far less successful. A perfect example of what not to do is Saatchi Online. It is poorly designed, an aesthetic disaster really, and attempts to do too many things for too many people. I question if this registry is even really for/about the artist community. Ambition can be good thing, but never mission creep.

Artists: Be selective about the context in which you show your work. Context always has a profound impact on how your work is perceived and understood. Weigh the pros and cons, and choose wisely.

Stanford Lively Arts Strikes a Deal with iTunes

Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford on iTunes U and iTunes have launched a new promotion that will allow Stanford University's faculty, staff, students and Lively Arts patrons to download music by artists featured in the upcoming Lively Arts season using free iTunes gift cards. From now through March 15, the cards will be made available to patrons at all Lively Arts performances and to customers at the Stanford Bookstore, Tresidder Express, the Track House Sport Shop, the Cantor Arts Center Gift Shop and the Stanford Shop at Stanford Shopping Center. Lively Arts plans to mail the cards to Stanford students, faculty and staff in early February and will make the cards available to its community partners, including the Palo Alto Unified School District and East Palo Alto's educational program College Track.

The first Lively Arts event where patrons received the iTunes gift cards was the Merce Cunningham Dance Company's performance on Friday, Jan. 25, which featured a new work with music by composer Mikel Rouse titled eyeSpace. During the performance, the audience used iPods distributed at the theater to select and personalize the music that accompanies the dance. Rouse's music is also on the gift card.

In addition, the card will include music of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Blind Boys of Alabama, Meridian Arts Ensemble, Academy of Ancient Music, Turtle Island Quartet, Rosanne Cash, Kronos Quartet, Rob Kapilow and the Pacifica Quartet. Recipients of the cards will be able to download complete tracks from the artists at no charge until they expire on March 31.

This is iTunes' second such promotion with the performing arts at an educational institution. The first was with the University of Illinois' Krannert Center in September 2007. With all of the performing arts centers located at colleges and universities throughout the nation, I wonder if this is beginning of a new trend in the presenting and touring industry. It strikes me as a great way to use iTunes as an audience development tool.