Blog,Internet

I had the pleasure of attending WWE RAW last Monday night at the Air Canada Centre. Of all of the events I’ve attended in my lifetime I have to give credit to WWE for their massive stage productions, larger than life sound and lights and for their ability to engage the audience in all of their events.

I’ve followed WWE for many years (including back in the days when they were still known at the WWF with stars like Hulk Hogan, Jake The Snake Roberts, The Hart Foundation, and others), but I always enjoy going to their live events. They are always so much fun and it’s entertaining to watch the fans get so into every match.

The WWE have set the bar high as far as their online marketing initiatives are concerned. Their web-site is ranked 553 in the world and is accompanied by a very busy WWE youtube channel and their own social network – WWE Fan Nation. They employ about 560 employees and bring in almost $400 million a year in revenue. They’ve reached into TV, Film, Music, Pay Per View Programming, DVD and Video sales, digital, the internet, mobile, video games, advertising, merchandise and more!

At this particular RAW event they included a Toronto angle by bringing back Trish Stratus to not only host but wrestle! She definitely has star power and it was interesting to hear some of the things that she’s been doing since leave the WWE like opening a yoga studio and staring in her own travel tv show!

I took some pretty awesome videos and pics from the show Monday night. Here they are… Enjoy!

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Blog,Internet

TIFF is always a busy time of the year for film companies in general – but especially for film companies in Toronto. We were especially busy this year for weeks up to and during the festival.

Since my role in New Media is new to the film division of the company I work for, I was particularly busy creating various new media initiatives and especially supporting publicity in their busy role during the festival. One way that we worked with the media to support their needs was by taking any EPKs that we received for films, extracting the clips, trailers, interviews, high-res photos and various new media content from the discs they provided us with and uploading the content to our ftp in a web friendly format (with a secure login just for TIFF media). We found this to be so successful that our clips went viral VERY quickly! It also helped television media to know what clips we had available so that they could request specific videos rather than an entire digi-beta of all clips and video elements for a film which takes them time to go through and is also quite costly for us to produce on an as-needed basis.

As someone in a new role in the company, I was particularly pleased at how successful our initiatives were due to the good use we made of the resources provided to us by the film makers themselves.

Not only did I assist from a new media stand-point, but I also made use of the software on my company to make a TIFF DVD Reel that publicity could show in their suite at the festival.

Below is a copy of the TIFF DVD Reel I created. Enjoy!




Blog,Internet,Music

Aside from my career in Online Marketing and Social Media, some of you may not be aware that I am also a DJ.

In the DJing world equipment is pretty standard… turntables, cd players, a mixer, amp, speakers, headphones, turntable needles and you are pretty much set.

Lately I’ve been using Serato to DJ out live at clubs, bars, raves and events and as much as I love that I don’t have to lug hundreds of records around with me anymore and have the convenience of having my entire music library on my laptop, with Serato there tends to be issues with unplugging and plugging in equipment in order to connect Serato to the system.

Pioneer announced that they have come out with a new CDJ turntable that blows away the competition and will also make it a lot easier to DJ live… in some cases with only a memory stick! This delightful innovation is called the CDJ 2000!

Check out this demonstration! 🙂

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Blog

I don’t know if it’s because we went on a vacation recently, or if it’s because we’ve has such terrible weather all summer but recently we’ve been venturing out as tourists in Toronto to explore the area and see what this big beautiful city has to offer.

With our travels we’ve discovered that Steam Whistle Brewery serves free beer! All you have to do is walk in the door and they give you a couple of free coupons for 2 glasses of beer at their brewery!

We also ventured over to the new “Urban” Leon’s to look around. It’s a nice place – especially since it caters to us Condo folk. 🙂

We also went over to Centre Island and even rented a quad-ricycle! Winston, Kenny and I peddled around the island and saw some of the sights we haven’t been able to see this summer because of the City workers strike.

Here are some of the photos we took on our journey to the island! You’ll also see some photos of the crazy storm that hit about an hour after we got home!

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Blog,Internet,Music

I’ve waited my entire adult life to see one band – and that band came to Koolhaus on Wednesday  12, 2009! The band I’m talking about – UNDERWORLD!

Instead of talking about how amazing it was. I thought I’d show you. I took photos and vidoes of every song at the concert… except for the encore. The hardest part about doing this was trying not to dance… which proved to be impossible. 🙂

Enjoy! And thank you Underworld for such an amazing show!

Here is the setlist:

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Blog,Internet

Kenny and I finally had the chance to get away for a holiday recently. We went to Bermuda to visit his friends George and Sandy and had an amazing time.  We saw so many things and did so much! It’s really had to describe all that we saw so I’ll post our photos instead. You can see from them just how beautiful Bermuda is and I can’t wait to go back!

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Blog,Internet,Music

I think it’s important when using social network tools like Twitter that with tools like tweetback it can cause you to become very disconneted from your audience. This article helped to remind me as an artist about how to use tools like Twitter… and that this is only the beginning! (how exciting! :))

From: Amanda Palmer
Subject: twitter power, or “how an indie musician can make $19,000 in 10 hours using twitter”

this story has just been blowing people’s minds so i figures i should write it down.

1.
FRIDAY NIGHT LOSERS T-SHIRT, $11,000

about a month ago, i was at home on a friday night (loser that i often am when i’m not touring, i almost never go out) and was, of course, on my mac, shifting between emails, links and occasionally doing some dishes and packing for a trip the next day. just a usual friday-night-rock-star-multi-tasking extravaganza.

i twitter whenever i’m online, i love the way it gives me a direct line of communication with my fans and friends.

i had already seen the power of twitter while touring…using twitter i’d gathered crowds of sometimes 200 fans with a DAY’S notice to come out and meet me in public spaces (parks, mostly) where i would play ukulele, sign, hug, take pictures, eat cake, and generally hang out and connect. this was especially helpful in the cities where we’d been unable to book all-ages gigs and there were crushed teenagers who were really grateful to have a shot at connecting with me & the community of amanda/dolls fans.

i’d also been using twitter to organize ACTUAL last-minute gigs…i twittered a secret gig in LA one morning and about 350 folks showed up 5 hours later at a warehouse space….i played piano, filmed by current.tv, and then (different camera crew) did an interview with afterellen.com.
the important thing to undertsand here is that the fans were never part of the plan..,i basically just INVITED my fans to a press day, the press didnt’ plan it…i did.
i was going to be playing in an empty room and doing q&a with afterellen on a coach with only the camera watching.
it was like….why not tell people and do this in a warehouse instead of a hotel lobby or a blank studio? so i did.

it cost me almost nothing. the fans were psyched.

but back to the bigger, cooler story….

so there i am, alone on friday night and i make a joke on twitter (which goes out to whichever of my 30,000 followers are online):

“i hereby call THE LOSERS OF FRIDAY NIGHT ON THEIR COMPUTERS to ORDER, motherfucker.”
9:15 PM May 15th from web

one thing led to another, and the next thing you know there were thousands of us and we’d become the #1 topic trend on twitter.
zoe keating described it as a “virtual flash mob”.

the way twitter works (if you don’t have it) is that certain topics can include a hashtag (#) and if a gazillion people start making posts that include that hashtag, the topic will zoom up the charts of what people are currently discussing. it’s a cool feature.

so anyway, there we were, virtually hanging out on twitter on a friday night. very pleased with ourselves for being such a large group, and cracking jokes.

how do you “hang out” on the internet? well, we collectively came up with a list of things that the government should do for us (free government-issued sweatpants, pizza and ponies, no tax on coffee), AND created a t-shirt.
thank god my web guy sean was awake and being a loser with me on friday night because he throw up the webpage WHILE we were having our twitter party and people started ordering the shirts – that i designed in SHARPIE in realtime) and a slogan that someone suggested: “DON’T STAND UP FOR WHAT’S RIGHT, STAY IN FOR WHAT’S WRONG”. neil gaiman and wil wheaton joined our party. the fdnas felt super-special.

by the end of the night, we’d sold 200 shirts off the quickie site (paypal only) that sean had set up.
i blogged the whole story the next day and in total, in the matter of a few days, we sold over 400 shirts, for $25/ea.

we ended up grossing OVER $11,000 on the shirts.
my assistant beth had the shirts printed up ASAP and mailed them from her apartment.

total made on twitter in two hours = $11,000.
total made from my huge-ass ben-folds produced-major-label solo album this year = $0

2.
WEBCAST AUCTION, $6000

a few nights after that, i blogged and twittered, announcing a “webcast auction” from my apartment.
it went from 6 pm – 9 pm, my assitant beth sat at my side and kept her eyes on incoming bids and twitter feed.
while we hocked weird goods, i sang songs and answered questions from fans. we wore kimonos and drank wine. it was a blast.

people on twitter who were tuned in re-tweeted to other fans. the word spread that it was a fun place to be and watch.
we had, at peak, about 2000 people watching the webcast.

at the suggestion of a fan early in the webcastm anyone could, on demand, send us $20 via paypal and we would chew,
sign and mail them a postcard. we sold about 70, and we read all those names at the end of the webcast and thanked those
people for supporting us. here’s how the sales broke down:

all the items were signed by moi and hand-packed by beth and kayla._ the items and highest bidders were as follows:_ hilary, ukulele used on the european tour: $640 _jake, “guitar hero” plastic guitar controller used in album promo shoot: $250_ lary b, copy neo2 magazine, plus two post-war trade slap-bracelets & a crime-photo set: $230_ devi, glass dildo, with subtley-sordid backstory: $560 _liz b., “hipsters ruin everything” t-shirt, made by blake (get your very own here!!!!): $155.55_shannon m., my bill bryson book, a short history of neary everything: $280_ nikki, huge metal “the establishment” sign, used at rothbury festival for the circus tent i curated: $450 _j.r., purple velvet “A” dress used in the dresden dolls coin-operated boy video shoot: $400_ jessie & alan: who killed amanda palmer vinyl: $100_ nikki: wine bottle, auctioned BY REQUEST!!! $320 _shannon w., torn-to-shit vintage stockings used in the who killed amanda palmer/ michael pope video series: $200 _jodi,
school-note-book break-up letter, written to amanda from jonas woolverton in 7th grade (i still haven’t emailed him about that….): $250_ daryl, ANOTHER wine bottle, by request, that we had LYING AROUND: $320
and…………..
reto emailed, having barely missed the wine bottle, and asked us to send him “something funny” for $129.99. we sent a heath ledger statuette.

total made on twitter in 3 hours, including the postcards, was over $6000.
again, total made on my major-label solo album this year: $0

3.
TWITTER DONATION-ONLY GIG, $1800

a few days later, i twittered a guest-list only event in a recording studio in boston, to take place a week later.
the gig lasted about 5 hours, all told, with soundcheck and signing. i took mostly requests and we had a grand old time.
first come, first served. the first 200 people to ask got in, for free. i asked for donations and made about $2200 in cash.
i gave $400 back to the studio for the space and the help. we sold some weird merch. i think we should call it an even 2k.

total made at last-minute secret twitter gig, in about 5 hours = $2000
major-label record blah blah blah = $0

…..and for fun, and to thank my fans for being awesome, i’ve been doing some twitter perfomance art, including answering their questions by magic-markering my body until it’s covered, and displaying time-lapse make-up application advice….but that’s another story.

TOTAL MADE THIS MONTH USING TWITTER = $19,000
TOTAL MADE FROM 30,000 RECORD SALES = ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

turn on, tune in, get dropped!!!!!

love,
amanda fucking palmer
http://www.amandapalmer.net
http://www.dresdendolls.com

p.s.
if you want to read the full blogs and see the pictures from the #LOFNOTC events, i blogged here:

1. the friday night that started it all:
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/111667948/twitter-the-beautiful-losers-lofnotc

2. the webcast and magic-marker/make-up mayhem:
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/127401792/wasnt-this-supposed-to-be-my-fucking-week-off




Advertising,Blog,Music

Living on Toronto’s waterfront definitely has its advantages. Aside from the beautiful views, amazing walking trails and nice people, there is also the Harbourfront Centre. This weekend this hub of the arts is hosting a free performance by Cirque Du Soleil!  They started setting up the stage last week inside of the Natrel Pond (the ice rink in the winter) and this week have been practising on it. It all looks pretty amazing and I’m so excited to see the final show. From the description on Harbourfrontcentre.com it sounds like it’s going to be something to experience!

Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto central waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view.

What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other? You’ll have to join in the festivities to find out – but expect to be amazed!

Here are the schedule and details for everything that’s going to go down.. (which also apparently includes closing Queens Quay!)

I’ll post photos this weekend! 🙂




Blog,Internet

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There are some days when I wake up and have to remind myself of this very point… it’s not all bad news.

It’s been a really hard year for most of us (if not all of us) and some days it’s hard to pick myself up out of bed every morning and go to work. The company I’m currently working for recently did lay-offs in my office. I was one of the lucky ones who was spared my job but was informed that I will be moving to a new division of the company. I’m currently in music and am moving to the film division… an area that I’m not unfamilar with having worked in music licensing for TV shows and films.

My brother works for General Motors and has been lucky enough in his career to have advanced through the ranks into a management position. He currently is doing the job of 3 people and has the job titles of 3 people to go along with it! With GM declaring bankrupcy my parents (who are both retired) and I are waiting to see what the future has in store for my brother and the entire city of Oshawa.

The good news is that we are all pulling together and understand that this is what we have to do to get by until bigger and better things come our way. We are both in our 30’s which is lucky for my brother and I… being young in times of economic uncertainty does have its advantages.

To cheer myself up I spend a lot of time with family, friends and loved ones. DJing also keeps a nice bright smile on my face. It’s such a great escape to get behind the decks and just throw down an awesome set that everyone on the dance floor enjoyed just as much as me. I also spend a lot of time outdoors (I know it’s hard to believe with how busy my life and my schedule is!). Here are some photos I took on a recent walk with Kenny and Winston.

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Advertising,Blog,Music

I just got a new digital camera which I am already in love with. It is a simple point and shoot digital camera that also takes HD video! I’ve been looking for a camera for a while and with so many on the market I honestly didn’t know where to begin. Do I want one with various lenses? Do I want one that focuses on video? Do I want to buy both a video camera and a digital camera? The choices are endless. For me the choice became clearer by someone who I never thought would have an influence on my life let alone any decisions that I made in it. That person was Avril Lavigne.

Her commercials have been appearing on TV for a while now featuring these colourful little cameras called “elphs” (an acronym for Electronic Physics). Avril Lavigne is just so cute and her music is so catchy… you can’t help but watch the commercials when they come on TV (or at least I can’t, being a fan of her music). I especially loved the commercial [youtube]yEWIv-wIBG8[/youtube] where she is going through a trunk of fun clothes trying them all on and taking photos of herself. The latest commercials feature Avril surrounded by a wall of cameras and she finally picks a little red one that also takes HD videos! When I saw this commercial it sealed the deal for me.

I am now the proud owner of a Canon SD780 IS Digital ELPH and I love it! It allows me to take HD videos of my much loved dog Winston [youtube]QYJ1iYvcXf4[/youtube].  It will also allow me the ability to create an audio, video and photo blog that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  So welcome to the first post of my new blog!

This isn’t the first time that Canon has enticed me with their advertising. You’ll all remember the Anna Kournikova commercials featuring the tennis star taking photos of her ‘oh so adourable’ long haired Chihuahua. That almost got me to buy the camera… almost – although I still fully intend to create my “wall of Winston” featuring Winston in various poses, surroundings and enjoying life. 🙂

This leads me to my question – how influenced by advertising are you? I have to say that I am very influenced by advertising. In this vast marketplace in which we live none of us have the time to research every single product we buy.. so for me advertising lets me know what is new in the marketplace and helps me to make a decision on what to buy. Am I alone? Somehow I don’t think so. If a company like Canon can afford spokespeople like Avril Lavigne and Anna Kournikova to help make my decision on what camera to buy a little easier, then I can say with some certainty that I am definitely not alone.

Another purchase I have made recently based solely on advertising – Covergirl Eyelights Mascara. Who wouldn’t want a mascara that brightens your eye colour? Especially for all of those photos I’m going to be taking with my new digital Elph camera! That Wall of Winston is only a few more clicks away!

To celebrate (and to say thank you for the gift of my beautiful camera)… Kenny and I went out for dinner!




AUTHOR

  • profileLisa Bassett is a Digital Marketing and Social Media professional from Toronto, Canada.