The New Media Diva

I honestly didn’t mean any harm…in the beginning.

On Friday, I was on my way home, walking through the Zurich main train station and minding my own business when the guy you’ll see in the video walked up to me and asked, “Do you speak English?”

“Yes. I do.”

“Great. We need your help. We’re students and we’re here in Zurich and we don’t have that much money. The hostels are too expensive. We’re trying to find a place to stay or someone we can stay with. I was wondering if…”

Now, this is when I went into ‘Well, I don’t have any money but I can help this guy get his plea out’ mode and pulled out my Flip. I thought perhaps I could upload the video, get his email and have folks contact him to help out.

Then he started acting stank, as you’ll see in the video. Now, I’m not one to pass judgment. Maybe he just didn’t want to be on camera. But, something was really “suspect” about the way he started tripping; especially when he grabbed my hand and started squeezing it really hard as he tried to pull my camera away. That snatch you see is when I yanked back…but not without digging my nails in first.

In any case, this is just my opinion, but if you encounter this guy or guys with the same line, walk away…

…cuz something in the milk ain’t clean.

Cross posted at rashundatramble.com.

I’m about to call it a night, but not before giving props to James Andrews of The Key Influencer and Lisa Price, owner of Carol’s Daughter, for pulling off something that I hope more businesses do: holding an online video forum for customers.

Carol’s Daughter is a line of hair and skin products primarily for women of color. James set up a session on ustream for customers and soon-to-be-customers to speak with Lisa about her business and her life. Lisa also has a Mother’s Day promotion going on at Carol’s Daughter TV.

The session was a wonderful way to put a voice and face to the woman behind the products. Also, in the Cluetrain vein, the session fomented two-way communication. Viewers could call in or type in their questions.

I called in and talked to Lisa, asking her a few questions about the availability of her products in Europe and for some hair tips. She was extremely gracious.

There were a couple of hiccups, like the mics being way too hot when folks laughed and we got started late. But other than that, the session was fab. Businesses, take note.

Also, I’ve got to send a shout out to Lynne Johnson. I wouldn’t have known about this unless she’d sent me the e-mail.

Also hi to Calinative, George, J Brotherlove (did you make it in?), Bill and the other folks I chatted with.

Alright, off to bed.

Note: If comments don’t pop-up on the video, click the bubble to the right of the time code. Oh, the first Zurich video is here.

If you’re a Mac user and have a Flip, you’re probably having issues with audio on your clips….meaning…there’s no audio. According to the folks at Pure Digital, there are some compatibility issues with Flip and the latest Quick Time update. (Quick Time 7.4.5 on 10.4 Tiger).

After contacting PD about the issue, they suggested that I try Perian (suggested, but couldn’t officially recommend). I did and it fixed the problem, at least for me.

Also, if you check out the tutorials on the site, there’s a wicked one you can use for YouTube. I’ll let you discover it.:-)

By the way, if Perian works for you, please donate to the developers!

I was at war with myself over this post: Part of me wants to keep Monocle a secret; the other half wants to tell everyone about the mag so it can make enough to stick around.

In a time when it seems that quite a few mags are intent on dumbing themselves down, Monocle is a breath of stylish, witty fresh air. The mag, which is the brainchild of Tyler Brule, is a cross between Harper’s, Vanity Fair and the Financial Times, but better (if that can be possible). From its site: “Monocle is a global briefing covering international affairs, business, culture and design.”

I think I picked up my first copy of Monocle at the Toronto airport on my way back from ONA 07. I was hellbent on not liking it, even before I opened the cover. I’d read wallpaper*, which was started by Monocle’s founder Tyler Brule, from time to time and found it to be sometimes too hip for its own good: The correspondents seemed to write as if everything was an inside joke only they had the punchline to.

Or maybe I was jealous that I didn’t glazed ebony bookshelves designed by some brooding Swede.

My snark-preparations were thrown off by an article on Abkhazia, “Breakaway state.” Besides my own shop, I had hardly seen anything in the mainstream press about the state, at least not in-depth I was hooked: I shelled out £75 for a subscription.

If it was just the reporting that mattered, I wouldn’t be as enamored with Monocle as I am: The photography is simple, yet breathtaking. If you get the chance, snag the November issue and check out the photo essay on Berlin’s Tempelhof airport.

Another plus, and you may think I’m being picky: the paper. The quality of the paper Monocle is printed on is the best I’ve found in a mag in a long time. I have no idea what brand of paper is used, but it’s a thick-weighted, uncoated matte. I love the feel of it, the solidness. (Note to The Economist: Sometimes your print bleeds and rubs off on my fingers. Just thought you should know.)

Something else I should mention: For the £75, not only do you get the mag, you get online access to videos that extend the hard copy stories. It’s fabulous blend of old and new media. One thing that stuck out though: There’s no two-way communication between the mag and the reader. No letters to the editor, no actual feedback venue on the site save for the contact page.

Granted, there is a tad bit of wallpaper* in Monocle: It’s very, very upmarket. But, if you can ignore the ooh-ahhs over items such as the Fuji Klasse W 35mm camera - which costs about US$800 - and focus on the actual reportage such as the article on Africans in China (both can be found in the latest edition), you’ll be impressed.