Galway Artist Online

Arts Blogging

2012-02-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

It is always a good idea to blog about your art

and to let people know what you are up to.

The great thing about blogs is that you can let

people see what you are doing, and not

necessarily the big events, but also the little

nitty-gritty step by step things that make up

an artists life. It is good for people to see

the reactions of other artists to different

techniques and styles. Your readers can

learn from you and maybe even help you.

:D

Workshop and Classes Oversaturation

2012-01-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

Its a great idea to hold a workshop now and again
and it is free publicity when its done right.

So, contact your local arts organization or college and
ask to do a workshop / class.
But, don't do workshops ALL the time.

If you do workshops all the time, then all of your
efforts will go into promoting your classes
and your class notes and your class posters,
and are you producing any art ?

Dont let the classes and workshops take control
or you will become known as that guy who
runs the classes, instead of that artist who has
lots of exhibitions and gets his work published
on a regular basis.

Also, there is the risk that people will only see
your promotional material for your classes and not
your work.

If you are constantly promoting your classes
people will get tired of reading the same old thing
and stop reading articles about you.

They will just see your name or picture and say
"oh .. here we go again" and switch off
and you might not even be talking about classes
you might be trying to promote your latest book or
exhibition, but due to oversaturation.. it gets ignored

Beware the workshop.

Talking about Art

2012-01-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

Who do you talk to about art ?
Where do you go to promote your art ?

You can always depend on local newspapers and
freesheets to promote your art event
they always have the email and their arts editor listed,
but, when your art goes international,
who do you call ?
who do you talk to ?

You cant really depend on local publications
to promote an event thats international, this
is beyond their scope. Local publications are for
Local events and they usually stick to this rule
pretty strictly.

At this stage you have to find either a National or
International publication to promote your work
and if your work is on an International stage, then
you have to find a publication that has an international
audience to suit.

Look before you Submit

2011-12-19T04:12:00.000-08:00

When you are thinking of submitting work to a gallery
it is a good idea to check out the type of work they
have on exhibit to see if they are similar to the
work that you do.

For example : there is no point in submitting your
state of the art digital 24st century masterpiece
to a gallery that only shows traditional pieces
in oil paint of nudes and country cottages.

Also, if you are still unsure of the gallery
you can also check out the different staff members
profiles on their gallery website and sometimes
these will have a link to their facebook and
as we all know facebook can be a real eye opener.

Once I was thinking of submitting to a gallery
but, I wasn't sure whether my work was of interest
to them, so, I decided to do some research and
found the gallerys facebook page AND the page
of the Visual Arts Officer.

Now, to say that my tastes were different to those
of the visual arts officer is an understatement.
Looking at their taste in music and "Likes" on their page
its was obvious I would never get into that gallery.

Some people might use the term polar opposites, but
our tastes would be on opposite sides of the universe
or indeed in different universes eg me in universe 11 and
them in universe 1 ( if you're into string theory )

If I submitted work to this gallery
they would not have understood what they were looking at.

So, it helps to do a little research and it will save
you a lot of time and you won't be getting fustrated with
people who just don't understand or don't want to understand
your work.

So, try to find a nice friendly gallery THAT WANTS WHAT
YOU HAVE TO OFFER. This should help you get
exhibited a lot easier and quicker.

Facebook Timeline

2011-12-18T08:12:00.001-08:00

Quick, switch over to facebook timeline..

you get to upload a huge picture to your

profile..

and thats good publicity for your art..

:D

Facebook Blocking Pointlessness

2011-12-05T09:58:00.001-08:00

Why it's pointless to block someone on facebook.

If someone is annoying you, blocking them on facebook
won't help.

Because, even though they can't see you when they are logged in,
they CAN see you when you are logged out.

Also when you block someone on facebook, they can't see
you, but also you can't see them.

So, its probably better to adjust your privacy settings if you
want to escape from someone. Or just unfriend them.

Another problem with blocking people is, that if you block
a lot of people you don't like then, somewhere there is a
list of people who you don't like or who don't like you.

Do you really want that type of list to exist ?

Its best just to turn all your privacy settings off and delete or
report any annoying posts as they happen.

:D

Proof Reading

2011-12-01T10:04:00.001-08:00

Proof Reading..

Make sure you proof read all your internet stuff...

especially if you are an arts organization...

I saw a call for submissions on a website

they stated their closing date for submissions

BUT, then they said :

no submissions will be acceped BEFORE or AFTER this date..

ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!

I almost cried laughing..

talk about incompetent.

So either they did a reallllllllllllllly sloppy job typing it up

or

maybe they were just asking for submisisons for publicity..

and they wrote down what they were REALLY thinking.

Anyways, don't make a mistake like these amateurs..

PROOF READ your stuff..

:DDD

Environmentally Unfriendly

2011-11-06T03:35:00.000-08:00

Recently I was looking though an arts centre's website
and I saw a call for submissions.

They wanted several paper copies of your artist cv / resume
and you work on CD

Which is fine, but, if you did not get selected then they
said they would not return the CVs or the CD with your images
and they would "dispose" of them

This seems to be awfully environmentally unfriendly
I mean, couldn't people just email an application and
send links to work online or something ?

Apparently not. According to the website, in bold writing,
No Email Applications Accepted.

Thats not environmentally friendly and it also discourages
artists from other countries from taking part.

Maybe no one in the centre knows how to use a computer

Anyways the lesson is, use your computer, don't waste tons
of paper ( unless of course thats your thing ) and don't
engage in activity that alienates people from your art.
You should be working very hard to help more and more
people see it, not preventing them.

Manage your Social Networking

2011-11-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

Mangage your Social Networking

If you have a lot of websites blogs and social media stuff
you should link everything up.

So on your art site there should be links to your facebook etc.
and your facebook website should be your art site.

The purpose of this is that if someone sees your stuff on one
page they will go to the other and so on...

Also it is very very very useful to have a facebook profile
because some people find it easier to communicate and
send comments etc on facebook.

And dont forget turn off all your privacy settings on facebook
and make everything public, because there is no point in someone
discovering your profile and then clicking on your wall or photos
to get "this viewer only lets their friends see their material" or a silly
box about privacy settings. They should be able to see
photos of your work. Also if there is something you dont want
people to know about then Dont Put it On The Internet.

So, link everything together online and beef up those facebook
and MySpace galleries with photos of your work, and make
sure EVERYONE can see them.

Display your Art

2011-10-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

It is important to display some of your art.
If you have a website, it is great to tell people
about your art and all your latest exhibitions
but it is also good to display some of your art
on your website.

So as well as having a page for your events
and exhibitions, have a page for samples of your
work, or a little online gallery.

This is useful for 3 reasons.

1 - People who go to your website will be able
to see some of your work and they might come
to your exhibitions etc.

2 - The best galleries ask for a website address or
a link to your work online. So aswell as having links
to your Pix.ie or Photobucket gallery or your blogs
have a little sample gallery.

3 - Also if you did art work in the past put up a page
of your past work or even any posters you may have
made for your work in the past.

Check out my website and you will see what I mean :
http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/

MORE Media

2011-09-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

MORE Media

Sometimes you see in the media people saying that they don't
watch TV. This is lunacy. What sort of persone doesnt watch
any media on their TV, Internet or phone. How can you
expect to say in touch with reality if you dont keep an eye on it.
Also how can you produce contemporary relevant media
if you are not in touch with society.

Also when I say media, I dont mean the basic three tv staitons
on an ariel, where are you, in a college dorm or something ?
Get off your seat and watch some media, it will stimulate your
brain and you will learn about the world around you.

If you dont watch the media then you will not be able to interact
with society or with the media and the whole point of being an
artist is to interact and to create art on the basis of this interaction.

And if you dont have a tv, then make friends with someone who does
or go into a fast food restaurant, order a large soft drink and watch
their television.

Go on, get up and do some television watching.

Click or Open Arts Project

2011-09-12T03:19:00.000-07:00

There are lots of projects around which call for the public
to submit, but they are not really for the public.

Once again, If you are going to have a project and just
have it for you and your friends. Don't go around telling
the public to submit work and then tell them their work
doesnt mesh or fit in with the rest later on.

If you tell people that their submissions are welcome
you should genuinely consider them and not just use the
idea of a combined arts project as an excuse to generate
publicity.

Don't you know that if you turn down people for artistic
projects then they will not like your project when it comes out.
Also if you are trying to sell a product ie. a book or a
work of art on the basis of your project, people wont buy it
because you turned them down.

So remember if your are going to be a click, then be a click
and don't pretend to be an open arts project when you are not.
This only serves to irritate the public and word gets around very
quickly. You may think that people don't realise that you
are constantly bringing in the same people, but they do. Also, as time
goes by the public will fully recognise your click and even
if you do make a call for public submissions, the numbers submitting
will start to drop off.

Some people think a public call for submissions will
generate lots of publicity for their work, but that will turn into
negative publicity if you are not sincerely seeking submissions form
the public.

There is nothing wrong with being a click. There is nothing wrong with
making art with your friends. But when you try to fool the public into
believing that they have a chance to participate when they dont, then
you are only hurting your own reputation. Also by being in a click you
limit the amount of people who view your work and you also cut
yourself off from other artists who could generate a ton of free publicity
for YOUR project from THEIR fans.

Legacy

2011-09-02T03:26:00.000-07:00

Always get a bit worried when people start using the word legacy
Its a sign that people are taking themselves much too seriously
and they are most likely not open to new and interesting ideas.

If an artist is thinking about their legacy, then they are not a fresh
open or free artist and their mind is clearly much too focused on
what people think of their art. They are not true artists. All they
are going to do is protect their own art and not work with anyone
else. They will stagnate and fade away.

Art is not something that has to be permanent or even noted
art is fun, entertaining and participatory, and if an artist is worried about
their legacy then they are not going to produce anything new or
daring. They are just going to be watching their legacy and end
up doing nothing but the same old thing. and that will be their legacy
as a washed up nobody. Also other artists wont want to work with them
as people obsessed with legacy usually push other artists and
collaborative projects away. Which ironically will lead to them being
forgotten - not remembered.

If you want a legacy then run for president, if you want to create art
you have to live for the now.

So basic point : if you hear the word legacy - RUN !!! ( in the opposite direction )

Friends Art

2011-08-13T04:04:00.000-07:00

Friends Art

It is good to talk to friends and look at forums and learn
about what art your friends are doing and more importantly
where they are doing it.

This is a great way of finding out about new projects and ideas.

Also a lot of art organizations like Visual Arts Ireland have newsletters
you can subscribe to and learn about new arts events and opportunities

So, ask your friends more questions and you never know, you might
get some new opportunities.

:D

Gatecrashing art

2011-07-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Gatecrashing art

Ok, so theres a great art event, and you applied months
ago and you were ignored, but the event is coming up and
you still want to be involved, but you dont want to volunteer.

you can always gatecrash..

This works best with public events. Get your camera and
pop along then film or try to get some nice snaps and put them
on your blog / facebook and you might end up with some nice art.
If you think your work is reallllllllly good, email them into a paper
you never know..

Digital Art anyone ?

2011-06-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed that some Art events don't have a category
for digital art. Thats a bit annoying, seeming that most
art these days IS Digital in format. It can be a little
fustrating if you are at the top of your digital game and
you submit proposals to people who do not want digital art. or
even worse they are going through the
"I dont understand what I am looking at .." phase.
This is why some galleries or events are only so-so successful
and not as inclusive of contemprary art as they should be.

So get with the times art galleries and events and stop living
in the past.

How NOT to run an Arts event

2011-06-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

While you can learn from this blog by me telling you
what to do. You can also learn from the mistakes
of others. If someone is doing something wrong then
you learn by not doing the same thing.

Here are some examples of awful mistakes that people
make. Should be obvious.

Do Not offer to facilitate an event and then just
bring in all your friends. Once I saw an event that
brought in a facilitator from another city. ( nothing wrong
with that ) but the facilitator brought in all
acts that were his friends ( from the other city ) and what happened ?
The event went ahead but it was a local community event
that didnt have one act from the local community..
and it was criticized a lot. So if you are running a local
community event, Make sure there are people in it from
the local community too.

Do Not advertise like you are an open participatory arts group
and offer people a place in the art when you have no intention
of putting them in the final product. There was once an art project
and they advertised and told people to come along and join in
and show the fruit of joining in. But when the projects came out
it was just memebers of the original group that were in the project
and half of them were members of the same family. So if your
going to be a Click then be a Click, but dont pretend you are something
you are not.

So now you know what not to do.

and watch out for those Clicks

Set up a Gallery on your site ... Obvious

2011-06-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I added a gallery to my website,
and I wonder why I didn't do it earlier.
Every graphics design and art magazine in
the universe has been telling me to ( not me
directly - in their articles ) have a gallery on
my site.

Sometimes when everyone is telling you to do
something it is difficult to see the wood from the
trees, or to see the obvious. But, eventually the
penny dropped.

It makes a lot of sense. People can see
your earlier work and you might get commissions
or work based on it.

So...

1. If you do any sort of art then put a little gallery on your site
2. Now and again actually listen to what people are telling you
they might be saying something sensible.
3. Most importantly tell everyone about it.. :D

p.s. Check out my Gallery :
http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/gallery

--------------------------------------------------------

this is fun !!
:D

Cookies and ads

2011-05-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Cookies and Ads

In an earlier post I triumphed the benefits of Cookies
and ads and letting everyone have a look at your activity
the reason for this is that targeted ads are useful in helping
you find stuff you want, better than getting ads for stuff you
dont want.

But, what if you want something different ?

Recently I had a look at all the dvds I got over the past
few months and I realised that while they are all
super and brilliant and constantly entertaining, they all
fit into the same genre. Is this my fault for going after the
same thing ? or have I just not been exposed to different things ?

I used to include one different thing with each shopping session,
but apparently that stopped for a while.

Now I have started to include different things again.

I suspect that it was partly my fault for not thinking outside the
box and only paying attention to recommended goods.

So, now and again, before you log-in, click on that main menu
and see if there is anything you havent done before that might interest
you and if you order it then that will be come a recommendation too.

So, while recommendations and cookies and links are good and useful,
remember there is a main menu too

-----------------------------------------

Cool manga.. definately not for kids...

Why I Write ...

2011-04-10T02:55:00.001-07:00

Inspired by the artist in the previous post
I have decided to share with you

Why I write

Writing is such fun
Writing is such fun
Now its time to take a break
and see what we have done

:P

Keep it short :P

2011-04-10T02:53:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across an article by an established writer
explaining why they created their art and why they liked to write
It was very long so I didn't get around to reading it all
and then I lost the link to the page.

So, In summary keep it brief and don't prattle on for too long
this is the internet after all and if you don't keep peoples attention
then you will lose your audience.

Now, that artist was smart enough, he did get people to go to the website
but, if you can get people to come back to your website, then you will
be more successful.

___________________________________

This is a fun video, a lot of people complain cos its not a gruesome
as the first, but its still a good solid story

Don't Forget to Eat

2011-03-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Don't Forget to Eat

Now, there are a lot of artists who are realllllly
dedicated to their work and their art
and a digital artist is no exception.

It is easy to get carried away and spend 15 hours
twiddling with your facebook and twitter and
changing the settings on your YouTube video box.

It is great to be dedicated, but keep your eye on the ball
at the same time. If you dont eat and pay your electricity etc..
you wont be heatlthy enough or have the facilities to
do your art.

Its great to be a famous artist, but lets try to stay alive and
be famous and exist long enough to enjoy it.

Ok ?

So eat your food ( even if it is just coke and crisps ) and
have a nap ( even if it is just on your hand rest at the PC )
and make sure you pay your internet or web cafe subscriptions
and every now and again go for a little walk.

( no, not a marathon, maybe just a stroll to the shop for some
crisps or down to the local forest and take a pic of yourself for
your blog )

Remember you have to be a little healthy for those award ceremonies
or launch parties ;D

Now... BACK TO WORK !!!!!

____________________________________________________

this is fun ..

Try Something New

2011-02-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Try something new.

So you can do something artistic, and you have gained some
credibility for doing it. Does this mean you are going to do
the same arty thing for the rest of your life ? Are you going to
be like one of those stagnant art galleries who just show the
same old clique artists again and again and again, and everyone
has lost interest in them, but they don't know because they
havent been exposed to new people ?

NO ! You are going to get out there and while you are doing your
signature artistic works you are also going to diversify into different
areas of art. This will keep your art fresh and new and alive. Now
I don't mean you should go nuts. DO keep your main art stream alive
DO keep working on your mainstream projects. BUT to keep things
fresh, then you should try some new ideas or even a new process or
artistic medium.

Otherwise in a few years time, you will be sitting around surrounded by
familiar faces, but no opportunities.

Beware the clique.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Don't be shy now...

2011-01-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Don't be shy now...

Don't be shy about your work,
tell eyeryone, anyone, because if you don't
who will ?
Pepole rarely get discovered by accident or
on the train or something
Unless your living on the same street or bus lane
as a super movie producer
and what sort of super movie producer uses the bus anyways ?

So, tell everyone about your art,
tell everyone about your website
and tell everyone about your facebook

( I am assuming you have read my earlier posts telling you
to get art, and a website and facebook )

In summary, get out there...

:D

Keep it up to date

2010-12-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

Keep it up to date

Oh Man, I just saw some awful advice on someones facebook page
they had a link on how to place your earliest blog post FIRST and your recent
blog post LAST.

It involved going into each post and rearranging the dates, talk about unnecessary
and complicated.

Also you should always have your most recent post FIRST, because if you dont
then people will see your first old blog post Every Time they go to your blog, and
what will they think ? nothing happening here, I will go somewhere else.

Some people might think "Oh no, if people dont read my blogs in the order in which
they are written they might not understand my stuff" let me tell you
that is why they have the little section there on the right, so people can glean your
blog history, and I think my readers are smart enough to notice that.

Also the joke is on them, because once they reach the display limit for their posts
their readers will have to go into the side menu to search for the most recent posts anyways.
( he he he he he ) :D

Keep your new blogs first, keep your blog fresh looking, so when people come to your
blog they will see an up-to-date blog post everytime.

:D

________________________________________________

This movie is fun

What did you say ?

2010-12-12T03:20:00.000-08:00

What did you say ?

You might find this hard to believe, but there are lots
of people who are interested in your art, and not only
interested in your art, but interested in hearing you talk
about your art and your experiences.

So, set up a blog and talk about your experiences,
that will bring a lot of attention to your work and also
let people see the human side of your work.

Get talking...

( also include plenty of links to your stuff )

----------------------------------------------------

this week :

I know what you think, the same old stuff, but this is pretty good
when you have all four movies together and also you have
Michael Madson in the first two films. Good Fun

Yeah, I know 1950's ad men, but its kinda cool, cos the lead guy has a lotta
dark secrets, and I bet the others have them too..

:D

Update Update Update

2010-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

I know, you log into your MySpace or even Blogger
and you see "Oh.. theres a 2.0 or 3.0 update on
layouts, templates etc.." .. Pass..

NO, Bad artist..

There is nothing worse than a site that looks the same all the
time, what you have to do is update it when the new
layouts and templates are out..

This will give your site a constant fresh look and you might
get a few new followers..

So click on updates and fix that template
:D

____________________________________

Keep an open mind

2010-09-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Keep an open mind

Ok Ok so you are the best in your field
and no one else can do what you do the way you do it
So what do you do now ?
Do you just keep on creating the same way ?
keep on working at the exact same method for your
entire artistic life ?

No. You should keep an open mind and look
for other ways of presenting and creating your material
If you dont you will lose your edge and you
will lose your fans too.

So if you are a windows person look at apple and
vice versa. Give the other option a go....

good luck..

____________________________________________________

I am watching..

I know, but its a lot of fun..

Its a lot of fun...

Art = Everything

2010-08-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Art = Everything

There are a lot of different types of art.
Theres cultrual art, pop art, high art, tourism art,
and it is all fun.

But what you have to realise is that each different
type of art is also a different opportunity for you.
Dont let yourself get boxed into one category eg. high art
because you are limiting the amount of people that you
are exposing yourself to.

Your art is different things to different people, so if someone
says its cultural art then its culutral art, a different person might
look at the same piece and say its high art.

It doesnt matter what category you put the art into, that is just the
frame and to some people it is necessary to put things into boxes.
So as long as someone likes your art, who cares what category they
place it in ?

So go on the net and look for new categories in which to display your art,
you never know, there might be a category that suits your art better
than the one you originally intended it for.

_____________________________________________

This week I am watching :

Technical Problems

2010-08-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

There will always be technical problems on the internet.
a server might be down or your twitter followers might
suddenly say "0" or your facebook events might suddenly
say "This event is unavailable, please check later"
The most important thing in surviving a technical problem
is how you approach it.

Initially, I would do nothing for about 6 hours, because most
minor technical problems clear up by then.

Then just in case :
1 refresh your page
2 delete the history for that page
3 check the help page for any problems

THEN after about 24 hours, you should contact someone...

The most important thing to do is to stay calm for the first 24 hours,
because if you contact someone too early, they might start fixing a
problem that isnt there...

So just take it easy and only panic AFTER 24 hours...

_______________________________________________________

I am watching...

This is like Bill Gates v Steve Jobs...
Its kind of Wall Street for Computer folk..
interesting.....

Interviews

2010-07-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

Interviews

There may come a time when you ahve to do an Interview

there are 3 types of interview..

by Email, Phone or One to one

If you are doing an interview by email then this is the easiest

because you can read over what you said and put your links

to your work in easily.

If you are doing an interview by phone, then you should have

all your stuff written out on a piece of paper or have your Laptop there

by the phone, so you can easily rhime off your links etc..

with phone interviews it doesnt hurt to send a backup email with

all your links too.

A one to one interview, with this you should bring a list of your stuff

and links printed off and have some thoughts prepared,

then at the end of the interview give that list to the reporter / Journalist..

________________________________________________

This week I am watching :

Fun, but not for people who dont like gore...
(the hint is in the title)

Both the special features and the film are excellent..

very cool ...

Its a good movie, but there's lots of stuff on
hollow earth theory in special features
check the dvd details

Very cool sci fi film...
buy it NOW !!!!

The BEST one
:D

Reward yourself

2010-07-23T03:32:00.000-07:00

Search Amazon.com for crazies dvd

Reward Yourself

Whenever you have a little success in your art
dont forget to reward yourself.
I Know, I know, the art should be its own reward
but after all the work you put into your art
you should have a little celebration when you get
a little success. Not everyone around you will
appreciate your success so sometimes you have to
do it yourself.

Do you ever watch tennis ?
After every tennis player scores a point they
do that thing with their arm and fist and go "Yes"
to themselves. Its important to keep some element
of fun in your art or at least your attitude towards your
art. This attitude will appear in your future work and
keep you edgy.

"Yes !!! I finished my blog post !!! "

:D

__________________________________________________

This week I am watching :

This is a fun film, its cool the way every thing starts
of calm...

This is the original version of the crazies..
lots more gore and stuff...
This is a horror movie but I think theres
a hidden message in there somewhere ???

If you like alien abduction films
where you actually get to see the aliens in action
then this is the film for you..
plenty of surgery and aliens
and detail...

Mailing lists

2010-07-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

Mailing Lists

When you are holding events or producing art
it is always a good idea to get the email addresses
of the people participating or turning up at your events.
You can do this by having a guest book at the door
or by just handing out a piece of paper for eamils
during the event.

Then when you have a new event, just send an email
to everyone on the list, and some of them will probably
go to your new event.

This is a good idea, because, if they went to one of your events
then they will probably go to another. Also if people send
you emails enquiring about your event / art then you can put them
on the list too.

It is always a good idea to put a little note at the end of the email
informing the email recepients that they are getting the email because
they enquired or attended your event and if they want to be taken of the
list you will remove them. (Theres always one) :D

____________________________________________

Pretty standard horror, but some new interesting ideas
and the cover is pretty cool..
:D

The Human Centipede This is gonna be a contraversial movie, there has already been a lot of buzz about it. If you liked Hostel 2 and the start of Saw 6 or any rubbernecking activity, then you will like this... already making the sequel...

Cool anime film..
dont get it mixed up with films of the same name..

This is good for a laugh,
its cheap and its fun
you wont like the whole thing
but, you will like most of it
also there is a special feature which includes
the launch of the dvd
in which they ask everyone involved
what the word "Cavalcade" means
:DDD

Old School(s)

2010-07-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

Old School(s)

No, I'm not telling u to kick it old school
(unless thas your thing)
This is about old schools, actual schools.
A few months ago, I was contacted by
an old school I went to and they wanted to
put up little profiles of what their students are
doing now. So, I wrote out a little profile
sent in a little picture and now there is a link to
my art on their website.

This is great, free publicity.

Everyone you went to school with, who is online
will go to and check out your website and
your arty stuff. So you are guaranteed a few
more of those valuable views and clicks.

Now, not every school is going to contact
you for this stuff, so it doesn't hurt to check them
out online yourself.

Also aswell as being free publicity, it also lets
any Haters see what an interesting life you now have
and how its fun compared to their hum-drum non-arty
existence. And, if you had a bunch of arty mates
in school then you can all celebrate your online profile
going up a few notches.

p.s. when they do put your profile online, dont forget to
tweet or facebook about it. :D
because your fans, who may not have known you in school,
will find it interesting and cool. (trust me)

_____________________________________________

This week I am watching :

This is a movie starring whats-her-name
from Twilight. Its pretty cool..
If I say anything it will spoil the twist,
and its a good twist...

I know what your thinking, oh its a crappy sequel,
and not as good as the original, well,
nothing could be as good at the first Starship Troopers
but this has monsters, angry sexy soldiers and
very cool effects. And the new monsters, don't eat
during this film...

This is good, very good, and for you
desperate housewives fans it has Terry Hatcher..

Buttons...
Buttons...
waaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!

I just discovered there was an Actual coralind doll..
Cool
:D

This is fun, the first Yakuza game,
hostess bars and lots of secret stuff..
the cut scenes will drive u nuts..
but still very cool..
:D

The second Yakuza game..
better graphics and very cool..
:D

And there is a "RING" scenario
where you get a video tape..
and, well, you know the rest....

This has fantastic graphics and
the cut scenes aren't as long as the last 2
You do have to save an orphanage and
there are a lot of cutesey scenarios where
you have to help the orphans with their
problems, but still, isnt that what being an
ex-Yakuza is all about ?
Also dating is a lot easier...
And there is another "RING" scenario

Active / Inactive

2010-07-02T05:57:00.000-07:00

Active / Inactive

So, you have found an art or zine site that you like
and you want to submit something,
but you are not sure whether the site
is still active and you don't want to send
all of your stuff to a site that doesn't exist anymore.

Sometimes the site will still be there but no one has
been using it, this is an incactive site.

One way of telling whether the site is active or not
is to check out the "news" or updates section, this
will usually give you a clue, if there has been no news in
a few months then its probably gone.

Another way is to check if the site has any forums,
if people are still talking on them, then its probalby still
active, although sometimes you have a site thats a fail
with a successful forum, so look for other signs too.

If you want to be sure, check for a contact email and
send a basic quesiton like, "What file format do you accept ?"
or something like that, and if you dont get an answer then,
I guess its an inactive site.

Sometimes though, its really obvious that the site or business
has failed, I saw a publishers site the other day and on its
homepage they had "Happy New Year", so either its an inactive
site or an inactive webmaster, either way, you dont want
anything to do with it...

:D

_____________________________________________________

This week I'm watching :

I thought this was supposed to be about aliens,
but it wasn't...
Interesting story though...

This is totally fun...
You are in a corner and then .....

If you like cute little vampire chicks..
this is the dvd for you...
:D

Ghost in the shell, if you haven't got this.. then, get it already...

Do you like cheeky warrior girls ?
yes

get this..
:D

Collaborate ... but...

2010-06-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

Collaborate... But...

Always collaborate with as many people / artists as you can.
The best way to collaborate is under the umbrella of a gallery
or an organization this will give you some protection and structure.
Also charity auctions and zines are a good way of getting to know
other artists.

Be careful when you are collaborating with artists outside the
structure of an organization, because, outside of an organization
you are responsible for the paperwork, so make sure you get
all your releases and contracts in order.

Contracts are a very good way of telling whether an artist is
committed to your project, and if they have any doubts, they
will definately express them when you shove a piece of paper under
their nose and ask them to sign it.

Collaborate with everyone, but, be careful out there...

________________________________________________

This week I am watching :

I know its on Television, but you get all the uncensored jokes and
extrabits on it...

Roger the Alien and Klaus the Goldfish....
what more do you need...

:DDD

Its good, if you are into that sort of thing..

which you are..

its ok... I wont tell

cool launch party clips too...

:D

The Road Ignored

2010-06-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

The Road Ignored

Ok, you have done a lot of art and publicized it and
you are doing well, but could you be publicizing it more.
There are a lot of art websites that you can join and use
to show your work, but if you have an event, such as
a workshop or an exhibition you might also be able to
use tourism websites and other themed websites.

The tourism websites and websites that are themed around kids
etc. are always looking for events to fill their pages,
becauese without events, how can they make the places
look exciting and active. So send in a link to these sites, they
will very likely put it on their site. Also if you find a website
that is themed around children or OAPs or a certain age or
even cultural group that might be interested in your art, send them
a link too. Its all good publicity.

This is what i mean by the road ignored, we probably see these
websites every day on tv or in the newspapers but we just breeze by
them when we should be paying attention.

Also when you are looking at these sites you might notice venues near
you that host arts stuff, and you could give them a call....

______________________________________________________

This week I am looking at :

This is some cool very fast moving Anime.
Not for the faint hearted, light sensitive, or people easily offended.

Facebook is King

2010-05-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

I know, he's on about this again, but its true,
Facebook is the best. Its great for finding people
who like your art and finding new art.
Also if you are a fan of something, say Jpop music
or anime or manga its a great place to find groups
and pages about all of your favorite stuff.
(I am sure there are also groups about poetry and
stuff, I am just speaking from my personal experiences.)
Sure, there are a lot of people complaining about privacy
and stuff, but if you dont want the world to know something
about you then maybe you shouldnt put that information
on the internet.. (ie. if you want it private keep it private).

Also if facebook or anyone else use my search information
to better target their advertising then go ahead. I would rather those
little adsense or facebook squares on the side of my page
be about somethig I actually want and not about something that
I am not interested in.

So Facebook is King !!!!
Yay Facebook !!!!!

______________________________________________________

Heres whats inspiring me this week...

This season is better, its more fun and there are lots and lots
of new creatures in this season... and I still luv the titles and that
Bad Things theme song..

Also it probably wont be on regular cable until September ..

This is a very cool film, its about a boat trip and well.. I'm not gonna spoil it for
you, Yes, it is mild horror and, Yes there are some very very cool set pieces and special effects... (you'll know it when you see it) the lead Melissa george is very cute, I think she was in something else, but she looks very nice running around in those hotpants.. Its ok I'm an artist, I can say these things, its a matter of aesthetics..

My Week as a Volunteer Photographer for Cuirt

2010-04-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

My week as a Cuirt celebrity photographer

Monday 19th April

On Monday morning, we had our Orientation Meeting in the Town Hall Theatre at 10.30, we were given instructions and walked around all the nooks and crannies, including the emergency exits and the Green Room (cool). Then we were given our Cuirt badges, these were to let people know we were working for Cuirt and it had emergency numbers on the back in case we got lost. When this meeting was over the photographers had to walk all the way over to the arts centre to talk about which events we would be covering.

Tuesday 20th April

On Tuesday, I was on for the official Launch in the Museum. So in I went, first I spotted Padraic Breathncah eyeing up a biscuit in the cafe area, so I introduced myself, flashed my Cuirt badge and got a nice picture, I didn’t realise how tall the man was until I met him, so I had to stand back to get the whole man into the picture. Then I spotted a really tall man in a cowboy type hat and who was beside him, but local literary royalty Kevin Higgins, I approached the two men and politely asked if I could photo them both for the Cuirt archives, they agreed and I took a nice friendly photo as Kevin quipped “I suppose were both old enough to be archived” Happy with my success, I went inside and saw Fred Johnston having a chat with Brendan OhEaghra by the museum reception, I invited them both for a photo, Fred said he really wasn’ t dressed for a photo, and I told him he was “grand” this is a nice photo. Then I went outside for some air, there were a lot of people around and I was wearing my big jacket. It was then I spotted a familiar looking writer strolling around the museum grounds, it was famous local writer Marcella Morgan, i asked and she agreed to a photo, In the first photo she had her eyes closed so we took a close up and this is a very nice photo indeed. Happy with this, I went inside and skulked around for a bit, then I heard a lot of laughing and mischief. I looked inside the window and saw who I thought was Julian Gough and Jessie Lendennie having fun with a photographer. So I stood back and waited for my chance, I thought ok, he’ll be done and I will swoop in and get a photo of the two. The photographer left and I went in, “Hi, Julian” I said, then he said “I’m not Julian, I’m Julians brother Desmond, but don’t worry, that happens a lot” I asked for a photo with him and Jessie, but she had been distracted with another photographer, so I waited a bit and eventually, got the two of them free. But, just as I was about to take the photo, Rita-Ann Higgins showed up and they all started talking, and then, a man who I thought was another photographer turned up, and I thought, will I ever get this photo ? So, I plucked up some courage and marshalled everyone into the photo and I even said to the man with the camera, who I thought was a photographer, “You can be in the photo too” to which he replied, “I’m Richard, Julians father”. A few laughs and an embarrassed apology later I got a nice group photo of Desmond, Rita-Ann, Richard, and Jessie. Then of course, they made me take the same photo with their cameras, taking note that I wasn’t used to a view finder and had to use the screen to see the photo. On the way out i spotted Anne Enright sitting with a friend in the sun, I got a nice photo and because of the brightness of the day, if you look at the Ann Enright photo closely you can see my reflection in the Museum window. Finally, I got around to Roddy Doyle, which was an achievement in itself. I asked him for a photo, and he said “I don’t know what youre asking me for a photo for, you’ve (the photographers) have been photographing me all day, its like aksing for retrogressive planning permission” got the photo. There were also some musicians playing music at the event and I took a snap of that too, a very bohemian photo, I think.

Wednesday 21 April

Today I was at the Launch of the MA in Writing in NUIG anthology, Three Times Daily in Bar No. 8

When I arrived at 5pm, the doors were locked and there was no way to get in. So I tapped gently on the glass window, waved my Cuirt badge and entry was granted. I arrived inside to meet a bunch of relaxed people, and when I announced that I was the photographer for the cuirt archives, they did everything in their power to be helpful and to make me feel comfortable. Half the class was away, but I got a nice snap of most of the class sitting on the couches in the bar, then I snapped the remaining students as the night went by. I was introduced to their Professor Adrain Frazier and I got a nice photo of him and then I sat around “waiting” for John Kenny (the editor) to show up, not realising that he was sitting at the bar behind me already. One of the helpful students introduced us and I got a nice photo of him sitting in an armchair reading the book. Also some of the students played a little trad and they sat inside the window playing away. I thought this was a nice scene, so I took a photo of that too.

Thursday 22 April

Two events today.

The first was Over the Edge Showcase in the Town Hall Theatre. I arrived at 2pm nice and early, camera in one hand, page form the Cuirt book in the other. Popped my head in the door and who was in Charlie Byrnes festival books store, but, a bunch of Over the Edge Writers. Quickly I got a nice shot of Susan Millar DuMars and Tom Lavelle who posed for me. Then as we waited for the others we had a little joke about my poets “hitlist” and they spotted I crossed out the picture of each poet after I took my photo “shot” Then Geraldine Mitchell arrived and just as I was about to take a photo of her Aine Tierney arrived and I got them all together. I noticed that Susan introduced the two poets and surprised I said “have you two never met” and they hadn’t, apparently there are different Over the Edge meetings and sections. Then I said “but, I thought you were all one big happy club” to which Susan responded “we, will be after tonight !! “ laughter all round. Job done. I also got a few nice shots of Charlie Byrnes festival Bookshop in the Town Hall Theatre.

The second event was the launch of ROPES for Cystic Fibrosis. This was a difficult event because there were so many writers in the book and so many students in the MA class. Suddenly there was a big fuss in the corner it was Julian Gough, quickly I ran over and got first place in the photographer Q, and I got a nice shot of Julian holding the ROPES book in a funny pose. When the excitement was over i went around and talked to everyone and took a few good photos. First I got Sandra Bunting and John Walsh, but when I said “Say Cheese” John said “what type of cheese ?” Then unable to distinguish some of the celebrities I went up to these two friendly looking blokes and said “Do any of you know what Ken Bruen looks like” to which one of them responded “I’m Ken Bruen” (D’oh) So I got a nice photo of Ken Bruen and Hugo Kelly. Then I saw the MA class posing for a photo and I got a cool snap. Then, happy with my lot I went home after a busy day.

Friday 23 April

Friday was a strange one. I went in looking for photos of one event and ended up getting photos of another. I arrived early at 2pm in the Town Hall Theater looking to get a photo of the lovely Julie Feeney for Sunday Miscellany, but I didn’t have any luck. However, because I was there at 2pm, I met the crowd coming out from Prose by Pat Boran and Rupert Thompson. So, I got a photo of Rupert Thompson with Maureen Kennelly ad James C Harrold and I made Rupert put his arms around both of them. Then I spotted Pat Boran talking to his neighbour, so I got a nice shot of them. Then Paul Fahy from Galway Arts Festival Fame appeared and two of his lovely friends appeared also. There was a lot of excitement, so I took their photo, this is a really nice photo.

Saturday 24 April

No Cuirt for me today, i am teaching my Manga Workshop in the Museum.

Sunday 25th April

Turned up for the Richard Bausch event in the Druid Lane Theatre, really early, because I was never there before and I wanted to check the place out. The staff were nice and friendly and helpful. Then at around 2pm I was informed that Joyce carol Oates was replacing Richard. Excited i waited and I got a great snap of Joyce Carol Oates and her husband Charlie by the door of the Druid Lane Theatre. A great finish to a great festival.

Of course I didn’t mention me running home and uploading the photos onto my pc, converting them to Jpegs and then uploading them to my Facebook daily, and putting them in the right order, but thats the daily chore of the celebrity photographer. Also, i’m an award winning filmmaker, but, no one took MY photo.

All the above photos are here :

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13164&id=1740831071&l=f2346df18d

You Will Collaborate

2010-04-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

You Will Collaborate

Collaboration is the best idea in the unvierse - EVER !!
You get to meet other artists
and you get to see how other artists go about their work
Collaboration is a great way to expand your fan base
and to introduce your fans to other art too.

Don't just hide in a room like a sad sally
get off your seat and get out there.
There are plenty of artists and organizaitons
just looking for someone like you..

Also artistically you will get some input and
fresh ideas and your work will be innovative.

And if you innovate you will be more successful
but if you hide yourself away and stick to the
same old same ol' then you will just stagnate
and fade away into obscurity.

Also you don't want to get a reuputation as being
fussy and difficult to work with
thats how people lose interest in artists.

So get up and get collaborating..

______________________________________________

Heres what I'm watching this week :

Japanese Ultra Gore
You think the film is Gory
wait till u see the special features
:DDD

Burning Bridges

2010-04-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Burning Bridges

This is a very stupid thing that some people do.
They lose out on opportunities and projects by not
being polite and not communicating properly.

If you come across a project that you don't like
or something that you don't want to get involved in
then you should tell the peope involved that you
don't want to do it.

Some people, when offered a project say yes
and then if they change their minds they just go
silent and leave the other people doing the project
sitting around like fools.

This is a very stupid way to act, because you are
alienating yourself from other artists and you
are giving yourself a bad reputation in the artist community.

So for the very cheap and simple courtesy of letting
other people on artistic projects knowing where
they stand or if you are interested or not,
you will gain a lot of respect in the artist community
and at least you won't have people hating you behind your back.

And if you are aquward and mess people around a lot
then artists may not approach you for future projects
and you might miss out on something good...

So, watch your manners people.

:D

_______________________________________________

This week I am inspired by :

I know this is a doomsday movie, but the special effects
are very cool. They are on a greater scale than the day after
tomorrow. Also I like the Woody Harrelson character.

When NOT to post a Blog

2010-04-01T02:38:00.000-07:00

When NOT to post a Blog

Don't post a blog when you are sleepy

Don't post a blog right after a night out

Don't post a blog when you are angry

and especially

Don't Post a Blog on Aprils Fools Day

Because No One will Believe you !!!!

________________________________

Here is some stuff thats inspiring me this week :

Cabin Fever 2, Its nothing like the original
but it has that dodgy police officer in it from the
original, and he's always fun.

Oh and if you get this and another dvd by the same company
with the special sticker on it you can send away for
a free Saw 6 Poster

Saw 6, this is very cool, its a fun film,
but, its better if you have seen all previous 5
but don't worry, they do flashbacks so you
can still follow it.

Maybe, you should get all 6 films for MAX
effect, but that might cause some damage.

Also you get to see who won the MTV / VH1
Scream Queens show, because the prize for that
was a part in this movie...

Have a look at the other Saw Movies too... (sweet dreams...)

Media for your Media

2010-03-26T04:31:00.000-07:00

Media for your Media

So you're sitting at your desktop and wondering, what will I do next ?

Where am I going to get ideas for my next project ?

Well, have you been watching any media lately ?

Have you been watching DVDs or

reading Books ?

or even watching videos on YouTube

or reading MY Blogs ?

The internet and art is an interactive place

and it can't be all about you promoting your media

you also have to consume media

and watch media

this will stimulate your artistic senses

and you won't get any blocks

and you will be constantly producing lots

of great art

and you will have something to talk about on

your twitter or your blogs.

Still don't get it ?

Ok, lets take the movie Planet Terror

Cool Movie, Hot Rosie McGowan,

but if you bothered to buy the special limited edition

then you will have seen the big section

on how they did the special effects

including Rosies rifle Leg...

Now, I'm not saying that yo go out and do the

same thing, but its a good effect and it doesn't hurt to

see how people approach these things.

So thats one example of how to improve

your art by looking at dvds

but if you are serious about using limited editions to improve

your work then you should probably

get Patlabor 1 and 2

These DVDs come with detailed story boards

and a little book in each box going through

the stages of making the films,

from going around photographing areas

that were used in the film

to all the steps in the production of the film

very cool.

Also sometimes we can get ideas from books

personally I like Ryu Murakami

These books have a lot of detailed

character descriptions and ideas

that you may not have thought of.

In some of his

books, he has really detailed descriptions

of fictional and real areas

and effects, which can give

you ideas for your art.

So, the lesson this week is,

consume more media,

watch more internet videos,

The Wonder of Facebook

2010-03-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

The Wonder of Facebook

Theres always a lot of stories about Facebook on television,

and sometimes they are negative stories.

I think that people are much to hard on them,

Facebook is great, and its especially great for artists

with events.

For example, eariler this week I had an event in the

University, so I put up an Event page on Facebook and

I sent an event invitation to everyone who was my friend

within my local area / netowork.

And what happened on the day ?

All of the people who were at my workshop

had seen the event page on Facebook and decided to

come because of it.

So enough with the Facebook bashing...

Facebook is an artists friend....

(can you feel the love ? )

Passion

2010-03-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

Passion

No, I havent turned it into an adult blog. What I am

talking about here is passion for your work and

the people you are working with.

There are lots of organizations out there who will

work with you, but if they don't have any passion for

the work or your art then they won't be of any use.

Its very strange, you see an ad on the paper or web

and they say "We are very interested in new work

and we are always open for a chat" and "you never

know what we might come up with" So innocently enough

you send in some work and you get this message back

(its not an automated message, but the text is similar to

one, probably a cut and paste job)

Oh, that looks interesting, we will have a look at your work

and get back to you, possibly next week.

and what happens... nothing...

It would be one thing if soemone actually got back and said

oh were not interested or we don't like that type of thing

but to just ignore someone shows a complete lack of

passion for their work and for yours. If someone is in

publishing or printing and they can't even be bothered

to write a simple reply saying we do this or that or just

telling you if they don't like your work, then not only do

they have no passion for your work, they have no passion for

their own.

You don't need organizations who are just filling time in the office.

If they don't get back, forget about them and send your work

to someone else. You need someone who is passionate about their

work and YOUR work. If they are not jumping up and down and

getting excited, then you have contacted the wrong business.

Limits

2010-03-05T03:09:00.001-08:00

Limits

No, I haven't burnt out and gone crazy with all my

web 2.0 activity. The Limits I am talking about here

are the limits imposed on some Web 2.0 sites.

The other day I was on facebook (oh who am I kidding

EVERY day I am on facebook) and I clicked on "send

request" to a friend and this strange notice came up

"This user has too many friends"

So I went to their page to see what too many friends is

and the number is 5000 so apparently thats the max,

that explains why people set up groups because the max

is probably larger.

Then (on the same day, I think ) I was joining Morning

Musume groups ( because they're are the best) and a notice

came up "You have joined too many groups" and I checked the

number of groups I was in and it was 300, so what did I do ?

I culled a few of the less important groups and kept on joining

my Morning Musume groups. (I know, Otaku)

This reminded me of an event a few months back when I reached

the limit of pages I could follow on Twitter which is 2000

I had to go into my followers list and unfollow a few twitters.

( I still love everyone but rules are rules, and I needed room for

the new S/Mileage twitters - all 5 of them )

It seems a bit dumb to me, to have limits set on ANY area of

web 2.0. I mean the web was created by people linking sites

and links, so why put a block on it now ???

I think they are hurting themselves in a business sense

because the more links and the more friends and groups

and twitters out there who are linked up to each other then

the more business and attention they will get and the bigger

their network will be.

I don't want to have to cull off my old twitter buds and add on

new ones because I am stuck within limits, but if it happens

that I have to choose between a hello project jpop group and

a real estate agent. Do you know who's going to win ?

Also Facebook, tut tut tut, comeon I should be albe to follow

every single group on the facebook network without any limits..

It is silly to set limits on network connections, because network

connections are at the very foundation of the internet.

So don't be like twitter or facebook, add friends and join groups

because the more people who know you are out there, the better.

And the more friends you have the more people will see your art.

MySpace doesn't like Google Sites Links

2010-02-26T04:21:00.000-08:00

MySpace Doesn't Like Google Sites Links

Well, there I was happily looking through my

5000+ friends on MySpace when I noticed a comment

on my profile, its said Hey, your website link doesn't work.

This is my website link to my Google Site.

Thinking that this was just some little techincal thing

I clikced on my Google Site link in my Burbs and Blog

and what do you know ? A page came up saying that

they could not put me through to the link and then

listed a number of reasons why eg it might be a spam site

or it might be a pishing site etc.. and then at the bottom

of the page it said some sites may be blocked even

IF THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SITE

just because MySpace doesn't like the server or host...

So I sent a fault report to MySpace, cos theres nothing

wrong with my site and they got back to me

(within 48 hours too.. wow ! )

and they said that they don't let links to google sites

go though because some might have problems

but they stop them all anyways.

So I put up a note on my MySpace Blogs and Burbs telling

people to copy and paste the text of my Google Site

and I also left links to my twitter, facebook, and YouTube

so people could have other ways of finding me.

The Lesson :

Have lots of sites

Check your links

Don't Believe me ? Have a look..

My MySpace :

http://www.myspace.com/johnnetsite5000

My Google Site :

http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/

enjoy.. :DDD

(This event happened on the 24th Feb 2010)

Be Nice to Everyone

2010-02-19T03:48:00.000-08:00

Be Nice to Everyone

When I say be nice to everyone, I mean you have to

communicate with everyone who communicates with you.

Online or offline you will not survive by ignoring questions and

calls for help, even if its just to say "sorry no, but I know this

other guy who..." it's far more effective than ignoring people.

Ok, now you still don't have to reply to sarcastic comments

and negativity. But if someone sends a message asking for help

or how you do things, it is best to answer them. Firstly, it is

just good manners and it is a nice thing to do. Secondly,

this person has looked at your stuff and is interested enough

to send you a question. You have to answer these people.

Here is an scenario explaining why you should answer everyone. There

is an organization that doesn't answer any email or questions

and keeps all of their selection information under wraps. Because they

do not reply to emails or answer questions, people get annoyed

and frustrated and lose interest in their material and shows

and then the organization wonders why their sales and attendance

are down ???

Remember, every contact (except the sarcastic and negative) is

a potential client / Customer / Buyer..

So, be nice...

:D

Don't forget about the Art !!!!

2010-02-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

Don't forget about the ART !!!

Its very good to have everything organized.

Its very good to contact newspapers and get

in touch with other artists and talk about

your work. It's also very good to submit your

work to lots of events.

But, while you were doing all your admin and

networking. Did you forget something ?

Don't forget, it's all about the art, and while

networking is fun, it's no use without having

some art to promote.

So enjoy the networking, but also keep producing the

art..

back to work now...

p.s It is however ok to take a break from your work

to read my blog...

:D

Newspapers Don't Like Blogs

2010-02-05T04:11:00.000-08:00

NewsPapers Don't Like Blogs

Recently I have been trying to get my blogs syndicated in the local papers and I realised that Newspapers don't like blogs. Now, some Naitonal papers have a dedicated blog section and i say KUDOS to them, but some papers dont. So its kindof pointless asking them to publish your blogs.

How to tell if a paper is blog friendly or not :

1. They have a technology section = Blog friendly

2. They list emails for everyone on staff, including the editors = Blog friendly

3. They have reviews of internet videos = Blog friendly

4. They write articles about "times gone by" = Not Blog friendly

5. They write about the love of printed paper = Not Blog friendly

6. No Blogs or twitter of their own = Not Blog friendly

Also Newspapers, see blogs as competition instead of promotional tools. If a paper syndicates a blog they can add all sorts of conditions like having a link to the newspaper in the blog (and thats a free add for the paper). But for some strange reason papers just don't see this and wonder why they are seen as dated and out-of-touch.

Taking all of this into consideration, I came up with the "Brilliant" idea of offering the blogs for free. You know, I'd still get the publicity ... still no takers ...

So the papers DON'T want :

- Free articles

- Permanent free adds / publicity

- New audiences

Newspapers just don't like blogs ...

But then it hit me big time.. why am I bothering with newspapers at all ????

I have my web 2.0 and blog sites, they all act as feeder sites to each other and its relatively permanent, unlike papers which only last a week or a day and end up soaking stains of the floor. Online more people will see my stuff than in any paper - more importantly only people who are LOOKING FOR ART AND VIDEOS will see my stuff, so why should I hope that someone might see an article in a mess of pages when they can find me DIRECTLY and INSTANTLY online ?

So I hope you all learn form my experience..

Oh that was a good blog post, maybe I'll get into a Blog award and get my pictue in the paper :P

Need to Update ? You need a new Post

2010-01-29T03:14:00.000-08:00

Need to Update ? You need a new Post

A few weeks ago I was thinking of attending an event

and I checked the organizations blog for details etc..

A few days later I checked it again and they had a few

new posts so I scrolled down to double check the details.

The details had been changed, in the original post. It had

Event Postponed etc.. and all the new details in it, but,

because it was the original post, the date on the post

was still the same.

This is a bad idea. If you have posts up and want to update

details on an event or ad a weblink or something,

just post a NEW post with the NEW stuff, thats the point of

blogs, to keep people updated with new details and information,

there is no need to edit the past posts and no one is going to

check the old ones once they have been read, and you might

miss out on attendees if you have an event and your fans

might feel they are out of the loop.

So if there are changes update and post more posts...

A post a day will help the fans stay

2010-01-22T03:16:00.000-08:00

A post a day will help the fans stay

Ok ok, dont laugh at my attempt at

riming, the point is that if you are not

active on a regualr basis then people will

assume you have given up and that

you have faded into obscurity like a

bad comedian.

Looking around the blogs, if you see something

like "last blog post October 2009" what

are you going to think ?

Yes, you are going to think that person has

gone out of business or given up on their

work.

You should be posting something every day.

Even if its just a twitter about how you

are waiting for your favorite shows to come back

or about how much you love Lady GaGa's latest

costume.

You have to let people know you are active and that

you are there, just putting up one blog post or

video and leaving it there will get you nowhere

and when people see that you havent bothered

doing anything (even though you might have been

very busy) they will assume you are rubbish.

Also if someone really likes your work it is very cruel

not to let them into your world a little by letting them

see what you are up to and what you think (not stalker

level information - just little information) so show the fans

some love and they will stay with you...

Otherwise, when your next event comes up

you might find yourself a bit short

of fans.

So get off your seat and get something online - Today !!!

There Has Been an Error - NOT !!!

2010-01-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

There Has Been an Error - NOT !!!

Sometimes when you upload material

to the net, it can take time to upload.

But I'm not talking about the amount

of time it takes for the little upload bar

to fill and the time it takes for the sites

uploader to say "Upload Complete"

I am talking about the time it takes to upload

AFTER that.

You have successfully uploaded your work

there is a little icon on the screen for it, but

when you click on it, it says something like :

"There has been an error, Please try again"

There has NOT been an error, its just that sometimes

it takes the material a little bit longer to get

from the sites upload section, onto your site,

I Know, I Know, the little icon is there, it Should work

straight away, but lots of things SHOULD work

that dont.

The basic message here is, dont go nuts, take

a break, go for a walk and when you come back to

your computer the material should be there,

if not then delete the history for that site, because

your Cache is probably getting in the way..

and if THAT doesnt work..

then you can go nuts....

Branding, Branding, Branding ....

2010-01-08T03:23:00.000-08:00

Branding, Branding, Branding...

Ok, what am I going on about now ?

Branding, sure isnt that for groceries

and chocolate and corporations ?

Yes, but it is also a very useful tool in

the arts online. Now, I am not saying

you should go out to a marketing company

and do lots of research and spend thousands

on a big advertising campaign. No. What you

should do is have one, ONE, little logo or so

and try to have the same logo on all of your

pages.

Take me, for example, I have this merry little

animation of myself on all of my pages, eyes on top

of the blog, and this is like a little logo.

So when people see this guy in a cartoon or around

the internet they say, "hey thats Johns page, he is good

I am going to have a look"

Check out my website to look at my branding :

http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/

Also, if you dont want to bore people, and you want to

give them some variety, you can have the same type

of image, so they will look familiar and not identical.

Check out the changing banners on my YouTube page..

http://ie.youtube.com/user/JohnNetSite5000

Also if you check out my website above you will see I used

characters for my animations to highlight the links to

different sections.

Now, one thing I see a lot is people using photos of themselves

for a logo. This is ok if you are very glamorous and have lots

of photos, but if you are using the same photo over and over

again, it gets a little stale, so use some modern up to date photo

and not some snapshot you got twenty or thirty years ago..

Ok, get to it and start branding....

Those who can DO, those who can't TALK

2010-01-02T03:38:00.000-08:00

Those who can DO, Those who cant TALK

During your time as an aritst

you will meet a lot of people who are

artists and a lot of people who

SAY they are artists.

It is important you know the

difference between the two, because,

one is going to help you and the

other is going to waste your time or

try to chat you up ;D

There is a very simple way to determine

which is which.

Someone who is a real artist will always

be throwing their art at you and they

will be constantly shoving picutres or

websites or books IN YOUR FACE

( p.s. as an artist you should be constantly

throwing YOUR art in peoples faces too)

BUT if someone is talking about how they

are an artist and you ask to see their work

and SUDDENLY they get all coy and quiet

or dismiss your question, they are not an artist.

So unless you like them, they are of no use to

your artistic career...

Run young artist run.. and find a real artist to

talk too..

Your Xmas Present

2009-12-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

Your Xmas Present

See what I did there ?

I made the title of my blog post

coincide with a recent holiday.

Got your attention, didnt it ?

Around holidays like Xmas or

halloween, try to make media

that has something to do with

those seasons, and do the same

with other holidays.

Around holiday times people are

looking, ( I repeat they are Looking)

for seasonal stuff, so give it to them..

OK, I'm not toally cruel, here is an artist

hint for the holidays :

The key months for art events are :

March and November

I may or may not post a blog next week

it depends on how Xmas dinner goes...

Privacy Settings The Barrier to Success

2009-12-11T03:14:00.000-08:00

Privacy Settings The Barrier to Success

Privacy settings are a barrier to success !!!

remove the privacy settings on all your sites

turn them off completely, they are nothing but

a nuisance and a hindrance.

Last week I was on MySpace and I was adding

friends and I came accross a band that looked

interesting so I clicked on add friend. Then this

stupid box came up, and it said :

"This user only accepts friend requests from

people he/she knows, please type in their

last name and email address to confirm you

know them"

They were a Band.

A band trying to get a record deal and trying

to sell their MP3s online, and you cant add

them as a friend unless you know their eamil and

surname. There is only one word for that and it is

"stupid". If you want to be a successful artist online

then you cannot place limitations on who sees your

stuff. I mean, thats the whole point of the internet

you want people to know you are there and are

producing work. So why prevent them from connecting

with you ?

That MySpace wasnt so bad, at least I could listen to their

music, but some people put the full block on outside

viewing and only friends can see their material.

Thats not gonna get u a record deal....

And then theres Facebook. OMG.. there are artists,

and grapic and media producers on facebook, struggling

to get attention and to get people to view their work.

So you see them on facebook and click on add friend,

( Sometimes JUST because they were facebook recommended)

and the next day you get a message in your inbox

"Sorry, do I know you ? I only accept requests from people

I know.." Well, I hope you know lots of art buyers and producers

because they way you are going on isnt going to get you ANY

exposure whatsoever. The point of Online Social Networks is to

get to know NEW people who have the same interests, not

to form a pointless online clique with the people you already

know.

Now, there is also a lot of talk about details being revealed.

There is a very simple solution to this. If you dont want people

knowing something about you then DONT PUT IT ON THE INTERNET !!

keep the private stuff off the internet and keep

the public stuff on the internet, and then you wont have

any worries about who is reading your information.

Facbook etc. cannot give anyone your information or personal

details if you do not give it to them.

Also I dont see anything wrong with targeted marketing,

I would rather the adverts on the side of my facebook be about

something I want and am interested in than about something

I dont want. So let them use your information to target you for

marketing purposes and the next time you go online you might

see an advert for the dvd or book you have been looking for.

I look up a lot of Manga / Anime and I am

not shy about it, and every other day the banner on top of my

MySpace is about free Manga sites and I find them really useful

and fun. So if that the price of sharing information..

go for it !!!!!

Patience Young Artist

2009-12-04T03:45:00.000-08:00

Patience Young Artist...

OK, youve entered your media in a competition

or sent it out to a publisher, what do you do now ?

Well, whatever you do, dont sit around waiting

for the deadline to pass or for the publisher to

get back to you. Waiting is a bad thing, and

if you get turned down or you dont win, you will

feel really bad for having wasted your time.

Its true what they used to say

"A watched Pot never Boils"

Of course that was written BEFORE they had

electric kettles.

Just favorite the competition and put it in that

folder you made for "Sent Media" and forget

about it. Then go back on the net and find

more things to enter.

Obviously make a little note of the deadline and

check the entry around the end-time. But dont

sit around waiting for it to happen. You will drive

yourself completely loopy and you will be

no better of in the end.

Also an artist waiting is not an artist producing

and if your not producing work then your

not going to be a successful artist. So get off

that seat and get workin' !!!!

Get Organized

2009-11-27T03:34:00.000-08:00

Get Organized

When I was in school (don't ask) the head teacher

used to come into homeroom at the start of the day

and she would yell at everyone ""Get Organized"

while banging a wooden ruler on our desks.

Getting Organized is a good idea....

But not in the way you think...

I don't mean go into the shops and buy lots of

alphabetical inserts and post-it notes and stickers

I mean keep a link on you favorites to whatever

group or zine or event you submit material to..

Have a link folder for submissions and a different

one for successful ones. I also have one for things

that I might submit to or think about entering.

I have that last one incase I come across some

cool event, just as I am finishing up on the net.

(and when you start searching for events

this happens more often than not...)

So "Get Organised" !!!!!!!!!

(sorry miss :D )

As the Lady who kissed the cow said, "It's all a matter of taste"

2009-11-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

As the Lady who kissed the cow said "It's a matter of Taste"

What ? Don't worry folks, I havent lost the plot.

My point here is dealing with submissions.

A lot of people might be sending their work to

different magazines and glleries and projects

and they may be rejected. This is nothing personal

and this is not a problem. Just because a group

turns down your work DOES NOT mean your work

is bad or that you have no talent. All it means is that

the specific group did not like your pieces.

This might happen a lot before you get accepted,

you just have to keep submitting work until

you find the group that is right for you.

Believe me, for every insane artist out there,

there is a group of crazy artists who are just

as (if not more) crazy than you, who will love your work.

So keep trying, its just a matter of finding the perfect fit.

Think Global, Act Global AND local

2009-11-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Think Global, Act Global AND Local

There is no limit to the amount of places on the web

you can submit your material and there are countless

online magazines and publications willing to take your work

(apart from cliques mentioned in my previous blog).

But while you are out there globe-trotting online, dont forget

to check out the local stuff. There are probably a lot of

little societies and obscure publications and events

locally and it would be a shame to miss out on something

just under your nose.

The fact that you are a citizen of the same city or town as

the people publishing or running an event should at least

guarantee you a curious look and you never know who

might pick you up.

It is always good to interact with the local arts scene, not only

for the convenience of not having to post bits and pieces to

the far ends of the world, but local recognition is the nicest of all

and people might actually start to recognize you in the street etc..

(and if they like your work this is a good thing) also internationally

if you dont have ANY local projects on the old artistic CV, it might

look a bit odd.

So hunt down those student societies, dig up obscure webizines or E-zines

(the non-clique ones) and submit some work, also volunteer in local

arts events, because if you do, you will be around arts people and

you never know who might have that little contact or that little piece

of information that might send your career up to the spinning

heights of fame and fortune.

Beware the Clique

2009-11-06T03:48:00.000-08:00

Beware the Clique

A Clique (click) is an excluseive group that wont let anyone else join in.

Sometimes you will come across these groups and they have the same

people in their publications year in and year out, they dont answer their

emails and they dont (Really) accept outside submissions.

You may feel bad about having your work turned down by some organisations

but you are better off not being anywhere near a clique.

If an organisaiton or publicaiton does not accept new work and sticks to their

mates or friends and doesnt let anyone new in, they are useless and will

stangnate and fade into obscurity. Its a kind of artistic inbreeding, they

and their work are doomed to obscurity.

The unfortunate thing is that some cliques keep on publishing and publishing

and look really successful, but I assure you they are going nowhere, and as

nobody but the people involved in the publication are interested in it, no one

new can discover them and they have very little international exposure.

And exposure is what you want. What is the point in producing lots and

lots of work or poetry or literature if only the people involved in the publication

read it. You are an artist to be discovered and to let the maximum amount of

people read or view your work.

So dont worry about cliques and their little groups and publications, they are

going nowhere, they are fooling themselves. You are better off without them,

and if you are in a clique, get out, there is so much more you can do with your work...

RUN !!!!!!!

BEWARE THE CLIQUE !!!!!!

'tis the season

2009-10-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

'tis the season

Now Halloween is here, and soon it will be Christmas,

then you have New Years, Chineese New Year, Valentines Day

and Easter and Thanksgiving. During these seasons, seasonal

videos and media get more attention, so dont be afraid to

produce some season specific material as lots of people will

be searching for seasonal media around the different seasons..

This will draw more people to your material, and will get you more

exposure.

So, get to work.. its Halloween and soon Xmas will be here too..

Networking (no.. Actual Networking)

2009-10-23T02:45:00.000-07:00

Networking

Today I will talk about networking,

not just adding friends and subscribers

to get more attention for your work but

actually making connections with industry

and business that may prove useful.

First go to friend search on Facebook,

myspace, or whatever else you are on.

Now, If you are into films, type in film

festivals or film studios, then add them as

a friend, join their group or become a fan

(if you are an artist maybe Galleries)

and when your friend invite is accepted you

can then start a dialogue with the people

in the industry you are trying to break into.

Then send them links to your work or videos

and the right people will see your stuff

and maybe you will get a commission.

This does not always work, as some places

just set up facebook to announce new events etc.

But thats a good thing, because if you look in your

inbox you might find a note from a studio or

organization about upcoming events that they

may not have announced offically to the outside

world yet.

So aswell as making lots of normal friends, have

a look around for some industry friends too.

Good Hunting !!!!!!

The More the Merrier

2009-10-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

Spreading the Word

If you want to be really sussessful on the internet

you should join as many social networking sites as possible.

An you would be suprised how many sites there are

that are specifically for your art form.

So search around the net, find as many sites for your specific

art form as possible and log in (making sure to read the

terms and conditions and making sure its FREE) then

upload your material, or photos of your material, to these

sites and someone with specialist knowledge may see your

work and that might lead to a commission.

It is still very important to be on the mainstream sites, but if

you have the specialist sites too, then youu have the best of both

worlds, you have the public exposure of the mainstream

and the backup of the specialist sites. Also some people are

only members of one or two sites, so if you are on them all

then you are opening yourself to a larger audience and hopefully

more work.

Check out my earlier post on Multi-Platforming to see what to do next...

Web 2.0 Collaboration

2009-10-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

Collaboration

Collaboration is when you work on a project with someone else,

they get the credit and you get the credit and you both get

a nice project out of it.

Collaboration is a great way to spread the word about your work.

You get to work with other people and you might even learn

something about your artform that you didnt prevously know.

Also it gives you exposure to your collaborative partners audience.

I have worked on several collaborative projects. I did a video for a

film studio in India and a Health and Fitness magazine, also I do

the occasional request video on YouTube. I have had nothing but

positive experiences from helping or sharing my work with others.

The only time when collaboration doesnt work is when one of the

partners is unclear about what they want. If people dont know what

they want and have no idea its probably best to walk away.

Of course if a person has great ideas

and lots of suggestions then you are probably onto a winner...

Web 2.0 Haters

2009-10-02T03:48:00.000-07:00

Haters...

No matter what you do or where you go, someone isn't going to like

your material, and on the internet they wont be shy about expressing it.

Do not get into silly arguments with people online, because that will just

get them a lot of publicity of the back of your material, and if any

potential buyers or clients see you bickering with someone half way

around the world who didnt like the song on your video, it might put

them of a purchase.

The only way you can guarantee you don't have haters, is to create

really dull material that couldnt offend anyone, but whats the point

in that ? You came on the internet to express yourself, and if people

dont like it, then just ignore them and enjoy the fact that a haters

comment pushes your video up the most comments list.

And, as someone famous once said :

If you don't have haters, then you ain't Hot

Web 2.0 Log in a Lot

2009-09-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

There is nothing worse than seeing a site with great videos and then looking at the profile and seeing, last login 2 months ago. Log in every day. Your page won’t become successful by itself, you have to manage it, and remember the internet is fun, so you should want to look at videos and send friend invites etc. If you don’t try to get to know people, then people won’t know you are there, and that’s not good for subscriptions or views, which as an artist is what you are after..

Web 2.0 Insight info on Videos and Viewers

2009-09-18T03:38:00.000-07:00

Insight info on videos and viewers etc....

The great thing about Web 2.0 sites is that even the smallest

most obscure one will have some sort of insight or statistic

information, this is information gathered about the people

who are watching your material.

Some sites have information on the other members of the same

networking site who are looking at your site, and others have

really detailed information about demographics, country, age,

etc..

So whats the point of having access to all this information ??

Well, if you know who your viewers are, then you can taylor

future material for these viewers, and become really successful.

Firstly, if you only have access to the profile page information, then

you should go to the profile pages of the people who have been looking

at your material and see what interests them and see what country they

are from. If you have a lot of fans in a foreign country, then maybe,

you could get your tags, and video titles and descriptions, put them

through google translator and then your videos would reach them sooner.

Then there are the sites that tell you everything, they tell you who is

looking at your video, where they found your video and even what

words they typed in to the search engine to locate your video.

If you know the keywords they used to find your video, then you should

use them in other videos. If you know of a site that embedded your video

maybe you could contact that site directly the next time you upload

a similar video and they will have it embedded sooner.

The really advanced sites have statistics on how long people were looking

at your material for and when they finished viewing it, this can help you

taylor your material and make sure they stay engaged with your work

for longer.

Web 2.0 categories

2009-09-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

Categories.

There are lots of different categories on web 2.0 sites and these offer the chance to target your specific audience. Some web 2.0 sites let you pick 3 categories and some only one, but no matter how many categories you are allowed to pick, you should try to pick the most relevant category to your material. If you make music you should probably pick music or entertainment. If you make personal videos or bits of wisdom, then you should probably go with people and vlogs or entertainment. Another way of dealing with categories depends on the topics or content of your video. If you make a music video with lots of cars in it for example then obviously consider music but also consider vehicles and transport. Or if you made a video about a recent news event or a celebrity, you should choose between news, vlogs or even entertainment. The great thing about web 2.0 is that you can change categories for your video again and again, and most of the time when you change categories your video goes right back up to the top of the recently uploaded list, without losing any viewer statistics. If you are unsure of which category to upload to then, try one category and if your numbers are low then switch it to another, and so on, until you get the category with the greatest success for your material.

Web 2.0 Descriptions

2009-09-04T03:52:00.000-07:00

Descriptions

Descriptions are very important and they determine who

sees your video and where your video is seen. The words

you use to describe your video can either make it very successful

or just another 15 views on the bottom of your most viewed list.

You have to use as many relevant words as possible in the description.

This is not like tags where the more words the merrier means successs.

The description should be taken a little more seriously. This is due

to the fact that most people read the description. But very few people

read the tag words. So lets say you have a video about a book you like

you can have all the tags you want eg. newspaper, book, bookshop etc. but

for the description you want to have it plain and simple, yet relevant.

So your description should read "My thoughts on Ryu Murakami's -

In the Miso Soup"

So just keep it plain and simple, but have the details correct and concise.

Recently I noticed that some websites now have a policy on descriptions

and the material has to match the description to a certain extent

and other websites will even take down material if the description

isnt coscise enough, so just keep it simple...

Web 2.0 Tags

2009-08-28T02:38:00.000-07:00

Tags.

What is a tag ? A tag isnt a school ground game

its a very useful tool in promoting your media.

A tag is a word that is used to link a search engine

to your work.

So if your video is about turnips, you might want

to type in tags such as trunip (obivously) farming

vegetable green food health agriculture... etc..

Everytime someone types in one of these words to

a search enginge, or more importantly your web 2.0

sites search engine, then all the material with these

words in the tag section will come up.

The trick here is to really stretch it and to come up with

as many tags as you can think of, even if they are bearly

related to the topic at hand. Remember, anything that

leads viewers to your videos or photos or blog, is a good thing.

If you have a hard time coming up with tags, get a thesaurus

or better look up an online thesaurus for tags...

Web 2.0 Video Responses to Huge Videos

2009-08-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

Video Responses to Huge Videos...

Ok you see a giant video, with millions of views,

a Susan Boyle type of thing and you think hey

if I posted a video response to this, I would get a few

hundred thousand views. Well you are right and

you are wrong...

Success in this area depends on two things,

1 - on whether or not the person who put the video up is

active and will accept your response, this is easy to figure

out, just go to their main page and check the last time they

signed in, if its two or three months, then they wont be

active to accept your response and it wont work. Also check

to see how many other videos they have, if the one with the

millions of views is their only video, then they probably wont

be around either.

2 - also, it depends on the quality of your video response,

if your video is a direct specially made response, then you have a

chance, but if you just put up something you had lying around the

place, the odds are agaist you, unless it happens to make

the perfect video response by acciednt. eg. if someone had a Britney

video and you just happened to have a different version or the

making of the video, then that would work...

Finally, even if your response is perfect, the owner may not appreciate

you trying to get success of their back. So, if your response isnt accepted

just look for another video to respond to, and dont get into any

arguments with people online, an online fued is the last thing you need.

Web 2.0 Linking your videos to each other, video responses.

2009-08-14T04:19:00.002-07:00

Linking your videos to each other, video responses.

Now, you have made a video and its really good. But wait,

no one is looking at it and your views are low. What to do ?

what to do ?

Well there are many ways of raising your numbers, but today

we are talking about video linking and responses.

Ok, lets say you made a video about Lady GaGa

but for some reason its not taking out. You made a similar video

a few weeks ago and that was really successful.

If only there was some way of linking the two videos

together. Well, there is...

Just go to the more successful video. Click on ad a video response,

and select the video you want to ad. Then everytime someone

goes to the big video, they will see a little clickable image of

your less successful one beneath it and viewers will probably click on it

if the themes of both videos are similar.

DON'T FORGET that if you link your videos in this way

you will have to verify the link later on, ie. you will

have to click a button saying, I approve of this video response..

If you ad a response to someone elses video, there is no guarantee

that they will approve it, so just ad it to a really successful

video of your own...

Of course if you ad a video response to my videos, I GUARANTEE

it will be approved, (unless its naugthy or rude).

web 2.0 Embedding

2009-08-07T03:28:00.000-07:00

Embedding.

Now, to those who know nothing about the internet,

embedding has nothing to do with gardening,

beds, or bedrooms, and its not some naughty new

teen fad.

Embedding is when someone gets a link to your video

and places it on their site. The video will then appaear

on their site.

The embedding code is usually beside the video or picture

in question, and if it isnt there then that probably means

that the person who owns the video doesnt want it embedded

somewhere else, or that they just dont know what embedding means.

In the video option you will see an option to allow embedding,

this allows your video to be put on other sites

and you should click yes, because this allows specialist

sites to place your video on their sites and the great

thing is that all the views on the other site still go towards your web 2.0

Also you can embed playlists and even entire youtube channels.

So if you see a playlist of videos of those Japanese girls running around

with those masks then you can embed it in your website.

.... and send me a link to it ; )

I dont know why you would embed an entire YouTube channel,

except mine, but I guess some people who have a huge site

storage and data could embed one. Why, I dont know,

but then again some of those Anime production studios have

very cool YouTubes and Akibanana is always good for a look.

Web 2.0 Syndication

2009-07-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

Syndication

When your video is uploaded you will see a lot of options

one of them might be syndication. This allows your video

to be shown elsewhere, so you should allow syndication

as the aim of the game is to get as much exposure

as possible for your video or media.

Also this means that your video will show up on search

results more and its all about exposure.

Dont worry about your work being stolen with this option

because if you delete your video on the main website

then all the little syndicated links and pages

to your video should dissappear.....

Web 2.0 favorites

2009-07-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

Favorites

Favorites are fun. this is when you see a video or a profile and add it to your favorites.
This is a good idea, because it lets your viewers know about the sort of stuff you are into.
Personally, I like those videos where girls run around with those full head masks, they
are really fun. Also I like to add obscure foreign advertisements for strange products,
these adds are sometimes more entertaining than the shows. Check out my recent
favorites on my YouTube http://ie.youtube.com/user/JohnNetSite5000
As for profile favorites this is more of a photobucket thing. Recently I discovered my
favorite JPOP news site placed all the photos used in their site in a photobucket account
so I added them as a favorite. And, now I get a email evertime they upadate their
photobucket account and I know to go there and to the main website. Check out my
photobucket links on my main website.. http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/
They also have favorites on Myspace but since they introduced News Feeds, I really
dont see the point there.

Web 2.0 Video Titles

2009-07-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

Video Titles

Now, adding a title to your video, this sounds simple enough, but

there are ways of making a really good title that will grab

peoples attention and get you loads of views, (which is the point

of the thing) The first thing you have to realise is despite all the

promises and all the talk on the site. Only the first six words or

so of your title will appear under the clip on the video search page

(and thats if theyre small words). Have the main jist of the the

video theme in the first words of the title. This will make it

easy for people interested in your video to find it. so if your video is

about aliens then type in alien if its about cars then type in the

model in the first few words. Also whatever is happening in

the video, try to use the most extreme action word to describe it,

ie. if you find something use the word discovery, if you fall on the

ground use the word crash or incident. Think like a tabloid when

writing your titles and you will get lots of views...

Feel free to send me your video description and I will come up with

a successful title for you...

Web 2.0 Types of Video

2009-07-10T03:52:00.000-07:00

Types of Video

Ok, you have made your video and you have set

up your account and you are all ready to put it out there.

Then you click on upload video and you see the words..

"Acceptable video types" waaaa.. no one told you about this,

(except for me).

Different accounts have different video types that are acceptable

and that work with their uploader. They are usually wmv or mov

or avi. So check this out, before you hit that process button, or

before you put your video into that movie maker.

But dont worry, its very easy to take the video you have

put it into a new bit of software and change the file type.

Personally I go for WMW myself as I dont have mac for the .mov

and avi files are JUST TOO BIG.

web 2.0 Video Image Select

2009-07-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

Video Image Select.

When you upload a video you have the option of s

electing an image form your video to act as a thumbnail

for you media. Most of the time the middle image in your

media is automatically selected and that’s usually ok,

but sometimes the image automatically selected

isn’t quite what you may want to represent your work.

It might be fuzzy or a frame of you with your

mouth open and your eyes closed. So just go to

the video edit page and pick from one of the other images.

It usually takes about 6 hours for any changes to take effect,

but there’s nothing you can do about that.

Image Size

2009-06-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Image size.

For photo sites it can be very complicated as some photo sites

have size requirements such as length and width. But that’s

not the end of it, for some sites you also have a

pixel requirement. All you can do is open your

photo editing software and edit your photo to the

proper size. But for some sites the photo requirement

is wide open, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to look

around first. Most images do have to be either

jpeg / gif, and that is better for you because

these file types are smaller than bitmaps and

quicker to upload and it’s very easy to open a

bitmap and save it as something else.

Those YouTube Honors

2009-06-19T03:40:00.000-07:00

YouTube Honours.

Some sites have honours, and you get a little note by

your video saying things like, most subscribed today,

or most viewed this week or month or all time.

Honors are nice to get but, remember this,

no matter how many honors you get one day,

they will all be gone the next.

So for that reason they are pretty pointless.

Once I saw a man, he had the #1 rated video the previous day

and the honors were gone the next day,

he had comments up saying "help, where are my honors

gone ?, whats happening ?"

So, dont get too carried away with them,

they dont last long...

Views are all that matter...

Web 2.0 Best Time to Upload

2009-06-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Best time to upload.

I read (I know Read - like in a newspaper, he he,

talk about old fashioned...)

somewhere that the best

time to upload is when the maximum amount

of people are online, and research shows that

this is between 5 and 6 on a Sunday evening.

Also if you want your videos to get the maximum

views and honors, then upload it at the start of the month.

Web 2.0 Video Search

2009-06-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

Video Search.

Ok you have uploaded a video and waited and it appears on you page and you can play it and everything, but when you go to search, there’s nothing. Well this is nothing to worry about because a lot of times it takes up to six hours for your video to appear on search. So if your plan is to have a lot of people looking for your video then I suggest you plan in advance of when you want it to appear.

Web 2.0 Length of Video

2009-05-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

Length of video.

Different web 2.0 accounts allow

different video length and sizes, this information

will be on the video upload section and you can

check your video by clicking on properties.

It’s usually 10 minutes maximum length.

However this is easily solved, if your video is

over 10 mins, just half it into a Part I and a

Part II. But if you must have it over 10 minutes

then you might have to set up a different type

of account (a directors account). But no matter how

long your video is, you might be limited by the file size

and this is usually 100 mb, but you can use video

compression software to shrink your video down.

Video compression software is usually in the movie

making software you usually use, just pay more attention

when you click produce movie, as this is when the

option to compress usually appears.

Web 2.0 Multi-Platforming

2009-05-22T04:22:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 Multi-Platforming

You have set up your YouTube or MysSpace page and you suddenly notice that everyone is on Twitter or on Wannabe or another page. Well, don't be annoyed. Just join the new page too. Join as many social netoworking sites as you have to and tell your friends on one about the other, eg. tell your friends on Facebook about your Bebo and so on, and some of them will join you on one, just because you are friends on the other, this is called Multi-Platforming, you are interacting on more than one platform or site.

By the way, why not multi-platform with me, check out my sites...

My website : http://sites.google.com/site/johnjenningsgalwayart/

My YouTube Page :

http://ie.youtube.com/user/JohnNetSite5000

My Photobucket Albums :

Visual Art : http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq134/JohnJohn001/Competitions/My%20Visual%20Art/

Competitions : http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq134/JohnJohn001/Competitions/

Cute : http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq134/JohnJohn001/Competitions/Cute/

My Artist Help Blog :

http://galwayartistonline.blogspot.com/

My Mystery Book Blog :

"The Girls Cult College Murders" :

http://girlscultstory.blogspot.com/

MY Space Profile :

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=146030002

My Bebo :

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MID=367137231&MemberId=3860354441

My Twitter :

http://twitter.com/GalwayArtJohn

My Facebook :

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1740831071&ref=profile

WannabeStudios Page :

http://wannabestudios.ning.com/profile/JohnNetSite5000#

Web 2.0 groups

2009-05-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

Groups.

Join groups, start up groups, send your videos to groups.

This is an easy way to let people know about your videos

without annoying them with bulletins or messages.

People in groups WANT TO see your videos and

WANT YOU TO upload your videos to their groups,

so don’t be shy about it.

Web 2.0 Channel Design options

2009-05-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

Channel design Options.

There are lots of options on 2.0 for channel

design and background gifs. Etc, while these

extra images and settings are very cool and

look great sometimes they can slow down

the loading time of your page and the loading times

are very important, because your average web

user will not have the patience to sit around

waiting for your background image gif to pop up.

So keep it simple and use the different colour options

on the site, this still gives you plenty of options

but wont effect your loading times and visitor numbers.

Web 2.0 Logos / Profile picute

2009-05-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

Logos / profile picture.

An important thing is

your channel profile logo or picture. This can be a

picture you have on your computer or a still from

your video. But try to have it in primary

colours and possibly animated. Most logos will be just

clips from films and look like pictures, so

your aim is to stand out. Use bright animated jpegs and

colours. This will distinguish and

highlight your channel on any channel list on web 2.0. there is a

choice between using a video frame or a jpg / gif

image for your logo and it’s great to see a logo you created

especially for the site in the corner of your profile page.

However, if you use an image then usually

your channel will appear with a blank image on

any rankings or ratings page. So use a video

frame instead. Alternatively you could easily

make a very short video from your own jpg / gif file

and then you can use the frame from that on your profile page.

Web 2.0 Captcha

2009-04-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

Captcha.

Sometimes when you leave too many comments or

when you send too many friend invites in one session

you may get a little notice. This notice will say something

like "you have sent a lot of comments today etc.. in order

to proceed fill in the letters or captcha in the following box."

This is nothing to worry about. You will see a box with

joined up letters and numbers which will be slightly

distorted and an empty box for you to copy the numbers into.

So just fill in the sequence of numbers and letters and you

will be able to carry on commenting and adding friends etc..

the reason this comes up is that the site wants to make

sure that you are not a spammer computer programme.

This would be a programme that would ad lots of spam

comments etc and be annoying for people. So when

the captcha comes up and asks to fill in the numbers

and letters the spam programme may not be able to

fill in the blank and continue leaving its message, unless

they have figured out a way around it. The important

thing to remember is that captcha is just there for protection

and all of the web 2.0 sites want you to ad friends and to

leave comments and to interact as much as possible,

you are not in any trouble at all. So fill in those letters

and numbers and keep on commenting.

Web 2.0 Apps / Applications

2009-04-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

Apps / Applications.

Apps and applications are fun and you can put

as many of these on your page as possible but,

be aware that apps slow down your loading times

and I’ve already told you the problem with this.

Anything that comes between you and a viewer is bad.

But some apps are cool though, Just dont overdo it. :P

Web 2.0 Subscriber / friend numbers

2009-04-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Subscriber / friend numbers.

There are benefits to having lots of subscribers

and friends, one of which is that you might appear

on the most friends subscribers list. But , sometimes

you might be looking at your subscriber friend

numbers and they might be going up and down and

you might be frustrated, thinking who subbed and

then decided to unsub. Well, don’t. If you get too

carried away with who is your subscriber or friend

you will forget why you started up on web 2.0 in the

first place and that’s to get attention for your work.

So let people sub and un sub and friend invite / add

to their hearts content. Just make sure you never

unsub or remove a friend. The last thing you want to

do is to start an argument or disagreement online.

Web 2.0 Celebrity Friends

2009-04-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

Celebrity friends.

While you’re adding friends and subscribing you may notice

a lot of “celebrity” pages and channels with celebrity names in them.

Now 99% of these sites are by fan and web 2.0 enthusiasts online who

are just showing their love by putting up a page devoted to their favourite

celebrity/star/singer. However these pages are very popular and this

hasn’t gone unnoticed by the entertainment industry. A lot of celebrities

have real pages online and there is usually a celebrity profile directory on

the 2.0 sites so you can distinguish between the fans and the stars, and 99%

of the real star profiles are programmed to accept friend invites instantly,

so before you know it you could have Lady Ga Ga Kylie or Harry Potter or your favourite

film star on your friend list and you will have all the instant knowledge

of any secret gigs going on in your area. Still there will always be whispers

of “Secret” celebrity profiles on these sites and perhaps some of them could be real,

but you would have to be a really hardcore fan or a serious insider in a stars life to

have that knowledge. but, you never know. In my opinion it’s always good

to subscribe, and if they want to meet you, bring a friend, just in case.

Web 2.0 Subscriber Notifications

2009-03-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

Subscriber notifications.

A lot of sites have a notification option and you can be notified about your

friends and subscribers activity such as their birthdays new blogs etc.

You have the option to be notified by email, but if you have a lot of

friends you may not want to get an email EVERY time someone

does something or you may not have any room in you inbox for

anything else. But do not fret, you can still keep an eye on your

friends and subscribers, because a lot of sites have an update page

and others have a monthly / weekly email option where you can get a

summary email of all the action.

web 2.0 Subscribing

2009-03-20T08:53:00.001-07:00

Subscribing.

On every page there are “subscribers” and “friends” ,

but, on different web 2.0 sites these words mean different things,

from access to blogs to knowing when your latest video has been uploaded.

If someone subscribes, subscribe back, always leave a message

on their accounts thanking them, this is a free ad for your channel

and it lets people know you are open to subscribers.

Its free and it doesn’t cost you a cent, so why not ?

The worst thing you can do is get sensitive or protective when it

comes to your page, it’s there to promote you and your work

so you can’t be fussy about who sees or watches it.

Also a lot of sites now provide a summary to friends and subscribers ,

so if you’re a subscriber or subscribed or friends then other people

can see what you are doing in friend activity sections and updates.

Also about subscribing, the more people you subscribe to or friend invite,

the more people will look at your channel. Look through all the

videos / media on the site and leave lots of positive comments,

and in no time you will have loads of subscribers and friends.

Web 2.0 Comment Atachments

2009-03-13T04:51:00.000-07:00

Comment Attachments.

Some sites allow you to put videos and pictures

on your comments and even have a page where

you can select images for example happy birthday

logos etc. Or even little slideshows of your pictures.

These are always fun, but don’t get too carried away.

If you place too many of these types of comments

on a friend's site, they may experience slower loading

times and that could lead to your comment being

deleted, and possibly losing a friend.

Web 2.0 Slang / Abbreviations / Game Speak

2009-03-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Slang / Abbreviations / Game Speak

Sometimes you will get abbreviations on your

site like lmfao or wtf etc. But even the most streetwise or

I.T. fluent of us run into one we don’t know, this is

because some people use game-speak

(terms used in online gaming sites) . I use a site called urban

dictionary and it has most of these abbreviations and it

will give you different meanings and context. So in no time you will be

cheering woot and pwn those abbreviations.

Web 2.0 dealing with comments in foreign languages

2009-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

How to deal with comments in foreign languages.

Web 2.0 is international so you will probably get a comment

on your profile page or on you channel in a foreign language.

It looks really good but you mightn’t have a clue what it means,

it could either be very good or dreadfully insulting. No problem.

You don’t have to delete it and upset a potential subscriber or a friend.

Draw your mouse over the comment, highlight it (with right click)

and paste it into the box in Google translate. If the language

doesn’t look familiar click on detect language on the same site

and you will have your translation. You can even have a go at

replying in their language by typing in your phrase and clicking translate,

then highlight the translation and paste it into whatever comment box you want.

Also if Google doesn't have the language then

just look for an online dictionary on the net

and you are sure to find one.

Web 2.0 How To Deal With Negative Comments

2009-02-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

How to deal with negative comments.

Now you’ve made your video you’re proud

of it you get a few views and then some idiot

puts up a really sarcastic comment or “WTF”.

Your first instinct may be to delete that comment

straight away. But wait, some web 2.0 sites have a

comment rating system, you can give it a thumbs

up or down and also some sites have a comment

counting list so if your video gets a lot of comments

it might appear on a “Most Comments or discussed”

list and this might help your video to be viewed by

more people, (even if the comment is negative)

And don’t forget you can always reply to comments,

if you like, and they might reply back, thus increasing

your comment count again...