Waking up


Today, I realised that everything i’ve been looking for is right here in front of me.

It’s happening right now.

It might not be your dream, but it’s mine, and I’ve only put the pieces together after meeting everyone at Pixelodeon and seeing all the curated sessions of films.

This is why i’ve fallen in love with internet video distribution. Funny how it’s taken me so long to realise the obvious.

I guess i was too busy looking ahead for the one big idea, and not realising that it wasn’t a ‘show’.

As we say in Jedi school:
It’s not the End, it’s the Means Whereby.

And as the Dwarf said in Twin Peaks:
Let’s rock.

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25 thoughts on “Waking up

  1. Making money would GET IN THE WAY. That was SO awesome. You’re right, you don’t need a show! You just have to enjoy what you’re doing! I loved this post.

  2. So right on!… woot… Rupert you’re wikkd…. and I agree… one of the things I realized from the deathmatch thing was that we’re practically there. Moneywise… it’s the odd jobs that will keep things rolling. but content wise, idea wise… and putting it out there. we’re there now. today!

    You’re right on all acccounts. Rocking is manditory!

  3. “I can make money from all of my skills and then I can use my skills to have fun.”
    Ummm… aren’t we all already doing this? 🙂

  4. you’re crystallizing the reality of what where we’re at. we’ve known it for a while, but people are actually starting to practice it now.

    Videoblogging gives you skills that help you make a living if you hustle and are imaginative. Being paid to create a “show” is interesting, but far less likely.

    this allows us to live and the tell stories we want. keep showing us how to do it.

  5. Thanks guys.

    Yeah, Gogen, sort of – but apart from looking for the Big Idea to take the next step in video online, I’ve also been getting hung up on how difficult it is to make bespoke sites and films for people, spending far too long on each project and staying up all night coding and designing and fiddling and being unhappy with the results… (telling myself all the while that I wish i could make money from what i love!)

    when actually if I step back and apply what I know, I can work for individuals and small companies locally and use Web 2.0 & open source tools that I didn’t know about six months ago to make great, simple, effective sites that people can manage themselves… and add value with video and other media – making good money for quite easy work. And focusing on the *people*, not the technology.

    Leaving me free to do creative filmmaking and distributing it online. In all forms that interest me. Just cutting loose with a video camera, an editing program and the internet and seeing what happens. On my own terms. YEAH! (oh, and i get to spend more time with my girls, too) 😀

  6. Good on ya mate, that moment of clarity is chilling and exciting. I have woken up on a couple of occasions feeling a similar sensation. Thinking of a way to get involved in podcasting and videoblogging for other avenues; marketing, education etc. I had it all figured out in my head and was charged up to go make it happen. Sadly for me the more I rationalised it and the reality of life (work, wife, kid, chores) got in the way, the more the vision faded and the less motivated I was to execute my plan. I’m still looking for “the show” or “the idea” to get my act together, but I kind of like your idea of rethinking the whole thing. I have approached a number of generaly unenthused and dissinterested other parties about teaming up to create something, always in vain. But maybe I dont need them after all.

    Good post, thanks for prod. Sorry I missed pixelodeon.

    madmac66

  7. Dear MadMac66:

    A long time ago I made a decision. Well, a bunch of decisions but what I decided was that I would no longer put my creativity on hold. Not for love, responsibilities or the dollar bill (or euro/pound as the case may be.)

    If it meant that I had to put my computer in a shopping cart and look for garages with electrical sockets I am going to write poetry, shoot photos and now vlogging.

    It hasn’t been easy (I do have a day job) but you have to make the primary commitment and then do something each day. A little something or a big something doesn’t matter.

    Cuz I will be damned if I let this pass me by. I’ve done the day to day routine of what is expected of me and it damn near killed me cuz it made me feel like I was in hell.

    Not saying leave the wife and kids. Nooooo.

    Just find a way to do you thing by incorporating it into your life. Find a way to bust out of L7 for five minutes a day and work on a project.

    It will fester if you don’t.

    (Sorry Rupert – This is an unfiltered reaction to your video and his comment. I’m torn between hoping you getting some sleep and watching you wired.)

    Rock steady but rock on.

  8. rupert: the anarchy in UK video is absolutely superb !
    (and: great episodes from LA the last week. thanks for the clips. makes virtual presence so real)
    best regards
    sam

  9. i watched this last night and i am still impressed you had lunch at the groucho club! 😉

    no really, this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited. clarity. i crave it.

  10. i had the same clarification of my “skillset” at podcamp europe. i felt engaged and like a social sponge. Also my emotional and life baggage from my previous times out into the digital world had moved on.

    Videoblogger allows me to unload my emotional, mental baggage and even good stuff and in turn people can comment, remark and just generally out of the blue surprise you how many people actually have passion for a process.

    I realised that it is no longer about the technology but the people that utilize it to their advantage and those of us like myself that have the geekery background should just share it instead of holing it up like a bedroom dj because in the long run it comes back full circle.

    To me videoblogging now is like the ultimate friend filter – those people that like me, my stuff or my ideals are the best friends a person could get without awkward arguments and general bad feeling. Those that want to be near me are and those that dont like me stay away. It’s like a digital online assessment and i’m fine with that.

    Saves years of wasted time on fruitless relationship be it business or personal.

    Anyway. As always, insightful rupert. hope you’ll help out with podcamp uk in some format.

  11. Whaddya say that each who has the need to write more than 50 words in a comment MAKES A FUCK*N VIDEOBLOG ((C)M.Verdi’05) and posts a link to it? 😀

  12. That’s dead on Rupert, dead on. A mentor of mine once advised me: “Do what you love, and the money will come.” Well, the money has been slow and small, but it has come–and I get to do what I love. It’s absolutely possible, once you see the light, as you have here. Bravo!

  13. yes exactly
    that’s the beauty of all of this!
    you have the choice to do what you want. and no one can tell you otherwise.
    rock.
    do it.
    keep going.

  14. Excellent points, Rupert. 🙂

    Time is money.

    If you have money, you can spend your time NOT making money because you’re already covered. This is why you want to make money as quickly as possible. You can do that, as you said, by using the skills you’ve developed in learning how to videoblog and CONSULTING for people that don’t have the time (and in some cases, don’t have the ability) to learn what you’ve spent months or years ‘perfecting’.

    Get your money fast, because making a show and depending on cost-per-click advertising makes money slooooowwwwww. Spend your ‘extra’ time doing what you love to do and applying your skills towards filmmaking or whatever floats your boat.

    Sounds like you’re right on track. Makes perfect sense to me.

    Good luck with that! 😀

  15. I went to (er, still am in for two months) film school and realized THIS was all that I wanted to do. No one ever tried to explain this shit in a classroom – I’ve learned more from the people I’ve met in the past two years, almost exclusively through videoblogging, than I’ve ever absorbed from professors and field “experts”. Most people at my yuppie school still have no idea what I’m doing, what I’m talking about. They can’t dream of not setting up proper lights and using an expensive camera. Compression? What?

    I don’t want to worry about production value some days (most days?). I just want to get it done. I want to make whatever I want. So I do.

    I do think people should be more transparent about money. Some folks do make money doing this stuff, and those kinds of conversations, publicly, are nothing but good for a “community”. There’s no reason to not put that on the table. It only serves to help everyone. We aren’t the competition for one another, or at least we don’t act like we are in any other way. So why not break down that last remaining barrier?

    But that said, I’m also at the point where I doubt I’ll try to make any of this a legitimate job. I’m content, for now, to teach it and go to lo-fi conferences & tell folks that most techies overlook, “This is doable”.

    I’ve been employed through love before, passion for money, and it tended to end badly. I’d end up hating whatever had meant so much to me. I’m trying to remember that so I don’t fuck this up either because I too just want to ROCK. Always.

  16. it’s really cool that you just walk around take videos like you do & just totally ignore all the weird looks that you probably get from people on the streets.

    but i started videoblogging (very recently, actually) just because i love to make videos and i love to let people see what i do all day.

    (:

  17. You got it man … perception is reality … so if it feels possible, then, well, you know … nice video inspiring!

  18. It was nice riding with you in the car at Pixelodeon. I had similar thoughts. I was listening at the after party to a woman doing an interview with some YouTube stars. And she asked them, “Do you consider yourself a professional or is this more of a hobby?”

    And it got me thinking about how irrelevant that distinction has become thanks to free distribution.

    It was obvious that she was doing it professionally. She looked like a model and she had a crew and their equipment was fancy. But I didn’t know who she was. And it’s a safe bet that her videos receive less hits than the Tuber she was interviewing.

    Being a “hobbyist” no longer means that your stuff is only seen by a few other hobbyists. And being a “professional” doesn’t mean that everybody cares about what you’re doing.

    I love it.

  19. stumbled on your waking up wake up calling – and hear ya and keep walking and talking and i agree that we need to wake up to the fact that the gatekeepers are not at the door with the lock and key – we can pretty much do just like you do shoot yourself – personal broadcasting – while walking and reflect on the state of things and realize you don’t need to imprison yourself – you can open up the bird cage and fly or stay as you see fit – the thing about the internet and the web 2.0 is you can do and be anybody you want and can go for it or not – it comes down to risk tolerance and being willing to make a lot of mistakes until you make a good mistake – food for thought – good wake up call – be well geo

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