Say it Better

Up close see bullets ripping …

… through a glass of milk, a watermelon and other familiar objects in the dramatic slow-motion style of the movie, The Matrix. It is a grotesquely beautiful view of bullets at 10,000 frames per second exploding at these everyday "targets."

Imagine what happens when a bullet hits a head.

Get inspired about how to grab attention for your cause, idea or business. See this new one-minute video that delivers a stop-you-in-your-tracks, anti-gun violence message to television viewers in the UK.

Kudos to the creators, AMV BBDO and Therapy Films. They used the remarkable Phantom camera that was also used in the Nike Golf and Tiger Woods “Swing Portrait” spot.

This spot, “Stop the bullets. Kill the gun.” has sparked debate, of course.

Hat tip to Very Short List.

"... licking, gesturing, and doing absolutely deplorable things with produce"

...complains Eric Claus, CEO of the grocery store chain A&P when announcing what astute Shel Holtz describes as "single remarkably stupid legal action." You see two young brothers who worked at the store did not dangerously "Go postal." Go video is the ritual of their age group. So, yes, they filmed themselves acting like the testosteone-fueled teenage boys that they are, playing with produce in front of the store, when no one was around. And yes their video is "raunchy" ... and funny to some (not me). Yet few people noticed their homage to gangsta rap on YouTube until CNN interviewed the brothers, the store heard about it, then sued them. Stirred up a cause?

What would you do if an inane, downright stupid or - worse yet - funny video about your organization was posted on YouTube? In a lesson for all company leaders, Shel describes how the grocery chain may make enemies out of the situation rather than making friends and attracting positive media coverage. Also, he suggests how a competitor could turn the incident to their advantage.

New way to make a quick pitch for money

Get a friend to grab a camera to video you making your pitch for funding for your business via vatortv. Or to find the right management team or other work need. You’ve got just three minutes. No more. But some smart and successful venture capitalists and angel investors are backing this site. They may click to see you. And, of course, Bambi may interview you. These videos are helpful and sometimes even fun to watch if you want to hone your elevator pitch for anything. (Thanks again Liesbeth).

Ready to Re-Shape Your Self-Image? Get Simpsonized.

If you want to become part of The Simpson family how would Matt Groening draw your portrait? Dare to find out how dorky you can look right now. Yes, because of a SmartPartnership tie-in to attract big crowds to the movie’s debut on July 27th, you, too, can get Simpsonized. See jaundiced Linda Tischler.

Odd Simpsons tie-in motto though, “Turn the world yellow with Burger King.” Now does that make you want to leap into your car and drive over for a “yellow” fast food snack?

For more fun with modified reality see what restless and creative graphics designers do on their break.

Then view a spectacularly quick, animated and morphing view of modern art, from van Gogh to Picasso to Warhol. See Joan C. Gratz’s Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase.

Perhaps you'll be tempted to see her downward-facing frog before you return to your regular life - away from your computer screen.

Might as Well Laugh at Politics

You can get angry, outraged, inspired and involved at other political web sites. But, now you can also laugh (hysterially?) at the national sitcom that is our looooong campaign period before the election of the next U.S. president. Visit Indecision2008, Comedy Central's new site to spoof this scene. See clips from “Lil’ Bush,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.” Read the anonymous (for now) blog by The InDecider. Today, for example, you can become informed, "On Family Feud, The Dem Family takes the round by correctly guessing the most popular Senate answers to the question, 'Why I voted for a war that I disagreed with.'" Find "approximate honesty" there and add your humor at forums and elsewhere.

Several women in a bar are surrounded

by anthropomorphized pigs in an ad rejected by CBS and Fox. One of the pigs goes to the men's room and gets a condom from a vending machine. Then he’s transformed into a “hero”, a handsome man who re-enters the bar and immediately attracts the attention of a previously indifferent blond.

Of course, the public discussion over this rejected ad has generated priceless visibility for Trojan. What a criteria for picking a man eh? So here's the rationale offered by Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive for the agency that created it: "It's a sign of somebody being prepared -- if the opportunity arises -- to think about their own health and the health and safety of their partner."

See the backstory of your favorite author

For the first time you can literally see video stories about the lives of authors – at least those with books published by Simon & Schuster. Serial entrepreneur and friend Brad Inman forged a SmartPartnership between his latest venture TurnHere and the publisher to involve his filmmakers around the world in crafting professional quality video vignettes, covering “the story behind the story” of the lives of authors.

BookVideos.tv provides a community for readers, bloggers, book clubs and authors.

Eavesdrop on Susan Patron, talking about her new book The Higher Power of Lucky. Step into the European life of Santa Montefiore, who’s “novels have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than three million copies in England and Europe" then over to meet actor, Blair Underwood, in his new role as co-author.

If you’re paid for your expertise

(or you want to be) then help people find you when they want what you know. Share your ideas at some online communities or in a blog, vlog or podcast - or demonstrate your expertise with an example, illustrated with photos and captions. People and organizations as diverse as hoteliers, Realtors, Methodists, plastic surgeons and tea purveyors use social media to share their ideas to differentiate themselves from “the competition.” Also enjoy other benefits, such as attracting clients, media coverage and ideas for improving what you offer.

Join with other bloggers to attract more readers via MyBlogLog or a special interest community of bloggers such as recently-funded BlogHer or those who are bundled together to secure advertising revenue through Federated Media Publishing (headquartered just five minutes from me and at the opposite end of Sausalito from Grouper).

Perhaps participation in some of the online communities can help you find like-minded people who share one of your interests or need what you have to offer. Take a look at zaadz, gather or rapidly evolving Facebook.

Like to build a global community around your association, club, company or cause? Then see what social media features are proving to be popular and/or profitable by reading mashable, Paid Content, TechCrunch and Robin Good. Maybe you’ll partner with one of the groups you read about.

Also find like-minded people, possible employers, clients and friends from your past by posting your profile on LinkedIn and Spoke. Helps them and the media find you too.

A Richistani Rescue of the Beloved WSJ?

To "save" the Wall Street Journal from possibly falling into Murdoch's hands, some of the reporters and other employees of Dow Jones & Company are turning to other billionnaires to rescue the company with an alternative bid, reports PaidContent. Many current and former journalists are buzzing about this news, emails flying around with hopeful messages that Richistani Ron Burkle will succeed this time.

YouTube: Inadvertent Fighter for News Freedom

Even the president of a country can’t stop a TV station from “broadcasting” news he doesn’t like anymore. Not in the era of YouTube. Even his tanks can't stop the change.

As a former TV commentator and reporter for the Wall Street Journal and inevitable supporter of press freedom and human rights I can’t help but cheer at this news. It represents one upside of the confluence of new media, politics, business and technology. Sure stirs up debate on a bigger world stage - and that can't be bad for freedom.

When Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez felt the sting of attack by RCTV – The Observer, a news program on RCTV – a station that backs his opponents, he kicked it off the air. He discovered that he could get “his” police to stop the protest but not the station.

He’s been tangling with the station since a failed coup in 2002. This time the station kept on taping the program, “The Observer” and uploading it to YouTube. Just 14 hours ago, Chavez threatened to terminate other stations’ licenses.

Censorship supports YouTube’s growth as more Venezuelans rush to their site to see the news. Just like radio stations can podcasts and print journalists can blog, TV stations can continue to reach their audience - and probably expand it - on the many video-sharing sites.

What an exciting example for freedom of the media anywhere.

Asks mashable, “Will Venezuela take the next step and ban YouTube from the entire country?

See a list of other countries that have banned YouTube, remembering the proliferating number of video-sharing sites they may also have to ban.