The Stone Soup Story

I think this story justifies in a few lines why professional people should blog, share and not build their own 'political silos' at the workplace:

Many years ago, three soldiers,hungry and weary of battle, came upon a small village. The villagers, suffering a meager harvest and the many years of war, quickly hid what
little they had to eat and met the three at the village square, wringing their hands and bemoaning the lack of anything to eat.
The soldiers spoke quietly amongst themselves and the first soldier then turned to the village elders. "Your tired fields have left you nothing to share, so we will share what little we have: the secret of how to make soup from stones."

Naturally, the villagers were intrigued and soon a fire was put to the town's greatest kettle as the soldiers dropped in three smooth stones. "Now this will be a fine soup," said the second soldier; "but a pinch of salt and some parsley would make it wonderful!" Up jumped a villager, crying, "What luck! I've just remembered where some's been left!" And off she ran, returning with an apron full of parsley and a turnip. As the kettle boiled on, the memory of the village improved: soon barley,
carrots, beef, and cream had found their way into the great pot, and a cask of wine was rolled into the square as all sat down to feast.

They ate and danced and sang well into the night, refreshed by the feast and their new-found friends. In the morning, the three soldiers awoke to find the entire village standing before them. At their feet lay a satchel of the village's best breads and cheese. "You have given us the greatest of gifts: the secret of how to make soup from stones," said an elder, "and we shall never forget." The third soldier turned to the crowd, and said: "There is no secret, but this is certain: it is only by sharing that we may make a feast." And off the soldiers wandered, down the road.

The source (which I plan to blog about next): http://www.cultbranding.com/viewpdf.php?file_id=4

In the meantime, Alexandra Pace's top 5 favourite works and an interview with Jonathan from EbusinessMalta are waiting to be put up in the next BLABs!

An interview about dreams, cars and Paqpaq

It has been a quiet week on BLAB but I found some time to get to know more about the Paqpaq initiative and its ever increasing popularity both with car enthusiasts and advertisers. In the next few lines, Tonio Darmanin, a Marketing lecturer by profession and the man behind this initiative, honored us with a few 'blabs' about Paqpaq:


Picture: Car review on Paqpaq; Source: paqpaq.tv

KG: Classic question: How did paqpaq begin? Was it the passion for cars or a community of car fanatics?
TD: Paqpaq started off as a dream. I always loved cars and used to watch foreign programmes but I was never involved in television. Then one day I sat down and scripted what I would include if I had my own car show. It developed from there, I tried to sell the idea to a number of people and finally convinced a production house and PBS to accept the programme. I distinctly remember the first filming sessions where I was provided with a cameraman and a mike and I had to improvise and learn by trial and error. This was six years ago and the technical quality at the time was quite different from what it is today. What was the same was the genuine passion for the subject, something that made Paqpaq acceptable even if not of the highest technical quality. Yes there are numerous enthusiasts here in Malta but what I have learnt over the years is that many are quite focused on their area of interest say, offroading, drag racing, hill climbing, classic cars, bikes, modified vehicles, the list is endless and in some instances are not bothered with anything else.

KG: There were/are many who review the latest in Car products and launches, but paqpaq has something different? Do you agree? Why?

TD: As a profession I lecture marketing and my involvement in the media gives me the opportunity to practice what I preach. The very essence of Paqpaq is to be different. Different from anything that happens on the local media and different also from what happens internationally. Apart from the passion for cars, bikes, boats, speed, travel and adventure, I strive on creativity. I spend hours with my close collaborators discussing, planning and generally dreaming then we try to turn those dreams into reality. What pride can you get out of copying others? Within the parameters and realities of the local scenario, I strive to create and be innovative. I am generally copied but I can live with that, I actually take it as a compliment. What distinguishes Paqpaq is professionalism, credibility, quality, experience and a genuine passion for what we do.


Picture: Christina Aguilera on Paqpaq; Source: paqpaq.tv

KG: Who makes up the Paqpaq audience? Is there a similar audience for the online website and magazine or are they different segments?
TD: Initially, Paqpaq was more of a niche programme aimed at the car enthusiast. These 6 years on air have seen an evolution and whilst still retaining the interest of the enthusiast, we have tried to widen the appeal even to those who are not keen about cars but, for example, are in the process of buying a new car or are interested in learning how to care for their investment. We are as inclusive as possible and rotate features to try and include as many different aspects of the motoring hobby as possible. We cannot satisfy everyone and often get told off because we are not including enough classics or do not give enough coverage to local motorsports, but we sincerely try our best. One message it took me a bit long to get was that sent to me by bikers and for a long time I gave little importance to this sector, primarily because I was not even licenced to ride a bike, having been brought up in a family where bikes were taboo. On the other hand, I do not know how to do things in half measures so less than a year ago I sat for my bike licence. I have since ridden every bike I managed to get my hands on, and I can assure you that the list is long and varied, I organized and filmed my first overland adventure on a bike, have covered and featured the biggest new bike show in Milan and the most prestigious custom bike show in the UK, and have generally set new standards in terms of quality to establish Paqpaq as the benchmark even in this sector. Incidentally my current ride is a beautiful Suzuki GSX 1400 with which I am madly in love.

Regarding audiences, I feel that the audiences for the TV show, the website and the new print publication are different. There will always be a percentage of viewers/browsers/readers that are common, and these will probably include the keen enthusiasts. On the other hand, there are people who visit the website regularly and are amongst the many thousands that receive our electronic newsletter every week but rarely watch the programme. The new publication will again hit a number of persons who do not watch TV or do not have access to the net, but will find the supplement interesting.

KG: What about the latest Paqpaq print initiative?
TD: The print initiative is the natural progression of what we have been building up to. We are a professional outfit that teams up only with other professional partners to make the best of the synergies available. In this case, Media Maker is an ideal strategic partner with the experience and expertise necessary to retain the perception of quality in the print sector which our brand already enjoys on TV and the web. In today’s business environment, it is important to offer our customer as wide a spectrum across all media as possible.

Today, Paqpaq is a force that cannot be ignored. Apart from offering our customers an interesting media mix, being involved in the different media helps strengthen our own position and cross-media exposure. The name we gave the publication, namely Paqpaq – Motoring and Leisure gives a clear indication of where we are heading. Cars and great but so are bikes, boats, the latest accessories and gizmos, travelling, a healthy lifestyle and adventure. This is what Paqpaq is all about.

Cool blabs: Interview with Director of YouTube's Best Short Film of 2007

I got to know about Shelton films whilst going through the winners of this year's YouTube awards. Shelton Films won the 'Short Film Category' and my curiousity led me to briefly interview Ben from Sheltonfilms.com, the producers of the award winning short (online) film 'My Name is Lisa'. The film placed third in 'YouTube project: Direct' and aims to raise awareness about Alzheimer Disease.

Picture: Ben Shelton

Interview follows below:
It actually started with a flair for film making but the web took it to another level?

Yes. When I was 13 years old, I started making short movies and I knew immediately it was what I wanted to do. It may be seen as an unrealistic "dream" to become a filmmaker for some, but my uncle was a filmmaker, so I knew it was a possibility. My uncle Ron wrote and directed Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup.

Now, if I wanted to be a professional basketball player, that would be somewhat unrealistic, but that's because none of my relatives are in the NBA... Except for my dad's cousin's husband's nephew, but I've never met him.

When I was a kid making movies, the internet didn't exist yet, so I had no idea HOW I was going to get my movies shown, but I knew that it was what I wanted to do. After college I started submitting short films into film festivals, but I got no response. Once YouTube came around, the internet became a place to share my movies to millions of people without having to go through all the film festivals or mailing out DVD's. It's all one click away now. It's great!

What is the most important...a well-produced & well scripted movie or a strong presence in a successful online network?

The most important thing to me is to create something I'm proud of. I want to tell stories, make films, and share my art with an audience, and the internet has allowed me to do that. If your question is: "How do I get my work shown by millions?" The answer is to create great work. Now, there are always cheap tricks and gimmicks to create an online community. I'm sure if you make "shock" videos or "nude" videos, you will get more views, but there's no integrity in that, and I'm not a fan. At the end of the day, great work will get noticed, but you have to work hard and get it out there.

What about the MySpace Deal and the Paul Brogan character?

What about it? We made the first Paul Brogan video after about 100 takes. We wrote it, re-wrote it, and all the focus was on making it great. After we finally enjoyed it, we posted it on YouTube and it just started to grow in popularity. Next thing you know, we're in the MySpace offices signing a deal. Since then, we've made 5 more videos that have been featured on MySpace.com and one of them was shown on the Super Bowl pre-game show. But it all started with us being perfectionists and making sure the first video was as funny as it could be.

"My Name is Lisa" is one of your latest successful productions which again has made it big on established online networks. Was this production specifically made for the online audience?

I made the film for YouTube Project: Direct, so I knew it was going to be seen on-line first. It was in my consciousness, and so I added the video-log to the story because I knew that that was what people are used to looking at. That's the only thing that was related to watching it on-line. And I probably would have had the video blog anyway, because that's just the world we live in today.

How does an online video become so popular? Is it just posting it on the net?

It's never just one thing. It's always a combination of a compelling story, great acting, good writing and just the right amount of luck.

Watch the film:


Get to know more about SheltonFilms

Get to know more about 'My Name is Lisa'

Apple Mac Music Video!

You may be asking is this an advert or a music video!? This and many other blog posts prove it's both!



Video: Digital filmmaker Dennis Liu
Music: “Again & Again”, The Bird And The Bee
Programs used: Microsoft Word, Notes, Photo Booth, iTunes, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Time Machine, iMovie, GarageBand, Finder, Quicktime, Spotlight, Widgets...(and more)
Desktop machine: Mac (any doubt about that?!)

Photography, Wine, Coffee & Fashion going online

New, Clean pcutajar.com.mt
As your Sunday Times may have pointed out to you, the local PCutajar trademark is undergoing some careful re-branding. The re-branding also includes PCutajar's online channels, starting from its main website, and I presume, its sub-sites in the coming months.



The new PCutajar logo is clean and simple, featuring a classic font and the text 'Malta - 1865' underneath. The logo further amplifies its indigenous origin through its colour scheme. Both logo and new website were designed by BRND WGN which I believe are also new to branding locally.

LoveIsFashion.com
Another addition to the online directory is what is probably the first online fashion store locally. Photography for the site's online catalogue as well as web design were done by briangrech.

5 weeks of Facebook Chat

5 weeks ago, Facebook discretely launched its real-time chat service. The concept of chat within social networking is a first (at least for the big networks I hold a profile in and my blabnet experiment). The idea, as Josh at Facebook puts it, is very simple immediacy: extending what has so far been messages, pokes and notification anytime you log-in, to real-conversation. Even friends' News-feeds will be incorporate in a real-time conversation as they happen.

from Facebook's blog post:
"The Wall and Inbox have been the primary ways to communicate, but when more immediacy is necessary—for example when making plans for lunch in half an hour"

I am particularly fascinated by the discrete way in which this new feature is being launched, unveiled slowly slowly in select network, without any need to download any applications or add-friends. The new Facebook Chat sits there...waiting quietly to "pull features of the site into the real- time Chat world", enhancing the Facebook experience.