Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg of Katalyst Media stopped by Seesmic HQ to discuss their new project Blah Girls that they launched yesterday at TechCrunch50. You can't help but wonder how two dudes got inspired to do a website/show/blog targeted to teenage girls about celebrity gossip. Well, stop wondering because all is revealed below:
Well, I finally put the issue of who is better looking (a question Loren Feldman of 1938 Media himself posed on Seesmic) to rest, part by part. If you watch to the end of the video, there's a payoff. It's awkward, slightly gross and my cue to get the hell out of there.
The first TechCrunch 50 presenters session was packed but were we there, right up front! The very first presentation was by Shryk which has developed a cool banking platform for kids and teens to get them interested in learning to save from an early age. I spoke with Shane shortly after the presentation.
Of course, everyone was anticipating Ashton Kutcher's demo of his new project, Blah Girls. Check out a sneak peak below:
Holy heck, they're letting us out of the office! The caged animals that live in Suite G, also known as the Seesmic content team: Sukhjit Ghag, Whit Scott, Jeremey Lavoi, Giselle Kennedy and me, Rachael Joy, are headed out the front door, down the street and around the corner to the San Francisco Design Center where TechCrunch50 is taking place Sept. 8 thru the 10th. We're so excited to breathe fresh air and interact with others, we're brushing our teeth and taking media training. Oh, wait, we ARE the Media! That's right, Seesmic is a media sponsor and we're taking it very seriously. We've had several hours long meetings every day for a week now to prepare and we are ship shape and shiny. The shine is from Loic's bald head mainly. Anyway, we are covering this event from top to bottom and I mean it, from the roofers to the CAA agents, we're talking to everyone who is anyone and their sister's boyfriend. So check us out at TechCrunch50!
I count on politicians having affairs the way I count on traffic on the Bay Bridge. I don't want it to happen but I know it will and yet somehow every single stinking morning I'm surprised by it. It's inevitable and yet I'm fascinated....how did it get like this? Why is this happening? Where in the hell are all these people going? Anyway, it truly is a shame and it's disheartening when I hear of another politician cheating....or actor or NBA star or soccer mom. Yes, soccer moms cheat now too. Alot! While some couples work toward fixing their marriages by committing even more vehemently to monogamy, others just throw monogamy right on out the open bedroom window. I think whether you're married or not, we've all considered (feared) the concept of being with one person for the rest of your life. The "being" part really meaning "having sex with." The majority of us still equate marriage with monogamy but there's a movement of people who think that's too limiting. They opt for an Open Marriage. These open marriages can manifest in many different forms. It's really up to the couple to design whatever marriage they decide works best for them. Everything is customized these days from your makeup to your iphone, why not customize your marriage? Since I'm not married in any form (closed, open or back in 10 minutes,) I invited someone onto NewspOp who has personal experience with open marriage. Jenny Block is the author of "Open: Love, Sex and Life in an Open Marriage" which is about her own open marriage. She's married to a man and also has a girlfriend. It's a fascinating arrangement and one that Jenny shares, well, very openly. I'd like to thank Jenny for coming on Seesmic. Her appearance sparked a great conversation....
After our wild night of LA shmoozing (ok it wasn't that wild but it did end with Whit doing magic tricks at the 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin), we decided we needed to balance out the superficiality of Hollywood with a stop in Malibu to the offices of Reef Check, an amazing organization dedicated to saving coral reefs around the world. As an avid scuba diver, I am really interested in reef preservation. The thing is reefs just aren't sexy as they say in ol' LA, they aren't cuddly and they are hard to personalize so it's really a challenge to rally people to the cause. But one man, Gregor Hodgson, the Executive Director of Reef Check, is up for the challenge.
Greg explains many ways to help reefs in the interivew below. One way is to sign the "Declaration of Reef Rights" which I've done of course. Or to support Reef Check with donations which you can do by attending their upcoming fundraiser in LA Reef Rescue 2008.
p.s. please excuse the choppy video. we weren't getting a great connection there for some reason....
We arrived in Los Angeles with empty stomachs, smog in our hair and stars in our eyes, just like every other Hollywood hopeful. It was Vision Fest 08 and we were there, not with any vision ourselves but with a goal and a dream: to get Kevin Smith on Seesmic. There's really no need to build the suspense because I wouldn't be writing this if it didn't happen but how did it happen? How did we sucker this A list director to come on Seesmic? As they say in Hollywood, here's the backstory:
My friend Jacques Thelemaque, founder of the Filmmakers Alliance, invited us to attend Vision Fest, an event FA throws every year to screen the short films they've produced and also honor amazing filmmakers. This year the event honored Kevin Smith. Jacques is a big fan of Seemsic and thinks it has amazing potential for filmmakers so we decided to show him exactly what Seesmic is all about.
I posted to Seemic asking if there were any Kevin Smith fans out there, and got tons of responses. The best by far were from uber fans, Virginie and Sebastian from Switzerland. They posted several times but they blew us away when they dressed up like Jay and Silent Bob and digitally inserted themselves into a "scene" in front of the famous Clerks' Quick Stop.
We got to work right away (two days before the screening--oy, the pressure) editing together the Seesmic videos to actually screen at the DGA theatre in front of Kevin Smith and an audience of a 1000 including press, actors, filmmakers, hollywood veterans, etc... I wasn't stressed at all.
Before the screening, I got the opportunity to introduce Kevin to the Seesmic community and he responded directly to Seesmic uers questions. Dana (aka Wankergirl) had a "seesmagasm" when Kevin responded to her video. Kevin was very generous with his time and answered loads of questions. He also told us about his upcoming film, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." Sounds like a family film.
Interviewing Kevin Smith was fun and a career high and all that, blah, blah, but the true highlight of the evening was the screening. Our little short film (using Seemic videos and also starring Vinvin, Whit and I) was a hit! I'm talking non stop laughing in the theatre. Afterwards, as the three of us stood around like dorks reveling in our glory, it started happening....a double take from a random stranger and then "Oh! Are you the guys in the film? You were so funny!" and "Hi, I'm one of the founders of FA, your short was so great, hilarious...." I hate to brag (no, i don't) but that was just the beginning. We were hounded by our fans all night. Kevin who?
So I started a new show on Friday called Happy Hour (was I supposed to get approval from my boss Vinvin? oops!) It's about the effects of global warming on the reproductive rates of sea otters. Come on folks, it's called Happy Hour. Mainly the idea is to have a place where we can drink a little, chat a little and laugh a little. We're starting off drinking the vodka sent to us by Qino One Vodka, which I'm really excited about. It's made out of the quinoa grain and it's organic. Oh, and Seesmic user, Tiil, designed the website which is really beautiful. Anyway, we'll be drinking whatever comes our way so if you want to send us some homebrew, grog or moonshine, heck we'll take it. We kicked off the show with a little dance number. No, we did not practice. I think that's pretty obvious. So, join Happy Hour Fridays at 5 PT on Seesmic.
Vinvin went to Vegas so we went to lunch. It's only fair.
