Lifecasting is a regularly updated broadcast of events in a person or brand’s life through digital media channels such as Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube and blogs. By documenting and broadcasting personal experiences and daily routines, an ongoing and interactive dialogue is created with viewers that connect with the content being created. For brands, these enthusiasts are extremely important. As stated by Kevin Kelly, in his article 1,000 True Fans, “a creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.”

So how is a True Fan defined? The article goes on to say, “A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.”

If each True Fan you have were to spend $100 per year on your products, your revenues would be $100,000 (keep in mind many of your True Fans will spend more). That’s a substantial income for an individual!

Examples of individuals, organizations and brands that are leveraging Lifecasting for promotional purposes include: Barack Obama’s use of multiple channels such as Flickr, Twitter and his blog to keep his supporters up to date on his campaign, The Berrics and The Hundreds – niche fashion/skateboarding brands – that broadcast their lifestyles, and Non-Society - a group of elite women that have created personal brands by publishing their lives.

Lifecasting has greatly evolved from simply recording ones life, into individuals, companies and brands daily distributing new content in order to spread their brand messaging, and build a True Fan base of dedicated consumers.

Not a day goes by where I’m not tempted to swing by Beatstreet - a Vancouver based record shop - in pursuit of fresh wax. The insatiable desire to build my collection of auditory burners never subsides. It’s an expensive, albeit joyous addiction.

Yesterday, I got the itch midday, and spent my lunch-break digging through some breaks, funk and soul. I picked up some new tracks from labels Bombs, Good Groove and Super Hi-Fi.

While rummaging through the used section, I stumbled across Groove Is In The Heart by Deee-Lite (an early 90’s party favorite of mine).

For me, spinning records has reaffirmed one thing: No matter how much I love my job in technology and advertising, there’s nothing like kicking it analog.

Here’s the Deee-Lite mp3 for my readers that use Serato or DJ off a laptop.

Back in August, a jobless man in his sixties from Shizuoka, Japan, wrapped his 1.7-meter tall, 50-kilogram silicone sex doll in a sleeping bag, drove into the woods, and dumped her. A short time later, a couple stumbled upon the body - bound around the neck, waist and ankles - while walking their dog and alerted police.

Via Pink Tentacle, we read, “Police retrieved the body and immediately launched a criminal investigation. But several hours later, when forensic pathologists began to unwrap the “corpse” to perform the post-mortem, they realized it was actually a state-of-the-art sex doll. Seeing themselves as victims of a malicious prank, the authorities vowed to track down the perpetrator and charge him with interfering with police business.”

The story quickly made national and international headlines. After seeing the news reports, the culprit succumbed to his own guilt and turned himself in to police. Apparently, he’d lived with the doll for several years, but decided to part from her after electing to move back in with his family. Rather than chop her up and toss her out with the trash, he dumped her illegally. The man now faces fines for violating waste management laws.

Memes are thoughts, behaviors or actions that are passed from one person to the next through learning or imitation. They cultivate themselves in the cultural sociosphere in a fashion similar to the contagious behavior of a virus. Examples include: gestures, theories, ideas, fashions, habits and the like.

Experts in the subject theorize that memes evolve by natural selection through the means of variation, mutation, competition and inheritance. Therefore, some memes will die and become extinct whereas others will survive, spread, and mutate into evolving entities of cultural capital. Therefore, memes that are capable of replication or “remixing” will have a higher probability of going viral than those that are bound by restrictions such as creator control, brand guidelines etc.

Memes are fundamental to the success of videos in the online space because (a) they contain specific behaviors/characteristics that can be appropriated, and (b) they open up a platform for third-party discussion and distribution.

Some well known examples include:

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Firstly, sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been preoccupied with numerous projects at the agency and have been working stupid hours. By the time I get home at night, all I want to do is sit on the couch in silence and sip on an ice cold Pabst. That said, what follows is a hodgepodge of links and random thoughts that I’ve been meaning to post about:

Wow, Tumblr is fucking addicting. I can’t stop posting random random videos, retro ads/photos, and delicious updates. Work productivity down, Internet status up.

Here are two awesome screen tests: Skate - shot on red - 120 fps and Mash NYC HD Camera Test.

When will the wankers at the RIAA finally learn that trying to regulate music on the net is a futile endeavor? Example: Muxtape goes offline, Dorble and Opentape go online. The battle is impossible to win.

Into next level Japanese skateboarding? This dudes skills are retarded.

The robust complexities of Google Chrome - Googles open source browser project - are broken down here (in arguably the nerdiest comic strip ever created).

Writing rhymes about a particular topic is a great way to study it. This video reminds me of my buddy Thomas in T-dot who rapped his way to 98% in OAC anatomy. Genius.

Banksy’s been busy. Not only did he take on Fred Ratke in New Orleans, he’s going head-to-head with the KKK in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Periodic Table of Videos.

Mmmmm…Raisin Brahams.

I’m really digging the creations of artist Josh Keyes. His idiosyncratic paintings are surreal cross-sections that feature animals and societal artifacts.

From Keyes’ site:

“A central topic in Keyes’ work is his speculative imaginings about a dystopian future, where the United States operates on the world stage as a political and environmental tyrant (whether these works are perceived as speculative or futuristic depends on the viewer’s point of view). The installation A Thousand Points of Light, a reference to the administration of George H W Bush, creates a new American flag revealing the United States as both predator and prey in the political and economic “oceans” of the world.”

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